Healthy Living/Weight loss Tips - Blog Ease Blogathon Day 9

The tips I have should be common knowledge by now. We know that losing weight is not an over night thing, and it's not just a diet. It's a whole 'lifestyle change'. If you want to be successful you need to change your life, adding exercise and changing the way you eat!

I am not perfect and a lot of times I don't do all these things, I know I should, and I work at them everyday. Little by little I will get there!

• 8 Glasses of Water Everyday - Water will keep you full and your body NEEDS it!
• 5 Servings of Fruits and Veggies - Eating more fruits and veggies instead of junk is clearly a good idea!!
• 30 minutes of Daily Exercise - You need AT LEAST this much! Start at 30, or even 10 if you need to, slowly build it up!
• Find the Type of Exercise you LOVE! - Whether that is walkin/running/dancing, if you aren't enjoying it you won't want to do it!
• Measure Your Food - You will never realizing how much you are eating until you measure it!
• Count Calories or Keep a Food Journal - Again, you won't realize how many calories you are eating if you don't keep track! You will be surprised.
• If you slip up, don't give up! - Tomorrow is a new day, so you had a couple extra cookies? It's just extra motivation for tomorrow!!

My number one 'tip' is don't lie to yourself! You know better! Don't say 'I will workout later' when you know you WON'T! Do it now, get it over with, and you will feel so good afterwards. Same with food, don't buy a bag of chips and say you will only eat a few at a time if you know you won't! Don't set your self up for failure.

What are your tips for losing weight? You can do it!

This post is part of Blog Ease Autumn Blogathon challenge hosted by Blog Ease Facebook Group, BellaDazzle, All 'Bout Cute Designs, Giveaway Overload, Shoes Fashion Fitness, Survival Guide by The Working Mom and Roasted Beanz.

Lynx Sportsbra

This is a post for the ladies!

Front

Back

I am a pretty active person, 4 nights a week I have Tae Kwon Do for an hour, and I also like to run or do exercise videos. When I'm exercising I usually have to wear two 'sports bras' because I could never find one that works well enough to feel comfortable. Of course, wearing two sports bras isn't comfortable and I still didn't feel 'secure'! I often end up with sore shoulders. I have never found a sports bra that works for the larger chested ladies... Until now!

I cannot tell you how excited I was to try out this Lynx sports bra. As soon as I received package I ripped it open and immediately tried it on. So far so good, it was comfy, and I felt secure! So I gave it a test - 10 jumping jacks! It passed that test and I was IMPRESSED! I had Tae Kwon Do that night, and if you have never been to a class, there's a lot of jumping, moving, kicking, punching. The whole hour I am there I am moving. This bra passed all my expectations. I was comfortable and didn't feel self conscious about the 'bounce' factor, and it was a lot cooler then sweating in two thick bras.

Lynx sports bras and tanks were designed with larger chested ladies in mind, and offer bras up it a J cup! They are breathable, fast drying, comfortable and most importantly give amazing support and control! You must measure your self around the rib cage and around your full bust to make sure you have the right size. I only wish I had found the Lynx Sportsbras sooner!

*I was sent product in exchange for an honest review, all opinions stated above are 100% my own.*

Starting my Weight Loss Journey - Again

After a few months of deliberation, I have finally decided to go ahead and sign up for Body By Vi.

I have blogged a bit about losing weight and even about another diet program I tried, and had some success with. In the end it all comes down to this; I am a very picky eater and I am really bad at making 'healthy' meals for one. I am fine with the exercising and even eating healthy when I'm cooking for the whole family. But I am lazy when it comes to cooking for myself.

As soon as I receive my shakes I will be starting the 90 day challenge and I am SO excited. I will be having a shake for breakfast and for lunch and then a healthy meal at supper. I feel like this is the best option for me considering my lack of motivation when it comes to eating healthy.

I chose the $99 'Shape' kit, it is enough for 60 shakes, which works out to $1.67 per shake, or $3.34 per day, and is definitely less expensive then just my breakfast from Tim Hortons usually is! I will be adding different fruits, peanut butter, and other things to switch up the shakes too so I won't get bored!

I have gained 10lbs within the last year alone and I really don't want to say that again next year!

Crispy Green

Crispy Green is a company that offers various natural freeze dried fruit snacks. The obvious perk of this is that freeze dried fruits are quick, easy, and will last longer then fresh fruits. They have no preservatives, no fat and are low in calories. You can snack away and never feel guilty.

Freeze Dried Strawberries

I will say that I didn't like all of the options, but there's bound to be something you like. There are 11 different options, bananas, strawberries, kiwi, mango, just to name a few! Add them to your cereal, ice cream, recipes... the possibilities are endless. Everyone in the house liked something and had their favourites! My mom even took a couple bags to work and her co-workers ended up trying and loving them too!

They are peanut free, dairy free, gluten free, and vegan! These would make a great to pack in your kid's lunches for school!

*I received product in exchange for an honest review, all opinions stated above are 100% my own.*

Zevia Review and Giveaway

Recently my family had decided we would stop drinking pops and sugary drinks because of the fat, calories, and sugars that they contain. I have always said that I hate drinking my calories away and most drinks have at least 150 calories per can, even having just one can a day is too much for me. That's 1000 wasted calories a week, and I'm not even talking sugars and fats!! While I don't really mind giving it up sometimes you just want a fizzy drink!

Zevia are all natural sodas sweetened with Stevia. They have no calories, no sugars, no fat, and they are gluten free! What's even better news is that they taste great! They have a such wide range of flavours, that everyone in your family will find a favourite! My favourite is Lemon Lime Twist, Zac's was Ginger Ale, and my boyfriend's was orange! You can still have a nice, sweet fizzy drink without wasting your calories, and for those of us watching what we eat, it's that much more awesome! ;)

Check out the Zevia website to find a retailer and enter below to win a coupon for a free 6-pack of Zevia!

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... *I received product in exchange for an honest review, all opinions stated above are 100% my own.*

Laranja Review

When I work out I like to try and keep my workout clothes comfy but cute and fashionable, I know that sounds silly but I am much more likely to want to workout if I have something cute to wear!

That's one of the reasons why I love Laranja. They have a great selection of workout clothes that will keep you looking great while you are working out. From the gym, to the street, to the studio, they have clothes for your every need!

The picture above is of the vest I was sent, the picture does no do it justice, click here to go check it out. The bright red and oversized hood make this shirt a great statement! It is so comfortable!

Enter below for your chance to win a voucher from Laranja!

Javascript must be enabled to enter this giveaway. Learn how to activate Javascript by clicking here.

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*I was sent product in exchange for an honest review, all opinions stated above are 100% my own.*

Amino Diet Week #3

I just want to start by saying thank you for the nice comments! My boyfriend is doing better, but last week was filled with stress and doctor's appointments!!

Within the last week I lost 1.5lbs, which brings me to a total loss of about 3 lbs in two weeks! I am very pleased with that, but I know I can do better! I'm going to be honest and say I have not been doing as well as I could have!! For one full day I was unable to take the drops and eat like I wanted because we were stuck in town, and once or twice during the week I forgot to take the drops before lunch.

This week my goal is at least 2lbs! This is MY week! There are no appointments or anything like that and nothing will stop me this week!

Amino Liquid Diet Week 2

Welcome to week 2, I hope it's better then week 1. Let me start with the bad...

As I said last week I started the drops on Wednesday and it was going well for Wednesday and Thursday, and part of Friday. On Friday while driving home from work my boyfriend had a health scare, without getting into too much detail we ended up going to the ER for a few hours on Friday and Saturday and Sunday were struggles as well. Today he has a doctor's appointment to get it sorted out so I am sure this week will be better!

I am down just over 1 pound from last week and I will take it after the stressful weekend we have had!

I thought I would share a couple pictures of my breakfast and snack I've had this morning:

Breakfast: 1 scoop protein powder, 250ml or water and 7-10 Strawberries

Snack: 1cup celery and a can of Tuna

I'm excited for this week, it's my first full week of the program! Today I am doing the Active diet because I have Tae Kwon Doe. Along with the two meals above, this is what I will be eating for the rest of the day:

Lunch: 2 boiled eggs, 1 cup carrots

Snack: Chicken, 1c green beans

Supper: Roast, 1cup broccoli 

Then after TKD I will have 1 scoop of protein Powder and 250ml of water. Throughout the whole day I will be drinking a total of 75 ounces of water or about 2.2 litres.

Weight Loss Journey with Amino Liquid Diet

I would like to share with you my weight loss journey with Liquid Amino Diet. I have tried to lose weight for the past couple of years and well, I'm not very good at it. I won't bother making excuses because there are many. Instead of losing weight I have actually put on about 10 more pounds in the last year and that is not something I want to continue!

My starting weight is... gulp... 153lbs. I'm 5'5 and that sets me up at a BMI of about 25.5 and that is considered 'overweight'. It may not be by much but I can't continue gaining weight or it WILL be more serious.

For today and Tuesday I will be doing a 'detox' of sorts... NO I am not going to be doing some crazy drink detox or starve myself! I am simply cutting out what I don't need. Preparing my body for phase 1, which I'll talk about later. I will be loading up on healthy fats and proteins and cutting out sugars and starches.

On Wednesday I will start Phase one. I will be taking 5mls of Liquid Amino Plus drops 3 times a day and keeping my calorie intake around 1,000. On days that I have Tae Kwon Do I will be following the Active Plan, which is 7mls of drops, 3 times a day and about 1,250 calories.

I will be eating 5 meals a day, each containing 1 serving of lean protein, for example a protein shake, chicken, tuna, etc. and I will also be eating 2 servings of fruits and 4 servings of vegetables and 1 healthy fat, like almonds, avocado or eggs.

I will do an update post on Wednesday with my meal plan for the day! I'm excited!

Review and Giveaway- Celsius

Celsius is advertised as a 'calorie reducing drink'. If you drink it 15minutes before a workout it has been scientifically proven to help you burn more calories and body fat. It is not designed to help you burn calories on it's own, without exercise and a healthy diet, but it can be enjoyed alone, as an energy drink too.

Celsius was a refreshing change from other high sugar energy drinks, which is probably why it only has about 10 calories per can. I personally am not a fan of sugary drinks so these were something I could see myself drinking on a hot summer day and not feel guilty about since it is low in calories. My personal favourite was Sparkling Cola and my boyfriend liked the orange flavours. It gives a nice boost when working out and I felt like it helped push me through.

Use the form below to win a Cooler filled with 7 cans of Celsius, a box of 7 Outrageous orange on-the-go sticks and a Tank top, sponsored by Celsius!

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PROBAR Review

I am a very picky eater, especially when it comes to 'healthy' foods. It's not even that I don't like them, I would just rather eat junk. I tend to shy away from the right choices and grab something I know I shouldn't, and regret eating afterwards!

Fruition Probars are certified organic and gluten-free snack bars that have 1 serving of fruit in every bar, 160 calories, 4g of fibre and 2g of fat. Sounds like something I wouldn't typically eat voluntarily but I was surprised at how good they tasted!

I tried Chocolate Orange, Strawberry, Blueberry and Cran-Rasberry, my favourite was the Strawberry. They have a great fruity taste to them but what I really liked was the cashew and chia seeds, that gave the bars a nice nutty taste and added texture.

Strawberry and Blueberry

Probars are definitely something I can see myself grabbing as a snack because they are easy, tasty and HEALTHY!  They also offer Meal Replacement bars (This would be something I need!!) and Halo Bars which are healthy bars designed for those of us with sweet tooths!

Want to try them out? Use the code 'BLOGGER' for 40% off! One time use only.

*I was sent product in exchange for an honest review. Any opinions stated are 100% my own*

Spibelt Review

Sounds like something out of a mystery novel doesn't it?

'SPIbelt' stands for Small Personal Item Belt, which is exactly as it sounds. Let me show you:

Empty SPIbelt

Full SPIbelt!

The first picture is the empty SPIbelt, the second picture I stuffed it with my phone, house key, debit card and some cash.

SPIbelts are designed to hold your necessities while you are running/walking/cycling or for whatever else you are doing and want to carry a few things but keep your hands free. It definitely does a great job. When I go for a walk or run I always carry my cell phone and keys with me, and if I have no pockets I am stuck holding onto them! The belt snaps securely around your waist and can easily be adjusted so you can carry everything you need without risk of losing or dropping it.

*I was sent product in exchange for an honest review, all opinions are 100% my own.*

Fitness Friday #3 Featuring BondiBand

For Fitness Friday I have a product called 'BondiBand' that I would like to share.

BondiBands are fashionable wicking hats and headbands that are designed for virtually any head size.

Pastel-Floral

I received the Pastel-Floral headband and I love it and wear it to Tae Kwon Do or when running/walking. It keeps the hair out of my face, and help keep the sweat off of my face. It stays on well even when jumping around a lot, which is great because I don't have to worry about re-adjusting it! Plus it's very pretty!

*I was sent a product in exchange for an honest review, all opinions are 100% my own.*

Review - Tractivity

I was really excited when I got my Tractivity in the mail. I am the kind of person who needs visual motivation and goals. A pedometer is nice for counting steps and distance when you are walking or running, but it's not always convenient and I will often forget it. Plus it's hard to get it accurate!

What came in my Premium kit.

The Tractivity tracks all your activity, walking, running, hiking, etc. It counts calories burned, steps taken, your distance, and your time, plus the insoles are very comfortable and provide nice support.

Here's what was included in my premium kit:

• Tractivity Insoles
• Tractivity Lace Holder
• Tractivity Sensor
• Tractivity USB Stick
• Tractivity Waist Measuring Tape

You can put your sensor inside your soles, or in the lace holder.

First I created my account by going to www.join.tractivityonline.com. It was very easy and within minutes I had the program installed and ready to go. After you have installed the program, you can click on the icon to open the program and search for your sensor.

Click to enlarge!

Once the transfer is complete when you click 'Take me to my Account' it will open your account in a new browser. From there you can track your activities. There is an Achievements tab (shown below), an Activity tab which tracks your day to day distance, steps, time and calories, a Wellness tab where you can track your measurements and an Experts Corner tab where you can find helpful blog posts.

Achievements Tab - A quick run to the post office.

If you would like to improve your health by walking more, enter of the form below to win your very own Tractivity! 3 lucky readers will win an Essntial Bundle! Make sure you 'Like' their Facebook page here!!

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*I was sent a Tractivity in exchange for an honest review, all opinions are 100% my own.*

Pulse Yoga DVDs

I was delighted when Pulse Yoga sent me 4 DVDs to try out. I was interested in Pulse Yoga because I needed to work on my balance, as well as my upper body strength for Tae Kwon Do.

After having the chance to try each one a couple times through, (in all honesty sometimes I didn't make it through the whole workout, they definitely make you feel it, what a workout!) my favorite workout was the Pulse Yoga II Balance and Tone.

Pulse Yoga incorporates basic yoga moves and adds weights and resistance by holding poses and 'pulsating' your arms or legs. For example doing the warrior pose with weights in hand and controlling your arms and pulsating them up and down to give you a nice arm workout, and believe me you will feel it!

It's a great way to help tone your entire body, and since you can choose how heavy you want your weights to be it's good for beginners to more advanced exercisers.

Fitness Friday #2

First off... a little 'refresher' of my goals from last Fitness Friday.

Goal 1: 8 Glasses of water a day. I'm usually good when it comes to my water intake but it's not always consistent.
Goal 2: 20 Pushups and 25 crunches everyday for the next week.
Goal 3: Run at least 1mile, 3x a week.

So... Goal number 3. Fail. Goal Number 2. Fail. Goal number 1. Completed.

In my defence, I came down with a  nasty cold Saturday morning and it is still lingering. I had no voice and coughing fits so obviously intense cardio was not going to work. I did push-ups 5 our of the 7 days and crunches 4 out of the seven days. I drank a lot of water though!

I got my orange belt at TaeKwonDo last tuesday, Master said I need to work on my upper body strength. Again, I'll do a few goals... No. I'll do the same goals and hopefully I will complete all of them!

I have been watching my calories and have started drinking Boost as a meal replacement at lunch time. I have a problem cooking myself healthy lunches so I figured a meal replacement would be perfect.

How did you do last week?

Fitness Friday

For my first 'Fitness Friday' I thought I would set myself a couple goals, and next Friday I will report back with how well I did with them.

Goal 1: 8 Glasses of water a day. I'm usually good when it comes to my water intake but it's not always consistent.
Goal 2: 20 Pushups and 25 crunches everyday for the next week.
Goal 3: Run at least 1mile, 3x a week.

I think those are some easy, do able goals for my first week. How about you?

I would also like to share an extremely simple smoothie I drink after I workout.

1cup frozen strawberries
1scoop chocolate whey protien
250ml of water

I use a hand mixer and blend it well, sometimes I add 1tsp-2tsp of Flax meal. That's it! Really simple, really delicious! Sometimes I drink it for breakfast. It's a great way for me to get my fruits intake up. I am a really picky eater so this is a good way for me to get 2 servings.

Fitness Update

When I started this blog, I had intended for a large part of it to be devoted to Fitness. Shoes, Fashion, Fitness. The fitness part has kind of taken a back seat and I want to give a bit of an update as to where I am with my fitness goals and I would like to start posting a regular 'Fitness Friday' post. Whether it be an update, a challenge I am setting for myself, a healthy recipe or a review on a fitness related product.

A couple of months ago I started Tae Kwon Do (TKD). Next week I will have my first testing and get my first color belt, Orange. My mother actually convinced me to join, she really wanted to join but didn't want to start all by herself. My brother has been in TKD for two years and he is a blue stripe, quite a bit higher then us. My boyfriend joined about two weeks after us.

When I first joined I wasn't sure it would be good enough to consider a 'workout' but wow was I ever wrong. For three days a week, I do 1 hour of TKD and I do work up a sweat as well as getting in a good stretch. One thing that is amazing me is the fact that I did 28 pushups. 28 regular, not 'girl' pushups. That might not sound amazing but about a year ago I could do 0 pushups, I could hardly do a girl pushup. I did the girly ones and worked up to about 20. Joining TKD I didn't want to have to do the girly ones when the other kids and adults were doing the regular ones! I started with 10 normal ones and have now worked up to 28! Wow! Another thing is that I can almost do the splits again!

In August I will be attending the TKD camp and one of the things we will be doing there is a morning jog of about 30 minutes. Honestly it doesn't intimidate me because I like to run but I usually run inside on a treadmill and that is very different from running outside on trails. I'm going to start running, outside, on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays, on the days I don't have TKD.

My goal has always been that I want to be able to run a 5k and this summer I hope I can accomplish that.

Do you have any Summer Fitness goals?

'It Works' Wraps.

I'm sure most of you have seen the 'It Works' reps by now, they are all over facebook and other networking sites. After seeing quite a few pictures of the 'before' and 'after' photos I was intrigued and I signed up and bought a 4pack of wraps. I was really excited to try them out and I convinced my boyfriend to do one with me.

The claim is that in 45 minutes you will lose inches. The wraps have what my boyfriend called a 'burning' sensation, but was more 'tingling' then burning. It is like when you use an icy hot patch, and it smells almost exactly like Vicks VapoRub, which I didn't mind at all, I love that smell.

We tried the first ones out for the suggested 45minutes, it says for first time wrappers not to go any longer then that. I should also mention that the day before, the day of and the following 72hours we drank AT LEAST 8 glasses of water. The first time we did the wrap we forgot to take measurements but there was zero noticeable difference, even after the 72hours. I chalked it up to the fact that I was bloated because it was 'that time of the month'.

So any ways, we waited about a week and tried again. We drank the required amount of water the day before, the day of and 72hours following the wrap. We left the wraps on for 4 hours this time AND took our measurements! Again, there was no change at all. Not even a half inch difference by the time the 72hours was up.

I don't want to say they are a scam, maybe they do work for SOME people but for me and the boyfriend they didn't work at all and I regret trying them out. I should have bought some shoes instead!

Have you tried the wraps? Did they work for you?

BodyRockSport Haul with my FREE giftcard!

I made a blog post a couple months back about earndit.com (click here), the website that offers various giftcards as incentive to be more active. I wasn't sure what I wanted as my first 'prize' but when earndit.com starting offering the BodyRockSport giftcards I was so excited! It was great motivation to push myself a little harder... 5 more minutes of running... Walking just a little farther...

As soon as I had the 1000 points I needed I traded them in for the $100 giftcard. The giftcard was good on an order totalling $150+, so for $50 you get a bonus $100 worth of product, just for being active! They also offer a $50 giftcard and a $25 giftcard which I am aiming for next!

BodyRockSport is a company that sells fashionable workout gear, and boy are there ever some hot pieces! After looking over the site I started with sports bras, mostly because I needed some but also because they were so pretty and there was lots to choose from. I picked out 2; The "Cammi" bra which is a vibrant turpuoise color and the "Jais" bra which is a great hot pink. Then I got two tops, the "Jill" tank in white and the "Morning After Top" in white. I figured they would look great layered over the bras.

My package arrived today, it only took 7 business days to get to me here in Canada, which is awesome in my opinion! Each item was packaged in it's own little dustbag with the BodyRockSport logo on it, which I thought was really cute and a great idea!

Cute right?!

The items were exactly as picture and the material feels lovely against your skin. The colors are very vibrant and everything feels so well made!

Cammi bra and The Morning After Top.

Jais bra and the Jill tank.

Both bras have studded detail around the neckline and ruche in the back. They also have a little pocket for your mp3 player, a key or money.

The Morning After Top is a slouchy, over-sized top that has studding around the ends of the sleeves. It looks really cute layered over one of the bras and off the shoulder.

The Jill tank has a shelf bra with removable pads. I loved the zipper detailing on the front. The shirt is nice and soft, has a Y strap back, and is moisture wicking material.