*singing* My nemma, nemma. My nemesis. My nemma nemma. My nemesis.
Okay, I'm done, you can uncover your ears lol. Yes I know, I watch way too much Phineas and Ferb. Can you blame me!?! It's one of the best cartoons with oddly shaped characters to come out in a long time :). "Whatcha doing?", "I know what we're going to do today" and calling anyone that makes a bonehead decision a "Doofenshmirtz" are pretty common place around here.
We all have a nemesis. That consistant villian that always pop ups, pulling out our inner secret agent in an effort to defeat the evil. Mine is my weight. Every day I battle this demon in an effort to improve my health and quality of life. I work out everyday, eat healthy, take vitamins and still my weight can be quite stubborn. Sometimes we need a little help.
Enter- my secret agent. If my weight is my very own Dr. Doofenshmirtz, then I think I may have just found my Perry the Platapus :).
I'm not big on "diet pills". For the most part, 99% of them are crappy scams. I've tried several and usually I got 1 of 2 results- (1) They didn't work, plain and simple; (2) They gave me the jitters so damn bad I could hardly do anything due to the shaking (I also have non-life threating heart palpitations and a lot of those pills would set my heart off like crazy). Plus I hate not knowing exactly what I'm putting in my body. Most of these pills will list their ingredients, but they don't tell you how much is in there or they just call it a "blend". Now your popping a pill without knowing exactly what it is. So when one of my trainers (who also happens to be my nutritionist) recommended I try a product, I was very skeptical. But he's a great trainer (all the ones I've worked with so far have been) and he's never steared me in the wrong direction before.
The products are by Advocare. He told me all about them, including all the ones that he, his girlfriend and adult daughter take. So I checked out the website. It had alot of the stuff I was expecting- lots of raving reviews from clients, endorsements from top athletes (including olympic participants) and some "history" on how and why the product was developed. Typical stuff. The first thing that drew my attention to it was that the website doesn't come off as "pushy". No, "take our product or you'll never ever reach your fitness goals." Compared to other sites, it's simple, well done and to the point. What I really like is that all the products list ALL their ingredients, including how much of the ingredient is in there. For someone like me, who likes to track exactly what I'm taking (so I know what's working and what's not and when and what need to be increased or decreased) this is a HUGE plus. And the prices were not way over the top. They are by no means the cheapest line of products I've ever seen, but they are not even close to the most expensive either. I'm a big believer in that if you buy "cheap" products than that is exactly what you are going to receive. So I have no problems paying a bit more for quality as long as I can see that better quality is what I'm actually getting. That's why I like how honest Advocare is. By putting every ingredient on the label INCLUDING how must of it is in there, you know exactly what you are getting.
Now of course they encourage you to buy a large range of their products, what company wouldn't. But like I said before they aren't pushy about it. My trainer (he and his girlfriend are "distributors") are not pushy either. He encouraged me to try one or two products at first and then if I liked them, then I could add to it. Or not. Totally laid back about it, which I like. Nothing pushes me away from a product faster than a pushy salesman. I explained to him that I didn't want to blow a bunch of money on this, after all I'm already paying for a gym membership and training, but I was definitely getting super frustrated with my extremely slow progress. So he recommended trying 2 of the products- the 10 day cleanse and Thermoplus (to help my stagnant metabolism). The total for both, with shipping, was about $70 (that's the price of just one bottle of some of these bogus "miracle" diet pills). Since I'm already on a steady workout regiment and have a very healthy diet, he figured these two products would be the best for me at this time.
So after talking to hubby about it, I decided to try it. If I hated it, then I was only out the $70 dollars, so why not. I've definitely justified more expensive crap in the past for the same reason. I started the 10 cleanse. It natural, safe and very gentle (no rushes to bathroom lol). In fact, because I eat so healthy anyway, I really didn't feel much change. The amount of fiber in it did make me gain 2 pounds. That irritated me, but I found out other had the same issue. It was only 10 days, so I stuck with it. The cleanse has some good natural detox stuff, which helps your body start to push out some of that junk that can accumulate in your fat, making the fat burning later a little easier and safer (since you have now limited the amount of stored up toxins being released). It also has a really good probiotic in it. I LOVE probiotics and I'm real big on taking them. I will admit, this is one of the better ones I've found in a long time. The probiotics help repair any damage to your digestive system by restoring good bacteria, making absorbtion of essential vitamins and minerals more effective.
After the cleanse I started the Thermoplus. Now this is the pill that my trainer raved about the most. He's not big on "diet pills" either, but he said he saw some real changes in his clients that took it. Again, I was super skeptical at first, but I thought why not. First thing I liked, they keep it simple. There are only 5 ingredients. That's it! Not a huge laundry list of junk I can't pronounce, just 5 simple ingredients. And just like everything else, they tell you how much of each ingredient is in there. So I started taking it about a week ago and already I've seen a huge change. I've lost 3 pounds (puting my total weight loss to date at 18 pounds)! That's amazing for me!!! They don't make me jittery at all, in fact I can still take my B-complex vitamin and have my coffee and still no palpitations or shakey shakies. I do feel the boost in energy, but not in a bad "bouncing off the walls" way. I mostly feel it during my workouts and in the evening, when I usually start to feel blah and sluggish. I've also noticed that when I do a good intense workout, it doesn't wear me down as bad as it used to. At the same time, it doesn't make me feel like super woman, so I don't push myself so hard that I end up hurt. It just seems to take the edge off that post workout fatigue. Only time will tell if Thermoplus will continue to be my saving grace, but for now, the help from it is most welcome. I don't consider it to be a "miracle" pill (although that is something I've heard others refer to as). I work my butt off everyday! I just got tired of working so hard and feeling like I was just being constantly pushed back. This has helped me defeat the platuea I was stuck on for almost 2 months and has given more confidence to continue my journey to a healthier me.
So if weight and fat are my Doofenshmirtz then Thermoplus is my Perry (and I guess that would make Advocare the agency lol). I am proud of what I have accomplished so far and of how hard I have worked and I am not ashamed at all to admit I needed a little help. Sometimes we all do. Some get help through surgery or from a prescription. Some only need a trainer. And then there are those that don't need anything but a gym. I need a little extra help and I've learned that that is okay.
SIDE NOTE- I have the most amazing and supportive husband and friends! They have been there for me since day one, showing love and encouragement. They also are sure to remind me that I am beautiful and check in with me to make sure I'm doing this in a safe and healthy way. This is so so so very important to being successful with weight loss. I want to let you guys know that I do not have unrealistic expectations. I have no desire to be a size 6 or smaller (if it does happen, it will simply be because I will be lean and healthy, I have no desire to look like a skeleton). In fact, it doesn't even bother me if I never reach the single digit sizes at all. I would be perfectly happy in some size 10 jeans :). I am doing this for my health (obesity related illnesses run high in my family) and because I want to have the energy and ability to be the absolutely best mom and wife possible. Having a child with a chronic illness means that sometimes I need to be the strong one. I need to be healthy and strong, so that I can take care of my family. Thank to everyone for your love and support. You guys are my rock and I really don't know what I would do without you! Love and hugs all around!!!