Listen to Your Body

I want to apologize for not having a post for Thursday. Unfortunately, I got food poisoning....BOY was it bad...I may never be able to eat a certain type of food again. I just want to touch base on how important listening to your body is when it is ill or spent or just not performing well. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE! Take a moment to rest. I know I have talked about it earlier but the situation I was in today really made me think about how I was treating my body. Thursday morning I had to be up extra early for some work training and I got up early enough to fit in a workout. However, from the moment I got up...I knew that something was wrong. I was SUPER nauseated and just didn't have a lot of umph. So, I thought "whatever, it's just a phase or thought, working out will make it better". So, I hop my my trusted elliptical and I began to well... run. The warm up alone was hard to get through, so I decided ok my body maybe can't handle more than a 30 min session. After doing one high intensity drill at ten min I thought I was going to lose my cookies. I still ignored it and fought with every ounce. I kept saying just 15 more min which turned to 10 and then...I was hurting and I was feeling far more nauseated and I BARELY made it to 25 min of a not very well performed workout with all my breaks. My point: LISTEN TO YOUR BODY, NOT THE NEGATIVE VOICE THAT MAKES EXCUSES. I was very disappointed to not put in enough time and effort in my workout because I was so focused on just making sure I worked out today, that I ignored the warning signs and pleas from my body that today should have been a rest day or something a lot more simple. Your body is smart, please listen to it and don't let stupid things get in the way of it's overall well being.

My Best Friend

Soo I posted (or thought I did) on Saturday and it never published!!! GAH!!! I wanted to dedicate it to Cayli seeing as it was her birthday and now it is three days late :( here's the post!

I'd like to take today to post about my best friend. Tomorrow is my sister's birthday, and I cannot tell you how lucky and blessed I am have such an incredible sister! She is so talented In her creativity, style, and humor. I have always looked up to her and all her talents and all she has done and will do for me and my family. She's been a rock in my life trough every moment and I cannot tell you how much she means to me. She's such a light in my world and I love her so deeply. I hope that I can only give her what she give me everyday. Happy birthday Cayli!!! Y'all should check out her fashion blog too! She's got an amazing sense of style! www.nightshayde.blogspot.com 

Comeback

So what if you indulged yourself yesterday! Look, we are all human and we do deserve a treat now and then and I think completely depriving yourself of something makes you want it more and may cause to overindulge if you ever get your hands on it. Don't ever think that once you have a hitch here and there that you should just give up or that it's "too hard".  Yeah? Your point? Anything that requires hard work or pushes you to your greatest potential is bettering you and your character. It WILL get tough, but you are tougher and you will push through it. Happy Tuesday! You only have four days of work/school this week!

Today

Today is a very bitter sweet day. We remember all those men and woman who have served and sacraficed everything for out country and for us to continue to be free. There aren't enough words to express how grateful I am to be in this country and my gratitude to those who have given their lives so that I could sit here and write about it at my own free will. Saturday, we went to put flowers on my Grandpa's grave. He was in the Air Force and served in WWII. Sadly, I haven't been to visit his grave site for quite some time. It was good to go up there and put flowers near his plaque and just take a moment to think of him and miss him and take a moment to apprciate all that we have because of the sacrafices the brave men and women make for us. I love my Grandpa and still miss him dearly. It's been 17 years since his passing, and I can still remember what an incredible man he was. When I was a youngen, I was obssessed with Disney's The Lion King. I always would run around the house on my hands and knees pretending I was a cheetah (they were my favortie animal and I loved seeing the very small spots they were in the movie). But I remember my Grandpa getting on his hands and knees and playing a long with me. Please take a moment today to remember the sacrafices the brave men and women have made for us as well as your lost loved ones.

Spot Reduction

 I'd like to talk to you all on another myth on fitness. It could potentially save you money from those silly infomercials you see late at night about certain exercise equipment or gadgets or pill or whatever you are conned into buying. Spot reduction is not true and it simply cannot happen. Spot reduction is basically focusing on one of your problem areas on your body and constantly exercising that part to try and "fix" it. For example: you see all those ab devices on late night TV, whether it be a twisting chair, a belt, a cream, a crunch device or something that they say will target your abs and give you a toned and flat stomach. All though the device MAY indeed work out a specific muscle or part of your body, it cannot simply make it more flat and lean all by itself. Whether you are doing an ab workout, arm, or legs you can make those muslces stronger for certain, but your body doesn't say "oh, well she's doing bench presses lets burn off all the flab just on her arms". Where you lose weight cannot be targeted. When you are working out you are strengthening and conditioning your body and in your weight loss regiment your body burns fat all over. So while you are making yourself stronger and more durable in exercise, you lose fat all over. I want to share this because I see people get frustrated because they are doing a million squats but don't see their booties looking like the Victoria Secret models' and they begin to get discouraged. DONT. You WILL lose the weight, just be pateint be mindful in your new healthy eating habits and let your body banish the weight you are working so hard to lose or make stronger.

 

WOW

WOW guys! I woke up this morning and have more followers than I did from monday, or just yesterday! That is amazing and I am so grateful to you for taking the time out of your day to just stop by and read some crazy girl's rant on fitness and health ;) I am very grateful and can't find words to express my thanks to you....maybe we should do another giveaway some time soon? I have something in the works and will keep you updated!

 

THANK YOU!!!

Anywho, I would like to touch base on something I struggle with EVERY day! Just like the weight training rumor that women will bulk up like a guy if they lift HEAVY (FALSE). We have always seen in media, magazines, TV, all that jazz that if you weigh less you look skinnier and clothes look better on you. We seem to focus WAY too much on the scale number rather than the actual over all health and our actual fitness. Weighing a certain weight doesn't make you more fit or skinnier or more desirable. I am so GUILTY of believing if I weigh a certain number it means that I am successful or better not only in my society's eyes (which should NEVER gage you, be you, be your best for YOU and no one else) and my eyes as well. I have and still do beat myself up for not weighing a certain number. Yeah, I don't weigh the same as I did in high school, but I did straight cardio and had a lot of loose and flabby skin. I NEVER did weights because sadly I fell for the bulk rumor. But now I actually have muscle and I have tightened some of my body that I didn't think ever would (hello legs!) This picture I have posted below will do most of the talking. I was blown away when I looked at it, and I just had to share this because it is something I do and still struggle with.

Sickness & Your Fitness

Ok, so I know this is a weird point to discuss, but a lot of people actually want to know this. Is it ok to workout when I am sick? Or when should I/shouldn't I workout while being ill or becomming ill. I want to talk about this because recently I have caught a cold and am going throught the beginning stages. It was harder to breath in through my nose and out through my mouth during my workout today since my sinuses are stuffed and my throat is sore and so I mostly had to breathe out of my mouth and since my throat was sore, it was a tiny bit uncomfortable. So, I sort of questioned what I feel my body could do today and my energy level. My energy level was pretty normal and I was already up, so I thought "Eh, why not?" But I mean come on! It's just a small cold. Psh! I must say I actually did just fine in my workout, I had to take maybe a few extra breaks than I would normally but I still exerted my full effort and energy to my workout.
    A general rule of thumb to decide whether or not you should workout, is the neck rule. If your symptoms are above the neck than you are generally just fine to workout. Like I said though, judge accordingly to what you can do. If symptoms are below the neck like body aches, deep chest cough, and even though a fever can be above the neck, if you have one, take today off. In that case if your body contains a more severe illness such as the flu or something (below the neck illness) you want to avoid raising your body temperature more than it already has. Avoid it and rest. Listen to your body and do what you can with a more minor sickness and don't do what you can't. It all comes down to listening to what the body says, not the mind because our body is very strong and is brilliant in it's defense system to fight off illnesses. Your mind likes to tell you that "you're too tired, you can't do this, I want to give up, etc". Your body knows what it can handle. Good luck everyone! Pound the elderberry and Vita C, I am seeing the cold and flu get passed around recently. Stay healthy and happy! It's Wednesday! We are halfway there!

Times Like These...

It's tough times like these that make us truly appreciate what we have in life. With the devastation in Oklahoma, I saw terrible and horrifying pictures, videos, stories on the news...especially from the scared children they rescued from the elementary school. There were people that lost EVERYTHING in that tragic tornado. My thoughts and prayers go out to them. I truly appreciate being in a state where I don't have to worry about tornados, and I am so grateful to have my family and home in good health and so close. I am also very grateful for my good health and well being. I am so lucky to be able to use my body to it's potential. I am so grateful I can get up and walk, breathe, see, and move when I want to. I am so incredibly lucky to have all that. My prayers and thoughts are sent to Oklahoma and I hope that we can all donate our time, service, supplies, blood to help them in anyway. I just want everyone to take a moment to and truly appreciate what you have and what you are able to do. I think you're all pretty incredible people with amazing talents and great kindness.

Quick Question

Hey guys! I know I yammer day in and day out about all this fitness and health stuff, but I'd like to get your thoughts and feedback. What would you like to see more of? Would you like a Q & A section where you can post whatever questions you  have? What do you want to see more of? What do you want to see less of? Your feedback and opinion matters! Thanks guys!!!

Planning

Hey Guys! Sorry about not posting the update to the airbrush set. My internet was down all day yesterday. I promise I will take some before and after photos and what I think about the airbrush set asap!!! So far, I am LOVING it! But I had a lot of technical problems on Sunday with my internet.

A snippet for Motivational Monday, my workout song of the day is Seven Nation Army by White Stripes  (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0J2QdDbelmY). It's a bit of a throw back song isn't it? I love it though, it got me super pumped this morning at 5:20 AM to get my butt GOING! On Sunday I took some time to do a nice long stretch session (about 40 min) and boy did my body NEED it. I was actually able to go all out in my workout this morning. All my ligaments felt more fluid and they felt stronger and I could move more easily without feeling so tense or tight.

A good tip for the start of your week! Prepare your meals on the weekends (or when you have time) so that you have planned ahead for yourself at work and aren't reaching for processed vending machine foods or a burger run at your local fast food joint. Once you have your meals planned and ready to take with, you can have more control over what you eat and how much you eat. Not to mention much healther than fast food or soda pop and candy bars. Make a large sum of a certain food that you enjoy and is good for you nutritionally and break it up into servings for everyday of your work week. It helps you gain more control over what you are consuming! HAPPY MONDAY!!!!

Happy Saturday!

Hey guys! I hope you are all enjoying your Saturday! It's rainy here, but to be honest that is my favortie type of weather! Love it! Today I will be able to finally finish painting my room! We've painted it this gorgeous deep dark purple and will sponge gold over it today. I'll Post pictures when we get all finished! Anywho...I thought it would be fun to post a something a little different today! So, I got this awesome airbrush set in the mail! It's Belletto Studios and it came with 4 different colored foundations, a highlighter, and blush. I am super excited to try this! This usually runs from $380-$480, however, I got a steal of a deal and got it for $100 from a website called andRuby.com. It was a temporary sale that lasted until they ran out of the product. But every now and then I see this on sale for $100 or a little more. I will try it and let you know how it turned out! I'm so excited!

Rest

So, I know that I go on and on about how important your workouts are and that you should be constantly striving to improve your overall health and all that, but a lot of people (including myself) forget a very crucial part into becoming a more fit and healthy individual. Rest. Yes, you read it right, rest. It is very important that from time to time (listen to your body) that you need to take a break from the hard work and labor your body is put under. There will be a point if your a fitness junkie like myself or a time when you're training or have had a jam packed week and you've managed to fit in your workouts that you take time to let your body repair so that you can become stronger and put forth even MORE effort into your workouts. In your fitness journey, when you are constantly pushing yourself and lifting weights and maxing out in your HIIT trainings and building endurance in your longer endurance workouts you do take a toll on your body. Like today I am FEELING my weight training session from yesterday. My legs and shoulders are SORE. That is because I lifted to my max and created little micro tears in my muscles (which can be done in your cardio as well, that's for sure!) and is now attempting to repair those muscles with stronger, leaner muscles and condition my cardiovascular system to be more durable and effective in all its tasks. Now rest doesn't necessarily mean lay around and sleep all day. Set a day for yourself to do a more moderate or "easy" workout. Go for a short walk or short session of whatever you enjoy. Take a leaisurely swim in the pool, or take a day to stretch. I think stretching or doing something that focuses on your flexibility on your rest day is very beneficial. I am HORRID at stretching. I NEED to do it, but I am always so concentrated on getting my cardio and weights in, I tend to skim over it. It is a very important and overlooked portion of becoming more fit and healthy. Fact: the more flexibility you obtain or become, the greater strength potential you have for your muscles. Not to mention it is a very relaxing and much needed treat for your body to work out its knots, pains, and aches it gets from training. Don't feel guilty though if you do want to just take a day. Just give your body the time to repair and recover from your hard work. It WILL pay off ;)

Strength is the Result of Struggle

 

Can I get an AMEN? Today was a lift day for me, after work I WILL fit in my cardio. I am such a slow mover in the morning so on my lift + cardio days I have to break up my workouts. Boy, it may have only been 30 of weight training, but if it's done right. OUCH! It hurts so good! My legs are all noodley. Anyways, I just thought that this post should be kind of a pick me up. I know it's almost the weekend and you are MORE than ready to be over with this week. We all have struggles and times where we may fail or fall off the wagon, but you only get strong if you get back up and keep trying. Don't quit. You are too important to just say, "Tomorrow I'll start taking care of myself". It is never too late, too early, too cold, too hot to start a journey to be your best. I am NOT just talking about fitness and nutrition. I really want to emphasize that you need to start doing what is going to challenge you and improve your strength and character. Do something different and exciting aka SCARY. Push yourself to your max! You are stronger and more durable and able than you give yourself credit for. You've got time to sit down and read this, you've got the time to go out there and get what you want out of life. NOW GO. TODAY.

Shoes follow up

If you read my shoes post and my Fit Tips section on pronation, I told you I'd post pictures of my shoes to show you how ridiculous my underpronation is. As you can see on both my sneakers and sandals show where I put most of the stress on my feet. It's kind of funny, you can see I have super high arches since there is no stress on the shoes of where the imprint of my arch SHOULD be and the fact that I walk on the outsides of my feet....take a look at your shoes! They can tell you a lot about your own individual stride/pronation.

Help!

How's everyone feeling today??? It's mid-week! We are almost there!!! I actually need some advice from you guys! I have a TERRIBLE habit of NOT drinking water. I work out essentially 5 or 6 days a week and I am horrible at replenishing the fluids I've lost in those workouts. I get super tired and dog my workouts once I have hit my mid week because obviously I am dehydrated. It's not that I don't like water, it just isn't something I reach for. I have it here and there, but it's like I know I need to drink water but it gets put on the back burner and I sort of just forget about it until I feel like I could drink a lake after my workout. But I know it's not enough. What are some tips that help you guys stay hydrated or help you remember to keep your fluids in balance? I know there are apps and all that...but when my alarm goes off...I kinda shut off the alarm and get into the mentality of "I'll get it later". Hmmm any suggestions??? I'd love to hear it!

SHOES

OUCH! My arms hurt just typing this lol. Today was a lift + cardio day today. I did CLX and then after work I WILL fit in a HIIT, 20-30 minutes probably. Any way, lets talk shoes!!!! YAHOO! Now it is different for everyone! We all have different  shapes and structures and different body types. What may work for me, may not work for you! Keep that in mind! Now you can always go to your own local shoe store, preferably an athletic shoe store, to give you your own personalized consultation on footwear and your type of feet. You can also go to like a local grocery store (I think it's usually Walmart..sorry) and get on one of those Dr. Scholls machines to get inserts for your shoes to help any shoe fit your need because you'll have that additional support.

Now, I am a Nike girl. I don't know why, but I just like their selection and I feel like they have great quality clothing that I feel comfortable in and it's stylish too. I use two different types of shoes depending on my activity. For lifting, I like my Nike Free's. I feel like I have more stability with them since they are apart of the barefoot technology fad. I am a cluts and have horrible stability and tend to fall over or wabble doing a basic lunge so I like the stability the Free's give me by being able to use those muslces that aren't usually initiated in regular tennis shoes. However, I wouldn't really reccomend this type of shoe for high impact exercises. Yeah, they strengthen your feet by allowing you to use the muscles that you engage walking in bare feet, but they don't tend to give the shock support from bouncing around or running and what not. I've heard a lot of foot injuries have become more common due to the barefoot technology shoes.

For Cardio to say that I LOVE the Nike Lunars is an understatement. They are lightweight and have incredible support for my high arched, under pronated feet! Now if you've never heard of pronation I have a post in my fit tips about overpronation, underpronation aka supination and neutral ride for your feet. It's quite important you know your feet so you can support them properly during your workouts. Anyway, back to lunars. They are very shock absorbant and give great cushion and support for my feet and I have had foot problems since I started by fitness journey and have gone through numerous shoes to support my feet and none of them have been as delightful as Nike Lunars for me!

Nike Free

Nike Lunarglide+4

Music Apps For Your Workout

Like I said, music motivates me in my workouts. Sometimes it's hard to workout to my own music playlists on my phone when I am doing HIITs or a higher paced workout. My FAVORITE music app to fix that problem is Tempo Magic. It's like $3 on itunes and it is friggen awesome! It lets you mess with your songs BPM without screwing up the pitch (making it chipmunk or zombie sounding depending on how much you speed it up or slow it down). It helps make those faster paced workouts easier to keep up with when you can change the tempo of the music but it still sounds normal.

My next three are great for when you get tired of your own playlists. They are essentially radios, but you have control of the genre and type of music. First is the very well known radio app, Pandora. I like these because they have introduced fitness playlists for those of us looking for a good tune to sweat to. They have powerlifting playlist, 80's cardio, pop fitness playlists, dance club cardio, etc.

The next one is called Songza. This one is cool because you can choose a variety of genres as well as what type of mood you're in. So if you are in more of an angry mode they've got the heavy and hard rock music, or happy poppy songs, etc. I think this is something that can give you variety, the only thing I don't like is that the BPM for most of the songs is lower than I need and it does like to repeat some songs a bit too much, but still a great option.

MY MOST FAVORITE workout music app that offers a lot of variety, mixes, higher BPM music that gets you pumped and for those of us who get bored quickly has a huge variety of songs is Fit Radio. You can go by genre, DJ and save your favorite mixes or DJs to your favories so you can listen to them whenever you want. My go to is the Top 40's genre. There are a lot of great songs in that category with tons of different mixes and DJ's to give it a twist. Best part??? It's free!!! AND NO verbal ads!!! there may be some graphic advertisements here and there, but its nothing that will taint your workout or get in the way. They are usually very small and few and far in between and you can never run out of skips!!!! YAHOO!!!

Motivational Monday-Music!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and a very happy mothers day!!! I know it's a little late, but I wanted to spend yesterday with the family to celebrate the wonderful ladies that have given so much to our family. I truly appreciate everything my mother has done for me, she is truly an amazing woman. With me as her daughter, she has to put up with a lot of crap from me and she is a friggen superhero at it. I love her with all my heart and I hope that I can be better at showing my appreciation for all she does for me and my family. I also appreciate everything my Gma does for my family. Talk about one classy, stubborn, hilarious, lady! She surprises us everyday! She always has such great advice, amazing and hilarious stories about our family's past and history. She is so wise and wildly entertaining. I just love both of those gals ;)

I just wanted to kick Monday off with some motivational words. Today was SO HARD getting up and getting my butt to work out! After holiday weekends and beautiful as this one and staying up a little bit later than I should have, I was TIRED. I didn't want to start Monday, I was still living in Sunday mode. However, nothing gets you moving like a good tune. Music is the core of a lot of my workouts. I honestly can give my workouts my best shot if I don't have good music to move to. When you are on a run or dancing or lifting or cycling and your favorite jam comes on, you don't realize how much more effort you actually put into the exercise if you were to just do it to the elevator music they put on in the background at your gym or on you favorite workout dvd. Now I am not dogging those runners or cyclist or whatever you do that like to do it in silence. If that works for you, GREAT! Keep on doing it! But I feel like music pushes me and inspires me to go harder. It helps me run to faster pace, motivates more reps out of me when I lift, and makes me want to push my limits. At the moment, my favorite workout jam is Can't Hold Us by Ryan Lewis & Macklemore. It's a great song to just get you going! Go check it out! I love it!

Make sure you check out my Fit Tips section for more music options in your workout, they are some pretty awesome apps!

So I want to ask, when you get in a rut or aren't "feeling" it for your workout, what do you do to motivate yourself to do the workout or push yourself harder? What makes you want to get up and move?

AND THE WINNER IS...

Thank you all so much for participating!!!! This won't be the last giveaway!!! I promise! Jezz make sure to check your email for further info!!! Thanks everyone!!! Happy Friday! We made it!!! Now go get it in! Have a wonderful day! SMILE! It's the weekend!!!! WAHOO!!!!!

Only 13 Hours!!!!!

 

You won't know until you've entered in a chance to win shakeology samples!!! You only have 13 hours to enter in a chance to win! Get your friends in on it to earn higher points for your eligibility to win! The giveaway will end tonight at 9 PM MST. I will announce the winner tomorrow, Friday May 10 at 9 AM MST. Make sure you stay tunned to see if you won! I'll need to get a hold of you some how so that I can give you your prize so make sure you are following me on this blog :) good luck!!!

You Are Who You Choose To Be

 

Good morning everyone! Have you entered to win Shakeology samples yet????? DO IT! I thought this very short and sweet graphic would do for today. Tuesdays for me carry a bad omen, so they are my least favortie day of the week. To be honest I think this post is more for me, even when things get rough and you fall off the wagon or life sends you a curve ball, don't let it keep you down. Get up and show everyone that you take pride in yourself and your health and be the best you. That doesn't necessarily mean fitness. You have to just push yourself in everything you do and improve every day to achieve not only your goals, but your best YOU. When you start accomplishing tasks and knocking out challenges, you become more confident in everything you do. No matter how bad things can get, you deserve to be your best by out doing yourself and facing challenges. You only fail when you quit or don't even try.

 

 

 

 

Just a Reminder....

Make sure you enter and share with your peeps about my shakeology giveaway! This stuff is the bomb.com!!!! It's healthy, delicious, and CHOCOLATE! HELLO??? ENTER to win it!

Legend

How many of you hate your workout pants because they are either SEE THROUGH, they ride up or fall down, or they are unflattering? I have had all of the above and more problems with workout bottoms. Drives me nuts that every two seconds I have to pull my pants up, wear layers to keep everyone from seeing...well...everything, or adjust them from riding up. Very annoying and frustrating, especially when you are just trying to friggen get your workout in and every two seconds you had to readjust.
     Recently I went to Nike because I had a coupon and on a whim just purchased the Nike Legend Slim Fit Training Capris (or crops). I AM IN LOVE. First off, they AREN'T see through. I don't have to wear three layers or put a pair of biker shorts underneath them to keep things covered. Secondly, they don't move. They don't ride up or fall down, they stay in place. Trust me, I did a HIIT workout this morning where I was running full speed on my elliptical and alternating with jumping and squats and they did not once move. It was fantastic! Sorry, I am a nerd but nothing excites me more than workout clothes that don't irritate. Lastly, they are flattering. The wide band at the top doesn't make the dreaded muffin top look and the material makes your lower half look toned and holds together very nicely to slim everything out. Yes, they are comfortable and breathable as well and just over all amazing for any workout. They also have them in pants, but I prefer crops. It is just my style and I like having more coverage than shorts, but something that lets covering than pants because I am a sweaty exerciser. That is just in my genetics. LOVE LOVE LOVE these workout crops!

Motivational Monday!

So you're on your last mile of your run, or you're only ten minutes in and that little voice pops in your head..."This is hard! I'm too tired! Is it over yet? Let's just dog the rest of this." TRUST ME! Even after six years of workout out everyday...I still have moments where I just don't want to. EVERYONE, even the most fit athlete has those days where they just don't want to work out. There are millions of excuses to not workout, and anyone can probably come up with something that will justify skipping a session. You don't have time, you got to bed late last night and are too tired, I have been at work all day and I just want to relax, etc. Whenever you get into that mindset, just remember how great you feel after you've completed a workout. Those endorphins are pumping, you've pushed yourself to doing more and that sense accomplishment and success sits in. You've also burnt off your lunch and are a set closer to your goals than you were on the couch. You only find success when you pursue it or keep trying to achieve it. Even one extra rep, min, mile is a step closer to your goals and your own personal best. I don't care if you can only fit in 20 minutes of something today. You are 20 minutes closer to being as strong and successful at reaching your goals than someone who just doesn't try or gives up. There shouldn't be an excuse good enough to cheat you out of what you want in life and your goals. Once you've reached those goals, YOU get to take credit for your commitment and dedication (and hard work of course) to achieve your goals. DO NOT GIVE UP! I know it's the notoriously hated Monday and you've had a lovely weekend and it is a little bit harder to get back into the routine, but guess what??? You are worth it and you deserve it. Do NOT cheat yourself out of getting what you want. NOW GO GET IT! There, I'll get off my soap box.

Burn more Calories...Just by Eating?????

Hey guys! I have a special treat for you! You can actually burn more calories just by eating! SAY WHAT???? It's true! Now before you go and dive into your pantry, it actually depends on the TYPE of food you are consuming. You can actually burn more calories from eating more protein. WHY??? Because protein requires a lot more in the breakdown and digestion process than most foods. Your stomach actually requires a lot more acid to break it down into amino acids. Now, depending on whether you are starving yourself (yes I am talking to YOU meal skippers) or if you've efficiently been feuling your body with clean foods, it will be stored as either fat (starving yourself to get thin) or as energy (aka glucose) for instant use. But it still require a lot more work from your body to break down and use than most foods, requiring your body to work harder and use more calories :). It also helps you create a more lean and tight body! When you do your weight training (I hop you are!) your muscles are broken down to create stronger ones. Once proteins are digested, the nutrients they carry are sent to different parts of the body and when they come across those muslces that have been worked out and have those small tears in them, they help repair and build lean and tight muscles for girls, or bigger stronger muscles for guys (because they have testosterone). When you do eat proteins, you really shouldn't eat more than 30g in a serving though. Your body cannot digest or break down that much protein. Honestly anything above 30g will just go to waste in your body and provide few benefits. So, I must say that one of my MOST FAVORITE and delicious protein sources is Shakeology. This shake kicks some serious trash in the nutritional and protein categories! It has clean and natural ingredients, not too shabby in the caloric area, has 18g of protein, comes in a variety of delicious flavors, has vegan friendaly options, and did I say it is DELICIOUS??? If you want more info come and stop by my page and click on the shake'o button or visit http://www.MyShakeology.com/LYSSAJANE I want to share how cool (and yummy) shakeology really is with you. I am doing a giveaway on my blog for TWO samples of Chocolate Shakeology! I will be doing a raffle for those who participate! Just look for the rafflecopter generator on my page under the Night Chayde post! GOOD LUCK!

Shakeology Giveaway..And blog swap with Nightchayde

Hey guys! As a part of this special giveaway, I'd like to introduce my oh so talented, beautiful, creative, fashionista sister Cayli. She's been featured in Rue21's Pinterest board for "Bloggers We Love", she's been sponsored by several official Etsy jewlers and boutique owners, and even featured on Tripanista's spring edition of What to wear in Utah. Go check out her site @ http://nightchayde.blogspot.com/ She has all sorts of great fashion and make up tips! Lots of coupon codes and giveaways as well! Remember! The raffle for the shakeology samples are below this post! Leggings can scare the crap out of you! I know some girls will not be caught dead in a pair and that is totally fine. Some people can pull it off and some people cannot. Some people can wear them and some people should not. There are ways of wearing them and ways of improper use of leggings...go to Walmart you will see plenty examples of that. Omg.

Wear it with a pair of boots and a blouse. Super easy, comfy, and I think it is freaking cute!

For a little more edge add a faux leather riding jacket and motor boots

Or pair it with combat boots.

Pair it with a sweater belt and boots for warmth in the winter. I love this outfit

Leggings look awesome with Chambray and boots!

Layering! You can layer a tunic, tank and blazer. One of my favorites!

A boyfriend blouse and a pair of boots for a day wear you have to run errands and have no time to really put effort into the outfit. 

You can work out in leggings. Add a hoodie and a tunic...throw on those nike's and work out!

Dress up with heels and a peplum and blazer and you can rock the town. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

psst....something special for you

PSSST!!!! Guess what??? There is something very special coming your way! I guess you'll have to keep checking in to find out what it might be... All I have to say is it is DELICIOUS! Maybe you should check in...I dunno...Tomorrow morning...9 AM MST. It could be...you know..a giveaway..maybe ;) Stay Tunned.....

Short & Sweet

 

We are all guilty of picking at ourselves and focusing on what we AREN'T or what we DON'T have. Make sure you take the time to appreciate what you DO have, who you REALLY are! Don't ever let anything or anyone tell you that you're less than your worth, you can't do it, you'll fail, etc. The only reason they are telling you that is because your dedication, motivatin, ability, will, and self control out does theirs and they are trying to bring you down to their level. Work your hardest, and don't only be you, be HAPPY that you are the way you are. No one else is! Enjoy your originality!!!