Ways to Save (and make) Money on Things You Already Buy

Updated: April 1, 2016

Everyone loves to shop, right?  Well, actually I hate to shop!  I don't like GOING shopping but I can handle online shopping.  Wouldn't it be nice if we were able to order online and get paid to shop?  Well, read on and find out how you can do just that at your favorite stores online. Just to give you a few examples (with their current cashback amount - which can change at anytime):

• 2% cashback at Macy's
• 4% cashback at Drugstore.com
• 4% cashback at Kohl's
• 4% cashback at Foot Locker
• and the list goes on and on!

This will change the way you shop!

We always like to share with you the ways that we save money so we want to introduce you to SHOP.COM.  You probably know by now that we love Amazon but you're leaving "money on the table"...it doesn't pay you to shop like SHOP.COM does. We ordered our high quality supplements from SHOP.COM but we also use it to earn cashback on our "everyday" purchases too. Here's how it works:

Before you can start earning money on your purchases, you need to set up an account on SHOP.COM (so you can track all the money you earn with cashback).  When it asks if a friend referred you put whitneycarlsonfitness@gmail.com (this will allow us to offer you discounts and promotions on future orders and answer any questions you have).  Once you have your account set up, you just shop at all the stores you normally would, but now you will be getting paid to shop through SHOP.COM's cashback program.  All you have to do is go to the retailer's website through SHOP.COM.  You can view a list of all the partner stores on the website (by clicking 'Stores' in the blue bar near the top of the page) or you can just search for your product or store.  See more detailed instructions below!

Here are a few of our favorite stores (please keep in mind that stores/cashback can change at anytime):

• Drugstore.com/Beauty.com - We buy most of our protein bars here.  They come out to be less expensive because not only do you get cashback (currently at 4%) through SHOP.COM but you also earn Drugstore.com dollars!  Plus, they have free shipping on your order if it is over $35 and they have almost EVERYTHING!  One other thing I love about this site is that you can purchase Flexible Savings Account-eligible products to help you get the most out of your FSA program dollars by helping you track your purchases and easily determine if an item is eligible (Don't have an FSA account?  You're probably flushing hundreds of dollars away each year!). Have a GNC Gold Card?  Go through SHOP.COM to get to Drugstore.com then click on GNC!
   
• Travelocity - We all know how expensive trips can be...how awesome would it be to earn 4% cashback (for most offers) on your trip?  We recently booked a hotel room through SHOP.COM and used our AMEX, so we got the points on the card plus $10 cashback - that buys lunch!
   
• FTD.com - Do you send flowers to family members and friends for special occasions? How does 7% cashback sound on those purchases?

This is also the website where we purchase most of our supplements so if you are ordering supplements you could be or are already getting cashback on those!  Basically, many of the stores you shop at are available! It's so easy to sign up and start earning money on your purchases, but there's more...

So, what if you just want to go directly to the website where you want to shop?  Well, you can download a neat little tool called "Shop Buddy".  Your "Shop Buddy" will alert you whenever you visit a participating cashback website.  After you create your account you can download Shop Buddy (it is located along the right side on the homepage) and pops up showing all the deals on the site that you're currently viewing.

Not only do you earn cashback on SHOP.COM but you also earn a percentage of cashback on your friends that you refer.  So, refer your friends!

So what do you do now?

1. Go to SHOP.COM
2. At the very top click on "Sign In/Create an Account"
3. Enter your email & click "no, I'd like to create a new account"
4. Enter all of your personal information & then at the bottom there will probably be a box that asked if you were referred by a friend...that is where you will enter my email address whitneycarlsonfitness@gmail.com.  Then, when your friends sign up they will do the same steps but enter your email!
5. START SHOPPING & GET PAID TO DO SO!

Please email us at whitneycarlsonfitness@gmail.com with any questions.

No, this post was not sponsored by SHOP.COM, that is just how passionate we are about saving/making money...especially while doing something that we're all so good at! * We do earn a percentage of cashback on your purchases just as you will for referring a friend!

Happy Shopping!

- Scott & Whitney

Clean Eat Education: Sport & Energy Supplements (Part 1)

We have shared with you our Basic Supplements and Weight Loss Supplements in earlier posts, but we are frequently asked which supplements we take for energy and pre/post workout supplements, so I'd like to share those supplements (this is part 1).

Here are a few of the Sport/Energy Supplements that we use:

1. Pre-Workout Energy

2. BCAAs

3. Joint Support

4. Protein Powder (will be discussed in Part 2)

5. Creatine (will be discussed in Part 2)

Please note that if you are interested in ordering any of these products, you can contact us at whitneycarlsonfitness@gmail.com for more details.  By contacting us directly, we can offer you special DISCOUNTS and PROMOTIONS that are available to our readers.  We can also answer any questions that you may have regarding these products and other supplements. If you purchase using the links provided it will ask "were you referred by a friend", please enter whitneycarlsonfitness@gmail.com.

Isotonix® Acai Advanced Energy and Antioxidant Formula

Acai Advanced Energy (we just call it Acai) is made from a combination of acai (pronounced a-sah-yi) berries, guarana, yerba mate (pronounced ma-tay), mangosteen, pomegranate, green tea and essential amino acids.  We love Acai because it offers the best of both worlds - similar to the OPC-3, it contains a powerful blend of antioxidants to help prevent free radicals (which are caused by air pollution, stress, intense exercise, processed foods, etc.) from damaging or killing cells, but it also provides a potent energy blend to help you maintain focus and just enough energy to get you through the day.  We talked about the importance of antioxidants in our Basic Supplement post, so be sure you check it out.  

It's unlike any other energy product we've ever seen on the market...it tastes great and it's isotonic, so you can be sure that it's properly absorbed by your body.  This is one our favorites and I'm sure you'll love it too...it's a great replacement to coffee or soda when you need a "pick me up".  I take it every morning with my multivitamin, calcium, B-complex, and OPC-3 (which come in a Daily Essentials Kit) in my own "isotonix cocktail".

intenseFX™ Quick Release Energy Tablet

intenseFX™ Quick Release Energy Tablet

intenseFX tablets are just that...tablets and look like a pack of chewing gum!  They combine caffeine, amino acids, and B-vitamins for energy.  Best of all...ZERO sugar, ZERO calories, and they're only 65 cents per serving!

When you need a quick, convenient energy source..this should be your go-to product.  You can even purchase single packs or boxes!

Isotonix® Champion Blend Plus

This is another isotonic sport supplement that we love and is a MUST HAVE if you push your body to its limits with your training!  The instantized BCAAs  help promote healthy muscle growth/repair, muscle retention, and improve immune function (if you want to learn about BCAAs, check out this WebMD article).

It also contains a powerful energy boost through a blend of B-vitamins.  Champion Blend Plus also contains the active ingredient Pycnogenol found in another one of our favorite products, OPC-3.  

We typically use this product before and after exercise to improve exercise performance during your workout and repair and build your muscles after exercise.  I always use this when I'm feeling a little sore from a workout - it works wonders in easing the soreness away!

Joint Health and Flexibility Kit

Any die hard fitness junkie will tell you that one of the most nagging pains from all the intense training is in your joints.  All those miles logged on your runs and all those reps in the gym will eventually cause joint discomfort and limited flexibility and mobility which will keep you away from the activities you love or possibly even cause a serious injury.  

Sure, glucosamine works to relieve some of that pain, but it's a small part of the overall equation to proper joint health.  I take a combination of an isotonic joint support product to help rebuild damaged joint cartilage with highly bioavailable glucosamine and hydrate/lubricate tissues with hyaluronic acid.  It also contains the powerful anti-inflammatory Pycnogenol (found in OPC-3 and Champion Blend BCAAs).  Check out the following studies using Pycnogenol for joint health - Study 1, Study 2.  Learn more about Pycnogenol here.  

The joint health & flexibility kit also includes Omega-3 Fish Oil (900 mg EPA & 600 mg DHA  per serving - more than any product I've seen on the market) and Curcumin Extreme.  Fish oil (which we mentioned in our Basic Supplements post) is a powerful anti-inflammatory which works by reducing the inflammation agent in our bodies, C-reactive protein.  Curcumin Extreme includes 400 mg curcumin and 167 mg broccoli seed extract - both are very strong antioxidants, but it also includes 100 mg selenium.   Selenium is key in producing and recycling glutathione...if you haven't heard of glutathione then read this article from the NY Times by Mark Hyman, MD (it's an eye opener!).

Please note that if you are interested in ordering any of these products, you can contact us at whitneycarlsonfitness@gmail.com for more details.  By contacting us directly, we can offer you special DISCOUNTS and PROMOTIONS that are available to our readers.  We can also answer any questions that you may have regarding these products and other supplements. If you purchase using the links provided it will ask "were you referred by a friend", please enter whitneycarlsonfitness@gmail.com.

Stay tuned for Part 2!

- Scott

P.S. Check out "The Gear" tab for Supplements Kits that are available.

* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product(s) is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

** As always, check with your doctor or healthcare professional prior to taking on a supplement regimen or testing products to treat medical conditions.  We are not health care professionals - this is for informational purposes only and does not override professional medical advice.

Clean Eat Education: Weight Loss Supplements

We get emails everyday from our readers asking questions about supplements so here is Part 2 of our Supplement series (you can also view our post on Basic Supplements & Sport & Energy Supplements).  Before I begin, I want to clear up one thing before I introduce you to our favorite weight loss/weight management supplements.  There is no magic pill for weight loss!  You have to eat clean and exercise!  However, we do use certain supplements to help reach our goals and fill in any gaps that we may have in our diet.

The supplements that we like are high quality and are nutrients like fatty acids, vitamins, minerals as well as herbs that your body needs to prevent the storage of excess fat...these nutrients can be consumed via a healthy diet, but it's difficult to do so with the ever decreasing amount of nutrients in today's food supply and the prominence of convenience foods (see our Basic Supplements post).

So, here are some of our favorite types of supplements to help you get your weight under control:

1. Digestive Support Supplements
2. Hormone Support Supplements
3. Nutrient Boosting Supplements
4. Meal Replacement Supplements

Please note that if you are interested in ordering any of these products, you can contact us at whitneycarlsonfitness@gmail.com for more details.  By contacting us directly, we can offer you special DISCOUNTS and PROMOTIONS that are available to our readers.  We can also answer any questions that you may have regarding these products and other supplements. If you purchase using the links provided it will ask "were you referred by a friend", please enter whitneycarlsonfitness@gmail.com.

1. Digestive Support Supplements:

One of the key areas of effective weight loss/control is proper digestion.  Without a healthy digestive tract, your body's metabolism becomes very weak as the intestinal flora is disrupted and your digestive tract tries to keep up with inflammatory stress.  This causes a hormonal imbalance that forces your body to hold on to everything you eat.  The good news is, this can be fixed by exercising and following a healthy and balanced diet (lean proteins, low glycemic index carbs, TONS of veggies, and fiber-packed fruits).  The bad news is that this takes quite a bit of time, but this is where supplements come into play.  Here are some of my favorite digestive support supplements:

Digestive Health Kit

This kit comes with digestive enzymes, probiotics, and aloe juice.  

Digestive enzymes will assist in the breakdown, absorption, and utilization of food. Overweight individuals and those with metabolic disorders may be unable to produce the necessary digestive enzymes to properly absorb the nutrients that are vital to a healthy mind and body.  Those on prescription medications or individuals addicted to diet sodas are also at a very high risk as those products can essentially halt enzyme production in the body.  The digestive enzymes in this kit are in isotonic form, so this ensures they are completely absorbed and utilized by your digestive tract.

Digestive enzymes will assist in the breakdown, absorption, and utilization of food.  Overweight individuals and those with metabolic disorders may be unable to produce the necessary digestive enzymes to properly absorb the nutrients that are vital to a healthy mind and body.  Those on prescription medications or individuals addicted to diet sodas are also at a very high risk as those products can essentially halt enzyme production in the body.  The digestive enzymes in this kit are in isotonic form, so this ensures they are completely absorbed and utilized by your digestive tract.

Probiotics are used to balance the bacterial content within the digestive tract...so, they basically ensure your body is equipped with the good bacteria needed to promote regular bowel movements, relieve bloating and constipation, support a healthy immune system, and combat inflammation which will set you up for success when trying to lose weight.  The probiotics in this kit offer 10 billion CFUs from 10 different bacterial strains using patented technologies to help keep the products viable.  

Aloe juice is another great supplement to help improve digestion and metabolism.  Aloe is loaded with micronutrients that are vital to improving metabolism and this product will enhance the effects of the enzymes and probiotics.  Aloe is also very effective at detoxification of the liver and digestive tract...this will help the body fight disease by boosting your immune system.  This is also a great natural laxative...constipation can have a very negative impact on digestive health and metabolism.

You can buy each product separately by clicking the respective images above, but these three products all complement each other and purchasing the kit will save you 24%.

NutriClean® 7-Day Cleansing System

I'll be honest...a detox/cleanse is not for everyone.  If you're already in pretty good shape and you've been eating clean, whole foods for quite some time, this product won't help you too much.  

If you've been eating the very unhealthy foods of the standard American diet and you are overweight, this product will be a great way to jump start your weight loss journey and get your digestive system cleansed and renewed.  The diet you've followed for years has thrown your digestive system out of whack, so a cleanse is necessary to make sure the cleaner lifestyle you're ready to follow is producing the results you desire.

Think of it as an oil change with a new air filter plus a fuel system and exhaust cleaning.  This 3-step process will safely detoxify, cleanse, and purify the GI tract and liver/hepatic system.  The diet for the cleanse is just fruits and vegetables with limited protein, so if you want the optimal results from the cleanse then you must be very strict about your diet.  As the body detoxifies, you may feel the effects after a couple days with light nausea and headaches.

There is also a TLS Detox Kit available that comes with CORE (details below), Multivitamin, NutriClean® 7-Day Cleansing System, and Isotonix OPC-3®.

2. Hormone Support Supplements:

Another negative side effect of the high glycemic index/load, refined starch, and manufactured food diet most Americans have followed for years is a HUGE hormonal imbalance that makes it almost impossible to lose weight.  Ever wonder why every time you go on a diet you lose weight quickly, but you plateau at a certain point, give up and regain all the weight you lost?  It's because you never took the necessary steps to balance your hormones.  I don't want to get too technical, but there are two specific hormones that either decrease hunger (leptin) or increase hunger (ghrelin).  The more fat you have on your body, the greater the leptin production you have and eventually you become leptin resistant.  Thus, you are always hungry and this causes the leptin resistance to spiral out of control (this is especially true for women whereas men are typically insulin resistant when they are overweight).  

Clean eating and exercise will eventually normalize the hormonal imbalance in your body.

TLS® CORE Fat & Carb Inhibitor

TLS® CORE is an excellent product to help correct leptin resistance to assist you in managing hunger and it will also increase fat burning within your body (lipolysis).  It helps manage hunger by promoting appetite suppression...one study using a key ingredient in CORE (LeptiCore) showed significant reductions in body weight, triglycerides, blood glucose, and C-reactive proteins (marker for high inflammation) as well as increased serotonin levels (read the study here).  CORE will also inhibit the storage of carbohydrates and fat in the body which will promote normal insulin activity (another hormone involved in fat storage).

TLS® ACTS Adrenal, Cortisol, Thyroid & Stress Support Formula

Our world today is different than the one our early ancestors faced thousands of years ago.  Our bodies have developed certain systems of dealing with the stresses faced by our ancestors and those systems are on constant overload these days with all of our responsibilities, distractions, and commitments we face.  We have stressful morning and evening commutes, jobs, family events, social functions, bills, debts, and, what's worse, we're always connected because everyone has a smart phone or mobile device that forces them to constantly be "on alert" when someone calls, texts, or emails them.  We weren't designed for this and we definitely weren't designed for the modern diet most of us follow...we are so far removed from what our body thinks we should be doing that it doesn't know how to cope with all of these stresses, distractions, and manufactured foods.  It's no wonder that America is facing an obesity epidemic and it's only getting worse.

I could do an entire post dedicated to stress and the impact it has on our hormones, but I'll save that for a later date.  The good news is that there is a product on the market that can help your body deal with these stresses and support healthy adrenal gland and thyroid function along with improved cortisol levels.

These areas are important to weight loss because they impact how much energy we have, how well we metabolize the foods we eat and how are body uses what we put into our bodies.  Individuals with adrenal fatigue are constantly tired and typically crave high-fat sweets (cake, brownies, etc.) and salty foods (pretzels, potato chips, french fries, etc.).  Adrenal stress was less frequent and inconsistent in our early days...now it's constant and it's suppressing our thyroid function and causing us to store fat (especially in our abdominal region).  As I said above, ACTS will help your body adapt to stress, improve adrenal and thyroid function, and promote healthy cortisol (stress hormone) levels which may help minimize the impacts of stress like weight gain, constant cravings, inadequate sleep, etc.

This product doesn't simply cover up the true reasons for weight gain like other products on the market, it will attack the root of the problem which is your body's ability to adapt to and handle stress.

3. Nutrient Boosting Supplements:

There are some great supplements on the market to help you get the proper nutrients you need which I covered in my Basic Supplements post, so you may want to check out those products as well.  

Another great supplement to help you get the right "fat-burning" nutrients you need is the TLS® Tonalin® CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid).  CLA is a fatty acid that is naturally-occurring in meat and dairy sources, but is found in much lower quantities with modern day agricultural practices.  CLA has been found to reduce body fat by utilizing it as an energy source and another research study done in 2012 found CLA to have a significant improvement in the Chron's disease activity index in patients supplement with 6 grams per day of CLA.  CLA can also preserve muscle tissue to help you improve your overall body composition.

4. Meal Replacement Supplements:

Clean meal replacement supplements like Quest Bars are a  great item to keep handy at all times to prevent you from succumbing to the physique-killing visit to your local fast food joint when you're short on time and don't have any prepped food. Quest Bars are loaded with clean whey protein (just over 20 grams) as well nearly half of your targeted intake of dietary fiber.  

Keep these bars along with a snack bag of almonds around and you won't have to feel worry about feeling guilty for eating that 10 PM cheeseburger and fries on your way home from a late night at the office.  We love almost every flavor, but our favorites are the Lemon Cream Pie and the Cinnamon Roll. Plus, if you buy the pack of 12 they work out to about $2.50 per bar...that's cheaper than the greasy cheeseburger and fries!

Protein shakes are another great meal replacement for when you are crunched for time or you run out of your clean food (because lets be honest, it happens!).  You can check out our Clean Protein Powder post and also our Basic Supplements post for more information.  We also have great protein shake recipes on the blog!

Please note that if you are interested in ordering any of these products, you can contact us at whitneycarlsonfitness@gmail.com for more details.  By contacting us directly, we can offer you special DISCOUNTS and PROMOTIONS that are available to our readers.  We can also answer any questions that you may have regarding these products and other supplements. If you purchase using the links provided it will ask "were you referred by a friend", please enter whitneycarlsonfitness@gmail.com.

Also, check out our Basic Supplements Post & Sport & Energy Supplements Post for more information!

Good luck on your weight loss journey!  As always, we're here to help!

- Scott

* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product(s) is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

** As always, check with your doctor or healthcare professional prior to taking on a supplement regimen or testing products to treat medical conditions.  We are not health care professionals - this is for informational purposes only and does not override professional medical advice.