Hat Tip to the Tools

Losing weight and getting in shape are not easy as it is, but (at least for me) it's even more difficult to do alone. I know that without several of the tools I use to help me along my journey, I would not be having so much success (ofically down 24 lbs now)! I can't speak on what's best for everyone, but I do know what is working for me. Here's my particular combination of support and gadgets that are helping me shed weight and get healthy.

1. Food tracking. This isn't for everyone, but I know for me, having a record of what I'm putting in my body helps me. There are several ways to do this. Some people count calories, some people do a photo diary, and some use a tracking program. I fall into the latter category. I use My Fitness Pal (free account, has moble apps, huge database, barcode scanner) to log what I eat. Keeping track not only allows me to analyze my habits, but also holds me accountable... boy do I not want to admit when I slurge and down a huge brownie. Out of sight, out of mind is a big one for me, using a tracker keeps my slip ups from being out of mind.

2. Fitness tracking. I track my fitness in a few ways. Firstly, I have an activity tracker. I use a Fitbit to track the number of steps I take each day (it also tracks floors climbed, miles traveled, estimated calories burned, and at night, tracks how well I sleep). And of course, because I'm me and competitive, I have a daily step goal that I try to reach and I have added "buddies" from the Fitbit community that I try to compete with. It's amazing how just walking a few extra steps a day can gradualy change your health. The other way in which I track my fitness is by doing an athome fitness program. What I like about this is, my program tells me what to do, so I don't have to think about it. It balances out cardio and strength training in a way that is meant to give results, so I don't have to worry about what day is leg day, and what day is arms and back. Best of all, the types of programs I use come with eating tips and CALENDARS. There's nothing better than crossing off each workout on the calendar I have posted in my room.

3. Community and support. At first I was self conscience about telling others I was working on myself. I can't quite explain it, but maybe it was because I was ashamed at where I had let my health fall to. What I have learned is that there's no need to feel ashamed. In fact, the more people that know about my commitment to change, the more accountable I become. What's more, is as the number of people who know I'm working on myself increases, so does the support I receive! I have others who are rooting for me as much as I am rooting for myself and I know I can count on them on the days that I need the extra encouragement to keep doing my best. Not only do I tell people I am working on changing myself, but I've joined online communities of people who are doing the same thing where we can talk about our pitfalls and swap healthy delicious recipies. I'm active in the Fitbit forums, Facebook groups and I have a Team Beachbody Club membership that I know I can turn to when I really want to stay in bed all day and order pizza and wings.

**Caution of information overload** Find your own formula that works for you and the level of information you can deal with and the support you need. I use extra things that I did not include on this list: such as my scale that measures weight, body fat % and BMI and then transmits them to my computer. For some people that is WAY more information than they need and will only obsess over it. I like it because somehow with the way my brain is wired, I find it fires me up!

To sum this up: Find a way to hold yourself accountable to your goals. Use tools that work for you to track what you're doing and where you want to go. Find ways to connect with others who will help encourage you. Be cautious of trying to over-connect and get bogged down by the unlimited amount of information out there. Find your own balance and do what's right for you.

... and of course, remember to love yourself. You can love your body and still want to change it at the same time.

Serious about Shakes!

I really need to make a chart showing the attributes I find most important in a meal replacement protein shake and how I rate each one, but that shall come later here are my overviews of 3 fairly well known brands and my experiences with them:

310 Nutrition: I first tried this a few years ago and thought it was too good to be true. No sugars, HIGH protein, and tastes amazing... but apparently it was too good to be true. My mom loved the old stuff so much, she logged onto the website when mine finally ran out and purchased six more bags. When she received it she realized that the bag looked different... and so did the powder. Sometime between my bulk order and hers (which was a span of at least a year), 310 changed their formula. The new formula is something I have been greatly disappointed with. It has a strong, unpleasant after taste that I just cannot get used to. Even when blending with fruits and extracts and almond milk. My mom can tolerate it after adding these, but I can't. More importantly to me, it is texturally not great. It now does not mix well with water, juice, almond milk, regular milk.... anything that my family could come up with, that chalky, gritty, protein powder texture would slap us back in the face. The protein content per serving is still one of the best I've seen, but I personally cannot get over the new taste and texture. For the money, there are better options.


Herbalife: I remember my first taste of Herbalife. It was the Mint Chocolate flavor. I mixed my two scoops of Formula 1 with my two scoops of vanilla protein powder with just water and when I took a sip I said, "wow." The texture was creamy and smooth and the flavor was SO yummy. All that added sugar substitute really makes their fun flavors taste great. Speaking of flavors, I loved the variety and how great they were without adding extras to the mix. I started taking these to work in a blender bottle for a quick lunch, which is when I found that the damn powder does not mix quite as well without an actual blender. I'd get big clumps of slimy powder balls as I was drinking which made me want to gag (again, I'm all about texture.) Doing Herbalife shakes twice a day was totally doable for me, but after a few months I started to have a lot of digestive problems... it turns out all that soy protein can reek havoc on your body and coupled with the amount of sweeteners in the product, I started to get sick. I still think the flavors are great, the texture is pretty great, the hassle of having to have multiple products to make a meal replacement was a little annoying, and I don't like the harmful side effects soy can have on the body. I've also been told that this product works best if you also take several of the supplements in the Herbalife line, I took some, and I did see results, but the cons outweighed the pros for me on this one.


Shakeology: I tried Shakeology after having tried Herbalife, and as such my first response to the flavor was, "Meh... I guess I could get used to this." This flavor comparison is strictly on taste of powder mixed with only water and ice. Because the Shakeology itself is only one scoop from one canister and is lower calorie than the Herbalife meal replacement, I started adding frozen fruits, extracts, and/or almond milk while making them and that's where I found the true beauty of Shakeology. My concoctions are oh so yummy, there is no "getting used to it," they definitely hold their own. There's still the downside of not loving it just mixed with water like I was doing for lunches sometimes at work... but then I realized, duh, take a shaker bottle with almond milk to work, put in the fridge, and at lunch time... enjoy. I do love that this particular meal replacement blends well whether it's in a blender or a shaker bottle. The texture is okay with water, thick and creamy with almond milk, and my idea of perfection with half water, half almond milk. I like that there are the regular flavors (Greenberry, Chocolate, Strawberry, and Vanilla) all made with mostly whey protein, and that they also have a soy free vegan alternative for Strawberry and Chocolate made with plant proteins. I find that the vegan flavors are a little bit more gritty in texture, but that mostly goes away with a mixing agent thicker than water. I've seen fast results with replacing one meal a day with this product and I foresee myself using this one for quite some time. It is a bit pricier than some of its competitors, but I find that for the quality of the product, there's no comparison.


And that would be my two cents. I'm sure there are many opinions out there that differ from mine, and I'm certainly okay with them being voiced. I used many of those opinions in my research to find what works best for me, my body, and my lifestyle, and I implore anyone else looking to replace meals with a protein shake to do their own thorough research on the ingredients, uses, and results as well as what will work best for them.

P.S. I do currently have some of ALL THREE of these products in my house and have been playing with the idea of doing a shake tasting and nutrition review. If YOU would like to try any of these and are local to me, let me know if you have any interest in this idea. :)

My fitness journey

I’ve been putting this post off… but I’ve made documenting part of my journey, so here we go:

I was never a “skinny” kid, one would not have described me as “thin” or “lanky,” but I never considered myself overweight. I was average, and I was happy with being average. I was an active kid. Soccer, softball, gymnastics, dance, color guard were some of the activities I participated in during my K-12 years, not to mention my elementary school shenanigans of playing kickball and tag and that cute game where you would sock the guy you like in the arm and run away… what? No one else played that? Ok. Moving on. I never paid much attention to what I ate because I was so active, I never really needed to, to maintain my weight, and I honestly never thought about what I was putting in my body. Here enters college. 

In addition to no longer being involved with active extra-curriculars, I picked up a hobby that proved to be extremely destructive to my health… online gaming. That’s another story in itself, so long story short: My sleeping became erratic, I replaced water with Mountain Dew, and was constantly ordering out, because there’s no time to cook when you’re part of a 40 man team trying to take down a dragon... obviously. Over the course of a few years, I easily gained 60 lbs. I worked out hard with a trainer and lost 20 of that before my mom's wedding in September of 2011. Shortly there after, the trainer I had been been seeing moved cross country and I lost the bit of motivation I had mustered up. 

Just over two years later I reached the heaviest weight and overall unhealthiest point of my life. That was just this year, January 2014. I'm completely embarrassed to say my weight reached the all-time high of 224 lbs. Just yikes! Maybe it was the hight of that number, maybe I had just had enough of feeling like crap, or maybe it was something else all together, but alarms started going off and something finally clicked. I needed to get my shit together. 

I contacted an old friend on Facebook that I knew was very fit and was an Herbalife health coach. She got me set up with a full package of formulas and protein shake mix and vitamins and teas... the whole shebang. After three months I had lost 15 lbs and was pretty happy with my progress. I had hoped the experience with having a "coach" would have been more like when I had a trainer: more checking in with me, keeping me accountable, and helping me stay motivated on the fitness ends of things. None the less, I was happy with my progress. 

That progress ended as quickly as it started. After three months it was like I hit a wall. I tried everything to push past it and just couldn't seem to make a dent. Around the same time another old friend contacted me about a fitness "challenge group"and I decided to look into it. I was skeptical of Team Beachbody at first, but I heard her out and did a ton of research myself. Eventually I decided this just might be the change I needed. I bought a "challenge pack" which came with a without program and a 30 day supply of a protein shake powder.

I will be starting my fitness program this upcoming Sunday and am beyond excited since I really need someone to just tell me what to do when it comes to working out. I started replacing one meal a day, breakfast, with a Shakeology shake last week. I've been doing my normal daily walks and nothing else. 

I've even pigged out on pizza and wings one night... but I can proudly say that this morning the scale said 204.8 lbs! I'm moving along again and with the motivation, accountability, and support of the Beachbody community, I will have my"success story body" soon. Can't wait to be able to show off my own before/after photos. 

Coming soon: my FULL REVIEW of several protein and meal replacement shakes I've tried! 

One year ago, in a land fairly far away...

I can't believe it's already June! At this time last year my sister and I were just getting acclimated to our apartment in the city center of Florence, Italy where we would be spending the month. I definitely miss that city and would love to go back some day.

One of the many things I learned about life during my time there, is how EASY it can be to be healthy. Immersing myself in a culture where you have a market with fresh produce and meats just blocks from your home and where having a car is too much of a hassle so you just walk everywhere you need to go was incredible.

In the month I spent in Italy, I gorged myself on delicious, carb-heavy meals and every flavor of gelato imaginable (and some unimaginable... like Viagra flavored. Yes. I tried it), yet when I got back to the states and stepped on my scale for the first time in a month, I found that I had lost 10 lbs. All that walking was amazing and preparing meals made from fresh ingredients gave my body all the fuel and nutrition it needed to support my activity level and lose some flab... and I wasn't even TRYING to be healthy. No diets, no hitting the gym, just living in that type of culture is healthy.

When I got back home I remember thinking, "I could just keep those habits now that I'm home. No big deal." But it was a big deal. There's almost no way to get away without driving in southern California. The distance between myself and the nearest grocery store is a few miles, not to mention home to work is about 15 miles. And as for eating... holy temptations, Batman! It's absolutely possible to eat healthy here, but everywhere you look there are tasty, high calorie, low nutrition foods that call your name. I quickly gave up my "live-like-I'm-in-Italy" idea.

I will get into the details of my fitness and health journey at another time, but for now I will say this. I quickly gained all my weight lost in Italy back and then some. The smallest, and perhaps most important change I've made since finally finding the spark I needed to turn things around is actively trying to walk more. I do wear an activity tracker that counts my steps and every day I compete with myself to be better. When I have to use the restroom at work, I take the longest way there and back to my desk. I never used to take my breaks, but now I always do, and use that time to walk a few laps in the parking structure of my building (those slopes are great for an extra oomph). I've realized that every little step I take to living healthier is a step in the right direction and is something to CELEBRATE.

In Italy, or at home, I will make an effort every day to be a little bit healthier.

Mad about Motivation!

Yikes, my first blog post. I suppose since I have no followers I shouldn't make too big a thing of it. ;)

I'm not sure yet exactly what this blog will be, but I do know that I want to document my journey to living a healthier and fitter life. I hope it will serve as inspiration and motivation for myself and anyone else who might need it.

As the title suggests, I do plan on centering my posts around fitness, but I will also be sharing my tips and experiences with health in general, weight loss, eating, etc, and what it takes to achieve self acceptance and happiness... and who knows what else I may throw in the mix!

That's it for now. Stay tuned for my upcoming posts which will include my personal health and fitness journey so far (and where I'd like to see it go) as well as my Pros and Cons Review of several protein and meal replacement shakes I've tried.