Picture this: You’re sitting at home watching a movie with your spouse. It’s Friday night and you’re both winding down from a long workweek. You have your favorite movie playing: Moonrise Kingdom, a Wes Anderson classic.

Friday night movie night is your favorite weekly ritual. It’s a time when you and your spouse can finally sit back and relax together. What makes this night even more special is the designated movie treat you take turns choosing. In an attempt to be extra amazing, your spouse picked up two extra thick Oreo shakes with an extra box of Oreo’s for dipping. You’ve kept your commitment to make healthy habits all week. But when you see your spouse standing there with their cute smile and that creamy delicious escape in their hands, you collapse into their arms, press play on the remote and dig in.

Sound familiar? I know it definitely does for me. You want nothing more than to have a healthy lifestyle. You’re sick and tired of feeling sick and tired all the time. You wake up every day feeling bloated, lethargic and it’s as if your joints have swelled three times their size during the night. You don’t have the energy you used to when running around with your kids after school. It’s becoming a strain on your relationships. It’s time to make a change.

But there is one thing holding you back…your spouse.

Your spouse is the sweetest person you’ve ever met. They love you for you and are your biggest supporter! When you got married you promised to be there for each other no matter what. So why do they seem to be the one always standing in your way to have a healthy lifestyle?!

I’m here to help ease your mind a bit and let you know how your spouse may be completely sabotaging your plans for a healthier YOU.

1. Busy days

-Similar to the scenario above, some weeks may be harder, longer, more tiring than others. This makes it easier to fall into habits you may not wish for because your body simply wants anything that is easily accessible/comforting. Your spouse clearly needs the same thing and if they also want/need easy access they’re going to think you want or need it as well.

2. Hurt feelings

-People feel happiness and satisfaction in doing things for others. Especially spouses. If you came home from a long day at work and your spouse brought home your most favorite dessert, it’ll be much harder to turn down the offering. You don’t want to hurt their feelings because they did this kind gesture just for you! If you’re trying to make changes, you need to make sure they understand your intentions and that you’re not mad at them.

3. They’re already fit

-Your spouse may have the metabolism where it’s perfectly fine to eat whatever and they won’t gain a pound. This is hard for you because you’re not this way! And that’s perfectly okay! The problem is if they want dessert they have it and they don’t understand how hard it is for you to say no.

4. Insecure/unhealthy themselves

-Maybe you and your spouse have been living an unhealthy lifestyle. You may have been raised in a family where everyone ate healthy food, were very active, etc. Your spouse may have grown up the opposite way: eating out six days a week, spending most of their time indoors, staying up late. You’ve found comfort in this lifestyle for a long time so making the decision to change is scary! Whether you make the decision or not, it will be hard for your spouse because they may not be ready to make a change for themselves quite yet. They’re still too insecure about their lifestyle choices to make a drastic change yet.

5. Doesn’t see the need to help

-When you got married you made promises to always be there for each other no matter what. Unfortunately that may not always come true. Your spouse may see a lifestyle change as only something you need to make. They’re completely content with exactly where they are in life so why change something good? What they don’t realize is how maybe making simple, small changes will make all the difference for you.

6. They’re lazy/not into fitness

-Not everyone loves to do 100 burpees or run 26.2 miles or even lift 25lb dumbbells. Having a healthy lifestyle does also require some type of physical activity along with eating right. Whether that’s killing yourself in they gym everyday, biking, or walking, just being active will kick your metabolism into gear and help get you where you want to go. If your spouse isn’t into the gym scene, try getting them to go walking with you.

7. They’re afraid you won’t love them anymore

-This is what everyone is afraid of. Ok so you’ve made your list of goals, done the necessary shopping for your meal prepping, you’re going to sleep more, get outside and spend more time with the kids. You sit your spouse down to go over these things so you can know whether they’ll be on board. All you’re looking for is a simple, “That sounds great Honey, I support you 100%!” But instead you get a sigh followed with, “This sounds great Hon and I’m happy for you. But what happens when you make these changes but I’m still the way I am? Why would you have any reason to still love me?” These are tough questions but they’re honest and sincere. Trust me, having these one-on-ones will end up being extremely beneficial for your plans as well as your overall relationship.

I hope these reasons have been able to give you a bit more clarity as to why your spouse may be doing these things or acting the way they are.  Soon we’ll dive into how you can help them understand your reasons and need for wanting to change!

Did you like this post? Check out these other relationship posts!

18 Simple Keys To A Happier Marriage

25 Engaging Questions to Ask Your Hubby Besides “How Was Your Day?”

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Lick away! And yes, you are welcome…

If this picture doesn’t inspire you to start making popsicles, I don’t know what will! These Real Food Rainbow Popsicles from Healthy Indulgences look divine.

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Debbie, Sherri and I have been working together to lose weight and get in shape. We have spent the last three months changing our poor eating habits. Goodbye, sugar, junk, and processed foods. Hello, healthy whole foods, lean meats, fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, and seeds. As of today, I have dropped 30 of the 50lbs I need to lose.

I remember my father telling me. “Losing weight is the easier half of a healthy lifestyle.” “Maintaining the weight loss permanently is the hard part.” I’ve proved him right by losing and regaining the same weight over the last 20 years.

Changing my eating habits alone will not be enough to get those last 20lbs pounds off and maintain my new physique long term.

The key to my success is adding daily exercise to my routine. Which brings me back to the question should I get a Fitbit? It seems like everyone around me owns one. After doing some research, I decided to take the plunge and purchased a Fitbit Flex.

The answer to my question is yes, using a Fitbit helps me achieve my fitness goals. I choose the Fitbit Flex, because I like the sleek design, and the price worked with my budget.

Over time, diet and exercise can become monotonous. Here is how my Fitbit gets me going and helps make the process more enjoyable.

It gets me MOVING!

When you get your Fitbit, the default goal for every member is set at 10,000. This number has been chosen because the medical community (domestic and international) have found exercising at this level helps to improve overall health and lower the risk of heart disease. It also aids in weight loss, lowering high blood pressure, decreasing waist size, and BMI.

I started with 2,000 steps per day. After finding out how easy it was to reach 2,000, I increased my steps a day to 6,000. I’m working towards 10,000 steps a day. Instead of parking as close as I can to any store when shopping, I choose to park at the last parking space instead. I skip elevators and take the stairs instead. It’s amazing how making simple changes like this help rack up the steps.

Motivation to Excercise – Compete with Friends and Family

You can use the Fitbit app to create groups of friends, family or co-works. Once everyone joins the group the Fitbit app provides a summary of everyone’s steps in order of highest to lowest. Each person in the group then competes to earn a spot at the top of the competition list. The more you compete, the healthier you get. Deb, Sherri and I are going to start a challenge with each other, and I intend to win!

Tracking Exercise and Weight

Before my Fitbit I used to color in the days I had worked out on my desk calendar. I tracked my weight on a separate spreadsheet in a secret location never to been seen by anyone but me! Now both my weight and exercise are recorded in one place on my Fitbit.

Sleep Patterns Tracked

When I crawl into bed, I put my Flex into sleep mode and my sleep patterns are recorded. If I forget, I can manually input when I went to bed and when I wake up. The summary displays when I was restless and when I was in my deepest sleep. Reviewing my sleep patterns helped me realize I need to be better about getting more zzzzz’s.

Customizable Food Log/Calorie Tracker

I can use it as a food log and calorie tracker. Even if I forget to add the calorie count for each item, looking at my daily food log helps me make healthier choices.
Adding food entries is easy, you can choose from an extensive list of groceries and restaurant food. You can also create custom lists of foods you eat on a regular basis.

The Design

I like the slim, sleek design, having a battery life of five to seven days, and it’s water resistant. I don’t have to take it off to shower or wash dishes. Different color bands are available to jazz it up if you get tired of the black band.

Silent Alarm

A silent alarm can be used so I will wake up on time without disturbing my husband.

Easy to Use

It only takes a couple of taps on the wristband for me to see where I stand at reaching my daily goal.

Let us know if you have a Fitbit, we’ll create a TGIF-This Grandma is Fun! group and invite you to join!

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Clean eating meme from BuzzFeedUK

Is this your ideal version of clean eating? I know I sure wouldn’t complain if this was what being a clean eater entailed! But, alas, it is not. So if clean eating does not require one to eat their favorite food while soaking in a luxurious bubble bath (which I would fully support if that became a thing, by the way), What Is Clean Eating?

Now, I have a disclaimer. This post is by no means meant to convince you to change your whole life, but rather to simply to inform you. I say “whole life” because let’s be honest- our lives revolve around food.

We have specific time slots where our body tells us we need to eat and if we skip those times, our body is going to let us know it is not happy. Food is the center of social events. Food is what gives our bodies fuel. Food is…Ok, well you get the picture! Food is important.

So what is clean eating?

To put it simply, clean eating is generally staying away from processed and refined foods and consuming whole foods. But even this definition comes with caveats.

There is a wide spectrum of clean eaters and what people deem as whole foods/processed foods. Some say that anything with a label disqualifies it from the category of whole foods. However, in my opinion, if we are to be realistic, you probably would need to live on or near a farm to live off of that definition of whole foods.

Others say that whole foods can have a label, just stay away from those with a long list of ingredients. This tells you that the food has been processed or refined as little as possible.

I personally like the definition of what clean eating is given by Manuel Villacorte, MS, RD,

“I define a clean eater as someone whose diet consists of 80 to 90 percent whole foods, 80 to 90 percent cooking and preparing their foods from scratch, using minimally-processed foods and including superfoods in their diets.”

Read what other registered dietitians say about their definition of clean eating here.

From my research, it seems some may refer to clean eating as a diet (or use it as a diet/way to detox), but most qualify it as a lifestyle choice. So what are the shalls and shall nots of clean eating? Here is the general consensus that I discovered from my research.

What are the Thou shalts?

Thou shalt eat five to six times a day. Now, don’t go eating six big meals! It’s more like three meals and two to three snacks. The idea behind this is to have a steady intake of food that will keep your metabolism going. Hopefully, you’ll be less likely to reach for your favorite vending machine food if you’ve been eating throughout the day.

Thou shalt eat whole foods. Choose whole, natural foods when you hit up the grocery store. Again, this commandment of the clean eaters is dependent on your definition of whole foods. But the overall principle is to consume fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low fat dairy, and grass-fed/free-range meats. The types of food allowed in clean eating is where the Paleo diet vastly differs.

Thou shalt include protein, carbohydrate, and fat at every meal. We’ve heard it time and time again from our moms and teachers, it is important to have a balanced diet. I am such a slacker with this all-too-true advice. I’m always like, “Why yes of course, I’ll take another roll…” (six rolls later).

Half the battle is striving to include a variety of foods in your diet. The other half of the battle is portion control. I’d recommend checking out the recommended portion sizes from the U.S. National Library of Medicine, you’re sure to have some new food goals.

Thou shalt veggie-up. If I was to become a clean eater, this would be a struggle for me. It’s not that I don’t like veggies, I do. Rather it is remembering to include them in my diet.

Vegetables are stuffed full of vitamins and fiber, which helps you feel full and gives your bodyits needed nutrients. So making a concentrated effort to include those veggies in your diet for eating clean is key!

This Grandma Is Fun has some great clean eating Recipes to look through if you are interested in cooking up a tasty meal. Below are a few that I picked out for my meal hit list.

Stuffed Flank Steak Kabob

Mediterranean Chicken Salad and Creamy Balsamic

Healthier Chocolate Trail Mix Bites

What are the Thou shalt nots?

Thou shalt not eat processed food and refined sugars. Avoiding processed foods that have a long list of ingredients on the label is probably the best way to go. If you can’t even pronounce the ingredient, healthy eaters say to avoid it like the plague.

Try incorporating/substituting those refined grains (like white flour) with whole grains like quinoa, brown rice, whole wheat bread, oats, amaranth, and others. If refined sugar is a hard one, Elle Paula from SFGate, offers some great suggestions on How to Eliminate Refined Sugars.

Thou shalt not drink away all your calories. Drink my calories? Yes, you read right. Avoid soda, coffee, and other high calorie drinks. Also, limit your alcohol intake. The recommended limit is one drink per day for women and two for men. Strive to stick with water, low-fat/skim milk, or 100 percent fruit juice.

Thou shalt not indulge your salt, fat, and sugar cravings. Cutting back on processed foods will already help you reduce your consumption of this tantalizing trio, especially salt. Americans eat way more than the recommended 2,300 mg of sodium a day. Try to use spices instead to turn up the flavor on your meal.

Fats. You need not avoid them all together, remember there are healthy fats! Try to replace some of those common fats (whole milk, butter, sour cream, fatty cuts of meats) with olive oil, nuts, peanut butter, avocado, fish, low-fat dairy, and other yummy substitutes.

Sugar. This one can be catching-a-gazelle-kind-of-hard-thing to avoid if it is normally part of your diet, which for most it is. So start small. Look for foods without sugar as an ingredient or make sure it is listed closer to the end. Limit yourself on soda, candy, desserts, and some boxed cereals.

Some Tips

• Don’t buy it just because it says it is “clean.” Do your research because you may end up spending more money then you’re wallet can take.
• Spice it up. When switching from processed foods to whole foods, things can taste pretty bland. So dive into your spice cabinet or stock up on those much needed spices. My favorite go to spices include basil, rosemary, parsley, cinnamon, nutmeg, cumin, paprika, and dill.
• Remember, just because it’s called “clean” eating does not mean that other foods are “dirty.” Nor should we food shame those who choose not to go with the clean eating regiment. Jaclyn London, a registered dietitian, wrote a great article over at Good House Keeping addressing clean eating and this particular topic more fully.
• Don’t obsess over it. In the article I mentioned above, London recommends to embrace indulgence. If we become too obsessed with checking every little thing we eat (unless of course you have an allergy or medical condition), we forget that it’s ok to eat something we want. Like that tub of cookie dough ice cream sitting in my freezer… It’s all about moderation.

Well, I hope you learned a little bit more about exactly what is clean eating!

Clean eating is similar to the Paleo diet. To learn more about the Paleo diet and how it differs from clean eating click here!

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Well, let me first tell you that no, you don’t have to eat raw meat.

I personally had no clue what Paleo even was before I started researching it. However, my attitude toward it drastically changed as I realized all it requires. While I’m not ready by any means to jump in and become a full fledge Paleo dieter (I’d have to give up my addiction to cheese, peanut butter, brownies, ice cream, and well…sweets), I do feel a desire to be a bit more conscious about what I put into my body.

Hopefully after reading this, you can nod along with your friends and actually understand what they mean when they say, “I’m going Paelo.” Whether or not you decide to join them is your choice.

The post “What is the Paleo Diet” may contain affiliate links. For more information, click to see our disclosure policy.

So What Is The Paleo Diet?

To put it simply, the Paleo diet includes eating foods that our hunter gatherer ancestors who lived in the Paleolithic era consumed. It’s all about taking it back to the basics.

According to Wikipedia, the main concepts of this diet have been around for some time (well obviously back to the stone age!), but it was Loren Cordain, Ph.D., who started the Paleo movement and popularized the diet with his published book, The Paleo Diet: Lose Weight and Get Healthy By Eating the Foods You Were Designed to Eat.

Many athletes stick to this diet and it is even sometimes called the CrossFit diet. There are also many with Celiac Disease or a gluten allergy who prefer to eat Paleo. Others choose to go Paleo because of the health benefits associated with the diet.

Paleo followers may enjoy some of these health benefits:

• Weight loss
• Improvement in mental outlook
• Better cardiovascular and metabolic health
• More energy and better sleep

Other health benefits can be found here. The ultimate purpose of the Paleo diet is to enjoy a healthier, longer life.

However, there is the risk of calcium and vitamin D deficiency, as well as, a risk of toxins from consuming too much fish. Most people report experiencing a period of feeling sick for the first couple of weeks as their body adjusts to a new diet, but sometimes it is just a couple days.

So when it comes down to the nitty-gritty of it all, what can and can’t you eat? Now, not all experts agree on the same guidelines of what qualifies as Paleo and what doesn’t, but here is the general consensus from my research.

What Can You Eat?

Following this hunter-gather-diet can be a bit expensive – both in the money and time department. It takes planning, dedication, and creativity! So what’s ok to have on your Paleo menu?

• Lean meat
• Seafood
• Eggs
• Fruit
• Vegetables (non-starchy and roots)
• Nuts
• Seeds

Just so you could get a taste of what to expect in a day, I included this awesome example for a Paleo-delicious meal plan curtious of the folks over at Paleo Plan.

Breakfast
-Eggs, sausage, mushrooms, onions, garlic, and kale
-Sauteed and scrambled in coconut oil
-Avocado to top it off

Lunch
-Tossed green salad with tons of veggies (spinach, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc.)
-Grilled chicken/beef/pork
-Olive oil, herb, and lemon juice dressing
-Cantaloupe, blackberries, and pecans

Snack
Leftover baked salmon and red peppers

Dinner
-Venison steak
-Steamed summer squash with lemon juice, coconut milk, and cinnamon
-Sauteed asparagus 

Dessert
-1 or 2 dates

Now, whether you are for or against diets similar to the Paleo diet, you have to give props to those who do follow them. It takes a lot of planning and preparation.

If you want to try some other great Paleo dishes, click on these recipes below.

*Disclaimer: There are some ingredients found in these recipes that don’t fully qualify as Paleo. So you can either take them out, find a replacement, or use them as part of your transitional recipe stage!

Baked Egg Tomato Cups

Roasted Squash Tacos

What Should You Avoid Eating?

Because the basic pretense of the Paleo diet originates from our great great great great great…well you get the picture…great ancestors in the Paleolithic era and what they would have eaten, there are quite a few foods we eat without thinking that are off limits.

So here is the low down on the no-nos:

• Grains
• Cereals
• Legumes
• Dairy products
• Processed foods
• Refined sugars

Obviously, this is a lot to cut out of your diet immediately. Those over at CrossFit Paradox explain nicely the idea behind this type of eating,

“It causes you to burn fat for fuel decreasing body fat, avoids storing excess glucose as fat, helps maintain hormonal balance and decreases inflammation in the body.”

So if you are trying to decide if this diet is for you, I’d highly recommend doing your own research before jumping on the Paleo bandwagon. I particularly loved reading about people’s experiences! Here is one of my favorite articles I found from Women’s Health Magazine, 7 Things No One Tells You About Going Paleo.

So now can you answer the question, “What is the Paleo diet?” Hopefully! I know I understand it a whole lot better! At least now I know what I could cook for my friends and family who are following the diet.

The Paleo diet is similar to clean eating. To learn more about the clean eating and how it differs from the Paleo diet click here.

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Several years ago I burned my hand pretty seriously. I had opened up the dishwasher mid cycle to add another dirty utensil and saw that a fork had fallen out of the basket and was lying at the bottom of the dishwasher. So I reached my fingers to get it, and…does it feel like I am about to say something that will make you have that nails on a chalkboard feeling? Before I tell you what happened, let me just tell you, I am okay now. I lived. But man it hurt! My hand touched the heating element and in seconds I was in terrible pain. I developed one huge, oblong blister along the palm of my hand that took more than a month to heal. I vowed to be more careful and not let anything like that happen again.

But it has been years since the dishwasher incident happened.

I got careless.

I forgot.

And I knew it was going to be bad…

until…

I remembered I had pinned this article! It was about sunburns but, I decided to give the top two remedies a try. Because…

I was desperate!

I layered lavender essential oil and then aloe vera gel over and over again until it had almost formed a second skin.

By bedtime, I hardly felt any pain at all.

That is when I made a mistake. I figured the lavender essential oil and aloe vera had done their job. I didn’t realize they were still doing their job. And just before bed, I washed my hands. Boy did I regret it! The pain returned and I started the whole layering process over again until I got relief. I left it on for the next 24 hours and then washed it off. To my relief there was no blistering, no redness, just thick dry skin where the worst of the burn was. I didn’t even bother taking a picture of my hand for this post, because it just looked normal. A few days later the dry skin where it would have blistered peeled away and that was it. 

I was pretty convinced that this pin rocks.

But one time is not really enough data. Then…my daughter burned her finger and we ran to get our burn salve. Same thing happened. Completely healed the next day.

So I have to say, I am totally convinced. My kitchen will now always have these two ingredients in stock.

This pin rocks! But it doesn’t burn. Or it rocks on burns! Yeah, that’s it. This pin rocks on burns!

Sharing this with:A Bowl Full Of,Living Well Spending Less, Lamberts Lately,Chef In Training, Mandy’s Recipe Box, Inside BruCrew Life, Lady Behind The Curtain

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I’ve seen many pins about Biotin, but my first thought was “if it sounds too good to be true, don’t try it!”. Well, I found a new stylist that is wonderful, and guess what she told me to start using? Biotin! She said to get it from my local grocery or drug store, take one 5,000 mcg pill a day. She said I should see results in 2 to 4 weeks. I really like my stylist, she is a personal friend and my daughters babysit her kids. But, I was still a skeptic. The thinner your hair gets, the more desperate you become. I figured I had nothing to lose by trying it (Haha no pun intended).

Imagine my surprise when 2 1/2 weeks later I found new hair growing along my hairline! My first thought was, well it’s probably just some breakage. I held onto my skepticism. Prior to taking this, my hair loss had progressed to the point that you could actually see my scalp in the bang area of my head. Another week went by and what I thought was breakage was new hair growth that was getting longer! IT WORKS! Did you hear that……BIOTIN WORKS FOR NEW HAIR GROWTH! I am thrilled! Even my husband starting noticing that my hair was thicker. After 6 weeks you can no longer see my scalp in the bang area of my head. I have also been CURSED with paper thin nails. The result with my nails is not as dramatic as with my hair, but there has been improvement.

So, as always, before trying something new check with your doctor, especially if you are already taking any medication(s). My advise; if he/she tells you it’s OK to take it, but warns you it won’t work, RUN, don’t walk to the store and start taking some ASAP! Since it can’t hurt, it is worth a try. Leave a comment and let me know if it works for you as well as it has for me!!! Good luck

THIS PIN TOTALLY ROCKS!

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