I hope you enjoyed your holidays and that you are looking forward to making 2018 a happy, healthy and peaceful New Year. Christmas and the holiday season are reminders of the opportunities we have to express both our Generosity and our Gratitude. We often think of Generosity as something that only benefits those to whom we are Generous, but on a purely “selfish” level, Generosity is actually extremely healthy and satisfying for those who genuinely express it. Obviously, it feels good to be Generous, but on a cellular level, Generosity actually stimulates positive measurable physiologic changes within our bodies. In other words, when we are Generous, we are also acting in a very supportive, healthy fashion for our bodies. Similarly, thoughts and feelings of Gratitude are also exceedingly healthy to experience. These thoughts of Gratitude do not have to be deeply heartfelt thoughts of appreciation, but are highly beneficial even if they are just momentary thoughts of Gratitude for the simplest things in life, such as our very existence, the air we breathe, the bodies we occupy, a simple sunrise or sunset, the existence and kindness of the people in our lives, the affection of our dog, etc. The list is endless and even feelings of Gratitude for the air we breathe can be more real and beneficial than the joy we feel at winning the lottery, since feelings of Gratitude have little to do with what we are experiencing on the outside and everything to do with how we feel and experience things on the inside. I was fortunate to have been exposed to the concept of Gratitude at a very early, since I was blessed with a Grandmother who always reminded me, even as a little child, that the first thing I must do each morning when I opened my eyes was to Humbly be Grateful for the gift of yet another day. Decades later, just as my Grandmother had suggested, I still wake up every morning with thoughts of Gratitude. It might not be easy after a bad night’s sleep or on a very difficult day, but those thoughts manage to stay with me and they make a very positive difference on how I experience each day, which has made a profound difference in how I have experienced every week, month and year of my life.
Scientifically speaking, I wonder if my Grandmother would be surprised to learn that researchers have proven that Grateful thoughts, feelings, prayers and meditations are remarkably healthy and have even been shown to promote very positive changes on a physiologic level within our bodies. In other words, that unlike healthy New Year’s Resolutions that involve exercise and diet, which require significant effort and discipline, we can derive substantial health benefits from simply thinking Grateful thoughts. How amazing and exciting is that?! Plus, even if there were no health benefits (which there are many), it just feels good to think Grateful thoughts. In other words, if we simply think manage to have occasional passing thoughts of Gratitude, we are going to benefit in myriad ways. Nothing could be easier, since as human beings, we are all constantly thinking all sorts of random thoughts, so why not just subtly redirect some of those random thoughts toward Gratitude and in doing so, no one benefits more than us. Of course, life is not always easy and Gratitude might not be the first thing that comes to mind, but it is at those times that finding a path to Grateful thoughts can be most beneficial. At a service for a dear friend that left us, I recall the Minister saying that even in times of greatest loss there is consolation in Gratitude, since there can be no loss unless some great blessing had been previously received. The Minister and others have expressed this far better than I am here, but I hope that the concept of Gratitude makes sense and offers some peace. Certainly, it is easier to write about this than to experience and practice it, but again, finding a path to Gratitude is not just a way toward inner health, but also inner peace. Like any “feeling” or emotion, our path to Gratitude will be our own personal path, since Gratitude is something we feel within ourselves. Gratitude can be expressed for the simplest and most mundane things and it can manifest itself no matter where we are. It is a feeling we are all familiar with and it does not come from or as a result of the outside, but it is always remains constantly available within us. It is just a simple thought that can improve our health and enrich our lives.
Hopefully my Grandmother’s little reminder about Gratitude is an easy and practical New Year’s Resolution, since feelings of Gratitude will not just benefit our health, but can also transform our lives. Feelings of gratitude tend to overcome more negative emotions or at least help to reduce their intensity. Certainly, life is often difficult, but with thoughts of gratitude, it is easier to hold on to our peace and happiness. It is a gradual process, but I thought I would humbly suggest, since it costs nothing and requires little to no effort. Finding Gratitude is truly among the healthiest New Year’s Resolutions possible. It is as easy as starting our days with a brief thought of Gratitude. It is free and no one needs to teach us what it feels like, since we are all very familiar with it. Also, when it comes to eating healthy and weight loss, one of my favorite times for thoughts of Gratitude are around food, which is pretty easy for me to do, since I love to eat. J I believe that my feelings of Gratitude toward the food I eat, positively changes my attitude toward what I eat and improves my food choices. We can’t help but eat differently, if we are respectfully grateful for the food we put in our bodies. Gratitude can be a passing moment of reflection or quiet times of prayer or meditation. It is just a way of thinking, which we all think way too much anyhow, so why not think a few Grateful thoughts here and there. It only takes a moment; and anyone can do it, anywhere or anytime. Also, if we do it often enough, before you know it, these feelings become effortless and Gratitude starts following us everywhere all the time, enriching not just our health, but also our lives. Obviously, this is a gradual process, but few things can deliver so much benefit for no cost and so little effort. It is hard to decide to be happy, but it is not difficult to experience thoughts or feelings of gratitude. As I said, researchers have now proven that these feelings of gratitude are among the healthiest feelings any human being could experience. Best of all, this is not a New Year’s resolution at which we can fail. There is no scale telling us we gained weight and no temptation to cheat. It is just a few moments of an internal acknowledgement and thank you for the gifts and blessings that comprise our life or even for existence itself.
Well, it is New Year’s so I suppose I should share what I am bringing to HSN this weekend, but first, given the discussion of Gratitude I felt I had to express just a bit more Gratitude, since this January marks exactly 27 years since I first appeared on QVC on New Year’s Day 1991. In some ways, it seems like yesterday, but in other ways, it seems like another lifetime. In any event, I am Grateful to Doug Briggs who insisted that I appear on television when I had absolutely no intention, desire or confidence in doing so. He literally forced me to go on TV, which I did not think I could do at all. Doug spent a long and illustrious career at QVC, but I will always be grateful for his being stubborn regarding my going on air with my products. Speaking of the passage of time, in 2018, we will mark 39 years since I founded ProCaps Laboratories and 22 years at HSN. I struggle to comprehend numbers like 39, 27 and 22, but I guess, as they say, “time flies when you’re having fun.” We all know this, but it is easy to forget that at its very best, life is extremely short and also full of uncertainties, but given the incredible gift that life is, I believe it simply makes sense that we do the very best we can to prolong this wonderful journey as long as possible and to also avoid doing things that we know will reduce its duration and quality. Protecting the length and quality of our life seems an appropriate place to discuss this each year’s more common New Year’s Resolutions…Weight loss and Wellness. My hope for 2018, is that I am even better able to provide whatever information or tools might be required to helps us best achieve our health and wellness goals.
For more than 15 years the Today’s Special for our first visit in January has been our Secure Meal Replacement. I do so because the most popular New Year’s Resolutions often relate to weight loss and the most clear-cut and positive weight loss science relates to Meal Replacements. During the shows, I will read dozens of excerpts from medical studies that emphatically state that using a meal replacement is the most effective method to achieve weight loss. It does not have to be mine, but I can hopefully provide the tools and information to find a good one – even if it were not mine. I will discuss why the use of higher protein, lower carbohydrate meal replacements have been shown to insure even greater benefits and results. Secure’s formula has evolved over the last three decades to respond to the evolving science. Today, it is the world’s lowest calorie, best tasting and most nutritious meal replacement available anywhere. It is always the least expensive at barely $1 per meal, but today it is that one time each year, when its price is a small fraction of even an inexpensive meal. It costs less than a bag of chips or a soft drink! In other words, you will not only support your weight loss goals, but you will also save money. Secure is a very serious formula given its comprehensive nutrition, but it is just as important that it be delicious, since if it is not enjoyable, it will not be used and if not used, it cannot work. It is designed for anyone who is seeks to lose or maintain their weight. It has help folks lose a couple of pounds for an event or a couple of hundred pounds. It is designed to take advantage of proven science to work, but it is up to each individual to make it work for you. Secure’s ultra-low-calorie levels allows you to mix it with anything you choose and still end up with a low calorie and nutritious meal. There is no more flexible meal replacement given its ultra-low calories, as well as our investment in flavor, texture and ease of mixing. There is truly nothing else in the world like it.
Weight loss is among the most challenging processes, we could ever undertake, which is why it require intelligent use of effective tools. To lose weight, we must effectively overcome our very nature, which our nature is to eat as much as we can whenever we can. We also try to eat things that are sweet and fatty, which means they are high in energy…calories. Our need to eat in this fashion arises because our ancestors lived in a world of scarcity, which meant that in order to survive, they had to eat as much as they can whenever they could. They literally did not know when they might get the opportunity to eat again. That old DNA worked well for thousands of generations allowing us to survive in a world marked by famine, but today in a world of absolute abundance, our DNA has caused 40 percent of us to be obese and almost 75% to be overweight. In order to be at our healthy weight, we must learn to overcome our most fundamental nature. Sure, we can always blame our ancestors, but that does not help. J However, knowing this helps us understand why the structure of a meal replacement has been proven to be the most effective weight loss tool. It allows us to structure the food-related urges that accompany our primal nature. We also designed Secure to taste as though it is rich in those sweet and fatty energy calories. There is truly no meal replacement like our Secure Complete Meal Replacement and I always look forward to January since it is the only time of year when I spend significant amounts of time discussing it. Plus, it will not only be at its best value ever, but we have also created a special one-time formula where we added 250 mgs of Acetyl L-Carnitine, our body’s most important fat-burning molecule, to each meal. I will stop here, since if I keep writing, there will be no reason for me to do my shows. J You can also click on the video here to watch the Sneak Peek Video for both of our Today’s Specials – Secure Complete Meal Replacement and our CholestaCare, which I will discuss briefly below.
Since the first of the year is devoted to wellness, I thought CholestaCare would be the perfect Today’s Special 2. Heart disease is America’s greatest health risk and CholestaCare can naturally help to reduce the risk of heart disease by helping anyone who is trying to lower their cholesterol levels. It seems like the perfect Today’s Special since millions of Americans are already using cholesterol lowering drugs, which have become the most prescribed drugs in the US. One of the most common questions I am asked is whether you take CholestaCare if you are using cholesterol lowering drugs. The resounding answer is “Absolutely!” But there is an even more informative answer to that question, which is itself a question: ”Can you eat a healthy diet while taking a cholesterol lowering drug?” Of course, the answer to that question is yes and since CholestaCare is nothing more than an ingredient naturally found in a healthy diet, then just as a healthy diet works perfectly with cholesterol lowering drugs, so do the plant sterols naturally found in a healthy diet and CholestaCare. These natural plant sterols are also present in our Ultimate Oat Bran and Oatmeal, as well as ChocoNuvo making it easy to add the cholesterol lowering power of these natural ingredients with each meal throughout the day. Plant sterols have been FDA-approved to lower total and LDL cholesterol and they work perfectly with cholesterol lowering drugs, just as a healthy diet does the same. While discussing wellness this weekend, I will also briefly discuss our new Berberine product that also positively influences cholesterol levels, while also helping support healthy blood sugar and insulin metabolism. I will also discuss our Cinnamon and blood sugar metabolism. Like every New Year’s Event for the past 27 years, you can look forward to the very best values on your favorite products, as well as diverse discussions of numerous wellness subjects, including my focus on your most frequently asked questions.
As usual, sorry for the long blog. I look forward to seeing you Saturday evening and then a couple of times on Sunday.
Happy Healthy New Year!
Andrew
Can’t wait!!
Andrew: Thank you for being such an innovative man, you have been blessed with a terrific mind. I want to note one main thing that stands out with you is you are not a greedy person, surely you could do infomercials on television to sell more of your vitamins but you don’t, you remain a large but yet small company and I appreciate how you keep lowering your prices so we can afford more of your products.
Peter
I have to say Mr Lessman I think this one of the best blogs you’ve written. I have been really thinking gratefulness is of the utmost importance and very much undervalued. We are so blessed beyond what we even understand sometimes. I feel like it’s in our best interest to try to see how many ways we can be grateful.
What a GREAT post Andrew Lessman❤ Love watching you on hsn..so much valuable information. Have been using your vitamins for many years as they truly are the best. Wishing you a truly blessed New Year and thank you for being so genuine and caring. GOD BLESS xo
Will you be offering a glutathione product soon?
Yes, I would be interested in this too.
I would like to make a request for a Cycloastragenol and Astragaloside IV supplement. Would you please discuss on the air if this is something you would or would not consider? Thanks.
Where are the dog vitamins you promised?
He has said they are working on them. But Andrew has said repeatedly that they don’t rush to put a new product out. Sometimes it takes years, like their Marine Collagen. There is a video on YouTube he did recently on what he gives his dogs, including the paste he makes for them. I know I’m hoping for the dog products to come out soon but it might be a while.
Andrew I just want to thank you for being you and grateful to God that he made a human being like you! Happy New Year to you and all of your family. I hope that you have many more years of health, happiness and making those marvelous products that make all of us glad we are taking them.
When will the Leg Vein Circulation be a Today Special?
David – I believe on HSN.com on Andrew’s page you can see the TS for next weekend and one is the C&VS.
I want to know also!!
It’s the TS for next weekend. You can look on his website for the schedule.
Yes I have Neuropathy & allergic reaction to Lyrica & then Gabapentin when my entire body swelled & I got your Circulation product & it miraculously reduced all swelling overnight!!
Thank you!!
Thanks Andrew,
I would love to see the glucosamine chondroitin come back as a tsv….my joints are begging for it! 🙂
Julie, it’s the TS for next weekend.
I found the marine collagen with MSM has replaced the glucosamine condroitan for me and my knee pain.
Will this be in Qvc or HSN tomorrow?
Andrew, I agree with a few of the other posts that this is one of the most inspiring and heartfelt blogs you have written. I pray that 2018 continues to bless you and your family. I’ve been looking forward to this TS in particular. I’m just about out of my Secure and this will be the first time I attempt to stock up for the whole year. Thank you for the exceptional products you supply and keeping us informed.
Thank you for your continued dedication. I will be making several purchases in the next two weekends! I am grateful for you and you wonderful ProCaps staff!
Is there anything in the horizon for tinnitus.
I would also like to know (like that other customer asked) if you’re ever going to make a Glutathione supplement. Although I heard that Glutathione — in a supplement — isn’t absorbed very well, there is a company that DOES make a Glutathione capsule —- so I’m a bit confused ? ? ?
Andrew if you could please get with HSN to make sure that we have at least 4-5 flex pays on your products. I am a senior on a LOW fixed income. I have used your products for about 18 years and my husband and I love them. BUT because we are limited on finances we could benefit from more flex pays. I can buy about $100/month so if the payments are low enough I can restock 4 items? Please?
I am also a senior on a fixed income and six years ago I quit taking my statins and take 8 of your fish oil capsules and they keep my bad ldl down where the statins did.
When will they be the today specials?
Andrew, would you please address the laxative side effects of plant sterols and how best to deal with them?
Will Andrew ever make a glutathione supplement ? I imagine that he hasn’t (so far) because it’s been said that glutathione is poorly absorbed when swallowed as a pill or capsule — but then again, other companies sell glutathione supplements, so I’m a bit puzzled ?
Will Andrew ever make a glutathione supplement ? I’m thinking that he hasn’t, so far, because of the fact that glutathione is not very well absorbed when taken as a pill or capsule — but then again, there are a few companies that sell glutathione supplements, so I’m a bit confused.
I love Secure but can’t understand how you say they are the healthiest meal replacement one can buy, yet contains 5 grams of sugar! Please make one using stevia for people who have blood sugar issues. Thank you!
What is the difference between MCP Secure and the ACL Secure. Listening to the video I get it that ACL shifts fat to the places in the body that will burn the fat. And MCP? ALSO considering that I eat 5 cups of greens a day and 3 oz. wild salmon plus other good foods – with either of these Secure products can I skip the multi-vitamin? Must economize.
Love the Cholestacare. My levels are good in conjunction with my doctor.
Secure complete meal.
Do you also carry that in the eggnog I would love that flavor as the 300 meal. I have it in the smaller container but I don’t see it as a special with the chocoNuvo, peppermint green tea and cookbook.
Thanks
We are grateful for you! Thanks for always educating us about your products..
Happy healthy New year Andrew! Thanks for the positive thinking reminder as that can be difficult at times. I had to stop using the Marine collagen with MSM as for some reason the newer product I had reaction to it. Arthritis suffer!
Will you be updating the pina colada Secure as well?
Andrew,
Love your supplements!!
Enjoyed your discussions referencing your teas. Would appreciate a blog post that goes in-depth on how you use the various teas including brewing, refrigeration and adding additional water to the refrigerated tea brew.
Also, what are your thoughts on hydrogenated water? Useful or hype?
Thanks.