“Lose weight fast!” “Shed unwanted pound in weeks!” “Lose weight while you sleep!” “Lose those unwanted pounds without changing your diet or lifestyle!” “Drink yourself thin!”

Do any of these sound familiar? They should. The diet industry bombards us with these deceptive headlines daily, even hourly. Billboards, radio, TV, social media…we are constantly bombarded with words promising to make us the very essence of health, youth, and vitality. The claims sound so promising. These companies play on our weakness of wanting a quick fix. They hope that in our desperation to find the “magic bullet” we will fork our hard-earned cash over to them. And we do. Hand over fist. Most find that the claims of a quick fix, is a huge disappointment.

We want so badly for the weight to just fall off and be the thin vision of ourselves. We so desperately want that “magic bullet” to come into our lives, take away the extra 10, 15, 50, 100, 200lbs that we’ve gained, without us having to lift a finger, but keep lifting our forks.

I get it!!! I’m just like you! I want that quick fix without any hard effort. I want to be the curvy 120lb gal I once was without any adjustment to my diet. I want to get the tight, curvy body I once had without sweating, muscle aches, heaving breathing, and hours spent in the gym. I wish I could pop a pill or drink a shake and suddenly lose 20lbs in a week.

I wish there was a pill or powder that could magically take away the weight I’ve gained over the past 20 years. I wish I didn’t have to watch what I ate. I wish I didn’t have to work like mad at the gym. I wish my metabolism didn’t change. I wish I wasn’t (gasp) middle-aged!

But, darlings, we have to be real…THERE IS NO “MAGIC BULLET” THAT IS GOING TO SAVE US FROM OUR CURRENT TRUTHS. I say “truths” because we each have a different story. We each got to the point we are at now individually. Some of us have medical issues. Some of us gained weight just from living life.

Kids, work commitments, stress, school, family issues, health issues, lack of sleep…life.

Yes, life happens. No one is immune. We all handle it differently. But, my darling Pin-ups and Daddy-O’s, we all have our truth that we need to accept. Once we recognize where we are at and why, we can begin to make changes. Healthy changes. Whether it is going to the doctor for a checkup and receiving the proper medication, or changing our lifestyle, each of us can do something to lose the weight.

Don’t get me wrong, I love a good protein shake or meal replacement bar. In fact, when my jaw was wired shut 25 years ago for my TMJ surgery, I counted on protein shakes for my nutrition. My surgeon wanted be to consume 2,000 calories a day to maintain my current weight of 120lbs. But, living on a liquid diet made this almost impossible.

Humans cannot live on protein shakes alone. Well, I guess you could, but is that really living? I don’t know about you, but I still want steak, tuna salad sandwiches, banana cream pie, pot roast, ice cream, thanksgiving turkey…you get the idea.

CONSUMING NOTHING BUT PROTEIN SHAKES, PROTEIN BARS, AND PILLS IS NOT LIVING… IT’S EXISTING!!!

There are only two times in my entire life that I lost weight without effort: 1) In 1994, I underwent jaw reconstruction surgery to correct my TMJ issues. My jaw was surgically broken and reconstructed and my jaw was wired shut for 6 weeks. I lived on a liquid diet. I lost so much weight that I got down to 94lbs. 2) while going through my divorce last year I literally starved myself and lost about 20lbs much too quickly. Neither method was heathy or sustainable. In both instances I lost all of the unwanted weight rapidly, but I felt physically horrible.

Well, now that I’m in an emotionally healthier place than I was last year, I’ve been bombarded (just as I’m sure you have too) by all of the advertising for protein shakes, powders, teas, meal bars, pills, diet programs, etc. At first, all of this advertising made me a little upset. These companies promise health, weight loss, tight skin, banish cellulite (my big buying point), and a tight, firm body. Oh, if only these claims were true. Well, they are, to a point.

While I was stewing over these advertisements and false promises, it suddenly hit me…I need to change my mindset about these products. They are not necessarily making “false promises.” After all, if you drink nothing but shakes for two weeks you will lose weight. But, I needed to think differently about what these products actually are. They are not the “magic bullet.” They are tools.

Yes, I said tools.

Each of these products have, on some level, valuable nutrition. These tools, when used with the correct understanding, can ASSIST you in your weight loss journey. Notice I said “assist?” We cannot rely on these products to do the work for us. We must put in the time, the effort, and the commitment to change our eating habits, change our level of physical activity, and change our mindset. We must accept what our body looks like and where our health level is and choose to do something about it. We must go to the doctor, we must go to the gym, we must choose healthier eating habits, we must take our medication. We must accept where we are, how we got here, and take responsibility for our past and our future.

Let’s face the facts: THE ONLY WAY TO LOSE WEIGHT AND LIVE A HEALTHY LIFE IS THROUGH DIET AND EXERCISE!! We can’t ignore that we must take responsibility for our own health and well being and cannot rely on a commercialized powder, pill or shake to fix us.

Protein shakes, meal bars, etc., can ASSIST us in this journey, but we cannot count on these products to do the work for us. If drinking a shake was all that it took to lose 40 lbs, wouldn’t we all be at our goal weight? I know I would be. But, darlings, it’s just not that simple.

I am in control of what I eat and how I move. I am in control of how I feel emotionally. I drink protein shakes about 4-6 times a week as a meal replacement. I have an extremely busy lifestyle and don’t really have time for a full meal. I rely on shakes only as a means to fill me up and provide the vitamins and minerals I need to get me through to my next meal. I don’t count on them to lose weight, banish my cellulite (I wish), or make me look young. Losing weight, my darlings, is up to ME.

Currently, I’m trying out two different protein shakes: Lady Boss Lean protein shake, and Think Thin protein shakes. I will give my reviews of each on my Facebook page. I have put drinking shakes into perspective and accept that they are not a magic bullet that will miraculously shed my 20 extra pounds. They are simply tools I’m using to assist in my goals to a happier, healthier, thinner me.

So, let us not poo poo the products being thrown in our faces. Let us accept them as the TOOLS that they are. Let us swallow them, eat them, and drink them with the understanding that they are assisting us, not SAVING us.

Only we can do that, darlings.