What is Shakeology all about? Healthy Results!
Today I have had many people ask me what exactly is this Shakeology thing all about. This just delights and excites me! Why? Because truly I am the product of the product. I am a natural hard-core skeptic turned devoted believer!
I think I mentioned before, I have rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and put too many hours into my work (required!) as a medical transcriptionist. Additionally, I am finishing my BA degree online. I have neglected my overall health for quite awhile and then added in too much wine (on a daily basis!), not enough exercise (or none at all for days at a time!) and just lazy, unhealthy eating habits. When I was introduced to Shakeology I felt physically and emotionally awful, basically defeated and feeling stuck in a rut, and was willing to give it a try. I will forever be thankful that I did! I actually find that I worry about future provisions of all these super foods and ingredients that go into making my most important meal of the day with all the global changes happening around our planet. Anyway…that is a whole other subject to blog about later!
Within the first week of being on Shakeology I noticed drastic changes and differences in my health and how I felt. I knew I was not imagining this either! The daily aching, deep and sharp pain I had in my hips was gone, for which I have had multiple cortisone shots over the years to help alleviate this pain. My feet and my ankles were hurting so much I was reducing my walking, which I love to do with my dog. Also, the swelling was causing me problems in my lower legs. This too has completely been obliterated. Lastly, my shoulders. I have had shots in my shoulders too, and now I have absolutely no pain. NONE! I have had so much energy I no longer feel the need for a nap each afternoon. I sleep deeper at night and feel refreshed and rejuvenated when I wake in the mornings. Another wonderful benefit: because my pain is gone, I am exercising more! I give all my thanks to Shakeology to start this chain reaction in my life. Believe me, I have tried many, many different products for losing weight, reducing cravings and having extra energy with zero, let me say that again, ZERO results and ZERO benefits.
Because of so many incredibly positive effects Shakeology has given to my life, I want to shout to the world and inspire others. I wish every person on this planet could be on Shakeology. I wish it for you, too. My hearts desire is to be an example, to inspire, to help YOU on your journey for taking care of yourself.
Here are a few results I am sharing from others from yesterday and today:
“Since I have been using Shakeology daily, my digestive issues have disappeared, my overall psyche feels so right on and I have a ton of energy.” -Lee W. (Ventura, CA)
“I will admit, I did take a break from Shakeology for reasons that I just can’t even justify, because looking back, it was not a smart choice at all! I felt like I had no energy, was craving junk, gaining weight and was just not happy. Now I know that this isn’t all because I stopped drinking Shakeology, but there is a trickle effect that really does boil down to that one change I made.” -Shannon W. (Brampton, Canada)
(I am linking Shannon’s blog here: http://cangetfit.com/shakeology-rocks/)
Take a few minutes and quench your curiosity by watching the video below. If you want more information, please send me an e-mail at: KeepChoosingConsistency@gmail.com. However, if you just want to sample the product and be a product yourself, please go to http://myshakeology.com/Dbluuendy and look at all the flavors Shakeology comes in. My favorite is the strawberry, but most people say the chocolate just rocks! No matter, there is a 30-day money back guarantee and free shipping on home direct orders. What do you have to lose? The better question is what do you have to gain?
Thanks so much for listening to my excitement and I am really wishing you all good health!
Wendy
Desk Do’s
Do you have a desk job? How many hours in a day do you spend in front of a computer? How many hours a week do you spend sitting on your rear end?
I know for me, some days can be 12 hours long.
Sometimes it seems impossible to step away from your desk. Our jobs are important to us and some people worry about getting fired for missing a call, an email, or taking too long a lunch. However, the truth is we cannot get fired for standing up, going to the bathroom, or getting more water from the cooler. If your workplace is not completely rigid, switching your chair out for a Swiss ball a few times a day can make a huge difference in your posture. If you work from home, flexibility is even better for implementing more movement throughout your work day. Even just standing up next to your desk can give your back the break from compressing that it desperately needs. So stand up, roll your shoulders back a few times, and breathe deeply. Go fill up a water bottle, which will give you even more reasons to stand up, as you will need the restroom. And set a timer to go off once an hour, so that you remember to do it.
Moving and stretching once an hour should be priority for your overall health and well being.
Keep water at your desk!
Besides the previously mentioned reason to drink water (getting you out of your chair), hydration in an office setting is sorely overlooked. Your body requires a lot of water, even if you’re stuck in a chair. Being well hydrated keeps you mentally alert, flushes out toxins from air conditioning, and will sometimes help with food cravings. So drink up.
Additionally, you can stretch your entire body in a cubicle – a lot of it while sitting down. Here are some stretching options, which will release lactic acid buildup and help with structural alignment.
- Neck: Lean right ear to right shoulder until you feel a stretch along the left side of your neck, hold for 10 seconds, switch to the other side. Lower chin to chest until you feel a stretch along the back of your neck, hold for 10 seconds. Lift chin toward ceiling, until you feel a stretch along the front of your throat, hold for 10 seconds. Look over your right shoulder, hold for 10 seconds and then over your left.
- Shoulders: Extend both arms over head, interlace fingers, turn palms, and push up. Then interlace fingers with palms up behind back, lean forward slightly from waist, and lift arms away from your body.
- Arms: Extend arm straight across your body, grasp forearm, and pull extended arm toward your body. Repeat with other arm. Then sit up in your chair, open your knees, and place your palms flat on the chair between them, with your fingertips facing you, and thumbs toward your knees. Push down on your flat palms.
- Chest: Lift both arms out to the side, creating a “T” with them. Bend at the elbows, so your hands are going straight up to the ceiling, and you resemble a football goalpost. Pull your elbows back and hold.
- Back: Sit up as tall as you can, and pull in your stomach muscles to your spine. Extend one arm across to the opposite arm of the chair, and twist. Hold for 10 seconds, and switch to the other side.
- Quadriceps/Hamstrings: Stand at your desk. Bend one knee behind you, lifting your foot off the floor and catching it with the same hand. Don’t lock your supporting leg; hips tucked under, and both knees together. Switch to other leg. Then place one foot on the desk in front of you, keeping the foot flexed and the knee straight. Put fingertips on leg, or desk, and with a flat spine, lean forward. If that isn’t possible, flex one foot on floor in front of you, and lean forward with a flat spine.
- Calves: Stand arms’ length away from your desk, both toes facing the desk. Step forward with one foot, and bending the knee, keeping the back knee straight and pushing down in the heel. Switch.
- Feet: Remove shoes if possible. Stand in front of desk. Form a “V” with your feet, heels together and toes pointed out at slight angles. Bend knees first, then lift up your heels, and hold for 5 seconds. Straighten knees and lower heels. Repeat 5 times.
Guess what I am going to do now? Yep, my alarm just went off!
Lastly, if you can work in walking during your lunch hour a few times a week, trust me you will feel wonderful. Even a 20-minute brisk walk will leave you feeling refreshed and being outdoors will clear away the cubicle cobwebs!
Remember to stretch by the hour today, drink your water and Keep Choosing Consistency during your work hours,
Wendy
From complete, total skeptic to complete, total believer!
Video Posted on
From total skeptic to total believer BECAUSE I know the benefits PERSONALLY and 100% support this product! Excellent video that says it all!
FITNESS + NUTRITION + SUPPORT + REWARDS = SUCCESS!
Challenge group starting for Monday, Feb 22nd! Excited! Almost filled up! Anyone else interested in what this is all about 😉
Today’s Recipe: Cauliflower Power!
I just snipped some yummy vegetables from my garden.
I have been amazed with my garden this year! No bugs, no weeds, no mold, no problems whatsoever…just abundant growth and lots of delicious veggies for our household!
Here is a mouth-watering recipe you are sure to enjoy more than once! Enjoy!
Roasted Broccoli and Cauliflower with Lemon And Orange
If childhood memories of smelly boiled broccoli have kept you from enjoying cruciferous vegetables, this cooking method may very well change your mind. Baking lightly oiled broccoli and cauliflower until crisp-tender inhibits the release of any unpleasant sulphur aromas. Tossed with sweet citrus just before serving, the vegetable mellows even more.
Ingredients
Directions
Nutritional Facts per serving
Calories: 98.3
Fat: 6.2 G
Saturated fat: 0.9 G
Cholesterol: 0 MG
Sodium: 339.9 MG
Carbohydrates: 9.3 G
Total sugars: 2.4 G
Dietary fiber: 4.7 G
Protein: 4.1 G
Is Laughter Really the very Best Medicine?
Physical Health Benefits:
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Mental Health Benefits:
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Social Benefits:
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The Health Benefits of Humor and Laughter
Humor is infectious. The sound of roaring laughter is far more contagious than any cough, sniffle, or sneeze. When laughter is shared, it binds people together and increases happiness and intimacy. Laughter also triggers healthy physical changes in the body. Humor and laughter strengthen your immune system, boost your energy, diminish pain, and protect you from the damaging effects of stress. Best of all, this priceless medicine is fun, free, and easy to use!
Laughter is strong medicine for mind and body
“Your sense of humor is one of the most powerful tools you have to make certain that your daily mood and emotional state support good health.”
~ Paul E. McGhee, Ph.D.
Laughter is a powerful antidote to stress, pain, and conflict. Nothing works faster or more dependably to bring your mind and body back into balance than a good laugh. Humor lightens your burdens, inspires hopes, connects you to others, and keeps you grounded, focused, and alert.
With so much power to heal and renew, the ability to laugh easily and frequently is a tremendous resource for surmounting problems, enhancing your relationships, and supporting both physical and emotional health.
(My husband, Lee and I being flash-blinded by our friends camera phone during dinner last evening.)
Laughter is good for your health
- Laughter relaxes the whole body. A good, hearty laugh relieves physical tension and stress, leaving your muscles relaxed for up to 45 minutes after.
- Laughter boosts the immune system. Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thus improving your resistance to disease.
- Laughter triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good chemicals. Endorphins promote an overall sense of well-being and can even temporarily relieve pain.
- Laughter protects the heart. Laughter improves the function of blood vessels and increases blood flow, which can help protect you against a heart attack and other cardiovascular problems.
(This is my husband and I holding our eyes open as wide and long as we possibly can after being flash-blinded by a camera phone!)
Laughter and humor help you stay emotionally healthy
Laughter makes you feel good. And the good feeling that you get when you laugh remains with you even after the laughter subsides. Humor helps you keep a positive, optimistic outlook through difficult situations, disappointments, and loss.
More than just a respite from sadness and pain, laughter gives you the courage and strength to find new sources of meaning and hope. Even in the most difficult of times, a laugh–or even simply a smile–can go a long way toward making you feel better. And laughter really is contagious—just hearing laughter primes your brain and readies you to smile and join in the fun.
The link between laughter and mental health
- Laughter dissolves distressing emotions. You can’t feel anxious, angry, or sad when you’re laughing.
- Laughter helps you relax and recharge. It reduces stress and increases energy, enabling you to stay focused and accomplish more.
- Humor shifts perspective, allowing you to see situations in a more realistic, less threatening light. A humorous perspective creates psychological distance, which can help you avoid feeling overwhelmed.
(Our dear friends, Julie & Chris, dinner last evening.)
Bringing more humor and laughter into your life
Want to bring the fun? Get a pet…
Most of us have experienced the joy of playing with a furry friend, and pets are a rewarding way to bring more laughter and joy into your life. But did you know that having a pet is also good for your mental and physical health? Studies show that pets can protect you depression, stress, and even heart disease.
Laughter is your birthright, a natural part of life that is innate and inborn. Infants begin smiling during the first weeks of life and laugh out loud within months of being born. Even if you did not grow up in a household where laughter was a common sound, you can learn to laugh at any stage of life.
Begin by setting aside special times to seek out humor and laughter, as you might with working out, and build from there. Eventually, you’ll want to incorporate humor and laughter into the fabric of your life, finding it naturally in everything you do.
Here are some ways to start:
- Smile. Smiling is the beginning of laughter. Like laughter, it’s contagious. Pioneers in “laugh therapy,” find it’s possible to laugh without even experiencing a funny event. The same holds for smiling. When you look at someone or see something even mildly pleasing, practice smiling.
- Count your blessings. Literally make a list. The simple act of considering the good things in your life will distance you from negative thoughts that are a barrier to humor and laughter. When you’re in a state of sadness, you have further to travel to get to humor and laughter.
- When you hear laughter, move toward it. Sometimes humor and laughter are private, a shared joke among a small group, but usually not. More often, people are very happy to share something funny because it gives them an opportunity to laugh again and feed off the humor you find in it. When you hear laughter, seek it out and ask, “What’s funny?”
- Spend time with fun, playful people. These are people who laugh easily–both at themselves and at life’s absurdities–and who routinely find the humor in everyday events. Their playful point of view and laughter are contagious.
- Bring humor into conversations. Ask people, “What’s the funniest thing that happened to you today? This week? In your life?”
Using humor and play to overcome challenges and enhance your life
The ability to laugh, play, and have fun with others not only makes life more enjoyable but also helps you solve problems, connect with others, and be more creative. People who incorporate humor and play into their daily lives find that it renews them and all of their relationships.
Life brings challenges that can either get the best of you or become playthings for your imagination. When you “become the problem” and take yourself too seriously, it can be hard to think outside the box and find new solutions. But when you play with the problem, you can often transform it into an opportunity for creative learning.
Playing with problems seems to come naturally to children. When they are confused or afraid, they make their problems into a game, giving them a sense of control and an opportunity to experiment with new solutions. Interacting with others in playful ways helps you retain this creative ability.
As laughter, humor, and play become an integrated part of your life, your creativity will flourish and new discoveries for playing with friends, coworkers, acquaintances, and loved ones will occur to you daily. Humor takes you to a higher place where you can view the world from a more relaxed, positive, creative, joyful, and balanced perspective.
Wishing you laughter throughout your week and may laughter be part of your choice to Keep Choosing Consistency,
Wendy
Reference
Laughter is the Best Medicine. Retrieved from http://www.helpguide.org/life/humor_laughter_health.htm
My joy!
This is Buddy. He is my dog. He is now four years old. Full grown he weighs 6 pounds even. No ounces. Buddy is half Chihuahua (his father) and half Maltese (his mother). He survived the Parvovirus as a puppy when he weighed only 1 pound, 8 ounces. He fought for his life at 1 pound, 2 ounces. He lived because of much prayer and great love. Truly, he is a living miracle.
I just wanted to share with you one of the most precious things in my life! He is my daily therapy, my inspiration, my joy.
Keep Choosing Consistency and pet a puppy today,
Wendy
Friday night journal…
I am so excited to shut off my computer today at 5:30! I am also really excited that today is Friday! Better yet, it is raining and I have a fireplace. A perfectly cozy Friday night is in store for me!
I have never in my life tried Yoga. I received my very first gentle Yoga DVD in the mail this week and am going to try it out this evening. 30 minutes to stretch and unwind after a long, long day. (I will be coming back to talk about this DVD next week.)
Tonight I am also going to splurge and have a nice glass of chardonnay while soaking in the hot bath after Yoga. A cup of Trader Joe’s Organic Tomato & Roasted Red Pepper Soup topped with some oyster crackers for dinner, then time reading my book with pillows propped all around me in bed afterwards. Sounds like heaven, doesn’t it? I just have not decided which order I am going to do all these lovely activities!
Wishing you all a wonderful Friday night too! Keep Choosing Consistency for the nurturing of YOU,
Wendy
Dust off!
Aside Posted on Updated on
If there is no struggle, there is no progress.
~Frederick Douglass
In looking back, I can see so many struggles within my struggle to finally make a firm choice to change my lifestyle habits. I personally do not believe radical changes make for lasting progress. Usually it is the baby steps which do get us there. Really absorb each healthy choice you make and journal your progress. Journaling will help remind you on the difficult days. And, there will be difficult days. I believe each person’s journey holds a different time frame of struggle until we finally break through the obstacles holding us back.
There will be days when we fall back into old habits. Do not let these define you or cause you to feel defeated in your goals. Most importantly, give yourself grace! Be especially kind to yourself. New lifestyle changes are replacing unhealthy past habits. Instead, let these fall-backs be motivators to dust yourself off and begin again. Every positive choice you make for your overall health does not go wasted. Never. It truly is amazing how neglecting ourselves becomes easier and quicker to identify once we have stepped into healthy living.
Did you have a binge meal or a few too many glasses of wine? Journal how you felt the next day. Then re-hydrate yourself with water and green tea. Get back on tract with eating those foods which are good for you.
How did you feel going a day without some exercise? May be take a nice 30 minute walk the following day to step back into your regime and journal how you felt afterwards.
Lastly, has your schedule been so insane (like mine can be!) that you have neglected to take some time to relax with your favorite book, enjoy your hobby or really share quality time with family and friends? What about some quiet time with God?
Pencil in some time today for some relaxation and Keep Choosing Consistency,
Wendy
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