Fit Life Tea

Happy Wednesday my friends!

Today I'm coming 'atcha with an awesome way to kickstart that healthy lifestyle you've been craving.

I've always been a fan of trying new things to get my body (and mind) healthy and strong. Whether it's different kinds of exercises, special types of food, etc. I'm all about being open to trying new things and my most recent venture is doing a 14-Day Organic Teatox with an awesome company called Fit Life Tea!

For starters, let's go over some fun tea facts. Drinking tea has been linked with good health for centuries--in fact today, scientific research confirms that there is a connection between tea and fitness! Some benefits include: anti-aging protection, more energy, lower blood pressure, decreased risk of heart problems, more agile immune system, and improved mental function. Is that enough convincing for ya? ;)

Now let's specifically talk about Fit Life Tea's 14-Day Organic Teatox!

This teatox is designed to help kickstart your weight-loss journey. It's an all-natural herbal tea blend full of potent ingredients to gently cleanse the digestive tract and detoxify the body, as well as boost metabolism, reduce cravings and improve the texture and appearance of skin. It smashes cravings AND burns fat so you can have the body and lifestyle you dream of!

For 2 weeks you start your morning and end your evening by steeping a cup of teatox for a maximum infusion of essential oils and flavor. This process releases organic ingredients which eases bloating and digestive stress, while stimulating weight loss. 

Now what was my experience with it?

Well.......I loved it! :)

I've been itching to do some sort of detox for a while because I wanted to switch up my lifestyle, so when Fit Life Tea reached out to me to try out their teatox, I was more than excited! I'd been eating way too unhealthy and exercising way too infrequently. I didn't want to do a juice cleanse again because I wasn't in a place to commit to that process, so a teatox was the perfect step down of intensity for me. The first thing I noticed only a few days into my teatox was the absence of cravings. I found myself feeling full throughout the day, yet not bloated, which was a huge improvement for me. The second difference I felt was the energy I had! I felt good every day, which motivated me to make healthy choices like eating right and working out!

 I didn't do the teatox because I felt like I needed to lose a ton of weight. I did it because I felt like I was out of shape. I wasn't treating my body right. I didn't have the energy I wanted and needed. Doing this teatox was just what I needed to set my life in the right direction!

If you're looking for that extra "umph" to start living and feeling healthy, making sure you check out Fit Life Tea! I highly, highly recommend it. :)

Hope everyone has an amazing rest of the week!

Cheers.

VIIcode O2M Oxygen Eye Mask

Happy Friday folks! :)

Hope you all had an amazing week and have fun plans for the weekend! Connor and I saw the Minions movie last night sooooo I'd say our weekend is off to a pretty amazing start. Today I'm sharing a product that has helped me look and feel more refreshed and energized in the morning. It's the VIIcode O2M Oxygen Eye Mask and I have to say, it's pretty life changing!

The VIIcode O2M Oxygen Eye Mask uses oxygen-producing plant extracts to repair the skin around your eyes and prevent wrinkles, crow’s feet and other similar issues. By using this mask, your skin cells get additional energy and a stronger capacity to repair and rejuvenate, resulting in smoother, healthier, prettier skin! It's best for dark circle, under eye bags, puffy eyes, and fine lines and wrinkles.

One box comes with six sets of gel eye masks that you use 2-3 times a week. Since you can keep them on for up to 8 hours, I slept with them on. My favorite thing about the masks was the cool, refreshing sensation it gave under my eyes when I first put them on. They made me feel relaxed and soothed my tired eyes, helping me fall asleep quicker! Probably the only complaint I really had about them is that they fell/peeled off sometimes during the night. I would wake up with one half off my face or one completely gone and lost in the covers somewhere. This might probably be mostly my fault though because I toss and turn a lot during the night and I sleep on the side with my cheek against the pillow--so the masks probably peeled off largely due to that. When the masks did survive through the night on my face, I woke up feeling awake and energized, which is saying a lot for me because I am NOT a morning person. *Tip: Keeping the eye mask in the fridge a few minutes before you use it helps you get an even cooler feeling and a better absorption of the active ingredients.

Below is a Before and After comparison of wearing six sets of eye masks (one box) over the course of three weeks.

The Before photo is the morning before I wore my first eye mask. I feel like my eyes are naturally a little baggy with some dark circles because I am the worst sleeper. I go to sleep late and I wake up late--which is the perfect recipe for looking and feeling like a zombie in the morning (and pretty much throughout the entire day). When I don't get a good nights sleep (which is pretty often), I feel really sluggish during the day. The After photo is the morning after I wore my sixth set of eye masks at the end of Week 3. My bags and dark circles were almost completely gone! Not only did I look awake in the morning, but I FELT awake which is something I hadn't felt in FOREVER! It's crazy how something as small as feeling awake in the morning can help you become extremely productive throughout the day! Even after only Day 1 of using the masks, I had already felt a difference in the way my eyes (and brain) felt.

Three boxes (18 masks) are a full course of treatment and if I got these great results with only using one box, I can't imagine how awesome three boxes would be! I would definitely recommend giving the VII O2M Oxygen Eye Mask a try--especially if you're not a morning person like me. Hopefully they'll help you work towards a brighter, healthier, happier life! :) Check them out HERE.

Have a great weekend, friends!

Cheers.

Jawbone UP MOVE x Fitness

Thanks to Jawbone UP MOVE for sponsoring today's post!

All opinions and my love for this fitness tracker are my own. #Jawbone #SmartCoach

As most of you know, I work from home. Which means I live a VERY sedentary life. With the exception of my morning jog and taking Samson out a few times a day to do his business, my idea of being physical during the day is getting up from my couch and walking to the fridge. Then walking back. I'm pretty sure Samson is more active than me on a daily basis from all the pitter-pattering he does around the apartment.

I was already aware that I didn't live a very active lifestyle, but it wasn't until I wore the Jawbone UP MOVE that I realized just how lazy and stationary I really was during the day.

I've already spoken about the Jawbone UP MOVE on my blog before (see the post HERE) but I only highlighted the sleep tracking feature. Today I'm going to talk about my initial and overall experience with the activity tracking feature.

From the moment I got out of bed, I clipped my Jawbone UP MOVE onto my clothing. Their built-in accelerometer accurately counts your steps, no matter where you go or how you wear it. Before I went on my morning jog, I switched the tracker over to "Stopwatch" mode so it could focus solely on my running session. It timed exactly how long I ran for, the distance I ran, the steps I took, my pace, and how many calories I burned. I was pretty impressed with all the data it collected, just from the little chip I wore! (Scroll down a little further to see the data from my jogging session--don't judge on how slow my pace is! I'm a slow runner, haha)

I went on the with the rest of my day still wearing the tracker. Around 3pm I checked in on my progress using the UP app on my phone. I was pretty shocked to see that I was only at 40% of my 10,000 steps goal (the NIH recommends you take at least 10,000 steps per day in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle), especially since it was already more than halfway through the day! It was a pretty rude awakening of how inactive my lifestyle was and how much I needed to start changing it! For the rest of the day I would make myself get up every 15 minutes or so and literally power walk around my apartment. I know it sounds super silly (and trust me, I felt pretty silly), but just doing that alone helped me get more steps into my total and forced myself to be more active during the day!

LEFT: The data from my jogging session. I like to take my time running, okay? // RIGHT: My total steps for the day! We went on a long walk with Samson at the end of the day just so I would make the 100% hahaha. Also, the app told me that when I hit 10,263 steps, it was the equivalent of climbing the Eiffel Tower SIX times! So basically I spent my day in Paris, what whaaaat]

You can also set reminders to get up and move around during the day and the UP app has a Smart Coach that offers you tips and tricks every day on how to reach a healthier life.

People who have jobs that require them to move around most of the day don't really have to worry about whether or not they live an active lifestyle. It's those of us who have jobs that require us sitting down most of the day that need to be more aware of our activity. We don't realize how sedentary our lives are without actually seeing it with our own eyes. I would highly recommend the Jawbone UP MOVE to people who want to live a healthy lifestyle--it's great for both those who want to be more active during the day and those who want to maintain an already active lifestyle.

A really fun feature about the Jawbone UP MOVE is that you can can connect with your friends and family who are using the tracker as well! You can form teams to help each other reach your goals and even duel each other to see who can reach their step count goal first! When UP community members have three or more friends on their team, they move at least 10 extra miles a month. That’s a lot of calories burned.

The Jawbone UP MOVE tracker doesn't just count your steps and track your sleep--it gets you over the hump and moving on your path to a better you.

Give it a try!

Cheers.

Jawbone UP MOVE x Sleep

Thanks to Jawbone UP MOVE for sponsoring today's post!

All opinions and my love for this fitness tracker are my own. #Jawbone #SmartCoach

I am the worst at sleep.

Honestly, I'm just straight up bad at it. I suck at going to sleep. I suck at waking up from sleep. And I suck at staying asleep. If sleeping was a sport, I'd get picked last in the schoolyard.

I've tried all the tips and tricks--ZzzQuil, Sleepytime Tea, reading a book instead of playing on my iPad, aromatherapy, etc. Some of them have helped me fall asleep faster, but I still either wake up in the middle of the night and/or have trouble waking up in the morning. A big problem is that I've never been able to track my sleeping so I can monitor my patterns. I feel like if I were able to see how I sleep, I can fix how I sleep.

Well, my problem is officially solved thanks to Jawbone UP MOVE!

Jawbone UP MOVE is an activity tracker that tracks your movement, exercise, sleep, food intake, and health progress. It helps you get fit, lose weight and have fun doing it! Jawbone UP MOVE comes in a bunch of fun colors that you can mix and match with clips and straps--I chose to go all purple, obviously. The UP app you download to monitor your data even comes with a Smart Coach to guide and motivate you throughout your journey. The UP MOVE tracker doesn't just count your steps and track your sleep--it gets you over the hump and moving on your path to a better you!

One of my favorite features on the Jawbone UP MOVE is of course, the sleep tracker. It easily tracks your hours of sleep and better yet, quality of sleep. Your quality of sleep is tracked with a built-in accelerometer, which detects light, sound and wake phases of sleep. You simply strap on your UP MOVE tracker, put it into Sleep Mode, and snooze away! Over time, the Smart Coach learns your sleep habits and then gives you personalized suggestions to help you get the most out of your sleep so you wake up feeling bright-eyed and bushy-tailed!

Below is a screenshot of one of my sleep logs in the UP app! It's so cool how you can actually see what time I fell asleep, the times I woke up during the night, and when I was in my sound sleep/light sleep phases. As expected, I woke up multiple times during the night and spent more time in light sleep than sound sleep--causing me to feel extremely tired when I woke up in the morning, even though I got more than 7 hours of sleep. Over time I've gotten tips and tricks from my Smart Coach on how to improve my quality of sleep, like having a consistent bedtime--which I struggle with a ton.

Fun Fact: According to the NIH, getting 7–8 hours of sleep per night protects your mental health, physical health, quality of life, and helps your brain work properly!

I'm so excited to continue using my Jawbone UP MOVE! I've already noticed a huge difference in my sleeping habits and can't wait to see the long-term benefits it brings! I know Samson definitely approves of it since it's allowing him to have healthy sleeping habits too--he used to stay up late/sleep in with me, making him real lazy. ;)

Next Wednesday I'll be highlighting the specific activity tracker on the UP MOVE and how it has helped me with my fitness goals, so be sure to tune back in for that!

Have a great Tuesday, friends!

Cheers.

Work It Out w/ Aeropostale: Look 2

Top: c/o Aeropostale
Leggings: c/o Aeropostale
Shoes: Nike
Watch: Polar

Here's my second workout outfit featuring Aeropostale! I love muscle tanks like this one because it frees up my arms from getting too sweaty during workouts. I mean, who doesn't like a top that has a breakup letter to "stress" on it? Plus, it helps you avoid sweat tacos. And no one likes sweat tacos. Also, these leggings are actually made for yoga, but I like how they're a litter thicker than workout leggings because they keep your legs nice and warm so you get a better burn. ;)

I feel like working out is so much more satisfying when you can visually see your progress! This Polar FT4 watch monitors your heart rate (it comes with a band you strap around your chest) so it tells you when you're in the optimal fat burning zone. It also tracks how many calories you burned in a workout if you like keeping track of that information (I use MyFitnessPal to track my calories daily). I'd highly recommend getting yourself a Polar FT4 watch--it's only $56 and much cheaper than those other fancier gadgets that do exactly the same thing.

Hope you're all getting through your hump day!

The week is halfway over, people. We can do this!

Cheers.

Work It Out w/ Aeropostale: Look 1

Top: c/o Aeropostale
Leggings: c/o Aeropostale
Shoes: Nike

I mentioned on my Instagram a while back that I was doing Kayla Itsines' 12-Week Bikini Body Guide and I'm proud to announce that I'm still sticking to it and am currently on WEEK 11! It's crazy to think how fast time has flown by--it seems like it was just yesterday I was dying doing burpees on Day 1. But I've definitely noticed a difference in my body since I began the program! I took progress photos every 4 weeks and I'm nervous/excited/scared to share that with you guys when I'm officially done with Week 12. I had been shopping around for a good workout program for a while before I came across Kayla's and it's been by far my favorite! I'd definitely recommend it to everyone who wants to get healthy and back into shape. Also, a huge shoutout to my workout buddy Bri, because I don't think I would have survived these past 11 weeks without her. Doing a workout program like this is SO much easier when you've got someone going through the same pain and gain alongside you every week!

Since I've been going to the gym every day of the week (minus Sunday), I've had to amp up my workout wardrobe. I was an occasional gym-goer prior to doing the BBG so I literally had maybe 2-3 workout shorts and some old t-shirt from high school to wear for working out. So when I saw the variety of adorable workout gear on Aeropostale's site, I knew I had to snag some for myself! I tailored this outfit for when you want to go jogging outside on a chilly day. The leggings and long sleeves keep your body warm, but they're still lightweight so you don't overheat once you start sweatin'! Working out helps you towards looking your best, so why not look good while doing it? ;)

Also, I know its been a little bit of crickets around here lately and I wanted to apologize for that! I took a little break from the blogosphere (for multiple reasons, but nothing serious I promise) but I'm back and I'm so excited to share with you all some things that I've been working on!

Love you all and have an amazing Tuesday!

Cheers.

Friends who juice cleanse together.....

Happy first day of October!

(and a very Happy Birthday to my mother-in-law!)

If you're following me on Facebook and Twitter, you'd know that I was on a 3-day juice cleanse last week! My friend Lauren and I have been talking about doing one for a while now and we were so excited when we found the perfect person to partner up with! Dani Strong (@dani_strong) was kind enough to work with me and Lauren and she provided us the yummiest juices and milks for our cleanse! Dani is the cutest, sweetest lady ever so if you're shopping around for a juice provider, she's your girl. Scroll down to the end of this blog post to get her contact information!

*Disclaimer: This will be a very information-heavy, ramble-filled post, so I apologize if you were just looking for a summary of everything! It's just that I want to include every part of my experience with this cleanse so that anyone who's had questions or wants to try it out will have a good source of info. (: Also, this is my FIRST time trying out a juice cleanse so all opinions and initial reactions are my very own!*

I've split my post up into three different sections:

JUICING 101

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

BENEFITS OF JUICING WITH A BUDDY

Top: c/o SWELL  |  Hat: c/o LuLu*s  |  Short Necklace: c/o LuLu*s  |  Long Necklace: c/o Emmajoy

JUICING 101:

For those of you who are unfamiliar with juice cleanses, let me give you a little rundown on how this specific cleanse works (please note that there are many different cleanses out there but I am only reviewing/giving information on this one in particular). 

First off, juice cleansing is a way to rid your body of yucky toxins and get your body on track to a healthy lifestyle. It gives your digestive system a break from working so hard to process a large meal (and let's face it, all my meals are large...). It's important to know that although you do experience weight loss in a cleanse, that is not its primary purpose and you shouldn't aim to do a juice cleanse just to lose weight!

To start, you choose however many days you want to cleanse (I did 3) and then you choose your 6 juices and milks for your x number of days. You can pick either 1 milk and 5 juices OR 2 milks and 4 juices--I did the latter because I'm a noob, hehe. You can find the list of juices and milks Dani makes HERE!

Here were my choices for the 3 days:

Day 1: Vanilla Almond Milk, Power Green, Classic Green, Power Red, Power Orange, Chocolate Almond Milk

Day 2: Strawberry Almond Milk, Power Green, Classic Green, Fresh Apple, Hot Lemonade, Coconut Almond Milk

Day 3: Vanilla Almond Milk, Power Green, Classic Green, Summer Watermelon, Summer Raspberry, Chocolate Almond Milk

My favorites: The ones shown in the picture below.

Favorite and non-favorite flavors really depends on your taste and is sooo different for each person. For example, I really like the Power Orange because I love carrot juice for some weird reason, while Lauren wasn't a huge fan of it. Lauren enjoyed the Summer Watermelon, but I had a tough time with the aftertaste. Make sure you read what veggies and fruits are used in the juice before you pick it because it could really make a difference in whether you like it or not! Also, if you're not a fan of tomatoes like me, avoid the V8 one. (:

Your drinking schedule is basically you wake up, drink a milk (drinking a milk as your first and last for the day is recommended), then drink a juice every two hours from there until you reach your 6. Make sure to drink about a bottle of water in between each juice to keep yourself full. You WILL urinate A LOT during this cleanse so I recommend you make sure a bathroom is within reach at all times. Have I mentioned that you don't eat ANY food? Hence the JUICE cleanse. ;)

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE:

The morning and afternoon of Day 1 wasn't too bad at all for me. I think I was mostly excited about doing the cleanse and trying out all the juices to think about anything else, really. It was fun wondering what each drink would taste like! Dani does such a good job at making sure each juice and milk tastes yummy and fresh. At first I didn't have to use the bathroom too much but once I was done with my third juice and had a couple bottles of water, I was heading to the bathroom about every 10 minutes. Other than that though I was feeling energized and full!

Temptation hit in the evening when it was time for Connor to eat dinner. I had gone the whole day without smelling any sort of real food because it had just been me and Samson at home. Connor brought home leftover steak salad that Cubby's had catered at work that day (it's like they knew I was cleansing that day). The moment he took the salad out, the delicious smell of food attacked me and I had a craving for it like I've never known before (wow, I'm sounding very early-vampire-Bella right now aren't I?). I had never experienced such heightened sense of smell like that before! I had to go into our bedroom and close the doors and I could still faintly smell the salad. Oh man, it was torture, but I survived (barely).

Day 2 was fine as well. I expected myself to wake up in the morning, starving, but I was actually quite full (even though I hadn't drank anything since 7pm the night before). Drinking milks in the morning and night really help because it helps kickstart your day and then you look forward to it at the end of the day. Dinnertime wasn't as bad as the night before because Connor ate before he came home so he didn't torture me again (thanks hubs). However, that night after I fell asleep I woke up randomly to the smell of what I guessed was stew. Yes, stew. Guys, I'm not a huge fan of stew but I reaaaaaaaally whatever I smelt that night. It must have been coming from a nearby apartment or building, which is crazy because it meant the source was pretty far away! I could not fall back asleep because I kept smelling food!!! I had to bury myself under the sheets to escape whatever delicious evil it was....

Day 3 was good and bad. Good because it was the last day and bad because my mouth starting becoming dry from all the acid in the juice I was drinking. I had to keep forcing myself to drink water in between to get rid of the dryness but it was hard because I was feeling more full that day than usual. Nighttime came pretty quickly though (the days go by really fast on this cleanse because you're counting down every 2 hours) and soon I was on my last bottle of milk.

Taking that last sip of milk was pretty awesome. Partly because it meant I could have food the next day but mostly because it meant I had successfully accomplished a 3-day juice cleanse! I don't often stick to things very long (besides Connor and my blog) and I'm quick to give up when things get tough, so committing to this 3-day long program was a HUGE accomplishment for me. :) I was a happy camper!

BENEFITS OF JUICING WITH A BUDDY:

It was sooooo awesome doing this cleanse with Lauren. Just knowing that there was someone else out there doing the exact same thing as you and going through the exact same withdrawals was helpful to the max. We were one another's support systems and encouraged each other to stay strong whenever one of us got cravings for food like pizza and KFC (hint: that was me). It was also fun to text each other whenever we tried out a new juice for the first time and share our first impressions with it! We also kept each other updated on our reactions to the cleanse (like the constant trips to the bathroom and heightened smell)--it helped so much to know that someone else's body was also reacting the same way and I wasn't going crazy or anything.

I would definitely recommend juice cleansing with a friend for all the reasons above and because it's just fun to experience something like this together!

Lauren blogged about her juicing experience on her blog today too!
Check out her story HERE!

I'm definitely glad I did this juice cleanse becuase I feel so much healthier and energized!

The best part is that not only am I not eating unhealthy meals and junk food anymore, but I don't crave anything unhealthy! It's so weird because I craved everything unhealthy while on the cleanse but once I finished it, my body was in full-on health mode! I crave salads instead of pizza and choose to drink water over sodas all the time! I love how I feel--both inside and out--and I have Dani to thank for everything!

If you are interested in doing a juice cleanse (and live in Utah), Dani is your obvious choice! Her prices and flavors are listed HERE on her blog. Dani is also always posting about special offers and updates on her Instagram, so be sure to follow her at @dani_strong!

Text/call her at 801-473-8612 to place your order!

Make sure you let her know that Ariel sent you and she'll take care of you :)

Also, be sure to give her a 48 hour notice before you want to pick up your order because she makes all these juices and milks FRESH daily and she's a working mama!

If you have ANY questions at all about the cleansing process, please feel free to contact me!

Leave a comment below or email me at arielhamilton14@gmail.com

Thanks for reading about my experience with juice cleansing!

I kept everything honest and truthful here because although I do want everyone to try this out, I also want you guys to know what to expect!

Hopefully I convinced you enough to give it a try! (:

Have a great Wednesday everyone!

Cheers.