FabFitFun: February Subscription Box Goodies

Have you heard of FabFitFun? We have been loving their monthly subscription boxes filled with goodies for years now. How it works is every 3 months, as a FabFitFun VIP member, you can look forward to their new seasonal gift box filled with the new most fab items, hand-picked by the FabFitFun Team! You enjoy full-size, premium products delivered 4x per year. Each box is a $200 value, but you only pay $49.99 four times a year {that's $200 for $800 worth of product, ladies}! The shipping is free too!

This month we received our favorite subscription box to date filled with every day favorites from fashion, beauty, and health & fitness products.

Get your hands on these boxes by signing up today! Use code 'SORORITYSECRETS' at checkout to receive a special discount!

Show us the goodies in the box that you love by using the hashtag  #TSSxFabFitFun

5 Yoga Workouts For Beginners

[image source]

We just love yoga! It is so calming and relaxing and really helps us to get centered. We are total beginners and really wanted to get some yoga beginners basics so we reached out to Kelsey Lawrence, Arizona Yoga Instructor and an Alpha Chi Omega Alumnae, to show us the ropes. Kelsey shares just how to do each beginner's yoga workout. Whether it's doing yoga at a studio, on the beach, or in the comfort of your home, you can take yoga just about anywhere with these easy workouts. Thanks for sharing, Kelsey!

Cat Cow (Chakravakasana)

1. Begin in tabletop position, hands under shoulders and knees under hips. 
2. Inhale and arch your back. Leading forward with your heart (not your head), shoulders on your back and chin tucked. Press down through your hands and feel your heart opening. Keep your shoulders relaxed, opened, and broadened. 
3. Exhale and round your back like a cat. Tucking your chin in towards your chest and exhaling all of the air out of your lungs. 
4. Repeat 5 times on your breath. 

This pose is extremely beneficial for back pain. It moves your hips and spine and squeezes out the kidneys. When leading with your heart, feel the expansiveness and opening of new possibilities!

Downward Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana)

1. Begin in tabletop position. 
2. It is important in this pose to angle your hands in the right angle in order to protect your shoulders. 
3. On your mat, widen your arms to where your pinky fingers are touching the edge of the mat. Make sure your pointer fingers are pointing forward. 
4. On your next exhale tuck your toes and push back, raising your seat into the air with your feet hip distance apart. Push back through your hips while being mindful not to hyper-extend your straight arms. 
5. Try and turn your shoulders out ward. 
6. Ground your heals into your mat and if not, bending the knees is a beautiful way to practice this pose, especially if you have tight hamstrings. 
7. It allows pressure to be taken off the hamstrings and lower back and you are able to sink deeper into the posture. 
8. Breath here for 5 breath’s. Long inhale and extended exhale. 

This pose relives stiffness in the heels, strengths ankles and legs. The abdominal muscles are drawn towards the spine and the head relaxes and drops down, allowing the heart rate to slow. This is a very exhilarating pose and brings energy to your body. If you are feeling tired or groggy during the day, drop everything and get into down ward dog or some sort of inversion. The energizing benefits from this asana help to sustain energy and is much more valuable to your health compared to sugary energy drinks.

Warrior B (Virabhadrasana B)

1. Begin by standing on your mat; exhale and step your left leg behind you about 4 feet. Have your right toes facing forward and your left back foot angled about 45 degrees. 
2. Bend into your right leg; keep your knee over your ankle and breath. 
3. The outside of your back foot should be pressed into the floor and feel grounded. 
4. Feel the strength of your legs and the beautiful earth supporting you. 
5. Engage your abdomen, tuck the sacrum down, and try keeping the right knee over the ankle, not letting it dip inward or outward. 
6. Breathe here as long as you feel comfortable or for 3 breaths keeping your gaze at your right hand. 
7. Straighten your right leg; bring your left to meet the right and switch sides! 

This is a very powerful pose. You are toning your quads and hamstrings as well as your core. It also prepares you for other challenging yoga poses. Mentally focus on the path you want to be on. Find strength in grounding in the earth and that energy will guide you. A beautiful mantra for this pose might be: There is no path to peace, peace is the path.

Reclining Bound Angle Pose (Supta Baddha Konasana)

1. Begin on your back. Tuck your chin a little into your chest and breath. 
2. Tuck your pelvis under and bring the insides of your feet together and slowly move your legs closer to your body until you feel a stretch in your hips. 
3. Rest your arms beside you palms up to receive energy. 
4. Your legs will look like they are in the shape of a butterfly. If the sensation is too much, you can place a blanket under each of your knees for support. 
5. Lie here and breathe into your hips for 5 deep breaths. 

Hip openers are so important because we hold so much of our tension in our hips. There are issues in our tissues! When you consciously focus on expanding into that tight area you are not only stretching the fascia you are consciously letting go of anxiety, and who doesn’t want that!! Focus on your breath in this pose and if it hurts you can always back out of it. However, I challenge you to breath through the pain and notice how quickly it subsides and how good it feels.

Childs Pose (Balasana)

1. Time to rest. Begin in tabletop position. 
2. Bring feet together and widen your knees open so that you are able to bring your buttocks towards your feet. Exhale and slowly rest your torso over your thighs so your forehead touches the mat. 
3. Extend your arms forward and breath. Another variation for this pose is to keep your arms bent or relax them next to you on your sides. 
4. Close your eyes and lengthen your breath for a deeper form of relaxation. 
5. Breathe here for 5 breaths and enjoy the stretch into the back of the torso 

This pose helps relieve stress and anxiety, as well as helps with dizziness and fatigue. Flexes the body’s internal organs and keeps them supple, and lengthens and stretches the spine. It normalizes circulation throughout the body and calms the body and mind.


Enjoy these poses and I hope they bring you peace, love and beauty to your life.


Namaste

10 Best Snacks For Healthy Weight Loss

[image source]

Contrary to popular belief, in order to lose weight, you actually have to eat! We are huge advocates for staying fit and in shape, the healthy way. Not eating enough and essentially starving yourself while excessively working out can cause a lot of problems including putting yourself at risk for hypoglycemia. Yahoo! Stories created the perfect article on the '10 Best Snacks For Weight Loss' so we wanted to share them with you so you can make smarter eating choices as you embark on a healthy weight loss journey. Find the ten (10) snacks below as written by Yahoo! Stories!

Hunger Squasher!
WEIGHT LOSS SNACK #10

Wholly Guacamole, 100-calorie pack

100 calories, 9 g fat (1.5 g sat fat), 200 mg sodium, 3 g fiber, 0 g sugar, 1 g protein

Most pre-made guacamole is lacking in one crucial ingredient: guacamole. Avocados, specifically (adios, Ortega). But Wholly Guacamole is what it says it is: real food, with no added oils, starches and artificial colors. Avocados pack in healthy monounsaturated fats that contain oleic acid, which can actually help quiet feelings of hunger. Which means this snack will actually do what afternoon snacks are intended to do: keep you full and focused until dinnertime. And Keep That Waistline Toned and Tight with These Essential 4 Ways to Lose Your Belly in 14 Days!

Waistline Melter!
WEIGHT LOSS SNACK #9

MaraNatha Almond Butter, No Salt, Creamy, 2 Tbsp

190 calories, 17 g fat (1.5 g sat fat), 0 mg sodium, 4 g fiber, 2 g sugar, 7 g protein

Sure, peanut butter is cheaper, but when it comes to weight loss, almond butter is like PB on steroids. In fact, a study from the International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders compared subjects on a low-fat diet with others who followed a diet richer in fat—but the fat was supplied by almonds. The almond group lost 50 percent more weight off their waistlines than the low-fat dieters, despite the fact that both groups consumed the same amount of total calories. Try smearing some over apple slices for a tasty blend of sweet and savory (bonus points if you choose a red apple over green—red fruits have higher nutrient counts).

Belly Filler!
WEIGHT LOSS SNACK #8

SkinnyPop, 3 ¾ cups

150 calories, 10 g fat (1 g sat fat), 75 mg sodium, 3 g fiber, 0 g sugar, 2 g protein

Eat for size, and win the weight-loss prize. “Volumetrics” is an eating plan championed by researchers at Penn State University, and it’s based on eating foods that take up a lot of space in your gut—without a lot of calories. For example, a huge salad—or in this case, nearly 4 cups of popcorn—will leave you more satisfied than a square of chocolate, and for far fewer calories. We love SkinnyPop because it’s free of additives and tasty without being too salty. Fill up, but don’t fill out: Use These Eat This, Not That!-recommended 10 Daily Habits That Blast Belly Fat.

Fat Blocker!
WEIGHT LOSS SNACK #7

KIND Caramel Almond & Sea Salt, 1 bar

200 calories, 16 g fat (3 g sat fat), 125 mg sodium, 7 g fiber, 5 g sugar, 6 g protein

The sweetness of caramel, the fat of almonds, the added sea salt—wait, this is a diet food?! Yes! KIND keeps the sugar content low while packing this bar with healthy fats, which slow the body’s absorption of sugar and carbs, keeping blood sugar levels stable and focus laser-sharp long after snack time is over. A study published in Nutrition Journal found that consuming low-sugar, high-protein snacks promotes weight loss. The reason: Healthy snacking keeps your blood-sugar from spiking, preventing hunger pangs, cravings and body fat storage.

Metabolism Turbocharger!
WEIGHT LOSS SNACK #6

EPIC Grass-Fed Protein Bar, Bison, 1 bar

200 calories, 12 g fat (5 g sat fat), 220 mg sodium, 1 g fiber, 8 g sugar, 11 g protein

Okay, so maybe when you think “snack,” your first thought isn’t “Where can I get me some bison?” But buffalo is much leaner than other meats, and makes for a better jerky, especially when paired with organic spices and dried fruit. Adding low-sugar, high-protein snacks to your daily diet can help fuel weight loss efforts by boosting metabolism and reducing hunger pangs. Just be sure to choose the right protein—for example, click here to discover the shocking truth about How Tilapia Is Worse Than Bacon!

Vitamin Booster!
WEIGHT LOSS SNACK #5

Fage Total 2%, 7 oz

150 calories, 4 g fat (3 g sat fat), 65 mg sodium, 0 g fiber, 8 g sugar, 20 g protein

Packed with protein, crammed with calcium, popping with probiotics, yogurt has all the makings of the best weight loss foods. But tread ye carefully in the aisle of the fermented milk products; manufacturers have a knack for cramming as much sugar and artificial ingredients into yogurt pots as they do candy bars. The next time you find yourself discombobulated in the dairy section, reach for the Fage (pronounced fa-yeh). Not just creamier and more delicious than most yogurts, the brand’s little bit of milkfat in the 2% variety allows your body to absorb the fat-soluble vitamins in the yogurt. Plus, you can’t get a much purer ingredient list than this: milk, cream and cultures.

Belly Fat Fighter!
WEIGHT LOSS SNACK #4

Kashi Original 7 Grain Sea Salt Pita Crisps, 11 crisps

120 calories, 3 g fat (0 g sat fat), 180 mg sodium, 5 g fiber, 2 g sugar, 3 g protein

Pita chips sound more exotic than corn chips, so a lot of us immediately think they must be healthier, too. But step back from that snack: Most brands douse their pita in heavy oils and then roll them in sodium. Kashi’s, on the other hand, have a modest 120 calories and 180 mg sodium per serving. In astudy published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers discovered that obese participants who added whole grains to their diets lost more belly fat than those who did not. One of the key weight-loss benefits of whole grains: their healthy dose of fiber helps slow digestion, keeping you fuller longer. And to enjoy your guilty pleasures, guilt-free,Indulge in These 10 Best Junk Foods for Weight Loss.

Bloat Buster!
WEIGHT LOSS SNACK #3

Eden Organic Pumpkin Seeds, ¼ cup

200 calories, 16 g fat (3 g sat fat), 100 mg sodium, 5 g fiber, 0 g sugar, 10 g protein

Not only are they loaded with protein and fiber, but pumpkin seeds are also one of the world’s best sources of magnesium, a mineral that helps strengthen bones and improve blood circulation. In addition to a generous portion of satiating protein, one ounce of the tiny seeds serves up 75 percent of your day’s magnesium, which can ward off water retention (read: no more bloated belly). The nutrient can also help relax your blood vessels, nixing deadline-induced headaches.

Calorie Burner!
WEIGHT LOSS SNACK #2

Horizon Organic Mozzarella String Cheese, 1 stick

80 calories, 6 g fat (3.5 g sat fat), 200 mg sodium, 0 g fiber, 0 g sugar, 8 g protein

Each low-fat stick of this brand has a fifth of your day’s calcium intake, which means a low-fat you as well. Some researchers speculate that dairy calcium helps fight fat because it increases the “thermic effect” of eating—in other words, you burn more calories digesting calcium-rich foods than you would if you ate something with the same number of calories, but no calcium. Try a piece of pre-sliced, low-fat cheese like mozzarella or Monterey Jack with some wheat crackers, recommends Christine M. Palumbo, a Chicago-based dietician. “Cracked Pepper and Olive Oil Triscuits work great for this and have a really nice flavor,” she says. She can even help you lose weight at MickeyD’s; check out What 8 Diet Experts Eat at McDonald’s.

Chocolate Belly Melter!
WEIGHT LOSS SNACK #1

Vitalicious VitaBrownie, 1 brownie

100 calories, 2 g fat (0.5 g sat fat), 105 mg sodium, 10 g fiber, 10 g sugar, 4 g protein

With VitaBrownies, you can satisfy your craving for something sweet at any time of the day without sabotaging your diet. Each chocolaty square packs 8 grams of whole grains—a dietary staple of people with the littlest middles. A Public Health Nutrition study found that participants who ate three or more servings of whole grains had 10 percent less belly fat than people who ate the same amount of calories from refined carbs (like bad-for-you brownies). When it comes to diet and snacking, being unrefined is a good thing!

Happy healthy eating!

What You Probably Didn't Know About Waist Trainers

With this week being National Eating Disorders Awareness week, we are very sensitive to this topic because we know how it affects not only sorority women, but all women. Body image is a heavy topic and can consume so many of us. Being skinny and looking perfect is an obsession predominately created in our own minds, influenced by the media and our surroundings. It is so important to recognize when dieting is becoming unhealthy. Recently we have been hearing a lot about waist trainers. Skeptical about its results, it was so timely that we heard from Dr. Oz on his take on the waist trainers. Click here to learn about the affects of using a waist trainer.

Diet fads are exactly just what they are...fads. They will go away eventually. Maintaining a healthy body takes discipline, healthy eating, and exercising...continuously. Crash diets, waist trainers, wraps-those are all temporary solutions that don't foster a constructive way of living in a sound body. Don't get us wrong, some mainstream diets and exercises have proven to be great, but that is because they foster a healthy lifestyle like eating paleo, doing crossfit, and doing yoga.

If you or someone you know is battling an eating disorder, we encourage you to check out the National Eating Disorders Awareness website to learn more about eating disorders, how you can tackle them, and how you can help others.

The Secret Foods To Help Your Hair Grow Faster

[image source]

1. Sweet potatoes  2. Yellow Bell Peppers  3. Salmon  4. Avocados

Stock up those foods in your refrigerator and watch your hair grow! One of our favorite Instagram accounts, @Shredz, enlightened us on these important foods to help your hair grow that we just had to share. Shredz puts it all into perspective:

Eat Salmon twice a week. The Vitamin D, protein, and omega-3 fatty acids will contribute to long healthy locks and a hydrated, nourished scalp.

Yellow bell peppers contain 5.5 times more Vitamin C than oranges which is great news for your hair because the antioxidant properties of Vitamin C strengthen hair follicles and prevent hair damage and breakage.

Sweet potatoes are packed with beta carotene, which is a precursor to Vitamin A, a nutrient known to promote hair growth and a healthy scalp.

Avocados can be eaten to gain the benefits of its healthy fats, but it can also be applied to your hair and scalp to stimulate collagen and elastic production. Apply to skin and hair for about ten minutes before thoroughly rinsing.