Ever dream about having a little person over your shoulder to remind you when you need to take your vitamins, eat your veggies, or get to the gym? Well Wellsphere, the online destination site for healthy living, created a new device called the Wellphone which sends wellness tips, reminders, and logs your diet or exercise progress to your phone. You can pre-program your Wellphone so that every three hours it alerts you to get up from your office chair and take a mini-walk around the building.

To check out how to get this free service, you have to sign up to become a member of Wellsphere. If you’re someone who loves playing with their phone and needs motivation to nudge you to make better food choices or to encourage you to exercise, the Wellphone might be just the friend you need.

My destiny is set.

Mt. Whitney awaits me, and two fellow travelers. On June 7th, 8th and 9th we will make our trip to the tallest mountain in the lower 48 states.

After spending 30 minutes on hold to reserve three spots out of only about 100 that were left, I felt like I was a teen again trying to score floor seats for the Van Halen concert.

I should probably be scared as hell, but I am making progress in my training, which is helping with my confidence. In fact, I went on my first serious hike this past weekend. And it kicked my butt. Six miles of hilly terrain in Auburn, California, and the first mile was practically straight up. With 15-18 pounds on my back, it was certainly tailor made to test my fitness level.

While I made it out pretty much unscathed, only a little calf soreness in the following day or so, I have some serious work ahead of me. I was pretty weak (maybe even nutritionally depleted) that night at dinner. So it goes to show that endurance training is not just about the exercise, but how you handle your delicate nutritional needs. If six miles was a challenge, wait until I have to nearly double that… two days in a row… at elevations I’ve never been to in my life.

I better start looking for my next hike.

I ask you this: if chain restaurants are concerned about anything other than their bottom line, why would they avoid posting their nutritional information?

But, that’s what’s happening in New York City, as chain restaurants are fighting the mandatory nutritional posting ruling put forth by city officials.

They make highfalutin claims for their objections. For instance, The New York Restaurant Association says that the regulation violates their First Amendment rights. I’m no constitutional lawyer, but that seems like a load of bunk to me. You and I know that the only real reason they object is that, God forbid, the populace might think twice before ordering that 500-calorie, heart-stopping burger.

People will most likely continue frequenting their establishments. But at least they can make the most informed decision possible. If people demand the right to know what is being sold to them, is that so intrusive? At least some of us believe it’s not just for the common good, but for the common sense. Even when we feel like occasionally taking an off-day from healthy eating, and indulge, at least we know what we’re getting into.

The delay has only been requested for three days, so it’s not indefinite by any means. At that point, the courts will sort out the arguments.

The moral of the story is, the only thing large restaurant chains care about from a consumer perspective is that you, well, consume. I know, it’s a bit of a generalization, and not all corporate movers and shakers are evil-doers. But if they wanted consumers to make knowledgeable decisions, and stood behind their products as safe for human consumption, there should be no resistance.

A new product is about to hit the market in the next couple of months but will only be available through network marketing and will not be found in any of your larger chain retail stores. As a holistic health counselor, I always have my eye out for products that are hitting the market that will benefit my health and the health of my family, friends and clients I work with. As we all know from all the advertising around us (does anyone remember there being at least 3 Superbowl ads for health drinks this past February?), companies are jumping on the bandwagon to break into the market place, even Coca-Cola is advertising coke with vitamins.

As luck would have it a product crossed my path that is changing peoples’ lives and as soon as I heard all the amazing benefits and testimonials from people, I knew this was not just another marketing scheme. It is a health drink called Zrii™, which is a new nutritional drink supplement whose main ingredient – the Amalaki fruit – is regarded as one of the world’s most powerful rejuvenating foods and which has been revered above other foods in traditional ayurvedic medicine. Ayurveda, which means “science of life”, is a 5,000 year old medical system from India, which aims to create balance in all areas of health. It is commonly referred to as the Mother of all Healing Systems.

The Amalaki super food is a fruit no bigger than the size of a golf ball that is found at the base of the Himalayan mountain range in India. Ayurveda describes the fruit as the most important botanical for promoting cellular rejuvenation, enhancing immune function, and increasing vitality. In addition there are six complementary botanicals, all of which when paired together provide more amazing benefits than each ingredient individually. They are as follows:
Ginger: Improves digestion, absorption and assimilation
Turmeric: Improves circulation and digestion; noted anti-inflammatory effects
Tulsi: Improves digestion and intestinal health
Jujube: Calms the nerves
Schizandra: Enhances mental function and memory
Haritaki: Helps nourish tissues

The Chopra Center for Wellbeing wholeheartedly endorses Zrii, The Original Amalaki. For those of you who are not familiar with Deepak Chopra and the Chopra center, Deepak is acknowledged as one of the world’s leaders in the field of medicine, body and mind. He served as the chief of staff at Boston Regional Medical Center and began to incorporate western medicine. In 1996, he founded the Chopra Center for Wellbeing with David Simon, MD, bridging the miracles of the west with the wisdom of the east. The Chopra center promotes the use of Amalaki to support better health.

To learn more about Zrii and to learn more about how you can be not only incorporating Zrii into your everyday life but sharing it with others as well please visit eatlivelaugh.myzrii.com. The testimonials on Zrii are outstanding and I am so happy to be able to share this wonderful product with you.

Don’t miss the DietsInReview.com Zrii Review.

That’s the big question. The three plans, The Biggest Loser, Jenny Craig, and NutriSystem, all had pros and cons, as well as a fairly wide price range. Unfortunately, their web sites don’t always tell the whole story, so in each case I called the company directly to find out more.

The Biggest Loser Meal Plan

• Price: $99. for five days, plus $24.95 shipping
• Calorie Count: 1000 – 1400, low carb, low fat, high protein, diabetic friendly
• Shipping: Weekly
• Food: Frozen in a vacuum-sealed package
• Meal Plans: Only one plan is available, menus are on a four-week rotation
• Commitment: Food is delivered on a weekly basis and can be canceled at any time

Impressions:
The web site is not very informative, although when checking the Bistro MD web site, I found a lot more information available. The Biggest Loser Meal Plan is part of Bistro MD, but the meals/menus vary slightly. The weekly menu plans are shown on the web site, but I never found the nutritional values.

It was also difficult to get through to a customer service representative to ask questions, I’m assuming that’s because the newness of this plan and the finale of the television show has overwhelmed their system a bit. One of my questions was on the shipping, I asked if shipping can be combined since there are two of us taking part. I was told yes, so that will take the cost down a bit.

Jenny Craig

• Price: $14. – $19. a day, depending on the food picked, plus membership fees
• Calorie Count: Depends on the foods picked. Meal plan is approved by the Diabetic Association
• Food: Combination of frozen and non-frozen foods, approximately a 70 to 30% ratio.
• Meal Plans: Apparently there are different menus and choices to pick from, I wasn’t too clear on how one decides on a menu.
• Commitment: After the initial special offer of ten weeks for $20., a year’s membership is purchased for $359., you can go off and on the diet during this time.

Impressions:
If a community will help you lose weight and stay on track, Jenny Craig appears to have that covered. Their web site has forums, buddies, blogs and recipes. Once on the plan, a dieter is assigned a consultant to check in with weekly on the phone or the web. The photos and nutritional counts of the various meals looks great. In fact, I got a little hungry just checking out the web site.

When calling it’s a bit of a hard sell, but I still couldn’t get the bottom line on costs. I was told several times that the year membership fee includes discounts on the food and will wind up paying for itself.

NutriSystem

• Price: From $263. to $342. a month depending on the how many months and discounts are available.
• Calorie Count: The various menus have different calorie counts
• Shipping: Every 28 days
• Food: Vacuum sealed, shelf-stable
• Meal Plans: This diet plan had numerous options to choose from, men/women/senior/diabetic/vegetarian
• Commitment: No contract, but food is shipped in monthly quantities

Impressions:
NutriSystem appears to be the most affordable, and had numerous plans for different diet needs. Their web site has basic information, including the menu foods (along with photos and nutritional counts) success stories, etc. It appears the real substance of the web site is in the members-only section with online classes, chat rooms and counseling. Membership is free, but I choose not to join.

There are substantial discounts on the meal plans and shipping if more than one member in the family takes part.

The Bottom Line:
Even though the price is highest and I don’t care for the one-size-fits-all approach, I decided to try out The Biggest Loser Meal Plan. I like the idea that it’s a five day plan and we won’t mess-up the plan when we go out on the weekend. I also liked the frozen food approach instead of shelf-stable foods. When reading various comments and reviews of the Bistro MD plan (same company), the overwhelming consensus was the food was great. Obviously, if the food doesn’t taste good, the diet’s not going to work for us. It was also a plus that ordering for two, helped the final price come down a bit with the combined shipping.

Right now we’re waiting for the first shipment, as well as a return call from customer service on a billing problem.

I’ll let you know how that goes in a few days.

Follow along with Barb as she shops for meal delivery diets and begins using Biggest Loser Meal Plan.