Personal Herbalife Challenge

A 30-day Herbalife challenge.

What do I get out of this? Hopefully, a few pounds and inches lost and never to be found again, healthier eating habits, a healthier body, and maybe a 25% discount on all of my Herbalife products.

What do you get out of this? My honest opinion about the products I use during the challenge. I am not an Herbalife Independent Distributor, though if all goes well in the next thirty days I may become one (hence the aforementioned 25% discount). I will also research questions about the business side of Herbalife, such as If it's so great, why can't I get it at the local health food store or Wal-Mart?

So, here's the challenge:
Lose a minimum of 8 pounds and a total of 3 inches in 30 days.

How?
* Replace every breakfast with a 24 Formula 1 shake.
* Replace 2-3 lunches with a regular Formula 1 shake.
* Drink the Herbal Tea Concentrate with Herbal Aloe Concentrate first thing in the morning to wake me up and get me ready for my workout.
* Walk/run for thirty minutes a day.
* Do weight/resistance training six days a week.
* Use Cell-U-Loss to help alleviate fluid retention.
* Use Cell Activator to help my body better absorb all the good stuff it's getting.

Sounds pretty easy, eh? Not so much...
* I am a breastfeeding mother. Severe calorie restriction is absolutely out of the question as it would deplete the milk supply for my baby.
* I have never been and never will be a two-shakes-a-day-every-day kind of girl. I need food. Texture. Crunch. Salt. A shake for breakfast is easy. Another for lunch? Nope. That kind of calorie and food restriction would make me one CRANKY momma.
* Most doctors and medical people would not recommend losing more than two pounds per week. Consistently losing more than that can be dangerous. And, since I'm only replacing breakfasts and a few lunches, it will be harder to shed those two pounds a week. Also, my body likes to function in starvation mode. It thinks I'm never going to feed it again so everything I ingest gets stored away as fat.
* I've read books about people who start a running/healthy eating regimine, and after twelve weeks lost around three inches from the waist. I'm pushing for three inches from anywhere in 30 days.
* My muscles have always responded quickly to weight and resistance training. However, my fat likes me too much to leave regardless of how much cardio I do. So, usually, instead of losing inches by losing fat, I gain inches by gaining muscle and keeping fat.
* To get my workouts in and do them uninterrupted, I have to get up at 6am. I know the Proverbs 31 woman was "up before dawn," but I like sleep. I crave sleep. Sometimes I'm so tired that I can tase how good sleep would be. This is a mega-sacrifice for me.

Other information that you might appreciate:
* When it comes to weight loss, I'll try anything, but I doubt everything. I always think I'm going to be the exception to any weight loss guarantee.
* I am overweight. I am not some skinny chick who thinks she needs to lose a few pounds to fit back into her size 2 skinny jeans. I really want this to work. I want to be on this earth for as long as possible and to feel good and energetic for the length of my stay here. I want to be able to enjoy running and playing with my kids, with my grandkids, and, God-willing, with my great-grandkids.
* As I said, I am not an Herbalife Independent Distributor. I'm not pushing a product. I just want to know if it will help me lose some weight and be a healthier person, a healthier wife, a healthier mom. And, I want to be able to help others along the way.
* The only Herbalife products I tried before starting the challenge were 24 Formula 1 and the herbal tea with aloe. I like 24 because it's the first nutrition shake I've had (and I've had plenty) that didn't leave me with a headache for an hour after drinking it. I like the tea because it made me feel great after I drank it. I haven't been that clear-headed since before I was pregnant with my first child over three years ago. Pregnancy-brain has lasted way too long for me.
* I will not post my weight. Publicizing the challenge creates enough accountability for me. I don't feel the need to humiliate myself by posting that number.
* I will not weigh or measure myself again until the morning of day 31.
* These products aren't cheap. The six products I'm using for the challenge are a sizable investment for our one-income family. That makes me even more committed to completing the challenge (I paid for the stuff; I'm going to use it.) and to being brutally honest about its effects (Is it really worth it to spend that much money every month or two?).

So, that's it, in a nutshell. I hope this challenge is beneficial for all of us. I may not post daily, but I will post often. Feel free to ask any questions. I'm off to bed now. 6am is coming way too soon.