Body By CRAP!!!!!

Okay, anyone who is facebook friends with me know that I HATE those annoying fools who post incessantly their weight loss schemes.  The one that annoys me the most?  Body By Vi.

"Lose Inches in 90 days!"

"Look at this photo of me slouching with my gut out and compare it to this photo of me standing up straight with my arms over my head and sucking in my gut.....don't I look soooo much skinnier?"

"It's cheaper than eating real food.....really!  Well, before you add in the fruits, flavorings and extra stuff to make the bland shake remotely tasty."

Now, before anyone starts ranting about how it's helped them lose all sorts of weight, let me ask you something.......what would have happened if you had simply tried to change your eating habits and started to workout more?

My next question.....what happens when you stop drinking one or two shakes a day?  You haven't been teaching yourself any healthy eating habits, so you are going to gain that weight right back!

And finally, have you considered the ramifications of drinking these shakes for long periods of time?  Protein shakes, while an excellent option for some people, especially some women who don't get enough protein daily.....are not really meant to be an everyday, several times a day, forever and ever type deal.  And, I'm not a doctor, or nurse, or chiropractor, or personal trainer, nor have I played one on television......but I can use the internets pretty dang easily!  And, I love me some Google!

A simple Google search of "too many protein shakes" or "are protein shakes bad" brings up a wide variety of statements from smarty-pants people with a bunch of letters after their names that mean they actually know their ass from a hole in the ground.

I'll leave you to do your own Google search, but here is a sampling of what I found:

"“The fact of the matter is the body can only break down about five to nine grams of protein per hour. So any excess protein you are not using for athletic endeavours or energy can either be turned into fat of excreted. So if you are consuming more protein than you need and you are not athletic, you are either going to get diarrhea or you will probably store that protein as fuel, which is fat,” says Shannon Jones, a trainer at Crossfit Zone in Victoria."

Yup.  Giving yourself the shits is an awesome way to lose weight!  I love using an entire roll of toilet paper each day!  Figure that into your cost savings....not so cost effective now, huh?

"Registered dietitian Katherine Zeratsky notes that following a high-protein diet for longer than several months

raises your risk of liver and kidney problems, cancer, heart disease and diverticulitis. American Council on

 Exercise scientist Cedric X. Bryant adds that consuming too much protein can eventually result in bone loss,

 which can raise your risk of the disease osteoporosis."

YES!  I totally want to ruin my liver and kidneys and heart and bones while suffering with kidney stones!  Oh wait....I want to do that using booze, pain killers/NSAIDS, cocaine, cigarettes, and pop.  Nevermind!

And possibly most interesting, CBS did a report on a report done by Consumer Reports, reporting that many shakes contain heavy metals.  Oh, not the fun, use a bottle of hairspray, heavy eyeliner for guys and gals, bust out the lycra pants, heavy metal.  Oh, no.  We're talking LEAD, CADMIUM, and ARSENIC!  Why would you want to put that into your system?  Although, maybe that's why your spouse is so supportive of you doing this diet.......they want you to shove off early.  Hmmmmmmm.......

And honestly, my biggest beef is that people who I know have NO medical background at all, are trying to tell people that it's totally safe.  Really?  Can you even read all of the ingredients listed on the back of what you are shoveling into your body, let alone tell me what they actually are?  Really?  

How about this....you start eating healthy, fresh foods and get off of your rear and exercise.  

Flashbang!

For those that don't know, Hubs and I are avid firearms enthusiasts.  We are both licensed to carry a concealed firearm in our home state.  While Hubs carries on a daily basis, I do not.  This has been because of several reasons.  The biggest reason has been that I'm not comfortable carrying concealed because I haven't found a holster that really keeps a firearm hidden on my small frame.  And I refuse to carry in my purse, because I'm a total space cadet when it comes to setting my purse down and forgetting where it is.....if you have a loaded handgun in there, that is a major no-no!

So, Hubs approached me the other day with this wonderful contraption.  The Flashbang Holster.  It's a clever little holster that conceals your firearm between and just beneath your boobs.  Brilliant!  I did a little research, and after finding this blog,  Snowflakes In Hell,  and their review I was even more excited!

Problem is, I'm very small chested.  Very small chested meaning flat as a board, not quite an A cup small.  So, I'm reaching out to all of you to see if you or anyone you know happens to have itty-bitty boobies and use one of these bad boys.  I did try to convince Hubs that I need a set of boobies like this girl to go along with my LCP, but he seemed to think spending a couple grand right now was a little out of our price range.

Now, to address the questions people may or may not have about concealed carry.  I know not everyone is familiar with this, so in the interest of being informative (a real shocker on here!) here are a few key points about carrying a concealed firearm.

1.  You always have your firearm loaded and ready to shoot.  No racking the slide back, just pull your weapon and pull the trigger.  Some may argue that this isn't safe.  If you look at the holster and any holster worth it's salt, there is a trigger guard.....no way to touch the trigger until it is out of the holster.  Also, if you are under duress you will not have time to rack a slide.  The only time you should pull a firearm is if you are going to shoot it, and then there should be no hesitations.

2.  Anyone who is going to carry should practice, practice, practice, practice, practice.  Carry around your home, practice pulling your firearm often without shooting, go to the range and practice drawing your firearm and then shooting.  You have to be comfortable and familiar with a weapon you will be carrying around loaded.

3.  The model in the above video is not following manufacturers guidelines for putting the handgun back in the holster.  They recommend you remove the bra or holster entirely to re-holster your weapon.  I would personally not feel comfortable putting a loaded firearm back into the holster the way she did. 

Let me know if you have any info on how well this works for small chested women, like myself.  Even if I don't hear from others, I will probably be ordering one of these within a few months to try it out personally.  If it means I have to be forced to wear padded push-up bras, then so be it.....that shall be my cross to bear.  ;)  And also if you have any questions regarding guns in general, I'd be more than happy to try to answer them.  As I said we are firearm fans, but we are also huge supporters of safety education and training.

Diva Cup continued!

Sorry about withholding updates about the Diva Cup!  Here is the promised review of my time using the Diva Cup......better late than never?

I have been using the Diva Cup during the day while on my period.  At night, I still prefer to use an overnight pad.....for some reason, my flow is a lot lighter when I am sleeping so I can do this comfortably.

Conclusion?  I LOVE MY CUP!  We recently went to an all day music festival and I had just started my period the night before.  This was going to be the ultimate test.  In my bag I had an extra pair of panties, tampons, and pads in a ziplock baggie just in case this failed.

I'm happy to say that with my moderate/heavy flow, I was able to wear the diva cup from 11am until 11pm without emptying it once and with no spotting or leaking!  It was amazing!  I went to the restroom several times during the day to check for any signs of leaking or overflow and was good to go all day.

While it does take a while to get used to dumping it and cleaning it, once you do it really is pretty darn nice.  The intial ick factor was easy to get over once I realized how nice it is not to change tampons every 4-6 hours.

So, my vote is Diva Cup is amazing!  Let me know if you have any questions or feel free to add your input/thoughts/experiences/whatever!