New Year New You

When Humility Becomes Self-Deprecation

07/06/2012 By Lindsay 5 Comments

There is a fine line between modesty and self-deprecation. A fine line between not wanting to be prideful and simply belittling yourself in the face of a compliment.

I wonder….

When, exactly, did it become so hard for me to take a compliment?

The Path to Fat

Was it when I started putting on a few pounds after settling down with my husband?

April 2005 – Two months after getting married

No, I’m pretty sure I was happy as a clam then and didn’t feel any issues with my body. I still had a {pretty} flat tummy and could still rock out a size 4. I was actually underweight and washappy that I was almost up to a “normal” weight.

Maybe it was after I had my first child. I put on 40 pounds during that pregnancy and was basically the size of a shed for the last two months of it all.

November 2006 – 1 month after giving birth to Pumpkin

Nope. I got back down to my pre-pregnancy weight fairly quickly (even though the weight was in very different places) and I just assumed everything would fall back into place.

After my second daughter was born, things became a little more difficult. I had my second c-section in only a little more than a year (thus damaging my abdominal muscles almost irreparably), had my gall bladder removed and started eating out of stress, boredom and just because.

December, 2008 – 10 months after Dumpling was born

That was when I started to feel “fat.” I had spent almost two consecutive years pregnant and my body no longer felt like my own. I had to buy all new clothes and had to add a “1″ in front of my previous sizes.

Not a great feeling.

It took me along time to finally say, “Enough! I need to make a change!”

In January 2012, I took on a New Years Resolution for the first time in a long time – LOSE WEIGHT.

From Humility to Embarrassment

You know when it got really hard to accept compliments, though? When I think I finally crossed that line from humility to self-deprecation?

When I started tolose the weight.

I have officially lost 23 pounds so far this year and people have been supporting me and complimenting me along the way.

Then, this picture was posted on Facebook over the weekend:

July 4, 2012

I had a few people comment telling me that I looked great, the could see the weight loss, etc. Instead of taking their compliments, I laughed and told themhow fat I am.

It wasn’t until about an hour ago that I realized what I was doing to my own self-value by talking like that.

So, I started going through pictures to see if I could see the same difference they all did.

And. I. Can.

So, I’m putting this here to show you all that I can see the difference and I’m done with the self-deprecation. It addsnothing.

Filed Under: Weight Loss Tagged With: body image, New Year New You, self worth, weight loss

Team #Cinchspiration Update: Week 2

07/02/2012 By Lindsay 14 Comments

It’s been two weeks now since I dove in with the Cinch Inch Loss Plan (now called Shaklee 180) and it’s getting harder. Not because the plan itself is hard, but because my willpower seems to disappear sometimes.

You see, I have a tendency to eat out of boredom. This usually isn’t an issue during the week since I spend 6-8 hours at my desk without my pantry within reach. During the weekend, however, this becomes an issue. I’m at home with my pantry mere steps away or I’m at a cookout or a church function or something that has food.

So, this particular weekend was not a good one. I had a birthday party cookout Saturday afternoon and then we had the interns from church over for dinner that evening. That means there were grilled cheeseburgers and cupcakes in the afternoon (I actually managed to steer clear of cupcakes – mostly because my husband saw me going for it and stole the cupcake from me) and then yummy shepherd’s pie and chips with dips in the evening.

I ate.

A lot.

Week 2 Results

I’ll be honest. I didn’t measure myself yet, so that will have to be filled in later or maybe just updated next week. However, I did weigh-in today and my result is less then overwhelming.

	6/18/2012	6/25/2012	7/2/2012
Weight	157.2	155.0	154.6
BMI	25.3	25.0
Waist	36	34.5
Hips	41	39.5
Bust	37	36.5
R Arm	12.5	12.0
L Arm	12.5	12.0
R Thigh	21.5	22.5
L Thigh	22	22.5

So I’m only down another .4 pounds, which is miniscule. However, when you take into consideration all that I ate this weekend, I’m thanking my lucky stars I didn’t gain millions of pounds!

Plus, for the first time in a very long time, I put on a bathing suit and didn’t want to hide under a rock in embarassment. I was also able to slip myself into a pair of size 12 capris that I haven’t been able to comfortably button in years. That made me feel amazing and let me know that Cinch is definitely working for me.

Week 3 Goals

I have been making goals for myself every week and just not telling you about it. I write them on my Cinch Daily Journal instead of here. Here are my goals from last week:

Water! – I got in my full water intake every single day. This is an accomplishment for me, but it was made infinitely easier by the 110Âº days we had all weekend.
Work out 3 times – Since I’m slightly addicted to going to the gym, this isn’t so hard for me, but I had been slacking big time over the past several weeks. Last week, however, I hit the gym twice and walked the Mamavation 5K. On the days I was not at the gym, I walked at least a mile. It wasn’t my strongest week ever, but it was better than my previous few weeks.

This Week’s Goals

Continue water goal
Hit the GYM three times, walk every day
No skipped Cinch shakes

To see my entire #Cinchspiration journeyso far, check out My Shaklee 180 Turnaround for pictures, posts, measurements and videos!

~*~*~

Disclaimer: Results and experiences from the Shaklee 180 Program are unique for each person, so results may vary. People following the weight loss portion of the Shaklee 180 program can expect to lose 1-2 pounds a week.

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post by the Shaklee Corporation. I have been compensated but my opinions are my own.

Filed Under: Weight Loss Tagged With: #Cinchspiration, Mamavation Monday, New Year New You, weight loss

Team #Cinchspiration Update: Week 1

06/26/2012 By Lindsay 12 Comments

Going into this Cinch Inch Loss Plan (now called Shaklee 180), I have to admit that I was nervous. I really like food, so giving up two meals a day is not an easy thought for me. However, I have found this plan to be super easy to keep up with and not at all limiting. Let me show you why.

My Days With Cinch

Morning

Each morning, I make myself a Cinch Vanilla Shake. I like the vanilla best of all the flavors because it’s so easy to “dress up!” I like to add 1 cup of strawberries and a little ice to mine. You can also add a banana (but it bulks it up a lot), peanut butter, berries of any kind or you can go half and half with another Cinch Shake flavor.

So, I head to work with my shake and the Cinch 3-in-1 Boost supplement that helps my metabolism and blood sugar levels. The shakes are very high in protein (24 grams!) so I have no trouble with hunger throughout my morning.

I go about my morning as usual: drop off the kids, head to work and sit down at my cubicle all morning. I have added two very important things to this routine, however – stop at the water cooler right away to fill up my tumbler and I take a walk during my morning break at about 9 am (before it gets unbearably hot) for about a mile.

Lunch

My lunch is easy! Before I leave the house each day, I tossa Cinch Meal-In-A-Bar into my purse. The two flavors (Blueberry Almond Crisp and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip) are both amazing! Check out my lunch:

My yummy Cinch Meal-In-A-Bar, a big glass of water and a Cinch 3-in-1 Boost tablet and I’m good to go for the afternoon. Each of the meal bars have 20 grams of protein, so hunger is not an issue most days. If I do feel hungry, I grab a piece of fruit or some baby carrots to supplement my lunch.

Instead of sitting down and eating a big lunch, I prefer to spend my lunch hour at the gym, so this is the perfect on-the-go lunch for me!

Mid-Afternoon

The Cinch Inch Loss Plan also includes an afternoon snack! There are several different flavors of snack bar to choose from (Lemon Cranberry, Peanut Butter Crunch and Chocolate Decadence). My favorite is the Cinch Chocolate Decadence Snack Bar. The lemon cranberry bar has a bit too much lemon for me and I haven’t gotten to try the peanut butter bar yet. The chocolate decadence bar is ridiculous, though. Super tasty!

I pair my snack bar with a packet of Cinch Pomegranate Energy Tea Mix. This tea can be made either hot or cold, but I prefer mine super cold with a little extra water.It definitely helps give me a boost in the afternoon!

Evening

When I am done with work and heading home, food is not really on my mind. I’m certainly not starving! All I’m thinking of is getting my little babies and spending the evening at home with the family.

The Cinch Inch Loss Plan tells me to replace my breakfast and lunch with a bar or shake, but it’s still on me to get a healthy dinner. My husband is the cook of our family and he has never really had to worry about making things low-fat or even remotely healthy. The man couldn’t gain weight if he tried.So, it’s a challenge for us to find healthy recipes that the whole family will like.

Enter my new favorite website: www.skinnytaste.com. Gina takes comfort foods and favorite recipes and turns them into figure-friendly dishes. It’s amazing what she can do! Just the other day, my hubby made Healthy Baked Chicken Nuggetsand my kids ate them happily! At only 165 calories for a full serving of these tasty little delights, I was in heaven!

How Do I Feel?

Honestly, I feel jazzed! I’m not starving and my energy is through the roof! The Cinch 3-in-1 Boost and Pomegranate Energy Tea are keeping my energy way up, without a big fat crash at the end of the day. Like I said, I’m never really all that hungry. The only time I feel a tummy grumble is at late at night when I’m staying up way past my bedtime. That used to be my favorite time to snack, so I think once that habit is gone for a while, the feelings of hunger then will subside.

Week 1 Results

If you’ve made it this far in my update, you deserve to see the results! Don’t get too excited…you’re not getting weekly pictures or anything! Anyway, here’s my update…

	6/18/2012	6/25/2012
Weight	157.2	155.0
BMI	25.3	25.0
Waist	36	34.5
Hips	41	39.5
Bust	37	36.5
R Arm	12.5	12.0
L Arm	12.5	12.0
R Thigh	21.5	22.5
L Thigh	22	22.5

I’m down a total of 2.2 pounds (a bit off of my 3 lb mark, but I’m super happy) and 4 inches that you can see here. Overall, I’m down about 7.25 inches according to the Cinch Wellness website where I track a multitude of measurements, including my abdomen, calves, below bust, etc.

I call this a success! I can’t wait to see what the next 11 weeks bring!