Early morning start and off to get an oil change, but instead of waiting in the waiting room. A waiting room filled with croissants, hot cocoa, cold water bottles, other knick-knack pastries, and I think I saw an apple hidden behind the donuts, I dress to impress. Running shorts, technical shirt, and headphones … see ya later snacks. Hello road. Life lesson #19 – why wait when you can run.

They’ll have my car for an hour. I’ll hit the road for 30 to give me plenty of time to cool down. I brought a change of shirt, but with this heat, I should’ve brought 3 extra. Oh, and by the way, my morning weight is 172.5.

Shake with a scoop of Formula 1 French Vanilla and 2 scoops of Personalized Protein Powder and my typical fruits and veggies to fuel my bikram run and I’m good.

Quick run.

Weekly lunch and laughs with my good friend. My choice, his time to pay. Buffet it is! Pizza to my hearts content and they have a salad bar … that has Ranch dressing that will go great with my pizza! Back at 1:30pm. Based on previous trips to the Roundtable Pizza Buffet, I did great! 2 small slices of veggie and 3 small slices of plain cheese. A hefty mixed green salad with beets, garbanzo, mushroom, sunflower seeds, and ranch and of course, water.

First thing to do when I get home is drink Herbalife Herbal Concentrate tea to balance what just happened. Post meal routine:

• 8 ounces of cold tea with 1 packet of Stevia
• 1 Herbalife multivitamin
• 1 Herbalife Herbalifeline
• 1 Herbalife Cell Activator
• 1 Herbalife Male Factor

More tea later and let’s just consider this a scientific test to see how far I can push my eating limits. Is 5 slices of pizza, 2 pieces of garlic twist bread, and a ranch dressing salad equivalent to 8 ounces of cold Herbal Concentrate Tea and a quick 30 minute run? Let’s hope so because that is a plan anybody can stick to.

Enjoyed a Chinese dinner with my wife and more post Herbal Tea if you get what I mean. Let’s see what happens tomorrow morning. My wife and I already have a running date on the hill.

Good night!

Wow! It’s as if I’m training to get down to fight weight because I lost a significant day-to-day weight at check-in this morning. 172 pounds. Reflecting on the previous day’s food choices, all I can say is the only major difference in my food routine is Herbalife Herbal Concentrate Tea. I drank the original flavor and add a packet of Stevia.

So again, if it ain’t broke, don’t change it or fix it or … just keep doing the more of the same.

8:00am – 8 ounces of a cold Herbal Concentrate Tea with a packet of Stevia.

8:15am – Herbalife Formula 1 French Vanilla and Protein Fruit and Veggie Shake

10:00am – More cold tea. 4 ounces. No Stevia. And slammed it down fast.

1:00pm – More cold tea. 4 ounces. No Stevia. Slammed down fast.

I had regular food in between all this drinking … Trader Joe’s Pasta and I added a ton of hot pepper flakes. I’ve heard rumors the spices cause body heat which leads to an increased metabolism and ultimately, fat burn. True or not, sounds pretty scientific to me when I’ve got sweat pouring down my forehead and cheek. Plus, it tastes good. Life lesson #18 – whatever plan you choose, make sure it tastes good and you’ll stick to it. Also applies to employment — make sure you have a passion for what you do and you’ll never work a day in your life. I know, I know. I should’ve gave you a cliche warning.

Didn’t do my physical therapy today. Home late from an evening of providing Despicable Me 2 promotional items to little kids and celebrating a combo birthday – 46 year anniversary. Brother-in-law’s birthday. In-laws anniversary. Evening of Thai and laughs.

Good night and excited to see what Mr. Scale says tomorrow. My best guess … 173.5 which keeps me on track and on goal.

Looks like that Trenta Herbalife Herbal Tea worked some weight loss magic yesterday. Lost a pound and down to 173.5. They do call it drink and shrink so by that theory, the more I drink, I guess the more I should drink. Guess what I’ll be drinking this morning?

Downed about 5 ounces of Herbalife Herbal Concentrate Tea and chased it with my traditional Herbalife Formula 1 French Vanilla fruit smoothie. I’m back on the Herbalife Train! Woo-hoo!

Morning ritual complete:

• Formula 1 French Vanilla Shake
• Formula 2 Multivitamin
• Formula 3 Cell Activator
• Herbal Concentrate Tea
• Herbalifeline (Omega 3)

Ready to tackle the world, well at least a toothbrush and a mop. Doing some detail work on the house today. Life lesson #17 – even though a mop can easily clean big spaces, the small crevices of your life need a toothbrush to make sparkle.

Afternoon drank another 5 ounces of tea and continued to happily carry on with housekeeping and need to get out of here in time for the screening of The Lone Ranger so I bettle hustle.

Hi-Ho Silver! Away … I go.

Good night.

Using Herbalife’s nutrition and my legs to get me prepared for my first marathon. I’ve done the mudder-thing. Done the 13.1 thing. Now it’s time to get my first 26.2 sticker for my car bumper.

Can Herbalife24 help me reach the finish line of my first marathon? We’ll find out together and I’ll be writing about this journey on a daily basis. Making notes of what I did, what I weigh, what I ate and what I didn’t do. The goal … if I can do it on Herbalife24, others can do the same thing. 

So let’s raise our Herbalife24 Prolong glasses and toast to 26.2, a long race that has been one of my long-term goals. Cheers!

Ron

Wife was away on a business trip yesterday and grateful she is going to stay home today. Up early and we’re going to master the morning. Morning weight 174.5. Today’s goal is one-fold … clean the grout in the floor and kitchen counters.

Armed with all the products I purchased yesterday based on the hours of Googling

• Best product to make grout white
• Best product to clean grout

Here’s what I settled on:

Home Depot vs Dollar Tree. Who comes out on top?

Home Depot versus Dollar Tree. Who comes out on top?

Then an early afternoon trip to The Dollar Tree to get some other products I found on more Google searches:

• Is Rust, Lime, Calcium (RLC) made by LA’s Totally Awesome purchased at The Dollar Tree for well, a dollar, the same as Calcium Lime Rust (CLR) made by Jelmar purchased at Home Depot for $5.87?

And while I was at The Dollar Tree, I found a product called Tile Grout Cleaner so I bought it and decided to Google when I got home. So, it got pretty good reviews so I’ll try it.

OK, so now it’s 8am and after some kitchen, nook, family room prep work, I’m armed and ready to do my best Tim the Toolman imitation. I start with the Tile Grout Cleaner I purchased for $1. It’s actually showing at least a few shades whiter, but ringing in the back of my head is something we all have heard over and over … “you get what you pay for.” So, if that’s the case, at almost $7 for the product that reviewed well (Zepp Grout Cleaner and Whitener), it should be 7x’s better and give me 7 whiter shades … right? Well, not 7x’s, but I did notice a bubbling affect when poured directly on the grout lines. I followed the directions to a “T” because of its high-toxicity, except the huge warning that says don’t use on countertops. I just couldn’t resist.

Life lesson #16 – you get what you pay for, but you still need to put the effort and scrub!

Ok, it’s now 8:30. Almost an hour beyond my normal 1st meal. My countertops are a mini Chernobyl and I have a floor fan set on high pointed directly at my two beta 5-gallon tanks. I got a warning from a late 20s couple when I was pulling Zepp off the shelf. Said it works great, but their dog had to be kept outside. I’m hoping the fans can keep Marcel and Musubi happy and healthy. I  added some fresh water just in case.

Well, my routine Herbalife Formula 1 French Vanilla Shake is off the menu this morning. After reading the warning labels on Zepp, you don’t need to be a food scientist to know the stuff isn’t made to be near food. Plus, I just watched a movie called The East and it covered government poisonings of its people. I’m not volunteering for that program. My wife comes to the rescue and it’s a high protein, very low sugar breakfast of 2 fried eggs and 2 1/2 strips of Morning Star bacon.

Finally finished the floors and countertops at 5pm. Nearly 9 hours later and a quick 15-minute union break for lunch, it’s done. Forgot the before and after photos, but the verdict is, Zepp does the job.

Went the entire day without any Herbalife, except a pick-me-up of Herbalife Herbal Concentrate Tea. If I was ordering this at Starbucks, they’d say “Trente for Ron” I had a single goal today and done. Finish what you start. I even returned home after 10pm from watching a screening of Despicable Me 2 and with a warm soapy sponge, cleaned off the countertops in preparation for tomorrow morning. I think I have shake withdrawals.

Morning weight 175 and changed the recipe for my breakfast meal.

• Herbalife Formula 1 Instant Healthy Meal Chocolate. 8 ounces of water. 1 cup of spinach. Ice cubes. 1/2 tablespoon of Skippy Chunky peanut butter. Half a frozen banana. 1 tablespoon of Mountain High plain yogurt.
• Multivitamin
• Herbalifeline
• Cell Activator

I tasted a similar shake at the Apple Cafe, but they used almond milk and didn’t add any powders. Between you and me … mine tasted better and didn’t cost $5. My wife isn’t a fan of peanut butter so this is like a Thanksgiving treat to me because I only get this meal a few times a year.

Stomach feeling even flatter. The only issue … irregularity. There’s just no other way to say it and if Dr. Oz can talk about poop, I’ll go down that road as well today. I use to go a minimum of once per day and sometimes twice. Morning was like clockwork. I could tell you it was 8:05am by my trip to the bathroom. So, this is explaining my 1/2 pound weight gain. Life lesson #15 – when irregularities happen, it often leads to carrying more weight and the only way to get back to normal is to dump unnecessary items.

I will dump 2+ hours of Candy Crush from my day. It’s keeping me up longer than healthy.

Grateful to be heading to church today. Studying the Book of Ester which happens to be the only book in the bible that there is no mention of God. Life lesson #14 – a world without God is a world that focuses on wealth, sex and beauty, and power. The Book of Ester was written in about 900 A.D. and the scenarios could be just as if they were written at 9 A.M.

Morning weight is 174.5 and I can’t wait to see what it reads, well after nature calls. My stomach is feeling very flat and tight. Pleased with the 2-week progress. Let’s recap:

Sunday, June 9th

• Weight 176.5 pounds
• Morning energy level 5. Always snoozing.
• Sustained energy level throughout the day 7/8. Not yawning.
• Hunger level throughout the day 6
• Pants fit. I buy 34/30 Levis. I can fit into a 33 waist, however they’re way too tight on the thighs and I’m not one to wear skinny jeans.
• Shirts fit loose. My large shirts aren’t as fitted anymore since I haven’t been able to workout with weights consistently or at all since November 2012. I have been running.

Sunday, June 23, 2013.

• Weight 174.5 pounds
• Morning energy level 7/8. Not snoozing as much.
• Sustained energy level throughout the day 9/10. Not yawning and no excuses for workouts.
• Hunger level throughout the day 2/3
• Pants fit looser, but I won’t be buying 33/30s anytime soon. See immediately above reason.
• Shirts fitting better. My large shirts starting to lay nicer on the body. Those small, but intentional floor dumbbell presses are injecting blood back into the muscles and I can feel the growth.
• Physical therapy not started. Extreme limited range of motion of the left shoulder.

Two-week summary.

• Lost 2 pounds
• Gained morning energy
• Gained sustained energy throughout the day
• Lost inches on the waist
• Feel tighter on the belly
• Shirts fit better as the upper body feels stronger
• Physical therapy showing progress. Can move my left shoulder a few more inches in directions that previously caused issues.

Happy with this progress and even though most people focus on the “Only 2 pounds!” data, the overall picture is fantastic! I’ll need to send a thank you to Herbalife! Here’s what I’m currently using:

• Herbalife Formula 1 French Vanilla Shake
• Herbalife Personalized Protein Powder
• Multivitamins
• Cell Activator
• Cell-U-Loss
• Herbal Tea Concentrate – Original Flavor
• Total Control
• Xtra-Cal
• Mango Aloe
• Joint Support
• Herbalifeline
• Herbalife24 Rebuild Endurance
• Herbalife24 Rebuild Strength
• Herbalife24 Hydrate
• Herbalife24 Restore

My handy carrying case

These small nutrition and fitness changes are already paying huge dividends as my first marathon draws nearer.

My next organized half-marathon is also drawing nearer … about 3 weeks. It will be an evening event so today is better than ever to start to acclimate a bit to the early evening start time. Fueled up with 4 ounces of Herbalife Hydrate and saved the remaining 4 ounces as a treat when I get back home.

Long distance wasn’t on the calendar. Short and fast was definitely on the schedule tonight and check it out. The goal. Run my second mile below 8 minutes and match or beat my fastest mile ever at 7:52. Turns out, my first and second mile beat my fastest mile time. Feeling HerbalifeStrong!

Runkeeper time and splits

Recovery with 10 ounces of water and 2 scoops of Rebuild Endurance and 1 scoop Rebuild Strength. No reason to add the Rebuild Strength, but I tried blending them a few days ago and really liked how it tasted so it just came down to taste.

Will take a Restore tonight and another Joint Support. I’ve noticed that mixing my runs between long and steady, hill sprints, and short and fast have helped with my right knee problems, but doesn’t help to add with some glucosamine in Joint Support.

7:30am weight – 174.5 pounds. 11:30am weight 173.5.

Let’s go for a an early overramp, aka hill, run. And a special run this morning with my wife. This will be extra fun today. With shared water bottle filled with Herbalife24 Hydrate and iPhones in hand, we’re off for short sprints to build endurance and quickness and ultimately burn calories.

My workout:

• .5 mile run from our house to the ramp and run hard to top for change of elevation
• walk down to the base of ramp at quick pace
• hit the floor and do 10 plank in-and-outs and repeat hill run as fast as possible
• repeat 10 times

Screenshot of anaerobic workout.

Post workout walk to cool down to our favorite Chinese restaurant and a light lunch. Life lesson #13 – marriage and exercise is a recipe for a long marriage and long life. The Herbalife24 Hydrate we brought along for our sprints is all gone so even though it says not many calories burned, these anaerobic movements were made for a hydration drink to replenish and it worked like a charm.

Finished the last few hours of the night with Physical Therapy band movements and off to bed.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJ7ME_mDW0w]

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