Tag: Arbonne

SLOW DOWN! SLOW DOWN! SLOW DOWN!

by Niki Chopra Richardson, posted in Inspiration

In email etiquette it is said that ALL CAPS is screaming. Well that’s what the Universe has been yelling at me! How do I know? Ok so here’s what’s happened with me in the past few weeks – and you can tell me if you disagree.

  1. I bought Quickbooks 2014 to migrate my business books over – for three weeks I waited until I received the QB file from my CPA (I wanted to wait because I wanted to have as much time with the limited tech support as possible) – well I received the file from her, but then I could no longer fine the QB 2014 disc in my house. I have looked EVERYWHERE! And I know it never left my house – but I can’t find it.
  2. I was vacuuming cobwebs with my powerful vacuum cleaner’s telescopic wand and instead of powering it off before retracting the wand I started to slide it back into place – well the suction retracted it super fast, pinching my thumb skin at the joint very very painfully into it!
  3. I was dropping my daughter off to her school in my usual 5″ wedges – we got out of the car and stepped funny onto the curb – lost my balance (easy to do in 5″ wedges) and practically did a face plant – my hands went down to protect my fall – and they did – except my fingers were bent under, and I scraped a big chunk of flesh off two fingers on the second joint. (I now wear flats for drop off!)
  4. I cut my other thumb while cooking – again at the joint.
  5. Then two days ago, I sprained my ankle while sprinting – just 5 days before my first race in over two years.
  6. For most of last year, I would see my ankle brace lying around the house – now that I really need it – I have no idea where it is.

So – what do you think? Can you relate? Is life just SOOO busy that you would lose your head if it wasn’t attached? 

I realized this week that as much as I have thought that I am doing self-care (some yoga, occasional meditation) I haven’t been loyal to my recipe for success. If anything I have been depriving myself of the things that help me be the best version of myself. I have found myself short with my husband and kids on a couple occasions and even been less patient with my 3yo. 

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When you work for yourself, your personal and professional lives tend to blend together. There’s no 9-5. You’re always ON, always thinking about your work and how you can serve your clients better. But if you’re not careful about it, the blend of personal and professional can skew heavily depending on what’s going on in your life at any given time. As an entrepreneur, time management is critical to the successful blend of personal/professional life. 

So now that my body is forced to slow down due to the recent spate of minor injuries. I HAVE to slow down and this is giving me time to really think about what I want to focus on. It is going to give me a chance to helicopter above the runway and see things at the 50,000 foot view. I attended a productivity seminar today conducted by Sara Caputo of Radiant Organizing – and one of the many nuggets I walked away with was about Urgent Vs. Important. Urgent is the stuff that takes over our day – emails that we are bombarded with, that we are programmed to respond to asap, versus important – the things that typically do NOT have a deadline but will be make a huge difference in your life or business if you do spend time and attention on it. It is imperative to block out time to spend ON your business and your life – just as you spend time IN  your business and your life. 

So here are some of the things that I plan to do to implement this and to create time to work on the IMPORTANT and not just the URGENT.

  1. Something that I learned early on in my Arbonne career by my ENVP Donna Weiser – chunking my time. Block time for everything – rest, spiritual renewal, exercise, sleep, family time, work etc. and do this consistently. If you spend an hour on a Sunday night to put this into effect, on an on-going basis, every Sunday, it won’t take more than 20min.
  2. Friday 45 – this I learned from Sara today. Take 45 min on a Friday afternoon and close loops and put things in place that you need to for the week ahead. 
  3. Triple D – Dig Down Deep – Sara didn’t call it Triple D – I did…but yes, go deep – this is really getting down to the root of what you need to spend your time, energy and focus on – the IMPORTANT stuff vs. the URGENT stuff. Do this for at least an hour a week. Sara said 90 minutes every week. If that seems too much – start with just 30 minutes – do this consistently and you will find yourself wanting to spend more time on this and undoubtedly your income producing activity will take care of itself.
  4. The final nugget I want to share from Sara is when she said – Stop Saying that You’re Busy! If that’s what you keep saying, then that is in fact what the Universe will continue to give you..MORE BUSY-NESS. Lets change that self talk – how about when someone asks you how you are…instead of saying I’m so busy – say I’M SO PRODUCTIVE! 

I could write more on this – but I am going back to focusing on my Recipe for Success – and being good about my sleep time is one of those items on my check list. So I’m off to bed!

PS: I am working on some very exciting new programs which I will be unveiling soon. Stay tuned for details.

For details on chunking your time, or recipe for success please message me and I am happy to share. 

Also, if anyone has a license for QB that they aren’t using and would want to donate to me – I would be eternally grateful!

Lifestyle DIVA Top 10 Arbonne faves

by Niki Chopra Richardson, posted in Health

I often get asked what my absolute favorite Arbonne products are. After all I have been a huge fan of the pure safe and beneficial philosophy and have incorporated as many products into my house as I possibly can. You might say my home is ‘Arbonnized!’ When I do a wellness presentation I am often asked – what are the few products that I can absolutely NOT do without…so I thought about it a bit, and came up with my favorites! I am not going to give you the company speak about the products – after all, you can get that by reading up on the website – rather, I want to share with you MY personal experience, and why I choose to use these products. These are by the way in no order of importance – rather they are in the order that they popped into my brain as I thought about this post.

  1. Chocolate Protein Powder – with 20 g of Vegan protein powder with THE BEST TASTE on the market – this one is a no brainer for breakfast! I am a busy mom of two very active kids under the age of 7 and my daughter’s school is 20 minutes away from our home; prior to dropping her, I drop my son off at his school – so I have to build in that detour time to my morning. There is no other way for me to get done all that I need to get done in the morning – run or ride, meditate, clean kitty litter, get dressed (with full makeup and hair done because I often meet clients and go to networking events first thing after drop off), get two kids up and make sure they’re getting through their morning regimen, pack lunches and feed THEM nutrient dense breakfasts. After all this, there is no room for me to sit and eat breakfast – so I semi-prep this protein shake the night before with whatever raw vegs I have in the house, flax seed, couple berries, teaspoon of almond butter and then in the morning, I add the powder and almond milk, couple ice cubes and my breakfast to drink in the car is ready! I really don’t know how to survive breakfast any other way. This is afterall the single most important meal of your day – your body has starved for more or less 12 hours from last night’s dinner onward – you owe it to yourself to eat/drink a healthy energy-filled breakfast!
  2. Energy Fizz Drinks in Citrus or Pomegranate – This is actually a new addition in my household – I try not to consume caffeine even if its from Guarana which is a natural caffeine – except for the little that I get from my decaf almond milk lattes that I indulge in once or twice a week. One day it occurred to me that I should try this as my exercise hydration drink instead of FRS which is the brand my husband prefers. And holy cow, not only did I feel great during the workout, but the whole day went well – I wake up at 5.15 (inching my way up to 5:00) so that I have an hour to myself before I have to start the household. I often don’t get to bed till 10.30 – and lately it has been 11pm. I did not drag.
  3. Chocolate Protein Bars – with only 7g of sugar, these are the least sugary bars on the market today! Arbonne re-purposed the texture so they no longer taste like the texture of cardboard! (Thanks Arbonne!) I always carry this in my purse, because I never know where I will be during lunch time since I no longer work out of an office outside the home. (Thanks Arbonne!!)
  4. RE9 Advanced facial cleanser – Ok, so this cleanser is incredible at removing makeup. I have done full on stage makeup (not for stage, just because I wanted to REALLY doll up for an event I was attending) and this cleanser did such an awesome job of taking it all off without me feeling like I had stripped my skin of its natural oils. My husband with eczema even on his eyelids can use this without issue.
  5. Revelage SPF 30 day cream – This one is specially awesome because its a two-fer – day time moisturizer and UVA/UVB protection SPF 30 sunblock all rolled into an incredibly natural, not-to-thick-to-apply moisturizer with a really lovely barely there naturally occurring fragrance. (remember no synthetic fragrances!)
  6. Arbonne Baby Care (ABC) hair and body wash – this is the rock star in our house because not only do both my kids use it and I don’t have to be careful around their eyes with this – it is truly NO MORE TEARS unlike another brand that shall remain unnamed. I also use this as a hand wash at every sink in my house including in the kitchen. It is gentle yet effective for my husband’s eczema-stricken hands. (as a scientist he washes his hands a million times a day)
  7. FC5 Skin Conditioning Oil – My daughter had a spot of eczema on her face when she was 5 years old. I washed the affected skin with the baby wash mentioned in #6 3-4 times a day and followed with this oil. It cleared it up in no time. This also worked wonders for my poor calico cat Zeta who had serious dry skin issues and whose scratching would wake us up at night. She had scabs the size of peas by her ears and around her neck – this miracle oil cleared those up as well as soothed her skin. PS: If I had a dog, i would probably wash him/her with the baby wash too!! Cats of course can sense that I am even THINKING of bathing them and will go so deep into the recesses of my Eastern King bed, that there’s no way to fish them out.
  8. Ginger Citrus Body Butter – this is a seasonal favorite that I stock up on when it hits the Arbonne shelves on September 1. It’s usually out of stock by mid November! This body butter has become the hot favorite of any client or friend who I gift it to! It has the lightest scent that is so subtly elegant and the silky feeling on my arms and legs lasts anything else I have ever tried – except maybe the Shea Butter lotion which is pretty darn awesome.
  9. Primer – The Arbonne primer goes on like a lotion and dries to a powder finish! The texture of this product is so incredible – the feeling on my face ever so luxurious. I love the way it prevents my eye shadows from creasing, how my foundation stays on true all day long and as I pointed out already, my days are long. On a Sunday morning, I often use this alone – without following it with foundation…perhaps just a dusting of mineral powder.
  10. Pencil Eyeliner – Ebony – As an Indian, I like to ‘kohl’ my eyes. I have for as long as I can remember lined my eyes in black all around. The thing is – pencils usually don’t last 12 hours and I have such long eye lashes (yes I know, cry me a river!) that liquid liner smudges…I used to use the MAC gel pot, but I had the hardest time removing that at the end of the day – even after using two cotton pads per eye with eye make up remover – I would still have a residue look of eyeliner from the day. I hated how much I had to rub the gentle/sensitive/1/4- thinner-than-anywhere-else skin under my eyes to get it all off. Enter Arbonne’s Ebony 5 years ago and my eyes, the skin under my eyes and I have all been a happy customer! Ebony is pitch black, smooth and long lasting…and yet comes of easily with Arbonne’s ever so gentle eye makeup remover, making me feel truly free of makeup at the end of the day!
  11. It’s a Long Story Mascara – yes that’s actually the name of the mascara and yes, I realize I ran out of the 10 spots…but I HAVE TO leave you with this – there’s not a single woman that I know that doesn’t wear mascara. Remember I mentioned that I have long lashes…well these make it so that I not just sweep but even mop the inside of my sunglasses! It’s the one thing we all buy every three months (if you don’t do that – start NOW!) because the pump action introduces airborne bacteria into the tube and do you really want to mess with your eyes for a $36 product? (if you’re using an $8-$12 mascara off the shelf…here’s my question to you…do you know what you are putting that close your eyes? Read the labels!)

So there you have it! I use over 45 Arbonne products in my house daily – from skincare for men, women and children, hair care, baby care, makeup, vitamins, supplements, etc. These are products that I would buy anyway. So the fact that I could buy good quality, superior-ingredient products delivered to my door for an amazing price appeals to me a lot. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

Biggest Loser Challenge launch in Santa Barbara

by Niki Chopra Richardson, posted in Health, Nutrition

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Yesterday IM=X Pilates, Lolë Atelier and I (Arbonne) came together and offered an amazing program to those who signed up! 20% discount on shopping at Lolë, $350 for 30 days of unlimited classes at IMX on upper State Street and 30 days of breakfast, lunch and meal planning (shopping lists, menus, recipes) to transform your life and put you on the path to 1. Eat clean 2. Support elimination organs 3. Increase nutrient uptake 4. Balance blood sugar and 5. Eliminate allergenic, acidic and addictive foods from your diet!

Benefits include:
1. Weight loss if you need to
2. 100% increase in energy
3. Reset metabolic thermostat
4. Mindset shift and mental discipline that will transcend to all areas of your life

The program starts 2/10/14– so there’s still time to get in on it!

Comment here or email me for details!

Day 7-11: 28 day detox

by Niki Chopra Richardson, posted in Health, Nutrition

I survived a full week! And as a reward, the scale said I dropped 2lb and 2% body fat. My stomach definitely is flatter– and of course this is all icing on the cake– I have 100% more energy! I’m springing up out of bed at 5:30am. My will power muscle is growing strong.
20140116-182407.jpgThat picture is of the pizza that I didn’t eat at yesterday’s school fundraiser at my favorite pizza parlor that happens to have Newcastle on tap– one of my favorite beers. I ate salad topped with boiled eggs for protein! The big twizzler jar becons me daily but I’ve broken the hold it has on me…no thank you Mr. Twizzler, no thank you amazing homemade margarita with fresh squeezed lime, no thank you Starbucks nonfat decaf latté! All temptations I’ve been able to resist.

Lunch was a vegetable filled chocolate protein smoothie 20140116-183330.jpg yes that’s broccoli, celery, radish, ginger root, spinach, almond milk and chocolate protein powder. Sounds weird? Tastes delicious! I love drinking my vegetables.

Tonight’s dinner took me by surprise in its deliciousness– so I just have to share– I did the stationary bike and braved yoga by the sea in spite of the gusting winds and was starving– couldn’t wait to eat and so forgot to take a picture. Sorry!

Ok – dinner was cauliflower alfredo!
6-8 cloves of garlic minced
2T evoo
1 medium head of cauliflower cut into florets
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup almond milk
6 cups water to cook cauliflower

Bring water to boil, add cauliflower and cook till fork tender – reserve two cups cooking liquid
Sautée garlic in evoo till barely brown
Use slotted spoon and put cauliflower and all other ingredients into blender with about 1 cup cooking liquid. Blend to a smooth consistency. Adjust by adding more liquid if needed.
Serve on brown rice pasta!
KID APPROVED!

The coolest thing about this program for me is how it’s simplified my life. I don’t have to figure out what to eat for breakfast or lunch– a delicious shake that keeps me full for at least two hours– the I need to snack– when I wasn’t working out- I could go without snacks. This past weekend I was astounded at how many vegetables I bought, all organic– and combined with everything else on the conveniently provided shopping list (again, the work’s been done- I just have to follow) my grocery bill was at an all time low! Wow– organic veg, gluten free options, free range eggs, grass fed beef– and yet cheaper than in weeks past! And talk about efficient– I was in and out of Trader Joe’s in under an hour.

Yes, I’m excited– this 28 day program has set the wheels in motion for my life program, because after all it’s not about how you eat for one month is it? No, it’s all about how you’ll eat for life! I will definitely add back alcohol, on the very rare occasion I’ll allow myself the decadence of French Brie and even a nonfat deca latté– but the difference is– it will be conscious choice– MY choice– not a craving that I must fulfill. Yes, I’m taking over complete control of my mind and body. It tajes 21-30 days to firm a habit– and that is in fact what I’m doing– retraining my brain to crave healthier foods!

Until later!

Days 3, 4 and 5 – there are no shortcuts

by Niki Chopra Richardson, posted in Family, gratitude, Health, Inspiration, Nutrition

RisottoSo ends the first five days of my cleanse. I fared well. I had a couple slips– a bite of bread when we went to Daphne’s Grill for dinner tonight, the most delectable chocolate ball by Lindt… Hazelnut truffle! but other than that I did rather well. I treated myself to a gluten free lemon scented risotto with seared scallops and green beans At the Blue Stove in the Thousand Oaks Nordstrom- possibly my favorite restaurant in the Conejo Valley.

All week I managed to create some rather delicious gluten free dishes for my family, thanks to the amazing support of the Facebook group thats supporting this program. Yesterday I ran out of time to cook, and resorted to an old standard– linguini with vodka cream sauce…something that needs 5 ingredients and can be cooked in 20min. But luckily I had quinoa, sautéed spinach and mushrooms and pan-seared chicken breast finished in the oven- but of course like any cook, I had to taste the food I cooked and holy cow it was delicious! But my meal was awesome too.

Seared Ahi Tuna salad
Seared Ahi Tuna salad

Today my friend Deanne took me to lunch to celebrate my transition from W2 to 1099! I had the most delicious seared Ahi tuna salad with mixed greens, daikon sprouts, carrots and tomatoes. I made sure to eat all the tuna first and sure enough it was so filling that I couldn’t finish the salad. A-ha! My stomach is shrinking already. A week or two ago, I’d have no trouble eating the whole thing. The cleanse is working, my stomach is shrinking.

Today an interesting thing happened — I was on my way to meet with a friend in Malibu at the Starbucks in my old stomping grounds– I got my MBA at Pepperdine 13 years ago. There’s a traffic light by the school entrance where you can take a short cut to the mart by turning left but you can’t do that till after 9am. It was 8:56am, and the memory of the ticket I got for not paying attention to the time as a sleep deprived MBA student is still fresh Even 13 years later. So I crossed the light, and for not taking that shortcut I was rewarded with the beautiful vision of 6-7 deer grazing on the grass at Alumni Park. I was in the wrong lane to pull over, nevertheless I said a silent prayer of gratitude at the vision that started my morning well– my reward today for not taking a shortcut. The entire day went amazingly well. I spent time with good friends, then with my little girl alone, then with both my kids at Daphne’s. We laughed a lot today! Now I’m snuggled near my husband with the fireplace candles, watching a movie with half an eye as I write this. Life is Perfect!

Tonight i send to you my wish — I wish for you the complete peace I felt today. I wish for you the chance to stop and smell the roses or see the deer as the case may be!

Sending you you all love and light from a heart filled with love

Niki

My journey continues: 30 days to fit

by Niki Chopra Richardson, posted in Health, Inspiration, Nutrition

Today marks the end of my 30 day fit program but also the beginning of the new Deepak Chopra and Oprah 21 day meditation challenge called Miraculous Relationships. I encourage you to consider it- it’s free, an email link daily in your inbox will provide you the reminder for this 10min meditation with excellent insight and guidance. Hundreds of thousands of people are joining this online meditation movement to raise their consciousness – it’s worth checking out!

It takes 21 days to begin the makings of a habit – hence the Chopra Center 21 day challenge- however it takes more than 21 or 30 days to set the habit in stone! Whether its meditation or healthy living (for me meditating is a big part of healthy living) it will take time to set the habit! Which means that just because 30 days are up for me, that doesn’t mean I get to go back to eating badly or without consciousness. As you know I did this program in March for the first time and lost 8lb of the final baby weight! Thereafter the freedom from restriction, graduation parties, and july 4th BBQs got the better of me– I started this again because I didn’t like how I ‘went back to the way I’ve always thought/eaten’ I wanted to break that habit of ‘constantly allowing myself excess.’ See what I discovered is this– what we think is normal is most often excess and what we think is moderation is most often normal! Our meter to identify ‘normal’ is broken and this is what needs a reset! While the first 30 days had set me on that path– I needed it reinforced so that I would look at this program as a quick fix to excessive and indulgent eating. My goal for myself had always been to reset. So this second 30 day round was about reinforcing good attitudes forward food that had started to peek through that first 30 round! And that is indeed what I started to se happen! And interestingly as most of you who followed my 15 days might have found- that i didn’t stick too diligently to the program — see day 1 to see what the restrictions were! But the mindset was definitely developing. Because what I would have ordinarily considered minor slip ups – this time I identified as major ones (like eating 3 pieces of BBQ chx pizza)– and knowing and identifying is half the battle– so next week when my family wanted to go back to the same pizza place- I had a bigger salad, and just 1 thin slice of pizza! YEAH!

I went to a really great hotel to do a site visit last week- The Luxe at Bel Air where my friend is the General Manager and she invited me to lunch – and usually I LOVE ordering burgers at a fancy restaurant – because they normally really good quality beef and are excellently cooked! I allow myself fries as a mechanism to eat Tabasco-spiked ketchup by the mouthful! — so imagine my delight when my eyes wandered intentionally and purposefully to the Superfood Quinoa Ahi Tuna Salad! And yes it was actually quite divine! What a tremendous sense of accomplishment I had! I chose to eat that– I didn’t guilt myself to eat that.

And this has continued to be my experience these past two weeks. I haven’t blogged mainly because of sleep deprivation! Yes my toddler is still waking at odd hours of the night/morning…and self preservation– something had to give – to allow myself some balance- and besides I wanted to blog because I want to- not because I felt obliged to! But back to the nutrition- what I mean when I say moderation is usually normal and normal is usually excess is that our idea of moderation tends to be a huge salad doused with dressing- but because it’s salad we think it’s ok! There are salads you can get at a restaurant that have more calories than a burger cooked at home! And this is what you have to watch for!

I’ve found a way to strengthen a habit that I want for a lifetime! I want to make sure that my eye always goes to the healthiest option on a restaurant menu- and that I don’t look at the unhealthiest one and feel deprived! I want to make sure that I love and enjoy drinking water or Pellegrino with a meal instead of soda or iced tea (caffeine) or lemonade (sugar) which seems to be the drink of choice for lunch!

It had been an amazing journey of discovery, strength and will power. Most of all it has allowed me to shift my mindset and set myself on the course to a lifetime of healthy choices and for this I am eternally grateful to Arbonne for being my partner in Heath! From well made vegan skincare and cosmetics that have minimal preservatives, no animal by-products and no animal testing. To delicious tasting soy, dairy, gluten, lactose free protein powders and other nutritionals I’m grateful to have found a company that supports my desire to put only the healthiest and best quality ingredients in my body at a price that doesn’t break the bank!

Day 15: 30 days to fit! Down 4lb in 2 weeks

by Niki Chopra Richardson, posted in Health, In Their Words, Inspiration, Nutrition

Today was step on the scale day! I have to admit I was a bit leery– after all these past few days have been not exactly as the program prescribes! I’ve had roti (gluten), cucumber raita (dairy), beer (alcohol), and even a small sliver of the delicious chocolate tart (sugar)– and believe me when I tell you– I usually HATE tarts! I don’t like the pudding texture– all gooey in my mouth– same reason I don’t like marshmallows!

Another 2lb down!! Down to 128lb! And I haven’t seen that number since my wedding 9 years ago so WOW I’m thrilled!

My son woke up at 4:45am– not as bad as 2:45am– but he wouldn’t go back to sleep– keeping a toddler quiet so the rest of the house can sleep for another hour or two was interesting to say the least! We did rather well.

Breakfast was my smoothie as usual, lunch was chicken with black eyed peas (yum btw– really turned out well!), dinner was left over salmon and 1/2 ear corn on cob! Snacks in the middle of the day were cherries, smoked almonds, a couple of Arbonne mango kiwi chews and a lot of water.

So here’s my observations for today- given that I’d not been diligent on the program for a couple days didn’t seem to matter too much– what was interesting to me was that I was very aware of my slips and also forgiving! I enjoyed everything I ate- didn’t guilt myself at all- not even for the beer! But I did do everything in moderation– way more moderation than I would usually consider moderation. Only a thin sliver of the pie- not a whole slice. Only a tablespoon of raita (cucumber yogurt) – not a whole bowl, only one roti- not 2 and no basmati rice!

My observation is that our idea of normal sizes has gotten so skewed because of everything being Grande/Venti/Supersized that our idea of moderation is what normal size should be– and so when I did real moderation– it truly was ‘smaller’ amounts and therefore didn’t derail me!

I did this program in March and went from 138lb to my pre baby weight of 130lb. Toward the end of June with all the graduation parties and July 3rd AND 4th BBQs I was up to 132lb the day I started this program. My drivers license says I’m 125lb– a weight I haven’t been since my wedding day 9 years ago (and that too because I ate every last bite of our scrumptious meal and cake- I only barely saw that number on the scale!).

Now the reason I’m sharing this is simply this: I feel empowered! I feel in control both emotionally, mentally and physically to do this program- one that assures me success as long as I follow it even within a modicum of diligence! I’ve made adaptations for my lifestyle! I love food too much to have so many restrictions on an ongoing basis! I want to control my food– not be controlled by it! I want to eat and drink to savor – to live- to celebrate and to love! I don’t eat to survive! I eat with all my senses– my eyes and nose even more strongly than my taste buds although those are in close third! And no way will I give up eating baguette and French Brie forever! My Belgian friends taught me a true appreciation for good Belgian ale, my husband and I developed a taste for excellent coffee and tequila together, he spoils me on BBQ that I consider world class– and apparently I can bake pretty damn well! My mother still cooks the best Indian meals on the planet! There is no way on God’s green earth that I will give up these flavors that I’ve developed memories around. I can still recall my mom’s hand feeding me my favorite ‘Dhansaak daal’ as I studied late into the night as a high schooler, I still remember where we were when Jason and I went on a tequila tasting expedition, I still have fond memories of my first few tastes of Abbey Leffe Blonde in Marseille surrounded by amazing friends, a platter of Belgian fries with mayo (not ketchup) straight out of the fryer at 3am! Baguette and Brie still reminds me of trips taken on the TGV throughout Europe 12 years ago. Nope– food isn’t just sustenance– food is memories- memories that I want to remember for a lifetime. How could I never eat those foods again?

So for me this program puts me in control- I continue to do it every now and then not because I want to disappear– honestly I’m happy with my weight and if I hadn’t lost a pound i would be fine. I’ve gotten past my identity being tied to a number on a scale way early in life. What I continue to do this for is to create habits- a lifestyle that will last forever. It takes us years of unhealthy eating to get to where we are when we are overweight and yet we expect to drop it in days/weeks/months! Nope– it will take just as long to establish a lifelong lifestyle – doing it for 30 days helps kick start it– then I fell off the wagon a few times– and knowing that I have something healthy to follow to get back to center and re-equilibriate is really awesome! It takes discipline that then flows into other areas of my life- it takes patience that I benefit from having as does my family – and it takes dedication and a never gonna quit attitude!

Finally– anyone can do anything for 30 days– and the power and control that this program gives you is liberating! You ought to try it– the only thing you have to lose is possibly inches and pounds and you have everything to gain– including energy!

Day 14: 30 days to fit

by Niki Chopra Richardson, posted in Family, Health, In Their Words, Nutrition

Poor health is not caused by something you don’t have; it’s caused by disturbing something that you already have. Healthy is not something that you need to get, it’s something you have already if you don’t disturb it. ~Dean Ornish

Today was my idea of a perfect recovery day! My son deigned to sleep till 8am!!! Hallelujah!

We hung out in pajamas till nearly 10am -kids played – I organized their closets!

After a late breakfast for them they went off to our playroom – (our living room- converted to playroom) while I sat in the kitchen drinking coffee (décaf with soy creamer and turbinado) and read an entire book!! A short one – granted– but an entire book– all 100 pages. Can you say luxury?

Lunch for me was a protein shake because I was in a cooking frenzy- both to prepare for dinner with my parents as well as to prepare for the week ahead! I cooked Indian style potatoes, cucumber (from our garden) raita, a milk chocolate tart with crème fraiche, black-eyed peas with chicken – Indian style and then also a separate chicken and potatoes as back up for the kids incase that Tandoori chicken I’d marinated the night before didn’t fly! My 6yo devoured two drumsticks of tandoori- my usually more open to Indian food 2yo didn’t care for it too much! I actually think that it was too bland for him. He prefers more spice and we had scaled down the spice on a few drumsticks to make it ‘kid-friendly.’ I made rotis, sliced up raw onions sprinkled with lime juice, salt and pepper and white basmati rice to finish the meal! I had a bit of everything except the rice. Yes– including a roti! It was too hard to pass up!

So after seriously standing and cooking for nearly 5 hours– I was ready to take a load off and hung out in the backyard under an overcast sky with a cool breeze and blew bubbles with the kids!

After the kids were asleep it was me time! Sundays are typically the day when I prepare for the week ahead anyway – however with the new executive management challenge I’ve just signed up for with my company — and I’m committed to my success – which means creating and following a roadmap! I’m less than 5 months away from getting my free white Mercedes Benz from the company! This challenge is going to expedite it! I’M ALL IN!

The discipline of this 30 day health program has helped me discipline my mind more- I feel very ready to do whatever it takes to achieve success! My sharing it here is an added level of accountability!

I believe Napoleon Hill said it best–

What the mind of (wo)man can believe, the mind of (wo)man can conceive and achieve.

GAME ON!

Day 12: 30 days to fit

by Niki Chopra Richardson, posted in Health, In Their Words, Inspiration, Nutrition

“The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, or not to anticipate troubles, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly.” ~Siddartha Guatama Buddha

Could not wait to have my Arbonne chocolate protein shake this morning! I really really love my breakfast routine. With 20g of vegan protein and only 9g of sugar it’s a really sweet deal! (no pun intended). I cut the sweet, by adding lemon (little trick i learned) and salty almonds along with all my other green/red/blue goodness. (veges and fruit).

I did the same for lunch today too! I ran around with the kids – remembered to drink more water than yesterday, although still not as much!

Today, I took my kids to Casa Pacifica – it’s a nonprofit children’s shelter. Every time my daughter receives a new toy/gift, she knows she has to pick out one of her existing toys to give away to ‘the children who have no mommies and daddies.’ This is a ritual I started before she was old enough to realize, but not old enough to be receiving gifts galore! And as she has gotten older, this tradition has become so much more important. We live in such a privileged world…we are lucky to be able to give our children the best we can – but growing up as I did in India, a stone’s throw from one of the largest slums in South Bombay – I was never too far removed from abject poverty and the reminder that we are not all provided for equally. I have firmly believed that every child in the US should be made to do a semester abroad in a third world country before being allowed to graduate high school. However, being a parent now – I can see how that would be a really difficult thing to do – to send your child off into such a different world…although there are many who do…perhaps not at such a young age. So my compromise was to start my kids early on down the path to philanthropy. On Christmas morning, along with all the gifts under the tree, sits an empty cardboard box – for every gift opened, a toy goes into the box. This will also include at least ONE cherished and loved toy – so as not to only give away things that are meaningless to her.

Anyway – we ran home – quickly changed gears and then head out to lunch at McDonalds – their treat for the day…and I knew I wasn’t going to eat there…so I made myself yep – another Arbonne chocolate protein shake for lunch. MMMMM.

Dinner…ok well – I blew it BIG TIME! My parents wanted to go to Toppers Pizza. I promised myself…1/2 glass beer (stuck to that…Newcastle on draft is delicious) and one slice of the BBQ chicken pizza – i even ate a small salad to fill up on before the pizza arrived. But, I think because breakfast and lunch and no snacks had made up the early part of the day – I was ravenous, the pizza was piping hot and delicious with fresh cilantro which I cannot resist…and I ended up eating 3 slices!!! again – dairy/gluten…two no nos. Yesterday I read something on Facebook that someone had posted…a link to show that gluten/wheat has an opioid effect – ie. the more you eat, the more you want to eat….and it totally made sense. Since that day two days ago of that ONE slice of Mexican pizza – I have slid totally downhill in the gluten and dairy department! I did beat myself up a bit, but got over it quickly…realizing that I am NOT gluten intolerant – I have no reason to be totally gluten free, and that managing the intake of wheat products to a level where it is minuscule and appreciated will make it a lot more fun than cutting it out completely! And so, that’s my realization/rationalization for the day! This is after all an attempt at a better healthier lifestyle and not a diet after which any weight I have lost comes rushing back on! I want to create something sustainable, that I can do for life.

It’s late – my son did the whole 4am wake up till nearly 6.30am, after which I had to be up again in an hour…so I’m off to bed.

A bientot!