AMA Round Five

I’m off to go for a quick run with Sadie before meeting up with my friend Laurel to look at bridesmaid dresses today, but I wanted to do a quick post to answer some of your Ask Me Anything questions.

I love all of your questions and am doing my very best to address them as quickly as possible! Thank you for caring enough to submit questions… It warms my heart! 🙂

I will probably end the Ask Me Anything question thing relatively soon, but you may still click here to submit an anonymous question. 🙂

AMA Round 5

Do you plan to try to lose any more weight or do anything before your wedding, or are you happy where you are now?

I do not have plans to lose a dramatic amount of weight before my wedding. I feel like I am at a healthy weight for my body right now. I will definitely keep up with my regular workouts and will likely try to limit weekend indulgences as the wedding day draws nearer because I do want to look and feel my very best on that day.

Do people ever comment on your healthy eating habits? For example, I find that since I eat healthy, co-workers always have to make a comment such as “Wow, you’re eating again!” since I eat many snacks.  It’s annoying to me!

Yes, people do make comments and it can be irritating, but I genuinely like eating a lot of mini meals and I love the food I eat, so I try not to let it bother me. I get the most irritated with “food pushers” who keep trying to make you eat more cake or dessert or something like that when you’ve already enjoyed a piece or have politely declined.

How many minutes/hours of exercise to you average per day?

On Monday, Wednesday and Friday I typically take a 50-minute BodyPump (total-body weights) class and follow it up with 25 minutes of light cardio. On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday or Sunday I will do 50 minutes of some kind of cardio. I usually take one day a week off from the gym.

About how much money do you spend per week on groceries? You seem to buy a lot online and brand-name foods, and aren’t they expensive?

My grocery bill is almost always less than $45 every week. I do buy food online and I will typically do that once every two months or so, and those foods typically add up to around $40.

I love your blog! I love finding people who are just as passionate about healthy living as I am. For exercise, I usually bike, swim or my absolute favorite shopping 😀 I’ve been meaning to try running but I’m scared I’m going to get seriously hurt! Could you ive me a couple tips? I wouldn’t want to get injured over a silly rookie mistake. thank you so much!

My best advice is to start slow! I do not have a natural running ability and had to work and slowly build my mileage to feel comfortable tackling five miles at the drop of a hat. Also, investing in a great pair of running shoes made a huge difference for me. I went to a local store in Orlando called Track Shack where they watched me run and recommended specific shoes for my stride.

I love your blog! It is the only blog I check on a daily basis. I was wondering, what blogs do you check on a regular basis and how much time do you spend reading blogs each day?

Thank you! This made me smile! 🙂 I love reading other blogs. My absolute favorite blog is Carrots ‘n’ Cake. I also love Food, Fitness, Fashion, Healthy Tipping Point, How Sweet It Is and Skinny Runner. The time I spend checking other blogs really varies from day to day depending on how busy I am. Over the weekend I’m a bad blog checker and have a hard enough time creating my own posts! 😀

Do you go to church?

I do not regularly go to church but do feel like I have a relationship with God.

Do you ever struggle with PMS cravings? How do you resist the urge to give in and binge when that time of the month comes?

Yes. I cope by eating a pint of ice cream for breakfast, lunch and dinner. 🙂 Seriously though, the best way for me to handle cravings is to get out of the house and distract myself with other activities… like shopping. 😉

What is your favorite type of peanut butter?  Peanut Butter and Co.’s Mighty Maple is my new addiction!

The brand I buy the most often is Skippy natural peanut butter because it tastes just like the peanut butter I loved growing up. I loooove practically any kind of peanut butter… especially the honey roasted peanut butter you can grind yourself at Whole Foods.

How many children will you try to have?

Right now Ryan and I are both thinking we would like to have two children.

Do you think that blogging about everything you eat is eating disordered?

No, I don’t. If anything it has helped me feel more in control of what I eat and evaluate my meals to make sure I’m eating enough of the “good stuff” like fresh fruits and vegetables.

What do you think of others who take pictures of all their food?

We’re a weird bunch, I know. 😉 Buuut I love food and fitness blogs and respect anyone who puts time and effort into something that they feel so passionate about. I know my blog means so much to me and those of you who take the time to read and comment daily have no idea how grateful I feel for your support and loving words.

Do you think you will do this for the rest of your life?

I have no idea. I love blogging. The release it gives me to write about food and fitness and my every day life is something I truly enjoy. Only time will tell! 😉

I am a HUGE fan of amusement parks! How often do you go to Disney World and Universal Studios?

I love ’em too! Aren’t they so much fun? Surprisingly though I think I probably go to one of the big parks one or two times a year. Even though they’re so close, they’re still pretty pricey! I actually used to be an intern at SeaWorld when I was in college and got free tickets for a while. It was awesome!

What is your makeup routine like and what brand of makeup do you wear? It looks so natural!

Thank you! I am considering doing an entire post on this because I received this question a couple of times… stay tuned!

What would you eat if it was the last meal you’d ever eat?

An ice cream sundae with whipped cream, hot fudge sauce and candied pecans.

Do you color your hair or is it natural? It’s gorgeous!

Thank you… you make me blush. 😉 It is natural. I have never colored my hair and I get it cut at Great Clips when I get their $5.99 coupon in the mail.

Are you and Ryan both only children?

Ryan is an only child. I have a younger sister who is pretty much the best thing goin’. She’s in college at the University of Florida and will be my maid of honor in our wedding. I’ll be seeing her next weekend in St. Pete, so you’ll see her pretty lil’ face pop up on the blog soon.