Shaklee 180™ 5 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.

My fifth month with the Shaklee 180™ blogger program is officially over. Just one more month to go! It's amazing how quickly the time has gone!

I feel like I say this every month, but I have been incredibly busy! Every year I look forward to summer so I can relax, and then it ends up being so filled with fun stuff that it's really not so relaxing after all. That's okay though, I don't mind! The important thing is that I can spend time with my family and give my kids opportunities to do things that they don't get to do during the school year. It also means I have less time to focus on ME. But being in the Shaklee 180™  program has at least made it easy for me on the nutritional end, so while I am exhausted and not getting to the gym as often as I'd like, I do feel confident that Shaklee is providing me with the nutrients I need for a healthy diet. Because I am a vegetarian, I feel like this is even more of a concern for me. While including my Shaklee products in my every day diet, I know I am getting plenty of protein! I also know I'm getting a minimum of at least a couple servings of fruits and veggies daily, since I like to mix them in my smoothies.

I have traveled a few times while on the program, and it's been way easier than I thought. I especially love having the meal bars when I'm on outings with my family. I can pack a picnic for the kids, and toss in a bar and some fruit or cut up veggies for myself - a perfect, healthy lunch!

It's going to be hard saying good bye to Shaklee at the end of next month! I will have to make more of an effort to make sure I'm eating healthy without the ease of my Shaklee products! But being in this program has made me more aware of what I'm eating, and made me pay attention to healthy eating habits probably more than I ever have before. I'm so thankful for this opportunity to focus on myself a bit - even when time is in short supply!

Be sure to check out my monthly video post as well, and come back next month for my final update!

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.

Life List Progress!

I was just looking over my (incomplete) Life List 101, and happily realized I have made a tiny bit of progress on it. It  might not be much, but something's something.

• I have potty trained Mathilda. Yes that was on my Life List. Felt like it would never happen.
• I am now about 75% in the habit of washing my face every night. I'll admit, I still have lazy nights, but I'm doing so much better that I declare it counts as progress.
• I have learned how to crochet a little bit. I haven't done it in ages, so I may have forgotten what I learned - but I'm hoping it's one of those things that comes back to you.
• I believe I'm on two years in a row of enjoying my birthday. 
• We banned the children from watching television for a month last summer. However, we made many exceptions (movie nights, etc.) so I know we can do better. They will be thrilled to know they are in for a repeat this summer!                                                  
• I'm planning a big cross-country road trip with the kids for this summer. Maybe you've noticed that I've mentioned it once or twice?

I'd say I'm doing pretty good. I haven't looked at this list in a good long while, I think I need to refer to it more often. There's one more thing that I'm working on right now, which is that I'm sort of trying out being a vegetarian. Ironically, it was always me saying, "we should be vegetarians, we should be vegetarians," and Chris saying, "no." But then a month or two ago he decided to do it. And I've sort of been following suit. I say sort of because I have still been having a little bit of meat here and there. Today I had some turkey bacon, last week I had a burrito with a little bit of chicken on it. And I want to clearly state that I'm not heading vegan at all. So that means dairy products are still in my diet (and Chris's too). At this point I have no plans of removing the dairy.

Obviously this means I've had some major dietary changes, although I didn't eat all that much eat to begin with. I don't even really miss it at this point. I've been pretty much sticking to one smoothie a day, which gets me at least 3 servings of fruits/veggies in one drink. I've written about my smoothies before, but since then I've tried some different things.

• I'm no longer using the Agave syrup, because it's full of calories and the smoothies are plenty sweet without it. 
• I rarely put milk or any other liquid in them now. 
• Sometimes I use yogurt - Greek or regular, flavored or plain - but not always. 
• I still like frozen berries, but sometimes I mix it up and use fresh.  
• I often add an orange
• I recently started using frozen pineapple (I bought them fresh, cut them up in little chunks, & froze them) and that adds a lot of flavor
• Sometimes I add fresh spinach and/or cucumber
• I usually add 4 ice cubes
• I still usually add a banana

Because I've been trying different things, they're hit or miss. It's kind of tricky getting the right amount of spinach or cucumber. If I get it wrong, the smoothies end up tasting a bit on the sludgy side.Usually they are really, really good though. I've found that it works best (in my Magic Bullet) if I add half of everything - 2 ice cubes, half an orange, half a banana, etc. - mix it up, then add the rest and continue mixing it up. I should maybe try to up it to two a day to make sure I'm getting enough of my fruits and veggies. But I do also try to eat lots of leafy green salads, apples, and whatever other veggies we might have with dinner or whatever.

We've also been eating a lot of beans - something we never ate before. And we often eat meat substitutes, as I've written about before. Some of them are great, some of them are just okay. I've been shocking myself with my willingness to try new foods. And I've been liking most of them. I'm going to try to eat more eggs for protein. Basically I have a long way to go in getting my diet really balanced the way it should be, but I think it's going okay so far. I'm not sure how far I'm going to go with the vegetarianism, but so far so good. Like I said, I don't really miss eating meat at this point. And it might be fine with me to continue having a little big of chicken or whatever a few times a month. I don't feel any more hungry than usual. My skin, however, is in fairly wretched condition. I'm not sure what's going on, but I've read that sometimes people break out for a short time when they take meat out of their diets simply because of the detoxification process. Or it could just be a coincidence.

So anyway, just thought I'd give you all a little update. I think I need to start thinking about the next 50 or so things to add to my Life List!

Do you have a Life List? Have you made a lot of progress on it?

Homemade Berry Smoothies

Ever since visiting my convalescing friend Shelly a few weeks ago and making her a berry smoothie because she couldn't get out of bed to make it herself, I've been on a smoothie kick. They're easy to make, healthy, and they've been hitting the spot when I'm hungry for a night time snack. 

 In my smoothies, I use:

• about 1 to 1/2 cups frozen berries - I usually use a combination of strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries
• about 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
• about 1/4 cup milk (add more if smoothie is too thick)
• 2 tsp Benefiber
• 1 T Agave syrup
• 1 banana

My friend buys big bags of frozen fruit, but I've been buying whichever berries are on sale and freezing them myself.

I wash the berries then place them on a cookie sheet to freeze so they don't all clump together. I hull and slice the strawberries before freezing. When it's frozen I transfer the fruit to containers.


Benefiber simply adds a little fiber to the diet and has no flavor at all. Agave syrup is a natural sweetener that is supposed to aid digestion. 


I like my smoothies creamy, which is why I add the yogurt and milk. However, they can be made vegan by omitting these ingredients and adding a bit of water instead; start with about 1/4 cup and then add more if the smoothie is too thick.            

I use my Magic Bullet, but any kind of blender should do it. The trick is to use frozen fruit, then you don't need ice. I hate putting ice in the blender because even in the Magic Bullet it is a pain in the butt to get a nice slushy consistency before the ice starts melting.

First I put the berries, milk, yogurt, Benefiber, and Agave syrup in the Bullet and mix it all up. I have to stop and shake up the cup a few times because those frozen berries are slightly tricky to puree. Then I add a nicely ripened banana, and for some reason that brings it all together and makes the smoothie a really, well, smooth consistency.  If you don't care for bananas, you can definitely skip them, but you might need a little extra milk (or water if you're making a vegan shake). 


I'm a huge sucker for ice cream, and these smoothies almost satisfy my ice cream craving. (I'm not gonna lie and tell you they're just as good as ice cream because, really, what is as good as ice cream?) I'd like to experiment with some different fruits...any ideas?