Nike Training Club

          On Sunday I, Andrea, will be completing week 2 of the Nike Training Club. A free app that allows you to create and customize a workout plan. I have chosen to do an intermediate, toning work out plan that also implements running. So far I have done some really intense yoga, some crazy HIIT workouts and have ran 5 miles! Next week we're going 6! The Nike Training Club app is fantastic. As you work out you earn your Nike+ fit points, if you follow those like me! (yet still don't quite get what their all about yet). 

         Nike Training Club features all women but is ideal for men as well! There is no Gender specifics to this app! BELIEVE ME! 

          The only thing I am struggling with on this app is that some of the customization moves are almost the same. For example: I have carpal tunnel syndrome that causes me to struggle with plank like workouts and anything that puts lots of strain on my wrists. Alot of the workouts have these kinds of work outs that I struggle with. I personally push through them but I am constantly trying to find a good hard modified movement for the workout. 

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           If you don't have a consistent week that doesn't allow you to run 5 miles or to have a 45 min workout every few days you may have difficulty. My training plan changes every week and can range from 15 min yoga videos to 45 min HIIT training. So prepare your week accordingly. 

          What I love about this program is that you can set alarms and reminders to get you to work out! You also earn other workouts and there is a huge library of great workouts with different time frames! 

Definitely a good runner up after Befit 90! 

I will keep you all up to date on how its going in a few days! 

BeFit90 Day Challenge

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I just completed the Befit 90 Day challenge! 

         This challenge was probably one of the best challenges I have done, ever. It consisted FREE YouTube video playlist, one for every day, for 90 days. Each video playlist consisted of 4 videos; a warm up (5 min), 2 workouts (10 min each) and a cool down/stretch (10 min). 

         Each month consists of about 4 or 5 different workouts and 2 different cool down/stretches. The first month starts you out with great strength and cardio workouts, including MMA and yoga. Month 2 begins more cardio advanced yoga and MMA. The third month gets even crazier. 

         The third month is all plyos! Which is amazing. That is when all the magic happened.
        The Befit90 Challenged really pushed me. Usually I struggle with finding a video that truly pushes me past my wall and wants me to meet a goal. The Befit trainers are awesome encouraging and fun to watch. They are true people and you can actually tell they are working, which I find very entertaining. Sometimes they even fall!! *giggle*. 
        The Befit90 Program allows you two rest days a week in which a training tip is included on those rest days. Tips include water choices, when to exercise and how to exercise help you stay motivated and keep you going towards your goal. 

By making sure I was eating better and keeping on track with this workout I really began to see and feel the results. I'll admit I didn't eat as well as I had hoped. But I began drinking smoothies in the morning with some spinach or kale for added greens in my diet, eating carrots and celery for snacks and adding in more healthy proteins. By doing so I helped my body reach milestones. May not have been major milestones but you gotta celebrate ever little step you take when working towards weight loss and toning. 


I totally forgot to measure at the beginning of this workout but I did some pictures and to me a picture is worth a thousand words. 

Beginning of challenge: 178 lb                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                End of challenge: 168 lb

I definitely feel a major major difference in my strength and body. You may not be able to tell from my pictures but I know I have changed. There is less muffin top, less gut and no creases. I am finally beginning to love my body more than ever. My pants are even loosening up! I love it. 

If you have any questions about Befit please feel free to comment below or follow me on facebook or twitter to ask questions! 

Next challenge! Nike Training Club (NTC). 

Remember, love your body and stay motivated through the bloating and the groaning! Make every min count! 

Update/Late Mothers Day Post

Oh My goodness its been a while. 
Surprisingly I have been able to keep up my hard work while maintaining a busy busy schedule that includes, school, work and football. I think I even went on vacation since the last time I posted! 

On my vacation I was able to keep my motivation going and working out because of my Amazing Mother. My mom moved to Arizona around the same time I moved to the Tri-Cities. So we've been apart for about a year. In that year my mom has been able to achieve her goal of running 10 miles almost every day. She is hoping to run a half marathon here sometime this summer. Not only is she reaching health goals but she is very close to graduating with her doctorate degree in education. I am so proud of her! She is my true inspiration to keep on going no matter what it is. On our trip we were still able to work out almost every day. Including, climbing this lovely rock in the picture to the right. She taught me some great things about staying motivated and calm. I often find myself worrying if I can't get a work out in or if I can't get my work done. She helped me understand how to control it and to be calm. She also taught me some healthy eating tips, like smoothie ideas and dinner replacements. I will be sharing those with you as we go. 
Thanks mom for EVERYTHING you have EVER done for me my WHOLE life. I LOVE YOU! 

If you wanna see and read abut my adventures in Arizona please see my photography blog at andreabphoto.blogspot.com. 


Since I've been gone I have reached level three of my 90 day BeFit challenge! This last month is full of Dynamic growth and Plyo-metric workouts. This Befit challenge is amazing! I would seriously recommend it! I feel great and definitely feel more toned and healthy! The trainer tips on your rest days are truly helpful as well. So if you do it, make sure to watch them! Just in this last month so far I've lost 3 pounds! 
Which puts me at 168 lb. I have officially lost 10 pounds since I began working out every day. 

Next workout challenge will be the Nike trainer workouts! 

Here is a little daily Motivation for you: 

I love and adore anything Dr. Seuss. I grew up on him, thanks to my beautiful mother. This morning when doing my daily motivational quote I found this one. I love the rhyme but also love the message. 

Tiny Tea: Day 1

I'm not going to lie, so far I'm really disappointed! I grabbed two tea bags this morning and put them in my purse so I could make tea when I got to work and again around lunch time. I went to open the first tea bag (they're all wrapped in individual wrappers) and the tea bag split open and the tea went everywhere. One tea bag down, and you only have the specific amount needed for the 14-days.

I decided for today's morning and lunch tea I'd just have to use one bag and it'd be a little weaker. I was much more careful opening the second bag and I STILL almost tore the teabag open. It is ridiculous how small the wrappers are and they should have made them a little larger so they could be opened more easily. I opened it without breaking it, however, there was already a hole in the side of the tea bag! They seem to be very cheaply made. I TAPED the side of the tea bag shut because I can't waste another one. I had no idea if it would survive the boiling water, if the tape would melt, etc but I tried it anyway. And it worked thankfully!

Now for the taste. I'm a tea fan but this tea just isn't the most tasty to say the least. Hopefully tonight when I'm home I can try it with some honey and maybe it'll be a little better tasting! Either way though, it's not about the taste and I'm just hoping for good results with this detox! 

Tiny Tea

Hey guys! So today I placed my order with Your Tea and once my purchase arrives I'll be starting my 14-day Tiny Tea "Teatox".

This detox/cleanse was developed by a team of Chinese Medicine practitioners and it's made to provide nourishment to your digestive system while cleansing, replenishes and restores your digestive system to its natural state, helps ease bloating and can aid your body in weight loss. This tea also increases digestive function and your energy levels, and helps clear skin.

Other than the obvious reasons, what attracted me to this particular cleanse is the fact that Tiny Tea is the only herbal cleanse available that doesn't produce a laxative effect. I'm a huge fan of cleanses and have done a few over the past couple years and to be honest, this is always a concern when starting a new cleanse. I've never had a problem with any of the cleanses I've done in the past but I know a lot of people do and are wary about doing a cleanse because they don't want the undesired side effects in the bathroom. Other than the obvious discomfort, there are other reasons why laxatives aren't a good way to go about jump starting weight loss (if that's what you're hoping for by choosing this cleanse). You can read a few reasons why here, but if laxatives are something you're truly considering for weight loss you should do a lot of research on your own. Your overall health is much more important than losing a few quick pounds!

I'm choosing to start with the 14-day package to see if I like it, but there is also a 28-day Tiny Tea cleanse available on Your Tea's website. Once I get my tea in the mail, I'll be drinking it 3 times a day, 30 minutes before or after my meals. The only beverages other than the tea that I'm going to allow myself to drink during the detox are green tea, black coffee and water. Other than that, I'm not going to drastically change my diet (maybe just cut out some more junk food and sugars). My exercise routine is also going to stay the same.

I'll be uploading before, during and after photos, as well as updates on how things are going. So if you're interested, stay tuned!

Also, if any of you are interested in Your Tea's products they have a variety of tea's available and tons of information including FAQs on their website!

<3 Tuesday

Detox Round 2, Diary Style

This week I am starting the same Jillian Michaels Detox. 

Unfortunately I do not own a measuring tape so I will not be able to tell if any measurements changed but I do have a scale and the eyes of some great people. 

Day One's Drink

This time I am going to keep you guys posted with how I am doing during the week! Beginning with day one and ending with day seven [the day before I go on vacation!] 

Bikini body here I come! 

Here is the recipe for the Detox that I posted two weeks ago ----> Jillian 7 Day Detox Drink


Here is how I am doing =)

Goals for this week of detoxing and beyond...

• Today I vowed to eat clean for this whole week. 
• Since its really hard on your body to just change our diet really suddenly I have chosen to have one reward day (a yummy coffee or 1 meal out) and less snacks. 
• I will not talk down about myself. I will constantly compliment my progress not put myself down. 

Weight, 172 lb [Pic's Later...=)]
Drink is yummy and bitter as ever. =)  

Its officially day two! 

• Had a weird headache for the first part of the day..Not completely sure if its from the clean eating and the drink but I normally don't get headaches. 
• Not much to report on day two but! My metabolism seemed to speed up a little bit today and I wasn't craving snacks nearly as much at work and at home. 
• Lets keep it up

Day four....

• Oops...Today wasn't a good day. I started off eating well then I used all my cheats in one evening. I ate a burger, some BBQ chips with bean dip and even had half a beer..
• I felt good till then... 
• Today was an oops day. 
• I weighed in at 171 lb. So not to shabby. 

Day Five...Remixxxxxx

• So today is day five. I am only half way through the day but I have already started eating better. I ate a yummy tuna fish sandwich using light mayo, whole wheat bread and lettuce. With an apple on the side and of course the yummy detox H2O. 
• Here is a really good website I found on chosing the right kind of bread..... "Tips and tricks for choosing the right bread!"
• Felt guilty about eating badly yesterday so I am making up for it today. Even after yesterdays cheating I still weight 171 lbs. Couple more to go! 
• 3 days left! and 4 till I head onto vacation! 

Day Six.....urgggg

• Today I didn't want to get out of bed. This time around as well as last time the fifth and the sixth days were days were I felt extremely bloated. 
• Although it was my rest day according to my BeFit in 90 Challenge. I was forced to walk a total of 7 miles today. The first 2.5 to the store and back for shampoo and the 3.5 to meet a client to drop her CD of photos off. So I burned a total of 689 Calories anyway. 
• Tomorrow is the last day. My plans for tomorrow include a detox bath to end my day. AND get rid of the last bit of junk that may be lurking around in my system. 

Dun Dun Dun DAY SEVEN! 

• Today was rough. I was tired from my early morning work out but being able to have this drink by my side kept me going and curbed my hunger until it was actually time to eat! And that's rough for me. 
• I ended my day with an amazing green tea detox bath to sweat out what all I had left. 
• Here a link to a great detox bath instructions that I use constantly!! Green Tea Detox Bath, And others. 
• My personal favorite is the lavender oil bath! My favorite especially with a coconut butter body butter after. 
• I ate pretty clean today and tomorrow I will be weighing myself and taking finishing pictures. Cause results don't happen instantly ladies. 
• So far feeling alright. Eating clean is harder than it looks.... Well for me.

The end result: 

169 lbs!! 3 pounds down =) 

I personally do not see a difference. But here is a picture from day one versus this morning. 

I see a difference in the bottom two pictures but not in the top two pictures. 

This detox has been amazing. I went through a few rough patches of wanting to cheat and bloating. The detox bath helped a lot for the end of this detox. 

If I was to get this detox a rating out of five stars, as of right now it would be a 3. 

                                                 

And it would definitely receive a stamp of approval! BOOM!

Jillian Michaels really hit the nail on the head with this detox. I will definitely use it again. Next time I will hopefully be more of a clean eater and not a cheater! 

In my day to day diary above (if you haven't read it already) you will find links to the drink, great bread ideas and other fun stuff! 

Please keep following Tuesday and I on our motivational journey! 

Stay Beautiful!!!

 

Jillian Michaels 7 Day Detox drink ROUND 1

So as I mentioned in our last post, I began the 7 day Jillian Michaels Detox drink....

It was....good. I will admit I didn't eat as clean as I could have with one trip for late night Jack in the Crack breakfast with the beau. But I definitely felt a difference although there wasn't a loss of weight, I definitely felt cleaned out. Plus I was PMS'ing that week, which could have contradicted it....(just an excuse to make myself feel good). 

[NOTE! this was only round one, so my results may change]

I will be trying it again next week because I will be heading to sunny Arizona in two weeks!! For my spring break mini vacation and I would love to lose some of that bloat weight before I head there looking like a beached whale. 

Here's the recipe, along with my first round tips: 

60 oz Purified Water
2 Tblsp Lemon Juice (fresh or from the bottle) 
1 Tblsp Cranberry Juice (with as little sugar as you can find...Kroger brand was the cheapest and had lowest sugar) 
Dandelion Root Tea

-Make tea as instructed on box, cool to room temperature. 
-Add all ingredients together. 
-Drink all 60 oz a day for 7 days. 
-Remember to EAT HEALTHY!


I made this drink the night before, that way I could wake up and jump start my metabolism right away. 
60 oz was not very hard to drink, some people may think its a lot but it's not too bad. I now can't go a day without drinking 60 oz or more because of that drink. 
Remember to eat clean. I believe this is what made it not work completely for me. Next week I will be eating clean and doing this drink again to see if it makes a difference!

Here's one of the many blogs about it!  One girl even suggests adding licorice root to the mixture as well! Might try that next time! [Note: the picture here shows diet cran-cherry, I recommend not using that but using all natural cranberry juice with as low of sugar as you can find. Cranberry juice is a really good cleansing drink so the natural kind is naturally better ;)]

www.maybeiwill.com

My boyfriend did it with me. He just called me about ten seconds ago just to tell me he wishes he could drink it every day. It had good flavor, if your used to dandelion tea and really made you feel clean. 

Here is my current progress! My goal is to lose tone my arms and legs as well as shrink my stomach and muffin top. =]

Top photo was this weekend, bottom photo was two weeks ago. 

Stay Beautiful!