Shaklee 180™ 4 Month Update

This is a sponsored post as part of the Shaklee Corporation blogger program. I have received free products, online support and incentives for participating in the Shaklee Corporation blogger program. My opinions are my own.

People following the weight-loss portion of the Shaklee 180™ program can expect to lose 1-2 pounds per week.

I'm now totally accustomed to eating my Shaklee 180™  meal bars and shakes for two meals a day. It's been four months, a quarter of a year (!), and I think I will miss my Shaklee stuff when this program ends! I love - no, really - LOVE, having two of my meals pre-planned every single day. If only feeding the rest of my family were so simple!

I don't really know what is going on, because I haven't lost anymore weight on the program since month 1. I won't lie, this is pretty frustrating. As I've admitted in previous posts, I haven't exactly been a poster child for strictly sticking with the program this whole four months. I haven't been horrible with it, but there's always room for improvement. This past month, though, I've been much better. And I've even noticed a difference in how my clothes are fitting. I put on some capris the other day that I couldn't even pull up all the way last summer, and they fit comfortably. That is a more important gauge of progress for me than numbers on a scale. But...I would still really like to see those numbers go down! Why does my body hang onto weight like bacon grease in a frying pan????

Again, like last month, I think a lot of my issues have to do with snacking. Although I have been better, there are still certain times that I want nothing more than to curl up under a cozy blanket with a quart of ice cream or a bag of chocolate chips. Yes, I have gone there. Desperate times, people.

Because I've really been trying to live a healthier lifestyle, knowing that consuming lots of sugar and snacking all the time is not great for my health has been a pretty good motivator for me. But I have moments of weakness. Not buying junk food has been a great help. There are times when the junk makes its way in, though. Did I mention I have four kids? With grandparents who love to buy them foods that they didn't allow their own children to eat?

The other side of the health and fitness coin is exercise, which I'll be discussing in my monthly video update. Look for it later this evening!

Shaklee 180 End of Month 3 Video Update

Here is a link to my latest Shaklee 180 vlog!

I'm still not a huge fan of seeing myself on video, but I'm going to try to follow my own advice and be kinder to myself!

What do you do to stay motivated when you're trying to lose weight?

Shaklee 180: Halfway There

This is a sponsored post as part of the Shaklee Corporation blogger program. I have received free products, online support and incentives for participating in the Shaklee Corporation blogger program. My opinions are my own.

People following the weight-loss portion of the Shaklee 180 program can expect to lose 1-2 pounds per week.

I am now officially half way through my six-month commitment as a Shaklee 180 blogger.  I wish I could say it's been a smashing success and that I've reached my weight-loss goals and graduated to the next level, which would be the Lean and Healthy "upkeep" kits. But that is not the case, and I'll still be using Turnaround kits for the next three months. My weight-loss has sputtered and stalled, and I'm not surprised. I've lost my steam.

But I'm not giving up! I am still having shakes and meal bars for two meals a day, almost every day. I ran my second 5K last week, and I'm contemplating doing my third this coming weekend. It's just that I'm tired, so tired. This time of year is busy and I have many commitments to fulfill. My workouts and calorie counting are firmly rooted in back burner positions for the moment.

I'd have to say that my biggest downfall is snacking. I snack when I'm stressed, I snack when I'm trying to concentrate, and I snack when I'm trying to stay awake. The good news is that I'm recognizing my triggers. The bad news is that I'm lacking the energy and motivation to do something about it.

On a positive note, here are a few things I love about being part of the Shaklee 180 blogger program.

1. It's easy to figure out what to eat. Two thirds of my food comes in a big yellow box and I don't have to agonize over recipes and choices.
2. It tastes good! I really like the meal bars, snack bars, and smoothee mixes.
3. Lots of versatility. There are so many different smoothee recipes that can be created using one of three flavors of Shaklee mix (strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla). I like to switch it up frequently. Right now I'm into coffee smoothees - a cup of brewed coffee, cooled in the freezer, 2 scoops of chocolate smoothee mix, a tablespoon of creamer, and 8-10 ice cubes. Bananas are my favorite fruit to add to my smoothees, and they go well with all three flavors. Sometimes I mix them with other fruit, and sometimes with two tablespoons of PB2 (powdered peanut butter).
4. Online support. The Shaklee 180 Facebook group for bloggers is a nice little community of women going through the same struggles. Everyone is really supportive and helpful.

A video update is coming later...hopefully next month will be better!

Shaklee 180™ End of Month 2 Video Update

Once again, I present my monthly Shaklee 180™ video update!

(Please excuse my utter lack of screen presence. Obviously I am not a natural in front of the camera!!)

As a Shaklee 180 blogger, the Shaklee Corporation has provided me with free products, online support, and incentives for participating. My opinions are my own. People following the weight loss portion of the program can expect to lose 1-2 pounds per week. 

Shaklee 180™ April Update

Month two of the Shaklee 180™ blogger program has officially come to an end. I know I promised an update a couple weeks ago, but I just cannot seem to stay on top of anything lately. So. Here we go.

Way back when I first started the Shaklee Turnaround program, I was so excited because I lost 4.5 pounds in just one week. Then I stopped losing weight and got discouraged and kind of went "eh." I don't think I've weighed myself once since we were in Florida, although I will be getting on the scale first thing tomorrow morning.

In the beginning, I was counting calories religiously. It was fun, I was doing great. And then life got really busy and it became a bit much to enter every morsel of food into an app to see how many calories I was consuming. I felt like I had a pretty good grasp on how much I could eat based on those first weeks counting calories. My diet doesn't vary all that much, after all. 

We went to Florida at the end of March/beginning of April, and like I said in my video last month, I took my Shaklee stuff with me and felt like I did pretty well sticking with the plan while traveling. I didn't get much solid exercise in, but we were pretty much going full speed ahead every day, walking for hours and hours. 

And then the rest of April happened. 

I was finding that with the tea and the metabolic boost tablets and my daily cup of coffee, my body was just not handling the caffeine very well at all. So I'm now only drinking coffee a couple times a week and taking the metabolic boost tablets three or four days a week. Most days I do still have the tea. My caffeine O.D. symptoms have mostly disappeared. 

I've been doing decently well with the working out. Okay, I'm not being as good as I should be, but I'm not being a total slacker either. I've re-started the Couch25K program to get myself back into the habit of running. I'm on day 6 of a squat challenge, which started with 50 squats and increases by 5 per day. I'm going to be scheduling some sessions with a personal trainer and really trying to do better in the fitness area.

As far as diet...I can remember a day here or there in April when I skipped a smoothie because we were out of fruit or milk, or out of the house all day. I didn't think I skipped that much, truly it didn't seem like it. But the other day I got my May shipment of Shaklee 180 products and realized that I still have a lot of smoothie mix left. My meal bars and snack bars are gone, but I don't get how I have so much of the mix left. Obviously I skipped more than I thought. Yikes! It was a REALLY busy month, but I could have and should have done better!

It's a new month and I'm going to try harder! Tomorrow I'll be weighing in and taking measurements, and then I'll be posting a video later in the day discussing how my month of sort of slacking off affected my progress, and how I'm going to get back on track! 

This is a sponsored post as part of the Shaklee Corporation blogger program. I have received free products, online support and incentives for participating in the Shaklee Corporation blogger program. My opinions are my own.

People following the weight-loss portion of the Shaklee 180™ Program can expect to lose 1-2 pounds per week. 

  

I'm a Shaklee 180™ Blogger!

I am really excited that I was chosen to take part in the Shaklee 180™  blogger program! For the next six months, I'm going to be on a journey toward my goal weight and better health, and Shaklee is going to help me get there!

I remember the first time it hit home to me that I really disliked the way my body looked. I caught a glance of myself in my bedroom mirror as I was getting dressed. I realized I had back fat. Back fat. Oh my. That was sometime in between babies #2 and #3. Since then my weight has been up and down, but I have never been satisfied with my body. I have gone through periods of exercise dedication, but without proper diet and nutrition. Or other periods of working heavily on improving my diet, and slacking in the exercise department. Rarely does it all come together. And no matter what I do, I never can seem to get the results I want. Five pounds might as well be fifty. It sticks to me like a piece of discarded gum on a hot sidewalk.

I'm ready to change that. For about a year now, I've been intent on eating healthier. I became a vegetarian. I became an avid label-reader. I have been trying to work on my sugar addiction, which is insanely difficult, by the way. I try hard to keep junk food out of the house, with varying degrees of success. I've become hooked on smoothies, and I consume more fruits and veggies than I ever have in my life. Which might still not be enough, by the way, but it's progress. In essence, I am now much more aware of what I'm putting into my body. I want to be happy with how I look, but way more importantly, I want to be healthy. I want to feel good.


About six or seven months ago I got back on the exercise train. I'm never far from it, but I get easily sidetracked. And once I'm sidetracked, even for a day or two (vacation, sick kids, etc.), it's really hard for me to get back to it. Although I've missed a week or two now and then, I've been doing pretty well. I started running and successfully completed a 5K in December. Then the holidays happened, and I got off track with the running, but I am still working out and I do plan on running more.

My fitness goals this year are:

• Run at least one more 5K
• Fit into my clothes comfortably. Don't get me wrong, a new wardrobe would be great. But not because I've outgrown my clothes!
• Not be totally embarrassed at the pool and beach this summer.

I received my first Turnaround Kit, and today is the day that I start! I know it's going to be a challenge for me, for a few reasons.

• I turn to food when I'm stressed or nerved up
• I have a straight up sugar addiction, no doubt about it
• I have never been a calorie counter
• I have zero will power
• If I'm hungry, I'm not real pleasant to be around. I hope I'm not hungry all the time!

My kit contains:

• Shaklee 180 Energizing Smoothies in chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla
• Meal-in-a-bar (14 bars), blueberry & almond crisp and peanut butter& chocolate chip flavors
• Snack Bars (10), chocolate chocolate, crunchy peanut butter, and lemon cranberry flavors
• Energizing Tea (28 servings), pomegranate flavor
• Metabolic Boost (30 day supply)

Basically, I should be having two meals a day that consist of either a smoothie or a meal-in-a-bar, one healthy meal, and one snack (either a snack bar or something healthy). I will also have the tea once a day, and the Metabolic Boost three times a day. That doesn't sound like a lot to me, so I sure hope it's filling!

I'll be posting regular progress updates throughout the coming months, including (gulp!) video blog posts. In a couple weeks look for a two-week update post, so I can share how I'm liking the products, what I'm struggling with, and how I'm feeling. Feel free to follow along the conversation on Twitter, by searching for the #Shaklee180 hashtag. There are 90 of us bloggers in the program, and let me tell you, we have lots to talk about!

Wish me luck!

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This is a sponsored post as part of the Shaklee Corporation blogger program. I have received free products, online support and incentives for participating. My opinions are my own.

People following the weight-loss portion of the Shaklee 180™ Program can expect to lose 1-2 pounds per week.