MealEnders Review & Giveaway

Almost as soon as I was accepted as a Sweat Pink Ambassador I signed up and was accepted into my first campaign!  I received one of each flavor of MealEnders for free in exchange for my honest review.

About MealEnders:
MealEnders Signaling Lozenges are a first-of-its-kind weight management tool designed to curb overeating and teach portion control using a combination of behavioral psychology and sensory science. Free of stimulants or other harmful “diet” ingredients, MealEnders catalyze behavioral change by retraining the mind to stop eating with the eyes.

MealEnders consist of two components: a sweet, outer reward layer and a cooling/tingling inner core. The outer layer provides a measured dose of “dessert” associated with the end of a meal, while the inner core engages the trigeminal nerve (the nerve that senses “taste”) with long-lasting cooling/tingling sensations that cleanse the palate.

Sucking on a lozenge when you know you’ve consumed enough — but can’t stop — keeps your mouth and mind occupied during the 20-minute Overeating Zone, giving your body’s natural satiety process time to catch up. MealEnders are an easy, safe and sustainable way to curb your appetite. Each Signaling Lozenge contains only 2 grams of sugar and 15 calories…and they taste great!

My favorite flavor

I was so excited that I tried the Chocolate Mint flavor the first night.  Once the chocolate was sucked away it was like BOOM MINT!  I'd used it as dessert that night so I couldn't tell if I was still hungry afterwards.

I brought the Citrus flavor with me to work the next day.  The key lime pie flavoring was good but I couldn't identify the citrus flavor once that was gone.  I don't know why but that bothered me.  I shared some with my coworkers.  The lady in the office next to me tried it first (which was surprising because she's not really into stuff like this).  Both of us identified that the MealEnders kind of numbed our tongues where it sat in our mouths which we assumed was part of the signaling process.

My least favorite flavor

Don't shoot me - I do NOT like anything coffee or mocha flavored.  I try and try different things but just don't like the taste.  The Mocha flavor was also brought to work to share with my coworkers.  I truly suffered through this one after the chocolate was gone.  I kept chugging my water throughout and afterwards but the taste would not go away.  I had to eat something else once it was gone to return my mouth to normal.  Now my coffee drinking coworkers loved this flavor so I gave one the rest of the bag.

I was sort of disappointed with the taste of the Cinnamon flavor as I had expected it to be more like the cinnamon candies.  The flavor was very mild.

Overall I couldn't tell if the MealEnders actually helped me to stop eating.  They were more of a filler, like when you've finished eating but are still just a little hungry and don't want to have another serving of dinner.  This is how I plan to finish out the rest of the 3 flavors I kept.

Here's your opportunity to win a bag of each flavor to try as I did!  If you don't want to wait you can purchase your MealEnders with a 20% discount using the FitHolidays20 code at checkout.

Entry-Form

After getting the bird in the oven I did P90X3 The Warrior.

I ate a white Thanksgiving dinner with a little pop of color.

Turkey, Mashed Potatoes & Gravy, and Cauliflower & Peppers

FRIDAY I did Isometrix.

SATURDAY I did Agility X.

MONDAY I stretched with Dynamix.

TUESDAY I did Accelerator.

Because of our current bills (including my surgery back in September) I don't have the budget to be able to pay for the Group Exercise and Wellness Coach Specialty Certifications.  I haven't had any luck with finding a part time Wellness Coach position without any certification.  So I'm not sure how I'm going to pay for this yet.  If you have any ideas please let me know!

TODAY I ran through CVX again.

MONDAY:  Of course we had to jump for joy for Monday! Whether it’s snowing outside or not (who wouldn’t jump for joy for snow angels?!), show us what kind of ups you got!  I rarely jump because of my weak ankles.  They may be better since I've lost weight but I don't want to risk an injury.

TUESDAY:  I didn't do the HIIT workout they shared; mine is enough!

WEDNESDAY: Show us how you balance sweaty workouts, sweet treats, and savory snacks over the holidays! For me it all starts off with Austin's birthday cake.  I try not to eat it every day.

THURSDAY: Did you know 75% of your annual weight gain happens over the holidays? Get moving & stay fit during the Holidays! Show us how you get moving in thirty minutes!  Since that's the average length for my workouts it's easy to show.

FRIDAY: It’s Family Fitness Fun Friday! Grab a family member and enjoy a favorite activity! It can be: going for a walk with your Mom, taking the kids Roller Skating, Cross-country skiing with your significant other. Anything Goes, just have fun being active with your loved ones!  I'll have to see if I can get Austin involved in something this weekend....

Linking up with

Super Heroine Fitness Week 6: Prepping for Surgery Season

Just two weeks until Surgery Season!  Yes, I have to make light of it all because it's so depressing to me.  I never had a broken bone or stiches.  Childbirth was the only instance for me spending time in the hospital.  To have these issues pop up after starting my journey makes me so sad sometimes.  It's a great mental challenge to keep my spirits up some days....

 

Yesterday was my birthday.  KayBee of Nats & Fitness featured my brief transformation story.  I went to work as normal and we went to Cracker Barrel for dinner.  I ate off their fall menu - two salmon patties with green beans and hashbrown casserole.  Instead of water I drank apple cranberry iced tea.  I'm picky on my teas but this was rather tasty.  I don't know how many glasses I had.



<a href="http://aintnodramamama.blogspot.com/"> <img src="http://imageshack.com/a/img537/4720/M6Nql0.png" alt="Weigh-in Wednesday!">
THURSDAY I was only able to complete 3 sets of Episode 2 Adventure 2 so I determined that I'm not ready for the 15 lb dumbbells for this workout.

SATURDAY I completed 5 sets of Adventure 3 with the 15 lb dumbbells.  We went to Goodwill's 50% off sale but didn't buy much as the selection wasn't very good for me.  Perhaps it's because we went so late.  I'm trying to get the pieces to make my Wonder Woman style Halloween costume.

Two Pairs of Pants

Two Blouses

Two Shirts - S was more loose fitting than the XS!

Pair of dolphins for my collection

MONDAY I did 45 minutes of power yoga with Adriene.

TUESDAY I wrapped up this round of Episode 2 with 4 sets of Adventure 4 using the 15 lb dumbbells.  I wanted to take a picture of the TGU Roll/First Move but those 10 seconds on the timer weren't enough to get back in place.  I kept falling over and almost dropping the dumbbell LOL!

It's supposed to rain most of the day today so I'm not walking.

Linking up with

Thanksgiving Aftermath

This frozen turkey weighed in last night with a 2 lb gain.  I didn't eat much on Thanksgiving....I think it was mostly Austin's birthday cake.  I had turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, and green beans with onions.  Benny ate his red cabbage and asparagus instead of the green beans.

Austin's Birthday

Austin was so ready to open presents when he arrived Thursday.  We told him he had to wait until Friday to open anything other than the birthday card that came in the mail from a Great Aunt.  Shortly after midnight here he came ready to open everything! LOL

The cake itself was a fail because the icing kept melting so I couldn't get the sprinkles right on the red side.  Austin added only 12 candles - 6 pink and 6 white on opposing colors.  I said we needed a 13th one since that's how old he is.  So he added a blue one to the middle section.

Week of Workouts

Thursday was fitting with leg day for Thanksgiving, even though I don't eat the legs LOL.

Friday was supposed to be shoulders but I went with Build: Back/Bis instead.

Saturday I went ahead and worked my shoulders.

Sunday began week 3 with Chest/Tris.

Monday I had another double headache so I made it a rest day.  I've added my headaches to the list of things to talk to the doctor about when I see him next week for my annual physical.

Tuesday I got my Cardio & Abs in.

This morning was leg day again.

Colon Cleanse

 

I originally signed up for Benny to do the colon cleanse but he was having issues with the probiotic so I never had him take it.  I then figured I'd try it to combat Thanksgiving and Austin's cake.  I took the first dose with Saturday's brunch.  After Sunday's dose I had to go twice but felt weird all day.  Monday I forgot to bring the bottle with me to work so I didn't have any.  I took Tuesday's dose with lunch.  Today I took the dose with an Orgain shake.

I haven't gone since Sunday. My body likes to do things the opposite of the norm (i.e. cheese loosens me up) so perhaps this colon cleanse is having the opposite effect, contributing to the gain.  I will continue with the cleanse the rest of this week to see if anything changes.

If you've done a colon cleanse (pills or liquid) how long did it take for you to notice any change?

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I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Les Mills Combat...Complete

As expected I didn't lose this week because of TOM.  I actually gained 1.2 lbs.  When it's TOM gains don't bother me one bit!

When I submitted my Les Mills Combat results for the Beachbody Challenge Tuesday morning I was shocked to see that from July-September 2nd I lost 12 inches and 15.4 lbs!  So I was curious how I did other timeframes on my journey.  These past couple of months came in second to September-November last year where I lost 17.5 inches and 15.6 lbs!  I lost the least weight March-May 2014 (only 4.6 lbs) and the least inches May-July 2014 (only 2 in).

Before heading out to my birthday dinner we stopped at Kmart to get the "bone weights" (Benny's name for them still makes me chuckle).  We weren't sure what size to get but their inventory was slim pickings.  I tried the 5 lb weights but they felt like nothing.  The 8 lb weights were a little hard to lift (like they should be) so that's what I got.  The poor cashier could barely lift them to ring me up.

Dinner at Cracker Barrel was the grilled chicken tenderloin with green beans and brown rice pilaf (I don't understand why they call it pilaf).  Normally I only eat one biscuit but I ate 3 (contributing factor to the gain)!  I spent all day Tuesday with heartburn because of it....never again! LOL

I was so overwhelmed with birthday wishes across social media.  Roughly 90 messages on Facebook alone; I have no idea how many it was on GooglePlus.  I think that's a record for me!

Linking up with

Where My Heart Will Take Me

Image Courtesy of happykanppy | FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I weighed in last night down another 1.4 lbs!  Benny measured me Monday night and I lost 4.5 inches overall in August.

At the end of the Weight Watchers meeting last week I was asked to give my story in 90 seconds on the 16th, bringing pictures or other items to represent our success.  I'm bringing my Panama City Beach t-shirt and possibly our family picture wearing it from the 3 hour cruise we took to Shell Island.  They always give us a little form with 4-5 questions to guide our story.  This time I've only come up with a response to the last two.

We came across the Star Trek: Enterprise series (2001-2005) on Netflix and have been watching it.  When I heard the theme song my head was screaming, "OMG that's my story!"  Here's a video of the song.




I've re-written the lyrics a little bit to fit this journey.  What do you think?

It's been a long journey,  losin' these pounds.
It's been a long time,  but my goal weight is finally near.
I'm about to see this dream come alive at last. I will touch the sky.
Nobody's gonna hold me down. Nobody's gonna change my mind.

Cause I've got faith of the heart. I'm going where my heart will take me.
I've got faith to believe I can do almost anything.
I've got strength of the soul and no one's gonna bend or break me.
I've got faith.
I've got faith,  faith of the heart.

Today was the last rest day for Les Mills Combat.  I now have 7 solid days of workouts until I'm done with the program.  Still don't know what I'm doing next....

On today's walk I picked up some Swiss chard (first time having) and mozzarella.  I found a $1 bill up against the curb and gave it to the guy in a wheelchair that I pass by every week.

The other day Benny asked me if I preferred the bone weights or what I have.  I asked him WTH were bone weights LOL!  I'm wondering if that means I'm really getting weights for my birthday....

Speaking of my birthday, I'm hosting a clean eating challenge next week.  Please leave a comment on this post and friend me on Facebook if you're interested in joining.  Besides purchasing whichever foodstuff you're going with (menu options will be posted in the group) for the week you'll need to purchase the Shakeology Taste Sampler (regular or vegan).  **Must live in the US or Canada and not already have a Beachbody coach.**

Linking up with

Slim in 6 for the Holidays Challenge - Week 3

I was up .4 lbs but it's all good.  As promised here's me in the Body Gospel shirt.  Both sides have the same logo so I didn't bother with a rear photo.  Benny and I couldn't get the picture right.  I don't know if it was the lighting, my pooch, my jeans, or something else that made it look weird to us.

My double headaches returned this week and are still going on.  Medicine will squelch the aches for a few hours but it always comes back.  I didn't let the headaches stop me from working out.

Along with my headaches, Saturday my HRM was spazzy.  First, it wouldn't even pick up my heart rate.  Then, during the warmup it jumped from 90-something to 180!

One challenger has lost 4 lbs two weeks in a row!  Fingers and toes crossed that she'll have another great loss to mark the halfway point.

I've made some progress on the Famous in Five Challenge, although not exactly in the way they intended.  I've answered Carli's interview questions and have picked out two of the three pictures to use - a couple of pictures put together from 2011 & 2012 for my before shot and one of my workout pictures (like above).  What should I do for the third one?

This week, not only do I have Thanksgiving dinner to prep but it's Austin's 12th birthday.  I asked him what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday.  He said that he wanted a Minecraft themed cake with all the fun blocks...something like this -

Photo Credit: turoczy via Compfight cc

So Saturday, we went to Kroger and I let him pick out the ingredients.

• German Chocolate & Chocolate Fudge cake (he says there's enough of a color difference to make the blocks)
• Strawberry jello for the lava
• Berry Blue Jell-O for the water
• Coconut, icing, and green food coloring for the grass

I've NEVER done anything like this before so it'll be interesting to see how it turns out.  My cakes are normally just the plain kind, sometimes with writing (spelling errors included).

I think I'm going to try to do the cake in the roaster oven while the turkey bakes in the regular oven.  I picked up some square pans at Dollar Tree to make the cutting more even/easier (I hope).  I could put two in the roaster to bake, remove them to cool and put the next pair in.  I should be able to cut the cake into squares during this time also.  The leftover pieces of cake and jello (not used for the design) I'll be taking into work to share with coworkers.

Have you made a "mixed media" cake before?  How did it turn out?