Word Vomit...

Ladies and Gents...CALLING ALL ENTREPRENEURS...Let’s stop the word vomit. Shall we?

As the owner of a business myself, and as a mentor to other entrepreneurs, girl bosses, and business owners.. I understand the temptation to word vomit.  I get it.. you want people to know how amazing and awesome your product or service is.

If you get nothing else out of this blog, please take this away…. 

People do not buy products and services from you because of your product or service. They buy your product or service because they know, like, and trust YOU. YOU ARE THE MAGIC.

The quickest way to get people to know, like, and trust you, is by keeping it real, yo!  So let’s stop word vomiting all over people about how magical your product is, shall we?  NO ONE CARES.

Just be real, be honest, and care about them.

True story.  Not too long ago, I got a message from someone I hadn’t heard from in years.  When I saw their message in my inbox I was excited and curious to hear from them.  Turns out, this person had just started their very first new business.  Exciting right?!  Well, you’d think so.  But the message they sent me was four paragraphs long, ALL about them, ALL about their products, and they didn’t ask me ONE question about myself, how I was doing, or even tell me a little bit about why this would be something I would be interested in.  

AKA, utter and complete word vomit.  

As a business owner it made me sad for them because I knew it one day they had become “that person” to however many hundreds of people they had sent the same exact copy and past message to.

It all comes down to this – You want people to want to try your product or your service?  Then you have to know WHY they would even benefit from it first of all.  But you also have to care about them and you MUST keep it real!

Don’t drink the Kool Aid to your own product or service.

You have to know what YOUR truth is.

A great example of this is myself!  Before I started my business, I tried the product.  But we were broke, and at the time I did not understand the value of Ketones.  So, I was just going to try it and send it back for a refund after my 30 day trial.  

Soooo sketch and soooo lame.  

I, of course, DID NOT send it back because I fell head over heels in LOVE with my beloved Unicorn Moonshine. BUT, I make sure that I tell all of my clients that story, because it’s REAL, and because I want them to know that I understand!  I am a person too and I actually care about them.

When you’re having a conversation with a potential client or customer, when you are inviting them to try your product, to try your service, to work with you in some form or another… before you just go out and tell them all about your product or service, you first you have to know WHY what you offer would benefit them. Then, when you have a conversation with them, be more interested in them than you are desperate for them to be interested in you.

Being interested in someone else is the quickest way to make a friend, and at the end of the day, the most loyal customers and clients are the people who know that you actually care about them because you’ve taken the time to ask!

Once you have asked them about themselves and discovered a need you can help with, then you can say, 

“Hey! Have you ever hear of _____? I think you would really love it because of _______.”

Let them ask you! Just say, “Hey. I think that you would really like this. Have you ever considered trying this?” And see what they say. If they say, “Yes,” great! You can ask them if they want more information, or how you can help them. If they say, no they haven’t, then you can say, “Well, I think you would really love it. Do you want me to get you some more information on it? Or, do you have some questions that I can answer for you?”

It is so simple to build a relationship with someone. It takes virtually no time. But, word vomit is not the way to do it.  If you want to build a very successful business that lasts a long time, then dude, keep it simple.  All you need to do as a business owner is fill a need for someone else. That all starts with being more interested in them than you are desperate for them to be interested in you.  Find a need that they have, and fill it.

Here’s a little bonus tip for you. Any message that you send to someone about your product or service needs to be three or four sentences long, maximum. If someone sends me a message that’s more than five sentences, I am not answering it. I don’t have time for that.  I’m a busy and so is everyone else. Keep it simple. Less is more. Allow them to ask the questions and you will see the success you want as you gain more and more LOYAL clients and customers!

If you’re curious about how you can work with me and be a part of my Team. I’ll be in touch!

Patch+Pill+Shake=Weight Loss...Yep just another SCAM...

Okay so the time has came that I talk about the lovely new product by Le-Vel. 

I keep seeing this bullsh*t all over my FB & IG and I just roll my eyes every single time.Y'all must have all gotten together and drank the Le-Vel kool-aid and are now all sales person. 

One girl on my IG went out of her way to send me a link...

{Hold up...pause, I feel like its important to first say I NEVER ask this chick about Le-Vel or anything about weight loss. Shit I don't even follow her, she just thought I would "totally be interested" in it. Okay now back to what I was saying} 

... So she sent me to this terrifying thread where I watched people with no flipping clue about nutrition or performance babble on and on about this "amazing" product that only pros in-the-know use. 

There were claims of how ...

"we don't get enough vitamins in our modern depleted soil," 

"disease can't survive in an alkaline body," 

and the old trope of "flushing" and "detoxing."  

On top of all that usual garbage, it is an obvious sales scheme to prey on the weak who haven't been properly educated on how to lose weight, or those who are just too lazy to even try or those who want quick/easy fixes.

So how does it (allegedly) work? 

Well, what you're supposed to do is take two capsules of Thrive for Women or Men on an empty stomach, first thing in the morning. 20-40 minutes after that, you are supposed to drink a Thrive Lifestyle Mix Shake and stick a Thrive DFT Patch on your skin, then go about your day. That's it! 

...Wait, what the fuck is a "DFT" patch? 

DFT stands for Derma (skin) Fusion (blend into) Technology (sticker). So it soaks into your skin through a sticker like a neon-colored quit-smoking patch or a birth control patch. 

I'm sure it looks real cool, tho. 

So what is all this mumbo-jumbo that I'm suppose to be swallowing and absorbing into my blood steam all day? Let's check...

B Vitamins, primarily. Let me break the "proprietary blend" down for you:

Guarana: stimulant, contains caffeine. Evidence does not support it does anything, other than contain caffeine. It can be used safely, but it's possibly unsafe if used in high doses and mixed with a lot of other stimulants.

Green Tea: Contains polyphenols, which may or may not be beneficial, another bit of caffeine. 

Glucosamine: Derived from shellfish (allergy alert!) Very little evidence to support it improving joint flexibility. There is some evidence it may provide relief from knee pain, specifically, in certain doses, when taken consistently for at least eight weeks. If that's your oddly specific issue.

White Willow: Anti-inflammatory. In layman's terms, it's aspirin. 

Glutamine: Amino acid that promotes muscle recovery. Evidence isn't what I'd call slam-dunk. And, besides, you need GRAMS of this stuff, not a sprinkle in a capsule. I cannot imagine this dose (whatever it could be) to be effective at all. 

Green Coffee Bean: Another stimulant. Caffeine. 

PEA: Phenylethylamine. A neurotransmitter that stimulates feelings of happiness and positivity, commonly found in chocolate. But it's metabolized too fast by the body to do anything. Useless in this form. 

Kelp: A blood thinner. Not to mention it can be unsafe. Too much iodine can whack out your thyroid, a lot of it contains arsenic because they're pulling it form contaminated waters to meet misguided consumer demand, and it's high potassium content can damage your kidneys.

Irvingia Extract: No evidence to support it's "fat burner" claims.  None.

BCAAs: Branched-chain amino acids, another recovery supplement for muscle repair and energy. The evidence is slightly better than the outright bullsh*t, but unless you are training really hard in the gym, you get these from your diet with no need for more.

Theobromine: A milder caffeine-like alkaloid found in chocolate. 

Ginger: My guess is to calm your stomach from having to digest all this garbage on an empty stomach. 

Synephrine: Another stimulant, because we clearly don't have enough already. On the "watched" substance list by the NCAA.

Aspartic Acid: Not sure if it's d-aspartic acid, considered a testosterone booster or Aspartic Acid which is some Aruvedic bullsh*t. (What's Aruvedic? Mystical/naturo/homeopathy of Indian origin.) 

L-Serine: Amino acid that helps your body perform the chain reaction to create serotonin and relieve stress and anxiety. I'm sure there is a bs claim as to why it is here and zero evidence to support it, especially in this dose and for what.

L-Arganine: Another amino acid used for nitric oxide boosting (it widens your blood vessels to improve blood flow), also stimulates growth hormone and insulin production. Mixed evidence as to whether it improves athletic performance or not. 

Grape Seed: Antioxidant bs.

CoQ10: Antioxidant bs.

White Tea: More antioxidant bs.

So far, we have stimulants for "ENERGY" and "FOCUS", blood thinners/anti-inflammatories to make your aches and pains go away.

A bunch of WOO WOO herbs that do nothing and amino acids that might do something but not at such a small dose. 

A cup of coffee and an aspirin might be cheaper, 

but whatever.

Let's "drink the kool-aid" and move on to the Lifestyle Mix Shake.

I see a weak vitamin profile. But, with pills, shakes and patches, you wouldn't want to overdo it. Let's look at the "Proprietary Blend": 

Garcinia Fruit Extract: Do you remember that time Dr. Oz was dragged before congress for being a lying, scamming, piece of shit con-artist, hawking weight-loss supplements that didn't work? Yeah, Garcinia Cambogia was that weight-loss supplement. 

Oat Fiber: To make you feel full, appetite suppressant. 

Black Tea: Surprise! More caffeine! 

Lactobacilius Acidophilus: Probiotic. 

Bromelian: Another anti-inflammatory.

Rice Bran: No evidence to support claims of enhancing athletic performance, supporting the immune system or being an antioxidant. But it has a lot of fiber, which might help you feel full. 

Amylase 5000, Cellulase 1000, Lipase 1000, Papain 6000, Protease 1000, Protease 5000: Enzymes used to help digestion, break down fat, usually used only when people are really sick with pancreatic cancer or things like that. Can cause nausea, cramps and diarrhea. 

Cardamom, Ginger, Cinnamon: Spices. They don't make you healthier, cure cancer or fight your diseases. 

Protein Blend: 15 grams of protein is weak. Not only that, but it is mostly cheap soy protein. With so many excellent proteins on the market, this is C-List shit. 

In conclusion, we have FIBER and ENZYMES that make you un-hungry and more stims!

Now, who wants to put on the patch?

ForsLean: Forskolin. Only one study has shown this supplement to increase lean body mass, and that one is from Sabsina, the same herbal supplement company that makes this stuff. Coincidence? 

Green Coffee Bean: Holy shit, how much caffeine have we taken so far?

Garcinia Cambogia: More Dr. Oz snake oil. (see above)

CoQ10: a coenzyme for boosting energy in muscles, little to no solid evidence that the supplement form works, but high doses cause insomnia. 

White Willow Bark: More Aspirin. Since all this other recovery shit doesn't work, we need to feel like we're not sore.

Cosmoperine: Piperdine. Black pepper, supposedly helps enhance absorption. Interestingly, I can only find one study from a Doctor in India that supports this claim. My guess is if I dug deeper, he probably works for Sabsina.  

What can we take away from all of this?

Stimulants, Appetite Suppressants, and Aspirn/Anti-Inflammatories.

Energetic?

Pain Free?

Not Hungry?

DUH!

You're basically drinking a few cups of coffee, taking some aspirin, and drinking a lump of fiber all for $100-300 a month. All the rest is nonsense.

Look, supplements are a totally unregulated industry. Questionable studies, conclusion jumping and over-hyping efficacy are standard practices in the quest to create the next big miracle. $$$$$! 

At best, you may get a decent product that doesn't do much for you.

At worst, you could get hurt. 

Makes you re-think having who-knows-what seeping into your skin all day. 

(Or at least I hope it does.) 

Do you want to know the BIGGEST SECRET in the industry?

Fitness model bodies are unattainable without years of hard work, micromanaging your diet, and having special enhancements. Whether they be surgical, hormonal or simply good ol'photoshop.

I personally lost 85 lbs by working out at home, and filling my body with SUPERFOODS/Clean foods. No supplements. No magic. No wraps. No patches.

There is no wrap, no pill, no magic ANYTHING to make it easy. Be the best you, first. Don't try to be some magazine body type. 

Later on, if you decide you want to get serious about your training, or be an athlete, there are supplements that do help promote lean body mass, aid recovery, and boost short-term energy. 

But, until then, a shot of Beachbodys all natural Energize, perhaps a a daily dose of Superfood Shakeology for variety is all you really need. 

The only thing you don't get is the way cool stickers and the placebo effect that the $100-$300 buys. But then again, you still have your $100-$300. 

Don't fall victim to this stuff, guys. Just don't.

And if you need help to start your journey or continue on your journey you can always email me direct. I'm always here to help. {MandyIrizarry@gmail.com}

"Dieting" is a made up concept...

  

Diet: the kinds of food that a person, animal, 

or community habitually eats.

Everyone has this misconception that a diet is a restriction or limitation of foods.

A deficit of calories or cutting out food groups.
                                                         

No. No. No!

My diet is my lifestyle. I choose to eat healthy, but it’s a maintainable consistent diet. 

I don’t deprive myself of calories, I don’t miss out on social gatherings 

because I’m “dieting” and I definitely don’t cut out food groups!

Additionally, I don’t go more than 3 hours without eating.  This is especially important if you are trying to lose weight, and feel free to disagree with me on this.

​When you go hours without eating, to the point where your stomach is aching, maybe you have a headache or your energy levels are low, your body is in catabolic status. Meaning it thinks it’s in starvation mode. If you are in this status once every day, or more than once a day your body starts to store all the fat it can, making it impossible for weight loss! If you’re familiar with this, you may even be having a hard time building muscle. Yes, this is because your body is utilizing the proteins as an energy source because that’s its last option!

Eating every hour and half, allows my metabolism to be turned on all the time. I’m burning the energy I’m eating and constantly keeping my system active.

So if you’re someone whose been trying to lose weight, going to the gym every day, maybe twice a day, and eating 1000-1200 calories but not seeing any weight loss, maybe even weight gain, that’s because you’re not eating enough! If you’re on a workout routine and you’re highly active, eat AT LEAST every two hours.

FUEL YOUR BODY!

Free Health and Fitness Apps You Should Get...

Who doesn't love free stuff?!

These are 11 of my most favorite FREE Health & Nutrition Apps that I wanted to share with ya'll.

1. Fooducate: Nutrition information, calorie tracker, energy tracker, 

and nutrition label scanner.

2. Daily Water: Tracks your water consumption. 

3. Fitmetrics: Tracks your activity throughout the day.

4. Fitness Buddy: Tracker and workouts.

5. My Plate: Calorie tracker, Nutrition and recipes.

6. Nike Training Club: Workouts for every skill that focus on yoga, pilates, and running.

7. Charity Miles: Tracks your distance with phone's GPS 

and donated 10-25 cents to charity of your choice.

8. Speedo Fit: Tracks distance and duration of swims, provides technique and challenges.

9. Couch-to-5k: Beginners runner regimen that trains for a 5k in 2 months. 

10. Runkeeper: Track your runs, walks and bike rides.

11. My fitness Pal: Food diary and calorie counter with energy expenditure calculations.

Meeting #2 with the Nutritionalist...

Since the last time I met with my nutritionalist, I've found out that I have Hashimoto Disease. And because I am who I am, I began instantly researching the shit out of it. I kept reading about people going gluten free and eliminating eggs from their diets. So that's what I had planned on doing but of course wanted to hear the nutritionalists point before I went too hard core.

She was very helpful and gave me loads of info. Based on my symptoms and where my bloat is (top of the belly, not below) she doesn't believe its a gluten issue at all. She said "gluten free" is such a fad that EVERYONE is quick to jump on it but gluten isn't always the issue. She said really the only people who really should go gluten free are people with Celiac Disease.

We already know that lactose is a huge trigger for me, so I limit any dairy. I drink Almond Milk in my shakes instead of regular or lactose free because its less calories and just as good. I rarely eat cheese and I'm not a yogurt fan. I get my calcium by eating other whole foods, shakeology and a women's multi-vitamin.

Because she believes my stomach issues are IBS related she's having me increase my fiber by taking a fiber supplement for now. I'm also going to start adding a probiotics vitamin too because my system tends to just flush everything out that I eat.

She also gave me a FODMAP (see below an example)...

That she wants me to experiment around with and see if we can figure out what exactly my triggers are. The big triggers on it are: lactose, fructose, fructans, galactans, and polyols. I'm not suppose to cut all of them out but to start food journaling what I eat and how I feel afterwards and the next day. 

Its a process but I'm all about healing my gut and getting to the bottom issue. I love that my nutritionalist is all about teaching me and not just saying "don't eat this or that". She actually listens, which is what I need. She's also excited that I'm going to see an endocrinologist because they will run more tests and see if anything else pops up that my regular dr hasn't caught. 

2017 will be my year...I just know it!

Hard time with a diet?

Have you ever had a hard time with a diet?

Let’s just say you are physically not happy with yourself, so what’s the first thing you think of?

“I need to diet!” “I need to lose weight!” “I need to get skinny!”

Sound familiar?

Girl, of course they do! Why do those phrases sound familiar? Because every single one of use women on this god’s green earth, have spoke those same exact words when we were not happy with where we were physically.

So we decide to make a change.

But what comes with this change?

99% of the time it’s something drastic… like a complete overhaul! You have to start counting calories, macros, fats, make sure you are eating between this time and this time, and don’t eat this and don’t eat that. Or you resort to something even worse, popping pills, sticking on patches or drinking all your meals!

Usually when we make this change, we are hoping for quick results.

                            “I want to lose 20lbs in a week!”

Um…. sorry girlfriend, that’s not gonna happen! There is no such thing as losing weight fast, and it being ... 1. healthy for you, and 2. being something that you can maintain.

Don’t worry, I am not judging you if you have succumbed to one of those trends, I mean girl, I have done my fair share of garage diets to try and lose weight….

Hydroxycut, Medi Fast, Atkins or fancier term….. South Beach Diet, Advocare, 

Intermitted fasting, Carb Cycling, you name it…

and every single one of those i failed at and THANK SWEET BABY JESUS that I did! 

You know why, because those are not ways of living!

You are suffering, you are abiding by some instructions and some rules that DO NOT FIT WITH YOUR LIFESTYLE! And what is worse, some people end up trying to change their lifestyle in order to stick with these fads….

Then they get fed up, depressed, shits not working, or I am gaining weight back twice as fast as I lost it, and guess what….

YOU ARE NOT HAPPY!

Truth is, there is all types of advice online, social media is blowing up with all these diets, quick fixes, cleanses, etc that tell you that you can drop this much weight in this amount of time… but what they don’t tell you is everything that comes with it.

Unnatural supplements, shakes, patches, pills, foods, etc…. ARE NOT GOOD FOR YOU! While you are trying to lose weight and you are putting horrible substances in your body, yes you could lose weight, but as you doing more damage than good inside? And how are you truly feeling on the outside?

If I can give you one piece of advice and something that I hope you listen to, is always listen to your body! If something doesn’t feel right (like heart palpitations, over exhaustion, starvation, etc) that means DROP THAT DIET LIKE A BAD HABIT!

Here are a few things that you can do instead

1. Add more veggies. Don’t focus on cutting sugars, carbs, caffeine, etc. Focus on adding more good stuff in. Then you won’t feel like you are depriving yourself and you are getting full of the good stuff and won’t want to eat junk.
2. Realize that it’s a lifestyle change. If you want true happiness and health and have a body that you always wanted, realize it’s not going to happen over night, it’s not going to be an easy journey, and that you need to celebrate every small success from choosing broccoli over breadsticks to dropping a pant size. TREAT YOURSELF!
3. Last but not least. Love yourself as you are NOW! Know that you are worth a battle, you are worth the investment of time and energy that it takes to make healthy changes. Know your worth and that you deserve to feel good NOW while working towards where you want to be!

Also, if you would like to know more about finding inner strength to help you reach your goals click here .... HERE!