Promoting Health

Back in May I signed up with ViSalus Sciences to do their 90 day challenge. If you care to check it out, my website is www.loseweighteasy.bodybyvi.com (cheesy name, I know). My mother had been telling me about the 90 day Challenge since the beginning of the year. Being a natural skeptic and self-professed "know-it-all", I listened but didn't really take it seriously.

Mother's day weekend, I went down to Ohio to see my mom and to take pictures of my brother's congregation (I do photography as a side job). At a family get together at my mom's, I talked at length with my sister-in-law, Diane, who introduced my mom to the Body By Vi products. Just so you, the blog reader can understand, my sister-in-law researches EVERYTHING to death! This is something I LOVE about her. She doesn't just take somebody's word for how a product works, she actually goes out and finds out for herself! She never endorses anything unless she believes 150% in its effectiveness.

I also noticed that my mother, who was tired ALL the time last time (often needing a nap mid day), was not as tired as she had been last time I was home. In fact, she went all day without needing to lie down or nap.

That alone sold me. I was so tired every day at about 3:00 PM, I often would need to walk around or drink coffee to keep awake. Clearly something was missing. Also, I had hit a wall in my weight loss. I hadn't really lost a pound or any inches in over a month and was a little discouraged. When I started this weight loss journey, I decided to alter my lifestyle in a way that wasn't unreasonable (i.e. starving myself with carrots and celery). I had been tracking what I ate on a website (www.nutrimirror.com) but got away from it when I was away from my computer for any period of time. I was hopeful that the shakes would kick start my weight loss and they did just that :)

Since I joined in May and started on the shakes, I've lost 8 more pounds and gone down another size. Certainly my training at the gym is an important key to my weight loss (props to Extreme Results Personal Training and Greg Taylor, my awesome trainer). But Diet is also key and if the Body By Vi shakes help me with calories and keep me feeling full...why not have a shake every morning!

So to wrap this post up, here is what I do...everyone is different so you need to find the balance that works for you and is sustainable. I do a Body by Vi shake every morning at 8:30 when I get to work. I use unsweetened almond milk (8 oz) and typically make a strawberry/banana chocolate shake. (1 banana, 5 frozen unsweetened strawberries and 1 tbsp of Cocoa). With the banana its about 250 calories. I only use a banana for breakfast. (I typically only do the breakfast shake but for weight loss two shakes a day are recommended with a full meal at dinner.) At about 10:00 AM I have a cheese stick or hardboiled egg and then I go to the gym for training at 11:30 AM. I get back to work and eat my lunch, which is usually a salad with chicken cooked on the George Foreman grill. At about 3 PM I have another egg or cheese stick and sometimes a snack of healthy whole grain crackers or pretzels. Then dinner as usual. I watch my portions and try to stay low fat, higher protein. So far I am happy with the results. I don't feel like I am starving all the time. If I have a few days of crazy eating, I simply do a shake for breakfast and lunch for a day or so. I am loving this whole journey and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE the ease of the shakes! No more Egg McMuffins because I am in too much of a hurry to make oatmeal.

So, that is my Body By Vi story so far. I am still researching, still skeptical but less so every day! I am also researching the science behind the product and the more I learn, the more I like. Also, it is a total package. Making a lifestyle change to be healthy includes exercise and diet. Yes you can lose weight with just the shakes or adjusting your diet, but how healthy are you really? Exercise is the key to sustained weight loss and keeping your body young. Go for a walk! Go swimming! Get off the couch and live life!

Workout Marathon

Yesterday, I was on a mission. I had gotten on the scale at the gym after my morning workout with Greg to find that I had lost another pound :). I was thrilled and wanted to keep it up. My workout with Greg was brutal as usual (which I LOVE) and we extended it a little longer than we normally do.

After work, I went back to the gym to give a massage and debated about doing Boot Camp. I had worked out legs and Boot Camp is usually heavy in leg exercises. So at about 5 minutes into the class, I decided to just do it. Greg's Boot Camps are pretty grueling and at the end I had sweat dripping from all over. It was crazy and hard and I loved every minute of it.

But I was not finished!!! Because I am an Extreme Results Client, I naturally had to take this to a whole other level...so I did Spin Class. I thought my legs were going to fall off and at one point thought I might be physically ill...but I did it!

My inspiration for this workout craziness is Charity and Sheila. These two ladies work out so hard every day! They spend hours at the gym working out on their own or with Greg and when that is done, they do the classes. They both inspire me to keep going and to keep going harder, longer and with determination.

During Spin class, the bikes are set up in front of the wall of mirrors. This used to be the "Wall of Shame" because when I looked into the mirror, I just saw a fat, middle-aged lady. But last night, during spin class, I really looked at myself in the mirror and I looked pretty good! My neck was so much thinner. My face was thinner. I had muscles in my shoulders, chest and arms! True my thighs and legs are still way bigger than I want, but I know by looking at the rest of me that its just a matter of time before I banish ALL the fat!

This past year has been one of extremes, so Extreme Results Training and the Extreme Fitness Studio really fit with me. I was extremely overweight, extremely depressed and thought I would never get out of the extreme rut I was in. Then, I made an extreme choice to join Anytime Fitness even though our finances were extremely tight. I workout with extreme determination every chance I get and I am extremely pleased with the results. My live is so much better with exercise. I hope I NEVER lose this drive to succeed and become the best me I can be physically!