HWH Fitness Challenge Week #5 | All Natural Deodorant

Hello friends! What a whirlwind of a weekend!  Coming home from traveling meant lots of catching up on household things and getting ready for the new week ahead.

TAYLOR SWIFT CONCERT

On Saturday night, I got to see Taylor Swift in concert with Shannon and Trisa and it was such a treat!  Her show was amazing and we danced all night like we were 16 years old.  Only problem with that is that I felt about 100 the next day!  I slept til 10am!  It was actually the sweetest thing at the concert seeing all the little girls there sooo excited to be at a Taylor Swift concert.  My friend and photographer Tisha went with a mommy/daughter group and said she was on a high the whole next day.  I can’t wait until I can do things like that with Jordan.

Taylor Swift Concert

Wrap Dress • OTK Boots

I figured it was time to bust out this little wrap dress I scored at the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale- it’s still a great deal at only $60.  And I wore my OTK boots, so I felt all kinds of cool and the heel isn’t too high, so my feet felt fine.

One thing I needed for the concert, but didn’t have was a clear purse!  NFL purse restrictions were in place for the Taylor Swift concert, which means you could carry clear plastic bags up to 12 x 6 x 12 inches, one-gallon plastic freezer bags or or clutches no larger than 4.5×6.5 inches. (P.S. Your iPhone5 is 4.87 inches long.) Every clutch I had was too big, so I ended up carrying the plastic bag my velcro rollers go in!

Shannon had a cute clear purse, and I was so envious of how she could wear her bag crossbody while I had to hold mine or put it on the floor.  When I got home I ordered this adorable clear bag with a crossbody strap!  It’s on sale 50% off now, so only $24!

HWH FITNESS CHALLENGE

And, I got a killer workout on Saturday that felt amazing!  After a few days not exercising with traveling and all, my body was craving a good workout.  You know how you just feel ‘off’ when you haven’t worked out in awhile?  But, it only takes one good, sweat session to get you back in the groove.

Sneakers • No Show Socks • Tank 40% offSports Bra 40% off

This morning I’m doing my 6am Tabata class that kicks my bootie! Now, I’m ready to finish this challenge STRONG with you.  You keep me motivated and inspired and I’m so glad we our private Facebook Group!  I will continue joining you there!

I actually don’t want this challenge to end and I’ve heard from many of you that want a program we can do together ALL YEAR LONG.  I’m busy brainstorming what that would look like and I welcome your input.  Stay tuned for all the updates on that by subscribing to my blog so you’ll be the first to know!

Don’t forget to keep logging your exercise, I’ll be choosing three Nordstrom gift card winners on Friday!

Mediterranean Farro Salad with Spiced Chickpeas

I shared this recipe (viaBudget Bytes) on Stories last week and got tons of requests to put it on the blog, so here ya go!  I didn’t have Farro, so I used barely instead, and also added avocado.  I like eating these easy assembled meals in a big bowl.  They are delicious, healthy and look pretty!  I could eat the spiced chickpeas by the handful!

Chickpea Salad

On Day 2, I added a bed of romaine lettuce to beef it up and liked it even better!

Chickpea Salad

And I know it’s not new, but it’s new to me and I’m loving it! Avocado toast!  Well, specifically avocado toast with an egg, splash of All Whites (more protein), pink Himalayan salt, seasoning, hemp seeds.  And, y’all said I definitely need to try Trader Joe’s Everything But the Bagel seasoning, so I’m all over that too!

Avocado Toast with Egg

Puebla Dinner Plate on sale

Top 10 Ways to Incorporate Fitness Daily

One of the main goals of our fitness challenge is to incorporate 20 minutes of exercise into your day.  I know that can feel hard when life is pulling you in so many directions.  But, the truth is, we can do little things throughout the day to get more movement in.  Those things add up and before you know it, you’ve gotten 20 minutes in and hopefully, that becomes a habit!

Our cute and super knowledgeable fitness expert Cari Shoemate helped me put together 10 ways you can incorporate exercise into your daily life.  What will you start doing today?

  1. Always take the stairs – if you work or live or have an appointment on a very high floor, take the elevator some of the way, or mix in a few flights each time you take a bathroom break.
  2. While cooking, mix in countertop pushups, standing squats and lunges while things heat up.
  3. Work your core while watching TV. Get on the ground and mix in 10-20 bicycle crunches, toe touches, reverse crunches and planks. Instead of fast forwarding doing commercials – compete with family members to see who can do the most.
  4. Do squats, calf raises, standing ab engagers or even balance on one foot while brushing your teeth or standing in line.
  5. Keep a set of dumbells or resistance bands near a place where you do a lot of waiting (in the kitchen or your kids’ bathroom) and do bicep curls or shoulder presses during bath time or while the bread is in the toaster!
  6. Before you shower, use the edge of the tub to mix in some tricep dips and elevated pushups – maybe even a 60 second wall-sit!
  7. Don’t fill your water bottle or cup up all the way so that you have to get up to add more water!
  8. Park your car in the back of the parking lot when you’re out during the day.
  9. If you spend your weeknights or weekends at the ballpark, don’t just sit and watch the game.  Walk/run laps while still watching your child. If there’s bleachers, do tricep dips, pushups and elevated lunges.  *I do this! 
  10. Stretch while you’re sitting.  At a desk, in a waiting room, outside of dance class? These are all good places to stretch out your legs, arms and core – even stretches for your toes and fingers and neck will help.

There is a lot of research that shows many benefits of spreading your exercise throughout the day (less likely to wear yourself out or binge eat after a big calorie burn and more likely to keep your focus… to name just a few).

ALL NATURAL DEODORANT

Can we talk deodorant for a minute?  I meant to share this with you last week (you might have caught that title), but I ran out of time to give it a good discussion.

I know especially when we are on our workout game and getting all hot and sweaty, we need a deodorant that works.  I posted on Stories awhile ago about deodorant I was using (I’ve used the same brand forever) and the responses came flooding in.  There was all this talk about natural deodorant and non-aluminum because that’s supposed to be better for your body. I actually have to admit I was way behind on this and hadn’t even considered  that.

Kopari Natural Deodorant

After hearing from you guys and researching aluminum in deodorant, I was interested in trying to find a new deodorant option. Turns out, aluminum found in antiperspirant blocks your sweat glands, preventing you from sweating. While this sounds good, your body needs to sweat to get rid of toxins!  Here’s a video that helps explain it better.

Thankfully, there are healthier, aluminum-free alternatives out there, so why use a deodorant with a questionable ingredient that can cause disruption? ​As timing would have it, Kopari reached out to me to introduce their brand of skincare and beauty products, and guess what?  They have an aluminum and paraban free, natural deodorant that actually works.  Everyone I’ve talked to about it loves it and the reviews are amazing- over 1,000 5 star reviews.  Have you tried it?

How Kopari Natural Deodorant Works

Kopari Coconut Deodorant is 100% plant based, aluminum and baking soda-free, and works with your body’s natural functions to aid in odor reduction.  The unique blend of coconut water, coconut oil, and sage oil conditions and soothes even the most sensitive underarms.  It’s like skincare for your pits and it smells like coconut! 😉

Coconut Oil Deodorant

But, I was still a bit skeptical because I’m a big sweater when I workout and not the best smelling sweat either.  #sorryTMI

So, I started using it for about two weeks during the sweatiest workouts and I also took it to summery Palm Dessert with me.  I’m happy to share I really like this deodorant!

It goes on silky smooth and completely invisible, without leaving any white residue.  You definitely don’t have to worry about getting any deodorant stains on your clothes!  It also doesn’t feel at all sticky, which I really appreciate.  And the smell is divine- like sweet coconut milk, but it’s not an overpowering scent.

When ordering my deodorant, I couldn’t help but put a few more things in my cart! I got the Coconut Crush Scrub, Shower Oil, Lip Scrub and the Lip Gloss (in 3 different colors!). I’m going to smell like a sweet little coconut for the foreseeable future and I am not mad about it!

Kopari was also kind enough to offer my readers 25% off your first purchase or first time subscription with code Megan25.

When you subscribe to Kopari’s Auto Replenishment, they will refill Kopari faves automatically in the selected timeframe of your choice.  You just choose the replenishment schedule that works for you and in return get free shipping on all subscription orders FOR LIFE.  You can cancel or pause services at any time.

Now let’s FINISH STRONG these last three days of the fitness challenge! You can do it! 

*Thanks to Kopari for sponsoring today’s post!

 

 

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Meet Megan

Hi! I’m Megan, mom to a thoughtful teenager and spunky young girl. We call Houston home and recently moved into our dream home. I traded my lawyer hat to become a full-time blogger in 2010. I love sharing my passion for affordable fashion, home decor, organization, & fitness to help inspire you to take care of you!

5 Comments

  1. I’ve used Kopari for 2 months now, and really like it! I love the light scent, and how it feels going on. It’s not an antiperspirant, so my armpits sometimes feel wet, but I very rarely have stinky sweat anymore. AND I feel much better about putting it on every day knowing that it’s not causing any potential harm!
    Thanks for all you do and share, Megan, your blog is one of my favs!

  2. Trader Joe’s Everything but the bagel is awesome!!
    Does Kopari have baking soda in it? I tried another natural brand and it contained baking soda, which caused a bit of a burn on my skin. I’m now on a different brand that is baking soda free and it’s doing well, but I DO love coconut!!

    1. Hi Lisa, good question! There’s no baking soda in Kopari. And I was just thinking I need to do a TJ run, I should do a post with everything I like from there!

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