Trim Shake

I can't stand to eat breakfast and my doctor has been after me to eat breakfast for the last few years. He has told me time after time that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Just eating dinner was not cutting it and that is why I have not been able to lose weight.

I decided to try doTERRA Trim Shakes. I purchased the chocolate one and was a bit nervous about how it would taste. I've tried many different shakes: SlimFast, Special K, Nestle, and Benefiber. To me they all leave this horrible after taste in your mouth and I could barely stomach the smell.

Trim Shake doesn't have a horrible smell and the taste is rather nice. It mixes well in my blender bottle and doesn't leave clumps or chunks. I'm kind of in love with it. I find drinking this shake is much easier for me than eating a meal. I just can't force myself to eat anything in the morning. So a drink is a nice alternative.

I have been drinking the Trim Shake the past week. I personally don't like a strong chocolate flavor so I mix 2 scoops in 16 oz of milk (opposed to 1 scoop per 4 oz) with a drop of wild orange. Next on my list is vanilla.

So far after 1 week of drinking Trim Shake, I have lost 5 pounds. We will see if it keeps happening for me! :) I believe with this shake and an awesome workout, great things are bound to happen for me! 

DIY Vapor Rub and Tabs

My husband is coming down with the same stuff I had a few weeks ago (Head Cold). He applies the oils one time and expects to be better immediately. I explain to him that he has to reapply throughout the day. It's like medicine in the aspect of wearing off and needing application every 1-2 hours. He's horrible about reapplying.

I have noticed if there is a jar premixed with organic coconut oil, he is much more likely to reapply. Why? I have no idea. I personally find roller bottles much more convenient. To each their own, I guess.  

I decided today to make him some homemade "Vapor Rub" and "Vapor Tabs" for the shower. I have not tried anything like this before and I must say it was extremely easy!

Vapor Rub:

I find it easier to place the solid coconut oil in the jar (4 oz), then place it in the microwave for a few seconds to melt (does not have to be completely liquid).Take it out of the microwave and allow it to cool down. Be careful not to allow it to get solid again.

Once the coconut oil cooled off. I added:

20 drops Eucalyptus
10 drops Lavender
10 drops Rosemary

Stir Gently or you can place the lid back on the jar and shake (kids love that part).

Vapor Tabs:

Yields 12 Tabs

Mix the following together in a bowl.

2 cups baking soda
2/3 cup of water + 2-4 tablespoons (as needed)

These are approximate measurements. I'm one of those that doesn't measure a lot of things. The consistency should be a paste.

At this point I would suggest using either the foil cupcake liners or use the silicone cupcake pan. Let me just tell you, the paper ones don't work so great! Fill your liners up with the baking soda/water mixture. Bake at 350 for approx. 20 minutes.

Pull them out of the oven and let cool. Once cool, I added generous amounts of essential oils to the top and bottom of each tab. I only added oils to a couple of them. On the rest we will add the oils to them right before shower time.

The oils I used are:

5-10 drops of each Eucalyptus, Lavender, and Rosemary.

I store mine in a gallon sized Ziploc bag. Any air tight container will work.

*** Most recipes ask you to mix in the essential oils prior to baking. I am always afraid that it will lessen the effectiveness, so I add it to the tabs once they are cooled and ready for use.

This seemed to work really well. I have never used the Vick's brand shower tabs, so I can't really compare it for you. Sorry about that. However, my hubby has reported that he feels much better and he can breathe out of both sides of his nose. :)

Shampoo and Conditioner... UPDATE

I must say that after a few more uses my hair does not feel stringy or oily like it was when I first started using the Salon Essentials S&C. I can run my fingers through my hair without any tangles.

I will probably purchase these products again. I guess my hair just needed time to adjust to the lack of chemicals going onto the strands everyday!

Head Cold

I love fall, but it is the worst time of year for me, I spend half of the fall and most of the winter sick. I always get the head cold that inevitably turns into a sinus infection with bronchitis. It usually takes me 2-3 months (yes, months) to get rid of it all. Bronchitis always last forever with me and it usually take 2-3 rounds of antibiotics to kick it. Then the cough lingers for another month.

The weekend before last I started to feel run down and had the sniffles. I knew what this was leading to. It was leading to the sinus infection. Soon to follow would be the lovely cough that leads to the deep chest congestion. After that would be the bronchitis.

This year, I have oils to try. On Friday, September 26th, is when this all began. I woke up and felt the sinus pressure with the stuffy nose. I immediately started the following:

Morning:
Breathe on my chest
Breathe on my nose (not in it)
On Guard on the arches of my feet
DigestZen across my sinuses
.
Afternoon:
Breathe on my chest
Breathe on my nose
DigestZen across my sinuses

Night:
Breathe on my chest
Breathe on my nose
On Guard on the arches of my feet
DigestZen across my sinuses
3 drops each of Breathe and On Guard in my diffuser

Let me tell you. I thought it was crazy talk when I came across a comment on doTerra IPC Sharing Group on Facebook that mentioned DigestZen across your sinuses. I mean this stuff is for stomach issues, right? Not so much. I applied it to my sinuses and had almost instant relief. The first time I tried this was at work. It burned. It was a bit strong and my eyes started to water. The only thing I had on hand was my organic coconut oil with lime mixture. I applied some of that over the top of my DigestZen and it was so much better. No longer burned.

I have been doing this off and on for a week and 3 days (Sometimes I forget about it or fall asleep without loading the diffuser). Today, I woke up feeling good. I still have a bit of a stuffy nose, but it never turned into a sinus infection. I have only had a little cough, but it never turned into chest congestion or bronchitis.

I do believe I will keep doing this until I feel 100% better. Which should be in the next day or two. I can't believe how well these oils work for me. The sinus pressure is gone. I have a little tickle in my throat and that causes a small cough.

Honestly, I'm surprised that I feel so great. It has only been a week since this all started. Normally it just keeps getting worse and worse. I would be downing the Nyquil at night and popping Dayquil softgels during the day. This time around I only took 2 pills (both in the same day). During the worst day (Monday, Sept 29th) I took Allegra D. It helped some, but not much.

Again, I'm just blown away by these darn oils. I'm so glad that I was introduced to doTERRA. I will always keep these 3 oils on hand!

**********************************

Keep getting asked where I applied the DigestZen so I have included a visual of my ugly mug. I have marked in red where the oil was applied. 

Shampoo and Conditioner

I told ya'll from the beginning that I would be honest and up front about the products as I use them.

With that being said. I recently used my LRP points to purchase the Salon Essentials Shampoo and Conditioner. The shampoo smells amazing. The wild orange and lime together are heaven. The conditioner smells good as well.

The first day I used it, I loved it. I got out of the shower and brushed my hair with few tangles. The more I use it the more I don't like it. By the end of the day my hair is full of tangles and feels gross and oily. The first half of the day my hair seems okay, but that last half I just want to go home and wash my hair. I might give it another few days. Maybe my hair is trying to adjust, I don't know. All I know is I will give the shampoo and conditioner until the end of the week. If my hair still feels that way I will be going back to my salon brand hair products.

Who Needs Breakfast?

Last night as I lay awake, watching Netflix, I came to the realization that I want to get in shape. Yes, I know... round is a shape, but I don't want to be round anymore.

I have been told numerous times by my doctor that I will start to lose weight if I eat more. Come to find out I do not meet my daily calories and my body stores everything I eat. I am one of those people that can't eat breakfast. I have tried bananas, yogurt, oatmeal, granola bars, and I just can't do it the majority of the time. I also rarely eat lunch. I will sometimes snack on almonds or a granola bar at work. Then I get home and eat dinner. Yeah, I know I shouldn't do it, but I just can't help it. :)

I have decided that I am going to give doTERRA Trim Shakes a try. I just placed them in my LRP order. I think I'm going to get the vanilla one. In my mind I can do more with it as far as flavor goes. Maybe if I can drink one of these in the mornings instead of eating something, I will have better results.

This is an example of what I'm going to try:

Breakfast: Shake
Morning Snack: Apple and peanut butter
Lunch: Sandwich or wrap
Afternoon Snack: Almonds
Dinner: Home cooked meal (no more eating out!)

I am kind of excited to try this out. I know I can lose weight because I did when I forced myself to eat breakfast. The most I was able to lose was 15 pounds. This time I'm going to put a little more effort into it.

I will blog and update to this after I have been doing this for a month and let you all know how it is going! :)

Oh, My Aching Sinuses

Over the weekend I went to Oklahoma to surprise my Granny for her 80th Birthday!!! I felt myself getting run down. I started applying On Guard, Purify, and Breathe. I got home on Sunday and I was so achy and felt like I was run over by a truck. I thought this was the nonstop flying and travelling over the past 2 days.

Monday morning I woke up with an uneasy stomach and a headache. I figured if I got up and around I would just work through it. Sometimes I start to feel better. I went to work and about an hour later I was home, under the blankets, and had the chills.

I love my oils to death, but I don't want to die. I'm a baby when it comes to sinus issues and head colds. This is primarily because they turn into infections so easily with me. It's ridiculous. I broke down and bought some Allegra-D.

Don't get me wrong, essential oils are awesome, but so is modern medicine. I have taken 1 Allegra-D tablet and I've been slathering the oils on like crazy. We will see if I can stop this from turning into a sinus infection! Finger Crossed!