DIY Friday!

It's Friday again! That means another DIY Farmhouse Fix for Less!! 

Today's project is less about the step by step of this specific project, and more about getting you to think outside the box with the things in your own home to transform them into something more functional for your lifestyle! :) 

So, when we moved our new house in September, our entertainment center was an older one that was my parents at some point, and had traveled with me through both undergrad and gradschool dorming, housing, ect. It had seen better days, but it had been a trusty TV, Playstation 4, and Nintendo 64 holder (ya know, the essentials) for quite a while. Chad decided to build a GORGEOUS entertainment center for our new home, so naturally, our sad little old one was of not much use anymore. 

It sat in the guest room for quite a while not doing a whole lot, but after we started our entry way project, I knew I wanted a bench to go underneath that. One day I was putting things away in the guest room and sat down on the entertainment center just for a break and realized it was perfect bench height!

So I asked Chad how feasible it would be to make this old entertainment center a bench, and he said we could give it a shot!

So we popped off the top and took off the glass doors. 

Chad then cut plywood to fit the size of the door opening and attached framing the replicate a barn door look. This plywood piece slid right in where the glass doors previously were.

Then we took 2, 2x12's and cut them to the appropriate length, put a brace on the bottom, and hinges on the back so that we could store things in the bench!

With some dark brown stain for the top and some Antique White paint for the body, we had a repurposed entertainment center that was now a bench! 

Unfortunately, when we put it in the hall way, it didn't quite fit the vision we had for an entryway bench; it was just a little too wide! 

So we found a new home for it as a cute nook coffee/reading area and I store all my seasonal decor inside of it!

I know that this DIY wasn't super specific with instruction, but like I said, its more about getting you to think outside the box with the pieces you already have! :) Whether its repainting, re-covering, re-finishing, antiquing, aging, whatever it may be! Take a look around your home for things you can put a new twist on and repurpose :) 

Happy Friday y'all! <3

DIY Friday!

Woohooo!!!! Happy Friday Loves!!! 

Look who has their DIY Friday post up ACTUALLY on Friday! #Winning 

Soooooo this week's projects is SUPER easy, but SUPER worth it if you're into that wall art! 

What you'll need: 

- A long, narrow piece of wood

- Paint (I used white and black)

- Sponge brushes

- Stencils

-120 grade sandpaper

In the boutiques in our town, there are TONS of rustic signs you can get to hang on your wall that have the town name, or say "Kitchen" or "Farmhouse", etc. like the ones below: 

And they sell for anywhere from $40-$80 a piece! Even more sometimes if you want it personalized with your family last name or coordinates of a location.

I wanted a rustic sign that either said Farmhouse or Tallahassee, but just couldn't bring myself to pay that much for one!  Sooooo I made one :) 

All you need is a board to the size of your liking (mine is left over plywood from one of my husband's projects). Mine is about 5 feet long.

Next, I went to Hobby Lobby to get some BIG 10in stencils for the lettering... and they were $25... so I figured I'd wait a little bit and ended up finding some at Target for $3!!! I grabbed those, sponge brushes for $2, and black acrylic paint for $2. ($7 total)

We had white paint left over from our entertainment center, so I put a white-ish coat of paint on the face of the board, let it dry, then got to stenciling! I am still getting used to documenting my projects, so I apologize for the lack of photos for each step! I put the stencils down (no, I did not tape them, the not-so-perfect letters where the paint bled a little added to the rustic look!), and sponge painted the letters with the black paint and let that dry. Then I took the 120 sand paper and sanded the whole thing, lightly. 

You can see the scratches and distressing in the paint! Which I thought was enough. Sand to your liking though :) 

You can see the stencils, sand paper and sponge brushes in this picture, so I didn't completely photo fail! 

Then we hung it up! Ta-da!!! A custom $80 rustic wood sign for $7 :) 

Now the more I look at it, the more I think I want to sand ours a little more, ha! 

Anyway, enjoy!! :) 

I'd love if ya'll posted your signs below if you make one :) 

Happy Fri-yay! <3

  

How to Create a Smaller Waist

Happy Thursday loves!

How many of you watched the Victoria's Secret runway fashion show this week? I know I did. I watch it every year, but this year was different. For YEARS I've watched that fashion show and coveted everything about those women because for the longest time, I wanted to BE one. I'm 5'10" and when I was younger, I thought that because I'm the same height they are, I could make my body look like theirs... That's how it works, right? Everyone that is the same height can look the exact same? WRONG. But I was naive then, and so consumed in my body dysmorphia and eating disorder that to me that made sense. I had read somewhere that the average weight for a Victoria's Secret model was 112lbs at 5'11. I don't remember where I read that, it was years ago, but that number stuck in my head, and became what I strived for....but when I finally hit that weight at the pit of my eating disorder, I STILL didn't look like them, go figure. 

NEWS FLASH! Everyone is build different, everyone has different bone structure, everyone carries weight different, everyone distributes their fat different, everyone retains water different, everyone develops muscle different, EVERYONE is different, and EVERYONE is BEAUTIFUL!!! I just didn't see it then. 

Now its easy to see that I'm not built like a VS model, period! Many ladies aren't and that's OKAY! You're perfect anyway :) 

Even though I was the SAME height and the SAME weight they were, I was shaped so differently. I'm built pretty broad, with wider shoulders and wider ribs, narrow hips and ZERO waist.... more like a 12 year old boy that a runway model, ha! I also have scoliosis so one of my wide set ribs sticks out further than the other. NONE of these things scream VS model, but for years I tried to mold myself into something I physically couldn't be... it wasn't realistic, and this year I was able to watch the show in a whole new light. 

I was happy for those women who ARE built like that, and CAN be those VS angels! Rock on girls! But I was also happy for myself, for doing with my body what I'M built like and what I CAN be, and that's STRONG and FUNCTIONAL! 

Do I weigh 112lbs? Nope! Almost 40 pounds more than that, but I can enjoy food with family, sweet treats, and the occasional drink without stress. Do I have a little tiny waist? Nope! But my core can support myself through carrying heavy things on my back, picking things up, and protecting my organs. Do I have a thigh gap? Nope! My legs touch all the way to my knees, but they can jump high, sprint, climb, carry heavy things...save my phone from falling in the toilet and hold lots of puppies in my lap :) Do I have thin, slender arms? Nope! But they can defend me in tussles, make one trip for my groceries, and pull me up COMPLETELY if I'm hanging off a ledge. ( I have this weird thing where I HAVE to be able to do pullups in the rare event that I may be hanging on the side of a cliff or something and need to pull myself up... no waiting around for rescue, gotta be strong ;) ) 

I'm not built like a VS model, but my body is functional and strong and that's all that matter to me! :) Embrace your body for what it CAN be and love it! <3

Now, you're probably thinking, what the heck does this blog title have to do with the rant you just went on? Well, you can't make your body something it isn't. I DON'T have a small waist, or any waist for that matter, and because that was something I focused on so heavily when I watched the fashion show, I'm SURE I'm not the only one that had that thought! I wanted to share with YOU you're not alone :) Even though we might not have tiny waists, we can create the illusion of having one by shaping the rest of our body. Muscles can be shaped, bone structure cannot (should not). Soooooo, how do you create a smaller waist?! By growing the things around your waist!! Your back, shoulders and booty! :) 

By growing my booty and back muscles a little, I've been able to create the illusion that I somewhat have a waist! My booty workouts are on on my Hump Day post, but here is a killer Back and Bicep workout that will tone your back and arms and help with the waist illusion! :) 

Super Sets: 

Lat Pulldowns- 3 sets of 12

Crazy 7's- 3 sets 

(theses are bicep curls where you hold the weights stationary with your elbows at 90 degrees, then on one side, do 7 curls, while the other arm is still holding at 90 degrees. Then switch, do 7 reps with the opposite arm and hold with the one you just did curls on. Continue in that fashion for 6,5,4,3,2,1, KILLER!)

Low Cable Rows- 3 sets of 10

Reverse Curls- 3 sets of 10 

Chin ups- 3 sets of 12

Dumbbell rows 3- sets of 12 each arm

Single Arm Rotating lat pulldowns- 3 sets of 12 each arm

Dumbbell bicep curls- 3 sets of 10

Dumbbell bent over rows- 3 sets of 1-

3 way cable bicep curls- 3 sets of 7 each direction (outward, front, inward.)

Wide Fly Burnout

 (start with the heaviest weight you can, and do as many reps as you can, then do a little less weight for as many reps and you can, etc. until you run out of dumbbells! ) 

Hammer Curl Burnout (Same fashion!)

Enjoy! :) 

Hump Day!

Happy Happy Humpday everyone! 

You know what's the worst? When its leg day and you're STILL sore from the last leg day... Ouch! 

I train legs 3 times a week... Monday's and Friday's I train Hamstrings and glutes, Wednesday's I train Quads and glutes, so today was Quads and Glutes day!

Today's workout was fairly short and sweet, but DEFINITELY to the point! 

Warm up:

Dynamic Stretching of your choice! (Don't skip this part... you'll regret it, I promise!)

Back Squat Work-up:

10 reps

8 reps

6 reps

4 reps

2 reps

The goal of this Work-up is to start with moderately challenging weight for the first set of 10 reps, then continue to increase your weight until you get to the 2 rep set, which by this time should be close to your maximum squat weight! Knowing that, increase accordingly per set :) 

Wide stance back squat 

3 sets of 8 reps, heavy 

Barbell Split Squats (this one is BRUTAL heavy) 

3 sets of 8, each leg, heavy 

Tri-Set

Dumbbell step-ups 

2 sets of 10, each leg

Glute push downs on the assisted pull-up machine

2 sets of 10 

Dumbbell Lateral lunges with a leg raise

2 sets of 8, each leg 

Superset: 

Glute Kickback Machine 

3 sets of 8 with an 8 pulse at the top on the last rep

Quad extensions

3 sets of burnouts, single leg and double leg 

Que booty pump, then limp out of the gym, haha! 

But seriously, my legs gave out walking back to the locker room to get my stuff, I was SO embarrassed!

Give that routine a shot and let me know what you think! Enjoy :)  

DIY Friday!

Hey everyone! It's DIY Friday again, Black Friday at that, so lots of fun things can be picked up today for DIY projects!! Take advantage ;) 

This week's #FarmhouseFixForLess is for our outside entry way! Not too long ago, we had picked up some pallets to make a bench for our inside entry way... but they ended up being a little too dirty to have as inside wood, so they needed to be an outside project! 

As you have seen, the inside of the Buckley house is in full swing Christmas, however our outside entryway was still very Fall-ish... pumpkins and all! Soooo, we had to make the outside match the inside and make some Christmas trees! :) 

Here's what you'll need: 

-Old Pallets

-An Angle 

-A Saw

-And possibly a husband, ha! 

First we took the old pallets and the hubs used the angle to draw the cut lines. These were what our pallets looked like! 

This is the angle we used! 

The steepness of the angle is dependent on how big or how small you want the Christmas trees! We made one bigger one and one smaller one! Once your lines are drawn, you can get to cutting! My husband (black shirt) made the first one, then taught his cousin how to make the next one. 

They left the bottom of the trees straight across so they could sit on their own! Here's what they look like! 

Aren't they adorable?! With some fire wood, pinecones and a basket full of mini pinecones, we're ready for Christmas! 

Now the debate is, to flock them with snow, or not to flock them with snow.... decisions, decisions! 

What do y'all think?! 

Happy DIY Friday! 

DIY Friday !!

So I totally dropped the ball last week with my DIY Friday ! So here we are with a #FarmHouseFixForLess !

Some of you remember me going to the French Country Flea Market last month and I was able to find some really neat old reclaimed wood windows so I got creative with one of them.

I have A LOT of jewelry, ya know for the rare occasion that I'm not wearing gym clothes, and what I had been using to hang it just wasn't cutting it !

So here's what happened:

I took one of the larger windows that had one of the panes broken , and knocked out all the glass (which was a lot harder than I thought it would be!)

The a flipped it over and stapled 1in chicken wire ($3 from Lowes/Home Depot) on the back of the window !

Then I found these tiny little S-hooks at Lowe's for $2 and spread them around on the chicken wire. They're perfect for necklaces !

Then I hung all my jerewly on it !

Ta-daa!

You can do this with a picture frame too if you don't have a window !

Happy Friday :)

Brawler Bootcamp!

What the heck is Brawler Bootcamp and why should you 110% be in it?! 

Let me break it down for ya! Every month I run an online fitness bootcamp to help ladies reach their health and fitness goals! This month however, I launched a NEW bootcamp, and its wrapped around KICKBOXING/MMA Training. Now, many of you ladies are probably thinking "eh, I'm not coordinated enough for that" or "that's not really my thing"... but guess what? You're WRONG. 

Listen here ladies. One: You ARE coordinated enough for it! It just takes practice. If my long, lanky 5'10" self can do it, ANYONE can do it! Two: It SHOULD be your thing. Wanna know why? 1 in 3 women have be physically abused by someone in their intimate circle of relationships. ONE IN THREE! That's ONE too many, and that JUST in their inner circle! That's not even counting the attacks that happen by strangers...  Is Kickboxing fun? Heck yeah. But its not just about the fun, its not just about getting fit, its about get STRONG and CONFIDENT in your abilities to defend yourself! You WILL not be a victim. You WILL be able to FIGHT BACK and #HitLikeAGirl! Will you be a professional fighter after this bootcamp? Absolutely not. But will you feel confident in yourself and your abilities to defend yourself and feel EMPOWERED? Heck yes! Not to mention you'll crush your fitness goals in the process! <3 Be prepared to be functionally fit ! 

Want a little sneak peek? Here you go! 

For more info on joining Brawler Bootcamp, click HERE! <3

Dinner! - Zoodle Spaghetti!

I'm an intuitive eater, for sure! So I don't track or pay a TON of attention to my food meticulously, however I do try to be mindful of types of foods I'm eating timing wise. For example, I train legs 3 days a week, so I know on those 3 days I can CARB UP because my goal is for growth in my glutes and hamstrings and they workout takes A LOT out of you, the other 4 days I'm not looking for as much growth as I am shape, so I try to keep those days higher in proteins and fats than carbs. I also try not to stuff my face with carbs before bed (regardless of the training day) because carbs need to be used to not turn into fat! So this is a perfect example of my dinner from the other night on a non-legday.

Zoodles!

First, spiralize some zucchini! You can get a spiralizer of some sort from Wal-Mart or Bed, Bath, and Beyond. I got mine on Amazon! Click Here to order one. Zucchini shrinks up real small, so you can spiralize a lot of them !!

Next, through them in a pan and simmer on low-med heat with seasoning while your brown the meat!  

Brown the meat you're using! You can use ground turkey or extra lean ground beef. I use extra lean ground beef and season it with sea salt, pepper, and chilli powder! 

Strain your meat and noodles, then combine with sauce! This is the sauce I use (I'm not creative enough to make my own. This gets the job done!) 

Mix it together and enjoy!! :)

High protein, lower carb dinner :) 

Happy Wednesday! :) 

Bloat Be Gone Update!

Happy Transformation Tuesday! If you guys read my Bloat Be Gone post (here!), then you know the struggle I was having and what I was testing to help it out! This is an update on progress from that post. 

As you know, I was using a Gut Health blend of tea that has oodles of benefits for your insides to keep them healthy and I'm still LOVING these blends!! (see previous post for specific blends!) So here's an update. 

In my previous post, you saw the first two photos, a 10 day difference with a non-bloated, happy, healthy tummy!! In the third picture, you can see that still stands true!! The third picture AGAIN was in the evening, after a full day of food and my tummy is still just as happy as it was before! I wasn't expecting a drastic change from photo two and three because my goal isn't weight loss, it was just to maintain my bloating issue, which is exactly what is happening!! So you have Day 1 (morning) Day 10 (evening), and Day 20 (evening). 

SO excited I've FINALLY found something to make my insides happy again and it isn't a pill or a medicine!! Thank you Teami !! <3 

For those of you who need a short recap, I have been implementing a Gut Health combo tea from Teami Blends to help with my unhappy insides. I was using both the Skinny Blend and the Colon Blend and LOVE them. (See my original "Bloat Be Gone" post for details and health benefits). 

Now I am also incorporating the Alive Blend and the Energy blend to help regulate my Hypothyroid energy drops! This morning was my first time testing out the Alive Blend and I mixed it with my typical Skinny Blend and OMG. First of all, YUM, second of all, MY ENERGY IS AMAZING!!!! 

When I wake up, I normally feel like I've been hit by a bus, twice. (I know my hypothyroid peeps understand). Normally this drags on until about lunch time. This morning I got up extra early to get a workout in with my Brawler Bootcampers and thought FOR SURE I would be DRAGGING all day like I normally am when I get up extra early to workout before work instead of waiting until after work (totally not a morning person...) But to my surprise, after my workout with some good endorphin pumping, I had my Alive/Skinny Teami blend heading to work and I'm feeling AWESOME! Clear mind, lots of energy, not falling asleep if I sit too long, but also not WIRED like I am when I have espresso. 

Just a little bit about Teami's Alive Blend. 

This herbal blend is geared toward eliminating chronic exhaustion (my fellow hypo peeps!), getting your metabolism going, heightening your focus and concentration, boosting your energy, decreasing migraines (#blessed), and increasing your blood flow and circulation to clear your skin! (buh-bye acne!) 

So far I am obsessed with those three blends! Bring me ALL the herbal remedies to medical problems please!! :) 

Any of my fellow hypo peeps, bloaty gals, migraine suffers, or sleepyheads, swing by www.teamiblends.com and get a discount with the code: BARBELLS

Happy Tuesday FitFam! <3 

DIY Friday!!

We got married in September and closed on our house the week before the wedding, so not only are we newlyweds, but we are also new home owners and I've had a BLAST decorating and turning our house into a warm, cozy home!! We've been up to a lot of DIY projects, so I figured on Friday's I'd share a project we had done for our farmhouse themed home, on a budget! 

Introducing DIY Fridays #FarmHouseFixForLess style ! There is a fun hashtag that goes around on Instagram on Tuesdays too, if you want to play. :) 

Anyway, today I wanted to share the beginning of our entry way! Now I'm the Pinterest queen... I would literally have zero decorating sense without Pinterest or Instagram, ha! So naturally scrolling around Pinterest I found rustic entry ways, and they all, in some way, had shelving of some type at the top with hanging options, and then a bench of some kind at the bottom for storage and fun pillows, of course! So I wondered off to Hobby Lobby and I began the search for shelving. 

Unfortunately, shelves are really flipping expensive! (at least the farm style ones I wanted were.) So I left the shelf section and wondered around the decor section to stumble upon these old tool boxes!

I thought they were neat to begin with, but after I looked at them for a little bit, I thought "what if I flipped them upside-down and made them a shelf?! Then I could hang something from the bottom of them!" Naturally, I'm a very visual person, so I had to lay it out. I wandered over to the knob/hanging section in Hobby Lobby and found some hooks.

UMMMMM YES!!!! PERFECT!!!! So I grabbed two toolboxes ($20), 8 hooks and headed out the door for a fraction of the price of just ONE normal shelf!

I got home and my husband asked if I had any shelf luck. I opened the trunk and whipped out these bad boys (holding them as toolboxes), full of excitement for my cheap, creative find and he kinda just looked at me funny, waiting for an explanation. I let him know that I need him to hang these upside in the entry way and then we're going to add hooks! "It was a super cheap steal babe, way cheaper than a shelf!" (that's all he really need to hear and/or cared about). So up went the two upside down toolboxes and we attached the hooks..... TA-DAAA!!! :) 

I'm obsessed! Toolboxes, hooks, and decor are all from Hobby Lobby! Now its time to find or build the perfect bench for underneath it :) 

Happy DIY Friday! :) 

Squats for Boobs

Last night's workout was chest and triceps, with a little bit of abs at the end! 

I hate training chest, with a passion, but I hate armpit fat in my bras and tank tops more, so I guess I'll stick to it. I got to thinking (wishing) yesterday while doing chest, whyyyyyyy can't I build boobs like I can build a booty?! Wouldn't that be awesome! You can work hard and shape, tone and grow every other part of your body... I vote boobs should be a muscle group, not just the pectoral muscles that lay underneath them. Looks like my vote doesn't count... sigh. 

Since it looks like that won't ever be a thing, here's the chest, tri and abs workout I did yesterday that will at least make them perky! I will be working on doing my own instructional videos, but for now, I've attached examples of each workout if you're confused about one! (Sorry in advance if they're lame!) 

Superset:

Cable chest press: 3x12 @ 70lbs (Example) 

Tricep cable pulldowns: 3x10 @ 40lbs (Example)

Superset: 

Dumbbell Bench Press: 3x12 @ 20lbs (Example)

Skull Crushers 3x12 @ 20lbs (Example)

Superset:

Cable Crossover Pec Pulls: 3x12 @ 30lbs 

(These are kinda like sword pulls, but instead of pulling from the ground up using your back, you're pulling from over your head and down using your chest!) 

Dumbells Pec Flys: 3x10 @ 10lbs (Example)

Superset: 

Dumbbell Tricep Kickbacks: 3x10 @ 8lbs (Example)

Tricep pushups: 3x Burnout  (Example)

Superset: 

Tricep dips: Burnout (Example)

Single Arm Tricep Cable Pull Downs: Burnout (Same as above, but holding only one cable)

Abs: 

V-Ups : Burnout (Example)  

Leg lifts: Burnout (Example)

Crunches: Burnout 

Alternating Toe Touch V-Ups: Burnout (Example)

Oblique crunches: Burnout each side (Example)

Dumbbell Oblique Pulls: Burnout each side (Example)

** Burnout: Doing as many reps as you can until you can't do any more. 

Enjoy! 

Bloat Be Gone!

Bloating. It's frustrating, inconvenient, annoying, and just no fun! Even worse? When you can't figure out what the heck causes it!! There's nothing worse than busting your tail in the gym (or at home) and wanting to feel awesome and show off your hard work in your clothes (or without) and feeling like you CAN'T because you're so bloated!! Maybe your core muscles are under there somewhere... but who knows because you ingested SOMETHING that made you swell up like a balloon. 

For me, its pretty much anything I ingested. Eat a full sized pizza (gluten free, of course), bloat; Eat a salad, bloat. Drink water to flush it out, bloat. Hmmmmm.... It's FRUSTRATING. Trust me, I know. I'm sick of my dress pants cutting into my hips and stomach after lunch too, don't worry. 

I've tried A LOT to help this issue... from cutting out certain foods, to special probiotics, and nothing really seemed to help. So I figured I'd just have to deal with a "food baby" more often than not, yay. 

Then I stumbled across TeaMi Blends. Now, two things. One, I absolutely DO NOT think that any kind of tea, pill, wrap or anything of the sorts is the solution to your health and fitness goals. NOTHING will substitute hard work EXERCISING and CLEAN EATING. Two, I love teas so I have tried "weight loss" teas in the past just for shits and giggles, so I'm aware of all the crazy advertisements that buzz around. I did not try this tea for weight loss. Period. 

However, I am all about the natural healing of issues with your body, for those of you who have followed my Hypothyroid journey on Instagram. I'll drink some natural herbal tea before I'll swallow a pill full of chemicals. What caught my attention about this tea is the Gut Health aspects of it. Obviously, if we're bloating a lot, that's a SIGN that something is up and irritated in your digestive tract and it needs some lovin'! I ended up giving two TeaMi teas a shot: Skinny and Colon.

The Skinny tea is for daily drinking and I've actually REPLACED my morning coffee with it (WHATTT!?! Yay for less teeth bleaching!). Because this tea is loose leaf tea, it comes with a cute little steeper, so I just fill my steeper in the morning, drop it in my cup, and refill my cup throughout the day when I'd like more tea! My office is FREEZING, so a warm drink is necessary. You get 30 "servings" in a bag for loose leaf tea, however because you can re-steep all day, you're really getting a lot more bang for your buck. So lets talk about the Skinny Tea for a second. One, I hate that its called skinny tea. Yes, it helps with the bloating and digestion so it makes you feel skinnier, but it is by no means a solution for weight loss that some people assume it to be by its name; luckily that is not how its advertised. I wish it was called Confidence tea, because you really do feel so much more confident when your tummy is flat and happy! The herbal blend that makes up the Skinny tea focuses on boosting your metabolism, calming and soothing muscle soreness, spasms and tightness, reducing bloating, soothing digestive issues, and improving skin complexion. It's been a great addition to my workout routine and current eating schedule! I'll never complain about a metabolism boost, not as sore muscles, and clear skin!  

The Colon tea I think is the biggest game changer here. It tastes DELICIOUS (husband approved) and really does its job. Like I mentioned earlier, if you're bloating a lot, that is a sign from your body that something is not happy, so the herbs in the colon tea go straight to the source. I drink this tea every other night, and steep 2 glasses from one bag. (You only steep for 2-3 minutes... but ease your way into that ;) ) The herbal blend that makes up the Colon tea focuses on detoxing your internal organs, flushing out harsh toxins that have built up from pollution, harsh chemicals, and processed foods, healing digestive issues and improving digestion, and improving the quality of sleep. If toxins are built up in your digestive tract, the nutrients you consume cannot be properly absorbed, obstructing your efforts in reaching your health and fitness goals!

Gut Health is just as important for reaching your goals as your physical workout routine and your eating habits! Gotta take care of the outside AND the inside :)

Anyway, after adding this combo of teas to my current workout routine and eating habits, here's what I saw after 10 days! I really wasn't expecting to see a huge difference in general, let alone early on. I like to give things about 3-4 weeks of consistency before I conclude they don't work. (My husband may disagree and attest to my mini-meltdowns when I spend three days eating healthy and my abs are back yet....So I may as well have Fro-Yo because its not working... ha! ) But in reality it DOES take about 3 weeks to notice changes in your body, skin, etc, so whatever you're doing, stick it out for at least that long, then reassess! :) 

The photo on the left is me in the morning (can you tell I'm SUCH a morning person?). But typically in the morning, you should be your leanest because you've just spend all night letting your body eat itself.... and here we are, bloated. The picture on the right is me in the evening, after a full day of eating..... holy moly. I feel SO much better. I would have expected to look more bloated than the first photo, because I was 3 meals and some snacks in... but to my surprise, my tummy was normal! The right side is a happy, flat, non-bloated tummy!! (and also a non-padded sports bra. Yes they're really that small. #sadday . The tea did NOT make them disappear, I promise.) 

I'm super excited to see what the rest of the month brings and looking forward to having a happy Tummy from now on! #ThankYouTeami

There was a big sale the other day so I got the Energy blend and the Alive blend too, in hopes that they will help with my hypothyroid energy plummets! Hypothyroid peeps, I'll keep you updated ;) Stay tuned for a post on that ! :) 

Teami is offering a discount on all teas and super cute tumblers at www.teamiblends.com , discount code: BB20 at check out, for anyone interested! 

Happy Thursday!

Welcome Back!

Hello fitfam and blog world ! I'm BACK and super excited for my revamp !!! 

I've reorganized, rebranded, and am ready to share with you all again, where life has taken me! 💗

Let's get back to it ! 

Today was Leg day, because it's #Humpday of course ! I'm currently training legs 3 times a week, so I have 2 Hamstring and Glute days and one Quad, glute and calf day, which was today ! 

I'm still easing back into things after taking so long off , but it's amazing how muscle memory works ! 

Here's what was on the menu for today : 

Back Squat Pyramid : 

10 reps @ 135lbs 

8 reps @ 145lbs

6 reps @ 165lbs

4 reps @ 185lbs

2 reps @195lbs 

4 reps @185lbs 

6 reps @ 165lbs

10 reps @ 135lbs 

(I skipped the 8 because my form gave out and it's form is always the most important part!) 

Super set: 

Smith machine Glute Kickbacks 

3 x 8 @ 30lbs 

Curtsy Lunges 

3 x 8 @ 15lb dumbbells in each hand 

Super Set: 

Sumo Goblet Squats 

3x8 @ 40lbs 

Alternating lateral lunges 

3x8 each leg @ 40lbs 

Leg Press: 

Narrow stance 

3x10 @ 130lbs 

Wide Stance 

3x10 @ 130lbs 

Single leg, toe forward 

3x12 @ 60lbs 

Single leg, toe inward (outer glute focus)

3x10 @ 60lbs 

Single leg, toe outward (inner glute focus)

3x10 @ 60lbs 

(I did one set of each style of leg press non-stop for each group set... Holy burn!!!) 

Quad Extension Burn out : 

12 reps @ 80lbs 

10 reps @ 70lbs

8 reps @ 60lbs 

8 reps @ 40 lbs 

8 reps @ 30lbs 

Single leg 8 reps @ 20lbs 

Single leg 8 reps @ 10lbs 

Pause 

Single leg 12 reps @ 20lbs 

Both legs 10 reps @ 30lbs 

Collapse 😂 

Enjoy, friends ! 

Who's going to give this one a shot?!