Photo from YMX Blog

I’ve been down with an injury, so my apologies for not posting much this week. I’m thinking about a new weekly post highlighting cool fitness fashions. My first feature is YMX by Yellowman. This apparel is just SO COOL and Stylish. I was given a running shirt with arm warmers to review and I’ll be featuring that review along with a giveaway soon so stay tuned.

YMX has fabulous tattoo inspired (for both men and women) clothes for running, cycling, yoga and more. I just love their colorful and unique prints, don’t you? The fabric is really nice too. It is called MadKool®

According to YMX, “MadKool® technical fabrics enhance the athletic performance of the people who wear it. MadKool® efficiently moves sweat away from the body to the outer layer of the fabric, where it dries faster than with other fabrics.

In addition, MadKool® fabrics regulate your natural body temperature so you will stay warm in cool weather activities, and cool when your heart is pumping. As an added bonus, MadKool® fabrics are engineered to receive prints with vivid clarity and permanance, so you don’t have to worry about wearing your garment hard. Once you experience the comfort and performance of MadKool® fabrics you will never want to take it off.”

Stop by YMXbyellowman.com for more info and don’t forget to stop back here, or subscribe to my feed for an upcoming giveaway of these great clothes.

Running and Cycling Fashions from YMX by Yellowman

Later this Fall, two women – one an Avon Representative – will receive an opportunity to record a professionally-produced album.  The finalists will be selected by a combination of online public voting and renowned judging panel of music industry leaders from around the world, including: Fergie, six-time Grammy award winner; Diane Warren, legendary songwriter; Natasha Bedingfield, Grammy nominated singer/songwriter; Lea Salonga, Filipina singer and actress; Valeriya, Russian sensation; Delta Goodrem, Australian Artist of the Decade; Sheila E., breakthrough, Grammy-nominated female percussionist; David Pack, Grammy award-winning singer/composer and music producer; Diego Torres, Grammy nominated singer/composer; Ivete Sangalo, Brazil’s biggest pop star; and Maia, Colombian singing star.

Since December 1, 2010, Avon Voices has invited women from around the world to join a global movement through music in celebration of the company’s 125th Anniversary.  This announcement of the global Contenders on the 100th Anniversary of International Women’s Day, is a testament to a day in which every corner of the globe celebrates the special achievements of women.

“We’d like to thank the nearly one million people from around the world who have visited Avon Voices,” said Joe Billone, Vice President, Global Communications for Avon Products, Inc. “It is thrilling to see this global community connecting women from around the world – from Brazil to Beijing, London to Los Angeles – to engage with one another around their common passion for music.   We are overwhelmed by the level of talent showcased in the submission phase and congratulate our Round One Contenders.”

Starting in late March, Avon Voices will fly these Round One Contenders to one of four destinations around the world – Hong Kong, Rio de Janeiro, Paris and Nashville – to record their professional performance videos that will be featured in subsequent rounds of voting.  All contenders will also receive Avon makeovers by a team of professional makeup artists.

Register Now
The program’s official website – AvonVoices.com – is live and open for registration, and features information about the year-long program.  Features of the community:

View and Vote: Watch Contender videos, as well as all global submission videos from around the world.  Beginning April 22, 2011, watch the Round 1 professionally produced videos and vote for your favorite to help choose the winner. From April through October, the search will be narrowed down four times by a combination of online public voting and judges’ scores.
Write:  Women and men may enter the Songwriting Competition. Write an original song that inspires or shares hope and optimism with the world. Simply submit a digital file and lyric sheet at AvonVoices.com (between May 20, 2011 and July 1, 2011).
Discover Exclusive Music: Released today, “Shoot for the Stars,” is a song written and sung by Natasha Bedingfield, exclusively available through AvonVoices.com.  Other songs such as previously released exclusive “Until You Love You,” written by Diane Warren, produced by David Pack and sung by Valeriya, and other recordings by our Avon Voices Judges and additional artists are also currently available for purchase. A percentage of the purchase price of all recordings will help advance the Avon Foundation for Women’s global campaign to end violence against women and girls.  To date, Avon global philanthropy has raised and awarded more than $30 million directed to domestic and gender violence awareness, education, direct services and prevention programs.  To learn more about how to purchase this music, go to AvonVoices.com.

Avon Voices is being produced in partnership with, and powered by, Intero, a company committed to connecting, artists, brands and communities with meaningful content delivered through live events and online channels.

To learn more about Avon Voices, go to www.avonvoices.com, or visit. Follow Avon Voices on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/avonvoices) and Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/avonvoices).

About Avon Foundation for Women
The Avon Foundation for Women, the world’s largest corporate-affiliated philanthropy focused on issues that matter most to women, was founded in 1955 to improve the lives of women. Through 2010, Avon global philanthropy has donated more than $800 million in more than 50 countries for causes most important to women. Today, Avon philanthropy focuses its funding on breast cancer research and access to care through the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade, and efforts to reduce domestic and gender violence through its Speak Out Against Domestic Violence program. Avon also responds generously to provide support for relief and recovery efforts in times of major natural disasters and emergencies.

Before I begin, I would like to state for the record, I don’t think doing a detox is an absolute for losing weight, nor do I think detox programs are appropriate for everyone. They are just one optional component of the weight loss puzzle that may help a few of you finally make peace with your scale.

The detox program I offer my clients is food-based. This specific detox plan is for those who are trying to jump start a healthy way of living but want to make the transition step by step. I have detox cleanses for vegans as well as a 21 day raw food cleanse. The one I am discussing in the article relates to the food-based 10 day detox.

There are three main reasons why I’ve found this particular detox to be helpful in the process of losing weight. Of course, there are tons of benefits to detoxing such as glowing skin, bright eyes, clear focus, as well as tons of energy. I am going to keep the focus on weight loss for this post, however.

First, you’ll find that your portion size decreases when you are eating healthy whole foods that you’ve cooked at home. When you cook your own food for three meals a day, for ten days in a row, you’ll realize that without the sodium and added chemicals of processed and restaurant food, you just don’t need to eat as much to be full. And you’ll continue to eat less, even after you’ve gone back to eating regularly. Therefore, you will continue to lose weight, without having to focus on reducing portion sizes.

Second, detoxing can help you kick-start your metabolism, especially if it has been going on slow for a while. The reason that I began facilitating detoxes was because a number of my clients were having trouble dropping weight, despite their healthy diets and exercise routines. After the detox, they not only lost a few pounds, but they continued to lose weight at a gradual and healthy pace. By letting go of the toxins and the junk food, your body begins to work more efficiently and weight loss becomes a reality.

Third, detoxing can help you kick that nasty sugar, salt or caffeine addiction. As a part of the detox, you will eliminate sugar, salty snacks made from wheat or white flour and caffeine. Most report that the first two days are tough and then it becomes surprisingly easier over time. And if you keep it up for ten days, you’ll be much less likely to binge on chocolate. When you begin to eat normally again, you’ll be eating significantly less sugar, salt and caffeine and be spending much less time sucking in your gut in front of the morning mirror.

So if you’ve been pondering joining the ranks of the rich and famous and doing a detox, know that done in a healthy way, detoxes can help you lighten up and feel amazing.

Lisa Consiglio Ryan is a Certified Health and Nutrition Coach for busy, active women and their families. Areas of expertise include weight loss, stress management, detox programs, and special diets such as vegan, vegetarian, dairy-free, and gluten-free. Services include private consulting and group seminars.

Contact Lisa at Whole Health Designs for more information: http://www.wholehealthdesigns.com.
Connect with Lisa on Twitter and Facebook. http://www.twitter.com/LisaConsiglioR ; http://www.facebook.com/WholeHealthDesignsLLC

I realize that incorporating kind acts and gratitude practices into you daily routine for your own wellness, is well, selfish and probably the complete opposite of the definitions of kindness and gratitude. With that being said, what better way to not only do something for someone else and reap some of the benefits for yourself.

Wellness is the pursuit of the best health possible through fit body, balanced mind and peaceful spirit. The practice of kindness and gratitude actually has shown to be very beneficial to all of these same three wellness branches. One of the wonders of pursuing a wellness path is a heighten sense of creating the same balance for things around you. While I am not philosophical enough to say it is enlightenment, I will say it is awareness. I truly believe that once you begin to respect and value yourself enough to want the best health, you begin to find and respect more things around you. By being aware you develop appreciation and the desire to impact the things you now respect positively. It is a circle of do good and feel good.

Acts of kindness and gratitude have been shown to:

*Increase self esteem, self worth, optimism and confidence
*Help forget your own physical or emotional pain
*Help decrease stress and acts as a stress release
*Improve immune response
*Decrease feelings of depression and self doubt
*Increase sense of balance and over all well being

Best of all, as noted by Dr. Herbert Benson, a Harvard cardiologist involved in scientific research for over 30 years (he is also author of The Relaxation Response), helping others it allows us to ‘forget one’s self’. Dr. Benson states that another reason is that when we carry out an act of kindness, our body rewards us by creating a ‘feel good’ sensation, which boosts self esteem and well being. This has been titled, the helper’s high.

The evidence is overwhelming that in its purest form, giving and being thankful is good for everyone involved. So, be conscious, be gracious and take the time to give back. The benefits of positive action are priceless.

Now what are your thoughts? Have you ever seen the benefits of random acts of kindness first hand?

http://www.dailyevolution.com
Posted By Alicia Kirschenheiter – Just LOVE Alicia – go check her out!!

• Anti aging formula face powder proven to visibly reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles in 10 minutes, 10 hours and 10 days.
• Having the most advanced time-release ingredients, GABA and BV-OSC to provide instantly smoother skin and long term benefits.
• Proven visble wrinkle reduction in: 10 minutes-Over 50% visble wrinkle reduction. 10 hours – Up to 90% visible wrinkle reduction. 10 days- Up to 90% visibly smoother skin.
• Hypoallergenic. Fragrance-Free. Dermatologist Approved. Non-Comedogenic.
• Clinically tested.

Here is my take:

I was highly skepticle about how well a powder could reduce wrinkles, but I decided to give this one a try especially since my local CVS has a great return policy. Well, I am glad I took the risk because I just love this product. It goes on light, yet provides nice coverage with or without a foundation underneath. For a powder, it does not make my skin look dry or caky either. While it may not give me a 90% wrinkle reduction, I’d say it is at least 60-70% and it really tightens the area under my eyes which always seems to look a bit tired and puffy.

I’ve tried various “rewind the clock” make-ups and powders, and this is, by far, the best working for it’s price. Lines practically disappear and the powder doesn’t settle into wrinkles. At only $12.95, it’s a great bargain. Find it at your local drugstore, at drugstore.com, etc.