Skinny Pumpkin Cookies

 

As I've mentioned in one of my last posts, Fall is my favorite season. I adore absolutely everything about this time of the year-- particularly the fact that I have an excuse to indulge in anything pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin! This morning I made my first pumpkin meal of the season; Bethenny's SkinnyGirl pumpkin pancakes, and boy were they were amazing. I will be posting that recipe soon, too, don't you worry. The pumpkin madness didn't end there though, I mean I had to use up the leftover pumpkin puree from the pancakes! ;) So just a few hours later I began baking some "42 Calorie Pumpkin Cookies" (which were actually 49 cals according to my calculations) that I found on Pinterest (where else?). I put my own spin on the recipe though and added chocolate chips to a third of the batter, butterscotch chips to a third, and kept the other third plain. I had my bag of white chocolate chips out, too, but I figured I'd use those for the next time-- as I was sure there would be a next time just after test-tasting the batter. All versions were super tasty, but surprisingly I loved the pumpkin-butterscotch combo the best (I expected to like the chocolate chip version best... if you know me, you understand, if you don't, you'll come to.. my name is Danielle and I'm a chocoholic). Needless to say, this recipe did not disappoint, which is why I just had to sure it with you all. :)

Skinny Pumpkin Cookies

Adapted from The Realistic Nutritionist

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15-18 minutes
Yields: About 34 cookies

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
• 1 teaspoon almond extract (you can use vanilla if you prefer)
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie  mix)
• Cooking spray

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350. Grease a cookie sheet with cooking spray.
• Cream sugar, applesauce, pumpkin and almond extract together.

• In another bowl, or if you're like me, in the same bowl, mix flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spice. Once mixed, add to bowl with the wet mixture and combine well.

• Add chocolate chips or butterscotch chips to mixture (optional).

• Drop rounded spoonfuls of batter onto pan and bake for 15 – 18 minutes, or until browned.

• Enjoy!

Nutritional information per cookie: 49 calories, >1 gram of fat, 9 grams of carbs and >1 gram of protein. 
(I added these to MyFitnessPal-- you should be able to find them by searching Cupcakes and Corgis).


There you have it, 49-calorie pumpkin cookies that don't taste like cardboard, but rather taste extremely delicious. Not only are they lo-cal, but they're very easy to throw together. Hopefully you enjoy them as much as I did. 

And there is a lot more where these bad boys came from! I have several more healthy recipes on my radar, so look forward to more skinny-deliciousness in upcoming Motivational Monday postings. Use these recipes as a reminder that eating healthy doesn't mean having to break the bank, or sacrifice flavor or time. I hate, I mean hate cooking (baking is another story), so a majority of the recipes coming your way will mean minimal cooking time and easy prep-- although I can't promise the same for my baking recipes. Regardless, you can expect most healthy recipes I share won't contain 2334546 ingredients, take hours to prepare, or require you to buy high-end ingredients. I hope these recipes motivate you to make smarter meal choices and ease you into adapting to a healthier lifestyle. I will also be sure to include nutritional information with these recipes as well, just to make it easier in keeping yourself on track.

Thank you so much for reading, have a wonderful week! xox
 <3 Danielle

Accountability is Key

 Confession time: I fell off the fitness wagon last week. I started slacking a couple weeks ago, but made up for my missed lunges (see lunge challenge) and stayed strong with 3-4 days of cardio (not my ideal 5), and I was even using MyFitnessPal to track all of my meals-- and snacks! I was in a good rhythm, that is until last week. I don't know what happened... wait, I take that back. Laziness happened. I succumbed to that little voice in my head telling me not to go to the gym, that I was too tired to do my run, and to eat as many breadsticks as I wanted to. And now I want to kick that little voices ass because I just gained back all those cals I burned weeks prior. The truth is being lazy is easy and getting off your tush can be rough sometimes... I decided to go with the easy route. But oh well, the show must go on, and that it will-- and in a bigger way I might add. Because now that I've gotten so off course from the lunge challenge, I restarted today (you will get those after pics). This week also marks the first week of half-marathon training-- in which I will be the sole participant in my own personal halfie, which will consist of me running 13.1 miles, probably in the snow, on the trails and roads of Lansing and East Lansing. It must be done though; I won't hold myself accountable if I'm not following a strict schedule... so a strict schedule it is!

That being said, what makes you accountable? Perhaps it's writing it down, or having a friend or family member keep you on track, or maybe you're like me and you need to follow a schedule. Whatever it may be, practice it. You know yourself better than anyone, so just do what you have to do to get on track-- regardless if it's for an active lifestyle, or better eating habits, or just life in general. Don't make excuses, hold yourself accountable for your actions-- or lack thereof.

Sure, I may have fallen off a bit, but the moral of the story is that I'm not staying off; I'm putting on my Nikes and jumping right back on. I realize what I did wrong and I know what it takes for me to be accountable, so rather than setting myself up for failure, I'm going to follow my schedule to a tee and tell that little voice in my head to shut up, and I'll just watch as the pounds fall off and the abs form. ;) That's my recipe for success-- what's yours?

If you couldn't think of anything to make you accountable, maybe Ryan Gosling will do the trick. He has faith in you, girl! ;)

Healthy Turkey Chili

Between Spring 2012 and Spring of this year, I lost a total of over 30 lbs. A lot went into this weight loss, the key components being exercise and eating healthy. I've slightly discussed the exercise portion of my lifestyle change in previous posts, here's a little about the healthy eating part. One of my secret's to a healthier diet would be substituting high-calorie, fatty foods for healthier alternatives. My favorite swap? Ground beef for ground turkey. I have eaten so much Jennie O as a part of my diet that I'm surprised I haven't sprouted wings and started gobbling. That being said, it shouldn't come as a surprise that ground turkey is the star of tonight's meal.

Upon coming inside from the chilly, Fall weather this morning, I knew right away what I wanted to make for dinner-- Turkey Chili. Not only is it so delicious and healthy, but it's also super easy to prepare. And to top it off, it's one of Eric's favorite dishes. In fact, when I told Eric what I was making his eyes lit up, and he just walked over to the stove to get seconds. He's not into eating healthy-- it's just that good. If that isn't enough to convince you of the deliciousness of this recipe, I don't know what is. Did I mention that it's only 327 calories a bowl?

Turkey Chili

Makes 4 bowls
Adapted from Self.com

Ingredients

• 1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• 1 pound ground turkey breast
• 1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
• 1 can (15 oz) kidney beans, undrained
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Shredded reduced-fat cheddar to top (optional)

Directions

1. In a 2-quart saucepan (I use a large pot), sauté bell pepper and onion in oil over medium heat 5 minutes.

 

2. Add turkey and cook, stirring, about 5 minutes. 

 

3.Add tomato sauce, beans, and seasonings.

4. Stir well. Increase heat, stirring, until mixture comes to a boil.
5. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. 

6. Ladle into bowls; top with cheese if desired.  

 Nutritional info: 322 calories per serving, 6 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 29 g carbs, 38 g protein
 

There you have it, the staple Chili recipe in the Smith-Woods household. Hopefully it's a hit in your house, too! Remember, you don't have to sacrifice flavor or enjoying your favorite meals in order to lose weight, sometimes you just need to give them a little makeover. Also, be respectful of serving size; eating the entire pot of this Chili kind of defeats the purpose of it being healthy. Making small changes like these in your diet can lead to big changes in your waistline. Happy cooking! 

xoxo Danielle

150 Lunges? Challenge Accepted.

Let me tell you a little bit about my thighs... or what I like to call my trouble area. Even when I got down to my lowest weight this past Spring, my thighs still remained quite thick compared to the rest of my body. My thunder thighs, tree trunks, soccer legs-- they've stored extra body fat, including that of which was supposed to be distributed to my chest, ever since I hit puberty. They're very muscular, too, and no matter how much I work out I feel that I continue to gain muscle in them rather than slim them down. I swear to you I could do lunges everyday and those thighs would still remain the same size-- or would they? I really couldn't tell you because I loathe lunges. I mean loathe. I cannot tell you why, but anytime they're a part of my workout routine I absolutely dread getting into that lunge position. The worst, ugh. 

Anyways, I'm sure many of you have saw the 'Squats Challenge' that has been circulating Facebook and the rest of the internet, and as I'm trying to jazz up my exercise routine, I debated taking it on-- mostly because I'm curious of the results. Then I thought of my trouble area. Why not actually do lunges everyday and see for myself if I'm able to slim those bad boys down?! Maybe I'll even learn to love the lunge? After all, I used to hate running and we all see how that turned out for me, so it's worth a shot! Well, sure enough there is a "Lunges Challenge" out there, and it starts you off with 20 on the first day, and ends with 150 on the last. Ouch. I am pretty excited to see this thing through though, as I'm hoping the results will be quite noticeable. I'd love to walk away from this challenge with slimmer, toned thighs-- so let's see what happens.

ETA:

•  You can split up your lunges throughout the day (ex. 50 in the morning; 50 at night)
• 1 lunge = 1 lunge with the right leg AND 1 lunge with the left leg

I will be doing this Lunge Challenge in addition to continuing to eat healthy, cardio 4-5 days a week, and picking back up on yoga. Over the past month I really started slacking when it came to diet and exercise. I never really knew the truth to stress eating until recently, and due to my crazy weekends and schedule overall, I was unable to participate in my planned half marathon (which was supposed to be this past weekend, but I had Kristi's bridal shower to attend). That being said, my training is at a temporary hault, although I'm debating starting up again and just not participating in a race at the end of it, just because I am much more accountable for my workouts when I have a schedule to follow (thus the above challenge). I haven't done yoga in awhile, which is a shame because I was really seeing great results in the toning of my body-- especially in my stomach. So I am making a vow to do yoga at least once a week starting today. Done. And I also completed Day 1 of the Lunge Challenge. 

Today was a very motivated Monday for me; I'm ready to get out of this fitness funk and tone back up! So join me in this challenge if you wish, we can help each other be accountable and say goodbye to our thunder thighs together! Or you can just wait until I'm done to see if 150 lunges are really worth it. ;)
Results to come in 30 days! Thank you for reading and wish me luck on getting through this challenge alive. Alive and with thinner thighs. ;) And good luck to anyone joining me!

xo D

Motivational Monday Challenge: Create a Vision Board!

 

I Spy... a nugget nose.

Previously I wrote about Jim Carrey and how he used visualization to make his dreams a reality. He is not the only successful figure to use this goal-setting technique though. In fact, many notable individuals have promoted the use of a physical representations of goals, such as vision boards and goal-setting journals to achieve success. One of my personal role model's, Bethenny Frankel, is one of these individuals. After listening to her put so much stock into creating a vision board, I decided to make one for myself-- how can you turn down the advice of a businesswoman of that caliber? Seriously. The way I look at it is if I can achieve half the success she has in creating and branding a multimillion dollar product, I will be one happy chick. 

So I bought a poster board and broke out my trusty glue stick and scissors and got to work. I chose photos that represented what I want out of life both personally and professionally, which included several photos of dogs (including Corgis, of course), fancy vehicles, fit bodies, women I look up to, and more. My goals of being a successful, financially comfortable businesswoman are more than apparent upon looking at my board, but so are my dreams of being a fit, animal-saving, season-ticket-holding, big-city-living, world traveler with a Master's degree.

Many of you reading this may be rolling your eyes and thinking these goals are far-fetched and unattainable-- or just plain weird, and that's fine-- just don't come asking to ride in my boat at my private lake house in 10 years. ;) Seriously though, if that's your reaction to my future, I'm going to go ahead and assume that you have the same doubts when it comes to your own and that you're probably not dreaming big enough... so cut it out! Put all of your dreams out there and take the proper steps forward in order to make the visions on your board a reality. I can't make any guarantees, but I'm sure you won't regret it. 

I keep my vision board in a safe place in my room and just broke it out for the first time in months and was greeted by the same goosebumps I got when I first created it back in March. There is something so exciting and hopeful about the unknown that is the future and the fact that we can shape it however we want. This board is representative of everything I want out of life and I cannot wait until the day I look at it smiling, with an immense feeling of accomplishment and pride that I achieved all that I set out to and more. And that's what a vision board is. It keeps us motivated with our eyes on the prize and serves as a sort of physical checklist-- the biggest checklist you may ever create. 

So go ahead, grab the biggest poster board you can find and get to work. Keep adding on to it as time goes on, create several boards, do what you have to to make your board to suit you. And remember to take it out when you're feeling discouraged, when you get fired or quit your job, when you can't lose that last five pounds, when the offer for your dream house falls through, when you keep hitting walls in what you're trying to accomplish and need that extra push. Use it as a reminder that you still have time; that these are just challenges that will make it so worth it in the end when you can look at your vision board and say "I did it!". 

I leave you with some ideas of what images to include in your own vision board:

• Dream jobs
• Bucket list items
• Dream cars and homes
• Personal goals
• Where you'd like to live
• Fitness goals
• Your ideal lifestyle 

 

These are just some suggestions, remember this board is representative of your own unique aspirations, so go crazy! Put anything you want on there that will light a fire under your tush and get you to achieving your goals. The world is your oyster. Reach for the stars. Take the bulls by it's horns. Life's a garden, dig it! (OK, I'm not sure if the last one really applied but I love Joe Dirt, so I thought I'd throw it in there-- plus it's kind of motivational... right?). Good luck on your vision board; I'd love to see what you come up with or what you already have created, so feel free to share! Thank you for reading and I hope your Monday was very motivational. ;)

XO Danielle

Frank approves of mama's vision board! ;)

Lessons from Grandpa

I have been on a temporary hiatus from my blog. Two weeks to be exact-- and neglect is something I promised I would not partake in. But I have a long list of excuses, all of which are very valid. The most excusable being that my Grandfather passed away a week and a half ago. I am not going to be dark or depressing, but I would like to honor him in the form of a "Motivational Monday" blog post.

My Grandpa Kidder was the greatest. Period. He was not my Grandpa by blood, but I didn't know that until I was older, as he's been in my life since the day I was born. My Dad's father and my blood "Grandpa" was never present in my life, but I never really noticed nor cared; my Grandpa Kidder filled any void that needed filling in that department. He was the sweetest, silliest, and most caring man I've ever known. You know how there's those rare people nobody can really say a bad thing about? Who has never given anyone a reason to dislike them? Who just has such an overwhelming positive energy and kind spirit that others gravitate toward them? That was him. You honestly couldn't say a bad thing about him. Nobody could. And that was evident in the turnout of his funeral. He touched so many lives and had such a positive effect on so many people it was incredible. And such an honor for me to be able to call him Grandpa. 

Saying 'Goodbye' to him is the hardest thing I've had to do to date. I put off looking at him in that casket as long as I could, because I was so scared to see a man so full of life lying there looking just the opposite; lifeless. When I finally gathered up the courage to walk up there, I was surprised by how at peace he looked. He didn't look sad or scared or even lifeless; he looked peaceful. And that has helped me in my own journey of finding peace with his passing.

In the wake of his death I have been dealing with an outpouring of so many emotions it's hard to keep them straight. His death has made me look within and question my own life thus far. Am I one of those rare people that no one can say a bad thing about? Do I give people reasons to dislike me? Do I have that same positive energy and kind spirit? No, probably, and it's doubtful. So that's it? I'm stuck being less of a person because I don't possess those qualities at the age of 25? Not at all; but I may not have 52 more years to perfect myself like my Grandpa did. Life is so short. I learned that last year when my Fiance's mom unexpectedly died at just 47 years old, and I'm learning that again with my Grandpa unexpectedly passing at 77 years old.

My Grandpa looked at peace. He looked at peace because he was at peace. He is at peace. He lived 77 years. He found his soulmate in my Grandma, and god, did he know that. He loved that woman more than anything in this world and he let it be known. He did anything and everything for her. He was the definition of a perfect husband. He took her entire family under his wing as if they were his own. He had an allergy to dogs but always reassured me I was welcome to bring mine up to their house to stay for the weekend. He would give his shirt off his back to anyone. He could make you laugh without putting forth any effort. I had the privilege of putting the photos together for the collages to be displayed at the funeral, and the way I speak of him was reinstated tenfold by the proof of the old photos I rummaged through. A majority of all the photos he was in consisted of him either dancing, laughing, making someone else laugh, making a goofy face, or doting over my grandma; and sometimes all of the above. 

I am going to miss my Grandpa so unbelievably much, but I am so thankful he was a part of my life as long as he was. He taught me so many lessons in life, and now in death, that I will carry with me forever. As much as I hate to think about dying, these situations kind of force you to. And I know when I go, I want to lie there in peace, too. I don't want to be holding a grudge, worrying, feeling insecure, doubting, or participating in any negative thought process. I want to be content and happy with my life at every moment and truly enjoy it, just the way my Grandpa did.

Although this is a different type of "Motivational Monday" post in that it isn't lighthearted and fun; it should motivate you in the largest way possible. It should make you want to leave behind the type of legacy my grandfather did. It should make you look within and question the way you're living your own life and change the things you don't like now, because who knows how long you have to make it better. Laugh, smile, be silly and selfless, truly enjoy each moment for what it's worth, appreciate your family and friends, and cherish your soulmate. Those are the lessons I learned from my Grandpa Kidder and I am going to practice those lessons until I truly perfect them like he did. I want to make him proud by following in his footsteps and I want to be at peace, knowing I lived my life to the absolute fullest, just like he did. 

In loving memory; Donald L. Kidder

October 10, 1935 - August 16, 2013

"If you can see it and believe it, it is a lot easier to achieve it."

"I wrote myself a check for ten million dollars for acting services rendered and dated it Thanksgiving 1995. I put it in my wallet and it deteriorated. And then, just before Thanksgiving 1995, I found out I was going to make ten million dollars for Dumb & Dumber. I put that check in the casket with my father because it was our dream together."  

-Jim Carrey, Oprah Winfrey Show, 1997

This story is super powerful and motivational to me, as not only am I huge Jim Carrey fan, but I'm also a true believer in using visualization to reach goals. Check out Jim telling his story on Oprah. Inspirational, right? Have you written down your goals? If not, are you inspired to now?

What Oprah Learned from Jim Carrey

Every person around you is a teacher—even comedian and actor Jim Carrey. Look back at a past Oprah Show interview with Jim where he describes how visualization led to great success. Plus, find out how a $10 million check he wrote to himself eventually paid off.

Thank you for reading, I hope you're motivated to put your plans down on paper and start getting serious about achieving your life goals! :)

xoxo Danielle

Half-Marathon Training for the Non-Runner

My current half-marathon training plan

Being that I just got done with one of my training runs, I found it only fitting to post about half-marathon training for this week's Motivational Monday post.

Let me begin by saying that I hated running prior to just last year. On my high school soccer team, the least favorite part of my day was when coach said we had to run laps or sprints. The. Worst. Outside of soccer practice I would run anyways though, just to condition my body and frankly, because it was the only way I knew how to work out. When I'd go to the gym I'd just look for the nearest treadmill. It's all I knew. And to be honest, that's what led me to training for my first half. Someone once told me that running was the best exercise because it worked every muscle of your body, and that just stuck with me. And now that I'm technically a "runner" (still feels weird to say), I couldn't agree more.

In Spring 2012 when I decided to get healthy and lose weight (yes, it is a decision-- you want to lose that gut? Want to make a lifestyle change? Make that decision. Nobody else can do it for you.), I started running. I jumped on the treadmill and don't even think I ran a full mile... at 5 mph-- if that. I felt terrible about myself. How did I let myself get so out of shape?! I didn't let my sweaty, crying, about-to-pass-out inner voice stop me though. Everyone has to start somewhere. And so I continued to run, and as someone who likes to set goals, I decided to train for a 10k. And so I did. And I'll never forget running that race and looking at the half-marathoners with such admiration-- and slight concern, for they had to be somewhat crazy to run 13.1 miles. Say what?! I had just got done running less than half of that and was ready to faint, there is no way in hell. Shortly after, I decided to run a half-marathon.

So the half-marathon training began in the early weeks of January. This meant treadmill workouts for the most part, until I hit the 7-8 mile longer runs and I just had to take my runs outside. And then there were the long runs outside, in the cold, bitter, Michigan winter. Ice formed around my water bottle, puddles from the snow seeped through my layers of socks, the trails flooded, my legs felt like they were going to give out-- but I never stopped, not once. I got through training and ultimately ran the half-marathon-- in my goal time, I might add, and it couldn't have been too bad because now I'm training for a second in September. So here's the wisdom I can share for those of you who aren't natural-born runners who "love" to run and just can't wait to log in your miles for the day.

• Follow a training plan

I've posted two, the Beginner's one I followed the first-time around (below) and the one I'm following now (at the beginning of this post). Following a plan made all the difference for me. I felt obligated to log in my weekly miles and complete whatever task was on my agenda for the day. I did not follow my plan to a tee (i.e. resting every Monday, easy runs every Sunday, etc.), but I did make sure I accounted for each run; I just made it work for my schedule. If I had plans on Saturday, I'd do my long run on Sunday. If I wanted to get one of my runs out of the way on Monday, I'd use another day as my rest day. Cater the plan to work for you.

• Start small

Don't overwhelm yourself and try to run 10 miles right away if you haven't run 2 miles in over a year. Gradually work your way up to that golden number, whether it be 26.2 or 3.1.

• Listen to your favorite tunes

I created a running playlist composed of up-tempo, fast-paced songs that get me hype. This made my run so much more enjoyable and it always seemed that perfect song that really pushed me to run just a little faster would come on right when I needed it to.

• Watch your favorite shows

This is what I'd do during my longer treadmill runs. I'd go in the morning and put on One Tree Hill or a good movie and just focus on that. I would get so wrapped up in the story line that my run would be over before I knew it.

• Focus on how far you've come

This is true in life and also in running. Rather than dwelling on the fact that you still have 5 miles left of your 7-mile-run, focus on how easy those 2 miles you just ran were, and that you only have to do that two and a half more times. It's all a mind-game-- win it!

•  Be one with your thoughts

Some of my best therapeutic sessions have been done during my runs. Think about it, it's honestly the perfect opportunity to be alone with your thoughts and get some rational thinking in. Take the focus off the run and onto yourself. Talk yourself through problems or dilemmas in your life and you'll be surprised at both how great you feel once you're done and how quick your run went by.

• Reward yourself

This is the one that really motivated my inner fat girl. Once I got further into my training and was logging 8 and 10-mile runs, I'd think about how many calories I was burning (about 700-900) and think of how I could replenish my body of those nutrients it was certainly missing out on. A donut? Ice cream and cake? Ten things off the Taco Bell menu? All of the above? OK! Picture someone dangling cheese from a fishing pole... I was chasing it. Half the time I'd get home and feel so healthy and good about myself I'd whip up a smoothie instead, but it was the point that I could indulge in those treats without the guilt-- and I usually would on my designated cheat day. ;)

I hope these little tips come to be of assistance if you decide to train for a race of any length. I'm sure I can think of more, and I will most certainly add on to this list when I do, but for now it's 9 pm and Shark Week so I must be on my way. Thank you for reading. :)
xox D

Introducing... Motivational Mondays!

Ok, so long story short: I took a train to Chicago Monday night for a conference, got there late, had to wake up early, and this went on until I got back late Thursday night. It was educational, and fun, and super exhausting. Then, I drove to the east-side Friday morning to spend the day with one of my best friends before she flew back to Louisiana on Saturday. This entailed a day of bridesmaids dress shopping and a night of fun... and not much sleep or exercise. I headed back home on Saturday evening, and am still recovering from my crazy week. Then to top it off, I am now suffering from a UTI. Lucky me!

So why am I telling you all this? Well I'm behind on my half-marathon training schedule and I didn't want to skip another day of working out, but I really, really did not feel like doing anything even remotely productive once I got home from a busy day of work. I needed some motivation. And somehow, I dug deep down and found it. It helped that I have a cross-training day where I can do my Yoga DVD (I have Bethenny Frankel's SkinnyGirl workout collection and I love it). 

So I bring to you Motivational Mondays! I will post every Monday with something to push you, whether it be a fitness routine or an inspirational quote or a personal goal. Perhaps it will provide you with that extra motivation you need to accomplish what you should do or know you need to do, but just don't want to.

I can certainly tell you that although I didn't want to do my workout today, it felt great afterwards-- and even a little bit during. ;) There's something about the stretching and mastering some of the tougher poses that boosts those endorphins. 

The poses below were part of my workout today, and Kristin actually appears in the Body by Bethenny DVD. Hold each pose for five counts until you get more comfortable and can hold them longer. Yoga truly improves your balance and gives you a sense of accomplishment once you finish. And I don't know about a "Butt like Bethenny", but I've definitely noticed more definition and toning in certain areas since I've started practicing Yoga.

Perhaps a butt like Bethenny is your motivation, for me it's a hot bod like Jen's: 

 

to look good in this...

Whatever it may be, we all need a little motivation sometimes. So why not start your week off the right way by taking one step closer to becoming a better you. :)

xox Danielle