Our Health Journey

OK, how many of us are staying with our New Year Resolutions? A few of us decided to become more knowledgeable about overall health. We searched the internet and bookstores for the latest material. But, did we do anything with this information ? If so, did we get […]

The answer is no. It’s not. It does have fewer calories, but that doesn’t make it better. Recently CNN posted this item about the link between [regular] soda pop and obesity, which should come as no surprise to anyone. However, in my opinion, the author of the article did readers a […]

When the giant, multi-billion-dollar food industry tries to fool consumers into buying a product - any product - by simply slapping the word “organic” on the packaging.  As consumers, it’s up to us to be aware that the word “organic” alone does not signify healthy.   It simply means that (some of) the ingredients were (supposed […]

I have to admit I really enjoy a decadent treat now and then! However, I’ve taken to creating my own treats so that they are healthier without sacrificing a sinful taste.
One of my favorite after dinner desserts (but only if I’ve been “good” that day with my diet) is a yogurt-based parfait […]

No, I’m not talking about super sized kids meals without the toy when I speak of Happy Meals for Adults. What I’m referring to are meals that make us happy! Meals that don’t drag us down, giving us that full feeling and leave us without energy. I’m talking about meals that […]

One of the leading causes of weight problems is that often we don’t stop to think about what we’re eating. We may have a perception that we’re eating healthy, but without any real knowledge of exactly how many calories we’re consuming, or precisely what those calories are composed of - fats, sugars, protein, etc.
Yesterday […]

When my daughter and I started Our Health Journey, we had already made a commitment to wellness. That commitment started for me when I was first introduced to Shaklee nutrition. My daughter followed soon after. At the time, we both had different missions. Mine was to regain my health and vitality […]

The last few days I’ve been enjoying an afternoon glass of iced tea, made with the Shaklee Cinch Energy Tea mix - the Pomegranate flavor.
It has a nice, light, refreshing taste, but what I like best is that it doesn’t have that “artificial sweetener” taste that so many other tea mixes have. Pomegranate […]

Recently a new friend introduced me to a type of pasta I’d never tried before - Organic 100% Whole Soybean Pasta (from Nutrition Kitchen). I’ve only been a Vegetarian for about a year now, so I’m still learning about new foods and healthy protein alternatives. I’ll be making sure my pantry is stocked […]

It only just occurred to me that I’ve been remiss in giving everyone an update on how I’ve been doing on my Shaklee Cinch Diet………YES!! I lost the original 10 pounds that was my goal, plus 2 more.
It has been a long summer, and with all the travel we’ve been doing, and hosting company, […]

I know this post is slightly “off topic”, but I thought it might be beneficial to others so I decided to write it anyway. I am often asked, sometimes by women I barely know, what I use on my skin to keep it looking so great and so youthful. So here I am, […]

In my recent Shaklee Cinch Recipe post I mentioned the fact that Cinnamon is a natural appetite suppressant. My next door neighbor was surprised to hear that fact and asked me about what other spices she might use to help with her health issues, at which point it occurred to me that perhaps in […]

We are the sum of our parts and each of those parts is in someway interdependent on the other. If we injure ourselves and are not able to exercise, we tend to put on weight, feel sluggish and depending on the length of recovery, perhaps even depressed. The opposite can also be true; if […]

How safe is our food? Well, if it is imported from China and if it is seafood, then it currently is very suspect. Just another reason to be an informed consumer. If you want to read about what our government is doing to keep our seafood safe to eat, check out http://www.fda.gov/consumer/updates/seafood062807.html Overall, […]

There is so much obsession these days with trying to look like the skinny actresses and models we all see on TV, in movies, and on magazine covers. What we don’t always realize is that, while some of these women and girls are naturally blessed with a thin frame and a quick metabolism that […]

It has been three months since we have started our blog about our journey to lose weight and remain healthy. I did loose weight early on, four pounds. The good news is that I have kept those four pounds off. Four seems to be the magic number with my daughter and I. […]

I recently returned from a trip to the east coast to visit family and friends, and although it was a great visit, it was difficult to stick to my vegetarian diet, primarily due to miscommunication on my part, and misunderstanding by others, so I thought it might be helpful to talk about how to play […]

My Progress Report: (drumroll please) - I weighed myself this morning and am pleased to announce that I’ve lost 4 lbs!! Woo hoo! Now I know what you’re thinking…….4 lbs isn’t that much, especially since I’ve been using the Shaklee Cinch Diet plan for about three months now, but keep in mind […]

Here’s a recommendation I thought I’d share with you - my favorite green food supplement, which happens to be Greens First by Doctors For Nutrition.
Many people - especially busy folks like me - realize that it can be difficult to get in the recommended five servings (each) of fruits and vegetables that we’re supposed to […]

What is it that we all want in our daily life? QUALITY! We want to get up every morning feeling great. We don’t want to deal with aches and pains, but what are we willing to do to attain this? Are we willing to trade that 2nd cup of coffee […]

I came across a really great website today……..The Daily Plate….where you can search their database of over 140,000 common foods (including most fast food restaurant offerings) and find out the complete nutritional breakdown - calories, fat grams, protein, sugar, etc. You can also set up a free account to keep track of […]

The past couple of weeks have been extremely busy, hectic ones - including traveling out-of-state with my parents to celebrate my niece’s college graduation, and we all know how crazy airline travel is these days - but even when the “busyness” stems from happy events, it can still be stressful on one’s mind and body, […]

According to data collected over an 8-year period in a study done by the Swedish-based Karolinska Institute, persons who consumed five or more servings of sugar daily had a 90% increase in their risk of developing pancreatic cancer

I was reading one of my other favorite blogs yesterday - written by a friend of mine, Donna Adinolfi, who writes mostly about spa vacations and also about health & nutrition, and on her blog she referenced a recently posted article at another site about “Sugar vs Fat: Which is Worse?”…….it is a very lengthy […]

So after two weeks of family and friends visiting, with meals out and more elaborate meals in, am I back to ground zero on my diet? No, I am starting off 4lbs lighter. The result of my earlier efforts and the Cinch Plan. Somehow through all of the company, the weight that […]

I really had thought that my diet would get completely blown to heck as we’ve been on vacation this past week, but all in all I’d say it’s been remarkably easy to stick to it.
What’s made it so easy is that the Shaklee Cinch Shake mixes come in convenient single-serving packets (in addition to the […]

Everyone’s buzzing about the bestselling book The Secret these days. Although I haven’t read it (yet - it’s on my summer reading list for our upcoming vacation), I am well aware of it’s core message - the power of positive thinking. This concept itself is not new - far from it - it’s […]

Why not make every meal a dining experience. I know, you’re thinking; who has the time. We all do. This is not a dress rehearsal, this is our life. If we keep it simple, we can enjoy the simple things, such as eating. Some of my best meals were shared […]

Sometimes the simple act of grocery shopping can be overwhelming to those of us trying to lose weight, or those just trying to eat healthier even if they are presently at a good weight for their body.
So many of the foods available to us on our store shelves are highly processed, high fat, high sugar […]

I can hear it now. You only want to loose 10lbs. it hardly seems worth it. But, did you know that dropping as little as 5 to 10% of our body weight, which in my case is 10lbs, can help to reduce my risk of coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, which runs in […]

The Shaklee Cinch Weight Management program that my daughter and I are on is “Powered by Leucine” So, what is leucine and why is it so important? There are nine essential amino acids that cannot be manufactured by the body and must be obtained from our diet. Leucine is one of […]

My friend came over this morning and brough with her a Slim Fast Optima Meal Shake. I had one of the Slim Fast Easy To Digest (lactose free) Shakes in my fridge. I picked them up some time ago when they first came out (before I discovered the Shaklee Cinch Shakes), but […]

I’m not a scientist or a nutritionist - nor do I play one on television - but I am capable of comparing two or three products and deciding what is best for me, given my unique physiology (and we are all unique).
I bring this up because recently a good friend asked me why I am […]

OK, so I’m a slow starter, both to the blog and to our new Cinch diet. However, like the Tortoise and the Hare, I’m in it for the long run. Because I’m older, the 10 pounds that I want to loose may take me longer, but only because, they’ve been with me for […]

I must confess that I have a split personality. It’s true. By day I have the best intentions - I vow to only eat healthy foods, stick to my Cinch Plan, and get some form of exercise during the day. By night, I become a different person altogether. A real Jekyll and […]

So I’ve been walking now for four days and just this morning started wondering “how far am I walking”? My stride is pretty much in line with the average (2.5 feet per stride, according to The Walking Site) and I’ve been hitting pretty close to 3,000 steps (according to my step-o-meter that came with […]

I don’t really think of myself as a rebel, but I guess I must be because I really don’t like following instructions. I’m a blender. A rebellious blender. I can’t help myself - I mix everything (”if this shampoo makes my hair shiny, and this one makes it soft, then if I […]

Today I started on my new diet. Over the past few years I’ve made some well-intentioned, but apparently half-hearted, attempts to control my weight or even to lose a couple of pounds. I’ve followed some good advice - I gave up soda pop completely. I cut back on bread (way back). […]