Happy March 1st everyone!!

Back in January (Seriously I can't believe it's already March, where did the time go!?) Sworkit and I spent the entire month sharing our journeys through fitness, what keeps us motivated, where we started and where we have come. It was extremely exciting to share with you all my personal journey through fitness and keeping myself motivated!

This entire process, sharing our journeys and what keeps us all motivated has really given me the opportunity to step back and take a look at where I was and where I am today. In the moment, after having my second baby, I felt like getting any resemblance of a "normal" body back was nonexistent. I had never really had the body that I wanted, not ever SO even the thought of being in any sort of shape wasn't even on my radar.

One Friday night, my husband and I were watching Shark Tank. This APP was being pitched to the sharks, SWORKIT. I was immediately intrigued and AS THE PITCH WAS BEING MADE on TV I downloaded the APP and started playing around with it. THAT night I did my first Sworkit workout and was hooked from that point on! After a week or so of using the free membership I upgraded to Premium to gain all of the awesome attributes that the Premium Membership gives! I was, all of the sudden, using Sworkit one to two times a day, putting together workouts myself and using the workouts that are already programmed into the APP. I saw results, I could do these workouts on my own time and in my own home, having a gym membership was no longer a "want" of mine.

A few months later I attended a blogging conference called GO Blog Social here in St. Louis. I met some incredible bloggers and businesses that day. The one thing I gained from that experience was confidence, confidence to go out and reach out to brands that I loved to see if they would be willing to work together. Sworkit was at the TOP of my list and to my surprise I got a response and have cultivated one of the most incredible relationships with Sworkit and Leanna. I feel like I not only made a great business connection but a personal one as well. I have never been so excited to put together workouts or blog posts since teaming up with Sworkit.

So when I look back to where I was almost two years ago, I see myself as a second time new Mom, unhappy with how my body looked, just searching for something to light the fire under my butt and get me motivated. Now I see myself in a place I never thought I could get to, a place where I not only am extremely happy with my physical appearance but also with myself internally and as a whole. I have been given such a great opportunity to work alongside some amazing people on projects that I personally believe in completely! Two years, if someone told me that this is where I would be it would have been hard for me to believe.

Work hard, don't give up and believe in yourself!!

Sworkit and I are going to be working on some really awesome stuff here in the next month or so, be on the lookout!

Thank you all for your support and following along with us!!

XOXO
Melissa

Today is the last day to enter the January Journeys ONE YEAR OF PREMIUM from Sworkit GIVEAWAY!

More about the giveaway in a moment.

Today I am going to share with you all my personal journey not only this January but also my journey over the past year and a half to get to where I am at.

My boys are 2 (3 in two weeks) and 1.5 years old. I have been working my butt off this past year and a half to make sure that I live as healthy a lifestyle as possible with two kiddos in the mix. Let me tell you, it's not easy. There are mornings where I can barely function due to lack of sleep. How easy it would be to just eat the cinnamon rolls I made for the boys, and let's be real, there were plenty of mornings I did indulge. However more times than not I have had to remind myself to be strong, that I am eating healthy for the benefit of my children, myself and my family.

Working out has been another battle in and of itself. Two kids, two dogs and a wonderful husband don't always make for the easiest workout environment. Luckily my husband supports all of me endeavors and when I want to go on a run he is there for me, he constantly tells me, "Go! Take your time, have fun!" ... I couldn't do any of this without his support, seriously he makes all the difference!

I also workout while the kids take a bath. Our bathroom is *thankfully* big enough for me to roll out my yoga mat, set up my Sworkit app and get to work while the boys play in the tub after they have bathed. They enjoy cheering me on, counting down with the app and even laugh when I do burpees (they don't get the pain LOL)

I have squeezed in as many workouts and runs as possible. I don't let a single second go to waste and I keep myself motivated by taking pictures of my progress. When I look back to where I was a year and a half ago and then look where I am at now, I almost can't believe that I was able to do it. My entire life I never thought I could have abs, seriously it was something that I just never understood how anyone had defined abs. Then once I had my kiddos I REALLY never thought I'd have abs, however with all of the work I am finally at a place where I can say that I have accomplished something I NEVER thought was possible. Let me be very clear, to get where I am at has taken a year and a half, it took me eating healthy while I was pregnant, pushing through the lack of sleep, working out every chance I got and just doing it for a year and a half now.

**July 2015 (left) - March 2016 (center) - July 2016 (right)**

It is possible, it just takes time. There is no easy fix or a painless way to get the body you want. You have to make a choice and stick to it.

With all of that being said I still have loose skin from my pregnancies and I have learned to be VERY okay with that. I have a scar where both boys came into this world through, and I love it. I have not only gotten to a place where I keep going, keep pushing and continue to accomplish my fitness goals. I have also learned to love the parts of me that aren't perfect, because in their imperfection they are perfect to me. 

I'm also going to throw out there my own little PSA that positioning is everything when it comes to sharing pictures on any form of social media. The following picture was taken one after the other, one I'm standing and the other I'm sitting. Everything needs to be taken with a grain of salt, just because someone can make their bodies look one way doesn't mean it stays that way! Just be aware of this when looking at everyone's before and afters. Use these as inspiration not something to compare yourself to! We all have our own journey, our own path to take and each and every one is special and unique!

So to enter our ONE YEAR OF PREMIUM for FREE giveaway go on and follow these instructions and jump start your working out to get the results you want! I personally attribute a HUGE portion of my success to the ease and customization of Sworkit so get to it yourself today!

All you have to do is...

1. Like ME & SWORKIT on Instagram

2. Comment on the MOST RECENT picture which states **GIVEAWAY POST** with what keeps you motivated to workout!
3. Like the GIVEAWAY post picture on Instagram

Yes, it's pretty simple so don't hesitate to head on over and get yourself entered! The winner will be announced tomorrow February 1st!

CHEERS!

The past couple weeks I've been sharing what has kept me motivated this Winter to stay on track, eat healthy and workout as much as I can. Along with this Sworkit and I are giving away a YEAR of PREMIUM to one lucky reader... Head on over to my Instagram and check out the original giveaway post and enter now! Winner will  be chosen February 1st!

Original Post Image:

So, this week we have been dealing with a sick child. He's had a fever and just been blah all week, which is why this post is coming a day later than usual. Which brings me to another extremely important thing that keeps me motivated...

These two...

One of my BIGGEST motivations are my children. I want to stay in as great of shape as possible to be around as long as possible for these two! I not only want to be around I want to be involved, I want to be able to get on the ground and play with them, run around and just be as active as I can. Working out and eating healthy keeps me in the shape that they deserve to have me in. As their mom there is nothing more important than being there for my two kiddos and I have made a promise to myself to be my best self for the two of them!

Be sure to share your own #JanuaryJourneys on social media with us!!!!

Cheers!

I don't know what the weather is like where you are but here we are in the middle of a crazy ice storm, apparently the last big ice storm was in 2006 so it's a big deal. Needless to say I'll be hunkered down in my house with my boys today and pretty much all weekend!

Psst... I've been given a year of Sworkit Premium to give away to one of you lucky readers, so keep on reading and the details are at the end of this post!

So, with that said, it's Friday and it's cold and it's January, but before we know it it's going to be time to dig out that bikini and hit the pools this Summer! I know it seems like sooo far away but in reality it'll be here before we know it.

On this cold Friday my motivation to continue my workouts with Sworkit and to eat the best that I can is looking at my swim suit...

I can't wait to hear what keeps you all motivated during these cold winter months! Have a fantastic {& if you're in the middle of this crazy ice story, SAFE} weekend!

Cheers!

It's 2017, I can hardly believe it!

So it's been a while since my last post, the holidays came over me like I couldn't even imagine and needed to take a step back and focus on everything going on.

Well, along with focusing on my family, the holidays and everything along with that I have been able to plan out what the whole 2017 will basically look like here on the blog *yay*

First, recipes, we all love a good recipe. Every week I will be sharing recipes that I just can't get enough of. Whether it be a full meal or just a snack, recipe's are where it's at. I'll also be looking for YOUR favorite recipes to share here on the blog as well so please shoot me an email or DM on any form of social media so we can chat about your recipe and a timeline of when we can share it!!

Second, Sworkit. As you know I just love the Sworkit app, the company and the individuals that work for this incredible company. I can't even begin to describe just how life changing my connection with them has been, because it's been incredible! So there is going to be a LOT more coming from Sworkit and myself!! **Go check out my Instagram over the weekend for a fun little announcement!**

Third, the topic of today's post title. January is all about starting over, at least that's what it has been for me the past few years. With that means kicking it up a notch in the working out and healthy eating! So what Leanna from Sworkit and I are wanting to bring to you all is a little series called January Journeys ( #januaryjourneys ... to follow along on social media!). So today I am going to finish up this blog post with my first installment of this series...

I have been working on myself for quite some time now, well over a year, just about a year with Sworkit. February of 2016 my oldest son turned 2 years old, my youngest was 7 months old. We had a small party for the oldest and this picture was taken...

... After the party and reflecting on this photo, which I do love so much, I realized that I wanted to just feel better about myself. I wanted to get into shape and look and feel as good about myself as possible. For every single person that means something different, no matter what your size, age, gender etc. we all have things we want to work on about ourselves. The second I decided to give it 100% (up until that point I had been working at about 50/60% on myself at best) I didn't quit! I use this photo as a reminder, a reminder where I was a year ago and the reminder of how far I have come. I love knowing that I have achieved more than I could have ever even imagined and I can't wait to go even further.

I am loving my relationship with Leanna and Sworkit and I am using the app and the support around it to continue to push myself into being the best I can be! This January I am going to continue to look back, reflect and realize how strong I truly am as an individual, for I have pushed myself further than I ever imagined possible.

So at the beginning of January 2017 my goal is to tone my body some more, eat as healthy as possible and find a way to incorporate more cardio into my workout routine, since running isn't an option at the moment (I'm in St. Louis, it's cold right now, running outside would just be silly if you ask me)

I encourage you all to share your #JanuaryJourneys along with us on social media! At the end of the month I am hoping that we can all come together and share our progress, both physically and emotionally! Make sure you head on over to my Instagram later today for a chance to win a YEAR OF SWORKIT PREMIUM for following along and sharing your own January Journey! Details will be in the IG post!

Cheers!