Life Uncomplicated

1st Giveaway Winner!

2010-03-15T09:24:00.000-04:00

Congratulations Sarah (sarahespn)!
I've sent you an email asking for you address to send your 16oz bottle of Basic H2! You'll have to let us know how you like it!

The Next Giveaway will be posted around the 1st so keep checking back!

Sleeping Habits

2010-03-09T09:32:00.000-05:00

I'm a firm believer that if you don't want to do something with your toddler all the time, don't do it even once. Like buying her candy in the checkout isle at the grocery, giving in after you said no and she whines about it, or allowing her to sleep in your bed. Sure, the can be fun to do or bring some temporary peace, but at what cost? Weeks, or even months, of breaking this new learned habit. Kids at this age don't understand that they're getting the candy just this once - mainly because mommy was craving a snickers or wanted to try that new Milkyway (and has anyone tried that new Milkyway? The all caramel one? It looks awesome!). Give in to that whining just once and the word "no" has lost it's absoluteness and you're in for months of battling to get your power back. Ava goes through this when I let her walk through the grocery as opposed to riding in the cart because we only need one or two things. Then the next couple of times we go to the grocery she doesn't want to ride in the cart. Sometimes I bribe her (but not by making a deal. I don't say "if you sit in the cart I'll give you this to play with/a snack". I simply tell her that she needs to sit in the cart so that she can eat her goldfish - mommy has to get lots of stuff today) and then the next time it's simply "Mommy has to get lots of stuff today so you have to ride in the cart". That usually does it. However, when Daddy gave in to her crying about it once, not only did he have a miserable time at the store, but it took me weeks to get to her willingly into the cart again.

Now - here's where I've broken my rule and made our lives harder: At some point (I no longer remember when) we let Ava sleep in our bed. I think she was having bad dreams and I was stealing extra snuggle time. It became a habit - she'd go to her bed fine, and then sometime during the night she'd wiggle her way in between us in our bed. I was fine with it - extra snuggles for me! Weeks went by and finally Mike had had enough of being kicked all night. I started the process of breaking the habit, but then we went on vacation. Then my mom visited and slept in her room with her for a week. Things like that just kept coming up. It's been close to a year and every night Ava ends up in our room. It's going to be so difficult to break this - It's so easy to give in at 2am just to get back to sleep. Now, to make matters more difficult, a really close friend of ours lost his job 6 weeks ago and is having a very hard time finding a new one - he's over qualified for most and others are just too specific ("Looking for an HR Director with 10 years experience (fine). Five years in the so-and-so field (ridiculous)." We've offered for him and his partner to stay with us in April to give him an extra few weeks to find a job before they have move back to Ohio. We have a 2 bedroom house, so they'll be moving into Ava's room for that month. HOPEFULLY after that I can get tough and break this!

If anyone has any ideas on how to do this, I'd love to hear them!

Giveaway - 1 full bottle of Baisc H2

2010-02-25T15:16:00.008-05:00

My first in what will be a monthly giveaway! My very favorite product, what got me started in Shaklee to begin with: A full size (16oz) bottle of Basic H2® Organic Super Cleaning Concentrate.

This little 16 oz bottle creates an unbelievable 48 gallons of super-safe, really powerful, all purpose cleaner (and yeah - that's how much water you buy when you buy ready to use products at the store). I've had mine for over 2 years and am about 1/4 way through it - no kidding - and I use it for everything - EVERYTHING. Windows, wood, counter tops, floors, toilet, cars, appliances, mirrors, and it even replaced the solution in my little green machine. I dust, sweep and then walk around my house with one microfiber cloth for scrubbing and one cloth for glass and just spritz the whole thing from top to bottom with Basic H2 and wipe. Living room, bedrooms, hallway, kitchen, and bathroom - spitz, wipe, done! The best part? It's completely safe to use around my daughter. Awesome.

The kicker - it costs $12. That's $12.00. How much did you spend on cleaning supplies products last year? Worse - what kinds of chemicals did they leave behind?

Ok lol - can you tell I get excited over Basic H2? There are 2 ways to enter to win your very own bottle and you may do them both: Leave a comment here with your email address and let me know that you have a)subscribed to this blog and/or b) become a fan to my Shaklee Page on Facebook . All entries must be in by March 15th - a winner will be chosen at random that morning. I'll notify the winner via email. Then that person can report back to me in a month to tell me how much they love me for changing their life! - Kidding about that - kinda =)

CLOSED

Been awhile

2010-02-22T11:06:00.000-05:00

I apologize for the length of time passed since my last post! Just as we started winning the Battle of the Cough 2010, we caught colds. We're 90% better and ready to get back to our daily routine!

Because of the cough and the cold I haven't been to the gym in 3 weeks! This is detrimental to my Bikini by June goal! I'm very nervous about meeting that goal now, but I'm not giving up. I just have to work out extra hard and pay special attention to what I'm eating. I'm also making doubly sure that I eat something every 2 hours. Breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, snack, dinner - and the hardest thing of all - I'll be replacing my favorite snack of the day (our ava's-in-bed-let's-watch-tv snack - sigh) with a cup of green tea.

To help keep myself on track I've started a food journal. I'm still considering posting it in a blog - having it public would certainly make me more critical of what I'm eating - but I'm so far behind in everything right now from being sick that it'll have to wait until next week. I'll post what I have up until then.

And now Ava's ready for snack time =)

Giving Medicine to a Dinosaur Is NOT Easy!

2010-02-03T11:04:00.005-05:00

About a week ago Ava woke up 2 nights in a row with a cough. Then, on the 3rd day she started coughing in the morning, and by the 4th day she had a persistent wet cough. Oh no...

It was a weekend so we just went to the store to get her some Children's Musinex - got the Target Brand for $3 less - (and yes I know she's only 3, not the required 4 - 6, but she's of size and I don't ever give her the full dose. Please put the torches down a call off the angry mob). She's really good about taking Motrin so I figured a yummy flavored syrup would be fine. I picked up grape - remembering the delicousness of Dimetapp with I was little. When we got home I poured her 3/4 of the dose a 4 year old would receive and handed it to her. She willingly took a big swallow and made the worst face and refused the rest of it. I tasted it and couldn't blame her. It tasted like Robitussin! Is the name brand better? I don't know, but I do know that I'll never get her to take purple medicine again. Ok, so the next day I went back to the store and picked up Musinex Mini Melts - orange this time. I took half the pack myself to both show her how to do it and to lower the dosage for her. It was delicious until the after taste hit me. She took it, but once the after taste hit her refused even WATER from me for an entire afternoon.

That night I bought her some Children's Benadryl - some delicious tasting cherry melts - in hopes of drying some of that yuck up. Those, of course, she loves. She slept good that night, but it didn't help the stuff in her chest. The next morning I tried dissolving some of the Musinex Mini Melts in some water and attempted to pass if off as her orange flavored Motrin. She took a drink, didn't hate it, but didn't take more and wouldn't take the 2nd dose 5 hours later.

Ava is very, very strong. She's in 95th percentile for weight and it's all muscle. She can totally kick my butt when she wants to and throws a fit. I hate these fits and I don't let her get her way when she throws them (and I have the bruises to prove it!). Thankfully this means that she doesn't throw them often. However if you're trying to syringe meds into her cheek you're in for a battle - and I mean sitting on a screaming, wiggling dinosaur-tough-toddler/preschooler, holding the meds in one hand and trying to open her mouth with the other. I tried this twice - not worth it.

By this time her cough's not any better and I can't get meds in her. I was afraid it had turned into bronchitis and/or an infection so to the doctor we went. This was our first sick trip to the doctor since she was 4 months old (other than for a strange looking insect bite that ended up being nothing and was gone the next day, and for an "iguana attack" - an iguana in Aruba wanted the grilled cheese she was eating poolside and walked over to to get it and slightly cut her leg with it's hugemongus claws. It was also nothing. If you go to Aruba - don't feed the lizards!). Sure enough she has a touch of bronchitis. He gave her some delicious tasting melts (that are $5 a piece!) to see if she'd willingly take it. She did after some coaxing (they could have made it LOOK appetizing for $5 a flipping pill!). He also prescribed a liquid antibiotic that I was pretty sure was going to cause WWIII in my living room that would last the next 5 nights. So that night after dinner I gave her her vitamin, the melt, and her antibiotic in a dose cup. She drank the antibiotics (which I thought tasted awful) without any complaint and ate her vitamin. Refused the melt. It was a 30 minute stand off. Finally daddy put it in peanut butter (yuck - grape flavored pb) and she took a bite and that was it. I hope we didn't ruin the peanut butter trick! No luck this morning on the pill either.

Ugh! After this I might put her in a bubble. I never want to do this again! This has been the worst week ever!

Bikini Ready by June - part 2

2010-01-28T08:27:00.002-05:00

So it's been roughly 3 weeks and I'm happy to report that I'm seeing and feeling a difference. I've noticed my pants fit better and my unsavory muffin tops are much smaller! Not ready for the bikini yet, but I feel like I'm well on my way!

What I've been trying to do is hit the gym 3 days a week. I don't spend an exuberant amount of time there because I don't feel you have to do to get a good work out. I go in, I take a brisk walk on the treadmill for a few minutes to get my blood pumping and then I like to jog for 10 minutes or so, and then walk again to cool down before hitting a few of the machines. My machines of choice have been (and I don't know the names), but an inner thigh and buttocks machine, and an inner thigh machine (both look something like this), a glute machine, and a lower back machine. On Wednesdays I usually leave out the thigh machines and hit the rowing machine for my arms and upper back. I don't do much more than that for my arms as I have a 40lb 3 year old that takes care of most it for me. And then on Fridays I hit the elliptical (just won $2 on Swag Bucks checking my spelling there!) instead of the treadmill (which very quickly kicks my butt) and hit the floor for several ab work outs and stretching.

I haven't significantly changed my eating habits - but I already ate fairly healthy. On the days I go to the gym I drink a Cinch Shake (I tried eating a meal replacement bar one morning and could barely run for 5 minutes and I was exhausted after my workout), coffee when I get home (lol of course!), I have breakfast with Ava about an hour later and I'll have either cottage cheese with pineapple (one of my new favorite things) or greek yogurt with honey and flax seeds. For snack I usually have a fruit or a kids clif bar (1/2 the calories of an adult clif bar). At lunch I normally have whatever Ava's having, yogurt or cottage cheese for snack (whichever i didn't have for breakfast) or edamame beans, and then a small dinner. Portioning, eating more often, and rethinking my snacks are my main focus.

I'm feeling good about this!

Quickies

2010-01-26T17:06:00.004-05:00

Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, cleans a shower and tub like baking soda and water (into a paste). Think I'm crazy? Try it! Bonus: I don't cringe when Ava get into the tub later, let alone when she "helps" clean it!

Smoking shouldn't be permitted at children's events. Period. In fact I believe that smoking around kids should be considered child abuse/child endangerment. I could go on about that for days, but this is supposed to be a post of "quickies" so I'll spare you (for now).

Never offer your chips to a strange kid. You might think you're being nice but the rule of "not taking candy from strangers" is referring to the super nice lady on the train as well. I don't want Ava to start thinking it's ok and you never know what sort of allergies a child has. Always ask the parent first - without the child knowing please (since my answer will be "no, but thank you" every time and I'd rather not have a 40lb riot on my hands) - and if that's not possible, then just don't offer.

Ava will eat just about anything if it's mixed in peanut butter which is making the switch from Mirilax to Herb-Lax much smoother.

Thinking of starting a "side blog" food journal to help me eat healthier. Seeing what I'm eating in black and white will help me pinpoint where I need to make changes. I hope others will join me!

Spiders are terrifying and there should be a warning signal before they're shown on tv, in movies, or 4D shows in theme parks.

Help for Haiti - results!

2010-01-21T08:33:00.001-05:00

Thank you all so much for showing up and helping support the Help for Haiti that Crystal from moneysavingmom.com got started. The response was overwhelming and heartwarming. In addition to your links and comments on my Help for Haiti post, a few of you emailed me what you're doing to help the earthquake victims in Haiti:

"We donated to Chances for Children, a ministry that runs an orphanage outside Port au Prince:
http://chances4childrendonations.blogspot.com/
A family from our homeschool group recently adopted two precious children from there.
Bless you for all you are doing to help."
- Katherine

"I just experimented with texting my donation to Yele & the Red Cross. I'm normally skeptical about donating & sometimes put it off, but this time I just jumped in & tried it. Feeling good to have done a little something :) Thanks for participating inthe Help for Haiti project!"
- Carrie

"Hello and Thanks for you generosity! Just a note to let you know that I've donated to Convoy of Hope which is an orginaztion that feeds hungry people all over the world. Anyone can donate at their secure site: www.convoyofhope.org and the donation will go for immediate help in Haiti. I've posted this info on my FB to help get the word out. My feeling is that if everyone gives just a little bit it will make a huge impact and difference for these people of Haiti that have just lost everything! My prayer is for people to step up to the plate and also for the people of Haiti. We all have struggles, financially, medically, etc, but if we skip that coffee, lunch, cigarette, drink etc, that money will make a difference for someone."
Live, Laugh, Love,
- Cheryl Deaver

"We donated to the US fund for UNICEF and also to a local
(Kentucky)-based charity called Ten Kids whose goal is to provide a
safe home, education, etc. to Ten Kids http://www.tenkids.org/. I like the idea of giving to an organization meeting general needs of
the people of Haiti and to one meeting the needs of specific children.
We are so blessed--I can't imagine the losses of the Haitian people."
Thanks for what you're doing!"
- Jennie

The combination of links and emails and stories posted brings our total donation from your participation to $55, plus what Mike and I can do ourselves. I just started blogging so I was completely blown away by the outpouring! This is fantastic and I can't wait to see the results of the other bloggers involved!

Thank you all again!

You must be the change you wish to see in the world.
~ Mahatma Ghandi

3 free boxes of Soy Joy Bars!

2010-01-20T23:37:00.000-05:00

I didn't have a whole lot of CVS time this week, but I did manage 3 free boxes of Soy Joy Bars! The 6pks are on sale for $6 and you get $6 of ECBs back - and you can do it 3 times!

Here's a great guide to CVS and ECBs if you have no idea what I'm talking about! Don't miss out on free stuff!

I have a box full of toothpastes, shampoos, razors, soaps, ect that I got from CVS last year. It's far more than we'll use this year so I'm taking out what we'll use and taking the rest to a large shelter in my area that's home to many families that can use them. Now that I know of this place I'll be keeping a sharp eye out for good deals on toys as well and I'll no longer overlook a deal because it's something that we won't use. Someone will! I plan to make donations there regularly

Poopy Pants

2010-01-20T23:26:00.000-05:00

Ava (just turned 3) potty trained with amazing ease. After a few months of getting her used to the concept we went for it. For several days we'd go sit on the potty every 30 minutes until she got it, and then every hour, and then little reminders here and there. A few months later Ava now just goes potty by herself, washes her hands, and occasionally just needs mine or daddy's help with her pants. That's for #1. #2 is another story.

She's had problems going #2 for most her little life. I mean issues that would just break your heart. So I've always kinda given her a little pass on going #2 on the potty. We'd try, but honestly, any way she could do it we'd be happy. We're now getting passed them, and she's having a much easier time of things. She just refuses to go on the potty. OK i shouldn't say "refuses" she goes willing when I catch her standing in a certain corner of her room filling her pants. I can't get her to stop. After it happening every day for over a week I started giving her time outs for it. Any other time she gets a time out she cries like it's killing her. She couldn't care less when she gets a time out for pooing her pants. I've tried everything I can think of and nothing is working.

Any ideas would be great!

New lower price for Shakleekids™ Mighty Smart™!

2010-01-17T11:14:00.002-05:00

New Lower Price, Same Great Benefits for Shakleekids™ Mighty Smart™!

Because our supplier for the fish oil powder used in Mighty Smart™ is no longer able to produce this ingredient, Shaklee has had to change suppliers. The good news about this is that we were able to reduce the cost of goods for this product, and we've decided to pass the savings along to you and your consumers. Starting now, Shakleekids™ Mighty Smart™ Ultra-Pure DHA chews are available with a new item code, and a new price - 10% less than previously.

We regret that the new supply of fish oil powder is not Kosher-certified, and we understand the disappointment for our kosher customers. However, our portfolio of kosher products continues to be one of the most comprehensive available, and our operations group continues to search for a qualified kosher supplier. In the meantime, we encourage you and your customers to benefit from Mighty Smart and its new, lower price.

Help for Haiti!

2010-01-15T08:02:00.007-05:00

Earthquake in Haiti. It's utterly tragic. A country in rubble. Homes destroyed. An estimate of 50,000 dead - mothers, fathers, children.

They need help. They need food, water, and medical assistance. They need hope. They will need to rebuild their homes, businesses, and their way of life.

Crystal from moneysavingmom.com has come up with an idea. A way for everyone to easily give help to those that so desperately need it. In an effort to do my part to help I would like to join her and offer this: In addition to what my husband and I can come up with, for every blogger that joins in and links their blog and for every person that emails me (crystalmpitts@yahoo.com - subject Haiti) what they're doing to help (please let me know if it's ok for me to post your story to help inspire others) by Jan. 21st we will give .50 to the The Haiti Relief Fund through Global Giving. (*max $100)

Other ways you can give:
Text: Haiti to 90999 to automatically donate $10
Global Giving
Red Cross

Thank you all! And remember, that every little bit helps!

Free World Peace Bumper Sticker!

2010-01-14T12:52:00.002-05:00

Click HERE to get your free World Peace Bumper Sticker!

Shaklee's Hand Wash Concentrate

2010-01-14T12:48:00.002-05:00

Customers have pointed out that Shaklee's Hand Wash Concentrate is pretty expensive compared to other green hand washes - and they're right, until you factor in the "Concentrate" part of the product. Use it in a foaming soap dispenser with 1/3 Hand wash and 2/3 water and you'll save a bundle! The product will last 3x's as long and save you time and money, and even some water usage! Doesn't this dilute the soap and therefore decrease the effectiveness? No it doesn't. What makes a foaming soap dispenser different than a regular soap dispenser? Water. Instead adding both soap and water onto your hands, lathering, washing, and then rinsing; Using a foaming soap dispenser you simply pump the premixed water and soap onto your hands, wash, and then rinse. I've recently learned that my husband has been doing this incorrectly by wetting his hands first and then adding the foaming soap. Since this added additional water to the mixture making it slide off his hands, he'd add an extra pump, therefore using twice as much soap than needed lol. He was glad when I corrected him. I haven't been able to find a foaming soap dispenser that didn't already have product in it, so I purchased a Dial Foaming Soap and just refill it with Shaklee's Hand Wash Concentrate and water. Works (and smells) great!

My fave freebie sites!

2010-01-11T17:11:00.003-05:00

Thought I'd take a moment to list all the freebies sites I use most often:
Moneysavingmom.com is a great site for freebies and tons of frugal living ideas! I check her site several times a day.
1stopforfreebiessamplesandmore.blogspot.com almost always has a freebie listed that no one else does! I don't know where she finds these deals, but she's listed some doosies!
And no freebies site list could be completely without Freebies4mom.com - full of freebies, deals, and sweepstakes!

Be good to the Earth and use freebies responsibly! Only fill out requests for items you will actually use or would like to try.

Swagbucks, Inboxdollars, and Shop At Home

2010-01-08T09:12:00.002-05:00

If you don't know about Swagbucks.com you're missing out on free money! Most of us use google or another search engine on a daily basis (I even use it for spell check now and then when I have a brain lapse lol). Swagbbucks works the same, but you win "swagbucks" redeemable for gift cards and other rewards. I have it as my primary search engine, and just like any other search engine, if I don't find the result I want, I use another. But I always use Swagbucks first! Just before Christmas I redeemed some of my points for an Amazon gift card! For doing nothing! You can even donate your swagbucks to charities =)

Inboxdollars.com lets you earn cash several different ways: Earn percentages back for the online shopping you already do (including AIR TRAVEL - which helps take the sting out of the ridiculous cost of flying these days!), reading emails (just click on the email, click to confirm you've read the email, click to close the email, and you're done), and playing online games (which I haven't taken advantage of). The longer you're a member, the faster you earn cash! Click HERE for a sign on bonus!

My other favorite shopping site to get percentages back is Shop-At-Home. I always compare the rates between Shop-At-Home and Inboxdollars to get the best return. They also have FREE SAMPLES! Who doesn't love that? Get $5 just for signing up!

Toxic Brew - Chemicals and Our Children

2010-01-07T23:04:00.001-05:00

It amazes me how many people don't realize how dangerous household chemicals are - or even classify cleaning products as chemicals.

This video is a bit lengthy - a little less than 19 minutes - but very informative. I learned some things I didn't know as well - including about makeup!

Click to watch: Toxic Brew

I highly recommend it to everyone and ask that everyone pass it on - especially to anyone you know with children and/or breathing problems!

Bikini Ready by June - Part 1B (kinda)

2010-01-07T22:35:00.000-05:00

My Aunt forwarded me this email. It's certainly made me more confident in my decision to purchase that Cinch shake!

"As I continue with your weight loss tips for the New
Year I want to talk about the importance of leucine in
helping you lose weight and keep it off.

If I were a internet marketer, I would probably have
titled this segment "The magic of leucine".

However, I'm not an internet marketer. I'm a scientist.

I've already told you that there are no "magic" foods
or "magic" supplements that are simply going to make
the fat melt away.

However, there are some nutrients such as leucine that
are important for long term weight control and whose
role in weight control is based on solid science.

But, let's start with the problem before I discuss the
solution.

The problem is that whenever we lose weight we generally
lose muscle mass as well as fat. To be precise, you
lose about 5 pounds of muscle for every 12 pounds of
weight loss.

That is a concern because muscle is metabolically much
more active than fat. Since each pound of muscle burns
about 50 calories a day, that 5 pounds of muscle you
lost costs you 250 calories a day.

That means that if you want to keep losing weight at
the same rate after you have taken off that first 12
pounds, you will need to reduce your calories by
another 250 calories a day - and if you manage to lose
another 12 pounds you will have to reduce your calories
by yet another 250 calories per day to keep losing
weight.

Now you understand what causes the dreaded weight loss
plateau!

But, it just gets worse.

Let's say that you lose 12 or 24 pounds (corresponding
to 5-10 pounds of muscle or 250 to 500 calories per
day) and go off of your diet because you got
discouraged by the plateau.

When you regain your weight it comes back mostly as
fat, not as muscle. So now you need to eat 250-500
calories a day less just to maintain your weight.

The result is that you usually gain back more weight
than you lost.

Now you understand the cause of the dreaded weight loss
yo-yo!

You can reduce the loss of muscle mass when you are
losing weight by adding the exercise component -
particularly resistance training.

But exercise can't do it all. What you eat is important
as well. This is where leucine comes in.

"What is leucine?", you might ask.

Leucine is an essential amino acid. It's also what we
call a "branched chain" amino acid, a term that refers
to its chemical structure.

Leucine has been used by bodybuilders for years to
increase muscle mass when they are working out.

And there is good evidence that it is effective for
that purpose. I did a quick literature search and found
over 20 clinical studies on the topic in just the last
few years - but that is another story for another time.

It has just been in the last few years that evidence
started to accumulate that leucine can also help
preserve muscle mass when people are losing weight.

This research was spearheaded by Dr. D.K. Layman and
colleagues at the University of Illinois.

Their early studies showed that leucine stimulates the
synthesis of new protein in the muscle, suppresses
appetite and results in better blood sugar control. They
then showed that leucine supplementation during weight
loss in animals resulted in greater overall weight loss
and better retention of lean muscle mass.

They went on to do two clinical studies with women,
aged 40-56, who had BMIs of 31 (If BMI is not a
familiar term, suffice it to say that those women
really needed to lose weight).

Dr. Layman had discovered in preliminary studies
that leucine was most effective in preserving muscle
mass when the carbohydrate to protein ratio was 1.5:1
(For comparison, current dietary guidelines recommend a
carbohydrate to protein ration of 3.5:1, and that is
the formula most weight loss diets follow).

Thus, the experimental diet designed by Dr. Layman
provided 10 g of leucine/day in a diet with an overall
carbohydrate to protein ratio of 1.5:1. The control
diet only provided 5 g of leucine in a diet with an
overall carbohydrate to protein ratio of 3.5:1.

The two diets were identical in terms of calories
(~1700 calories/day) and were designed to create an
energy deficit of ~500 calories/day. The diets
contained identical amounts of fat (30% of calories)
and fiber (~20 g/day).

The first study lasted for 10 weeks and did not have an
exercise component. The second study lasted for 16
weeks and both groups in that study exercised 5
days/week using an exercise program designed to create
an energy deficit of 300 calories/day.

There was no significant difference in overall weight
loss between the high leucine - high protein
group and the control group in either study - but there
was a huge difference in where that weight loss came
from.

In the study with the exercise component only 4% of the
weight loss came from muscle in the high leucine - high
protein group compared to 16% from muscle in the
control group.

As you might expect, the group that didn't exercise
didn't do as well. In that study 11% of the weight loss
came from muscle in the high leucine - high protein
group compared to 18% from muscle in the control group.

You may have noticed that exercise had only a modest
effect on preserving muscle mass for the subjects on a
standard weight loss diet (16% loss of muscle mass
with exercise compared to 18% muscle loss without).

The bottom line is that if you want to rely on exercise
to preserve muscle mass on a standard weight loss diet,
it really has to be high intensity, resistance
exercise.

In contrast exercise was much more effective in
preserving muscle mass in the high leucine - high
protein group (4% loss of muscle mass with exercise
compared to 11% loss of muscle mass without exercise).

The bottom line is that weight loss diets providing
around 10 g of leucine/day coupled with a 1.5:1 ratio
of carbohydrate to protein are more effective at
preserving muscle mass than the kind of weight loss
diet that most people follow.

Some of you may be asking how this relates to Shaklee's
Cinch Inch Loss Plan.

The Cinch Inch Loss Plan provides 12 g of leucine/day
and the carbohydrate to protein ratio is 1.4:1 for the
Cinch Shake Mix and 1.6:1 for the Cinch Meal Bar.

So it shouldn't come as any surprise that in Shaklee's
12 week clinical study of people on the Cinch Inch Loss
Plan the average weight loss was 15.4 pounds - and none
of that came from muscle!

References:
Layman, J. Nutr, 133: 216S-267S, 2003.
Layman and Walker, J. Nutr., 133: 405-410, 2003
Layman et al, J. Nutr., 133: 411-417, 2003
Layman and Walker, J. Nutr., 136: 319S-323S, 2006
Jitomer and Willoughby, J. Med. Food, 11: 606-609, 2008

The Cinch Inch Loss Plan is a diet plan based on the
latest scientific advances in the field and clinical
studies show that it works!

To Your Health!
Dr. Stephen G Chaney
Shaklee Master Coordinator"

Bikini Ready by June - part 1

2010-01-05T09:20:00.001-05:00

We have friends getting married in Antigua the first week of June. I am determined to not wear a "mom suit" and I will be comfortable wearing a bikini by June. I will. My daughter turns 3 next week and I think it's well past time that I was able to wear a 2 piece as well as feel sexy in a pair of jeans! Oh the things we take for granted before we have kids!
So yesterday I started going back to the gym. I met with a trainer and we discussed my goals and how to reach them. It's going to be grueling! I can't believe how out of shape I am! I'm actually 10 pounds lighter than I was before having Ava, but I lost a lot of my muscle mass (muscle weighs more than fat). He said that when you first start working out you actually break down your muscle and then your body rebuilds it, making it stronger and larger. In order to this, your body needs rest (so don't work out every day), muscle confusion (mix up the routine), and protein. I'm not a big meat eater. In fact, it usually makes me sick to think about it, so getting lots and lots of protein 4x's a day is going to be a problem. He suggested yogurts, cottage cheese, tuna, and beans. Ok great, but 4x's a day? I asked him about protein/meal replacement shakes and he said that it's an excellent idea. So I'm ordering Cinch Whey Protein Blend. That will at least help me mix things up a bit! And I can always blend the vanilla flavored shake with fruit for an extra healthy and tastey meal! I'll let you know how it taste and how everything goes! Wish me luck!

Hassle Free Bed Times

2010-01-03T15:18:00.000-05:00

Our friends are always amazed by how easily Ava goes to bed. We take it for granted since we've never had a problem with her at bedtime, and it always makes me smile to see their amazement.
At roughly 730 every night she goes potty, puts on her pjs, brushes her teeth, gets no more than 2 books read to her, tells everyone good night, and goes to bed. Happily. We don't spend any more time in her room than it takes to pull up her covers, give her some kisses, turn on her night light and hit the light switch. We don't worry when we're not there at bedtime and the sitter needs to put her to bed, we don't get trapped reading an hour of bedtime stories, she doesn't cry and ask us to stay longer, and we don't miss out on Mommy and Daddy Time - which, come bedtime, we're more than ready for.
Of course there have been occasions when it was necessary for one or both of us to spend extra time with her at bed time - family vacations or when she's sick, or when we have new company over and she's having trouble winding down. We always let her know that this is a one time thing (and mean it), that we're not staying in there all night, just until she falls asleep/settles down, and that we're just in the next room and we'll check on her before we go to bed. I'm a firm believer that it takes an easy 3 nights to form a habit, and a very rough 3 nights to break one. And not just rough on us, as parents, but rough on our little ones too.
She's still 3 and has to have a few things "just so" before she can settle in for bed: her nightlight and favorite stuffed toy go without saying, but we're working on her "need" for 14 receiving blankets to be tucked in with her (that she can tell instantly if one is missing). We gave a couple to her babies that sleep in their own bed next to hers and we're working on acceptable (a.k.a. Ava Approved) places to use the rest of them lol. After we got back from a family vacation we were able to eliminate the need for 2 books, 3 small plastic cars, 1 stuffed giraffe, a beach ball pillow, her wonder pets and fly boat, and 3 baby dolls. The 12 remaining receiving blankets, a slightly larger stuffed giraffe, and 1 book is much easier to handle lol. And at least she doesn't feel the need for all these things when sleeping away from home - since we've never allowed her take but 1 blanket, 1 book, and 1 stuffed animal.

My Toddler loves her Incredivites!

2009-11-17T13:35:00.000-05:00

I feel it's important for everyone to take a multivitamin, my 2 1/2 year old is no exception. We tried several different "all natural" multivitamins for her with no luck. Some smelled so terrible that even I wouldn't try it so I certainly couldn't blame her for turning them down. Shaklee came out with a new Baby and Kids line of products and - being a big Shaklee fan and a new distributor, I decided to try them out. Shaklee's Incredivites are Gluten and lactose free - AND tooth and tastebud friendly! NO artificial colors or anything else you wouldn't want your tot to consume. It's everything we wanted and my kid begs (yes BEGS!) for her vitamin every day after lunch!

"It's stuck!"

2009-07-14T20:45:00.000-04:00

My 2 1/2 year old can always make me laugh. Since we've recently began really potty training (we've gotten her familiar with the potty and now we'd like her to realize that it's not just a place for mommy and daddy to read her book after book after book) it's not surprising that her most recent funniest moments have been on the potty. The things that come out of her mouth crack me up. I think it's these comical moments that make potty training bearable - I have to wonder if it's planned: A child learning how to put sentences together and learning potty functions at the same time is just too perfect.

My current favorite is "it's stuck!" but it's very a close 2nd to "what happened?" lol. I love this kid.