It is my pleasure to introduce the two “fit women” behind Fit Bottomed Girls Blog! I love reading their blog! It is always filled with tons of great fitness advice and tips! After reading about them, make sure to head on over to Fit Bottomed Girls and get a feel for their blog yourself!

Erin of Fit Bottomed Girls…

Q: Have you always been a fit person fit? What motivates you to live a fit lifestyle?

I’ve always been active. From playing softball, basketball and track through middle school, and cheerleading in high school, activity is something I’ve grown up with. I have gone through busy phases of my life where I didn’t make it a priority, but even then I seemed to fit in some activity several times a week. I’m motivated by the rationale that we’re only given one life and body, so we need to treat it well and make the most of it.

Q: What do your workouts look like? Do you have any favorite exercises?

My workouts are quite different from day to day. Some days I hit the gym for 30 minutes of cardio and some weights; other days I pop in a workout video and do 40 minutes of strength training that way. Some days it’s a long walk with the dog, some days it’s a short walk with the dog. I walk a lot, and hate to run, unless it’s running stairs. I love running stairs.

Q: How do you find the time to exercise with your busy lifestyle?

I make it a priority. And I try not to take the “all or nothing” approach. I used to get discouraged if I couldn’t set aside an hour for a workout, but now I realize the benefits of squeezing in a little at a time. If I don’t have a lot of time, I’m better off fitting in 20 minutes here and there instead of waiting five days to have an hour to set aside. The other day I popped in a 20-minute strength video before I went to pick up my husband at work. When I got there, I fit in 15 minutes of walking and stair climbing before I let him know I was there to get him.

Q: Do you struggle with your diet/nutrition? What suggestions do you have to others who struggle with their diet/nutrition?

I try not to deny myself anything I really want, so I eat most foods in moderation. I do have some minor problems with self control when it comes to, say, Oreos, so I avoid buying them unless I’m really craving them. Out of sight, out of mind. My advice is to eat everything smartly, and if you have a sweet tooth, learn to love fruit as a dessert.

Q: What does a typical daily meal plan for you, look like?

If I’m not having cereal for breakfast, I must be out of milk. I always have cereal and coffee in the morning. Sometimes Cheerios, or Mini Wheats, Smart Start, or sometimes something terrible like Cinnamon Toast Crunch. I love cereal.

For lunch, I might have soup and a turkey sandwich. I love some of the Progresso Light soups for their chunkiness and veggies. I always snack on fruit or veggies in the afternoons. Dinner changes considerably from day to day, depending on what I have time for, and I do more eating out than I should. I love making pastas with lots of veggies, and when I do eat out, I try to get delicious salads.

Q: What inspired you to start your blog Fit Bottomed Girls?

I love to write, and I love to be active, so it’s the perfect storm. Plus, it’s a great motivator to get moving when I know I have to post about it!

Q: Anything else that you would like to add?

Don’t be afraid to start being active. Just start.

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Jenn of Fit Bottomed Girls…

Q: Have you always been a fit person? What motivates you to live a fit lifestyle?

In general, I’ve always been drawn to fitness. In the beginning, my attraction was more like a dumb bug to an insect light zapper as I went about being “fit” in a very harsh way on my body. I taught multiple group exercises classes a day, rarely took days off and crash dieted. Nowadays, at the ripe age of 27 (har, har), I’m older and wiser. The passion is still there for sure, but I’m much easier on my body, and I work out and eat right to make life better, not look like Heidi Klum. ‘Cause let’s be honest, only Heidi can look like Heidi.

Q: What do your workouts look like? Do you have any favorite exercises?

Because we review exercise DVDs on Fit Bottomed Girls, I’m constantly trying out some new DVD workout, which can range from Zumba to Tae Bo to Buns of Steel to Rodney Yee Yoga. So, I always have a surprise there to keep me on my toes—and generally sore. I also try to run a couple of times a week, and I take my 10-month old puppy out for walks all the time, as she has some crazy mad energy. In addition, I usually lift moderate to heavy weights twice a week and squeeze in a yoga session or two. Along with the supermodel gene, I totally missed being naturally flexible, so yoga keeps me bendy and sane.

Q: How do you find the time to exercise with your busy lifestyle?

When you have to blog about your workouts regularly, it sure does help you make it a priority! But honestly, I know that I have to exercise most days of the week because without it, I become a terrible person. The perkiness just flies right out of the window. And that’s no good—even on extended road trips my husband agrees that a non-exercised moody Jenn is way worse than an overly excited aerobics instructor Jenn. With that being said, some days you just can’t squeeze it in, and you can’t beat yourself up over that. I do what I can, when I can, and I plan for it, but when life gets in the way, I take the stairs. The little things really do add up!

Q: Do you struggle with your diet/nutrition?What suggestions do you have to others who struggle with their diet/nutrition?

I don’t struggle too much with what I eat now, but I have in the past. Most of my earlier problems with eating were typical dieters’ woes: emotional eating, deprivation followed by gorging on a “forbidden” food, etc. I finally recognized that my yo-yo eating wasn’t healthy, and I was unhappy because of it. Self confidence should never come from a scale, and even though I’ve almost always been at a healthy weight, a pound or two up or down could wreck my day or leave me elated. And here I was a group exercise instructor and a personal trainer! I felt like such a hypocrite. So, I signed up for 12 sessions with a registered dietician, and she totally changed my life. She versed me on eating according to my hunger and made me see food in an entirely different way. If anyone is struggling with emotional eating or dieting, I highly suggest finding a registered dietician who is trained in intuitive eating. I now have wine and chocolate and burritos—without a trace of guilt! And my weight has been stable for two-plus years. Suck on that, Cabbage Soup Diet.

Q: What does a typical daily meal plan for you, look like?

In the morning, it’s usually high-protein, high-fiber and quick. So Kashi oatmeal or cereal with light soymilk and some fruit. Mid-morning, I’ll have a few cups of green tea or coffee and a handful of almonds with another piece of fruit if I’m hungry. For lunch, it’s usually either a big salad w/beans or meat or a can of low-sodium soup with some yogurt and sliced raw veggies. In the afternoon, I might have a Kashi Cherry Dark Chocolate Chewy Bar or a handful of trail mix. For dinner, it’s whatever concoction I’ve created, from spaghetti with broccoli to homemade sushi to fish tacos. I like to try new recipes, so dinner changes a lot. And I almost always have some kind of dessert whether it’s a piece of dark chocolate or a Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich. On the weekends, I kind of go with the flow with my diet, but I usually eat something pretty healthy even when we’re out, unless I’m really craving something and then I just stop eating when I’m full. It’s harder than it sounds, but with practice it becomes second nature.

Q: What inspired you to start your blog Fit Bottomed Girls?

The sappy truth? I was looking for deeper meaning out of my life. My day job bored me to tears, and I wanted people to think of fitness as something fun and as something for everyone—not just for the already fit. Fit bottoms come in all sizes. Cliché as it is, I wanted to make a difference. And so did Erin, my blogging partner and co-founder. We were both looking for the same thing at the same time and, bam, Fit Bottomed Girls was born. And, yes, we are Queen fans.

Q: Anything else that you would like to add?

Nope, just thanks for having me. It’s a privilege!

Thanks Jenn and Erin! It was a pleasure to have you both here at WDF!!