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Weight Loss Exercise

Visalus – Body by Vi




Visalus has become a very popular meal replacement program that is also marketed as a lifestyle choice. Very popular is an understatement with people becoming passionate about the product and the sellers of the product bringing in lots of celebrity sponsors to help promote.

So what is Visalus exactly?

Visalus   Body by ViVisalus at it’s core is a powder that is used as a meal replacement that is used to replace your breakfast and lunch or on maintenance just one meal. There are several different plans depending on your goals including a Visalus Balance Kit, Visalus Shape Kit, Visalus Core Kit, Visalus Transformation Kit, and Visalus Fit Kit.

All of these kits have the core 2 lbs bags of the shake mix and flavorings but as you go up in price and program you get more bags of the mix plus more vitamins, minerals, and even energy drinks.

I want to just focus on the Visalus Shape Kit as this was the one that my wife has tried out.

Visalus Shape Kit info

Visalus   Body by Vi

Visalus Shape Kit

Here is where the real info starts. My wife heard about the Visalus program a few times and finally took the plunge buying the Shape kit which is basically two 2 pound bags of the shake mix along with some flavoring packets. This package costs $99 for about a months supply of breakfast and lunch replacement (actually it last longer than a month which is kinda nice) so the cost per serving is about $1.50 each.


The drink itself tasted pretty good, I tried sips of my wifes drinks a couple of times and yes it does taste good depending on what you add to it. The flavoring at the core of the shakes is just vanilla and you mix it with milk or almond milk as well as whatever you would want (everything you add is a calorie though, remember). There is a great support system that gives lots of people lots of ideas as well.

The Protein to Carbohydrate to Fat mix is high on the protein side which I personally like at a ratio of 12-9-2.5 grams per serving and since you will be likely adding fruit to it you will have a higher amount of carbs as fruit is mostly water and carbs.

Visalus 90 Day Challenge

To be really clear this Visalus system is not just about the shake, there is a 90 Day Challenge where you take a before picture, an after picture, and chart your weight loss and body size changes and your goal is to make great changes in 90 days. I really love this as everyone may want to lose weight but they really don’t have any clear goals or timelines  90 days is a nice long enough time to change your habits and life and see results with any changes that you make.

The company tends to be a bit heavy handed with this and I can imagine that since people lose and change at different rates that it can be very discouraging if you are not losing weight as quickly as other people are, again the weight loss industry is full of the “look at me, I won” kind of mentality that a lot of people will just cringe at.

Along the same lines as this there is a few support forums where people will help each other out and share their favorite shake recipes (My wife was addicted to finding new ones all the time) and that support system really helps anyone that gets involved and interacts.

The Dark Side of Visalus

Nutritionally Visalus is always pushing the fact that the nutrition in their drinks is ridiculously high in nutrients but really the a couple of great posts seem to tell us a different story. Sheleana at Young and Raw who I really like does not like the obviously processed and not natural part of this product. On the nutritional side Graeme from Graeme Thomas Online did not at all like the nutrients in comparison even to cheap multivitamins.

Anyone that has seen or been involved with Amway or any other multilevel marketing system will recognize the business side of Visalus. I am not a bit fan of multilevel marketing but it is highly ingrained as part of the Visalus system. As a user of the product you can opt into being a promoter and the more that you sell and the more product that people you recruit sell the more money you make. The rewards can be very very high and because of this you will always find people that are really aggressive in promoting and selling the dram of the product sales.

This is just a marketing system where the money that would go into marketing the product on TV or other media is replaced by putting that money into the hands of the distributors. Trouble is this always comes across to me as greedy and opportunistic even if this is not the way the person selling the product to you is really like.

One other problem that we have found with Visalus is that if you do not make it very very clear that you want to cancel you will be charged every month and get a new months stock sent to you. We accidently didn’t cancel and after trying and trying the company finally found room on our credit card and charged and shipped another months supply, guess it is our own fault but it had been a few months since my wife had tried the product the first time. She doesn’t mind doing another month though anyway.

Should You Try Visalus?

I am not sure if this is the product for everyone but there are a few things that I really like about this product.

First the idea of serving sizes is foreign to almost everyone, we all end to eat too much per meal unless we are careful. The other great thing about this product is the fact that it seems to be filling, tastes good, and will boost your energy and cut sugar cravings, at least that is what my wife found.

On the bad side is that nutrition. I have found at least a couple of reports that show the nutrition may not be all that great but please don’t look for yourself as Google seems to be ranking only the pro-visalus side in the rankings lately and it took me pages of results before I could find not biased info.

So balance this as you would like. I think if you are looking to jump start a weight loss plan then this may be a great start but in the end I always like to make sure that people are eating as many whole foods as they can to stay in shape or get in shape and more importantly stay healthy.



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General Weight Loss Tips

Predictable

I’ve written this sort of post before, but I just haven’t had a lot to say this week. So I’m posting to say that I’ve been exercising every day as well as counting calories (staying around 1,600 a day) and things are going well.

I’m in a groove. My food posts wouldn’t be very interesting because I’m eating the same meals over and over again right now. It’s just comforting to eat 1/2 c meusli with 1/2 C of milk and know that it will be good and keep me full for hours with only 255 calories.

For lunch, I am eating a hot sandwich using my panini press. Usually chicken and muenster on whole wheat. Maybe a side of spinach or carrots.

And for dinner you will find us eating rice with either a lentil/onion indian dish or thai red or green curry with shrimp or chicken and vegetables. Coconut milk and basmati rice are in regular rotation around here.

After my workout, I break out the food processor for a frozen fruit smoothie. One banana, one cup strawberries, one cup blue berries, juice of one tangerine and one cup milk. If I have it I’ll add mango, or vanilla almond milk.

Sometimes it varies, but right now, this is good, healthful, comforting food for me. It’s predictable. Something I usually hate. I love variety and I’m sure next week I’ll switch to eating something else every single day. But this week, I know what I’m probably going to eat. And I know that I am most definitely going to exercise and push myself.

I feel good. I feel a vibration of health running through me. I don’t even know what that means, but I was at the grocery story last week, several hours after yoga and I just felt whole and balanced. Standing there in the aisle, I unexpectedly felt whole. Things are happening, and I feel like I’m on my path.

I realized in an almost alarming way that I am content right now. Not settled, not stunted or too comfortable, but content. I don’t want for anything at the moment. I don’t feel a push to be more than who I am being right now. I know it’s because of exercise and eating well. I know it’s because I have 10 bags of stuff to donate to goodwill today. I know it’s because I’ve hit a balance that I am pleased with.

I feel good.

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General Weight Loss Tips

Power Oatmeal

I’ve been eating this oatmeal off and on for about three weeks now. I love oatmeal in the morning, because it’s so darn filling, but my previous recipe called for brown sugar. And because eating unsweetened oatmeal would leave me feeling like Oliver Twist, I decided to add a banana and some raisins.

I call this Power Oatmeal because it makes me feel powerful and because it features Zenergy Powerballs. Powerballs people, powerballs!

Okay…here’s how I make my oatmeal:

1/2 C old fashioned oats and 1 C. unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Add to a saucepan. And hey, as I was snapping up photos this morning I realized that my breakfast features not one, but three christmas gifts! Here you will find a stainless steel, copper rimmed pot from my sister. Thanks sister!

Using this rad bird bowl from my mom!

Once the oatmeal starts boiling add one chopped up banana and 1/8 C raisins. Stir. Let cook for another two minutes. My trick to perfect oatmeal is to take it off the heat before you think it looks done. Oatmeal will continue to cook in your bowl, so if you take it off the heat when it’s still runny it will firm up to the perfect (not dry) consistency. I learned this the hard way. I always thought I couldn’t make oatmeal until I did this.

I put a powerball in the microwave for about 15 seconds to soften (this probably isn’t recommended, but I’m a rule breaker). I really like the almond and coconut flavors the best. They are filled with natural stuff like dates, almonds, and cacao nibs, which I enjoy a lot.

Here’s the powerball! These were sent to me by the owner of the company Peggy Sue Honeyman Scott (try saying that ten times fast). What I like about her is that she is hands-on with the promotion of her company. She contacted me personally back in November and even included a nice little note with her Zenergy Powerballs. I like that, I like personal. And I like these powerballs in my oatmeal.

Top with a little shredded, unsweetened coconut if that’s your thing.

And enjoy with a nice glass of grapefruit juice in your special Floyd stem wear. Another Christmas gift from my sister in law. Which is proof that if you give me a gift I will actually use it…a lot.

So because Peggy Sue is so awesome she agreed to send one of my readers a sampling of her Zenergy Powerballs, which honestly make a great breakfast by themselves or snack. I’ve been known to eat one while making dinner.

Just leave a comment and I’ll draw a name at random and have them send out to you!

What are you favorite oatmeal toppings?

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