Hi friends! Happy Friday! How’s the week going? The weekend is off to a good start: I met up with a friend for a Pure Barre class – the Reform class included bands and gliders for an intense strength workout- and a smoothie. Next was a quick trip to the chiropractor, a stop at the girls’ school, and now it’s wedding celebration time!

It’s my brother Trevor’s wedding tomorrow and I can’t wait for the giant fiesta with the fam. Trevor and his wife eloped in Vegas last year, but now it’s time for the celebration. The Pilot is officiating the ceremony (!) and I can’t wait to see family members that we haven’t seen in forever. I hope you have a wonderful weekend ahead, too!

A little something new on the blog: a partners page! I always love (and am so thankful) when you guys ask me for referral/affiliate links and shop through my links. I thought it was would be convenient to put my favorite brands and discount codes in one page so it’s easy to find, and as always, I’m happy to help or send along a link or discount code if I have one.

In full transparency, ad revenue has declined over the past couple of years, and affiliate income has become the majority of my revenue (along with digital product sales/memberships and coaching). I just wanted to say a huge thank you for shopping through my links and supporting the lil blog. The partners page is here if you’d like to check it out!

It’s time for the weekly Friday Faves party. This is where I share some of my favorite finds from the week and around the web. I always love to hear about your faves, too, so please shout out something you’re loving in the comments section below.

Friday Faves

Random:

New Aviator Nation hoodie. These are the best hoodies in all the land. Betsy got me hooked and they’re SO insanely soft. Once you go AN, you’ll never go back. I opted for a grey one that will match with everything. Perfect for lounging, layering with gym clothes, and travel.

I’m at a special point in life where I get excited by a mouthwash lol. I don’t typically use conventional mouthwashes because the ingredients can be sketchy, but I found this one on Thrive Market that had excellent reviews. It does have a licorice taste to it from the fennel, so don’t order it if you hate licorice, but if you like the taste of fennel, you’ll be a fan.

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I am always in awe of all the amazing women in the LSF Community who push themselves mentally, physically, and emotionally during our challenges, but especially during LSF30! The beginning of the year is not an easy time to get back into the swing of things and push yourself to get into a consistent routine. Coming off of the holiday season is exhausting and often a fitness challenge is the last thing on your mind, but I am SO proud of everyone who decided to choose themselves in 2023 and do LSF 30!

I am constantly impressed and inspired by the amazing transformation photos and stories shared during LSF 30. 

Together during this challenge we lost over 200 pounds!! Can you believe it?! Also to note, that is ONLY from women who submitted their transformations at the end of the challenge, so I know there are more pounds lost out there! Follow Team LSF on IG to see more! Everyone finished this 4 week challenge stronger than ever and I am so proud!

Now it’s time to shout out our LSF 30 winners! These women stayed dedicated and consistent with their Hot Body Meal Plan and LSF app workouts.

These inspiring women, not only have incredible transformation photos but the most heartwarming stories!

4 WEEK TRANSFORMATION | GRAND PRIZE WINNER

 Lauren Sackett, @lsf_lau

Lauren is so inspiring! She lost a total of 12 pounds during this challenge! Lauren often would join a challenge with LSF and start it, but never saw it through. This is her first challenge she saw through the entire way and clearly, her hard work and dedication paid off!

Lauren has PCOS (polycistic ovarian syndrome) which has always made it more difficult for her to manage her weight since it greatly affects her hormones. She noted, “Just this past month realigning healthy habits has tremendously helped my mental health and I think my hormones – I’m not entirely sure because I haven’t gotten tested or anything but my cycle was very regular. No intense cramping, not super bloated, it was a set number of days instead of spotting for two weeks post period, all of the key things that I was struggling with the past six months and kind of gave up on.”

Lauren attributes a lot of her success also to the Hot Body Meal Plan, which helped her to guide her food choices and make her excited about a healthy meal! 

“Overall, this challenge was amazing, I don’t feel like it was even really a challenge, because I feel like this is how I want to live my life now, so it was more of a steppingstone to the lifestyle that I have been telling myself in my head I was going to do but wasn’t actually implementing. Your mind can be very convincing when you tell yourself over and over again that it’s impossible for you to lose weight and it doesn’t matter what you do you won’t lose weight — when in reality, all I had to do was sit down with myself and recognize that I am in control of how I live my life and if I want to live healthier and be stronger and back to how I used to be when I played sports and was super active then I need to move!! it feels isolating to feel stuck and lost and hide yourself underneath baggy sweatpants and sweatshirts but I’m so proud of myself for coming this far and I’m so happy that my boyfriend joined me on the meal plan because it helped so much to have support and encouragement. Started at 248 and ending at 236 pounds – woohoo!”

We are so proud of you Lauren! You’re an inspiration

Sharing a full fay of eats from start to finish.

Hi friends! How are you? I hope you had a wonderful Valentine’s Day, whether you were celebrating with your love, your Galentines, your kiddos, or your pet 🙂 For today’s post, I thought I’d share an old-school day of eats and adventures like the blog days of yore. Please keep in mind that What I Ate Wednesday posts are just to share some new ideas and I totally understand why they can be problematic or not a fit for certain friends out there. If it’s not your cup of tea, no worries at all, and I’ll see ya tomorrow with a new podcast episode!

In the meantime, sign up for Spring Shape Up here and start checking out the platform! We have over 200 friends signed up so far and I can’t wait to do this with all of you.

The girls woke up early and had their Valentine’s baskets waiting for them.

(Candy, beanie boos, a cute heart sweater, a book, some bath bombs and lip gloss. They were pumped!)

When the girls were much younger and I saw gift baskets for every.single.holiday, it made me feel stressed. I was just trying to keep them alive, clean, fed, and happy, so things like Halloween baskets or Valentine’s baskets seemed unfathomable to put together. Instead, I just tried to do other things to celebrate, like hearts on their door with things that I love about them. I still do this one today and the girls adore it – they keep the hearts up all year.

Now that they’re a bit older and can, you know, dress themselves, shower themselves, etc., it’s much easier to do fun little extra things when I feel like it.

I chugged some AG1 before heading out the door and ate a couple of eggs with sriracha and EBTB seasoning.

(Confession: I’ve only tried AG1 a couple of times in the past and didn’t like the taste. The brand asked me if I wanted some to test out, so I figured I’d give it a real try and possibly share with family and friends. Turns out: I love it. I even started craving the taste in the morning after drinking it consistently. I love all of the nutrients and I feel great after a couple of weeks of drinking it each morning on an empty stom

This chocolate protein chia pudding is the perfect make-ahead breakfast. Simply prep it the night before, and this creamy, chocolate-y gluten-free and vegan pudding will be waiting for you when you wake up.

Hey friends! How’s the day going? I hope you’re enjoying the morning. I’m so happy you’re excited about Spring Shape Up! 200 of you have already signed up 🙂 Make sure to grab your spot now if you’d like to join in the fun.

For today’s post, I’m re-sharing this recipe because it’s something we’ve had so often for breakfast lately!

Chocolate Protein Chia Pudding

With our crazy morning schedules, I’m a huge fan of anything I can make in advance for breakfast. We love things like the breakfast cookie, this protein oatmeal bake and this vegan peach oatmeal bake. When breakfast is waiting, it guarantees that I’ll have something to eat in the morning, because sometimes it’s too busy around here to make the usual egg scramble until after both kiddos are dropped off.

Here’s a chia protein pudding recipe that our entire family loves! It’s protein-packed, full of healthy fats, and high in fiber, so when I pair it with a side of scrambled eggs I’m full and satisfied for hours. You can customize it by adding any fruit or toppings you’d like. My go-to’s are berries, cacao nibs and unsweetened coconut.

Here’s the healthy recipe if you’d like to give it a try!

Ingredients For Chia Seed Pudding:

• chia seeds
• vanilla or chocolate protein powder
• cinnamon
• sea salt
• maple syrup (can also add a splash of vanilla extract)
• almond or coconut milk (use less for a thicker pudding)
• granola, berries, coconut, hemp seeds, cacao nibs, peanut butter, gogi berries, etc.

Join us for a fun and totally free 2-week fitness event: Spring Shape Up 2023! Details below and you can join here.

Are you ready for a lil fitness motivation and mojo?

Spring Shape Up 2023 is on the way and I’m so pumped to be doing this with you all!!

SSU is one of the best times of the year, and I always look forward to our amazing community, cheering each other on, and sharing some amazing prizes with some lucky participants.

You know you’re in?

Grab your spot here. Totally free and invite any friends or workout buddies to join in!

(If you refer a friend, send me an email to gina@fitnessista.com with their name(s) and each referral is an entry for a $100 Amazon gift card. I’d love your help welcoming some new friends into this fitness community if you’d like to spread the word!)

If you’re new to my Shape Up challenges, you’re in for a treat! I’ve been running this challenge on my blog since the very beginning, and every year it evolves into something different and better than the year before. This is 100% in thanks to all of you: your support and shared motivation with one another, check-ins and awesome comments keep this thing going. You help each other along the ways to your goals, and as your cheerleader from the sidelines, it’s heartwarming and inspiring to see.

Spring Shape Up 2023

So what is Spring Shape Up?

2 weeks of fitness plans, meal ideas and motivation to shake up your routine and get killer results from your efforts. It’s 100% FREE and always will be. Many similar programs are available for a subscription fee or one-time payment on other sites. Not here. Shape Ups are complimentary, and you get the advice and structure from a certified personal trainer, weight loss specialist, and Integrative Health Practitioner all in one spot.

What to expect:

A complete fitness plan + meal ideas for 2 weeks. You will get login access instantly when you sign up. Everything is available on the Kajabi app, and is beautifully organized and ready for you. The workouts and meals will appear on Feb 24 so you’re ready to go! (There are some tips for getting started, a playlist, high protein recipe ebook, and a couple of bonuses already waiting for ya in Kajabi)

We rock and roll Monday, February 27.

How to set yourself up for success:

Gather your supplies.

You’ll need the following to