Marga40

I love this! Recently I made shea butter/coconut oil lotion bars that come out to spf 5, but now I want to try a batch with carrot or raspberry oil. Thanks Connie!

That's great information! I hadn't heard of most of those options before. I'm glad to see she's not suggesting stevia or agave. (Both are highly processed). I use manuka honey - what else do you all use as sweetener?

There's another thread in this group about what people consider clean eating to mean for them, and it varies pretty widely. Have a look through some older threads for lots of great information. As far as chicken goes, I eat it- but I buy pasture raised (not free-range- that designation can be used misleadingly sometimes)…

OH, also... a great resource for evaluating different products' formulations is the Environmental Working Group's 'skindeep' database. It's at www.ewg.org/skindeep/ You can search for specific items, or browse the category headings. They publish a good sunscreen list each year as well.

Thanks Connie! This is such important information. I'm having an impossible time finding appropriate skincare for my face. Every natural, chem-free product I've found contains either aloe or chamomile, both of which I'm allergic to. Right now I'm on soap & water, while I heal from my last accidental aloe exposure. It's…

great article, thanks! I've book-marked that site for further reading, as well...

I hear ya! I read the thread you were referencing, and I have to say that you handled yourself admirably. I never post on the main forums because it can get kind of snarky over there. Especially posting about clean eating in the fitness forum! I sometimes see reasonable discussion of clean eating on the nutrition forum,…

That looks good! Someone posted this link to chia pudding recipes, (I can't remember who, or where for that matter! :tongue:) and all of them seem like winners. http://pacificwavejiujitsu.com/blog/healthy-chia-seed-pudding-recipes-for-satisfying-sweet-tooths/ I love to use chia seeds in my homemade balsamic vinaigrette,…

A while back one of my friends from this group, LiveBetterDaily, posted about a site/app called fooducate. Among other things it scans barcodes and rates the item based on a variety of health factors (gmo's, specific ingredients,etc.) It's a great shopping resource, especially for label-reading junkies. I like…

Hello everyone! I really like this group as well. There's a fairly broad range definition of clean eating here, as each person sees it really, which is useful because ultimately we should support people's efforts at healthy eating, wherever they fall on the spectrum. I started eating clean with the goal of repairing and…

Hi Star, Thanks for introducing yourself, It's nice to meet you! :) Margaret

I'm planning on starting this Monday the 22nd as well. I'm using the weight room in my building, which is mostly nautilus machines, but there are two weight benches and all kinds of props. I'm less nervous about being there than I am about doing this right, trying not to hurt myself, etc. I'm also right in the middle of…

I agree with Lora. Go to the running store, get a gait analysis and a fitting. I was amazed by the difference compared to shoes I'd chosen on my own. Your toes shouldn't touch the end of the shoe, and the toebox should be wide enough for you to spread your toes a bit. They put me in a shoe a full size larger than what I…

Hi! I'm only at the beginning of week 3, but already feel my endurance improving. The first week I did a 3.5mph walk and a 3.7mph jog. As I've gotten used to the impact and the proper form, I'm up to a 3.7mph walk and a 4.2mph jog. I think the best advice early on is to go slow, in order to build up to the longer running…

Wow, that site looks really useful! I just downloaded the app. It'll be helpful to know the GMO's just by scanning. Seems like it makes the labels much easier to see as well. I'm going to try it out next time I go shopping. Thanks!

Hi! Welcome to the group. I've found that everyone falls somewhere on a spectrum of clean eating, and it's nice to have support for where ever you are with that. For me, I avoid almost all processed foods- but there are one or two things that do persist in my diet. It's been a process of many small changes over the last…

Swimming! I quit smoking recently, and am a new runner as well, so I've been looking for ways to improve my lung health. Several people suggested swimming as the best exercise to do for lung capacity. Here's an article that explains why... http://www.swimmingscience.net/2011/10/sucking-air-out-of-room-swimmers-lung.html…

Hello! Nice to see some activity in this group... adding you!

I stopped smoking exactly 3 weeks ago, after 21 years. The first six days were challenging, but past that it's been no problem. Any urge to smoke passes quickly enough that it's easy to ride out. You can absolutely do this. Feel free to add me to your support system!

I don't think it's stupid of you to agree to help her, though how you go about it could go either way! My suggestion is to think more support than help. You can support her by adopting healthy habits yourself. So that means don't bring home junk food from the grocery, or eat garbage-y meals. People can feel sabotaged by…

I agree, it's time-consuming at first! If you tend to make the same things, eventually most will be on your recipe tab. That way the more you track the easier it will get. My problem with recipes is determining amount of servings for big batch items like chili. It's a huge pot of beans and veggies - I don't know how many…

My sugars are always over limit due to fruit. I don't worry about it because I'm not eating any refined sugars, and almost no processed foods. With fruit sugars at least I'm getting fiber, and of course nutrients. I'd only reduce fruit if I found I wasn't meeting my weekly goals. Even then, I couldn't eliminate fruit from…

The only dairy I've eliminated is milk, which I replaced with unsweetened almond milk. I have 2% greek yogurt pretty regularly, and some organic cheeses, and cottage cheese. I also cook with butter. The veggie cheeses strike me as being highly manufactured, I guess. Also I think most of them are soy based, which for me…

Hi Laura, I just joined recently, and started C25K this week. I'll send you a friend request!

I just started C25K yesterday. It's been a long time since I've exercised regularly, and I've never been a runner, so I'm a little nervous, but excited about it as well. I've signed up for a race in late June. It would be great to share some moral support with another new runner. Feel free to add me!