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5 Ways to Make Grocery Shopping More Eco-Friendly

July 31, 2024 By Christine Leave a Comment

Thank you to Boom Boom Prints for this discussion! Make sure you visit them on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest and Instagram!

5 Ways to Make Grocery Shopping More Eco Friendly

When starting to live a more Eco-friendly life, it really is about choices you make and how they effect the world around us. Living consciously doesn’t require any special skills, but rather thoughtful living and adjustments to our everyday lives from everything we do such as getting ready for our day or even things such as grocery shopping. I really could write an entire book on choices you can make that are more Earth-friendly, but let’s start with the simple (and sometimes not so simple!) task of grocery shopping!

5 Ways to Make Grocery Shopping More Eco-Friendly

Shop in bulk. Not only will you save money, but you will save containers. Food bought in bulk is much cheaper in most cases, and a lot of times you can find organic as well. To save even more packaging, ask if they store allows you to bring your own clean containers to put your bulk purchases in.

Use tote bags to bring home your groceries. Using tote bags instead of plastic bags is one huge way you can go green in your grocery shopping. I love to get fun prints on tote bags like the ones found at Boom Boom Prints. I prefer these style of bags because they are heavier than the ones you can often buy at grocery stores so they are easier to clean and they hold heavy items like canned goods with no problems.

Buy locally when you can. When you buy locally and in season, you save the transportation of out of state produce and goods that usually needs to happen with traditional grocery stores. You are also supporting your local economy!

Don’t buy more than you need. When we over-consume, we use valuable resources for much more than we need. In addition to that, we often find that we are wasting a lot as well. Wasted food is not only bad on your pocketbook, but also bad for the environment.

Stop buying single use or individual size products. While single use products are super convenient, they mean that there is much more packaging waste going into landfills. Instead, take or pack your own individual sizes made from a larger or bulk package in reusable containers for your lunches and consider a reusable lunch bag that is BPA free.

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More Ways to Go Green With your Food:

How to Have a Zero Waste Kitchen

How to Eat Sustainably on Your Vacation

The Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 + Printable

How to Eat Clean for Cheap

Filed Under: Green Living Tagged With: eco-friendly, green shopping habits, grocery shopping, how to grocery shop

How to Stay Motivated in Your Fitness Goals

July 27, 2024 By Christine 1 Comment

Thanks to Rainbeau Curves for sponsoring this discussion! Make sure you keep up with them on Facebook and Instagram!

I usually write only about plus sized fitness and while many of the articles I write have information that is good for both non-plus sized athletes and plus sized ones, this one has some information for just about anyone who is losing focus, feeling like they want to give up and maybe defeated. Perhaps you are just getting bored with your workouts or you want to stop trying because you are not seeing the results you think you should. Either way, I hope you find some inspiration here that you can use to keep on that fitness path of yours!

How to Stay Motivated in Your Fitness Goals

Pick a role model. There are many role models out there for fitness. You don’t have to do exactly what they can do, but having one as a role model can help you achieve your goals as well. I like to pick one that is inspirational somehow since I am overcoming chronic pain and plus sized barriers. My personal fitness role model is a lady I met in a Facebook group.

Change up your workout spot. Get outside! When the weather is nice, head outdoors to get your workout in! Who wants to be stuck in a gym when the weather is great? We have some awesome wheat fields near us that I like to run near. I just recently did a 6.5K with them as my trail. It was stunning! Make sure to bring a hoodie (like this Charlotte Zip Hoodie from Rainbeau Curves!) in case the weather changes. I wore this hoodie throughout my 5K in Missoula, Montana because it was raining and it was so lightweight!

Buy a new workout outfit. If you have to throw on the same boring outfit every time you work out, it’s so easy to feel deflated in your attitude towards fitness. Instead, buy yourself a new outfit at least once a month or when you meet a goal. I love to get mine from Rainbeau Curves because they are made for plus-sized women. This Jocelyn Print Tank with Bra in Black is a great mix of fun pattern with functionality and these Olivia Capris are so soft and comfortable I almost didn’t want to take them off.

Meet with a personal trainer. You might be able to get some motivation from a personal trainer. Just meeting with one a couple of times can be enough to help you identify goals and what you can do to achieve them. Make sure you do your research, though, as many personal trainer’s styles may not be intense enough or too intense for motivation.

See your Doctor. You may be fighting nature and not know it. Make sure to see your doctor if you feel like you are not progressing enough as you could have a thyroid disorder or something else preventing you from being able to meet your goals.

Remind yourself that it takes time and everyone is different. Your body is unique. While it may be similar to other people’s bodies, you must keep in mind that it will lose weight or gain muscle differently and it will do it at it’s own pace. This may be slower or faster than others. Keep that in perspective when feeling defeated and try not to compare yourself to others too much.

Find some motivation online. Join groups online that can help you stay motivated. There are fitness groups all over Facebook, for instance, that can help you feel comfortable. I personally love the group Body Positive Athletes. It is for anyone of any skill or size as long as you love your body and have a good attitude. They believe “athletic” does not define a body type, but rather a lifestyle. I also find that if I am on Instagram and I look up hashtags such as #PlusSizedFitness, I get lots of great inspiration.

Set new Goals. Maybe the goals you had set were too large to achieve all at once. Set smaller, shorter term goals for more achievement. For instance, don’t say, “My goal is to lose 50 lbs”. Instead, say, “My goal this month is to lose 5 lbs”. Also, setting goals that are less based on numbers and more on activity will leave you feeling more accomplished. For instance, say something like, “I will spend 4 days a week working out for at least 45 minutes each time” rather than “I want to weigh X in 6 months”.

Take measurements along the way. You may not see the scale move because you are busy building muscle. Instead of using the scale as your measurement, use measurements of your body to see inches lost. Knowing that although the scale didn’t move, but you lost 2 inches this week is a great motivator.

Filed Under: Health Tagged With: how to achieve fitness goals, how to keep working out, how to stay motivated in your fitness goals, how to stay motivated to keep working out, Plus sized fitness tips, rainbeau curves

How to Have a Zero Waste Kitchen

July 26, 2024 By Christine 1 Comment

One of the biggest things that will eat into any food budget is waste. The funny thing about waste is, you often don’t realize how much you are truly throwing away because it is usually little by little that it happens. Waste is a huge issue in many American households and it not only cuts into budgets, but makes our carbon footprints much bigger. Imagine this; every time you throw out food that was wasted, that is time it spend growing, time it spent harvesting and time spent getting it ready for market. That is wasted water and nutrients from the soil. It is very odd to find a home gardener or farmer that wastes food because they know the value of what it takes to get to the table.

In our far removed society, we have the luxury of eating food that we never saw growing. It’s almost as it we are so detached, that we think food just shows up in the stores for us to eat.

Not only do we waste a lot of food, we waste a lot of other things like paper products, plastic and more. So much garbage from our homes comes from the kitchen! This is not a post about making you feel guilty, but rather to hopefully open your eyes to what you can change in your own home. While it may not be possible to have a zero-waste kitchen for everyone, it is possible to reduce the amount of waste you produce in your home. Here are some tips on how to have a zero waste kitchen.

How to Have a Zero Waste Kitchen

Look at the packaging you buy. While paper means we cut trees, paper is also a renewable resource, too. We can grow more trees, we can’t un-make plastic. Look for paper packaging on items and choose them over plastic ones. Another option is glass. Glass is sustainable as well.

Make a meal plan for the week and shop for only that food. If you make a list with exactly what you will need for that m\week’s menu and only pick up those amounts, you are fer less likely to have extras and waste things.

Buy in bulk. Buying in bulk not only saves you money, but it also uses less packaging and many bulk items allow you to only buy what you need without wasting that which you don’t need. Bulk purchases also help you use more dry goods as they are non-perishable so there is less waste overall.

Re-grow vegetables and fruits when you can. Did you know you can regrow many vegetables from just small parts of the harvested plant? For instance, I re-grow my green onions in less than a week! Check out my tips on how to re-grow green onions in nothing more than a cup, some water and a little sunshine indoors!

Freeze things that are about to expire. Many things that we don’t buy frozen freeze just fine. For instance, you can freeze milk easily and many fresh vegetables can be blanched and frozen as well. This allows you more time to use them up rather than just tossing them in the trash.

Re-use what you can. Egg shells can be used in the garden, citrus peels make wonderful degreasers and garbage disposal fresheners and coffee grounds are awesome for cleaning out cast iron skillets. Stale bread makes great croutons. Use whatever you can instead of throwing it out. You can also use plastic containers that your food comes in to store leftovers. If you don’t already, compost trimming on produce as well as egg shells and other things, too. Just don’t compost meats.

Encourage your family to only take what they will eat at meals and snack time. Remind them there is always seconds.

Don’t use paper products when you don’t need to. Use cloth towels instead of paper towels, ceramic plates instead of paper ones and sponges to clean with instead of wipes.

Filed Under: Frugal Living, Green Living Tagged With: green living tips, how to have a zero waste kitchen, zero waste home, zero waste living

How to Work Out Comfortably When You Are Plus Sized

July 21, 2024 By Christine 27 Comments

This discussion is generously brought to you by Rainbeau Active. Make sure you check them out on Facebook and thank them!

Working out can be hard for anyone, especially when just starting out or when you have been out of the game for a while, but as a plus sized person, you may notice that it presents it’s own set of challenges. Have you ever heard of the dreaded “Chub Rub”? If you haven’t heard that term, let me assure you that you most likely will or have experienced it and it is not pretty at all. It’s actually very painful. Athletes of all sizes and fitness levels can get this kind of chafing but it’s one of the biggest issues with plus sized fitness that often demotivates even the best intentioned athlete.

If you want to start working out or are finding your workouts are currently too painful or uncomfortable, here are some tips on how to work out comfortably when you are plus sized you may be able to use.

How to Work Out Comfortably When You Are Plus Sized

Stop Chub Rub before it starts. Chafing in tender areas where there is lots of motion (aka Chub Rub) can be extremely painful and even lead to nearly bleeding if you do not take the time to prevent it. Most commonly occurring in the inner thigh area, it can also happen in the underarms, in the folds of the buttocks and even under your stomach area and breasts. If you find it happening, prevention is the best option. I recommend greasing up the area with a product called Body Glide. It cuts friction that creates the chafing. You can also use my favorite anti-chafe preventive called Lady Anti-Monkey-Butt (funny name, but it is amazing!).

Stretch before working out. This is a skipped step a lot and while doctors and health experts might be back and forth on whether it is nessisary, I find that it helps with, if nothing else, making me more limber and my body ready to go right before a workout. You don’t even have to do the typical stretching either. Try doing yoga for a fun way to limber up!

Wear proper fitting clothes. Clothes that are either too loose or too tight can lead to chafing, fabric rubbing wrong, fabric cutting into your body or even cutting off circulation. Plus, I find that items that offer some compression are great for me because they help keep my already ever-present edema under control and even reduce it when I work out to make working out more comfortable. I really love the brand Rainbeau Active because it is made for plus-sized athletes and fits my curves well while leaving me feeling smokin’ hot. Check out this great design on the Jacylynn Print Legging in Blue Ombre Lace!

Wear layers. I typically wear layers during the winter,spring and fall when I work out and sometimes in the summer. This Adrianna Sweatshirt is great because it has pockets for keys or cash and is lightweight enough that it doesn’t feel like you are wearing something that will weigh you down. It is also soft like your favorite vintage Tee and offers 4 way stretch for a perfect fit.

Wear a great support for “the girls”. There are many plus sized bra brands out there, but I have found that many of them don’t offer good sports style bras or ones that don’t cut off circulation while still offering support. Rainbeau Active has solved that with their Jocelyn Tank with Bra. Typically, because I am a 42 DD, I can’t just wear a cami with a built-in bra and have it be enough, but this one is amazing at offering support all around and smoothing out my curves.

Listen to your body. Fitness won’t be easy, and it won’t always be comfortable, but it shouldn’t be too uncomfortable, either. This goes for anyone at any size, too. There is a balance between pushing yourself to meet a goal and not give up and pushing yourself into pain for no good reason to keep up with an imaginary place you are “supposed” to be. Keep in mind that every body is different and you will gain more endurance if you keep at it over time rather than try to get there all at once. I like the saying that “overall fitness is a marathon not a sprint”. You can seriously injure yourself if you push too hard as well.

Filed Under: Health Tagged With: how to stop chub rub, plus size fitness, plus size workout wear, plus sized clothes, rainbeau curves

50 Household Products DIY You Need to Start Making Now

July 18, 2024 By Christine Leave a Comment

If you are anything like me, you are getting sick of all the chemicals, junk, and general nonsense found in household products today. From food to cleaning products and even pet products, we are seemingly surrounded by it and it’s very hard to escape! The good news is, you can make many household products for less than buying in them in some cases and in a lot of cases, way less than you would even imagine!

Here are 50 household products DIY that you can do to make your home a more chemical free place to live. Many of them only call for some simple “ingredients” that you may even have at home right now!