Author Archives: bec2point0

Recipe Box: Buffalo Chicken* Chili

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*contains no buffalo. Or chicken. I’ll explain.

With my work Biggest Loser competition starting last week, I knew it was time to get back in the kitchen. After being waylaid by the flu and strep throat, I finally got down to business this weekend, and the first order on the agenda was making this chili. I came across the recipe in Weight Watchers Magazine and my entire being was like ‘YES!!’

Because chili. And buffalo chicken. And yum.

The original recipe called for ground skinless chicken breast. This is all-but-impossible to find, so I grabbed ground skinless turkey breast. I also had to make a special trip to buy beer, as this is not something I ever have on hand. The rest of the ingredients are typical panty staples at Casa de Bec.

This chili is GOOD, but I’ll say this. It’s not very chili-like. I don’t know if it’s the color, or the lack of beans (which you could totally add, and I think I will next time), but it doesn’t scream ‘CHILI’ to me. What it does scream is ‘HEALTHY AND DELICIOUS’. And really, that’s more important.

I hope you guys enjoy!

Buffalo Turkey Chili

Adapted from Weight Watchers Magazine, November/December 2013

Prep – 15 minutes

Cook – 30 minutes

Serves – 4

Ingredients:

2 tsp Canola Oil

1 lb ground skinless turkey breast

1 onion, chopped

2 celery stalks, sliced

2 carrots, sliced

12 ounces light beer

1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1 can (14.5 ounces) fire-roasted diced tomatoes

¼ cup hot sauce

¼ cup crumbled Gorgonzola

¼ cup light sour cream

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Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add turkey and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned. Add onion, celery and carrots; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened.

Add beer, broth, tomatoes and hot sauce, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened (about 15 minutes). It doesn’t get particularly ‘thick’, so just cook until your veggies are how you like them.

Garnish each serving (about 1.5 cups) with 1 TBSP each crumbled gorgonzola cheese and light sour cream.

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ENJOY.

No seriously, enjoy. It’s really good. Not too hot, but hot enough. And if you’re doing Weight Watchers, the original recipe lists this as 7 Points Plus per serving. That’s a good deal for a big bowl of chili with toppings. I made this for lunches this week, but it would totally work for dinner with a side salad. Or hey, if your home team has a really good shot of making the Superbowl (Go Pats!), this would be a great addition to a Superbowl party.

We hope you guys enjoy this! What’s your favorite Superbowl party food? Any healthy recipes you want to share with us??

In It to Lose It

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Errrr, win it? Well, be the winner. Or the loser. The biggest loser. Which is the winner of money. And the loser of…some weight.

That made sense, right? No?

Today marks the official start of my company’s ‘biggest loser’ style weight loss competition. This is our second year running it and the person who coordinates all of the health and wellness events for the company (*points to self*) has really amped up the contest this year. Team t-shirts. Lots of prizes. Weekly prizes. Team prizes. And one big mother of a top prize.

$1000

I want it. I really do. But with that much money on the line, I’ve got a lot of competition. 36 people signed up and that is out of a company of just over 100 employees. Which, for the success of the program, I’m thrilled. We’re working to implement health and wellness programs, because unhealthy employees have higher health insurance costs, etc etc. So, if I can get a third of the company the shed some pounds, I’m a ROCK STAR.

But man, I’m scared. Last year’s winner lost 16.9%. At my current weight, that would mean losing 63 pounds. Did I mention this is a 12 week competition? Yeahhhhh.

I mean, really, I don’t think I’m scared of not winning. I’m scared of falling into the same pattern I did last year – stay on track for three weeks, go off track for 7 weeks, get back on track for 2 weeks, lose 3%. That was less fun than it sounds. Oh, it doesn’t sound fun? Yeah, it wasn’t. Even if I don’t win, I’m trying to use these 12 weeks to really kick start me into losing weight, getting exercise and living a healthier lifestyle. And if I also win $1000, that’s cool. (I’m so nonchalant, right?)

I signed up for Weight Watchers online to keep me on track with food. I rejoined my gym to get me moving.  I’ve got my husband on board with cutting back on the junk, and my 16 year old daughter asked if she could be my gym buddy. What else do I need?

I’m going to need cheerleaders. Coaches. Volunteers to toss water in my face as I run by. Maybe we can skip that last one. But all kidding aside, I’m asking for help. Which is something I almost never do. But I’m asking. Help a sister out? If you see me on Twitter and I’m tweeting about how I really want to consume mass quantities of gelato, kick my gently in the rear end? Spam me with healthy recipes? Text me at 5:00AM and ask if I’m on my way to the gym? Or outside shoveling, because heyyyyyy New England.

Footnote: Due to the shockingly unshocking Massachusetts weather conditions in winter, we are currently buried in snow. (If you say ‘It’s so pretty!!!’, I might slug you.) So the start of the program actually got moved until Monday.

Bare Faced Beauty

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We here at Scoot a Doot are all about acceptance. Of each other, of ourselves, and of everyone else. Some of us struggle with the self part more than others (ahem), but we’re working on it, and that’s all that matters. We celebrate beauty, whether it be external or internal. We know that smart, strong, loving women are the most beautiful ones in the world.

This morning, I was trolling through Facebook, as you do, and I came upon a video that a dear friend had posted. It was regarding National Eating Disorder Awareness week, and a newswomen was asking women to post pictures of themselves without makeup on social media with the hashtag #barefacedbeauty. The intent was to raise awareness for eating disorders, body image issues and self-acceptance.

Cool, right? RIGHT.

I am not a daily makeup wearer, but I do NOT allow pictures to be taken when I’m in bare face. (I honestly avoid the camera altogether, but that’s another post for another time). But I did it. And it felt good. 

I personally have suffered with self-esteem issues most of my life. While, I know I am a good mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend and person, sometimes it’s hard to see HER in the mirror. But I’m trying. It’s important for me to pass self-acceptance down to my kids, and to do that, it has to start with me.

Then, Mer followed suit, and I thought ‘hey, let’s rally the chicks and post our sans makeup selfies for all the world to see.’ I was feeling brave. And, of course, my Scoot chicks were all in.

Funny thing about the internet. It can be misleading if you’re not careful. Before I posted, did a quick Google search. Apparently, THIS is not National Eating Disorder Awareness week. It was in Feb/March of this past year.

Whoops. My bad.

And then a bunch of my friends did pictures, too. So, I was feeling like kind of a dork. But then really, is it ever bad to bring awareness to something so many people struggle with? Is it ever a bad day to say ‘today, I love myself and I think I’m beautiful just the way I am?’ This may NOT be National Eating Disorder Awareness Week (although, awesome that one exists!), but does that mean we can’t talk about self-awareness and self-acceptance?

Nope.

So, in all our bare-faced, beautiful glory, are me and my Scoot a Doot sisters.

Bec

Bec

Mer

Mer

Vic

Vic

Brooke

Brooke

Jess

Jess

Cam

Cam

And we all think you are very beautiful, too!

This is 39

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In a year, I’ll be 40. (I know, this kind of feels like one of the American Beauty, ‘in a year, I’ll be dead’ moments, but I promise, it’s not.)

I won’t be dead. I’ll just be 40. Which is practically the same thing if you ask my teenager.

40

40!

It’s the age you don’t trust anyone over. It’s what comes after Thirty-something. It’s the big 4-0. And it’s the number that I swore I’d have my stuff* together by. (To be fair, I also said that about 30. But let’s not go there).

It’s funny how time creeps up on you. All those things I said I’d do before I turned 40? Well, they seemed so doable! I had so much time!

365 days doesn’t feel like a lot of time. It really doesn’t. But, if I play my cards right, 365 days is a lot of time to get stuff* done. I want to use them wisely, so for this, my 39th birthday, I’m giving myself a few gifts that will hopefully see me through the next 365 days and on to a better, healthier, happier future.

Time – To be specific, I’m giving myself the gift of taking time to care for myself and not feeling remotely guilty about it. If I serve dinner a bit late because I snuck in a walk, or walk by the growing laundry pile on the way to gym without so much as a backwards glance, that’s okay. Losing weight and getting healthy requires time, so that is a gift I am going to give my future 40-year-old self. Her smaller behind* will thank me for it.

Dedication – This gift is not easily given, received, or understood, at least by me. What does it mean to be dedicated? Does it mean never eating cheese or cake or cheesecake again? Does it mean that at every moment, my caloric intake has to be at the forefront of my mind? I certainly hope not, because that is just not sustainable for me. But I am giving myself dedication to an overall healthier lifestyle. Which leads to my next gift. (I was once told I was very good to myself. What can I say, I enjoy presents!)

Choice – This gift is a key piece of an overall healthy lifestyle. I can eat what I want. I can eat over my allotted calories sometimes. I can have a piece of cheese, or cake, or cheesecake, or CHEESE AND CAKE, as long as I understand that I have a choice in the matter, and that both sides of these choices has consequences, be they positive or negative. I don’t always have to make the right choice, but I am giving myself permission to own my choices, good or bad.

Joy – It’s time for me to start finding the joy in this process. I don’t have to complain about working out. I don’t have to mourn the lack of ice cream in a given day. I can love the hour I spend walking in the cold (because this is New England, yo) and revel in the fresh fruits and vegetables I eat and be joyful that I have the opportunity to do these things. Maybe not every day, every time, but sometimes. Nobody likes a whiner. 

Inspiration – This is a gift I give myself by surrounding myself with people who make me want to be better. Some of them I am lucky enough to call friends. Others are bloggers telling their stories, just hoping they’ll inspire someone. Momentum can be hard to sustain, so I’ll be seeking out inspiration wherever I can find it, and hopefully, providing some of my own.

Forgiveness – This is a gift that just plain needs to be given. I’ve spent so much time being angry at myself for all the things I’ve done, and the things I haven’t done, to get to where I am physically. And to what end? Holding it against myself, blaming myself… it only serves to hold me where I am. It’s time to let the past be the past, before the present is the past. That made sense, right?

A Clean Slate – The last gift I’m giving myself is a completely clean slate. Whatever I’ve done before, whatever I’ve tried at and failed at, or tried at and succeeded at but quit anyway, it’s all off the table now. Just because I quit running doesn’t mean I can’t start again. And I have to start at the beginning, but that’s okay. With a clean slate, you’ve got nothing but beginnings. I can try something new, or I can try something I’ve already tried before. Weight Watchers worked for me before, and then I quit. And then I went back and it wasn’t the right fit. Doesn’t matter. If I choose to try it again, I can. No dwelling on how it went last time, there is no last time. There is only this time. No day but today, my friends.

So, Happy Birthday to me! I may not love the idea of leaving my 30s, but I am truly looking forward to the idea of ringing in my next ‘decade’ as the happiest, healthiest, best 40-year-old I can be. To that end, these gifts are the greatest gifts I could wish to receive.

A treadmill in the garage wouldn’t suck either, just saying.

*All asterisks are indicators of where I want to use bad words, but as I’m almost 40, I’m trying to be less of a trash mouth. That’s a gift to everyone, I promise.  

Happy Fatsgiving

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Thanksgiving is far and away my favorite holiday. It includes some of my favorite things; food, time with family and friends, food, watching the parade in my jammies, food.

Did I mention food? I like food.

While I love to cook, Thanksgiving is the one day of the year that I go full out. Calories be damned. While I think it’s important to be conscious of what you eat, and to try and make healthy modifications, there’s no health in my Thankgiving dojo. None.

*flings sticks of butter around the kitchen*

My guest list this year stands at twelve. Every year, I worry that everyone else will have made other plans and it will just be the four of us. Which, while it’s lovely to spend time with my husband and kids, I prefer Thanksgiving to be a full house. This year was no exception, but four quickly turned into six, which turned into nine, which turned into twelve. My little house will be packed full of family and I couldn’t be happier. (I also couldn’t be more worried that we won’t have enough pie.)

So what to feed all these people? This is my menu.

Do you think it's enough???

Do you think it’s enough???

Want to come over? We can totally make room.

The meal is always a blend of scratch-made (almost everything) and no so scratch-made (the crescent rolls). I like a LOT of sides. This is not the most over-the-top year, I promise. I’m considering adding more (something squash-y). But the star?

My bird. Twenty-five pounds of turkey that I will love up on in ways that are almost obscene. I make a fresh herb and citrus compound butter and I give that baby a full body massage, including getting up under the skin. And that’s it. I don’t brine. I don’t baste. I don’t fuss. I don’t need to.

I’ve perfected the art of making sure everything is ready at the same time. The key? Don’t drink until your dinner is served. I kid you not, there was an incident with me, a glass of spiked eggnog, my hand and a burner coil. I care to not repeated this experience.

Once we’ve fully glutted ourselves on dinner, the women folk clean up and the men folk watch football. It’s all very 1952. But honestly, I don’t mind at all. As much as the kitchen is my domain on most days, on Thanksgiving, don’t even step in there without an invite. I’ve got this thing wired, baby.

And then dessert. And coffee. With booze in it. I have a semi-illicit affair with a slice of Butterscotch Pecan Pie and then start scooting people’s doots right out the door.

I kid. If you want to hang around, it’s cool by me, but I’m changing into my sweaterpants and snuggling up on the couch. You’re welcome to snuggle next to me.

All in all, I expect it to be a great day. It always is. Food and family and fabulous food. What more could I ask for? I have a lot to be thankful for, Thanksgiving day and every day.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

How do you celebrate Thanksgiving? Do you host, or go visiting? What’s your ‘it’s not Thanksgiving without it’ dish? Tell us all about how you give thanks!

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

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WELL, HI THERE! DID YOU MISS ME? I MISSED YOU!

It’s been a while, huh? Life has been a bit nuts, as it tends to be. A couple months back, it just got to be a little too nuts. I needed to take some time to really focus my attentions on my family and my job and ME. My chicks were totally wonderful and told me to take the time I needed. So I did. Things are more calm now, or maybe I’m just managing the storm a little better. Either way, I’m very glad to be back, AND I have something interesting to talk about.

The Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change

Say what? I know, it’s a mouthful.

I went to a seminar a few weeks ago at work on how to fit fitness into your busy life and they discussed this idea. We’ve actually had a series of these seminars, which I have organized for the company, and I’ve taken something away from each of them. But this? This really stuck with me when I left the room and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. So, I did some research. Meaning I read the Wikipedia article on it.

This model of change was developed back in the late 1970s by a doctor and his colleagues at URI. I’ll give you some more details below, but in short, it is the idea that change is a process that happens in a specific set of stages.

Do me a favor? Think about a change you want to make or are trying to make or have made, and then read through the stages below with that in mind.

The information below is taken directly from the article on Wikipedia.

Stage 1: Precontemplation (Not Ready)

People at this stage do not intend to start the healthy behavior in the near future (within 6 months), and may be unaware of the need to change. People here learn more about healthy behavior: they are encouraged to think about the pros of changing their behavior and to feel emotions about the effects of their negative behavior on others.

Precontemplators typically underestimate the pros of changing, overestimate the cons, and often are not aware of making such mistakes.

One of the most effective steps that others can help with at this stage is to encourage them to become more mindful of their decision making and more conscious of the multiple benefits of changing an unhealthy behavior.

Stage 2: Contemplation (Getting Ready)

At this stage, participants are intending to start the healthy behavior within the next 6 months. While they are usually now more aware of the pros of changing, their cons are about equal to their Pros. This ambivalence about changing can cause them to keep putting off taking action.

People here learn about the kind of person they could be if they changed their behavior and learn more from people who behave in healthy ways.

Others can influence and help effectively at this stage by encouraging them to work at reducing the cons of changing their behavior.

Stage 3: Preparation (Ready)

People at this stage are ready to start taking action within the next 30 days. They take small steps that they believe can help them make the healthy behavior a part of their lives. For example, they tell their friends and family that they want to change their behavior.

People in this stage should be encouraged to seek support from friends they trust, tell people about their plan to change the way they act, and think about how they would feel if they behaved in a healthier way. Their number one concern is: when they act, will they fail? They learn that the better prepared they are, the more likely they are to keep progressing.

Stage 4: Action

People at this stage have changed their behavior within the last 6 months and need to work hard to keep moving ahead. These participants need to learn how to strengthen their commitments to change and to fight urges to slip back.

People in this stage progress by being taught techniques for keeping up their commitments such as substituting activities related to the unhealthy behavior with positive ones, rewarding themselves for taking steps toward changing, and avoiding people and situations that tempt them to behave in unhealthy ways.

Stage 5: Maintenance

People at this stage changed their behavior more than 6 months ago. It is important for people in this stage to be aware of situations that may tempt them to slip back into doing the unhealthy behavior—particularly stressful situations.

Did you find where you are? If you thought about a chance you already made, do you remember going through some version of these stages? I was easily able to see where I am in the process.

In terms of losing weight/getting healthy, I’ve been precontemplating my ass off for a really long time. It’s funny, because the key component of precontemplation is that you’re NOT READY.

How could I not be ready? I felt ready. I felt SO READY! But, if I step back and look at where I’ve been, I really wasn’t. I have completely underestimated the pros (health, longer life, more energy) and overestimated the cons (restriction, namely to cheese and bacon).

But, this isn’t a process that you follow. It’s not like you get up and say ‘today, I will start contemplating’. It’s just a shift that happens. At some point, my precontemplating became contemplating. I started ‘getting ready’. My pros and cons became more equal. I started thinking in a less rigid manner, accepting that lifestyle change does not mean an ALL OR NOTHING mentality towards food and exercise.

And now? I’m in Preparation. Which means I’m still not ready to start today. And that’s totally okay. I’m taking small steps (last week, I tracked a full day of eating on MFP, even though I didn’t change anything I ate that day. Talk about an eye opener.) I’m setting up my support system. I’m making sure I have everything I need in place, because… I’m ready.

I’M READY.

I have 190 pounds to lose. No, that is not a typo. This won’t be easy, nor will it be fast. I’ve had the behaviors that got me here all of my adult life. Finding new ones is a challenge.

But I’m ready. So ready. And one of the notes in the Preparation stage really stuck with me.

People in this stage should be encouraged to seek support from friends they trust, tell people about their plan to change the way they act, and think about how they would feel if they behaved in a healthier way. Their number one concern is: when they act, will they fail? They learn that the better prepared they are, the more likely they are to keep progressing.

That really is my number one concern. Will I fail? Again? I really hope not. But, no one gets to define what constitutes failure except me. So, I’m going to celebrate every success, no matter how small.

And I may need help, which I am never good at saying, and I’m even worse at asking for. But this is about change. So I will let myself ask for help when I need it.

I’m ready.

Have you guys ever heard of this? What do you think? 

Product Review – Vega One Starter Kit

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vega

I love smoothies. Like, I LOVE them. A lot. So when Vega One reached out and asked if we’d be interested in giving the Vega One Starter Kit a try, I was super excited.

Because SMOOOOOTHIES.

When I got the package from Vega, there were actually two starter packs included, so I wrangled the teen into trying them out with me. She’s an athlete and always trying to include healthy options in her diet. You know, to balance out the cheese balls.

The Vega One Starter kit can be purchased online. Each 5 day starter kit comes with 5 packets of shake mix (2 Chocolate, 2 French Vanilla and 1 Berry). I love this. One of my main complaints with a lot of meal replacement shakes is the lack of individual or trial options. Because before I plunk down a mid to large sum of money for a month’s worth of shakes, I kind of want to know what I’m getting into.

They also include a recipe booklet and a coupon in the box, which is cool. But I like to color outside the lines, so I didn’t actually go with any of Vega’s recipes.

I started with Chocolate, which I mixed with frozen bananas, PB2  and almond milk. This is a standard smoothie recipe for me, and usually a hit with the kids as well. If you don’t know what PB2 is, go here. And then buy some. And then write me a thank you note.

Right off the bat, the teen was like ‘Is it kind of…green?’ (It actually does have a hue to it. I didn’t take pictures. Mornings here are chaos enough without me doing ‘smoothie selfies’). I think that threw her off enough that by the time she tried it, her mind was already made up. Teen was not a fan.

The green didn’t bother me since I’ve been known to toss some spinach into my smoothies anyway. I wasn’t sure what to expect taste-wise, but a friend of mine had used Vega products before and she referred to them as ‘plant-y’.

It’s not inaccurate. There is a definite plant-y taste to the smoothies. Which isn’t bad, quite the opposite. But if you’re coming off of run-of-the-mill whey-based or soy-based protein powders, you’re going to notice a difference. Just chill with it for a few days (which the starter kit gives you ample opportunity to do). You’ll get used to the plant-y goodness.

With teen no longer on board, I got a little nutty with the vanilla. Meaning peanuty. And grape-y. I mixed the vanilla powder with almond milk, PB2 and frozen red grapes for a ‘PB&J’ smoothie. YUM. Seriously.

And since I wanted to try one of the smoothies ‘as is’, I made the berry with just almond milk and ice. I wasn’t a fan, but honestly, with some additions, I totally could have been.

I wish I had super exciting pictures to show you but I am fail in that area. Not that smoothie pics are super exciting, but still.

Overall, I really like the Vega products. I felt like I had a lot of energy on the days where I drank these, and they definitely kept me full for a while. Like I said, taste-wise, this ain’t your mama’s protein powder, so if you’re used to overly sweet, artificially flavored powders, you’re going to have to get used to the difference, but it’s a worthy endeavor.

Recipe Box: Lemon Buttermilk Loaf Cake

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When we first started talking about coordinating posts for the Alex’s Lemonade Stand Million Mile Run (check out the Scoot a Doot page, if you’d like) and there was mention of recipes with lemon, I knew exactly what my contribution would be. Maybe it should have been harder to choose, since I love lemon, and cook with it often, but this was a no-brainer for me.

Cake. (See. Total no-brainer). Cake is almost always the answer. And sometimes the question. (Cake? Cake. CAKE!) So, without further waxing poetic about my love of cake, let’s get cooking!

This is adapted from an old Weight Watchers recipe, from the Takeout Tonight cookbook. Long before Points Plus, so I don’t know those values. And I played with it a little. Because I’ve never met a recipe I didn’t think I could make better. I love baking, love the way it makes the house smell, and clearly, love the finished, baked product. But baking is like science. All the measuring and precision. I’m a ‘throw some in there’ kind of girl. But for the purposes of this recipe, I kept that in check. Mostly.

Lemon Buttermilk Loaf Cake

Ingredients:

Cake

1-2/3 cup all purpose flour (mod: the recipe calls for 1-1/3 cups all purpose and 1/3 cup whole wheat flour. If you do this, you’ll want to use whole wheat pastry flour. I skipped the wheat because I just had regular and I don’t like eating bricks).
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
5 TBSP butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
2 egg whites
1 TBSP lemon zest (basically, the zest of one good sized lemon).
1 tsp vanilla (mod: I just threw some in. It’s vanilla. I was feeling whacky.)
3/4 cup buttermilk (mod: I hate buying buttermilk for recipes because it only comes in quarts. I use a buttermilk powder that gets reconstituted, or you can make your own buttermilk).
1/2 cup sifted powdered sugar
1 TBSP fresh lemon juice (I just juice the whole lemon I just zested and use that)

Preheat oven to 350 and spray an 8×4″ loaf pan with cooking spray. I like the cooking spray with flour built in to avoid sticking. The actual recipe calls for cutting out wax paper and putting it in the loaf pan, but I’ve never bothered and I’ve always had perfect cake. Plus, I’m super lazy.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.

With an electric mixer on medium, beat the butter, granulated sugar ,egg/egg whites, lemon zest and vanilla in a large bowl until well blended.

With mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk until just combined.

Pour the mixture into the loaf pan and bake for 50-55 minutes or until done. Place pan on wire rack.

Before

Before

And after!

And after!

Mix powdered sugar and lemon juice ( you may have to add additional juice). Spread over hot bread. Let cool for 20 minutes. Carefully remove bread from pan to a serving plate.

Let cool completely.

EAT.

Now, I forgot that the glazing gets done when the bread is hot, so I went to bed. And now it’s morning and I’m debating whether I should glaze or not. Probably no. The glaze is delicious and makes the cake more lemon-y, but I promise, it’s good without it.

If you’re thinking you can skip your trip to Starbucks for a slice of lemon cake…well, you can, but this cake isn’t the same. It’s not overly sweet and it’s not light or fluffy. This is a dense cake, but delicious, and not terribly bad for you, so all in all, it’s a winner in my book!

Hope you guys enjoy!

Road Tested: It’s Fresh (FRESH)…Exciting!

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So, a while back, my buddy Anne and I blogged about being fathletes. We talked about sports bras and lack of plus sized workout clothes and chub rub.

And swoob. We talked a lot about swoob. Which is either a cute nickname for under-the-breast sweating, or a shortened version of Swamp Boob, depending on who you ask. Hint: Anne and I both say the latter.

Shortly after that post, the awesome folks at Fresh Body asked us if we would like to try their product, Fresh Breasts. We like fresh breasts, so we said yes.  (Like there was even a question! Do we want less swampy boobs? We absolutely do!)

From the Fresh Body website: Fresh Breasts® was scientifically created to keep you and your “girls” dry and unchafed so there’s no more of those uncomfortable and awkward arm-crossed encounters. Women can now rest easy; we’re replacing “swoobs” – dreaded boob sweat – with smiles!

Applied as a lotion that quick-dries into a silky, clump-free powder, Fresh Breasts® can be applied as often as needed and is recommended as part of your daily routine. And, unlike most deodorants and powders, our natural scentless formula is free of all aluminum, parabens, and talc – just as nature intended.

Yay Fresh Breasts!

Yay Fresh Breasts!

Did we get Fresh Breasts? We’ll each tell you a bit about our experience with the product. Disclaimer: There will be no accompanying pictures or photographic proof of this product’s effectiveness because if you think I’m taking a picture of my swoob, you are seriously kidding yourself. I like you guys, and me, way too much for that.

Anne

I was so excited when Chicks Bec and Meri told me that we were going to get to test out Fresh Breasts; I stalked my mailbox, and eagerly ripped into the package from Bec when it arrived. Nevermind that I was at home for the night, lounging in pajamas–I was trying this stuff out right that second.

All in all, I tried the product out on four separate occasions: the aforementioned night at home, a regular workday, and two sweaty and humid 5Ks over the past couple of weeks.

What I liked: The first night, the product really did feel good going on. I was already kind of misty from a long day at work, and there was definite freshening occurring. For the second test, the product held up well over the day–I didn’t have to covertly sneak into my office once to try to get a little air circulating. And I noticed definite improvement in the areas under my bra that tend to chafe. As far as the 5Ks are concerned, I felt a marked difference in “swamp of funk” marinating tendencies. Fresh Breasts didn’t completely eliminate swoob, but it made things less uncomfortable overall, and seemed to speed up the time it took for things to clear up, post-race.

As far as what I was less than impressed with, my biggest issue is with the mess factor. The product website claims that this leaves no powdery residue in your clothing. I have to disagree. Y’all, I was a mess of powdery residue. I’m willing to accept that this is partially my own fault–when I’m getting ready for a 5K at 6am, I am not at my most cognizant. For both 5Ks, I wound up with Fresh Breasts on my thighs, and for regular workday use, there was definitely product left over in my bra at the end of the day. Not the end of the world, but if you’re looking for a mess free solution, you’re going to need to be a lot more careful than I am.

Ultimately, I’d have to say that the product mostly lived up to its claims. This isn’t specifically marketed towards athletes, and so expecting it to do the job perfectly during a 5K where the temperature was creeping up towards 90 by the time I crossed the finish line was a little unreasonable on my part. I’m grateful to the folks at Fresh Body for being generous enough to let us try the product out, and to my Scoot Chicks for inviting me to help.
Bec

Admittedly, athletics took a pretty low spot on the list of Things I Got Done This Summer. Like, at the bottom. Like, it looks like a footnote. So, from a working out perspective, I didn’t get a lot of opportunity to use Fresh Breasts. I did, however, load the ladies up with product on a few really hot and humid days. And then last weekend, I ran (errrr, walked) Diva Dash Boston, a 5k with obstacles, and I made sure to get my Fresh Breasts on.

The Positives – Things definitely felt fresher down there, and from a day-to-humid-as-heck-day perspective, it definitely kept me dry. While the product description indicates that it is scentless, I actually found it to have a light scent, but very pleasant. Application was easy (although I kept getting a little turned around as to just how much of the breast I was supposed to cover – just the underside? Everything but the nips? Full boob? I think I wound up somewhere in the middle.

Anyway, it felt really good going on and dried quickly. There was some residue on my hands once I was done applying, but nothing major and it washed off with soap and water.
The Not So Positives – When it came to exercising, there was definitely still some swoob. Less, but still there. Which is fine. I wouldn’t want anything so strong that sweat couldn’t break through its barrier because I think that would require lathering my breasts with a bunch of nasty chemicals and I’m not down with that. So, I guess that’s not really a negative? I mean, yes I had boob sweat at the end of a hot 5k, but I didn’t have Swamp Boob. And there was no chafing, which was awesome. I’m actually thinking that this would help with chub rub in some other areas.

Speaking of other areas! The also make Fresh Balls for you guys! Because according to the Fresh Body website, 99% of men suffer from sweaty balls. I didn’t know this! And there are some other products, like Fresh Feet and Fresh Baby’s Bottom.

That is our take on Fresh Breasts. Overall, we were fans and will continue to use the product. So, if you see us out on the street, just know that we are pretty dry in the underboob region*.

*Bec, no one in the world besides you cares if your boobs are sweaty. Shut up now.

Thanks Fresh Body for giving us a product that lessens swoob! Now, who has a product that can get me off my couch? Anyone?

New (School) Year’s Resolutions

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Tell me I’m not the only one who makes these? I doubt it.

September is almost upon us, folks. And I, for one, couldn’t be happier. While I love the beach and family vacations and cookouts, every year I am blissed out beyond belief when I see the first signs of Fall.

I love cool weather. I love hot coffee (especially if said coffee is pumpkin flavored). I love baking things. And I love pulling on a hoodie and going out for a walk and coming home NOT SWEATY.

AND IT’S ALMOST HERE!

In addition to loving ALL THINGS FALL, I also love the feeling the new school year brings. It helps me to refocus and get things organized. When you have a full time job, two kids with school and activities and a September full of birthdays, organization is your BF4EVA. Seriously. I’ve spent the last three weeks printing out schedules for the fridge, creating school year contracts for my kids and looking at what needs changing.

I spent the better part of this summer being pretty lax in terms of diet and exercise. There were many nights where we hit Dairy Queen after dinner. Heck, there were a few nights where we hit Dairy Queen FOR dinner. And our Dairy Queen doesn’t serve actual food, so I think you can guess what dinner consisted of. I rarely cooked (in part due to the ridiculously disgusting heat that was July), I barely exercised (completely due to the ridiculously disgusting heat that was July… oh and also to an extreme case of the lazy), and I’ve been a pretty unorganized mess since June.

So, with Labor Day weekend coming right up, I’ve got a plan in place and I’m ready. (I’m SO ready, you guys). It’s time to get back to health and fitness. I’ve got a half marathon in 220 days. Heck, I’ve got an obstacle 5k in 8 days! And I’ve got a lot of weight to lose.

So, tomorrow I’ll be headed back to Weight Watchers. I’ve been paying for the monthly pass since June, but curiously, that alone doesn’t help you lose weight. WHO KNEW?

And Tuesday, I’ll be strapping on my running shoes and getting back out there.  In the cool air. Looking at the pretty leaves. And enjoying the lack of ridiculously disgusting heat.

I’ll check back in a few weeks and let you know how it’s going. Wish me luck!

Disclaimer: This post was going to be filled with pictures of my schedule covered fridge and my basket of organic apples, but my phone died this morning. Sigh. 

Do you guys make Fall resolutions? Are you sad to see summer go? Or are you like Bec, running around her yard, yelling VIVA LA AUTUMN?