How I Lost 20 lbs in 2 Months…Without Any Exercise

It has always been relatively easy for me to lose weight whenever I stuck to a good ’starvation’ diet and workout routine.  Problem is, with 3 kids and a business, it’s hard for me right now to make the time to exercise.  I can’t even remember the last time I’ve been to the gym.  I’ve tried a few types of diets in the past, mostly just different variations of portion control and keeping track of calories.  But what has been the most effortless diet for me is eating a vegan diet.  I have experimented with this way of eating on and off for over 15 years now but never really stuck with it.  However,  I have noticed that the pounds always seem to melt away fast whenever I commit to not eating meat.  Eating a vegan diet doesn’t necessarily translate to salads, tofu and rabbit food all the time.  Once you get the hang of it, it’s really no big deal and not as strange as it may seem.

I gained about 35 lbs. with this last pregnancy, lost 10 lbs with the birth and another 5 lbs. a month after.  Beginning May 1st of this year, about a month after I gave birth to Isabella, I decided to get serious about losing all this extra weight, and easily lost the last 20 lbs just by eating vegan as much as I can.  I didn’t really have a structured meal plan, or a caloric limit intake.  Here is what I’ve been eating the last 2 months:

Breakfast (I eat/drink all morning long from 8 a.m. until lunch time):

Fresh fruit juices (fresh squeezed orange & grapefruit; sometimes I’ll mix in some fresh apple juice if the grapefruit is too bitter)

Fresh fruit smoothie (pineapple, berries, bananas, apples, etc)

Any type of fruit and as much as I want of it

Recently I’ve started adding a vegetable juice concoction (found in Natalia Rose’s book Raw Food Life Force Energy) before eating any of the above

Lunch:

Some type of gazpacho soup or other veggie soup

Vegetable fried rice

Stir-fried veggies & rice

If I get too lazy…peanut butter & jelly sandwich

Snack:

Muffin, mini-bagel or fruit

Dinner:

If I’m good, it’s some type of grilled seafood and veggies.  Otherwise, I just eat whatever my husband and kids are eating…including dessert

What has made this easy for me is the fact that my kids generally don’t like to eat meat (or any kind of unidentifiable object for that matter), so I don’t really have to buy or fix special meals just for me.  And I also take it easy on myself during dinner, since my husband likes “regular” food.  As long as my first 2 meals of the day is vegan, I get the benefits of that diet.  Eventually, I’d like to eat a 100% vegan diet, just because it feels right to me.  I feel lighter, have more energy, and can concentrate better.  I also don’t get sleepy after a big vegan meal like I do after a big meal at a Chinese buffet.  I feel like the food is cleaner, more pure, and not as complicated to prepare.  Other than brown rice, most vegan meals can be fixed in 15 minutes or less.

My interest in vegan eating was initially spiked by the fact that the people that I know that eat this way have really clear skin.  At that time, I was probably 18 or 19 and obsessed about my skin (at that age, who wasn’t??).  When I moved to the U.S., where vegan meals are a little bit more common than where I grew up, I started reading up more about it.  Then I learned about all the different types of vegetarian/vegan diets, including eating raw vegan and organic.  But more than just another unconventional way of eating, or a way to lose weight, get clear skin, or to live past 100, what it really boils down for me is that it’s a more conscious way of eating.  It has led me to really examine and question the type of food we all eat, why we eat it, and if they’re really good for us.  There are lots of different reasons people convert to vegan diets.  For me, it’s the sheer simplicity of it.  The resulting weight loss is just icing on the cake.  And it’s a more sustainable way of eating for me because I can realistically continue eating this way for the rest of my life and anywhere I go.

A lot of people may think, well, now I won’t get to eat all the good stuff I used to eat.  I personally don’t think of it as deprivation because it’s a conscious choice.  And what we consider as “good stuff” is very subjective.  There are people in certain parts of the world, and even in this country, that consider cow testicles, sheep brains and fish eye balls as edible, and even a delicacy.  For the majority of the population, those things are considered pretty repulsive and chosen not to be eaten.  Same thing with meat and processed food.  Some people choose to eat them and think they’re good for you, while others don’t.  I highly doubt many people will get bummed by not being able to eat sheep brains or fish eyeballs…ever.  So it’s really not a big issue for me to no longer eat steak or pork chops.

Eventually, as Isabella starts weaning herself from needing me just about every hour of the day, I will start adding excercise back into my life.  And as I learn to undo the lifelong eating habits I’ve formed, I will eventually wean myself completely off of all types of animal products and processed food.  But I’m taking it slow for now and allowing a few slip-ups here and there because once in a while, I still like to eat my fried chicken and donuts.  Maybe by next year, they will be as appetizing as cow testicles to me.

Marketing to Celebrities

A couple of years ago, I thought it would be really cool if we could get our products into the hands of celebrities.  We had the opportunity to participate in one of those celebrity gift baskets and swag events.  I thought if only we could get it to some really popular celebrity, they would surely think our stuff was cool.  Hopefully they’ll use it and get some paparazzi pics taken with our stuff on their babies.  Then everybody will want to buy our diapers, right???  Well, not exactly.

For those who aren’t familiar with what a celebrity swag event is, it’s basically an event where a coordinator (usually someone well connected with the entertainment industry) puts together a bunch of vendors and invites celebrities to the event to get stuff from vendors for free.  It’s usually held at a nice hotel, or an exclusive venue where the crowd can be controlled.  This gives the vendors a chance to meet one-on-one with the celebrities and get their pictures taken with the celebrities holding their products.  This is very common especially around award ceremonies.  The cost to participate in these things are in the several thousands of dollars, depending on the exclusivity and the type of celebrities attending.  That is on top of all the products you will be giving away, plus travel expenses.

Celebrity gift baskets, on the other hand, can cost a lot less.  These are usually given to celebrities having babies, birthdays, winning an award, etc.  Your product is pooled in together with other products in a huge gift basket and sent to the celebrities.  You then get the honor of being able to say you gave so & so one of your products.  Then you sit and wait and hope they’ll talk about your stuff or have pictures of your stuff being used by them.  I’ve not personally participated in gift baskets, only because so many people are promoting it and saying the same things that it starts sounding like a used car salesman pitch to me.  It starts out just a few hundred dollars or even a couple thousand, then if you want to be the only product of its kind in the basket, it costs more.  If you want your products over in the front of the basket, it’s additional.  There’s no guarantee the celebrity is actually going to use them.  They may have pictures of the recipient holding the basket, but that can also be extra $$’s.  For all the exclusivity you pay for, do you realize there are probably a dozen other promoters putting together gift baskets for the same celebrity?  Surely Angelina Jolie won’t just get 1 gift basket after having twins.  Celebrities receive so many of these gift baskets that a lot of them are just donating them to charity.  There goes all your money.

I have only personally participated in one swag event, and that was enough for me to say “never again.”  First of all, I’m probably not the right type of person to be participating in these things since I do not follow the who’s who of the celebrity world since I don’t watch a lot of TV.  Ever since having kids, the only celebrities I know really well are cartoon characters.  Secondly, I’m such a dork when it comes to mingling and socializing with strangers since I never really know what to say.  I mean, what do you say to a really famous person??  “umm hi! want some diapers?”  I couldn’t even get the nerve to ask to have pictures taken since I felt like that was in some way exploiting or taking advantage of their status.  The only pictures I have were those where the celebrity themselves asked me if I wanted some pictures taken.  How pathetic is that?  Anyway, what I also realized is that most of the people attending these events are assistants, B/C-list celebrities, and a lot of “unknowns.”  I was told that the really well known celebrities and A-list types don’t attend these things because they don’t want to be seen taking stuff for free.

At the end of the event, I just felt disappointed.  While we did give away a few hundred diapers, a lot of people took them just because they were free without really understanding how they worked or what the heck they were.  Of course, we also got the all-too-famous reaction to cloth diapers “Eeewwwww, gross.”   We did meet some famous people.  Big whoopee.  After spending several thousand dollars and giving away all those minky diapers, is that it??  All those people that took the diapers, are they even really going to use it or are they going to trash it?  Why am I giving away all these diapers to people who can very well afford to buy them on their own when there are cloth diapering moms out there who can barely even afford to buy prefolds?  Why am I giving away all these diapers to people that don’t really care when there are hundreds or even thousands of moms out there that would be tickled pink to get a minky diaper for free?  Tell me again why I decided to do this?

What if I spent the same amount of money and gave away all those diapers to OUR CUSTOMERS–to the very people that it mattered to, to those that would appreciate what it is??  I’m sure marketing to celebrities may have worked for some people.  It probably pays off really well for those who have really deep pockets.  But when you’re a start-up, a $2,000 marketing budget won’t take you very far in trying to hit on the stars.  An actual celebrity endorsement costs a few hundred thousand dollars.  But that same $2,000 will definitely get you a long way when you give it to your customers.

This brings me back to one of the most basic things you have to know in business–know who you’re marketing to and who your customers are.  Who are the people that will most likely buy your products?  Celebrities are definitely not our target market, so why spend so much money trying to get to them??  I don’t know, maybe I just had to experience it for myself.  I’d like to think our customers are smart people that don’t easily get swayed by what they see on TV unless it resonates with them.  So what if Salma Hayek is working with Pampers?  Does that make our customers want to buy those diapers instead?  Heck no.  They know those things don’t work as well as cloth diapers.  And they know our $32-diapers are a bargain compared to how much disposables are going to cost in the long run.

So what did I do after learning all this?

We launched Blueberry Diapers with a Buy One Get One Free offer.  The rest is history.

Goof-proof Chocolate Cake You Can Make with One Hand

This recipe is a personal favorite.  It’s very easy, very moist and versatile.  I can probably eat this all by myself in a matter of days.  I also recently found out you can make this with one hand when I had to make it for a family gathering while holding my 2-month old who doesn’t like to be laid down by herself.  As much as I pride myself in making almost everything we eat at home from scratch, so far nothing beats this recipe in terms of convenience and taste.

What you will need:

1 package chocolate cake mix (preferably the one with pudding in the mix)

1 3-oz. package chocolate Jello pudding mix (caramel or french vanilla flavor also works well)

eggs, vegetable oil & water (as the cake mix requires)

2 tsp. instant coffee (optional)

chocolate chips (optional, I like to use the mini chips)

The coffee gives the cake a rich chocolate flavor and also helps make the cake taste like it’s made from scratch.  If you like dark chocolate, you’ll want to add slightly more than 2 tsp of instant coffee.  If you don’t have instant coffee, you can use regular coffee in place of water.  Just dump everything, except the chocolate chips, into your mixing bowl and mix until combined.  Then throw in the chocolate chips if you’re using them & mix until combined.  Pour into prepared pan/pans & toss in preheated oven & follow bake times on the box of your cake mix.

Actually, pouring them into your cake pans is probably the only time you’ll need 2 hands.  If you’re making them into muffins, you can get away with just 1 hand.

You can use this cake in several different ways.  Here are just some variations:

Plain Chocolate Cupcakes (excellent if you’re adding the chocolate chips)

Chocolate Cupcakes w/ Cream Cheese Frosting

Chocolate Cake w/ Chocolate Frosting

Plain Chocolate Cake served warm w/ Berries & Whipped Cream

Better than Sex Cake  - this is actually the most requested cake at family gatherings.  They just know it as “Margarita’s Chocolate Cake w/ whipped cream”.  How do you tell a conservative southern Baptist family that they’re eating cake that’s Better than Sex? 

Balancing Your Life

Striking a balance between family, work & personal time has by far been one of the biggest problems most businessmoms have. Most self-employed moms usually have a hard time separating work and home life, especially if they work at home. You tend to have that guilt that you’re not paying enough attention to your child if you’re working, or you’re not working hard enough if you’re playing with your kids. I know this situation all too well since at one point, I was having to juggle between my responsibilities in owning & operating a restaurant that was open 14 hrs a day, 7 days a week, a fast-growing online business, and 2 kids under 2. A lot of people would always ask me “How do you do it?” or “How can you manage all that?” Easy. I can’t. I was a total wreck and felt like a zombie most days.  Between employees calling in sick because they had a little too much fun the night before, constantly trying to increase production for Swaddlebees, and keeping the house clean enough so we actually walk on floors without “stuff” sticking on our feet, it was a little too much between just me, my husband and our kids.  Dinners at home usually consist of reheated leftovers from several nights ago.   Sometimes it’s even cold cereal (which my kids actually like). Even though we had a babysitter that worked 4 hrs a day, 4 days a week, that wasn’t enough and I ended up doing the other half of my work from 9 pm-2 am.

Needless to say, I wasn’t the happiest person at all.  I was doing a lot of tasks I hated to do, kept getting into situations I would not rather be in, and couldn’t enjoy my family and our life.  Something had to change.  I was putting everybody else ahead of me that I had no energy at the end of the day left for myself.

Most stay at home moms open up home businesses so they can stay home with their kids while hopefully earning themselves some money.  And a lot of times, if they do it right and the business grows, they end up spending less and less time with their kids and more on the business–which totally defeats the purpose of why they started the business at home anyway.  We all need to always focus on what is really important and what really makes us happy.  It’s hard to be a good mom to your kids if you’re stressed and overworked.  If your line of work makes it too hard to keep your life balanced, you may want to consider doing something else that will make it easier on everyone, cut back on your work…or really do some heavy-duty prioritizing.

I believe one of the keys to living a balanced life is to always be striving to find ways to focus your time and energy on the things that matter.  In most cases, YOU are what matters most.  Force yourself to eliminate unnecessary time-wasters.  80% of what most people spend their time on are not important.   It’s amazing to realize that you can really do something that would normally take you an hour and do it in 15-20 minutes if your life depended on it.  If you only had 2 hours to work (because that’s how long your baby will nap), do the most important things first.  Quit reading the news, tabloids or going to online discussion boards.  Quit complaining about your customers, or how much work you have to do.  You don’t have to answer each and every email either.  Automate as much of your tasks as possible.  And set yourself a working deadline and stick to it.  If you have unfinished tasks, don’t worry about it.  Do it tomorrow.  Let the laundry rot for another day.  Get on with your life.  Go play with the kids, eat some chocolate and snuggle with your spouse.

View from My Desk

It’s been over 3 yrs. since our last baby, and I’ve forgotten how much time and nurturing little babies need.  Ever since the birth of my daughter Isabella several weeks ago, I haven’t been as productive as I’d like to be.  Paperwork has piled up faster than I can get to it.  A lot of  issues have fallen through the cracks, and some things just never get done…at least not on time.  But it’s okay.  At least I get to see this as I work:

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