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In case you all missed it, we were in Grand Cayman last week on a trip with our mom. We were staying at the Ritz Carlton 7 Mile Beach there, and it was beyond gorgeous! Since we got a lot of questions about our outfits, we thought we would do a roundup of them for you all!
You all already know that we are all about black workout gear, especially when it has leather AND mesh combined. What we love about both pieces is that you can wear these with other items for a cute athleisure look!This bra doubles a bikini top, so you all have probably seen us wearing this one at the beach/pool a few times. I love the mesh and leather combo and how strappy it is! These kicks are the cutest shoes and we get SO many compliments on them. They are black and white, so they go with everything and they have the cutest chevron print! The leggings are another versatile piece because they can be worn to the gym, or paired with a comfy jacket, or even denim jacket and some boots!
You all may have seen Anna Victoria’s Fit Body Guide floating around Instagram. At first, I was a little skeptical, mainly because workout and meal guides like this are typically restrictive and leave out the important parts of getting healthier, actually making it an attainable lifestyle. This is probably one of the MOST important parts of getting healthier. I think most people get discouraged because they feel extremely overwhelmed with all the information out there, and have a hard time sticking to it.
You all may not know this, but my sister and I have not always been in shape and lived a healthy lifestyle. In high school and most of college, we ate like crap and never worked out. The main reason was because we had NO clue what we were doing or what eating healthy or working out consisted of. We would look to health magazines for answers on those types of questions, and would spend our time looking up our favorite celebrities’ diets so we could look like them. Too funny, right?
Somewhere along the way, we did a ton of research on what to eat, how much to eat, what kinds of workouts to do, etc. Of course, it took a ton of time and trial and error to get where we are now, but if we had some sort of guide like this one that laid out everything you would need to know to get healthier, we would have totally been on board!
When it comes to health and fitness, we are pretty picky about following other people’s advice. We know what works for us, and we pretty much like to stick to what we know. We were given the opportunity to try FBG, and have nothing but great things to say about it. When we began looking the guides over, we vowed to give you all an honest review of what we thought!
First off, I LOVE the concept of both the workouts and meal plans. Not only are they extremely similar to what we follow and recommend to our readers, but they are attainable and laid out very well. These guides are great for any level, whether you are just starting out, or more experienced, like Samantha and I.
With regards to the meal plan, she covers everything there is to know about eating healthier. She provides a 12-week plan that is broken up into two-week increments. The meals alternate every other day, so you get a lot of variety, but the meals are also structured, which is really important. There are a ton of healthy recipes and really yummy things she suggests to eat (similar to how we eat!). She also gives you tips on how to shop healthier at the grocery store, what times to eat throughout the day, what macro and micronutrients are, and how much protein to eat (VERY important).
I really was impressed with how much information she provides, and really couldn’t find one thing I didn’t agree with, which is pretty incredible!
Here are some examples of things we typically go for (and would fit in her guide as part of the meal plan):
Grilled Chicken Salad with Hot Sauce. Get the recipe HERE!
Now, onto the workouts: I also love how everything is set up with this plan! Samantha and I workout very similar to this method, and think it is great to get women to lift weights and be familiar with using dumbbells. A lot of women are intimidated (we were there one day) to use free weights or any of the typical equipment that males tend to take over in a gym setting.
What I love about these workouts is that they can be done anywhere (home, gym, park, etc.) and they only take 30 minutes, which is attainable for any busy girl! The main focus of the workout plan is high intensity strength, resistance, and plyometric training. This is what we like to follow for our own workouts. This is what we feel is most effective, and what has worked best for us. It allows you to build a lean, toned body (which we all want!), while still shredding fat. Strength training is key in building lean muscle, and the cardio portion helps you shed fat as well.
For the workouts, she divides the week into days of strength and hi-intensity cardio and core and low intensity steady state cardio. She also provides a huge guide of stretching and a detailed explanation of each exercise she provides in the workouts. The strength workouts cover lower body, upper body, and full body, which are all equally important to target!
Of course, I had to try the workout out to fairly review it! No surprise that I loved it. I love the way it is all laid out and how detailed everything is. As I mentioned before, if you don’t feel like you have the tools to succeed, you will most likely give up, and that is the worst feeling! Although, I do know what I am doing when it comes to working out, I love that I didn’t have to think about my workout or what exercise I was going to do next. It was all planned for me, which was awesome. My heart rate was up the entire time (which is key!) and I felt like I got a great sweat in. Also, I loved that I could do this from home, which is great when I am super busy and can’t find time to make it to the gym. I will definitely be taking this guide with me when I travel because it is great to do in a hotel room!
Overall, I couldn’t recommend these guides more! Another thing I really liked is that there is a community of “FBG girls” on Instagram who create accounts dedicated to their FBG journey which allows them to give daily support and advice. In doing so, it keeps everyone accountable on the journey. To see the community and daily support the girls provide, you can look through the #fbggirls or #annavictoria tags on Instagram. As always, please let me know if you have any questions at all!
This post is sponsored by Anna Victoria’s Fit Body Guides, but all opinions are our own. Thank you for supporting the brands that allow A Double Dose to operate full time.
We are so excited to finally be sharing our Texas getaway to Austin at the JW Marriott. We went to school in Austin, so it was SO fun to be able to go back there where we lived for four years. It is such an incredible city and one that will always be close to our hearts.
If you live in Dallas, the drive to Austin couldn’t be easier. It took us just three hours each way and was perfect because all we had to to do was throw all of our stuff in the car and enjoy our time together (okay, and arguing, too)!
It was so crazy to see how much the city has changed since we have been gone. The area that the hotel is in didn’t even exist when we lived there just three years ago. It used to be a lot with food trucks, so it is incredible that they have this gorgeous hotel there now. First off, the hotel is GORGEOUS. From the rooms to the lobby to the food to the gym. It is all stunning. More on that later!:)The room we were staying in was on the 30th floor and on the corner of the floor. Not only was the room absolutely stunning, but the views were AMAZING. The room had huge windows, so you had a great view of downtown and Lady Bird Lake. We could even see where we used to live in college. I love the leather headboards. It has a Texas feel, without being overly “western”! We are pretty picky about bathrooms, but we loved that this one had a big counter space and the lighting and tiling was beautiful!
We were welcomed with the cutest treat: a chocolate guitar filled with pretzel sticks, and our favorite, macarons!
The views were incredible!
Gotta include my outfit for the car ride since some of you asked about it:
After we got in, we walked around downtown a little bit and ventured off to Whole Foods, of course! We found this super fun tile on the ground, so of course, I had to snap a picture!
How awesome is this map behind the concierge desk?
I love the rope detailing in the lobby!
The lobby has this gorgeous glass fireplace, which I love!
We had access to the executive lounge, which was huge and stocked with all sorts of drinks and snacks. They also had breakfast and appetizers in the evening to grab!
They had coffee and espresso available all day long, which is perfect for us caffeine addicts!
Love the limestone on these columns outside!
For dinner, we went to one of their delicious restaurants, Osterio Pronto, which is an Italian cuisine. First off, the restaurant is GORGEOUS inside and out. The food was also just as incredible. They also have a wine bar, OP Wine Bar, which offers customized, shareable antipasti plates featuring a variety of marinated olives, regional cheeses, and cured and smoked meats that all come with a suggested wine pairing.
In addition to this restaurant, they also have two other restrains, Burger Bar and Corner Restaurant, which are always packed! It is located at the corner of 2nd and Congress. They have a great patio that overlooks downtown.Love the beams on the ceiling in the restaurant!
We don’t normally drink, but when we saw this cocktail list, we had to try it out!
Samantha got the Viola Nero, and I got the Rossore. Both so good!
Love when restaurants give you bread with olive oil! So authentic.
The menu has authentic Italian food, but also offers a variety of gluten free pastas, as well as chicken and fish.
We both started off with the Local Lettuce salad, and I got the salmon, and Samantha got the sea bass.
I love that the fish came with roasted vegetables.
Here is the adorable dress I wore to dinner!
The next morning, we had a great night of sleep and enjoyed some coffee in our room before heading to the gym!
The view from the pool (next to the gym) was gorgeous!
I was amazed at the size of the gym. Not only did it have every piece of cardio you could ever want, it had tons of weight machines, free weights, cables, squat rack, battle ropes, barbells, kettle bells, you name it!
The weight machines even counted your reps as you worked out, which I had never seen before!
After our workout, of course it was time for breakfast! We headed back to Osterio Pronto, which offers a full menu, as well as a breakfast buffet, which we had.
The buffet had a spread of little bites like these, as well as these amazing looking cinnamon rolls!
They had the cutest mimosa bar filled with fresh juices and fresh fruit. How cute are these bottles and straws?
The buffet also had bacon and sausage, fresh fruit, smoked meats, cereal, made-to-order omelets, yogurt, and pastries. You could also order waffles! We definitely loaded up and enjoyed every bite! Their coffee was incredible, and we are coffee addicts, so that says a lot! On Sunday, they had a brunch that offered extra things like brisket, which we loved!After breakfast, we headed to the pool, which overlooks Lady Bird Lake, and has a great bar as well.
We relaxed by the pool most of the day and enjoyed the great weather!
After the pool, we headed to the mall and dinner. The Domain is gorgeous and all outdoors, if you haven’t been! Here is what we we wore!
We saw a gorgeous sunset that night!
On Sunday, we woke up early, worked out, and had breakfast. We also walked on Town Lake, which is gorgeous! We used to walk on it almost every day when we lived in Austin.
After that, it was time to head back to Dallas!
We had such an incredible time there and can’t wait to come back soon! They will be opening a spa in the fall, which we are sure will be nothing short of amazing. We could not recommend this hotel more. If you have any questions at all about our stay or Austin, feel free to reach out any time!
Thank you to the team at the JW Marrriott for our stay.
Happy Memorial Day! Hope you all had a great weekend! We had the best holiday weekend at home in El Paso. Our dad is a veteran, so it is a special day for us to spend with him. We never want to leave, but it is back to Dallas for us, but only for a few days before we head out of town again!
First off, I have to share my favorite workout clothes this week!
We were kind of rushed pretty much every day this week for our workouts, so some days, one of us didn’t even lift weights. We did do cardio pretty much every day, but I definitely had to slow down after my foot injury;)
Here’s what our workout schedule looked like:
MONDAY: Flywheel at night
TUESDAY: cardio + arms
WEDNESDAY: cardio + legs
THURSDAY : cardio + chest + calves
FRIDAY: cardio
SATURDAY: cardio + shoulders
SUNDAY: cardio + legs
PS- we have been doing Flywheel and have been loving it. If you haven’t tried it before, you can get your first class free here!
Chest (Sam): Arms (Alexis): Arms (Sam):Legs: Shoulders: Legs (Sam):Here a ton of our meals from this past week! We ate out a lot and then cooked a ton at home at our parents’ house, so prepare for a ton of food!
This was our meal last night for our Memorial Day BBQ. We made our zucchini salad. Recipe on our blog in one of our previous workout posts! We also made burgers, roasted brussels and asparagus, sautéed onions and mushrooms! All INCREDIBLE! Pretty much every day we were home, Sam and I made a salad with all of the veggies in the fridge and some protein like chicken or steak. Eating salads by the pool just makes them taste 10x better! I am usually the last person that likes ANY of the food in El Paso. Well, if you love unhealthy Mexican food, El Paso is the place for you, haha, but in all seriousness, we usually just eat at home when we are in town. We tried this place my parents love that specializes in fajitas and roasted chicken. We had it after we went to White Sands on Friday (more about that here) and were OBSESSED. Also, probably because we were HANGRY!
Anyways, we had it again on Saturday night and brought it home. SO freaking good. Give me roasted chicken, and I am one happy girl! On the way to White Sands, we stopped at Subway, and grabbed a chopped salad with the rotisserie chicken. It was actually really good. It didn’t really fill me up (typical), so I ate quest bar after this! On Thursday, we went to get the Brazilian Blowout done to control the major frizz in our hair. Of course, we had to pack something to eat. We brought roasted chicken (recipe at bottom of this post) from the night before with a kale salad.After our hair appointment, I was hungry again so we stopped by this mediterranean spot that was actually really good! I got chicken kabobs with a side salad. The chicken was super flavorful and really yum!
On Wednesday, when we got into town, my mom was super sweet and made oven roasted chicken so it was ready when we got in. She knows her very hungry children well!;) I made some roasted veggies to go with it with avocado oil. For our flight to El Paso, we picked up salads with grilled chicken from Snappy Salads in Dallas. It is one of our fave spots to grab a salad! We usually use red wine vinegar dressing.
On Tuesday, I went on a date with my boyfriend to Savor in Klyde Warren Park. This is one of my favorite chickens. SO good and I got mine with broccolini!This is one of my typical afternoon meals from earlier in the week:
On Monday, we were STARVING after cycling, so we went to Fadi’s by our house and got a ton of yummy food + roasted chicken!
I snapped these magazine articles yesterday, and a TON of you screenshotted them, so I will definitely try to keep sharing more stuff like this! This is really how we eat and what I believe works well for me, so I hope it is helpful!
My boyfriend made fun of me and told me he didn’t need to buy this magazine because I basically gave it to you all to read, haha. It made me laugh and was kind of true! I just thought these would be great tips!
One of my favorite kinds of salads! I need to try this recipe! I do these exercises all of the time! Great to add in:
I actually agree with this except I do eat late at night. To me, it doesn’t matter what time of day you’re eating, just what you’re eating and how much you’re eating as a whole all day long!
Happy Monday! Hope you all had a great weekend! We had a packed weekend, so we had a few shorter workouts and some random meals, but we will share what we did!
First off, I have to share my favorite workout clothes this week! As if I need any more clothes!
PS- we have been doing Flywheel and have been loving it. If you haven’t tried it before, you can get your first class free here!
On Monday, we went to Orange Theory with my boyfriend. We had made waffles all day long, so we were really exhausted, but felt great afterwards!
Here was our workout from Tuesday:
Alexis:Sam:
Legs (Sam):
Legs (Alexis):Biceps (Alexis):
Arms (Sam):On Friday, we did the pilates reformer class at our gym and LOVED it! We definitely want to start incorporating it more into our workouts. It helps with so many things like posture, and my inner thighs got super sore!
On Saturday, we had a super busy day with the Byron Nelson, so we went on a quick 2.5 mile around our neighborhood and realized we had matching shirts on when we got back from the run. SO embarrassing!
On Sunday, we had skipped a few days at the gym, so combined legs, back, and shoulders into a quick workout!
Sam:
Alexis:And, now for our meals from this past week! I was pretty bad about remembering to take pictures, so here are some of them, but definitely NOT all of them!
We couldn’t decide where to eat after our workout at Orange Theory, so my boyfriend chose Zoe’s Kitchen, which ended up being a great idea! We got the family order of kabobs and got half steak and half chicken with salad and roasted veggies. It was so good and is a great deal! I definitely stuffed my face more when I got home because I was HANGRY!On Wednesday, I finally switched up my dinner and made something new I had been wanting to make forever. I made my boyfriend dinner (and was a nice sister and made some for Sam, too!) I made cauliflower “fried rice” with riced cauliflower, mushrooms, corn, green beans, carrots, water chestnuts, garlic, ginger, and liquid aminos. It was so yum! Of course, I also made my favorite: roasted brussels sprouts with avocado oil roasted at 450 degrees for 20 min.
My boyfriend snapped his meal, so I stole his picture since I didn’t get one of the full plate! I also grilled some chicken breasts!
On Friday, we went to Mediterranean at one of our favorite spots, Fadi’s right by our house! The guys that work there never think we are going to eat of all of it!On Saturday, we had an omelette (2 eggs + 2 egg whites) + 2 Double Dose Bakery waffles (gluten free and paleo)On Saturday, we went to the Byron Nelson on behalf of Cadillac. It was a BLAST! We hadn’t been before, but basically, we got to drive in various Cadillac cars to brunch at Meddlesome Moth with some of our friends and then to the Byron Nelson. How yummy does this look?! The bacon was so good! And, they even gave us gluten free toast!
Just had to share this cute picture of all of us outside of brunch! Such sweet girls!
Sneak peak of this cookie confetti cheesecake I will be sharing on the blog tomorrow! Get excited!