As this current round of classes is wrapping up it is time to take sign ups for the next round.  This is what I have coming up.

2 round starting the week of May 21st:
Monday/Wed/Fri 5:15am Outdoors - sign up for 2x a week for $130 or 3x a week for $155
Tue/Thur 6am Indoors - 2 spots currently open $130
Both rounds last 8 weeks.  Folder with nutrition/wellness info given at the start and weekly healthy recipes given throughout the class.
No class on Memorial Day.  Class will be made up on the end. 
**Also if enough interest I may run another round of the Tue/Fri 9:30am round so let me know if you have any interest in that and I will keep you posted.
If you want to confirm a spot in one of the early morning groups or have a question please contact me soon.  ademeyer@comcast.net

I have to share some amazingly delicious clean eating treats with you.  The company that makes them is Hail Merry.

Hail Merry products are all raw, vegan and gluten free.  They use cold pressed coconut oil.  I am a big fan of coconut oil.  The benefits of coconut oil have been highly publicized lately; to name a few they can increase metabolism, help reduce bad cholesterol and it tastes great too.

They use organic maple syrup and raw blue agave to sweeten their foods…no sugar in their products!

Macaroons blonde – holy flippin camoli!  This is the kind of treat I like to sit down for, close my eyes and focus on each bite slowly but surely.  No joke.  That is what I do with special treats.  My hubby pokes fun but that is ok.  I have no shame in my game.  Need I say again – holy freakin cow these are muy delicioso!!  I am salivating just reminiscing in their glory.  Wowsers!  They are a healthy fat but that doesn’t you can down them mindlessly non stop (hence the sitting with eyes clothes savoring every bit) b/c they do have 11 g of fat per 2 macaroons but wow what a sweet treat.

 Macaroons choco – really, are there many more words I can say to convey how much I love these balls of goodness.  Although I did like the blonde ones more, me oh my, I am sooo in love with these too.   Remember both kinds of macaroons should be thought of as treats.  Clean treats; but I still suggest eating them in moderation.

Vanilla maple almonds – oh my stinkin goodness.  Are these people trying to kill me with how good their treats are!!  I my goodness be.  I can’t handle this.  I want to sit down with the whole bag and devour them in one shot.

We also tried the pecans; both the orange rosemary and chimayo chile. I am not a fan of pecans but my hubby is and he loved both of these.  I did try them both and although I am still not a fan, they were better then plain ol’ pecans.  The chimayo chile had a kick, tasted peppery.  The orange rosemary was fresh tasting.  If you like pecans I bet you will love these.

 The salt and pepper sunflower seeds are a great option to add to salads for some extra crunch.

The orange cranberry grawnola was very tasty.  It is said to be enjoyed by the handful and is low in sugar and carbs.

So if you haven’t figured it out by now, I am a fan of Hail Merry.  You can read more about their products at www.hailmerry.com

I have had requests for a mid morning class but I have never been able to make it work until now.  I finally have some spots to try it out.
So starting next week April 24th.  I will be running a Tue/Fr 9:30-10:30am bootcamp class.  I still have space available so let me know if you want to sign up.
This round goes 4 weeks and is $70.  You will receive your own folder with nutrition/wellness info I have put together as well as each week a healthy recipe to try out.
Check out my bootcamp tab on the right for more info on classes otherwise email me with any questions.

Congrat's Katherine, you are the winner of the Larabar giveaway :)  I will email you.

I want to start highlighting people think I work with and have seen come so far.  I want to applaud dedication and perseverance and give you more proof that hard work will be rewarded!  The first person I want to highlight is Beth Levien.

Me - Before you started a regular exercise program how did you feel?
Beth - I felt like I wanted to lose weight and get in shape but wasn't motivated.

Me - When you signed up for my classes I know you were nervous and
weren't sure what you would be able to do but you have been so dedicated and worked so hard and have come so far, what are you most proud of?
Beth - I am happy with so many little things! I seriously thought I would never be able to do some of things in class that I CAN do now! I used to have a terrible time if I squatted down to get back up, now I can just pop up even holding a grand baby in my arms. My hubby comments on that all the time:) I notice it when I walk up my steps, getting out of bed, I am much more limber than I have been for years! A big thing for me is my back, I have always had a lot of lower back pain but this has really changed, I am sure it is from all the core strengthening exercises we have done!

Me - Tell me what the most rewarding part of taking part in regular exercise is for you?
Beth -  Most rewarding is the praise and encouragement I have gotten 1st of all from my hubby and my sweet daughter in law! I love the way I am feeling and looking and am proud of the things I am now able to do! I can remember the 1st week or two of Boot Camp literally laying on the floor and saying to myself "There is no way I can do that!" and now I can.

Me - Tell me what the most effective thing you do to combat stress is?
Beth - Oh boy that's a hard one! I am kind of a stress eater so it really helps me to keep a bottle of water and something healthy around (almonds) for when the stress hits!

Me - Any special accomplishment you want to share?
Beth - I have a dress from my son's wedding, 8 years ago, even though I probably weigh 10 to 15 pounds more....it fits! My body is definitely toned! I have learned that there is more to it than what the scale says! Oh and did I mention that I can walk across the gym in a plank! Never thought that would happen.

Me - What is your favorite healthy snack/meal?
Beth - Favorite snack is almonds sometimes accompanied by a hard boiled egg. Sometimes I will throw in just a few wasabi and soy almonds as an extra treat!


Me - I know you inspired your hubby to eat healthy and get active as well. It is so nice when your spouse is on board. Do you feel like you have motivated anyone else around you?
Beth - It was great to have my hubby join me when I did the Advocare 24 day challenge and he also started doing some workouts also. So far all of my friends say they would die if they went to Boot Camp, obviously that hasn't happened to me, someday I will convince some of them to join me.

Me- What do you use as your motivation to get up early and come to classes?
Beth - Going to Boot camp with my daughter in law got me going in the first place but now it is something I really feel good about doing. Every morning about 5:30 am I get a Wakie wakie text from her!

Me - Anything else you want to share?
Beth - I really appreciate how every workout is different....you never know what Amy has dreamt up the night before:)! Every time there is a new option to challenge me if I have mastered and easier option!


On March 22 my sweetheart was diagnosed with very aggressive prostate cancer...talk about stress! One week later on March 29 we had surgery and the DR is fairly confident he was able to get all of the cancer. It was a crazy week, I still don't think it has sunk in for either of us. As I mentioned before he had joined me in eating healthier and also working out. It was amazing to see the strength he had in the hospital to move around and he loved it when the nurses commented that he had no fat when they needed to give him shots in his stomach! As for me, I mentioned I have had lots of lower back problems but I spent lots of time leaning over his bed and not a twinge of pain. We definitely see that our lifestyle change prior to this is really making a big difference in his recovery and he can't wait to start working out again....him and I are gonna talk about food though because he really seems to think he should be able to eat ice cream and have milk shakes!:)

Beth is so dedicated and works so hard and I am so proud of her and she is a joy to work with!

Don't forget to sign up for the Larabar giveaway going on right now:  http://www.designedtobefit.blogspot.com/2012/04/larabar-review-and-giveaway.html

I love to eat food as close to its natural state as possible – such as fruit, veggies and lean proteins.  For prepackaged foods I look for things with very few ingredients and that is something I love about Larabars.  You will find that the bars have about 5 ingredients with some being as low as 2 ingredients. They are just plain old simple whole foods!  They are gluten, dairy and soy free.  All musts in my diet.  They are also vegan and kosher.  I love that they have no added sugar.  I hate it when sugar is hidden in foods where it doesn’t need to be and these tasty bars definitely do not need any of the “white devil” added to them.

The fat and protein in Lara bars comes from the nuts, and those are heart healthy fats.  The carbs primarily come from fruits, which we all know are good for us.

They come in 20 flavors.  They have a couple new flavors that include chocolate chips.  This is a 4-ingredient chocolate chip that has no milk in it but it is made on a line that also makes chocolate chips with milk so they are not claiming those flavors to be 100% dairy-free, soy-free, or vegan.

I have not tried all 20 flavors but I want to tell you about the ones that I have.  Here they are in order of my preference.

Apple pie – loved it, of course not quite as good as fresh baked apple pie ala mode but it was very, very tasty.  I really enjoyed it.  This is one I find myself always choosing at the store.

Lemon – I love lemon flavored things so I figured I would love this and I did, it was awesome.  Not too tart, which I appreciate.

Carrot Cake – sure one of the best parts of carrot cake is the cream cheese frosting but we can’t expect that on a bar when trying to keep things clean and healthy.  Even without the frosting it was very good.

Chocolate coconut chew – good, although primarily tasted the chocolate (not milk chocolate but cocoa powder) and not the coconut and I would have loved to taste more coconut.

Banana bread – good, pretty much tasted like I was biting into banana bread. I know, I know, you are shocked to hear this.  I suspect you thought I would say it tasted like a chocolate chip cookie or something right…..haha only in our dreams would everything we eat taste like a chocolate chip cookie. 

Blueberry muffin – so far I have liked them all and this one didn’t let me down either

Tropical fruit tart – very good as well.  Was hoping to taste a little more coconut because I love coconut but was still very good.

Cherry pie good, although a little tart.

The drawback is they can be pricey….I try to get them when on sale at Safeway for .99

Sometimes you just need a healthy convenient food to take with you in the car, purse, diaper bag, etc.  I think this is a perfect option for those times.   These are not bars I would consider protein bars, since the protein content is not that high but they are a clean, whole food bar.  Simple and tasty!  I suggest stocking up on a few for your purse!

The good folks at Larabar are offering one of my readers a 6 pack of the bars!  To enter do these easy steps:

-        Like me on FB and tell me you did

-        Like Larabar on FB and tell me you did

Earn an extra entry for each of the below you do:

-        follow my blog and tell me you did

-        Share this giveaway on your blog or FB page and tell me you did

Good luck, I will choose a winner on Monday April 16^th.

Congrat's to Sara Brink - the winner of the Boundless Nutrition Giveaway

Remember that your success in trying to achieve better fitness and health is not just measured on the scale or by how your clothes fit.  Yes, progress in those areas are wonderful BUT also pay attention to how you feel, how you sleep, your energy levels and your motivation to name just a few.  When you become physically active and/or start to eat better you are going to feel better.  You are going to be happier, have a better mind set and mood and feel better about yourself and how you handle your daily tasks.  You are also going to sleep better which will give you more energy (eating cleaner and being active also help with this).  Also, when you notice your workouts getting easier or you notice you are feeling great or even feeling better about your appearance you will feel motivated to keep working hard because you are seeing the benefits.  

So many people get hung up on seeing a certain number on the scale but just remember all the other areas in your life (as mentioned above) that you are probably seeing improvement in!!  Focus on the positive and everything else will fall into place.

Keep working hard

Amy from Boundless Nutrition recently sent me some samples to review.

First thing I notice of course are the cookies.  If you know me you may know that unfortunately cookies (and candy corn) are my biggest weaknesses in the world.  That is why I try to rarely have them around.  Could it be the God is answering my prayers for a healthy, tasty, gluten free cookie?  I couldn’t wait to find out.

The Perfect FIT Protein Cookies are gluten-free, low sodium, high in antioxidants, and don’t contain soy, wheat, or egg. They come in three flavors: Peanut Butter, Chocolate Chip, & White Chocolate Macadamia.  They all have:

§           10 grams of protein (how awesome to have a cookie with protein in it)

§           150 calories

§           the equivalent of 3 cups of Green Tea (so in other words loaded with antioxidants)

§           gluten-free, no soy, wheat or eggs

§           7-9 grams of sugar per cookie

I have never had a cookie with high stats like that for protein so I was excited about that.  Also green tea, I have always read the benefits of it but wasn’t able to drink enough per day to actually benefit from it and these give you a great amount of it. 

Ok, so before you bite into them you cannot go in with the mindset of them tasting like your moms monster cookies or your favorite frosted sugar cookies.  If you go in thinking they will taste like that of course you will be disappointed.  These are not piled high with sugar and fat as you can see from the info above so for a healthier cookie the taste is good.  I am not supposed to have peanuts so I only had a taste of that one and of course I thought that one tasted the best.  Chocolate chip was my next favorite followed by white chocolate macadamia.  I could taste a hint of a different flavor behind all of them; I think it was the green tea.  I think these are worth trying out if you are looking for a healthier option to your traditional cookie.

Next was the Oatmega Wellness bars: They come in 4 flavors (listed in order of my preference) Dark Chocolate Mint, Dark Chocolate Peanut, Mocha (and I am not even a mocha person and still loved it) and Blueberry Pomegranate Crunch. Each bar contains:

§           10-14 grams of protein

§           120-190 calories

§           8 grams of sugar or less per bar

§           300 mg DHA and EPA Omega 3′s (equivalent to a 1000mg fish oil supplement)

§           Green Tea Antioxidants

These bars were all super duper tasty.  I shared them all with my kids and they loved them as well.  Don’t let the Omega 3’s scare you off.  They do not taste like fish oil (thank goodness) I have accidentally bitten into a fish oil pill before and wow, YUCK!!!  Word to the wise, do not put your fish oil pills in your pocket along with some almonds because you may wind up reaching in your pocket and throwing it in your mouth and biting in to what you think is an almond only to have fish oil errupt in your mouth – I can pretty much guarantee you that you will immediately either dry heave or projectile vomit. Just take my word on that....Not tasty! 

Their products are sweetened with organic brown rice syrup and the protein source is a whey/casein blend. 

Good news, you have a chance to try them out as well.  The good people at Boundless Nutrition will provide one of my lucky readers with a box of 12 bars or cookies.  All you have to do to enter for your chance to win is:

-        Like Boundless Nutrition on FB and tell me you did

-        Like me on FB and tell me you did or already do 

For an extra entry tell me what your favorite protein bar thus far is.   

I will randomly select a winner on Saturday morning April 7th.  Good luck

As per all of my reviews, Boundless Nutrition provided me with the sampler pack for this giveaway. I was not compensated for this review in any way, and all opinions expressed are my own.

Alright ladies - I picked the 3 lucky winners and they are:

- Corey King
- Yo Momma Runs
- JM

If you 3 could please email me your mailing address (ademeyer@comcast.net) and check out the Etsy store and tell me your top 2 choices for bands and Kara will send you over one based on the material she has.  Congrat's