Dear Self....

I was recently on a cleaning spree with Evan when I came across a box of letters and photos from high school. I sat for awhile laughing at some of the letters to friends I wrote, magazine clippings of Jake Gylenhal, Josh Hartnett and my geek crush Josh Groban when I found a CD with my senior pictures on it....

            

90's perm                                                 Age 10                                                    Just smile.

To be honest, looking at my younger pictures is hard for me. I hardly had friends and in the majority of them I have 1 of 2 looks, one where I have this huge false smile on my face and the other where I look sad or upset with having a camera in my face. My how that seems like a lifetime ago.....

Just before I started my Senior year, I had a breast reduction surgery that truly was what I wanted. Besides the fact that I needed to lose weight and I had medical issues due to the weight I was. I  wanted to fit in, I wanted to feel pretty and accepted, I wanted to be healthy and stay in school without constantly being sent home due to my medical issues.

To sum up a sad and pointless story....I had my Senior pictures re-done in Feb of my senior year and the pictures were Amazing. I was smiling in them, I was posing and not hiding myself, I even had my best friend be in a few with me. I look so relaxed and just comfortable and I didn't cry about them to my mom. I remember printing so many of them out and handing them out to people I knew and even Evan, who was a sweet friend of mine with no romantic feelings yet surfaced. I think that stage of my youth I felt good in my skin for the first time and started to make my way into the world with my head high and yet...I still felt overweight, I felt "Fat".

So there I was, sitting in my fave pj's, no make-up on, hair in a messy bun laughing at these pictures with my husband and proclaiming "GOD, look how thin I am!! Look at my skin! I want to be this thin again..." and internally scoffing at my younger self for being so silly and for thinking I wasn't beautiful or worth much. It doesn't take much to feel good about yourself....believe me. It's a process, a journey you hate at first and then even more when you realize...YOUR PERFECT AS YOU ARE!

I know we all do this to ourselves on bad days, I know people struggle with it. Lord knows I did a lot growing up pretty much until I turned 18 and started dating Evan. But once I realized I was beautiful for a multitude of reasons and a lot of them being on the inside....I let my true self show and that's attractive. I also think Evan saved me from myself....he saved me from a dangerous place in my life and he did it by starting off as my friend and by telling me flat out the choices I was making in my life were making me ugly. He wasn't the only one back then who had said as much to me but he was the one whose voice caught my attention. How I love him for that hard conversation. (long back story for that to make sense, sorry)

Still though, when you feel good about yourself it shows in so many GOOD ways and when you love someone who allows you to be yourself and brings the best of you out....you just get more attractive when you embrace who you are.

So to my Self (Past, Present & future):

-ALWAYS REMEMBER-

You are Beautiful. You may not feel it everyday, you may not act it on occasion but trust me. You are perfect the way you are. You are a woman capable of obtaining any goal you set before yourself. You are an amazing wife to a man who adores you for everything you are and a mom to one outstanding little girl who also brings out the best of you. BE PATIENT with her and remember to remind her always that she is beautiful by being unique in her individuality. Remember that diets only make you cranky, water is your friend and the gym makes you feel like a rock star so don't be so afraid of it. Running in the early morning suits you best because you get to clear your head and get a good quiet time in too. The scale lies, it always has and you realized this at 22 so don't bother going by it, in fact keep on not allowing them in your home all together. Your a strong christian who has a brilliant smile and contagious laugh to go with your awesome sense of humor. You choose to be positive rather than negative about things and your friends find you to be loyal and always there when they need you. You love musicals and British movies, your a history geek and a foodie at heart (you caught the microwave on fire, who does that?!) and you still believe you will be able to convince your husband to eat and love tofu. You are creative and crafty when you don't talk yourself out of doing something along those lines, you also tend to second guess yourself entirely too much. You are doing good for yourself by realizing your worth it and so is your family. Keep it up!!!

Catching up is hard to do...

Feels like forever since I truly blogged.

Been fighting the losing end of a cold this week which has zapped my humanity and left me as a huge lump on the couch. Thank goodness for Kuerig hot tea, kleenex and netflix (AMEN!). Texas has had some much needed and long lasting rain the past 2 days so it's been an added lazy day to boot.

I promise to update more. with Evan and I doing several 5ks next month I'll be very busy with my training and now with a new year to obtain my healthy eating goals I'm looking at some fun dishes to try out on my unsuspecting, er, willing family.

Speaking of food, I have signed up to be a part of Foodie Penpal it's seems like a fun thing to look forward to every month and to blog about. Pretty much, you get matched up with another person and with a $15 max you fill a box full of goodies and mail it out. By the end of the month you blog about what you received in your box. I can't wait to receive and send out my first box. I'm very excited about this. :)

No January running mix. I'm being honest with my readers, this month I haven't ran all but 2 measly miles and therefore have no mix to share. Feel free to share with me some of your current songs to run/workout too. I'll need them to keep me going for my 5ks next month. *gulp*

Wish me luck today. I got to my OB to start the baby planning. Not sure if I shared it on the blog but we're ready to start trying for baby#2. You can catch up about my more personal entries on the family blog The Hartfield Files

Evan and I are getting ready to spend a lot of time together as we start training together. He's a much better/faster runner than I am and yet he's never done a 5k. Nor has he ever seemed interested in things I get fired up about. I truly think I confused him when I told him last August I was starting a new blog and we were cleaning house on all the crap food/drinks in our home and how he wasn't ever allowed to eat McDonald's or Jack in the box again!

Evan and I  a year after we were married

LOOK HOW SKINNY WE WERE!

Life is about to get extra interesting/busy and healthier. I'm so excited about it all too.

What are you looking forward to this year?


-The HLC

No More excuses.

94-Year-Old Dallas Athlete Still Running Strong « CBS Dallas / Fort Worth


After reading this article and watching it on the news I am simply, in awe.

I want to be able to do what he is doing when I'm that old. (Lord Willing)


Just wanted to share it with you guys and gals. :)

-HLC

Something New

So I had a funny discussion with Evan about how much money we are wasting a month by NOT going to the gym. We hate wasting anything but money is a HUGE thing we cling to when we can. With 2 huge trips in  motion this year I definitely do not want to waste a penny!!

So I got up this morning and took myself to the gym. And am now feeling the effects of not going. I also forgot how good it always feels when you leave the gym a sweaty mess.

 I think I am more sore from trying out the Zumba2 fitness on my friends wii yesterday too. 45minutes and 228 calories later I was achy, sweaty and panting for breath!!! LOVE IT! Since I take care of her daughter after school I'll be able to do this Zumba everyday for an hour. SCORE.

Fun music and the belt holds the controller so it can sense if your movements match the dancer. Needless to say I didn't score high but I still got a workout. Anyone else try it?

Hopefully, I get myself out the door in the morning and go for a real jog, cold weather be danged, it's time to get my winter body out that door!

How Rude!! (Rant)

Recently I was chatting with a friend through messenger whom I haven't talked to in a LONG time. We'll call her "Rude Friend" or RF for short. After a pleasant 15 minutes of catching up with one another RF made a comment about how good I looked these days. "You know Britt, you look better now than you did in high school and most women after they have kids really let themselves go which has been a fear of mine."
okay.....I should mention that RF is currently pregnant with her first child,
So I laughed her comment off and thanked her. She asked me how much I had lost since having Avery and I was honest in telling her that I lost close to 42lbs but I gained back 30 of it and am trying to get to a healthy average for my body type.

RF:"Oh, wow. That's awesome. Wait, don't you have a "Healthy Living" blog or something I saw on FB?"
Me: "Yes, I have 2 blogs I maintain for fun."
RF: "Don't you think it's wrong to promote a lifestyle you're not doing good at?'
Me: "What do you mean by that?"
RF: "I just mean, and don't take this wrong but I mean like, you're still overweight...how can you blog about living healthy when you obviously are not doing anything to change your weight and stuff...like, I guess I haven't seen you really doing anything other than a few pictures of you in workout stuff and I know you told _____ about doing a 5k soon"
Me: "That's a little rude, we haven't seen each other in almost 3 years since you guys moved away and you just got done saying how much better I look now than in high school? Have you read my blog at all?"
RF: "No, I just saw your FB page about it..sorry..I mean I guess I just don't understand why you'd put yourself out there like that when you don't look.....I dunno how to word it without it sounding horrible...you get what I mean though, right?"
Me: "No, not really."

At this point I was kinda disgusted with the entire conversation and used Avery as an excuse to leave the chat. Am I wrong or was she way out of line?!

*Hops on soapbox*
Look folks, I know I am no skinny minnie and guess what, I'm NEVER going to be one. Don't have a desire to be either since my entire life I've always been a little bigger than most girls. I have hips, I have boobs, God gave them to me because he knew I could handle it. Granted, I got rid of some of the boobs thanks to surgery but I still have more than most. It took me sadly, years to figure out I was perfectly fine the way I looked. I embrace my body as MINE and so what if I have a pouch or stretch marks from having a child or I don't look like a VS runway model. My husband loves me as I am, my daughter looks up to me looking the way I do and I feel good in this body! I let way too many people put me down in my teen years for not being or looking like a certain type. I was bullied for years and it robbed me of some good oppourtunities in life and if my blog can help someone out there see that it's okay to be who they are as long as they feel good just by making healthy living choices everyday then I've succeeded in my goal for this blog.
-End Rant

I've never claimed this blog was an entire thing on losing weight, it's part of my Healthy Living journey/transition sure, but is it my main focus and what this blog is for? Not even close. If you read my blog (the few awesome people you are) then you'll recall one of my earliest entries was how I am not Promoting losing weight or diet fades....not going to find it here...

Healthy Living Chick represents 3 key things....
Living Healthy- Exercises, eating healthy, making healthy choices daily, switching one bad habit with a healthy alternative, cooking smarter, educating yourself etc.
Living Life- I'm a wife and a mommy, I'm balancing those two jobs with a little me time mixed in with a part time job...I'm busy!
Living Free- Accepting and acknowledging who you are and being happy with that! God made us individuals for a darn good reason and thanks to societys sick standards girls and woman (men too) these days feel the need to be in a certain stereo type or body type to feel desired or accepted and it's just not right. Embrace your curves, love your flaws and remember that you can be healthy and happy without being miserable or unhappy.

 Whatever happened to the Disney rule of thumb? "If you can't say nothing nice, don't say anything at all?"

-HLC

Sharing is Caring

                                                So it's no secret I love finding new things to try and when I like something I usually like to spread the word about it so others may enjoy my awesome finds. Lately my search has gotten bigger as I am more determined to stick to my goals for this year of cooking more (healthier and quick ideas too), finding healthier alternatives to the things I love and exercising more.

Here are a few of my recent finds....

Kraft has these new dinner meal packs that I found in the cheese section last week. All you do is add the meat, shake in the already given bags of breading and cheese mix and bake. So easy and so Delicious!!! Also, only 100 calories! So far we've tried Italian Parmesan Chicken and Chile Lime pork chops and they only cost $2.08 can't beat that.

While buying stocking stuffer last minute I found this little jewel. Oh yeah, mini travel sized Nutella. BLISS. I'm so addicted to this stuff and yet it's just not good for you. So this way I can still get a very small dose of my favorite hazelnut spread and not feel guilty about a huge jar staring at me in the pantry at 2am just begging to be devoured.

Actual size*

Since Evans parents bought me a Kurig for Christmas, I have been LOVING my mornings with a nice cup of coffee (no more Starbucks!). While in Denver his aunt let me try this creamer and Evan even liked it! I know, sounds weird to have coconut flavoring in your coffee or hot chocolate but try it sometime. I really like it but I also don't use it in every cup. I'm sure this huge bottle (times sure have changed in that product line, I literally stood in front of the creamer case for 15minutes trying to find a non fancy flavor!) will last me a few months. Yum-O. 

And for a nice announcement...
You can now check out The Healthy Living Chick on Facebook! Very new project for me but it's up and slowly going so feel free to like it and spread the news to other people.
Check it out! just search for The Healthy Living Chick


Hope your Monday is off to a good start. We're potty training this week and today has been a very cold and rainy day so it's been a netflix kind of day. :)

-Brittnye The HLC



Well that was painless.....kinda

So I did it.

I rolled my eyes at my reflection, asked Avery and a friend to play quietly for 5 minutes, shut the door, took off my shoes...and marched right up to that ugly, off white, sears addition digital scale and said "Here I am, Give it to me!!"

Then quickly closed my eyes and thought how stupid that was to say to an enemy...........

Verdict: 2 months of no running, no gym and add in the holidays and an 11 day vacation...I gained 6lbs.

I'm not going to lie, I was excited. Why you ask? well, because it's not nearly as bad as I thought it was in my head when I first noted the small pudge in my tummy after stepping out of the shower last week. (WHY DO THEY PLACE THE MIRROR AND VANITY DIRECTLY ACROSS FROM WHERE YOU SHOWER NAKED?!) Since Evan and I are gearing up for 3 different 5ks in the next 6 weeks and we're home again and regaining our old schedule and routine I know I'll be back on the road running and visiting the gym my regular 3-5 times a week so it's mainly just getting back to cooking healthier and grocery shopping smarter.

I love how not defeated I feel about all this. The me from this time last year would have opened up her favorite pint of ice cream and added some cookie dough into the pity party mix on the couch pulling an all-nighter with junk food and tears.

So I guess...it's 3 cheers for not gaining more than I could have? Meh, it sounds good in my head.

Healthy Living Chick took a break from the balance she was finally getting used to, I am human after all, it was bound to happen. Guess it's time to cinch up the belt and get to doing things the healthy and balanced way. I'm ready to start cooking meals again!!! (so look for a few dinner menu things popping up on the blog)

Next up: Getting a clean bill of health for the new year. I have my eye exam this week (glasses will be prescribed I just know it) followed by my dental check up and then the oh so fabulous lady doc visit. Also a BIG announcement to come soon and since I'm just way too impatient....look for a fun GIVEAWAY coming in a few weeks.

Hope you have a relaxing Sunday!
HLC

Let's Get Personal....

So while on vacation I received a sweet e-mail from a reader that really got me to thinking about a subject I kinda don't go into on my blog. It's not that I hide it completely because there's just NO WAY I can have my blog and not involve this topic.

My Family.

As many of you know I have a personal family blog HERE that I update more than I do my HLC blog. It's not that I do it on purpose but I post more there simply because...it's easier to talk about when it consumes so much of my life and time. Anyway, one of the questions the email asked me was simply "Why do you never call your family by their names? Why do you refer to them by letters?"

When I started this blog it was more of a focus on starting a healthy living lifestyle for my family with the 3 key things being the focus:  living healthy, living life and living free. It was also more for myself to find the motivation I needed to lose weight I have gained and confidence I have lost in myself. However...it wasn't just for me, it was for my family and I think I semi lost that train of thought when I started going number crazy with weigh-ins and watching every little thing I put in my mouth. Which in truth may be why the last month or so I have felt no push or zest to update the blog because I just felt like...if I'm not actually doing the work, what is there to post and reflect on and to pass on to other people who actually read my blog?

I've been so caught up in the glamour of getting my blog out there and noticed and trying to get more readers so it can be what I see it being in my head that I lost the focus of what it really is about!

I also had this weird privacy set in mind about my family. Yes, dumb since I have a family blog out there for the world to see but I guess I kinda liked the idea of HLC being all about ME! I just can't do that though without them being in it because they are both on the journey with me everyday!

So without further blabbering delay I give you an intro to...E & A.

Meet "E" aka- Evan:
My sweet and amazing husband of 6 years and best friend of 11 years! I jokingly refer to him as my idiot in tin foil sometimes but he truly is amazing in so many ways and he has been my number 1 cheerleader in my weight loss goal and all around "healthy kick". He gained 43lbs while I was pregnant and I gained ZERO. Soon after we became parents though I started gaining and he lost close to 40lbs!!!!  He is one awesome gamer guy who is obsessed with his daughter and works really hard to make his girls happy. I'm just a very blessed woman to have him as my hubby and "baby daddy". :)



Meet "A" aka- Avery or Avery Claire or A.C or "The CuppyCake":
She just turned 3 and is going on 6!! Potty training is being attempted (Lord, have mercy) and she is one amazing little miss. Being her mom I can (and have repeatedly) gushed for hours on end about her. She truly is my everything. She is the most rewarding thing in my life and she keeps me on my toes and laughing non-stop. Evan and I are still trying to figure out how we managed before she came along....

SO there's my happy little family......We're just trying to live healthier lives and this blog isn't just about things I do on that journey but also things we do as a family or a couple or as a picky eating toddler. :)

XOXO-

Brittnye "The HLC"

And Here We Go.

I'm officially back from my AMAZING vacation with the family. Actually, after 2pm tomorrow I will officially be back but alas, I'm off to Austin for another day trip to bring my visiting sister back up to the metroplex before she heads back to NC.

I have so much to catch up on. I doubt I'll be able to post much of it here but feel free to take a peek at the family blog for a bigger/better update since I doubt I'll post it on both blogs.

I'm truly excited for what 2012 is going to be bringing me and my family. My NYE was very fun and laid back with some good friends both old and new. Hope yours was a blast as well.

Also, for the record. I do not do resolutions. So sorry to burst any ones bubble on that blog front. However, I did talk with E about what I truly see for this blog and I am geared up for some changes in format as well as bigger and better entries so thank you so much for sticking with me the last few months.

Remember only 3 more people need to start following before the first giveaway takes place, so spread the blog!

In conclusion, I share with you a sweet picture of me and E from last night. We celebrated our 6th Wedding Anniversary on Friday by driving from Denver, CO back to home sweet home in Texas. Fun, right? Hard to believe it's been 6 years, I'm one lucky lady. ;)

Happy First day of the New Year!!
-Brittnye AKA- The HLC