Best Single Serve Blender (in my opinion)

I often get asked what kind of blender I use for mixing my Cambridge shakes. I have been using the same one for over 10 years now...well...not this exact same one, but I've bought the same one a few times . This is a blender that you can find at pretty much every home goods store or department store in their kitchen and dining departments. It may have a different brand name on it, but they are all exactly the same. I have found that Walmart has the best price so I always get mine there. It's usually around $29 and it will be the hardest working appliance in your kitchen if you are SSing. This thing obliterates ice cubes and gives you a wonderfully smooth thick shake! Find it here:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/24685825?wmlspartner=wlpa&adid=22222222227018188708&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=40345209272&wl4=&wl5=pla&wl6=78310858232&veh=sem

Oh You Holidays! What Am I going To Do With You?

Here are my thoughts. It would be awesome if we could all SS right through the New Year. If able to do that, then by all means do it! Most of us seem to be kind of aiming for perfection during the most difficult time of year, but falling short. I believe that the one thing you do NOT want to do when trying to lose weight is allow any negative thoughts take over.

I had intended to SS right through the holidays and straight to my birthday on Feb 18th. I had completed about 12 or 13 days sole source, and then had Thanksgiving. Since then I have not felt motivated to get back to it and I have felt kind of bad about it, not to mention physically just blah. I realized that for now, my goal is good enough if it is just not to gain anything over the holidays. So what I'm going to do is get back in the habit of having Cambridge very day and  consider what I eat carefully and be sure it is worth it. It's not an all or nothing thing, or at least it doesn't have to be. I want to keep my attitude positive. I want to retain my Cambridge habit. I want to weigh every day for now to be sure I am not gaining ANYTHING and I also want to feel free to eat if I choose until Christmas. Then it will be a full on focused effort to my birthday. I realize that my birthday is just a day on the calendar and I've never been much of a believer of setting myself up with a deadline before, but turning 56 is kind of major to me and I do want to begin my 56th year in better shape then I am today.

Each of us has to develop our own strategy for getting through this annual food fest without doing too much damage, physically or mentally. I just want to be sure that no one sets them self up for any negative thoughts if they can't be perfect for the next few weeks. There is no one right answer, other then to be sure that you are keeping a positive outlook at this evolution we call weight loss.

Quick Hello

Hey readers. I just wanted to check in with a progress report. I'm on my third day of my 99 day challenge and so far, so good. Last night was a little rocky. I was pretty hungry and really had to keep the mental pep talk going. I normally don't experience hunger anymore, even when SSing so this is new. I have to admit that my diet of late has been a lot sloppier then normal so that is likely why. Paying the piper I guess!

Today is better. My tummy is a little growley still, but it's lunch time anyway so that's ok. I'm am experiencing a slight metallic taste in my mouth so I guess I am going in to ketosis which should take care of the hunger. My energy is great today and I feel better overall so this is progress! Tomorrow will be a good day.

I'm not weighing right now. I decided that for my first month I will stay off the scale. I will have my first weigh in Dec 12th. I have a pretty good idea of my starting weight already. I'm not focusing on the day to day numbers. Once a month weigh ins will be right for me.

So day 97 of my 99 day countdown is going well. Anyone joining me?

Day 10

Originally Posted by Pam Turner on 04/13/14;

Today is day 10 for me. I have a goal for this year to get all the way down to my high school weight. I have not seen that since....well...high school! I have made a few half hearted attempts at it over the years, but I just didn't feel motivated enough. I made a spur of the moment decision 10 days ago to just pee or get off the pot (as my mother used to say!) and without any fanfare or plan, I just started. I put my scale out in the garage. I have accepted the truth that weighing is the kiss of death for me. I can be going along with my weight loss just fine, but if I see a number I don't like it can completely derail me so...no scale for me. I'm just going to keep moving forward and not worry about numbers. I know that all I have to do is stick to my 3 servings a day and not fool around by nibbling here or there or "taking a break" or any of the other self sabotaging behaviors I know I'm capable of. I want this so I'm giving it my absolute best. I have to admit, I'm curious to know how much I've lost in 10 days, but I will resist the urge and leave the evil scale alone!

Turning 55

Originally Posted by Pam Turner on 03/14/14:
I had my birthday last month, Feb 18th to be exact. I guess it was one of those half way milestones, no longer early 50's, on my way to 60. I'm not sure how to feel about it. I have not had nearly the adventures I thought I would have had when I was young. So much of my early years were consumed (no pun intended) with parenting, food, my obesity, and poor health. Now I am healthy, but not in a financial place to do all the traveling etc I had hoped for. I guess you can't have everything, but as you get older you do become hyper aware of the time you have left on this planet and think a lot about whether you are spending it doing what you would like to be doing.

I had a lifelong dream of living by the beach. I do. I had a lifelong dream of finding and marrying someone that would love me unconditionally. I have. I had a goal of my Cambridge business being my retirement income. It is. Now this one may seem weird, but I love Disneyland and being a So Ca girl it was one of my favorite places. I dreamed of living close enough to be able to have a resident pass and go whenever I felt like it. Not being a fan of Anaheim I never made the move...but.... we now live in Fl about an hour and a quarter away from Disney World with resident passes in hand. Check! Life is good.

Years ago when my kids were young.. I was a single mom, we were on food stamps, I was disabled, and life was bleak living in a government subsidized apartment complex, I struggled constantly to keep us afloat and not let my kids know how desperate our situation was. I wanted them to have as normal of a childhood as I could provide as a single parent. I ran a licensed day care in our apartment and did the best I could. I was always aware of how well my childhood friends had done and how different our lives were. Even something as simple as having a car less then 20 years old, or taking a vacation, or even having a VCR was stuff I only dreamed about. Forget about ever owning my own home. For some reason my life had taken a detour and it was about survival, nothing else.

One day I sat and made a list of all the things I wished to achieve and acquire. It was crazy and out of reach, but I just wanted to see it all in writing. #1 was lose weight and get healthy and it went on to other things, ultimately ending with a house of my own. I taped it to the wall next to my bed and forgot about it. Most of the things on the list were simple, not extravagant, but still not in sight.

I remember a movie that was a favorite of mine and my kids. It was called "A Home Of Our Own" with Kathy Bates playing a widowed mother searching for a place she could raise her kids. There is a line that summed up how it was for us. One of her boys is looking in a store window at Christmas and his adult voice narrator said, "When I was a kid, everything you saw...was something you couldn't have". Yup. It was like that.

Anyway, it was some years later. We were still living in that apartment, but things had changed. I had lost my weight on Cambridge. In that experience I discovered I was so much stronger then I'd given myself credit for. I became a Distributor and had built a strong business in a very short time. One day my daughter came to me with a peice of paper. She showed it to me and said, "Mom...do you realize that you have achieved just about everything on this list?" I had forgotten about it and was shocked to see that she was right! The only 3 things remaining were to buy my own home, find love, and travel. 4 months later I bought my first home. A 2800 sq ft home on half an acre in central Ca with a ready made park like play ground in the back for my day care, 20 fruit trees and a place to move my beloved elderly Aunt in with us. It was all pretty incredible for my little family. That was almost 11 years ago. After 4 years I sold that home and made a nice profit, enough to buy a beautiful home on the river in Utah. We spent 6 happy years there, I eventually started dating and then met my husband. We've been married for 2 years now and moved across the country to where we are now, 6 miles from the most amazing beaches.

I guess my reason for this post, other then I was sitting here this morning counting my blessings and taking a moment to realize how fortunate I am, was to put it out there that no matter how your life is now, no matter how defeated you may feel at the moment, life can turn on a dime if you let it. It takes work and courage and a willingness to abandon old beliefs and habits and whatever has been holding you back, but you can accomplish great things if you put you mind and your shoulder to it and not let anything stop you. Making that list so many years ago when I had no reason to think any of it would ever become reality was that first tiny push to cracking the door of possibilities. I didn't need to believe at the time that any of it would happen, because I didn't! lol! I don't know why I taped it up rather then tear it up, but it was the beginning of the change for me. My life really began at 42 and by the time I was 50, I was finally feeling free to be the person I should have been all along.

Never underestimate your ability to change yourself or the circumstances of your life. We are so much more powerful then we believe ourselves to be. Some things in life happen to us, but most things happen because of us. Don't be afraid to take responsibility for the situation you're in because that just means you can change it.

So..turning 55? Well....that just means I have had one more year to celebrate my life that it took so long for me to discover.

Welcome to 2014!

Originally Posted by Pam Turner on 01/01/14:
Yes, another new year. Time is going so fast it seems. Do you have your goals set for 2014? I haven't put too much thought in to it yet, but I do know that I want to lose a few more pounds and get as lean as I can be. I haven't had a gym membership the past year and a half since we moved here to Florida. I have a beautiful pool, but it's unheated and yes, even here in sunny Florida it gets too cold to swim. You get about 6 months of the year before the water gets too cold. My goal is to need a new swim suit for summer because my old one will be too big!

This year had some challenges. My sister recently died. She was only 2,5 years older then me, (55) but she was diagnosed a couple of years ago (at the age I am now) with cardio pulmonary hypertension. She basically died of congestive heart failure. My mother died of congestive heart failure when she was only 62 and I also had congestive heart failure when I was only 26. So you can see there is definitely a genetic factor here I am determined to beat. Thankfully, I am currently in decent health, active and living as stress free of a life I can create. My Cambridge keeps me healthy and is my main tool for keeping a life time of obesity under control. I am so far away from the person I used to be 12 years ago. I understand that even though there may be genetic tendencies in my family, that doesn't mean I can't counteract them with a focused effort to eat and live healthy.

I hope that 2013 was kind to you, and if it wasn't, I hope 2014 will be all you hope for. I am not one for magical thinking, but people seem to be expressing a common sense that 2014 is going to be a great year. If we welcome it with that attitude, then we stand a much greater chance of it being so.

If you have weight to lose, don't wait another day. Go to my website at cambridgediet.org and order your product today. You will have it in your hands in less then 7 working days. You can take the time you spend waiting for it to clean out all the sugar and simple carbs in your diet to prepare your body for an easy transition to the diet. There is nothing else out there that can give you the results that Cambridge can!

One More Reason Why I Love Cambridge!

Originally Posted by Pam Turner on 07/18/13:
It was a hot muggy day today and I spent more of it outside then usual.
My pool is getting shocked right now (it was florescent green) so I couldn't jump in to cool off my overheated brains.

I had my Cambridge Oats and a cup of coffee this morning as usual. Lunch time I was out running errands and I didn't get home until 2. I had lots of groceries to put away and organize so I made a quick shake to tide me over. I got started on dinner for the fam and got even MORE hot and the green pool was mocking me! I try not to have the oven on but tonight required it. UGGG!!!! My hubby got home from work at 6 and I got his food for him and just couldn't bear to eat a bite. I made another shake and it was so lovely, icy, and delicious! It is so nice on a hot day like this to have an alternative to eating.

So today without intending to, I sole sourced. Summer time is a great time to make a lot of progress on your weight loss. When it's hot and yucky it feels good to not be loaded down with a lot of food in your stomach. It's too hot to cook anyway! Take advantage of this hot weather and enjoy your nice frosty shakes.

My new life in Florida

Originally Posted by Pam Turner on 08/01/12:

Just wanted to catch up on my blog. I have moved to Florida! So far I LOVE it. We are sitting in a mostly empty house awaiting the arrival of our POD. It takes 9 days to get here form Utah and I have to say it seems a lot longer then I thought it would be. Not having anywhere to sit and sleeping on air mattresses is not fun. Doing laundry in a laundry mat for $15 is also not enjoyable! Probably the worst thing of all is not having a fridge and having to eat out. I packed all my Cambridge in the POD so I've been eating all the foods I usually avoid. Fortunately we have a lovely big pool so we are getting lots of exercise in the sunshine. Once our stuff gets here I am SSing with a vengeance. I feel so bloated and sluggish. 3 more days....ugg.

How The Foods We Eat Affect Our Mood, Energy And Quality Of Life

Originally Posted by Pam Turner on 03/13/12:
I find it very interesting how the foods we eat can have an effect on our physical and mental state. This past weekend was my husbands 60th B-day and we had a big celebration with all of his family here at the house. Andy has been following a low carb eating plan to try and reduce his triglycerides and he has been sticking to it 100% for the past month. He is a sugarholic so this has been a real test for him. I have avoided sugars and grains for some time now so for me it has not been much of a change when I cook for him.

Sunday was the big day and we decided we would relax the rules and just have whatever we wanted. BIG MISTAKE! lol! I won't go in to the menu out of respect for those here SSing but it was for the most part not low carb other then the meat and some of the salad dressings I make with xylitol rather then sugar so we could eat the leftovers. There was a ton of food and 2 Costco cakes. Everyone had a good time and enjoyed the food, including me and Andy.

Well...did we pay the price. He is still paying actually as he feels compelled to finish his B-Day cake that is left. I may have to throw it out to save him from himself! lol! That night and the following day I felt hung over, sluggish, bloated and gassy and just plain BLAH! I'm finally feeling more like my normal self, but looking in the mirror this morning was shocking. My eyes were so puffy I looked 10 years older and my skin was dull and pale. I probably still have some water weight retention, evidently mostly in my face, and my tummy is still a little rocky, but wow! Was that a rough couple of days!

When you eat clean and then dump in a bunch of junk you can really feel the difference in quality of life. I'm now used to having lots of energy and feeling clear headed. That was not always the case however. I spent most of my 30's in a food induced fog and feeling horrible was my norm. My weekend celebrating was a bad flashback of those days that I have no wish to ever go back to.

Eating whole fresh foods makes all the difference in energy and mood and overall health. I already knew that, but I got a refresher course on the subject! That energy and sense of vitality you get while SSing on Cambridge is a taste of what's to come if you make this a permanent change in lifestyle. Right now you are giving your body complete balanced nutrition and it is rewarding you! Once you have lost your weight the next challenge is putting together a good eating plan for maintenance. You can continue to use your Cambridge as I have these past 11 years as a base for your diet. Exercise is important. Then by adding just whole unprocessed foods cooked properly and avoiding grains and sugars you will find maintenance is not going to be an issue this time. It simply just happens.