Transformation Tuesday... er... Wednesday

It's almost the end of the 1st quarter of 2015. Have you stuck to your New Years resolution? Have you changed for the better since 2014?

Time to celebrate the good changes since 2014.

Good vibes!

The goal was set, it was achieved, now bring on the good vibes. Dan and I must both be radiating some good ones, because after 2+ years of trying to find some close friends, we have managed to find a small group of like minded young professionals to tear up the town with. Date nights are 10x more fun when you have people to laugh with. We even had a BBQ to celebrate the amazing weather on Saturday and people didn't leave our house until 1am. It was a blast and I can't wait to do it again!

I'm not going stir crazy anymore. Yes we just got another 6 inches of snow last night, but I am getting out of the house on a consistent basis. We go on date night once a week, no matter what. I go out for drinks with friends every other week. I am taking the kids to the pool, alone, which before was a suicide mission, but I am strong enough now to carry a 20 lb baby + 15 lb car seat, a 10 lb bag of supplies, and a 28 lb toddler out of the pool area when she starts having a tantrum. 6 months ago, I would have never even considered it.

Cheers to looking and feeling amazing!

I am 2 months into the Body Beast program and things are still changing for the better. I have transformed my body into the best shape it's ever been with the help of P90X to lose weight and Body Beast to gain lots of lean muscle mass. At this point it is really just fine tuning and getting stronger. I wish I could wow you like I did a few months ago, but now this is just how I look. Badass!

That before pic will always make me cringe.
 

Huge accomplishment is in the last picture which was taken this morning, I had just finished my workout. The accomplishment is that I have a terrible cold and a sore throat but I STILL worked out. Yesterday I felt even worse but still did Bulk Legs, which is pretty much the most grueling workout ever.

I feel like I am eating healthier. Not as much processed food like frozen meals, but I am eating a lot of bagels with vegan butter spread. I think gaining muscle makes you hungrier for carbs. Dan really wanted to eat healthy for his last month of Body Beast so we are eating dinners that consist primarily of meat and veggies, with maybe a slice or two of crusty bread or corn bread.

My after workout (or sometimes during workout) drink is about 16 oz of water with 2 scoops of recovery drink and a teaspoon of creatine. Then I slam a protein shake immediately after. I added creatine after reading an article about creatine and sleep deprivation. It was specifically talking about the benefits to women after having children. Dan was already taking it, so I added it to my drink. It hasn't made me gain huge mass, or an excessive amount of water weight, but I feel like my arms and legs are definitely more defined and I get a great pump during my workout.

In case you wanted to know the brands I use.

The Mandy Project continues...

The second round of botox not only took 10 years off my face, it brought be right back into puberty when I had pimples all over my forehead. I haven't had a pimple in years. Plus this time it hurt a lot more. It wasn't just me either... 2 other people said it was more painful. I was looking to find something to help the wrinkles that botox couldn't fix anyway, so the search started for a new facial routine.

You can only see 1 pimple in this pic, but there are
 3 more the camera didn't pick up.

Since I will be 35 this year and I didn't even wash my face before bed until now. I wanted the best of the best, so I decided on the Nerium line of night & day cream. The added bonus is that I also bought the Firm cream to use on my stomach to tighten the skin from my pregnancies and subsequent weight loss. So far so good! Before and afters coming soon...

These are not my before and afters but they were my inspiration for trying the product:

This is not me, but if it can do this for her,
then firming me up should be a snap.

I really need to find a self tanner that works. I am trying out different brands and will share my knowledge with anyone that wants to look brown without gaining wrinkles. So far I have tried 4 brands, 2 more and my write up will be complete.

I put self tanner on one side. Can you tell?
I need better lighting.

I have lots more transformation Tuesday posts to come, it just takes a while when before and after pics are involved. If you have any suggestions or ideas, please share! Thanks for reading!

This post contains affiliate links, because if you're going to buy a product, why not buy it from me?