January 2015 Favorites

 January favorites time!!! Here's what I used a lot during the month on January.

 I love the new year because I get to pick out a new agenda. I picked a really simple one this year with big font. I love it so far!

This week I'm finishing P90X, I loved this workout and I'm moving onto a new beachbody workout. If you haven't tried a beachbody workout yet I would highly recommend them. To purchase you can go to Beachbody's website by clicking here these are great workouts that give you results without the gym. I will be doing a blog post this Friday with my final thoughts on the workout so if you are interested on that check back this Friday.

With starting my new program I picked up some Shakeology. I've been using this in the morning because I do my workouts in the morning. This has been great! It has some amazing ingredients if you want to purchase is go to Shakeology's website by clicking here but I'll let you in on a secret.... Buy this as a "challenge pack" basically its a workout DVD of your choice plus the skakeology, it's a better bang for your buck. To purchase a challenge pack you can head over to Beachbody's website by clicking here.

I've still been using the Fiber 3D mascara, it has been great! I did a whole review on this product so if you want to check that out just Click Here

 This month I've been loving my brows. I've still been using Anastasia products, they have been amazing.

 As always I had to include my Beauty Blender. This always makes my makeup look flawless.

 This is a new product for me. This is argan oil, in both light and the 100% from Sephora. This was a great purchase, each is 15ml and think it was about $25 for both. I am going to do a blog post next week on all the things you can do with argan oil. Check back next week if you are curios.

Finally I've been using my Sensationail LED light a lot. I've been using the color "ocean sparkle". Its a really cool dark green color with sparkle. I did a whole review on this starter kit, if you want to check that out click here

I hope you try out some of my favorites. What are your favorites of the month? I would love to try them out. Please let me know in the comments below.

P90X Update Week 9

Just a couple pictures from my Saturday workout. I know its been a while since I've posted pictures but I always forget to set up the camera when I'm working out. Its not the easiest thing to remember because I'm usually trying to focus on the workouts.

Week 9 is complete!! Whoot whoot!!

Not a lot to update this week, I'm very excited that I'm almost done. I've really enjoyed doing P90X but I am also looking forward to trying out a new BeachBody workout.

The main thing I have found difficult about this program is the time commitment. The workouts are about 1 hour to 1.5 hours everyday for 90 days. It's a huge time commitment to take on...especially when it falls over Christmas.

I have definitely enjoyed the program and I'm loving the results. I will say that I wish I would have had more commitment to complete more workouts as I think I would have seen many more results.

I'm still seeing lots of toning and every week I'm finding that I am able to life more weights or do more reps than the previous week. Not to mention I feel stronger from week to week. Along with feeling stronger I also feel more energized! It's a definite bonus to doing the program.

If you have any questions about the program or my progress throughout the program I would be more than happy to answer them. Just leave your question in the comments below.

Check back next week for my week 10 update!!

P90X Update Week 7&8

Here is a brief overview of how my week 7&8 workouts went.

Did I complete all the workouts? No, I had to skip a couple as "life" got in the way

Did I increase my weight? Yes, some one the workouts I was able to double my weight from when I first started the program

Was I able to do all the moves? No, there are still a few exercise that I struggle with and either have to do a modified version or skip over

Have I lost weight? Since I've started the program I've lost about 5 pounds...not huge but I'm doing doing the program to lose any weight

Do I feel any different? No really, still a little fatigued after some workouts

Has my body gotten toner? Yes, in some places I've noticed a huge change

Will I continue the workout? Absolutely!! I only have a few more weeks to go!! Check back next Friday for another update

Do you have any questions about my progress? Leave your questions in the comments below and I am more than happy to answer any of them!!

P90X Update Week 6

Happy boxing day!!! I hope everyone had a great Christmas and hopefully everyone is having a relaxing boxing day.

Week 6 marks the half way point! This week I followed the same schedule at week 5. It's been difficult following all the workouts during Christmas as I've been very busy with family gatherings. I haven't noticed any changes this week. My weights that I've been lifting have stayed the same and my weight has also not changed.

Sorry there were no pictures this week, I haven't had a lot of spare time to set up the camera while working out. If you have any questions about the program please feel free to ask in the comments.

Thanks for joining me for fitness Friday. Check back next Friday for my week 7 update.

P90X Update Week 5

Another week of P90X has come and gone. It was a tough week and not necessary successful.

I'll start out by saying that the Christmas season is not a great time to workout. I have been so busy doing other things to get ready for the holidays. Out of the 7 days I was supposed to workout I think I did about 3...yikes!!! Not great. Trust me I've beaten myself up about it as this has been a huge disappointment. But hey what can I do?

This week there were some new workouts thrown into the mix that I haven't done yet. I really enjoyed mixing it up after doing the same workouts for almost a month. I did my best at trying to take some photos (credit goes to my trusty tripod). Sorry they aren't the best I'll try to take some more in week 6 that will hopefully turn out better.

This workout consisted of chest, shoulder and triceps. Lots of lifting weights and man were my arms sore the next day.


Of course P90X wouldn't be complete if I didn't do push ups every workout!

And doing some variations of push ups....they make you stronger so keep doing them...even though I don't like them.

I have noticed one thing this week, I have been able to lift heavier weights this week which means that I must be getting stronger!

When I first started P90X back in October I know that for this specific exercise above I was lifting two pounds less.

It's important to count the little victories from week to week. It's sometimes hard to notice changes when you are the one doing the workout and going through the experience. I've found that taking pictures and documenting the process I've been able to pick up on small changes that I've made throughout this journey. It's important to reward yourself for making these small accomplishments, I like to use it for fuel for me next week.

I will say that this program isn't easy to get through and I've already found myself getting discouraged. The main thing is doing beat yourself up too badly. If there is one move in the DVD that you struggle just do your best. Each move does get easier from week to week but when you are in the moment trying to struggle through it's defiantly more of a mind game than anything else.

Remember to stay stronger and keep going!! If you need any motivation or if you are struggling and need some support leave me a comment.

If you have any questions about the program or my progress so far that I haven't included please feel free to leave a comment.

Check back next week for my week 6 update!

P90X Update Week 4

I am back on track!!!

I complete week 4 of P90X, if you are curious on why there is such a delay between week 3 and week 4 please click here where I explain. So after taking two weeks off it was very difficult to get back into my routine. Thank goodness that week 4 is sort of a rest week.

Week 4 follows a different sequence than the first three weeks. It consists of yoga, stretching and a little bit of kenpo which is sort of like kickboxing. Kenpo was probably the most difficult day because it's a lot of cardio.

Even though I stopped doing P90X for two weeks I kept my diet very healthy. I continued with my healthy eating all through week 4 and I really do think it makes a difference. I am down two pounds since I started the program, I know it's not a lot but I really wasn't expecting to loose anything at all so I was really excited when I stepped on the scale and saw that.

Biggest tip for this week....keep going!!! I had to take two weeks off but I worked around and so can you. Make P90X work for you and fit into your schedule.

If you have any questions about the program or my progress that I didn't include please feel free to ask away!

November Favorites 2014

 Here are my November favorites! It was a great month, winter is definitely here.

 During the winter month my lips get really dry. I've found that the Vaseline lip therapy has really helped keep the moisture in. This product is nice and small so I can throw it in my purse and take it with me on the go.

 If you've been following me on Fitness Fridays you already know about P90X. I've challenge myself to complete this program and every Friday on my blog I've been posting updates. I've really enjoyed doing this program and it very quickly became a favorite of mine. I'm almost a month done so I still have two more to go! If you want to follow along check back every Friday for my blog post updates.

Finally, my last favorite is my candles. These are from Bath and Body Works, I absolutly love their candels! These two are the ones I've been buring latley. They are almost finised and I can't wait to head back to the store and pick up some Christmas candels for December.

No P90X Update This Week?

I don't have a P90X update this week....why? Unfortunately we've had an unforeseen event happen in our house hold. Our beloved family dog of 13 years has passed away. Naturally I spent as much time as I possible could with her before she left us.

With that being said P90X fell off my plate this week and I haven't done any of the workouts. Also, I'm heading out on vacation very soon as well. This is a trip that I planned back in July so I knew it was coming us but I was going to continue with my P90X anyway. However, because I've already missed a week I've decided to not take P90X on my trip.

Instead I will pickup where I left off with week 4 when I get back from my trip. Please check back on December 12th for my week 4 update!

I apologize for the interruption, but unfortunately life events like this just happen and we can't plan for them. I am looking forward to taking sometime off and picking up where I left off when I get back!

P90X Update Week 3

Another week done!

Week three follows the same sequence as the first two weeks. It's starting to get easier to get into a routine of doing these workouts everyday.

I've noticed about a three pound weight loss...hurray!!! But I will say that I find I've really soar day to day which I wasn't in the past two weeks. However, I have started to increase the weight slightly which might play a role in that. I've also started to notice a change in my arms. For me that's huge and very exciting!! I've never been a fan of my arms and they've been a little flabby. My arms are starting to get more tight and defined....not huge but enough that I've been noticing.

My biggest tip for this week is plan ahead. Make sure you fit all your workouts in. Write down what time you plan on working out and do it!

No a lot of updates this week, if anyone has any questions about something I didn't include please feel free to ask.

Make sure you check back in next Friday for my week 4 update!

P90X Update Week 2

Phew! Not going to lie guys, this week was tough. I'm finding that P90X is becoming a huge time commitment and it's getting very difficult to fit all these workouts in everyday(of course the really cold weather and snow isn't helping much...and don't even get me started on the time change and how dark it is). Never the less another successful week completed!

 Week two follows the same sequence as week one. My initial reaction was to go crazy and start increasing weight. Lucky I took a step back and decided that probably wasn't a good plan. For week two I kept the weight similar to week one and focused on technique. There's no point in training your muscles to do the wrong moves. To get max results you need to lift the weights properly and then
increase the weights.

Also during the first few days of week two I had a slight cold. With that being said I didn't miss any workouts but I did play it smart. I took extra breaks when I felt I needed it and made sure I stayed hydrated.

So far I would say I can tell a big difference since I started the program but it's still very early. 

There is a meal plan that comes with the P90X package but I will be honest that I haven't been following it. However, I have been very conscience about what I've been eating and trying to make all my meals as healthy as possible. I've cut out also of junk and unnecessary snacking. I've increased my protein, fruits and vetchtable intake. I've also started to increase the amount of juicing I've been doing (this is the best way to get fit in a lot of fruits and vetchtables).

My biggest tip for you this week...starting a program is easy but sticking with it will take commitment. Stick with your program, don't worry about the fact that you haven't seen any results yet. Stay committed and your hard work will pay off!!!

Check back next week for another Fitness Friday blog post where I will updated you guys on my week 3 progress. 

If you have any questions please feel free to ask is the comments below and I will answer them as quickly as I can.

P90X Update Week 1

On October 29th I posted a picture on Instagram saying that P90X is starting in our house tomorrow. Well it did!! On October 30th I did my very first P90X workout. I really wasn't planning on blogging about this experience but I've had a lot of curiosity on how my progress is going so far. With that being said I'm going to start doing weekly updates every Friday on how things are going, how I'm felling, ect.  I encourage you to come along of this journey with me as I complete my first attempt at P90X.

P90X is a set of workout DVD's that you do every day for 90 days. On day one we started with Chest & Back followed by ad ripper. I started this day out a little slow, I don't typically do a lot of arm workouts so I would say that's probably one of the weakest parts on my body. I did the entire workout but did less weight than I probably could have.

Day two we did plyometrics, this one is no joke! You basically jump around for an hour and it's no picnic. Get ready to feel the burn and sweat it out! I really hurt after this day.

Day three we went to shoulders & arms followed by another ab ripper. My arms were soar for the previous days so I had to back off a little during the workout and the ab one is definably tough. As Tony Horton says on the DVD "Ab ripper X, I hate it but I love it" I have the same feeling about that workout.

Day four Yoga, I really enjoy yoga and have done several yoga class in the past. I very much enjoyed this as I felt it was a nice break and allowed you to stretch it out.

Day five Legs & Back followed by ab ripper. I really enjoyed this combo. Being a runner and cyclist I think my legs are the strongest part of my body.  I was defiantly able to challenge myself here and push the workout a little.

Day six Kenpo, this is an intense cardio workout so get ready to sweat!

Day seven you have two options either take a rest day or do the stretching DVD. I wanted to follow the stretch DVD, however, I came down with a slight cold that has been going around the office so I decided the smarter decision was to take the day off.

All and all I would say week 1 was a success and I am ready for week two! If you are curious about anything I didn't put in my update please leave it in the comments below and I'll include it next Friday.