Sane Fitness: exercise on the go!

Being a parent, and always on the go, I am happy to have the new Sane Fitness travel companion! Sane Fitness is a quick start guide to promote full body workouts to be completed in just 6 weeks. What is really nice about the Sane Fitness is you can workout anywhere, even away from home! You could bring the cards to work, even. The cards fit into your purse or bag, and they are packed with helpful guides to get you into shape and healthier way of living.

The Sane Fitness is a deck of 36 cards, put together with a ring, hung with a lanyard string to fit around your neck. The workouts are full-body weight-lifting exercises, with stretches, that vary in intensity with each workout. Three of the cards explain th "A B C's" of the Sane Fitness plan, which is three workouts. Each card has instructions and a demonstration picture. The workouts are 20-minutes of cardio exercise, 6 full-body weightlifting exercises, 2 abdominal exercises and 3 stretches. Recommended weights are for you to choose, so you have to be able to complete them, but you also want to sweat with the workout. The plan is set up for you to use the cards 3 times a week. I like that the Sane Fitness also has a nutrition guide to help you in your quest to get fit!

Sane Fitness was created and founded by a busy working mom, Beverley Caen, and her trainer John Cruz. I think this program will be great to implement in my journey to weight loss and healthier living. Thank you Beverley for letting me try out your program, and thanks to Family Review Network for being introduced to the opportunity to review it!

You can purchase a Sanefitness Home Gym for under $100 to go with the Sane Fitness cards! Included in the set is an exercise mat, exercise ball and 2 sets of dumbbells (1 lighter, 1 heavier set). That is a great set to just get you started. Sane Fitness also has a program for pregnant women called the Sane Preggers FitKit.

Truvia: Nature's Calorie-Free Sweetener!

I love sugar, natural and pure sugar, but I know that with eating sugar, comes calories. I am not a fan of artificial sweeteners, especially since there are so many chemicals in them. I get concerned about what those chemicals do to me, and with being a nursing mom, I am concerned how those chemicals affect my newborn.
I was thrilled to try the new natural sweetener called Truvia! Truvia is made with rebiana, the best tasting part of the Stevia leaf (natural nature sweetness). Stevia is a plant (specifically, a member of the chrysanthemum family) native to portions of northeastern Paraguay. It has been used to sweeten foods and beverages for more than 200 years.

Truvia natural sweetener is refreshingly uncomplicated. Sprinkle it on your grapefruit. Spoon it in your coffee. It won't end up on your conscience or your thighs.

One packet of Truvia natural sweetener provides the same sweetness as two teaspoons of sugar.


Truvia natural sweetener is a great alternative for people with diabetes. It is also kosher certified.

Another ingredient in Truvia is Erythritol, a sugar alcohol, a carbohydrate found naturally in several fruits like grapes and pears. Erythritol doesn't lead to tooth decay, is safe for people with diabetes and in reasonable amounts does not lead to gastrointestinal side effects (in other words, no gas or bloating). Tasting Truvia by itself isn't so much appealing, but it tastes great when used in place of sugar. There isn't any bitter or bad after taste. I love how pure and natural it is without the calorie intake. This will be a product I will use in my efforts to lose the baby weight.
Coca-Cola Co., the world's largest soft drink maker, and Cargill Inc. say a natural sweetener from the stevia plant, is said to be 200 times sweeter than sugar and safe for humans. One packet of Truvia is equal to two teaspoons of sugar.
Cargill has made it possible that Truvia can be found at your local grocery store nationwide, and Truvia natural sweetener is also available at Whole Foods Market. At this time, Truvia is available as individual packets. I say, give Truvia a try! You will be happy with the taste, and your hips will not reap the consequences of sugar calories. Thanks Mom Central for making it possible for me to try out this great sweetener from nature!

Game Stop's “Sharpen the Mind, Shape the Body.”

I am so ready to start off this new year with the motivation to get healthier and losing my extra body insulation! The holidays tend to be magnets for pound acceleration, and now is the perfect time to accelerate in the weight loss!

Going to the gym is not in my budget, nor something I am able to do with 3, almost 4, kids. I do know that exercise is a crucial element to getting healthy, losing weight, and feeling more energized, though. I love the creative ways that video games have come up with ways to entice us to get motivated to exercise. I love playing on the Wii Fit and my Dance pad, because I don't really feel like I am "exercising." I enjoy fun gaming, but burn calories while doing it. Plus, I can enjoy a great work-out with family and friends.

Playing popular video games like My Fitness Coach or Dance, Dance Revolution make exercise fun, while games like Brain Age or Crosswords DS give your brain a workout. GameStop stores offer these titles and more and have associates on hand to help you find a good fit for you and your likes. GameStop stores offer some many fun games that your whole family can enjoy. This January, they are offering a "Sharpen the Mind, Shape the Body" initiative for the whole month that includes a special incentive to discover active gaming.

As a special incentive, all shoppers who spend $35 or more on designated products will receive a free 12-month trial subscription to their choice of Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Redbook, Good Housekeeping or Esquire. So you can stop by a local store and demo a range of titles that match your interests and skill level, then you can get out of the "poundage slump" and get into shape. GameStop sells new and used games, gaming gear and movies. You can trade in your used/new games, gear and movies and exchange for other titles. I have had good buys there, and found titles that I couldn't in other local retailer stores.

Thanks MomCentral for letting me know about the "Sharpen the Mind, Shape the Body" initiative from Game Stop!

Happy New Year to all of you!!

Well, can you believe it is 2009? I think it is amazing how time flies! I can't believe we zoomed through yet another year! It has been a great year!
Terry's mom (God bless her richly) offered to take our little darlings (Caleb and Madelyn) for New Year's Eve). She has actually had them from New Year's Eve until Sunday afternoon! She is just an amazing Mother-in-Law and Grandma! I am so thankful for her! (Thanks Cheryl)!! Hope the kids are doing super! Nathaniel was with his Dad from Christmas Eve night until last night (Thursday), and it is great to have him home with us, and get some one-on-one time with him before baby comes. We rarely get the one on one time with the kids, and we so appreciate it when we can do that!
New Year's Eve night, Terry and I went to our friend's house, Jody, to bring in the New Year. It was a great night of fun, loads of laughter, game, food, and Rock Band for Wii. Lisa , Jeannie and our friend, Padma were there as well and it was great to have a "ladies night out." I have a feeling my baby will come around the time when we have our monthly LNO (Madelyn was born the early morning hours of LNO almost 2 years ago). I think we beat a record for staying up and out late...Terry and I got home about 4:40 AM. I really am impressed with Terry for staying awake that long! I never would have guessed that he would be able to handle the late night. He had worked New Year's Eve and was up at 5:10 AM, so he made it almost 24 hours of being awake. If you know Terry, this is a grand achievement. I think he has some kind of sleep issue, because he is the type that can fall asleep anytime/anywhere. Seriously, he fell asleep (in the driver's seat) at the mailbox between the time it took me to roll down the window, grab the mail, and put the window back up! It is a scary thing! Anyway, thank you Jody for having us all over, and the memories are super! It was a great night, lots of fun, and so good to be with the girl friends!
I am excited to see what this new year will bring to our household. So far, we have a baby due (in less than 2 weeks), a daughter who will be 2 in the beginning of March, a son who will be 4 the end of May, my brother is getting married in June, and my oldest will be 11 in the fall! Starting back the beginning of February, I will again join Weight Watchers! I can't tell you how excited I am to lose the weight again. Last year I hit the 41 pounds gone mark, and then I was blessed with pregnancy. Since you can't be on Weight Watchers while being pregnant, I lost all discipline (not Weight Watchers fault, just my own lack of self control). I have gained way too much weight with this pregnancy, and I can say I am rather disappointed with myself for not being more careful. I know weight gain is normal in pregnancy, but seriously~ 50 pounds is NOT what I would say is normal weight gain for pregnancy, especially since I was over weight to start with. Yes, I do get a depressed feeling about it, but I put the food into my hand and popped it into my own mouth. I just have to work extra hard at getting it off. Since I won a Wii last year (woo hoo) I bought the Wii Fit, and I am anxious to get on there and help that weight fall off. I am confident that being back on the WW program and using my Wii Fit on a regular basis will help me get to where I need to be (weight wise) the end of this year. Terry, my hubby, is also wanting to get back into shape and lose a few pounds. I know 80# may seem like an awful amount, but that is my goal to get to, and if I lose more than that, super! I am not going to say I will lose that by a certain time, but I would like to see #50 gone by winter time late this fall.
What are your goals or achievements you would like to see for this New Year?