Adam's Story

I just realized I've mentioned my son Adam, and I've told you he's on our RVL "Lose For MORE" challenge team, but I haven't told you how he's gotten here.

As a Mother, this is a difficult subject to talk about, let alone admit there is a problem with your child. Well, as I started this journey, I had to take a long hard look at my family, and I realized that I had taken my child down the road to obesity right along with me. No, I'm not blind, but you don't want to admit that it's truly a problem that needs to be addressed. Then when you come to that realization, how do you throw the bus into reverse? How to you talk to your child about a weight issue, and not make them feel self conscious, and develop a poor self esteem? It's a fine line for sure. So, it was time to take off the blinders, and take action.

I think back when he was this cute, almost too skinny kid, and I can put my finger on the moment that the tables turned. We enrolled Adam into some after school classes, and I would pick him up from school, and have to rush him to a class that was about 15 miles away. He was always hungry of course, and we weren't going home for our usual after school (healthier) snack, and so McDonalds became our daily routine. Well, guess what, soon enough, that's all he wanted, and what the heck, it was fast and easy. It's not like it happened over night, but sure enough, the pounds slowly began to creep on. The odd thing is that it's just not weight, I think it's all the hormones in their meat (just my opinion), but he started to grow! Now Wayne and I are tall, but not out of the ordinary, however, now my now 14 year old son is pushing 6 ft tall. Hmmmmmmm.

My first course of action was to lead by example. First to jump on board was Wayne, and that was fantastic, because now we had both parents on a roll. Then my doctor hit me square in the eyes, and when she saw how well I was doing, asked how my son was doing. Well, I was honest and said he was still struggling, and she asked..."who does the shopping? Who goes through the drive thru?" Who likes to deny their children of anything, even the foods they love? But she was right, it was time for some tough love. Well of course, Adam was having no part of it. Even though I changed my shopping habits, and stopped the fast food, he was still over eating. Instead of one turkey sandwich, he was eating two or three, and the entire bag of pretzels. Did he do it in front of me, NO, and being a working mom, it was hard to monitor.

Then MonaVie gave me the enormous gift of making me the May "Lose for MORE" Challenge Winner. Now this peaked Adam's interest. What speaks more to a 14 year old than money. I don't really care at this point what motivates him, as long as we can get a foot in the door. After we returned from Salt Lake City, and the Imagine Convention, I told Adam about a young man I met by the name Petey Dandini. Petey is 16 year old boy who has lost over 100 pounds on RVL, and is just an amazing person. I showed Adam his pictures, and I think he could more than relate. He told me he wanted to try the shakes. Wow, you don't even know what a huge step this is. Then we had our first heart to heart about his condition. It was the first time Adam was honest with me about how he felt about his body, and didn't try to convince me that he didn't care. I said "just think Adam, in less than a year, you could be buff like Petey!" He said, "no, I don't need to be buff, I just need to be normal." It was all I could do not to burst into tears right there in front of him, but I kept it together, and promised him that we would work together to make that happen.

Then Monavie gave us another gift. The "Lose For MORE" Team Challenge. Now not only did Mom have Monavie cash, but he could win some for himself! Talk about motivation!! He even let me take a "before" photo of him (he runs from the camera) to post on his RVL website!  So our team, as you know, consists of our family (including my sister Laura), and we are off and running! You can read my Blog entry about "The Best Bike Ride Ever" I posted a few days ago, to see how Adam is doing with his exercise.

Weigh in yesterday showed Adam at a 7 pound weight loss in two weeks! I wish I could explain the joy on his face when he stood on that scale! Now it's more than just the thought of winning some money, it's actually becoming much more for him. He sees that he can do it, and it's about how he feels about himself. Wow! That's all, just Wow!

If you want to leave encouraging comments for Adam, I know it would mean a lot to him!

Blessings to you all!

Leah

The Best Bike Ride EVER!

Okay, so Monavie is now having a "Lose For MORE Team Challenge".  So we've a entered a family team consisting of Wayne, my Son Adam, my Sister Laura, and me of course!  I'm so excited to get Adam on the program!  He is 14, and I've all but killed him with "kindness".  Unfortunately, it was time for a little tough love, as I've dragged him down the same path to obesity as we've all been down.  So, he finally agreed, with some inspiration from Petey Dandini, to get on the RVL program.

Doing the shakes is one thing, trying to get him away from the video games to do a little exercise is quite  another.  It's been a process, but we started slowly by getting him out (kicking and screaming) to ride his bike around the block one time. Then two, then three.  Now I've gotten him to ride to the local elementary school, which is about 1.5 miles away, and coming home is all uphill.  He's done great!

Today, we were having a major thunder storm, and Adam comes to me and says..."MOM!  Aren't we going for a bike ride?"  I said..."Adam, it's raining!"  He's says..."Mom, you are on MY team!"  So off we went, in the rain, on our daily bike ride!  It was the best ride EVER!!!  I can't tell you how proud I am of him! Watching him transform is the best gift a mother could ever ask for!  Then!!! Wayne gets home from work late, he missed our boot camp workout (which I also did in the rain), so he decides to go for a bike ride instead.  Who jumps up and says..."I want to go with you!"??  ADAM!   I'm blown away!

Watch out Monavie, The Carlson's are on a roll!

Blessings to you all,
Leah

The New Olive Garden!

Good Morning!  Is everyone getting excited for the 4th of July weekend??  I suppose if I didn't have to work on the 4th, I might  be looking forward to it, but alas, I will be at work bright and early.  That's okay :)  I really have no feeling about it one way or another.  Wayne has to work, and at 14, Adam is getting harder and harder to talk into doing things with Mom.  However, the weather is going to be spectacular, and HOT!  Awesome!

So last night the family went to the Olive Garden for dinner.  We went to support my Sissy (Laura), who just started working there.  She is waitress extraordinaire!  I'm telling you, Olive Garden is big doings in Carson City!  The place was packed!  Adam asked.."What's the big deal?  It's just Olive Garden"!  Well son, in Carson City, we don't have much excitement, so when we get something new, it's major news!  Ah, small town life!  Gotta love it!  You should have been here when In and Out Burger opened!  Anyway, it was a nice night out, and even though we requested Laura's section, and were promised that, we were seated in the lovely Amy's section.  Oh well...gives us an excuse to go back.  I was excited to find that even though it was "Olive Garden", I was able to stay within my calorie count, thus sticking to my RVL plan!  I had the apricot grilled chicken with veggies, and a bowl of Minestrone soup...500 cals!  Okay, I had a bite of a breadstick...let's be generous and say I had 600 cals!  Awesome that they have low fat and gluten free choices!

You know what helps me when going out to dinner?  Most restaurants have websites where they list the nutritional facts.  If you plot it out before you go, and not AssUMe that you will be able to make a choice on the fly, you will do much better!  Some of the items you THINK would be good choices, are actually a big ole bust!  Like a lot of the salads!  Shocking!!  Beware!!!   You think..."oh, I was so good, I had a salad for dinner"...when in fact you would have been better off with the burger!  LOL  Just make good choices, and have fun :)

Because of our culture, we have made food such a social experience.  For me, this is the hardest part of losing weight.  Every occasion, every gathering is built around food!  My Mother's (and Grandmother before her) first question when planning a family gathering is..."what are we going to eat?"  This is such a hard habit to break!  When you finally realize that you can enjoy company/family without it revolving around a meal, life is good!  Or when you realize that you don't have to join in on the food frenzy that is present to enjoy your time with folks.  I think I've finally gotten to the point where I don't feel left out and deprived.

Well, off to get the morning started!  Everyone have a good day!!!

Blessings to you all!

Leah

Okay, I'll "Try"

It's a Saturday morning, and as I sit here, having my usual morning fare (RVL and Coffee) I think about why I've succeeded on this journey, and others have tired and failed.  Maybe not failed, but slowed down or decided for one reason or another that this product wasn't for them.  Whatever the reason, It is still a puzzlement to me.

When you've lost a significant amount of weight, the first thing people ask is...come on, say it with me..."How did you do it?"  I'm always more than excited to share the tools I've used, which most of you  know is Monavie RVL.  A lot of those friends and strangers have wanted to try it for themselves.

As I wrote that last sentence, it hit me like a ton of bricks.  The word TRY.  When I first heard about RVL, there was something inside of me that said..."this is it, I can do this".  I just instinctively knew.  Whether it was just time, or there was something about the RVL, I'm not sure, but I knew this was "it".  The word "try", was never in my vocabulary.  Has it been easy for me?  Well, some days are, and some days aren't.  Just like with anything in life.  But for me, the question is always..."how bad do you want it?"

So now when I hear the word "TRY", I will think, you are already giving yourself wiggle room...room to fail.  Well, I tried, it just wasn't for me".  RVL is the tool, and a fantastic tool!  For me, the key that unlocked my success.  However, the the biggest part of the equation is YOU!  What are YOU willing to do to make a change?  How bad do YOU want it?

If your answer is such that you have determined you are ready to make a change, and you want your life back, then RVL is the perfect tool to help you get there! You have to have the commitment!  If not, the tub will sit on the shelf, and your response will be, "well that didn't work".  There is no magic pill, there never will be, but there are tools that make it "easier".  The truth?  I have hard days.  Is it because I'm hungry, and feel deprived...NO!  Is it because my brain still wants a piece of pizza...YES.  So once in a while, I have a piece of pizza!  Unlike before, I have a piece, not the whole pie.  However, the easy part is that I have a program to jump right back into.  I feel WONDERFUL!  I truly believe it's because I am not depriving my body on any level.  Nutritionally, physically, or emotionally.  RVL provides the full dense nutrition.  My trainer provides me the tools to give my body what it needs physically, and I deal with the emotional stuff.  I really look at why I want that pizza. So all in all, I feel like I have all the bases covered.

I keep referring to this as a journey.  I believe that the greatest joy is in the journey, and once you get to your destination, it's over.  So this is a lifelong journey, one that I will remain on for the rest of my life!

There is some great information on RVL, and all of our Monavie products on my website.  If any of my readers decide that want to make a change, and are ready for the commitment, then I'm ready to help you take the journey :)  I know you can do it!

Blessings to you all...

Leah
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