What a difference a year makes!

Last year this time I was quite happy with my weight loss progress. This year I am amazed with it! Although I have witnessed my own transformation through my pictures, I thought it would be fun to do a same style Memorial Day picture since my outfit was easy to repeat!



These are the same tanks but I need to buy a size small, these are getting too long! The skinny jeans aren't the same, I think last year the jeans were a size 16, possibly a size 14?? This year they are a size 10 and are getting too big as well!

Next year I aim to be ecstatic about my progress! Hard work continues to pay off!

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Jackie Warner: Power Circuit Training DVD

I've had this DVD since it came out (over a year) but Sunday was the first time I really put forth the effort to complete the 40 min full body circuit. On previous attempts I gave up on it without giving it a serious try! Huge mistake on my part!



This workout is THE BOMB!! Straight weights & strength training...no cardio! Jackie Warner doesn't have the best on camera personality but her workout is no nonsense, ass kicking goodness!

I felt the effects of this workout the next day and I still felt it this morning when I got up to do it today! Sore all over! Surprisingly I see and feel my muscles more defined right now too!

Don't tell anybody but I am struggling with the upper and lower abs work! Have you ever experienced the tummy tuck?? That's that BULLSHIT!! I'm cursing her by the end but my body says thank you Jackie Warner!


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Shakeology cleanse review

What IS Shakeology and the 3 day cleanse?

Shakeology is a meal replacement shake designed to be enjoyed every day, one meal a day. But for this cleanse, it will be used three times a day for three days.



The Shakeology Cleanse is meant to jump start you in your fitness, break a plateau or shred pounds fast & effectively in a healthy way. The key is caloric efficiency; getting the most nutrients possible out of the fewest number of calories.

These are the basics of the cleanse:

*3 Shakeology Shakes a day (blended with water and ice)
*2 Cups of Green Tea a day
*1 piece of fruit a day (Apple, pear, orange, banana, mango, etc)
*1 salad for dinner (lettuce, veggies, lean protein)
**4 oz lean protein in salad (WHITE poultry or fish)
**Only Low Fat Dressings 2 Tbsp
*Water...all you can drink!

NO DAIRY! (no almond, soy, or rice milk) or extra sugars. If it’s not on the list, don’t eat it!

Okay so I started the cleanse on Saturday 5/21. I will admit that I cheated a little and did what felt was right for me.

Saturday, 5/21
B- Shakeology mixed w/ 10 oz of water & ice (this was WAY too watery so I made a mental note to not use 10 oz of H2O again)
S- Apple
*cheat* Vanilla frozen yogurt cone @ Ikea
L- Shakeology mixed w/ 8 oz of water & ice
D- Salad w/ multi veggies (some sautéed in 1 tsp olive oil), tilapia (tilapia is NOT a white fish but it's what I had a lot of in the freezer), Newman's Own light cranberry walnut dressing
S- *cheat* 94% fat free whole grain micro popcorn
Workout: Ultimate Tae Bo 60 minutes

Sunday, 5/22
B- Shakeology mixed w/ 8 oz of water & ice
L- Shakeology mixed w/ 8 oz of water & ice, 1 large peeled grapefruit
S- Green Tea 8 oz w/ 2 packets of Truvia
D- Repeat salad from Saturday
S- *cheat* 94% fat free whole grain micro popcorn
Workout: Jackie Warner Power Sculpt Full Body 40 min (I will be doing a review on this workout soon)

Monday, 5/23
B- Shakeology mixed w/ 8 oz of water & ice
S- 5 strawberries w/ 1 packet of Truvia
8 oz green tea w/ 2 packets of Truvia
L- Shakeology mixed w/ 8 oz of water
*major cheat* Twix candy bar
S- Green Tea 8 oz w/ 2 packets of Truvia
D- Repeat salad from Sunday
S- *cheat* 94% fat free whole grain micro popcorn
Workout: Turbo Fire EZ 45 min

How did I feel?

Without a doubt Saturday was the hardest day for me. I couldn't stop thinking about food! I really felt hungry. I didn't do 3 shakes like I was supposed to each day, I only did 2. I would highly recommend drinking all 3 shakes as directed.

Sunday wasn't so bad but let me tell you I have never in my life looked forward to my salad so much before! Then yesterday, Monday, I was at work so I had more distraction. By the end of the day my stomach was feeling empty so again I couldn't wait to get home to my salad!

How does it taste?

I've only tried the chocolate flavor (there is also a greenberry flavor available), mixed with water it's not so great but with milk and various recipes it tastes quite good! My favorite recipe is:

1 scoop chocolate Shakeology
8 oz vanilla almond milk
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp instant coffee
Ice to taste

My results?

On Saturday I weighed @ 7 am pre workout 167.8

Today I weighed @ 7 am (no workout rest day)...


My loss in three days was 4.4 lbs. I understand that this is water weight but that was one of my goals doing this. The last two weeks for for me haven't been so great. I lacked focus. I needed to refocus and restructure my plan. I needed to exercise some discipline. Being completely honest, doing this helped me refocus on my journey.

Is this something I will do again?

Yes!! I plan to do a Shakeology cleanse quarterly. To keep it simple to remember I'll do a cleanse when the seasons change. It's close enough to the start of summer to do it this way.

Shakeology isn't cheap so I don't plan on using it daily. I would say try to get a sample from a Beachbody coach before you invest the money in a 30 day supply. Hope this helps!!

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Recipe swap for a June menu!

Menu planning is KEY to consistent successful weight loss and maintenance. I'll admit, I've fallen completely off the wagon with my menu planning and I can see the difference with my progress.

I've had several people ask me to make a menu for them. In all honesty it takes too much time to create individual menus. So I've come up with an idea that just might work for everyone!

I'm asking my blog buddies and Facebook friends to submit 1 healthy dinner recipe! I'll compile the recipes to create a dinner menu for June (time permitting). I will then email them to everyone. If I don't have them all in time for June, I'll shoot for July!

To keep it simple and cost effective, recipes should be 6 ingredients or less, not including spices. Recipes should include nutrition information. sparkpeople.com has a recipe builder on their site that allows you to enter your ingredients and servings and it will give you the nutrition facts.

I'll need all submissions by 5/27! You can email them to me at miesharoshawn@gmail.com. Make sure to leave your name in the subject line. You don't have to stick to the menu religiously, but hopefully this can give you a guide for better eating and planning! Let's have fun with this!!

Random funny with my honey!

Me: Bae, I already know what I want for my birthday!

Him: What's that?

Me: A Bodybugg!

Him: A body who?

Me: Baby a Bodybugg! It tracks calories eaten, calories burned..it does everything!

Him: Oh okay, (in that sexy New Orleans swag that I just love), where do I buy it?

Me: You have to buy it online this man does NOT shop online!

Him: So I can't just go into a store and ask for a bugaboo?

Me: FAIL!!

My birthday isn't until August but I have to tell him now because of his above response!


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The Adorable Blog Award!

Thank you Mizzzz Ro for the nomination! For those of you that haven't "experienced" Ro...go ahead and get familiar with her! She's a gem and shares a lot of herself with her readers!

The rules of the award:

* Thank the person who gave you this award, and link back to them in your post.

* Tell us 10 things about yourself.

* Nominate your bloggers.

* Contact these bloggers, and let them know they received this award.

1. I'd sleep ten hours a night if I could!

2. I have a very strong entrepreneurial spirit.

3. I'm not very fond of cuddling.

4. I have a weakness for cheesecake!

5. Tulips are my favorite flower.

6. I rarely watch or go to movies.

7. I LOVE to scrapbook!!

8. No matter what my mood, the one person that can always make me smile is my gram!

9. If I could take a trip anywhere in the world all expenses paid I'd go to South Africa.

10. My workouts keep me sane!

Nominees:

DaMora

She's an awesome photographer, beautiful mommy and wife working on her journey as well!

Myeshia

Her style is FIERCE! Plus we share the same name spelled differently! I know that she just received this award from someone else but she's SO deserving! Check out her answers to the questions on her blog!

Erin

She's a gorgeous woman and I admire her strength!

Lady Roz

This lady keeps it real! I respect her honesty about her journey to get healthy. She's straight up about her feelings and I love that!

Toot

Toot could easily fit in as one of my little sister's! She's funny as all hell and I love her witty personality! She awarded me a stylish blogger award in January that I didn't complete. Sorry boo!






I'm passing out virtual hugs to all of them! There are others that love I love as well and they've probably already received this award! Love y'all!!! Thanks for the support!

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Salad game..recharged!

I had every good intention to eat a salad seven days straight for dinner last week. Last week for me was a total wash! I ate salad three out of the seven days!


Chilled couscous salad with tomato, asian veggie pattie, bell pepper, onion, mushrooms and light soy sauce




Seasoned mango, turkey meatballs, mushrooms, bell peppers, onions, mixed field greens and Newman's Own light cranberry walnut dressing



Honey mustard tilapia, blackberries, sugar snap peas, onion, mixed field greens, dark chili powder and balsamic vinegar

*I've got a confession about salad #3. I didn't love the combo! I don't think the sugar peas paired well with the blackberries. I will try it again without the peas and see how it goes?

An attainable goal for my dinner salads is 2-3 days a week. I will post my creations each time! This helps when I want to go back and recreate a particular salad flavor. Watcha think??

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Ripped in 30 review week 2

Let me start off by saying that week 2 was a complete FAIL! I cannot do an accurate review because I only completed 1 workout! Did you here me??? Only 1 week 2 workout! That was done on Thursday.

In my defense like I really need a defense I was nursing my hurt shoulder. And guess what?? My shoulder feels better! Hells yeah!!!

On Saturday I did Turbo Fire 55 EZ. So last week I only logged 2 workouts. I also had a couple of days where my eating was down right redamdiculous! Let's just say it involved a slice of turtle cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory!



This isn't my photo BUT it looked just like this minus the whipped cream! Ah-ma-ZING!!

Okay sorry, I get excited when cheesecake is involved!! Back to the topic at hand!

Since I'm not doing a full review on the week 2 workout, I'm not posting a body pic..sigh *_*! I will say this, my body hurt all over again after last Thursday's attempt! Shit was difficult! Damn and I thought I was in pretty good shape!

I am now convinced that I'm still not exactly where I want to be. I need WERQ...still! Even with the enormous weight loss, and how great I feel, I need and want more! I'ma this isn't a word but I don't care still get me (my honey says that all of the time)!

So this week will be the REDO! I'm on it y'all!

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PCOS & ME

My name is Miesha and I have PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome). This is something that I have never shared with my blogging viewers. There are many things that characterize having this disorder and most often than not it is hard to diagnose.






My first OB/GYN diagnosed me with PCOS when I was 19. The first indication was my irregular cycle. She had me do a barrage of testing (for hormone levels), then sent me to a radiologist for an ultrasound.

From the ultrasound I could see the many cysts that are on my ovaries. Although not harmful, my doctor told me that conceiving a child could be a problem in the future. At that time I wasn't thinking anything about having kids so I tucked the information she gave me in the back of my mind.






Actual ultrasound image of a Polycystic ovary

My doctor also advised maintaing a healthy weight (which I obviously did not do) because weight loss could become a constant struggle. When I was 19, I weighed the same amount that I do now so I wasn't thinking about weight gain/loss either..big mistake!

I do have quite a few of the other characteristics, acne and pesky facial hairs being the most irritating. My cycle is easily regulated with birth control pills.

When I was ready to get pregnant, my doctor prescribed clomid to induce ovulation. I know many with PCOS struggle to conceive. I was blessed with two healthy daughters from successful clomid cycles.

Outside of that, having PCOS hasn't caused me any serious health issues. Now that my weight is under control, I should be able to maintain a healthy weight. This can be done without any medication and with consistent diet and exercise.

More information about PCOS

Thank you for letting me share this, the symptoms can be a bit embarrassing to talk about if you're living with it.

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Hot Mama & her little princesses!

For Mother's day I decided to buy a cute dress, curl my hair and put on makeup! We were headed to dinner at a cousin's house so I figured why not?


I'm no stranger to the dress up game but since I've been in Houston, I haven't gone out anywhere that calls for me to be fancy!


I stood outside for ten minutes maybe while Julianni snapped these pics and ended up with four damn bug bites!!


My dress was a $5 thrift store find! I love to go thrifting but I don't like bringing my girls. Someone always has to pee, or is sleepy, or is hungry...blah blah blah which in turn always leads to my trip being cut short! Saturday was no exception!






No seriously they really do love each other when they aren't fighting!

We had a wonderful day and I'm proud to call these little girls mine!

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Ripped in 30 review week 1

I successfully completed all six days of workout 1! Days 2-3 my body hurt! I was so damn sore! I took a much needed rest day on Wednesday, so on day 4 I felt rested and the workout was nice!

On Friday, day 5 for some reason I felt weak during the strength combos and ab moves? Not sure why but I struggled through a few of those exercises! Then on Saturday I completed the entire workout without modifications. I then followed up with Turbo Fire 45 class. Needless to say after that I was pooped!!

Here's a progress pic, not sure if there's a difference yet but I'm still working!




Upcoming week- I somehow hurt my right shoulder :-(! It's been bothering me for a few weeks but after pushing through this week I think I made it worse.

I took yesterday as a rest day although I was going to start week 2. I am trying to avoid making it worse so the plan is to do four days of the week 2 workout this week along with two Turbo Fire workouts.

This is a minor setback but I've dealt with worse! I'll be posting another workout update next Monday!

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Can you SEE the difference in the personalities?!

My girls!!!


Mimi...never understated...always exaggerated lmao!

Yes it looks like sidewalk chalk BUT it's not lol! She did this all by herself!



Julianni...the mild, sensitive type...a Virgo like her mommy!

For those of you that needed another good laugh...here you go!

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Mommy makeover!

I had the pleasure of joining my baby's kindergarten class for a mommy makeover! My stylist Mimi had me looking a mess but this was lots of fun!



Compared to some of the other mommy's, I don't think I looked too bad lmao!

Happy mother's day to all of of the mommy's!! Hands down THE hardest job on earth yet the MOST rewarding!

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Step your salad game up!

I've said this before BUT I'm going to say it again..I love salads!! Preferably my own creations! Here are a couple of my recent works, lots of flavor, minus the additional fat and calories!



baked chicken breast, strawberries, sautéed mushrooms & onions, candied walnuts, light feta, tomato, balsamic and salad greens




Lightened up tuna salad & tomato over salad greens

I'm thinking about creating an album of my salads?? Maybe sometime in the near future? So many things, so little time, only one me!

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Hurting!!

My body hurts! Hurts to sit down, hurts to stand, hurts to walk!

I guess it's safe to say that I am challenging myself again!! I haven't felt soreness like this in a very long time.

I'm all smiles :-)!! Tomorrow is my rest day and that's exactly what I'm going to do!

Monthly weigh in AND Ripped in 30!

My weight yesterday morning was 163 even. This is a 1.4 pound loss for April. It is SO much harder to lose when you aren't as heavy! This month I'm not aiming for a specific number of pounds to lose. My goal for May is to stick to the Ripped in 30 routine 6 days a week...let's just see how my body responds??!!

Stats remained the same as last month, no inches lost :-(. I think my body is shaping up nicely though :-)!



Photo day 1 starting Ripped in 30

Yesterday morning I woke up excited to start this workout! I know what happened to my body when I stuck to the 30 Day Shred workout religiously. I plan to stick to the routine and move up to the suggested level each week.

For workout 1, I noticed a few of the moves from her previous DVDs are the same. Cool, no problem, I know that they work! I think I did pretty good, I only used modifications for the push ups. Actually I did regular push ups first then switched over to the modified version. I'm getting stronger and that's a very good thing!

So far I love this workout! I'm sore all over, I haven't really felt soreness like this in a minute so I'm welcoming the pain lol!

I wanted to throw Turbo Fire in for additional cardio but I'm hurting right now! I might just hold off on that!

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