It's Worth All The Extra Bathroom Trips!

This is sponsored content from BlogHer and Crystal Light.

I started a health kick about five weeks ago. I decided I was tired of being fat and having no clothes that fit. I was successful losing weight like six years ago (and have since put it all back on) and I wanted to get back to that person, the person who was confident, happy with her weight and HEALTHY.

Since I started, I’ve lost six pounds. It is a slow and steady race. Especially now that I’m in my 30s. (I lost that weight so fast 6 years ago when I was in my mid-20s and could totally still lose weight after having some bad days here and there. Oh the slowing of your metabolism as you get older is a cruel, cruel joke.) But I’m succeeding and I will have lost this weight by the end of the year, come hell or high water.

The biggest thing I’ve learned through dieting is how important it is to drink water. I mean, we should all be drinking our 8 glasses of water a day to stay hydrated. Our body is made of mostly water. It NEEDS water to live. But it is so much more important for me to remember this when I’m trying to lose weight. Because 90% of the time when I’m hungry and want a snack? I’m really thirsty. Or bored. And drinking water cures me of that, most of the time. So I’m not sticking gobs of cake into my pie-hole when I’m not really hungry at all. Gobs of cake = why my pants stopped fitting.

It’s amazing how when I don’t stay hydrated, how easy it is for me to get tired and cranky, especially in this insanely hot summer we’re having. Just last weekend I realized later in the afternoon that the only thing I had to drink all day was an iced coffee. So no wonder when I was driving home at the end of the day, sitting in traffic in the heat sitting, I was so cranky I was ready to punch something, or someone.

Like I’ve mentioned before, I keep a big bottle of water on my desk at work to drink throughout the day. The first thing I do once I get home, after I change into my comfy clothes/pajamas, is pour myself a huge glass of Fruit Punch Crystal Light to drink before dinner. It keeps me full and keeps me alert so that I can spend my evenings watching all sorts of bad reality television.

So tell me, how does staying hydrated help you?

Let me know by leaving me a comment and you will be entered for a chance to win a $100 Visa gift card that I will be giving away at the end of the month! (Please be sure to leave an email address in your comment so we can contact you if you win!)

And don’t forget to check out the Blogher.com CLB exclusive offers page for the other six participating blogs for more chances to win!

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My Motivators

This is sponsored content from BlogHer and Crystal Light.

For any of you that know me or read my blog, you know that my family is very important to me, especially my nieces and nephews. Those four kids mean the world to me.

I can’t believe how fast time moves and how old they are getting. Just a few years ago, they were babies (well, minus my brand new niece who is still a baby). Now they are in school and real people! With friends and lives of their own! I’m so glad I made the decision to move back to Chicago five years ago so I could be a part of their lives as they grow up. I look forward to being there for all the big moments in their lives that will happen down the road – graduations, dating, sports, marriage, kids, etc.

So it is important that I’m still around for all these momentous occasions. It is why I try to make sure that I stay healthy and take care of myself and eat right and make sure I’m getting all the essential vitamins and minerals I need to live a long, healthy life.

One way I do that is by drinking Crystal Light instead of its full-sugar counterparts. You see, I have been a fan fruit drinks my entire life. We never drank soda growing up. It was always Kool-Aid, the full-sugar kind. I cringe now thinking about just how much I drank growing up and just HOW MUCH SUGAR was in each pitcher! YIKES! No wonder I was so chubby growing up!

Those kinds of drinks, full of sugar, are just empty calories. They don’t make you feel full, yet they can pack on the pounds. They say just cutting out regular soda from your diet can help you lose pounds per year! POUNDS! I think we all know enough about health guidelines to know that carrying around extra weight is not healthy. And neither is all that sugar.

I choose to be healthy, for myself, and for my nieces and nephews who need their favorite auntie to be around for a long, long time.

So tell me, who or what motivates you to lead a healthy lifestyle?

Let me know by leaving me a comment and you will be entered for a chance to win a $100 Visa gift card that I will be giving away at the end of the month! (Please be sure to leave an email address in your comment so we can contact you if you win!)

And don’t forget to check out the Blogher.com CLB exclusive offers page for the other six participating blogs for more chances to win!

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Avoid Becoming A Stress Ball

This is sponsored content from BlogHer and Crystal Light.

When I was right out of college and working for the 49ers, my way of handling stress was to lash out at everyone and yell and scream. Good plan, huh? It’s a wonder I kept that job for six years.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve tried to manage my stress levels better. I realize that no good comes from becoming a stress ball and taking it out on those around me.

Some of the ways I have learned to manage the stress in my life is to be cognizant of it. It would be nice if we could all live stress-free lives, but that is just a fantasy. Stress is part of our everyday lives. So instead of getting so stressed I explode, these days I try to recognize the stress and take a step back and take a deep breath and analyze the situation before reacting.

When I’m at work, I usually get up from my desk and take a walk through the building. Just getting away from the stressful email/project/phone call reminds me to relax and work through the stress.

I also try to exercise when I’m feeling stressed. It gives me something to focus on and gives me the endorphins that make me feel carefree.

Stress tends to affect my sleeping habits. If I have a lot going on, especially at work, I tend to not be able to sleep and spend the night tossing and turning, thinking about all I have to do the next day when I get into the office. I usually wake up tired and cranky and stressed.

On those days, I start my day with Crystal Light Sunrise Classic Orange. It has 100% of the daily Vitamin C I need, plus antioxidants and is a good source of calcium. It is a perfect way to start the day refreshed and take away the stress from a bad night’s sleep.

So tell me, how do you manage your stress levels?

Let me know by leaving me a comment and you will be entered for a chance to win a $100 Visa gift card that I will be giving away at the end of the month to one lucky winner! (Please be sure to leave an email address in your comment so we can contact you if you win!)

And don’t forget to check out the Blogher.com CLB exclusive offers page for the other six participating blogs for more chances to win!

Click here for my Crystal Light Home Page for a list of all my posts throughout this campaign.

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Stay Hydrated!

This is sponsored content from BlogHer and Crystal Light.

Last year, Chicago had a mild summer. Any of you that came to visit for BlogHer will probably remember. It was cool and not humid. In fact, I think we had warmer temps in November than we did all summer in 2009.

This year, Mother Nature is not being so nice. She has decided to go the opposite route and make this summer a hot and insanely humid one. Which means that I am constantly sweating. And I’m constantly thirsty. So making sure I’m hydrated is uber important, because I don’t want to pass out on the street and get robbed.

(Did I ever tell you about the time I passed out while WORKING as an usher at an Arizona Cardinals game? Because I woke up and went right to work, standing in the 100 degree sun on a Sunday morning? And that I passed out in the line to get a bottle of water, clearly too late, and someone stole the money out of my hand? Moral of the story? DRINK YOUR WATER!)

So anyway, it is important to stay hydrated, especially in these summer months. And especially if you’re like me and use these summer months to drink beer outside during street fests and baseball games and out on a patio to celebrate because it is Tuesday and it isn’t snowing.

But it is hard to remember to drink enough water, even in the hot summer months. Life is busy and I’d rather do most anything than stop having fun to drink some water. One way I remember to drink enough water is by keeping a big water bottle on my desk at work. And it has a straw and for some reason, I can drink so much more water when there is a straw involved. And thankfully my bottle has measurements on it so I know how much I drink throughout the day and to make sure I’m getting in my 8 glasses!

But water is kind of gross tasting, am I right? So it is hard, sometimes, to choke it down and stay hydrated. Sometimes I come home from work and am absolutely parched. And I want nothing more than another glass of water to quench my thirst.

Enter Crystal Light. A great way to flavor your water and for only a few calories and no added sugar! WIN!

Every night when I get home, as I’m making dinner, I will pour a big glass of water and add my Crystal Light To-Go pack of Fruit Punch to it and all of a sudden, just a few minutes later, I’ve hydrated myself with 16 oz of water! Just like that! And even better is the water tells my brain that I’m not as hungry so I don’t gorge on my dinner and regret it later when my pants don’t fit.

And clearly it’s working, judging by the red mouth!

So tell me, how do you remember to stay hydrated, especially in these hot, summer months?

Let me know by leaving me a comment and you will be entered for a chance to win a $100 Visa gift card that I will be giving away at the end of the month! And don’t forget to check out the Blogher.com CLB exclusive offers page for the other six participating blogs for more chances to win!

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