Jeanette's health tips for the average girl

Tomorrow is September 1st and that means my birthday is around the corner! I'm going to West Hollywood to celebrate and of course I want to look amazing so I've been all about eating healthier and working out to lose a few lbs before the trip. Now, I know a lot of women out there are always on the quest to lose some weight and get the perfect figure but I've learned crash diets and those lose weight in 48 hour drinks aren't the best way to go, and you usually gain all that weight back. I'm no doctor nor did I major in nutrtion but I am an average gal, with a busy schedule, who has seen results and so I thought I'd share my 10 tips for stayin in shape and getting that jumpstart to a healthier lifestyle.

Step 1:  Get a good support system: I put this step first because it's important to find ways to stay motivated. The biggest challenge for me is resisting fast food, sweets and finding the motivation to go to the gym instead of stay home and watch tv, so I had to find ways to keep me focused. When I need that extra push to go to the gym I bbm or text a friend to remind me of what I'm working for and to help me say no to that brownie and yes to that apple. I also suggest finding a work out buddy, mine is my mom, because sometimes going at things alone can be tough and I just think it's fun to work out with someone. Of course you'll have those friends who will tempt you with fried foods or your honey will say 'stay home with me instead' but these are the times you gotta pull out the support system and really keep your mindset right.

Step 2: Hit the gym and/or stay active: There is no going around it you need to work out to keep it tight! So you might as well have fun doing it, I used to just run on the treadmill and do crunches and call it a day but I found that it was boring and didn't make me want to go to the gym...at all, so I had to find something that made me excited and luckily I found it in turbo kickboxing! The music is amazing, I've lost inches in my waist and the hour of cardio goes by fast so I take that class about four times a week, I think the fact that it's a class forces me to do drills I would never do on my own. I'm not saying you all have to go out and try that class but I am saying find something you love. Whether it's yoga, spinning, zumba, the sexy pole dancing classes or running on the treadmill you need to find a work out routine that works for you. Some of you may be saying "I don't have the $ for the gym" ok that's fine but there are fun dvd's out there and parks to jog or speed walk around if you're from sf, lake merced is the perfect spot and believe me you'll feel it the next day. Also, find ways to get a walk in throughout the day, I could take the muni right down the hill to work but instead I put in my ipod and walk 15 short minutes to bart, during breaks I walk around and window shop. Again find things that make you want to work out. It's important to find time for yourself in the day and working out is a great way to do that.(Major tip drink a glass of chocolate milk after you workout! It helps keep you from snacking and give your muscles a boost of energy read more about it here http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipes/healthy-eating/superfoods/chocolate-milk-after-workout/)

Step 3: Don't skip breakfast: This step has really helped me and hopefully will help you too. I am always running late so I never used to eat breakfast and some how had the crazy idea that I was eating less, well I watched Dr. Oz and read Shape magazine and all of them said to eat breakfast to get my day started, I found that it helped me snack less and helped my body get on a healthy eating schedule. If you're someone who gets sick eating so early pack a small breakfast and eat it when you know you can handle it. Now don't go eating bacon and pancakes every day (we'll get to food choices soon) instead have a balanced breakfast. I either have oatmeal, yogurt and fruit, a bowl of cereal or whole wheat toast with Nutella hazlenut spread and either fat free milk, fresh squeezed oj or a green tea (I'm not much of a coffee drinker.)

Step 4: Re-vamp your snacking habits: I have found that eating is a big part of losing weight so you gotta change your eating habits and although this is an obvious tip I'm going to give you an insight on what I eat. So, I have the BIGGEST sweet tooth. Brownies, ice cream, cupcakes and all that good stuff are my weakness I used to have dessert EVERY DAY, now we don't have to be body builders to know that is a big no no so I had to find healthier snacks and let me say Yoplait Lights are my new bff. They have every flavor black forest, cherry, vanilla, red velvet and the list goes on. I pack one for work everyday and during my break I read magazines and have my yoplait lights, it's one of my favorite parts of the day. Although, this may seem like a small tip it's done wonders for me. Before I paid attention to my snacks I would leave the office during my 10 min breaks and go get mochas and pastries or worse a mini meal and a soda! I changed my snacking by substituting them for fruits and nutella or peanut butter, yogurt or even sugar free pudding.(tip i learned from the Biggest Loser, buy banana split flavored low calorie pudding top it with low-fat whipped cream and you have an 80 calorie dessert it is AMAZING) Don't have a sweet tooth? well then let's get to your savory foods! Pizza, burgers, chips and burritos are a lot of my friend's weaknesses so here are a few suggestions. I love chips and pizza rolls so instead of those I suggest trail mix, veggies and light dressing or even wheat thins. I won't lie it takes a little getting used to but again it's all about mindset and it really isn't bad at all.

Step 5: Cut out those sugary drinks: So this tip is straight forward. Cut out the sodas and sugary juices. They aren't good for you it's not rocket science. I completely cut out soda and only drink natural juices and water now and it's made me feel better and lose some lbs. Again you don't have to go to my extreme and only drink water so here are some juice brands I love. Santa Cruz organic juices are so bomb, strawberry lemonade is my favorite, O organic juices are good too and good to have in the fridge if you have kids and for those of you who think soda is your crutch here's a suggestion that you really might like get some sparkling water and Torani italian syrup they have every flavor pretty much, my fave is strawberry, mix a little stir and you have yourself an Italian soda, the strawberry combo is only 60 calories!

Step 6: Eat healthier meals: So this tip is similar to my snacks tip, it's all about re-vamping what you eat. Salmon, salads instead of french fries, ground turkey instead of ground beef and whole wheat bread instead of white are all examples of things I substituted or incorporated in my meals. Eating salads was a step that again has helped so much it fills you up faster and of course is healthy for you. If you're like me and have the pallet of a 5 year old I would suggest easing into the veggies. Go for things you like, like cucumbers, carrots tomatoes and then go for the crazy stuff like avacado, onions, asparagus and that sort of thing.
So what about take out and eating out? Well make small yummy changes,  like instead of pizza Fridays have sushi Fridays if you're in the food court get a yummy salad and let the kids splurge and treat yourself to a frozen yogurt afterwards. All these changes are small but important. (tip: when shopping for bread and other wheat products make sure it says 100% whole wheat rather than whole wheat on the package, I learned this little tid bit from Dr. Oz)

Step 7: Cut back on those cosmos: So this tip goes out to all my party girls. If you are like me you enjoy a nice cocktail and to let loose with your pals but all that alcohol and the chasers that go with them made me gain so much weight! I think this was the biggest thing that made a difference in my weight so I went to the extreme and cut it out! Now, again, I'm not saying you have to follow my methods but change your cocktail choices and definitely change the amount you drink. Champagne is lighter in calories than your usual appletini and Absolute vodka has come out with acai berry flavored vodka, which is also a better choice. My friends have also given me the tip that Belvedere has pretty much no sugar like other spirits, so that would be a good choice to go with as well. I will say I have lost at least 5 pounds in the last month and a half from cutting out alcohol. Also, we gotta keep it classy getting drunk and sloppy isn't cute so reduce your alcohol in take!

Step 8: Don't eat late: I chose to put this tip after the alcohol step because when we're in what I'll call that party mood and done all that dancing, what do we want to do? EAT. And we don't want to even think of apples and carrots at that time we want jack in the box tacos and fries and a slice of pizza. So, my suggestion is to go home set up a plan where you need to get home that way once your home and you must eat something, it could be something from your healthy kitchen. If you just like to eat late on the regular you should change that by scheduling your meals and training your body to eat at decent hours. I don't eat passed 9:30 pm because I've read and heard that the cut off times for food should be 2 hours before you go to bed.

Step 9: Doll yourself up: I put this tip in here because feeling good about yourself motivates a person and I think it encourages you to keep up with staying fit. I like seeing how my cute clothes look when I've lost inches and it reminds me of what goals I'm working for.

Step10: Cheat: So this is my favorite tip I got it from Kim Kardashian oddly enough. I think it's important not to deprive yourself. Now with that being said don't take advantage of the cheating rule. But have maybe one cupcake a week or one slice of pizza. Your body is a temple so make it happy.


Again, these are just tips from an average girl. I hope they help you out I think they help with weight loss at a steady pace. So far I have lost 2 pant sizes! Good luck people!

Photos are from http://media.onsugar.com/files/2010/05/22/1/285/2856050/1482e64f1fb88af2_women-in-gym.jpg

http://moneysavingmom.com/images/old/6a00e552792fa28833010536f40bfb970c-pi.jpg

http://media.onsugar.com/files/2010/05/22/1/285/2856050/1482e64f1fb88af2_women-in-gym.jpg

subtle lady gaga make up

I recently went to lady gaga's monster ball concert and it was AMAZING. It was my second time seeing the pop singer and the first time I went to see her I felt out of place because I was dressed so hmm what's the word, oh yes, average! I loved my outfit don't get me wrong, but it was nothing compared to the leotards, leather, glitter and fishnets all the fabulous people were wearing so I said to myself, the next time I see Gaga I'm going to do something fun with my make up. So August snuck up on me and before I knew it, it was time to see the pop diva in action again. I loved the lightning bolt she had painted on her face in the "just dance" video so I decided to go with that look, as seen on the left, and add my own little twist. It was pretty easy so here's a quick how-to in case you want to get a little bold with an outfit, need some fun ideas for a costume or if you are in fact going to see Gagaloo!

Step 1: moisturize! Like with every make up routine you gotta start on a clean and moisturized canvas. I use Laura Mercier.

Step 2: Prime your eyelids. I use mac's primer paint. I suggest just going in and getting one that is nude or as close to your skin tone as possible. Apply a decent coat over lids. I usually use my finger for this step and always make sure to coat up to the arch of your eye brow because I finde that it defines your brows.

Step 3: Apply a hot pink shadow. Again, I use mac shadow but you can use whatever floats your boat. I apply mine with MAC's eyeshadow brush i usually like to mix colors so after I applied that I used a lighter pink and with MAC's blender brush (a must have tool it does wonders for the eyes) I applied the color to the corner of my lids and blended my two pinks to give it a cleaner look. Then with a creamy shimmery (shimmer optional) color I apply a little of that under my eyebrow arch to give it a sharper effect.

Step 4: So we're almost to that bolt kids! But first we gotta make those eyebrows look a little Italian, like the pop princess's. I love love love Benefit's "Brow's a go-go" kit. So, what i usually do is dip the brush into the wax, which is the pallet on the upper right side and the dip it in the darker shadow and brush it through my brows. I usually do it until it's dark enough to my liking. (Note you can also use the shadows at the bottom of the kit to apply beneath your arch.)

Step 5: So, its finally time to apply that bolt! Now practice makes perfect so you can practice the bolt before your event but it's always good to apply the eye make up before the pièce de résistance. To draw on the bolt I used a lip liner. I drew a triangle above my left eyebrow, point going towards the middle of forehead., I drew a longer, skinner triangle below the corner of my eye and did the same thing from the inner corner of my eye towards the bridge of my nose and towards my cheek. You can check out your face to see if your ok with how your bolt looks. Once you like what you see take a black eyeliner, I used mac's gel liner, and color in that bolt!

Step 6: So, once you have the bolt on your face take a black shadow, mine had some glitter in it, and dust it over the bolt. I added a little of my own flavor to mine and took a turquoise liquid liner and outlined my bolt, I found that it added a little dazzle and helped me clean up the shape.

So, after all that I applied my concealer, bronzer and all that good stuff including my special edition gaga lipstick, by mac! Total prep time 20 minutes, this includes my whole face! Here's the end result good luck little monsters!

Nail polish is my thing!

In high school I was all about having my nails painted and getting my weekly manicure/pedicure. After graduation and landing my first job I learned that I needed to cut back on some of the pampering and just stick with getting my bi-weekly pedis. Well my boring finger nails have had enough neglect and with the gorgeous weather San Francisco's been having I have been inspired to spruce up my appearance with dazzling nails. I looked at all the trendy lifestyle magazines and websites for how to's on relaxing home manicures and went to wallgreens and stocked up on some amazing colors. Now believe me when I say that I am a fan of the best brands when it comes to beauty (I normally shop at sephora and nordis) but I have found cheap nail polish that lasts all week! Wet n wild (only 99 cents!) has so many amazing colors I am wearing eggplant frost (the color doesnt sound too appealing but it is a deep purple and I have gotten so many compliments on it) I apply a couple of coats, dry them for five minutes and apply the same brand's clear nail protector polish and it looks as good as my salon pedicured toes! Honestly, nail polish is the perfect splash of color for the little black dress, pool party or to doll up jeans and a tee. I find this to  be a grat way to find some "me" time and cater to your hands because you are using those bad girls all day. Now for the mess ups one can use a q-tip but if you're willing to spend a little money than I suggest that every girl get the nail protector pen by essie http://www.essieshop.com/product_info.php?cPath=24&products_id=548 (I believe it's no more than 20 dollars) it works magic by perfecting your nails! What other brands do you gals use and what colors are hot for end of summer I'm thinking I end the summer with a lime.