Health and Nutrition That Is AboveNBeyond

When I was a kid, I just loved soda. I could not get enough of it. In fact, eventually, I was drinking up to 2 cases of this great tasting liquid candy a week. Yes, I said 2 cases a week. Back then, I could eat and drink anything and not gain a pound! Oh, and yes, that is correct, soft-drinks are nothing more than liquid candy. Water with lots of additives, sugars, and who knows what else all bottled or canned up for those who can’t wait for the next drop.

I just heard of a new study that shows that people who drink diet soft drinks don’t lose weight. In fact, they gain weight. This was from a 8 year study conducted by Sharon P. Fowler, MPH, and colleagues at the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio.

The chart below shows the percentages of risk for becoming overweight:

I’ve been on a downward progression with drinking soft-drinks and reading about this only makes me want to dive further downward. As far as the above chart, I probably fall somewhere on the first or second line for either category. Though, I don’t drink as much diet soda as compared to regular soda. Actually, since I’ve been with Herbalife, I’ve been drinking far less soda and more Liftoff and other “healthy” drinks.

Herbalife offers some great alternatives to soft drinks:

Liftoff Energy Drink
H3O Fitness Drink
Wild Berry and Mango Protein drinks

I’ve tried all but the Wild Berry and they are great!

If taste is the only driver for drinking your favorate soft-drink, then why not compromise and drink something that will work for you and not against you. My new thought with sodas is as follows:

Soft-drinks are like an enemy in hiding. In some cases you don’t know what is happening until it’s to late.

Well, with no excuses meant, dealing with a severe cold and soar throat and a bad cough, I did not follow the weight loss program this week. Infact, at the time of this post I was still coughing and dealing with a cold that is heading to the chest. So, there is really no progress to report today.

There are quite a few really good ways to loose weight. Whether it’s Herbalife or some other weight loss program, if you don’t control your portions, your efforts will be strained by the portions you are eating. Herbalife is not about diets, it’s about a change in lifestyle. Eating habbits can be related to spending habbits. Though this post is not about the usage of money, you can see that eating a lot can be like spending a lot of money. Eating a lot of food can interfere with your weight loss efforts in the same manor that spending a lot of money can make your debt get bigger.

Eating a lot of food ==== Waist line gets bigger
Spending a lot of money ==== your debt gets bigger

Portion control is the name of the game or the blame of the game and until you really get serious, you will go in the direction of the most control. Yes, control, your hand controls the food that you are eating in the same manor that your hand controls the debt that you are using. What controls the hand is your learned habbits.

One could ask “if you start controling your portions” when eating, then why start a weight loss program? Well that is simple! First if you have weight to loose, the program will help you get to where you want to be. Then, after you are where you want to be, the weight loss program turns into a weight management program. Remember, this is not about a diet, but a change in lifestyle. You are embarking down a healthier road for the reast of your life. If you stop and return to your old ways, the effort will have been for nothing.

Persistance always pays off when you consistently do something. In my case I have at last hit 180.8. With only 8 ounces to go, I’ll take it! This is down from over 187 pounds. I would have hit it sooner, but, I slipped now and then which was entirely my fault. I started my weight loss challenge on January 1st, 2008 and I am not complaining. The program works and the shakes taste great! Now, the journey toward my secondary goal will begin. This goal is to loose up to 15 pounds more. Just a hint, 10 would be great!

Last evening I began to notice a new result as to following the weight loss program. Since I’ve been eating only certain foods and having the shakes, it was interesting to see what happened last night. We had homemade meatball sandwhiches for dinner. Normally that would not be an issue except that these meatballs were made with regular ground beef and not lean ground beef or ground turkey. What I noticed is that I had a sick stomach about 2 hours later and had to take something for it. What it was, was the greese from the burger. Must have been more greese than beef. My wife and I have decided not to get this kind of ground beef again. She even noticed the taste was different, but had no effects like I did. I have lost some weight this week, but, I will weight for Friday’s weigh in to see the weekly outcome.

Free stuff and/or discounts, something we all like and want. Starting this month (March 2008), There is now an “online” basket drawing available. Each month, you can take part in the drawing to have a chance to win various Herbalife products and/or discounts. I’m excited about this because the drawings will give more people a chance to experience some of the products first hand.

Check out the Basket Drawings page for more information and place your entry today!

I’ve been with Herbalife long enough now and I have developed a list of favorites of what Herbalife has to offer. Herbalife has so much to offer that it is actually hard not to find something you would like. Some of my favorites include (in no order):

Herbalifeline

Creamy Chicken Soup Mix

Liftoff Energy Drink

H3O Fitness Drink

Protein Bar

You can find these items on my Online Product Catalog.

Now, remember, if you decide you want to loose weight, you are replacing items on your food bill and not adding to it. Choices can be delicious!