Hello, Adorable

I'm that slow annoying person who can and will agonize over every decision big or small. It could be something as simple as what size to get in a shirt or what pill box to get but it's a rare thing for me to make a super quick decision. Unless it has to do with Pink. I always go with Pink. The last time I got to pick a lingerie item from Adore Me to review it took me almost a week so I was kind of glad to shift the burden to someone else when Adore Me contacted me about writing an unboxing review.  They pick, no over analyzing for me.

First of all, the box is adorable.  You can't open a box that says Hello, Adorable without smiling.

I'm also that person that hates not being in control of every little thing so I was really thrilled when I opened the box and found that I really loved what was inside.  MJ loved it too.  I'd just come home exhausted from work and was going through the mail. 

"Ooh.  Try it on for me."

"No, not now.  You'll see it later."

"C'mon, just try it on now.  I wanna see."

I wasn't feeling my most adorable, but I rolled my yes and put it on because if your husband is interested in seeing you in lingerie that's a good thing and so you might as well put on the darn lingerie. 

Adore Me is a membership-based e-commerce site with special prices offered to VIP members, but also offers a Pay-As-You-Go service for customers who don't want to commit.   They have a large selection of lingerie, sleepwear and swimwear.  They sent me the Desirae push up.  I don't own a single white bra or panty so it was perfect because I would have never picked it for myself and now I have something different.  I love the pink details because, pink.  The padding in the bra is just right and the panties are just enough to cover the booty without riding up yet still look sexy and  not even close to "granny panty" status as white panties can if not done right.

They done good.  Thank You, Adore Me!!  

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30 Day Shred in 40 Days

I throw in some toning videos now and then but my primary work out for the last 2 1/2 years has been cardio.  Mostly the elliptical.  Mj kept telling me I need to diversify my work outs and I finally listened.
 
I've never been on any kind of work out program.  I don't typically like to commit to a particular work out but The 30 Day Shred seemed very doable for me.  It's an effective total body work out that includes toning AND cardio. The best thing about it is that it's all packed into 22-25 minutes.  You really can't beat that.  There are 3 levels and you do 10 days of every level.  Each work out has 3 circuits that include 3 minutes of strength, 2 minutes of cardio and 1 minutes of abs.  I used mostly 2 1/2 lb weights but also had 5 lbs available for certain exercises that felt too easy to make it more challenging.  I didn't specify how many days a week I would do it.  The only rule I set for myself was that I couldn't let more then 2 days pass between work outs.  The most days I did it in a row was 8 and it took me a span of 40 calendar days to complete the 30 work outs.  According to my handy dandy Polar FT4 Heart Rate Monitor that I got for my Birthday I burned between 140 and 220 calories each time. I've been working on my splits so I did my own stretching at the end of every work out and went a little bit longer then she did so I spent a full 30 minutes from warm up to cool down.

 

Level 1 wasn't that difficult for me.  I didn't even get sore right away.  By the 3rd work out I started to feel it mostly in my upper body but not nearly as bad as I expected it to be.  It wasn't total body soreness.  It started with just my chest, then spread to my arms and then my calves by day four.  I was kind of excited that maybe I wasn't in as bad a shape as I thought I was.  The push ups were the hardest.  Being a former gymnast I have always done "man" push ups.  We weren't allowed to do it any other way so I could do them but I found that I had to modify towards the end when I got tired.  I was so proud to be able to do them all by the end of level 1.  

Level 2 was definitely more challenging.  I was enjoying the workouts but by the 14th one  I started to get really tired of the whole thing.  I was barely half way through level 2, it was harder and it just felt like forever until I'd be done.

Level 3 was even more challenging.  My upper inner thighs got a little sore after Day 1.  I can't do the jump lunges because of my bad knees so I did the modified version on that.  The level 3 work out always seemed to go by really fast for me.  I think it's because it was harder to tell the difference between the strength, cardio and toning.  They all seemed to blend together so before I know what I'm doing the work out is over.  I was so ready to be done that I woke up early on a Wednesday morning to get a work out in because I knew I couldn't do it after work.  Turns out it's a pretty nice before work video.  It's so short and without a commute to the gym I didn't have to wake up that much earlier but still got my work out over with for the day.

Each level builds upon the next so well that by the 8th work out on every level I really started to feel like I was mastering it.  I didn't need any stops or modifications and I felt ready to move onto the next one.  I loved it that even though it's short I didn't feel like I was wasting my time.  She packs a lot in and my body feels really fatigued afterwards even if it's not making me sore.  I think it made me work even harder to know that it was ONLY 20 minutes and I just had to keep pushing myself for that short amount of time.  Some people said that Jillian's commentary got on their nerves but it didn't bother me.  She kept saying that if you want to work out for 20 minutes you have to earn it.  Sometimes it was the extra kick in the pants I needed to keep pushing.  

BEFORE // AFTER

BEFORE // AFTER

I was so glad when my 30 work outs were done.  Not because I didn't like it.  I just wanted it to be over so I could get on with whatever else I wanted to do and not feel tied down.

My before and after results are not very dramatic.  I hesitated to even post them at all but hey, my body is what it is.  I'm really critical of myself and sadly I will probably never be completely satisfied, but I'm proud of finishing the video and what I accomplished. The pictures may not show it but I can definitely see more definition in my abs, arms and thighs.  The best part is that I FEEL stronger.  My husband loves the results too.  It makes me feel really good when he tells me that he can see a difference and that I look good.  The only downside (for him anyway) is that he can't manhandle me any more like he used to and he knows it.  He better watch out!!

If you couldn't figure it out already, I highly recommend Jillian Michaels - 30 Day Shred.  I sent it to my little sister to try.  I like it so much that I'm still doing it.  I went back and did level 2 and I could feel the difference.  I'm much stronger now then I was when I started. It's going to be a go to work out for me especially during the work week when time is limited, but I'll be mixing it in with other videos and trips to the gym.

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Polar FT4 Heart Rate Monitor Review

I got the Polar FT4 Heart Rate Monitor for my Birthday in April so I guess it's about time I did my review.  There are more features on it then I actually use or know anything about.  I can't help you out by breaking down all the features because honestly, I'm sure I don't know what all of them are but the main take away here is that if I can figure this thing out well enough to calculate my calories during work outs then so can you.

The first Heart Rate Monitor I ever had was a Mio strapless.  I'd heard that the ones with chest straps are more accurate but I was afraid of the strap. I was worried that it would be uncomfortable, bulky and a pain in the butt to put on.  I couldn't even find pictures of what it looked like.  It so turns out that having to hold down a button to test my heart rate every 15 minutes is more of a pain in the butt then any chest strap could ever be.  The strapless totally interrupted my work out.  Sometimes I couldn't get it to read my heart rate at all and other times I would get a very obviously inaccurate reading which would totally ruin my calorie count for the entire work out.  It's inconsistent.  I wore the Polar and the Mio at the same time for a few days to test the difference. The majority of the time that I had the Mio it was grossly over calculating but then for some reason all my settings got erased after I got the Polar and after I re entered them then it started grossly under calculating.   

Chest Strap // HRM calorie burn = 543 // Machine calorie burn = 598

Do not be afraid of the strap.  It's not uncomfortable at all.  I mean, if I was going to sleep I wouldn't want to wear it but I'm going to move and sweat.  It feels the same as the elastic on the bottom of my sports bras and sits just under it.  If I'm wearing a very fitted top and you look real close you might see a small bulge but for the most part it's not very noticeable.  I run my fingers under the faucet while im already wearing the strap and then stick them under the strap to wet it. It's not weird or gross like I thought it would be. The unit that measures my heart rate snaps on and off of the chest strap so I can easily wash the strap.  The directions tell you to put it in the washer about every 5th wear so I rinse it with soap and water after work outs and let it dry out.  The functions on the watch are pretty simple to navigate and the set up was easy.  I can pause it mid work out if I need to.   The  numbers on the watch are big which is helpful for practically blind people like me.  I  can push a button to scroll between heart rate, calories burned and duration very easily as I work out.  It determines your target heart range based on your input and will tell you when you are out of range.  There is some beeping that goes on that I haven't totally figured out yet but I think it has to do with that.  And you will get the beep of doom if your strap becomes disconnected from your body and stops reading.  Trust me, you will know this one when you hear it.  It's only happened a few times.  Without me having to do a thing if I'm working out on a machine at the gym it syncs and my heart rate show up on the machine like magic.  I didn't even know that was a feature. It also wishes you a Happy Birthday with a Birthday cake on your birthday.  How sweet is that? And of course I love it that it comes in Pink.


I knew that machines over calculate calories even when you enter your age and weight and now I know exactly how much.  The average is about 55 calories over what I'm actually burning based on the Polar.  It's nice to have a number that I can rely on to be accurate.  I count the calories that go in and I like to count the ones I burn too.

I Tried the Advocare Cleanse & This is What Happened

Fad diets and weight loss gimmicks are everywhere.  The Cabbage Soup, Atkins, Paleo, Blood Type, French Woman, HGC, Juicing...and it just goes on and on and on.  Those are just the ones that I remember hearing about at one time or another off the top of my head.  People are obsessed with pills, plans and quick fixes to get what they want yesterday.  I admit to trying some of them.  Not because I'm looking for a miracle but mainly just because I think it's fun to experiment.  I've done low Carb for 3 days and juice fasting for up to 5.  Just because.  And I think it's okay to experiment and try different things as long as you know that when it comes down to it weight loss and being fit and healthy is 70% eating balanced meals and 30% exercising.  We may want to believe otherwise but there really is no way around it.  That's all it is.

 Advocare drink & Pills // Chix Veg Stir Fry // Grilled Chix Salad // Egg Whites // Veg & Fruit snacks // Chix Breast

So when I heard about AdvoCare Herbal Cleanse I was like sure, why not?  It's not so much as a diet plan but diet supplements that are supposed to aid in cleansing. I have a difficult digestive system and I can use all the help I can get. I figured it would be nice to try a cleanse that would actually allow me to eat food and does not require Cayenne Pepper because I already know I can't handle that.  Yuck!  The kit  comes with powdered fiber drink packets and two different packets of herbal cleanse and probiotic supplements.  The schedule tells you what to take when during the 10 day period.  The Fiber drink is thick!!  It's less like a drink and more like the consistency of Apple Sauce.  I learned the hard way that you should not try to drink it with a straw.  It just clogs it up.  I have a stainless steel straw and I literally had to insert a coffee stirrer straw just to unplug the muck.  And you should just drink it right away.  Chug it.  The longer it sits the thicker it gets.  The citrus flavor is pretty good.