Hey strangers!

So, what have I been up to lately?

Well, I definitely have been busy. As I said before, it's hard for me to stay focused with so much on my plate. I have had a lot going on in my life lately but I've never lost sight of the prize. Over a period of about two months I noticed myself hitting this plateau and I couldn't lose anymore weight. I felt like I was just spinnin my tires. I talked to several different people, and the answer was that I needed to change up my routine. So I tried a couple different things but I couldn't find anything that worked for me. It's hard enough to get into a routine with working out but then, to have to change it all up, and almost feel like you are starting over, that was even harder for me. I had to power through a lot of demons in my life and shut out all the negative self talk. It was an ugly mind game there for a couple weeks. But then...I saw this commercial for a new workout dvd.

It's called Insanity.

When I saw the commercial I KNEW it was what I needed to do. That was the missing piece to the puzzle. The only problem....money. So I had to wait a couple more weeks till I could afford to get the set. Found it on EBay for $70.00 when on the "Special TV Offer" it was $120.00!! Woohoo! Missy got a deal!!

I've been doing the workout for a while now. I wanted to get settled into my new routine and get comfortable with this new workout before I talked about it. But they did tell me to journal a lil about my workout every day so I could have something to refer back to when I'm through. So I have journal entries back from day 1 that I will go back and add here for ya'll to keep track of my progress.

So what's Insanity like? In a word....Insane.

I've never experienced anything like it before. The easiest way I can describe it would be to have you imagine doing a circuit of say, pushups, jumping jacks, lunges, and squats for about 30 seconds each at a moderate pace. Then you do the circuit again...only faster. Then you do the circuit again...at break neck speed! Then you go to another type of circuit and repeat the whole process....and so on. But people, it's not as simple as your regular old, run-of-the-mill pushups, jumping jacks, lunges, and squats. No, no. Nearly everything you do has you leaping off the ground. When ever your body has to literally take flight, it really steps up the workout a notch. It takes so much power to do that over and over. For example, one workout takes you from a squat position to leaping straight up in the air, to landing back in a squat position. Some of the workouts are like high school football drills. All of it combines cardio with working out. 2-for-1. It's extremely challenging. If you've never seen/heard of it before I'll attach the promo video so you can see a bit of what I'm talkin about.

Folks, I'm thinkin that taking my workout to a whole nutha level will successfully get me off my plateau. What do you think?

Need energy anyone?

Anyone else out there need a boost in their energy? Thought so. Well there is no shortage on ways to improve one's energy levels, that's for sure. And of course, eating right and working out are part of the equation. But when you need a lil help in the energy department, as I often do, you don't neccessarily want to turn to coffee, sodas, and so on. So what's a better solution? For me, it's SPARK from AdvoCare. It keeps me going all day long (now I'm sounding like a commercial). :-)

They have severaldifferent flavors. I have only tried the Fruit Punch and the Madarin Orange but I like them both. It reminds me of that Emergen-C fizzy stuff you drink to help when you have a cold. It's kinda cool. You can mix it in a tiny drink of water and take a potent lil shot of it. Or you can mix more water to have more of a Gatorade type of flavor. It does mix prety well, but I'd say not 100% just because if you don't drink it immediately a lil bit tends to settle at the bottom. But that's not a deal breaker for me, in this instance.

I've purchased it in the canister for something like $40-$50 and also in a box of individual packets for around $20. Either one is a good deal and it lasts a LONG time.

Nutritional info: It does have all kinds of goodies in it. Some of which are only 45 Calories(!), 11g Carbs, 45 mcg B-12, 200mg Taurine, and 120mg Caffeine (Seriously!), and much much more.

I'm no guru on supplements. All I know is what I like. I take mine super concentrated in a few ounces of water, chug it, and I'm good for the rest of the day. I make sure to eat something first or it makes me jittery. I've heard that some people even have to take half the amount suggested and that's all they need. Either way, it does it's job well.

I don't sell AdvoCare. I just like what they have to offer. I originally heard about it through my former trainer Cindy. She gave us samples to try. I have loved it ever since. AdvoCare is a great company. And they sell way more than just supplements. If you want to know anything more about it you can visit their site.

My soapbox moment: Now I also want to say, I'm not against coffee, myself. I LOVE coffee. But I limit myself to one a day, if at all. These days it's more out of ritual than neccessity because the Spark more than covers my energy needs. What I'm getting at is this, whether you use Spark, coffee, soda, or whatever to boost your energy, you should just be careful how much you have. As far as things like soda, I happen to think if you "have to" have it, make it something you "treat" yourself to maybe once a day. Use it as something you can look forward to in your day. Account for the calories and adjust your food intake accordingly so you are not going over your calories for the day. I think sometimes people view things like soda and coffee as something harmless that they can have as much of as they want in a day's time. But seriously, those calories add up (not to mention the inevitable water retention)! Imagine if you had cheesecake (seems like a more tangible example) as often as you had soda throughout the day. You'd certainly be more conscious of how many pieces of THAT you were eating in a day. But that much coffee and soda is just as bad for you. You have to be more conscious of the calories (and especially the sugar in the sodas) you are consuming even in the things you drink. If you truly LOVE it, that's fine. Hey, I'm not gonna kid myself into thinkin I'll never have coffee again in my life. Just change the way you think about it. Turn it into your "treat" for the day if you must. Don't just mindlessly consume it throughout your day. It adds up! Ok, there's my rant. I'm stepping down off the box now.

**Side note: Again, I was not paid for this review. Just my personal opinions on what works for me.

A word about supplements

Can I just say, it's difficult to find a good protein shake. I went through a slew of different protein shakes, like many people do. Then....I stumbled on The One. I was at GNC and I was actually looking for another shake I had heard good things about (ISOPure). Didn't find it there. So I started talking to the guy behind the counter. He was so helpful. It's was nice to talk to someone who actually sounded knowledgeable! Then he let me start sampling shakes for free. Totally awesome! After I tried a couple then he showed me one that he thinks is the best. It was in this massive blue jug. I was thinking, "Seriously? Who needs THAT much protein??" But once I tried it I was in shock at how good it was. Now folks....a lot of people say this shake or that shake is good. And they are ALL just plain awful. Honestly I think that most people go with the best shake they've tried and think that's as good as it gets. Pretty sad. We all know what most shakes are like. Chalky. Gritty. Nasty. Some are compared to a Slim Fast shake, some are similar to a Carnation Instant Breakfast shake, some are even reminiscint of that Ovaltine flavor. Well all I can say is that this shake was different than the rest and far surpassed anything I had tried before. In my opinion, this is one where I can safely say it's not just an unfortunate choice between a bunch of unfavorable options. To me, it's in a class by itself and puts all other protein shakes to shame.

Soooo, what is it already??

It's called MAX Protein.

I got the huge 5 gallon blue jug. And that size, if I remember correctly, it ran me something close to $80? It was so worth it for how long it's lasted. And like I said I got it from GNC, you may be able to find it elsewhere, but that's where I got mine.

Some important info: 118 Calories, 22g Protein, 1g Sugar, 3g Carbs, 48mg Sodium, 2g Total Fat, 24mg Cholesterol, 170mg Calcium, 95mg Potassium...etc. If you want details on the other vitamins and minerals let me know and I'll email it to you rather than listing it all off.

I really don't care as much about the specifics of the vitamin/mineral content if it is slightly better or slightly worse than others. The BIGGEST concern for me is the flavor. (And this one, it just goes without saying-it's totally rich and yummy!) Cause honest to God, if it tastes like nasty, gritty, chalk I ain't drinkin it! Makes me gag!! And that's the most important thing right? You need to be drinkin SOME kind of protein shake and if you are spending your hard-earned money on something like this then you wanna use it and not hate it and throw it in the trash. Am I right or am I right? :-)

So I obviously love this shake if I'm willing to go into such detail about it right? Well there's more...

FYI: When you mix it up, of course it's a lil easier if you have a shaker, the faster you shake it the easier it tends to mix. I rarely have a problem with it. If it happens to not mix as well, I actually let it sit for like 5 mins and then shake it up again. (To anyone who may not know, if you don't shake it up immediately the mix tends to clump together while it's just sitting there. So I let it sit and let the water soak into the mix then shake it again and that solves the problem for me.) I've never encountered a protein shake that mixed SO well. It actually mixes COMPLETELY smooth. Not a trace of gritty chalkiness. (Did I just make up that word?) It does NOT have that thick, chunky, almost slimey sort of texture to it. THANK GOODNESS! It's thinner than a milk sort of consistency. You know that premixed chocolate milk you can buy? It's thinner than that. You just have to try it to see what I'm talking about. If you really wanna know, go to a GNC, ask them for a sample of it since you've heard me rave about it.

**Side note: I've been advised to say that I was not paid to post this review. Just giving my opinion for free to help anyone out there that's in the market for a GOOD protein shake. So I hope ya'll found this information helpful.