Added protein powder to the mix.

Acai Juice

Acai Juice

As the time has arrived for new years resolutions, if you’re looking to make some life changes, let me offer you some advice that has worked for me. The changes were not really hard to do, they just took some commitment and Acai Juice proved helpful with my transition.

As are many middle aged people, I was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes about a year and a half ago. I was just over the border of being considered diabetic. I would go every few months to have my blood drawn and have a blood profile taken. In addition to Diabetes, I had high cholesterol and my triglycerides were high. I’m 6’2″ but I weighed 266 pounds. Not great. Every month I would go and the results were the same. My doctor finally prescribed Lipitor and Metformin.

During the summer, I met someone who was touting a well known, distributive marketing product that contained Acai juice, Monavie. He gave me a bottle. The taste wasn’t horrible so I decided to give it a try. I decided to do an experiment on myself. I would give this juice a six month try and see how it affected my blood profile results. I’m a pretty big skeptic and I wasn’t going to just believe what I was told. He obviously had an ulterior motive for selling the product so I couldn’t just take him at face value. At over $160 a month, I wasn’t going to get married to this thing without proof.

After starting to drink the juice religiously, I did note an increase in my energy level. The changes weren’t drastic but subtle changes that supported the other changes I eventually made. I didn’t initially have any plans to do anything differently; I didn’t set out to make any improvements. I just felt generally better. I have a herniated and a bulging disc in my back that sometimes flares up and debilitates me. These hadn’t bothered me for months.

With the general malaise and discomfort abated, I decided I’d start walking to try to lose some weight. After a few weeks of this, I bought a physio ball and some elastic bands at the local sporting goods store and did some stomach and back exercises (gentle, of course – crunches, legs lifts, etc.) and light strength conditioning. I started to lose some weight!

I’m a Biology undergrad major (I have since earned a doctorate in a different field) so I’ve known forever how aerobic exercise is needed for losing weight and strength training is needed to increase your resting metabolism. Together, these two practices yield unparalleled results. I just never “practiced what I preached.”

I now had the energy to do it. Time is always an issue but I just resolved to MAKE time. I’d get up early or do it late. I have four kids so finding time is tough. You just have to do it! Don’t let anything become an excuse. Once you make it a habit, your body really yearns it. Give it seven weeks to become a habit.

After doing this impromptu exercising on my own, a gym opened very close to my house. I joined and hired the available trainer once a week. This was near the end of October. With the guidance of a pro, I was able to increase my results. I was working with heavier weights and doing more extensive aerobics. Most gyms offer classes. I’ve never attended one but I just may add some to my repertoire to mix it up and keep it fresh. This is key to following through. Vary the workouts so that you don’t get bored. The trainers are great at this.

Currently, I’m down to 236 lbs. I’ve lost 30 lbs. in about 7 months. I did this without really modifying what I eat. I’ve tried all those fad diets that I’m sure you’ve tried too, and I gained it all back. This is the only time I’ve eaten as I always have and lost weight. The exercise alone got me there. Now, I’m not kidding myself. I’m still fat as hell. I have a way to go but now I’m CERTAIN I’ll get there. My body fat composition has dropped fat by 5 percent in those months. I know that now I need to modify my food intake. Again, I’ve known this forever. I just don’t walk the talk.

Most importantly, I’m hooked. I’ve become a gym rat. I only get there about twice a week (only one day with the trainer) and spend about two hours there but when I don’t go, I get upset! I don’t just walk anymore. I actually run – five miles an hour. I alternate it with the walking. I run about 30 minutes and walk about 10. I may not run all 30 minutes concurrently all the time. I may run 10, walk 3, run 10, walk 3, run 10, walk 4. It depends on my energy for the day but I have run up to 35 minutes continuously. I haven’t done that since high school!

All this can get pretty expensive. Between gym fees, trainer fees, and Acai Juice, it’s about $320 a month. I’ve since changed Acai juices to a different brand that is quite a bit less expensive but still giving me the same benefits. This has brought it down to about $200 a month.

The best news of all, though: I’m saving $40 per month in prescription medicine copayments – I’m not even sure how much if the insurance didn’t pay for part of it! My last bloodwork results, including a fasting glucose tolerance test, shows I’m no longer diabetic! My cholesterol level is normal, too! This is all worth $140 a month to me. The comments alone – “you look great, what are you doing?” “you look 10 years younger” – are worth it. My goal is 200 lbs. by the summer. I know I need to step it up a bit but with the help of this juice and the changes I’ve made, I’m confident I’ll get there!

Update: Happy New Year! I also bought an eBook that helped explain how to approach eating and exercising that has helped me shed further pounds (down to 126 – and lost 5% more body fat!):Click Here!

Here are some places to get the benefits of Acai without the exorbitant cost (see boxes at right):