Easy Detox Bath

Guys. I did this last night (I love detox baths for colds/sickness, but I've never done a regular one) and I absolutely loved it. 

I woke up this morning feeling refreshed and my skin felt so soft. I'm pretty sure I'm going to try and turn this into a regular thing, probably bi-weekly. 

Detox baths are good for releasing toxins and allowing your body to go into a sort of "reset."

What I used:

• Comfortably hot water (like, what hurts, then back it off. You want to SWEAT, so don't make it lukewarm.).
• 2 handfuls of Epsom Salt (eucalyptus and mint). When I say handfuls, I mean I needed to have the bag close to the water, because there was so much it didn't all fit. Most people say two cups, but it's bath time, not cooking. Your call though.
• Approximately 1/2 c. of baking soda. I say approximately, because like I said, it's bath time. Just make sure it's a decent amount!
• 2 peppermint tea bags and 1 green tea bag (which is why the water is brown/green. My friends didn't grasp onto this idea well.)
• Several drops of Bath and BodyWorks Aromatherapy eucalyptus tea bath and massage oil (stress relief. Green bottle, purple label.).

First things first, draw your bath. While the bath is filling, gather your ingredients and I brewed a cup of green tea, and found my Kindle. Once the water reaches the level you're comfortable with, add in the Epsom Salt, baking soda, oil and peppermint tea bags. Stir the bath to allow everything to mix together, and bob your tea bags so the water begins turning a tea color. Now hop in and enjoy! Once my tea was the strength I like, I threw in my green tea bag.

Your goal is to stay in for 40 minutes, but if you can't handle it, you can just stay for 20. Just remember, the longer the better! This bath will make you sweat. Be sure to drink your tea and stay hydrated, and have a glass of water once you get out.

I promise you, this was probably the most relaxing thing I've done in months. I slept so well last night, and woke up this morning feeling refreshed and like I had a clear mind. Not only that, but my skin felt amazing.

After the bath, I just got out, dried off and washed my face. I drank my water, read a little longer and then knocked out until about 9 am! 

What this bath will do is draw out toxins built up in your system, lower stress related levels, and balance out your pH. Epsom Salt alone has tons of benefits, namely it relaxes the body, relieves muscle cramps, relieves constipation and eliminates toxins from the body. If you would like to know why these things happen, you can shoot me an email, but I didn't think y'all would want a drawn-out science-y explanation. 

Baking soda has great cleansing properties, and exfoliate your skin, leaving it nice and soft! 

Peppermint tea has warming properties, which will cause you to sweat more, and help draw out the toxins. It also helps relax you. 

Green tea is known to be good for you in general, but in a bath it helps soften skin and detoxify. 

And lastly, the oil will help relax you and leave your skin feeling (and smelling!) great.

I hope you guys give this a shot, because it's definitely worth it. And even if you don't like it, you gave it a shot, and you'll smell great.

On a side note, I would just like to let y'all know that I hope to begin posting more! I've been doing a post a week, but I want to up it to biweekly, so keep an eye out! I hope you're finding my advice helpful.

I'd also like to give a quick update on myself. I've been making progress, and this is what I've got to say:

• Chest: 32 in. - same
• Waist: 26.5 in. - down an inch
• Hips: 35 in. - down 3 inches!
• And I recently calculated my body fat percentage which is an awesome 20.44%!

Hard work pays off guys. You can do this. I believe in you and your abilities. If you ever need to vent out your frustrations, I'm here.

Thanks for reading!

xo - Paige

Teatox!

Works or hoax?
These teatoxes are taking over social media with plenty of promising results and transformation pictures. But do they really work?

I was lured in to the popular looking BooTea, and did some research. Here's what I found and have to say.

Teatoxes like BooTea and Fit Tea show awesome transformation pictures on their websites and social medias like this one:

(picture found here.)
But don't let these pictures and fancy descriptions of their products fool you. And this is why.

These people that are using them have probably not eaten healthy much in their lives. They probably hardly exercised. And when you purchase your tea, most come with a "complimentary" ($30 for tea? C'mon. You're paying for the eating plan as well) meal plan that they "suggest" you should follow and that you should incorporate exercise for best results. This, of course, is going to give dramatic results like the ones shown above, because it was probably a drastic change compared to their previous lifestyle.
But you don't need to spend a boat load of money on tea and eating plans to get these same results. Drinking regular green tea that you find at the grocery store (for only $2-3) will help give you the same jump start on results. Green tea has many benefits, including:

• increases metabolism.
• burns fat.
• balances your energy levels by regulating blood sugar (which can prevent diabetes!).
• loads of antioxidants.
• and reduces your bad cholesterol while raising the good!

By switching out your cokes for green tea, you will see a change in your weight. You're cutting out about 300 calories if you drink tea in place of two cokes.
Personally, I drink mine right when I wake up to cleanse and ready my digestion system and jump start my metabolism for the day and right before I go to bed to keep my metabolism going for a little longer once I knock out. And usually I try to sneak in one more in the middle of the day, just because I love it and like to mix it up from plain water.

You also don't need a fancy meal plan! There are plenty of websites with free clean eating meal plans. These are easy-to-follow beginner meal plans that are online and you can ease into. This one is an easy, 2 week plan, and you can find it here. All of the recipes can be found on this page, with her easy links to them. Or you can use this to clean up your diet yourself. I personally did it with a mix of both, so I wasn't so shell-shocked into the new clean-eating lifestyle. Cassey Ho, creator of Blogilates, also has a variety of meal plans ranging in length to help you out. You can find her beginner's Pilates calendar and meals plans here. You can also follow me on Pinterest where I have a "Clean Yums" board, and I post nothing but detox waters and clean eating recipes! Follow me, you won't regret it!

As for the exercising part, once again, Pinterest has tons of workouts, but you can also make up your own. Incorporating cardio and weight lifting, or following a YouTube workout instructor are great ways to get started. I found a pin with the 13 top YouTube fitness instructors. You can go to the website here, and find which instructor is best for you! Or you can download the PumpUp app, and it'll make you a customized workout for your goals and with the equipment you have available.
Just remember that it's important to incorporate cardio in order to burn fat. Other things are important, but that's really where you're going to get that fat to melt. Aim for 20-30 minutes of cardio 4 times a week, if not 6! Cardio is anything from running and walking to swimming and crossfit. Find what works for you and what you love to do and go with it!

I hope that this clears up why you don't need to buy a fancy tea plan, and saves you some money! If you have any other questions, just let me know and I'll get them answered.
xo - Paige