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Hi Darlings, I woke up this morning took my son to school and am headed to do some shopping! It has been so gorgeous in Cali that I couldn’t wait to wear this $14 dress I picked up at Forever 21 a few weeks back. I also recently went to Victoria Secret during one of their sales and picked up these fabulous padded bandeau. They are perfect for wearing under low opening dresses, open back dresses and off shoulder tops. The wedges I have on are old, from Steve Madden, but I have some options linked below. You guys really loved the New Tutorial, so I thank you so much! I have two more coming, including the bathing suit tutorial I am doing for Michael Levine Fabrics this month. F21 Dress (similar) HERE / Steve Madden Wedges (similar) HERE or HERE / H&M Sunnies (old) / F21 Earrings (old) / Victoria Secret Padded Bandeau HERE #forever21 #stevemadden #victoriasecret

Hi Darlings, Happy Friday! I am leaving you today with a new fabulous tutorial. I thank you all so much for your support, it is the reason why I can continue to do what I do and share my love of sewing with you guys. I have searched high and low for a denim skirt that I could wear all year round and I just could NOT find one. So, in true Mimi G form I decided to just make one and show you how to make one too. This skirt is perfect for so many reasons… TUTORIAL OPTIONS… Make it any length you want! Button it up all the way down or un-button as far up as you’d like. Choose to make a front button opening skirt or a side button opening. Both options have pockets! Can made from any lightweight or medium weight woven fabric. Great for Beginners and Intermediate Seamstresses. NOTE: Read the PDF file attached in the email you will receive immediately after placing your order as it contains all the information needed to access your tutorial. The email is sent instantly so PLEASE CHECK YOUR SPAM FOLDERS. GET TUTORIAL HERE Skirt Tutorial HERE BUY TUTORIAL HERE

Hi Darlings! I hope you enjoyed yesterdays “Work It Wednesday” guest blogger Cynthia. It was nice having a new voice on fitness on the blog, and you all had some good questions for her. I took advantage of the day and got caught up on some paperwork, so I was thankful for that. Today I have a few errands to run before my baby turns 7 on Sunday! No matter how many babies I raise and send out into the world it never gets any easier, and with every birthday it makes me think of how quickly they grow up. Chastidy has been out of the house for two years already, and although I am so proud of how responsible she is living on her own, working full time, finishing school and living life, I’m still not use to her being gone. I think the most difficult part of parenting is letting go. With Alexzia now 16, bubby turning 7, and my little girl Imani turning 11 next month, I feel like time is going by too fast! I am preparing myself for tears on Sunday LOL!  I am such a sap sometimes. AE Cropped Jeans HERE (size 2) / Gap Sweater HERE / MK Bag (option) HERE / Steve Madden Wedges (cute option) HERE / Vintage Sunnies / J. Crew Bracelet & Earrings / MK Watch and Bangles #Jeans #stevemadden #wedges

Hi Darlings! I am so excited to share with you that I will be having a guest blogger every other Wednesday sharing her tips on fitness. Cynthia is an ACE Certified Group Fitness Instructor, Reebok Spin, Zumba, R.I.P.P.E.D (One Stop Body Shock) and Scuba Diver – PADI Certified.  She has been teaching for 15 years. “My passion is anything fitness and physical: boxing, bootcamp, sandbag training, TRX training, weights, spinning, heavy rope training, kettlebells, step, circuit training etc. I love conventional workouts but mostly I love unconventional workouts as they challenge you in ways that you would not imagine. I love the music and high energy” I hope you guys enjoy the knowledge and expertise she will be bringing to “Work It Wednesday” and please make sure to leave any comments of questions you may have for her in the comments section below.  Now, please enjoy Cynthia’s first post on Mimi G Style! My Workouts Are Not Working – What Am I Doing Wrong? If you are working out, congrats because you are doing something RIGHT!  We all reach a point where we are doing what we do and we see no results. This is not the time to say “I give up” or “forget it” or “My destiny is to be …..”  Now is the time to stay focused and stay the course.  Staying healthy as we age is truly “the fight of our lives.” Our “fitness regime”, I use this term to include both nutrition and exercise, is unique to each of us.  Sort of like our DNA or more simply put like “a recipe”.  You know how you get a recipe and you don’t use it exactly as it is, you change it up, add spices you like or you change the type of protein or veggies, you add nuts or take them out but basically the principle is to make it unique or to make it “your” recipe. Well, we have to do the same with our fitness regime.  We have to tweak it to make it work for us.  And I have to add, the older we get the MORE tweaking we have to do.  No frowns here because the good news is that once you have found the formula you will continue to use it until you have to tweak again. Some quick and immediate tweaking that you can do with the following: Nutrition – remember the old formula “calories in has to be LESS than calories out”.  Yep, that still holds true.  Now don’t run off and reduce your calories to 2 pieces of lettuce per day, this is not what I am saying.  I am saying you have to look at your diet and be honest, really honest about Portions sizes (how much are you eating) Nutritional value of the foods that you do eat – do you eat/drink low nutritional value foods (junk, soda) or do you eat/drink more high nutritional value foods (veggies, whole grains, lean protein, milk) Water intake – for most of us eight 8 oz glasses of water is good enough. The human body is 60% water and the body uses water for many important functions. For me 12 – 16 glasses feels right. For certain if you are not drinking the 8 cups per day  – try to get the eight in. Your nutrition profile will cover all the major food groups but in the portions necessary for you based on your needs. If you don’t know where to begin, enlist the services of a registered nutritionist.  The registered nutritionist can put together a “roadmap” which will be nutritionally balanced based on what you like to eat (sans the junk food).  Once you understand your nutritional profile then you can begin to use other resources for information and tweak your own “roadmap” .  The United States Department of Agriculture website  http://www.choosemyplate.gov  is a great place to get additional information. 2. F.I.T.T or Frequency, Intensity, Time and Type a.    Frequency – how often are you working out. Seriously if you are looking to reduce your body fat (notice here I did not say lose weight a topic for a later discussion),  5 – 6 times per week and 1 – 2 non consecutive days of rest is necessary.  This will include a combination of cardio and resistance training.  Cardio is done 5 times per week and resistance training is done 3 times per week. I have added 2 sessions of yoga or Pilates for myself each week as well to increase my flexibility. b.    Intensity – how hard you are working during the workout period.  Cardio Intensity can be measured by a 1) heart rate monitor  or 2) RPE or Rate of Perceived Exertion . A heart rate monitor is a device you wear and it monitors your heart rate. Great investment, but costly, and I admit I rarely put mine on now. RPE,  yep a mouthful but basically on a scale of 1 to 10 you rate how hard you perceive you are working – with 1 being “I can do this I feel good and am breathing normal” and 10 being “I am exhausted and my muscles are going to be able to do this for 10 or 20 seconds.” RPE is a common measurement in the fitness industry. Resistance training intensity can be measured by how much weight you lift, how many sets and repetitions of that exercise you do and/or how many resistance exercises you do in the total workout.  When I teach classes, most of the students do not have a heart rate monitor so I use the RPE method. c.     Time – how long you spend doing that workout.  Intense cardio can be sustained for about 30 minutes.  However we should get about 60 minutes of cardio per day. I break my cardio into 2 sessions because I like the fact that on some days I can do 2 intense 30 minute sessions instead of one 60 minutes slow steady session. If you have the time to do 60 minutes in one session then by all means do it. Resistance training should be done 45 minutes to an hour.  I hear ya – who has the time to do all that???…….easier than it sounds and we will talk about that as another blog topic. d.    Type –  exactly………. what you are doing.  Cardio is any activity that gets and keeps your heartrate elevated for 20 minutes or more – running, walking, biking (indoor and outdoor), dancing, swimming, sports etc. Resistance training is any activity that applies a force or resistance against the muscle i.e. resistance bands, dumbbells, machines, bodyweight, kettlebells, medicine ball, sandbags etc. Sleep/Rest – this varies for each of us – however the thought is if you needed an alarm clock to wake you up, you did not get enough sleep.  This is the period of time when your muscles repair themselves and they grow.  Without the appropriate rest we run the risk of overtraining our muscles. Over trained muscles cannot work as hard, so our workouts become less intense and it becomes a vicious cycle.  Bottom line is your body needs rest to repair and prepare you for the next workout. One last piece of information – don’t try to tweak everything at one time. If you are working on intensity, stay with that tweak for 4 – 6 weeks to see if that is working before you change something else.  Also document, document, document because after you have changed multiple things you may not know which one, two or four were the right combination. I keep a workout notebook which includes my daily workout and any other “tweaks” I am working on.  Those “tweaks” are my SMART goals for the week/month. Lastly, this is all for you readers, so if you have topics or questions regarding fitness/health or just want to say hi, leave a comment below. Remember consistencyis key – life if going to happen., Live it, love it, embrace it, and make a daily workout part of your plan. Until we meet again.. yours in fitness Cynthia

Hi Darlings, I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! I spent it mostly working and planning for my son’s birthday next week. I also went to church on Sunday, and I promise you, the message was for me. I went looking for an answer to something that my husband and I are currently dealing with, and I got my answer loud and clear. Does that ever happen to you? You go to church, and while sitting there you start thinking “how does he know?” “Is he talking about me?” Today’s look is a quick an easy throw-it-together-in-a-rush sorta look. I had a last minute appointment that I need to get to. Since I had just made myself this T-shirt Dress as a test for a new tutorial, I have been working on (a fresh take on my T-shirt Maxi Tutorial) I threw it on with my favorite black Forever 21 Blazer (old), Steve Madden Booties, and Michael Kors Clutch.  The FABRIC is a gorgeous ITY print that can be found HERE. DIY Dress: Fabric HERE / Steve Madden Booties HERE / MK Clutch HERE / F21 Blazer (old) option HERE / Steve Madden Sunnies #gathered #Prints #knit #stevemadden #Dress

Hi Darlings, Happy Friday dolls! Today’s look is my version of casual with a little glam. You guys know I love my heels, and I like to wear them often. So, I style my casual looks to work with my heels, and today’s heels from London Trash are no exception; they are fab! Have you guys started planning for Mother’s Day yet? My son and I are sharing the day because he was born on May 11th, 2007. In 2007, when he was born Mother’s Day feel on the 13th, and since I had an emergency C-section I was in the hospital on Mother’s Day recovering. It’s the most memorable Mothers Day to date, and I can’t wait to share my day with him. GAP Shorts HERE (wearing size 2) / American Eagle Sweater (similar) HERE / London Trash Heels HERE / Michael Kors Gold Clutch HERE / J.Crew Gold Belt

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of cardstore. Hi Darlings! Mother’s day is always very special to me because it reminds me of just how important a job it is and how grateful I am for my babies. Mother’s day is quickly approaching and if you are a mom you know that it’s the hardest job you will ever have. I have always tried to be the best possible parent I could be, and although I have completely fumbled it up sometimes I have always made sure that my kids know just how important they are to me. Mother’s day for me is also a reminder of just how amazing MY mother is and what an example she has been to me. She is always so supportive of me, even when she doesn’t understand what I do for a living, lol. She is always in my corner, and I love her so much for that! As a mom, my toughest moment has been learning to let go when it’s time and being supportive when I don’t agree with their choices. My eldest daughter lives on her own, has a great job in her chosen career, and does really well for herself. But as a mom I am always worried and constantly asking her silly questions like “Did you eat today? My job will never end and although I may drive them a little crazy sometimes they know it’s only because they are my whole world! Thanks to Cardstore I was able to create a custom card to send to my mom for Mothers Day. At Cardstore.com you get to create custom cards with pictures, messages and even your signature in just a few clicks. Then Cardstore not only prints it but it will stamp and mail it for you too! Here are few screenshots from my custom card There are so many cards to choose from, but I loved the message behind this one. My mom and I both have a great sense of humor so finding a card that was sweet and funny was super easy. You get to write your own personal messages and even sign it with your name. You can choose the font, color and size of your text too. The coolest part was how easy it was to upload pics using any number of social media accounts. It linked quickly and made my search for the perfect pic much easier. This week Cardstore, the custom greeting card website from American Greetings is encouraging you to make mom’s card a little extra special. This years card is about that personalized message that let’s her know how much you love her. Thanks to Cardstore.com you can make your own card for $2.49 (usually $3.69) by going HERE and using the following Coupon Code: CCF4249 the code is good until May 5th so hurry! This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of cardstore.

Hi Darlings! Can I just tell you that I had been under some serious deadlines over the last several months with multiple projects, and as of this morning I have finally gotten ahead of myself! Yay me. I can’t tell you how much I have not been able to do these last few months.  I can’t wait to get going on all the conference stuff I am behind on, the new tutorials I need to film, and of course some more family Friday videos. BTW, trying to get me and the hubby to film at the same time is a juggling act, lol we are always on the go but we are trying to work out a schedule. I can’t believe that, in April of 2012, I started blogging with a purpose and now two years later my blog has grown into something quite amazing that even I have not fully taken in. I am truly thankful for all of you who support me. I love you darlings! Anyway, enough with the mush as my bestie Adrienne says, lol F21 Cargo Pants HERE (I am wearing size small) and another cool option HERE / F21 Lace Top (similar) HERE  or HERE / Aldo Heeled Sandals (old) option HERE / J. Crew Clutch #cargopants #forever21 #lacetop

Hi Darlings, I apologize for not sharing any fabulous OOTD’s or DIY’s in the last two days, but I have a pinched nerve under my shoulder blade that has kept me in bed and in pain. It is a reminder that I am doing too much and need to take it easy but, unfortunately, I am under deadlines, and I must keep moving. I did, however, take it easy yesterday and today but as soon as I can I am going to take a mini staycation. It’s odd as a blogger to take time off because even on our off days we tend to record and share our days, it’s a sickness I tell ya! lol. So, although I am bed bound for the next 24hrs I thought I would at the very least do a “Work It Wednesday” post. I thought I would talk about my love/hate relationship with running and why I do it ANYWAY. A few years back you couldn’t get me to run unless I was running out of a burning building or to a shoe sale, but earlier this year I found that running has its benefits. I started running to mix it up and get out of my gym routine. I found that being outside made me feel better and I looked forward to being outside more than walking on a treadmill or elliptical machine. I listed my top four reasons for running four days a week, and I hope you give it a try. You can also just do a brisk walk if you are not up to running just yet. I started out doing a walk/run combo; I walked for 2 min and ran for 1min. I slowly increased my run time and decreased my walk time. Mental Health: Running helps me clear my head. I may not feel like it when I start but once I warm up and get into a rhythm my mind starts to clear and suddenly I start to feel better. It’s as if every step I take releases a little bit of stress. I have also learned that I get most of my great ideas when I run because my mind is free and clear. Weight Loss: The more muscle I gain, the more fat I burn and running is said to help the breakdown of fat. The up and down movement breaks the fat into manageable portions for the body to burn. Now I am not fitness or health expert but I can say that I found my weight loss to happen much faster when I included running as my form of cardio (outside of the gym) Now here is an odd thing…I did not notice the same weight loss when I was doing my running on the treadmill. Cardiovascular Health: Running helps to build my heart muscles and as you run the amount of blood your heart pumps increases. Running also works out your arteries as they expand and contract while you run. Lower Body Strength: Running helps build the largest muscles in your body and, therefore, also helping to strengthen your ligaments and tendons. Since I have such a bad right knee I must strengthen the ligaments surrounding my knee, and running has helped me do that. Since jumping is not an option for my knees, I found running has given me another way of working out my lower body without causing myself more knee pain. I have one tip to get you started, make it fun! Chances are if you drive by during my run you will see me dancing like no one is watching and skipping like an 8 year old. Now I can’t tell you that I love running and I jump out of bed every day ready to hit the asphalt, because I would be lying. BUT I do love the feeling I get while running and certainly the feeling of accomplishment when I am done. ————————————————————————————————– Now on STITCHED9 #Fitness #running

Hi Darlings, I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and an even better Easter. We went to church together and this year was the first time in FIVE years that we were able to sit together. The hubby has been playing the role of Jesus for last five years so he is always backstage drenched in corn syrup blood and torn clothing. This year however, the church prepared a different program and so he was able to take the year off and just enjoy the service. That also meant we were able to take pictures together. Pattern Description: Misses Dress Butterick 5987 Pattern Sizing: I cut size 8 and graded down. Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done with it? Yes Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes, they are pretty clear and it went together rather quickly. I cut and constructed the dress in just under 3hrs. What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I love the neckline and the fullness of the skirt. I also really loved the back. Fabric Used: Floral Crepe (check the link later today for the exact fabric) I lined it in an Ambiance Rayon Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: I did not make any changes to the design and aside from having to grade down the bodice a bit I did not have to make any real fitting adjustments. I did add 3″ to the length of the dress so it would hit the floor in my 6″ heels. I tried finding a D ring that liked as suggested in the pattern but I couldn’t so I used one of gold bracelets. Would you sew it again? No. I have so many others to sew. Would you recommend it to others? Yes I do. It was really fun to wear and I felt very pretty in it. This is the year of the tulle skirt so of course my 16 year old asked me to make one for Easter. She picked a great electric blue tulle for her skirt. The skirt itself isn’t difficult to make but it does get tricky with all the tulle in the way, lol. I just went out and bought more tulle so I can do a tutorial. I thought of making myself one too but after I pulled together the hubby’s look I decided to make myself something that fit his look better. I had just picked up this amazing CREPE fabric at Michael Levine’s so after a quick family vote we decided on Butterick 5987 This is the year of the tulle skirt so of course my 16 year old asked me to make one for Easter. She picked a great electric blue tulle for her skirt. The skirt itself isn’t difficult to make but it does get tricky with all the tulle in the way, lol. I just went out and bought more tulle so I can do a tutorial. I thought of making myself one too but after I pulled together the hubby’s look I decided to make myself something that fit his look better. I had just picked up this amazing CREPE fabric at Michael Levine’s so after a quick family vote we decided on Butterick 5987 (the exact fabric will be uploaded today at lowpricefabric.com under the crepe section) Of course my lil man was camera ready in his suit and tie. Do you see his pocket watch? so fly! My dear Lexi loved her DIY tulle skirt and rocked her “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” look to the fullest! My gorgeous shy girl all pretty in pink and purple. Do you know how hard it was to get a picture of her? she is so not feeling me when I pull out my camera, lol #b5987 #easter #florals #review

Hi Darlings, It’s that time again! a new DIY project courtesy of Mimi G for Michael Levine Fabrics. This tutorial is a sew along of McCall 6556 with a color blocking modification. Head over to the Michael Levine blog now to view the step by step tutorial with fabric suggestions and don’t miss out on their spring sale today; 20% off your entire purchase! Code: Jump20 DIY Top Tutorial HERE / Gap Jeans HERE / Steve Madden Heels HERE / F21 Clutch (old) / Charming Charlie Necklace & Bracelets / H&M Sunnies (old)

Hi Darlings, This is one of the most popular posts on my blog and since I have so many new followers I thought this would be great #TBT post to share. I get asked about my fitness routine daily so hopefully this will answer some of those questions. The intro video to this post explains my thoughts, opinions and what I will be sharing so make sure to watch. I share a bit of how I stay fit and detail all of those things below. DIETS DO’S AND DONT’S This I think is the most difficult thing for most of us…FOOD! we love it we want to eat and when we don’t we feel we are depriving ourselves and so we talk ourselves into eating it because “we only live once”, “this one time wont hurt me”, “If I just get it out of the way I wont want it anymore” sound familiar? so here are my tips on dieting and staying on track. 1. DON’T DIET! yep I said it. Dieting is insane and always ends up being harder then anticipated to stay on track for any length of time so stop it. Instead of dieting just change your eating habits because dieting is temporary but life changes are what will keep you in the state you want to be in always. What I Do: I stop eating fast food and drinking soda! I only drink WATER or fresh juice made in my juicer in the mornings, I replace my white rice with brown rice, add veggies to my lunch and dinner, if I can’t pronounce it I don’t buy it and don’t eat it and I try to buy organic, free range protein when possible. If I want to enjoy something when out with friends or when I feel the urge I eat it in MODERATION and only once maybe twice a week. I avoid eating anything that is processed and honestly fresh and clean food always taste better. When I am trying to lose weight I remove the carbs except for good ones (usually found in veggies) and I still allow myself corn tortillas for dinner or lunch or potatoes once or twice a week (usually during lunch) I try to stay away from pasta and bread during these times but if NOT trying to lose weight and just maintaining I eat what I want with a 80%-20% ratio; 80% clean and fresh 20% not so clean and fresh. Here is a sample food day for me: Breakfast: I juice (handful of spinach or kale, 1/2 lemon a small chunk of ginger and 1 apple) or Cantaloupe juice with a lemon wedge (it helps clear your skin) or I will have 2 hard boiled eggs and 1 slice of whole wheat toast. Lunch: I love salads and always add protein (chicken usually) I will have tuna salad, turkey wraps, previous nights left overs 😉 Dinner: Lettuce Wraps (my favorite and recipe below) Tilapia Tacos! love recipe HERE,  lean steak and veggies and if I feel I need something starchy I’ll have brown rice or potatoes, brown rice and beans (3/4 cup rice only) a like to add a salad because I wont over eat the other stuff of I have a salad first, lol For my snacks I usually have a few almonds, yogurt, crackers or dried fruit. The thing to remember is to PUT MORE GOOD IN YOUR BODY THEN BAD! SUPPLEMENTS My body does not respond to cardio alone NEVER has, I don’t know if it is because of my ethnicity, body shape, genetics I have no idea. But I can KILL myself doing cardio and will see little result and because I know this I know that strength training always works for me and I will talk about that a bit more below…because I know I have to lift I take just a few supplements, here is what I include for nutrition purposes during my training: Opti Women HERE (multivitamin) / BCAA Caps HERE (Supports New Lean Mass) / Smart Blend HERE (Supports Bodyfat Reduction And Optimal Cardiovascular Health) I hate protein drinks but this one is VERY good and does not have that protein nasty after taste. It blends perfectly without that grainy feel and it goes great with fruit for smoothies because the vanilla taste is subtle. MRM 100% Natural Whey Protein HERE EXERCISE AND ROUTINES I mentioned above that cardio alone does not work for me and if you are a shapely woman with a thicker lower body then you MUST do weight training to burn that excess fat. I love dance cardio and I do it because it helps in conjunction with my strength training and it is fun, gives me energy and I can do it at home in a matter of 30 minutes and feel great. I turn on some merengue and in 20 minutes my body is hot and sweaty! lol I like to dance to THIS mix in particular especially because I incorporate ab work in my cardio and merengue is the best way to do that 😉 I will show a little video of how I do this in the next few days, lol Since I just mentioned AB WORK let me share my opinion on that. I have given birth 4 times and even through that I have always maintained flat abs. There is no secret to it and you can do a million sit ups and crunches BUT if you don’t EAT RIGHT you might as well give up. Abs come from what you eat and the muscles in your abs become visible from the loss of fat, the more fat you have in your belly the less you will see your abs. LOSE THE FAT, EAT FRESH AND CLEAN FOODS along with your full body workouts you will start to see your abs. I cant stress this enough, CLEAN AND FRESH FOOD = ABS. Yes, crunches and sit ups and hard ab work will shape increase and define your abs but if you don’t eat the right foods you wont see the change, plain and simple. I have tried SO MANY different routines mostly because I am always curious so I am going to share my top 5 and why I like them and don’t like them and then I will end with my favorite, why and how I use a little of all of them to stay int he shape I am in. #5 Jillian Michael’s Body Revolution: Not that pricey but still $100. The workouts are good but I fond her boring. Her plans work OF COURSE! her meal plans quite good and if I can eat crab cakes for lunch I am in but for me I found it to be boring and not motivating. Jillian is great if she is in your house yelling at you to move your ass, lol #4 P90X: This will kick your ass no doubt and the routines are excellent for using your full body as opposed to isolated parts. The meal plan is not overly complicated but has it’s challenges. The 90 days will give you results absolutely. My cons: It’s pricy at over $100! The workouts for me were too long (1hr-1hr 20m) and I was bored. I felt like I just didn’t want to tune in every day. I also have a really bad knee that I must watch for and this program made it a little hard to really give it my all and I hate jumping by way, LOL If you have the time to and energy to spend on the longer workouts and have time to prepare meals for the week this can work for you but it is too “strict” in the sense that I cant see myself doing this for the rest of my life only for those 90 days and I don’t need to be in shape in 90 days, I need to be in shape for ever. #3 Insanity: Man! this is serious stuff and I will tell that every time I finished a workout I felt like I was on the verge of passing out, lol but I did see results. The meal plan was relatively easy to manage, had great food options that made me feel like I was eating (turkey burgers, wraps, “fried rice”) and it tasted great. Probably one of my favorites in the meal plan area. The workouts are good but I could not give it everything I had for more then a few weeks before my knee started to swell and cause pain and with a workout so JUMP intensive it was not worth half doing it. You really need to give it everything in order for you to see the results you want. It is also a little pricey at $150 #2 Zumba: BUT only if used alongside weight training. I love Zumba and if you have a class near you go now. It is fun (if you find a good teacher that had rhythm) lord knows I have been to so many classes where I wondered if they actually were certified and trained; I could have taught the class. BUT if you find a good one it is invigorating, the group atmosphere is motivating and you burn calories no doubt! but you need to make sure to include 3-4 days of lifting especially your lower body so you can tone as you lose. Cost wise not bad at all. #1 Jamie Easons LivFit Trainer: My favorite fitness guru and who I follow like a hawk because we share the same exact ideas about women’s weight loss and body goals: She has so much advice that has helped me to understand why my body reacts the way it does, why weights are good for women and will not bulk you up but instead create lean muscle, her eating plan cant be any easier: Include protein, veggies and good carbs in your three large meals. I do my eating the way I posted at the top and along with this plan I stay in the shape I am in. It is critical to my body shape to lose, burn and TONE my butt and legs because that is where I gain my weight. She tells you exactly what to work out every day and the site gives you alternate workouts if you cant get to the gym. I do my workouts at home and substitute the gym machines with the alternates or my own with free weights. I don’t have to over plan and I can do my own eating routine using her guidelines and it works for me. I feel it in my body and I can see the changes when in this program and after the 12 weeks of her plan you have learned so much and know the exercises so well that you can build your own maintenance routine . When in maintaining mode, I only work out 3 days a week and eat well, that’s it. I also include dance but that is because I like it and I enjoy walks with the hubby 😉 Here is the kicker folks…IT’S FREE yep. I just pull up the program ONLINE and there she is everyday and it doesn’t cost me a thing. I also include zumba after the first phase of the program because the first phase actually has you do NO CARDIO AT ALL, no jumping, no running 😉 EQUIPMENT I have been doing my workout at home because getting to the gym is hard for me and sometimes I just like the privacy of my own home (ever workout in your undies? very liberating) LOL!!!! anyway I have a few things I use during my workouts that I keep in the house and take up NO space at all. 1. Excersie Bands (these are great for walking side squats) 2. Resistence Bands 3. Core Training Ball 4. Adjustable weights (take up little room and they are just enough weight for me) These are great! and sturdy. I hope this helps some of you and please leave a comment or question of you have one. I am starting phase 1 day 1 of Jamie’s plan again this Sunday so if you want to start with me make sure to read up on her page and let me know 😉 LETTUCE WRAP RECIPE 1lb Ground Turkey 1 small white onion (diced) 1/2 red pepper (diced) 1/2 yellow pepper (diced) 3-4 garlic cloves Salt & Pepper Green Salsa or Pico De Gallo (personal Preference) Cilantro (optional) Sallions (optional) Avocado (optional) Shredded Cabbage Lettuce Leafs (I am puertorican so I use Adobo and 1tbls of sofrito  in place of salt and pepper found at almost all grocery stores) Season your raw ground turkey with salt and pepper set aside. Using 1tsp of olive oil saute chopped onions until clear, add garlic and sauté a few more minutes (don’t burn the garlic) add ground turkey and brown, add pepper and let soften a little, mix well. Once cooked taste and add salt and pepper if needed. Add chopped cilantro and mix. Let sit. Toppings: Slice your avocado and chop your cabbage (I like cabbage for the crunch) Scoop some turkey meat in the lettuce leaf, top with avocado and chopped scallions and your salsa and you are all done. I can eat this everyday!!! This is my second favorite meal to have, Tilapia Tacos (click for recipe)