Why Shakeology is the Bee's Knees

First of all, what the heck is Shakeology?

Nutrition Simplified

Shakeology is a MEAL REPLACEMENT shake that is the brainchild of the Beachbody company. The biggest misconception is that it's a protein shake. NOPE! It's so much more than that! It is jam packed with vitamins and nutrients that we (as crazy busy folks) typically don't include in our daily diets. The shakes include probiotics, digestive enzymes, antioxidants, preboiotics, vitamins, minerals, amino acids… the list goes on!  Shakeology is SO nutrient-dense, it's like eating SIX salads… except it tastes like a chocolate peanut butter cup or strawberry banana smoothie or snickerdoodle cookie. YES! There are special ways to mix up the shakes that have them tasting like dessert! 

Why do I love Shakeology?

I'll be real with you, I use to have HORRIBLE eating habits. I was always feeling like I needed a nap, was bloated, had crappy skin/hair/nails, felt sluggish while working, was irregular (yup, I'm talking about poop people!), and was extremely moody. So what changed? I started eating healthier and replacing one meal or snack a day with chocolate Shakeology.

By making this change, I noticed a significant difference in my appearance (longer nails, clearer skin, and less damage to my hair), had more energy, and felt more stable mentally… though my husband will probably argue with that one. I also pooped every single day. That may not seem impressive to many people, but as someone who use to only poo a few times a week, it was like the skies opened up and heaven rained down upon me!

Why am I so PRO-Shakeology?

It's an easy solution! Why stop by a fast food chain, coffee house, or gas station to get breakfast on the go when you can have a meal loaded with a day's worth of vitamins and nutrients for the same price? There's no need to skimp on nutrition because of convenience. Seriously, throw a scoop of Shakeology into a shaker cup, mix with water or almond milk, and go! If you're not in a hurry, throw in some spices, fruit, ice, peanut butter, etc to change up the flavor and keep you from getting bored. Personally, I'd rather have a glass of Shakeology keeping me full and giving me energy vs. grabbing a package of mini donuts and soda that has me feeling hungry and ready for a nap within an hour.

Shakeology is also completely NATURAL. Unlike almost every single other meal replacement shake available, it's not bogged down with artificial ingredients and chemicals just to keep the cost down. It tastes good naturally! It is absolutely AMAZING the way you can feel when you give your body the ingredients that were made to fuel it efficiently. 

Most of my friends think I'm nuts when I talk about how much I love this stuff. Seriously,  how could changing one thing make me feel so amazing? I can talk about it until I'm blue in the face, but until you actually EXPERIENCE what Shakeology can do for YOU, you will never know!

I encourage you to at least TRY Shakeology to see how it can benefit you. Yes, even those of you that claim you hate "drinking" your meals. How about you "drink" your snack instead? (Yup, I'm being a smartass…) I ALWAYS have samples available if you'd like to give it a shot prior to committing to purchasing an entire bag. What could be easier on you (and your wallet) than trying Shakeology?! ;)

Comment below or e-mail me for more information and sample flavors!

 

Mid-Week Update

A few days ago I wrote about how I was planning on doing a modified version of the 21 Day Fix to avoid excessive pregnancy weight gain. I made some changes based on how my pregnancy has been going, as well as to keep myself sane. So how have I been doing? I'd give myself a 5. That's right, a 5. 

Before the tiny human started growing inside of me, I was on point with my nutrition about 90% of the time. My husband and I would always have one date night a week where all rules went out of the window, and then we would go get ice cream! I stuck to my exercise plan and made no excuses. Sure, I'd have slip ups, but I had pretty good willpower for being a self-diagnosed emotional eater with absolutely NO control.

Now that the tiny human has taken up residence in my abdomen (sometimes it feel like it's sitting on my bladder, other times it feels up in my ribs…), it's like all of my willpower has evaporated. There's no better word to describe it.

So here's what's gone down:

Monday was great. Stuck with the meal plan 100%. My only probably was choking down the vegetables. Since Day 1, the tiny human has not approved of plain vegetables or chicken. If the veggies are on a sandwich or covered in ranch dressing, it's happy. If the chicken doesn't taste like chicken, it's happy. Otherwise, the gag reflex is on point. So I choked down the veggies and made the best of gagging through my meals.

Tuesday wasn't so bad. My coworker turned 50, so another coworker brought in her famous homemade cake. I ate a piece. Yeah, remember me talking about my willpower evaporating? While most folks went back for two pieces, I stuck with my one. That has to count for something, right? 

Wednesday was TERRIBLE! Absolutely nothing sounded good to eat. I had my meal plan sitting in front of me, food already prepared, and I gagged at the thought of it. Seriously. What the heck?! What did sound good? Hummus. I ate small portions of hummus throughout the day and survived. For dinner, I had some oatmeal with cinnamon and a glass of milk. 

Today? Well, today isn't quite over yet, but I'm still in the phase where nothing sounds good. I thought pregnant woman were suppose to be wanting all kinds of awesome food? For me, it's racking my brain for something that the thought of doesn't make me ill. I'm calling bullshit…

So what would you do in this situation? Choke down the foods or find something relatively healthy that is tolerable? I'm at a total loss!

As for my exercise schedule, it's been pretty good! On Tuesday, I crashed as soon as I got home from work, so I made Wednesday a double day. The modifier with the program is excellent! I try to keep up with the trainer as best as I can, but I don't have the stamina to be hardcore 100% of the time. I'm chalking that one up to decreased lung space and 20 extra pounds lingering kind of all over. At least that's one thing that I KNOW I can finish every day. Or at least have a double day if I accidentally miss a day.

Post workout glare

Since I am still struggling with eating well, it makes me beyond thankful that I no longer have to take heparin injections so that I may now enjoy a daily Shakeology. I pair one shake a day with some extra folic acid, and I'm set! This way, I know I'm getting one AMAZINGLY healthy meal that's like eating SIX salads. Choking a salad down is tough. There's no choking Shakeology down. It's liquid gold!! (But not like that crap they talk about in the Velveeta commericials.) Shakeology is a huge blessing for me right now, and I am so thankful that I found it six months ago!

Enjoying snuggles and Shakeology