As you guys know very well, work has me very busy lately. I haven’t even touched upon what this has done to my diet.

And I’ll tell ya, business for me typically equals a very poor eating regimen. For the past few months, I had been grabbing convenient, quick meals. And not the healthiest meals, because I wanted all. the. food. Spinning makes me HUNGRY. I was stuffing my face at night with not-so-healthy choices and waking up feeling gross, my clothes were starting to fight tighter, and I was getting frustrated.

So, at this point, I was more than ready to enlist my buddy Jim for help. Remember him? Two winters ago, Jim put me on a nutrition plan to help me knock off some weight around the holidays.

This time around, I’m doing a summer slimdown with Jim. My plan is a little different than it was last year, especially since I no longer eat meat. It’s definitely more of a challenge to find protein sources, but with now my no-meat diet makes me feel, it’s more than worth it.

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I have now been on my plan for almost two weeks, and I’m already down a few pounds. I felt super hungry the first day, but after that day, I have felt completely satisfied. And if anything, I’ve been working out more than before since I’m paying attention to my body and my weight. My clothes are fitting better and I feel better.

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The biggest difference to my diet with Jim’s personalized nutrition plan adjustment has been the frequency at which I eat. I am fully aware it’s best to eat lots of small meals throughout the day, but I was more snacky, grabbing a spoon of natural peanut butter or half of a protein bar every half hour.

Now, I have three meals and three snacks a day, supplemented by a protein shake or a piece of fruit if I really need it in between (but for the most part, I don’t). I’m definitely eating more fruit and a smaller assortment of protein bars. All good things.

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All I needed was a little guidance, someone to hold me accountable, and some food planning. I already feel so much better, and I’ve only just begun.

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I also don’t have to give up my beloved protein shakes from Bad Ass Coffe Co. Thank the lord. Cherry blasts have been the majority of my lunches.

If any of you are interested in a personalized nutrition plan from Jim or one of the experts at Jim White Fitness and Nutrition Studios, check him out. I’d highly recommend the program to anyone interested in a nutrition plan that is tailored to his/her lifestyle and fits in the foods he or she likes. I like that Jim checks in on me every few days to ask how I’m doing and is happy to answer any questions I have. I’ve been known to send a panicked “HELP I’M GOING TO ______ RESTAURANT TONIGHT AND I DON’T KNOW WHAT I SHOULD EAT” text or two.

Drop Jim a line at info@jimwhitefit.com. They offer e-training anywhere in the world — not just nutrition plans, but boot camp exorcises as well.. Skype workouts and all! Shoot them an e-mail for prices and more details.

I’ll keep you all updated on how I’m doing on this plan of mine. So far, so good!

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I know you all know how my life is right now. I’m a busy, busy bee. As I’ve been gearing up to move to Richmond, VA to open our TidalWheel Richmond studio, life has been even crazier than normal. My business has lead to a serious downfall in my diet. Because I’m so busy, half the day, I forget to eat, and then I’m starving by dinner and want to stuff myself. You know that feeling? The bottomless pit feeling? That’s me, every day. And all the spinning isn’t exactly helping. I have, however, found a pretty great snack to keep at work with me to keep my metabolism revving throughout the day. Have you guys heard of Edy’s Outshine bars?

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It’s possible that when you think of Edy’s, you may not realize they make a real fruit product. They DO! And it’s AWESOME. Truth be told, I haven’t always been a huge popsicle fan. The artificial flavoring does nothing for me. But Outshine bars, on the other hand, taste like frozen fruit on a stick. I’m a little obsessed, and I’m more than glad I snagged several flavors when Edy’s granted me the opportunity to receive this product at no cost for a review. All of these, of course, are my own thoughts and opinions.

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Outshine bars never fail to add a little sunshine to my day. I have not yet taken a day off from my new job (I know). I’ve been a little stressed and stretched pretty thin, but one morning last week, the sun was shining and I got up extra early to read my book outside. As I tried to relax with my book, I tried a strawberry Outshine bar.

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And then I had a wildberry bar 5 minutes later. I could say “Sorry I’m not sorry” here, but really, there is no reason to be sorry. Those little bars specifically are 40 calories a pop (ha, no pun intended), so it’s no big deal to have 2. Or 6.

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But I did cap it at 2 in that sitting. And I wasn’t all sugared up and feeling unsatisfied like I typically do with a frozen snack. With Outshine bars, you can experience 24 ways to make every day a little brighter and more delicious. So you see how I had a hard time choosing which flavors to indulge in when I picked these up from my local Farm Fresh. I grabbed a variety box of strawberry, lime, and wildberry alongside boxes of pineapple, açai blueberry, and coconut waters with pineapple.

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I mean, come on. Check out the nutritional values and the ingredient lineup. They speak for themselves.

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Which is why these trusty little bars have allowed me to snack brighter at work. I brought the açai berry bars in to keep in the freezer for a mid-day healthy snack to share with my staff members, and they have been an absolute hit. So, for me, the definition of snacking brighter has been having a fruity popsicle at work and getting everyone at work to like me.

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Jaq, one of our instructors, was obviously pretty pumped about the Outshine bars.

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My most favorite flavor is the pineapple bar, although it’s hard to pick just one. The real fruit flavor is hard to beat, and it easily transports my brain to a tropical location. Even though I’m typically in my kitchen, at work, or in my backyard. Not so tropical in reality, but the Outshine bar makes it a happier place.

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Obviously, after just trying Outshine bars, I’m a big fan. They help me stay on track, they make my friends, staff members, and me snack healthily, and just looking at the packaging makes me happy.

Maybe I’m just easy to please, but maybe these are kind of perfect.

Check Outshine out on Facebook. Their photo posts alone brighten my day, and whenever I see them in my news feed, I want a real fruit bar. Pronto. Seriously, I’m now looking through the photos in this post with a watering mouth. I need to go grab an Outshine bar. Now, you tell me. How would Edy’s Outshine bars brighten your day? Those who go to the Edy’s Outshine bars website and tell me where they’d enjoy their favorite flavor of Outshine bar will be entered to win a $100 Visa gift card. Not too shabby, huh? Go snag some bars and outshine the business in your life. :)

 

Sweepstakes Rules:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

b) Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

c) Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 5/8/13 – 6/12/13.

Be sure to visit the OUTSHINE brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win!

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