Le-Vel THRIVE Experience - Day 13

Today's post is going to be all about Erinn.

10 AM - Erinn finally managed to get herself out of bed. She was exhausted from a long week of exams. She, just being completely out of it, forgot to take her capsules or even put a DFT patch on. 

1 PM - Erinn went and got us some lunch. She figured maybe eating would help her a little. We got In-N-Out. We know that it isn't the healthiest option, but it is also a better alternative to other foods.

The whole day she did not feel good. She had a really bad headache and just didn't want to do anything all day. She originally thought it was because she had a spider bite on her leg, and is allergic to spider bites. However, we are thinking that it may be because of the lack of THRIVE in her system yesterday. When I got home from work, she started drinking more fluids which did help.

ALSO! Update on the caffeine (all thanks to Tammy and Shane!)! TRIVE has about 65 - 75 mg of caffeine. Tammy commented on my post saying, "That's exactly right, about the same amount of caffeine as a 1/2 cup of coffee. The women's capsules have 20mg of caffeine per capsule, the men's have 25mg. The shake has 25mg, so all together, the women are only getting 65mg and the men 75mg. Another thing about the caffeine in Thrive is that since it's a natural form, it does not attack your adrenal system causing you to spike and crash." Shane also shared the following picture with me to compare between different sources of caffeine and said, "The premium and Ultra DFTs have NO caffeine."

So huge thank you to them for giving us some more exact information!

Le-Vel THRIVE Experience - Day 12

So we missed a day of blogging! But that's okay. Nothing super exciting happened yesterday or today. Basic stuff again today.

I wasn't too hungry for lunch, so I had some croissants for lunch. This was a bad idea for me, as my blood sugar dropped a little low later in the day causing me to have a headache. 

So instead of a boring post about my day, let's talk about caffeine! So the pills and shakes have caffeine in them. It is natural caffeine from black tea. I am only allowed to have a limited amount of caffeine per day. There is not a specific amount, but with my anxiety disorder I try to avoid caffeine. If I have too much caffeine, it makes my heart race and is painful. I was reading the back of the packages a few days ago, and read that the products have caffeine. It was shocking to me. Sure, it makes sense since we are so awake in the morning after having the shakes and pills. However, it didn't hurt my heart at all.

This made me curious, and the next time I called my dad I asked him (because dads always have the answers to random questions). My parents are strict 2 cups of coffee every morning type of people. I've seen my mom have headaches or be grumpy (love you mommy) for having any less than that. Shane and Tammy told them on the first day of the program to go without coffee, and see what happens. My dad said that the caffeine is the equivalent of about half a cup of coffee. He stated that him and my mom are able to have only 1 cup of coffee now in the morning instead of 2. It is just enough caffeine to wake you up!

So there's some information for you. It's not very technical, and maybe Tammy and Shane will have some more technical info for me to post after they read this. ;) 

Le-Vel THRIVE Experience - Day 10

7:30 AM - I took my pill and had a 8 ounce glass of water. I had a hard time waking up the last few days. I have become more awake after taking the pills and drinking the water.

8 AM - I had some Chocolate Almond Milk with Vanilla Shake Powder. It tasted better than I thought it was going to taste to be honest. I thought the Vanilla powder would detract from the chocolate taste of the almond milk, but it did not. Erinn had a hard time drinking her shake this morning, and we are unsure why. 

12:30 - Grilled cheese was the lunch choice for the day, which some pretzel crisps on the side.

7:30 PM - Erinn and I were at an event at my office tonight that ran late and through our plans for the night off. We ended up ordering dinner.

So today, I accidentally forgot to put a patch on. I didn't really notice a difference, other than I was snacky in the afternoon. This could have been due to stress (as work has been a little rough this week), or because of the lack of the patch. I am not entirely sure. Erinn had a little trouble with her patch yesterday, and getting it to stick all the way on her skin. When she got in the shower, it came off almost immediately. 

I definitely felt a difference throughout the morning between yesterday and today, which I strongly think is due the fact that I didn't have a THRIVE shake yesterday. After a little over a week, my fear of skipping meals like I used to when my anorexia ruled my life has subsided a little. I have added the THRIVE Experience to my daily routine, without subtracting anything. If anything, I am becoming more consistent with my eating habits as opposed to steering away from food. This might sound crazy, but THRIVE might actually be helping me to control my eating disorder, whereas some previous programs I have tried have made me revert to it.

Erinn has been doing great on the THRIVE program so far. She has been more attentive in class, especially her early 8 AM and 9:30 AM classes that she is usually falling asleep in. I am interested to see if this program continues to help her throughout the semester, or if this is something that starts to fade like usual. 

We highly recommend that everyone tries this program, even for a short period of time. Head over to emilyaconlin.le-vel.com for more info and to place your first order! :)

Le-Vel THRIVE Experience - Day 9

7:45 AM - I woke up late this morning. Erinn left out a pill packet for me.

8:15 AM - I decided to have a Breakfast Essentials shake instead of a THRIVE shake this morning. I didn't feel good this morning and thought that the consistency of the Breakfast Essentials shake would be easier for me to drink.

Little did I know, that this would set my entire day off at work.

10 AM - I am already hungry. When I have a THRIVE shake, I am usually not hungry until 12:30 PM at the earliest. Today, I am snacky and hungry only an hour after getting to work. I had a personal sized bag of Smartfood Delight White Cheddar Popcorn. However, I am still hungry. We have candy all around the office. I have been doing better with not eating it, but today I had multiple pieces of candy. 

2:30 PM - I had some raviolis for lunch, and a donut. Usually I am full after some raviolis. However, that is not the case today. 

Throughout the afternoon, I try to drink more water instead of snacking.

7:30 PM - Erinn grabbed dinner on campus, and grabbed something for me on her way home.

So moral of the story today - if I'm going to have a busy day, I probably want a THRIVE shake. I was hungry all day, and it was extremely distracting. I did not expect to have this reaction at all when choosing to have a different shake this morning. I will definitely be sticking to THRIVE shakes on work days.

Le-Vel THRIVE Experience - Day 8

8 AM - Another morning, another 2 capsules with 8 ounces of water for Erinn and I. This morning was rough for me. I had a hard time waking up and getting out of bed this morning. Once I finally did, it was immediately taking the pills and getting in the shower. These worked together to get me up and going for the most part.

8:30 AM - Chocolate Almond Milk and Chocolate shake mix for me. Erinn had plain Almond Milk with Vanilla shake mix. We both enjoyed our shakes. I placed my patch on the muscles on my lower stomach, and Erinn placed hers on her thigh. 

I felt sick throughout the day. I was nauseous on and off all throughout work today. I tried eating and drinking water to make this feeling subside. Erinn had a normal day of classes and studying, and being all pre-doctory.

Nothing exciting happened for me today. I am noticing that I am less hungry and snacky. I used to crave food around 11 AM and around 3 PM. I would keep food in my desk at work in order to soothe the hunger. I no longer have this issue.

Since we don't have much to share today, I would like to share something that Shane (who is one of the people who got the fam started on THRIVE) share on my Facebook this week.

So this image explains why you typically order 16 shakes, despite the fact that there is 30 sets of everything else. It is not necessary to have a shake 7 days a week. This is good news for me, because I tend to get bored of things if I have them too often!

Le-Vel THRIVE Experience - Day 7

9 AM - Typical start, having our capsules with water. Erinn put her patch on the front of her thigh, and I put mine on my bicep.

9:30 AM - Since we aren't doing much today, and we want to conserve the THRIVE shakes, we have decided to go with other routes for breakfast this morning. I decided to have a Breakfast Essentials chocolate shake, and Erinn decided to start with a banana. We also had fresh croissants. 

I had a lot of energy throughout the morning. I was productive (which rarely happens on a day off), and build some side tables for my bedroom and the guest room. I expected to be really tired today since I drove to Phoenix yesterday and we didn't get home until midnight. I was very surprised by my own productivity. 

1 PM - We had chicken patties for lunch. We were a little hungry around 12, but weren't ready to eat until around 1 PM.

We went to a baby shower, and had some snacks that we not entirely healthy. 

7:30 PM - Everything we thought we had for dinner was spoiled, so we made tacos on a whim.

So here's my thoughts on THRIVE after the first week. While I'm not sure the patch does much, I think the capsules and shakes definitely do. We are getting a lot of vitamins and minerals into our systems. I definitely feel more energized since starting THRIVE. I am also getting used to the new morning routine that includes THRIVE. Erinn agrees. She also thinks that while she is unsure of what the patch is doing, it does remind her throughout the day to make healthier choices, such as eating fruits/veggies and drinking more water. 

I am excited to continue on with the program and see what other changes come from THRIVE.

Younique Makeup - Sample Swatches

So recently I have become a Makeup Consultant for Younique Makeup! I love the products, and with each purchase a donation is make to the Younique Foundation. This Foundation supports women who were sexually abused and educates people on sexual abuse. I have named my business Les Belles Femme which is french and translates to The Beautiful Women.

Erinn and I did some swatches of samples that I received in my Younique Presenter Kit. To get even more information on these product or to place an order, her over to BellesFemmesMakeup.com!

With each swatch that we tried, we used the Shine Eye Makeup Removed Cloths to remove the various makeups. We liked the makeup remover cloths. They removed the makeup with ease for the most part. They left the skin feeling soft, and had a nice scent to them as well.

The first product we tried was the Stiff Upper Lip lip stain. We liked the colors a lot. The lip stains were vibrant. Most of them came off with a little scrubbing, as a lip stain should. 

The second product we tried was the Lucrative lip gloss. This product had a wider variety of colors. Some were shimmery, and some were not. It was easy to apply, and easy to remove. 

The third product we tried was the Addiction Eye Shadow Palette. The palette I have is Palette 1. We used a spare eye shadow primer that I had on half of Erinn's arm to see if there was a difference in the color when a primer is used. There wasn't a change in the color for the most part. When we removed the eye shadow, we found that it stayed a little longer on top of the primer.