Ok, so I've completed 3 weeks of TurboFire and 2 weeks of Shakeology, and I've seen results. Great results!
The other day, my husband put his hands around my waist and was impressed of how solid my waist felt.
I have pajama pants that I haven't worn in awhile because they were too tight, and now they fit just right.
The bloaty feeling that I had because I wasn't regular, well, that's gone. What I thought was normal for me, really isn't apparently, and I didn't know any difference. Now, I'm going to the bathroom more frequently, and I feel better because of it.
My tastebuds have changed. Sweets taste weird to me, and I don't crave them. I'm not saying that I don't like them, because I do. I don't feel that I 'need' them like I did before, and when it's a special occasion, I do enjoy, I just don't indulge.
I sleep better. I actually feel rested when I wake up.
And, TurboFire is addicting! I look forward to my next workout. I've never done that before. I surely don't look forward to PT with the Army, never have. I enjoy working out in my home. I enjoy seeing the results. I am enjoying this new lifestyle of getting healthy and fit.
Ok, so I have to share this. I'm week 3 into my 90 day transformation, and I must say, I've already seen incredible results with TurboFire and Shakeology.
I don't want to share all the results now, but what I will say is that they are INCREDIBLE! For the first time ever, I HAVE ABS! Yessir! Even when I was 19 and pre-baby, and as skinny as a stick, I didn't have abs, and at the time, I was FIT. Now, I'm healthy, and getting toned, and feeling better every day!
For Shakeology, my sugar cravings are gone! And, I have a serious sweet tooth, and some days it was really bad. I'd snack all day on candy and junk, and now, well, except for the occasional scoop of German ice-cream from the ice-cream truck, I don't really want it anymore. Also, I find it easier to eat the recommended 5-6 meals a day, and my weight loss has been accelerated. I WANT to make healthier food options because I would hate to sabotage what Shakeology does with putting crap back in my body.
For TurboFire, the workouts are FUN! I'm excited to workout, even on the longer workouts days. The time flies by so fast, and sometimes I want to do it twice a day because it's so much fun! I'm seeing actual results, and not just my abs, but also my calves, arms, shoulders....everywhere. I'm already down 2" in the waist! How exciting is that?!?!?!?!
If you are interested in making a permanent transformation, contact me, and I can help get you started!
Until later!
Melissa
The offer is still available. Send in your ideas for $25!!!
Hello all. So, here's the deal. I am hosting a contest to rename my blog, and here's why:
My blog originally was to show people how to save money but still live a good life while living on a small budget. However, since I've joined TeamBeachBody as a coach, I will be blogging about my personal experiences about that as well. So, all you have to do to win the $25 is rename my blog. Yep, that's it. Something catchy that will get people's attention that explains what this blog is all about.
So, here are the rules:
1) Keep it clean! Yes, no vulgarity here. I don't use vulgar language, and will not show myself as such.
2) Must be an original thought.
3) You must be at least 18 to enter. If I know you personally, then I already know whether or not you are 18 or older, however, if I don't know you personally, then proof of age will be verified if you are the winner.
4) In order to receive your prize, I must have a way to contact you. So, I need a FB, Twitter, or email in order to contact you.
5) All entries must be emailed to: m.devore75@gmail.com with BLOG CONTEST in the subject line.
6) You may enter more than once with each original thought. Each email counts as an entry.
*The $25 will be a e-card for Team Beachbody. You can use the $25 to jumpstart your new life as a better, improved version of YOU! All entries must be in by August 1, 2013. Contest winner will be notified on August 3rd, 2013, and formally announced on August 5th. Good luck!
Hello followers. This is a very personal blog for me, one that I am now willing to share with all of you.
Some people that I know purposely make unhealthy choices, such as drink, smoke, use smokeless tobacco, eat primary junk food, refuse to exercise, etc. I would often chat with my husband about these habits, and question: "Don't these people know what they are doing to their bodies?" Well, the truth is, even though I don't have any obvious bad habits (smoking, excessive drinking, etc.) my bad habit was processed food. I didn't realize it until the signs started adding up.
When I was in Afghanistan just last year, I was diagnosed with Hypertension. When I got out of Afghanistan, I weighed 154. I did drop to 151 naturally, but it was hard. I had a PT test coming up, and I did get down to 149 (my max weight for the Army) but how I did it was very unhealthy. I was taking diuretics to make weight! Not good. Then, I kind of blew off the weight until I about three months ago. My weight started having a yo-yo effect, except it was creeping higher. Every Tuesday I weigh myself, and where some weeks were good, (I'd be down 2 pounds or so.) most weeks weren't. 151, 153, 155, 153, 157, 156, 158, 159, 161, 159, and so on.
Well, my husband already did Insanity, and it worked for him, and I thought that because of a permanent injury (that I got from the Army) that I couldn't do it. Well, I was wrong. Until I injured my ankle a week ago, I had already completed month one, and had just started month two. My energy levels went up. My abs, calves, and arms were becoming defined. And I wanted to work out. My fitness me was born!
Now, things that I've tried in the past that didn't work:
1) Counting Calories - I ate what I wanted, just smaller portions. Not for me because I was still consuming bad foods.
2) Wii U Fitness Evolved - While fun, I spent more time choosing programs to do rather than exercising. I'd burn 100-120 calories an hour. I needed more than that.
3) Riding my bike to work: While this is a great idea, at the time it took me 7-10 minutes to get to work. With it being really rainy this year, the bike made it to work only 1 week this year. Not very effective.
So, on my l-o-n-g hard road to a better, more fit me, not only am I sticking with TeamBeachBody products, I'm also cutting processed foods. Eating more whole foods. With the exception of pasta, coffee, baking goods, and spices, I primarily stick to the outside aisles of the grocery store. I'm slowly learning new recipes that are healthy, tasteful, and budget friendly, that I can make with foods that I purchase on the outside aisles.
Now that you know my story, you need to know that you can make the change too. You can change your habits to become the new, more fit you. YOU are NOT too late to change, nor too busy. I'm an active duty Soldier, a college student, a mom of 4 boys, and a wife. I still have time to travel, study, hang with the kids, and get everything done that I want to do in the day. If I can change, you can to!
If you are serious about getting fit, becoming the best, fit you, check out my pages.
My Beachbody Homepage!
Shakeology!
My Ultimate Reset!
And, as a bonus, if you have tried any of the Beachbody products, and want to make yourself a little extra money, ask me how. I can help get you started.
As always, Live Well!
Ok, so summer has officially started, and while peaches aren't my favorite fruit, I've got a craving for them lately. I actually have a healthy craving for all sorts of summer fruits. I've got frozen peaches and berries for smoothies, canned peaches for a quick desert, and I recently had a summer fruit salad. mmmm.......
So, while pineapple upside down cake is my new current favorite dessert, I decided to apply an upgrade to the favorite and I've come up with Peach Upside Down Cake instead.
Before I share the recipe, I must admit, that while I'm trying hard to rid my cabinets of processed foods, when the Commissary has box cakes on sale for about 80 cents, and I have a coupon, I can't resist. So, I picked up a French Vanilla Flavor, and stored it in the pantry for a few weeks before I decided what to do with it. With a jar of Dole canned peaches (in the plastic jar), butter, brown sugar, and about cinnamon, I created a nice dessert. You could, and I recommend, use fresh peaches, and any homemade recipe of vanilla cake, but this was quick and easy to put together in about 5 minutes. So, here's how:
Preheat Oven to 350.
Ingredients:
1 stick of butter
1/2 cup of brown sugar
4 Tbs of cinnamon
1 jar Dole peaches (drained)
1 Vanilla Cake Mix
3 eggs
1 1/3 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
In a 12" cast iron skillet, melt butter. Add brown sugar and 2 Tbs cinnamon. Stir over medium heat until well blended. Remove from heat, set aside. On drained peaches, toss with 1 Tbs cinnamon. Arrange in skillet. In bowl, combine cake mix, remaining cinnamon, eggs, water and oil. Pour into pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
This can be served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream, or cooled with whip cream. (My mixer finally died in the process, so we will just enjoy it plain.)
Enjoy this dessert and may it become one of your summertime favorites!
So, after searching the Google, Pinterest and AllRecipes.com high and low, I could not find an pumpkin pancake recipe that would either use all of my remaining pumpkin from last fall, or be compatible with ingredients that I have on hand, so I decided to make up my own. And, for the first time, I came up with a quick bread recipe all on my own. Now, for everyone that knows me, my homemade from scratch dishes normally include sauces, soups, and skillet dishes. But, this one time only, I created my very own pancake....and not only a regular pancake, but pumpkin pancakes at that. So, let's get started, shall we?
Here's what you'll need:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp salta
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 cup pumpkin puree (I used fresh.)
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 1/4 cup milk (I used skim.)
In large bowl, combine all dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine all wet ingredients, then combine with dry ingredients. Cook on a non-stick griddle, pre-heated to a medium heat. Serve if you like, with a pat of butter, and syrup of your choice. I prefer butter pecan syrup, but I didn't have any, so I used maple syrup, and it was just as yummy!
Now, keep in mind, this is perfect for a family of 6 or larger, since I got more than 18 3-4" pancakes, so if your family is small, I suggest freezing leftovers as individual serving sizes (with wax paper in-between pancakes) so that you can microwave them later for a quick breakfast, or cooking them whenever you have guests.
I wish I had pictures to share with ya'll, but they were gone so fast, there was no time to stop and take a picture.
So, feel free to save this recipe, modify it as your own, and share it with your friends and family. And as always, continue to Live Well!
So, here at Living Well, we scored free tickets to see Bon Jovi in Munich. It was by far, the best concert that I've ever been too!
So, what's my advice to you: Take advantage of free concerts provided by the Army. You may or may not like the artist, but there is nothing like live music! And who knows, you may even hear a song or two that you'll like.
Every concert that I've been to I've gone to for free. I've either been a guest, scored free tickets, or it was a USO tour (Toby Keith).
Now, if you haven't been as lucky as me, there are many places that you can score tickets for a fairly cheap price. If we would have purchased the tickets, it would have been 67.50 Euro per seat, which isn't too bad. You can check your USO or SATO or if you are in the states TicketMaster. And if you are lucky, you can always try to win tickets from your radio station.
The idea is, shop around for that performer that you really, really want to see, and then shop around for tickets. Most performers list their tour dates and cities online, and you can plan in advance on who you want to see, and where you want to go to see them. Unless you really want to pay for center stage, you get the same experience a few rows back, and sometimes an even better experience simply because you can see the entire stage.
Once you have your tickets, plan your trip wisely. Plan on the closest parking areas to be full within 2 hours or so before the show is due to start. We arrived in Munich a little more than an hour before show time, drove around an hour before we eventually found parking. Lucky us, the cover band didn't start until an hour later, and Bon Jovi came on an hour after that, so we still had two hours to spare.
Go to the bathroom as soon as you get there. Believe me, when I say this, but the line to the women's restroom must have been a mile long. To be prepared, bring along a to-go Charmin, and hand sanitizer. Both these things I wish I had with me.
If the venue allows, bring your own drinks and snacks. I've found out that I could have brought snacks with me. Also, bring a camera. You'll want to remember this, especially if it's a dream concert. And if budget allows, bring money for souvenirs. My budget did not allow; however, I did do my own research the morning after, and I can purchase a 5 x 7 photograph taken by the band's personal photographer for only $10.
The main thing to remember is: go and have fun. Going to a concert is a fun experience. You are there to have fun. So, go, pick a performer that you want to see, save money, plan well in advance, and have a great time! I know I did!
