*The ultimate selfie*
When I got engaged back in May of last year, I became super motivated to eat well, work out, sleep properly, and really take care of my body. Then…..wedding season began and with that….a lack of sleep, stress, sugar rushes from midnight sweet tables, very infrequent workouts, and loads of coffee took over.
The motivation for me to kick my butt into gear re-arose during the Christmas Holidays and I promised myself I would make a real change.
In the past 6 weeks, my life and energy levels have done a 180 with the help of a few key people and institutions:
1 – STUDIO BREATHE & LE KITCHEN
I joined Studio Breathe’s 21-day detox challenge which involves daily yoga classes, motivational emails every morning, and a vegan diet based on Kris Carr’s book called Crazy Sexy Diet
Yoga did wonders for my mind and Le Kitchen (located right next door to Studio Breathe) did wonders for my body. Every day, Kristi made me two amazing delicious vegan, gluten-free, sugar-free and mainly raw meals that served as lunch and dinner. I also juiced every single morning and completely cut out alcohol and coffee. I felt like a bomb went off in my brain the first few days from the lack of caffeine and then suddenly I started to feel like a million bucks.
I doubt I could stay vegan forever but what I have realized is the effect of animal-based products on my body and I’m definitely going to be more conscious of my meat intake from now on.
2 – BLACKOUT FITNESS
Every Tuesday and Thursday morning, I have been spending my first waking hours with a 20 year-old stud named Daniel Goodman who is a personal trainer at Blackout Fitness. Daniel may have the looks and the skills but man do I want to kill him most mornings. He is one hell of a drill sergeant and has ZERO mercy. Daniel is a family friend and he is attending our wedding this weekend …..all I can say about that is: my territory, my terms, my rules….watch out Daniel….watch out.
In all fairness, I have never enjoyed working out as much as I do during my mornings with ‘Goodie’ (his nickname is a bit of an ‘oxymoron’ in my opinion).
3 – My ENTOURAGE
I’ll be completely honest here and tell you I don’t necessarily love hanging out with vegans or even vegetarians when food is involved. Lol. It’s just not as fun as being with carnivores. (that being said some of my closest friends are VEGS and I absolutely adore them so don’t take it personally people). Over the past 6 weeks, I have avoided going out for dinner and meeting up with friends in order to avoid meat and booze. Then one night, while I was dreading going over to Marco & Hanna’s (because they are a killer chef duo), I was presently surprised to see that they had made a delicious fully vegan meal in my honor. My friends and family have seriously been amazingly supportive.
Even Jason in his own special way….like that time he came home with a 21’’ all-dressed Momesso’s sub and ate it lovingly right next me……and then immediately got stomach cramps and felt like crap….a true reinforcement of how a few minutes of pleasure doesn’t always outweigh the consequences.
All in all, we are 5 days away from the wedding…and I feel GREAT thanks to the cocktail mix above.
I know I will feel even better as this week progresses and I start visiting my favorite beauty professionals….
- Going to apply a super light spray tan with the lovely ALLY ZWONOK (another soon-to-be-bride)….it will be my first experience and I’m nervous I may end up Cuban-looking but I hear she’s the best.
- Going to get my hair colour freshened up by GLORIA at SAMUEL AUGUSTIN who has been colouring my hair since I was 14 years old and knows everything about my life. She has also experimented with me through my random trials of different colour hair dyes and has now found the perfect recipe for me.
- Going to have eyelash extensions applied from the city’s best – MARIE. Never thought I would do this but not wearing mascara is a dream come true.
- Doing a mani & pedi at RAIN SPA where they cater to brides and really value ‘relaxation’ and ‘destressing’.
- Getting my makeup done this Saturday with SHARLEEN from ANNIE YOUNG COSMETICS who truly understands the meaning of natural beauty and is a gorgeous person Inside and out.
- Getting a blow dry from SOLANGE who has also known me my whole life and is the only hairdresser who doesn’t make me feel bad for having a super thick mane.
Damn…being a woman and a bride is a lot of work (and requires soooooo much time!)
I want to end this blog by saying this is the first time in my life that I have prioritized myself over everything and have really taken my health and well-being into my own hands. Working in the wedding industry, we make so many sacrifices and take so many risks with our bodies but it’s important to recognize that we are only as good as our mind, body and soul feel.
TANIA
Studio Breathe: www.studiobreathe.com
Le Kitchen: breathekitchen.wordpress.com/
Blackout Fitness: www.blackoutfitness.net
Ally Zwonok: www.allyzwonokmakeup.com
Samuel Augustin: www.samuelaugustin.com
Marie (eyelash extensions): 514-865-8922