The Problem

Since my wife and I started using the Vitamix we have dropped weight like crazy. Not that we are big people to begin with, but we have noticed that our individual weights have been consistently dropping every week over the last two months we have been using it.

This has been nice however it has also been a problem. How could it be a problem you ask? Well when you lose large amounts of weight you also drop clothing sizes, maybe multiple clothing sizes.

My wife now weighs less than she did before we got married three years ago. And I have lost at least three to four inches in my waist. Even the new suit I bought with birthday money in July, just 2 months ago, doesn't fit! I also had to buy a new wedding ring because started to fall off from being so loose on my finger.

So while it's a great thing to stay healthy, not be overweight and stay healthy- don't forget your possibly going to need buy a whole new wardobe.

Overnight French Toast

We are definitely eating healthier now that we have the Vitamix but don't get me wrong, I love to eat good food-esp. sweets. Ice cream, cake, cookies...anything with chocolate and I'll try it.

So while we eat healthy, thanks to our Vitamix, there are occasional times we still pig out on not so healthy things that are amazingly good.

This is one of those not so healthy extremely good things that my talented wife came up with. It's called "overnight french toast". She found the recipe for it on a food blog she follows and we tried it out. It's french bread soaked overnight in a batter and it is baked the following day. It was A-mazing. Definitely going to be made again.

Smoothie of the Week

STRAWBERRY-BANANA-MANGO-SPINACH

Spinach? Really?

Yes spinach because it's packed with important nutrients like Vitamin C among others. Did you also know that spinach protects against prostate cancer? Check this page out to read about it.

You might be thinking how do all these fruits and vegetables go together? You must be crazy, I will never drink that!

Just give it a try...and don't let the color throw you off. I know it does NOT look appetizing.

This is everything that went in it. Nothing else was added. No sugar or preservatives

If I were to rate the taste on a scale of 1-10, I'd give it a 7. I have had better ones before. I like trying new things out. You never know when you will come up with a good combination.

The Machine

So this is the Vitamix.

It's looks like your average belender.

But don't be fooled, this is a blender on steroids!

The base of the machine weighs 15 lbs. and the clear plastic the container is made out of is the same plastic used to make airplane windows.

They claim that it can blend rocks, yes rocks, into powder. This voids the warranty though, so we haven't (and probably never will) attempt it.

It comes with a warranty of 8 years. The man who sold us the machine claimed he had owned his machine for the last 18 years. We are hoping to own our Vitamix for at least that long after shelling out $500 for it!

To Lap Band or NOT to Lap Band!

If you live anywhere in the sprawl of LA and Orange County, there is a very, VERY good chance you have seen the billboard below. They always crack me up!

I drive past these billboards daily and then get bombarded with radio ads of Lap-Band "success" stories. How much are these people getting paid to do this? If they are real it would be interesting to do a check-up on them a year from now to see if they are still a "success" story and have kept the weight off.

The problem with things like the Lap-Band, Liposuction and getting you stomach stapled as a way to loose weight is that they are only treating the symptom of the underlying problem. The REAL problem of these people is that they eat too much of the wrong food...all the time! A year from now they will go back to unhealthy, overweight and unhappy person they once were.

The real solution is actually treating the REAL underlying problem....eating right and exercise!! There is no substitute.

That's where the Vitamix comes in handy for us. We can eat right and get all the right nutrients to stay healthy and in-shape.

Taking it to the next level

I'm relatively new to the blogging world and am not quite sure where this blog will lead. It may lead to nothing or it could possibly lead to some great business venture.

I'm hoping for the latter after Tim Rutt, the founder of altadenablog.com, paid a visit to our class to give a background as to how his blog website got started and offer tips to all of us in getting started on ours.

After listening to him, it was evident that the reason his blog became so successful was that it started to fill a need that was previously not there. Now the residents of his city, Altadena, CA, look to his website on a daily basis for local news.

So, as I continue my blog I will be constantly looking for new ideas to further enhance the uniqueness of my blog to be something that will fill a need that was previously not there and become successful.

What is a Vitamix?

You might already know what a Vitamix is or you might have no idea what it is. I was first introduced to the Vitamix...online....the best place to get information about anything. My wife had read a book entitled Clean, written by a doctor named Alejandro Junger (it was a New York Times bestseller). The book talks about the amazing power of the body to heal itself. I highly suggest reading the book if you want a detailed, medical and scientific, but very understandable, explanation of how the body functions. It explains how we as humans in this day and age have not harnessed this power to it's full potential and consequently are suffering from a multitude of diseases that we have essentially brought on ourselves due to all the junk and processed foods and products that we put in and on our bodies. He's says one of the best ways to stay healthy, avoid sickness and keep the body in top shape is to eat raw fruits and vegetables. This is probably not something you never heard before. However Dr. Junger suggests the Vitamix, a powerful blender, as a solution to eating fresh fruits and vegetables. Why? Because you can make smoothies using multiple fruits and vegetables that taste great rather than trying to choke down say...a bunch of spinach or a carrot. Rather you can enjoy a fresh great tasting smoothie that gives you all the nutrients your body needs

After reading the book my wife researched the Vitamax machines heavily. She found that the Vitamix is the most used blender amongst the nations leading juice stores like Jamba Juice, Juice It Up and Starbucks to name a few. It also came with an 8 year warranty...8 years! Now that's saying something for a blender! As if that wasn't enough they also claim the blades never need sharpening and can turn rocks into dust. She also found out they are somewhat pricey, the lowest priced model being around $500. This kind of threw us off, however we decided it would be worth it if we wanted to try and eat well and stay healthy. So we bought the machine and are now using it on a daily basis, usually 2-3 times a day.