Heal, Don't Conceal with Prosacea

During my teen years I started to develop rosacea.  My lucky older sister was the one who got the good skin.  As for me, my cheeks would get red, irritated and bumpy.  Paired with the pimples it was a horrible combination and a pretty embarrassing time.  Let's just say it didn't help my self-esteem.  It never went away and would get really bad in college which was a high stress time for me.  Thanks to this little tube of Prosacea Medicated Rosacea Gel my skin is better than it ever has been! 

People who have seen my face clear up are amazed at how much better it looks now.  They are seriously amazed.  Reduced redness, bumps, and even smaller pores.  I had a hard time finding a picture showing my rosacea [because I never took pictures without makeup] but if you picture his cheek on my face you get the idea of what it looked like.  His doctor thinks my little guy has inherited my skin and he may have rosacea too.  Unfortunately Prosacea® is for adults but at least he will have something to use when he is older. 

I use to try to cover it up with concealer and foundation, not wear blush because I already had the redness, but covering up can only get you so far.  This much make up just isn't ideal in the summer time or when you are at the pool and beach.  Thanks to continual use of Prosacea® Medicated Gel it has helped to control those symptoms from rosacea, especially when I get super stressed.  My skin still gets a little red as you can see, but it is nothing like it was before.

  

Every night I wash my face with a light cleanser and use a teeny tiny bit of Prosacea® Medicated Rosacea Gel on my cheeks.  Top that with a moisturizer because my face gets really dry and done.  Like most facial products it does have a smell but it is not horrible or stinky.  It is really light, and a water- based formula so it goes on easily and absorbs quickly.  You can wear it under your makeup during the day or try this night time regiment for a few days and you too can start seeing results. 

Prosacea® Medicated Rosacea Gel isn't like makeup that will just cover up Rosacea but will help control those symptoms.  Just like with every other medicine in your cabinet just be sure to read and follow the directions on the label.  It will heal and not just conceal.  Prosacea® is Dermatologist recommended and the #1 over-the-counter rosacea treatment.  It has a 90% satisfaction among users because it actually works!  I'm only wearing moisturizer and a BB cream and can actually wear a little blush without looking flushed!  

Do you suffer from rosacea?  Redness and irritation on your cheeks and forehead?  How do you deal with your symptoms?  Leave me a comment letting me know for a chance to win a Prosacea® care package!!  

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Prosacea for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.

If You Fail to Plan You Plan to Fail

One of the biggest things I learned over my month of fitness with my coach, Salma [and the other lovely coaches in our accountability group] was how to meal plan.  In my case, it it also means snack plan.  Our lives, just like everyone else is busy and on the go. From pre-school, to gym, swim, gymnastics, church, play dates, running errands.  You get the picture.  Over the month I learned to prepare our food for the upcoming day.   The night before our "going out" day, I would anticipate how long we would be out and pack enough good stuff to keep all of us fueled.  Ten minutes before bed well spent.

Our coach Charlini always said.... fail to plan, plan to fail.  It's a quote that I always think about when it comes to food because there is so much truth in that statement. Fail to plan and I end up at the drive thru spending money on blah.  Fail to plan and I don't eat and just settle for a coffee for breakfast.  Yikes! 

I've always been pretty good about packing snacks for the kids but I'll admit I didn't always make healthy choices because turning to the  pre-packaged "junk" food is just the easiest way to go.  Don't get me wrong, I still pack those old treats occasionally.... a bag of chips here, fruit snacks there, cookies at times, but now we don't do it all the time.  I want the kids to grow up learning to make healthy choices.  I love junk food too but mow we have it in moderation. 

Over the month I really pushed to make an effort to pack healthier options, even if that means we have a lunch box with a ice pack in it.  Our snacks look more like this now.  This is exactly what it looks like to feed the three of us on our gym days.  ALL this consumed in three hours.  

And on busy morning when we have to do breakfast fast we usually have some egg muffins [like in the first picture] or Chobani Greek Yogurt squeezes.  I was so excited when Chobani asked me to share how Chobani is apart of our healthy lifestyle because the kiddos love these squeeze tubes!  My little man can down one of those little squeeze pouches in 30 seconds flat, no joke.  I love them too.... no spoon necessary, easy when you're on the go.  The kids love the flavors and I freeze the chocolate ones and they think they are getting a special dessert.  Ha!

They have also become our go to snack when we only have a short break between gym time to swim.  I don't want them going into the pool hungry so I usually give them some yogurt to hold them over until lunch.  No objection there!  If you have an even smaller little person be sure to check out Chobani Tots which have yogurt with fruits and or veggies! 

This little guy is one serious Chobani eater.  He doesn't mess around and always asks for seconds.  I love seeing his little cheeks squeeze all that yogurt out!  It's adorable! 

A video posted by Patty (@makeitcozeee) on Apr 3, 2015 at 3:41am PDT

If you're following along on my fitness journey and want to join in, remember that nutrition is 85%.  So the next time you know you have a busy day with the kiddos, plan plan plan.  Try to choose healthy over convenience.  Sometimes you can find snacks that are both, like Chobani.  

 Until next time.  Toodles!

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Find Out Mary's Secret Ingredient

Who doesn't love getting things in the mail?  Pair that box with one of my favorite things to do and you have a winner!  I think this year for my birthday I'm going to be asking for one of these fun boxes.  Mary's Secret Ingredients is a limited edition surprise box filled with unique gourmet ingredients along with small kitchen products.  Every season delivers a lovely surprise to inspire cooking delivered right to your door.  The fun part is that Mary shares her mouthwatering recipes using each box's ingredients on the box on her blog LOVE- the secret ingredient.  How fun is that?!  Check it out yourself and see just how delicious the food looks. 

Mary's secret ingredient was founded in order to delight foodies. But she's also on another mission which is to help hungry children across America.  Each box will be filled with mouth watering sweet and savory products to create wonderful tasting food and by subscribing you're helping Mary's Secret Ingredient support the Feed the Children organization.  Through crowd funding they are trying to raise $25,000 so they can better help Feed the Children.  You can become part of the movement and become an investor for as little as $15.  Check out MARY's secret ingredients crowdfunding page because every dollar counts!

 

So if you love to cook as I do and want to try new recipes this is such a fun way to do it.   What a great Mother's Day or Father's day gift for that foodie.  A box each month filled with goodies as well as helping to support Mary as Mary's Secret Ingredient contributes to Feed the children!

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of MARY's secret ingredients for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.

Fitness Friday: Staying Motivated

It's happened.  The honeymoon is over.  Now real life sets in and the fact that it is not Friday speaks volumes about how my fitness week went.  It was a crazy crazy busy week and fitting in eating healthy and working out was a challenge.  Lack of sleep thanks to teething and prepping little man's first party was surely a test.  Fighting the tired-ness, cranky-ness, busy-ness of life to stay motivated and reach my goal.  How did I make it through?  How did I stay motivated?

Failure is motivation.  This week I had a glimpse of what my days use to be and I didn't like it.  I'd say it was my worst fitness day of the month.  I knew I was up for a busy day driving all over running errands and didn't meal prep. I didn't eat breakfast, crap lunch, no snacks, no workout.  Awful.  My body just felt hungry, tired, and blah. 

 Thankfully I have the accountability group.  I didn't realize how important it was to have accountability.  The ladies are so encouraging, motivating and inspiring.  Seeing our coaches reminders and checking in every night with a quick rate 1-10 about our workout, eating, and water has kept me in line.  I missed that one workout and I hated having to put a zero for that day and ended up making it up on the "rest" day.  

I don't know about you but shopping for me is always a good motivator [insert girly giggle].  Since I have discovered how amazingly comfortable active wear is I am addicted.  They make the clothes too comfy I want to seriously wear them all day everyday.  Who needs jeans anyways?!  Really grateful to have such an amazing husband.  He's seen my commitment and hard work and treated me to a new workout outfit.

AND some new kicks!  I haven't seriously ran since my knee injury so we call them my walking shoes.  The last time I bought "running shoes" was freshman year of college when I wanted to get motivated to start running.  That was about 7 years ago so I'm well over due.  I'm loving the spring-y colors and they are motivating me to get out there and go for a little jog/walk. 

The biggest motivation is seeing the change in my body and ability.  I took before pictures and measurement and just did an update Thursday.  Wow I can really see the difference!  I'm not quite ready to show them yet but seeing the change has left me wanting more.  The amazing part is I am eating more than I was before but still have lost two inches in my belly and waist.  Say what?! [just a note.... that is not me in the picture]

On Saturday after the party I did the Piyo Sweat workout and reached one of my goals of doing the entire workout without modification [yup all the push ups] and I did it!  my body was dying but I did it!  Reached one of my goals.  Talk about motivation!! 

What are some things that keep you motivated??  

 Until next time.  Toodles!

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