A Picture Is Worth 1,000 Words!

It's true...the picture above says it all!!!  When I took the picture on the left, I had joined a weight-loss group on Facebook & everyone was posting their "Before" picture, so I figured I'd do the same.  Good thing, too - or I wouldn't have a "before" picture!  ;)  Between the time that picture was taken and when I actually started on Plexus (19 days later), I had GAINED five pounds - so while this is close, it's not an exact representation of how I looked the day I started Plexus.  ;)  So much for the weight-loss support group on Facebook, huh?

For the last 5 weeks, I have steadily been losing weight...roughly 1-2 pounds a week, which is what is said to be best for a healthy weight-loss.  All in all, I've lost just shy of 10 pounds (9.8, to be exact).  However, never before has 10 pounds looked so good off of me!  I was actually surprised when I put today's picture up next to the picture I took on April 1st...seriously seeing a difference!

With something that is this simple to use and produces this kind of results, it's easy to see why I love it!  When I think back to a couple months ago when my friend Jami was trying to convince me to try it, and how skeptical I was of it - I only wish I'd tried it sooner!  Now, I can't imagine a day without my "pink drink" - Plexus Slim!  I have more energy than I've ever had before...and eating less just comes naturally to me now! That's something I NEVER thought I'd be able to say!  I had come to the point where it was beginning to feel like I would never lose weight because they were all too hard for me to stick with.  Something had to be counted, something had to be cut out or seriously reduced, and always there was measuring & keeping a food journal of some sort involved...as a friend of mine says, "Ain't nobody got time for that!"  LOL!

So, here I am...after years of trying every diet known to man (some of them multiple times...as if something was going to change), finally finding something that REALLY works for me!  Is it any wonder I love telling you about it?

But, not only do I have an opportunity to lose weight and get healthy, but I also have the opportunity to earn money by helping OTHERS lose unwanted poundage!  ;)  When I signed up five weeks ago to sell Plexus, I'm not gonna lie to you...I seriously ONLY did it so I could get a discount on my own product.  But, as others have seen me lose weight, they have also become interested in this product.  Some are buying from me...and one just converted from a customer to a team member!  It happened when she met a friend for coffee...and that friend said, "You look GREAT!  What are you doing?"  After raving about how she felt on Plexus, the friend was convinced and my friend/customer asked me about selling it herself...and now she's my very first team member!  :)

YOU could do this, too!  All it takes is posting pictures, testimonials, comments on Facebook and sharing with others what Plexus is doing for you!  If you are interested in learning more about either purchasing or selling Plexus, please contact me on Facebook or check out my website. :)

Until next week...

Time for another weigh-in!

There used to be a time when I absolutely HATED the scale.  I dreaded stepping on it each week, never quite sure what it would reveal.  I always judged my progress, and even myself, solely on what that scale revealed!  But now, I'm excited to see what it has to say...partly because I know it doesn't tell me the whole story...even a gain on the scale (as I saw a couple of weeks ago) doesn't mean what I'm doing isn't working (especially, if you'll remember, I lost 4 inches from my waist that week & 2.8 pounds off the scale the following week)!  So, I try to take what my scale tells me with a grain of salt, so to speak.  ;)

That being said, I was seriously expecting a BIG weight loss on the scale yesterday.  I had dreams of dropping 5, or even 10 pounds (not very realistic, but that didn't stop me from dreaming)!  After all, I had worked out three times on the elliptical...30 minutes at a whack, using the arm things that go back & forth the whole time, even!  That should account for something, right?  ;)  After all, it's the first time in 4 weeks that I've actually exercised at all.  So, when I stepped on the scale Friday morning and saw the result, I'm not gonna lie...I was slightly disappointed.  One pound...that's what I saw.  One little ole' pound.  Humph!

But then...I got to thinking - muscle weighs more than fat. If I was exercising, I was probably building some muscle, even as I lost some fat.  And besides, we know that ole scale can be fickle from time to time.  So, I pulled myself right on out of that pity party and began to celebrate that pound.  After all...it was a pound in the RIGHT direction...DOWN!!!!  ;)

I think anyone in any kind of weight loss program can get into that mindset...getting frustrated because the loss wasn't what we wanted or thought it should be.  It's too easy to get frustrated because the scale doesn't properly reflect the hard work we know we've put in.  But, the scale is just a single measurement tool.  There's so many other things we can use to measure our success!  Sure, there's also the measuring tape...and I probably should have pulled that puppy out - but I didn't.  Instead, I focused on not only the one pound LOSS...but also on the other successes I see happening!  There are probably 6-8 Diet Cokes sitting in my refrigerator - cold and waiting to be enjoyed...and have been for the last several weeks!  But, instead of reaching for one of those when I'm thirsty, I actually PREFER to drink water.  In case I've failed to mention this before, let me just tell you how HUGE that is...water has NEVER been my first drink choice.  If I'd had too much soda, I'd opt for iced tea...or lemonade...ANYTHING other than water!  But now - more often than not, I'd rather have water than anything else!  I do believe the Plexus actually causes me to CRAVE water!  I'll be flat honest with you...that's one craving I NEVER thought I'd have!  LOL!  ;)

Some other measures of success include choosing to eat less, making wise choices in the foods I do eat, and desiring to exercise more!  I was telling a friend just yesterday that one of the things about Plexus that I think helps me most is that it gives me the opportunity to make more wise choices.  Could I choose to eat unhealthy while taking Plexus?  Sure!  Plexus doesn't wrestle me to the ground and make me eat more healthy or eat less.  It just helps me not feel deprived when I make those choices!  I can literally look at a cupcake and pause long enough to actually think, "Do I really want that?"  More often than not, the answer is now no.  Could I still eat it?  Sure...but why do that?  Why eat something unhealthy that I don't really want to eat in the first place?

To help you understand this a little more, I'm going to reveal something about myself that I have previously always tried to hide (sometimes more successfully than others)...I am a BIG eater!  I really, really LIKE to eat...and eat large quantities of it, if it tastes good!  And when I don't eat as much as I'd like of something, I feel deprived...which, unfortunately, often ends in a private binge eating session later.  This, I think, is primarily why most diets fail for me.  Sure...I can play the game for awhile - count those calories, points, fat grams, or what have you!  I'll be very militant about it...for awhile.  But then, it's not fun anymore, the weight loss starts to slow down, and I start feeling deprived.  At that point, it's just not worth it to me anymore, and I give up.  There's not a lot of gray area for me when I'm dieting...I'm either doing it to the letter - or I'm not doing it at all.  The only in between for me is when I'm pretending that I'm doing it (lying to both myself and others) when I'm really not.

That's where I feel Plexus helps me most.  There is nothing I can't have...and there's no limit on how much.  I don't have to count anything and I don't have to write down what I ate.  I just don't have time for that in my life.  With Plexus, I simply take my two accelerator pills in the morning with breakfast and then drink my pink drink (Plexus Slim) when I finish my coffee, sometime mid-morning.  That's all there is to it!  It helps me pay attention to what my body needs and wants.  It keeps me from being so hungry all the time that I just want to fill the hole with whatever tastes good.  It takes away my cravings for carbs, sweets, and soda!  And since I don't have to fear being hungry later or feeling deprived, it gives me the freedom when my husband asks me how many hot dogs or grilled cheese sandwiches I want to say, "I just want one, thanks!"  And that, my friends, is a HUGE success in my book!!!

I have always heard it said that if you wanted to be thin, you should eat like a naturally thin person.  For the life of me, I could never understand what that meant.  When I've observed naturally thin people, I noticed that they didn't eat salads at every meal, they didn't write down everything they ate, they didn't drink protein drinks instead of eating a meal, and they didn't count calories or points.  And yet, that's what most every weight loss program boils down to - one or more of those strategies.  What I noticed instead was that they would eat whatever it was they wanted to eat (and nothing else)...and they stopped eating when they were full.  Plexus has helped me do just that.  If I want pizza or cake or whatever, I can have it...and I can have as much as I want.  But with Plexus, my desire for it is less and the amount it takes to make me feel full is FAR less!

Getting back to what the scale has to say...even though this week was a single pound, over the last 4 weeks, I've lost a total of 8.8 pounds - that's better than a 2 pound per week average!  Everything I've read says that a healthy weight loss is 1-2 pounds per week.  So, I'm in that general ball park...and that makes me feel good!  :)

If you are interested in how Plexus could help you, please visit my website at www.karaj.myplexusproducts.com or contact me via my Facebook page.  There are also testimonials on both my website and Facebook page of how Plexus has helped others.  :)  You can order a 3-day or 7-day supply of Plexus Slim (with or without the accelerator) from my website if you want to see first hand how it works for you.  There's a discount on the 30-day supply if you sign up as a preferred customer and always a 60-day money-back guarantee!  Or, if you would like to get it at wholesale, you can sign up to sell it - just contact me for more details!  :)

Weekly Weigh-In...a tad late

I did, in fact, weigh in on Friday...just didn't get a chance to blog about it until now!  It's been a bit of a crazy week - and the weekend followed suit!  ;)  But now, the house is quiet and I know if I don't blog about it now...well, it could be NEXT Friday before I get a chance to sit down and blog about it. ;)

If you read my blog last week, you know that I had a one pound gain...but lost 4 inches in my waist.  Well...this week, I lost another 2.8 pounds when I stepped on the scale Friday morning.  That means, I've lost a total of 7.8 pounds in the last 3 weeks (with one of those pounds being lost twice!  LOL!)!  That in itself is pretty impressive to me...that's better than an average of 2 pounds per week!!!  But what's even MORE impressive to me is that, other than taking my Plexus Accelerator pills with breakfast and drinking my Plexus "pink drink" mid-morning, I haven't really DONE anything to lose the weight.  I have not followed an eating plan or even really watched what I ate.  The ONLY exercise I have done (aside from keeping up with 3 active boys...two of my own and one that I babysit) is ride my bike ONCE about a week or so ago around my neighborhood and to the grocery store (which is in my neighborhood).

I've been meaning to get back to exercise...really I have!  After all, I have a year's membership to the park & rec fitness centers that's just going to waste.  But, the best time for me to go is at 6am while my hubby is getting ready for work and the boys are asleep...problem is, I am so NOT a morning person...so when 6am rolls around, it's all too easy to roll over and go back to sleep with promises of exercising later that never actually materialize.  And yet, I know when I do exercise, I feel so much better!  :)

So...I'm making a goal of working out at least 3-4 days this week.  :)  I actually already acquainted my body with the gym this weekend.  I went yesterday morning.  It started with a message I got from a very dear friend who is almost to the end of her weight-loss journey.  It was a very simple message..."Hey...how have you done with your exercise this week?"  It convicted me...and encouraged me, all at the same time!  So, I mustered up all of my determination and took my little happy self to the gym.  Since it was late Saturday morning, there weren't many people actually in the gym...most of them were lined up for the pool.  ;)  So, I got myself situated and climbed up on the elliptical machine.  This particular machine has poles that move back and forth to exercise your arms, as well as stationary arms for a lighter workout or to check your pulse.  Usually, I'll do the poles that work my arms for a short bit (maybe 5 minutes or so)...but the majority of the time, I'm holding on to the stationary ones.  However, this time, I grabbed those poles and pretty much used them the WHOLE 30 minutes!  I only used the stationary ones when I was turning a page of the book I was reading!  I did notice that I was sweating a lot more while I was working out than I usually did...but it really didn't dawn on me what I'd done until I was almost done!   I don't think I've ever used the arm poles for the whole time before!  :)  I was drinking my Plexus "pink drink" while working out...so I wonder if that might have had something to do with it...maybe it gave me the extra boost I needed to work a little harder!  :)

I am looking forward to see what kind of affect exercise might have on my weight loss.  Of course, that means I really do have to get up at least 3 mornings this coming week and follow through on my commitment to use that gym membership!  ;)  To be continued...  :)

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!

You know, whenever I'm on a diet, I live by the scale.  If I'm down a pound or two, I'm happy.  But if I've gained even a tenth of a pound, I'm frustrated.  And sometimes, it makes me want to give up.  For the most part, I know what caused the fluctuation...a certain time of the month, too much salty food, wrong food choices, not enough exercise, etc.  The list could literally go on and on!  But, it doesn't matter the reason why...if it's not less than it was the week before, I feel frustrated...discouraged even!

I've put a lot of stock in what the scale says...and have often let it determine my mood for the day.  Lost a pound?  WOO HOO!  Time to celebrate!!!  Gained a pound?  Feel like a complete failure, beat myself up for not doing x, y, or z...sometimes, give up completely and drown my sorrows in the most fattening, sugary, junky food I can find!  Sometimes, lots of it!

SOOO...today, I step on the scale to check out my progress for my second week on Plexus.  Imagine my surprise when I notice I've gained a pound!  After all, I'd lost SIX last week!  So...I start the same ole' pattern of trying to figure out what I did "wrong" - not realizing at the moment that the only thing I really did wrong was putting all my trust in a scale to gage my efforts.  Sure, I had a couple of sodas this week, and some junk food...and yeah, that could account for the weight gain.  But, it could be attributed to other things, too.  Besides, I feel so much better in general and I'm noticing that my close are feeling a bit looser on me.

THEN I REMEMBERED...just a few days ago, I'd seen on Facebook where my friend/upline thought she had hit a plateau until she measured herself.  After seeing the results of her measurements, she went to the store to buy a new pair of pants to celebrate...and discovered that she had dropped from a size 11/12 to a size 7/8, even though she'd only dropped 3 pounds!

SO THEN I THOUGHT...hmmm, maybe I should check my own measurements!  ;)  Now, imagine my surprise when I discovered that I had lost FOUR INCHES from my waist since last Friday!!!

So, while it might not be what I wanted to see on the scale, I'm so glad I listened to my friend and got those measurements last week so I could see that there really was a measurable difference!!!  :)

Update 5/6/13:
Just as an update...got back on the scale this morning and not only had I lost that pound I gained, but another one as well!  There was a reason for the weight gain...and if you are woman, you'll know what I mean - but if you are a man, you'll think it's TMI! LOL! 

My First Week on Plexus...WEIGH IN DAY! :)

Well, I started this blog on Friday when I weighed in...and came back today to finish it up.  Unfortunately, one of the curses of being a fast typist is that if you accidentally hit the Ctrl button and the A button at the same time in the midst of your typing, you lose EVERYTHING you have typed.  Yeah...that's exactly what happened to me!  BOOOOO!!!!  :(

Yes, I did have a mini temper tantrum when it happened (Why yes, I did stomp off into the other room muttering that I hate computers, why do you ask? <wink, wink>)...but I'm better now.  And while I won't try to re-type everything I'd written (not sure I could if I wanted to), I'll get you the gist of it anyway.  After all, sometimes less is more...right?  ;)  Anyway...

You already know from my previous post that I think Plexus is amazing...and the scales on Friday proved it! I lost 6.2 pounds in one week!  WOOT!  And I didn't exercise one bit that week...didn't even pretend like I was on a diet.  The ONLY thing I did was take my Accelerator capsules at breakfast and my pink drink after I finished my coffee (usually mid-morning).  Now, even on my best diet behavior, I've never been able to lose that kind of weight in a single week!  So...this is even MORE amazing!  :)

I even went to CiCi's Pizza for lunch!  Yep...all you can eat salad, pasta, pizza, and dessert!  And in case you've never been...their cinnamon rolls and Bavarian cream dessert pizza are AH-MAZING!!!!  I usually get my money's worth and then some whenever I eat there and end up leaving stuffed to the gills!  If I do happen to go while trying to diet, then I end up leaving feeling deprived!  But this trip was different!  I only went back to get seconds for the babies (my 10 month old and a 17 month old I babysit).  And here's the most amazing part of all...I had NO desire whatsoever to get ANY dessert!  Nope...not the first cinnamon roll...not even a sliver of the Bavarian cream dessert pizza I love so much!  And when I walked out the door, I felt satisfied...not the least bit stuffed or deprived!

My hubby noticed a difference when we were at an end of the year program for my son's homeschool co-op group.  There was a dessert social after the program..and we hadn't eaten dinner yet.  I went up and got an assortment of desserts to share with my hubby...but ended up only having a couple bites of each of the two different puddings and a couple of orange slices.  I licked a little bit of the cupcake icing off my fingers - but had no desire to eat the actual cupcake (and it was GOOD!).  Anyone who knows me knows that my all-time favorite cake is either yellow or white cake with decorator icing (you know the kind - powdered sugar and shortening, with a dash of vanilla extract).  Yeah...that's what this was, in cupcake form!  David looked at me and with disbelief in his voice asked, "Are you done?  You're NOT going to eat a cupcake?"  He wasn't being mean...he just had never seen me turn down a cupcake before!  ;)  But after just the few bites of pudding, I felt like I'd eaten so much sweet that even another bite would have simply been too much!  So...for probably the first time in my life, I put a delicious cupcake in the trash because I just couldn't eat it.  I was still hungry...I just couldn't eat any more sweets.  We went out for dinner afterwards and I enjoyed my meal, but again, had ZERO desire for dessert!

I think the thing I love most about Plexus is that it changes my desire for the foods that are not healthy for me.  I don't even like Diet Coke anymore...and I was a Diet-Coke-a-holic before getting on Plexus!  But now, I'd much rather have water or unsweet tea!  Now, don't get the idea that I don't eat sweets at all anymore...I do.  In fact, those same cupcakes I'd turned down on Tuesday evening at the dessert social showed up at a playdate (the leftovers, anyway) two days later.  I had one and it was every bit as good as I thought it would be...and yet, after one, I was done.  I didn't even want any more!  And for me, that's the biggest part of the battle!  I hate to feel deprived...so, when I feel I can't have something, that's really all I want.  When I've been on diets in the past, even diets like Weight Watchers - where there are no forbidden foods, but there are limited amounts, I always end up feeling deprived and give up.  But with Plexus, I don't have the desire to overindulge in unhealthy foods, so I naturally eat less.  And as a result, I lose weight.  

For me, this is as win-win as it gets in the diet world!  I don't have to take a lot of supplements or remember to take them at a certain amount of time before eating.  I don't have to count calories or have forbidden foods.  I just take 2 Accelerator capsules with breakfast and mix one drink mix with water after I've finished my coffee (and it even tastes good, too)...and I'm done for the day!  This is by far the easiest thing I've ever done to lose weight (and it's all-natural, too!)!  I'm so thankful I gave it a try!  :)  

Looking forward to getting on the scale next week (yeah...I can't believe I actually said that, either!)!  ;)

Plexus Slim...My New Best Friend!

A couple days ago, I told you how I tried a new product and loved it so much that I ended up signing up to sell it to get it at a discount.  Now...before you worry, I'm not writing this to try to sell you anything.  I just want to keep a record of my experience with it so that when the time comes (and I really believe it will) to write a testimonial, I'll be able to look back and remember how it was from the beginning!  :)  If you are interested, read on...if not, no worries.  This post is mostly for me!  ;)

So...you're still with me, huh?  OK...well, here's what the last couple of days have been like.  My welcome kit arrived late Thursday afternoon.  So, I started back on the product Friday morning.  I noticed on the bottle & package that you could take one or two of the Accelerator and/or Plexus Slim drink - so I took 2 Accelerators and 1 drink (because there were 60 pills, but only 30 drink mixes).  I didn't feel much different on Friday...but I slept VERY well Friday night!  I didn't have a lot of energy by Friday evening and ended up taking a nap while David fixed dinner.  ;)  I did get on the computer a bit after dinner, but ended up laying back down and drifted in and out while attempting to watch a movie on TV.  I think my body must have been storing up some energy, because that's the ONLY day so far I've felt that way!  :)  David even joked yesterday morning that I should take 4 pills to give me more energy...but I only took 2!  ;)

The big difference came yesterday as I noticed some very significant differences in how I felt about food.  We had toast with All-Fruit jam for breakfast...and that's it.  Now, under normal circumstances, that would never have been enough to fill me up, but it was.  I even went to Publix to get sandwiches for lunch and a few other necessities and didn't feel the need to buy junk food (other than BOGO muffins for the boys)!  I did try the sample of the recipe they are promoting that they always have around lunch/dinner time...and for those of you who know me best, here's a real shocker - it was tilapia!  Yep, I tried fish...and LIKED it (WITHOUT any vinegar or tarter sauce)!  ;)  But, I don't think that was a Plexus thing...I just think it was prepared very well and didn't taste fishy at all!  ;)  The reason I mention that is because it was the ONLY thing I ate at the grocery store (and it was just a couple of bites)...you'll see in a minute why that is significant!  ;)

After I got home and got the groceries put away, David and I sat down to our sandwiches for lunch.  BOTH of us were satisfied after eating only half of our wrap sandwich!  Let me just say, this is a HUGE deal for me (not so much David, as he has always been more in tune with his hunger cues than I am)!  I have NEVER left half of my wrap uneaten before unless I had really snacked and snacked just prior to eating it (which is why the one sample is such a big deal - that never would have had ANY effect on my hunger before...except to make me want MORE!)!  ;)  I did NOT feel deprived when I put half my sandwich away...and I didn't desire to eat again for many hours after.

Yesterday afternoon, I made a very yummy dessert for our Bible & Life Group's (BLG) Pizza on the Playground social after church last night.  I had seen the recipe on Facebook several weeks ago and shared it on my wall...and had a request to make it for our social.  This dessert has cookie dough on the bottom, a Reese's cup or oreo in the center, and brownie on top...instant sugar coma!  ;)  Here's a picture that accompanied the recipe on Facebook:

Yummy...right?  I'm not posting pictures of my cookies because they are not so pretty.  LOL!  But, according to Christopher and those at the social last night, they are delicious!  Now...here's another amazing thing...not once did I want to eat the cookie dough (HUGE!) or lick the spoon/bowl of the brownie mix while I was making these.  I had a few bites of the first batch that basically fell apart because I forgot to grease the pan while making them...but that was it.  Christopher got to lick the bowl AND spoon and even got to eat some of the crumbles from the first batch that were left in the pan after I scooped out the few I could salvage (the rest of the crumbles are in a plastic container and will most likely be used as topping for ice cream or something).  ;)

David and I planned to eat our other half of our sandwich before church since the social didn't start until 8:30pm (after our BLG class).  However, neither of us were hungry enough and were just fine until we got out to the playground...and I even chatted with friends before actually getting out there!  Unlike previous socials like this, I was NOT starving when I got out there!  I had a few pieces of pizza and some carrots with ranch...and had NO desire for any of the desserts out there (again, another HUGE deal for me!)!  And though I did have one soda with my pizza (the only one I've had since Thursday), I had no desire for a second one...and chose water instead!

We were on the playground until 10pm and I was able to focus on conversation with friends instead of filling my stomach!  It was wonderful!  When we got home, I caught up on Facebook and played a few games on my phone, then went to bed and had a GREAT night of sleep!  I usually wake up 4-5 times during the night...and last night I think I only got up once or maybe twice!  And this morning, though we did sleep in, I didn't feel as groggy as I usually feel in the mornings (regardless of how much sleep I get)!

I don't know about you (if you even struggle with your weight at all)...but for me, not having the desire to eat is half the battle!  Feelings of being deprived or having to eat differently than those around me is my greatest obstacle to weight loss!  I've always heard that if you want to be a skinny person, you should eat like a skinny person.  I've watched many naturally skinny people in my life...and they seem to eat whatever they want, but in much smaller amounts than what usually satisfies me.  Plexus allows me to eat what others are eating, but seems to change my desire for unhealthy foods and desire more of the healthy foods (like carrots over dessert!)...and if that's all Plexus does, I'm happy with it!  For me, my struggle with weight loss has NEVER been about not knowing what to eat...I know all the right things to do...I just haven't been able to have a consistent desire to do them (and lately, no desire at all other than in theory)!  In the last several months, I would make a plan in my head that SOUNDED good...but when the next meal time arrived, that plan flew right out the window!  But with Plexus, I don't even plan...it just happens because the desire isn't there.  That amazes me!

A few days ago, I mentioned the study I'd seen where Plexus was originally tested to help those with Type II Diabetes (with weight loss a secondary consideration).  Here is the study, in case you are interested:

Like I said at the beginning of this post, I am NOT writing it to sell you anything...but, if this journey intrigues  you at all and you want to know more, please feel free to ask me or check out my website: www.karaj.myplexusproducts.com.  :)  Otherwise...just stay tuned as I look forward to my first weigh-in and measurement check!  ;)

Yeah, I know...it's been awhile! ;)

I did not even want to look back to see how long since my last post, but I did.  Yeah...it's been a few months.  ;)  And I've had a few questions from people who see me on a fairly regular basis...thank you for keeping me accountable!  Even though I've just been playing around with weight loss lately (translation: not even pretending to take it seriously), I do appreciate you asking me how it's going.  It reminds me to keep going.  :)

I've done some exercise here and there, but not nearly as consistent as I should be.  I've found some pretty convenient excuses for why I can't...headache, up too late the night before, I can go later in the day (but never do), not feeling well, etc.  And I'm not even going to pretend that my eating has been anywhere near what it should be...with the exception of a single week.  The funny thing is...it was the very week I usually binge the most...and I'm pretty sure every woman knows exactly what I mean - that lovely week that shows up once a month and wrecks all kinds of havoc on our bodies and emotions!  Yeah...I see those heads nodding in agreement!  You have those too, don't you?  ;)

So...you may be wondering what was different about that week this time around?  The ironic thing is that there was only ONE thing different...and it was something I never would have suspected would actually make a difference!  A friend of mine sent me a little packet of a new product to try.  The packet included 3 sticks of a drink powder similar to the Crystal Light On-The-Go sticks, and 3 little pills.  She had told me about this product several times before and I'd watched the weight literally melt off of her via Facebook (she lost 35 pounds in 3 months)...so, although I was skeptical, I was also intrigued!

Now, let me say, I've tried just about every weight loss plan, fad, supplement, etc. out there with not much luck or success (obviously)...mostly because I just enjoy eating good food WAY too much and I usually end up feeling deprived when I try to diet.  I'm also not a fan of adverse side effects...so if a supplement causes stomach cramps or excessive visits to the bathroom, it's not going to happen for long (translation: the first time it happens, I'm done!).  I just don't have time for that.  So, I really wasn't holding out a lot of hope for this product...but, Jami took the time to send it to me and I knew she'd want a report, so I was at least willing to give it a try...totally expecting to tell my friend it didn't work, but don't feel bad because nothing does for me.  ;)

Well...I was in for quite a surprise!  My first surprise was when I fixed the first drink mix...it actually tasted REALLY good!  I found myself looking forward to it each morning (and wanting to drink it more than just once a day).  I started noticing some other things, too...more energy, less hunger, fattening food and sodas losing their appeal, and I just generally felt better about myself (most likely due to the increase in energy and lack of junk food).  At the end of the three days, I'd actually lost a whole pound.  Now, a pound might not sound like much to you...and certainly isn't much in the grand scheme of the total amount I need to lose...but considering the ONLY thing I consciously did differently during those three days was take the product, I find it quite amazing!  I didn't restrict my diet at all...but I noticed I got full faster.  I didn't exercise...but I did notice I had more energy, so instead of laying down to relax while the little boys took their afternoon nap, I was up getting things done.  I didn't plan to give up fast food or sodas...but I lost my taste for them.  I really was pleasantly surprised!  :)

When my samples ran out, I actually missed them.  Most of all, I missed how I felt while I was taking them.  I told my friend how much I enjoyed the samples but wasn't sure I could afford it.  That's when she suggested I start selling it, and consequently could get it at a discount.  I told her I'd think about it and talk it over with my hubby...and then I started doing some research.  What I found out was that this supplement was originally designed to help diabetics get their blood sugar under control.  It was not originally developed as a weight-loss supplement (that was a secondary consideration).  In their study, all seven of the diabetics in the trial not only lost weight, but lowered their blood sugar to a normal range.  This was of particular interest to me because diabetes runs in my family and considering my current condition, could be an issue I could have to deal with down the road if changes aren't made.  I also found out through my research that the company has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau and I couldn't really find anything negative about it online.  So, I talked it over with David (who had also noticed a change in me while I was on the supplement)...and we decided I'd go for it!  :)  David said he'd like to try the product too.

What is this supplement?  It's called Plexus Slim and it is all-natural.  The 3-day trial I had (and what I'll be doing again starting tomorrow, now that my starter kit has arrived) is the Accelerator and the Plexus Slim drink mix combo.  The best part of it is that I take the Accelerator with breakfast and then drink the drink mix after I finish my morning coffee (usually mid-morning).  That's really all there is to it.  So many times, I have gotten frustrated with products that required me to take it 30 minutes before every meal.  That's just not practical for me...I'm barely awake 30 minutes before breakfast and I never really know what time I'll get to eat lunch or dinner.  And, I'm basically a rule-follower, so if I can't do it right, I pretty much don't do it.  But this, I can handle.  :)

I've seen some of the testimonials on the Plexus Facebook testimonial page of others who have taken the product...and the average weight loss is about 1-2 pounds per week, which is really where it should be.  There are people who were 300+ pounds a year ago who are now at a healthy weight because of how Plexus has helped them.  :)  This really encourages me...and I can't wait to give my own testimonial!  :)  If at any point you are interested in trying the product yourself, let me know.  Otherwise...just stay tuned!  I'm hopeful that my posts on this blog will become a lot more regular in the near future!  :)