Veggie Burger-Food Journal-Clif Bar

did you post your food journal yesterday? I cannot find it! :o :/

Ah, I didn’t and then I wasn’t on yesterday! Let me see if I can remember.On Sunday I went to the mountains with my grandparents in the morning and I ate a Clif bar before they came. When we got there I ate fudge haha. Around 12pm we went to eat at a diner and I got a veggie burger with a salad. The salad was simple and it had Italian dressing. Burger had ew white bread, the patty, tomato, onion, spinach, and lotsa ketchup. I ate a few fries, too hah. Then hm… I know I snacked at home, maybe on another clif bar lol. But I made an almond butter and strawberry preserves sandwich around 5pm and then I had cereal some time later and that’s all I remember. Think that was it.Yesterday I had mmm… Wow I have a bad memory and I haven’t been writing it. I had a banana and a Clif bar when I got up. I was feeling weird yesterday and I randomly decided to do yoga. Then I was doing a little upper body stuff. It started raining a bit (been having summer storms this year, it’s gr8) and I went outside to jump rope and even though I’m not supposed to, I wanted to run so I basically just ran around the block for 6 minutes. Then I did more yoga because I didn’t want my knee to bother me. Then I had a clif bar before I showered, then after I made a tofurkey sandwich. Wheat bread, 5 tofurkey slices, spinach, tomato, soy cheese, and mustard cause we were out of avocado :( Actually I took a picture of it cause I know you guys like pictures and I used one of my new tea plates :3 Then I had cereal around 4:30pm and went to work at 6:30 and of course I’m smelling food all night there so I got 2 bean burritos from work when I left. They were just beans and tortilla, and hot sauce. I don’t recall having a clif bar (yes, I really eat a lot of them and lose count track), but I did eat 3 oreo’s. That’s it! Lol. I’m going to post a photo of my sandwich soon. read more..

Completely Empty Stomach-Peanut Butter-Snacks

which are good pre-workout snacks? I don't like running and stuff on a completely empty stomach, i'm afraid I will pass out or something.

You should run after you eat, but not too soon after. Like say you have a small snack, maybe 30 minutes. The bigger meal, the longer to wait. I used to wait about an hour to run after I’d eaten breakfast. Maybe some oatmeal with fruit and Peanut Butter if you like it, a piece of toast with pb and a banana, a power-up smoothie, some fruit and peanut butter. Just mix things up! In my Index there’s a post-workout and snacks page (I need to rename it) that also has a few pre-workout food idea in there. read more..

Ibs

hey :) i have read that you have struggled with ibs, and i have too well i still am and it is awful :( what are the choices you made to change because the doctors are no help - i guess they dont really know what to do.... hope you can help me :) thanks xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Hello! I would be glad to help. Sorry it’s taken a bit for me to get to this. After I first read this after you sent it (then I lost internet for a week), I had plans of starting a whole page dedicated to IBS and helping others with it. So keep a look out for that. I hope to get it up soon but I don’t want to spend a massive amount of time online like I used to. The first thing I did was start a food journal. Writing my meals down (and I wrote the time) and writing any problems I had after the meal help me to figure out what things caused me any pain or problems. Then I eliminated those things, for the most part. I’m also lactose intolerant so I had a lot of problems with dairy before I knew I was allergic to it. Don’t eat too much during meals, don’t eat a lot of ‘heavy’ foods during the morning and afternoon (I have my heavier meals during dinner), get plenty of fiber, avoid processed and junk foods, avoid carbonated drinks and I think caffeine, too. I drink tea, but coffee gives me problems as well. And definitely exercise. Exercise, especially core exercises, helped keep me regulated and keep the bloating down. Ibs effects us all differently so the foods I have problems with, you might not have such problems with. It takes time to figure it all out, but you get a closer hang of it. It’s definitely a struggle though. I also started taking probiotics, though I sometimes forget to, and they seem to help a bit. Also, I recommend not eating meat. As far as digestion goes, not eating meat helps with it a lot. A lot of people who stop eating meat say they don’t feel as constipated and they feel better in general. I hope this helps! read more..

Fashion Blogs-House Design

how many blogs do you follow ?

388. I run 4 blogs on this account so I follow some that sort of go along with each. Personal blogs (mostly people I know irl), interior and house design blogs, nature blogs, quite a few One Direction blogs (;, health related blogs, fashion blogs, umm… shrimp blogs lol. Just kidding. I only said that part because I feel like I sound like Bubba from Forrest Gump. read more..

Yoga For Beginners

how did you initialy lost all that weight? (i saw a 'before' picture/post) just eating right and doing yoga or.. what? :)

Mostly because it’s in my metabolism, to be honest. That photo was taken when I was in 10th grade so that’s a little under 4 years ago or so. I lost the 11 lbs total over a span of time before I was a healthy eater and I hardly did Yoga back then. I started eating healthy about a year ago, actually. Here’s the whole story on how I lost weight, all unintentionally.I lived with my dad on weekdays and mom on weekends and my dads’ house was, and still is, always stocked up on junk and that’s all I ate. I had frozen pizzas and hot pockets for midnight snacks, and drank tons of juice boxes, and literally all I ate on Sundays was fast food and junk from the gas station. After moving out of my dads’ house and fully into my moms’, I still ate the same but I ate less and I lost 5 pounds. Then over a year ago when I was dealing with my stomach problems from January-or -so to the beginning of July, I was eating a lot less junk and I brought my own food to school sometimes, and then in July I saw an urgent care doctor who told me to go gluten and dairy free and I had no idea what to do, and I was in my less-hungry phase (I hope you all understand what I’m talking about when I say that haha) and I pretty much only ate salad for a week and that was just really bad and I accidentally lost 6 pounds. I’m not sure when I’d lost it, if it was over the months or because I was told not to eat all the stuff I was used to, but that’s how I lost it all.But if you are aiming to lose weight, then yes, that’s how you want to do it. Eating right and exercise! (: I have a health for beginners page, and a yoga for beginners page (both that probably need updating but I’m too lazy to work on it) in the FAQ link if you need a bit of help (: read more..

Bicycle Crunches-Ab Workouts

Submission question:

“Hello, I follow your blog since weeks now, and it helps me a lot, so I wanted to thank you for that.I also wanted to ask you : how many abs should I do everyday to burn my fat in a month? the most I do the better, I know, but I wanted an idea… 10 minutes…500 abs…? thank you :)(and I know it won’t be perfect in a month, but I can try)”Hello! Of course, I’m glad to hear that it helps (: Just doing ab workouts won’t get you where you want to be. The way you eat matters a ton. An overall healthy lifestyle, really, is where you want to be. I’m sure you want abs for the summer, so here is my advice to you.Eat a mostly healthy diet, if you don’t already. Plenty of fruits and veggies, plenty of healthy fats and lean protein, plenty of water and it is okay to treat yourself, so have chocolate or a slice of cake if you please. I have healthy eating tips in the FAQ>Healthy eating for beginners. Second, your workout. Cardio + strength. Try warming up with cardio for 15-20 minutes. 10 if you’d like. It’s all up to you. Run, jog, bike, roller blade, swim, jump rope. For strength, your focus is your abs so always switch up your ab routine, and do a lot but not too many. If you don’t push your body, you won’t make improvements. The more you do push your body, the more progress that you make overall. Try doing 15-20 minutes, and if you don’t feel good about it, try another 10. Do a plank/forearm plank for as long as you can, bicycle crunches, reverse bicycle crunches, basic crunches, elevated crunches (I like to lay on my bed with legs down and my upper back sticking off enough for it to give me a workout, and do crunches that way), crunches with your legs up against a wall or on a chair, leg lifts (full or just a couple of inches to a foot off of the ground), Russian crunches, etc. I have ab workouts in the Index>workouts so you might find some good stuff in there! I also like hoola hooping because your core muscles are contracting as you move around and it’s fun. read more..

Encouragement-Motivation-Mindset

     I think encouragement and motivation comes differently from...

I think encouragement and motivation comes differently from each individual, and feeling good about yourself comes from within your own mindset. It’s really easy for us to see our flaws and what we think we are doing wrong, but when you see how great you are, how far you have come, how hard you are trying (even if it’s only what you see as ever so slightly), that beats every downside that you see. I want you to try and see that. For one, you are trying. That matters. A lot of people say they want to be healthier or say they want to lose weight, and don’t act on that. You have put yourself into action and you can’t stop just because you are feeling down about yourself. Look into the mirror and see how great you are. See how far you have come. If you’ve lost weight since starting your journey, you have to convince your brain that you can see it. It’s hard to see your own change, which is why I suggest taking progress photos to compare your own before and after, and it’s important not to compare yourself with another. Think about how good you’ll feel after a tough work out, think about how tasty your healthy meal will taste afterwards. Think about how much happier you will be, how much more fit and in shape how you will be, how much easier it will be to do things when you’re healthy, like run, ride a bike, climb stairs. Note how I said healthier, and not when you lose more weight. I know that you want to lose weight. There is nothing wrong with that and it will naturally come along with being healthier. But think about how nice being healthy really is. Sure, it’s harder to do things when you weigh more, but that doesn’t mean that it’s easy for unhealthy people who are more thin. Being healthy has the advantage. It enables your body to do more, to be stronger, to be happier. I don’t know how anyone can not want and strive for that! It’s an amazing feeling. Again, even if only a little. I have small, weak muscles but I feel strong and great carrying a bunch of heavy bags. I have that mindset that I am strong and will only get stronger, and I want you to have that mindset that you are great and will only get greater, at whatever you want to feel so great at.      You just need to put yourself into that mindset. That get ready, get set, go… not, the get ready, get set, I can’t do it. Drag yourself to the gym, force yourself to go outside to take a walk, or a jog, or roller blade, or anything. Take yourself to the super market with a grocery list of your favorite healthy foods, stock up on fresh fruits and veggies, and maybe your favorite thing to treat yourself to. Make smoothies, make juice, melt at how delicious this good food is. Get started. Feel happy and great about yourself and your choices, feel good when you’re doing it. Feel super good. Seriously. This stuff is tough, I know. But you’re mindset is going to go from needing encouragement and feeling low, to feeling fantastic!     Okay when you read this I want you to get a piece of paper out, get a pen, physically write down the positives, and tack it up on the wall somewhere that you will see it often.  Write how much you love yourself, on the inside and out. Write down how much people, like me, KNOW that you can do it and that we are all proud of how far you have come, and how far you will go. Write a short encouraging quote on your bathroom mirror. And write down your favorite activities. If you’re having fun while staying active, you’ll feel a ton better, as well.      When first trying to reply to this, I was kind of stuck. I didn’t know entirely what to say. But I really hope that this helps. For you, and anyone else who’s stuck and reads through this. read more..

Meals

can you give some of your meals ideas? what have you eaten lately for lunch/dinner? :) i'm running out of ideas, sigh :(

Sure! I can never remember off the top of my head. I post a lot of my foods in my My pictures/posts page, there’s a lot sandwiches and other things in there. One of my favorite things that I had last night is Vegetarian (or use meat) Southwestern Eggrolls (modeled after the one’s from Chili’s Restaurant). They are soooo good. I have a bunch of recipes in my blog in the Index page as well that I think you should go through. I’ve made a few of the recipes and they are really good. read more..

Health And Fitness

Hey Beautiful! :D i just wanted to thank you for setting aside the time to provide us all with health and fitness information. Because of you Deidre, i am eating better than i ever have before (finally found a cheap way), and am getting back into regular exercise :D i love youuuu

Hellooo love! (: Aw thank you so much for this. It’s one of the reasons why I keep this going and want to try harder so getting these messages are so nice. I’m happy you have found a way that works (: I love youuuu, toooo read more..

do you know of any ways I could get my hair to grow a little faster? yours is so long and beautiful but you probably didn't have to do anything for it

do you know of any ways I could get my hair to grow a little faster? yours is so long and beautiful but you probably didn't have to do anything for it

Thank you! Yes, I do know how! Actually, that’s exactly what I did. Nothing specifically. Let me tell you a story first. Up until the summer after 11th grade (2010), I used heat on my hair daily, I rarely used anything to protect it, I washed it 2-3 times a week, I rarely ate healthy. And yet, I always wondered why it grew a half an inch a year, if that. I wanted it to grow, and it never would. I actually had long hair at the start of high school and someone chopped it off, and this is the first time my hair has been so long. So anyway, It was summer break, I was growing out my shoulder length (sat on them - there’s a photo in the link below), bright red hair. I stopped using heat completely and it began to grow a bit. By the time I graduated, my hair had grown a few inches or so but was still pretty short. Then I started to eat healthy, exercise, and since my hair was getting longer, so I began to braid it before bed. Also, I never brush it while wet. You’ll read all about that in the link. I don’t explain the braiding but I do that so it doesn’t tangle in my sleep and there are no knots breaking and ripping my hair out in the morning. I have used the blow dryer a few times in the last 2 years, but haven’t touched my straightener. So since I started growing it out, it’s grown about 9 inches, and I’ve gotten it trimmed every time it needs to be. SO… That story seemed a bit unnecessary, but hopefully convincing enough to show you that simply taking care of yourself goes a long way. If you skipped it, that’s okay, it was boring. Here is the link to my original post about hair growth from last year. I will also reblog it. read more..

Healthy Lifestyle-Healthy Weight

i got healthier but then got completely lost, and gained half of the weight i had lost. do you this is actually possible for me to get at a healthy weight. maybe it is not my destiny

That just happens sometimes. You just have to keep getting back up and trying again. You make your destiny. If you choose to give up, your destiny will lead you on that path and one day you really might regret it. If you choose to say “I can do this”, then you WILL. You need to find a balance with this lifestyle. Think about why this happened. Were you just getting unmotivated? Were you not treating yourself enough? Really figure out what happened and work on resolving that.You really need to have a positive mindset about this. Otherwise, it won’t happen. I really believe that you can do it. You have to find that strength, keep building on it, keep going, and you will get there. It can be tough, but it’s not supposed to be easy. But you will feel good about it and it will be rewarding. Think about how amazing you’ll feel once you have not only reached a healthy weight, but you are really into a healthy lifestyle. You will feel good inside and out. Think about all of the benefits. Write them down, post it up on the wall!I know you can do it and I want you to know that you can, too. And when you do, I want you to come to me and tell me that you did it. And I will tell you “See, I knew you could do it and I am so proud of you.” Okay? I think support is really important, and I am here for you 100%!Just remember… what I think is really important… treat yourself. I think that’s why a lot of people have slip-ups. If you want something that isn’t healthy, and you really want it, eat it. Eat half of it, eat 2 bites of it. Find your balance with your eating, find your intuitive eating, find your exercise balance. Find your overall healthy lifestyle and life balance, and you will succeed. (: read more..

Weight Loss

First of all, thank you, you're an inspiration and you're so beautiful :) Anyway, I started eating healthy lately but I don't really work out, just 1-2 times a week (sit ups, hoops and a bit of yoga). I lost some weight though and I noticed that my tummy seemed to jiggle more than usual and it's kinda like.. jelly? Is this good or bad? Or is it just a part of weight loss? I hope you have a great d

Aw thank you so much! I’m glad that you have started eating healthy and that is even a great start for exercise. You’re doing something, and that’s what counts! I assume that is part of your Weight Loss. It likely that it’s the extra skin on the outside that hasn’t shrunk along with the fat that has been lost beneath it. You’re doing great (: And thank you! I hope you do as well, wherever you are (: read more..

School Lunches-Granola Bar-Weight Loss

I've changed my school lunches to salad with minimal dressing (vinaigrette) and some fruit from pb&j and a granola bar. I've been doing this for over a month. Why haven't I lost any weight?

That’s generally not enough to make a significant change in your weight. That is only one meal of the day, after all. It is a good start, though. You need a good healthy and balanced diet and exercise is important as well. While what you eat matters more, not exercising can cause your weight to stay the same or plateau in Weight Loss. Make sure you’re getting your daily fruits and veggies, lean meats, lots of water, green tea, cardio, weight resistance workouts. Remember to work out a few times a week if possible, always eat healthy and portioned, and always treat yourself. I have a health for beginners page (that needs updating) in my FAQ page if you need more help with that, and some workouts stuff in the Index page! read more..

Quick Meals-Motivation

Okay so first off I just want to say you're a huge inspiration. I work full time now and I stopped exercising and now we eat out every night =/ I know horrible. I weigh about 135 and I'm 5'5 I want to weigh about 120-125. I need major motivation and well I just saw your progress photos and your abs are exactly I want mine to look , I also want to tone my thighs and arms. I just need to know how i

Aw I’m glad to hear that. Makes me happy. It can be hard to find a bit of time to do things like cooking when you work a lot but it’s possible. Just think of quick meals that you can make that is healthy. Try to focus on a lot of fruits and veggies. Make time for yourself to prepare a sandwich, a salad, cut up some fruits and veggies, maybe make burritos or taco’s. You can even prepare some of this stuff earlier if possible and heat it up later. I don’t have my own personal kitchen or much food that requires a lot of cooking, and I never want to take long to make my meals and clean up, so my meals are usually quick. I post some of them in my pictures/posts page if that gives you any help into quick meals. You can heat up some marinara sauce, grate some zucchini, dice some tomatoes and whatever else you want on it, mix it together, and enjoy. That could only take you… as long as you wait for your fast food. It might take a bit for you to get a little creative with food but it’s actually pretty fun when you start to realize all of the different things that you can do. A few things I could tell you to make are in that link of my foods. And eating healthy isn’t expensive if you know how to spend. It’s a bit difficult at first but it all depends on what you buy.     And with exercise… It’s hard at home but if you can give yourself at least 30 minutes to exercise a day, that’s something. Do some jump roping, push ups, tricep dips, bicycle crunches, reverse crunches, planks, squats and walking lunges, etc. You can actually get a lot done in that little bit of time. Finding the motivation can be hard but just go for it. Tell yourself how bad you want it, and do it! Make an inspiration/motivation board, put on your swim suit, whatever motivates you to keep pushing. You can do it (: I hope this was helpful. read more..

Calves-Muscle

I've always had large calves, and I'm not sure it's because of muscle! I've struggled so long with trying to target this area and lose weight, but I can't seem to achieve getting the THIN, lean legs I desire. Do you have any tips?

We’re all built differently so you might naturally have larger calves than you’re hoping for. You can’t target fat loss but you will naturally lose some fat in that area if you lose weight all over. Your body will balance it all out. If it’s Muscle from exercise, you can do exercises that don’t build the muscle so much. Just remember that we all have different bodies and you will have to accept yours for how it’s meant to be. (: read more..

Health And Fitness-Mental Health-Btw

Hi I was hoping you could help me. I normally work out every day in some form (walking, yoga, etc) and eat pretty healthy. But these past 2 weeks I've done maybe one workout and been eating TERRIBLY (binge eating mainly). It's just taken a turn for the worse and I feel so hopeless and useless. I just can't get back into the swing of things with my health and fitness. Any advice or help please? I'm

Hello! Hmm.. I say just push yourself into it. When you are going to bed one night, get things ready for going to work out in the morning and go to bed with the mind set that you are going to work out when you wake up. That’s worked for me before. Then if you don’t feel like it, just do it anyway. That is just one workout, and that one could get you back into the groove. I think kicking yourself back into exercise will help you with your eating habits. Just buy all the good foods that you can. If you feel like a binge is coming on, do it on something good. Watermelon, grapes, strawberries, etc. That might help to eliminate the binge habit and get you back on track. Also, lots of fitness blogs! Just look at all of the photos of toned bodies doing workouts and tell yourself that is going to be you.I really hope this helped. I don’t think I’m all that great at answering these kinda of questions but I try! read more..

Hi Deidre, do you think you'll update your progress page with pictures any time soon? And are the stats still correct? I really look up to you (without trying to emulate you), you seem to have found such a balance in your life, it's inspiring.

Hi Deidre, do you think you'll update your progress page with pictures any time soon? And are the stats still correct? I really look up to you (without trying to emulate you), you seem to have found such a balance in your life, it's inspiring.

Hello! I certainly hope to. I have a few ab photos I have that I want to compare to progress I will make within the next month or so but my exercise has been quite slow lately. I plan to start going to the gym soon! Once I get some new one’s up, I’ll post them or post about it. Yes, the stats are still correct! I really appreciate that. I don’t see it that way, no worries (: It really means a lot to me, to read things like that. I think I am still trying to find the balance, as everyone is. But thank you very much read more..

Weight Resistance-Beginners Yoga-Inactivity-Youtube

Hi! What yoga videos would you recommend to an unflexible beginner with little time on her hands (10-15 minutes 6 days a week) who wants to become flexible and improve her running? Thank you! :)

Sorry it took me a bit to get back to this one! How do these work? The first 3 are videos on youtube and the bottom one is a post from my blog (:

• Yoga for Flexibility
• Beginners yoga for flexibility
• Yoga for runners
• Yoga poses for runners

read more..

strengthforsuze:Can you limit your inactivity to just 23.5...

strengthforsuze:Can you limit your inactivity to just 23.5 hours a day? The importance of even light exercise in our daily routine.Take the 10 minutes to watch. read more..

I'd like to lose fat in my legs - how would I go about doing this?

You can not target fat loss in specific area’s by doing any specific thing. A clean, healthy diet and exercise (cardio and weight resistance) is what you need to follow to lose weight. If you would like that in more detail, let me know. read more..

Eating Disorder-Binge Eating

I'm just about 15-20 pounds heavier than I'd like to be, and I am a vegan and as well don't eat gluten. I exercise at least 5 days a week. I'm really healthy! But I have trouble with binge eating, a habit leftover from an old eating disorder. I am having so much trouble breaking old habits. Do you have any tips for how to quit the habit of overeating? I'm so tired of having this extra weight on me

Think about why you binge. Do you do it because you are not eating enough throughout the day? Do you do it because of stress or negative emotions? Or maybe you binge on certain foods because you restrict yourself of them? You obviously don’t have to answer that to me, but think about that. Maybe keep a journal and write down when you binge and how you were feeling when you did it and before you did it. As far as overeating in general, instead of taking a heaping plate full of food or grabbing a bunch of what you want to snack on, try your hardest to take a portioned size. If you are not eating enough or frequently enough throughout the day, that might be contributing to some of it. Try and practice mindful eating the best that you can. When you feel like you are craving something or need to binge, have a small healthy, guiltless snack. Some grapes, strawberries, kiwi, banana, an apple. I read that an apple helps aid weight loss and can help you let go of binge eating (X), but I’m not sure that’d help you much because you are a healthy eater already. I definitely do suggest keeping a food diary and writing your thoughts and feelings. It might begin to help (: read more..

Tricep Dips-Upper Arms-Workouts-Push Ups

I have really fat upper arms, and I was hoping you could provide me with some workouts to tone them?

You can’t lose the fat on your arms by just doing arm Workouts, but you certainly can tone them up with some muscle. I definitely suggest push ups and tricep dips. If you need/want to modify them, “girl” push ups are definitely okay and modify the dips with a bend in the knee’s. Here are some more exercises for arms. I think regular and forearm planks challenge the arms as well as the core so correctly hold that pose for as long as you can. If you have dumbbells, that will help as well so you can do some of the other exercises on there. There are also some other arm stuff in my workouts page.You can also, of course, lose some fat in your arms by eating healthy and getting regular exercise. I can go into depth about that if you’d like. Just let me know. read more..