Change is in the Air!

Whether you're in the Northern or Southern Hemispheres, change is in the air! If you're north of the equator, Happy Autumn! If you're south, Happy Spring! (I know. I'm a week late. Chalk it off to the change of seasons!)

The changes of season can be a time of change for us, as well. While change can be challenging, or even difficult, it can also be good for us.

Let's consider the change of the seasons. As the earth orbits the sun, it wobbles on its axis. It's a gentle wobble, fortunately for all of us, but it still makes the sun seem to move north and south of the equator. Seasonal changes can seem sudden, like the cooler fall days that just popped into my neighborhood, practically overnight. Most often, however, change is more subtle.

Say you go on a diet and lose twenty pounds. Maybe it came off quickly. Maybe it took a while. Either way, you hit your goal weight and you think, "Aha! I'm there! I can relax now!" "One cookie won't hurt." "Yes, thank you, I'd love seconds."

Sure, you won't put on twenty pounds overnight (unless you have a serious medical condition beyond the scope of this blog). However slow it may be, however, once you stop your diet, the scales may start to creep upward again. A subtle change. Soon you may be back where you were before, or even worse than when you started.

That's the problem with diets. As I stated in my last post, the entire dieting mindset is based on its being temporary. Something with an end-date.

What you need is a life-style change. A program that will give you tips on how to change what you're doing now, so that you can live your life at a healthy weight.

The Bodē plan from VEMMA is just such a plan. Not only is it simple & easy, but you get smartphone support with its award-winning app that will message you when it's time to eat, give you recipes, exercises, and the best vitamin and mineral combo in the business. With the great nutrition you'll be getting, not only will your weight improve, but you'll get more energy for living!

What about it, then? Are you ready for some positive change in your life? Check out the Bodē products today!

Staying Positive

Sometimes our biggest challenge in getting or staying in shape is just keeping a positive attitude. It's easy to keep going when things are going your way. When it gets hard, however, staying positive becomes more difficult. It's also when you need it the most!

What keeps you focused on your goals? Your health & well-being? Fitting into a smaller size? Being able to "be there" for your family & loved ones?

It's so easy to lose track when everything else is clamoring for your attention. And, once you stop paying attention, those sneaky pounds can come right back! It's happened to me. It can happen to you.

I know it's hard to stay focused and positive with so many terrible things happening around the world. Hearing someone say "keep a positive attitude" when you are distraught over a loved one in a war zone, or in the midst of a terrible wildfire, or challenged by tornadoes or hurricanes, can be like a slap in the face. You may feel insulted or angry.

I don't mean to do that to you, truly. If you're facing monumental challenges, feel free to ignore me. Give those challenges to God and come back to my blog when things are better. I'm praying for you.

If you're just in a slump, however, I'm here to cheer you on. Just because we get into a slump doesn't mean we have to stay there. Just because we lose our dietary focus and put on a few pounds doesn't mean they have to stay with us forever. We CAN lose them again. We just have to make that decision, for our health!

I'm deciding to do better again. How about you?

Happy New Year's Eve!

Happy New Year's Eve, my friends! Can you believe how quickly time has flown? I know I can't! What are some of your New Year's Resolutions? I have plenty, and you probably do, too! One of my goals for this coming year is to lose more inches. In 2013, I also want to be a better writer, a better musician and composer, and to accomplish more. I want to become financially independent. I know all of these things will take a lot of work, and I'm willing to put in the time and effort needed.

What is a resolution, anyway? It is simply deciding to do something, to be resolved, determined, to accomplish that thing, whatever it is. We may make a resolution to spend more time with our families, and that's a good one! Time is precious, and we never get it back once it's gone.

Many of us resolve to make more money. As you've seen, that's one of my resolutions this year. A lot of us make a resolution to go on a diet and lose weight. If I had a hundred dollars for every time I've made the Diet Resolution, I could buy a really nice computer. Or maybe put a down payment on a car!

I think I've tried just about every diet ever designed by man (or woman). I know I've read enough diet books to stock a small library. I even bought some of them. From high protein diets to complex carbohydrate diets, counting calories, counting carbs, counting fat grams, balancing grams of fat with protein and carbohydrates, adding healthy monounsaturated fats... If it was a book with Diet in the title, I've probably at least read it. And, if I could afford all the ingredients, tried it!

Don't get me wrong. Some of the diets I tried were dangerous, and I'm thankful I survived them. Many, however, are good and have useful information, some of which I've carried over into my everyday eating habits. Take the healthy monounsaturated fats, for example. Who knew that eating olives could be good for you?  Or dark chocolate? Or walnuts, almonds, and peanuts (assuming you aren't allergic)?

There are a lot of diets out there: fads, books, additives to sprinkle on your favorite foods to make you full faster, and all kinds of juicers, blenders, food processors and other things to make your diet faster, better, more effective.

If you are considering making that resolution (again), only to know you'll fail, maybe you're trying the wrong things to lose weight.The sad truth is, most diets fail because they aren't intended to last a lifetime. You're supposed to adjust your eating habits, and, hopefully, eat in a more healthful manner. Realistically, most people aren't willing to do that.  You go back to eating the way you did before. And--big surprise--you can't believe it when the weight comes back!

"In order to make change happen, you have to change."* Good nutrition is the best way to lose weight. Without good nutrition, you may lose some pounds, but you'll probably also lose muscle, which is the very last thing you should do! Muscle has been proven to increase metabolism, which means, if you're losing muscle tissue, you actually are losing the ability to lose weight! Scary!

My own diet resolutions never worked. Not because I didn't try hard to make them work, but because once I'd lost however many pounds were my goal, I'd stop dieting. That's the problem with diets. We think of them as short-term solutions to a long-term problem. At least, I did.

Before discovering Herbalife, I tried losing weight because of my doctor's concerns about my triglyceride levels this year. They were dangerously high. I cut back on things, tried portion control, tried counting calories, and  I did lose some weight. Then I plateaued, and nothing I tried would make the scale budge, until I found Herbalife.

I've done amazingly well in the weight-loss department this past few months. I can't believe how much more energy I feel, and how much more I can accomplish. I'm really pleased. Thanks to Herbalife, I've lost 24 lbs in the three months between doctor visits. Everyone in the office was thrilled for me!

Of all the things we need, good health should always be near the top of the list. One obvious reason: how can you enjoy anything if you don't feel well? Better health means more contentment, more enjoyment, more energy to do the things you love to do.


So, is getting to a healthy weight (lower or higher) on your New Year's Resolution list this year? If so, please visit HERE.

I'm also resolving this year to build a Team of people to join me in helping themselves and others get healthy. If you are seriously interested in becoming part of my Team, please e-mail your contact information (including best telephone number) to marionlaird@gmail.com. Together, we can change people's health for the better!

* Jim Rohn

8 Weeks Ago Today

Eight weeks ago today, I started a journey that I thought I'd never try again: attempting to lose weight. It seemed as if I'd tried so many different "diets" from the time I was a teenager. Low carb, high protein, high carb, calorie counting, low fat, restrict this, give up that--! If a new diet book came on the market, I read it. Nothing seemed to work, at least not for long.

Then, while looking for something else entirely, I came across something I'd heard of years ago but never tried: Herbalife. I was looking for a new business opportunity, not another diet! My mentor asked if I had any weight to lose. I did the math and, remembering back to what had felt good when I was younger, said, "Maybe thirteen pounds." She said, "No problem!"

I gave myself a couple of months, because I thought it wasn't a lot of weight. So many people need to lose way more than that. I didn't realize what I was getting myself into!

The French Vanilla shake was unbelievable! I'd never tried any shake that purports to help you lose weight that tasted so GOOD! It's packed with vitamins, but you can't taste them. All you taste is the deliciousness! Unlike all the other shakes-in-a-can out there that I'd tried, this was actually FILLING. I didn't get hungry after an hour and reach for something else. I was full till my next meal.

I lost three and a half pounds the first three days. That didn't surprise me, because, having been on diets before, I'd lost that much in water weight.

What DID surprise me was losing inches. In that same three days, I'd lost five and three/eights inches. 5.375!!! I was amazed and delighted!

I'm still delighted, and that's what this blog is about: sharing my journey with you and helping you reach your own health goals. I plan to blog every Monday with tips, recipes, photos, and ideas, so we can share our journeys together! 

This picture shows me after having lost 6.5 lbs, and, as you can see, a bunch more inches! It's lovely watching them melt away. I'll hope to see you again soon!

To learn more, please visit

www.GoHerbalife.com/marionlaird/en-US