A Month on FlatTummy Co Tea and Shakes

I'm sure many of you have seen Flat Tummy Co all over Instagram, which promises to make over your tummy area with teas, shakes, and lollipops. I'm pretty much the type of person who will try anything once, so when I saw Flat Tummy Co was having a sale, I decided to take the plunge and try it out for a month. I know enough to realize this isn't some magic weight loss drink, and that it targets bloating of the tummy area to give it a flatter appearance.
But, as I said, my curiosity took over and I purchased the "Flat Tummy Essentials Bundle" in the Vanilla Pod Flavor, which is a 4 Week set. It included:

• Activate Loose Tea
• Cleanse Loose Tea
• 4 Shake It Baby + Extra KICK Monday
• 16 Shake It Baby
• Zipper Pouch

Flat Tummy Co suggests drinking the Activate Tea EVERY morning with your breakfast, a Shake every day Monday- Friday (you take weekends off), and Cleanse Tea every other day (every 3 days after the first week). 

Week 1:
I was able to get my bundle just in time to start on April 1st.
After my morning coffee, I drank the ACTIVATE tea (if you decide to try this, you'll need to invest in a tea strainer since they are loose leaf), which was very easy to drink, it has a minty, green tea flavor, not at all bitter, no weird after taste.
About 45 minutes later I drank my first shake, a SHAKE IT BABY + Extra Kick Monday. The flavor and smell of the Vanilla Pod remind me of cake batter. The shake itself is a little on the grainy side compared to some other meal replacement/protein shakes I have tried, so make sure you shake it up REALLY good. I could see this texture being better blended with ice as more of a smoothie. This type of texture could definitely be off-putting to some people, but if you are drinking a meal replacement shake, it sort of goes with the territory (no one is drinking these just for the fun of it). One thing that really surprised me as I looked at the ingredients was how many fruits and vegetables are in here, obviously you are not getting the same benefits as eating them whole, but it was nice seeing that well over half the ingredients were things I knew and could find at my grocery store.
The evening CLEANSE tea had a similar minty taste to the ACTIVATE tea; very easy to drink, not at all bitter, which I drank about an hour before bed (again the teas are loose leaf, you will need a strainer).
I didn't notice any crazy side effects, no running to find a bathroom, I did have to pee a little more often, but that was about it, everything else was still pretty regular.


Week 2-4:
The routine was pretty easy to stick to. I would have my morning coffee, then drink the activate tea. I used the Shake to replace my normal lunches, and packed almonds or a a health snack if I got a little hungry during the day. The Cleanse Tea I would drink once every third day or after a heavy dinner.

One Month Later:
Was this some miracle system that made my tummy disappear? Even though my weight and measurements are up, it does appear that my tummy is a little flatter in the pictures, so that is pretty cool.

 Overall, I liked the products and the routine was pretty easy to stick to which is great. Although the texture of the shake is a bit grainy, I do feel like it kept my hunger at bay during the day. I could definitely tell a difference as well when I used the Cleanse tea compared to the days I didn't in regards to feeling bloated.
After the end of the cycle, I decided to order more of the shakes, this time in chocolate, as well as try some of the Appetite Lollipops and some more of the tea (mainly because there were on a decent discount). Again, I don't the system was magic by any means, by individually, I did see some benefits
using the products even if I didn't lose a pant size or end up looking like the next Kardashian sister.

If you would like to try out some of Flat Tummy Co's products, you can use  THIS LINK and get 10% off your purchase! Let me know what you think!

Please Allow Me to Introduce Myself...

Hello & Welcome!

I've toyed with the idea of blogging for a while, but I have decided to officially take the plunge!  Am I anyone special? No, not really; I'm a 30-something Art Teacher living in beautiful Columbus, Ohio, who also happens to be in an incredible, supportive relationship with a soon-to-be English Teacher (one of the people who helped me decide to try this out!). Simply, I live my life according to the motto, "Happiness First." The choices I make, whether it be about my career, my relationships, family, even fashion, my love of music, books and the arts, are guided by these two little words. Do I live some beautiful, idealistic life because of this? Absolutely not, but what I can say is, I absolutely love my life, and I am happy to share the going-ons with you.

 Hopefully, you'll find something of interest here. What you might see in my coming posts might best be described as a "Lifestyle Blog" or "Personal Blog"  featuring some snapshots of my world, again guided by the idea of "Happiness First." Here is my rundown of the content you will see:

ART & TEACHING:

- Let me preface this by saying, I have the BEST job in the world. I teach Visual Arts for students in Grades 3-5 and I can honestly say I love waking up each morning to come to work. My students are still an age where they love to take risks, play, and aren't scared of creative thinking. Our district isn't very large, or super fancy, but we use what we have to our fullest, and do some pretty great work. I hope to post some of our lessons and work on here for you to explore, but in the meanwhile, we have a Digital Art Gallery through Artsonia where you can see my students' amazing projects. 

- I'm currently finishing my Master's Degree in School Administration and working on my Principal License. About a year and a half ago, I was pulled to the pursuing something greater than JUST being the Art Teacher. Don't get me wrong, as I said, I LOVE my job, but unfortunately Art teachers have had a stigma formed about them as ditzy, scatterbrained, or just kids who never grew up. Admittedly, that last one is true for me sometimes, but I know I have a lot more to offer my students than simply being the "art teacher" or the "fun class."

COLUMBUS, OHIO (The 614)

- I am lucky enough to live in Columbus, Ohio. We really are the "heart of it all". There is a lush
culture here, tons of amazing places, The Ohio State University Buckeyes, restaurants (we have some seriously great ones), and honestly just  awesome people. Columbus is considered a "test market" because of this melting pot culture, so often we get to try things before other places, and we have many companies who have "home base" operations here as well. I hope to share some of the gems of the area with you and some of the uniquely rich "Columbus" experiences.

FASHION, BEAUTY, & SELF-EXPRESSION
-The importance of self-expression is another guiding virtue in my life. I believe that those who are unable to find their voice have a true difficulty being able to live with happiness in the forefront. I find myself endlessly drawn to others who throw themselves head first into creativity and self-expression, be it musicians, artists, writers, bloggers, or those I surround myself with everyday. When I surround myself with creative individuals, I feed off it and it brings me both energy, as well as a sense of peace. In my own life self-expression can take on many forms, artistically I'm often drawn to painting and collage work, as well as how I dress and present myself to the world.
- Since I was little, I have been obsessed with the fashion world. In grade school I desperately wanted to be a model or fashion designer. I can remember asking my fashion magazines like W and Vogue, designing clothes for my Barbies, to the point of even doing a Barbie Fashion Design project for one of my art classes. Just as much as I have loved fashion, I have also loved makeup and beauty. Instead of toys, I wanted Tinker Bell Makeup (kid-friendly makeup from the 90s) or Bonne Bell. Eventually, my mother would give me all her unwanted Clinique samples, which is probably why Clinique still dominate my makeup box today.

PLUS SIZE LIFE & WELLNESS
- As a size 14, I'm considered Plus Size. I've been in the plus size range for as long as I can remember, from size 20 down to size 12, but most often I settle at size 14. Being plus size, impacts my choices when it comes to the fashion and the brands I tend to follow. A large portion of my closet is full of Lane Bryant (especially after working at their Flagship Store in Columbus, Ohio throughout college), Torrid, and Eloquii, with other pieces sprinkled in. As I said before, I see fashion as a form of expression, so it is important to me to celebrate my body and curves, rather than try to hide from the world.
- Being Plus Size does NOT mean I don't have a relationship with wellness. On the contrary, I believe
in loving my body for the way it is, but knowing that I can be the best version of my self through a relationship with eating right and fitness. I am not trying to be a size 0, but instead, I'm simply trying to make sure I'm taking care of myself both physically and mentally, to give me the best future possible. I started a journey with Weight Watchers in November, and have been using it to support my healthy eating goals. I like Weight Watchers because I am not give a strict list of foods I can and cannot eat. Instead it helps by giving me support and accountability for my food choices. In addition to Weight Watchers, I also workout with a personal trainer. I have been working with trainers from about 3 years now. I love being in the gym, be it cardio or lifting, and the strength and self confidence it has given me. It is truly one of the most important parts of my week.

THE SIDE HUSTLE: POSHMARK
- I began my Poshmark closet 3 years ago, after I first decided to add a Personal Trainer to my workouts and I needed to find a way to help pay for it. Unlike a lot of Poshers, I don't go thrifting and resell my finds (I just don't have the time with work and grad school), instead about 95% of my closet are items from my personal wardrobe; pieces that I fell in love with, but now need a new home. Over the past three years, Posh has become of my favorite hobbies, combining my love for fashion, retail, and photography; now accumulating over 210K followers and $11K (not too bad for a hobby) and continuing to grow. You can visit my closet here.


That's just a little taste of what it to come. I'm sure as I continue blogging this will evolve. I invite you to join me and see what happens. I will be working on this in tandem with my Instagram, which will hopefully support and enrich the content of each other.

Finally, I'll close with the words from one of my heroes, David Bowie:

 "I don't know where I'm going from here, but I promise it won't be boring."