Gesundheit.

The Place to Find Out About Good New Stuff.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

The Biggest Exercise Video

I have been waiting to write about this for a while, and now I'm inspired because I'm watching The Biggest Loser.

A little over a year ago, I had a certain social event that I wanted to lose some weight for (wink, wink). Having done home exercise videos before, and not wanting to spend the silly amount of money it takes to join a gym in Boston, I went looking for a new gig. Yoga wasn't the answer, pilates wasn't the answer... I started browsing the ExerciseTV channels On Demand through Comcast. Most of the options weren't really my style (Step dance, Strip tease, you know what I'm talking about), but I decided to give Jillian Michaels a chance, having seen only episode of The Biggest Loser. At least she seemed to have her act together, so that was more promising than Carmen Electra.

You know what? I enjoyed her On Demand workouts so much that I proceeded to do them for 3 weeks. Then I bought the DVD at Target. After 2 months, I lost 10 pounds. That was from working out just 3-4 days a week for 8 weeks. Want to know what the DVD is?



Thats right, it says 30 Day Shred. You know whats cool, though? You can adapt this workout system to your schedule and you will still see results, I promise. After I lost my 10 pounds, I went to 2-3 times a week as a maintenance tool, and it works. Now I don't feel like I need to worry so much about my caloric intake because I know I'm doing something to balance in the output area.

One of my favorite things about this workout system is that the workouts are only 20 minutes long, so you can spend time getting exercise without having to give up your entire morning or evening. Also, the workouts are in 3 levels. Don't misunderstand - you will want to work from Level 1 to Level 3, because you need to build up endurance and strength. But, once you get to Level 3 comfortably, you can bounce back and forth between workouts if you need to change things up.

Given my success and satisfaction with the 30 Day Shred workout, I will probably end up giving another of Jillian's workout videos a chance at some point. When I do, I'll be sure to let you in on it!

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Back to School Results

So its September and the hot theme of this week is back-to-school. As someone who hasn't gone back to school for 'x' number of years (you don't need to know), I prefer to focus on reviewing those last couple of items that I promised but have yet to deliver for you. First, I need to make a quick espresso...

Ok, sanity is on its way, people. SO. Man, this Aveda Smooth Infusion decision has been hard. Not only have I introduced these new products to my routine, but I have changed a few other variables, as well. This leaves me still unsure as to my final verdict on the C2C hair line. Which brings me to my first ever:

UNDECIDED.

That's right, I said undecided. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the ultimate review on Aveda's Cradle to Cradle hair products is going to take a few more months. Hey, I could whip together something now as a guess, but I wouldn't feel right giving you guys an analysis that I really couldn't be 100% about. The good news is that I'm not giving up on Aveda... but I'm also not ready to be a full convert.

I will, in the meantime, find some other delicious things to talk to you about. Oh, why don't I start with the DDF Glycolic Toner. Great idea.

DDF 10% Glycolic Toner

This has been a really interesting test for me, dear beauty-philes. (I know thats not a word. Don't give me a hard time, I'm still under-caffeinated.) What I haven't updated you on is that I have 5-6 DDF products on the testing block right now, but I'm focusing on this toner. And... I like it, I do. Overall, I see a generally improved skin tone and something I like to think of as mild radiance. It took a little while for my skin to adjust to the astringency of the formula, but I think we're OK with each other now. This will be a curious product to take into fall as I am a "sensitive" girl and my skin does changes its behavior with the seasons. This kind of sounds like the set-up for a sequel. Hmm, maybe it is...