Five Friday Faves

So this week’s FIVE FRIDAY FAVES seems to revolve around fitness and weight loss one way or another. If that doesn’t thrill ya I’m sorry, my life seems to be revolving around this subject lately. I’ve been spending some time in the gym and counting calories. Not too glamorous but necessary.

So here are some of my faves I’m loving right now…..

My Fitness Pal is an awesome way to track your calorie intake and exercise. Up till now I was just focusing on my workouts but I wasn’t seeing the results that I was hoping for. So I knew that I needed to become more mindful about my calorie intake. First off, I use the app for this on my phone which makes it super easy to log everything in anytime. Secondly, I needed to learn what my calorie limit should be and MFP was able to tell me that. Thirdly, they have a TON of food items in their database so it’s super easy to pull up what you ate and the calories attached to it. Even food from restaurants and grocery brands. Lastly, they have TONS of workouts and activities to choose from when logging your workouts. Even housecleaning!!! Yes!!!

So this will probably be old news for most of you. For me, the green smoothie is a new thing. I was so intimidated to make one. I would pin recipes but I would either think that the ingredients were too complicated or sounded awful! I finally broke down and just forced myself to dive in. I mean what did I have to loose? To make it easy on myself I picked up some Yoplait frozen smoothie packages (strawberry banana to be exact), added one cup of milk (per the yoplait instructions), a couple handfuls of spinach leaves, and a scoop of flax seed. Y’all is was tasty! I will slowly venture out and try new combinations and flavors….but for now I’m excited!!!

3 Days a week I’m in the gym with my trainer. However I am needed to get some cardio in between those days. I don’t know about where your are but the weather here has been a bit nutty. Getting outside and getting my cardio in hasn’t been the best option. Oh and by the way….I LOVE Zumba! I did classes in California but haven’t been able to find anything here. So I broke down and got the Wii Zumba. I realize that I have a lot of moves to learn but man it was fun! You forget that you’re working out. 796 calories burned. I’ll take it!

Now this next one may seem a little out of place. You see….I love coffee. No strike that. I can’t really just drink “coffee”, it has to be fu fu coffee. It just does or it’s not workin for this girl. My drink is a White Chocolate Mocha. Have you ever looked at the calories in those. Ugh. So I’m trying to cut back and only allow it as a treat. So I still need something  in the morning right? Well I am now making some Starbucks Via Caramel packets at home. I make them with milk and they are pretty delicious. Granted they have more calories than a cup of black coffee….but hey what can I say?

This one may also seem a little out of place….but I promise you it’ll fit. You see in my efforts to loose weight and improve my health I am also looking to take overall better care of myself. My kids have become a bit more independent and they both attend school now. I realized that throughout the last several years I have been consumed with being pregnant, breastfeeding, changing diapers, and overall caring for my littles. All the while loving it and also maybe not focusing on myself like I could of been. It was what it was at the time. But now I’m trying to refocus things a bit and take care of myself. Obviously weightloss is at the top of that list but so is skin care, a makeup makeover, and new beauty routines. I will admit that this stuff doesn’t come naturally to me and I usually need a little push. I stumbled up on Hairspray & Highheals the other day and it has been a fun place to look around and gain some great recommendations! I have already tried one of these masks that she recommended and it was pretty great!

Do you have any beauty blogs that are a must read? Something for a busy mom and crafter with no beauty tips of her own???

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Welp that’s it for this week! I am really enjoying my Five Friday Faves posts and I hope y’all are too! I’d love to hear any thoughts or inputs from you all about anything I include. So sound off!

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I have not been compensated for this post in anyway. All opinions and thoughts are my own.