Your Whims Wednesday #243 {And Features}

Time for another Your Whims Wednesday Party!

Your Whims Wednesday

Here are some of my favorite from last week's party!
 
DIY Winter Wonderland Air Plant Terrarium by Hello Nature Blog
Need some new decor for Winter? This winter wonderland air plant terrarium is perfect for those with or without a green thumb!
 
Gingerbread Cookie Decorating Ideas by The Jenny Evolution
Gingerbread Recipe in All Shapes and Sizes
 
Winter Rudolf Wreath by Albion Gould
Winter Rudolph Wreath
 
Winter Sangria Recipe by A Pretty Life
Winter Sangria 4{A Pretty Life}
 
Thanks to all who linked up! Grab a button if you were featured :)
 
Featured on My Girlish Whims
 
Now... onto this weeks party!

I show off my girlish whims weekly on my blog, and now I want to see yours with 
Your Whims Wednesday!

Guidlines:
1. Link up as many projects as you would like: as long as it is one of your girly ways, you can link it! I'd love to see crafts, recipes, style posts, etc. Anything and everything feminine :)
2.Please add my button (code at the top of this post) to either your blog post or somewhere on your blog. 
3. Take a quick moment to comment on at least one other entry. We we all love comments!! 
4.I'd love if you would follow me as well :)


Trying out the Polar A360

I have used polar products since the beginning of my weight loss journey, starting with the Polar Ft40 back when I very first started losing weight.  I think that accurately being able to track how many calories I burn while working out has really kept me on track with my weight loss.  

Polar recently came out with a Polar A360 watch that I got to test out and I wanted to share my experience with you! The A360 is Polar's first wrist-based heart rate monitor that is water proof and offers 24/7 activity tracking.  It has smartwatch features (like connecting it to your phone to be notified if you are getting calls or messages) and has a color touch screen.

Basically, it's pretty fancy and pretty cool ;)  I like it because it offers the step tracking AND an accurate heart rate monitor for tracking your workouts.  It even tracks when you haven't moved for awhile and will tell you that you should probably get up and move some!!! I really like this feature for when I'm at work and have been sitting for too long: it's a great reminder to get up, fill up my water bottle, walk to the shredder, just do SOMETHING to get moving a little bit around the office and not stay stuck on my butt for another hour!


I also really like that there is no chest strap required, it makes tracking your workouts super easy and super convenient.  Sometimes I like to go for a walk around town during my half hour lunch break from work.  I don't even change out of my stockings or skirt before I go, I just slip some socks and sneakers on right over top...so there is no way I would want to spend time to hook up a chest strap to measure my heart rate for this little walk either.  With the A360 though all I have to do is press two buttons and it will start tracking my heart rate during the activity and I can check to see my calorie burn at the end of the walk!

The watch has different settings built in for different types of workouts as well. This past weekend my sister was in town and we are both very much into fitness these days and didn't have much planned for Saturday so we decided to go to my gym for awhile together. We ended up staying there for about two hours!!! We did a bunch of different workouts: I first set the watch to track me while we did some weight lifting.

I'm really trying to grow some baby biceps these days ;)  And I could check the burn at the end of the weight training session:

Next we went to a Zumba class and I tracked on the watch using the group exercise setting...and then finally I ended with a little session on the stair master because I had a LOT of extra goodies on Christmas and felt the need for a good sweat!!!  The watch also keeps track of what heart rate zones you are in while you workout: I was in the middle zone for most of my stair master segment with some good old fashion steady rate cardio.

 At the end of the day it's cool to be able to look back and see everything I have done.  Saturday I was well above my normal activity goal: I was up to 205%!!! I guess that's what two hours in the gym will do for you haha.  It also shows how many steps I walked that day, miles, and total calorie burn for the day as well. 

If you are really into tracking your activity you can also go online  to the Polar Flow website to see your daily activities online or even set it up on the Polar Flow mobile app.  You can use the app to track your sleep as well.  Personally I just love how much data you can see on the watch itself though, so I didn't even use the online service or app much.   

The only thing I do NOT like about the watch is that it is a new product so there are no options out currently for having a fancier strap for the watch, current options are only rubber in black or white.  I work in a formal office and wear dress clothes every day and sometimes I just feel a little silly wearing a rubber activity tracker with my formal clothes. With all the cool features the watch has though, I'm sure I can get over the vanity of how it matches with my outfits haha.

If you are interested in checking out any Polar products, the code POLARFITBLOG is still good until 12/31/15 for 20% off any heart rate monitor or activity tracker (The A360 is excluded since it is brand new) at Polar.com

This post is sponsored by FitFluential on behalf of Polar.

Your Whims Wednesday #242 {And Features}

Time for another Your Whims Wednesday Party!

Your Whims Wednesday

Here are some of my favorite from last week's party!

Saint Nickarita Cocktail by Delightful E Made
Cranberry and lime flavors come together with tequila for the most amazing holiday cocktail! Perfect for all of your Christmas parties and holiday gatherings, this easy, delicious margarita is perfect for enjoying under the mistletoe!

Christmas Tree Bath Bombs by As the Bunny Hops
Christmas Tree Bath Bombs
 
Butternut Squash Soup with Goat Cheese Croutons by Pancake Warriors
Take ordinary butternut squash soup to the next level with these goat cheese croutons! Gluten free and simple. Dinner will be ready in under 20 minutes, and still full of flavor! | www.pancakewarriors.com
 
Cozy and Vintage Christmas Decor by Flamingo Toes
Cute Living Room Christmas Decorations
 
Buffalo Check Perler Bead Christmas Ornaments by The Scrap Shoppe Blog
Trendy Buffalo Check Perler Bead Christmas Ornaments with FREE Patterns
 
Thanks to all who linked up! Grab a button if you were featured :)
 
Featured on My Girlish Whims
 
Now... onto this weeks party!

I show off my girlish whims weekly on my blog, and now I want to see yours with 
Your Whims Wednesday!

Guidlines:
1. Link up as many projects as you would like: as long as it is one of your girly ways, you can link it! I'd love to see crafts, recipes, style posts, etc. Anything and everything feminine :)
2.Please add my button (code at the top of this post) to either your blog post or somewhere on your blog. 
3. Take a quick moment to comment on at least one other entry. We we all love comments!! 
4.I'd love if you would follow me as well :)


Your Whims Wednesday #241 {And Features}

Time for another Your Whims Wednesday Party!

Your Whims Wednesday

Here are some of my favorite from last week's party!

Gingerbread Deer Cookies by From the Family With Love
Gingerbread Deer Cookie Recipe From the Family with Love

Rustic Kitchen Shelves by Worthing Court Blog
Rustic Farmhouse Kitchen Shelves Decorated For Christmas

Sparkling Cranberry Mojito by Just Us Four
A sparkling cranberry mojito is the perfect party drink!


Chocolate Covered Marshmellow Reindeer by One Little Project
These chocolate covered marshmallow reindeer are so cute and SO EASY! And if you use dark chocolate, they actually taste amazing too! Simple and adorable!
 
Thanks to all who linked up! Grab a button if you were featured :)
 
Featured on My Girlish Whims
 
Now... onto this weeks party!

I show off my girlish whims weekly on my blog, and now I want to see yours with 
Your Whims Wednesday!

Guidlines:
1. Link up as many projects as you would like: as long as it is one of your girly ways, you can link it! I'd love to see crafts, recipes, style posts, etc. Anything and everything feminine :)
2.Please add my button (code at the top of this post) to either your blog post or somewhere on your blog. 
3. Take a quick moment to comment on at least one other entry. We we all love comments!! 
4.I'd love if you would follow me as well :)


The First Time I Wasn't Afraid to Try Something New

One of the most unexpected things that I've gained from losing weight is a new sense of confidence.  Not just in my appearance, but confidence to try new situations without being afraid.  Before I lost weight, I would have NEVER wanted to go try a brand new exercise class by myself.  I've always worked out, even before I started getting serious about losing weight.  But I was always pretty self-conscious, standing in the back of classes and always worrying if I was doing things right...if my clothes fit right...what were people thinking of me...blah blah blah.  I always had something on my mind.  This month I stepped completely out of my comfort zone though and tried a brand new class all by myself and for the first time in a long time...I was not afraid!


Maybe you have heard of Orange Theory Fitness before, but if not I'm sure you will soon! It's a newer type of group workout that mixes walking or running on the treadmill, rowing, and circuits with different weight, ab and even TRX moves all into an hour class.  The class is very focused on your heart rate and they switch up the intensity levels often to try and keep you working up a good sweat all class long!

I've seen lots of posts about Orange Theory on Instagram so I finally decided to give it a try this month. I called a local studio and signed up to take a free class.  I walked into the studio that night and I have to say...it felt amazing.  I was surrounded by tons of other people who had taken this class so many times before but for the first time ever, I wasn't afraid! Maybe I've never taken one of these specific classes, but I workout every day. I knew I was capable of handling whatever type of workout the trainer was going to put me through! I wasn't worried about having to be the best in the class, I just knew that as long as I did my best and got a great workout in I would be happy with myself at the end of class.  And I was!!!

As I mentioned before, the class is very focused on what your heart rate. You wear an Orange Theory specific heart rate strap and everyone's heart rate is displayed on a TV screen in the center of the room.  I found it really annoying to have to constantly be looking up at the screen to check my heart rate so I was really glad that I was wearing my Polar A360 so I could just glance down at my wrist to see a summary of what my heart rate was at currently and how many calories I had burned so far.  Especially when the trainer told us to bump the incline of our treadmill up to 10% and sprint as fast as you could for 30 seconds....yeah. That was crazy, there was no way I could focus on sprinting at that high of an incline AND be trying to peer around the other people on the treadmills next to me to see what my heart rate was, but it was easy enough to be able to glance down at my Polar!


Same thing when I transitioned off of the treadmill and into the rowing/circuit training section of the class.  I was running back and forth between the rowing machienes and the weight section of the class trying to fit all of my reps in during the limited time we had, it was so much easier to just glance at my Polar to check in on my progress.

I felt amazing after class was done.  I burned over 500 calories in one class and I was so proud of myself for trying something new without any fear.  Since I work out so much it gets boring to do the same thing every day! I was so glad that I no longer have to let my own insecurities keep me from trying new workouts that I really could enjoy.

I loved having my Polar with me during this experience as well...and GOOD NEWS! I have a discount code for YOU to use on almost any Polar product! (The A360 is excluded since it is brand new) Use code POLARFITBLOG (case sensitive) for 20% off any Polar Heart Rate Monitor or activity tracker at Polar.com. But act fast! Code expires 12/31/15!!!
 
Do you have any firsts related to health or fitness? Would you be brave enough to walk into a brand new workout class to try out all by yourself?
This post is sponsored by FitFluential on behalf of Polar.

Your Whims Wednesday #240 {And Features}

Time for another Your Whims Wednesday Party!

Your Whims Wednesday

Here are some of my favorite from last week's party!

Gift Wrap with Old Clothes by C.R.A.F.T.
diy-gift-wrap
Mini Rum Butter Cinnamon Rolls by Simply Stacie
Mini Rum Butter Cinnamon Rolls

DIY Christmas Hanging Terrariums by The Beauty Dojo
DIYChristmashangingterrarium_-24-683x1024

Chocolate Pretzel Christmas Trees by Oh My Creative
These fun Chocolate Pretzel Christmas Trees are fun to make for any holiday party | OHMY-CREATIVE.COM

Plaid and Yarn Faux Deer Head by Made in a Day
DIY Plaid Faux Deer Taxidermy madeinaday.com

Thanks to all who linked up! Grab a button if you were featured :)
 
Featured on My Girlish Whims
 
Now... onto this weeks party!

I show off my girlish whims weekly on my blog, and now I want to see yours with 
Your Whims Wednesday!

Guidlines:
1. Link up as many projects as you would like: as long as it is one of your girly ways, you can link it! I'd love to see crafts, recipes, style posts, etc. Anything and everything feminine :)
2.Please add my button (code at the top of this post) to either your blog post or somewhere on your blog. 
3. Take a quick moment to comment on at least one other entry. We we all love comments!! 
4.I'd love if you would follow me as well :)


Your Whims Wednesday #239 {And Features}

Time for another Your Whims Wednesday Party!

Your Whims Wednesday

Here are some of my favorite from last week's party!

Christmas Front Porch by Fun Home Things
Christmas-front-porch-Fun-Home-Things

Spiced Apple Moscow Mule by Home Cooking Memories
Spiced Apple Moscow Mule Cocktail Recipe

Washi Tape Christmas Tree by Summer Scraps
washi tape christmas trees

Rustic Wood Candle Holders by Marty's Musings
Rustic Wood Tea Light Candle Holder - Marty's Musings

Chicken Green Chili Stuffed Sweet Potatoes by Sweet C Designs
Chicken Green Chili Stuffed Sweet Potatoes- yum!

Thanks to all who linked up! Grab a button if you were featured :)
 
Featured on My Girlish Whims
 
Now... onto this weeks party!

I show off my girlish whims weekly on my blog, and now I want to see yours with 
Your Whims Wednesday!

Guidlines:
1. Link up as many projects as you would like: as long as it is one of your girly ways, you can link it! I'd love to see crafts, recipes, style posts, etc. Anything and everything feminine :)
2.Please add my button (code at the top of this post) to either your blog post or somewhere on your blog. 
3. Take a quick moment to comment on at least one other entry. We we all love comments!! 
4.I'd love if you would follow me as well :)