Herbalife and Me

Each time my friends asked me how I lost so much weight with Herbalife, somehow, there's always something that I miss out...too much to share I guess. Here I am, spending 2 hours to pen them down in this posting.

How did I get started?
Almost everyone who knows me knows how much I love to eat. It was one of the days in Sept07, when my weight almost hit 60kg(ouch!), I realized (insaf) I have to do something to stop my weight from going up by day. Of course, first thing that came to my mind was exercise. I started exercising after work (not regular though). It's usually about 8pm+ when I leave the gym and every time I will crack my head to think of what to have for dinner. I didn't want to take heavy meals (e.g. noodles, rice, bread etc) as I know my exercise will not be effective. That's when I started to look for meal replacement.

One day (still in Sep07) during lunch hour, a colleague told us to follow him to a get a free drink. It's a nutrition club and the drink (more like a milk shake) was good! After getting to know more about the shake, I immediately knew that this is THE ONE I'm looking for. Perfect timing!

At the beginning stage...

Although the shake tastes great, I was still not sure if I can take up a meal replacement diet (I'm born to eat! :P). Surprisingly, the shake keeps me full for at least 3 hours. The more I take it the more I like it because of the after feeling. I felt light, comfortable, and not a "burden" for my body to digest. Best thing about the plan is I still get to eat my favorite foods (which I can't live without!), and yet get to lose weight! (IT's DREAM COME TRUE!) First 4 weeks of taking the shake to replace 2 meals, I've lost 3kgs & 2% of body fat. Yeah!!! And best of all, I feel less lethargic & energetic! I needed a lot of sleep before. Until an extend most of the time when my friends call me, first thing they said was "sleeping ar?" :p

Although the results doesn't seem very interesting (I've seen people lost >10kgs in a month after taking Herbalife products!), I can feel I've lost inches when putting on clothes. Losing inches is more important than loosing weight. Agree? My tummy, arms, hips, legs, face and even neck are slimmer! I knew I could lose more if I strictly replaced 2 meals daily & didn't take breaks during weekends but I chose not to. I chose to do it gradually, slow & steady. Lose weight, maintain & sustainability are my objectives.

When results are more noticeable...

Within 2 months after I started taking the shake, friends & colleagues started asking how did I lose weight. I was more than proud of myself and shared the secret. Since then, more and more friends & colleagues started taking the product and unintentionally, I became their "role model" & consultant...haha.

It's more than merely losing weight

Herbalife shake is very effective in weight management. The shake helps lose weight in a healthy way. I've seen and heard a lot, how people improve their health condition with the nutrition drink. Most common ones are sinus & migraine. I was thinking to myself, I'm very happy & know very well that I will be able to achieve my ideal weight with Herbalife, if it can help me with my sinus which has been with me since 7yrs old (or maybe earlier but my memory can only recall until then), it's BONUS! :-)

I have a friend whom I knew since secondary school always tease me with my sinus problem. "How to bring you to holiday la?" it's a known fact to my close friends and family that I will have running nose EVERY SINGLE TIME I overnight at a different place for holiday or even going back to hometown. Depending on the severity, the running nose can last up to 2 full days! Each time it happens, I lose interest & can't concentrate in anything. All I want is just rest & sleep. It's a must for me to bring 2 types of flu medication, non-drowsy ones for day, drowsy ones for the night. Sinus has never left me since young.

My first trip after taking Herbalife was in Jan08. I packed my flu medication as usual and at the same time anxious to find out how's my sinus condition now. 5D 4N at Taipei, I did not sneeze a single time! It suprised my friends as much as myself....of course I felt extremely glad & happy but I didn't want to jump to conclusion. The more I hope the more disappointed I would be...this sinus problem has been haunting me for at least 20yrs leh!

It is more convincing when I did not have running nose when I was at Ipoh, Alor Star & Hatyai! Confirmed! Herbalife has improved my sinus I had for >20yrs! THANK YOU HERBALIFE!

I said improved, and not cured because I went on another trip to Hong Kong 2 weeks after Taipei. Second day at HK, it was a cold morning. I was in the hostel, air-con is off and window is slightly open. I caught cold there. The running nose I always had in the middle of the night when I was sleeping has gone but my nose is still sensitive to dust and wind. I hope 1 day, doing spring cleaning, perfume, powder, flower etc will not cause itchiness to my nose and start sneezing.

I've also heard a lot from people who's taking Herbalife that how their complexions have been improved. Few days ago, I met up with an old friend who has not seen me for quite awhile, she said my complexion is better now.

Last but not least, some people might only want to consume the nutrition drink for the period of losing weight. As for me, Herbalife shake is food to me & nutrition to my body...something I need and will need.

My before and after photo.

Tropical Fruit F1 with blended Seedless Grapes and Orange Juice

Haven't tried this myself but one of my friends said it is yummy. If any of you have tried it, please comment/feedback. Thanks.

2008 Resolutions...Is Wellness One of Them?

I've read many of my friends' New Year resolutions.... year in, year out, the most popular amongst the others, none other than...

"Make more money!!!"

Physical wellness very rarely makes it onto this list. It is often forgotten until it is too late for some.

Ever since I started gaining weight and was categorized as "obese" under the intelligent Tanita scale when I first stepped onto it for my measurements, I've since been very conscious about my health/wellness. Not that I ever abused my body but just haven't been really paying attention, hence the inevitable change of clothing size from S to L when I started eating more and exercising less.

I started with Herbalife's easy weight loss program since last year and have gladly and successfully fall out of the obese category under the scale standards.

Now that I'm no more obese, I've made it my 2008 resolution (one of it) to gain back the physical fitness that I've used to have when I was still active in sports. With the Tanita scale as my guide, my target for this year is to have a Basal Metabolic Age (BMA) of 20 and a Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) of ~1200.

Those of you who have been on this intelligent scale will know what I'm talking about but for those who are new to this, stay tuned as I will have a posting about the readings that you can have with this scale.

So, for me to achieve that, this is what I'm going to do/have to do:

• Increase my BMR by building more muscle mass because muscle burn more calories than fat. Hence, it is no good just reducing your body fat % (the latter has to go down, that's without a question). How to build more muscle mass then? Strength training is the answer (not body building ya, if you're interested in doing that, you'd need to do intensive strength training). I reckon I'd start off with 2-3 times a week.
• Increase my overall physical activities. Walk more, run more, play more, dance more, more window shopping, more cardio/aerobic exercises. Swimming/running/jogging 2-3 times a week for a minimum of 20mins (for starters :-)).
• Drink more water.
• Continue with Herbalife meal replacements regime.

I've proclaimed one of my 2008 resolutions and am committed to achieving it, have you set yours? Start setting a target for your physical wellness if you haven't already done so. Good luck!

PMS (Premenstrual Syndrome/Symptoms)...Herbalife A Solution?

NO, Herbalife is not THE solution but YES, Herbalife is A solution. Let me put it simply, Herbalife = Nutrition = Vitamins + Mineral = Healthier Diet = Better regulated hormones = NO or minimal PMS.

With the progress of age, career (sitting infront of the computer longer and therefore less time for physical exercises) and weight, PMS has started to become a real issue for myself. The symptoms are more obvious and the one that I hate most is the abdominal bloating and edema (fluid retention). Your clothes seem to be a little too tight all of a sudden. That's the physical part. The emotional part is even worse, you feel lousy and nothing seems to be right and you have no idea why!

PMS can be treated or subdued its 'ugliness' using drugs(medications) and hormones but recent research has shown that there are alternatives to the above and they are nutrition and lifestyle modifications (exercise and good eating habits) that are safe and just as effective.

Because Herbalife (F1) is basically a nutrition drink, taking it has helped me with my PMS. After the 1st month on Herbalife, I've already noticed that the symptoms are not that obvious and serious but I didn't want to believe it just yet. I still did not exercise regularly. As I continued with the Herbalife weight loss program, I constantly monitored my PMS and now after 3 full months on this nutrition diet, not only have I lost weight and clothes sizes, my pre-menstrual symptoms have lessen if not totally disappeared. :-)

Herbalife or not, getting good, sufficient nutrition with a dose of regular exercise is the key to putting PMS at bay.

Flavours of Herbalife...Part 2

I wrote in the last blog about herbalife being a very sustainable weight loss/management program and one of the reason was simply because it gives you options in preparing your 'shake'. Today, I'm just going to highlight something about Herbalife's F1.

A pretty simple formula....

There are all together 5 x F1 flavours at the moment:

• If you have 1 x F1 flavour, then you'll have 1 flavour.
• If you have 2 x F1 flavours, then you'll have 3 flavours.
• If you have 3 x F1 flavours, then you'll have 6 flavours.
• If you have 4 x F1 flavours, then you'll have 10 flavours.
• If you have all 5 F1 flavours, you'll now be able to drink up to 15 flavours!!!!

How? Take for example you have Tropical Fruit (TF) and Chocolate (CH). You can have TF on its own, CH on its own and you can mix TF and CH and create a new 'chocolaty and fruity' shake. For a person who loves to mix my 'drinks' (includes you-know-what...ahem), this is awesome! I'll never get bored with my shakes and that's why I'm still using it.

Of course I don't have all the flavours, not that crazy and not that rich too. :-)

I can't comment about other meal replacement products out there in terms of mixing the flavours but what I can say about Herbalife F1 is, the tastes blend and mix real well and superb at least for the below combinations:

• TP + CH (my all time favourite and the super combo is superb with blended fruits)
• CH + Strawberry (tried it with HL milk and Soy milk as well)
• French Vanilla + Strawberry (tried it with HL milk)
• TP + Strawberry (taste better with fruit juices)

Bottom line is, if you serious about losing or gaining weight, start making your shakes interesting for the extra mileage with Herbalife and a step closer to your ideal 'body condition and wellness".

Weight Loss - Why Herbalife Works?

The answer is "Sustainability". Herbalife products and weight loss routine works simply because it is sustainable.

Why is it sustainable then? Sustainable because:

• Herbalife F1 tastes superb! (I didn't mentione F3 coz it doesn't have any flavours and therefore tasteless). Anyone who has been on a 'diet', trying out all those meal replacement products you get off-the-shelves in pharmacies and malls are horrible to drink either in its taste or texture.
• The formula of replacing 2 meals and still able to enjoy your favourite meals once a day is easy to follow. This formula doesn't make you feel like it's the end of the world where you can't eat your favourite foods i.e. nasi lemak, mee goreng, curry mee, etc... until you've lost weight.
• Let's you flex your creativity mucles in preparing your meal replacement...(makes me feel like a bartender sometimes). You can mix it (shake it) with just plain water, fruit juices, milk, soya milk or yogurt drink. There are hundreds if not thousands of recipes that you can come up with (if you're the creative and brave). You can blend it with fruits and vegetables (no meat please! I've not tried but I can tell it won't be a recipe anyone would follow even if I did). All those possibilities of different tastes!

Many dieting programs fail simply because they are not sustainable. They only have ONE way of either drinking "it" or eating "it". It's not that they don't work in terms of losing weight; they'll work if you follow it through but the problem is to follow it through for whatever duration that is needed. And even if you did, there's always the relapse; after forgoing your favourite foods you can no longer will it not to anymore and you start going on an eating spree, only this time you start to indulge in all those 'food' uncontrollably and hence, the story we all use to hear "I lost 5kg back then only to put on 10kg more". I've heard that too many times and I'm glad that I'm not part of the statistics....well at least not yet, won't know until I've successfully lost weigth and maintain it for at least....I give myself a year.

Bottom line is finding a product and routine that works for you. I've found mine and it's Herbalife! Have you?

Flavours of Herbalife...Part 1

Ever wondered which F1 flavour goes well with what juices/liquid n how to make it?

After 2.5 months of using the product, I've never used the shaker until this morning. All these times my shakes are always 'blended' shakes. And so, I'm going to start taking my shakes with just the shaker (at least in the mornings when I wake up late) and let you all know how each of my experiment tastes like.

Today's try/experiment was with Tropical Fruit F1:

• 2 x scoops of F1
• 1 x scoop of F3
• 200ml of Dutch Lady 0% Fat Drinking Yogurt, Lemon flavour
• 200ml of Soyfresh soya milk
• 60ml of water

Steps:

1. I put in the F3 into the shaker.
   
2. Then poured the yogurt drink, which was obviously a wrong move coz the yogurt drink is thick, a part of the F3 was not dissolved at the bottom of the shaker.
   
3. Seeing this, I had to use a spoon to manually dissolve it.
   
4. After the F3 has been dissolved, I added the F1.
   
5. Then shake, shake, shake and more shaking.
   
6. No problem in dissolving the F1, so at this point I figured if I'm ever going to use yogurt drink as my base, I should only put the F3 after I've poured the yogurt drink into the shaker.


7. I then added my favourite soya milk and then a little water just so it wouldn't be too thick.

Result:
Nice! I figured I chose the right yogurt drink flavour, as Lemon blended very nicely with Tropical Fruit. Got my shake ready within 10mins.... but I was still late for work today.