New Video Alert

New Tutorial of this look featuring Brown Lips for this Fall. Let me know what you think and follow the link below :)

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I'm On YouTube!

Hey everyone, I made my first YouTube video. I was a little nervous talking like usual lol but I still wanted to put myself out there and start. So here it is!

Well Wishes everyone :)

Celebrate My Beauty

So how awesome was today? I got to meet the beautiful blogger Franceska of HeyFranHey as she stopped through Chicago while on tour with Eden's Body Works. The tour has been a campaign to help women come together and celebrate their beauty and also learn about the Eden Body works product line. Natural guru, Franceska,  has been touring with the line to show her support. She shared her story about her journey becoming vegan and the start of her blogging venture. She also offered a few tips about eating healthy on a budget. I really enjoyed meeting Franceska as she has definitely been an inspiration to me. Below are pics of some beautiful naturalistas attending the event!

Healthier Eating Choices

It's very common for people to try to lose weight and dedicate themselves to going to the local gym or recreation center. Exercise is definitely a strong step in leading a healthier life style but a huge part of living a healthier lifestyle is eating cleaner. By eating cleaner I mean eating food that still has nutrients and minerals that help your body function properly. Before I started on a healthier lifestyle, I made pretty bad decisions in terms of my diet. I thought if I just worked out at least that would be better but I still felt unhealthy. For me, I was addicted to drinking my calories. I used to drink pop and juices every chance I got and I hated water because it tasted like nothing. When I decided I wanted to change my diet for good, I had to slowly pry myself from those bad habits. Unlike when I was younger I had to eat what my family purchased I realize that I am in complete control of my diet. Therefore, If I don't purchase it, I will not consume it. I trained myself to eliminate juices and pop from my diet as well as many other things that weren't good for me. I also saved money not buying junk food because they were always the first to go when I bought groceries and had to be replaced more often. Below are some the things I eliminated and the healthier alternatives I used to combat those voids.

Juices/Pop - smoothies
If I wanted something sweeter to drink I bought a blender to make smoothies of all combinations. I used frozen strawberries as a base and I would freeze blueberries, blackberries and other fruit and use either almond milk or freshly squeezed oranges to add to the blend to make the blend easier. (blenders can cost as low as $17 at target and other super stores) You can also try fruit water. It may sound a little strange but simply adding fruits to water will give it a pretty nice taste. Lemon water specifically helps to detoxify your body.

Chips - Almonds
I know that snacking is one of the biggest weaknesses of most people but chips are just empty calories. Eating almonds, peanuts and any other variation provides good fat for the body. Good fats gives your body energy while bad fats turn into sugar.

White products -whole grains
White products are bad if they are all you eat because they turn into the body quicker in the body and makes your body release insulin making you hungry again soon after. If you want to slow this down try whole grain products like wheat or whole grain bread and pasta. You can also get brown rice. Grains are low in fat and aren't stripped of nutrients like fiber, potassium and magnesium.

Desserts - Fruit
I know from experience that most people I know don't eat enough fruits and vegetables. Well instead of eating candy, cookies and other desserts try grabbing a bag of grapes or my favorite blackberries. They will definitely satisfy your sweet tooth.

Losing Weight On A Budget

I stated in my last post that I've lost

a lot of weight well somewhere between 35-40 lbs and I stand at 5'10. A lot of people have asked me how did I lose weight? and I'll tell them just constantly working out and changing my diet. To be quite honest eating healthy isn't the most cost efficient way of life when you're on a tight budget and when you're a college student like myself. Your life can become hectic from dealing with classes, midterms and finals, extracurricular activities and not to mention those weekends of having fun. I did all of these things and was still somewhat able to keep eating pretty healthy. These are a few things that started me on a healthier path.

Cook:
My first step to eating healthy on a budget is to always always always opt for cooking when you can. I honestly didn't even know how to cook when I moved into my first apartment. I called family members asking how to do stuff but most of my learning was trial and error. Cooking may can save you time in the long run if you invest in some glad ware or the knock off version at the local dollar store. 

Find alternatives: 

Find a healthier alternative to things you usually eat. Exchanging olive oil for vegetable oil and butter is a much better option. You can find a store brand as a cheaper alternative to the name brands. You can swap out corn tortillas and white bread for wheat and whole grain. (There are so many alternatives I can list but that's a different post.)

Exercise:
In this age of technology there is little to nothing that we can't access through the internet. I have listed links to my favorite workouts that will help the gym shy person and those that can't afford to access the gym get started. Here are a few of my favorite and most efficient workouts. 

Zumba

http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XNTQyMzIzNjA0.html

Jillian Michaels 30 day shred

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Pc-NizMgg8

Turbo Fire

http://www.4shared.com/video/KbBku__E/Fire_60_Class.html