Healthy Vacationing!

Hope you all having a great start to the month today! Can't believe it's August already, only one more month left until it's back to school for me, thats 30 days to kick my butt and Tone It Up! Anyways, if you follow me on twitter (@chelseadawn_) then you may know that I went on a two day vacation last week. I made sure to choose a place where I for sure would not be relaxing all that much, my resort had a gym and pool which we took full advantage of! There were other things though that made it the perfect healthy vactioning spot, the restaurant had healthy menu choices like salads and wraps that made it easier to eat properly. For dinner I had their low fat turkey burger on a whole wheat triangle bun topped with tomato, bean sprouts, lettuce and red onion and it was amazing! The food and  the hotel were great but what was even better was the activities that they had to offer, mini golf, a timed maze that made you go hard, rock climbing and tree top trekking. And let me tell you, the tree top trekking is not easy! You are hooked into a harness 40 to 50 feet above the ground in the treetops doing a number of intense obstacles.It is definately not for those who are afraid of hights thats for sure. It was hard but it was sooo much fun! The course had numerous zip lines that were just breath taking and so invigorating. My boyfriend and I did it together and did the new hard course in 25 minutes! That was a huge feat for us and so amazing because the average time is 45 minutes, guess i'm in better shape then I thought! Thanks Tone It Up. Oh and the best part was I was barely even sore the next day! I did it a few years ago when I wasn't very active and the course weren't as hard(they've had to change some stuff in the last few years) and the next day I could barely move so it was a relief to be able to move the next day this time through. So it is possible to have a fun vacation and still stay active! So when planning your vacation I encourage you to do some research before you go in regards to the food near by, what kind of activities you can do and weather or not the hotel has a pool or a gym! :) Have fun vacationing, enjoy the rest of August! Run Love Sweat<3

Getting back on Track!

Hey everyone, so as you may or may not know a few months ago I participated in the Tone It up Bikni Challenge but it was during school and I didn't have the time to do it properly with exams coming up. I did as much as I could but I often missed my booty calls and sometimes I was too busy doing homework and studying to keep up with my workouts. A few weeks ago Katrina and Karena re launched the Bikini Challenge and I vowed that I would do it and give it my all, 110% but that never happened. Although I swam a lot and did work out a little my eating was atrocious. I wasn't giving my body any of the nutrients it needed at all but my mom on the other hand has stuck to her diet and has lost an amazing ten pounds, I couldn't be prouder, but now she just needs to get on the physical acitivty part! Since my last attempt at re doing the bikni challenge was pretty sad i'm going to re start it all over again starting today! I've already done my bootycall this morning which was a 15 minute fit test and 15 minutes of yoga, I am also planning on going to the gym soon. I went through the Bikni Challenge blog post on TIU and programmed all my meals and workouts/challenges into my phone so that it reminds me what I need to accomplish in a day. I'm hoping these reminders will help me to stay on track and keep me motivated. I'll try to post every day about how the Bikini Series is going and hopefully get back on twitter (@chelseadawn_) to re connect with my Tone It Up sisters! So I challenge all of you guys to re do the Bikni Challenge or start it if you didn't participate before! You can find everything you need to know about the bikini challenge here! You can do it, until next time eat clean and work it !

Tone it up Tuesday!

Hey everyone. Hope you all had a great day today. For breakfast I had a turkey sandwich on flax seed bread, lunch was celery sticks and berries and for dinner I admit I cheated a little bit and made pasta! Uh oh, kicking it into gear tomorrow! I have to say i'm pretty tired today so I don't know if i'll be able to wake up early tomorrow for my booty call. For my workout today I tried the new Tone It Up Sandcastle workout and it was pretty tough on the legs, I also thought the name was pretty beachy and cute! I also did the itty bitty bikini workout, the beach bum workout and the bikini strap workout! Toning it up on Tuesday! Can't believe theres only around two and half weeks left of the bikini challenge so keep up the fanastic work and really kick your butts into gear! I know you can do it ladies, we all can just think of those bikinis! I know you all can't even wait to look fanastic! Your all so inpsiring and motivating so keep up the great work and I hope it pays off, don't forget to set your alarms in the morning too! Night :) xx

My Weight Loss Journey

I was going to save this entry for a later time but right now I have the time and my blog needs a little more content so I will add it today. First I will start by saying that I have not lost a tremendous amount of weight but it is the emotional, social and physical changes that have affected me the most. When I was a child, up until I was about seven I was pretty much average, the same size as all my friends but that's when everything changed. My dad who thought he was doing a good thing for me by giving me what I wanted didn't realize that bringing me to fast food places for lunch twice a week was detrimental to my weight, mental, social and physical being. I was the chubby girl in school and people who I thought were my friends made fun of me and other kids would sometimes moo at me. I'd come home crying to my mommy after school and ask her why no body liked me. I knew the answer. One summer my parents put me in swimming lessons and I started shedding all the weight I had put on in my childhood years, the kids who mooed at me didn't even recognize me and things started to get better. I'd always been self concious of my weight and I finally decided to do something about it, I would try to work out all the time but I never changed my eating habits and for that I suffered. I never lost any weight but I didn't gain any either so obviously that wasn't working. When I got to high school I was starting to feel really confident in myself, I didn't feel like the chubby girl anymore like I had in elementry school, I felt like I fit in because I made new friends that were like me but things changed I would find that somehow comments would be said sometimes that made me feel like crap. I was sick of feeling bad about myself and being physically run down so I changed my eating habits to healthier foods and I started working out. Now i'm here, I've accepted my curvy body for what it is beautiful! I'm alot heathier, happier and fitter than I was. Since February I've lost a total of 9 pounds which may not be a large number but I am so proud of it because it's more than i've accomplished in a while. I went from weighing 143 pounds which is what i've been seeing on the scale for the last year or two to 134 pounds and I feel and look great. Sorry this entry is so long, but I think i've needed to get this story out for a while and I think that from here i'll just continue to move forward!

Getting back on track!

Hey ladies, hope you had a relaxing weekend! Sorry that I haven't been active on twitter or writing any new entries the last few days but I'll be back at soon. I've just been so extremely busy the last few days. Lots of  events that needed preparation and all my attention so that took up about 98% of my time. I am soo looking forward to getting back on track with my work outs in the next few days and am glad to see you guys are still going strong!

Anyways I have been getting a few twitter posts here and there and I must say your all doing so fabulous and you should all be so proud of yourselves. There are only 26 days left of the bikini challenge so now is really the time for us to kick our butts into gear! I can't wait to really push myself these next three weeks, I know it's not going to be easy but I know it's going to be worth it and that's all you need to tell yourself, It's worth it. So keep it up ladies and keep going.
I will start blogging and tweeting again tomorrow so I will catch up then(:

ps don't forget to do your bootycall in the morning!

My favourite workout!

Hey ladies! Hope you all had a fanatstic day. I had a pretty long day to be honest, woke up a little late (I've been short on sleep so much this week) which means I didn't get to do my booty call again today but I'm listening to what my body needs and in order to stay healthy I need my sleep. To start the day I had what I start everyday with, a half cup of oatmeal with a little honey blueberries and strawberries. I have to say that it's my favourite breakfast because it's filling and keeps me energized throughout the day. For lunch I had some sliced cucumbers and a slice of flax seed bread cut in half to make a sandwich with peanut butter on it, so yummy and filling. While the rest of my family had calorie loaded chicken parmesean I grilled a plain chicken breast and made a whole wheat wrap with chicken lettuce and strawberries, it sounds like a strange combination but it's great I promise.

As for my workout today, I went for an hour long lane swim. Swimming is honestly my favourite and best excersize! It works your whole body because it gets your heart pumping working your cardio and obviously your engaging your arms legs and core to move and stay afloat. I can't say how much I love getting back in the pool. When I was young I was a really chubby kid who loved to swim, I started taking swimming lessons regularly and lost almost all my weight. It was life changing so i'm hoping that getting back in the pool will help me again! So ladies, if you can, go swimming!Oh and if you haven't checked it out already, Tone it Up added their new beauty video to youtube for us all, you can find the link to their youtube page on my side list where I have created a list of Tone it Up links!
Your all amazing inspiration and motivation, keep up the great work and don't forget to set your alarms for your booty call in the morning! (:

Short and Sweet

Hey ladies, hope you all had a great day! Unfortunately, i'm super busy today and don't have the time to enter a proper entry so I will add a better one tomorrow. I ate fairly healthy today, oatmeal as usual for breakfast with blueberries and strawberries. For lunch I had a salad with a light yougurt dressing and a half sandwich that had peanut butter on it. I know were supposed to keep it lean and green but I didn't make dinner myself tonight and my host made spagetti, which was yummy. I drank lots of water, too much if you ask me lol but I know it's good for me! Like I mentioned above I was short on time today so I did the Tone it Up Celebrity booty camp video twice, it's an older video that you can find on their youtube page! Remember ladies, stay fit, stay fab and stay beautiful! Love you all, keep up all your great work!

ps don't forget to set your alarms for your booty call in the morning!

Pizza Muffin Recipe

Okay so here you have it pizza lovers, a pizza substitute that isn't all that unhealthy for you and that takes about 5 minutes to make. These are also great for kids, they taste great and are healthier than microwave pizza or even oven pizza.

Ingredients 1 whole grain english muffin
2 Tbsp pizza sauce
1/8 cup shredded skim mozerella cheese

Procedure
1. Toast the english muffin in the toaster until slightly crisp
2. Add a Tbsp of pizza sauce to each half
3. Divide the cheese and add it to each half
4. Broil in the oven until the cheese melts

Tips on how to make this recipeToast the english muffin enough so the sauce won't make it soggy
You don't need to use a whole Tbsp of sauce, sometimes less will do the trick
You only need enough cheese to cover your muffin in a thin layer!
You can also add whatever toppings you wish, I only like cheese though.

Checking in

Hey all you awesome people! (: Hope you all had a great day whatever you were doing where ever you are.  Anyways the weather here was pretty rainy and gloomy all day which was kind of a let down because I couldn't get outside. I slept in because I was so exausted from swimming last night and school so I missed my Tone it Up bootycall this morning, doing some extra cardio as soon as I finish this! Anyways I had a great breakfast which was half a cup of oatmeal with a tsp of honey, strawberrry quuarters and blueberries, my fave! For lunch I used my extra berries from my oatmeal and had a berry mix aswell as a pb and j sandwich on flax seed bread, sometimes you just gotta have some pb and j! When I got home for a snack I had a pear and for dinner I made pizza muffins (recipe above) because I was short on time. As for my workout tonight it will consist of the Tone it up best bikini body booty camp video the beach bum workout and probably the lean legs pyramid or beach ball workout! Hope you all had a good day and workout and don't forget to set your alarm for your Tone it Up booty call in the morning! 4 weeks left ladies, you can do anything for four weeks ;)

Oh! Before I forget don't forget to go to the Tone it Up blog to learn about the beauty bag give away!

Bikini Challenge Extended!

Hey everybody! Hope you all had a great day today, I know I did. Anyways i've got some great news for you, in case you haven't already heard the Tone it Up bikini challenge has been extended for another two weeks which means that we have four weeks left! They still have plenty of awesome kick butt workouts to come, beach beauty videos and plenty of prizes so join up it's not too late. For your tone it up workout calender click here .
So anyways today I woke up early and I did my Tone it Up itty bitty bikini workout and beachball workout for my bootycall workout and it felt great. After my workout I had a half cup of oatmeal with a teaspoon of honey and some fresh berries which is my favourite meal to start the day. For lunch I had a pear and some granola cereal with 1/4 cup skim milk (whole grain carbs keep me energetic throughout the day) Finally for dinner I had two chicken fingers with some sliced cucumbers and strawberries on the side, it was so yummy. As for my workout for the night you guessed it tweeps, a one hour lane swim to work that cardio and the whole body! (:
Hope everyone remembers to set their alarms in the morning for their booty call, your all fabulous(:

A little about this blog

Hey everyone! Thanks for coming to my blog. I guess some of you are wondering what this blogs going to be about and that's a good question. Recently i've come across toneitup and i've pretty much become obsessed ever since (may sound a little creepy but whatever). Tone it up is two girls, Karena and Katrina who have a nutrition plan, a fitness studio and offer help to tons of women by posting youtube videos, sending out e-mailsand keeping their blog ect. that contain workouts, recipes and much more! Anyways back to my point, I've found these girls and the tone it up team so inspiring that I wanted to create a blog about my journey starting now documenting recipes, workouts, and recognizing other people who have had great success. Basically in short, this blog will contain recipes, tips & tricks, my workouts/journey and a whole lot of other stuff that has to deal with tone it up, healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle!

To start i'll link some tone it up stuff below!
toneitupblog
toneituptwitter 
toneitupyoutube