The best thing I do after workouts

Hey everyone!

It is now November!! Can you believe it?

It is a rainy Saturday here in New York City. Its also a little chilly. I love days like this as long as I can chill at home with some movies and some relaxation. I actually just came back from a nice gym workout! Relaxing always feels a lot better after putting in some work.

I've been a little bit busy these past several weeks. I'd like to share a little something with you guys but will wait a bit before I go in to details. I am super excited about it, more on that coming soon. So far things are hectic and crazy and busy  but I wouldn't have it any other way. Is true what they say-- when you find your passion work never feels like work.

So anyways the purpose of this post is to share something I've been doing after workouts which helps to re-energize me and adds on to the endorphin that I already get to enjoy after every sweat session. After doing a quick stretch and confirming my workout was recorded on my iphone app; I drive home to enjoy this:

Okay lets be serious. I don't live in the middle of the Caribbean (anymore) and I don't go home and break myself an actual coconut. By the above I mean that for the past month and a half I've been incorporating coconut water in to my routine post workouts and is the best thing I've done in a while! I used to make myself a green juice post workouts (which is still great) but I was getting bored and needed a change. I had been coming across articles on the amazing benefits of coconut water, specially after a workout, so I decided that would be a perfect alternative.

Imagine my surprise when a few weeks ago, as if the universe was giving me a big nod on this new routine, I received an email from  Cocozia asking whether I'd like to give their product a try! To be honest I was not very familiar with the brand so I jumped on their website. After reading about the quality of the product and confirming their drink is an 100% organic I was super excited to try it out.

To my surprise, the delivery arrived exactly on my birthday on October 25th! How cool is that?! It added on to the amazing things happening that day:

I even texted my sister who is a huge coconut water fan {a lot more than me}

{lets just say she was jealous but yes, i shared one with her ;)}

The drink is delicious and the container size I received has 40 calories per serving. Each container has about two servings. Something I immediately noticed after my first sip is that the drink is not as sweet as the brands I have been drinking since I started my 'coconut water routine'. It is organic for a reason, as it tastes just like water from a coconut. Here are some of the amazing benefits which are posted right on the container:

I asked my sister her opinion and she loved it as well. I'd definitely recommend this drink for those people out there looking for a refreshing and replenishing drink post-workouts. As I said, you wont be caught off guard with any overly-sweetness. You'd get to simply enjoy and a nice cool drink filled with electrolytes and only the good stuff!

I received the original, however, the drinks comes in five different flavors. Check out their website for more information. You can also follow them on Facebook or twitter. If you'd like to give it a try and order a few, check out their amazon page. 

This drink is definitely approved in my book. Its definitely something I will be picking up at my local grocery store once I run out of my current "stash".

...ok time to finish drinking this and heading to the shower:

Thank you for reading!

Tell me, what is your favorite drink (or food) to have post-workouts?

*Cocozia sent me a free trial of their product. All opinions are my own. 

Why I enjoy a Healthy Lifestyle

Hey All!!

I haven't passed by here in a few weeks and you probably could very well guess why. When I start getting inconsistent with my posts it usually means I am dealing with a pretty stressful life or simply just have a whole lot going on and this is no exception. 

I must confess....

I haven't been running since October when I ran my half marathon and my 10K only a week apart. I had decided to take a break from running in order to give my legs some rest from the months of training and the actual races but the "break" has extended for longer than expected. The fact that we've had bipolar weather here in NYC which is now gearing more towards freezing temperatures has not helped at all!

What usually happens when I stop working out consistently? my "consistent" healthy eating also go out the door. I have to admit that I still incorporate healthy foods in to my diet most of the time. However, it is also true that junk food, fast food, and other not so great consumption have made their way in to my life one way or another. 

I must confess...

When I am stressed I feel anxious and when I feel anxious and stressed I overeat and I eat a lot. And it doesnt feel good. Food is delicious and is meant to be enjoyed but there is a thin line between enjoying food and having a balance and overeating/gluttony and having an "F*ck it" mentality, which is what I've been having lately on and off. 

Although there is nothing wrong with relaxing from time to time eating whatever we want and taking a break from working out; I do have to admit that I feel my BEST when I am in fact taking care of myself and my body. I am sure many can relate to the fact that making a conscious effort to eat wholesome super foods and making sure we get in a reasonable amount of cardio and/or strength training in to our weeks can make us feel amazing. Hence, although it isnt always easy to make the best decisions it is soooo worth it. Do you agree??
I usually get back on track by starting to plan my meals, adding workouts to my calendar, rekindling my relationship with my food journal (so therapeutic!) and simply deciding that I will do whats best for my body and myself. I dont do it for anyone else. I do it for ME!! To feel my personal best <3....There is something about making positive decisions in life (from food to exercise to relationships and everything in between) that contributes to making us feel like a million bucks.

I am not saying that life is automatically perfect when we eat well, exercise and loose those love handles. However, everything in life is a balance and I read somewhere one day that "if something makes you happy; dont question it, just do it" (as long as we arent hurting ourselves or anyone else!).

With that said, I have to admit that my BESTOWED box for this month came at a PERFECT time! I was ecstatic when I received the box with all the goodies and it was as if I "called" it with my mind. You know how they say that when you start thinking positive, positive things happen? I believe that is true. Receiving the box was the "materialization" of my positive mentality towards getting back to my healthy life. 

Check out all the GREAT stuff for November:

Hello, Gorgeous:

 Booklet with some information about all the goodies included + some recipes. It even has some "tips on eating and working out" in the back. (Loved this!):

All the AMAZING goodies:

What I love the most is that most of the items are things I haven't tried before. So, I am super excited to try some new stuff and see whether is something I'd like to keep adding to my diet, Here is a quick summary of the goods:

• Wild garden hummus dip 
• Crunchmaster Multi-seek crackers
• Eat Green Tea
• LifeIce
• Nektar Honey Crystals
• Perfect Fuel Chocolate
• QUEST Bar--chocolate peanut butter <--- pretty popular on instagram, cant wait to try!
• Salba Smart Chia Boost
• Skratch Labs Exercise hydration mix
• ZICO Chocolate  

The amazing peeps @ Bestowed are running an amazing deal---get the box for only $10 (instead of $19). This is  GREAT opportunity to indulge in some delicious goodies before November ends. The  code is HELLOTEN105 and can be used at checkout on their site by clicking here.



To enter the giveaway:

• Follow me on Blogger (click on the "join this site" icon on the right hand side of the screen)
• Follow me on twitter (@dolcemabelle)

Comment below when you do! Each action counts as one entry!! :)

**DISCOUNT CODE AND GIVEAWAY VALID UNTIL 11/30/2013 (SATURDAY)**

GOOD LUCK

***

*Bestowed gifted me a box for the month of November, and discount code. ALL OPINIONS ARE MY OWN.