What inspires you to live healthier? Is it your love of adventure, your desire to live a long life, to look better in a swimsuit or something else entirely? For me, it is the desire to really enjoy life, not always hide behind the camera away from all the action.
If you took a look at my hard drive you would see I have approximately 40 million pictures of my husband and kiddos in the past 2 years and about 10 of me. Honestly, I see a camera and run and hide. Even if I didn’t mind the way I looked when I left the house that morning, seeing myself on film these days makes me shudder.
I just look so much like a mom… something I always wanted to be, but never wanted to look like.
After my car accident when my son was just a few weeks old, I was in so much pain that even the simplest movement was difficult, which made it impossible to exercise. After over a year of doctors, physical therapists, and limited movement, I was finding it really hard to shed the baby weight and was feeling really discouraged.
But, it wasn’t until I needed to come up with a head shot recently and looked back on years of pictures that I realized I needed to finally make progress towards becoming the mom I’m dying to be – in front of the camera as well as behind it. This means going back to the good old days of wanting to have my picture taken, which means I finally need to make progress towards having a better body image.
So, this past month I actually relinquished the camera every now and then so hubby could snap a shot or two. While I still don’t love what I see, I’m happy I’m getting some pictures, even if they aren’t the ones I would really like to have with me and my kids.
But, hey, I’m making progress right? Team #Cinchspiration is all about progress and they have been helping me come up with a plan that can hopefully bring about a happier and more lively me by the end of summer.
I’ve been doing the Cinch program by Shaklee Corporation for about 3 weeks now and am starting to see some positive signs of getting my stuck scale to budge. While the details of the program are probably best understood by a quick visit to the Shaklee site, I can give you the gist of the program and what’s working for me and what’s not.
The Cinch Transformation Pack is a 30 day kit that comes directly to your home and contains everything you need to start getting healthy. Not only does it come with a detailed program including food journals and a program guide, they also have a great online community to help answer any questions and motivate you along the way. The actual program consists of 2 meal replacements {shakes or bars}, 1 afternoon snack and tea, and 3 boosters you take with every meal. Add in a nutritious dinner, and you’re all set!
What I love:
For starters, I love that a good portion of the program is shake-based. My mom loved chocolate protein shakes when I was little and we always had them around the house, so this took no getting used to on my part and I actually enjoy drinking them.
The program is easy. I don’t have to think about food for myself at all {besides what to cook for dinner} which is ideal because I don’t have much time to do much for myself these days. Luckily, they even make the dinner part easy on me with their healthy meal suggestions that I can use to plan around.
#Cinchspiration. I love that this program comes with a great online community to help inspire you on your journey. From online menu planning to calorie-tracking tools, exercise programs, workshops and more, this has been really helpful for me. Everyone knows it’s always better to lose weight as a group, and their online forum makes it seem more like you are part of a team.
What I don’t love:
While I do love the chocolate shake mix, unfortunately I’m not such a big fan of the other shake flavors {I don’t like strawberry, chocolate latte, or vanilla flavored shakes – even if they have ice cream} so I have to force myself to drink those when my chocolate drink mix runs out.
Taking the program on the road. The shakes are hard to transport and we are on-the-go a lot, which means I go through the meal replacement bars quicker than I should. This means every time I’m at home I have to drink the shakes, even if I’d rather have the bars.
Pricier than some. Even though it only costs $3 a meal, it still adds up and it's a lot to pay out of pocket each month. But, alternately, what is not being healthy costing you?
My progress:
I’m going to be brutally honest here and tell you that I have about 27 pounds that I would like to lose. That would put me at the weight I was when I got married in 2004, which was back when I loved taking, and being in, pictures. Now, not so much.
Ugh. Just posting this makes me shudder. But, it does make me smile that my 1 1/2 year old son took this all by himself. Future photographer? Probably.
Luckily, after 2 weeks of check-ins, I can shave 5 of those pounds off this before pic and that leaves me with 22 left to go. At this rate, my goal is a little over 13 weeks away, which might be a little ambitious considering the baby weight is over a year old, but it is good progress and I’ll take it!
Follow along with me as I make it to my goal by the end of summer as well as read about other success stories. You can also follow The Shaklee Company through their website, Facebook, and Twitter. Keep up with all the Cinchspiration bloggers by following #Cinchspiration on Twitter and Pinterest!
This is a sponsored post as part of the Shaklee Corporation’s Team #Cinchspiration Campaign. I have received free products, online support and incentives for participating. My opinions are my own. My results are not typical.
