Some random ramblings and love for ya’ll <3

Helllooooo from your highly over-caffeinated internet friend here! I have officially determined that I am not responsible enough to own a Nespresso Machine. I literally cannot stop drinking them. Do you guys have one too?? They are the best yet worst things ever. To give you perspective on how out of control I am atm, I have had 4 Nespresso coffees today. Obviously switching between the chocolate and caramal flavours (preference to caramel) because they are the best. AND NOW I HAVE SO MUCH ENERGY. (Crap.)

So here I am. Fully caffeinated, raring to go. This is probably the opportune time to go workout but I am on FIRE with my work so Ima just roll with this. Anyways, thought I would bring some realness to ya’ll today about my complete lack of self-restraint when it comes to Nespresso. Maybe one day I will be adult enough to have just one Nespresso in the morning. But alas, here we are. That day has yet to come. 😝

On another note, I just wanted to say in my highly caffeinated state I am rapid-fire thinking about how thankful I am that you come here and hang out in this corner of the internet. We’ve got a pretty special thing going on over here you guys. I love it when you comment and share your experiences with me, and the personal emails you send to my inbox are so fantastic to read. It is so great to have you in my life, so thank you for being you. 💕

Annnnndddd… FEEDBACK TIME!

With that, I want to know what you want to see more of here on Skinny Belle! After all, my goal is to connect with you as much as possible and make this a great place where we can all be the best versions of ourselves. So please, comment below and let me know what you want to read more of here on Skinny Belle! Want more personal posts? More outfits? More workouts? Tell me, and it shall be yours. Because I appreciate you and love you <3

COMMENT BELOW! 

x,

Jacket: Aritzia / Sunnies: Rayban / Shirt: Oak + Fort / Jeans: Citizens of Humanity

Yeeessssss. Had the best/most relaxing weekend ever. Sometimes it is really difficult for me to slow down for a bit and just chill. I would say I am largely a type-A personality which means I am both very ambitious and impatient. Two traits that can be very stressful when paired together haha. When it comes to my career/life/business, I want it now and I want it to be the best it can possibly be. You know? So every once and a while I feel the need to just stop, and relax for a few days. This weekend happened to be one of those times and was it ever glorious.

So in the spirit of relaxing, I am going to go meet my bestie Leah for a walk around the Seawall here in Vancouver. Hope you guys got some time to relax this weekend too!

x,

My thoughts on the scale, and why you should ditch it!

Okay guys, so I really debated writing this one because topics like this tend to be sensitive on the interwebs, if you know what I mean. But I have so many friends who obsess over that stupid little number that the scale, and I really wanted to share a healthier alternative to monitoring your weight. 

In my opinion, scales are the devil. Like, just the worst. They show every single fluctuation in your weight. Eat an apple, gain a pound. There will be no actual relevant changes in your day-to-day weight, and obsessively weighing yourself everyday is just unhealthy. One little number should not define how you feel, and definitely does not define how healthy you are.

Let’s start with reasons why weighing yourself sucks:

Fluctuations

Every single thing you do will make your scale fluctuate. What time of day you weigh yourself, how much water your drank, if you exercised, how much clothing you are wearing, which way the wind is blowing… etc. You get my point. It is not an accurate daily representation of how healthy you are.

Weight does not reflect health

How much you weigh does not indicate how healthy you are. And we want our bodies to be lean, mean, fighting machines. The best way to check how healthy we are is to make sure we are following that Skinny Belle Lifestyle of balance, and eating 80% wholesome healthy food. 

You feel like crap

Yep. When has anyone ever stepped on a scale and said OMG YAY I FEEL GREAT! Nobody. Ever. (Or, they are a liar.) Even if you have reached your “goal weight” you will still feel like it “could be better.” It is so important to feel happy with yourself, and frankly scales are just depressing.

Okay so, if I don’t weigh myself, how do I know what I weigh? I don’t. But I monitor my health and wellbeing based on my fitness level, how my clothes fit, and the food I have been eating. It is a far better way to track your health without getting all stressed out over a stupid little number. After all, health has so much more to it than physical weight. 

This advice is given in the spirit of helping you live your happiest and healthiest life possible. As always, this is just what I have found to work for me! Please see your doctor if you before changing anything about your health or fitness routine to find out what is best for you.

Lots of love <3

x,

A bit of motivation to get your butt in shape for fall!

Today we are talking about how to not completely let ourselves go in the fall. Lets be real here. I need this post, you need this post, we all freakin’ need this post. It’s that time of year when our overzealous pre-summer fitness goals have long been abandoned, and exchanged for way too much comfort food and Netflix. (<– real talk.)

Ladies, let’s get it together. Just because the temperatures are dropping and it is getting ever rainier, does not give us an excuse to stop all exercise and starting eating like crazy! It is so important to maintain a healthy body and mind year round, and not have an annual “get skinny for the beach” panic attack a month before summer starts. We should feel like we are at our best, always.

Alrighty, so how can we make sure we stay active for fall? Below are my favourite tips!

BUDDY SYSTEM

Get a girlfriend and schedule a gym date together, every week. The buddy system is SO KEY to making sure you go do your workout. It is way harder to say no and ditch someone than it is to quietly tell yourself as you inhale a pie that “it’s okay, you can go workout tomorrow instead….” So, gym buddy. Get one, and stick together like glue!

INDOOR ACTIVITIES

Even though I am a bigggg fan of being in the outdoors to get my exercise (hence the photos above lol), there are just too many rainy and gloomy days in the fall for me to realistically expect myself to go for walks and jogs every day. It just ain’t happening. So, pick an indoor activity to do! For example: spinning, yoga, pilates, or even kickboxing! All great ways to stay sheltered from this fall weather & still get your fitness on. And obviously when the sun is shining get outside and enjoy it!

NEW GEAR

Invest in some new workout gear! This is so simple, but ohhh so effective. There is no feeling like rollin’ into the gym like you own the place in your new sneaks. LOL! I am serious. It makes me feel like such a boss. So go out and get yourself a cute new little workout outfit. Who knows, maybe you will catch the eye of the hottie to your left on the treadmill 😉

SET GOALS

I have talked about goal setting before and how it can be a great motivator with your fitness! And this is no exception. Make your workouts a challenge for yourself, and see how much you can accomplish. If you set a goal for yourself and have an actual objective to work towards, you will be so much more motivated!

TREAT YO-SELF

Okay so once you set those goals, and achieve them…. Treat yo-self!!! Buy yourself those shoes you have been wanting for a few months. Cuz babes, you deserve it. Believe me you will feel even more fab when you strut around in those new boots when you know you have earned them!

So guys, those are my favourite tips to stay active in the fall! Just remember it is all about feeling good all year round. You will be happier and healthier for it… promise! 🙂

Okay so now I am going to go practice what I preach… and get my pilates on! What are you guys going to do to stay fit for fall? Comment below, the more inspo the better! <3

Lots of love.

x,

Matcha green tea. SO GOOD. So healthy. Soooo many health benefits. I probably should have shared with sooner with you guys, but I mean… late is better than never right?! K so I am a bit late to the matcha party but what is important is that I am here now 😀

So first, what is matcha? Matcha is essentially a very high quality green tea, that is blended into a fine powder. Unlike regular green tea, matcha tea is not steeped. You simply whisk it in with your hot water and drink up!

I have made drinking a cup of matcha tea a part of my daily routine. Because of it’s high caffeine content, I find it to be the perfect “afternoon pick-me-up” drink. Not only this, there are tons of major benefits to drinking this magical green drink (yes, magical.)

Here are my favourite reasons to drink matcha tea on the daily:

BURNS CALORIES

Ohhhhh yessssss, that is right ladies. Matcha tea helps your body burn fat at a faster rate (about 4 times faster!) than normal. AKA it increases your metabolism. AKA it is magical and amazing. A fast metabolism is a thing of beauty, people. 

HIGH IN ANTIOXIDANTS

Yea, antioxidants. Those things that everyone is yapping on about. They do lots of amazing things for our body, including reducing & fighting the effects of UV radiation and making our skin look young and beautiful. You guys know how obsessed I am with keeping my skin looking young. See my posts on Gelatin (the natural botox), Borage Oil, BioSil, and my Coffee Face Scrub. Like I said, obsessed. You will thank me later 😉

INCREASE CONCENTRATION

We all need to be focused when we are busy being #GIRLBOSSES. A cup of matcha will increase your energy levels, boost your memory, and help improve your concentration. Winning? I think so.

BOOSTS IMMUNE SYSTEM

Seriously this is a big winner for me. Being sick sucks, and I hate it. Like, a lot. So anything that can help boost my immunity is a big bonus in my books! (Read about another one of my fave cold cures here.)

Oh yes friends, matcha offers all those benefits and more. The abouve are just my favourites. 😀 SO DRINK UP!!! 

Where can you get matcha tea? I buy mine at Davids Tea. Click here to get their Ceremonial Matcha Tea! It’s delish. 🙂 Enjoy!

x,

My goal here at Skinny Belle is to share my favourite tips and tricks on how you can live your best possible life. A big part of being your most beautiful and exuberant self is feeling HAPPY! A smile is worth a million bucks, and in the famous words of Audrey Hepburn, “I believe that happiest girls are the prettiest girls.”

So today I bring you Skinny Belle’s 5 Simple Ways to Be Happier. These are all things I do in my everyday life, and have found to put me in an awesome positive mindset. When you set out to conquer the world, you want to be happy. Negativity is like a disease that brews and grows inside you and ultimately affects your outside life. Happiness is a mindset, and we are all in control of our minds. There are many things in life that you can’t control, but what goes on in that big beautiful brain of yours is all up to you!

Ladies, let’s take on the world together. And be freakin’ happy as hell while doing it. 😀

Without further adieu, here are 5 Simple Ways to Be Happier.

Eat Right

You are what you eat. Eat like shit, feel like shit. Eat like a queen, feel like a queen. What you put in your body has a serious impact on how you feel! Think about the last time you crushed a pint of ice cream or sat at home and ate a large pizza. Chances are you did not feel very happy after. When you eat a wholesome nutritious meal you will feel satisfied and happy because you know you have done something good for your body.

**To learn more on my perspective on eating, read about the Skinny Belle Lifestyle. Need some healthy recipes to make? Lurk the Skinny Belle Food section. 

Dress Well

Dress for success. Why does it matter what you wear? I dareee you to tell me you don’t feel happy when you look fabulous. (Tell me!!) Really, who doesn’t have that extra bounce in their step when they know they are looking fine AF. When you mindfully put yourself together, you will have an aura of confidence, happiness, and success about you. It feels good to look good, so take an extra minute to put together something decent to wear and happily feel like a #GIRLBOSS all day long.

Workout

I am alllll about them endorphins. Seriously, I get high on life from working out. (Yes, I am that person.) Even if it is just a power walk/jog, it feels SO good to get your body moving. You will become more alert, feel great, and have a huge boost in your mood!

“Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don’t shoot their husbands, they just don’t!”

– Elle Woods, Legally Blonde

Be Social

Hang out with positive, awesome people who make you want to be the best version of yourself. Surround yourself with only people who make you smile. After all, nobody likes a negative Nancy. Friends who just want to bitch and whine? Cut them outttt girl. You don’t need those people killing your positive vibes! The best friends are the friends who can laugh with for hours. I don’t know about you guys, but when I hang out with my besties I legit can never wipe that stupid smile off my face because they make me so damn happy.

Pump Them Tunes!

Hit up your Spotify and blast the happy tunes! I am a big fan of just throwing on a “feel good” or “girl power” playlist, and rocking out by myself. (Super cool, I am aware.) Dance around your apartment like an idiot, and feel fantastic. I legit have no shame with this haha. I cant sing, am an average dancer at best… But putting on happy songs and dancing about puts a smile on my face like no other.

A happy mindset is a mindset for success. So try these 5 Simple Ways to Be Happier, and set yourself up to feel and look great. 

Which tip is your favourite? Do you guys use any of these in your daily life already? Comment below!!

x,

Allllrighty. Today’s topic is one that will probably hit home with a lot of you. Lifestyle slip-ups.

Remember my post on the Skinny Belle Lifestyle? Where you eat healthy 80% of the time and treat-yoself the other 20%? Yes, that one. If you missed the post check it out by clicking here, it’s good stuff you if you ask me. 🙂 So anyways, sometimes we all have lifestyle slip-ups. (Notice I am not saying the word “diet”, refer to the Skinny Belle Lifestyle post for more info on this.) I am talking about when you overindulge for a few days… or weeks… <— if we are being honest here haha.

Lifestyle slip-ups can happen for a world of reasons. Vacation, travel for work, birthday parties, holidays, you name it. It happens to the best of us.

I want to share with you what I do when I have a few days of crap eating. Because I am not perfect, nobody is, and life happens sometimes. You should never live with regret, and slipping up can just be motivation to treat your body better than you ever had before!

Here are my top 5 ways I like to get myself back to eating clean and healthy (80/20) after a slip-up:

Mini Juice-Cleansing

Mini juice-cleanse your mornings. I don’t really like to do multi-day or even day-long cleanses… because hangry is not a pretty look on anyone haha. (And let me tell you girl gets real hangry.) What I like to do after a period of poor eating is to do mini-juice cleanses in the morning for about 3 – 5 days. This means I will have a fresh pressed green juice (read more on green juices by clicking here) for breakfast and avoid eating lunch up until 12 – 1 pm. This gives your body time to rest and recover from all the junk food over the past few days. When you do eat your nutrient-packed lunch (whatever it may be) it will taste even better because you have let your stomach settle for the morning. Plus the green juice will provide you with all the nutrients you will need for the day, so yay green juice!

Light Exercise

Getting back into a healthy lifestyle is fully a mindset. I find just engaging in light exercise like power walking or interval training is enough to put me in the “healthy mood.” When you take the time to do something good for your body, you will be more likely to make healthy choices for the rest of the day.

Rest Up

We all know how important it is to get our beauty sleep! Sleep has a huge impact on your cravings and how your body feels. More sleep = healthier body. To learn more about beauty sleep click here. 

Eat Clean 

Eat CLEAN! The more natural the foods you eat are, the happier your body will be. Avoid eating refined white sugar and aim to eat raw and whole foods. Eat things like lots of whole grains, big leafy vegetables, and fruits! 

Hydrate

Drink as much water as possible! Your body will need the extra hydration after a few days of salty snacks and sweets. The water will also help reduce cravings for more sugary sweets like you had on the weekend. 

And there you have it! These are my top 5 tips on how to recover from a lifestyle slip-up. Make sure no matter what you don’t feel guilty about over-indulging with your favourite food for a few days. 

As I always say, this is just what works for me! Make sure you do your own research and find out what works best for you to live the healthiest lifestyle possible.

Lots of love <3

x,

Just me myself and I. And my Nikon. And the pool. 

Literally the most perfect day I have had in a while. Girl just needed to chill out and not do anything for a day. And you would not believe how hard it is for me to do that. Doing “nothing” needs to be scheduled into my world, and I have to be super strict and force myself to just do nothing haha. Anyone else have this problem? I feel like it’s the curse of being a “type A” personality.

Anyways this was fantastic and totally what I needed to recharge myself. A nice quiet day of pool, netflix, and food. Hell. Yes.

What do you guys do when you need to just chill out for a little bit? Tell me in the commentsss <3

x,

Saving the best for last…… this beauty one-piece swimsuit marks the final episode of Billabong in BC on Skinny Belle! It has been such a great experience collaborating with Billabong. Not only has it made me feel all surfer-girl-call-me-kate-bosworth-like (yes, I can dream 😛 ) but it has been a pleasure working with the Billabong team. 

It has been SO LONG since I have worn a one-piece swimsuit. Why on earth would I ever have stopped wearing them. They are freakin’ bomb. Maybe it was because I was traumatized as a child when my mother forced me to wear a full body one-piece. No, this is not a joke. I legitimately had to wear a “swimsuit” that went from my ankles to my wrists. Like… my FULL BODY was covered. Think wetsuit status. Yes, I was that ginger kid on the beach. Let’s not even get into the hats I was forced to wear as a child. Okay so my mother did have really good intentions (making sure my skin didn’t burn and I stayed sun-safe blah blah) but MY GOD must that have traumatized me if I only brought out a one-piece now at age 24. (<— insert like a mil crying/laughing emojis here hahaha)

So now you know of my ginger-child horrors. Enjoy that from the safety of your own home. And please for the love of god, never do that to your children.

Okay got way distracted there. Anyways, point being I am all about them one-pieces now. Check out what other beauty one-pieces Billabong has in store by clicking here. 

Hope you guys love this Billabong in BC series as much as I do! What was your fave episode? Tell me in the comments below 😀

x,

Today I want to talk about something that is so important to me, and makes up a major part of the Skinny Belle lifestyle: balance. “Balance” is such a simple concept, yet is so vitally important to your overall health. Balance can be applied to all parts of your life, but today I want to specifically talk about balance when it comes to your eating routine.

Let’s start by talking about diets. I am going to be clear about this… DIETS DON’T WORK. They suck. By diet, I am referring to a short-term extreme change in your eating pattern with the end goal being to lose weight. Let me tell you (being real honest here,) if you can name a diet… I have tried it. That’s what 8 years of modeling gets you. And that is also why I am here for you! To share my experiences, lessons learned, and finally the great balanced lifestyle tips and tricks I have cultivated.

So, what did I learn about diets over my years of modeling? Well yea you might lose a few pounds in a short period of time, but you sure as hell can bet that you will gain more than you lost back. Extreme diets can bring fast results, but they are definitely not long-term ones. Your body craves nutrients (a wide variety of them at that) and diets do not give you all the nutrients you need. I promise you, if you start doing random diets in an attempt to “lose weight” you will just end up binging after. This is because when you deny yourself of wholesome nutritious food, your body will crave a bunch of crap you probably wouldn’t have wanted to eat otherwise. I know when I know I “can’t” have something that pretty much makes that thing I “can’t” have be the only thing on my mind haha.

The solution to diets?

The Skinny Belle Lifestyle.

Seriously, this shit works. (And remember, today we are just talking about food!) This is a way of thinking and being. NOT a diet. This is how I have maintained my health and well-being for many years now. 

Okay so what are the main principles of the Skinny Belle Lifestyle?

BALANCE

I am all about it and all over it. Yes I eat natural, wholesome foods 80% of the time. The other 20%, I am inhaling nachos at my favourite pub or crushing M&M’s like it’s my job. Or chocolate. Or pizza. Holy crap I love pizza. I want a pizza. Okay but you get the point. The majority of the things you eat should be natural, clean, and healthy. Things that make you feel like a freaking queen when you eat them. The other 20%, are the things that the devil might eat. But you love it anyways because you’re a bad bish. And you will eat them without feeling guilty, because you deserve to enjoy all the best things in life. <3

LOVE

Love the food you eat, and love your body. You are beautiful, you are unique, and you are different than every other person on this planet. And that is what makes people so awesome! How much would it suck if we were all the same. My god… would be so boring. Anyways, my point is: love what you put in your body. When food is created with love and care, it shows. Nobody created a McDonalds Big Mac with love. Ever. That delicious Turkey Bolognese Sauce you made for your man, that is made with loveeeee. And is filled with nutrients. And is so delicious. To be truly balanced in your eating, you need to love the food you are eating and love how it makes you feel.

NEVER SAY NEVER

There was a very dark time in my life when I was a vegetarian. For two whole years I didn’t see the light of day. LOL I kid! I had my reasons, and I still stand by my choice. That being said, completely eliminating something from your diet is no good either. I used to have dreams about drinking gravy. That is not normal. Part of the Skinny Belle Lifestyle is to never say never. Saying “I will never eat chips again EVER!” Will make you dream about chips. You will see chips in your boyfriends face. You will try to eat his face (not in a good way.) It is just bad news. Just make sure you don’t put anything “off limits.” Unless you are allergic to something/have dietary restrictions, then stay far away from those foods haha. (**Side note: total love & respect you veggies and vegans out there <3 This was just an example of myself dreaming of gravy when I couldn’t have it lol)

LISTEN

Listen to your body. Eat mindfully (or try to.) To be honest this is something I am still working on. I love food, I love to eat, and I get excited when I eat. Sometimes when you are eating the most delicious dish ever it can be really hard to listen to your body and slow down, and feel when you are full. This is all about being mindful. Be mindful of your portion size, and know when your stomach is telling your brain it is full.

And that’s it ladies and gentlemen! The Skinny Belle Lifestyle principles. Balance, love, never say never, and listen. Simple.

One of my main goals with Skinny Belle was to share my favourite tips and tricks to living your healthiest lifestyle, while still enjoying all the best things in life. I am by no means perfect (hence BALANCE and my 20% nachos time hehe) and am just sharing what I have found to work for me. As I always recommend, make sure you do your own research and find out what works best for you. This is just what has worked for me, and I have found living a balanced lifestyle to be the best way for me to stay fit.

What do you guys think of these principles? Would you add anything to this list? Do you use any of these in your daily life?? Feel free to share in the comments section below <3

x,