Acidic vs. Alkaline and How I'm Changing Me + Giveaway

I'm a total skeptic when it comes to products that are on the market that are supposed to help you detox, lose weight, tone up, "get healthy", etc, without  having some sort of adverse side effects or multiple trips to the bathroom.

I am a big girl. I love my curves, but I want to lose what I call, "My Mom Flap."

If you cannot relate to this term, skip this article and move to the next, but for those of you that know what I'm talking about, it's horrific. After my first c-section I inherited this flap of skin that just sags.. all of the elasticity is gone from it. Like a piece of my youth, withered, and dead.

When the movie "Click" came out, I poked fun at the fat flap scene, but deep down inside felt that embarrassment and shame that comes along with relating to that disgusting feature. As you can hear, this is the area where I'm most self conscious, and awfully disgusted by. I have no problem being positive over my curves- just not my flap.

Anyway. I tried the gym. I lost a few pounds, but over all gained about 20 pounds when I was going religiously for 4 months. I now pay for a membership and don't go. I can't afford another 20 pounds. I know the old saying muscle weighs more than fat, but I have a lot of fat to burn. My body works backwards. I've come to terms with that. Now I needed a solution.

I started researching different detox products on the market. I figured that I've been exposed to both environmental and product toxins for over 30 years of life.. maybe that would be a good place to start.

While I was narrowing down the field, searching many blogs, review sites, and online shops, I came across an article about cancer and alkaline foods. This article resonated within me, on many levels, mainly because my mom had recently passed away, but more so because I *know* that I'm very acidic. I touch plants and they die.. seriously, within 24 hours.  

While I can't find the actual article to quote, the information was eye opening. While your body metabolizes all night, you wake up with a naturally acidic body. An acidic pH can also occur from emotional stress, toxic overload, and/or immune reactions. This causes the body to not absorb vitamin and minerals properly from the foods you eat, as well as a decrease in energy, a decrease in the body's ability to repair damaged cells efficiently, and its ability to naturally detoxify itself, or heavy metals. Cancer cannot grow in an alkaline environment. An alkaline forming environment also boosts the oxygen levels in the blood making it impossible for bacteria, viruses, and yeasts (as well as other pathogens) to survive and thrive.

An alkaline-forming diet also boosts the oxygen levels in the blood, making it impossible for bacteria, viruses, yeasts and other pathogens to survive and thrive. - See more at: http://vidyacleanse.com/2013/03/acid-vs-alkaline-the-science-behind-balancing-your-ph/#sthash.pngx8F7V.dpuf

The processed foods we eat, as well as the abundance of animal products like meat, eggs, and dairy are acidic, and the amount of alkaline foods we eat are just not enough. To maintain a healthy diet, it  should be made up  70% alkaline forming foods, and 30% acid forming foods. To restore health, the diet should be an 80/20 split.

Click on this picture to enlarge it

 Therein laid my problem. I hate vegetables. The only veggies I do eat are the acidic ones- potatoes, string beans, corn. I do eat a lot of the fruits on the Alkaline side, but not enough, and definitely not regularly.

With this new information, I started to research ways to help alkalize and detox my body. I found may super green supplements, shakes and powders. I couldn't get past some of the names, textures, or tastes. {I mean, algae grows in a pond!!!!}

I tried quite a few products, but I just couldn't do it. I tried a handful of natural detox methods found off of Pinterest and Google. I started changing my eating habits, a little at a time. I started drinking mostly water. Thanks to Pinterest, I started drinking lemon or watermelon infused waters, too. Some things worked, and they worked well- like the infused waters. I lost a few pounds of water weight right off of the top. It stalled out, though, and I needed more.

I was afraid that a detox available from my local vitamin store would have me running to the bathroom. I have a really sensitive tummy, after all, and really, really couldn't do that to myself. When I spoke with the salesman in the store, multiple times, about multiple products, I still couldn't bring myself to do it, and in turn, was stressing out completely. I started researching seaweed wraps at a local spa, and thinking maybe I'd do something relaxing, instead.

And then I went to a home party for one of my friends who was advertising a detox wrap, and a greens supplement. I went with the intention of learning more about the greens supplement, and ONLY for the greens. As mentioned earlier, I'm a total skeptic when it comes to crap that sounds too good to be true. I was a little discouraged seeing all of the promotional material with people who were skinnier than me, but I figured it was worth a try.  I figured I've wasted a lot more than $30 on a product to help with these things the lady was claiming it did, so what the heck?! So I did it.. and was ecstatic with the results! 45 minutes later, the wrap came off, and the distributor explained that it continued to work over the course of 72 hours.

I've wrapped a total of three times, and I've gone down a full pant size, am sleeping through the night, and am waking up well rested. My stomach issues have virtually vanished, and I only *just* started the greens last Monday when my shipment arrived.

According to the lady, my results are "not typical", and she can't quite explain how it works, all I know is so far, It Works works! Will this be my only stop? Right now, I'm letting it work. I am excited to try some more of the items they offer since I've been happy with my results. I've never tried a product where I had instant results, visual results, and results other people noticed, too.

I got to try their chocolate shake at the party, and it wasn't grainy at all. That's a big positive for me, texture. I will continue to drink my infused water, but I'm also drinking the greens supplement, knowing that it helps to alkalize my body, and contains 8+ servings of green veggies and fruits makes me happy, too. I chose the berry flavor, because in my opinion it tasted better. They say you can mix it with juice or tea, too, but I tried that with the orange flavor and it turned my OJ green!!

There are real results with this company, and if you google it, a plethora of amazing before and after pictures. Some people call it a gimmick, but I can tell you, so far, all of my results are real. I'm not confident enough in my body image to share my results, but maybe one day, I will.

Thanks to my It Works! distributor, I am giving away a wrap for you to try. It can be worn anywhere (except for your face) including your belly, thighs, arms, love handles, back, and butt!

Here's How to Enter:

Comment on this post and tell us where YOU would like to wrap. Include your email address in your comment.

Click here more information on the Crazy Wrap Thing, or for a list of product ingredients. This giveaway is open to residents of the US, Canada, UK, Australia, Ireland, Belgium, Sweden, Netherlands, France, Germany, Spain, Denmark, Finland, Norway, & Switzerland.

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Back to College for Moms & Teens! Verseo ePen Permanent Hair Removal System Giveaway!

Many of my girlfriends decided that now that their second child is heading into Kindergarten, that this year they would take advantage of their empty nest, and head back to school.

Getting ready to go back to college, is definitely intimidating after you've been out for awhile. You want to make sure you have plenty of new outfits, and that your hair is colored in the best combination for your bronzed summer skin, and oh, yes, the last thing right before you start.. Waxing.

You tackle those caterpillars above your eyes, and other unsightly facial or body hair right before school starts because you don't want those little pesky hairs to start growing back on the second day of school. I feel your pain!

I've thought about electrolysis, but the treatments are way out of my budget, and tweezing is just too painful!

Verseo makes this amazing little tool, that I personally feel every woman with hair that needs to own! It's called the Verseo ePen Permanent Hair Removal System. This is an affordable, at-home electrolysis system that really works!

The website claims to "remove unwanted hair without pain or needles. This hair removal system is clinically proven to remove hair permanently. Developed in Europe, the ePen features a patented galvanic technology for electrolysis at home. This technology is almost identical to what is used during professional electrolysis. It's safe and completely painless."

(Ok, let me stop a second.. I'm Spanish, Puerto Rican, Czech, and German.. Yes, I'm a mutt, but HOLY HAIRY WOMAN, BATMAN!, is my point.) I had to try this product!

The instruction manual says that you may see results in as few as a couple of weeks, but to adhere to the schedule and that by 9 weeks, you'll see dramatic results. (I was going to give you before and after pictures, but I totally chickened out.) The kit contains easy to apply pads for your face or body, and claims to be pain free. It comes with the conductive gel, and swabs, as well as tweezers. The power supply to the ePen is from two AA batteries, and is controlled by the push of a button. The head angles to make controlling the ePen easier, and the process is supposed to be super quick.

The important questions:
Does it really work? I have super thick, coarse hair, everywhere. From my eyebrows, to my sideburns, to my legs- it's everywhere. I did not notice results early, and had to continually use it to see any type of result.. now that I've been using it consistently for over a month, I can definitely say that the amount of hair that usually grows in after a waxing treatment has dropped by about a half! I anticipate that it will take a little longer than the package recommends, but I'm telling you- I have crazy hair!

Does it hurt? I have sensitive skin. Did it burn like the chemical reaction I had when I tried lotion style hair removal- NO. Did it not hurt at all, no. It was like little teeny spidery shocks, that I only felt sometimes. The instruction manual says it's because there was not enough conduction gel or that if I was using the pads they were not on properly. They were on, and I applied more gel when I was using just the pen, but seldom found a major difference. You are supposed to pluck after your treatment, and well, of course that stings a little.

How long does it take? Depending on the area that you are treating, or the method (by ePen or by face or body pads?) the amount of time varies in seconds. Yes, it is super quick, and there's even a self timer in the unit, so you don't need to pay attention to when 20 seconds is up!

Do the batteries die quickly? Honestly, I am very impressed with the amount of time the batteries last with the ePen. The original set of batteries lasted about 4 weeks before I noticed them not being as effective. I replaced it with two juicy, new name brand ones, and it's even better than where we started.

With my sensitive skin, I was anticipating some sort of a reaction to either the conductive gel, or the product itself, but I must say, I was am definitely impressed. The first week or two is totally intimidating, but as long as you press through, you will definitely notice a difference. With an unconditional satisfaction guarentee, it's definitely worth a try!

The only "cons" that I found with this product is that the absorbent tip (think the head of a q-tip) sucks up the gel very quickly. As long as you apply a lot of gel, you should be fine. The directions also say that you should try to cut or shave down your unwanted hairs as short as you can to use the Verseo ePen successfully, and then after treatment, pluck the individual hairs out that you treated.

The only way that I could do that is if I just waited until the hairs started growing back, treat them, then pluck. I will admit that I *hate* plucking, (uh, hello, self induced pain- not my cup of tea), and some times I plucked, and sometimes I didn't. The plucked ones do disappear quicker.. but eventually the non-plucked ones do come out. If you can handle plucking- rock on- you should have no problems!

The Verseo ePen, home electrolysis pen is the perfect tool for any woman that shaves her legs, gets her eyebrows done, or is self conscious about unwanted hairs. I would recommend this product for older teenage girls, college students, and moms as well, as you do need to be diligent about keeping up with it, or you'll never see results.

Want it?
Buy health and beauty products direct from Verseo, including the ePen reviewed above as well as ceramic hair straighteners, detox & cleanse patches, wraps and products, weight loss products and more. Sign up for the newsletters packed with beauty tips from "Mary" and recieve $5 off of your purchase.

WIN IT!
Our friends at Verseo have offered on lucky 4BabyAndMom reader their chance to win their very own Verseo ePen Permanent Hair Removal System! The system comes with everything shown above, and a neat organizer to hold everything together.

Here's How:
Visit Verseo and get to know the company, and the products they offer. Find something that interests you that you might like to try (other than the ePen). Come back here and tell me all about it!

Extra Entries:

• Become a FAN of 4BabyAndMom and Verseo on Facebook. Leave a message/comment on both walls, and then tell me here!
• Grab a Back to School Bash Button and add it to your sidebar (3 Extra Entries!)
  
• Subscribe via e-mail. Your email must validate or it will not count, & your comment will be deleted. Please include email in your comment.
  
• Follow 4BabyAndMom and Verseo on Twitter and tweet about this review & giveaway. You may tweet something on your own or R/T: "Win the Verseo ePen Permanent Hair Removal System &say goodbye to unwanted hair on your face & body@4BabyAndMom #B2SBash" Leave the link to EACH tweet in your comment, please. (Up to 3x/day, please!)
• Post about this giveaway on your blog, website, or Facebook page! Please leave the link to your post in your comment (or on the 4BabyAndMom wall)
• Follow 4BabyAndMom on Blogger publicly
  
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• Email at least 3 of your friends and CC 4BabyAndMom [at] gmail [dot] com
• Fave this post on Technorati and leave comment with your ID/link.

This giveaway is open to residents of US & Canada and will end on August 25th, at 11:59pm EST. One winner will be chosen at random using Random.org. Special thanks to Verseo for sponsoring this review and giveaway, and to Julie with Mariner Marketing for presenting us with this opportunity, and for your understanding of our crazy life!

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