Giveaway!!! Spark and Rehydrate

In honor of my hubs and baby's birthdays happening this Sunday and next Friday, we're doing a GIVEAWAY!! It's about time, huh?! I have been able to try these AdvoCare products and love that they are safe to use during breastfeeding and do what they say they will. I especially like Spark, a low-cal pre-workout, that really gives you that extra umph during your workout to push it. Rehydrate is a great electrolyte replacement for during and after a workout to help with hydration and fatigue. Both are super yummy, easy, and on-the-go, just mix it with some water and you're good!

I'm excited to announce that a lucky reader will win a BOX of their choice of either SPARK or REHYDRATE. 14 pouches come in each box, so it's at least a 2 week supply depending on how often you exercise, or I know some people take SPARK every morning to help with focus and energy for the day. I took it before an intense 5 am workout and didn't have my lulls or lagging like would be expected that early, it was awesome! I didn't have any of those jitters or crashing at all afterward either that other products can give you.

EASY TO ENTER:

1- FOLLOW The After Picture Blog

2- Leave a comment below with which one you'd want to try

EXTA ENTRIES:

1-Repost giveaway on your Instagram @jlynhan #TAPgiveaway

2- Repost Giveaway on Facebook and tag me in it (Jamie Lyn Hansen)

A winner will be chosen on my baby girl's b-day next Friday April 5th. you have up until then to enter! You can also go to the AdvoCare website to request a free sample of SPARK from their homepage:) Good Luck!!

Happy Certification to Me!

My sweet hubs knows the way to my heart and rewarded me with my choice of Lulu for certifying in Xtend Barre Stick! I have been eyeing this pair for weeks now, but they sell out in a matter of hours when they are in the store and they've been sold out online for weeks too. So while we were in Vegas, we went to the Lulu store there and they had just gotten a shipment in that day and I was lucky enough to snag a pair! Can't say no since that I get the discount for being an instructor....I'm in trouble now. I can see much more Lulu in my future and I'm not complainin'! If you happen to go pick some bottoms out from there, I would highly recommend getting either the Ebb and Flow or In the Flow crops because the material is amazing, so comfy, and it's my favorite waistband out of all their bottoms! 

I was sold on the In the Flow crops in this amazing green color! So bright and in perfect time for Spring! I mean come on, they were totally worth the wait and tracking down! 

Hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday! Be on the look out for the giveaway coming up to close out the week:)

Wear it Wednesday - Hair ties

I'm sure we've all seen them, but I hope you've tried them! They are so cute, so colorful, and play up a simple ponytail or braid. The possibilities are endless with these little babies. Wanna know my absolute favorite thing about them?! THEY DON'T KINK YOUR HAIR!!! HELLLOOOO!! Where have these been all my life?! I remember always planning my hair wash days (yes, I only wash my hair like twice a week if I'm lucky) around workouts and thinking of if what I had planned needed my hair to be down...pathetic, I know. I just hate washing and doing my hair and I justify it by hearing from all my salon co-workers that it's actually better for your hair if you wash it that often. So these have basically been my hair's saving grace, I can actually freshen it up after a workout, straighten or curl it and you'd never know it had been up! 

via Anthropolgie

I'm seeing these life savers practically everywhere now, they're really inexpensive to buy, but when I saw this website that sells it by the yard I about died how much cheaper they are to buy by the yard. So, for those of you who feel so inclined for a DIY, here is the Sunrise Shop where you can buy these simple elastics and go hair tie crazy!

We all need a treat...

Sometimes the hubs and I go off about what sounds really yummy to eat, almost always the crappy food that sounds good. Last night we were driving home (around 10 pm) and we both were so hungry. We started listing off the things we could shove our faces with when we passed In-N-Out and my mouth immediately watered as I thought of how amazing fries and a strawberry shake would taste right about then. As we continued night dreaming of all the tasty/horrible-for-you foods we wanted right then our conversation turned a little bit. I told him, "I think some people think that healthy eaters/bodies never eat 'bad foods' or don't crave them so it's not a struggle. But this is the thing, I crave 'bad food' EVERY DAY! It's all about choices and learning that even though it sounds good and tastes good in the moment, I NEVER feel good after indulging."Of course I indulge here and there, some of it just tastes too good to pass up, I get that I promise. But, there is definitely something to said and power in the moments when you practice self control, discipline, and take steps in reaching your goals and achieving them. THAT is what I think about in those moments of weakness.

We all need a treat though, and I need something every day that satisfies my super sweet and carb-y tooth. If I'm desperate, I'll have one of my ThinkThin bars, but I don't like having more than one of those a day so I've been in need to actually go to the store and come home to make something super tasty sweet. I think I may have found it. I'm pretty much obsessed with Heidi Powell, and she posted a recipe for Power Peanut Butter Fudge that I'm going to try out today. I will let you know how it goes and how much it takes that craving off.

If they taste half as good as they look, I think they'll be a winner....like, are you kidding? These look AMAZING!!!

Step Out

Wow,,,what a weekend I just had. I am drained physically, excited, nervous, and a bit overwhelmed emotionally, but I made it. Learning new things in an exposed and intimidating environment is probably the scariest thing to me. I really don't get embarrassed easily, I can laugh at myself, momentary scares don't bother me, but what I did this weekend scared the crap out of me (almost literally). I was in a room full of practicing and experienced instructors of the Xtend Barre method and had to teach on the spot in front of them. I literally saw it taught once, then was given the assignment to do it, and had to do it with each segment we learned...it(I) was awful. If it wasn't so apparent that I was the ONLY one in the room that had NO experience instructing then maybe it might not have been so bad, but it was very scary and intimidating. It was so overwhelming (and still is) to think of what I have to do and learn before I can even think about being efficient at instructing this method of fitness. It took everything in me not to break down now knowing the structure of weekend and how I would be humiliating myself over and over again. The second day was much better and I had practiced my piece over and over and just could not get it I was so exhausted from working out for hours and hours. It's going to take A LOT more time and A LOT more practicing to really get efficient at this whole thing but I am SO EXCITED and determined to do it!

The workout.....INCREDIBLE!!!! I seriously think my butt lifted about 3 inches in those 2 days! It is AAHHHMAZING and I cannot wait to get started! I really feel like it is a perfect compliment to the cardio and workouts I already do. It is so fine toning and sculpting that it gives that tightness to every inch of your body. I haven't felt jiggly at all and during the workout just got so excited because I could tell it was giving that missing piece to my fitness that will really help me achieve the long, lean, toned body even more and tons quicker. Your body literally has resistance against it the entire hour and every little muscle is constantly engaged and working. i was DRIPPING sweat and my entire body feels it, like not the big muscles so much as all the little ones I can feel all around the larger muscles. I can't wait to share more with you!

The moral of the story is...COME TO MY CLASS when I start teaching (i'll let you know when that is) and STEP OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE! Do something, big or little, that gets you waaayy out of it. You will feel empowered, strong, and capable. I promise. Have a fabulous Monday!

Xtend Barre Stick

I am SO EXCITED to tell you what I'll be doing this weekend...I am training to become an instructor for Xtend Barre Stick!! It is a specialized Xtend Barre class that uses a revolutionary "Stick" to help tone and strengthen even more. It is an amazing sculpting, toning, and lengthening workout that gives you that feminine, toned look that is so desirable. I am nervous because instructing is a whole new realm for me, but I am so stoked to expand my knowledge and play a bigger role in helping many women reach their goals. I will be teaching at Xtend Barre Provo starting in April. Your first class is on the house so feel free to come by and check it out!

The video won't upload so check it out here to get a better idea:) Here they are on Facebook too (where I got the pictures)

Cardio Circuit-Treadmill

Want a cardio workout that makes you feel like a machine and want to die at the same time? Great! It only takes a total of 20 minutes and I promise you'll be physically done.

It's all about making the most of your time, so have a "GIT ER DONE" attitude while you have the few minutes in the day for yourself. 

***REMEMBER-these are my times and speeds, you need to work at your own pace. I built up to this-if you can't sprint for 90 seconds, then don't. Try as hard as you can, sprint and jog at your own pace. Push yourself, but don't injure yourself. 

I always like to make little bets with myself. I promised I wouldn't stop until I got to 2.5 miles and I wanted to do it under a certain time. So I proved to myself that I could do it and the pay off was sweet:) 

Funk-y...

So I've been a bit of a funk....I HATE these with a passion! I wish I could just always be focused all the time and get to my goals without any hurdles. Wouldn't that be nice? I would have hit my goals like 50 years ago if I could stay that way. This week has been tough. TMI coming up.....I started my period again....I forgot how much I hate those things! I want to get pregnant again just so I don't have to deal with them anymore. As you know, I went out of town for work last week and was trying to figure out why I wanted nothing but sweets, carbs, and chocolate all day long for the last 2 days..then Saturday I found out why. Such a beautiful thing...:/ I have been feeling so bloated and huge and puffy and mushy, it's awful!! I have let my eating slip pretty bad too. 2 nights ago I was feeling super nasty and got really discouraged so I vented for a while to the hubs. Can I just say I'm glad he's stuck with me because I feel bad for the poor guy when I get in these moods.

I felt like....

all my hard work is worthless because I still have major tummy rolls..

I have to work ten times harder than anyone else just to look 'normal'..breast feeding has not done to me what it does to everyone else, I have to workout everyday and be aware of everything I eat. It has not been a magical pill for me at all..

I go half-way on everything. I take on more and more without being able to really commit to it and give everything to one thing, so every aspect suffers because I give partially to everything..

I wanted to eat everything I could get my hands on that was sweet or carby..

everything I'm doing is pointless..

Please tell me I'm not the only one that ever feels this way..?? I'm still trying to get back into the groove all the way, but today is better. It's about a lifestyle. It's not about giving up when you've had a rough couple days. You haven't blown it. You just need to remember the goals and expectations you set for yourself and keep going. Keep working towards it. It's not an excuse to just stop. Because you ARE worth it and you CAN do anything you set your mind to!