fbpx
Holiday Must Haves 2020

Holiday Must Haves 2020

by | Nov 17, 2020 | Health

My Holiday Must Haves 2020

The ultimate go to shopping list for any fitness and health fanatic in your life.

This year let’s make the most of this holiday season. We can shop from home and still enjoy what this season is all about….. shopping. Just kidding.

In all seriousness I hope you and yours have a Happy Holiday and much better 2021!

Below are my top 10 ideas. You can find more on my Amazon page here as well. Basically everything is on amazon so heres to free shipping with prime 🙂

Happy Holidays!

Christmas gifts

1 – Five S Deep Tissue Massager

You can use this bad boy on your neck, your feet, your legs, your shoulders, your back, and it’s versatile. It works and its cheap. #WinWin

2- Hidrate Spark 3 Smart Water Bottle

This is GREAT for anyone who may need to up that water intake. It lights up to remind you to drink up and it has a handy app to help you track it. LOVE IT.

3- For the At Home Workout Lover

I love this because it is versatile and does not take up a lot of space. Check out TRX as well.

4- For The Foodie 

This thing does it all, it air frys, it steams, sautes, bakes, and slow cooks plus more. I love NINJA products 🙂

5- For the healthier foodie

Again I LOVE Ninja, they make things so much easier because they make all in one appliances. You only need one thing to do 4 jobs. This blender/pitcher is just that. Make smoothies, bowls, soups, and cookie dough plus more!

6- For the person who loves to be comfy

I do not care how goofy this looks I love this thing. It lives up to its name!

7- For the one who loves candles

They could burn this while wearing the comfy! lol This smells amazing and lasts for a while.

8- For the healthy one

Mushrooms?? May sound weird but I would love someone to get me immune boosting supplements- especially ones that help me relax with adaptogens and have stress support. This bundle is great and it is not just pills – its coffee, vegan protein and more. 

Not to mention you can save more with code CANDICECFITNESS at checkout.

Buy Now

9- For the Book Lover

This is a great book to help us realize how much we need to slow down, and how much we can accomplish when we do. Check out more of my favorite books here.

10- For the Shoe Lover

These are SO comfy and they are actually pretty good for workouts (strength workouts not running). They come in a bunch of color combos too! I wear mine ALL the time :).

I have even more ideas on my amazon page! 

Hope you have a happy holiday!

The links provided are affiliate links which I may receive a small commission. I would never recommend any product I did not personally own, use or believe in.

Want a workout you can do anywhere??

Download it now!
Primal Kitchen Tex Mex Chicken Bowl Recipe

Primal Kitchen Tex Mex Chicken Bowl Recipe

by | Sep 23, 2020 | Nutrition, Recipes

I love this recipe because it is simple and tasty. Literally anyone can make it.

 

I prefer to use cauliflower rice vs. normal and I use Trader Joes frozen cauliflower rice on that note. Then I always use Primal Kitchen Marinade/Dressing and Oils. So for this one it is no different.

 

You can find the original recipe here. 

Please note this is NOT my recipe and all credit is due to Primal Kitchen- it is just one of my favorites.

What you need:

 

  • 1-2 Chicken Breasts or Thighs (whichever you prefer)
  • 1/2 Onion cut into strips
  • 1/2 bell pepper of your choice cut up into strips
  • 1 tsp Ghee
  • Primal Kitchen Avocado Oil (or another brand)
  • Primal Kitchen Cilantro Lime Marinade
  • 1 tsp Cilantro chopped + a few loose pieces
  • 1 tsp lime juice
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 avocado
  • 1/2 cup salsa

How to:

  • Take chicken and place in small dish and coat with salt and pepper and  Primal Kitchen Cilantro Lime Marinade
    • Allow to refrigerate for an hour or overnight
  • Prep rice as desired and add in lime juice and cilantro thats chopped and mix together
  • Use a cast iron skillet and heat to medium-high heat along with 1 tablespoon of Avocado Oil  –  .
  • Add in onions and peppers and allow to cook until soft 
  • Once they are cooked add a little more Avocado Oil and cook Chicken about 6-7 minutes/side with onions and peppers still in the pan – add salt and pepper as needed
  • Allow chicken to cool and then chop up and divide among bowls with rice, peppers and onions, avocado, and more cilantro lime dressing.

 

Please note that I may receive a small commission from some of the links within this post. Also note that I would never affiliate with any company or product that I do not believe in or use whole heartedly.

Stressed by what is best to get at the store?

Feel like you do not have enough hours in the day to finish working, take care of the kids, prep dinner, eat, take care of you, workout and know what to get at the grocery store?

Ever find yourself just throwing whatever seems appealing into your cart?

Well no more! 

I have helped so many women achieve the balance they want and need by taking the guess work out of workouts and meal prep. Get a FREE grocery shopping list to help decrease inflammation and try it this weekend!

Get a FREE Shopping List NOW!
Sugar and its impact on our life

Sugar and its impact on our life

by | Sep 2, 2020 | Health

 

Anyone else have a sweet tooth?? Anyone else like sweet stuff?? 

If you are like me and grew up on ice cream (preferably Dairy Queen blizzards right here) along with fast food, boxed foods, snacks, soda, crackers, chips, lots of condiments…. Then chances are you have a habit of liking sugar.

Even if you are not right there with me on the blizzards, you may like your sweet things. Which is why I am diving into sugar today- what it does to our body when we ingest it, where it hides, and what to do/avoid to help combat the negative side of it.

 

Sugar

What is sugar? How does it affect us?

Sugar is something we all DO need, just not a huge amount of it. We need it because it helps provide our cells energy when we break it down. The problem arises when we have too much (even when we think we are being smart) and it leads to inflammation, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and weight gain among many other things.

The process of sugar leading to harm-

When we eat something that contains sugar (so many things contain it but lets pretend white bread for this example), the bread is eaten and the sugar within it is broken down into glucose and fructose. The glucose signals the pancreas to release insulin so the insulin can carry the glucose to the cells for energy.

We only need so much though, when we release too much insulin we can become resistant overtime which leads to weight gain, and things like PCOS, as well as diabetes. The glucose never gets used as it should as a result and just floats around in our blood stream – this can cause our blood sugar to rise hence, diabetes. It can also cause our digestive system to not work properly, it can lead to inflammation all over our body and inflammation as we know is the starter of almost all disease.

The fructose side of sugar is metabolized in the liver. Too much there can lead to what is known as “fatty liver” which none of us want. Our liver is our body’s filter- we need it to work. And when it is clogged/ congested and have fatty deposits on it then we have problems and bad stuff stays in our bodies vs. getting excreted.

Its hidden in more things than we realize….

When we eat certain foods we think of sugar, be it cookies, cakes, even fruit for a healthy dose of it, but it is in far more foods than we may know.

Over the years food manufacturers have gotten good at creating “sugar additives” from gmo and other artificial products to sweeten things. They also get creative with naming certain natural sugars to make you think you are staying low on them because the name does not make you think “oh this is a type of sugar”.

Not to mention with all of the fads that come and go they try to make you believe that eating a gluten free cookie is actually good for you…. but yall a cookie is still a cookie.

Read your labels

Not only do we need to look at actual sugar content, but we also need to look at the names of the ingredients there too.

And btw the daily recommended amount of sugar for women is only 25g-

Basically anything ending in -ose, sugar, or –dextrin or syrup is a type of sugar.

Take a look at the label below (it is a bottle of Asian Zing Wing Sauce – the first ingredient is corn syrup (syrup aka sugar) not to mention corn syrup which is terrible for you…. but thats for another day)

 

 

Food for thought ALL of these things are not considered SWEET yet contain well over a days amount of sugar –

  • A small wendys frosty (yes it is supposed to be sweet) but has 49g of sugar
  • California Pizza Chicken Waldorf Salad has 55g
  • Buffalo Wild Wings Boneless 15 ct Asian Zing Wings have 57g
  • Sesame Chicken from PF Changs has 58g
  • Spicy Chicken from PF Changs 66g
  • O’Charleys Balsamic Chicken Salad has 68g!
  • Ocharleys Baby Back Ribs Carolina Gold has 86g
  • Jamba Juice Strawberry Large Surf Rider Drink has 92g
  • Smoothie King the “hulk” large strawberry has 227g of sugar!!!!!

These ALL have too much even if it is supposed to be “healthy” sugar is sugar and too much healthy sugar can cause problems especially if you already have something off within you.

Smoothie King Hulk Large

Buffalo Wild Wings

Ocharleys

PF Changs

My favorite recommended condiments

Find them here

Steps to improve your sugar intake –

1 – First you want to do your best to remove as much fast food from your diet as possible.

2- Aim to only eat processed foods for 1-2 meals a day (starting point) then reduce that every week or so until it is only a few times a week if any.

3- Slow down your shopping and read labels. This is seriously the game changer.

4- Shop the outside aisles of the grocery store as much as possible.

5- Follow recipes and buy only what you need. Keeping extra stuff in the house only leads to temptation.

6- After trying a few of these things try a sugar detox for 2 weeks- it sounds hard but I promise the results are worth it. You will see weight go down, your brain fog to clear, and energy to go up. The first few days are the hardest but if you are already instilling some of these things you should be good to go!

 

 

 

Salad Dressings

We often think of Salads as the healthy way to go, but do you ever look at the dressings? Just look at some of what I listed above – those salads get that sugar content from the dressing not the food itself.

Paying attention to this is a great place to start too! 

I compare some in the video below. 

Stressed by what is best to get at the store?

Feel like you do not have enough hours in the day to finish working, take care of the kids, prep dinner, eat, take care of you, workout and know what to get at the grocery store?

Ever find yourself just throwing whatever seems appealing into your cart?

Well no more! 

I have helped so many women achieve the balance they want and need by taking the guess work out of workouts and meal prep. Get a FREE grocery shopping list to help decrease inflammation and try it this weekend!

Get a FREE Shopping List NOW!

This post contains links to where I may receive a small commission as an affiliate. However please note I am never going to be an affiliate for anything I do not believe in.

The Covid Saga Continues….

The Covid Saga Continues….

by | Jul 15, 2020 | Health, Womens Health

So as I am writing this I am coming up on 3 weeks since getting sick. Exposure I am pretty sure has already surpassed 3 weeks.

Currently I am FRUSTRATED. I feel fine have been symptom free for about a week (thank you Lord), however now I have to test negative to get back to life. Please do not get me wrong I 100% understand to test negative to go back to work and be around others because we really know NOTHING about this disease. However- there has to be something about this virus we do not know if it can come back positive for multiple weeks after symptoms subside. I have heard from multiple people they have gone through the same. Why is this the case? Is it still contagious? Is it just left over?? You better believe I am going to use some nose and sinus rinse tonight, and tomorrow before I test again.

The past few days:

So in my last post (catch up if you missed it) I ended around the time I took my second test – the first of many I might add in hopes to be negative. That was a little over a week ago. 

I tested positive – I got the results last Wednesday. Since then I took a test on Friday (currently waiting on those results) and then I took two yesterday (Monday) one was a rapid test and it came back positive still…. again I feel basically 100% now. I imagine the other two will be positive as well, thankfully my insurance covers all Covid testing. Chad still hasn’t gotten one of his tests back from over two weeks ago, its pretty ridiculous, and yet he has gotten a bill from the urgent care where he took it…. you better believe that will not get paid without results.

I am trying to schedule another rapid for tomorrow. (just keep hitting refresh on that screen to the right).  Then possibly again Thursday and Friday. I just want to feel ok being around others and I want to go back to work. 

 

 

What I have been up to :

Backing it up to last week where I left off – I filmed some stuff for Youtube – trained some virtual clients – read alot (a GREAT book is Untamed by – Glennon Doyle) Highly recommend!  – and researched stuff alot. I have also been able to start working out again too. Starting slow then progressing as I go.

I can definitely tell I have more trouble breathing with cardio- even just walking is a challenge if it is too hot. I can deep breathe (diaphragmatic) when I am at home and throughout the day but when I try to implement it during a workout like I used to do it is not possible yet. It is crazy though because I have not had too bad of symptoms in regards to chest tightness and congestion that so many speak of yet I have this. This morning I did my first “run” since getting sick – it was not terrible but it definitely had to be intervals. Going to use this as my starting point and try to work time off every day or so. #OutOfShapeQueen 

 

 

 

We went to the lake over the weekend and it was great – just being in the sun I think did wonders for my soul and mindset. Vitamin D really does make such a difference. 

In Atlanta our mayor implemented a mandate to wear masks in public which I am all about – however so many people are wanting to call it “political’. If I may get on my little soap box for a moment let me say this:

  • SHUT UP and wear the damn mask! 😷 . It is NOT political it is the right thing to do. You may not be a high risk person but the person you see at work, or the gas station or the grocery store may be, and they are trying to be safe. Not to mention even if you are not high risk take it from me – you do not want to be out of work (more than likely) and stuck at home and secluded for a month if not longer due to having to wait to test negative. If you are someone who does not fall into this bucket good for you- but most of us are not. This virus is not made up- it is real, I did NOT have a cold or the flu, the headache I had was one I cannot describe and everyone who has had it even mildly that I talked to has said the same. You get disoriented, you get nauseas, you cannot stand up or focus for multiple days. So yea don’t wear your mask and I will say a prayer you do not get it or someone you come into contact with. (because the guilt from getting this is REAL too- you may not think so but just wait – you don’t protect yourself it is just a matter of time). Read my last post if you havent. 

Ok done with that – 

So yea I have gotten out some – do not worry I have been masked and sanitized. I sat in my car for almost 3 hours waiting on my rapid test yesterday and then I went to the next one and waited another hour at CVS to get one. Surprisingly I didn’t die from not eating (I left around 11:30am and got done around 4pm and if you know me you know I get HANGRY). Could be just because I have been cooped up so much? Who knows – but my patience was real lol.

So now we wait…….

Hopefully I will hear something soon from the Friday test but considering the rapid was positive then I am not expecting anything good. Then I try all day to sit and hit refresh to make an appointment for tomorrow (I learned from a client how to work the system with the rapid tests) 😂 Y’all this is what my life has come to.

We still owe my step dad a Fathers Day Weekend at the lake but cannot plan that until I am better since he is older and has kidney disease. 

We would love to plan our anniversary/honey moon but that I am sure is not in the near future especially since I have been out of work for the most part and Chad isn’t exactly back to where he was pre covid either… but I know considering most we are lucky. We will get there at some point. 

It is honestly kind of crazy in regards to our relationship as I feel like we have been affected in a positive way – we have grown closer, despite being so close (and yall being an only child who likes her space this is speaking volumes- maybe its the separate beds lol?? )

 

He is even more and more on board for filming stuff with me – he has been watching Zac Efrons new show on Netflix that is exploring so much that is wrong with the world and how other countries are doing things differently than the US and what we can learn from them. He watched one on France last night and it was about water quality – and yall he drinks about 5 smart waters a day… and he learned we do not want the purified / filtered water but we NEED the minerals in spring water and other more natural sources (NOT TAP). And he came home with 4 different types this morning and said lets do a taste test for youtube – baby steps guys!!  😝  Stay tuned for that! (sign up for my email list if you are not already on it and you will see it first!)

 

UPDATE!!! 

The day after I wrote this – I got this !! Ill be updating as I transition back to reality!

 

Join my Email List!!

Ill send you some FREE stuff too!! 🙂 

Subscribe
I Had Covid-19 and I Have RA

I Had Covid-19 and I Have RA

by | Jul 7, 2020 | Health

I hesitated even sharing this- but I know I should….

I hesitated because of the mental side of shame I have felt this past week along with the physical illness of it.

I hesitated because I feel judged- even by those closest to me.

I hesitated because I am human.

I got sick about 11 days ago. It got worse quick, I got tested, (sat in line in my car for FOUR hours and got tested). It came back positive a few days a later.

I had been around too many people in the days prior. Where did I get it? What did I do to deserve it? I have an autoimmune disease…. what if I end up in the hospital? I have heard it gets progressively worse.

How do i tell my clients? My work? My family? My pregnant best friend I was just with two days ago? Do I tell them? Maybe the test is wrong…. What about my father in law that has diabetes, COPD and heart disease?? I saw him a few days ago. I had a headache that day…. why did I go to dinner if I did??

All of these things were going through my head.

At first I wanted to just believe I had a bad sinus infection. My husband wanted me to just be overreacting – but I knew it was more. We had our nieces staying with us- thankfully I stayed away most of the time and sprayed all the things multiple times a day with medical grade hospital cleaner…. but did that work? I mean they had to fly back to Arizona in a few days what if they get sick or infect others??? 

The guilt- the questions – the unknown- that is what has been the hardest part. 

The physical side of it – The First Days

I started feeling sick in the afternoon – I wanted to just tell myself it was a sinus infection – maybe an RA flare that was making me feel the aches and pains like fevers do. Then I took my temperature. I never run fevers – hell I typically am around 97ish not even 98 but that is for another day…. It read 99.7…. yup something is wrong. So I try to get a virtual appointment to get a test- got one, someone would call me after to schedule the test…. have yet to get that call 12 days later. I saw the next day I could get a free test at a church so i went,,, along with 300 others in their cars. We were literally blocked in- if you wanted to leave it was not happening so you just had to sit….. and wait. 

One positive though is I think since I was toward the tail end I got my results quicker, so that Sunday night as we were sitting on the couch I got a text … and Chad instantly moved to the other side of the couch. I then instantly moved into the guest room.

That day I had a migraine from hell, I laid in bed all day – still had the slight fever, and body and muscle aches, but the headache and nausea was the worst part….

On top of all of that now I had to think about the next morning how was I going to tell people? Should I tell people? Of course I should but I was scared.

I told my boss and doctor and everyone I worked with- they were all so kind that was a HUGE blessing. Then I had to tell others – sent messages and emails – lots of “hope you get better soon” but that was it…. then I see mass emails go out and I start to feel like I have the plague, I am the leper but Jesus is no where to be found to heal me in this moment.. but I know he is with me and I am learning something through this.

When my best friend (who is pregnant) said she had to leave the store she was in because she started crying hysterically because of (me) … gut punch is all I could feel. She has every right to be scared I mean hell shes pregnant and we know NOTHING about what this ultimately can do to pregnant women. 

Then there are my clients – thank goodness I was not around a lot of them the week prior some were traveling and a lot are still doing virtual. That right there I am thankful for. Still telling them was hard, silence from some but then kindness but then I am also second guessing everything. Feeling guilty because I may be ruining vacations and there Fourth of July’s from unknowns and being around family just because they were around me…. then there is the thought of if they will ever even want to come near me again…. it was all so much on top of feeling like general crap…. no one really talked about this side of it.

The next few days….

 

Ugh – the headache – it literally makes me not see straight. I felt loopy. I felt dizzy. I felt floaty….. and I have this knot on my forehead too which is weird and it hurts like hell.

But if this is the worst of it- I WILL TAKE IT ALLLLL DAY

That Monday I started having some chest tightness and congestion- that started to worry me, but it never got terrible. I ordered a gazillion things off instacart to help… which they didn’t. The sinus and congestion stuff made me feel sicker, the only thing that seemed to help was peppermint oil and sweating it out through steam. I got vitamin d3 drops and vitamin C powder and started taking a lot of that. Surprisingly it helped.

I couldn’t have coffee anymore it is still even making me nauseas. This makes me very sad lol. 

Each day goes on- and thankfully Chad is still ok. Poor guy had his office shut down because of me- so he feels like he has the plague too even though he feels fine. That is killing my super extroverted husband like crazy. Now we are envisioning this coming weekend and the fourth of July. Typically we would be at the lake, but that is surely not happening now.

Come Thursday and Friday we get results that his dad is fine- thank you Jesus! Chad is still waiting on his last two tests he has taken three. 

Our friends we were with the weekend before I got sick have now tested positive (three of them)  and have the same symptoms as me. Then some have tested negative- so strange as I thought this was so contagious… or are the tests wrong? All these thoughts are annoying. However in a strange way I am thankful these women have it with me even if I may have caught it from them, thankfully we are all generally healthy so it seems to be mild in us.

The Following Weekend – wait I have RA why am I ok?

 

I got outside in the sun for a little while and OMG it felt SOOOOO good. I cannot even describe how good it felt. And do not worry NO ONE was near me.

I still have the headache. But I am maybe 85% human now.

But what about RA? Aren’t I high risk? I have inflammation….

So my Dr. recommended I get a shot of steroids to help. And I did I think it was Wednesday or Thursday – hell all the days run together. It really did help a decent bit the next day the headache was not as bad and I felt like I could read a book without getting nauseas which made the book nerd in me very happy.

As far as my autoimmune disease- could it be because I have been on hydroxychloriquine for my RA for a while? Could it be because I have been taking ashwagnda and other calming supplements to help decrease cortisol? Who knows – but I am thankful. If I had been diagnosed with this in April I would have been freaking out, but seeing how I feel overall it gives me hope that maybe it is not as bad for everyone (I know some it has hit hard and I am not discrediting that) but in a strange way it gives me hope.

My symptoms

At first – headache, mild fever, aches, pains

Then moved to just a headache and nausea with some stomach upset off and on.

Then some chest tightness and congestion – nothing ever terrible though.

Slight loss of taste and smell around day 6.

Headache and fatigue still present around day 11.

What I took to help

I took Tylenol ( I hate taking it especially because of my liver but it helped the aches and to sleep at night)

I tried Sinus AM and PM stuff from CVS- The PM made me sleep forever (not hating it) the AM made me dizzy and nauseas

I added Vitamin D3 drops and did 5-6 drops 3x a day

I added Vitamin C powder – 1/4 tsp 2x a day in water

I was already on ashwaganda and l theanine for cortisol 2x day

I was already on my ritual vitamins daily

I was already on NAC tabs for my liver 2x a day

I also continued my DNS powder daily

I stopped liquid IV because it was making me nauseas 🙁

I was on hydroxychloriquine for my RA treatment ( I started this about 6 months ago)

I also took my other meds…. 

(Ps you can find ALL my favorite stuff plus discount codes here.)

So here we are…..

Day who knows what…. and I am feeling a little better –

I got tested again. I need two negative tests to get back to life. The Department of Health has said it can come back positive for a month… prayers please it does not. The woman who did my test yesterday I think touched my brain with the swab so if one is going to be positive it will be that one lol. 

I went for a walk yesterday and it was not the easiest sadly. My chest felt tight but it was not undoable even in 90 degree plus heat. Now I slowly start trying to workout again. My body is in the worst shape ever and that alone is another stress. I cannot be a trainer and out of shape. But I am not going to go down that rabbit hole. I will be ok. I will be ok. I will be ok. THIS IS TEMPORARY. Right?

Overall I am thankful like I have said. I have a few people I can be with because we have had it together but still I can see how the loneliness can get to people. 

I pray none of you reading this get it, and if so get it worse than what I have had. I don’t get this virus or what is happening in our world, but I know something is happening to get our attention. I am changed because of it, I hope you are too in a good way that is.

As always I will keep you updated on any changes- stay healthy yall, wear your masks and don;’t make stupid decisions.

Stay in the know

Stay in the know with weekly tips, tricks, and be the first to know about new sales and events!

Join now