New Foods! Veggie Elite Performance Protien review

I went all-out at Sprouts Farmer's Market yesterday...
I got things I've never tried before.

I got all different kinds of squash/pumpkin things, tofu, cashew milk, weird black rice and flaxseed...
I got all the ingredients to make breads and tortillas from scratch.
I'm worried that I won't be able to finish all the fruits I bought.

Everything I got was on sale, and I still managed to spend just under $200
Yikes.

I wanted to try a meal replacement/supplement that was all vegan.
Everything there was so expensive! 40-60 dollars for 20-30 shakes, depending on the brand.

I decided to buy a powder from MRM. The lady helping me said that it was a good brand.
It's called All Natural Veggie Elite Performance Protein in Chocolate Mocha.
No artificial Flavors or sweeteners.
24 grams of complete protein.
Allergen, gluten, gmo, and cholesterol-free.
Vegan and Vegetarian friendly.

Per serving,
24g protein, 5g carbs, 3g fiber, 1.5g total fat, 130 calories

Supposed to mix it with 8oz of water or favorite beverage.

I blended it with Ice and a cup of water.
I never got thick, but needed to be stirred before drinking. It tends to settle.
The taste... is awful. It's very chalky in texture, and tastes like chocolate-ish necco candies.
I had such a hard time getting it down... Gagged me at first.

Maybe I just need to give it another chance.
Tomorrow I'll blend it with cashew milk or a chocolate soy and see if it gets any better with a thicker liquid.

On a positive note, I wasn't hungry all morning. It took me a couple of hours sipping on it to finish my glass. I did feel full. I had a decent lunch, and I'm hungry now, but I don't want to binge on dinner. That's a first.

I do like that it seems to keep the hunger away. It's about $1.20 per glass, when it's on sale.
I hope blending it with something else makes it tolerable though.

Maybe a banana or something will make it a better meal option. Technically, it's a protein shake and not meant to replace a meal. It's for endurance, recovery, and strength. A good choice if you work out early in the morning and want to combine it with fruit to keep your muscles and belly happy.
I'll keep giving it another go until I run out of powder. I spent a lot on that little can of stuff.

Edit:
Cashew milk does wonders for this!
I used a scoop of powder, a cup of cashew milk, and 6 ice cubes. Blended well.
The cashew milk gives it a sweetness that it didn't otherwise have.
It was still a bit chalky, but the thickness of the milk masked it fairly well, and prevented the powder from settling to the bottom of the glass.
I actually drank it pretty quickly and wanted more.
What a difference...

Edit Edit:
Chocolate Soy milk also thickens up the shake, but it's a bit too much chocolate for my taste.
If you like something extremely chocolatey, this may be a good option for you.
It's not as creamy as cashew milk, so it has more of the chalky consistency.
I still feel hungry after drinking this combo. I had a light salad an hour or so later.
Maybe it's because it's the weekend and I always make a big breakfast for the kids to celebrate.
Mmmmmm....

The lady at Sprouts really recommended a brand called VegaOne.
I ended up buying sample packets of single-shake powders in all sorts of flavors. It's a bit pricier, but worth a try. I'll do a review on those once I finish all the flavors.

I would post videos, but I leant out my camcorder and haven't gotten it back yet.
I think I'll be looking into finding a new one.

Anyone have any good meal replacement ideas?

Workout/Body Update

It's been a good while, hmmm?

Let's see here...

I got frustrated with my workouts and not seeing the results, then stressed out about home renovations, new home shopping, work, and everything else life tends to throw.

Yesterday I restarted Focus T25 Alpha round.
Even though my weight is the same, my body looks and feels different.
The workouts are still tough, but not painfully difficult anymore. I don't need to rest between exercises like I did the first time I tried Alpha. I still like workout out in my underwear. Better now, anyway.
There's still the little jiggle, but I see muscle tone underneath. That makes me happy.
Before, It was all seismic wiggling - like a sack of Jell-O around my stomach. Not so attractive.
Now though... it's getting there :)
My chest is more toned and my shoulders are all sexy again. My butt is its own continent.
I love it.
No weight loss though.
Interesting.

I'll post some measurement stats later.

Love

Plateau and Confusion

Each week I weigh in between 158-165 lbs.
I don't know why if fluctuates so much. Maybe because of water weight, girly time grossness, overeating? I don't know.

I've been focusing on my portion control the past couple of weeks.
Breakfast is a small something leftover from the night before, or a coffee and grapes, granola bar.
I'm bringing in a Progresso Soup for lunch and getting a very grumbly belly by the time the work day is done.
Then I come home and eat a sensible meal. Wild rice and veggies mostly. Beans or eggs. Small handful of nuts. I rarely eat meat anymore. Rarely get takeout.
I'm chugging Mio waters. Or homemade lemonade made with just a touch of raw honey.

I'm on-and-off with my Super HD and CLK stack.
I get very hot with them, and it's not very attractive to have sweaty pits in the front office.
I'm finding that on days that I don't take them, I get a wicked headache. I'm irritable. I end up taking a Super HD capsule early afternoon just to take the headache away.
I thought it would get like this. It's a caffeine based stimulant. Hard to quit.

Now that I have no Implanon hormone implant, I'm losing my boobs. I think I've lost 2 cup sizes these past couple of months. It's good though. It just means tighter skin. No more mom boobs lol. I actually like my smaller chest. I've had to throw out my poor old bras. Until I can shop again, I'm relying on sports bras to get me by. Even half of those are too large to be of much use.

I had bought a couple of smaller ones, hoping exercise would allow me to wear them in a few months. The deal was too great to pass up, and the quality of these bras is absolutely amazing. I found them at a thrift store for $3 each, and they still had tags on. almost $40 originally. Now they fit, and I couldn't be happier.

I am starting to see the lines where my abs will be someday. The one running down the center, and my top squares are starting to show up. I'm not exercising daily like I should. 3-4 times per week is all I've managed the past couple of weeks. I've bought a car, driven 1000 miles in 2 weeks to make sure it's in perfect condition, driving city to city to rehome my birds and pick up our new dog, getting my children every day possible. It's been nuts. I haven't had a day to just relax in a long while.

Now I'm looking for a second job to make some extra just-in-case money.
I'd prefer to sell supplements and health things. I'm pretty passionate about becoming the healthiest, fittest me. I'd love to start a fitness group or challenge. I'm honestly just burning myself out. I'm still seeing changes in my body, but it's a slow process, and the scale never ever changes.

Yet.

.....
Yet.
.....


Still working on it. Can't give up.

My diet Failures

It's been a terrible couple of weeks, health wise...

My car started falling to pieces, so I spent many days at different dealerships trying to find the perfect, affordable one for me. I did find a Mazda6 that I love to pieces, and I got my first ever loan to cover it. I'm now happily in debt.

I haven't gone grocery shopping in a couple of weeks, so I've been basically living off cheap pizza and freezer leftovers.

I have been running around trying to get all the necessities done, and come home pretty late on nights I don't have my girls, which are few now. Horray!! I love getting them more and more.

I had been replacing some Focus T25 workouts with trips to the park, teaching the girls to ride bikes, some Hip Hop Abs, dancing, and yoga.
I missed T25 terribly.

I don't feel right if I'm not working out with Shaun T. Days without him are wasted.
In 25 minutes, I feel like I've accomplished something amazing. I'm challenging myself. Sweating buckets. Getting stronger.

I re-started beta cycle today because I've missed too many workouts.
I gained a couple of pounds back this week, but GUESS WHAT???
I saw major abs for the first time in YEARS!
I'll take some weight gain for sexy muscles anytime.

But I'm wanting to purge my body of all the crap I've eating these past couple of weeks and start new.
I miss eating all my fruit all the time.

So I'm trying the salt water flush and lemonade master cleanse, but to a smaller degree.

You're supposed to mix 2 teaspoons of unrefined sea salt with 32oz of warm water and chug it, but it has no affect on me. I drink it at night, but I guess you're supposed to do it first thing in the morning.
Ah well.

Then I'm making my own lemonade in one of those QuikTrip XL cups, 3-4 lemons and 2-3 tablespoons of raw honey, dash of cayenne, then drinking it throughout the day. I actually like the sourness. I'm not a sweet kind of person.

I don't know. I'm not following the cleanse properly, I know, but little bit at a time...
I don't agree with going for days without solid food. It's ridiculous, so I'm aiming for smaller, sensible meals to go along with this. I'm not looking to starve myself, just shake up my diet a little and get back on track.

I guess I'll let you know of my results next Saturday.
I can't skip another workout. Makes me sad.
Especially when I'm still seeing the results.

Kayla

Supplements Came In / T25 Beta!!!

I was more than ecstatic to find that the Cellucor supplements arrived a day earlier than expected,
so I got home, took a Super HD capsule and 2 CLK softgels and munched on some guacamole. MMMMMMMMMM....
Flippin Delicious.

Anyway, I went to visit my parents and came home to work out.
It was nearly 3 hours after I had taken the pills, but I still felt like I had a great boost of energy.

I tried Core Cardio from the Focus T25 Beta round.
Holy Cow!
This was so much more intense than Alpha Cardio!
It combined a lot of strength moves and balancing with the cardio, and I felt amazing afterward.
Shaun T is more drill-sergeant-like in Beta, but that's perfect for me.
You should have heard me and my battle roars lol...
I felt strong. I finished strong.
Buckets of glorious sweat everywhere. I had to strip as I was going, but like I say, working out in your skivvies is the best motivation you can have.

I even tried a good portion of Hip Hop Abs for the first time.
The discs I have are borrowed and scratched, so I couldn't watch the second half of the workout. It just skipped everywhere.
What I did notice, was that it was actually fun, hard on the core, but much less intense that T25.
It was like a dance party.. and for a second... I felt... mmmm.... club ghetto. Hahahaha!
It was fantastic.
I'd probably buy the program and use it as a cool-down after T25.

I don't have an appetite tonight because of the Cellucor combo.
I'm just drinking a lot of water. I like not feeling hungry.

Now it's 11pm and I'm ready for bed. I'm not crashing, just slowly winding down. This is my normal bedtime, and I'm good to go.
Thinking about getting up an hour early for another round of T25 so I can do a little shopping in the evening.
Loving Craigslist at the moment.

Sweet Dreams,

Kayla

T25 Alpha results - Sort of

I don't feel this is an accurate account of Focus T25 Alpha round, because this past week was sabotaged by yours truly.

I only did 2 workouts this past week, and mostly because I was at the casino 3 days in a row.
Between wanting to get away, birthday celebrations, removing my implanon, car shopping, and grandparents treating me to dinner, I just failed at health.
I had buffet twice...
: /

So...
This week, I gained 0.8 pounds and gained half an inch in my waist.

Overall,
Since Starting the Focus T25 Alpha phase,

I lost 1.8 pounds, 2 inches off my waist, and half an inch off my hips.
It seems like nothing, but I had to buy a new wardrobe.
All of my pants were too large, my belt isn't usable anymore, and my shirts have no form.
I bought 2 new pairs of jeans, a pair of capris, half a dozen skirts, a couple shirts, and a wrap. I've never spreed like that before.
Thank God I'm a cheap-o and I love thrift stores. I only spent $60.

I also felt bad for my binging and ordered some Cellucor products for the Beta round.
I got the Super HD and CLK combo kit online. I'm excited for it to get here. It gives me great energy... I'll be powering though those workouts.
That, in combination with the removal of the hormone stick, I should drop the extra weight like it's nothing.

I've also fallen in love with the MIO water enhancers. I have a half gallon monster cup that I fill at least twice a day. I've already drank nearly a gallon, and it's only 1pm.

Grocery shopping is always amazing and dirt cheap.
I take the Aldi ad to WalMart and price match produce. I get everything from 50-75% off. There's no excuse not to eat healthy foods when they're much cheaper that junk.
HyVee and Price Chopper sometimes have unbeatable sales... I just keep reading over the circulars and only buy the best deals.

Removing the Implanon

I was very excited to get my implant removed.

I checked in and waited in the tiny room, alone, freaking out like I tend to do..
My nurse was amazing. She asked me questions about my family plans and then we chit chatted a bit while she prepared for my slicing.

Doctor finally came in, and he asked me to lie down on my back with my arm extended up.
He did a couple of iodine swabs, then injected the numbing solution.
I'm resistant or something.
I wasn't really numb when he started cutting.
It was a small incision, about a centimeter long, but about just as deep.
He fidgeted around with the hole until the end of the implant poked out, then he grabbed it with these big tweezers and yanked!
Holy cow I felt that! It was painful, even with the numbing thing, but not unbearable.

It was fast though.
He washed his hands and was out the door without another word, while my nurse popped a couple bandaids on and wrapped me in gauze.
She said I only had to leave it on for an hour or so, until the bleeding stopped. I bled through my 2 bandaids, but no more.

The whole procedure lasted maybe 3 minutes, mostly getting the are sterile and wrapping me up.

There's no bruise.
It was sore the day it was removed, and only slightly sore the next day. Honestly, I barely noticed it.

Glad it's over...
but condom prices are ridiculous.
Just saying.

Week 4 T25 results

Ohhhh....

I did not use any supplements this week.
The first 3 days, I woke up early and did the exercises before work... then I switched back to after-work exercises. I skipped my workout yesterday running the kids all over the world, and had my weigh-in this morning.

I only lost 0.2 pounds this week, but
another half an inch off my waist.

It's incredibly disappointing, seeing the scale drop by less than half a pound each week.

The boyfriend says he can feel a difference in my body, though. He says my stomach is tighter and my back and shoulders have more definition.
Even I can feel a difference in my butt... like a pair of globes dancing. hahaha..

My pants are so loose in the waist, but still fit me in the thighs, maybe a tad bit too big, but about the same.
My mom commented on my flat belly.

So there are differences...

Honestly, weight is just a number, but it still bums me out.
Angers me a bit, that I've worked out so hard and watched what I ate like a hawk, but haven't lost pounds... Less than 2 all month.

So I binged. I had pizza, ate fast food, drank sugary beverages... anything I wanted to do.
Now I feel guilty... but not really. I think I needed that day of utter gluttony.

It wasn't all that bad though.
Apart from the diet fail, I took the minions to the park and played on all the equipment with them. We ran, I pushed the round spinny thing, taught Minion #1 how to swing, and really enjoyed the afternoon.

And  you know what else? I wore SHORTS.
I know.
Holy cow.
I haven't worn shorts over my pasty white honkey legs since I was in high school.
Yeah,
T25 has been a huge ego boost to me.
I'm stronger and do look better.
Losing fat and building beautiful muscles,
but still hating the damn scale.

I'll be eating clean again today, and for the next long while.
I actually miss working out...
I feel off on days that I don't.
Even choosing to skip a workout over self pity and spite makes me feel terrible, to be truly honest.
There's no reason for it.

*************

The boyfriend is making me breakfast for the first time...
will he burn it??

Kayla

Exhausted

I've been waking up an hour earlier each day to work out.

I hate waking up early. Not my thing. I'm not a rooster.
Yet, I make myself. I pop the Focus T25 discs in with half an eye open and start the workout. It takes a good 3 minutes before I fully realize what I'm doing.

Then I'm alert enough to really focus on the exercise.

I immediately jump into the shower after putting my eggs on to boil, and by the time I'm out and dressed, eggs are done and cooling. I fix my hair and makeup (which I didn't care to do before) because I actually have more time and I'm aware of what I'm doing.
I like getting pretty now.

It isn't all that bad. It's just hard making the choice to fling the super soft blanket off of myself.
I have to force myself, but it's for the best.
This way, I make sure I never skip a workout.
It's done and over with before my day's even begun.. and I don't want to spoil my hard work with drive-thru breakfast.

I eat fruit with chocolate soy milk for breakfast, snack on fruit, and lunch is generally something healthy I had leftover. Today, I had my salad with the boiled eggs, but I must confess... I just ate the eggs and croutons... But I tried.

Tonight I'm going out to a buffet with my family.... scary thought.
I'm going to eat all the veggies I can... hopefully some nice fish or seafood.
I've worked waaay too hard to sabotage my week.

Anyhow,
Great news!
Last year I bought a belt. It has 5 notches. It fit me on that third notch.
I started casually running... so
When I started the T25 program I was on the very inner notch.
Now, 3 weeks after starting T25, my belt is too large.
I can pull it in another 2 inches or so....
I must make my own notches...
Or go shopping!
How's that for motivation?

Kayla

T25 Week 3 Results

Today I weighed in at 160lbs even.
38.5 - 31.5  41
Bicep - 12.5
Thigh - 24

I didn't miss a workout this week,
but gained .1 pounds,
lost half an inch off my waist,
half an inch off my hips, and
a quarter inch off my arms.

So total since starting the Focus T25 program,
I've lost 1.4 pounds,
nothing off my chest (could be the difference in bras though... I opted for a non-sports bra today),
2 inches off my waist, and
half an inch off my hips.

If I were to do this all over again,
I'd remember which clothes I wore and put on the same outfit for each measurement and weigh-in.

I've noticed my midsection is quite a bit tighter than it was, as are my thighs. My arms are always hard as rocks now.

I haven't missed a workout because I put priority on them. I have to do my workouts as soon as I get off work. My kids even do them with me (between running around and coloring) and sit on my back when I'm doing pushups. Ouch!

I've only eaten out one time, a small sandwich and small fries... Other than that, I've cooked all of my meals. Lots of salads and veggies.

I'm still baffled at how I'm losing inches but gaining weight, but eventually it will make sense. My pants aren't tight anymore.