Unk - Walk It Out
https://amzn.to/2YNE0vt
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Becky G - Break A Sweat
https://amzn.to/2Jshx1F

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2PM - Don't Stop, Can't Stop
https://amzn.to/2LVejWr


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Fort Minor ft. Styles of Beyond - Remember The Name
https://amzn.to/2Jr2XHK



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Destiny's Child - Survivor
https://amzn.to/2LRvh85




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If you guys have any other great hype song suggestions, please share as I could always use more motivation and encouragement.

FTC disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission for purchases made through my links.

Hi guys!
I'm here with week four of my fitness journey. Sorry for the delay...this post was supposed to go up on Saturday, but I got distracted so it's going up now. The reason I was distracted though was because on Friday evening I found a lump on my right breast. Logical me was like it's probably nothing and no big deal, especially since it was a painful lump and most of the time cancerous lumps are not painful...it's not like cancerous lumps can't be painful, but generally most of the time they aren't and also the fact that I'm still young, but I couldn't help but to still obsess over it and my OB/GYN is closed on the weekends, so my entire weekend was spent trying to ignore and forget about the lump and live my life, but of course it was still constantly there at the back of my mind lingering, so I couldn't focus and concentrate on anything.

Since I always have a Harry Potter marathon over the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend anyways, I did that instead to help me forget about it and pass the time, but now that I was finally able to see my doctor this morning I feel soooo much better. Just as I thought, he explained to me how most of the time cancerous lumps are not painful and also given my age and how quickly this lump grew over the space of a weekend it's doubtful that we are dealing with anything serious. He said it's probably folliculitis, so it should go away on it's own with time and he just recommended that I do a hot compress on it to help it go away faster.

We could've done an ultrasound, but his recommendation was that we do nothing and just monitor it for the next few weeks. If it goes away then I'm fine and good and we know that's what it was, but if it doesn't then at that point we can do an ultrasound, but he thought that doing one now was probably overkill. If I wanted to do it for peace of mind I could, but he was like if you were my sister I would just recommend monitoring it and taking it from there since it's most likely folliculitis and not a big deal, so that's what I decided to do.

I figured as much and even though it's mostly information I already knew, I just feel better hearing it from a professional, so I'm glad they were able to get me in first thing this morning cause I was kind of starting to go crazy. Despite going to bed on time, I did not sleep well this weekend as I kept waking up in the middle of the night...so I'm looking forward to a nice restful sleep this evening. Anywho, after the struggle that was Week 3, which kind of bled into the beginning of this week, I feel like I've finally gotten back on track. I'm feeling so much better and like my normal thyroid balanced self.

Here are my stats for the week...

Day 22 - Saturday, November 17th, 2018

Fitbit Stats for the Day

Today's Exercise: Nothing, just taking it easy

Thoughts: Ever since last week, I have been having some issues with my sleeping again, so I dug out my melatonin tablets and took one last night. It allowed me to go to bed and fall asleep on time and I slept in this morning, so I'm feeling better than yesterday, but still not great. Still have some body aches and feeling tired and low energy. I somehow feel rested and tired at the same time, which I know doesn't make sense and is weird, but that's how I feel...kind of like when you're on the verge of getting sick, but you're not full blown sick yet. I guess that's the best way to describe how I'm feeling. That coupled with how it feels when you sleep too much...sort of out of it and off and not yourself. Am I even making any sense?

Anywho, I thought about just powering through and working out anyways or at least getting in some sort of activity into my day, but I decided to just keep it easy peasy today, so I just snuggled up, since I'm freezing cold for some reason, and binged on youtube. Fingers crossed that I feel better tomorrow. It's so frustrating to not feel well. I thought I was finally done feeling like absolute crap when my thyroid and anemia normalized, but I guess not. I'm going to see my doctor on Tuesday, so I guess I'll see what he has to say if I'm still feeling terribly, although I'm seeing my primary care physician and not my endocrinologist.

I'm not seeing my endocrinologist again until February of next year since the last time I saw him my levels were looking fantastic, but if I continue to feel like crap then I'm going to have to make an appointment to go see him and see what's going on, but I'll see what my PCP has to say when I see him on Tuesday. Not a great start to the week, but hopefully it gets better from here on out and I can get back to feeling good and getting in my workouts. That's it for today's update.

Day 23 - Sunday, November 18th, 2018

Fitbit Stats for the Day

Today's Exercise: Grocery Shopping

Thoughts: So it hasn't been the best start to the week, but I feel like going to bed on time and "catching up" on my sleep has been slowly, emphasis on slowly, been helping me to feel better. Today I was feeling more bleh and lazy than fatigued and low energy and the body aches were a bit less as well. Not completely gone, but better than I had been.

I had some things I had to take care of this morning, so I went grocery shopping after while I was out and about and I'm counting that as my "exercise" for the day since it allowed me to get some activity into my day...unlike yesterday where I got absolutely no activity in my day. I only got in a paltry 3,284 steps as you saw. I still didn't hit my daily goal of 8K steps today, but still better than yesterday.

I definitely need to get back out on the trails, so unless I revert back to feeling worse, I do plan to go to Whitney Mesa tomorrow morning since feeling lazy and bleh is something I can power through vs. feeling tired and fatigued and like I have no energy. Alrighty, off to bed now, so I can get my sleep on...since I apparently need all the rest that I can get to function like a normal person.

Day 24 - Monday, November 19th, 2018

Fitbit Stats for the Day


Workout Stats

Today's Exercise: Hiking/Walking at Whitney Mesa (Upper & Lower Trail)

Thoughts: I'm finally feeling like a human being again! I guess it really was the going to bed "late" and not getting enough sleep that set me back. After several nights of getting back on track, with the help of my melatonin pills, I feel sooooooo much better. I'm not so crabby and tired and down in the dumps anymore. I feel good and happy and my body feels lighter...I'm still not quite 100%, but I had energy and was smiling and just felt like I had gotten up on the right side of the bed unlike the past week where I felt like I was waking up on the wrong side of the bed.

Anywho, I was feeling good so I made it out to Whitney Mesa, but I thought I would keep it a little simpler and easier by going for a walk along the lower trail. I ended up exploring a spur trail off the lower trail, but then I found that it dead ended, so I went back to where I came from, but I knew I wasn't going to be able to do the entire length of the lower trail as I had spent a bit of time on the spur trail, so at the last second I decided to take one of the spur trails that climb from the lower trail up to the upper mesa to complete my loop since my body was feeling good and I was feeling light on my feet again.
It looked kind of steep, although it doesn't look that bad in the pic, so I was a little unsure if I was going to make it, but it actually wasn't that bad of an incline. It's just the last little bit at the very top that does get a bit steep, hence this sign...
...but it was totally fine and it was such a short little section. Once you get past it you're good. My calves did get tight on the incline, but they loosened up real fast as soon as I got up to the top and the rest of my workout was easy peasy as my muscles were loosey goosey the whole rest of the way.

It feels so good to feel good again, so I'm off to bed now...so I can get in my apparently much needed sleep.

Day 25 - Tuesday, November 20th, 2018

Fitbit Stats for the Day

Workout Stats

Today's Exercise: Hiking at City View Trail

Thoughts: I'm back to feeling good and I'm so happy! I did have to go to the doctor's this morning for a follow up, so I didn't get my workout in until my lunch break, but I had a bit of a longer lunch break so I decided to hit up the City View Trail. It's been a hot minute since I went there, but it was nice to be back hiking the switchbacks.

My calves felt like they kind of wanted to get tight, but they didn't actually get tight. They were like on the verge of getting tight, but never crossed the line into being tight so my workout was not that bad. In fact I actually made it all the way to the very top without stopping once, which has never happened before. When I first started working out I would have to sneak in a quick break when I got about 80% of the way up, but I was able to power through no problem. I didn't get out of breath and my heart rate stayed steady, so I was able to go all the way without stopping.

So I had a great workout, but my doctor's appointment was not so great. Not that it was bad, but my cholesterol and blood sugar were not good. It wasn't terrible...it's not like I need to be put on medication or anything like that, but my cholesterol was a bit off as was my blood sugar. Ideally, for cholesterol, based on how Quest Diagnostics (the lab I use) measures it, you want to be below 200, but I was at 216 and as for my blood sugar, it was a smidge above normal as well. The cutoff for fasting blood sugar is 99, meaning you want to be below 99, but mine was 101 and my Hemoglobin A1C was right at the cutoff of 5.7%.

Nothing to be alarmed by, according to my doctor...those were his exact words, but I was low key freaking out that my numbers were above normal, but he said I was ok for now, but we definitely want to watch those numbers and bring them down...but since I'm working out consistently now and am eating better my doctor said he wasn't too concerned. He said to just keep up with the workouts and eat better as I've been doing and my numbers will go down and the rest of my bloodwork was great, so I just need to focus on losing the weight and getting my dang cholesterol and blood sugar in check.

I feel like I don't eat bad, so I'm not sure why my levels are off...I guess because I'm just generally overweight, but I'm definitely using that as motivation to keep up with my workouts and eat healthy to get healthy because yes, I want to lose weight for vanity's sake, but being healthy is so much more important, so I'm just going to focus on getting healthy...which is why I haven't really been paying attention to the scale and posting my weight with these updates. I haven't really been checking my weight...and my doctor agrees that I shouldn't obsess over the numbers on the scale. I should focus more on how I'm feeling and just continuing to workout consistently and eat healthy so that's what I'm going to do.

I will of course post updates with actual numbers from time to time, but it won't be the main focus of this journey and for now the numbers on the scale are not what's important, it's the numbers on my bloodwork, so I'm just going to stay focused on how I'm feeling day to day and working towards getting my bloodwork in check.

Day 26 - Wednesday, November 21st, 2018

Fitbit Stats for the Day

Workout Stats

Today's Exercise: Hiking at Amargosa Trail - Shadow Canyon Trailhead

Thoughts: Today was the start of my long Thanksgiving holiday weekend, so I took advantage of having nothing to do and having loads of time to hit up Amargosa Trail starting at the Shadow Canyon Trailhead. It's been like 1.5 years since I was last there, but it was nice to be back. This is a longer and more varied and tougher trail, so I had held off on coming here, but my fitness definitely seems to have improved a lot because it wasn't too bad.

Not that this is a hard or difficult trail by any means, but it is a step above the other trails that I've been doing. I believe this is considered more of a moderate trail due to the length and amount of incline. City View is a hill and Whitney Mesa is well a mesa, but this is an actual mountain...a little baby mountain, but mountain nonetheless, which is also why I like this trail more than the others because it actually feels like I'm hiking...it's got varied and rocky terrain at times.
Anywho, again my calves kind of felt like they wanted to tighten up on the incline, but they never actually did and as soon as I wasn't on an incline they were completely fine and loosey goosey...my legs felt really good otherwise.

This trail does have a lot of inclines both gradual and more hefty inclines and switchbacks and dips and lulls. Here are just a few...
As you can see in my stats above, it clocked me as having climbed the equivalent of 69 floors, although I don't know how accurate and reliable that data is, but it definitely does have a lot more inclines...I believe there's an elevation gain of about 935 ft, which is why I did end up having to take a quick water break during the switchbacks...but I only had to take the one water break. I was fine the rest of the way without having to take a break...although there were moments where I was walking like a turtle.

I didn't end up doing the entire trail though end to end. This trail has two trailheads, so it goes up the mountain and then descends down the other side, which will take you to the other trailhead. I have done the entire length before, but today I just stayed on one side of the mountain...I went up to the top and then returned the way I came. I didn't go down the other side and then come back up and then return. I'll wait till I'm feeling stronger and have been working out for a bit more before doing the full length from trailhead to trailhead and back.

Day 27 - Thursday, November 22nd, 2018

Fitbit Stats for the Day


Workout Stats

Today's Exercise: Hiking/Walking at Whitney Mesa (Upper Trail)

Thoughts: Went to Whitney Mesa today for my daily morning workout and my calves seemed to be fine until they reached the very last bit of the incline...at which point they started to tighten up for like 5 seconds, but then I reached the top of the mesa and was completely fine...aside from my legs feeling like dead weights. They weren't tight and there was no cramping or anything, but it felt like I was walking around with ankle weights for some reason, or as if I were walking around in a pool...that kind of feeling. Not sure why my legs were feeling dead...perhaps all the inclines from yesterday really worked my muscles?

At any rate, aside from my legs feeling like dead weight the rest of my body felt light and good and I had a great workout. Then after an afternoon break, I headed out for some Black Friday shopping, which now starts on Thursdays for some reason...hence I got in sooo many steps today. A personal best so far. I probably would've stayed out later, but now that we know how important going to bed on time and getting enough sleep is for my body, I returned home early because I definitely do not want a repeat of last week. Black Friday shopping will have to wait until tomorrow, which is when it's supposed to be anyways. Alrighty, that's it for today. I'm going to get ready for bed now. 

Day 28 - Friday, November 23rd, 2018

Fitbit Stats for the Day

Today's Exercise: Black Friday Shopping

Thoughts: I knew I wanted to Black Friday shop today, so I didn't do a normal workout cause I figured I would be doing a ton of walking around the stores...but I ended up not doing as much shopping as I anticipated. I feel like this year Black Friday shopping was kind of...bleh. I wasn't really excited by it like in years past. Sure there were specific things I wanted, which I had pretty much already ordered online, but I didn't have as much fun as I used to wandering around the stores and picking things out. I don't know if it's a me thing or if the merchandise and sales this year were boring...or maybe it was a mixture of both.

If I knew this was going to happen I would've just done my usual workout this morning. In years past I used to be out and about Black Friday shopping for like 12 hours, but today...today I called it early on my shopping. Also, I seem to have lost my patience for waiting in long lines, which that could have something to do with me not enjoying my shopping experience. I ended up walking out of some stores without even browsing because I saw that there were long lines that weren't moving and I didn't want to wait in it. I mean why bother looking through the merchandise and shopping if you're ultimately not going to wait in that line to purchase it. So I would end up just walking out and going to another store which didn't have long lines or even if they were long that were moving quickly, so I wouldn't have to wait for forever.

Anywho, since I wrapped up my Black Friday shopping early today, I thought about going for a late afternoon workout, but I was starving and by the time I ate and was ready to workout, the sun was already setting so I ended up watching Harry Potter instead, which is my go to Thanksgiving binge fest. For some reason I associate Harry Potter with Thanksgiving and so I always binge the entire collection every Thanksgiving weekend. At any rate, I still got in my daily goal of 8K steps today, so it's all good. Tomorrow I will most definitely be getting in my morning workout.

Hi Guys!
Glow Recipe has started their Black Friday sale! They have a curated list of select products that are on sale for 40% off (no coupon code needed), which you can find here: https://www.glowrecipe.com/collections/black-friday-40-off, and then they also have a coupon code BLACKFRIDAY25 for 25% off the rest of your purchase that isn't on sale (the code will not apply to the items that are already on sale for 40% off, but it'll apply to the full priced items)...but what's even better is using the code JELLYMASKREVIEW.

I use an extension on my Chrome browser called Honey that automatically cycles through a bunch of known coupon codes to find you the best one and it found that code for me, so I got even more than 25% off the non-sale items, which was awesome. I don't know if it works for everyone, but definitely try that code first before trying the Black Friday code because if I had just stuck with the 25% off Black Friday code I would have only gotten $18.50 taken off my purchase, but because I used the Jelly code that Honey found for me I got $29.28 knocked off my full priced purchases.

Even more exciting though is that my newly beloved holy grail J.One Jelly Cream moisturizer is one of the items on sale for 40% off! Anywho, here is my haul from Glow Recipe. I know I said I was going to cut back and not spend as much this year, but...yeah. What can I say.

In alphabetical order, I got...

Blithe Vital Treatment Essence - 5 Energy Roots
Sephora: https://go.magik.ly/ml/oe4x/

A rejuvenating essence treatment that works to awaken dull, depleted skin with 5 'energy' packed root extracts such as Red Ginseng that harmonize and balance the skin for an even, glowing complexion.

Packed with 5 different types of multi-activating packed root extracts such as Red Panax Ginseng, Grandiflorum Root Extract, Lanceolata Root Extract, Indian Lotus Leaf Extract & Greater Burdock Root Extract to soothe irritated skin and provide a harmonizing treatment, balancing out unevenness in skin coloration and texture. This essence treatment works to deliver hydration and repair depleted skin for a renewed, healthy glow.

WHY: I've already tried and love the 9 Seeds essence and I recently got the 8 Nourishing Beans essence which I'm loving, so I wanted to go ahead and try out the third and final essence in this line...and it's one of the items on sale for 40% off, so what better time than now to give it a whirl.

Size: 4.1 oz/ 117g

A warming massage face mask that nourishes and revitalizes the skin for a glowing, smooth complexion.

This face mask enhances and hydrates the skin for a younger appearance. It features an intensely moisturizing combination of honey (a natural humectant used since ancient times), propolis (an antiseptic found in beehives), and amino acid-rich royal jelly. Echinacea GreenEnvy™ is a unique variant of echinacea purpurea, which contains a high concentration of the phytochemical cichoric acid—a potent, natural antioxidant that enhances hydration and the purifying benefits of honey. Glycerin attracts moisture to the skin and provides hydrating effects for a suppler appearance. When glycerin comes in contact with the skin and is gently massaged, it transforms into a rich cream with a warming sensation to create a luxurious experience.

HOW TO USE
Cleanse and tone the skin. Use the spatula to scoop a generous amount from the jar and spread a thick layer gently across the face from forehead to chin (avoiding direct contact with eye and lip areas) and down to the neck and décolleté. Massage for one to two minutes, and the mask will begin to warm as it transforms to a rich cream texture. Leave on for 10 to 15 minutes, then rinse off and pat face with towel to dry. Follow with your favorite Farmacy day or night treatment, such as Sleep Tight or Rise ‘N Shine. Use two to three times a week for most effective results.

INGREDIENTS
Echinacea GreenEnvy™ Honey: Heightens the hydrating and purifying benefits of honey and is full of potent natural antioxidants. It is made by bees that live on Farmacy’s farm.
Honey, Propolis, and Royal Jelly: Supports skin renewal for a younger appearance.
Essential B Vitamins: Help to smooth dry skin and renew its look.
Glycerin: Attracts moisture to the skin and provides hydrating effects for a moist, supple skin appearance.

Glycerin, Diglycerin, Polyglyceryl-10 Stearate, Honey Extract, Propolis Extract, Royal Jelly Extract, Panthenol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Hippophae Rhamnoides Oil, Zingiber Officinale (Ginger) Root Extract, Allantoin, Phenoxyethanol, Echinacea Purpurea Root Extract, Honey, Water, Flavor, Vanillyl Butyl Ether

Farmacy’s Honey Potion face mask is not tested on animals and is formulated with naturally derived ingredients. It is free of formaldehyde and artificial coloring. Echinacea GreenEnvy™ honey is full of potent, natural antioxidants, and is made only by bees that live on Farmacy’s farm and pollinate the Echinacea GreenEnvy™ flowers.

THOUGHTS
June 25th, 2018: This looks and feels just like honey when you take it out of the pot, but as soon as you start to massage this into the skin it really does transform immediately into a thick white cream (as you can see in the pic below) which makes it easier to spread on the face. Despite being a thicker cream though it doesn't feel heavy or suffocating, although that could be because I was too distracted by the heat to notice. Speaking of, this really does heat up. I was kinda caught off guard by how fast and "hot" it got. I thought it would be a gradual warm up, but it went from 0 to 60 instantaneously.

The heat, which is pretty intense, is not like a warming temperature heat, but rather a spicy caliente heat...like if you had touched a super spicy pepper and then touched your face. That kind of heat, which is not at all what I was expecting. I was expecting this to warm up gradually and comfortably like the eye masks that I love so much. I thought what a great idea. The warmth will open up the pores so that all the skincare goodness can penetrate and work it's magic better. It's not that kind of warmth.

As soon as you stop massaging it into the face though, that spicy heat does die down. It's not as intense as it was initially massaging it around. It kind of goes away and just leaves behind a slight sensation...burning sensation? You know like after you've tried something spicy and drink milk and whatnot to calm it down, but it doesn't go back to normal right away? It's better and you're not experiencing that intense spiciness anymore, but there's still a sensation left behind? That kind of feeling. I hope that made sense and you understand what I'm trying to say. Anywho that's how your face feels...with the exception of the philtrum area (the area between your nose and your lips).

Every time I breathed out through my nose it seemed to activate that spicy heat sensation, so I continued to feel the intense spiciness there and that's where all my focus was during this whole masking session. All my attention was centered around my philtrum and trying not to breath/breath slower, so I wouldn't activate that spiciness as much and watching the clock to see if I could wash this off my face yet. If you couldn't tell already, I really did not enjoy this masking session, but I have to admit it was effective.

After I was finally able to wash this off my face (I did leave this on for the longer 15 mins despite the spicy heat), this left my face feeling very soft and smooth and supple and it looked a bit brighter and healthier and radiant as well...although I wouldn't say it was "intensely moisturizing" as described...but it is nourishing, revitalizing and smoothing. I do agree with that part of the description.

Overall I did enjoy the effects of this mask...just not the actual masking session. Perhaps I would enjoy it better if it were wintertime, but again it's not really so much a temperature heat as it is touched a spicy pepper heat so...spicy is spicy whether it's summer or winter so perhaps I would still feel the same way even if it were cold...although I did have my A/C going when I used this since it's hot outside so that defeats the whole purpose of this train of thought.

Anywho, that sort of spicy burning sensation that I'm having trouble describing lasts even after you wash it off and lingers for a bit...I think it lasted for about another hour or so after washing it off. It truly is just like eating a spicy pepper. Even after you've drank the milk and calmed it down it doesn't truly go away and you don't go back to feeling normal for awhile. It takes time, as does this mask.

Looking at the ingredient list I see that it does contain ginger, which if you've ever had ginger then you know it can be quite spicy, so I wonder if that's where the spicy heat is coming from, but I just did not enjoy that spicy sensation which lingers even after you wash it off...which is probably why I'm gonna say it's a pass for me despite the excellent results. There are other products out there that give amazing results without the torture...ok torture is a bit dramatic, but without the uncomfortableness, which is why I honestly don't see myself reaching for this ever again.

If it weren't for that spiciness I would say this is awesome and recommend that you check it out, but man I really did not enjoy that spicy sensation...as if you couldn't tell by all the complaining I did in this review...btw, how many times have I said spicy in this post? But I can't help it. It really got to me and that's all I think about and that comes to mind when I think about this product, but maybe it's just me. Am I crazy? Has my skin just become super sensitive? It does have great reviews on the Sephora website, although like I said above it does give great results and is effective...it's just that dang masking session is uncomfortable, but I don't see anyone else complaining about it...although I only skimmed through a few of the reviews. Have any of you tried this? What was your experience like? I'd love to know.

References...
1. Sephora
2. https://www.farmacybeauty.com/products/honey-potion-1
3. https://www.farmacybeauty.com/products/dew-it-all-total

FTC disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission for purchases made through my links.