My Weekly Weight Loss Update

Well, here it is Monday again, and boy, did it come faster than expected. Time for my weekly confession on my weight loss. This last week was a whirlwind of activity and this week is shaping up to be even busier than last week. Well, let's just cut to the chase. I lost one whole pound this last week. WOW!!! The good news is that even after eating candy (which I had been avoiding for over a month now) the weight did come off. I was extremely nervous getting on the scale this morning, and was even formulating excuses for why I didn't weight myself. I knew you would be watching, so I sucked it up and stepped on the bathroom scale.


Boy, imagine my pleasant surprise to see not a weight gain, but a whole pound gone. For those of you that know me, I have a very difficult time taking weight off. Once my body gets used to a particular weight, it just doesn't seem to want to let that excess tonnage go. I have been struggling to get back to my high-school weight (I was there before I moved to AZ 7 years ago). What is even worse is that my weight really didn't go up until I quit my extremely stressful job and started traveling around the country working at motorcycle rallies.


You know part of the reason for my weight gain in the last 4 years (yes, I only gained the extra tonnage in the last 4 years, I still have my 'skinny' clothes and WILL get back into them...eventually...) is the lack of my stress diet. When I worked 80 hour work weeks, by the time I got home, I had absolutely no desire for food. So, essentially the only time I ate was breakfast, before starting the work rat-race all over again. Usually lunch didn't happen because I kept working and just plain forgot to eat. When I realized I missed lunch, it was only about 3 hours to 5 pm (theoretical quitting time) so I put off eating until I got home. Usually I got a major project between 4 and 5 pm that had to be completed by the next morning, so I would stay late. Hence, by the time I got home, I really wasn't interested in any food.

This diet may have kept my weight down, by my health suffered majorly for the stress I put my body through. Once I left that rat race, I began to eat regular meals, at regular times and the weight started to come on. My next challenge was my diet when traveling. On the road, it is fairly difficult to get your hands on fresh fruit and vegetables. The reason is that you really aren't supposed to transport any fresh fruit across state lines, and I cross state lines sometimes on a daily basis. Then, grabbing food at a motorcycle rally, heck, how many healthy food kiosks do you find at rallies? So, for a while, hamburgers and fries were the weekend lunches. Dinners consisted of Hamburger Helper or Tuna Helper. Lots of carbohydrates, not much fiber, lots of fats.. Lastly, add to this whole mixture, the fact that I am not a spring chicken anymore. Something like a "change-of-life" was happening to my body too. What's up with THAT???


By the time I returned from our first year on the road, I gained almost 35 pounds. Ouch!! It has been an ongoing battle to lose those pounds, but it looks like I may finally be turning the bend on that. I am doing light exercise, I know I should be more diligent, but it is so difficult to take an hour out of the day to exercise. I have been so tired lately (partly due to the added weight I bet...) that after I have done all the house chores, errands, appointments, vehicle detailing, and bookkeeping, I honestly don't want to go exercise.


I know, very bad attitude, but that will change. As we go on the road, I have to walk the dogs at least 3 times a day. On those three walks, we all go a minimum of a mile and a half, so I am walking about 4 and a half miles a day. That, combined with a better planned eating diet this time (we have been working very diligently on eating more balanced meals) with less fat, salt, and carbs, I should continue to whittle those pounds down until I get back to my target weight.

So, I will continue to keep you appraised on my weight loss over the next few months, hopefully the weight will continue to drop as we travel across this wonderful country of ours. Tomorrow we will probably discuss a weightier subject, unless I find something that tickles my funny bone and choose to share.


One last item - Last week I introduced the concept of Hemp Hearts and told you I would keep you updated on my progress with the Hemp Hearts. Well, I have used them for 6 out of 7 days (I forgot to eat them yesterday) and can't say that I have seen much change in my healthy or well being one way or another. I will continue to take the Hemp Hearts, and hope that something positive can be seen, but so far, as much as I would REALLY like to tell you this is the do-all, cure-all, be-all, I can't say that. The only benefit I see so far is that they make my yogurt crunchy and they taste good. Beyond that, right now, the Hemp Hearts seem to not be doing anything more for me. I have not noticed a decrease in appetite (it has been too hot here in AZ to want to be hungry), nor have I noticed a huge burst in energy as they advertise. I will keep plugging away and see if perhaps my body is slower than most to respond to the good aspects of the Hemp Hearts. I really do like the concept, but right now, I can personally see no specific results.


Check out our website for some really cool nutritional products that we have. They will help support your body's natural ability to heal. We have Stem Cell Nutritionals to aid your body to naturally release it's own stem cells to heal itself. We also offer a nutritional drink, Mona Vie to help keep your existing cells healthier.

Until tomorrow...

Weekly Weight Loss Update for April

Well, today I would love to report that I lost weight, but alas, I did not. The good news is that I did not gain any extra weight. The good news is that it is my expectation that there will be more weight loss in the next few days. Because I have been eating a LOT of beans, I suspect that my lack of significant weight loss is mainly related to water retention. As we have talked about before, if I do not drink a lot of water each day, my body loves to retain the water that I do consume.

Also, as you are all most likely aware, eating beans can really make you bloat. I received this awesome recipe for Taco Soup and unfortunately it uses 4 cans of different beans in the recipe. The flavors are awesome, but my body does like to retain the water from all of those relatively salty beans. Since I do not cook with salt, if I cook with food that is prepared with salt, my body does have issues. Even though salt is important for maintaining proper fluid balance between the water in and around our cells as well as in our blood, too much salt may contribute to kidney and circulatory problems. My body is highly sensitive to salt, and if I consume a fair amount of salt from prepared foods, I do have circulatory problems (mainly swelling). I need to drink more water than usual to flush out the extra salt, and since I have been on the road the majority of the week I have been guilty of not drinking nearly enough water to flush my system.

What else I have discovered is that when I stop drinking my minimum of 95 oz of water a day, it takes me several days to get back into the habit of drinking that much water again. As it stands, I didn't even drink much coffee while on the road, so I seriously dehydrated my system this last week. I know that in the next few days, some weight will come off. I have started walking again and with my increased water consumption, my body will get back into the proper swing of things.

Despite all the abuse I have put my body through this last week, I am happy to report that I did not forget to take my StemEnhance and StemFLO. I suspect that if I did not take these two products, my health would be much worse (I have been flirting with a cold, but it really hasn't slowed me down, thanks in a large part to the StemTECH products). This is now month 4 for me taking full doses of the StemTECH products and I have been seeing great physical results. We will talk more about that in another blog.

My expectation is that by next week there will be significant weight loss.

On a fun note, I am happy to report that I found a hat (I LOVE hats) that I purchased many, many years ago and could not wear because the material makes my head itch. Instead of giving the hat away, I finally found the perfect solution for wearing the hat. I had made some DogDanas for our dogs and had extra bandanna material just kicking around the house. I folded the remaining fabric and stitched it to the inside brim of this hat that I have always loved but discovered I couldn't wear. I am extremely happy to report that the stitching of the bandanna to the inside brim of the hat has solved my itchy problem. I have been able to wear this awesome hat for two days (I did take it off to shower and sleep...) with no ill effects to my head. I am happy as can be to have essentially a "new" hat to wear around. I even had enough fabric to make some really cool hat bands for this hat too. So, the next time some of you see me, you will probably see me with my "new" hat on. Simple minds, simple pleasures.

Until tomorrow...

Weight Loss Update for April

Well, it is Monday evening and time to talk about my weight loss. This time I have some really great news, not only did I lose more weight, I have actually managed to lose some much needed inches. This wonderful piece of information was discovered when I put on a pair of shorts that I was afraid I would have a major problem zipping up. The awesome news is that not only was I able to zip the shorts up, but they were not the least bit tight either.

I could not believe my eyes when those shorts went on without a problem. I did more exercise than expected last week and figure that finally not only my weight, but the inches are finally coming down. It is refreshing to see some progress when I have been working on getting rid of those inches.

Usually I focus on inches rather than weight, because muscle is much heavier than fat, but I had gotten so round, I needed to start tracking the weight loss before I tracked my inches lost. I will continue this trend of weight loss throughout this week, and will strive to continue to exercise daily. Today I have been battling a really bad cold, and did not go out walking, but this was the first time in a week that I did not do some walking. With luck the winds won't be bad tomorrow morning and I can get a walk in early, before the heat comes.

I have been really pushing a lot more water lately too. I am sure that has contributed to the decrease in inches around my rear too. I have discovered that by adding a splash of fruit juice or a squeeze of lemon to my water, it becomes more palatable. I do get tired of the taste of water and will stop drinking it if I don't do something to "jazz it up".

I have also kept my promise to reduce my calorie intake this last week too. Not only has that worked, but my overall appetite has now decreased too. I get full faster and don't feel the need to munch as much anymore. I have also begun using the Cheat to fill me up more too. That has been very helpful in keeping my portions down and my calorie intake down also. The Core 4 system has worked for me in the past and now that I have given my body a break from it (several months), it looks like I may be able to continue the weight loss. This time around though, I will not be using Flush when using the Core4 product line. I guess you could say we are now into Core3? The reason I am not going to use Flush is that it is a strong detoxification item and the StemFLO is also a very good detoxification item. I do not want to over-do the detoxing of my body, so for now, I am not using Flush.

I am also taking the Accelerate every morning, about an hour or two after taking my StemEnhance and StemFLO. I didn't want to encounter any adverse reactions from these supplements, so decided by spreading them out over a few hours there would be minimal problems...and there were no problems I noticed. I will continue with this current trend and let you know next Monday if I have been able to continue the trend of both weight loss and inches lost.

Until tomorrow...

Weight Loss Update

Today, as promised, I am providing you with my weekly (not weakly..) weight loss update. I am happy to report that the weight I gained over the last two weeks did go away. Unfortunately, I did not lose more than what was put on, but at least I took off what had been added. Most likely more weight would have been lost if I had been more diligent about physical exercise.

We were extremely busy this week, but I had to spend quite a bit of time in front of the computer working on the company's financials. Needless to say, I didn't get out to walk briskly as often as I had hoped to. Even though, by watching what I ate and how much I ate, I was able to take the added pounds off. What I did do that was different from past weeks is really push the fresh water. I can say report that I drank at least 100 ounces of water each day. I made sure to always have my giant mug of water by my side at all times. I know I have filled it up at least three times a day all week long.

If you think about it, this week was pretty easy to drink so much water. The temperatures here in Arizona did get into the mid-80's for the whole week and the sun was out all day long...(actually, the sun is always out, you just may not be able to SEE it every day). Anyway, I did make sure to stay very well hydrated and attribute much of the weight loss to that fact.

What I have read, and will put into practice next week to see if it really works, is that in order to reduce your current weight by one pound a week, you need to reduce your daily intake of calories by 500 per day or 3,500 per week. Obviously, one way to reduce your calories, is to exercise, but, I am going to try to actually eat about 500 calories less each day to see if I can take the weight off. I am not focusing on the exercising this week because we have an extremely busy week, and I will not have time to exercise effectively. We have a big motorcycle show coming up this weekend, so I will be moving around, but once the show ends each night, all I want to do is to rest my feet. Standing and working a booth at a show burns some calories, but I don't think that it burns 500 calories each day.

With luck, I will be able to not only keep my weight down, but take at least another pound off by this time next week. The other problem with working motorcycle shows is that the eating menu is pretty bad. Breakfast usually consists of a breakfast burrito, lunch is whatever I can find at other food booths, and dinner, if I am not too tired would consist of some type of one-pot meal, like a hamburger helper type of meal (very high in sodium and fat, low in fresh veggies..). No matter how hard I try to create a healthier menu while on the road, those good intentions always seem to go by the wayside. Perhaps I will do better this time, but I will not hold my breath.

Until tomorrow...

Weight Loss Update for Early April

Well, it has been a while since I last provided you all with my weight loss/maintenance status. For the last two weeks I have not been very diligent about what I ate and exercising. The good news is that I have only put on about 3 pounds in 2 weeks. Three pounds is quite a bit in a two week period, but, as I have said before, water weight is a common problem with the female gender... What else seriously contributes to weight gain is stress. Exercise is also a great solution to weight gain due to stress also. As usual, I have fallen off the wagon...again about exercising. Stressful events got in the way this time, and I allowed them to keep me from working out, even just briskly walking.

So, again, I promise all of you that by next Monday (or Sunday if I am feeling VERY brave) at least the 3 pounds that have been added in two weeks will be removed. It would be NICE if more than that would go away, but I will make the commitment to you all that those 3 pounds will be gone in 7 days. Starting tomorrow (no, that is not an empty promise but a necessary one...it is after 10pm, the coyotes are out and about and it is not a good idea to start any exercise routine tonight...unless you want to include running from coyotes...) the exercise routine begins again.

Did you know that our body is made up of approximately 70% water? When our bodies do not move, the water in them becomes stagnant, creating a great breeding ground for disease. As you move your body through exercise, you basically stir the water in your body, refreshing your body and renewing your energy and strength. So, you can say I am stagnant, and honestly, how many of you out there feel the same way if you haven't moved around vigorously in the last few days? Don't you just kinda feel yucky and sluggish? Do you notice that the more you feel sluggish, the more you don't want to move, but by doing that, you then really notice the loss of energy and the loss of mental clarity? Exercise is a great way to get that old, stagnant water in your body stirred up and out of your system. Remember to drink lots of fresh water as you begin your exercise routine, you will need to flush out that stagnant stuff with fresh water.

So, starting tomorrow, as usual, the exercise routine will begin again. I at least have been pumping fresh water into my system for the last day and a half, so we are already on our way to removing that old yuch from my system and starting to rid the new weight too. I started using some of the Core4 products today, Cheat was sprinkled on my food to help me not take large portions. Cheat helps fill me up and provides a lot of natural fiber which is also necessary for effective weight loss. Lean will also be part of this week's exercise routine so that there is a significant increase in lean protein and amino acids so that the metabolism is increased, food cravings are reduced and energy is up so that I honestly have the energy to exercise. As always, there will be a large mug of fresh water nearby at all times during the waking hours.

Assuming I can stay away from all that really good Easter candy (especially since it is on sale this week..) there is no real reason why those 3 pounds will not come off within the week. I will continue to keep you posted on my weight loss regimen.

Until tomorrow...

Brief Weight Loss Update and Stuff

I know I said last night that I would continue our discussion on how to start a new home based business with no spare time. But...not tonight. I want to write the article correctly, and more importantly, coherently, and cannot do that tonight. I was outside in the sun too much today and am still feeling quite ill. So, I am going to do the next best thing, provide you with my weekly weight loss update and explain why I was out in the sun too long.

My weight has gone up a few pounds since last week. That is due to water weight and I believe the fact that my allergies are really trying to make me crazy. I am feeling quite bloated, especially first thing in the morning. Once I have showered and had at least 64 oz of plain water, the bloating goes away. The problem is that once the bloating is gone, I can't weight myself again since I ate and obviously drank water. I will have to find a better time to weigh myself during this allergy season. As mentioned yesterday, my allergies are not as bad this year, and I attribute that to the STEMTech products providing my body enough tools to work on repairing itself, but my body seems to want to store lots and LOTS of water. Hopefully that will resolve itself shortly and my weight will most likely not only go back to where it was, but decrease. My appetite has decreased dramatically so my weight should be dropping also.

Onto the reason why I am feeling ill. Since it is getting close to our annual trek, Run for the Wall, we met up with another friend today to improve our motorcycle riding skills. He has a location where we can review the basic motorcycle handling course and practice on the areas we are weak in. We measured out two different slaloms, some emergency swerving boxes and a u-turn box for us to practice our safe-riding techniques. The techniques we practiced are the same ones used in the advanced rider course the local motorcycle safety classes offer. It was nice to see that my skills have not deteriorated as badly as I expected, but, I know with practice, I could get a whole lot better. Today we practiced on five different maneuvers until we could do them cleanly and swiftly. There was the slalom where the cones were 15 feet apart and offset by 3 feet. This is tough because the spaces between cones are pretty close, and with the 3 foot offset, there is a lot of turning involved in a short length. Then there was the much easier slalom which placed the cones 25 feet apart from each other with a 5 foot offset between cones. This exercises could be done at a reasonable speed. We then had a box set up to practice close u-turns (simulating making u-turns on a two-lane road) and two additional lanes to practice fast, controlled stopping and then fast swerving. Overall, these 5 exercises sum up the basic riding techniques that need perfection in order to remain a safe motorcycle rider.

We practiced our riding skills in a very large and empty parking lot, but for me, unfortunately, it was in the sun. Since I was riding my own motorcycle, I could not wear the usual big, floppy brimmed hat and subsequently got too much sun exposure. I did wear sun-screen, but that did not seem to help too much. I didn't realize how much I usually keep myself shaded from the sun. By the end of our practice, I was feeling "green around the gills" and have been pumping water in my system ever since. I am feeling somewhat better, but still have a really bad headache and my stomach is upset (probably due to the massive amounts of water I am trying to consume).

I promise that tomorrow we will pick up the thread from Tuesday, how to get a business started with the limited time we have.

Until tomorrow...

Weight Loss Update? Maybe Not...

Happy Sunday - I bet you all are wondering when I was going to provide my weight loss update for the week. Well...it won't be today, I forgot to weigh myself again today. I know it is starting to sound like a habit, but my schedule has been so off the charts that I can't seem to keep things straight. I feel like I gained weight, but I know for a fact that it is water weight. When I get up in the mornings, my hands and face are swollen, and after moving around and drinking water during the day, the swelling resides (swelling due to allergies, the dogs have been tracking plant materials in the bed...I am allergic, need to keep the dogs off the bed for now). Not an excuse for not weighing myself, but today I really and truly forgot.

For the time being, I have stopped taking the Core4 System and have been focusing on using StemEnhance and StemFlo. I am hoping to report that my weight will not increase once I stop taking the Core4 system, but I will let you know once I remember to weigh myself again. I have been feel better, and I don't need as much coffee to get going each day. My gurgley guts have also not been an issue either, so it appears (so far) that perhaps the combination of StemEnahce and StemFlo have done a good job of keeping my insides balanced. I have also noticed that my appetite has decreased a bit too. We shall see if that holds in the next few weeks.

I am stopping the Core4 system for several reasons. One is that I am not thrilled with the new company, those reasons I will not go into here. The other reason is that I have stopped losing weight, despite all the efforts I have made to lose weight. My thoughts are that perhaps my body got used to the Core4 system and it is not responding to those herbs. If I take a break, and then start up again, perhaps I can start losing weight again. I will keep you posted, and will let you know once I go back on the Core4 System.

This is now the end of February, and we are entering into March. I can't believe the year is flying by so quickly. Our show schedule is already starting to heat up, we have events every weekend in March to include the Good Guys show in Scottsdale March 12-14th. We are really looking forward to that show, it should be a whole lot of fun. We will be sure to take a lot of pictures so for those of you who are unable to attend, you can see what goes on out there. If you are interested in our event schedule, please check out our website, and click on the link to the "Schedule of Events" (that can be found on the left side of the page, near the bottom). As we confirm shows, I post the updates on the Schedule of events. Hopefully we can see you at some of our upcoming events.

Until tomorrow...

Sunday Weight Management Update

Well, today is not only Sunday but Valentine's Day. The problem I have with Valentine's day is that there is waaaay too much chocolate around for a person to avoid. The good news is that I have managed to avoid the majority of the candy and chocolate so far. The bad news is that I really forgot to weigh myself today. I can assure you that my weight has not gone up, I weighed myself the other day, and have managed not to gain any weight from last week. So, I have been good on my weekly weight management.

I have been much more diligent about exercising this week too, as promised. I have been walking at least 30 minutes 5 out of 7 days and the walks have been getting more strenuous as the week progressed. These last two days I hiked around Silly Mountain again, today's hike was almost an hour long, and I had taken a much more steep trail. My legs are a little tired, but not as bad as I would have expected.

I do have a few confessions to make tonight too. As you know, for the last seven months I have been using the Core4 System to help me lose and then maintain my weight. In the last month, I have stopped taking the majority of the Core4 System, but am still using the Cheat on my food. I still really like the Cheat on my food, it fills me up faster without having to eat more food. I have been using the Lean off and on (more off than on) when I don't feel like putting any significant meals together. Lean is very useful for a quick meal replacement, you get the protein you need without having to figure out what to eat. I have not been using either the Flush or the Accelerate.

The reason I stopped taking the Flush is that a health-care professional read the ingredients in Flush and said that one of the ingredients was very bad for my colon. She said that extended use would cause my colon to fail. I have not researched too deeply into that claim, but you can imagine my concern every time I took the Flush. As I said, I have not been able to either collaborate or debunk the claim, but it did make me worry every time I took the Flush. The good news is that I don't seem to have the irritable bowels that I used to have before I started on the Core4 system (and using the Flush). I would like to believe that having taken the Flush for all these months kicked my bowels into gear and they are now working more consistently.

I will continue to sprinkle Cheat on my food, and will take the Lean when I don't want to bother with a full meal, but I will discontinue the use of Accelerate and Flush going forward. I believe that my lack of weight gain is due more toward my use of Cheat than any other product in the Core4 system. Tomorrow I will weigh myself and provide you an update. I also have some ideas about why I don't need Flush and Accelerate any more, and will cover that in tomorrow's blog.

Until tomorrow...

Sunday Weight Update and Superbowl Update

Well, today being Sunday, it is time for me to fess up...again... about where I am with regards to my weight management / loss. Last week I had forgotten to weigh myself for several days, I did not forget this week. The good news is that I did not gain any weight, the bad news is that I did not lose any weight either. I guess the static weight is a good thing, especially in light of my lack of daily exercise and getting hooked on sugar wafers this week.

I really love sugar wafers, they are a weakness of mine (like jelly beans..) and unfortunately we found them on sale at the local grocery store. Usually I stay away from sugar wafers because I can't justify the cost for the lack of nutrition, but this last week, the price was soooo right, I just had to stock up...well, I finished the last of my sugar wafer stock today watching the Superbowl. I also was not very diligent about exercising this week.

Exercising is very important, but my excuse (not a good one, but somewhat reasonable) is that my bronchitis was flaring and I didn't want to aggravate my lungs any more than necessary. It seems that now the bronchitis is under control, so at least a 30-minute walk regularly next week should be fine. It also looks like there will be no significant rain in the forecast, so there will be no excuse not to walk next week.

The good news about the static weight is that without the exercise and with the sugar wafer binge, the weight did not add up. Under normal circumstances, I would have probably added a few pounds over the week. So, at least the Core4 products are still keeping me out of trouble. I will strive to be better next week about my exercise and eating routines. Too much sweets and too little nutrition will do more harm than good, even if I don't gain additional weight. Healthy eating will lead to better sleeping, as will more exercise will also aid better sleeping. So, next week there should be a better health, weight and fitness report for you.

On a final note, in case you didn't watch the Superbowl, the New Orleans Saints won the Superbowl. My throat is sore from yelling during the game and yelling even more when they won. My family on my mother's side are from the New Orleans area, so it is particularly sweet for me to have the Saints win. I love seeing the underdog come out on top. It is now time for me to put the blog aside and go back to the celebrations for the Saints....

Until tomorrow...

Weekly Weight Management Update

Well, I know it is Monday, not Sunday, but I did a baaaaad thing yesterday. I sat down to watch TV for a few minutes...then I fell asleep. I woke up at 1 am and wobbled off to bed. As you probably noticed through the prior blogs, it had been a very busy week and weekend. By Sunday evening, after doing more errands, conference calls and housework, when I sat down, I pooped out.

I also have another piece of not great news. I have forgotten to weigh myself both yesterday and today. Yesterday, I got up early and started doing chores, had my coffee, ate a bagel and then realized that I had yet to weigh myself. Today was the same, started working on the computer (even before my shower this time) got involved in responding to e-mails from last evening, then with my head in the clouds, I totally forgot to weigh myself ...again. At the rate I am going, you would think my head whistles when I walk down the hall...

The good news is that I have been exercising regularly this past week. There were 5 out of 7 days that I did at least 30 minutes of rigorous exercises. I even did a brisk 30-minute walk today. It is finally becoming more of a habit, this exercising. I find that if I feel a bit tired or sleepy after working on the computer for hours, I get up and go for a brisk walk, about 30-minutes. I don't do the walk too long, I want to get back to the house wishing I walked longer. If I spend more than 30 minutes walking, I may get so sore and tired that I would be less willing to walk the next day. A little bit of psychological trickery going on... The result is that I do want to exercise daily, for at least 30 minutes. Once those 30 minutes feel really short, probably later this week I will increase it by 15 minute increments.

From what I have been reading, increasing exercises regimens slowly will not feel as difficult. If you work out hard initially, you are going to be less inclined to exercises as vigorously the next time. You will remember the pain, and find all kinds of excuses to not go out and do the work you promised yourself. By starting off easy (I have a very bad tendency to work out too hard initially), I feel a tad frustrated, wishing I would get more exercises, but I can translate that frustration into a drive to go out the next day and exercises again. So far it is working. As you found out, I have exercised 5 out of 7 days. Pretty darned good. And, I did not take 2 days off back to back. Did not exercises on Sunday, because I was a bit sore from the workout on Saturday.

The really cool thing about my current physical situation is that I seem to be recovering much faster than I have in the past. I seem to be a bit tender the day after a strenuous workout, but do not have any tenderness on the second day. I think my faster recoveries may be due to the combination of taking MonaVie and the new Stem Cell Nutritionals. As I have mentioned before, after being on the Stem Cell Nutritional, StemEnhance, I have found that my body does not bruise as easily as it used to. Originally, I could look at a pointy object and end up with a bruise. (not really, but I could bump into anything and end up with a significant bruise...really embarrassing...)

Back to weight management, I had not been very good about taking the Core4 System this last week. My clothes do not seem to have gotten tighter, so I have either maintained my current weight, or may have lost a bit. I took Cheat off and on (more off than on), last week, but did not remember to take the Accelerate, Lean or Flush at all. I know I promised to get on a better schedule, but at least I exercised. We shall see tomorrow.

Until tomorrow...

Weight Loss Update and the SAINTS!!!

Well, since it is again Sunday, time for me to fess up about my weight management for the week. The good news is that since I got back on the Core4 System (don't know if they will continue calling it that...will discuss that later) my weight went back to what it was 2 weeks ago. I haven't lost any additional pounds, but at least I didn't keep the extra pounds on that were added from the prior week.

I have a really good reason why I didn't lose extra weight this week, and again this is a testament to the Core4 system. As I am sure most of you know, California and Arizona were hit pretty hard with bad weather for several days this week. For Arizona, that meant rain for us 4 days long. Luckily for where we are in particular, all we got was a whole lot of rain and a whole lot of wind. A few trees in the neighborhood blew over, but it does not appear any homeowner suffered significant damage to their homes. The upshot of this discourse is that I did not have the ability to do any cardiovascular (walking) activity this week. I did use the exercise ball a few times this week, but did not really get my heart rate up for an extended period of time. So, the weight loss was decent, but I have yet to break past my plateau (which has now lasted 2 months...). The weather is expected to be good for the next few days, I will get my walking in then and work on the exercise ball (and rubber bandy things) when it starts raining again.

Again, at least the good news is that even through the holidays and bad weather, I may have put on a few pounds in one week when not using the Core4 system, but those same pounds always came off the next week when I got back on the system. I will strive to be more consistent with the Core4 system and get past that darned plateau.... I really want to lose that extra weight...

Now, on to really fun stuff....THE SAINTS WON THE NFC Championship!!!! Yippie. Half of my family is from Louisiana (yeah, I don't admit that much...) and I still have relatives that live just outside of New Orleans. After reconnecting with the "Southern" side of my family last year, I took a renewed interest in how the Saints performed. Truthfully, I started rooting for the Saints after hurricane Katrina. I just became a more ardent fan after spending time in New Orleans suburbs last year. This game between the Saints and the Vikings was a real nail-biter for me. I usually don't get too involved in rooting for particular teams, usually the teams I like are weeded out very early in the process. I also get waaaay too involved in rooting for a particular team (a throwback from watching my father root for his favorite football team) and by the end of a game, I am all worn out.

I must say that I believe the Vikings and Saints played a very good game tonight. It was such a good game that they had to go into overtime. If the Vikings were that bad, overtime would not have occurred. Yeah, the Vikings made some mistakes, but at this level of competition, it is more about controlling the number of mistakes rather than playing the better game. Both teams were phenomenal and the Vikings should be proud of how they performed (barring those few mistakes that allowed the Saints to win,...Yippie...). The match-up for the Superbowl will be great, but even though I like the Colts, my cheering will be for the Saints...

Back to business briefly, as I mentioned in an earlier post, Cal Nutrisciences, the creator of Core4 has merged with a new company Xyngular January 18 of this year. I am still not entirely sure how I feel about this, but really have no choice. I really like the Core4 product line, it is the first weight management system that actually works for my body (I am allergic to so much...) and I don't want to lose that chance to get my weight back to my ideal...(notice I said MY IDEAL, not anyone else's - that is very important) so I am sticking with Core4...for now... If the StemTech products do what I think they may (I believe there are things in my body that need repair which is why I may not be able to take weight off - and yeah, old age has something to do with that) I am hoping to take the weight off with Core4 System and maybe keep the weight off with StemTech, but I need to do a whole lot more research before making any specific claims. This is just my personal hope. I am becoming more enamored with the StemTech products the more I research it. So, I will provide you with more information on StemTech in the next few blogs and also why I am hoping for so much out of the StemTech products.

Until tomorrow...

Weight Loss / Weight Maintenance Update

Well, I didn't get this blog posted last night, but the news on my weight is that I gained a few pounds, water pounds again this week because I did not take my Core4 products for most of the week. I have found that if I do not take the Flush more times than not, my body goes back to it's old habits and retains a ton of water. It didn't help that I consumed a lot of salty foods, and ate out almost every night last week.

The good news is that weight should be coming off in the next few days as I get back on a regular eating, exercising and Core4 plan again. If I can take the water pounds off in the next few days, I will be sure to let you all know.

Some other interesting news that happened over the weekend is that CNI merged with another company called Xyngular. I have a bunch more research to do before giving you any more information on this new company, but the good news is that we can still get the Core4 products that I so love.

I promise to give you more information on the CNI/Xyngular merger this evening, after I have had time to research and digest the information. This merger is as much of a shock to me as it probably is to you. If worse comes to worse, Hawgwash, LLC will carry the Core4 products on our website (which we don't do right now...) so you won't have to rummage around the new site.

I will provide more information regarding this merger later today, for tonight's blog.

Until tonight...

Weight Management Update

I am happy to report that the extra pounds that managed to stick to me last week have all gone away. I am back at the weight from two weeks ago (notice I am not SAYING what that weight was....) and now plan on moving the scale downward on it's way to my target weight (and NO, I will NOT tell you my target weight either...). I did make a few adjustments to my schedule this week which I believe accounts for the loss of weight.

For starters, I was much better about taking the Core4 products (all of them) daily. Two weeks ago, more times than not, the closest I was to taking the Core4 products was looking at the bottles on the counter and thinking, "I should take those". This week, there was no thinking involved, I took the Accelerate in the morning, like I should, I drank one Lean either as a replacement for breakfast or lunch, for regular meals I remembered to sprinkle Cheat on my food and I took the Flush at night. It is amazing how much better you feel when you take better care of your body and weight.

I am now more energetic because I am utilizing the Core4 System again. My pants are not as tight, my belt buckle does not cut into my belly like it was last week, and I don't feel the urge to get into stretchy clothes because they are more comfortable. I also noticed my desire to get up and walk has increased too. I know the Accelerate has some caffeine in it, but I am not as droopy in the middle of the day as I had been. Overall, I am feeling much better (I know in part because I kicked the flu-like symptoms too) and am glad to be back in the saddle again.

I expect that next week, I will not have just maintained my weight, but will be able to report an ongoing weight loss.

Until tomorrow...

Happy New Year!

Hi Everyone, Happy New Year!!! I realize that I am a few days late (it is now the 3rd) but hey, better late than never... We have been busy and by the time I got to sit down in front of the computer to update the blog, the system was so slow, that I ended up rebooting many times. By then I was so tired and frustrated, you really didn't want to read what I had to say...;-)

The good news is that we finally sold one of the motorhomes we had. For the last year we upgraded to a friend's larger motorhome and have been trying to sell our old motorhome. Right after Christmas we finally found someone who was interested in the old motorhome. It took almost three solid days to complete the sale, which included transferring registration from Montana to Arizona to satisfy the bank loan of the buyer. We jumped through major hoops to help the new owner acquire the motorhome, the bank was being very particular about what needed to be done and when. Then we worked with the new owners to help learn how to use all of the items in the motorhome....busy, busy, busy... We are very glad to see this motorhome go to a good home. These people are really excited about the motorhome.

Today is Sunday and I completely forgot to weigh myself. Since I have not been feeling up to snuff for the last week and a half, I am expecting to see some version of weight gain. I have not been very diligent about taking my Core4 products, I am lucky to remember to use Cheat. We have been running so hard, no doubt like everybody else this time of year.

I did start using the Accelerate and Cheat again today, so hopefully any weight gain will be strictly temporary. My food consumption has not been large, but what I ate and when it was eaten probably took it's toll. Luckily, since we were so busy, we didn't spend a lot of time eating, but the downside is that if you don't eat on a relatively regular schedule, your body will start storing all of the fat and calories you consumed because you are essentially starving your body. When I don't feel well, I don't like to eat, so my body then goes into storage mode, thinking it is going to starve. Then, everything I consume gets stored and not used very much.

This I can tell because my rings are getting tight. My body is holding water and everything else because I have fallen off a regular eating schedule. Then, when I do eat, it is foods that are high in salt, another bad thing to do to your body. To make matters worse, I have not been drinking anywhere near the proper amount of water. So, if you are interested in losing weight, even over the holidays, do not follow my example. The good news is that if I gained any weight (which I really believe I did) it should be gone by the end of this next week.

Now that the stresses of the holidays are over, I can get back on a more regular eating schedule and force myself to drink more fluids. I have been drinking a lot of caffeinated beverages (tea and coffee) which is also most likely causing my body to go wacky. I will keep you posted on my ability to get my body back under control. I am back on the Core4 system.

Until tomorrow...

Sunday Weight maintenance update and General Topics

Hi all, this is going to be a very short blog since I have been nursing a migraine all day long, and it feels like it is getting worse. My head feels like a boil that is ready to just pop, and right now, I would love for that to happen, the pain would go away. My eyeballs are grating around in my head, so it is almost better to move the head instead of moving the eyeballs...

Anyway, after all week of eating really bad quality food (and not eating properly on top of that..) and minimal cardiac activity, I can happily report that I have yet to gain any weight. I have not lost any weight, but, I really thought there would be an increase in weight after all the bad things I did all week. Core4 products are still working. By all rights, I should be at least 2-3 pounds heavier than last week.

So if any of you are frustrated about your weight, the Core4 system is really something you should look at. If you want to lose weight and have a really "sticky" body (my body loves fat and won't let any of it go without a major fight) Core4 may be just the ticket for you.

That is all for today, my eyeballs want to pop out now too (this better NOT be the flu!!!). I will chat more with you tomorrow....

Weight Update prior to Christmas

Well, today is Sunday, time to fess up on my efforts at losing weight with the Core4 products. I have not gained nor lost any weight again this week. This is actually really good news. The way I have been eating over the last several weeks would make anyone who cared about their body cringe.

As you are all aware, we are bombarded over the holiday season with too many fun food options, and I have not been immune. My biggest problem has been the day old donuts that have been on sale too many times at the local grocery store. It appears that many people are eating properly, or the grocery's donut production has been very high. Either way, by the time I wander into the store later in the evening, the grocery store has boxes of donuts (these are a dozen donuts in each box) for the choosing. That wouldn't be so bad, but to buy a dozen donuts for $3.00, it is criminal to not pick up a box or two..

I have to admit, the donuts call me...constantly. When I come home with 2 dozen donuts, I have to try one now...just to be sure I made a good choice. Well, then it is dinner time, but I am not hungry, I had a donut and it killed my appetite. So, I don't eat dinner, but almost at bedtime, I am hungry again, don't feel like cooking, so grab another donut. You can see how fast that can get out of hand.

The good news is that as a general rule, I have been using Cheat on my donuts. I have not been diligent at taking the Accelerate each morning, but have been taking the Flush at night. I have not even touched the Lean (because I keep eating donuts...) during the day for the stupid reason that I don't want to wash the shaker bottle. I can easily come up with really dumb excuses when donuts are involved.

Not only have I been bad about what I eat, but we have been running around so much during the day, that I have absolutely zero energy to do any type of excercise (except pick up and consume donuts) for several weeks. Since we are not on the road anymore, I don't even go out to walk the dogs. I let them out in the backyard and watch them run around. I occasionally chase the dogs, but it is nothing like walking them a mile three times a day...

So, by my not gaining any weight after misbehaving so badly is a great testiment to the Core4 products, even if you don't take all of them religiously. The Core4 system is definitely something you may want to get involved in if you are really bad about consistently excercising and eating properly. I am not recommonding no excercise or eating badly, I am just stating that if you are as bad as I am, the Core4 system will save your butt from getting any bigger until you get yourself back under control and start taking better care of your body.

Until tomorrow...

Weekly Weight Loss Update

Today being Sunday, it is time again for me to fess up and provide an update on my weight loss. Since I have been sick off and on for the last week and a half (more sick than not), I have not lost any weight. I have gained a pound and a half of water weight. I am sure it is water weight because my finger rings have gotten tight, and that is ALWAYS due to an increase in water retention. Also, I have been weighing myself off and on all week, and the weight gain appeared in the last 24 hours.

I have higher than usual water retention today because I went out with friends for Mexican food last night. Since I don't cook with salt, and have been eating at home for several weeks, eating out usually increases my salt intake exponentially. The food was excellent, but since I have not been taking the Flush at all this week, I did retain all that salt and water today. Since I have been sick, the only items of the Core4 family I have been taking with any regularity has been the Cheat.

Cheat is easy to use, I keep it on the kitchen counter, so whenever food is prepared, I just grab the Cheat and sprinkle it on my food. Since that rotten cold, I did not feel like taking any pills at all, and really didn't want to look at the Lean as a meal replacement. When I get a bad cold, I have no desire to eat at all, so Lean did not float my boat. I tried taking the Accelerate a few days, more for the energy boost than anything else, but I was still tired. My thoughts were that since I was sick and drinking lots of herbal tea and water, I didn't want to take any of the Core4 products and basically flush them right out of my system. That was probably not the smartest thing I did, but if you don't feel good, logic goes out the window.

The good news is that even though I really didn't use all Core4 products in the last week and a half, I didn't gain any significant weight (that also includes that for the last week and a half I have done no exercising at all). I know that once I take the Flush, all the water retention will be removed and I will be back at the weight I was last week.

Hopefully this next week will be a healthy and busy week, so my slow and steady weight loss will continue. I will continue to provide weekly updates...

Until tomorrow...

My Lack of Weight Loss Saga...or is it??

It is Sunday again, time for me to report that I have only lost one pound this whole week. I guess I shouldn't be upset, I did lose a pound and I did NOT exercise like I promised all of you I would. Granted, I was active, but did not spend an active 20 minutes a day doing some version of exercising.

I believe that I am at that nasty plateau all of us hit, where the weight doesn't appear to want to go away. For those of you who have dieted, this is the time you lose faith in the diet and begin to essentially cheat on the diet and ultimately quit. As much as I would love to just call it quits, I know better. I have to keep reminding myself - how long it took to put the weight on? If it took me years to put on the weight, why do I think I can just snap my fingers and have the pounds fall off? Granted, when I first started with the CNI Core4 products, I lost 15 pounds in a month and a half which got me very excited and actually gave me unrealistic expectations about losing the rest of my weight. Healthy weight loss means that you need to lose the weight slowly.

I know that the Core4 works well even if you do not want to change your eating or exercise habits, but if you want to remove all of the excess fat, you are going to need to increase your exercise level. It is recommended to do a minimum of 20 minutes of exercise at least five times a week. My biggest problem this week has been that I have been glued to the computer and when not glued to the computer, I was running errands and going to our various appointments. That is definitely not the type of exercise that will help to burn off the "sticky" fat that is on my. I really need to focus and get my pulse up so I can increase my metabolism even more.

The really good news is that even though I have fallen off my promise to exercise this week, I have not been gaining any weight. That in itself is great testimony to the Core4 product line. If you can basically eat badly (which I did this week, pizza two nights, cookies, ice cream...you get the picture) and lose one pound without exercise, that is proof that Core4 really works. I have been using the Cheat regularly (except in soups...) along with taking Accelerate in the mornings and Flush at night. The only product I have not been good at taking every day is the Lean, which is really stupid of me. Lean tastes good, is easy to prepare, and does a great job of killing my hunger. The problem I have had is that regular, solid food has been available for all three meals, I usually drink the Lean if it means I have to cook something mid-day (I don't like being bothered by cooking, especially mid-day).

I have been eating more fresh vegetables this week, so when I have those crunchy cravings (there are days where I just need to CRUNCH something) I have an apple, celery or carrots. That is how I justified all of the other "bad" foods that I consumed this week, the fresh veggies offset the bad stuff. But again, you know I was just fooling myself.

Anyway, the good news is that I lost a pound this week, the bad news is that I broke my promise and did not exercise. At least the weight is still coming off, and since it is coming off at such a slow rate, the odds are that it won't come back. I will do better next week, really...

Until tomorrow...

Some Weight Management Tips

As I am sure you are all aware of (painfully aware for some of us), the holidays are very close. That means, tons of great food that is not necessarily very good for us. It also could mean (for those of us with marginal self-control) that we have an awesome opportunity to overeat on those foods that are only made and served around this time of year.

This time of year is my favorite, not just for the weather, but for the good-will shown by the majority of the people I run across. A lot of that good will is expressed in food, you go to some one's home bringing food, they want you to eat while at their home, others bring food, etc. Being on a diet this time of year can be misconstrued as being rude, or not being friendly. I grew up in New York, and if you wanted to make someone very happy, you had to eat. If you did not eat, you are essentially insulting the person that you are visiting. This can be very difficult, especially if the other person does not feel you need to lose an ounce of weight.

Happily, I can a product that we offer that will help you through this holiday dilemma - Cheat. Cheat is a product that is offered by CNI (which I have been talking about weekly). Cheat is an all natural fiber that you sprinkle on all types of food. The fiber it is made up of is called Konnyako Root and has been used extensively in Japan for almost 2,000 years. (how many heavy Japanese people have you seen?). Not only is this product natural, it is tasteless and it increases your fiber intake. It is the world's first weight loss food sprinkle.

What Cheat does after it is sprinkled on your meal is that it mixes with the food particles in your stomach and expands to trap portions of the food, causing it to safely pass through your system without being absorbed. Normally, calories, fats and nutrients are absorbed in your small intestine. With Cheat, it basically captures some of that food and "tricks" your body into thinking it is all fiber. Your body safely passes fiber along and does not absorb fiber. Essentially, about 25% of what you just consumed (if you sprinkled Cheat on the food first) is safely passed through your system, with no absorption. The only caution I have with Cheat is to not sprinkle it in soups. Since it expands, you will end up with a bunch of gel blobs in your soup, edible, but not very appetizing.

People who use Cheat have found that they can lose an average of 8 pounds in 30 days with no other change in their diet or exercise plan. What this means for the upcoming holidays is that you CAN eat those once-a-year foods, sprinkle some Cheat on those foods, and not experience that almost inevitable holiday weight gain. How great would it be that you don't have to say NO at the meal table and you end up not gaining weight after the holidays are over? Even better, wouldn't it be great to find out that you ultimately lost weight over the holidays with the assistance of Cheat? It could happen...

If you have further questions or would like to get your hands on some Cheat, please feel free to contact me at hawgwash1@yahoo.com or visit our website www.weightrenegade.com.

Until tomorrow...

My Weight Loss Saga - Continued

All right, it is Sunday again and I have promised to report on my weight loss while on the Core4 Products. Two weeks ago I had gained some weight due to the excess of Halloween candy I consumed and had promised to lose that weight plus (actually minus) one pound.

I am happy to report that I lost the weight I gained last week, but I am sorry to say that it does not appear that I lost that extra pound. In my defense, I have been in front of the computer most of the week, but I have not been exercising like I had promised I would. The exercise I have been getting consists of cleaning the pool for 4 days.

I know cleaning the pool may not sound like much, but I did end up with sore arms and wrists (the sweeping was pretty energetic) and I did do a lot of deep knee bends while sweeping the sides of the pool. I even got in the pool (not intentionally) on Thursday...fully clothed I might add. Not much swimming took place at that time, since I was fully clothed... but I did get in (really, I fell in...) the pool.

Bet you want to know how I fell in, don't you? Well, to start with, the pool broom I use to sweep the sides of the pool is a little broken - I do not have the extension part of the pole - so it is only probably 10 feet tall at best. So, I can easily sweep most of the sides of the pool (we won't discuss the deep end yet...) but need to bend way down to sweep the floor of the pool. That is how I am getting my deep knee bends in, as I sweep the floor of the pool, instead of bending over, I keep my back straight and do knee bends. Pretty cool way to exercise...so I thought.

The problem for me is that since I am just a tad vertically challenged (short), and there is a seat at the deep end of the pool, I cannot sweep the deepest end without first stepping onto the seat at the deep side of the pool. Standing on the seating area, the water only goes to about mid-thigh, so shorts are OK while cleaning the pool. Usually, I would sit on the side of the pool, lower my legs into the pool and then gently step onto the seat. I would then continue sweeping the sides of the deepest part of the pool. Sounds easy, right?

Well, on Thursday, I was in a bit of a rush and figured that I could just step onto the seat in the deep end of the pool. I had way too much confidence in my ability to keep my balance and squat on one leg while holding the long brush. Remember I was also feeling a bit rushed... So I take one big step onto the seat on the deep end, and realize too late that I had the brush on the deep side of the pool and had nothing to brace it on. I subsequently lose my balance and fell backwards into the deep end of the pool.

That would be a lot of fun in the summer time, but this time of year, the water in the pool is under 60 degrees and again, I was wearing clothes. I made a big kerplop into the pool and the dogs came running to see what I was doing. Here I am, hanging onto the side of the pool, I didn't lose my grip on the broom, and the dogs were barking at me...I couldn't stop laughing.

I ended up cleaning the rest of the pool from inside the pool, I was wet already, the water was cold, but I couldn't get any colder. Steve finally came out and wanted to know what in the world I was doing in the pool with my clothes on. I started laughing again because he thought I went in the pool intentionally with my clothes on. For those of you that know me, you know I love the water and will take almost any opportunity to get in the water. Thursday though, I did not plan on getting in the water since we had to work Bike Night after I finished sweeping the pool.

Anyway, that is how I got my exercise on Thursday. By next Sunday I plan on taking off 2 pounds and will be better at exercising throughout the week. I will not just rely on cleaning the pool for my exercises, I will use my exercise ball and the elastic band (my giant rubber band) and do at least 20 minutes of exercise for 5 days next week. I will let you know my weight loss progress next week.

Hopefully this brightened your day and will help put you in a good mood for beginning your week.

Until tomorrow...