Yesterday I was fortunate enough to attend the Fitness Magazine “Meet & Tweet” fitness blogger event. It was awesome! Full of great speakers and amazing swag. It was a beautiful day and we spent most of the event outside which was such a treat.

Here’s a quick recap with my favorite takeaways:

• Blogger Panel featuring Dana Weiss (Possessionista) & Deb Perelman (Smitten Kitchen) gave advice on how to make a successful blog.  A few tips: don’t worry about what everyone else is doing, ake your blog authentic and original and people will find it. Don’t blog for money. Blog and then if you happen to make money off it down the road, awesome! But don’t get into it trying to make a profit.
• Dr. Jennifer Ashton discussed women’s health. She gave some amazing advice. She’s an OBGYN, triathlete, mother and about to get her masters in nutrition. She had so much great advice that I’m going to do a full blog post on her, coming soon.
• Rocco DiSpirito spoke about the benefits of cooking your own food and how to make unhealthy meals healthier (like healthy pasta alternatives) and how to be mindful when eating out. My favorite quote from him “if you’re out to dinner, don’t eat the bread. Don’t eat it unless it’s whole wheat and you haven’t eaten bread in 6 months.” So seriously people, skip the bread!
• Brett Hoebel, celebrity trainer (& a former Biggest Loser coach) spoke about how to make your workouts more efficient. If you say you don’t have enough time to fit fitness into your life, you really only need 30 minutes if you work hard (to the point of panting).
• Sarah Lucero, Stila celebrity makeup artist gave tips on how to look your best, including 8-9 hours of sleep (hard, but key!) plus a good tinted moisturizer. She also recommended a bunch of products, like a mist spray to use after you workout if you have a very red face. Great to cool you down (can’t find the actual product name, still searching)
• And last but certainly not least, what a swag bag! I can’t believe how many amazing products we were sent home with. Looking forward to testing everything out and reporting back (including Reebok & Saucony sneakers, Bliss & Vichy beauty products, healthy snacks, gym class passes and the list goes on)

Thank you Fitness Magazine for this amazing event!