My Fitness Plans for 2017 + Am I Competing?

January 2017 Favorites

1. LUSH: Magical Moringa (facial moisturizer), Angels on Bare Skin (Facial Cleanser), American Cream (Hair Conditioner)

Magical Moringa is seriously the best moisturizer I have ever tried! It makes your skin feel velvety soft and matte all day. It is great to use underneath makeup as a primer. I do not have oily or dry skin by the way but I think it would work great for any skin type.
Angels on Bare Skin has black charcoal, mud and black sugar among other things but I really like how it scrubs my skin gently. It is specifically meant for acne prone skin. I have stress induced break outs and this cleanser has really helped keep my skin clearer.

American Cream conditioner smells amazing! The smell is vanilla based and it stays in your hair at least all day if not for a couple days after that. It still lingers after using hot tools on my hair as well. The conditioner also makes my hair shiny, vibrant and soft.

2. Amazon Music

Amazon Music is included with a Prime membership. I didn't want to pay for Spotify Premium or Pandora One but I also don't like being limited to a number of skips nor do I like listening to ads mid workout. I found out that Amazon Music allows me to create playlists, download the music to my phone or computer for offline listening, skip songs all day long and there are no ads. Sold. You can pay for an upgraded version to have access to even more songs, especially new releases. I just haven't felt like it has been necessary to do so.

3. No Tomorrow

It's on Netflix. It is a romantic comedy TV-show and while it's quirky, strange and unrealistic at times, the concept and theme is really cool. The theme- What would you do and how would you live if the world were ending in 8 months?

4. Minimalism- A Documentary About The Important Things

This documentary is also on Netflix. It is not a typical boring documentary(though I personally lie documentaries) and I think it really could be appreciated by anyone. It talks about what is really important in life, what really makes us happy and the idea of living with less material items. It also discusses that young adults (and even older generations) are in search of a different lifestyle than what years ago was thought to be the key to success.

***Hey guys, I also wanted to note, this post is not sponsored in any way. I was not compensated or given anything for free. This is all just my opinion. 

Squats-Butt Workout

Summer Prep: Ep. 2 Arm Workout

Backpacking The Grand Tetons

Photos from Grand Tetons Backpacking Trip!

Denver, CO Trip

Cellucor C4 Sport Review

Cellucor C4 Sport Review

Peanut Butter Cup Protein Shake

This is one of my favorite ways to make a post workout shake, it tastes just like a peanut butter cup. It’s packed with protein from the protein powder but also the peanut butter. The banana will also help to keep you from being as sore the next day. Enjoy! Share it if you like it

Ashley

 

 

 

Peanut Butter Cup Protein Shake

Tofu Pineapple Avocado Tacos From RFFMBT!

On Tuesday It was raining and though it has been raining a lot over the past couple of months, I can’t say I recall noticing a rainbow. So, I decided to take pictures of the rainbow while Camron and I were driving around town running errands.

I also found a recipe for Balsamic Tofu and Pineapple Avocado Tacos on the blog Rabbit Food For My Bunny Teeth. I decided to make it and these are so good! They are also vegan friendly. I will definitely be making these again! Tofu is made from soybeans and is good source of protein. I know that a lot of people don’t like tofu or think that it is a weird thing that only weird people eat. If you learn how to cook and season it properly it tastes great!

Check out the recipe on rabbitfoodformybuunyteeth.com

Pics of the rain/rainbow and the Tacos I made are below.

Ashley

 

Tofu Pineapple Avocado Tacos From RFFMBT!

Green Banana Apple Smoothie

I haven’t been in the mood for salads at all recently. I usually eat at least one salad a day so maybe I got burnt out? I wanted to make sure that I am consuming enough greens as well as iron. Vegetables, especially greens are power food. Kale and Spinach are great sources of iron so I decided to include them in my morning smoothie. I put together this smoothie to get a mix of nutrients, enzymes and energy. Enjoy!

Ashley

 

 

 

 

 

Green Banana Apple Smoothie

Fall Date Ideas

It’s starting to cool down where I live. I just swapped out my summer clothes for scarves, sweaters and leggings! Unfortunately where I live Fall only lasts about a month, then it snows and it’s practically Winter. I have a few things I think would be really fun to do this fall so I put together this list of Fall date ideas. These can easily be activities to do with friends or anyone really.

Let me know which ones you will be doing this Fall and If you have other cool ideas please share them below in the comment section.

Ashley

 

Scavenger Hunt. Find online or create your own photo scavenger hunt to complete together. Go all over town trying to complete the things on your list and after you’ll have great pictures!

Rock Climbing. If you are new to rock climbing go to your local rock climbing gym and take a lesson together.

Decorate Pumpkins. Instead of the usual carving of the pumpkins, try using paint and glitter to decorate pumpkins together.

Haunted Gingerbread House. Put together and decorate a gingerbread house with a Halloween theme.

Wine and Painting. Grab a bottle…or two of wine and paint together. There are step-by-step painting tutorials on YouTube that you could follow along with. You could sign up for a class if you prefer.

Halloween Costume Shopping. Go costume shopping together.

Backyard Camping. Set up a tent with a lot of pillows and blankets. Bring out a laptop to play scary movies. Bonus points for having a camp fire and cooking dinner over it.

Picnic. Go on a hike and bring along lunch or even dinner. Bring blankets if it is a colder day.

Cook together. Cook dinner and or a fall dessert. Watch a cooking show or find a YouTube tutorial to follow along with.

Go on a Bike Ride. Go through a neighborhood with a lot trees to see the leaves that have changed color.

Fall Date Ideas

PiYo Workout Program

     This week I am starting things off with a the new workout program I started. I am 5′ 7″ and this morning my weight was 137 lbs. This is a lot higher than normal, I weigh myself at least once a week. I am usually around 130 lbs. So I would say at least 5 lbs. is just water weight. I haven’t been eating that great recently.

I started PiYo a few days ago. I did the first four videos for the first week. During the Align: The Fundamentals video I burnt about 150 calories. I will continue doing the PiYo videos but not only those videos.

PiYo is a Beachbody program lead by Chalene Johnson.This is a 60 day program based on yoga and Pilates movements. I originally wanted to do this program with P90x3 as well. P90x3 videos are only 30 mins long so I figured it’d be a great way to intensify my workouts.

I am sure I am not the only one questioning whether this workout is enough to get great results. I did want to see the true results with just this program, for myself but also so I can share it with you guys. Honestly I did not feel like I was done, I could and wanted to keep going. Based on  the calories I burnt each workout (about 150) and how I felt, at least for me, one PiYo workout is not intense enough. I will add other videos like P90X3 along with it.

I will be only consuming 1200 calories base, so not including what I burn and eat back. For example. If I burn 300 calories, I can eat 1500 calories for that day. I will only be doing this for the first 3 or 4 weeks.  I will then continue on after with a maintaining diet of at least 1700 calories base. So I would probably be consuming at least 2000 calories with a workout each day.

To see what this workout program is about check out this video: http://youtu.be/8ZPZJgyGMrs

Click the image at the beginning of the post to check out the program on the Beachbody website!

If you are interested in the idea of doing a PiYo and P90X3 hybrid, you can find the calendar for that here.

Have you started PiYo? What do you think? Are you interested in doing the hybrid? Let me know in the comments below!!!

Ashley

 

 

PiYo Workout Program

Pumpkin Peanut Butter Dog Treats

Pumpkin is good for dog’s stomachs and what dog doesn’t love peanut butter? Reeve would not leave my side or stop staring when I was making these treats for her.

These are pretty simple to make and don’t take too long to bake. Making treats for your dog at home allows you to choose the ingredients, making sure they are healthy and delicious. Oh and it was also fun molding the dough into various shapes.

So to welcome the Fall season, here is my recipe for these pumpkin peanut butter dog treats.







This batch I used crunchy peanut butter. I also ended up using about a cup more of flour, I went a little overboard with the pumpkin I think. Just mix and if needed add more flour until it is a thick dough.

Hope your doggy loves these!

Ashley




Pumpkin Peanut Butter Dog Treats

My Fall 2014 Goals List

My Fall 2014 Goals List

Love your body

I ain’t no size two. But I’m not a size 12 either. I’m just not. I thought the whole point was that size doesn’t determine beauty.

Here a few things that inspired this post:

I hate that in the attempt to spread the idea that we should respect and love our body, othet body types are being put down. Bashing any body type does not promote having a positive body image. Being underweight should not be the goal but neither should be being over weight.

For one thing, size does not mean much. Height, frame and just how your body distributes everything will determine your size. NEWS FLASH we are not all the same size and we are not supposed to be. Hence why I’m 5’7″ and you may be 5’2″.

Being a certain size does not make you more or less of a woman. Someone may be healthy as a size two and someone else as a size 8. Being super skinny should not be the goal because it is unhealthy. But let’s not pretend like being over weight should be praised either. Why wouldn’t the love your body movement suggest to be healthy?

Meghan Trainor’s song suggests that being a size two is not what men want. She also calls the skinny, skinny bitches. Her song suggest a certain type is better. And what about the girls that are just skinny cause’ of their genetics? They can eat all day long and unfortunately they don’t have a little more booty for boys to hold at night. I guess positive body image for any and all body types is not the point of the song. By the way you can be skinny and have an ASS. Squats

Loving your body and respecting your body should be about taking care of it. So what if someone is on the skinnier side? Does that make them less of a woman? Songs and social media posts are saying that being a bigger size, having bigger breasts or a bigger ass is more attractive.  Apparently that is what men want. That right there is not preaching self respect or positive body image. That is going from one extreme to another.

Being healthy and understanding that everyone has a different body type should be the point. Being healthy should be the point. By the way, forget that damn thigh gap. It has to do with how far apart your hips are placed. Not everyone will have the same spacing.

 

Love your body enough to take care of it. Whether you are short, tall, or whatever size. We can all always improve no matter the fitness level. Everyone can improve, whether eating healthier, losing weight,  getting stronger, running faster, etc.

Overeating is just as bad as under eating. Both are abusive to the body and we were not supppsed to do either.

We are not all meant to look the same, but we are supposed to be healthy. Which means eat foods that nourish, be an appropriate weight for your height, have a normal blood pressure and of couse just as important feel good about yourself. I want everyone to love their body because it can do amazing things if you give it what it needs. We were created a certain way, embrace that. Love your body enough that you will respect it and keep it healthy.

Let me know what you think about this post! I want to know what loving your body means to you! Share it if you’re digging it!

Ashley

Love your body

Fabletics Review: Price, Shipping and Quality

Okay so I decided to order from Fabletics, a workout clothing company. To find out how it works and what they are about you can read my post from last week here.

My Fabletics outfit came in the mail a couple days ago and I am going to let you know what I think.

I will continue to order clothes from Fabletics, though I doubt I will every month. I will just opt out whenever I’m not feeling it.

Price

The price of their clothes is reasonable and seems to be more affordable than other brands. Lululemon or Nike retail at quite a bit more.

Your first outfit is 50% off, so that’s cool. I got my outfit, tank top and leggings for $30. The outfits range from $50 to $70 but that includes 2 to 3 pieces.

You can also purchase items separately and not as an outfit.

Shipping

Shipping is free with your VIP membership. It took 6 days for me to receive my clothes. I find it to be a bit slow but not horrible.

I had no problems with receiving my package.

Quality

The quality of both the top and leggings seems to be very good. The tank top is stretchy and breathes. It feels lightweight and while it is fitted it’s still loose enough to move in. I think it is super comfortable and true to size.

The leggings are thicker than I expected but they still breathe well. The material seems strong and the pants overall seem very well made. Oh and they are not see through at all! I am usually a size 4 or 6 and the small is suppose to be a 6. After reading a few reviews I decided to size up and get a medium (8). I am so glad I did. They fit great! So you may want to order a size up but definitely read other’s reviews for the specific product.

My expectations were actually exceeded with the outfit I purchased. I Can’t wait to find out what my picks are for September!

To have a look around and do some shopping use my link  http://www.fabletics.com/invite/Ashleygabrielle/

If you are considering making a purchase please do so from my link I get points and discounts for future purchases, it’s a small way to be supportive and I appreciate it!

Leave me a comment below and let me know if you have bought or are planning on buying from Fabletics!

Ashley

*I am not sponsored or affiliated by Fabletics


Fabletics Review: Price, Shipping and Quality

My Monday: Dinner and Diet Struggles

On Monday I spent some time at my parent’s house. I went to feed the fish and water the plants while they were in California. Camron and I decided to cook dinner at my parent’s house. Okay… Camron cooked dinner while I worked haha.

We went grocery shopping to Pick up a few things for dinner. The spikey yellow fruit is a kiwano melon, has anyone tried it?

Camron cooked Salmon alfredo. It’s cheat night okay! Actually, I had been eating a vegan diet for about six weeks until Monday. At first I didn’t feel any different. I was trying to eat well balanced meals and make sure I was getting enough nutrients. I easily consumed enough iron and protein. The past week I was feeling extremely weak. Eating a lot of fruits and veggies didn’t keep me full very long (like an hour maybe two)which became a problem at work. Basically Camron’s blood pressure dropped very low and I felt exhausted, sleepy and uncomfortable. I was really struggling at work to stay awake after getting plenty of sleep.

I will continue to not eat meat and do not plan on changing that but I really want to start researching to find products that are made in a humane way (for egg and yogurt consumption mostly). I just personally do not want to support a food industry with no limits to how they can treat their animals. I think everyone has to tweak their diet to fit their needs and wants, everyone is different. It is all trial and error until you fin the right healthy balance that works for you. This is why I don’t believe in labeling your diet and this is why I never outright announced I was eating vegan. I will be doing research to hopefully find products made by companies that legitimately treat their animals well (cage free or free range does not mean anything) so I can then share that information with you.

Ashley

My Monday: Dinner and Diet Struggles