My 3 Day Refresh results!

Alright ladies and gents, I promised you my REAL and honest results & opinions after I completed the 3 day Refresh.

Well....I feel FANTASTIC! Even almost a week later!

First, most of you are probably wondering what the heck the 3 day refresh even is! Good thing I'm here to fill you in ;)

So here is the deal....the 3 day Refresh is a 3 day GENTLE cleanse that helps you lose FAT quick in just a few short, easy days. If you're like me, when you hear cleanse you're either thinking.....alright so I'm going to sh*t my brains out, I can only drink liquids & starve for a few days or both. Lucky for you, the 3 Day Refresh is none of the friggin' above! 

On the 3 day refresh you get to eat real food & shakeology...also it is a gentle cleanse...by this I mean, there is no sprinting to the bathroom! Maybe tmi, but I was regular throughout the Refresh & so were my friends who have done it as well! 

Here is a quick little video that explains the whole thing more:
 

Who is the 3 Day Refresh for? 
The 3 Day Refresh is for any person that wants to

• Jump start their results from a weight loss plateau
• Needs to prepare or recover from an event, big weekend, or slip up in diet
• Someone who needs and wants to learn more about healthy eating
• Anyone who wants better sleep, focus and energy 
• Anyone who wants a smooth transition into a healthier diet 
• Anyone who wants to break bad habits like coffee, soda, late night snacking, etc.  

What's included?

• 3 packets of Shakeology each morning for breakfast (or order a month supply of Shakeology with your Refresh...better deal!!)
• Vanilla Refresh 2x daily
• This protein-rich formula helps curb hunger with more than 20 grams of wholesome plant-based protein, 22 essential vitamins and minerals, probiotics for digestive health, and a patented potato protein extract clinically tested to satisfy appetites.
• Fiber Sweep 1x daily 
• Gently and naturally eliminates waste from the digestive system with a blend of whole ground flax, chia, and psyllium seed husks. Fiber Sweep can help lower cholesterol, support healthy blood sugar levels, and may even reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, as part of a healthy diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol.
• 6 snack options
• Lunch & Dinner meal options --> both of which are included in your program guide

What can you expect?:
So I promised you my honest opinion right? I'm not going to sit here and tell you the 3 day refresh is all rainbows, butterflies & icecream cones..(wouldn't that be kick ass to eat icecream for 3 days & lose fat?...Keep dreaming!). BUT I will tell you that it's really not that bad at all! I am the friggin' QUEEN of stuffing my face to the max....I'm still working on that whole portion control thing (Thanks Autumn Calabrese & the 21 day fix for that!)....BUT I did NOT feel like I was starving what so ever on the Refresh!

 More than likely you will experience slight hunger once or twice during the Refresh...BUT this is your body expelling toxins & creating a more neutral environment to be able to let that excess weight go.  Still with me?? When our bodies are in a toxic state from eating a chemical shit storm of food, your body legit FREAKS out on you & holds onto fat just in case it goes into starvation mode. Although you may experience slight hunger, the Refresh creator peeps do their best to provide snacks and dinner options as well as the protein shakes and Shakeology to curb hunger cravings using a potato protein to curb cravings and hunger pains. 

I can also say you can expect better sleep & more energy. It's crazy what kind of energy you can get from eating proper, clean foods !

How can you get it?!
You can find the REFRESH through me, myself & I. I am a Beachbody coach & I am MORE than happy to help you get through your 3 day Refresh. I provide support, advice & motivation. I have a girl who is doing the Refresh this week ...we actually just swapped phone numbers so that she can text me if she is feeling the urge to cheat, has any questions, etc. You can email me at samanthalyn2288@yahoo.com so we can get you set up with the 3 day Refresh or add me on FB & message me! I can not wait to hear from you & help get you started :) 


ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, on to why you started reading this darn post in the first place....MY results. Before you look any further, I want you to promise me that you will not judge me. I have nevah evah posted result pictures. This is a huge step for me. The pictures also aren't the greatest because of poor lighting in the room (I didn't realize this until I looked at the pictures a few days later).

 I also have to give my boyfriend Chris a HUGE thank you for supporting me through this!!! I couldn't have done it without him!
 

Drum roll please.............

• After the 3 day Refresh, I lost 6 lbs. & 4.5 inches! I was extremely pleased with my results. 

 After the Refresh was completed I felt proud, energized & could see a big difference in my stomach!

I will certainly be doing the Refresh every couple of months! I hope to hear from you & possibly complete it together soon :)

  

Healthy, clean & 21 day fix approved PANCAKES

So if anybody really knows me, they know I loooooove pancakes! Come on, how could you not?! Mmm, I could eat them for breakfast, lunch or dinner! 

With that being said....pancakes out of the box or even a lot of homemade pancakes are loaded with calories & not so great ingredients. I kept seeing pins on pinterest for "2 ingredient" pancakes...every single time I thought to myself "those must be incredibly disgusting". BUT tonight I had a purple & a red container left on my 21 day fix plan for the day SO it was perfect and I decided to give them a whirl with my own little spin.

Clean & 21 day fix approved pancakes: 

What you need:

1 banana

2 eggs

1/2 tbsp cinnamon

1 tsp PURE vanilla extract (optional)

1 tbsp Pb2 (optional)

1. Put all ingredients into a bowl and blend together until there are no more banana chunks.

2. Spray pan with non-stick spray, pour in batter & cook on medium heat. Flip when pancake is ready (Not sure how to explain the readiness to flip, but seriously...who doesn't know when a pancake is ready to be flipped?...come on!)

 3. Put on plate & enjoyyyyyyyyy! Mine didn't last long! I can't wait to make this again :) 

My Monday Night......

So as many of you know probably know, Chris is in the police academy. It is a part time academy which means he works his full time job during the day & goes to the academy at night. Oh & then he has a part time job Saturday nights after he's been at the academy all day as well. I would be lying if I said that this has been easy....it's been stressful on both of us, but we are strong & chugging through it by working together. Some weeks it feels like I don't see him at all......I couldn't even tell you the last time we went on a date. SOOO, when I got this text message on Monday, I was ecstatic to say the least! He finally had a night completely off! 

I was pumped, we were going to a local Pub&Grill which has amazing food & was also where we had our first official date. As corny as it may be, I love going there because it always brings me back to our first awkward meal together HAHA...that's a whole different story for another day though! But so either way, like the procrastinators we are....Chris got home from work, we watched a little t.v. & laid around. And when we were finally ready to go, Chris had stuff he had to do as class captain that came up. So we were a little late going to dinner (we're talking walking out of the door at 7:45). We get to the restaurant & Chris has to take a phone call....finally get into the restaurant at 8:07 & the girl tells us they stopped serving food at 8....JUST OUR LUCK. If you have ever had the joy of visiting Hornell (a little sarcasm there), you will understand that panic sets in at this point because there aren't many other places to eat....I mean yeah, Crapplebee's is open late, but I really didn't want to go there. So we decided we would try seeing if a small Italian place on the other side of town was open & still serving food. We get in the car & head over when Chris gets ANOTHER phone call (he's class captain, so this is literally the story of our lives lately ). He has the phone on speaker & the guy decides to pull a little prank on him and tell him that he needs to head to Rochester ASAP. My jaw dropped....seriously?! It was our first date night in roughly 2 months....then the guy starts laughing! He just had to call & tell Chris something but decided to make a little joke first..HA-HA...I didn't find it funny at first. Woah, enough rambling.....so we get to the Italian place, are the only ones in the joint & have an amazing time. I got a delicious meal & even more delicious glass of wine (it was cheat night....back off) . It was nice to sit with one another, talk, laugh and just enjoy each others company. 

After getting home, the plan was just to relax & pop in a movie before we had to head to bed for the night. I got in the door when Chris called me back outside. We could hear that there was a cow at the farm about a mile down the road, who sounded like she was in distress. Being the animal lover that he is (which I love him for), we had to get in the car & drive down to check it out. While we were gone, I put our dog Brannagh in our bedroom with the door shut....she likes to get into things which is why I contained her into one room. I checked around the room quick to make sure there was nothing she could get into & shut the door. So we drove to the farm, listened for the cow & Chris said it sounded like she was giving birth...there were people around though so we didn't worry about it & drove back home. When I walked in the door , Brannagh didn't bark...which is super unusual as she usually barks at any door that shuts or opens within a half mile radius (the dog is ridiculous). I ran down the hall way, opened the door and found her standing on the bed with an extremely suspicious look on her face. I looked around & for the life of me couldn't figure out what she had eaten. I knew she had eaten something though, due to the fact that there was a huge pool of drool in the middle of our bed. I looked over at Chris' nightstand to where we have our little Riain (our dog who passed away in May) shrine. We have a print of his paw that we did the last day he was with us, his urn, his tags & there USED TO BE a salt dough ornament I made with his pawprint & painted. Brannagh ate the friggin' salt dough ornament that was covered in craft paint & mod podge. Are you kidding me???! She has got to be the dumbest dog I've ever met. I immediately burst into tears, put her down in her crate and continued to sob.....Chris was upset too. Neither one of us wanted to see her.....that was an extremely important piece of Riain that we had (I'm thankful we have another one though....I made a couple, but that one turned out better than the other). After controlling my tears, Chris & I looked at eachother with the same "Oh shit" look....we then began frantically looking at the paint & mod-podge labels, but were happy to find that both were non-toxic. Phew...right? NOPE! Salt is toxic to dogs apparently....so if you didn't know, know you do! Learn something new every day.....I know that's something I didn't know. SOOO a whole new round of panic & google searching to try and figure out how much damn salt she could have in her body before it is lethal. She obviously was allowed out of her crate & with us at this point because we had to start watching for vomiting, seizures, lethargy, etc. We came to the conclusion that she didn't have enough to kill her, but that we had to be sure she got PLENTY of fluids. This meant giving her water & letting her out to relieve herself every 45-60 minutes ALL night. We got little to no sleep. Although we were pretty sure she was going to be ok, it was still scary to think that something could still happen & that made it very difficult to sleep.

And this my friends is why we don't have children....because we already have a child. She keeps us on our toes, some nights doesn't allow us to sleep & needs a lot of our attention....She just has four paws :)

SUPER SATURDAY

I had an absolutely amazing time at yesterday's Super Saturday (wellll Sunday lol) event at Bounce Aerobics in Henrietta, NY. I feel inspired & ready to knock out a couple more months helping others reach their health/fitness goals!

What is Super Saturday?

 Super Saturday is Beachbody's quarterly get-together, where Coaches from across the USA come together at hundreds of events to prepare for the next quarter, recognize success, share tips, and MAKE THINGS HAPPEN! 

Kait & I before watching the SuperSaturday video.

So Super Saturday at Bounce was hosted by 2 Star Diamond Coach Meghan Eggleston & Diamond Coach Victoria Barone Graham! These two ladies did a wonderful job hosting the event! I was so glad that a fellow coach & friend could join me for the event so that I didn't have to go alone! We made the hour trip together & had a blast! Thanks Kait ;) 

Meghan&Victoria talking about Summit '15

First on our agenda was listening to a fellow coach share her journey with weight-loss & coaching. In less than a year she has lost a significant amount of weight with Beachbody programs, helped others do the same & has built a business that has allowed her to leave her full time job. Next up was to watch a video from the company & CEO Carl Daikeler himself. It included details about awesome new products like the 3-day Refresh, PiYo & P90! After learning about these amazing products, we heard from another coach who took his  completely unhealthy life & turned it around. He started his journey being over 300 lbs with TurboFire (which I absolutely love). He looks like half the person he was in the beginning & is healthy inside and out. The video wrapped up with listening to a very powerful presentation about NEVER giving up that he gave at Summit (like Super Saturday x50 in Vegas). He explained that even when you fail, keep trying. Even if you fail a million times, you are still bettering yourself & trying. This really spoke to me. Not only to not give up on myself and my goals, but to not give up on the people I am helping either! If I take 2 steps forward, and one step back....I will still be one foot forward!

Christine preparing us!

Next on the agenda was doing a PiYo Live class with our local Master Trainer Christine Pilaroscia. Let me just start by saying that Christine is the shit. Seriously...if you are ever in the Rochester area, be sure to take one of her classes! She has amazing energy & excitement. The class was amazing to say the least! Kait & I are totally feeling it today! I'm so excited that PiYo has come out on DVD for at home workouts & can NOT wait to order mine! Luckily you can get it for $10 through a Beachbody coach like myself until the end of July! It came super close to selling out when it was released a week or so ago, but luckily Beacbhbody learned it's lesson with the 21 Day Fix (which sold out the first day!) and they had plenty ready to go! 

I absolutely love Christine's PiYo Live classes!

 






 The last part of our Super Saturday @ Bounce Aerobics was trying Shakeology! Mmmm, we tried both Vegan flavors of Shakeology, which are Chocolate & Tropical. I never was a big fan of the Vegan flavors because in the old formula the vegan protein that they used created it to have a gritty texture....BUT I am very happy to report that the new formula is SOOO much better. Seriously, Beachbody took it to a whole new level! I will be switching my bag next month to Chocolate Vegan :) I still wasn't a big fan of Tropical Vegan Shakeology, but to each their own....I do know coaches who love it, it's just not my cup of tea. 

I want to send a big thank you to Meghan & Victoria for hosting this event AND Christine for teaching PiYo. I am already counting down until the next one in September! 

Strawberry-banana PB Shake

Want a refreshing friggin slice of heaven in a glass?.....read on! 

I absolutely love the new Strawberry Shakeology, but like the other flavors, I rarely have it plain with just water & ice. There are so many yummy ways to shake it up a bit...see what I did there ? ;) Bahaha...Sorry...SOOO corny.

But anyyy whooo...here is the recipe for my Shakeology breakfast this morning! It was a strawberry, banana, peanut butter shake that was incredibly refreshing & delicious. I made sure I got every.last.drop.!

Strawberry-nana PB Shakeology:

-a few frozen strawberries

-1/2 a frozen banana

-1 scoop Strawberry Shakeology

-2 tsp. all natural PB 

-1 1/2- 2 cups of water

Blend it all up & enjoy ;) 

PERFECT for a hot summer day!  

Healthy Fish Tacos!!

I absolutely love making new recipes & mixing things up. So often I find Chris & I eating chicken 5-6 nights a week just plain with a side of veggies (which gets super bland & boring)! Healthy does NOT have to be boring & my goal is to get away from boring :) 

Today for lunch I wanted to test out a new idea to. I found a fish taco recipe on Pinterest, but it was too complicated for my liking (the more simple it is, the better!)....so I changed it up quite a bit!

I have to say that I was VERY satisfied with how they turned out :)

So here is what you need:

-Tilapia filet
-Rainbow salad (Or Cabbage mix, sort of like a coleslaw mix)
- Wheat wrap
-Greek yogurt
-Mrs. Dash SouthWestern salt free spice 
-Avacado
-Shredded Cheese


1. Rub the Mrs. Dash South Western spice evenly on BOTH sides of the Tilapia. 

2. Grill (or I cooked in a pan on the stove) the fish on both sides, until it is opaque and flakes easily!

3. To warm up the tortilla/wrap, I threw it in a pan for about 30 seconds on each side. After it is warm, put it on a plate and spread about 1-2tbsp of the greek yogurt onto the wrap. I then sprinkled a pinch of the South Western seasoning onto the greek yogurt. 

4. Cut fish to desired size pieces. Spread the fish on the tortilla. Top with cabbage, pieces of avacado & a little cheese.

5. Fold/wrap it up & enjoy!

DIY Ribbon hair clip holder

I love a good DIY project, which explains why I LOVE pinterest! Most of my pins never get completed by myself personally though...they just sit there on my boards waiting ever so patiently for me to finally find time for them! The school year is winding down & I hope to have plenty of time to do more projects.

Why are DIY gifts awesome you ask?
-You can be creative
-You can save a butt load of $$
-You can personalize the gift
-And the list goes on....

So, I got invited to one of my friend's daughter's 1st birthday party this week. What the heck do you get a 1 year old? Little girls have sooo many clothes, toys, etc....what do they really need? So I decided to start searching Pinterest for a simple but cute and useable gift that I could make! I stumbled upon a couple different ideas for Hair clip holders & decided to tweak them & make them my own way.


Here is what you will need:

-Wooden letter (Can be found at craft store....I actually found mine at Wal-Mart)
-Acrylic paint
-Mod Podge
-Stickers (Optional)
-Ribbon (one thick and one thin)
-Hot Glue Gun

Procedure:

1. 

Paint the wooden letter the color of your choice. I did three layers of paint on mine, allowing each layer to dry for 5-10 minutes before applying the next coat. (I painted the front & back of the letter)

2. Once the paint is COMPLETELY dry, I added on the cute owl stickers that I found. You could add pretty much anything flat (stickers, paint on words or stripes/dots, etc.)


3. 

 Next you want to apply a generous amount of Mod Podge to the letter. Front & back again. I did two layers & let the first layer dry completely before adding the second. 

4. 

Decide how long you want your thick ribbons to be & cut 2 of them. Mine were about 20-24 inches long. Once you have cut them, you will then hot glue them to the back of the letter. The thin ribbon is to be hot-glued to the back as a hook to hang with!

5. Add bows & your project is complete :) 

 ~I absolutely loved making this project & was pleased with out it turned out. I think I actually might back another one for one of our friends who is having a baby girl soon! For hers I am going to try Mod podging pretty scrap paper over the whole letter instead of painting! :)