Cheap to chic solar light lamps

This was a super easy and very cheap diy project. Since turning my porch into a cozy outside room I've been looking for simple ways to add fun unique pieces with pops of color to my new favorite space. These lamps just sort of came together in my head while I was browsing a dollar store. I'm thrilled at out good they turned out!!

What you need:

Solar lamps- $1 each at the dollar store
Spray paint - $3.50 (make sure you get one that is for plastic and doesn't require sanding or priming)
Bag of raffia- $1 for the bag at dollar store
Double sided tape- I already had this but it can be bought practically anywhere. I guestimate that each lamp cost less than $1.50 to make.

How to make:

Take the top part of the solar lamp off. In a well ventilated area spray paint your base with whatever spray paint you got. Let dry completely before touching. Depending on your paint you may need more than one coat.

Take the shade part of the solar lamp off the solar light and completely wrap the shade in the double sided tape.

Take the raffia, one strip at a time, and wrap the shade. You may have to use small strips of double sided tape throughout the shade as you wrap to hold pieces down here or there. Just do whatever looks best to you as you go.

Put the light back in the shade and reconnect the top to the painted base. Voila! That's honestly it. Such a cheap and easy upgrade!!!

The Rollercoaster

My weightloss journey has had so many ups and downs. With both my self esteem and the number on the scale I have certainly been through some highs and lows over the years.

A couple months ago I was in the best shape of my adult life. I looked amazing. I felt amazing. I was happy.

I got comfortable. Then I got lazy.

Ugh. I would like to blame this on life. I mean a lot happened with us moving and my husband joining a new unit and then him leaving for training. But honestly,  as I sooooooooo love to hashtag, there are #noexcuses. It's 25 minutes a day. It's making time to drink enough water, feed your body healthy food, and drink a delicious shake when you're in a hurry. So this was all my fault. There is no excuse.

Well now I'm ready to have that body back. I'm ready to do the work, again, and push myself even further this time.  And hopefully not rollercoaster. No more rollercoasters.

So today is day 1 of T25 Alpha round. Did my Cardio and I am ready to tackle this program again! Can't wait to see where I am in 5 weeks!!

Becoming a Beach Body Coach and what it means to me...

I LOVE T25!!!!

 If you were on my facebook or instagram you would likely be overwhelmed by pictures of me dripping in sweat flexing my "guns" and hashtagging T25.  I love it. I am amazed at the transformation my body went through with workouts of only 25 minutes a day. And lets be honest- we can all spare 25 minutes a day.  My friends and (now) fellow coaches have been on me for months about becoming a coach and helping other people.  To be honest, it was the absolute last thing on my mind. Me?! A coach?!? Yeah right!! Look at me. How am I supposed to give people fitness advice and SELL product?!?! That's so not me!!!!

So I said no without really looking into it and went along my merry way. When someone asked me what program I was doing I would tell them and send them to my friends who were coaching.  When someone needed advice I would be there.  Some had questions, I was an open book.  You need inspiration or motivation to show a loved one it can be done?? Sure! Use my pics and share my story. What I didn't realize was that I WAS coaching. I just wasnt doing it officially ( or making any profit on it).  I also realized that you really don't have to SELL anything.  In the last couple months its amazing the friends I have had join team Beach Body.  And one by one I have watched them totally kill it with both their fitness and as a job opportunity.  It was inspiring to say the least.  So when my very best friend had a little chat with me about it over a delicious chocolate shakeology shake- I knew it was something I should really consider.

Now all through my weight loss journey I have been a T25 girl.  Shaun T in my workout room every morning. Life was good.  Then all my friends started this new program called the 21 Day Fix. And they. Kicked. Ass! I mean like for real!!! I had pretty good eating habits, I was drinking protein shakes for meals, and I was exercising. Still these girls were dropping weight and transforming their bodies faster than I was.  So after a little research I realized that what I was missing was everything else beach body had to offer.

Firs off the shakes. I have tried every kind of shake you can think of. From super expensive to super cheap and trust me when I tell you these are the best.  Im not saying it because I now sell them, I am selling them because they are THAT GOOD!!!! Breakfast is now my favorite meal of the day!

The fix is unique in that it has portion controlled dishes, color coded and everything, to teach you exactly how and what to eat.  Most people really have NO IDEA what to feed their bodies so this is something I totally love.

Lastly- Having a coach.  I can not express to you enough the importance of having a coach and support system through your weight loss journey. Especially if you are going to dedicate yourself to a challenge. As I have mentioned all along my friend Ashley has been my rock through this whole journey. She has been there to give me advice, encouragement, support, listen to me rant, cheer me on, and congratulate me as I hit my goals. That is what a coach does. All along she has been my coach.

Starting September 1st I will be taking a break from my T25 and running a challenge group with my fellow coach for the 21 Day Fix. I am ecstatic to see what this program can do for me. I encourage you to try it for yourself.

So now I am a coach.  Here to support and help you in your own journey to personal health and fitness.  Here for you to send pictures to weekly, pictures of your food, give support or advice, and anything else you might need. I don't want to sell you a product. I want to encourage you to take control of your health and show you some tools that will help you do it. YOU need to do the work. YOU need to take control. And I am here to support you through it all.

http://www.beachbodycoach.com/esuite/home/lauren71210

"What kind of diet are you on??"

"What kind of diet are you on?"
"What foods are you allowed to eat?"
"How long have you been dieting?"
"What do you eat when you are hungry?"

These are the types of questions I get asked all the time now.  Everyone wants to know what I eat, how much I eat, what I don't eat, etc.  So I am going to let everyone one in on my secret- there is no secret.  I am not on a diet.  I have a diet.  There's a big difference.  To be on a diet implies that I am restricting myself to certain foods for the purpose of losing weight.  That is not what I am doing.  To have a diet means that there are certain types of food that I habitually eat- that I do.  There are no foods that I am not ALLOWED to have.  When I started this journey my main goal was to change my diet and lose weight in a way that I would be able to stick to for the rest of my life. I knew that I had to change my habits and cut out certain things until I was able to make some real changes to my relationship with food. 

For a while we ate mostly Paleo.  No alcohol, potatoes, sugar, grains, corn, beans, legumes, dairy, etc.  It actually wasn't as hard as you would think. Eventually we started adding some stuff back in.  First to come back was cheese.  I have no problem using almond milk instead of cows milk and skipping the creamer in my coffee, but life without cheese?!? No way. 

Then we transitioned into a more gluten free diet.  Still no beer, real sugar, and creamer.  But we added back in beans, legumes, and some grains and alcohol. 

Now I am at the point where I can honestly say I do not have any real restrictions. I also never let myself go hungry. Through trial and error I have learned what foods work for me and my family and which ones don't.  I really do not believe there is one type of "diet" that works for everyone and it does take time and patience to learn what works best for you.  I choose gluten free whenever possible because it makes my stomach feel better when I eat minimal gluten. I use a tsp of stevia in my coffee instead of cream and sugar because once I cut them out I didn't miss them. My diet consists heavily of protein, vegetables, and complex carbs.  These foods work well with my body, my stomach, my activity level, and my goals. I do not drink a lot of alcohol because at this point I see it as something that does more damage to my body than good, and I want to be good to my body.  I usually do not eat baked goods, breads, ice cream, potato chips, etc.  But it is not because I am not allowed to eat them, it is because I choose not to put them in my body.  Now don't get me wrong.  I do eat stuff that is not healthy sometimes.  Yesterday for my birthday dinner I happily ate two pieces of pizza and a piece of cheesecake. The difference between now and 15 weeks ago is portion control, self control, motivation, activity level, and an appreciation for food.  Its also a matter of making way more good choices than bad choices.  I don't feel guilty if I eat something "bad" because I eat so much good. And I don't let one bad choice snowball into all bad choices. 

Diet is defined as the kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats.  Its the choices that you usually make.  It is not meant to be restrictive or exclusive.  So make more good choices. Make less bad choices.  And find what diet work best for you. 


A usual day for me would be something like this:

Breakfast: Overnight oats made with oatmeal, almond milk, and chocolate protein powder (I am currently using GNCs Lean 25).With two cups of coffee with stevia.

Morning snack: Apple and PB2

Lunch: Chicken salad (made from shredded chicken, 1 tsp mayo, and hot sauce) in a lettuce wrap with carrots and grapes.

After work out snack: Protein shake made with 8oz water, ice, and one heaping scoop protein powder.

Dinner:  Chicken breast, brussel sprouts, and homemade gluten free mac n cheese.

Snack: Air popped popcorn with ghee and white cheddar seasoning. 

13 weeks

Did you know that 13 weeks could totally change your life? Seriously. If I had known before how much my life could change in just 13 weeks I wouldn't have wasted YEARS doubting myself, hating myself, making excuses, etc. 

13 weeks ago was the day I went to my doctors office for a sinus infection. The day I realized I needed a change and committed 100% to do whatever it took to change my life. 

Here I am, 13 weeks ago, crying to my doctor. My son had a snow day so I ended up just bringing him with me to my appointment. To keep him quiet I gave him my phone to play with. I had no idea he would be taking pictures. I also had no idea how much this picture would end up meaning to me. This, my friends, is an actual picture of my rock bottom. A picture of me pouring my heart out to my doctor about how much I truly hated myself and promising to do whatever it took to change that. This is a picture of the first day of the rest of my life. 

So how much a difference can 13 weeks really make? It can change your whole world. 13 weeks ago I hated myself. I hated to look in the mirror. I hated to get dressed and buy new clothes. I hated for my husband to even accidentally brush his hand across my stomach. 13 weeks ago I thought I was gross, and weak, and I had fooled myself into thinking that I was trying. I had made excuses instead of real changes. And I had secretly hid inside my comfort zone without realizing how much I was holding myself back. So let's fast forward a little bit so I can show you exactly what 13 weeks changed for me.

I wish that I could even put into words the difference I feel in my whole life. What you see here is the physical changes that have been made in 13 weeks. And they are huge! Like 30 pounds huge!! But what you don't see is all the other changes. I love myself now. Like seriously love myself. And not just because I look different but because I worked so hard to do it. I respect myself because I pushed myself past my comfort zone and every single day I made good healthy choices and committed myself 100% to it. I walk past a mirror and I like what I see. I even have to sometimes stop a second to take it in, because I still don't believe that it's really me. I love to get new clothes! I have loved even more getting rid of all my old ones. Now I don't mind if my husband accidentally brushes my stomach- heck, I don't mind if he does it on purpose. 

I am strong. I am confident. I am happy. 

Seriously. 13 weeks. 

Transformation Tuesday

For so long I have been seeing my friends all post transformation Tuesday pics on Instagram. And for so long I have wanted to share my own pics. And now finally I can! 

It's a pretty awesome feeling!

I want sexy arms!

Soooo badly I want sexy arms! You know the kind that look good in a tank top. The kind that shows other people you could kick their ass- if you wanted to. I also have this tattoo that I want VERY badly and I need my arms to looks decent for it. T25 is AH-MAZING for arms!

That's 2 weeks!!! And it just so happens my birthday is 3 week and we will be in NC near a tattoo place we like. I need to get serious and see how much more I can work these arms by then.