Revolt Check-In: End of Week 3

It's the end of my third week today with the program and I'm here again to update you on how well I am doing with Revolt. I am seeing such great results already that I just had to include a picture with today's post. Plus this means you get to see my awesome farmer's tan, lucky you.

I'm proud of how far I have come so far, and of how hard I am working. I just had to show off a bit. Will was looking at my before pictures yesterday and commented how different I looked already, and so I looked back, too, and I have to agree. Now of course, the both of us obviously see me every day, so changes are easy for us to spot. Let me know if you can see a difference! My week three photos are below, and I included the before pictures (taken 4/29/13) just below that for your convenience.

They are small, subtle changes really. My waistline has decreased a bit each week. My belly looks flatter, at least from the front. I am noticing my butt slowly lifting. I am starting to get a teeny tiny gap between my thighs. And I'm beginning to see definition everywhere. I even think my face looks thinner! But I must say I am feeling a million times better than I look. And how I feel is so much more important than noticeable physical changes. My arms are getting much stronger; I can do ten whole, real push-ups! Mt. Climbers have become so easy peasy. I can run around the block, or even a mile without feeling like death. My pants are getting loose in the waist, and I might just be able to squeeze into an old pair of really really skinny jeans!

The food is still just fantastic. I love it! And I love having it all planned out for me; it leaves no room for excuses. Plus it is so good, I want to eat it and not much else. In fact, Revolt should come with a disclaimer. I'm starting to dislike a lot of foods I once enjoyed, that were maybe not too good for me. For instance, today is my free day, so I can eat what I want freely. I went to have a doughnut hole with my coffee this morning and had to spit it out! It was disgusting. Way way way too sweet. And later today I tried some cheddar cheese with some rice crackers, and that cheese straight up tasted like butter. Gross. I'm not minding these changes is food preferences too much :) Clean eating is treating me so well.

Here are this weeks stats:

I am nowhere near done, but I am more and more near where I want to be with each and every week. I'm starting to envision what my body will feel and look like when I reach my goals, and I can't wait.

Here's to a happy and healthier me! Join me for the June 3rd uprising!?

P.S. A free kickstart begins on Monday if you are interested in Revolt, but want to test things out a bit, first. The kickstart includes access to a 50 page guide, 1 week of videos, 1 week of workouts (3 levels), and 1 week of a meal plan (6 cal levels).

Disclaimer: I was chosen as a Revolt Fitness Program blogger and received free membership to try the fitness program. All results are real and my own. All opinions expressed are my own. 

Changeable iPhone/iPod Case DIY

You may remember me mentioning that I was going to be getting an iPhone soon. Perhaps you don't remember, but any matter, I didn't end up doing that. You see, my brother was getting a new phone and so I had my eyes on the iPhone he was going to get rid of. But I thought about it a bit and decided Will needed a smart phone more than I do, so he ended up with it. I did get Will's iPod touch out of the deal though! Which is actually really nice. Especially considering I was still running off a 2nd gen iPod touch (you know the gen before they added the camera) that didn't even update anymore.

Of course, as soon as it was mine, I wanted to swap out Will's case for something more me. And more pretty. So I looked online a bit, and guess what? Nice designer cases are actually pretty expensive. Even simple ones. So, being the crafty being I am, I figured I could just make something. I found a great deal on a clear case ($2.00 and free shipping, yes please) and ordered it with the intention of doing something like this, but as soon as I sat down to make it I thought, "As pretty as this is going to be, I'll probably still get bored of it in a week." So I made my designer case changeable. And it was so easy peasy. See how I made it below.

1. What you'll need: a clear iPod or iPhone case (I got mine from this website), scrapbook/craft paper, a pencil, fine-point scissors, an exacto-knife, mod podge and a paint brush (both optional).

2. Begin by making a stencil. This will save you from making mistakes on your pretty paper and help you get an accurate fit. Use a lightweight paper to do this, like printer paper. Place the clear case down onto the paper and trace around it. Cut out the traced shape.

3. Slide your cut stencil into your clear case. Hold it flat against the back with your hand and trace the areas you will need to cut out, like around the camera and the USB and headphone ports. Remove the stencil from the case and cut these small areas out using an exacto-knife to be precise. Trim down the sides if needed.

4. Transfer your stencil onto the scrapbook paper of your choosing. Cut out around the image. Tip: Although I traced the smaller areas to cut out, like around the camera, I placed each piece inside the case before cutting those areas just to be extra sure that they lined up with the corresponding holes. Some paper lies differently than others when place between the case and the iPod/iPhone, so I really recommend this step if you don't want to have to start all over again.

That's it! Cut out as many different interchangeable designs and colors as you'd like.

If you would like to make the paper design permanent, simply apply the scrapbook paper to the inside of the clear case using a few coats of mod podge and let dry completly. 

This is the one I am currently using. How pretty is that paper!? I love it. But I love that if I don't love it forever I'll be able to use something new without having to buy something.

Anniversary Weekend Camping at Little Payette Lake

It's the middle of the week now, and I'm finally here to share how our camping trip this past weekend went. Mostly, I'm just now sharing because I'm still exhausted. Sort of like a camping hangover. Now that is a sign of a good trip! Another sign is when you have way too many good pictures. It was hard to cut them down for this post, so prepare yourself for the longest post EVER.

We were lucky enough to be able to borrow a canoe to take with us from Will's boss, Tim. Thanks Tim! I guess working for Fish and Game pays off. We planned to leave Friday after Will was done with work, like 5:00 or 6:00 pm, but didn't end up rolling out of Boise until closer to 9:00 pm. Secretly, I think Will just likes finding camping spots in the dark. Because this happens nearly every time we go camping. But we didn't have too far to go; we drove up to the Little Payette Lake, just southeast of the bigger lake in McCall and north of Cruickshank Reservoir.

This was our view of the lake when we woke up the next morning. Pippin was a little confused when we pulled up into the wilderness in the dark, but oh I wish you could have seen his little face when he woke up in the back of the car to the sun rising. He just looked back at us like, "GUYS!" And then starred out the window in awe for a good solid hour while we slept a little more.

Here's a better view of our campsite. What a good find in the dark, right? After we got the canoe off the top of the car and had a bit of breakfast, we explored the area a bit before heading out on the lake.

The entire shore line of the lake was covered in drift wood and fallen trees. I thought it rather beautiful. And the lake was like a pine tree graveyard, with bits of old trunks still holding strong and sticking out above the water. It was actually not too difficult to slide the canoe across the deadwood to get to the water.  

It was such a lovely place to explore. And of course Pippin loved it. The yorkie in him sure makes him unafraid of water; he liked running through the shallow water near the shore, and climbing over all the trees. Sadly, Scout had to sit this trip out. He's not so great at car rides and hates water.

Little Payette Lake is a perfect lake for canoeing. In fact, I don't know if you could do much else out there. The only other people we saw while there were a few fishermen and a kayaker. The water is too shallow and the lake too small to allow much else. We thought it was wonderful. We spent almost the entire first day out on the water. We even headed up the inlet river for a bit and found a nice place on some rocks over looking the river for lunch. Funny story: Pippin really enjoyed hanging over the edge of the boat and watching the water as we paddled. I kept having to tell him not to jump in. When we were heading up river, and had just made it past a hard curve after getting stuck in an eddy, Pippin fell overboard when we hit a bit of a bump. Luckily I have super awesome fast reflexes and grabbed him and put him back in the boat in a matter of seconds before he got sucked away in the current. Also, luckily, the sun was out and he dried off real quick (because that water was cold!).

We headed back to camp late in the afternoon. Pippin was so exhausted from all that adventure that he passed out in the car right away. Will has this awesome tent that fits onto the car. You put the tail gate down and it extends off the back. It adds lots of space in there. We just make up a bed in the back, climb in at the tail gate, and open and close the tent doors as needed. I love it. We took it easy the rest of the night, made dinner and got plenty of sleep to adventure again the next morning.

The next day we decided to go a different direction and headed striaight across the lake. We spied a structure on the map that looked man made, perhaps a dam, and we wanted to check it out. We were right, by the way. Exploring the other side of the lake was fun for a bit and it was cool to look across and see how far we had paddled. We found another cool spot to make lunch along some rocks and tied the boat up for a bit. When we headed back out, the wind had picked up greatly, making the once calm water extremely choppy, so we headed back to camp cautiously and slowly. We then casually got everything ready to leave, but were a bit sad to go.

We had a great, relaxing, fun trip. Every time we go out camping all I can think is how much I wish we could have stayed longer. This trip was no exception. I loved getting away for a bit. And Pippin sure would have been happy living on that lake forever. I'm excited to get out and do more exploring this summer, and we will sure keep this spot in mind for more camping and canoeing adventures.

Hope you all are doing wonderful this week. Let's be friends and go camping, okay? Okay.

Revolt Check-In: End of Week Two

I am a little late with this check-in due to a camping trip this weekend. But it has been another successful week with Revolt. I mean, look, I even took my yoga mat camping with me. If that doesn't say dedication, I don't know what does. In all truthfulness, I didn't use it too much; I got plenty of exercise canoeing around an entire lake two days in a row. But I will say that I am loving how Revolt is making me feel. I feel infinitely stronger than I did two weeks ago. And I'm even starting to look forward to my workouts! That is something I have never experienced before. And I still can't stop raving about the food. Cutting out sugar and most gluten has really done my sensitive tummy and body good.

Before I share the results with you, I want to mention something important. Don't get caught up in my weight. Because I am not. I don't like weighing myself and I am only doing so now as a reference for my readers. You may notice that I gained a pound this week, it happens. I added carbs back into my diet after the detox week and I've also gained a significant amount of muscle mass. Please pay more attention to the the inch measurements I have taken and also the changes in body fat. After all, I am not too concerned about losing weight, but I am about losing some fat.

Now, on to the results!

Things that feel great this week:

1. I am really starting to see definition in my quads/thighs. All those squats sure pay off.
2. Also noticing my butt lifting. Again, squats.
3. My arms changed drastically this week! Or so it seems to me. I'm sure all that paddling around the lake this weekend has something to do with it. I feel so strong and I love it.
4. I can also see some little baby upper abs showing up! I know the rest are just hiding under that belly fat!
5. My jeans are getting looser in the waist, but are getting a little snug in the thigh. Woo hoo, fit body!

Things that feel not so great this week:

1. Something I was eating this week was really making my gut a bit angry and as a result I was a little bloated. I need to figure out what it was!
2. I hurt my knee a bit from landing funny while climbing over some logs when we were camping. I just have to remember to be easy on it for a bit.
3. I got a bad sun burn. This has nothing to do with Revolt, I'm just really mad about it (because I tried so hard not to sun burn).

For more posts from bloggers doing Revolt click this image:

Disclaimer: I was chosen as a Revolt Fitness Program blogger and received free membership to try the fitness program. All pictures and results are real and my own. All opinions expressed are my own.