BOOM! Nailed it! Day 4

May 24 Day Challenge day 4 has started off with a boom.  I woke up feeling great and when you have no kids to get around and ready, it goes even better! I lazied around this morning, drinking my Fruit Punch Spark and taking the next part of the cleanse…

I’m now up to 3 Catalyst caps, 2 OmegaPlex Caps, and 2 Probiotics every morning. And now I remember what is so hard about AdvoCare.  ALL. THE. SUPPLEMENTS. Don’t get me wrong, I love what I know they’re doing for me, but sometimes, I wonder if I’m not as hungry because I’ve eaten so many supplements!

All in all, it’s working.  I’m cleansing my system to prepare it for the better vitamins I’ll be taking in, and it’s going to be worth it! As a matter of fact, I was reached out to this morning via my Instagram post, and was asked some really good questions.  One of which was “How do you like supplements?” Honestly, no one likes swallowing pills.  But, AdvoCare is a great product.  I’ve known that for 15+ years.  I decided to give it a chance again, just because I felt like my system needed a cleanse. THAT’S why I started.  AdvoCare has tons of different supplements available, some for added energy, some as a probiotic, some just as a vitamin.  It’s a pick-and-choose, but it can also be spelled out for you if that’s what you need!

I’m finishing this challenge because it’s important to me. And, while I haven’t seen/noticed a major change in the 4 days I’ve been on the program, I stepped on the scale so that I could give this question an honest answer.  I’m down 2 pounds as of this morning.  Eating clean(er) foods, drinking more and more water, and this cleanse has helped already.  Why not finish it to see what it CAN do?! What *I* can do!

Yesterday I had snap pea crisps for breakfast… don’t judge me. lol. 

I didn’t want anything, but needed something, and they were close by.  They’re baked, a vegetable, and taste amazing, so I went with it.  I also ate some pistachios since I could use some healthy fats. For lunch I had some shaved, gluten free turkey meat rolled up, and a bag of steamable mixed veggies.  I love those things. And yes, when I say a bag, I mean the WHOLE DAMN BAG.  Not the greatest lunch for me, but I had it here at work, and it sounded good.  Nothing fried, nothing rolled in butter or sauces, so I call it a win.

Since the honey and I were kid-less last night, we hit up Fuji for dinner (I did steak) and then hit up Sam’s for some necessities. Back to Fuji’s--- I had the steak, I ate the rice, and all the veggies. No, steak isn’t one of the “recommended” foods on the cleanse, and neither are the sauces, but I def portioned it out and didn’t finish it.  I got leftovers for lunch today! At Sam’s, we picked up lots of fruits and I may or may not have eaten several pieces of mango before we made it home. The main reason I like Sam's... I log more steps on my FitBit Force... Added benefit. 

Knowing that I had a load of carbs for dinner, I came home and immediately took two Carb-Ease Plus capsules, and my Omega’s, then just before bed, took the 3 Catalyst and my 3 cleanse pills too. Again, this morning has gone well, and I feel like I’ve accomplished a lot already! No Fiber drink this morning (YAY!), all the supplements down the hatch, Spark-ed up, and met some amazing women on IG this morning!  (Hi Ladies!) This morning I’m having grapes for breakfast, leftovers from last night for lunch (with another set of Carb-Ease caps) and I’ve got grapes, apples, and pistachios around for snacks while I’m at work.

Is there anything specific you’d like to know? Questions about the supplements? Need a coach or want to purchase? Please! Contact me if you’ve got questions about what I eat, what I’m taking, or just about me in general.  It’s the interactions here, on IG and on FB that keep me going! Seriously! After connecting this morning, I’m even more pumped to do this thing all the way this time!

Hope you all have a great Thursday! We’re on the last of our leg to the weekend! 

Back Again... For 24 Days at Least!

Well… I’m BACK!  (whoo-hoo, yay!- Don’t everyone cheer at once!)

I’ve fallen WAY off track lately, gained everything back that I lost at the beginning of the year, and I’m trying it all over again. This time, I’m trying it with a cleanse and actual program.

Enter: The Advocare 24 Day challenge

 

The 24 Day Challenge pack comes with a 10 day cleanse, some supplements, some shakes and a spelled out program.  Do this- Not that.  Eat this- Not that. THAT’S why I picked it. I’m the type that has to have my hand held.  I need someone to say “this is it”.  “Don’t eat that.” “You can do this”.  So… Here I am!

Day one starts with your Spark and I’ve added the Catalyst to the mix as per my coach’s recommendation. Wake up, shake it up, and drink it down.  The Spark flavors that I picked are actually something I don’t mind drinking and the Catalyst caps aren’t so big that I have to choke them down, so the morning routine is A-Okay.  I picked Strawberry-Mango for one box of Spark and fruit punch for the other. I also had some grape… and It’s terrible. Like, so bad, terrible.  I’ve been told that they will let you return them and send you a different box if you find that you don’t like the flavor, so I’m going to email them today and see what we can do about those. 

As soon as I get to work, I shake up the Fiber Drink for the 10 Day Cleanse and drink it IMMEDIATELY.  I picked the Peaches and Cream flavor (recommended by Mama Laughlin herself) over the citrus flavor because I remember the original Advocare citrus products from 20 years ago… BLECH! That’s stuck in my head, and I probably won’t try ANY of their citrus products, just because of that.

After drinking the fiber drink, I’m doing one of the Meal Replacement Shakes for today. I’ve had the chocolate shakes before, and they’re not BAD… But I ordered the vanilla shakes this time, so that I can add berries or flavors to it, if I need to.  I mix the shakes with water the first go around, just so I can make sure I know what it ACTUALLY tastes like… I may add almond milk to it one day if I feel like I need it, but right now, water is working.  Honest opinion? Vanilla is actually yummy… Chocolate is a little chalky.  Like, I want to add chocolate syrup to it to make it taste like chocolate.  *but you can’t do that Niki* 

One of the things that I don't think the Advocare (or its distributors) advertise enough? Theres an app to help you with your 24 day challenge! 

I downloaded it, plugged in my weight and measurements, and I'm checking off everything as I do it! It's SOOOO handy! The only think I wish it had? Reminders.  To let you know "Hey! It's time to take your Catalyst!" Or something along those lines.. Or tell you suggested foods compared to what you've already consumed today.  Just my two cents worth! Either way, I like having the app to help me SEE what I need to do. They have it in iTunes AND the Play Store, so download it if you're starting soon too! 

I'm part of the way through the day, and so far... I'm good.  The Spark gives you a nice jump start in the day, the fiber drink helps fill you up, the shake is filling, so yeah.  SURELY I can do this for 24 days? right? I'm hoping to do some meal prep tonight since yesterday was the birthday party of the century (more on that later) and I collapsed just in time to watch The Walking Dead and Talking Dead. (big fan's in my house, and we're Team Daryl)

If you're interested in what Advocare does for me during this 24 day challenge, then come back and I'll hopefully have some good news for you!  Also- I've still got the Heavy Cupcake Facebook page that I sometimes post things on, as well as a *NEW* Instagram just for Heavy Cupcake and starting over. Please, come look me up, follow along and KEEP ME ACCOUNTABLE! 

*Also- Just because I'm using the products, if you're interested in looking into them, here is the website where you can look, price and think about it... I don't expect you to buy from me if you already know "a guy", but I'm just throwing it out there.*

Tanning on Wednesdays

It's Weigh in Wednesday, but I don't have a weigh in.  I started my sugar detox on Monday, and while I feel better, I don't want to know if it's working or not. LOL. Yeah, it's only been a couple of days, but psychologically, it could make or break me.  Not to mention, we had a very. long. night. last night and I straight up forgot to weigh in. (oops!) So... I figured I'd wrap up my spray tan post that I had hinted around at, yesterday.

For those of you that DO have a weigh in, don't forget to link up with Ashlee over here.

 

Last week-ish, Skinny Meg posted about tricks to make you look skinnier, without an app. You can read that post here. After reading it, I def agreed with most of her post. And just the day before... I had a spray tan done!

My friends Kim & Becky had gone and bought themselves a spray tanning set-up and they FINALLY started offering tans to us common folk.

So... I set myself up with a party at my place (after a couple of weeks of wishy-washy people going in and backing out) and Wednesday before last, we got our tan on.  Now, these ladies use Sjolie products and my first experience was great!

After deciding I was actually getting sprayed (in all my buff-ness), I immediately started researching. Cause that's what I do. OCD, CDO, whatever you wanna call it... I gotta be informed before I jump in to anything.

As their flyer says, you must shower, shave and exfoliate. Showering is always good, no matter a tan or not.  And unless you wanna have to immediately shave after tanning, you better do it the night before or right before you get sprayed.  As for the exfoliating, I started two or three days before and made sure that I hydrated and moisturized every day leading up to the spray.  The more hydrated your skin, and the more exfoliated it is, the better the tan takes, and the longer it lasts.

I started with my homemade recipe for a scrub... I use a mixture of Sea Salt, Sugar, Coconut Oil and vanilla right now... although, one of my favorites to make has coffee grounds in it! Yum! Make sure that you SCRUB all things that will be exposed.  ESPECIALLY your elbows, knees, heels, feet, etc. And if you're gonna have your face tanned, make sure you've kept it up well. I can not stress to you HOW IMPORTANT it is to be sufficiently scrubbed.  The day of, they suggest using St. Ives Apricot scrub to do your whole body with.  It doesn't have any oils or lotions, so it's perfect to "prime" your skin.

After your shower the day of, DO NOT use lotions, sprays, oils... ANYTHING. You want you skin as plain and clean as possible for the tan to be sprayed on.  Just before you tan, you'll put a "barrier cream" on the palms and heels of your hands, between your fingers, around your cuticles, your elbows, knees, your heels, toes and feet. this keeps the pray from penetrating these especially "dry" areas too much and from turning orange. I learned from experience, you CAN NOT have too much barrier cream on! Places that you've put it, and places you think you've gotten enough, WILL change colors. I promise!

However, do not fear! With all of the research that I did, I knew exactly how to get rid of the places that tanned and shouldn't have, and how to lighten the tan that was just a little too much.

Enter: Lemon Juice

Seriously, lemon juice can solve all problems. It works on my headaches, it lightens hair, it disinfects, it cleans, and hey... it lightens a spray tan! Put a little bit on a cloth or napkin, lightly rub it over the area that is too dark and you'll slowly start to see it lighten. Works perfect for the tops of your feet, your rough spots, or your hands.

Next: Magic Eraser

Yup.  Works like a charm! But ONLY on places you want to REMOVE your tan. I used this on the bottoms of my feet, the heels of my hands and just a couple spots that were WAY too dark. I'm so glad I had some off brand ones in my cabinet! AND... if you use lemon juice to wet the eraser, it works even better! :)

My tan lasted about 11 days before I decided it was time to scrub it all off. It had lightened in the cleavage part of my chest, but it was from sweating and rubbing the sweat off. The next place I noticed it, was some light "spotting" on the underside of my forearms. This is a common area because of the constant friction in that area,  Rubbing on your shirt, desk work, etc. It wasn't SO bad that it made me self conscious, but it was enough that *I* noticed.  After that, my neck area decided to wear off.  Mostly in the crease where you sweat, and if I were smaller, I probably wouldn't have had this problem. So, I decided to scrub it off.  Again, I used my homemade scrub, while soaking in a tub and it all came off pretty easy.  There were a couple places that I had to scrub a little harder, but pretty easy, nonetheless.

The best way to make sure that your tan lasts it to take care of it. Scrub, moisturize and hydrate yourself several days before your tan, make sure to moisturize morning and night while tanned, and no loofas or anything harsh when showering. No harsh soaps or anything that contains alcohol.

We've scheduled another tanning party tonight at my place.  I learned a lot from the first tan, and this time I'll use MUCH more barrier cream on my feet and hands!

Have you done spray tans before? What are your experiences?

My Favorite Things... June

I don't do these often, so  when I felt like it today, I decided to run with it! THis is a link-up with Beauty and the Greek for June's favorite things... Although, since June is just starting, I think it should be labled May's favorite things. Whatever. Either way, link it up and check it out!

1. Fabletics (sign up here)
Seriously... I found them through Ashlee over at Ash's Right Direction and I'm so glad I did! Once a month, you get an email to pick your outfit, they ship it almost immediately, and viola! You've got yourself some brand-spankin new workout clothes! If you don't like it, return it! Prices range from $49.99-$69.99 for the monthly outfits, and if you're not feelin it one month (or just don't have the cash), you can opt out! Best news?! Your first outfit it only $29.99! AND- After you rack up so many points (from purchases) you've qualified for a FREE outfit! For real... check them out here.

2. Faded Glory Henley Tank (buy it here)
THese cute little tanks are so flattering.  Even on us big gals.  I bought one for the Vegas trip and I feel so great in it. And, it's cheap! A good price always feels better!

3. Danskin Women's Cotton Performance Tank (buy it here)
I jut bought a couple of these for Memorial Day weekend. I got a couple pairs of compression pants from Fabletics (see above) and while I love what they do for my legs, and their fit, I still don't like my ass. So, these are long enough to cover it (mostly) and flow-y (lose) enough that I don't feel like every roll is showing. Apparently, online, they come in a two pack, but in the store you could buy them one at a time. I got the pink and blue ones and LOVE them. Again, WALMART!

4. Anker Astro E5 15000mAh Dual USB Portable Charger (buy it here)
We bought this for our Vegas trip. After several trips to Vegas, we both figured out that our phones DO NOT hold a good enough charge for all day site-seeing. We've had other chargers before, but both were maker-specefic and wouldn't work for both of us. (he is an Android user, while I am an AVID iPhone-r... unitil this year) This is big enough to charge a smart phone FOUR TIMES before it needs a charge. It also will charge two phones at once, charges my FitBit Force and for that fact, anything else that has an adapter that fits a USB port.  I take this thing EVERYWHERE. It's especially handy for car rides when you only have one car charger (or yours goes missing thanks to little brother and sister) or for me, at the ballgames in the evenings. If you're on the go and your phone is always die-ing when you need it, this is the product for you!

5. Spray Tanning
Specefically, spray tanning parties at my house, where I don't have to stand half naked in front of a person I don't know, or a machine, and I can continue to walk around half naked in the comfort of my own home, with a couple other people. lol My friends Kim and Becky have bought their own spray tanning system and they've decided to take it to another level, by offering it to the "public". If you host a party (of four or more people) they'll come to you AND yours is FREE! But they're price isn't bad anyway, so I don't mind forking out the $15 every once and a while. And no, the photo above is not me... (although I wish it was) but that's the gist of it. I'm working on a blog post now of my last spray tan and what I learned to do... or not to do. I'll post it soon!

Anyway, these are my favorite things right now... What are your current go-to's? Anyone need a tan? :) If you're local and need a good, quick tan, let me know and I'll get you in touch with them!

Weigh in Wednesday... *sigh*

I don’t even want to talk about it… but yet, here I am.

I haven’t done a Weigh in Wednesday since Vegas I think.

I. Am. Ashamed.

Not only that I haven’t written a Wednesday post (let alone any other posts), but that I’ve let my readers down.

More importantly, I’ve let myself down... ESPECIALLY with this number.

The number today brought me to tears. I do not like it, not one bit. And the thing is, it’s no one’s fault but my own.  I’ve known that I’ve been on a downward spiral since Vegas. (in April) I’ve thought about correcting it, and Darrell has even mentioned correcting it, but I’ve always got an excuse. I’ve always got a reason. Or, I wait until “tomorrow”. 

I hate that word. For real.

So… last night, while I was laying in bed, watching tv, eating a bucket of ice cream (I kid you not), I made a PayPal payment to Marta with Four Fit Sisters to join her June 2^nd Sugar Detox. I’ve GOT to get this under control and MAYBE if I’ve now forked out money to help me, just MAYBE I’ll do it. God I hope so.  

No one can do this for me, but me.  “It’s not going to be easy, but it’s going to be worth it.” Isn’t that what Mama Laughlin says all the time? I wanna look like her, btw. (have you seen her photo shoot?!?)

I also wanna look fierce and confident like Val over at Fab Chick Gets Fit and buy new clothes, in color, like Alicia over at Brew Mama.

To have before and afters (durings) like Aubrey Leigh at ALG, Uninterrupted.

And have the determination of Jasmine at Fleurty & Fit. And I wanna run. Just. Like. Candra. At Camo & Lipstick.

I look up to each one of the ladies, more than they will ever know.  I want their drive, I want their willingness, I want their meal plans! These ladies inspire me more and more each day and I can only hope to inspire people the way they do.

#30by30 may or may not happen. I have 25 pounds to lose by July 26^th.

Will it happen? I hope so.

Can it happen. Yes

Who can make it happen? ME?

SWAG SWAP!

I know, I know.  I'm a terrible blogger.  Vacation has thrown me off in more ways than one, and every time I sit down to write a post, I get side tracked...

Today I wanted to reveal my Swag Swap Stuffs I got from the wonderful Kira over at A Day in the Life of Mrs T.

Kira is a military mom and wife, who is currently prego with her second child and her husband is deployed. They just found out that they're having another boy! She's a runner (still while prego!) and she just finished her 12th half marathon in Nashville with an amazing group of lady bloggers. Jealous, I am!

Both of us ran into problems with getting everything in before the shopping deadline, so we  both shipped a day late. (Which worked out well since neither of us were on time! lol) She really outdid herself in this swag swap and all the things she included in my box are AMAZING!

 

Who doesn't love the Pioneer Woman? I have coveted this cookbook (and recipes) since I found her blog about 5 years ago.  Go Buy This Book.  The chocolate sheet cake recipe? TO. Die. For. You can't screw it up and it's my go to for cakes, cupcakes, or brownies even. She even calls it "the best chocolate sheet cake ever" and I call it "the best chocolate cake recipe ever". Seriously. Make it. Now.

 

 

Cutest cup ever. Seriously.  We drink our sweet tea out of Mason Jars, and this cup makes it a lot easier to do! There are some yummy smelling travel size shampoos, conditioners, body wash and shea butters, and I'm def fixed up for my next trip! (hmmm... Vegas for my honey's 40th?!)

This chap stick? SO SOFT! Really, I don't even understand how she came across all this awesome stuff. She rocked this swap!

And probably my most favorite item? This wrist wallet from Vera Bradley! I purchased a couple of these for our trip to Vegas (albeit, mine were from Walmart) and I fell in love with the overall concept of having everything so handy, but not having to carry a whole purse. This is perfect! So soft, much more durable than the ones that I have and it has just enough room for everything. Of course, the fingernail polish doesn't hurt either... you should see my stash!

Overall, I loved doing this swap with all of these amazing ladies.  Thank you to Candra and Alicia for hosting, and thank you Kira for letting me get to know you and your life!

Weigh in Wednesday and a Giveaway!

Hello ladies and gents... It's that time again, and this week, we're also wrapping up my 30 day challenge with Adie. Here's today's number...

Here are also my measurement's from beginning to end

I know... Awesome editing here.

And my before and after photos

Of course, you know I had a bad week in there and gained... significantly. But thanks to Alicia (Brew Mama) and Candra (Camo & Lipstick) I got right back on track and had a 2# loss as of last Saturday! THANK YOU LADIES! I didn't do all that I had hoped for with the challenge, but sometimes it just doesn't go as planned.

Speaking of Brew Mama... She has an awesome giveaway going on!

She's contacted some amazing blogger ladies and we've all chipped in a little here and there for a fantastic giveaway! If you don't follow Alicia already, DO IT NOW! She's such an inspiring lady and she's done an amazing job eating right and losing weight! She even dropped two pant sizes recently (that's right, TWO) and is rocking some awesome new clothes! If I hadn't been contacted about helping out on the giveaway, I'd be the first person signed up! ;-) Make sure you head over and read all about her, and about the other wonderful women that are making this giveaway possible!

Alicia from Brew Mama

Nicki from Beautifully Awkward

Candra from Camo and Lipstick

Darci from Strongly Feminine

Trista from Life According to Trista

Aubrey Leigh from ALG Uninterrupted

Tia from Hands on. Pants off.

Adie from Four Fit Sisters

Desiree from Macke Monologues

Crystal from Crystal Michelle's Mess

Jasmine from Fleurty and Fit

Niki from Heavy Cupcake (HEY! THAT'S ME!)

Ang from Mean Ang

Sami from Simply Sami

Val from Fab Chick Gets Fit

Stacie from Stacie Rogers Training

Erin from Homemade Happenings

Analisa from Sunset 79

Get to ENTERING!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And as always, I'm linking up with Ashlee over here for Weigh in Wednesday!


Remember! There won't be one next week as I'll be in Vegas... and hopefully staying off of the scale! There will be lots of walking involved... but also lots of food and drinking.  Don't judge.  We all need a vacation every once and a while!

That's all for today folks... How did your weekly weigh in go?! Link up and let us know!

Weigh in Wednesday Day 17 of 30

Hi Folks! It's weigh in Wednesday, again! I'm here with an update about the 30 day challenge that I'm doing with Adie.
Sunday's weigh in with her was this:

Which means I only lost .6# last week with the challenge.  I know that my workouts sucked due to the cold weather, but most of it was just because I was too damn lazy! I didn't do any flights of stairs at work, I didn't take any walks, I didn't do a stitch of yoga either.  I've had a lot going on, and while I know that isn't an excuse, my head just hasn't been in it.

Well, that all changed on Saturday.  After some morning shopping and a great lunch with my honey, I went home and worked in the yard for a couple of hours, then detailed out one of my cars for a couple of hours.  Even went and washed and vacuumed it! After, I may or may not have eaten a peep... or two.  But I earned it!

I also started party prep for my sons birthday.  Superman is his party theme this year and I've made the chocolate dipped pretzels and kryptonite krispies.  We're also going to do a black bean and corn salsa, and cheesecake stuffed chocolate dipped strawberries. MMMM...

I try to go all out for my kids birthdays.  Mostly because I remember what a bummer my birthdays were, and I don't want them to feel that way.  Then again, my birthday was always in the middle of the simmer, so kids were less likely to come. Oh well.  Until they say they don't want it, we'll just keep on partying! 

Sunday was SUPER nice (#seewhatididthere?) and I ended up taking the top off the front half of the jeep! 

 

It was so nice! I can't wait till I can leave if off all the time.  Right now, the mornings are chilly, and we're entering tornado season... so that means RAIN. All. The. Time. Speaking of chilly mornings... 

Monday morning, I forgot to put the top back on... so it was a very chilly ride to school! Oh well... I was def awake at work that morning! The top got put back on around noon since it was going to rain.  Still haven't taken it off since then. C'mon nice weather! I'm ready to go topless all the time! (HA!)

Monday night I came home and push mowed the back lawn. It was a workout that I swear lasted an hour... it was only 20 minutes. Blah... Oh well, I came home and moved. That's what's important. Right? 

Tuesday... SUCKED. Seriously.  I've had this kick ass attitude since Saturday and it all went to hell yesterday. I won't go into detail again, but know that it sucked all the way around. I ate so terribly. I felt terrible. I didn't workout. I just didn't.  But, I also DIDN'T have the big old greasy cheeseburger that I wanted either. I DID however eat tacos... with cheese, cheese sauce AND sour cream.  I also ate 15387654324 rice crispy treats.  Yup.  And they were so good.  I ain't even gonna lie. Unfortunately, neither does the scale.

This blows... and I don't even want to talk about it. Seriously. An unfortunately, this is my weigh in at the beginning of the month. Blah... 

Linking up with Heather and Ash over here...

And I also wanted to tell you about a Swag swap going on over with two of my favorite bloggers, Candra and Alicia!

These two ladies have put this group together for people that want to swap some swag that is for fitness or just plain old Diva-ness. All ya gotta do is send an email with your name, pick of category and your info for social medias.  They'll link you up, you swap info with the person you're paired with and then get to swapping! I can't wait to get this thing started!

Hope you all have a happy hump day and that you're doing MUCH better than I am on this whole thing! What do you do when you fall off the wagon? 

Thursday'sYummiest Healthy Food Linkup

***EDIT: I jumped the gun on this, and there is no linkup this week. I'll link this post to the next one I suppose.***

It's that time of the week to linkup with Alicia and Candra for the Yummiest Food that's Healthy too!

 I'm getting to participate this week with a recipe that I tried a couple of weeks ago since going gluten and dairy free with the 30 day challenge with Adie. (you can read more about that, here) I love a good meatloaf and this one did not disappoint. I was actually quite surprised that this turned out so well! Here's the original recipe I found over here ... Pinterest has been a lifesaver for me and this whole gluten thing.

Gluten Free Meatloaf
Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 30 mins Total time: 35 mins Serves: 4
Ingredients
•1 pound lean ground beef
•½ cup rolled oats (use gluten free if necessary)
•¼ cup ketchup, plus 2 Tablespoons
•¼ cup onions, finely minced
•1 egg
•1 teaspoon salt
•½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2.Place all ingredients (except the 2 Tablespoons of ketchup) in a large mixing bowl.
3.Mix together using your hands until well combined.
4.Place ground beef mixture onto a baking sheet and form into a loaf shape, or place into a loaf pan.
5.Spread the remaining ketchup on top of the loaf. 6.Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until meatloaf is cooked through and is no longer pink.
7.Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing to serve.

Now I tweaked it a bit, for my tasting. I added in some garlic powder, some chopped bell pepper, and rand my oats through the blender before adding them... and I may or may not have used more than the recommended amount of ketchup.  Oh, and I added brown sugar to the top.  And I may have greased the pan with my left over bacon grease...

*whaaaat?!*

What I would have done differently: def keep all the listed ingredients, and keep the ones I added too.  I did more than the 2T of ketchup on top, but I think if I would have mixed it with the SPLENDA brown sugar blend (I tried to stay healthy), then it would have went farther and I wouldn't have had to use as much. I also would have added a couple of tablespoons of the brown sugar blend to the meat mix too. You could also add some strips of bacon maybe even turkey bacon) to the top of the loaf as well, if you don't want to grease the pan with your leftover yummy grease. LOL. Don't judge me. We have to fit in all the flavors we miss, without adding AS MANY calories as if we were to eat the real thing.

Anyway, that's my healthier recipe for the week! I really enjoyed it, and so did my honey.  He did request more ketchup though. Hope you're having a great week and that you link up with these lovely ladies!

What are you're favorite healthy recipes?

Woolzies from FoodFitFab- A Review

Happy Monday to you folks... I'm here with a short review today.

A couple of weeks ago, FoodFitFab was doing a quick giveaway for Woolzies Dryer Balls  over on their blog, here. I was lucky enough to be one of the few to win, and I got my package last Monday. Unfortunately, Sunday is my laundry day, so I didn't get to use them until this weekend!

Here's a quick description off of the FoodFitFab post that I won these little babies off of.

"You guys have to check out Woolzies Dryer Balls! They are a natural fabric softener made from 100% pure New Zealand Wool , and reduce drying time by 25%. They soften your laundry naturally without the chemicals of your typical fabric softeners. I don’t know about you, but I hate wrinkles and Ihate ironing my clothes. Woolzies Dryer Balls help eliminate wrinkles. JACKPOT! Other features include:

• Helps Reduce Static
• Saves Energy
• Noise Free
• Eco Friendly

Woolzies are hypo-allergenic so they are totally safe even if you have any wool sensitivities because they do not shed onto your clothing.  Want to know the part that differentiates themselves the most from other fabric softeners and dryer sheets? They last up to 1000 loads. To use: Insert three balls for a small load or 6 balls for a large load into dryer."

Now, I used 2 balls per load of laundry, rather than the three, but I didn't have any problems. So far, the clothes haven't come out with any static, no "odd" smell, and the clothes dried in one round of drying, instead of two. (I think my dryer may be going out) And while they say that they are noise free, I could hear them tumbling around, but not like shoes would or anything.  I DID NOT add fabric softener to my wash, or dryer sheets to the dryer, so all in all, I'd say they're a win! I'll save money by not having to buy the sheets, and if all goes well, by cutting down my drying time. Great product and I'm so glad I got the opportunity to try these!

If you haven't heard of FoodFitFab, I'd suggest you look them up! I found their blog on accident, while doing reserch on the FitBit's that I was looking to buy. (You can read about those, here) They had just done an article on the FitBit Force and it was the information I was looking for!  I had a few more questions, so I left some comments and they were so great at getting right back with me.  It was their article and answers that really forced my hand on the purchase.  And I don't regret it one bit! Anyway, the lovely peeps over at FoodFitFab are always looking into new things, recipes, and they latest gadgets and, they're based out of my favorite city in the whole USofA... LAS VEGAS! (Did I mention that I'm going next month!) They're also doing a giveaway today on their IG account, so READ UP PEOPLE!!

Happy Monday y'all!

Hi there, hey there, ho there... Lots of links in this post!

I'm (obviously) a little behind on this weeks posts. Please forgive me.  I'm sure most of you will if you know whats been going on, but still, please.

So lets get down to it!
Monday started my 30 day challenge with Adie of Four Fit Sisters. So far, so good.  I'm loving the daily "homework" she posts to our facebook group, although, I'm not as impressed that I'm in a group of mostly repeaters... I feel like I'm asking stupid questions pretty often, and don't feel like other people are "participating" as much since they've already asked most of the questions they're going to.  Oh well.

Our first assignment was to figure out our average RMR (mines 1844). You can do that here... This number tells you how many calories your body should burn just sitting around. Not doing anything additional.  You should try to eat at or just under that number of calories per day.  Uh... hello! That's about 400 MORE calories than I've been eating for the past two months! So, I've adjusted my calorie intake on my LoseIt App around 1725. I just couldn't make the dive to over 1800... Just couldn't.

Our second assignment was to take pics and measurments of ourselves. Now, I had just done that on the fourth for the month, but I went ahead and did it on Sunday as well. Here they are:

 

 

Hey Look! I got new clothes to take pics in! Not really, I was just tired of those grey pants... they made my ass look terrible.  And that cheapo bra was driving me crazy!

Anyway, I posted mine on the facebook group page.  I'm pretty sure she said we were supposed to... but I'm the only one that did it. :-/ It's there... No take backs now!  Anyway, we're supposed to cut out wheat and dairy for the first two weeks.  So far, so good I think. I'll know more in two weeks! I don't feel any different as of yet, but I tried not to consume wheat anyway just because its usually in bread and so high in calories/carbs.  And the only dairy I really eat was shredded cheese on my eggs and salads... I do kinda miss that.

So... after two days of being in the group, this was my weight for weigh in Wednesday... I'm not sure if it's actually due to the group or he lack of wheat/dairy or just a better day for me.

And of course, since it's a weigh in, I've linked up with Heather and Ashlee

And Nina here...

(Sorry it's a day late guys!)

Back to the 30 day challenge group, Another assignment we had was to fill this out.  

This page was so emotional for me, given the circumstances I've been in the past couple of weeks.  After dropping my son off at the airport on Sunday, this hit home so much more than on just a weight loss level. Each one of these answers both pertain to me losing weight, as well as things I need to work on for myself emotionally. Ugh. Talk about a tough day.  And I'm super glad that it wasn't Monday's homework.  Cause I was a wreck that day.  I didn't make it to work, I laid in bed a cried.  I'm at work today, I'm trying my damdest to make sure each assignment is done and that I put on a (semi) happy face.

Two of the ladies that most inspired me to jump in to Adie's group challenge are hosting a linkup today for healthier foods.   Alicia at Brew Mama

 and Candra at Camo & Lipstick

.Since so many of us are on diets of "clean eating", "gluten free", "low carb" etc, I think this linkup will be SO beneficial to so many.  Even if not all of the recipes appeal to you, ONE of them will.  I'm so excited for this and have already been scouring the recipes for myself! Unfortunately, I don't have a recipe to add this week, but you can have a gander over here...

Anyway, that's all for now. Hopefully I can whip out another post tomorrow. Thanks for the understanding on the late posts, and hopefully, you'll stick around. Happy Thursday folks!