Who are we?! We are Spartans! #aroo....Huh, Really?!

I used to always scratch my head in wonder and confusion of why certain people put themselves through a certain hell called Spartan Races. As I sat in astonishment that what seemed to be regular, ordinary and sane individuals put their body through the physical anguish of anywhere from 4-15 miles of rugged terrain and 20-30 obstacles....I thought to myself "They are CRAZY! That would NEVER be me!". I knew that like I knew my name, because this girl hates to exercise, hates to sweat, hates to even walk long distances. But 2 years after I started following these looney tunes...it happened.....

This March, I joined the revolution.

That crazy bird standing next to me is my husband. He is definitely the love of my life, my supporter and my biggest cheerleader. I say that because despite him looking at me like I had lost my mind when I approached him about the Spartan Race, he still did it with me. That was at the Atlanta Sprint which was 4.5 miles and 20 obstacles. We trudged through gallons of poop, muddy waters and thick woods...in 50 degree weather! So of course all of our cute clothes got chunked right in the trash afterwards. We loved and hated every minute of it. We were stung by the bug. So we are clawing our way to complete the Trifecta this year. The next tier is always longer and harder. 

Here I am at the Asheville Spartan Super (2nd Tier)....

Black Mountain in Asheville with 3100 feet of elevation...10 miles, 28 obstacles through gravel quarries, mountainous terrain and rivers. One of the lifesavers besides the water station and porta-potties every other mile, were these little gems:

Not only did they taste like Smarties candy but they also helped keep me from crapping up...a painful problem I experienced the first race.

I'm still in amazement that I not only finished but that I actually had the guts to start all of this craziness to begin with.

Only one more race, one more medal, one more day to endure hell before the Trifecta is complete. So what do I do after the races.....

TRAIN! 

Training to be faster, fitter, stronger....BETTER than the race before.

Sweat Pink Bulu Box Review

The way to a girl's heart is with food and freebies. Well at least to this #fatfatgonefit girl's heart. So when I got the opportunity to do a Bulu Box review in partnership with FitApproach/SweatPink, I was ecstatic. I mean, c'mon: FREE plus FOOD samples....

 

If you're not familiar with Bulu Box...it's similar to most subscription box services as in you pay for a particular level of box per month and the company sends you a box of samples. The more you spend = the more products are included in your box. The unique feature with this company is that all of their sample products are health and fitness related. Each month Bulu Box subscribers receive 4-5 vitamin, supplement and healthy snack samples to try. Every sample in Bulu Box is also available in full size quantities in the Bulu Box shop. One of the other benefits of a Bulu Box subscription is the Rewards Points program. Each monthly subscriber can take a quick survey about the samples in their box in exchange for 10 Rewards Points each. Every 50 Reward Points is $5 that can be use toward the purchase of any full size product on Bulubox.com.

That being said, maybe because I was doing a free review is why the box I received was a bit sparse. Dismal at best. 

The positive: The design of the box is eye-catching. An A+ to the Marketing team on that. Also it was very easy to open. 

The negative: The items I received.

I've received subscription boxes from other companies so maybe my expectations were set a bit high. My look when I opened the Bulu Box.....

Not only was it not the amount I expected to be considered a 'sampler' box but also the so called 'Health and Fitness' products received weren't cohesive with each other. Some of the packaging was questionable. For example, two of the products were in, what could only be described as, Ziplock baggies. Other questionable product samples were the sideways toothbrush  (just weird) and the anti-inch cream. It just didn't make sense.

The BEST thing in the box: Island Boost Renegade 1oz  electrolyte juice

The WORST thing in the box: Yerba Prima Daily Fiber Formula. This was one of the one's with questionable packaging. Although it looked suspicious to say the least it did come with a little flyer stapled to the clear Ziplock baggie to explain the content. Also the taste was not pleasurable. 

Other items in the box:

Mediterra Sundried Tomato&Basil Granola bar

More-T Toothbrush

Bugeater Foods Jump Cricket Protein powder

Earth's Care Anti Itch cream

All one serving samples. So not something that you would be able to tell actually worked. This sample subscription box would be more for the purposes of taste...to see if you liked a particular taste or to see if you wanted to switch things up with a new flavor. Keeping that in mind, I personally would not buy any of the products in this particular Bulu Box. 

However, from looking at other Fit Approach/Sweat Pink Ambassador blog posts, some of them seemed to get pretty good samplers. Somehow I was odd (wo)man out. Oh well.

I do like the concept of subscription boxes. It's a great idea to 'try before you buy' especially with all of the millions of health and fitness related products out on the market today. 

So the verdict: Neutral

Take a look at the site for yourself and determine if the cost is worth it to you personally. For me it isn't. If you decide to try it, use promo code: SWEATPINK to receive 50% off a 3, 6, or 12 month subscription on www.bulubox.com

The Next Miracle Pill?

When I first started caring about my weight or body image years ago, I looked for and tried EVERYTHING under the sun....well that is except for exercise and healthy eating. I hated (and still hate) to exercise. And yes I know that "hate" is a strong word. But seriously, I HATED to exercise. So I scoured the stores and Google for alternative methods of losing weight. My hope was that I'd be able to find a miracle diet or pill that would help me go from:

To this:

But no such luck. I literally tried just about everything....

The Cabbage Soup Diet, Slimfast, The Hollywood Cookie Diet, HCG and B12 Injections, Diet Shakes, The Atkins Diet, The Military Diet, The Grapefruit Diet, Sugar Busters Diet, The Zone Diet, The South Beach Diet, and Paleo (before it was cool)....just to name a few. So then I got the wild and crazy idea that maybe there's a magic pill out there that works. Something that I could just take and 'poof' the weight would disappear. Of course no one else had discovered this pill; it was just waiting on the right person, me, to find it. So again I scoured the stores and Google for that magic pill. I tried all the pills...the Detox, the Fatburners, the Energy Boosters, the Appetite Suppressants, the Slimming Pills. Tried several that gave me the jitters; that made me feel like I was about to have a heart attack. Still nothing worked. I even recently found 'Elite FatBurner' through a product review site I'm apart of. 

At first, I was pleased that it didn't give me the jitters or have my heart beating out of my chest.....but then I noticed something strange when I went to the restroom....

RED POOP! 

As in the same maroon color as the pills. YUCK! I know, maybe T.M.I...but it seriously freaked me out! Ok, so 

*Does it "burn fat"? I don't know. 

*Does it help you lose weight? I don't think so. 

So the verdict and my final conclusion:

At the end of the day, the ONLY thing that actually WORKED was me doing the thing that I said I HATE to do: 

EXERCISE and EAT CLEAN! 

What is this Magical Green Dust?

So for a little while now I've heard and seen the new fitness buzz about the benefits of Matcha Green Tea...and it has me wondering about what exactly this magical green dust does and is it really healthy or is it a hoax? Admittedly, I had to Google how exactly to correctly pronounce "Matcha"...it is as it looks Mat-cha or it can also be known as Mac-ca.

Here's a short description from Wikipedia:

Matcha (抹茶?, pronounced [mat.tɕa][n 1]) is finely ground powder of specially grown and processed green tea. It's special in two aspects of farming and processing: The green tea plants for matcha are shade-grown for about three weeks before harvest, and the stems and veins are removed in processing.The traditional Japanese tea ceremony centers on the preparation, serving, and drinking of matcha. In modern times, matcha has also come to be used to flavour and dye foods such as mochi and soba noodles, green tea ice cream and a variety of wagashi (Japanese confectionery). The former is often referred to as ceremonial-grade matcha, meaning that the matcha powder is good enough for tea ceremony. The latter is referred to as culinary-grade matcha. However, there is no standard industry definition or requirements for either. Different matcha manufacturers might provide their own definitions.Blends of matcha are given poetic names called chamei ("tea names") either by the producing plantation, shop or creator of the blend, or by the grand master of a particular tea tradition. When a blend is named by the grand master of a tea ceremony lineage, it becomes known as the master's konomi, or favoured blend.(For the full write up https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matcha)

Ok, say what?! How does that translate into the Health and Fitness craze? So where should I go to find that out...'Google#2' or better known as Pinterest.

Ok, Now I get it!

So I've hopped on the bandwagon! Here's a smoothie recipe and a quick review I did on the magical green stuff from Midori Spring and my new digital kitchen scale.







So I'm all in...well for now...That is until another study comes out saying it kills Unicorns or something.

Run Baby product review

If you know me at all, you know I dislike running...well to be honest, I HATE any type of cardio. I don't like the shin splints, heavy constricted breathing, or even the profuse sweating. BUT I still do it because I like pushing my limits; challenging myself to do things that I don't think I'm capable to do. Plus, I know it's good for my heart and lungs...or so I've been told.

So I take all of that into consideration and FORCE myself to hit the pavement.



Look how happy I look.

Yea, that was BEFORE the run.



I decided to do my regular 6mile run to try out my new Run Baby Belt. I'm certain the bright orange color helped me from getting hit from the heavy oncoming traffic. Overall, it held up great. Check out my Youtube video for a full review.











No, I'm not a Sales Rep for the company nor do I get a cut if you buy one...but if you want to order your own go to their website:

www.run-baby.com

ROHA Digital Kitchen Scale review

I was recently blessed to have the opportunity to receive and review a digital kitchen scale! To say that I'm super excited is an understatement. I have been wanting one for soooo long. At first it was just because I'm a foodie and kitchen gadget geek....but as I started this health and fitness journey, I found that I not only wanted one but I actually 'needed' one. I track everything I eat...or at least try to. So having  this digital scale to track and measure my 'macros' makes it so much better (for the nerd in me anyways). You don't have to be a kitchen gadget geek like me to use the ROHA Digital Kitchen Scale. It is very user friendly and the displays are easy to navigate through. My first test bunny were these sweet Korean grapes that I got from my mom's favorite local Asian grocer, Megamart.

So since I love sharing the wealth, here are some awesome Promo Codes to help you save $$$$

1) Roha Bathroom Scale:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Y7E6QBC
Original Price $49.95
Discount Coupon %30 Off
Price after the discount: $34.95
Coupon Code: GREOSXDW

2) Roha Kitchen Scale:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Y4BHAMM
Original Price $29.95
Discount Coupon %30 Off
Price after the discount: $19.95
Coupon Code: ZVIYXBTH

3) Roha Measuring Spoons:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Y1ZMN3M
Original Price $9.95
Discount Coupon %30 Off
Price after the discount: $6.95
Coupon Code: YZH3GYUI

*4) Our Best Coupon Offer:
Special Discount if you buy all the three products (Bathroom/Fat Scale+ Kitchen Scale+ Measuring Spoons) 
Available for only 50 purchases!
Original Price (total): $89.85 ($49.95+$29.95+$9.95)
Discount Coupon %50 off 
Price after the Discount $45.43
*To have this purchase please go to www.rohaproducts.com then select promotions. If you choose any of the products there will be a button at the bottom right of the page that says “Add Bundle to Cart and safe %50” and the rest are easy!For this one no Coupon is required! As long as you “bundle them” the system will discount the price automatically and you will be good!