Trufit Pilates

Author: The Pilates Blonde

  • How to WHITEN Your Teeth In $10 (or less)

    Happy Friday Babes!!

    White teeth are VERY important to me. In high school I had very expensive professional teeth whitening for my birthday. The result was beautiful on the surface but it RUINED my teeth. Now they are insanely sensitive…you know how it can hurt to eat ice cream? I still, eight years later, get random bursts of what I call ‘Ice-cream Pain’ at the strangest times. Another strange side effect, I can’t go from eating cold foods to warm foods with out pain…a decadent chocolate cake with a side of ice cream…. it causes my physical pain to eat the perfect combination.

    NOT WORTH IT.

    I have been seeing at least four Insta pictures a day promoting whitening products. Mainly kits with a blue light or charcoal for $30. Ditch the professional in office ‘permanent’ whiten systems because I have been there done that and completely ruined my tooth enamel. Please for the love of God DO NOT spend more than $10 MAX.

    Charcoal is the BEST, safest, easiest and cheapest way to ensure your smile shines bright like a diamond. You do not need to buy a kit from an insta-model either… capsules from amazon or your local pharmacy will do the job. I use this brand but this one will work too.

    So you have the capsules what’s next? Wet your toothbrush and open the cap to pour the charcoal right on your brush ( I highly recommend using a soft bristle toothbrush since you will be brushing your teeth twice)

    Brush Brush Brush those soon-to-be pearly whites. After your teeth are covered and look like a poorly executed Halloween costume, brush with your favorite toothpaste. It will take a few minutes longer than your normal routine but the results are INSTANT. I try and use the charcoal once a day…always at night (incase I miss a spot).

    WARNING: This is a messy process. It is easily wiped up with a wash cloth or paper towel…It takes maybe 4 seconds to clean up.

    You cannot go wrong with is secret whitening method. Trust me.

    xoxo,

    K

    PS: Boy do I have some exciting things coming up!! I have a few meetings coming up that are MAJOR. I mean really major. I cannot wait to share them with you!!

    Also I will be teaching Pilates the next two Mondays. Please come get your Pilates fix with me HERE.

    I hope to see you there!!

  • Why You Need to Prep for Finals NOW

    Okay so all my college freshman readers hold on to your chair because this is going to rock your world. In a few short months you are going to experience your very first finals week and you will never be the same. You will be so sleep deprived you will burst into laughter for no reason, do cart wheels in the library at 1am, and make a left at a red light. You will live off of caffeine and sour gummy worms. Your hair will be 98% dry shampoo, your hand will have a permanent cramp, and your blood type will be sugar free Red Bull. I am not telling you this to frighten you, but to prepare you for the inevitable.

    The secret to an easy, well easier, finals week? Bust your booty all semester.

    By now you get the gist of how all of your professors operate. You can anticipate how you will be tested and how your papers will be graded. This makes all the difference. I always think the first tests of the semester are the worst because you are going in blind. Use this to your advantage. Alter your studying to how the professor tests you. It makes all the difference.

    Okay so you aren’t sitting pretty with your current grades. Meet with a tutor or your professor directly and make a plan. I am telling you finals week is SO much better when you aren’t worried you are going to fail the course.

    Remember my post about failure? Re-read it. Is failure the end of the world? No but learn from my mistakes so you don’t have to push back your graduation like I did. Skip the parties for a weekend and hit the books. There will be hundreds of over crowed parties with bad beer and loud music but the only take you can retake a test is the following semester. No party is more important than your education.

    So how do you start prepping for finals now?

    1. Get Organized. Do I even need to mention my day planner? (You can find FULL details on my OCD here and here) I have a binder for my classes with my notes from my passed exams. After a test all my old notes go in the binder and I label all of them with sticky notes. If I need to reference them quickly I don’t have to spend 15 minutes searching for what I need. So where are my currently notes? In my purse in the CUTEST envelope ‘folder’ from Target. I take my notes/laptop/day planner with me everywhere. Why? You never know when you are going to sit in traffic for an hour or how long the wait is at the nail salon.
    2. Plan your study time. Schedule it like a meeting or a hair appointment. Would you EVER miss a hair appointment? I didnt think so. Study Study STUDY. Aim for an hour a day. It doesn’t need to be balls-to-the-wall all nighters all the time. Look over your notes on the treadmill or read them once through right before bed.
    3. Stay on top of it. Try your very best not to save all your studying for the week (or day) before your test. Cramming doesn’t help you long term and all that information you shoved in your head will be long gone come finals.
    4. Turn off your phone while you study. Seriously. I used to do airplane mode but I one time I messed up my settings and I didnt get texts for two weeks. People thought I was ignoring them… trust me it wasn’t worth the DRAMA. Save yourself the trouble and just turn it off. Instagram and snapchat will still be there in an hour.
    5. Live a Little. Go out, have tons of fun and make memories. Okay to be honest…this is my weakness. I can be super hard on myself. I am not paying for my education so I feel like I am disrespecting my parents if I am not giving it my all 24/7. I am notorious for constantly having my nose in in my notes. I rarely go out during the semester, especially now that I live at home, but I swear I’m working on it. If you get all your planned studying done… go out.

    Finals don’t have to be the end of the world. If you are going into them with decent grades it is because YOU put in the work ahead of time. I promise it makes finals so much less stressful when you have more time to sleep because you have plenty of ‘wiggle room’ in your current grades. Take an hour today to plan out your study schedule to make finals week a breeze. You will thank me come December.

    Honestly some of my favorite memories with my roommates was 1am in the library during finals week. We laughed so hard partly because we are hilarious but mostly because we were running on 45 minutes of sleep. It sounds crazy but I actually miss it. Happy Studying!!

    xoxo,

    K

  • Say ‘See Ya’ to Dark Circles and Under Eye Puffiness: I found the CURE

    BOY DO I HAVE GOOD NEWS FOR YOU!

    I have been testing out eye masks for WEEKS and I finally found one that is PERFECT. I tried about a dozen different brands at all different price points. Every semester about a month in I start getting super pronounced dark circles. Stress, late night study sessions, early morning drives to clinical…all of which seems to pile up under my eyes. SO NOT CUTE.

    So how do you even begin to judge 12 different eye masks? At first the task seemed daunting I was going to do a rating scale from 1-5 in five different categories but honestly who has the time to read that? No one.

    First of all, I didn’t realize just how important portability would be. Some eye masks are just too heavy to leave your bed which just isn’t going to work. Having pads slide down my face while I’m washing the dishes is a big fat ‘No thank you’. I like to wear them in the car at 5am on my way to a 12 hour clinical, around the house feeding the pups or studying… you get the picture.

    Most of the other brands left a sticky or shiny residue on my skin…one even left a green tint. I am not trying to wash my face three times before 6am. An eye mask needs to be easy-peasy. That being said, I am not here to diss any brands…but I am here to do the leg work and research so you don’t have to.

    Skyn Iceland was the CLEAR winner for so many reasons.

    Why?

    Let’s talk more about your new favorite beauty product. After doing more research into Skyn Iceland Im very into their brand. They are all about fighting stress… just check out their mission statement:

    “Skyn ICELAND was born from a life-changing mission to treat and alleviate the effects of stress on skin while promoting a stress-free life full of balance, health and wellness. They’re lofty goals for a skincare company but we know about stress – multi-tasking, juggling and going non-stop – in our fast-paced worlds. And we know sometimes, it’s not always easy to find a person or place who understands life’s challenges, but we understand. We’ve been there. We know stress.

    At skyn ICELAND we offer skincare solutions to treat the damage caused by stress – starting with your eye area, where signs show up first. Our inspiration comes from nature, in the pure unspoiled natural resources of Iceland – With its mineral rich waters, antioxidant powered berries, soothing algaes and mosses and immune boosting angelica archangelica. With these potent naturals, we created products that soothe, stabilize, fortify and nourish skin, bringing it back into balance and returning it to a glowing, youthful state.”

    They are literally EVERYTHING I was looking for. I haven’t tried any of their other products yet but trust me I will!!

    More about their eye mask… it is EASY and leave you feeling fresh and looking more energized. YES PLEASE. They stay put and leave zero residue behind. I HIGHLY recommend you try them ASAP. They are sold online here and here. I bought mine in store at Utla.

    I am now addicted to these babies. I hope you love them as much as I do!!

    xoxo,

    K

  • Always Always Always Listen to Your Body

    Hey Babes!

    Long time no talk. I never anticipated taking a two-week break from blogging but life got in the way and I needed to take care of myself. Before I get into todays update//blog post I just wanted to say how much I missed you! Ugh I feel so lost when I am not emailing readers and replying to comments. Also… My comment section is VERY full right now. I am going to get back to all of you. Promise. Let’s get into it shall we?

    I used to be a professional at listening to my body. I took the time to check in every day or so to acknowledge aches and pains. I would make sure I had exactly eight hours of sleep. I would meditate and block out at least an hour for pilates at least 6 if not 7 days a week. My food was always organic and freshly cooked.

    Two years later my life style has the same themes however I am not nearly as rigid about it. Being in nursing school, running a blog and life took over those ‘check ins’ with myself. I eat left overs and take most of my meals to go. My schedule is different EVERY SINGLE DAY. It isn’t rare for me to be eating a cold chicken breast in my car or snacking on a protein cookie in class. It’s life…you get it.

    I started noticing I was needing more caffeine to get through the day. I was drinking pouches of energy powder that I know contains splenda (something I NEVER put in my body) to have the energy to drive home from school.

    My hair started falling out in handfuls, which had to be because I was too rough when I was brushing it. The red lacy rash that appeared every time my skin met with warm water must have been because I made the water too hot. All of a sudden I went from wearing zero face makeup to using color correcting sticks and full coverage foundation to hide a strange rash on my cheeks and the bridge of my nose. I haven’t done any of these things in years years. I knew what was happening but I also knew I could hide it. I just wasn’t ready to be the sick girl again.

    About six months ago I started getting extremely sick with any alcohol consumption. Two glasses of wine or a mixed drink left me vomiting for hours…again I just thought it was odd. Maybe my tolerance was low because I wasn’t drinking with the guys every weekend. Maybe my body had one too many Raspberry Vodka and Sprites when I living at school. The most recent time it happened, my parents witnessed just how intense it really was…I will spare you the details (your’e welcome) but I will say it wasn’t normal by any means. My solution was simple, no more drinking.

    I was more tired, achey and irritable.

    Then, two weeks ago, I had a headache I couldn’t ignore. I wanted to be left alone so I went to sleep in the basement bed room. It hurt to move my head and nothing helped take it away. Mom took me to the ER for a migraine cocktail…which did NOTHING but they sent me home anyway.

    Two days later, my head felt so full I couldn’t move my eyes. Never in my life have I experienced anything like this. I called my doctors office sobbing and cursing. I was five days deep in this headache and I couldn’t take it for another second. I couldn’t eat, drink or sleep.

    Momma took me to the hospital for a second time and this time I was taken much more seriously. The ER doc called my Rheumatologist (who is the smartest person I have ever met) and the two decided to run a bunch of labs and give me fluids because I was severally dehydrated. The doctors suspected I was having a lupus headache and decided to give me IV steroids, even though I am allergic. Because we knew I was going to have a reaction, I was also given IV Benadryl. Twenty minutes after the steroid my head was SO much better.

    The rest of the week I spent Benadryl drunk with an itchy rash covering my entire body but I was loving life again because that headache was gone. The following Monday I saw my Rheumatologist who went over my labs which confirmed I was having a flare.

    So what did I learn from this whole experience? Not to be a moron and to listen to the signs my body sending me. Pain and rashes and headaches and extreme fatigue are NOT normal and shouldn’t be ignored.

    No one knows your body better than you. If something feels ‘off’ you need to explore it. No, you don’t need to call the doctor or go to the ER with every ache or pain, but you should take care of yourself..if  you don’t address it early you could end up in bed for a week. Trust me.

    It’s okay to skip the gym to take a bubble bath. It’s fine to eat an early dinner and go straight to bed after a busy day. You don’t have to do it all every single day. Take time for yourself okay?

    How do you ‘check in’ with yourself? I’m dying to know!

    PS the top and bottom picture are only a few days apart… the bottom shows how well my butterfly rash is covered with color correcting sticks and my foundation. Do you want a How-To post on reducing redness and dark circles?

    xoxo,

    K