Stay Motivated and Excited to Lose Weight With These Fitness Apps

                                                                          

Are you still sticking to your fitness resolutions?! Are you bored with your fitness routine?! Looking for some fitness apps to help you stay motivated and excited?!  I'm always looking for new ways to get my fitness on.  So, I found 2 apps that should be of interest to you. 

First is Slimkicker.  One of the creators of Slimkicker contacted me and asked me to take a look at their fitness app.  She explained the concept to me.  It's a fitness app where you could not only log in your fitness progress, but also earn points and badges and be rewarded with healthy products.

Slimkicker.com is a great website/app to help  you stay motivated in your fitness and weight loss journey.  

Every week you are emailed a challenge.  When you complete the challenges or even when you complete a workout you get points or can move up levels. Not only can you join challenges you can create your own.  If you don't want to lose weight on your own there are plenty of groups to join.  You can choose rewards when you reach a new level. My next reward to myself will be a spa/massage. 

You can connect with them on Twitter and like them on Facebook. They are also giving away a $1000 SpaFinder Wellness Giveaway!  You can enter here!  Hurry it ends 3/4/16.

The next website/app is Sworkit.com.  This is great! It's your own personal trainer. 

Sworkit has random circuit training workouts.  You can choose the type of workout and workout time.  A picture of the exercise pops up on the screen and there is a timer.  There are also yoga workouts too. Great website/app to have with you if you travel a lot.
You can follow them on Twitter. 
You can download the app from the iTunes App Store or Google Play. 

Disclaimer:  I have not received any monetary compensation for this review.  The views are my own and results may vary. 

My Top 5 Reviews of 2015!

The end of the year is a time for reflection. Looking back at 2015, I reviewed many products. Here are the top 5 reviews! 

5. Is my first review of Batter Berries! Foodie Friday: Batter & Berries Chicago Restaurant Review    It was my first visit to the B&B and I was very impressed.  I reviewed it again later in the year.  You can find that review here. 

4.  OneCoffee- I believe it's still only available in Canada, but it is great coffee and the company is very environmentally conscious.  Biodegradable,Organic Single Serve Coffee Review-Tuesday Tip

3.  G.H. Cretors Chicago Mix Popcorn- Being from Chicago whenever I see anything related to my hometown in Canada, I immediately want to try it.  The Chicago Mix is uniquely Chicago and some of the best popcorn you'll ever have.  Check out the review here. 

2.  I work out because it's good for me and I have to admit, because I love to eat too!  FitnessBlender.com has some of my favorite workouts.  I buy their plans because they are inexpensive and they work.  This year they revamped their website and made it so much better.  You can read my review here. 

1. Pantene Pro-V Hair Care Products- I have really done a lot of damage to my hair.  I honestly believe that these products have saved my hair.  Read the review here. 

There you have it.  My top 5 reviews of 2015 based on the number of views they received.  Please feel free to check out all of my other reviews!  I have plenty more reviews planned for 2016!  Have a very happy new year! 

FitnessBlender.com Website Review

 Published originally on February 18, 2015.

I enjoy staying fit and FitnessBlender.Com is always part of my workout routine. I've been doing their workouts since they only had 30,000 Facebook likes. Now they have over 250.000! I actually reviewed them a few years ago. Check out that review here. Fitnessblender.com recently released a new website.

The new website contains over 300 workout videos and some great new features like My Calendar.  Workouts can be added to the calendar directly. (See picture below) The days with the dots are where I've added workouts.  Just click on the day and it takes you to your workout. The thing I like the most is that you can add purchased programs to the calendar.  That makes them easier to follow. Unfortunately, none of the previously released ebook programs can be added to the calendar, it's only the FB Programs listed on the site. (see above picture)

My Calendar

You will still be able to purchase the ebook programs. I reviewed the meal programs last year.  You can find the review here. Also included on the website are recipes and a blog.  There's nothing to pay except when you buy the meal and fitness programs.  They are great at keeping prices low and the quality high. You still get over 300 workout videos for free. 

Find out more at Fitnessblender.com. You can also connect with them on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and Instagram.

Update 6/5/15:

I've been doing the FBAbs Workout Program and I have seen some great results.  I'm on my second round now.  Below is a screenshot of my schedule. This program is easily added to the calendar. All I do is click on the day and it takes me to my workout for the day.

Here's an example of a workout. This is what I did this morning!

Have you tried any of FitnessBlender.com's workouts or meal plans?! Let me know what you think.  Please go to my contact page to find out how to connect with me!

Lose Weight Without Dieting App by Harmonic Soft

It's the New Year and time to attempt to keep those resolutions. Every year I say I will lose those final 10 pounds this year. If you're like me you are always looking for something to help keep that resolution.

I was asked by Harmonic Soft to try out their app Lose Weight Without Dieting.  I downloaded the free app from the Google Play App Store. I've been using the app for a few days now. It's easy to use.  First you log in your statistics, weight, height, age etc. and from there it figures out how many calories you should eat per day to lose weight.

Every day you log in  meals and workouts. The app calculates the amount of proteins, fats, carbs, water and calories for each meal. There are bonus pearls you can receive after logging in meals and workouts.  There are nutrition plans loaded into the app. Some of the nutrition plans are low-calorie, vegetarian, Dukan and Atkins.

You are told what to eat and when and what to do for your workout. I think this is my favorite part of the app. Right now I'm doing the fitness diet for active people.  It's 15 days long, it says I could lose 3.5.pounds while following the plan. I'm excited every morning to see what I should be eating and my workouts for the day.

Like I said, I've only been using the app for a few days.  There are so many great features to this app. It has a very complete foods list.  There hasn't been a food I tried to log in that I couldn't find. You can also post your success on social media like I did here:

I've got 30 bonus pearls in Lose weight without dieting app and now I'm Beginner! http://t.co/lmDixnwuiJ #Android #diet
— My Kind Of Mom-Kelly (@dancingvalentin) January 13, 2015

The Lose Weight Without Dieting app sends reminders to your device to log in your meals. I think it's a great to keep you accountable. I highly recommend this app.

Disclaimer: Harmonic Soft  Ltd. asked me to review their weight loss app. I received monetary compensation for this review.  I am under no obligation to provide a positive review.  The opinions are my own and results may vary.

Still Not Losing Weight?! Have You Tried FitnessBlender.com?!

I love FitnessBlender.com!  They have some of the greatest workouts and fitness advice. So happy when I heard they would be offering a meal plan.  For me the hardest part of weight loss is the diet.  Working out is something I do every day, but eating right...eating clean is really tough for me.

I decided to try their meal plan.  The meal plan is for 4 weeks.  Daniel and Kelli worked with registered dietitians and nutritionists to create this program. I decided to go with the Omnivore plan.  They offer a vegetarian and vegan programs. There are 3 meals and 3 snacks. Most of the food you need to buy for this plan is what I usually by every week.  There are 5 different calorie allotments. Because I workout hard almost every day I chose the 1800 calorie plan. It's easy to get enough food to satisfy me.  I don't feel hungry between meals.

The meal plan is very simple to follow. They measure everything out for you.  Instead of just telling what to eat they provide precise measurements. For example one of the meals has .66 cup of oatmeal.   I have noticed that there are many meals and snacks with eggs.  I do find myself substituting lean meats for the eggs.  Also I do the same with any meals that contain mushrooms. Here's a sample meal from the plan!

I like this plan because each meal and snack is real food.  Not a shake, smoothie or soup.  It's very thorough and it doesn't feel like a diet, but a way of life. Go to FitnessBlender.com to check out their workouts and meal plans. I highly recommend them.


Disclaimer: Please consult a physician before beginning any fitness or diet program.  Results may vary. 

FitnessBlender.com Review

 

I'm currently doing the Go Fit Gals 6 Week Shape Up plan. It's a great plan with good food and challenging workouts. On the plan I do the workouts provided on certain days. On other days I'm required to do a cardio workout of my choice. Lately I find myself heading towards the computer instead of my DVD player. Instead of doing one of my 80 plus workout DVDs I go to YouTube where I can find Fitness Blender. Fitness Blender has hundreds of full workouts. From Barre to HIIT to kickboxing. You name it they have it. I have done several so far. My favorites are the Standing Abs and Kettlebell Cardio HIIT. I plan to do more in the next few weeks. And I plan to do their Fitness Blender’s 8 Week Boot Camp – Functional Strength Training Program starting in January 2013.  For more information you can find out more information at FitnessBlender.com, Facebook and Twitter.

CVS Vanilla Whey Protein Powder Giveaway

I really like this protein powder and I'm giving away a 1 pound bag of the vanilla flavor. It tastes great and has 140 calories and 25 g of protein per scoop. Love making smoothies with this CVS Protein Powder. It's really easy to enter. Just use the Rafflecopter widget below. Giveaway ends August 13, 2012 at 12:01 am and is open to residents of the US and Canada.



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sculpt Dynamics With Sylwia Wiesenberg

Tonique is unique and basic. Tonique was created by women for women. The Tonique lifestyle is not to deprive yourself. Sylwia believes you can have what you want just in moderation. Just eat less, but enjoy everything. Sylwia Wiesenberg is a mom of two and understands what it's like to have a body that could look a little better. She wants you to feel confident. Sylwia feels a woman should be a bit selfish and take the time to take care of herself. Take some "Me Time." Even if it's just spending an hour a day working out with her. A woman should take the time to escape and reflect on herself. During this time you should involve movement.

 "Make yourself number 1!"-Sylwia

I've been doing Tonique workouts off and on for two years. I really love her positive personality. You can feel her passion for fitness and movement come through the screen. Sculpt Dynamics is a mixture of cardio and sculpting like many of her other workouts, but there are some differences. First the music is mostly jazz. Something you don't usually hear in a workout DVD. Second, there is a lot more dancing in the DVD than usual. Third, there's one DVD for the cardio sculpting of the entire body and another DVD just for the arms.

"Your goal should always exceed your expectations!"-Sylwia

Sylwia's workouts are always challenging. You don't need to use dumbbells or weights.  If you do she recommends you use 2-3 pound weights. She works every muscle in your body in many different angles. Sculpt Dynamics is definitely an advanced workout. She doesn't have a modifier. Listen to your body. If you find a move too difficult modify it yourself, dance or walk in place. Some movement is better than nothing. Most of her workouts focus on the lower body. I think that's why she has a separate DVD just for the arms this time. You still get a cardio workout during the arms DVD. Just not as much as disc 1.

Check out ToniqueFitness on YouTube!

I liked these workouts. Disc 1 is the cardio sculpting for the whole body. You are sculpting your body and getting your heart rate up at the same time. Disc 1 is two hours. I haven't done the entire DVD on one day. I usually split them into 2. Disc 2 is 40 minutes and is just arms sculpting. Like I said before you do get a cardio workout with this one as well, but most of the DVD is focused on the arms. Sometimes she doesn't cue you to let you know when to change from a single to a double in the exercise for example. So,you have to keep your eye on the screen.

Sylwia cooking and working out on Windy City Live!

I contacted Sylwia because I wanted to review and giveaway her latest DVD. She didn't offer just one DVD, but 4 DVDs for me to giveaway to 4 of my readers. She's such a sweetheart! Thanks Sylwia;-)  You can enter using the Rafflecopter widget below.  Giveaway ends June 25, 2012 at 12:01am EST.



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Physique 57 Workout Kit 3 Disc Set With Ball and Pump (2009)

This is a 3 disc DVD set and it comes with a ball and a pump. The first DVD I did was the Express 30 Minute Full Body Workout. It's a full body workout you can do in 30 minutes. You need very little equipment. Just the ball, a chair and exercise mat. It's lead by Tanya Becker a creator of Physique 57. This workout to me was like the Bar Method on steroids. There wasn't any jumping around, but my heart rate was elevated and I was sweating like crazy. During the lower body portion of the workout she said "Squeeze the cellulite out!" That's just what it felt like I was doing. By the end of the segment my legs felt like Jello. I loved it!

Next was the Arm & Abs Booster 30 Minute Workout. This is an express workout just for the arms and abs, but you also get an inner thigh workout as well. It's lead by Master Instructor Shelly Knight. This workout uses the playground ball a lot more than the previous workout during the floor exercises. While doing the ab exercises to cinch your waist you easily get an inner thigh and leg workout. Shelly's teaching style is described as upbeat on the back of the DVD. That it is! Sometimes it seems like she doesn't take a breath while talking. We go from one exercise to the other without taking a break. The 30 minutes go by quickly. Even during the mat work while laying down I was sweating up a storm.

Finally the last disc is the Full 57 Minute Workout. Which is just the exercises from the other DVDs in one. It's lead by Tanya Becker. I think every muscle in the body is worked on during this workout. At the end I felt sore all over. The program promises that you will see results within 8 workouts. I plan to do these DVDs at least 3 times a week. It's a highly effective, challenging workout. One line that Tanya Becker says from the DVD is "How you workout is how you want to design your body."

Update 2/3/11: I've been using the workout kit at least 3 times a week. I'm really happy with the results. I've lost inches off my waist and hips. My arms and inner thighs are tighter. Working out 3 days a week has been good. I might boost it up to 4.

Update: 4/22/12-Doing this workout for the 1st time in a long time for my 30 Day No Repeat Part Deux Challenge and wondering why I ever stopped doing it.  Amazed at how my heart rate stayed high for most of the workout which means not only was I toning but also burning fat.  I did the Classic Full Body Workout this morning and burned 314 calories;-)



And they have released since I bought the first set a new set that I will definitely get soon!

Arm Blaster Workout

Here's an arm workout from Gabby Reece. Many of the workout DVDs I have include these exercises, but it's nice to have them in one place if you just want to concentrate on arms for a day. She's really good with the explanations on how to do the exercises and showing us perfect form. And just look at her arms. It's working for her;-)

Sent to you by Kelly via Google Reader:

Arm Blaster Workout

via The Official Website of Gabby Reece by Editor on 10/31/10

Beginner Workload: 2 Rounds / 10-12 Reps
INT-Advanced Workload: 4 Rounds / 12-15+ Reps
1. Dumbbell Bicep Curl / Shoulder Press
up together down together
2. Dumbbell Triceps Kickback
keep elbows high and locked in
3. Pushups
ok to do on knees – keep head up, straight with spine – if you begin to lose your form stop
4. Dumbbell Open and Close Bicep Curl
two part move – bicep curl front then to the side for 1 rep
5. Dumbbell Tricep Pushup
keep elbows in close to your ears
6. Dumbbell Flys
sit back into your glutes, bend over and lift weight out to the side
7. Dumbbell Bent Over Row
use one leg for support or sit back and row with both arms using back muscles
8. Plank Row
this is tough – do on your toes or knees
9. Rotator Cuff
use light weight, go down to a natural distance

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Review of the Day: Jackie Warner Xtreme Timesaver Training

I have to say this was the most intense 30 minutes of my life and that's a good thing. Jackie Warner is a celebrity personal trainer and she commands sometimes $400 an hour. She's worth it! In this DVD she you can get a whole body workout in about 30 minutes. Not only is this a strength training workout, but it also makes your heart rate go through the roof. So, it's also a cardio workout as well. That's why she calls it 2 workouts in 1.

It starts off with a brief warm-up. During the warm-up she warns you that this is a shoulder heavy workout. She explains during the workout that she likes to get her celebrity clients "Red carpet ready" by building out the shoulders so they have a v-line and that will makes the midsection look smaller. Here are the sections:
*Shoulders & Glutes
*Quads & Arms
*Hips, Chest & Back
*Core & All over body

The workout consists of exercises that work the lower and upper body at the same time. Each exercise is done for 1 minute. Sometimes that minute seems to last forever. She's motivating and it really feels like you are getting a personal training session.

It ends with a cool down and stretch. And by the end of the workout you feel like you have really accomplished something and that stretch feels really good. I highly recommend this DVD especially if you are short on time. You will get an amazing workout in 30 minutes.

Paul Chek on Cardio from Gabby Reece's website

Basically he says that cardio can be too stressful for some people. It puts too much stress on the adrenal glands and releases cortisol and maybe they should just stick with strength training. You should change up the strength training routine every 4-6 weeks. I have strength training DVDs that increase the heart rate just like a cardio routine would. So, I think I will give this a try. Check out the link below and see what you think. I have also put my workout for the next week below. I will try to do strength training 4-5 times a week. I will include yoga as put of my strength training routine. I walk a lot already so I will just use that as my cardio.

chidiva68.review4u@blogger.com has shared the following link with you via AddToAny:

http://www.gabbydaily.com/2010/10/paul-chek-on-cardio/

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Sent via AddToAny: http://www.addtoany.com

Sunday-Amy Bento All Pump Extreme
Monday-Yoga Meltdown w/Jillian Michaels
Tuesday-Shred It With Weights w/Jillian Michaels
Wednesday-Yoga Meltdown w/Jillian Michaels
Friday-Lean Machine w/Jari Love
Saturday-Shred It With Weights w/Jillian Michaels

All Body Gym Workout – Challenging

Sent to you by Kelly via Google Reader:

All Body Gym Workout – Challenging

via The Official Website of Gabby Reece by Editor on 9/28/10

By Gabby Reece
Recommended Workload
INT ADVANCED:
Reps: 10-12
Sets: 3-4
these moves are challenging so are not recommended for beginners


1. Dumbbell Clean and Jerk
snap from the hips going forward – be dynamic
2. Dumbbell Open and Close Bicep Curl
two part move – bicep curl front then to the side for 1 rep
3. Cable Shoulder Fly
6-7 across
6-7 front
6-7 behind
4. Dumbbell Squat Jump to Toes
jump and stabilize – don't leave the ground
5. Ab Leg Lift Machine
12-15 Reps – keep upper body core still – use legs
6. Bench Dip and Bridge
squeeze glutes, keep stomach firm
7. Dumbbell Straight Leg Dead Lift
pull up with your legs not your back
8. Dumbbell Chest Fly
keep legs up for extra challenge – two arms at a time or one
9. Cable Low to High
reach forward and pull up and across while shifting your hips
10-12
10. Cable Golf Swing
pull with your legs to get the weight to the other side
11. Leg Extension Machine
extend and squeeze, lower and control the weight

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