Break the Walking Boredom!

I have been walking quite a bit lately. I love walking, especially at this time of the year in So Cal when it is cooler througout most of the day. I don't have to wake up super early or wait until it is dark to walk in a reasonable temperature!

With all of that walking, however, I have been getting a bit bored...and not feeling that my walks have been as challenging as they could be. I probably need to add some jog intervals, but I am also trying to be kind to sports-damaged knees!

The other day I picked up some ankle weights at Target, this exact pair:


("2 lb. Wrist/Ankle Weights - Pair", $11.99 at www.Target.com)

Wow. What a fantastic difference! I could feel it about half way into the walk, once I hit some hills that I had some extra work to do to lift those feet! I definitely felt more challenged, and can still feel an additional tightness in my calves, my thighs...and...well...my buns, too!

I did have on yoga-style pants that I love to walk in. I say that as I feel a bit like if I were wearing shorts, it may have appeared that I was attempting to break free from house arrest! The ankle weights were a bit on the bulky side, and I could only imagine how they could look like house arrest ankle monitors...ummmm...not that I should know what those look like! :)

I have to say that I am really bummed that I did not get these, as they are adjustable and go up to 10 lbs! This is going on my holiday wish list:


("10 lb. Wrist/Ankle Weights - Pair" $44.99 at www.Target.com)

Speaking of holiday gift wishes, give the gift of health this holiday season! Here is a great gift idea for anyone who is focused on their health and wellness! Green tea has amazing health benefits, and Adagio teas has something perfect for the tea lovers in your life:




Click on images for more information or to purchase today!

Give the Gift of Health and Wellness!

With so many of us on budgets this holiday season, many of us are trying to find gifts that have meaning and purpose. I know that many of the gifts that are on MY wish list are focused on my health and wellness. Those will be gifts that truly continue to give long after they are opened!

One such gift idea: Borba! BORBA luxury skin care products. Skin balance water, antioxidant cleansers, complexion & wrinkle repair, eye creams and more at Borba.com.


(Click picture above for more information or to order today!)

I love to drink lots of water, but admit that I get pretty bored with just water, water, and more water. Borba "Aqua-less Crystalline" packettes are the answer to not only making water more exciting, but also providing you with seriously amazing benefits for your skin! I want the sampler pack for Christmas, which includes four packettes of each Crystalline:

Clarifying Aqua-less Crystalline (4 packettes)
Age Defying Aqua-less Crystalline (4 packettes)
Firming Aqua-less Crystalline (4 packettes)
Replenishing Aqua-less Crystalline (4 packettes)

Make Borba part of your gift-giving solution this holiday season and give the gift of healthy skin to one you love (and to yourself!) BORBA ® - Official Site Drink you way to beautiful skin. Get Internet Specials Here! www.borba.com

Chocolate Covered Cherry Treat!

I have blogged in the past about Herbalife and how I love to experiment with creating shakes. I love the idea of meal replacement shakes, but need variety and interesting flavors to keep me on that routine. I have received some emails from people asking me if these shakes are really "all that". Yes, they are "ALL THAT"! I know, I know...I hear you...there are shakes out there that taste like lousy, lumpy, sawdust-y concoctions. Nope. Not my Herbalife shakes!

In fact, after scouring the pantry for ONE LOUSY PIECE OF HALLOWEEN CANDY this weekend, I was struck by an idea for a healthier way to soothe my sweet tooth! I simply got some Herbalife Nutritional Shake Mix out of my pantry and pulled out one of my favorite fruits from my freezer. Here is my recipe for a Chocolate Covered Cherry shake:


8 oz of Rice Milk (you can use milk, skim milk, soy milk, etc.)
2 heaping tablespoons of Dutch Chocolate Herbalife Nutritional Shake Mix
8 Frozen Pitted Cherries. I got these at Ralph's in the freezer section, and they are called "Private Selection Dark Sweet Pitted Cherries"
6-8 ice cubes


I put all of that in my handy blender, blended until smooth...and when that nectar, yes NECTAR, hit my lips I knew I had a new favorite shake! It is like drinking a chocolate covered cherry! And, far fewer calories and fat had I found that elusive candy!!!


Would you like to try Herbalife? Just send me your name and email in the registration box at the top right of my blog, and I can send you information about Herbalife, how it can positively impact your health, wellness and weight loss/weight management goals and even send you some of my secret shake recipes!!

p.s. I am a huge fan of frozen fruit as it makes for a very refreshing treat. My kids even love frozen fruit. One of our favorites is freezing grapes. They are like litten frozen sweet nuggets!

Green Tea and its Health Benefits

I have admittedly never been much of a tea drinker. I have tried a wide variety of teas, and never quite connected with it. However, I think that my love affair with coffee got in the way, and I recently kicked a 20 year long addiction to Diet Coke. However, in my effort to improve my health, and cut back further on caffeine, I have been dabbling a bit in trying different green teas. After all, I have to be able to drink something a bit more interesting than...water!!! And, honestly, I am pleasantly surprised!



Why Green Tea? Well, according to Wikipedia, "over the last few decades green tea has been subjected to many scientific and medical studies to determine the extent of its long-purported health benefits, with some evidence suggesting regular green tea drinkers may have lower chances of heart disease and developing certain types of cancer. The tea has also been useful for weight loss management."



Sounds like the perfect beverage for someone looking to improve their health, focus on heart health and potentially lose weight or manage their weight. Sounds like the perfect beverage for me!



Furthermore, according again to Wikipedia, there are many more extensive claims, not proven, but interesting to note:

* Stopping certain neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
* Treatment of cancer
* Treating multiple sclerosis
* Preventing the degradation of cell membranes by neutralizing the spread of free radicals which occur during oxidation process.
* Reducing the negative effects of LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) by lowering levels of triglycerides and increasing the production of HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol).
* An increase in levels of the metabolism speeding brain chemical norepinephrine (noradrenaline).
* Japanese researchers claim that drinking five cups of green tea a day can burn 70 to 80 extra calories. Dr. Nicholas Perricone, a self-proclaimed anti-aging specialist, appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and told Oprah's viewers they can lose 10 lbs (4.5 kg) in 6 weeks drinking green tea instead of coffee.
* Some green tea lovers commonly restrict their intake because of the stimulants it contains — equivalent to about a third the amount of caffeine as is found in coffee.



I highly recommend trying the teas from Adagio, their green tea sampler is fantastic! I find that I can enjoy these teas hot or cold. In fact, I prefer their "Citron Green" that has a nice, crisp lemon/lime taste poured over ice. I recently took a water bottled filled with icy cold Citron Green tea and it was incredibly refreshing! Click on any of the images in this blog post to experience the wonders of green tea for yourself!

Steal your kid's Nintendo DS today!

I have found a very cool tool to help me keep track of calories and exercise, but I first had to steal my son's Nintendo DS! Nintendo's My Weight Loss Coach for the DS.

My Weight Loss Coach is a great way to have fun while doing some of the very most mundane aspects of weight loss: Tracking your progress, tracking your intake, tracking your exercise. My Weight Loss Coach is easy to set up, and actually very fun and entertaining to use. You truly do end up with a "coach", an adorable stick figure who assumes your gender and walks you through a variety of screens. In fact, one of the first thing "she" asked me to do was drink a glass of water...and she crossed her arms and tapped her foot until I clicked that I had followed her directions!

You have the ability to set up your personal info, and then My Weight Loss Coach tracks and even graphs your progress for you. I typically log in every day, if I miss a day or two, my "Coach" tells me that she missed me. It is a great way to ensure I stay connected. Along with your profile, You are offered little, fun challenges. Some are super easy: Hide your Salt Shaker. Some are not so easy: Create and post an inventory of what is in your fridge. As you achieve them, you can mark them completed and select more. As you achieve your challenges, your progress is tracked and you achieve interesting milestones, like passing through the Panana Canal. Very clever.

You receive a pedometer with the game, not the greatest one in the world, but fairly functional and easy to upload your number of steps into the game. I found the pedometer to be a bit bulkier than some of the slicker ones that I searched for online, but it was certainly eye-opening to see how many, or how few, steps I took on any given day! It truly made me think about parking further away from the store while running errands, or taking the stairs instead of the elevator. I found it resetting on its own occasionally, so I have to be a bit careful with it. There are other options, at sporting goods stores, Target, Amazon, etc., and you can always simply enter in your total number of steps without using the pedometer that comes with My Weight Loss Coach. You can also enter in other physical activities from a variety of choices.

You can also enter your daily food intake. You get to drag little food icons over your Coach and she "gobbles" up your intake! You do get some coaching to ensure that your intake matches your exercise. The food choices are pretty rudimentary, I would love to see more specific choices, but once you get the hang of it, you can get it very close to what you consumed. I was not sure that I quite got the "energy unit" vs. carbs or calories...so I was a bit confused at first. But, I have to say that it got me in the mind set that food is energy, which is a positive mindset to have when trying to lose weight, I suppose! I would prefer an "advanced" version of the game, for those of us tracking more specific dietary goals.

Results to date? I lost seven total pounds, but did not achieve the goal that the game gave me to meet by month end. But, progress is progress! Time to work harder, consume smarter "energy units" and continue to meet my coach's daily challenges. My poor kid, he may never see his Nintendo DS again! Get My Weight Loss Coach today by going to my Amazon picks on the right hand side of my blog and clicking on the My Weight Loss Coach icon!