EmpowerMoms

Last month I had the opportunity to design my own athletic tank top by “My Race Ragz”. At first I was a little overwhelmed because I had no idea what kind of tank top I wanted to make. I haven’t been doing any racing yet this year, so I wanted to make an athletic shirt that I could wear when I do my cardio and strength training at home. It was really easy to design the front and back. The quality of the shirt is great-I’ve worn and watched it a couple of times. It runs true to size. I ordered a size large. The shipping was fast! and if you don’t want to design your own, you can pick one of the racing shirts already pre done.

So I have the opportunity to give away a FREE shirt from “My Race Ragz” for one person!! You can design anything you want!

http://www.myraceragz.com/

Winner will be sent a one time only code to use on their website.
Code expires on March 30th.
USA mailing addresses only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Here are some pictures of my shirt I designed:

Last month I won a Core Power exercise kit from a blogger. I LOVE it!! I was so so excited to get it!!

I got a great bag with a holding area for a yoga mat; a yoga mat with case; sweat towel, stability ball with pump; water bottle and 3 Core Power drinks.

I didn’t care for the vanilla-it was too sweet for me, but I loved the two chocolates. I’ve tried all the other flavors they offer on amazon (bought 3 cases in fact); and I think the strawberry banana and light chocolate are my favorites.

Have you ever tried Core Power? What did you think?

I LOVE that they are lactose free and high in protein!!

Previous Post about Core Power:
http://66.147.244.197/~empowfu5/2014/02/core-power-protein-drink-lactose-free-product-review-and-pictures.html

I just ended Week 1 of the 21 Day Fix which is the newest Beachbody Fitness nutrition AND exercise program.

Please see my blog post I posted on Sunday with my week 1 results, comparison pictures, and more info about the program I’m doing.
http://66.147.244.197/~empowfu5/2014/03/21-day-fix-by-autumn-calabrese-by-beachbody-fitness-week-1-and-intro.html

So how exactly does it work? After reading thru all my booklets, I determined how many containers I get based on how many calories I need to eat per day (which is based on your weight).

I picked the middle category which is 1,500-1799 calories per day. Which means each day I get 4 green containers (veggies), 3 purple (fruit), 4 red (protein), 3 yellow (carbs), 1 blue (healthy fats and cheese), 1 orange (seeds, dressing), and 4 tablespoons (oils and butters).

The booklets that come with the program are very easy to read and great with explaining the program.
They provide the lists of approved foods per each color container.

Below are several pictures of side by side comparisons of what some of my meals looked like in the containers versus on my plate.

I LOVE my meal tracker that I got from a girl on Instagram. It does not come with the program. Someone in her beachbody fitness group made this pdf file. I use it every day to pre plan my meals.

You can download the meal planner here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2pDqGIZYlisRWI4WXBZUzJCcEk/edit?usp=sharing

Here’s what the first dvd exercise menu looks like.

Day 1-Monday Feb 24:
workout: Total Body Cardio Fix

Day 2-Tuesday Feb 25:
workout: Upper Fix

Day 3-Wednesday Feb 26:
workout: Lower Fix

Day 4-Thursday Feb 27:
workout: Pilates Fix

Day 5-Friday February 28:
workout: Cardio Fix

Day 6-Saturday March 1:
workout: Dirty 30

Day 7-Sunday March 2: 
workout: Yoga Fix

• I didn’t do very well on Thursday. I ended up having 5 girl scout cookies and 1 cupcake that day. 🙁 Felt like a total failure! Then felt totally awful after having that much sugar. (it was the only day I had sugar this week)
• On Friday I had tons to do at work, so I actually ended up skipping lunch, which wasn’t good, but thats why its showing less food in my day 5 picture. 
• On Saturday we were gone from 11am to 10pm traveling to NC for a funeral. I packed most of my food prep and measured everything so I would be successful. I had a pretty good day and only ate out once-at Wendy’s-for dinner. 
• SO excited about my weight loss and hoping I can do 100% this coming week with no sugar and no fast food. 
• Didn’t miss any of my workouts this week and did all my workouts as scheduled per day. I really love these workouts, alot more than I thought I would!! Most of the workouts require hand weights (4 of the 7 workouts), which I think is awesome because strength training is so important!! and they are only 30 minutes! 
• I loved using my daily meal planner and it definitely helps to pre-plan my meals before the day begins so I am successful!! 
• I always save 1 red, 1 yellow and 1 green for dinner so that my husband can plan whatever he wants for dinner and not have to worry about cooking me something special. He cooks great healthy meals, for which I’m very grateful. 
• This program can be for anyone!! Men or women. You can use hand weights, no weights or resistance bands. 
• I was never hungry. I ate alot more than I thought I would with following this program. Even though I’m still eating the same number of calories as I was before this program, I ended up losing weight. It’s like magic. 🙂 
• You do not have to drink Shakeology or any protein drink to be successful in this program. Just follow the program with the number of containers you need PER DAY and measure things properly, and you will be good to go! 
• People are seeing results without doing the exercise program provided with the 21 day fix. I personally LOVE the workouts and have been doing them every day; but you can do another workout program or walking or nothing, and still get results. 

Here is my blog post I posted yesterday with my week 1 results, comparison pictures, and more info about the program.
http://66.147.244.197/~empowfu5/2014/03/21-day-fix-by-autumn-calabrese-by-beachbody-fitness-week-1-and-intro.html

I just finished my first week of 21 day fix! The newest Beachbody Fitness program by Autumn Calabrese.
I have so much to share that I will be dividing it into two posts.

To be honest, I was not going to get this program! I have alot of Beachbody Fitness programs because I use to be a coach, and I love most of the ones I’ve bought. But I’ve been seeing the upcoming release for this program for a couple months now and I scoffed at it. I really did. I told my husband, “of course people are losing alot of weight! Have you seen the size of those containers??!”

Autumn said her program is more of a nutrition program than a workout program even though it also includes workouts. I’ve been very very frustrated with my nutrition and lack of weight loss progress, so I was intrigued. I needed to order a bag of Shakeology from my coach so I thought, what the heck, I’ll order the challenge pack and only pay $10 more and get my Shakeology AND this program. If it doens’t work or I hate it, I haven’t lost a bunch of money.

Well because I wanted so long, the website said it was backordered until March!! I was okay with that because it would give me time to finish my current program-P90x3 that I started at Christmas. Imagine my surprise when it came in the mail last Friday!!

I eagerly opened it, played around with the containers, took pictures and videos, and read thru all the material. I did a trial run with planning my food and using the containers for saturday. It went ALOT better that I thought!!

So I decided since I had exactly 3 weeks before I go to the beach, I would start this program and see if it would help me. My hubby went grocery shopping for me and I planned my food menu, and officially started on Monday February 24th.

What I have discovered in the first couple of days:
-I eat WAY to much fruit!
-I don’t eat enough Veggies!
-I don’t eat enough carbs-I made it a point at the beginning of the year to try and cut back alot!
-I eat WAY too much nuts and cheese!
-The workouts are AWESOME!! Most of them use hand weights which I LOVE because I need more strength training. and they are only 30 mins!
-The containers are ALOT bigger than I thought!!

I’m going to be honest. It does take some time to grocery shop, plan your meals, measure out your meals into the different containers, and then take pictures of every meal. BUT I was super successful with this week because I DID plan ahead and had all my food measured out.

I had ALOT of doubts this whole week that this program would work for me. I was doubtful every day in fact. I told my hubby there was no way I was going to lose weight with my portions and carbs the way they were telling me to do with the program. I’m use to eating from small plates and I’ve had to use bigger plates this whole week to hold all my food. Like I said above, I’ve tried to cut out most of my carbs because of my weight gain in the fall, so it was weird being able to eat waffles or english muffins.

I took pictures every day of all my meals, logged all my food on this special 21 day fix meal planner, and did my workouts every single day without missing.

I will do a blog post tomorrow of all my meals and workouts from week 1.

I did not follow 100% like I should have for week 1. I had alot of sugar-like 2 different treats-on Thursday because I was very stressed and had a death in the family. I felt bad afterwards because of how the sugar makes me feel, so I haven’t had any since then. 🙂

I took pictures and I weighed on saturday morning and was shocked!!

I am so excited! I haven’t been able to lose ANY weight in at least 6 months, so I am beyond THRILLED!!!

Here’s what came with my program when I opened it. I also posted pictures and videos on my Instagram page!

Here’s the actual Beachbody Fitness program website specifics:

• Your first 30-day supply of Shakeology®—the superfood shake that helps give you energy, reduce cravings, and accelerate your fitness results^‡—delivered on Home Direct, our monthly autoship program.*
• A FREE 30-day trial membership in the Team Beachbody® Club, where you’ll find all the support you’ll need to complete your Challenge.**^†
• Plus FREE standard shipping on today’s order, then Super Discount shipping (and SAVE OVER $12) every month after!

• SIMPLE FITNESS: 6 easy-to-follow workouts on 2 DVDs
  Ready for a major calorie burn in only 30 minutes? We made these workouts short so you can get in, get out, and get on with your day. But that’s no excuse for taking it easy. The workouts will challenge you at every level to help maximize fat loss. And there’s always a modifier on screen to show you how to dial down the intensity without losing the benefits.
  1. Upper Fix. Targeted resistance training helps shape your chest, back, shoulders, arms, and abs.
  2. Lower Fix. Firm and tone your entire lower body while you blast fat and burn calories.
  3. Total Body Cardio Fix. Keep your heart rate up and your metabolism revved high long after the workout is over.
  4. Cardio Fix. Get your heart pumping and your body moving as you melt away the pounds.
  5. Pilates Fix. Strengthen your core, elongate your muscles, and firm your hips and thighs.
  6. Yoga Fix. Improve your balance, flexibility, and strength as you help relax your muscles.
• SIMPLE EATING: Your 21-day portion-control system
  Forget about ounces, cups, and calories. These seven color-coded containers and Shakeology shaker cup deliver exactly the right portions every time, so you never eat too much or too little. Fill them up with as much food as you want—if it fits, you can eat it!
  • Green Container—Vegetables
  • Purple Container—Fruit
  • Red Container—Protein
  • Yellow Container—Carbohydrates
  • Blue Container—Healthy Fats and Cheese
  • 2 Orange Containers—Nuts and Oils
  • Shakeology Shaker Cup—Drinks

• 21 Day Fix Start Here
  Start seeing results immediately! This quickstart guide and workout calendar shows you just how simple it is to achieve your weight-loss goals.

• 21 Day Fix Eating Plan
  This simple Eating Plan takes you step-by-step through the process and makes portion control so easy, you won’t even have to think about it. Enjoy delicious, healthy food without counting calories, and watch the pounds fall off.
• 3 Day Quick Fix
  Get beach-ready in 72 hours! This is Autumn’s secret weapon for losing weight fast before a competition or photo shoot. Do it during the last 3 days of 21 Day Fix for mind-blowing “after” pictures.
• Dirty 30 workout
  4 rounds of fat-burning exercises help carve out a leaner, stronger physique.
• 24/7 online support
  Get extra support and motivation from weight-loss experts and other 21 Day Fix customers.

• A 30-Day Supply of Shakeology—The Healthiest Meal of the Day®.*
  Simplify your nutrition with the convenient and delicious daily superfood protein shake that helps give you energy for your workouts, reduces junk food cravings, and may help you reach your fitness goals faster. A nutrient-dense combination of antioxidants, phytonutrients, adaptogens, and many other rare ingredients gives your body superfoods you can’t get from a normal diet. 100% vegan option now available.^‡

• FREE 30-Day Trial Membership in the Team Beachbody Club.**^†
  When you’re part of the Team Beachbody community, you have all the tools, support, and accountability you need to commit to a healthy lifestyle, including:
• 10% discount on all purchases
• Meal plans personalized for your goals
• VIP access to your favorite trainers and Beachbody® experts, including live chats, exclusive videos, nutrition tips, and delicious recipes
• Your own personal Coach for guidance and support
• Access to SuperGym®, where you can track your progress, work out with your buddies, and meet new friends who share your weight-loss goals
• Message Boards and chat rooms to help you find new friends and workout partners, and get advice and support from the entire community

Stay tuned for the next blog post for week 1 food and workouts from the 21 day fix!
Now on to week 2!!
What do you think of this program? Ever heard of it? Did you scoff at it like I did?

It is scheduled to be released in May 2014! (Hey-thats the month of my birthday-what a great birthday present this book would make! hehe) 

Isn’t this a gorgeous and intriguing book cover??!! 

The sneak peek of the first chapter of Ring Around the Rosie will be posted on Author Julie’s blog starting today in conjunction with the new cover reveal!
http://ldswritermom.blogspot.com 
I can’t wait to read it! I have really enjoyed her other books!!


If you would like to know more about the series, heres the links for the three previous books: 
Book 1
http://www.amazon.com/Fall-Down-Hostage-Negotiation-Team-ebook/dp/B009AJYX78/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1393530690&sr=1-1&keywords=julie+bellon

Book 2
http://www.amazon.com/Ashes-Hostage-Negotiation-Team-ebook/dp/B00CML0R08/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1393530690&sr=1-5&keywords=julie+bellon

Book 3
http://www.amazon.com/Pocket-Full-Posies-Hostage-Negotiation-ebook/dp/B00FUUIG7E/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1393530690&sr=1-2&keywords=julie+bellon


More about the Author: 

Julie is married with eight children and ten published books. She loves to travel and her favorite cities are probably Athens, Paris, Ottawa, and London. She would love to visit Hawaii, Australia, Ireland, and Scotland someday. She loves to read, write, teach, watch Castle, Hawaii Five-O, and eat Canadian chocolate. Not necessarily in that order.  You can find out more about Julie and all her projects at www.juliebellon.com