Friday Favorites

New swim/yoga outfit from Mika Yoga Wear

#AtlasSweatworking with aSweatlife.com

21 Guns WOD for Memorial Day

Beautiful view of the Water Tower and Hancock building

What were your favorites this week?

Are you Fed Up?

Last week, I had the opportunity to see the new documentary, Fed Up, which is basically about the affect of food on health in America. To be honest, I didn't learn anything new in the movie and was basically just nodding my head in agreement the whole time. The documentary is a more elaborate version of a paper I wrote on The Obesity Epidemic in grad school. Obesity and related diseases (type 2 diabetes, heart disease, etc.) are increasing at alarming rates in the United States and especially in children. Americans consume way more sugar that the daily recommend amount and it comes mostly from added sugar in processed foods. Since a low-fat diet became popular 30 years ago, more and more sugar was added to food to make it taste good. And the sugar and processed food industry lobbies are powerful and influence our government. School lunches are unhealthy and parents and children are not educated on what they should be eating. The obesity epidemic is very alarming and costing us billions in healthcare. It will also become a national security issue when the next generation is Too Fat to Fight.

The documentary followed the lives of a few obese children and their families, talking about what they ate and how hard it was to lose weight. We often put blame on the victim in this case saying that these children are lazy and have no willpower. But they are victims of a society that markets unhealthy food to children and puts addictive substances (added sugar) into food. Unhealthy options (e.g. fast food, junk food) are much easier to come by than healthy options. There is no proper nutrition education in school and school lunches are awful. As someone that tries to be as healthy as possible, I know that it is really difficult. Turning down tasty food and trying to make meals from scratch is not easy, at all, in this society. I had to educate myself to figure out what to eat to stay healthy, most people won't do that. And it is still very difficult for me to choose an apple over a cupcake if given the option, and I often fail. I can't keep sweets in my house because I will eat them.

I'm always torn on the issue of the government regulating food, such as a sugar tax or limiting marketing unhealthy food to children. I think that people should be free to choose what they want to eat. However, my health insurance premiums are paying for obesity-related diseases and my tax dollars are going to agriculture subsidies. The way our society sees food and how we teach our children about nutrition needs to change. The movement is happening with grassroots efforts. But there needs to be change on a larger scale with the food industry and government working together. Many people, including in this documentary, compare the smoking revolution to the impending food revolution. I think that it is similar, but has a major difference in that not all food is bad. Food companies can create healthier options.

I don't think that there is a perfect solution to making our food healthier but there are some things that you can start doing now to contribute to the healthy food movement, including:

• base your diet on fresh vegetables
• think of food as fuel for your body to work well
• limit processed foods, even if they say they are healthy, organic, low-fat, gluten-free, etc.
• teach your kids about good nutrition and pack their lunches
• pack your own lunch
• Make food from scratch and think outside of the box with healthy recipes (not just salads!)

What steps are you taking now to make you and your family healthier?

Do you think a sugar tax would work to fight the obesity epidemic?

Disclaimer: I received two complimentary tickets to see the Fed Up movie but was not compensated for this post. All opinions and text are my own.

Happy Memorial Day and start of #summertimechi

Happy Memorial Day! I just got done doing the 21 Guns WOD saluting our fallen troops and the hard workout was nothing compared to sacrifices those men and women have made. Remember them as you celebrate the unofficial start of summer this weekend!

As you all know, I'm moving to France this August to start the full-time MBA program at INSEAD, and while I am SO excited, I know I'm going to miss Chicago. So, in light of surviving this horrible winter and celebrating my last couple of months in Chicago for a while, I'm going to do all there is to do in Chicago before I leave, and I need your help! What do you think of when you imagine summer in Chicago? What are all of the typical outdoor Chicago summer things? I don't care how cheesy/touristy, I want to do it all! Here's my list so far:

• Running on the Lakefront Trail
• Paddle boarding on the lake
• Beach day and Castaways
• Outdoor music festival
• Outdoor food festival
• Cubs game
• Pub crawl
• Brunch at Zella's
• Jazzin at the Shedd
• Classical Music Festival at Millennium Park
• Picture with The Bean
• Fireworks at Navy Pier
• Air and Water Show
• Six Flags Great America
• Arlington Race Track
• Jump in Lake Michigan
• Beach volleyball
• Lottie's Kickball League
• Big Ten 10k
• What else??

I'll be posting all of this on Instagram with hashtag #summertimechi, so follow me!

Friday Favorites

CRW volunteers at the Girls on the Run 5k

Girls on the Run 5k!

Got my passport renewed and I'm ready for INSEAD!

Meeting up with INSEAD Chicago admits at Bridgehouse Tavern

Beauty Bash at Benefit Cosmetics! I got my brows tinted.
Thanks to Shaheen, Lindsay, Laurie, Lauren, and Grace for coming.

Congrats to Hannah L. for winning my Mamma Chia giveaway!

What were your favorites this week?

Review: Five Four Club

I usually only post about women's fashion but when I was contacted by Five Four Club to review their men's clothing, I said, why not? I know I have some male readers out there! Ryan was, of course, excited to get some new clothes but not as excited about the modeling part. I think he looks great though.

Ryan received the Henry tee (above), Scott button down (below), and Venice shorts. Everything fit him perfectly which is fantastic. The tee is extremely soft and has a nice heather-gray like pattern. It can be dressed up or down. The button down is high quality and Ryan even wore it to work the next day. Finally, Ryan was impressed by the shorts. He rarely wears shorts, even in the summer, but I think he'll be wearing these quite often!

Five Four is a club website that works by sending you items of clothing each month for a flat $60. You fill out a style profile and then a real stylist matches items for you. You can exchange sizes for free (and free shipping) but not return items. Each package is worth at least $120 in retail value, so you'll get at least 50% off. Club members also get 25% of off the store. You can skip a month as to not get new clothing every month. I think the motto "your closet on auto-pilot" really works here! Click on the banner below to get started! Also, use code AF15SIM to get 25% off or $15 off!




Disclaimer: Five Four in partnership with She Is Media provided me with complimentary product in exchange for writing this review. As always, all opinion and text are my own (and Ryan's).