ashleyd /

Five Bamboo Giveaway

As promised, it’s time for another giveaway!

While I’m not necessarily enjoying views like this anymore, I’m definitely digging one of my favorite items from last month’s Hawaii vacation.

001

My friends at Five Bamboo shipped me their Elusive dress in a beautiful, bright watermelon color as soon as they heard I was heading on vacation. The perfect dress for traveling on vacation or a day in the city, it is comfortable, long enough for my 5’9 1/2 frame, and quite flattering. I ended up wearing this out to dinner two nights and one day on a city excursion.

 003 002

Luckily, the gang at Five Bamboo is super generous! They are not only willing to give all Healthy, Happier Bear readers 20% off any purchase using the code (healthyhappybamboo) until 5/31/12; but also giving away one Elusive dress to a lucky winner!

There are a few ways to enter:

1) Follow me on twitter if you aren’t already, then tweet about this contest (include a link to this post and @healthyhappier). Leave another comment telling me you tweeted.

2) Head over to Five Bamboo’s website and let me know what your favorite item is on their site and why.

*US & Canadian residents only. The giveaway ends Friday at midnight and I will announce a winner Sunday when I return from Reach the Beach!

Share Button
Follow:
ashleyd /

So Much to Say

Wow, I have so much to say and so little time! I have lots on my mind and only a bit of time to share with you guys as the bed is screaming my name. So much for 8 hours of sleep each night, eh? Oops!

Reach the Beach

Over the next few days, this blog will become dedicated to Reach the Beach posts and updates. Therefore, I won’t inundate you with too much right now accept to share a bit of an update with you. I’m really excited about this weekend not only for the race itself, but also because of my teammates. While some of them I know quite well like Theodora and Melissa, others I’ve never met before even though I’ve read their blog for years, ahem Bridget! In addition, New Balance has taken the role of sponsor to a whole new level. Each day they are getting me more excited for the race thanks to a million emails, packages in the mail and packing lists! If you want to REALLY keep up with the madness, I’ll be tweeting using our hash tag, #teamoffbalance. I’ll also share pictures on Instagram all weekend long so if you’re not following, please do!

Last night, I was greeted with more awesome gear featuring our team name, Off Balance!

001

While I’m not as organized as some of my teammates, I did start throwing things in a pile as I thought about them. I still have to buy a few key items like new compression socks, blinking safety lights, NYC bagels, and coconut water but at least I’m making headway!

002

Clearly I’m worried about having power, music, no blisters, smelling fresh, and not getting a sunburn.

My goals for my legs are to enjoy each one for it’s uniqueness and win the mental game. I know I’m going to power through some tough hills and some lonely runs, especially at night. Like I said earlier, everything between now and November is a form of training for the marathon.  In case you were wondering, my legs for the weekend are below:

Runner 12 (16.74 miles): Ashley

Leg 12:P Brent Trottier School to Hopkinton State Park: 6.01 miles: easy

Leg 24 (QUIET ZONE): Borderland State Park to Oliver Ames High School: 3.61 miles: easy

Leg 36: Demarest Lloyd Memorial State Park to Horseneck Beach State Reservation: 7.12 miles: moderate

I love that I’m the last runner and will get to run through the finish with the rest of the ladies! So stinking fun!!

Staying Healthy While Traveling

A few readers have emailed me over the past few weeks asking how I keep from getting sick when I travel. Well, I clearly don’t have the art perfected as I came down with bronchitis after my trip to Hawaii, but considering that’s the first illness I’ve had after traveling over 72,000 miles in the last year, I’d say that’s pretty good. While I wish I could share my answers to this, along with world peace, I can’t. But, I’ll share the few things I do that seem to help.

  • Wash your hands constantly. Yes, I know it seems silly to even mention but many people forget to wash their hands. I wash mine multiple times a day when traveling.
  • Vitamins I take my vitamins (multi, vit D, hair & nail) daily while traveling along with Ester C powder in my afternoon water for an extra dose of protection.
  • Sleep I love taking advantage of huge hotel king size beds while I travel and find that catching up on sleep can help keep me going strong through the long hours and jet lag.
  • Be smart Your body likes nutritious food and workouts. Sweat any germs out with a daily workout and give your body the fuel it needs to go strong. I do my best to have a healthy breakfast, lunch and snack so that dinner can be a bit more fun.

001 001 011 IMG_1875 (640x480)

Trainer Bob

009

Thanks to Fitfluential, I was able to attend Bob Harper’s book release party tonight down in SoHo. It was a great chance to meet other New York City area bloggers and catch some amazing people watching. But, the best moment was when Trainer Bob spent more than 5 minutes with us chatting, posing, and encouraging each of us on our path to a healthier life. He could have easily struck one pose with us and moved on but instead he seemed truly interested.

004 005 007  010 Well gang, that’s all she wrote! Check back tomorrow for this week’s Marathons+Moderation guest post!

Question: Are you a Biggest Loser fan? Why or why not? I’ve actually never watched an entire episode.

Share Button
Follow:
ashleyd /

Fitness Magazine’s Blogger Meet & Tweet

Last week, I had the most amazing time spending time with like minded fitness bloggers at Fitness Magazine’s Blogger Meet & Tweet event at the Metropolitan Suite in New York City.

After a sweaty Soul Cycle session with Julie and Kristine, I walked the mile West over to the event space, unsure what to expect from the day.

IMG_2302

Over 100 fitness bloggers and professional were in attendance which overwhelmed me at first. But, within minutes, I joined the rest of the crowd for the brand interaction portion where we had the chance to network and mingle with brands such V8, Pure Protein, Kiwi Sweat, Birkenstock, and Oakley.

IMG_2321 

IMG_2323

IMG_2303

IMG_2305IMG_2306

I had a great time getting to  know each of the brands better and even went home with some amazing swag from the sponsor brands. During this portion of the event, bloggers were given a passport, featuring each of the brands logo, which needed to be stamped in order to receive the large swag bag at the end of the day. While each booth was great, I especially loved learning more about Kiwi Sweat since they are a local NYC pop-up fitness company! Just last week they hosted an outdoor spin class on the East River promenade!

From 10:30-12:30 I spent the next 2 hours in the third row of the speaking area listening to amazing fitness professionals share their wisdom with us. Luckily, I wasn’t alone, and instead was joined by my fellow blogging buddies as we recorded, took notes, and asked questions of the speakers. Looking back, I wish I had spent more time networking and catching up with some of the out of town bloggers who were present for the event. But, as someone who has put together events such as this, I know how important it is to have an audience. Therefore, we focused and took notes as we laughed along with each entertaining speaker.

AJ Jacobs

IMG_2310Talk about hilarious; this self proclaimed nerd left us laughing as he shared his memories from his year of living healthy. The author of two other New York Times best sellers, his book, Drop Dead Healthy just hit the bookstores and chronicles his year of living healthy. Below are a few nuggets I captured from his presentation:

  • Healthy isn’t all about diet and exercise. Noise can also be detrimental to your health.
  • Respect your older self. The more you think of your future the healthier you’ll act.
  • Harness peer pressure and use social media to motivate you towards a healthier life.

The Real Deal on Carbs, Cleanses and Caffeine with Keri Gan and Tanya Zuckerbot

IMG_2316

These two classy ladies shared their thoughts on some of the most frequently asked question in health and dietetics- to cleanse or not? Both agree that over the past 10 years carbohydrates have gotten an unfair bad wrap in the United States. Years ago Americans indulged with one Oreo but during the past 10 years they have replaced that one Oreo with a sleeve of Low Fat Snackwells.  Here are a few of the key nuggets I took away:

  • It’s all about portion control.
  • Carbs don’t make you fat. Carbs in excess of what your body needs, make you fat.
  • Your workout without the carbs and energy won’t be as successful.
  • Cleanses can lead to lost muscles because they decrease metabolism so you gain weight faster after the cleanse.
  • You have a kidney and liver to cleanse your body naturally.
  • There are lots of health benefits of coffee, especially if you have 3 cups per day!

The other discussion that I really enjoyed was Laura Gellar’s beauty tip session during which she amused the crowd with her amazing personality and taught us industry tips and tricks. I am going to include these tips in a later post as I’ve already started putting some of them into action.

Overall, I feel like Fitness Magazine did a wonderful job putting on this event, especially considering it was their first one. I wish I’d spent more time connecting with amazing bloggers but really appreciate the speakers I was able to hear as well. This definitely excites me for the upcoming events this summer such as BlogHer, Healthy Living Summit, and Fit Bloggin! I always learn so much from these events and love the chance to spend time with other bloggers; especially those within the Fitfluential family!

IMG_4494

Share Button
Follow: