3 Supplements that help get the Boulder of Weight Loss Moving

Crazy to think how long I've been working on my weight loss already.d  The process is slow.  I've likened it to trying to push a boulder down a hill.  You push and you shove as hard as you can and see only a few inches of progress.  Sometimes you need to let the boulder rock backward so that you can create enough momentum to shove the rock further forward.  Soon, the inch turns to a few inches, slowly increasing speed until the mass of stone is rolling out of control and there is nothing you can do to stop it, so you might as well step out of the way and let the boulder run its course.

Sadly, I'm still rocking back and forth at the top, trying to gain enough momentum to get the perpetual forward motion I need to be an absolute success.

Lately, I've tried three different supplements: another Garcina Cabrogia (95%), Tumerex, and D3 Caplets. All of them excellent quality.

Let's start with the Garcinia Cambrogia.  How  this different from the other version I tried earlier?  This one is a higher concentration of Garcinia. The other was 70% and this one is 15% higher.  And since I'm taking supplements by the handfuls, I'm always open to ways to minimize the amount of pulls I need to take in a day.  By taking these, I was able to get them same results with less pills and that makes it a supplement worth using.  Plus, I quit taking the Garcinia Cambogia cold turkey when i went camping this weekend and my husband can attest to the fact that I was GRUMPY the whole week.  I'm just sayin'...  Grade:  A

The Tumerex was new for me.  I wasn't sure what to expect from this supplement because I'd never used it before.  But I read research that said it was tied to a variety of different health benefits. Though most of those elements are hard to quantify  - ie jaundice, gallbladder, heartburn, fibromyalgia, leprosy, etc.  What I did find was less swelling in my joints, less constipation, and VERY yellow stool.  This is something I am interested in using to completion to see if I experiencing any other positive side effects.  Grade: A-

D3 Caplets:  I took these because my doctor told me that the D3 helped me to absorb my calcium better.  Again, this is not quantifiable, aside from all the medical research available.  What I can tell you is how small the pill was.  Here is a picture of my Calcium supplement (left), The Garcinia Cambogia supplement (middle) and the Vitamin D3 caplet on the right.  Soooooo small!  I want to paint it yellow and call it a minion! Grade: A+  I've got nothing negative to say about these itty bitties. :)



OH And before you leave...I'm having another give away!!!!

Island's Miracle (the maker of the Garcinia Cambrogia) is so confident you'll like their product (and I'm so impressed I'm happy to personally endorse it) they're giving a free bottle of Garcinia Cambrogia away!!

Like My Facebook Page  and you'll  be entered to win a free bottle.  I'll announce the winner on Friday 07/24/15.  It's just one click!!



*Each of these products was received for free in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion

Run, Baby! Run!! - My Quest to prepare for a Triathlon...while nearly 300 lbs

It's been a little bit more than a month, and I'm fully enmeshed in my endeavor to prepare for a Sprint Traithlon at the end of September.  Some things I've tried have been met with success, and others...well....not so much.

For those who don't know, a Sprint Triathlon consists of the following distances:

3.1 mile run
400-500 yards of swimming
12-15 miles of cycling.


I'm still walking.  I am now up to walking as much as 7 miles per day when I hit the trails and I've spent the last month working purely on endurance. When I started, I couldn't even walk for more than 12 minutes before I was a sweaty mess.

Now I'm somewhere around 2 - 2 1/2 hours. It's not been without it's difficulties though.  I'm still struggling with blisters galore, as well as foot pain because I am so heavy.

One of the things I did to deal with the foot pain, was to begin using gel insoles.  These have been heaven sent.  Before the insoles, I could walk about an hour, and then the balls and outsides of my feet hurt too much, and my calf muscles began to hurt because I was compensating for the foot pain.  I received some gel insoles as testers, and have found myself transferring them from one set of shoes to the next because they're so comfortable.
 I was dubious at first, but when I trimmed them down and put them in my shoes, there was no question these were awesome.  Plus, they help (but not completely fix) how much I walk on the outside of my feet because of the arch support. Grade: A

Another thing I tried were infared knee Support sleeves.  These were extra long sleeves that go over the legs and reached from mid-thigh to mid shin.  The premace of these was to create a weak electrical current that aids in the regeneration and repair of your joints, etc but doesn't add extra heat to the knees.

Maybe I shouldn't have tempted fate and used these in the middle of summer, but I did.  And I can tell you they are heavy duty, and not very breathable, which equated into hot sweaty legs.  They had great compression though and I think I will give them a try again in the fall to give them another chance.  Grade: B (though I reserve the right to change the grade at a later date)

Two hours is a long time to be stuck with your thoughts, even when you're in the process of writing your book. Plus, I am using the MyFitnessPal Ap to track my diet, exercise, water intake, steps, etc.  So I can't just leave my phone behind when I go for a walk ( I accrued 17,419 steps on the 9th after 7 miles!!! - that's 1,276 calories, baby!).  So, I tried an Iphone Sports Band.  The one I tested was made entirely of neoprene, which was nice. Other bands I've tried in the past had a thick piece of elastic, which wound up bunching and pinching the skin on my arm.  This one I tried was neoprene, was big enough for my XLG arms (MAJOR BONUS!), had a slot for my keys and ID, a hole to stick the earphone chord into the bottom of the Iphone, and the phone slid easily in and out of the case (another huge bonus because I kept getting freaking phone calls on my walk.  Hey! I'm walkin' here! Quit bothering me ;)  Plus, I also discovered that I was able to use the touchscreen through the plastic covering the phone.  The only problem I had with the band was that I couldn't figure out how to access my stupid itunes! (I have officially become my parents).  So, I had a phone, it was perfectly placed on my arm, and I couldn't get the music to play.  Gah.  My 15-year-old son came to my rescue and graciously offered to take the sports band off my hands and use it for himself when he mowed our lawn.  Note:  He didn't offer to show me how to access the music.  He wanted the friggin' band.  I agreed, thinking there was no way it would fit his arm if it fit mine.  Well, it did.  And now he's a proud owner of an arm band that he uses all the time. Meh.   Grade: A

That's alright.  I'm not one to stay down when I'm beat.  I quickly transitioned to the Runbaby running belt. The one I got was neon orange with a two-inch elastic waistband and a large plastic clip.  When I requested it for testing, I was sure it would be too small.  But I was pleasantly surprised.  It fit!!.  I knew because of my size and my stomach's lumpiness, it would look awkward on the outside of my shirt, so I put it under my T-shirt, but over a tank top and that baby didn't move.  The orange material is about the same consistency as a high-quality spandex, so when I put my phone, key and ID inside, they were held snuggly and didn't move or jingle around and there was room for a bunch more stuff if I needed it.  Plus, it's pretty low-profile, so you couldn't even tell I had the belt on. (Another bonus!).  This one is a keeper.  I haven't even told anyone I have this one.  I'm totally hiding it.  I'm tired of having all the good stuff taken from me.  But when you're the smallest person in the house (and in my opinion, the nicest), you're a bit lower on the pecking order.

That being said, the other product I've staked my claim, rather adamantly, is my water bottle.  I'd seen the infuser bottles around the internet for several months, and broke down and bought one while at my son's basketball camp in Montana several weeks ago, but it was sorely disappointing.  The one I purchased had the infuser attached to the top of the mug, so only 2/3 of the water was infused, plus the mug was large, but double walled, so it actually only held about 16 oz of liquid,which meant I was constantly refilling the mug.  I gave it another try, though and tested the Fruit Infuser Water Bottle by Live Infinitely.  I can honestly say I'm completely enamored with this water bottle.  

1) It's the size of a normal water bottle, so I only need to refill it 2-3 times per day instead of 2-3 times per hour.
2) The infuser is attached to the bottom so I get the flavor for the entire life of my water.
3) Both the top and the bottom untwist which makes the bottle sooooo easy to clean.  Plus it fits nicely in the top of my dishwasher.

I'd totally rate this bottle an A+.

Now that I'm up to 7 miles of walking, I've decided it's time to begin preparing for the other phases of the triathlon.  Stay tuned for my next blog to see what else I've been doing!

*Each of the products reviewed/mentioned (aside from MyFitness Pal) were received for free or a discount in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.

Xylacore: The First Tester Product I'm PAYING To Use Again

So, if you haven't noticed, I'm a professional product tester.  I test lots and lots of products.  This month alone, I've tested more than 50 different items.  Don't get me wrong.  I don't test just anything.  I choose each item because I am looking for something, and I'm hoping the items will be 'the one'.

For instance, one of the products I have spent the last month testing is called Xylacor.  I'm in the middle of a major weight-loss journey (160 lbs, to be exact), and I have been looking for things that aid me in the process.  I'm big into supplements and usually shy away from the all-in-one fat burning pills because I'm afraid of the side effects.

I don't know what came over me (maybe it's the hot pink pills that drew me in!) but when I saw Xylacor, I wanted to try it out.

It took a week before I realized what was happening.  I wasn't having cravings any more.  For the longest times cravings were one of the hardest things for me to control.  I am BIG into pizza and pop.  Like I eat pizza 2 to 3 times a week or more, and something equivalent to a 2-liter of diet soda per day.  It's a family thing.  Most of my family is like that. And, quite frankly, it shows on more than one of us.

A few days later, I realized that not only was I not craving sweets or pizza, I wasn't hungry all the time.  In fact, There was an entire week there I kept forgetting to EAT.  For a fat girl, that's unheard of.  You don't just forget to eat.  In fact, we're more apt to forget to STOP eating.  But I had days where I would be entering in my food for the day and realized I'd only had 800 calories.  Not good.  And yet oddly exciting.  How many times do you tell your spouse, "Yeah, I'll come to bed just as soon as I find something to eat.  I've gotta get my calories in for the day."

Yesterday I was 286.8.  Hmm I foresee my period coming on!
You'll see the difference in my belly.
It isn't sticking out beyond my boobs as much as they used to.
  Baby steps...

Then I noticed the extra energy.  I work nights, so I average about 4 hours sleep per night, which meant when my son took a nap during the day, so did I.  But this last month, I haven't felt as strong a need to sleep.  Now I can usually get through the day without crashing mid-day.  I'm not jittery, or hyper.  I just...don't crash.

The most exciting thing, though, has been the inches lost.  Oh my gosh! The inches lost around my belly!  It's frustrating to take pictures because they don't do the loss any justice.

What I can tell you is that I've lost 6 1/4" from my upper abs, 3" from my hips, and 1" from my waist (I just started measuring last week).  My stomach 'flap' has shrunk enough that I can see a difference when I look in the mirror, and I'm down a pant size.


I talked to my husband about the difference and he's noticed too.  In fact, he wanted to know if there's a male version of this pill (which there is).

I can honestly tell you that after nearly 4 weeks of using this pill as a part of my weight loss program, I am thoroughly convinced of the quality of Xylacor.  It truly does what it claims to do. And it is the very first product I've received for free, that I will be PAYING to use again because I like it that much.  Plus I will be buying a bottle of the male version for my husband.


P.S.  Don't forget what I said about the appetite!  Make sure you get enough calories each day to avoid putting your body into starvation mode!!

Trying to catch some Z's

After enduring the sleep study from hell a few months back with my son, the technician suggested to me that I should get my own sleep study because I was snoring. But the experience I'd had with Jake already told me everything I needed to know:  There was NO way I was coming back for a study of my own.  Especially if I felt I was getting enough sleep and wasn't tired in the morning, which I do not.

But, I am mindful of my poor husband having to hear me sawing wood at night.  So, I agreed to test  a "Stop Snoring Bundle", which consisted of nose cones and a strap that would go around my chin to keep my mouth shut, thus inhibiting my tongue from slipping down into my throat and causing me to snore.  I agreed to test the product for free in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.  No problem since I was already looking for something like this. 

A week ago, I went on a road trip to pick up my oldest daughter from visiting friends and had to stay in a hotel with my sister (who was kind enough to be the recipient of my night time snore fest test study).  

The strap was a little tricky, since I had my ling hair tied up into a messy bun and I had to finesse the two neoprene straps around the bun, but I prevailed!  My sister was kind enough to only laugh a little bit when I modeled the chin strap for her, then inserted the nose cones into my nose.  

And, for the record, the nose cones, though a bit funny looking, were pretty awesome.  They opened up my nose airways immediately, and there were several sizes to choose from depending on the size of my nostrils.  Plus, they were fairly inconspicuous and they stayed in all night long. 

The chin strap wasn't quite so lucky. Becca said that my snoring was less than usual, but she still heard a little bit.  I guess that's an improvement from the wild, angry bear my kids usually hear in my bedroom at night???  Oh wait.  Maybe that's my husband ;)  

In conclusion, what I can say is that the snoring bundle did improve my snoring, but didn't completely get rid of the sound, and I would totally use the nose cones again.  In fact, they're in my attache' case for the next trip I have to share a hotel room for some poor unsuspecting soul.  

Eating Healthy is Expensive!

So, yeah.  I'm trying really hard to eat healthy.  Some days are better than others.  I've found when I purchase healthy food, my food budget goes up about 40%. And when your food budget is already $700/month, adding 40% is PAINFUL.

I was given the opportunity to try an App called Price Comparer a few weeks ago.  I really had high hopes for this program because it's description said that it could help you save an average of 15% on your food budget by helping you figure out which items were cheaper at your favorite stores.

It's a FANTASTIC concept. No doubt about it.

So, I went to the grocery store, and bought my foods for the next couple of weeks, then set out to use this App.  I expected to be able to scan the bar codes and all the info would be available, like it is in the MyFitnessPal Ap I use.  This was not the case.  I had to scan the bar code, type in a description, then take a picture of the product (which only worked about 10% of the time).  Plus, the background was orange and the font was white, which made it difficult to read, not to mention there was no bar at the top of the screen where the navigation was, so words would overlap one another and I couldn't read them at all.

I was so disappointed with this program because it was extremely user friendly.

With that said, this has a TON of potential.  I don't think it's worth paying money for a program that you can essentially do for free through a spreadsheet.  But, should they ever fix the issues with the font, and make this program so that all you have to do is scan and enter your price, they'll make a killing on this Ap.  I would easily pay money for something like this...if it worked and were user-friendly.

Here's to hoping the designers read my post and make some tweaks to the program.  It'll be fantastic when all the kinks are smoothed out.



*DISCLAIMER:  I received this product for free in exchange for an honest and unbiased opininion.

Feeling Beautylicious! Finding Pamper Products That Work for Me

In my quest to indulge and pamper myself, I have been testing a plethora of different beauty products in search for items that will help me to become the best me I can be.

One of my biggest fears is that, as I lose weight, my skin will begin to show extreme amounts of wear and tear from years of abuse.  There is no way that a body will go from 300 lbs to 150 lbs without being left with some sort of residual damage from being obese.  I'm most concerned with:

 a) The overhang of my belly.  Having four kids and gaining 50 lbs from each one has caused a TON of stretch marks and overhang. I'm not sure if I'll have to get a tummy tuck in order to entirely rid myself of that 'flap', but I'll be darned if I'm not going to give it a valiant effort! ( more on this in a different blog post)

b) Wrinkles in my face when I thin out.


So far, I've been really lucky in the genetics department when it comes to my face.  I have no gray hair.  What you've see in the pics is my true hair color.  I don't really dye it.  And, I don't have hardly any wrinkles.  My theory, though, on the wrinkles is if I wait until they are in abundance, I've waited too long.  I am very proactive about my face, so I've been pretty regular about using different moisturizers and keeping the makeup to a minimum.  I've also tried several products to see if they help with the few small wrinkles I do have and help to prevent any more.

My most recent face products are: 

Forlan Skincare Night Cream

This night cream was AWESOME.  I have naturally dry skin, which doesn't bode well when I'm facing significant weight loss.  The changes in my skin were significant within 24 hours and I haven't had issues with dryness since.  I have noticed a few (like 2 or 3) pimples popping up, but that may be due to me not cleaning my face as well as I should (ahem).


Anaiti Luminous Cream & Dark Spot Corrector

This is hardcore stuff.  I originally requested this with the understanding that it was for dark spot correction - of which I'm beginning to notice a few on my face (yay! - NOT).  I used to have a Clinique foundation that was spot correcting, but I ran out a few months ago, and it's beginning to show.  Not good since I'm spending more time in the sun walking.  The old spot correctors I used left dry spots wherever I used them, but this is the consistency of body butter, but doesn't leave you oil OR dry.  It's just right.  Plus, it's gentle enough to use all over the face.  It's a keeper!



Anaiti Instant Wrinkle Filling Serum

Anaiti is 2 for 2. It's a line I'm certainly going to investigate further.  I was just as impressed with their wrinkle filling serum as I was their spot corrector.

I LOVE this stuff.  It is light weight, and after a week, I'm beginning to see the squint line between my eyebrows beginning to soften.  Wahoo.



Adeline Antioxidant Serum

Another winner from Adeline.  This has the consistency of watered down syrup (but in a good way, I swear!).  It's a light amber color, and soaks into the skin almost immediately, enabling my skin to tighten slightly and I noticed my foundation lasted longer when I used this serum first.




My Konjac Charcoal Bamboo Facial Sponge

This product was the most surprising product I tried.  It was touted as something that could be used to help get rid of blackheads, which is always good, plus it's cruelty free.  I expected it to be hard and scratchy at the very least.  It arrived in its package and was larger than I expected.  My daughter used it in the shower and told me how soft it was and how she didn't need any soaps to clean her face.  I tried it when I showered and had the same experience.  The sponge felt like a luxurious washcloth.  It was really nice.  It cleaned all the makeup off my face without the need for any soaps and my face was squeaky clean when done.  Plus, it didn't feel tight or dry like normal when I have to use my usual cleaners.


In all, these were all unqualified successes. So much so that my sister snagged a couple to take home for herself after I finished discussing them with her (she's a bit of a make-up snob). Luckily, I was able to hide a few of them before they completely disappeared and I had to start all over! I swear, I'm going to have to put a lock on my doors. But it's also nice to feel pampered.  It makes me want to work harder to take care of myself and continue to lose weight so I can test more!

*Disclaimer:  I received each of these items for free in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.  I do not receive any money should you decide to purchase these items through the links provided.