music monday! training tunes

In honor of this past weekend  spent at the Coachella Music Festival this week’s training tunes will give you a taste of the many concerts that were performed. Enjoy this music motivation!

j&j

Young Forever- Jay-Z

Little Secret- Passion Pit

Cape Code Kwassa Kwassa-Vampire Weekend

Uprising-Muse

Sweet Disposition-Temper Trap

Your English is Good-Tokyo Police Club

Animal-Mike Snow

Yea Yeah-Matt & Kim

Lasso-Phoenix

Time to Pretend-MGMT

small changes, big rewards

Let’s face it you are a busy gal! At befitnpretty.com we don’t think that eating right should be difficult or time consuming, in fact we think it should be downright easy. So in lieu of trying to do a complete diet overhaul, we think one of the best ways to start leading a healthier life is make one small but positive change to your diet each week.

Build on to these positive changes each week and pretty soon, all of these little tweaks will add up to some big payoffs in your overall health and well being. Not sure where to begin?  Start with the suggestions on the list below and you will be looking and feeling fit·n·pretty in no time!

Small food changes that reap big rewards:

– Add one serving of fruit to your breakfast and lunch.

– Make sure you get two servings of veggies at dinner.

– Switch to non-fat or 1% milk.

– Switch from white pasta and rice to whole-wheat pasta and brown rice.

– Cut 100 calories from you day (like that extra slice of bread or piece of candy).

– Buy 100% Whole Wheat Bread instead of white.

– Switch from regular soda to diet, or better yet sip on unsweetened iced tea or water with a slice of lemon or cumber instead.

Small behavior changes that reap big rewards:

– Make time to eat a healthy breakfast every morning.

– Start eating your meals off of smaller plates and out of smaller bowls.

– Don’t eat out of the container or package; pre-portion all of you meals or snacks into a bag, bowl, or onto a plate for better portion control.

– Actually enjoy your meals and put away your work /turn off the radio, TV, and computer while you eat.

– Add a small snack (around 100-200 calories) in between breakfast and lunch. Then again between lunch and dinner. You will get better control of your hunger and will be less likely to overindulge at those meals.

– Instead of pouring the dressing on your salad, use the “fork trick” and just dip your fork in the dressing before taking a forkful of lettuce. You will be shocked at how little dressing you actually need.

j&j

frugal foodie: organic eggs

I love eggs, quite honestly from my head down to my legs. One of my earliest memories is of my mom teaching me how to properly dip crunchy whole wheat toast into my egg yolk. To this day I have an egg every morning whether it be hardboiled, poached, over easy, scrambled in an omelet, or baked into a frittata. Which is really the best part about eggs; they are inexpensive and incredibly versatile, making for a filling breakfast, lunch or dinner. While my consumption may seem a little excessive, I truly feel eggs make for a perfect meal and up until about a year ago I did not discriminate in my egg selection.  As an egg lover, all eggs were created equal which proved to be true until I indulged in my first farm fresh organic egg. Since then, I have searched far and wide for the most inexpensive options and below are the best deals I have found.

Why organic cage free eggs? Some of the reasons are obvious. By choosing cage free eggs you are supporting the humane treatment of animals where farmers allow the hens to roam freely.  Also by choosing free range organic eggs over conventionally farmed eggs you reduce your exposure to toxins found in non-organic feed, normally fed to caged chickens. In addition by choosing eggs produced by hens raised with a superior diet and lifestyle you will instantly notice a change in flavor and texture. Don’t believe me?  Do a taste test for yourself, you will not be disappointed!

jaclyn

Just a note: the numbers below may differ slightly depending on where in the country you live, but after calling around and checking online these prices seem to be pretty consistent for most geographic regions.

Brand	Store	Price
Safeway O Organics Organic Grade A Large Brown Eggs (free roaming)	Safeway	$4.39/12 count
Trader Joe’s Free Range Organic Grade A Large Brown Eggs	Trader Joe’s	$4.69/12 count
Farmers Harvest: Free Range Extra Large Organic Fresh Brown Eggs	Wal-Mart	$3.49/12 count
Archer Farms Organic: Grade A Large Free Range Egg	Target	$2.99/12 count
Horizon Dairy: Grade A Organic Large Brown Cage-Free Eggs	Whole Foods	$4.99/12 Count
Organic Valley: Grade A Large Organic Brown Eggs Cage-Free Grab a Coupon Here	Whole Foods	$4.99/12 Count
Kirkland Cage-Free Organic	Costco	$3.99/18 count
Olivera Farms Free Roaming Organic (these are from a local farm at the farmers market)	Local farm sold @ farmers market—check to see if your farmers market has local eggs	$4.99/12 count

Want to know why eggs are so good for you? Check out the great egg debate for some interesting facts about the nutritional benefits of eating eggs!

down·n·dirty: muddy buddy style

For the past month I have seriously let my job take over my entire life.  Feeling overworked and well just plain lazy had driven me to work out 1-2 days a week, not sleep very well, and spend my free time watching Jake romance Vienna while reading trashy magazines. Totally unacceptable. So about a week ago it occurred to me that I needed some inspiration, something to look forward to that would get me moving and get my life in order. For me (and I’m sure many of you) working out seems to put the rest of my life back on track; I sleep better, eat better and my overall attitude improves. Personally the best way to reset my workout goals is to sign up for a race or event that I can plan for and get excited about.  I searched the internet, flipped through magazines and asked friends and coworkers for suggestions on local races that were motivational but at the same time fun…many thanks to my coworker r for sending me the link to the Columbia Muddy Buddy Ride & Race. R happens to be a super cute workout powerhouse (a mix between a blonde Jillian Michaels and Richard Simmons, for his spunk not the fashion decisions or flamboyance) so I had my reservations. But after checking out the site I was 100% in.

To give a little background on the Muddy Buddy race, it is done as a team (thus the buddy) usually in costume and grouped by team type and combined age. Any grouping is okay there are female, male and coed divisions and the combined team age decides where your time will be recorded, in terms of the rankings. The course is 6-7 miles depending where you choose to sign up and one team member starts out on a bike while the other team member starts out running.  For the team member that is running there are obstacles along the way (i.e. climbing walls, running through tires, jungle gyms…) that he or she must complete. Once the initial runner completes their portion they find their buddy (who will be waiting for them) and jump into the bike which means the biker is now running. This switch occurs approximately six times at each mile mark until both team members reach the end which happens to be a giant mud pit (thus the muddy). Together you and your buddy must walk, run, crawl or swim through the mud until you both reach the finish line. Sounds like a blast, right?

I have a pretty serious fantasy about competing in The Amazing Race, so I this seems like the obvious way to prepare of when Phil Keoghan calls. Also knowing myself, I knew I would need to choose a partner who would challenge me to train hard so I chose c, who used to run professionally, trained with Nike for years and happens to be a boy (instant challenge).  Sign up, check. Find buddy, check. Write up training schedule, check. Train…to be continued.

I will be posting an entry about my progress as I train every other week until the race on June 6^th. So now, who’s with me?! Check out http://muddy-buddy.competitor.com/ (watch the video, it explains everything I left out) find a Muddy Buddy race near you and let’s all train together!

jaclyn