VITAMIN D is a super essential, powerful vitamin for everyone. Yes, you can get vitamin D from the sun, but you have to get outside and expose some skin for a minimum of twenty minutes a day. It’s great if you live in warm climates, but what about those cold, dark dreary winter days? It makes it hard to obtain it from the sun, doesn’t it?
Vitamin D been shown to prevent and improve survival in many forms of deadly cancer; it can also prevent fatal heart attacks; improve survival in kidney disease; strengthen our bones and prevent and cure depression. Vitamin D is also a potent weapon against diabetes; rheumatoid arthritis; Multiple Sclerosis (MS); high blood pressure; inflammation; Sjogren’s Syndrome; thyroiditis; Crohn’s disease and obesity—all of these have been linked to low vitamin D levels . The benefits of Vitamin D now fills volumes in medical libraries.
Needless to say, I am a Vitamin D devotee! I love bright sunny days and become sluggish in those grey days of winter. I do admit my February Blues have practically disappeared since I started taking Vitamin D daily. This one I use is working great for me, as the Vitamin K in it helps the D to work.️
Check it out and see if your Vitamin D levels needed to be “fixed” like mine did.
I am beyond excited! I can now purchase my Black Angus Beef from an American ranch where cattle are grazing/free range in Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, Texas, and even Hawaii. The cattle are raised with NO antibiotics, and NO added hormones, which makes for a better meat product.
Because of this, I know my family will be eating the BEST Black Angus in the entire world!
No more high prices for this grade of quality of USDA PRIME beef — if I could even find it at the local stores. I know for certain the quality we will be gettin. It’s a! WIN-WIN!
Best part? It comes straight from Riverbend Ranch to my door at a FRACTION OF THE PRICE you find for USDA Choice at the store. Riverbend Ranch HIGH CHOICE BLACK LABEl is 100% USDA PRIME.
These great products are only available to members of my online shopping club. Saving money on high quality beef is Just one more reason I love this online shopping clubo!
Last year, I found myself waking up in the ICU of a hospital, with no memory of how I got there. My last memory is that I was at the airport. I remember having a vague conversation with a police officer. Other than that, I have no further recollection of that day until I woke up in that ICU two days later. Luckily I carry my health info and medical cards with my drivers license, so they were able to care for me. The diagnosis? DKA – Diabetic Ketoacidosis. My blood sugars had spiked to nearly 600 and I was on the verge of a diabetic coma. Considering I had never had any indication of sugar issues — all my bloodwork always came back perfectly normal.
So what happened? My doctors explained that my recent move, my recently broken shoulder and the resulting pain and lack of sleep, burying a parent, extensive dental work and weight loss (a good thing) put quite a bit of stress. Turns out all of these contributed to a metabolic imbalance and my body decided to crash—big time.
Turns out the ability of the body to control insulin can make significant differences in the quality of one’s health. Insulin is a hormone that is generated in the pancreas. It is released, optimally, in small amounts throughout the day and in larger amounts after meals.
Insulin and its effects can also cause weight gain, battle metabolic issues and even lead to diabetes. The below article from “Get Your Lean On” gives me some insight and tips on controlling the insulin my body manufactures and I thought I’d share.
It recommends avoiding all forms of sugar, which led me to the R3 lifestyle. The study results showed sugar promotes insulin resistance. Refined carbohydrates are another food to moderate or avoid completely, if you are able to, since they are converted to sugars. With my new eating plan, I rarely crave sweets or carb-loaded foods—but I still crave grapefruit and indulge that craving every other day.
The article also recommends eating foods that are higher in soluble fiber and will help stabilize and regulate blood sugar levels. Soluble fiber also produces higher levels of good “gut’ bacteria and makes you feel fuller, longer. I make certain I get lots of veggies and drink Fiberwise daily. I’m never hungry between meals anymore.
Of course, the study recommends that regular exercise should also be a part of a good daily, healthy regime. Unfortunately with my broken shoulder and subsequent shoulder replacement, I’ve not been working out or exercising for the past year—other than walking the dog, that is.
Finally,I’ve followed the suggestion to increase consumption of lean protein. With R3 I make it a point to have protein within an hour of waking up each morning. I didn’t believe it when I was first told to do this, but it works! Turns out the protein helps to absorb valuable amino acids that build muscle. Eating the right proteins is critical to the overall effect of an insulin “smart” diet, so I pay attention to the types and amounts of the protein I eat.
You may also want to consider some supplementation in your plan, regardless if your goals are weight-loss or simply universal good health. My company has developed a great tasting shake in several different flavors that allow me to easily and conveniently control my blood sugar and insulin levels.
My R3 journey started around 2017. I wanted to lose weight feel and better about myself. You see, I wasn’t always overweight or obese, I was always fit in spite of my asthma. To keep my lungs healthy, I worked out several days a week lifting weights. I did aerobics two to three times a week. I swam. I biked with the bike club two “short” rides and one long ride every week. I also rode my bike to work 19 miles each way practically every day. I was active and had a great social life.
Then, I gained a little weight, not much at first. After a major asthma attack which landed me in the ICU for several weeks, I gained “prednisone weight” about 20 pounds. I still participated in the Dublin Marathon three weeks after getting out of hospital. I was so full of Prednisone weight, I walked the marathon. (It took five and a half hours.)
Shortoly afterward i participated in an asthma drug study. During that study, I gained 70 pounds.
I had become fat. Not only that friends treated me differently as though I lacked will power or I was lazy. I wasn’t, but…
Around this time my dad went into a nursing home, since my mother did not drive,I became a driver for her and patient advocate while working 60-hour work weeks and volunteering for local charities. Although I was busy and on my feet all day and water running three days a week, I remained heavy.
At my heaviest, I was 250 pounds and often the heaviest person in the room. I hated it.
At this point, my dad passed, I was now my mothers caregiver, and my doctor suggested human growth hormone injections to see if I could lose weight. His program started out promising, and combined with early morning workouts with a personal trainer, I lost 13 pounds in the first two weeks, but nothing after that. After 3 months we were stopped.
That brings me to that first R3 Challenge around 2017. I took the before picture and submitted it. I didn’t do all that well, but I did lose maybe 10 pounds When comparing the after picture with my before picture you could tell my clothing definitely ldid not look or fit the same. The same clothing is in both photos. If you look closely you’ll see my left arm is in the pants. Most of my work colleagues and friends thought I lost a lot of weight but I hadn’t. I’d lost inches. A Non-Scale Victory (NSV).
I semi-participated in other challenges after that, but never really finished them. My schedule was terrible, I was taking care of everyone and everything but myself. But I finally was just under 200 pounds thanks to swimming and rowing three times a week. It was progress.
In 2021 my mother passed away and I decided I needed to make life changes. I changed jobs and put my house on the market. I took a trip to South Carolina to check out the housing market.
2022 arrived. For me, 2022 will forever be “Year of the Shoulder”. The year began with a good purchase offer on my home on January 6. That same day, while at work, I tripped over a case of wine, fell and broke my right shoulder (my dominant hand). My house was closing on January 25. I had 20 days to pack, find a new home and move—all with a freshly broken shoulder. I ended up purchasing a brand new house sight-unseen in Florida with a closing date of January 26 — a day after my New Jersey closing. I was lucky as I was also able to find a good mover to match my timeline. It was a very painful move but i made the 16-hour drive with my dog.
Once arriving in Florida, it was time to regroup. I found I moved to a new development in a town I had never heard of, but it was now home.Rain was coming down in buckets. The pain prevented a lot of unpacking (I still haven’t found all of my silverware).
Being on Worker’s Comp, I needed to find an orthopedic doctor in Florida who would accept the Worker’s Comp insurance to care for the shoulder. I finally got an appointment for an orthopedist on April 28. I weighed in at his office at 213.
I wasn’t happy. I went on a girls’ trip vacation wearing a sling and was once again the fattest person in the room. I was sick and tired of being overweight, unhappy and in pain. I had to do something.
When I saw the Challenge beginning June 6 – the same day I started Physical therapy — I joined. I figured I couldn’t work and unpacking the garage was still a tedious, painful, one-armed process. I couldn’t even find my scale in the garage, I had to buy a new one! Nor did I have a mirror.
I started the challenge.Some days were good, some weren’t. My physical therapy lasted the entire length of the challenge. I was in constant pain. When the challenge ended, I was down 25 pounds! I was surprised I lost the weight, since I wasn’t the best at sticking to the plan 100 percent.
The best part, I continued to lose weight (another 15 pounds) after the challenge just by following the Real Life part of R3.
In August, after an 18-month wait, I flew to Washington, DC and Arlington National Cemetery to bury my mother. The flight home was an adventure. After multiple delays and a layover, I arrived at my destination airport, and I woke up two days later in a hospital ICU. Apparently, stress and the pain medication caused a cascade effect resulting in diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). I also had never been a diabetic prior to this event, I have no memory of being in an ambulance, in an ER or let alone in an MRI, but I was.
When I was released, to go home —my day trip to DC had turned into a week. I had gained 11 pounds (they said water weight from IVs). It took three weeks to lose the water weight following R3’s Real Life phase. The good news was the endocrinologist approved the R3 plan and liked the idea of my eating five to six times a day to keep my metabolism balanced. By September, my blood numbers were back to normal and I was taken off nearly all of the medications that came home with me from the hospital.
October came and I was down a total of 53 pounds. I decided not to do the Fall R3 challenge. I had a surgical date for a total reverse shoulder replacement on November 16— I didn’t want hospital food ruining my challenge! Knowing I would be incapacitated for six weeks, I cooked R3-friendly meals—enough for 42 days and froze them tor my recovery meals. By the time of my surgery, I had lost an additional 14 pounds. This time, at the orthopedic office, I weighed in at 146 pounds! Fully Dressed. With shoes.
Of course, after surgery, I swelled up and gained 30 pounds! I left the hospital weighing 176 pounds, It took a month to shed those 30 pounds of water weight. Again I did it by following my R3 Real Life phase
On December 31, I was 145 pounds.
I’m happy about the weight loss, especially since I wasn’t allowed any workouts other than walking my chihuahua. I admit I feel better about myself now that i’m closer to my ideal weight. My shoulder needs to finish healing, before I can go back to swimming, water running and rowing, to stay fit, but I’ll get there with R3. I want to lose the last 15-20 pounds for my ideal weight.
Today Im ready to start the January 2023 challenge on January 16. Who is ready to join me?
Children, for the most part, do not eat well. They commonly choose foods that are high in fats, sugars, and salt that have little, real nutritional value. The top choices among kids are hot dogs, chicken nuggets, French fries, pancakes, pizza, cookies and ice cream.
While you may agree that this doesn’t sound like an optimal menu conducive to good health for growing children, it’s often all that the little people will eat. This type of menu creates a domino effect that results in 97% of children suffering from some form of malnutrition.
Did you know that one in three children ages 2 to 19 is obese or overweight? That’s triple the rate of just a generation ago. Many of today’s children suffer from high blood pressure. Diabetes in children has increased by 21% in the last 10 years. All are the result of poor nutrition.
Additionally, three out of four children are not getting 60 minutes of exercise each day. The result? Childhood obesity.
As of last year, health costs are $14 billion a year and rising. To help combat the trend a proper diet is necessary. When children don’t like nutritious vegetables, fruits or proteins, supplements can help. Nutritional supplements can replace some of the vitamins and minerals missing in your children’s and grandchildren’s diets. Make sure to choose supplements that are safe and effective.
Blueberry Vanilla Nut & Fruit Clusters OMG! More blueberry goodness! Bite after bite, I find Simply Fit Nut & Fruit Clusters simply delicious snacking—and simply better for me. A satisfying, nutty crunch with the soft sweetness of just-picked blueberries, warm hints of vanilla, and sparkles of Himalayan pink salt.
The clusters contain ten irresistible ingredients: blueberries, currants, almonds, cashews, pumpkin seeds, Himalayan pink salt, crisp rice, cane sugar, brown rice syrup, natural vanilla and no artificial anything! The only proble I’ve found is once I start, I can’t stop eating them!
This is a healthy snacking secret. When I want something delicious, filling and refreshing for my 3:00 p.m. snack, I reach for Blueberry Attain with revolutionary, natural CraveBlocker®. This simple shake helps stop cravings at both critical sources, putting me back in control. I have been able to manage and lose weight without feeling irritable or hungry all the time—and I don’t deprive myself of the nutrition I need. Controlling my cravings is an essential part of losingand keeping weight off for good. Since it is blueberry month, I blended in a few fresh blueberrys for an added jolt of antioxidants.
My Blueberry breakfast specialis Blueberry Simply Fit Granola.
We like it because it is simply wholesome granola. There is no artificial flavoring, color or ingredients. It’s baked and every bite is filled with crisp, old-fashioned goodness. It has whole oats, fiber, protein, and ALA omega-3s from flax to create lasting satisfaction. We love it we even added a few fresh berries today to celebrate blueberry month!
Since they are now in season, July is a great month to discuss the health benefits of blueberries. Did you know that blueberries are native to North America and are grown in 35 states? What’s more, they’re an ingredient in more than 4,000 products, from muffins to pet food to cosmetics—and to think it all started in New Jersey.
The popularity of blueberries can be credited directly to Elizabeth Coleman White and Frederick V. Coville, who, succeeded in hybridizing wild blueberry plants to create a new domestic blueberry industry. They began their work at the White family farm, Whitesbog, in Browns Mills, Burlington County an area known for cranberry bogs and the infamous Pine Barrens.
Although Washington and Georgia lead the country in terms of blueberry production, New Jersey is currently the fifth highest blueberry producing state in the U.S. Despite our state’s small size, New Jersey growers often register yields topping 56.7 million pounds of blueberries each year. Amazingly, over 80% of New Jersey’s blueberries are grown in Atlantic County and most of the blueberry harvest comes from a mere 8,800 acres.
Many of New Jersey’s blueberries are packaged at the Atlantic Blueberry Company at Hammonton.
Living in New Jersey, we are lucky enough to have picking areas nearby—fun for the whole family! They make a great snack all on their own or enhance a meal, make stellar desserts or sauces. Plus, these vibrant berries pack a punch in vitamins and health benefits.
Here are a few things blueberries can do for you:
#1: Blueberries are the #1 fruit with the highest antioxidant capacity. It beats out any other berry! These powerful antioxidants have been known to improve the immune system and prevent infections in the body (especially urinary tract infections.)
#2: Blueberries can help with weight loss. Blueberries have fewer than 100 calories in a cup, making it a healthy pick for snacking. There have also been numerous studies, linking blueberries to the loss of stomach fat.
#3: The deeper the color of a blueberry, the richer they are in antioxidants, vitamins and medicinal perks. Go for the darkest berries!
#4: Blueberries can reduce the risk of cancer. Anthocyanins (which give the fruit its hue) have been studied and known to attack cancer-causing free radicals in the body.
#5: Blueberries for the brain! Numerous studies have shown that blueberries can help reduce the risk of memory loss. Brain food at its finest
Sometimes when I eat something for breakfast, like cereal for instance, I find that around two to three hours later I start feeling peckish and a bit tired, instead of reaching for an ever-ready treat from the office kitchen (you know a donut or candy), I make one of these great GC Control shakes.
Not only do I love them for their taste, but they fill that “hole” and provide a boost in energy, getting me back on track. That’s because they provide me a better balance of protein and carbs that last far longer than a donut or candy bar. The link below explains why this product works so well.
Hayseeds Creative 