PooPourri Review

I have to confess, the first time I saw this ad, I laughed out loud.  Strike that, I was laughing so hard I was snorting.  After watching the video several more times (and showing the kids, they have my sense of humor), I had to find out if this was a real product.  Lo and behold, it is!

Of course, I had to order it.  I have spent several years trying to keep up the illusion that women don't produce odors besides floral deliciousness.  I still won't even put on deodorant in front of my husband because women don't sweat or have BO.  I know this is all silly, especially since years ago I gave up holding in farts around him.  I tried for years to blame the dog, then the children.  But now I take pride in the bouquet that is created from deep within.

Anyway, I ordered from Amazon.  I did spend quite a lengthy amount of time reading the potty laced reviews.  Hysterical.  If you have a free hour (or 2, 3...) its quite a good read.  I then waited and checked the mail daily for the new wonder to arrive.  Unfortunately, when it did no one in the house had anything brewing to test the product.  Not to worry, the opportunity arose.

I ordered the original scent.  It is kind of a lemony, butter scent.  Don't know if this makes sense but it is different, but pleasant.  The PooPourri product works exactly as advertised.  It is the "Before-you-go" spray.  Before going No. 2 spray 3-4 spritzes into the bowl.  This provides an oil layer over the water.  Then as your stool enters the water the smell is trapped beneath the surface.  This releases the lemon-butter fragrance into the air at the same time.  It is a strong scent.  While they advertise it to be used in the public restroom to hide evidence of your business, if I was next to someone and suddenly smelled lemon butter, I would ask the stranger in the stall next to me if they were using PooPourri.

There are a few issues but they are most user created issues.  For instance if you forget to spray BEFORE you go, the smell is not trapped below the surface. If you spray after, you are left with a lemony turd scent.  NOT pleasant.

Another issue, is that with children, it has become necessary to put the spray up high, so said children do not use it as a toy.  They will either play with it and waste it, or use it as a weapon and spray each other in the eyes.  Lemon-butter blindness is NOT pleasant.  The children can be some of the smelliest potty users in the whole house.  But if they can't use it since they are a danger to themselves, then the stink still  lingers.

A personal issue I have encountered is that I wait until the last second to rush to the toilet.  Already "prairie-dogging it," the precious few seconds that it takes to spray are needed.  There is no time to use 3-5 seconds when there in a potential poo-mungus mess to clean.  That would NOT be pleasant.

On the whole, I do like the product when remembering to use it and use it properly.  I would recommend it if for no other reason that it would remind of the ad whenever used.  This could bring a little laughter to an otherwise humorless part of your day.

Isagenix 30 Day Cleanse - Day 21

I have to confess:  again I have higher goals than I am achieving when it comes to Isagenix.  I remember to take the Natural Accelerator maybe once a day (its supposed to be 2xs), I remember to take the IsaFlush 2xs a week (its supposed to be everyday), and I am not taking the Ionix or the CFL the way I am supposed to either.

I can't stand the Ionix.  It burns going down and it tastes nasty.  I read the ingredients.  All good stuff actually.  Its supposed to help give a boost of energy for the day with a ton of vitamin B.  I don't see any difference in my energy level when I take it or don't. So if I don't like the taste then why take it, right?

I also can't stick with a fasting cleanse day.  It sucks and I want to eat.  The Isasnacks taste like chalk and don't help with the hunger at all.  Makes me want to eat something else to get the taste out.  So I figured I would try the daily cleanse instead.  Just drink a little each night before I go to bed.  That should be easy but that is also when I am supposed to take the Isaflush.  So forget one, forget the other.

The only thing that I am consistent with are the shakes.  They are delicious (I always liked the vanilla, the chocolate has grown on me).  I do some times add to them.  I add a half banana or some strawberries or raspberries.  I don't think I am supposed to do that but I figured a little extra fruit can't be too bad.  I found what works best is to have a shake in the morning.  Eat lunch and have a shake for dinner.  Its easier to do at dinner than I thought.  I wondered if it would be hard as I still have to feed the rest of the family but I find myself satisfied with just the shake.  They really do fill you up.

As a result of only half-assing my cleanse, I have lost only 3 lbs in 3 weeks.  Still that is something as I had plateaued prior to that.  So I will take the 3 lbs.  I think I am going to order more shakes and continue with those as meal replacement but wait until I finally finish the rest of it before I order more of that.  It might take a while since I forget half the time.  Ok, most the time.

As far as running.....

I am doing great!  I ran 13 miles this past Saturday.  That is .1 mile short of a half marathon!  I was kind of stupid for not running the week before that.  But to be fair it was spring break and not only did I have all 6 of my kids home but I had extra children every day.  Usually from 9am until at least 9pm.  There was no way I was getting any running in.  So when I ran the 13, the first 12 were easy peasy.  Then the last mile hit me like a ton of bricks.  I slowed quite a bit.  I convinced one girl from my group to run the extra mile with me.  The first 12 miles she was trying to keep up with me.  The last I struggled to keep up with her.  Then when I finished I was so sore.  I could hardly walk for 2 days.  I took as ice bath (surprisingly not as bad as it sounds) and popped a ton of ibupropen (sp?).

This weekend I am scheduled for 14 miles.  I wanted to do one more than the race itself so that I knew I concurred the race.  My goal is to make sure to run this week so I don't suffer like last week.  Dumb, dumb, dumb.  I didn't run Monday like I wanted.  And even though 2 of the kids were home and it rained, I forced myself onto the treadmill.  I ran 3 miles on the treadmill.  Not as many as I needed but better than nothing.  I am scheduled to run 6 miles tomorrow.  I have a friend stopping by to watch the kids while I run.  I am really excited about the 14 this weekend.  Makes me almost think I can handle a full marathon!

The only draw back is that 3 of the kids are testing for purple belt at 10am on Saturday and I know I won't be done running by then.  :(   I know I won't be able to run 14 alone so I have to go to run camp. They kids said they didn't mind as long as daddy would be there.  I am hoping to get grandma and/or an aunt or two there to help cushion that I won't be.

Anyway, there is an update.  I'll let you know how it continues.

Isagenix - Days 2-4

So far things are going well with the Isagenix.  The chocolate shake is still not tasting any better.  I tried adding a banana to it.  Didn't help.  I tried adding raspberries.  Still didn't help.  Maybe tomorrow I will try strawberries.  This is good to know in case I order more, I can skip the chocolate and just go with vanilla.

The IsaSnack wafers are still pretty chalky tasting.  But they kind of do the trick.

I find that I forget to take the IsaFlush at night, so I take it with the night time shake (if I have a dinner one) just so I don't forget.

I had tuna for lunch on Thurs. (day 2).  And pasta for dinner on Fri. (day 3).  And a roast beef sandwich for lunch Sat. (day 4).   I find that if I eat food for lunch then I am not starving and a shake is fine for dinner.  If I wait until dinner to eat then I am starving until then.

I am not sure what is going on with the Ionix.  If I don't follow with a water chaser then it burns and makes me nauseous.  I looked and it basically a huge dose of vitamin B12 (2000%).  So I am not sure what is getting to me.

I did run 4 miles on Fri. (day 3) and 11.6 miles on Sat. (day 4).  So hopefully that will even out if I did something wrong.

I know kind of a boring update, but I am tired and still wanted to add something before I forget.  I am interested to see how cleanse day goes.

The Isagenix attempt - Day 1

I mentioned that I was going to start yet another new venture.  I am going to try to Isagenix 30 Day System.

My good friend Shala started using this system in the middle of December and now only 3 months later she has lost (or released as she says) over 40 lbs.  Wow!  Now I don't need to lose that much so it will probably not come off that fast but I want to give it a shot.

The system included 6 shake days and 1 cleanse day a week.  This means that you drink 2 shakes as a meal replacement and eat one 400-600 calorie meal on shake days.  In addition to drinking an Ionix (still not sure what that is for), take a Natural Accelerator 2xs a day (again don't know, I really should research lol) and take IsaFlush at night (that one I can figure out on my own).  Then on cleanse days you drink the Cleanse For Life 4xs a day.  You can have their snacks a few times during the day so you don't feel like you are starving.

Anyway, let me start off my saying I am entering in this venture highly skeptical.  Why am I doing it then?  I don't know, I am always willing to give things a fair shake. To be honest as I watched my friend lose pounds and get all excited, I was happy for her but worried at the same time.  This couldn't be healthy.  And it really isn't changing an eating lifestyle.  What happens at goal weight and you go back to eating the same way as before?  It would all come back on.  I was hoping that the major weight loss would be an incentive to change eating habits to keep it off.  From talking to her that sounds like the plan.

With all the weight loss excitement she kept focusing on the fact that it really is just a cellular cleanse with a weight loss bonus.  I know I eat junk and who knows how much crap (figuratively and literally) I am filled with.  So I started to question the cleanse.  I asked if I could just do the Cleanse For Life (CFL) without the rest of the system.  I didn't want to do meal replacement or fasting cleanses.  Sounds miserable actually.  She said that even just drinking the cleanse each evening without changing anything else will still help.  But then I thought the system as a whole is designed to completely cleanse the body.  So if I give it a shot and do the 9 day system then I would at least get a kick start to the cellular cleanse.  Then I found out that 4 of those 9 days are fasting days.  NO Thank You!

I debated with myself of what to do.  The 30 Days System can be quite pricey. $300+.  Do I spend that kind of money and not like the results?  Do I spend $65 and go with just the cleanse and see how that goes?  I called another friend to help me sort out.  She suggested going with just the CFL and if I like it to add the rest.  Pretty good advice.

So I ordered the 30 Day System.

I started yesterday with a shake day.  Here is what I encountered.

First thing in the morning I had an Ionix (a powder that you mix with water) and the Natural Accelerator.  The taste wasn't so bad, kind of reminded me of cider.  I didn't mix it very well so it was kind of chunky and I needed to add some water to get the rest out of the cup.

20-30 min. later I made a chocolate shake.  I got the packets of powder so I don't have to measure and then I can keep some in the car in case I am out.  Then I don't have any excuse to eat fast food.  I mixed it in a blender with water and ice.   I have to say, it was NOT delicious.  When I mentioned that to Shala she said its because I am acidic.  When my ph levels out the taste will get better.  I will wait it out and see.

Prior to this system I was having a spinach shake in the mornings.  Trust me is tastes delicious even though it sounds gross and is neon green.  One thing I liked about the shakes (besides taste and knowing how healthy they were) was almost one hour later (like clockwork) I was spending some quality time in the bathroom.

The Isagenix shake did the same thing.  Yay!

Then after bringing the kids to school I ran 6 miles.

For lunch I had a Turkey salad from Arbys.  I wasn't that hungry so only ate half and gave the rest to my husband.

A few hours later for snack I tried a vanilla IsaSnack! It is a big "tablet" that you eat, I had that with half a banana.  It was pretty chalky but the banana helped with the taste.

Then a vanilla shake for dinner.  The vanilla shake was actually pretty good.  Much more tolerable than the chocolate.

I was supposed to have an evening snack that included protein.  I ate some of the left over fajita meat that I made for my husband for dinner.  Probably not what they meant but it worked.

I forgot to take the Isaflush last night.  Oops.  I hope the shake does its job without the Isaflush.

I did weigh myself and took all my measurements and took pictures for before information to document changes.  I am not sharing those yet though until the end of 30 days.

Here's hoping this works and that I can continue to document the journey and that I am in some way an inspiration for others to get healthy.  That would be an achievement.

Getting caught up...Actually sticking with something!

First off to get caught up.  I did finish the JM30DS.  Surprise, surprise.  It was kind of a let down.  I didn't really lose any weight or inches.  I did feel better and stronger but I was hoping for more results.

Then sometime between the beginning of Sept. (ending of JM30DS) and the beginning of Dec. I gained another 10 lbs.  10 lbs!  I weighed less 9 months pg with my second (didn't make it to 9 mo. with #1).  Not good.  It hit me the Big 4-0, was less than a year away.  I want to Fit & Fabulous at 40.  After delaying and trying to come up with some no effort way I decided to do things the old fashion way.  Get off my butt, eat better and exercise.

I noticed on FB that Jen would make comments about wanting to do the same.  So I contacted her and asked if she wanted to start running with me.  She said yes and we set up our first run for Nov. 30.  I could not run again until the next week because Hubby was having foot surgery and I needed to be a nurse for him.

We started slow.  We chose a trail that was marked by the tenth mile.  At first we could only run 2 tenths/walk 2 tenths.  We would continue this until the total run distance equaled 1.5 miles.  The next week it was run 2/walk 1.  The next week run 3/walk1-2.  We continued adding the run distance and overall distance every week.  Then on Saturdays we would try to do the whole distance without walking.

Shortly after the first run, I decided that we needed a goal.  We should sign up for a race!  A 5k?  No, too easy.  A 10K? For wusses!   I suggested to Jen that we sign up for Borgess Run Camp and sign up to run a Half Marathon in May.  So my surprise she agreed.

Last Saturday I ran 10 miles without stopping!   OMGoodness!  I have lost between 11-15 lbs (depends on the day).  I am so excited!  Increasing the milage every week is giving me confidence that I can do this, I am stronger than I was giving myself credit.  This Saturday we are shooting for 11 miles.

Is it easy?  No.  Is it even fun?  Not really.  I am doing this because I want to be around to raise my children.  I want to set an example to them to stay in shape.  To be fair the Run Camp is enjoyable.  We run at a conversation pace.  We chat the whole run and I don't even notice the distance.  I like our team and am meeting new people (something I like to do).  I actually get so excited to do the long runs that I set out my clothes the night before and wake before the alarm.

"This isn't as bad as I thought," went through my mind.  Followed by, "Why don't we do a full marathon then?"  So again I suggested to Jen that we run a full in the fall.  I have heard her talk about it so I know its in the works.  When we heard a nutritionist discuss ultramarathons she turned to me and said, "If next year at this time you tell me we are going to do an ultramarathon, I will punch you."  Hahahaha  I guess I have some influence but not that much.  lol

So proud of myself for starting something and actually sticking with it.

Tomorrow I start another journey. I am hoping to document that here.  You will find out tomorrow.