My Diet Plan Starts Well with Shakes
Well, I've gotten going. A friend told me to not overthink it, just get going. Of course, I took the whole kit over to my upline Shaklee sponsor Scott and we did a video (as I blogged yesterday), so you know I got the quick overview.
I've still yet to dig through the tiny type of their program manual, hoping I can find it online in some version. And I did - it's a Nxtbook, which Shaklee loves (as they can update it easily, so their online catalog is set up in one of these). Now, if you want your own copy, you can select print, and then either save it to your desktop or even get a PDF version.
So I'm working with that PDF version, as the original has very tiny type and my middle-aged eyes would like something easier to see in dim light. I can zoom it up as much as I need it (plus, as a web developer, I long ago learned to "harvest" content from almost any format - which means I can quote parts of this easily as I review it for you.)
Now, as I was saying that video covers a lot of ground. In this blog, I can break it down to smaller bites.
What you really get is just enough to get you through the month. Maybe.
- 2 jugs of Cinch powder @ 15 servings each, 1 box of packets with another 14 = 44 meals.
- 2 boxes of meal-in-a-bar, which are 7 servings each, so another 14 meals.
- You need 2 meals a day for 30 days, or 60 meals - this gives you 58.One day shy.
- Now, the snack bars are 3 boxes, 10 per box, so you are going to use 1 a day for 30 days. (Afternoons.)
- Pomegranate tea is 28 in a box, so you'll run out even at one per day.
- Same with the 3-in-1 Cinch capsules - 84, so thats 28 days again (3 per day).
Every month isn't February, and many have 31 days, so this is a bit tight. Now I started almost a week late, but even then, I'll be lacking by my 4th month, meaning I'm going to have to order something extra. Probably that sampler pack of snacks and another jug of Cinch.
Just so you know.
Now, I haven't called them up, but I didn't get the tape measure, pedometer, or shaker. Thought that was part of the deal (like the picture above.) Means I need to call them. My sponsor found an extra tape measure, so that's something. The rest I can do without (although I would like to find how many steps/miles I walk daily around the farm.)
Results so far:
Very filling each meal. Very.
As I see it, the deal is that this stuff fills you up while you work on getting your mind around having smaller portions at meals. But I haven't had any trouble being full - usually it's the reverse.
Only drawback is that I haven't figured out how to get coffee into this scene. Now I was already noticing that coffee has a bit of heartburn going along with it. Unless you eat some bread of some type to absorb the extra acid.
1st day, I drank my usual big mug of coffee right after my shake, since I didn't "feel" full. Big mistake. Tasted it for hours.
2nd day, I still "felt" like I needed something after the shake, so I waited and drank it when I usually got my second mug, right after checking the cows. Same reaction, only less.
3rd day - figuring it was having the shake in my stomach was causing the problem, I drank the coffee solo, then had the shake when I came in. Result: coffee on an empty stomach. Not ideal, to say the least.
So, tomorrow it's going to be just the shake, and then move the tea up into the morning if I still need something. Otherwise, just stick with water. As I've noticed before, I don't "need" coffee to get going in the morning, it's just that I "like" it. (And both of those phrases can be used to describe an addiction, BTW.)
My sponsor said that the first week, I was going to be kicked around all over the place. And that is happening.
I have found that "real" food tastes much better. Much. And I'm actually hungry when I come for a meal.
It's really pointing out the problem: that we've been over-fed and undernourished. Like feeding low-quality hay to cows in the winter. You can actually starve them to death with a full stomach. Not enough energy to get them going and keep them that way.
Our fast-food mentality (I saw one reference today that our diets are consisting of over 60% highly processed food) - is what really points to the problem we have.
A diet is the mental game as much as the physical.
And so the shakes and meal bars are a way to break off the habit with a completely different way of eating. When you are buying prepared meals, someone else is thinking through the process. So coming off the diet and back to the real world is more of a bear. By eating totally different food, you are giving both mind and body a chance to adjust. Then when you go back, your stomach is much smaller and you are now looking at being full while eating almost nothing. And after 4 months of this, you essentially are set up to succeed with smaller portions.
Of course, you are also going to need to keep your nutrition up, so this means if you haven't been sold on Shaklee products by then, get ready to be. Figure one shake a day from here on out, plus some quality natural vitamins as well. But the good thing is that they make a lot of shakes in different versions, most of which are cheaper than Cinch. Same with vitamins.
Unless you are raising some very, very healthy food in your garden, figure quality natural-based vitamins are going to be in your future from here on out.
But the great part is - once you're weaned off fast food and Starbucks, you are saving more than enough to pay for what you need to be eating instead. And if you're getting some great lean (grassfed) beef like we raise, then you can have your garden-fresh vegetables and get everything you need.
Well, tomorrow is another day.
We are unfortunately reaching the point of no-return with Obesity in America. In 1980, 35% of Americans were overweight to obese. By 2010, more than 65% of Americans range from overweight to obese. (Source: Behavorial Risk Factor Survelliance System, CDC).