Workout Wednesday: AdvoCare Group Challenge, January 5th!

As many of you know from all my posts and pictures on social media these days (sorry - i can't help myself), I LOVE AdvoCare! My love for AdvoCare all started with a 24-Day Challenge. Last January I began my journey to a healthier me and AdvoCare played such a huge part in this. I lost the rest of my baby weight and over 10 inches in 24 days and went on to maintain and tone up ever since. I can say the best take-away from the challenge for me, aside from my now favorite SPARK, was learning how to properly eat clean. I learned how to cook healthier for me and my family which has been invaluable.

Enough about me, let's talk about you...... Are you thinking about all the over indulgences that are about to take place in the next few weeks? Want to have a set plan to lose those extra pounds this new year? Want more energy? Want to improve your athletic performance? Interested in a plan b income? The answer to all of this is AdvoCare!!

My team is kicking off a group challenge, starting January 5th, with hundreds of participants from all over the country. You will have access to our facebook group which offers tons of support and encouragement (and let's not forget, accountability). Along with all the moral support, you will have access to our Pinterest page with numerous clean "advocare friendly" recipes - jackpot!

If you are interested and want to sign up right this very moment, click here. I will be notified of your purchase and will send you a follow up email.......Otherwise, send me an email and we can chat about it: whitt312@gmail.com.

I thought I'd provide you with some visuals since we all know pictures don't lie..... Ok some pictures do lie, but I can assure you these are all legit and real transformations below. =) All of these pictures that I am sharing are of my friends. Doing this together has been so positive and I have met some incredible people along the way. Instead of talking about how crazy our kids have been, whining about feeling exhausted, etc., we all lift one another up, meet up at the gym, share yummy recipes, and just motivate each other everyday to be better versions of ourselves... It goes way beyond weight loss...BUT, as you can see from the photos, that's an added bonus!

24 Days - 11 pounds lost
Continued clean eating & AdvoCare products to lose a total of 25 pounds and 20 inches in 4 months 

24 Days - 9.5 pounds & 14 inches lost

24 Days on Modified Nursing Challenge - 6 pounds & 10 inches lost

24 Days - 10 pounds & 9 inches lost

24 Days - 8 pounds & 11.75 inches lost

24 Days - 10 pounds & over 4 inches around waist lost

Lauren has gone on to lose over 30 pounds and has lost 12% body fat!

24 Days - 5 pounds & 10.5 inches lost

And as for where I am at now, I have maintained my weight loss and started working out at the gym (lifting weights) again. Before I had my kids, I would go to the gym everyday after work for a solid 1-2 hours (probably because I had nothing better to do with my time). Since having kids, it's been hard to find the time and MOTIVATION to get myself in the gym. It's crazy how losing a little weight can make you feel so much better physically and mentally and has provided me with that extra boost of motivation I so desperately needed. My one regret from my transformation was not measuring my body fat % at all. I definitely think I have lost at least a few percentage points which is just another positive indicator of progress!!

If you have any questions please reach out to me.... I would love to help any way I can..... That's all for this Workout Wednesday. Have a fabulous and fit week!  

Average vs. Awesome Workout

Happy Tuesday everyone! Today I'm linking up with Jessica and Jill as part of the Tuesday Fit Dish link-up party. Every Tuesday there is a new fitness/health related topic to discuss and today's topic is "What's the difference between an average vs. awesome workout?".

I know for a fact that I can definitely tell a difference between an average regular workout, and one that is amazingly awesome.... But what is it exactly that makes those workouts awesome?!?! I think the key word here is preparation, preparation, preparation!!!!

Is there such thing as being overly prepared when it comes to working out? I don't think so.

One of the main contributors to being prepared is proper core nutrition - before AND after workouts. I know that I feel a hell of a lot better when I workout after a day of clean eating rather than after I eat junk like pizza and candy (two of the items I have consumed way too much of in the past week)!! Along with clean eating, I rely on my AdvoCare products to help me feel my best. Some of my favorites are Spark, Catalyst, & Rehydrate!

Along with proper core nutrition, every girl needs to feel their best during workouts, and what better way than to feel comfortable and good in your workout attire? This is an area I probably spend a little too much money in but can you really put a price on a good workout?.... No! =) Here are some of my favorites.... My go to running shoes - Brooks Adrenaline GTS and my favorite brand of workout clothes is, surprise, surprise, lululemon. One of my favorite tanks is actually on sale right now... check it out  - it is seriously the best for the gym!

And maybe one of the most important aspects of an awesome workout is the music you are listening to. I love creating playlists on Spotify. Here is a list of some of my favorite songs on my playlist right now:

1 - David Guetta: Dangerous (theeee BEST workout song right now)
2 - Chase Rice: Ready Set Roll
3 - Kenny Chesney: American Kids
4 - Ariana Grande: Break Free
5 - Iggy Azalea: Black Widow
6 - Tiesto: Red Lights
7 - David Guetta: Bad
8 - Maroon 5: Animals

As you can see, everything I mentioned above has to do with preparing for your workout. If you aren't properly prepared for an awesome workout, it's not going to happen!

What do you think the key to an awesome workout is? Please share in the comments, I'd love to hear everyone else's opinions. =)

Halloween Recap

Halloween this year came and went so fast! Mason wanted to be Spider-Man so when the costume went on sale at the Disney Store, I couldn't pass it up! hehe..... Sticking with the super hero theme, we had a Batman costume that our neighbor friend passed down to us so Owen got to wear that one!

The week leading up to Halloween day was very eventful. On Monday, we went to a costume party in the park with Owen's friends (and siblings). It was so much fun getting all the kids together and watching them run around in their costumes. I always feel like the craziest mom with my two boys when we go out. For some reason, I am the one who is always running around, sweating, chasing after her two boys that are always running in opposite directions, and causing trouble. At the park, Owen managed to fall off the bridge on the play structure while I was tending to Mason (he walked away perfectly fine), and Mason managed to poor himself a cup of the "mummy juice" and take a big sip, while I was tending to Owen (yes, it had alcohol in it)...... UGH! It never stops!! Sometimes I wonder why I even take them to group get togethers because it almost always turns into an embarrassment for me. I guess this is just the joys of having kids, right?

On Tuesday, the boys and I went to Tanaka Farms with my mom to check out the pumpkin patch and other Halloween fun. Mason's favorite part of the place was definitely the corn maze. He led the way and made it through the maze like a pro! We picked out a BIG pumpkin and I let Mason decide which design he wanted me to carve on that one. He chose for me to carve a pirate kitty (see pumpkin pictures below). After our Tanaka Farm adventure, we headed to In N Out for lunch. Both boys had so much fun. Lesson learned at Tanaka Farms - porta-potties are NOT funny with toddlers!!! =(

On each day of the week, we took a walk around our street to look at all of the Halloween decorations. There is one house in particular that my boys LOVE. It's actually the creepiest, messed up Halloween decorated house if you ask me. There are zombies - all types of zombies...... mom zombies rocking baby zombies, baby zombies with painted blood everywhere eating brains, kid zombies eating arms, etc. Then there is this dog that when you get close enough, jumps out at you.... .my boys were obsessed! 

Owen insists on hugging these two every time we walk by

On Wednesday, we met some new neighbors and decorated some Halloween cookies. My boys had a blast playing with some different toys and there were tons of little boys to play with.

On Thursday Mr. Owen got a much needed hair cut. I have no pictures from the actual haircut because he SCREAMED THE ENTIRE TIME! It was brutal, and it was weird, because it was his 3rd haircut and he had never screamed and cried the entire time before.

I have to post this next picture because it was a proud mom moment and I realized how my big boy is getting so very independent these days. When we were at the mall, Mason had to go potty and didn't want me to go in the stall with him. So I said okay, told him not to touch a thing, and to open the door if he needed help. I snapped a picture because I was so proud, lol.

On Halloween, Mason went to school in the morning and Owen and I ran some errands and made some Halloween treats. We made these Candy Corn Chocolate Pretzel treats! They were SO EASY and SO GOOD! Here's what we did: Bought a bag of pretzels, a bag of Hershey's Hugs Kisses, and a bag of candy corn. Preheat the oven to 250F degrees. While the oven was preheating, Owen and I unwrapped the kisses and placed a kiss on each of the pretzels. We put the pretzels on parchment paper so they wouldn't stick to the pan. Then we put the pretzels with the Hugs on them, in the oven for about 5 minutes - just so that the Hugs were soft and barely starting to melt.. We took them out of the oven and put a piece of candy corn on each of the Hugs and pressed down. Put them in the refrigerator until they were ready to be eaten!! Like I said, super easy. =)

We went a little early to pick up Mason from school to watch the Halloween parade. All the kids dressed in orange and paraded around the school with some type of craft they made. Mason was too cool to wave to us when he walked by during the parade!!!! I took a video and it's pretty funny, with him smirking. Unfortunately, I can't figure out how to upload a video yet and that is all I have.

After school we came home, took naps, and geared up for our big night. We went to our neighbors for a little pre Halloween pizza party and took some pictures with the kids in costume. They all looked great and were so excited to go Trick - o - Treating!

Now, as I write this on Monday morning following Halloween, I am so wanting to throw out the rest of my kids candy. I ate WAY too much of their candy over the weekend and unfortunately, it's not gone yet =(
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Our Family Trip to Hawaii

Last week Andrew and I took the boys to Oahu, HI. I was somewhat hesitant with Owen on an airplane for five plus hours, but he actually did really well. And of course, Mason was perfect on the flight.

When we boarded the plane I had asked the flight attendant if our flight was full. His response, "Well last time I checked we had 20 open seats due to re-bookings because of the hurricane." Say what? A hurricane?!?! Yes, we actually boarded the plane without reading the news to see that Hurricane Ana was coming right through Hawaii during our trip... such a bummer! At that point we were already on the plane, so we had no choice but to go anyways. We stayed at the Marriott KoOlina Beach Villas, which I highly recommend. We had our own kitchen so we went to the grocery store when we got there to stock up on food for the week (we attempted to save some money and do lots of cooking ourselves). On our way out of the hotel, we talked with a bellman who told us how to get to the store, and he also told us that most all stores were out of water!!!!! WTH - as if I wasn't freaked out enough about this hurricane, this just made it so much worse. Anyways, long story short, the hurricane did pass through during our trip but did not touch down on the islands. In it's passing came lots of rain, rain, and more hard rain! Two of the days we were pretty much locked down to our hotel due to flash flood warnings. Despite the weather, we managed to have fun and the boys LOVED hotel living. They had so much fun running in circles through our villa, pushing buttons in the elevators, swiping our room key and they absolutely loved getting the rental car, lol. I guess the weather was the least of their worries!

We arrived on a Thursday afternoon and the weather was pretty nice. It was sunny, with some clouds, and warm, just how I had pictured it to be. We hung around at our hotel, went to the grocery store, and just relaxed.

 

We hung around our hotel a lot because of the weather, and mostly because it was just awesome and had everything you needed: a pool and the beach! The boys loved playing in the pools, go figure! They had an awesome kid friendly beach entrance pool that was a big hit with the boys. They especially loved the "waterfalls" in the pool. The beach at KoOlina is the best for kids - there are 4 man made lagoons that are protected from the open water which makes it a great place for kids to play and swim. Here are some pictures from the pool and beach.

watching daddy go down the water slide!

beach entrance pool - we pretty much camped out here

It rained all day Saturday and Sunday!!! Booooo =(

Rain, Rain, Go Away!!!

 

On Saturday night we went out to dinner to a place called Monkeypod. It is literally one of my new fav spots, EVER (too bad it's not closer to me back in the OC)! Their menu was good but the atmosphere was even better. For anyone who goes to KoOlina, definitely check this place out!

On Monday the rain had stopped so we were able to get out and leave the hotel. We headed to the north shore to turtle beach where I have seen huge ginormous turtles beach themselves on the sand during the day. Well, with our awesome luck, there were no turtles on the sand. =( We (Andrew and I) did see some turtle heads pop up in the ocean near the shoreline occassionally but it was sort of a let down that the boys didn't get to see turtles. After turtle beach we headed to the best shave ice place... It was so good! Just google "best shave ice place on north shore" and Matsumoto will pop up! Then on Monday night, we stayed at the hotel and ate at the restaurant near the beach, Longboards. We had a great view and were right on the lagoon, however the food was overpriced and no bueno. After dinner, the boys had so much fun running around the grassy area and managed to meet more friends than I could count on two hands! They are both mu social butterflies!!!!  

Tuesday was really nice out and we were able to enjoy some sun in the morning before our flight home later that day. We hung out at the lagoon and played all morning long. It was the perfect end to our Hawaii vacation. And since we didn't get great weather, I told the hubby we need to go back again soon!! =)

I love my boys and our family. This vacation was great for us to do some bonding and hang out. With our crazy schedules back at home and daddy away at work during the week, this was just what we needed as a reminder to what matters most in life - FAMILY!!! xoxo