5 Things Link Up

Happy Thursday My Friends,

I finally, FINALLY had a chance to join this week and I am so excited to share because sharing is caring!

1.  My Top 5 favourite songs right now and lets be honest I sing each of these songs at the top of my lungs in the car, on repeat, everyday!

* All of Me by John Legend

* Stay With Me by Sam Smith

* Do What You Want With My Body by Lady Gaga f. R. Kelly

* Fancy by Iggy Azalea, THE best music video EVER!

* Am I Wrong by Nico & Vinz

Download them all now so you can sing aloud with me while you're driving down the street!

2. Dukan Diet Lifesavers:

Besides Little Miss Mama, I wouldn't be as successful as I am without Sugar Twin and Jello Fat Free Sugar Free pudding.  Sugar Twin has saved my Earl Grey tea times at Tairalyn's house (she makes the best cip of tea I have ever had) and the fat free, sugar free pudding is the satisfying treat I get to enjoy while relaxing after a long day!

3. H&M has the best tank tops out right now!  These tank tops are long, forgiving, and look great dressed up for work and casual for every day wear!  At only 6.95 a tank, head to H&M and pick up the go-to tank of the summer! (Make sure to try them on as I recommend going a size smaller)

4. Television Guilty Pleasures:  When I am looking for something fun to watch and not have to think about it, I watch  Melissa & Joey or  Baby Daddy on ABC Spark.  It actually has some really good shows, like my all-time favorite The Fosters, I encourage you all to check out that channel and enjoy some good, mindless, heart warming television.

5. Sharing my view as I wrote this post!  I just love dachshunds and mine the most, they have huge personalities and are such characters.  Harley always sleeps on his back and Tucker (the white lump) buries himself each and every night and anytime he sleeps.

Here's what you can do to join us:

1. Five Things link up is posted every Thursday at Midnight EST. Share any five things that are on your mind right now. Whether it’s something you are obsessing with on Pinterest, a new and exciting event going on in your life, or even sharing five of your favorite books; it’s totally up to you.

2. Please put the Five Things button {pictured above} on the post your sharing for the link up; sharing is caring, the more players involved the more fun we’ll all have, so let’s make this big.

3. Please follow both your hosts Diana from the world around her and Tairalyn from Little Miss Mama via Facebook {here and here} and/or Twitter {here and here}. As it’s not mandatory it is greatly appreciated.

4. If you tweet about the link up, feel free to tag Tairalyn & Diana while using the hashtag #FiveThingsParty; if you instagram about it, a big thank you and kisses to you, tag Tairalyn & Diana and the hashtag #FiveThingsParty.

5. Check out other bloggers who’ve linked up, show them some love and comment on at least one other bloggers link-up post. Why? Because it’s kind and it makes them feel all warm and tingly inside; be the reason they smile extra big today!

1.

The World Around Her

2.

Little Miss Mama

Have a great day my friends!

#YouCanDukan One Month Update: Dukeing It Out With Little Miss Mama

Good Day My Friends,

I write to you today on day 30 and in my books that's a whole month. How am I doing? How am I feeling?

Well friends this week was better, although I am only down a pound I am beyond happy with where I am and I am down TWO sizes in pants and they fit, I am not squeezing myself in either, I am comfortable and can breathe, to be honest they end up being a little too big :)

 

(This has got to be the worst of the worst pictures for me)

Tairalyn and I have come so far from day one and the images speak for themselves, her and I are constantly telling each other how proud we are of one another and cheering each other on! Not to mention our families and friends who cheer us on from the sidelines!  On day one, the weight loss goals seemed so far away and unrealistic but it’s true and it works and #youcandukan too, it’s easy and not as daunting as it may seem. The first step is committing.

Tairalyn and I have been fielding questions left, right and center on the how to’s of this diet, so this week we would like to share our successes and recipes of this diet.  First things first, you first need to go to the original Dukan Diet website to calculate your weight and how much you need to lose. Don’t sign up as Tairalyn and I have been doing the whole diet on our own, with the guidance of her naturopath.

Phase 1: Attack Phase

What does the attack phase consist of you ask? High protein, basically only protein with non-fat milk and dairy, at least 3 liters of water a day to avoid overworking your kidneys and 20 minutes of light exercise a day! Hard yes, can it be done? Yes. Tairalyn and I’s goal weight is to lose 50 pounds and therefore we were on the attack phase for 10 days.

PLAN.PLAN.PLAN. That’s all I can say and my number one advice tip for the attack phase. Tairalyn and I spent one whole day, literally 12 hours, buying, making and prepping every single meal, even snacks, for our 10 day attack phase. Thanks to Pinterest we were able to come up with some delicious and creative ideas for each meal. (check it out on Pinterest here and here). Out of all the choices available to us we made meatballs for days, burgers to feed a herd, stuffed chicken to feed a family of 20, Thai beef skewers to feed a whole ball team, Mongolian chicken and sesame chicken. We also found some great ‘dessert’ recipes that have helped our sugar cravings; cheesecake cupcakes, yogurt drops and meringues. I honestly believe this is the only thing that is helping me stay successful, because the first thing I do when I am starving is grab something quick and easy and for me it turns into one cheat, then another and then another. So prep all your meals, each and every one!


Phase 2: Cruise Phase

This is the phase that will last the longest, you will be in this phase until you hit your goal weight! It is also estimated that you will lose at least 2 pounds a week, that’s okay by me!

Enter in veggies; you will never be so happy to see vegetables in your whole entire life, I promise, make sure you check out our Pinterest page to see what veggies you can and cannot have. Trust me it’s a glorious day when you can pop a cherry tomato in your mouth and hear the sound of carrots crunching in your mouth! Heaven! And you think to yourself, I am going to have salad every day I can, but that gets boring and old quickly so what do you do? What is my number one must do? PLAN.PLAN.PLAN

Yet again, Tairalyn and I got together, planned out our meals for the week and shopped ‘til we dropped.  We found and made some life changing, delicious recipes and realized we can have fat free, sugar free pudding!  PUDDING, really?  Sign me up!  If I could get all my nutrients out of pudding I would eat it all day, but that’s unrealistic, so I limit myself.  Control is key, although you can have unlimited amounts of protein and other items, you still need to limit yourself and be sure you are not overstuffing your stomach, which feels virtually impossible on this diet.

During this phase there are many choices on how you want to alternate days, Tairalyn and I are doing the PP(Pure Protein), PV(Protein & Veg) rotations, alternating each day.  Which makes veggie day’s even more worth it!   Now I must admit I am not much of a cook, being a single gal this is a strike against me, but that is not to say I haven’t picked up a few things while watching my mom for all these years. This diet has taught me how to be creative, improvise and trust my cooking taste and abilities and I have even become creative and made up my own versions of some recipes. 

As promised I’m sharing two of my favorite recipes that Tairalyn and I have searched out, further perfected, and are now sharing with you today. Our Breakfast Treat, designed by none other than Me (I know shocker) a quick and simple morning breakfast that you can make and take on the run. Oh! And did I mention is tastes sinful. The second recipe is our Cauliflower Pizza Crust that is beyond your wildest dreams {assuming you dream of cauliflower like we do}. INSERT MIND BLOWN, you will not believe your taste buds when you taste this delicious, sinful pizza, and flower crusts will be a thing of the past!

HASHTAG HANGOUT :: Tairalyn and I have felt that our health movement calls for a hashtag, so from this day forward you can find us, show up, and keep us afloat with your Dukan Diet journey using the tag #youcandukan; check it out on Instagram now!

 

 

FOLLOW MY JOURNEY, can you see the difference?

Day 1 & 8: Duking It Out With Little Miss Mama
Day 15 & 22: Update: Dukeing It Out With Little Miss Mama
Our Weightloss Journey: Pinterest

A special thank you to my mom who tells me every morning how nice and small my butt is looking and who is cooking to cater to my eating needs!

Have a fabulous day!

UPDATE: Dukeing It Out With Little Miss Mama

Happy Wednesday My Friends,

Well this past week and a half hasn't been an easy one but Little Miss Mama and I made it through.  A little more of a struggle than I anticipated even though we were able to add veggies into our diet.

Day 15: Cruise Phase, Introducing Veggies

I was pretty shocked at the results of the weigh in, I didn't feel like I had lost any weight at all but my scale doesn't like, well at least I hope it doesn't! I didn't lose many inches which is to be expected when you don't exercise, I know if I put a little more effort into the exercise part I would see higher results which has now become my goal over the next few weeks as I know this will only benefit me.  Today I received the good news that we get to introduce protein & vegetable days!  Yaaay, oh happy day!  I was definitely starting to get sick of only protein day in and day out.  So how does this work?  During the cruise phase you alternate between pure protein days and protein and veggie days.  This breaks up the full protein days which is fantastic and opens up the meal possibilities exponentially.  We will stay in this phase until we have reached our goal weights, which looks to be about another 4-5 months, this is a lifestyle change after all and I am ready for it.

I must admit I fell off the wagon, on day 18 I was cranky, hungry and exhausted after a full day of training at my new job.  I came home and decided to nap, hoping that would help, nope.  It made it worse, so for the sake of my family and my sanity I ate a plain burger patty and a salad in hopes that would satisfy my hunger but it didn't so I had a cookie.  I had 6.  Homemade chocolate chip cookies that had been taunting me for a week but one of the key factors in a diet is being accountable.  Feeling defeated I messaged my bestie Little Miss Mama, without her I wouldn't make it through this.  Trust me when I say this, doing this with someone is the best way to do it!  The best way!  She talked me down from the binge ledge I was hanging on and gave me the support and encouragement I needed!  So what do I do from here?  Of course she offered to get together this weekend find some new recipes and prepare some meals so that we can be successful in this.

Day 22: Cruise, Cruise, Cruise

Well my friends I must say another successful week has come and gone and I am happy with the results.  I lost 2.5 lbs and 1.5 inches on my bust and 3 inches on my hips, I can't believe it!  I didn't expect to lose that much weight or lose any inches as I have not been super active, but I am pleasantly surprised!  I have to give credit to my bestie Tairalyn, without her and her support I don't think I would be this successful, when I am down she picks me up and this is exactly what I and someone needs when making such a change in life.  I am beginning to see some major differences in my upper body, fitting into shirts that were too tight to close and finding my bra's and shirts a little looser!  I don't see the changes day to day but when I look back on the photos I can see the differences, 22 days in and I am down 11 lbs!  I would never have imagined it to be possible but it is!  I must admit that I was a little unsure when Little Miss Mama told me we would be losing at least 10 lbs a month, I didn't believe her at all.  But the Dukan Diet has a rhyme and reason for everything and is turning out to be successful.

Planning; It is a huge HUGE part of this diet, without the planning of weekly meals I would not be successful.  It takes a lot of time but it is worth it in the end, even the cooking til all hours of the night, saves my bacon when I am starving.

A few hidden gems we discovered during the cruise phase, carrot cake muffins, fat free instant pudding and sugar twin.  I should actually be calling these lifesavers because without these I don't think I could keep myself sane without any treats.

Check out these delicious recipes we found and trust me I would eat everything on this list even if I wasn't on this diet!

Mongolian Beef

Sesame Chicken

Meatballs & Sauce

Thai Beef Skewers

Thai Chicken

Butternut Squash Fries

Zucchini Lasagna

Carrot Cake Recipes

Whoopie Pies

Have a fabulous day!

Dukeing It Out With Little Miss Mama

Don't worry my friends,

We are not fighting, we are starting a new lifestyle called the Dukan Diet, please, don't let the word diet freak you out or come with any misconceptions, this is what we need to do to kick start our healthy lifestyle, it may not work for everyone but we know and feel it will for us. 
For those of you who follow Little Miss Mama you have seen the new lifestyle she has begun, all starting with the Dukan diet.  You may not know this little fact: Little Miss Mama and I have known each other since grade 3, so when my bestie text me to tell me her naturopath said she needed to lose 50lbs I said, with no hesitations: so will I!  (Actually the first thing I said was, 'Are you serious? I don't believe it' and then I said I'd do it with her)  That's right my friends, Little Miss Mama and I are going to lose FIFTY pounds, come hell or high water, we will get there. 
Doing something this big with a friend always makes it easier and in my opinion successful, especially with this girl.  She lets me be me and I let her be her, which brings comfort in knowing that we can both be hangry, irritable, cranky, bitchy, testy, sad and happy with each other and still have the support we need from each other at the end of the day! 

Be kind

Week 1:  Cleanse

We eased our bodies into this new diet/lifestyle by cutting out all out carbs meaning all breads, flours, and sugars and drinking 64 ounces a day of a cleansing drink for 7 days. 

This week started off easy peasy for me, I knew I could do this and then day 5 came and I could've killed for a chocolate bar or any sugar of any type, even just one little granule, but I stayed strong and was successful not cheating and with that hurdle I lost 5lbs!  FIVE POUNDS in one week, who would've thought, it was a very happy moment for me and gave me the drive to continue on with this new lifestyle.

Cleanse recipe :
64oz Water
1 Lemon | thinly sliced
1 Cucumber | peeled, sliced
1 to 2 tsp Gingers | grated
10 to 15 Mint Leaves

To optimize taste, steep the night before.

Be kind

Week 2: Attack

PLAN.PLAN.PLAN.  That's all I can say and my number one advice tip for the attack phase. Tairalyn and I spent one whole day, literally 12 hours, buying, making and prepping every single meal even snacks for our 10 day attack phase.  Thanks to Pinterest we were able to come up with some delicious and creative ideas for each meal. (check it out on interest here and here).  Out of all the choices available to us we made meatballs for days, burgers to feed a herd, stuffed chicken to feed a family of 20, Thai beef skewers to feed a whole ball team, Mongolian chicken and sesame chicken.  We also found some great 'dessert' recipes that have helped our sugar cravings; cheesecake cupcakes, yogurt drops and meringues.  I honestly believe this is the only thing that is helping me stay successful, because the first thing I do when I am starving is grab something quick and easy and for me it turns into one cheat, then another and then another and then here I am at 230 lbs.  So prep all your meals, each and every one and make some extra just in case you have an extra hungry day.

What does the attack phase consist of you ask?  High protein, basically only protein with non-fat milk and dairy, at least 3 liters of water a day to avoid overworking your kidneys and 20 minutes of light exercise a day!  Hard yes, can it be done? Yes.  It's been 5 days since we began the attack phase and I am doing okay, I am not craving sugar like the first week but definitely missing veggies and fruit.  I have noticed a definite decline in my hunger and I am not eating nearly as much as I did a week and a half ago.  Its been hard when the people around me are eating cookies, cakes and nachos, omg nachos would be delicious, but I will never make the 50 lb goal if I cheat now! 

I have also found a great blog to follow when I need to refresh my mind on the phases and what I can and can not have www.mydukandiet.com

Stay tuned for continued success from both myself and Little Miss Mama

Have a happy and healthy day my friends!

Fit In 30 Minutes... OKAY!!!

That's right my friends,

You heard me fit in THIRTY minutes, who would've thought.  And this is how it all started...

My bestie, Little Miss Mama, invited me to a session to which she said it was just going to be a consult on eating habits and such, but when we arrived the gym was set up and ready to go for our own personal session.  Tairalyn, Sofia and I had all these plans to go roam Granville Island and spend the day in Vancouver, those went out to window after one of the best workouts I have ever had!

When walked in we were greeted by one of the co-owners Hannah Fletcher, fitness guru at Fit In 30 Minutes downtown, she was so welcoming and so friendly I didn't feel self conscious or afraid at all, okay maybe just a little ;).  This was the cleanest gym I had ever been to and once I found out that we were working out I was excited to learn a new workout.  This became the best workout of my life, this first time I used the TRX band and ab exercises that renewed my faith that in there somewhere there are abs!  She was kind and understanding to our strengths and weaknesses and knew just how far she could push us before we just couldn't move.  The best soreness I have ever had after a workout, even if it hurt to walk for 4 days, it was all worth it.

Fit In 30 Minutes

Website//Facebook//Twitter

Now let me tell you a little about Fit in 30 Minutes, it stands up to its name, this is it.  It truly is all you need to get into the best shape you can, 30 minutes a day a few times a week, sign me up!  Clients of the studio do their own cardio prior to meeting with their personal trainer, they schedule an appointment with the personal trainer of their choice, show up for their allotted time slot and workout with that personal trainer for 30 minutes, it's just that easy. And here comes the best part: they even stretch you out at the end of the session, you read me right they stretch YOU.  The perfect ending to the perfect work out.

One of the coolest parts of Fit in 30 Minutes, next to the amazing trainers and gorgeous studio is the back-end of their website.  Those that are clients of Fit in 30 Minutes get to log in and book classes or sessions with their personal trainer 24/7.  So many of us use the excuse that there isn't enough time in the day or I work too late and everything is closed, but not this place, their website is open every minute of every day to schedule in the quickest most productive workout ever.  All it takes is for you to log in, find your favorite class and book your spot with seconds, OR if one-on-one is what you are after then snag a trainer that suits your fancy and block off a time that works for you that they have free. It's literally that easy my friends. I love that Fit in 30 Minutes has not only made having a personal trainer affordable, taken the gym to the online world and made it extra convenient for those of us that require. 

With all this said Tairalyn and I loved our ass-kicking thanks to Hannah at Fit in 30 Minutes. The studio is quaint and felt inspiring and inviting unlike some gyms I've been too. From the stretching to the online reservations, to the serving of chilled lemon and cucumber water for everyone Fit in 30 Minutes did not miss a beat when designing the perfect fitness studio.

Without further ado, here is your chance at winning a $50 credit with Fit in 30 Minutes that will get you well on your way to the beach body you have been dreaming about.   As you all know Little Miss Mama began her lifestyle change this week, well being her bestie what would you do?  That's right, I am right beside her encouraging her all the way oh and I'm doing it with her!  She is the push I needed to stop making excuses and now I couldn't be more excited for one of you to win this, hopefully being the push you never knew you needed to get to a healthier you!! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway