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The Urge to Treat

DK’s Donuts (in Los Angeles) is a dangerous place, but I’m sure you have something similar near you. Take a few seconds to scroll down and check the pictures out. At that point, you have a few choices. Keep reading, go out and get a sweet treat, or close this window out and try to purge the thought of delicious food from your short-term memory. Either way, we’re tempted every day by various things that make us want to break away from what we feel is the right thing to do. 

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Do Something That Scares You Every Day

In this day and age, we sometimes cower away from the unexpected, unknown, and scary. This is partly due to social pressure, anxiety, and worrying about what others may think of you. This is also due to our fear of failure which can permeate many areas of our life. This pushes us away from trying new things, taking a leap of faith, or following our dreams. I’d say that those three things are huge in a successful, happy life. If you’re not ready to go jump off a building right now or start writing your screenplay, that’s okay. Start with something small. Do something that scares you every day.

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What Happened to the Weekend?

The typical work week is Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm with a lunch break from 12:30-1:30 pm, right? Those seem to be standard business hours, but there isn’t anything standard about our society and the hours of operations for businesses that are struggling to keep their expenses as low as possible while maximizing revenue. Now, throw the insane cost of living in some places and all of a sudden, you need to work way more than 40 paid hours a week just to pay rent. Let’s not even bring up student loans. 

If you have a salary job, there’s a 90% chance that you’re working way more than 40 hours a week and skipping lunch breaks to hit every deadline for the three jobs that you’re doing since they’re not replacing the other people who left because they’d had enough of being a “team player.” Even with that salaried job, you’re not making nearly enough to cover your expenses so you only have one choice. You have to get a second job. 

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If I Were Organized…

A lot of things can get in the way of working out: laziness, lack of time, lack of motivation, or injuries, to name a few. However, another reason, a big one that a lot of people don’t realize is organization. Or rather, lack thereof. This one is lurking reason that weaves other reasons together to seem as the real thing. If your life isn’t organized, things like other activities, time, and such are going to get in the way. So, I want to do a quick exercise with you to get ORGANIZED.

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Are You Working Out Hard Enough?

There are a few ways to measure whether you’re working hard or not. Well, there are a lot more than a few ways, but there are only so many that are relatively accurate. When it comes to exercise, the best way to measure progress is over time. We can watch our strength and conditioning grow as we can do more pull-ups or as we can see more abs in the mirror. As our mile time decreases and our lean muscle mass increases, we receive positive feedback from our body and it feels good. But what about during that painful workout? What can keep you going during the hard times?

Let’s go back to the first statement made in this post and reconsider the two most popular options. The first one is called perceived exertion, which basically makes you subjectively rate how hard you’re working on a scale of 1-10, or 1-20. It usually takes me a few minutes to explain it enough to your average fitness enthusiast before they get the general idea. It could take them weeks, months, or years at that point to fully understand it and apply it. It’s not reliable enough for most people. It’s too qualitative and not quantitative enough because of its subjectivity. So what is the second option?

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Four Sneaky Ways to Improve Your Fitness at Work

This post is brought to you by our friends at Furniture At Work™.

If you work in an office, you probably spend far more time sitting down than is good for you, which can contribute to a range of nasty health problems, including obesity, type 2 diabetes and cancer. Spending day after day on your derriere can also seriously impact on your fitness levels. If you want to avoid excessive sitting and boost your fitness, check out these exercise ideas.

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How to Like Greek Yogurt

I’ve been there. I’ve been handed my first Greek yogurt (it was the new magical thing), I’ve dug my spoon into the yogurt with anticipation, and I’ve stuck my tongue out with disappointed disgust. For me, at least, Greek yogurt was not a love at first sight. It was a hill to climb to enjoy it. The thickness, the sourness–it was hard to get down. I’m pretty sure I made a retching sound and handed it back to whoever gave it to me in the first place. Not dramatic at all. Why am I telling you this? Because now I love Greek yogurt! I got there because it’s full of protein and it’s a great part of my nutrition. And you can too. Follow these 5 steps.

An evening snack of Greek yogurt and Bonne Mamam preserves

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Neuro: Drink with a Purpose

Sleep. Bliss. Sonic. Daily.

You wouldn’t typically think of these words when you’re thinking of beverages. Sure, there might be a few drinks that relate to one of those words, but no more than that. There is one exception though… neuro. You’ve probably seen it before in those vibrant colored bottles with an interesting shape to say the least.  Neuro’s relationship to these words could be the result of them being right there on the bottle as you’re drinking, or there might be a deeper and more meaningful reason.

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LeBlanc Frank Wedding 2015

I’m lucky enough to go to work and work with this really awesome person, Meagan, every single day. This really awesome person happened to get married and also happened to invite me! Those who know Meagan, know that she’s an incredibly hardworking, hilarious, [windy–inside joke (and no, it’s not a fart joke)], and caring individual. I was so happy to be able to partake in her wedding and enjoy the magical night with her friends and family. I truly feel lucky to be among the love-sharing and vows that night. Meagan married Brad, an over-the-top funny individual from Tennessee who is also very hardworking and generous. These two match each other like chocolate protein powder and bananas (go with it) and just thinking about them makes me smile

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