Fitness Friday| Maxitone Sculptress Diet Review

I have had my eye on Maxitone Sculptress for a number of years but always hesitated at buying it. However the other month it was on Groupon for half the price so I impulse bought it at about 11 o clock at night.

It arrived a few days later and after giving it a thourough read I was disappointed to find it was a meal replacement product; I had thought it was more of a protein supplement product. However after paying good money for it I thought I would read upon on the "Sculptress diet", give it a good go and review it for you all.

So the diet works the same as a Slimfast one would, you have your shakes and bars to replace two meals a day then eat one healthy dinner. Maxitone claim that their shakes are healthier than the usual meal replacement products because they are made up of 1 third protein. However it is quite alarming to read the ingredient list on both the powder and shake, especially for a girl such as me who was eating pretty much green and clean before hand.

I would have a bar for breakfast... yes a chocolate bar, then a shake for lunch, a healthy snack at 3ish to prep me for my workout then a healthy dinner. I was suprised to find that the bars are incredibly filling! So much so that a few times I had to nibble on it as couldn’t manage it all in one go. The shakes go down very quickly but are again filling.

I was on the sculptress diet for 3 weeks and stuck to it pretty much all the time, apart form the weekend when I would eat regularly but within a decent calorie count. As I don’t weight myself I can’t tell you if I lost any weight, but I do think it helped slim down my stomach and reduce bloating. However after 3 weeks I found I was craving normal food and missed my two ingredient pancakes at breakfast loads. However I can see why this diet is appealing to people as it is very convenient. For those who are super busy and don’t know how to cook healthy then you only have to find the time to cook one meal a day, the rest is convenient food, just grab and go. So for me the Maxitone Scupltress diet is very much like weight loss for dummies, if you don’t want to educated yourself on nutrition then go on the diet. However I bet if you went back to your old eating habits the weight would come back on.

I wouldn’t ever embark on the Maxitone Sculptress diet again however I have seen on a few fitness and health blogs that the protein shake powder can be used to make pancakes, protein bars and even cupcakes! So I may invest another bottle of the Maxitone Protein Powder and try a few recipes.

Have you ever tried the Maxitone Sculptress Diet? Or perhaps as different meal replacement diet? Do you use the Maxitone Protein Powder of other products?

Go check out Christina’s gorgeous blog Kimi and Me for fashion, lifestyle and all things pretty.

Fitness Friday|The Difference Between Good and Bad Carbs

Carbs are a funny little thing aren’t they. So much confusion over one element of our diets. I have been asked a multitude of times “ What carbs should I eat and which one’s should  I not” “Should I not eat carbs at all?” etc. So thought it was about time I did a blog post to help with all the confusion I see. Now I’m not a nutritionist so can’t offer expert advice, but I found the above images helpful and think that they summarize the difference between good and bad carbs in a clear and concise way.

Personally on a typical day I try to avoid simple carbs, my biggest issue is with bread. As much as I love it, it really doesn't agree with me as it makes me bloat so much. You will never find a loaf of bread in my kitchen unless it has been bought for a special occasion. I know many people who don’t eat carbs at all because they find it difficult to digest, so they don’t eat any bread, pasta, rice, or wheat.

The above images also explain why many adopt a carb free diet when they want to drop weight quickly because carbs are more difficult to digest. Carbohydrate foods are also higher in calories because they are our biggest source of energy. So if you stop eating carbs you will automatically reduce the number of calories you eat unless you replace them all with protein, which is lower in calories. Carbohydrate-free diets are very restrictive, so ideally you should instead just chose your carbs wisely. Replace refined white grains with healthier choices such as brown rice and whole wheat bread.

How do you feel about carbs? Are they something you avoid? Do they confuse you?

Go check out Christina’s gorgeous blog Kimi and Me for fashion, lifestyle and all things pretty.

Wednesday Workout| Results with Lucy| Lucy TOWIE Workout

I don’t know if you have noticed on Twitter, I certainly have, but Lucy Mecklenburgh from TOWIE has launched a new fitness video website and subscription service with the aim of making you look as good as her on the beach; www.resultswithlucy.com. Now I have to admit the girl looks good and its great that she’s promoting healthy living and inspiring former couch potato's to workout, but she’s not a personal fitspiration of mine, because I think it’s a bit unrealistic to think that I would ever look like her as to me she has always been slim and not struggled with her weight like I have. Plus I like a little bit more muscle tone. However I know millions of girls who would do anything for a body such as hers, so for you, she has shared her workout regime in an attempt to show you how to get #abslikelabs

Anyways after hearing about the website I was disappointed to find that there are no videos as of yet, just daily suggested mini circuits to complete at home. By the sounds of it I think when the website launches some areas of it will only be accessible after paying a fee as she is currently offering 2 free 1 year subscriptions if you sign up now.

So as the workout are just written down on Twitter or Facebook I decided to make a few little pictures so they are easier to follow and look better. The workouts themselves are designed by her trainer Cecilia and are mini circuits to be completed at home. The idea is that you complete a different circuit each day so are getting your 30 mins of exercise. as they are circuits the idea is to perform them quickly and to get your heart rate up so you are burning calories! For people who already workout a lot these workout may not be intense enough so do them a few times through, they are great if you want a quick workout.

It think these workouts are great for those who are pushed for time and want to burn calories quickly, but as with all circuits you get out what you out in. So make sure you perform each move correctly and quickly. If you move quickly between each movement you will burn more calories. They aren’t the most technical or imaginative or circuits so for those who workout often they may not be ideal but give them ago and let me know how you get on.

Had you seen Lucy’s new website? What do you think of it, effective and fun or nothing you haven’t seen before? I would love to know what you think.

Be sure to check out Chrissy Lilly’s amazing fitness and health blog. Need inspiration? Her blog will keep you right on track. Plus she’s a lovely girl!

Wednesday’s Workout| 100 Calorie Workouts| The Truth!

 

It is that time of year when everyone starts to panic about that bikini and the body they are going to be showing off on the beach, and already I have had people email and ask me how did I lose weight and how long did it take, well I lost weight through hard wok and commitment and it took me what many would say is a long time. I started to work on my “bikini body” in January! This is probably not the answer that you were looking for and are already clicking off my page and Googling “ how to lose weight quickly,” and it is because of these tweets I have been saying that this post was created.

I have seen for a long time the pictures detailing workouts that “Burn 100 calories now!” “Burn 100 calories in two minutes!” “Do this 10 minute workout every day for 2 weeks and lose a stone”… you get my gist! However I have seen hundreds of those workouts over the past few weeks from girls hoping that a 10 minute workout will help them look fab in their bikini, so I thought I would take on a few a see if you really can burn 100 calories in 2/5/10 minutes.

I decided to do the two workouts above that I found on Youtube and monitored my calorie burn with my new Polar Heart Rate Monitor. So after filling in my age and weight to the watch and securing the electrode band to my chest I put in 100% effort for both of them, and here are the results. 

Workout 1

Wow this is tiring! The burpees definitely got my heart rate up and you move very quickly from one move to the next. I burnt in 75 calories in the 7.07 minutes.

Workout 2

Again a very tiring workout! This one flows a little less smoothly than the other, so I feel like I waste precious seconds moving from lying down to standing up, but still a good workout. However I only burnt 63 calories in the 5.25 minutes.

Now obviously the calories that each person burns in a workout varies depending on your own age, weight and fitness level. This is why I thought these “100 calorie” workouts were a load of rubbish. So even though I burnt between 60 and 75 calories, typically a person who weights less than me would burn less calories in that workout and a person who weights more than me would burn more. But again it all goes down to your fitness level and the effort you put in.

So even though I didn’t burn 100 calories in the above workouts, what I need to stress is that yes burning 100 calories in a workout is all well, but to lose 1 pound you would need to burn 3500 calories, so doing these 100 calories workouts once a day for 2 weeks isn’t even going to help you lose half a pound! If you are going to keep your diet the same and use these 100 calorie workouts to lose say 4 pounds in 2 weeks you would need to do the workout 140 times! Which works out at 10 times a day, so a solid 1 hour and 10 minutes of exercise every day for two weeks! And I bet to do these workouts 10 time through giving it your full effort would be tough but more importantly boring! So as I said at the beginning… to lose weight quickly you need to work incredibly hard! Do not buy into quick and easy fixes, they just don’t work and they aren’t healthy either!

What do you think of these 100 calories workouts… do you dislike them as much as I do? Have you seen any other “Quick Fixes” that people are being lured into under false pretences  Are you upping your effort over the next few weeks to make sure you are bikini ready?

 

Check out Jennifer's gorgeous, cute and fun lifestyle blog Infinitely Charming. Full of beauty, crafts, fitness, life and more; all with Jennifer's humorous edge on top... what's not to love.

Fitness Friday| Clothes and Equipment Haul

 

Today’s Fitness Friday is a little different, being that it is in video form. You will find below a video showing you what clothes and equipment I recommend. There are also some buying tips as I have had a few questions about what clothes and equipment to buy so certain activities. I decided to film a video since I haven’t done one in a while, as much as I enjoy filming them now it takes so much time to edit them! Anyways you can expect some more videos in the near future to do with my fitness and health related posts.

I hope you enjoy it. Let me know what you think or if you agree with my recommendations.

Be sure to check out Chrissy Lilly’s amazing fitness and health blog. Need inspiration? Her blog will keep you right on track. Plus she’s a lovely girl!

Fitness Friday| Healthy Snacking| Total Greek Fruyo Yoghurts

Following on from my post about healthy snacking and showing you my fun with fruit recipes I was kindly given the chance to try Total Greek’s new range of yoghurts Fruyo*… now I am not the type of girl that says no to food, especially not free food so obviously I jumped at the chance to try them.

I was especially excited as I eat tones of yoghurt… in my diet it is in its own food group. You would never open my fridge and not find a tub of Greek Yoghurt in there. It is so versatile, healthy and great for those with a sweet tooth. I use yoghurt in my overnight oats, in  smoothies, in recipes as a replacement for cream and as a healthy sweet snack; top it with fruit or honey or crushed up meringue or as a replacement for icecream.

Since I have moved house I now make sure all my post goes to my work address so that stuff isn’t left in the lobby in my apartment building. With most things its alright as it’s normally, clothes or makeup that is delivered there. However when my parcel arrived from Total Greek there was a bit of confusion as to why there was a cool bag of yoghurt being delivered there…. it’s not normally something that people order for themselves. I had to explain it was for my blog to the confused looks on my colleagues faces. When I opened the massive box I was very surprised to see a huge cool bag full of a wide collection of Fruyo flavours; Vanilla, Cherry, Peach and Pineapple. I had to guard the bag with my life as my colleagues were eyeing it up all day.

Anyways onto the product it self. Total Greek Yoghurt say that “Fruyo yoghurts are an exceptionally thick, protein-packed, fat-free Greek yoghurt with real fruit pieces. Ideal for breakfast, as a snack or dessert. It is packed full of protein with 7.7g of protein per 100g yoghurt… a benefit which will appeal to foodies, slimmers and fitness enthusiast alike. With no preservative, colourings or artificial sweeteners this is a substantial yoghurt upgrade for many.”

I love them!  Their vanilla flavour is divine!! You get a substantial amount of yoghurt in one pot and it is unbelievably thick and creamy! Unlike some Greek Yoghurt I have tried there is no sharpness at all. Matt and I have been having one each day as one of our snacks and I have been using the non flavoured one in my meals. I can quite honestly say that I am a total convert. I love that they are packed full of  protein in as well! It means I'm fuller for longer!

Do you eat yoghurt as much as I clearly do? Have you ever tried Fruyo yoghurts? Which is your favourite brand of Greek Yoghurt?

p.s. The picture above only shows a couple of flavours, but as they were so yummy Matt and I had eaten man before I got round to taking pictures… whoops!

Share the Love| Meet My Sponsors

 

It’s that time of the month again; time for me to share with you the lovely sponsors who have been supporting me from my side bar this month. This month was extra special as I was joined by two other AMAZING fitness and health bloggers. There is starting to be little group of us now. We all tweet each other often and offer support through our fitness and health journeys… it’s a lot more fun that doing it on your own!

I personally am a huge fan of both of their blogs and have been reading and following them both for some time. They post often about fitness and health, but also motivation, recipes and day to day life. Both blogs are full of personality… which is always a great thing. I truly hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Please go and share some love with them.

Hi, I'm Cantara. I'm on a mission to improve my body, my sense of style & my skills with a make up brush. I'll be blogging about my progress on shaping up and slimming down, tips & tricks on how to live a healthy lifestyle, recipes, workouts, meal plans, as well as OOTD's, new buys and beauty loves. Join me if you want to get fitter, look stylish & be beautified too! :)

Blog- http://www.gymbagsandgladrags.com

Bloglovin'- http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/4650549/gymbags-and-gladrags

Twitter- https://twitter.com/GymBagsGladRags

Hello Cotton- http://www.hellocotton.com/mypage/gymbagsandgladrags

Pinterest- https://pinterest.com/gymbagsgladrags/

I'm Rhiannon, a 20 year old Advertising & Marketing Student from Coventry. I'm a huge lover of keeping fit and healthy, and love coming up with  new recipes and workouts to try! I started The Barbelle to help me log my progress and any recipes that I find along the way, as well as being to give other people ideas for what to do to help push themselves further and live healthier lifestyles! :)

I like to think my blog's a bit of everything as even though the gym is like my second home, I love make up and clothes so there may be a couple of non-health-related posts thrown into the mix every now and then - who says fitness bloggers can't be girly too?! I'm super friendly and I'm happy to answer any questions my readers have so don't be afraid to say hello if you ever fancy a chat! :)

Blog -http://thebarbelle.blogspot.co.uk/

Twitter: www.twitter.com/tweetrhii

Facebook: www.facebook.com/thebarbelleblog

Instagram: @thebarbelle

Pinterest- http://pinterest.com/rhiiwn/

Be sure to give them all a read, I guarantee that you won’t regret it! If you are interested in featuring on my side bar then visit my advertising page for all the details.

 

P.s If you enjoy my posts or my blog inspires you to workout and eat healthier, it would mean the world to me if you could vote it as “Best Lifestyle Blog” in the Cosmo Blog Awards.