Oh goodness, it's come to this

If you're a runner like me, you know it's a pain to grab your keys, your ipod, your water bottle, an ID, your phone, your water bottle... and then run with it all! You either sacrifice and minimize, or are weighed down with items stuffed down your sports bra.

Well, the makers of the original BootyWrap are trying to make your life easier.

Wrapped around this model's waist is not a functioning sweatshirt, but a fake garment designed to hold your things and conceal your VPL when you work out. But is it just me or does this just seem so superfluous?

The BootyWrap claims to be flat and not bulky, but it seems like it's just an extra item of clothing to wear on hot summer days. And then your phone is banging around on your thighs instead of stuffed snuggly between your boobs.

Finally, I worry about your marketing scheme if you must compare your product to a fanny pack. A fanny pack! There is nothing stylish about that.

If I'm going to get extra storage gear, it's going to be a spi-belt. At least you can tell what that's meant for.

Review: Blueprint Cleanse

Around the holidays, I was a little let's say lax with my diet and overall health. A new schedule has wreaked havoc on my eating schedule and has made packing my own lunches and working out drop on the list of priorities. Obviously that needed to change ASAP - the longer you let yourself slide, the harder it is to pick yourself back up. So I wanted the BluePrint Cleanse to be a swift kick in the butt to get me into gear for the last month before my trip to St. Thomas (hello, bikini body) and the last few months before I commit to buying a wedding dress!

I ordered my cleanse back in December. I had a coupon code, and I thought it would be a great way to kick of the new year. Well, then things kept springing up - friends in town, last week at work (which means parties!)... So after changing my cleanse date around three times, I finally decided on the week after Valentine's Day.

Mistake. Who knew I'd be working late (and I mean LATE) surrounded by delicious, free take out every single night

Blue Print Cleanse offers three levels of cleanse: Renovation (Beginner), Foundation (Intermediate) and Excavation (Advanced, and honestly, it sounds baddd... Excavation? ew). My fiance, who fortunately decided to do the Cleanse with me, and I went with Foundation cleanse both times, because I like to challenge myself, ya know?

The cleanse consists of six juices a day: three green juices made with romaine, celery, cucumber, kale and green apple (plus other assorted goodies) interspersed with three other liquid concoctions (a pineapple mint juice, a spicy lemonade a la Master Cleanse and a delicious cinnamony cashew milk). You can order one, two or three days, but I think you can go longer if you'd like.

They tell you to ease your body into and out of the cleanse - avoid dairy products, meat, alcohol, etc. in the days before and after the cleanse. Considering the Fiance and I enjoyed a delicious prix fixe meal for deux at Wolfgang Puck's the Source for Valentine's Day, I had one day to get my body ready. So I paid (way too much) for some fruit from the cafeteria for breakfast and for salad bar (lettuce, cucumber, portobello mushrooms, tomatoes, carrots) for lunch, and I had some mushrooms, asparagus, lettuce w/ salsa and air-popped popcorn (corn is a vegetable... right? I know... I couldn't resist). And then T and I shared some of the Wolfgang Puck truffles we'd been gifted upon leaving. That I really couldn't resist.

So I didn't exactly abide by the rules - they are hard! But I have to say, I didn't go into the cleanse with a sense of dread that I felt the first time. I felt excited and ready to clean my body of some of my worse transgressions (RBVLs anyone?), and hopeful of the beneficial results.

Day 1
The green juices (of which I will drink three today) do not taste as bad as my first experience with Blue Print Cleanse. I read somewhere that it tastes better when you're healthier, so I guess that's brownie points for me. Actually, I'm mostly feeling good, until the office decides to order Thai food for dinner. It smells amazing, and as I watch a woman munch on some pad thai, my stomach starts to rumble. Get me out of here.

Luckily, I'm able to leave soon. I go home and polish off my cashew milk in maybe just a few minutes and chase it with water and herbal tea. Both the fiance and I are like, yeah let's go to bed early tonight. My stomach was rumbling as I got into bed, and I pondered the setback of eating a piece of roasted asparagus. Full of willpower, I abstain.

Day 2

I wake up feeling not hungry and somewhat refreshed. I start with a mug of hot water with lemon, straighten my hair and head to work. I wasn't in a rush to start my juices today. But then 2 pm hits me like a ton of bricks. I'm feeling a little laggard, my freezing office feelslike it would never get warm, and my head is hurting. Keeping myself busy is the only way to pull through (luckily, there is a LOT to do). Then we get an email that we are being treated to BARBEQUE tonight. I want to throw myself off a cliff.

Day 3
I'm feeling good, but I'm filled with dread knowing it's increasingly likely I'm going to be at work very late. I make it to dinnertime - I actually feel OK - but I finally eat some salad and a little chicken. At work until the wee hours of the morning (literally... I crawled into bed at 6:00 am), it was just not realistic for me to work 18 hour days on juice only. Coffee at midnight was a necessity.

Overall
I felt much more prepared to do this the second time around. I know my general health habits have vastly improved from the last time I did this. I wish I could say I had the energy to work out like they promise but I didn't. I totally slacked on my training for the Cherry Blossom Ten Miler.

I'm frustrated that I sort of wasted my cleanse (and, in turn, the money) and I couldn't commit to three days of no food, but it just did NOT work into my schedule this time around.

So my final say on the Blueprint Cleanse is this: Do it if you have a week to commit to avoiding temptation. Honestly, I can't say that I have a week anytime in the near future where I don't have post-work commitments of happy hours and dinners. I don't think I can say there isn't a chance of me working late and being surrounded by both temptation and high-stress, high-energy situations that require more energy than juice can give me.

I would love to give BPC another go. And when I have 14 days (ha!), I'd love try the Remove Cleanse, which got great reviews on FitSugar.

This Week's Facts: January 14, 2011

Best dressed of the week: Rachel McAdams in Suno S/S 2011 (despite major sideboob) and Charlotte Olympia pumps and Lauren Conrad, with her beautiful, freshly dyed locks, in a Quail dress and Jimmy Choo shoes. (Credit: Fashionista/Glamour)

• Wardrobe Diaries lists ten wardrobe staples. Is anything missing? (Personally, I'd opt for a black sheath over a grey, plaid one).
• Love this Sartorialist look recreated by Style Within Reach. 
• The Cut showcases a new H&M line by Swedish fashion blogger Elin Kling. It's minimalistic, simple and oh-so-swoon-worthy. And only in Sweden. Drat.
• Check out Katie Holmes for Ann Taylor, Rumer Willis for Badgley Mischka and Natalie Portman for Dior over at Fashionista.
• Rachel Zoe is finally designing her own line, but it looks like she may or may not have copied a vintage dress for her collection. Refinery29 has the deets.
• It's no secret I love shopping for pieces that work day and night. Shopbop has some ideas on how to rock that dress during work hours and happy hour.
• Bright, contrasting separates are huge for spring. Wit & Whimsy put together three fun outfits to show you how to wear the trend.
• Tim Gunn is teaming up with Weight Watchers to help encourage and dress women with their new, fabulous bodies, StyleBistro reports.
• Scientists have released a study saying a veggie-rich diet can make you more attractive, TIME reports. The cartenoids found in greens and other vegetables make your skin glow! Who just ran out to the nearest Whole Foods?

A little about my journey toward healthy living...

(Warning: This blog post isn't super exciting, has no pictures (mostly because I left my camera in Utah) and isn't about fashion. But hopefully some of you will find it interesting! And not too preachy...)

The other week, I shared my new year's resolutions. They are pretty general - not so much big changes as gradual improvements I'd like to see in myself over the year.

A big chunk of my resolutions were inspired by healthy living blogs. Over the past few months, I've really gotten into these "healthy living" blogs. Prompted by my interest in losing a few lbs. before the wedding and then further piqued by the much-discussed (and, IMO, pretty one-sided) Marie Claire article, I discovered a group of blogs by young women around my age.

Most of these women struggled with their weights, particularly during their college years, and have adopted healthier, more natural lifestyles to find their Feel Good Weight. Inspired by these women, I've been trying to make real food, activity and positive thinking a bigger part of my life. Rather than consciously make these decisions, I want them to become intuitive, second nature.

So I thought I'd share with you two tangible changes I'm making this month - and moving forward - to improve my health:

1. Going green: I've started drinking smoothies in the morning. I am the last person that would think I'd be satisfied by a smoothie for breakfast, but that was until I discovered this: spinach+banana+almond milk+flax seed. I know, I know. You are like, ew, spinach for breakfast? In a smoothie? But with a little banana and vanilla flavoring from the almond milk, I promise, you won't even tell. Plus you can change up the recipe as you'd like. I've added in blueberries, apples, truvia... some people even use chocolate! Even The Fiance is a convert.

The best thing I have to say about these smoothies is my energy level. I no longer rely on coffee to help me power through the mornings. I feel refreshed and rejuvenated, but not weighed down.

Find more recipes and inspiration here.

2) Challenging myself: For physical activity, I've given myself must-do exercises. The first is training for the Cherry Blossom Ten Miler - which is in 79 days! Eek. The Ten Miler is very popular in DC - in fact you have to enter a lottery and be chosen to participate. And they have strict rules: You have to finish under a certain time and you have to maintain a certain pace - which means NO WALKING. Talk about pressure. So I've been using Hal Hingdon's Ten-Miler training program to get my rear in gear. Sure, I've run a few 5Ks but it's nothing compared to ten miles...

Secondly, I've been doing my own personal Whittle Your Waist challenge. For this, I'm accountable only to myself. Five days a week, I do a series of ab exercises and track my improvement. I've already seen great improvement in how long I can hold a plank - especially my side planks. I really recommend this as a fun little add-on to your normal workout routine! (At least I enjoy it - I'm no expert).

And if you have any interest in reading some wonderful healthy living blogs, here are my favorites:

1. The Fitnessista

2. Kath Eats Real Food

3. Carrots N Cake

4. Healthy Tipping Point

5. Meals And Miles

6. Oh She Glows