Better Exercise with Dr. Scholl's® Active Series® Insoles

My apologies for the long silence. Lots of us in the DC area were impacted by the government shutdown. I work for a contractor to the government and was out of work for 17 days. I used the time to do projects around our house, work on me, and take a little break from technology and the blog. Part of working on me was more exercise. Luckily, right before the shutdown, I received Dr. Scholl's® Active Series® inserts to try (via Influenster). Since I battle Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), I jumped at the chance to try something that could possibly make exercise more enjoyable. Moving is an important part of therapy for RA, which is hard sometimes when you don't feel well. So, I try to find exercise that is good for me but also enjoyable.  I attend Zumba class, do yoga and walk regularly. I wasn't sure that these insoles would really help but decided to give them a try.

The handy guide marks on the underside of the insoles make them easy to cut and adjust to your size.  They come in two sizes for women (and men).  I wear a size nine and received the larger size (8 1/2 - 11).  I removed the insoles that came in my running shoes, cut the insoles to fit and slid them in.  They were a tight fit but I adjusted them and they fit perfectly.  At first I noticed that they made my shoes a bit tighter than the original insoles.  I just adjusted the tightness of my laces. First I tried them at my Zumba classes.  They were great.  In previous sessions I'd noticed some soreness on the bottoms of my feet (before the insoles).  That isn't an issue anymore! No soreness at all. They provided really good arch support as well. Once I tried them at Zumba, I had to give them a try on my regular walks.  I walk with my good friend Joey on Saturday mornings at Potomac Mills Mall.  They have a mall walking program but we just head over early on Saturday mornings for a little gab time and walking.  Joey has lost 150lbs. on Weight Watchers and his main form of exercise has been walking!

Joey and I, all smiles during our walk.

Asics



Jacket - C9 by Champion from Target (sold out but similar here), t-shirt, Yoga Pants - Old Navy (old style but similar here)

There was a little too much window shopping this time so we only got in 3.5 miles.  My new Dr. Scholl's® Active Series® insoles were the star.  They really helped me to enjoy my walk more, with fewer aches and pains. 

Note: My insoles were provided to me via a program through Influenster. The opinions expressed here are my own honest review of this product.

Recent Purchases - Fashion, Fitness, and Organization

Lately, I've been really trying to keep my purchases to a minimum.  All of our extra money is going toward the wedding and saving for our upcoming Honeymoon.  I've limited my fashion purchases to items that have been on my must have list.  I'm also working on accomplishing some of my goals for organization and expanding my exercise routine. Then of course there is the wedding. I'm carefully curating my purchases to meet these goals and not to break my budget.

Two things that have been on my must have list for some time are a foil print sweater and low heel pumps.  I found this fantastic foil print sweater at Kohl's for only $34!  That's a far cry from the over $100 sweater I originally fell in love with.  I know it will be in heavy rotation until warm weather arrives.  I love heels but my Rheumatoid Arthritis makes it hard for me to wear high heels every day.  I've found myself gravitating toward all of my kitten heels (about 2" high).  They satisfy my urge for heels but are low enough for me to wear all day without pain in my feet and ankles. These adorable red bow pumps from Talbots were a steal at only $26.

I've set a few goals for myself this year.  An important one was decluttering our home and making it more organized.  I've been slowly cleaning out drawers and cabinets and organizing the remaining items with storage boxes and bins.  I've purchased some from Target and quiet a few from the dollar store.  Another big goal of mine was to take up some new forms of exercise.  I've never been a runner but decided to sign up for a 5K. It's not the first choice from someone with joint issues but I am never one to shy away from a challenge.  The Color Run is a fun way to do a 5K.  I'll be making a tutu to run in and running with some friends.  I needed some cold weather friendly running gear for training, like this jacket.  I grabbed it on the sale rack at Target.  I also needed a new pair of running shoes. These are ASICS, my favorite brand.  I'm using an iPhone app to get ready for the September run.  It's called C25K.  It's a free app. There are quite a few out there but this is the one I'm using. You start out with a combo of running and walking. The app synchs with your music and beeps when you change from walking to running and then back.  It's great.

There are also quite a few things on my wedding list.  Things like additional makeup items I need and items to wear.  I sprung for a really expensive bra a couple weeks ago. I've also been searching for a pair of fancy flats to wear, in case my heels become too much.  I found these gold sparkly flats and love them. Even better they are on sale at Talbots.com for only $20.99.  I've read great reviews of Urban Decay Primer Potion.  People swear by it as a way to make sure your eyeshadow doesn't fade.  Even long wearing eye shadow fades on my oily eyelids.  I really hope it lives up to the hype. I will keep you posted. 

Have you made any great purchases recently?