Sharing my thoughts on using a castor oil pack and how I implement them in my routine. Friendly reminder that this post is not a substitute for medical information; always ask your doctor if something is right for you! I’m definitely not a doctor and just sharing my experience. My favorite castor oil pack company is offering a free dry brush for readers if you place a castor oil liver kit through Saturday! Details are here and the code is GINA23.

Hi friends! How are you? I hope you’re having a wonderful morning! What are you up to today? I’m hiking with a friend – the weather has been a dreaaaammm – studying for IHP, and have a podcast interview. I’d love to hear what you have going on!

For today’s post, I wanted to talk a little about castor oil packs. I’ve been using them on and off for about 12 years now, and have recently brought them back into my routine more regularly. I first tried it out when I started working with Dr. Flynn with my hormones before we got pregnant with Liv. It was part of the detox protocol and wowwww they’ve come a long way since then! It’s so much more convenient now that there are less messy options. I figured I’d share more about my experience if it’s something you’ve heard about or are considering adding into your routine.

How to use a castor oil pack (and why you might want to)

What is a a castor oil pack?

This ancient healing remedy is one of the oldest and most widespread traditions, used in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda, to Modern Naturopathic medicine.

Castor oil packs have been used all over the world for centuries, and users have reported benefits including:

– Mental and physical health improvements

– Improving hormonal imbalances (PCOS, estrogen dominance, etc.)

– Digestive issues, including bloating, constipation, indigestion and IBS

– Insomnia and other sleep distubrances

– Stress reduction, anxiety, and depression

– Period regulation, endometriosis, TTC, ovarian cysts, uterine fibroids, fibrocystic breasts

– Cancer, tumors

– Thyroid health

– Liver and gallbladder support

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Hi friends! How are you?? I hope you’re having a lovely morning so far. I’m back here in Tucson with a still-froggy voice from 3 hours of screaming at the Taylor Swift concert. I’d love to hear what you’ve been up to! I figured for today’s blog post, I’d throw it back to the blog days of yore and share a recap from the weekend. It was packed with fun adventures and while I need a weekend to recover from the weekend, it was a great one.

We left for the Taylor Swift concert Friday afternoon and after multiple delays and crazy traffic, we made it! We missed Gayle, but got to hear Paramore sing some of the songs we’ve loved over the years. (“Misery Business” and “Ain’t It Fun” were SO GOOD.) I’m always interested to see how artists sound in person, and Hayley Williams sounded even better live. She crushed it and had super high energy.

Before we knew it, it was time for the main event, and it was mind-blowing to hear the echo of almost 70k people screaming and cheering.

I’m not even the hugest Taylor Fan – I like a lot of her songs and think she’s super talented, but not in my personal top 10 – but the concert was AMAZING. Liv is a hardcore Swiftie and knew all of the songs. P danced and clapped, and fell asleep around the 2-hour mark. The Pilot was a good sport and I think he enjoyed it, too.

I had no clue what to expect with this concert but was blown away by how many songs she performed (44?!), the costumes, the dancers, the special effects/sets/lighting, and how great she sounded.

Also, I have this weird thing where I feel extremely proud of people I don’t know after they perform. I get choked up at the end of every Broadway show and concert because I appreciate the effo

Hellooooo! Happy Friday and Happy St. Patrick’s Day!! How are you? I hope you’ve had a great week. The girls were on spring break, so the week was filled with sleepovers, slow mornings, a shopping day, trip to Mini Time Machine Museum, dinner with friends, the trampoline park, and we’re heading to see Taylor Swift tonight. It’s P’s first concert and the girls are pumped!

We’re also headed to a cabin for a night this weekend and a birthday party. Even though we didn’t go out of town for spring break, we managed to pack in a ton of fun events!

How was your week? I’d love to hear what you have going on this weekend. Any fun St. Paddy’s day celebrations ahead? If you’re looking for the best St. Patrick’s Day cocktail, try this one.

It’s time for the weekly Friday Faves party! This is where I share some of my favorite finds from the week and around the web. I always love to hear about your faves, too, so please shout out something you’re loving in the comments section below.

Friday Faves

Read, watch, listen:

Finished this book and having a serious book hangover. It was one of the best historical fiction books I’ve read and I’m having a hard time picking the next one! It was beautifully-written, sucked me in immediately, and while I couldn’t wait to find out what happened, I also didn’t want it to end. It’s mind-boggling that it was based on a true story and this book was completely outside my usual WWII historical fiction picks. If you have anything similar that you loved, please lmk.

Definitely check out this week’s podcast episode with Nicole Jardim. She shares so many amazing tips on how to support your hormones and optimize your cycle.

Loved this post and perfectly articulates how our perception of birthdays can change over time. (I used to love my birthday but now I just enjoy spending it with my little family and eating cake, but hate the pressure I always seem to feel, like I haven’t done *enough* over the past year.)

Fashion + beauty:

More Frownies goodies. I got my usual Frownies but added the undereye gels and the mask. I’ll definitely report back on the new products! Frownies has done wonders for helping with my 11s (aka WTF lines) in between my eyebrows. You have to use them for a while and use them consistently to see a difference but I’m a fan. Botox still freaks me out (never say never but for now, it’s not for me), so this has been a good alternative.

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Hi friends! I’m SO thrilled have Nicole Jardim on the podcast today. I’ve followed her on IG forever and love the information she shares on IG. This episode is packed with helpful tips and info, especially if you’re curious about improving your cycle and hormonal health.

129: Fix Your Period with Nicole Jardim

Here’s what we talk about in today’s episode:

– What does it mean to have a healthy period? How would you describe a healthy cycle and signs you know something is awry?

– What’s a good starting point to work on improving your period?

– Signs of low progesterone and what to do about it

– Super heavy cycles; what does this mean + tips

– her favorite period products and fertility resources

and so.much.more!

Here’s more about Nicole and her background:

 Nicole Jardim is a Certified Women’s Health Coach, writer, speaker, mentor and author of Fix Your Period: 6 Weeks to Banish Bloating, Conquer Cramps, Manage Moodiness, and Ignite Lasting Hormone Balance, a life-changing step-by-step natural protocol to ignite lasting hormone balance and improve everything from PMS, period pain, and heavy periods to irregular and missing periods. She has developed education and offerings that empower women and people who menstruate to reclaim their hormone health using a method that combines evidence-based information with simplicity and sass.

Her work has impacted the lives of tens of thousands of people around the world by addressing the root cause of what’s really going on in their bodies and minds rather than treating just their symptoms. She passionately believes that the fundamentals to healing any hormone imbalance lie in an approach that addresses the unique physiology of every woman. This is essential to reclaiming and maintaining optimal health and vitality at any age.

Nicole is the founder of the Institute for Menstrual Health, which offers training programs, mentorship and resources for an international community of women’s health practitioners and coaches. Through its signature program the Women’s Hormone Health Certification, Nicole teaches other health practitioners and coaches the fundamentals of hormones, menstrual cycles and fertility.

Finally, Nicole is the host of The Period Party, a top-rated podcast on Apple Podcasts, the co-author of The Happy Balance, a recipe book filled with over 80

This post is sponsored by my friends at NOW Foods and they have so many amazing products, including my fave creatine, on their site. Use FITNESSISTA for 20% off. Also this is a friendly reminder that this post is not medical information and not intended to prevent, treat, cure, or diagnose any illness. Always talk with your doctor before adding new supplements into your rotation. 

Hi friends! How’s the day treating you so far? I hope you’re having a wonderful morning. For today’s post, I’m chatting about a huge reader’s request topic and one of my favorite supplements: creatine!

Creatine is often taken by athletes and bodybuilders to improve their performance, but it is also consumed by older adults and vegetarians for health purposes. Not everyone knows the right way to take creatine, how it works, or what needs to be considered before adding it into a supplement routine.

In today’s post, I’m sharing a guide that can provide some education and help with informed choices when it comes to taking creatine, depending on the purpose that it’s intended to be used. Friendly reminder that your doctor will help you decide if adding creatine is a good choice.

An Overview on Taking Creatine

Creatine is a supplement that can be taken as powder or liquid, before or after a workout. I prefer to take it as a post-workout, but the thing with creatine is that you need to take it consistently to see and feel a difference. 

What Is Creatine

Creatine is an amino acid that is stored predominantly in muscle cells, with a small percentage in our brain, kidneys, and liver. You can get creatine in your diet from animal-based products, such as seafood and meat. This is why vegetarians and vegans will likely have lower creatine stores than omnivores and can often benefit from supplementation. Since creatine can be used for energy production for heavy lifting workouts and high-intensity training, it’s often used for performance enhancement.* Your body naturally produces 1-2g of creatine per day in the liver and pancreas.

Creatine is widely studied, easy to find, and inexpensive. My favorite creatine can be found here!

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