Vegas Olympia and Update!

I know.... I kinda suck at blogging right?

WELL Here I am giving you all an update on my life, a little rundown of the 2014 Olympia, working with the BEST Company out there, Quest Nutrition, and my plans for the future!

So this whole weekend can be summed up in one word: SURREAL.

I still can't believe that I got a chance to go to Vegas to help rep the best protein company out there, QUEST! #onaquest. It was such a blast meeting the whole Quest team, hearing their vision and goals for the future and for the company, and just seeing such HUMBLE people get together not just to make money or profit from selling products, but with the goal of making a positive CHANGE in people's LIVES from their products. They're not about selling the most or being all above others and mighty, but they genuinely want to make a positive healthy impact on people. They want to help stop obesity, help stop health-related diseases, eating disorders, self hate and body image disorders. They want people to know that they can live a healthier lifestyle, and that starts with what they put in their body. I can't even remember everything that was said this weekend, but basically, this company cares about PEOPLE. And I absolutely loved that.

Now to the Expo itself. It was a BLAST! I've been to the Arnold Expo in the past in Ohio, but never to work a booth, and I thought those were crowded and tight spaced and miserable at times, but the Olympia was surprisingly less crowded than I would have thought! Maybe it was bigger space in the convention center, or maybe it was because I was in the Quest booth the majority of time, which had tons of space for all of us to walk around. It was so much fun to meet all the people in line, actually get approached for pictures, definitely all a new experience for me and I could not have asked for a better weekend. By the end of Saturday we were just chucking Quest Bars at people's heads! So if you went, I hope you got yourself a bag stuffed with Quest Bars and Quest Chips! I'm pretty sure we gave away THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS of products this weekend! And it's all for YOU. Quest doesn't get stingy on those samples as you can tell! :P
I really hope I get asked back to the next big expo and get to rep the amazingness that is Quest Nutrition again! <3

The PEOPLE though, that was probably my favorite part of the whole weekend. I got to meet @FreshFitNHealthy, or Sarah, from Instagram who I'd been chatting with a while before the expo, and we clicked INSTANTLY. Like, best friend status, in less than 48 hours. She's so sweet, down to earth, and adorable and probably like my tall Floridan twin if I ever had one.
I got to meet Clark Pagaduan, the man who's been my connect to Quest Nutrition for the LONGEST time. He's the absolute funniest and sweetest guy EVER! Also met Mike who works for Quest as well, but more with the Youtube side!

Then I got to finally meet Crystal @spoonfuloffit who I've been Instagramming with for like 2 years! We started off way back when the fitness community was small on IG, and we finally got to catch up! And she was such a doll! Other IGers that worked the booth were Kevin Fit Men Cook, Kim @pbeechie, Nicolette @njstramfam, Anthony The Fit Bald Man, Tony @tmpecus (who I already met at the past Arnold Expo), Alyse @bitesizedfitness, ...... and we all had such a good time! I also got to meet some other Instagrammers that weren't working the Quest Booth, like Sweet Mama Mel, the awesome twins @HealthNutLife and @CookEatLift, MelissaSarahWee all the way from Singapore, Timbahwolf the bada** flexible dieter, Kyla @theleanqueen, and SO SO SO MANY MORE that I can't simply post them all down. But I'll be posting random throw backs to the Olympia on my own Instagram page if ya want to see all the fun we had :)

Not to mention the completely new people that I got to meet! These fitness YouTubers were SUCH a fun group and I loved every second hanging out with them! Definitely check them all out:
Nikki Blacketter and her boo Christian Guzman
Maxx Chewning
ChelseaLifts
Michael Kory
Tony Do
Matty Fusaro and his fiance Brittany!

Actually, their YouTube accounts inspired ME. [Here's the UPDATE :P ]

Yup, I want to make my own FOR REAL YouTube account. I know I kind of/not really/[it sucked] YouTube videos in the past when I wanted to do vlogs on my bikini journey, but that kind of fell through. This time I'm going in 110%! I want to post workout videos, baking and cooking videos, random vlogs, how I'm living just a regular lifestyle, balanced and intuitive, help you all out who are struggling with any type of ED, and more. I feel like it'll be more interactive that way too! I'm going to post it all! My LIFE. And I hope you all enjoy it, because I know I'll enjoy making it!

So YES.
That was my recap on the Olympia, the amazingness of Quest as a company, the great friends and long lasting relationships created, and my goals for the future!

<3 Josie

Quest Bar Creations! Ice Cream and Mug Cakes!

MMMM you all know my love of Quest Bars right?
And over the summer when I was a Quest Creation FIEND?!
Welp here are some more recipes for you to drool over and make yourself!

ICE CREAM and a MUGCAKE!

Questbar Creations Recipe Roundup Part 1 - Gluten Free & High Protein!

Decided to combine allllll my Quest Bar Creations for you!
So you can easily find them and make them yourselves!
Here's just part 1, but there are lots more on the way!

If you want to see all the ones I do currently have, check my Instagram feed

Be sure to check out Quest online and order yourself some tasty bars!

If you'd like to save MORE money, go to iherb.com and buy them there, using my coupon code

"VEP693"

Soft Coconut Gluten Free Cookies & Oreo Stuffed Cookies!

Mmmm Soft delicious coconuty and chocolatey cookies! Andddddd a dirty dessert turned healthy!

Mmmm Quest Bar Oreos..

Loook at these DELICIOUS PROTEIN OREOS I made using a QUEST BAR!

If you don't know about my love for them you can read my reviews here, here, here, and here :P

Yesss so if you can't tell, I'm simply obsessed with their company.

Got a delicious sample box on my doorstep the other day so I was thinking of allll the different things I could come up with!

And today I made OREOS!

MY NEW FAVORITE QUEST BAR & Easy Do-Anywhere Workout Circuit

DO ANYWHERE WORKOUT CIRCUIT

• 20 squats
• 10 pushups
• 20 jump squats
• 20 hip lifts
• 50 jumping jacks
• 15 tricep dips

Repeat as many times as you'd like :] 

#nomcakes recipe and QUEST BAR GIVEAWAY

I call my pancakes #nomcakes because when I like the word better, and because I NOMNOMNOM them like no tomorrow.

Here's the recipe for my eggless and protein powder-less nomcakes <3

NOMCAKES

On a Quest: Oh the Possibilities with PastaBilities GIVEAWAY & Vine!

Vine

Hehe - jumped on the bandwagon. 
Got me a VINE!

Search JOSIE VM! <3 <3 get ready for some awkward videos YAYY!

  

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QUEST NUTRITION PASTABILITIES

The maker's of my FAVORITE protein bars [check out my reviews HERE and HERE] have come out with a completely new product for their line:

PASTABILITIES

April Fun & Quest Bar Giveaway!

SO fitfam I have a few fun things this new April Month!

Firstttt, A PHOTO A DAY CHALLENGE!

Move Nourish Believe Month

 I am teaming up with @laura_rixon from Instagram and ten other amazing girls and guys to present to you 30 days of either Move, Nourish or Believe inspiration! 

To play along just repost this pic and join our #mnbmonth quest to make our health and fitness journeys more holistic! 

I can sympathize that a lot of these photo-a-day type challenges can often be a hassle to commit to for a whole month. But I encourage you to start with us on Monday and work through the months goals in your own time and space. Post a photo every day, every so often or just once. Lets make living about more than just fitness, clean eating and selflove, lets make life about the complete package, about the complete Move Nourish Believe philosophy!

To share your progress, journey and photos with us and the #movenourishbelieve community tag your photos at #mnbmonth

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Next I'm having an awesome  

QUEST BAR GIVEAWAY! 

  If you don't know about my love for quest bars, check out my past reviews HERE and HERE.

THEY ARE MY ALL TIME FAVORITE PROTEIN BARS AND I SWEAR BY THEM.

Low carb because of the high fiber, and high protein, and clean ingredients?!?! WHATTTTTT.
Yeah that's right.

And I'm giving TWO people a chance to win a SAMPLE BOX from Quest Protein Bars! This includes one of each of their normal flavors that they offer!   

Here are the ways to enter:

1) Comment on THIS POST about your favorite flavor of protein bars!
2) REPOST the picture that I post on April 1st on my instagram about the Quest Giveaway and tag #vmquest
3) Upload a picture to YOUR instagram of your favorite clean eating recipe but it MUST HAVE ON THE PHOTO the tags #vmquest and @vmfitness!!! And then tag me in the caption! <3 <3 
4) For everyone who buys my EBOOK, that'll be an entry also! 

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And Lastly I'm doing another 

NO CHEAT FOR 2 WEEKS CHALLENGE 

 I had done one of these before and saw some slight progress, and a lot of you joined in on the fun as well! So if you want to join me, DO IT! It's just a fun little thing that'll strengthen that will power! 

I challenge you to NO CHEATS from

April 1 - 15!

That means no junk foods, candies, sodas, etc!

But you CAN eat filling healthy foods like lean proteins, filling veggies, sweet delicious fruits, yummy complex carbs, ALL THAT GOOD STUFF! <3 

Let's get that summer bod underway!
It's better to start NOW getting into shape and eating right and working out than to crash diet like the few weeks before a vacation! So start now, use this challenge as a kick start to your healthy lifestyle journey!

So if you're with me, just tag your progress #vmfitness and #vmfityear so I can see what yummy things you're eating in the kitchen, what workouts you're doing, and how fit you're getting!

<3 <3  

Think that's all I have up my sleeve for now this new month!

I hope you're all having a gorgeous and spectacular EASTER!

<3

Josie   

My Love of Quest & Total Body Killer Workout

Hello fit fam! Today for you I have a review on some Quest bars and a kick-butt Total Body workout! Great to do post-holiday season ;]
But first....

HOLYYYY deliciousness.

I got to sample some of Quest's new goodies, their:

 Cravings Peanut Butter Cups!

Yes I am part of the #nutbutteraddict club, and I'M NOT AFRAID TO ADMIT IT! I have a problem. Is there a nut butters anonymous out there anywhere? I gotta get on that STAT. Ahh back to the cups!

Can I say they taste almost EXACTLY the same as Reese's Cups?! But with a bunch of nutrition and protein and without all the nasty unhealthiness! The peanut butter part was my favorite of course :] And the chocolate part didn't taste just like the Reese's chocolate, it had sort of a thicker flavor, yes I just gave "flavor" and adjective that isn't usually used to describe a flavor. There was like a thick darkness taste, not the taste of white or milk chocolate, but not completely bitter as dark chocolate. It was a perfect combination. And the peanut butter kinda gets stuck to your teeth and to the top of the roof of your mouth! Hehe I kinda like it because I can save some for later.. :P just kidding.
But I do like the overall taste of this Quest product! Seriously, this is my new addiction. I'm going to need to buy a whole box... or 5.....

Banana Nut Muffin

I hate to be boring.... but this LITERALLY tasted just like a Banana Nut Muffin! I'm SERIOUS. There's just no other way to describe it than by telling you it tastes JUST LIKE the wrapper says! Imagine any banana bread you've had with nuts and crunchiness inside and THIS IS EXACTLY like that. But SOOOOO much healthier! It's got real nuts inside and the crunch adds such great texture! And usually, I hate artificially flavored banana products because they never end up tasting "right" or like genuine banana. They're always either too sweet, or too MUCH banana, which makes it taste ... eckkk. But this?!?! RIGHT ON THE MONEY! DELICIOUS DELICIOUS DELICIOUS.

Seriously, find me a Quest product I DON'T LOVE! When pigs fly...



Thank you so much QUEST for letting me sample these delicious flavors! If you ever need a guinea pig for more flavors.... you know who to contact ;]

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And now for this amazing:

SUPER FAT BLASTING HEART THROBBING TOTAL BODY WEIGHTS & CARDIO WORKOUT 

I did this circuit after an unexpected rest day during my Finals Week to get my whole body worked up with a good sweat and BOYYYY did it do the trick! Try it out and let me know how you did! This would also be a great workout to do post-holiday food coma so that you can put all those carbs to use! I know I'm gonna need to go through this a few good times...

SS means Superset! So do that exercise right after the first one with no rest! And TS is just triple set! All of the ones that can be done with weights, DO IT HEAVYYYY! Burn those cals #fitfam! If you don't know any of the moves, try googling them and they should come up!

For the kickback and tricep dips, that's a glute cable kickback!

The last exercise is pretty self explanatory! Squat down, then get up, bicep curl, and then shoulder press!
I also added to the last one to make it a triple set, some deadlifts! 3x12!

For "step up skips", I posted a little collage on my instagram, so here it is below:

You basically step one foot up on the bench, then the other, and then skip back down, really fast! The step up skips are steps 1-5! Get that heart rate up!

Enjoy! Let me know how you did!