REALITY CHECK

Reality.  That is what I am dealing with now.   As most of you know, I have battled obesity since I was 8 years old.  I have abused my body trying to be thin as much as I have eating too much food.

For the first time in my life I have lost weight consistently for almost two years.  Skinny Fiber has been a great tool for me.  And yet, I still struggle.

Not every day but often enough that I have hit a place of not losing and having my weight fluctuate 10 pounds up and down.   I’m not feeling as well.  My energy levels are down. 

So what’s it all about, Alfie?  

I’m a diabetic and I take oral meds for it.  Now maybe some folks who are diabetic can just take the meds and eat whatever they want.   I can’t.   To keep my blood sugar low, I have to severely limit my carbohydrate intake.   I cannot eat more than 20 grams of carbs a day to maintain low blood sugar.   I do best between 10 and 15 carbs a day.   And I must tell you, I am not happy about it.

Sometimes you just want to eat a bag of chips, a sandwich on bread, a bowl (or two of ice cream), a stuffed back potato.  I’m ticked off that my body just doesn’t function very well when it comes to food and processing it.  I’m like that klunker of a car most of us have had that you have to pamper and watch all the time just to get back and forth to work. 

I want to be able to eat 2000+ calories a day and still be healthy and lean.  I can’t.  I have to eat less than 1500 calories a day just to lose weight.

When I was jogging 3-5 miles a day, 5 days a week, I didn’t lose a pound.   Oh, my legs toned up for sure but how the heck can you be expending 300-400 extra calories a day and the needle on the scale just sits there?

And then there is that thyroid problem.   I take one of the highest dosages because my thyroid just doesn’t work properly.   So my metabolism is very slow making it harder to lose weight which means less food.  The flip side is, if I don’t eat enough food, my body goes into starvation mode.  My body has me coming and going!

I had a diet doctor tell me once:  “I have good news and bad news for you.   The bad news is, you will never be thin.  The good news is, if there is ever a famine you will be one of the last people to die.  Your body is overly efficient.”  Thanks, Doc.  I already feel better.

Where does this lead me?  To the truth.  Acceptance. 

I don’t strive anymore to be thin.  I want to be healthy and just be able to buy my clothes without going to a specialty store.  I want to be able to move without hurting all over or being out of breath after less than a minute.   I want to control my diabetes instead of it controlling me.

And how does this happen?  By choosing every day to eat healthy, stay away from carbs, move my body, drink lots of water and take my Skinny Fiber. 

I admit some days I don’t want to do these things.  That’s my choice too.  But what I have come to realize is that I’m the only one who can decide.

Life isn’t fair.  It really isn’t.  But you have to play the hand you are dealt.   As Kenny Rogers sung in The Gambler, “you gotta know when to hold ‘em; know when to fold ‘em.”

I don’t want to die a young death.   I want to see my children marry and have children.   What is more important?  Crying over how life is unfair or just realizing that this battle is no different than many battles that others face every day.

I get up every day ready to face it all anew.   Some days I am a great success.   And some days, not so great.  I’ll be honest with you.   More times than not, it is a struggle for me.

But still I press on.  For me it is a reality check.   As long as I always get back up, I am making progress.  And that is what keeps me going.

Want help losing weight?  Check out Skinny Fiber!   It has and continues to help me in this battle for the best life I can have.

copyrighted 2015

caryn Cannatella

Skinny Fiber Sales:  www.caryncann2.com

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Caryncann

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FAILURE IS NOT PART OF MY VOCABULARY!!

FAILURE IS NOT PART OF MY VOCABULARY!!

We can learn a lot from babies!

We don't remember learning to walk.  Can you imagine just how hard that is for a baby?  First they have to actually pull themselves up to a standing position. 

Remember seeing a baby wobble back and forth while they hold on to the edge of the coffee table?  We watch as they fall.  We want to catch them but we don't unless they are going to be hurt.  Over and over they fall and get back up.

Once they master just standing up right, they start moving around that table.   They realize that they can move!  It's amazing to watch this happen.   Before you know it, they are ready for the next step.

Soon they are letting go and trying to take that first step without holding on.  I know we have all held our arms out for a baby to walk to us.  I don't know whose eyes are lit up more:  the baby's or our own! 

In a few short months, our baby has gone from rocking on their knees to standing, holding on to walk, letting go, walking and finally running!

Can you imagine if our babies decided after the first fall or two that they had failed and would never get up again?   Can you imagine your baby feeling like a failure who would never walk because they fell down a time or two?

Babies don't know failure.  We teach our children and ourselves failure.

Whatever your goal is at this particular time, view it like a baby.  Fun, exciting, keep trying.  Babies know they can learn to walk.  They see everyone around them walking.   Failure?  It isn't in their vocabulary or experience.

Look around you at the people doing or living the way you want to live.  Do you think their path has been any easier than the one you will have to travel?  Who cares how many times you fall?  Yes, sometimes, you will even get hurt.  Just like babies do.  

All it takes is getting back up and trying again.  You may need a rest.  You may need to think about a better way to try.  The most important thing to remember is:  YOU CAN NEVER FAIL IF YOU GET BACK UP!

At the end of the day, if you have gotten off track for your goals, put it to bed.  Remind yourself of all the things you did right for the day. 

Tomorrow is a new day.  A chance to start over.  Embrace it.  Every day is a new opportunity to focus and walk your path to your goal.  You are strong.  Be like that baby learning to walk.  They know only success!  Failure is not in their vocabulary.  Don't let it be a part of yours!

copyrighted 2015

caryn cannatella

Skinny Fiber Sales:  www.caryncann2.com

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BREAKFAST! WHAT IS THAT ALL ABOUT?

BREAKFAST!  WHAT IS THAT ALL ABOUT? 

Breakfast means to BREAK FAST.  You have not eaten in 10-12 hours.  Your metabolism is sluggish.  Your body is using very little energy.  You've probably been sleeping.

You need to break that fast to get your body moving and your metabolism lit!  You need food.  Yeah, I know, you want to lose weight!  That's great!  But you have to eat to lose weight!  Unlike most addictions, you cannot avoid your addiction.  You have to eat every day. 

Eating breakfast starts your engine.  It gets your body warmed up.  You are letting your body know that rest time is over and it's time to start working again. 

Be sure to include protein in your breakfast.  That is easy to do.  Eggs, protein powder, Greek yogurt.  Protein is so important, especially if you are trying to lose weight.   It helps you feel full and it will keep you from getting hungry much longer than carbs will.

We have all heard for years that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  It is.  Even when I had blown up to 317 pounds I retained the habit of eating breakfast.   Now, I probably wasn't eating healthy or filled with protein but the habit remained.  It has helped me during the last 18 months of weight loss.

Whether you are on a weight loss program or not, commit to eating breakfast for the next 30 days.   At the end of that time, let me know if you don't feel much better.   I bet you do!

copyrighted 2015

caryn cannatella

Skinny Fiber Sales:  www.caryncann2.com

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/Caryncann

Fan Page:  https://www.facebook.com/mylighterside?ref=bookmarks

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Caryncann

JUST FOR TODAY

JUST FOR TODAY

 

Have you ever had a goal that was going to take months and months to accomplish?  That is how it is for me losing weight.  My goal from the beginning was at least 100 pounds.  I knew from the start that this was not going to happen in a few weeks or months.  Oh, sure, that’s how I have approached it in the past.   And that’s one of the reasons I always failed.

This time has been different.  It has been 20 months and I’m still on my weight loss journey.  I have never stayed on a weight loss journey 20 months.  Not even when I had my stomach stapled.  I would get tired, lazy, unmotivated, deprived, etc.  I think this is the first time that my mind has been in the right place to actually see weight loss as a very long term goal.  This time I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Oh, it is only a faint flicker in the distance but I see it!  And I know as the weeks go by that light will shine brighter encouraging me to keep going!

Do I have my struggles?  YES!  Do I sometimes want to quit?  YES!  Do I sometimes blow caution to the wind and just stuff my face?  YES!  But for only a day or two only.  Do I sometimes gain some weight?  YES!  Do I get frustrated?  YES! BUT!  I have not given up!  Not once!  I haven’t even considered it.  And that is a big difference this time for me.

What is different this time?  First, I have changed my mindset.  I was and am ready to lose this weight and get healthy.  That is more important to me than stuffing my face day after day.   I have been able to track my progress over the months.  Being able to actually see my progress through pictures has helped me so much.  We don’t always notice the difference when we look in the mirror.  If you can compare two pictures, you will see the difference.   And most importantly, I have not given up!

I think something that helps so much is to approach losing weight as a lot of short term goals.  When you first start on a weight loss journey, it is so difficult.  That 25, 50, 100 pounds looks like a huge mountain you have to climb.  And the truth is, you usually don’t see a huge difference for about 3 months.  It can be overwhelming and depressing.

My goals for eating are short these days.  My attitude when I get up now is “Just for today.”   Just for today I will take my Skinny Fiber.  Just for today I will drink my water.  Just for today I will stick to my food plan.  Just for today I will move.  Just for today I will get 8 hours of sleep.

Just for today.  It’s a much easier goal to embrace and achieve than one 6 months, a year, two years down the road.  It’s doable.

So just for today I am doing what I need to do to accomplish my weight loss goal today.  And this day will turn into a week, a month, a year, and beyond.  I’m doing it.  You can too!  And in the near future, we will get to our destination.

copyright 2014

caryn cannatella

Skinny Fiber Sales:  www.caryncann2.com

CONFESSIONS OF A STRUGGLING FATTY

CONFESSIONS OF A STRUGGLING FATTY

I’m struggling on my last weight loss journey.  Yes, I’ve been stuck on a plateau for the last 6 months.  I still haven’t gotten back to jogging regularly since my car accident.  But those aren't really the problem.  Those are just temporary setbacks. 

The loss of weight has not and still is not apparent in all of my body.  Because of the over 50 years of gaining and losing over and over my skin has no elasticity.  My lower abdomen is just a huge flap of mainly skin.  The last time I weighed it, it was 25 pounds.  If I lived on 1000 calories a day the rest of my life, it would still be there.   It feels like a parasite feeding off of my body.   Underneath this appendage, my stomach is flat.  I have looked in the mirror so many times in the past few months with my stomach lifted so I don’t see it.    I look small and normal.

The other part of my body that is so out of proportion is my upper arms.  They are just humongous and have decreased very little with all the weight I have lost.  When I look at my arms, I see my normal size fore arm attached to an upper arm that is the size of a thigh.  It’s bizarre looking to say the least.  And it’s frustrating.  

It’s very difficult to buy clothes to fit me.  My pants have to fit over this huge stomach.  That means they will be baggy in the legs and waist.   Last week for the first time, I actually noticed that the seams on the sides of my pants end up being about 3 inches on the front on both sides of my hips.     My waist is about the size of a 14.  But my stomach requires an 18 most of the time.  The same with tops.  My torso is a large or x-large.  My upper arms are a 3x.   I had someone tell me not too long ago (in a very loving way), “Girl you need to get a shirt that fits you!  That one is about to fall off!”  It was.  Off my body.  It fit my upper arms.

The only way I see to have a body that is really my body is to have cosmetic surgery.  It’s expensive.  Very expensive.  Especially since I only want to have it done in a hospital and not a surgical center. Every day since January 1^st, I have put it out there to the universe, “I am going to have my surgery by January 2016.”   I tell you.  I have no idea how that will happen.  I just know in my heart it will.

Until then, I am going to keep working my program and get back to my jogging.  I want to lose 60 more pounds by the end of the year.   I know that after my surgery I am going to feel like a prisoner who has been released from their prison.   My body will at last be the body it should have always been.   And that person who has been kept hidden inside for over 50 years will be freed!

Yep, I’m struggling but not giving in or giving up.   I’m back on track and I see the finish line.  I’m the only one who can get me there.  And I’m going to make it if I have to crawl across that line with bloody knees that no longer have any cushion in them!  I have come too far to ever give up!

My plea to you is this.   If you are overweight please don’t wait until you are 60 to decide you deserve to lose weight and get healthy!  Don’t use your weight as an excuse to put off living.  I’m telling you the years go by faster and faster. 

Tell yourself daily:  I am worthy!  I deserve to be healthy and lose weight.   Decide that you are going to make those changes to complete your last weight loss journey.   Find a meal plan that you can live with, find an exercise you enjoy, and try Skinny Fiber.   It isn’t a magic pill but it will help make your journey much easier.

Are you ready to join me in getting healthy and losing weight?  If so, click here and order your SKINNY FIBER!  www.caryncann.com

copyrighted 2015

caryn cannatella

Skinny Fiber Sales:  www.caryncann.com

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LET THE KID IN YOU COME OUT!

LET THE KID IN YOU COME OUT!

When my kids were little I admit I allowed them to be creative.  Some would say to the extreme.   Even before my kids were born, I cherished the creativity of children.  In our first townhouse we left a wall blank in the dining room.  This wall was where my nieces and nephews could draw pictures and leave messages.  It was so cool.

When we moved into our first house it was really nice.  We loved it.  When Ashlie was 18 months old she began to draw.  She chose the walls in the foyer as her canvas.  At first I was just livid!  My first home!  Why did she have to do this?  One day my brother said, “Let her draw on them!  It’s just paint!”  And she did.  By two she was watching Pappy on Public TV and becoming a great little artist.  She still is to this day.

Cody’s creativity came out in writing.  He had severe problems reading until I bought him his first Harry Potter book.  The more he read, the better his writing became.  Couple that with his very imaginative and creative stories he loved to tell and you have a budding author on your hands.  I fully expect him to become a published author someday.

I tell you this to give you a little background.  Before Ashlie and Cody started to kindergarten, my nephew Franklin stayed with me during the day.  One day I told the kids we were going out shopping and to get ready.  When I called them to the door, I wish you could have seen them.  Franklin was in a Batman costume.  Cody was in a Spiderman costume.  Ashlie was wearing a red one piece swimsuit.  They were all wearing cowboy boots.  Ashlie had tied a towel around each of their necks.  And, of course, they were all wearing black sunglasses.  They were HEROES.

What was a mom to do?  I stifled a giggle and said, “c’mon and get in the car!  Ya’ll have crime to fight!” 

It’s ok to be creative.  It’s ok if you are different.  It’s ok if you stand out in a crowd.  Embrace your uniqueness.  Let the artist in you come out.   Do something that makes you feel like a kid but might make others stare at you.  So what?  Feel that freedom again.  It will make you feel alive!  Trust me!

copyrighted 2015

caryn cannatella

Skinny Fiber Sales:  www.caryncann2.com

START A 12 WEEK WEIGHT LOSS CHALLENGE WITH ME!

START A 12 WEEK WEIGHT LOSS CHALLENGE WITH ME!

I'm starting a new 12 week challenge tomorrow.  This is to get back to the basics of my low carb eating and renew my focus.  I'm believing this will help break my plateau and get me back to losing. 

Anyone up for joining me?  Got a wedding coming up?  A quinceanera?    A reunion?  A big party or celebration?  Wearing a swimsuit this summer?

Let's do it together and make it happen.  Take a before picture and your measurements.    Even though you might not see it, pictures and measurements don’t lie.  Weigh and then put that scale away until the 12 weeks is over.   Trust your clothes and measurements to tell you the truth.

I'll be using Skinny Fiber and low carb.  You can use any meal plan you like.  If you would like to add Skinny Fiber, click here to order:  caryncann2.com.   It will help you.  I has me and thousands of others. 

It's always easier to do it with others than all by yourself.  My goal is 20 pounds in 90 days.  That's a little more than 1.5 pounds a week.    Between reducing calories and moving, I think that is a reasonable goal for me.    Make a realistic goal for yourself.  Just remember:  to lose one pound a week you either have to eliminate 500 calories a day from your eating, increase your activity to burn 500 calories extra a day or a combination of the two.

I'm doing it!  Alone or with others.  I'm doing it!  It will break my plateau and put me back losing and on to my next goal.

We all get frustrated.  We all want to eat junk.  It just doesn't seem fair.  Hey!  I have finally gotten it.  Life is not fair.  I don't think it's fair that people that weigh twice as much as I do don't have diabetes.   I'm sure thin people don't think it's fair that they have high blood pressure when a big girl like me has blood pressure of 110/70.   We all have a disadvantage of some sort.

You play with the hand you are dealt or you roll over and give up.  WE DON'T GIVE UP!  WE RISE LIKE THE PHOENIX OUT OF THE ASHES OF WHATEVER IT IS THAT HAS SOUGHT TO DESTROY US! 

And then we just don't survive.  WE THRIVE!

Let’s do this!

copyrighted 2015

caryn cannatella

Skinny Fiber Sales:  www.caryncann2.com; www.caryncann.com

WOULD YOU LIKE TO WIN A COACH TAXI TOTE?

WOULD YOU LIKE TO WIN A COACH TAXI TOTE?

I recently bought my first designer purse.  I know it is just a purse but it makes me feel amazing when I carry it!  And I want to share that feeling with one of you!

I am having a customer appreciation for the month of March!  For every bottle of Skinny Fiber or Ageless you purchase during March, you will receive an entry for the COACH TAXI TOTE shown in the attached picture.    For every person you refer who orders, you will receive an entry for them too!  If they purchase one, you get one entry.  If they order two, you get two entries, etc.    YOU MUST MESSAGE ME THEIR NAMES SO I CAN LINK YOU TO THEIR ORDER FOR THE ENTRIES!

This give away will continue from March 1 through March 31 at midnight, CST!   If you have ever wanted to try Skinny Fiber or Ageless, now is the time to do it.  Just think…come spring you could be walking down the sidewalk with YOUR new COACH TAXI TOTE slung over your shoulders. 

You will look and feel fantastic as you strut towards that new healthy leaner body using Skinny Fiber!

To get your entry, this is the place to go:  www.caryncann2.com.

Let your friends in on this amazing give away!  You know how to do it!  On Facebook, press that little button that takes it to your timeline!  On Twitter, click that Retweet button!  And tell them to let you know when they order!  You don’t want to miss those extras entries!

Winner will be announced on April 2nd!  Good luck to you all!

Copyrighted 2015

Caryn cannatella

Skinny Fiber Sales:  www.caryncann2.com

Direct message me on Twitter, Facebook or at caryncann@gmail.com!

WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST FEAR?

WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST FEAR?

I saw this today and I can't get it out of my head.  I have lived my entire life in fear.  It has kept me from truly living.  Not for a little while; for all the while.

Many fears I have conquered.  The one fear that follows me, haunts me, taunts me and more is fear of failing to lose weight and keeping it off.  At times I feel like a hypocrite posting about weight loss, my own included, tips, suggestions, etc.  because I doubt myself so much in this area.

Over 50 years of dieting and failing over and over, has caused me to doubt I can really do it.  I have not weighed under 200 pounds since I was 19 years old.  The closer I get to that number (which I have more than a few times), the more fear I feel.  I become overwhelmed.  I get anxious.  I tell myself what is the point?  And then I finally just give up.  Stuck like chuck and going back up!

The tapes that play in my head are like this:  You're fat; you've always been fat.  You will always be fat.  You have such a pretty face but.....  Why do you eat when you aren't hungry?  Hurry and eat, everyone before she gets to the table!  What are you trying to do – weigh over 200 pounds?  Where are you going to find clothes to fit you?  What man will ever want you?  Men leave women who get fat.  On and on and on.  All words that have been spoken to me during my life to the point they have become my own words.  And now they continue to try to hold me back from my dream, my goal to just reach my weight loss goals and maintain them.

I am almost 62 years old.  I'm tired.  I don't want to die a young death.  My children are in their early 20's.  I want to live to see them married with children.  I don't want to be sick.  I don't want live in fear.  I want to overcome this fear and conquer it.

I want to live.  Without the bulk that I have hidden in for 58 years.  I know the me that has lived secretly inside all these years.  I would like for the world to know that me too.  I want out.  I just want out.

copyright 2014

caryn cannatella

Skinny Fiber Sales:  www.caryncann2.com

I FEEL PRETTY!!!!

I FEEL PRETTY!!!!

WHY YOU SHOULD TAKE UPDATE PICTURES WHILE LOSING WEIGHT

When you take a new update picture it gives you tangible evidence that you are losing weight even if the scale is standing still.  Sometimes we get so caught up on the numbers that we forget our body does not always reflect the number on the scale when we are losing.  I can tell you that I didn’t lose a pound jogging miles every day.  However, I did build a lot of muscle in my thighs, calves and hips.   And that was reflected in those 3 areas becoming much smaller!

If you take an update picture and can see a difference when you put it side by side with your beginning picture, it can keep you motivated.  The past 6 months has been a trying time for me.  I felt like I was just a blob.    I didn’t feel as healthy (probably cause I wasn’t jogging).  I was tired all the time.  I wasn’t eating as well.  It all takes its toll.

I decided to pamper myself.  Got my nails and toes done.  Then I got a perm, cut and color.  Bought me some new earrings and a blouse or two.  My daughter took my picture and when I pizap’d it, I could really see the difference!  When I look at my new picture, all I can think is “I look darn cute for someone almost 62! 

Don’t get frustrated with slow weight loss or even a plateau.  Just keep eating healthy.  Everyone wants to lose a lot of weight fast.  Trouble is, that weight tends to come back fast.  Doctors and nutritionists will tell you that slow weight loss is best and has a better chance of staying off.

If it takes me 2 or even 3 more years to get to my goal weight, I’m ok with that.  I’ll be the same age whether I lose weight, stay the same or gain weight.  I choose to keep losing.

Do yourself a favor.  Take update pictures every couple of months and pizap them so you can really see the difference in your body.  You will be amazed!

No matter what eating plan you are on, you should take pictures.  And if you need that extra help losing weight, join me and start using Skinny Fiber!  No stimulants; no caffeine.  All natural plant based supplement.  Skinny Fiber has helped me and thousands of others in getting healthy and losing weight.  It can help you too!  www.caryncann.com

copyrighted

caryn cannatella

Skinny Fiber Sales:  www.caryncann.com

HAVE YOU GIVEN UP ON LOSING WEIGHT THIS YEAR?

HAVE YOU GIVEN UP ON LOSING WEIGHT THIS YEAR?

Since the New Year begun. are you trying to lose weight?  Start out with just one or two changes so you won't get frustrated and quit.

Here are two easy ones that everyone can do.

Drink at least 8 ounces of water a day.   This is in addition to any other liquid you have.  You will find that the more water you drink, the less you will want other liquids.  I know it's hard to believe but it is true!  Your body craves water, not just liquid.

Don't skip meals.  Especially breakfast!   You know why they call it breakfast?  Because you are breaking the fast you have been on for 10-12 hours.  Once you eat, you start your body up, like a car engine.  Until you eat, your battery is just sitting there.  You aren't even idling.  Your key hasn't been turned on.

 It doesn't have to be an elaborate breakfast.  I start my day with a protein shake.  Protein powder, 1 tbsp of oatmeal, 1 tsp of peanut butter, 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk and a cup of ice.  I drink that on my way to work.  Almost all protein.  It keeps me full for 3-4 hours!  Make you some scrambled eggs.  Throw in some bacon!  Eat a bowl of oatmeal and fruit.  Whatever strikes your fancy that is healthy!

Start your day with a glass of water and then get your breakfast going.  Your body will thank you!  You will feel better, more alert and enerergized!  Try it for a week and see what happens!

If you need extra help in getting on track, try Skinny Fiber!  We have a 30 day money back guarantee!  What do you have to lose but weight?

copyrighted 2015

caryn cannatella

Skinny Fiber Sales:  www.caryncann.com

HEY FATSO!

HEY FATSO!

I bet just reading the title stung a few of you.  I know it did me!  The sting of that word stills rips my heart.

I was the fat kid in school.  Now I wouldn’t say I was grossly overweight.  I was under 180 until after I graduated from high school.  But I was bigger than the other girls.  I wasn’t tiny and cute.  And I wasn’t happy.

I was called fatso, fatty, tubby, pig, you name it; I was called it.  Those words just shred the confidence and self-esteem of a child.   They do the same to adults but children have these little hearts and minds that are still forming.  It’s difficult for them to process it as anything but hurt and hate.

My first diet was at 8.  I’m sure I was on at least one diet a year, and sometimes 2, for the next 10 years.  My mother kept a book in the top drawer of her chest of drawers.  When I got married at 24 she still had it.  What was in that book?  My weight and measurements she took on Saturday.  If the numbers went down, I was worthy.  If they stayed the same or, heaven forbid, they went up, well, there wasn’t much value in me.   It seemed to me that the only thing that mattered about me was my weight.  Things like sewing, crocheting, playing the flute, playing the piano, writing poetry, refurbishing furniture, and making gifts for others didn’t seem to bring any value to my life.  I was just a number on the scale.  A big fat number.  Oh, and I hated that book. 

I can remember many times seeing myself as a big fat egg.  Always in my mind there was this thin person who wanted to break that shell and scream, “This is who I really am!”  But I couldn’t.  I was fat.  And all fat people know that if you get into an argument with someone, you will leave the confrontation.  Why?  Because when the other person says, “Oh yeah?  Well, you’re fat!”, the argument is over.  There is no come back to that. 

I wish I could say that only mean boys at school called me names.  Oh they did, right through high school.  I acted like I didn’t care.  But girls called me names too.  And of course I got called names at home.  It was not a happy existent for the little girl I was in the picture above at 5.

Overweight children have a very sad, lonely, alone life.  Oh, they may present to others that it doesn’t matter and they are happy go lucky and funny.  But it does matter.  It is just a terrible way for a little kid to have to grow up.  I never believed anyone loved me and I never believed anyone would.  Even after I married, it was 10 years before I truly  believed my husband loved me and wouldn’t leave.

For an overweight child, words said, and even words unsaid can cut to the core.  If I heard my mother say it once, I heard her say it a hundred times, “You have such a pretty face but”, and then she would shake her head.  Oh, I knew what came after but, “BUT YOU’RE FAT!”  It was like fat was all there was to me.  I hated it and I hated myself.  And I hated the people who made me feel so worthless.

I wish I could say that when I became an adult it was different.  It wasn’t for many years.  I would have people come up to me in a store and say things like, “You don’t need to be eating that” or “We don’t have anything in our store to fit someone like you.”   I tried to remember when I stopped being verbally abused by strangers.  I think it was when I became a manager at my job.  I gained some confidence and since then I don’t think anyone has ever said anything to me like that again.  If they had, I would probably have fileted them like a fish and left them twitching on the ground.  Yes, they had taught me well; you can use words to hurt deeply.

I trudged through my adult life gaining and losing; gaining and losing.  That’s what I had done since I was 8.  I was allowed too few calories, losing weight quickly.  When I would go back to eating normally, I would gain the weight back and more.  I was losing muscle and gaining fat.  I became fatter and fatter with each successive diet. 

Finally, I just gave up.  I knew I would die fat and didn’t really care when.  I remember in the spring of 2013 I declared to anyone who listened, “I’m never dieting again or even trying to lose weight.  I’m going to eat whatever I want, when I want and as much as I want.”  And I did.  By now, the only thing I saw in a mirror was my eyes.  I knew they were pretty and nothing could make them ugly.  Well, except the dead look that stared back at me.

But that all changed when I started using Skinny Fiber.  I took responsibility for what I put in my mouth.  I made my own choices and learned to live with them.    I started looking at my body in the mirror wearing nothing.  It was so hard.  Even now I have problems with two areas of my body.  However, I have learned to appreciate and love my body, even as fat as it was and is, for taking good care of me all these years.  Sometimes it was the only protection I had.  I began to try new things, some I had feared trying.  I started pushing energy outward instead of just inward.

I have always been a loving and caring person but over the last 20 years, it had waned.  I found that again inside me.  Giving is something that gives me such joy.  Even if it is just sending a card to someone in the mail, it makes my heart warm.  It made me feel whole.  I began to feel complete.  I began to be that loving and caring person again.  I was changing from the inside out and the outside in. 

How I wish my little younger self had been able to find that.  Her world would have been a completely different place.  But I will tell you:  I live with no regrets.  I don’t think I would have become the person I am today if I had not gone through all the years between 8 and 61.  I was like the Israelites roaming the wilderness for 40 years.  The Promised Land was so close to them but they just couldn’t see it.  That was me.  I see it now.  I’m heading to my Promise Land and I’m going to try to take as many people who have struggled with their weight with me as I can.

And to my little 8 year old self, I say this:  “You were beautiful inside and out.  You were so talented and creative.  Even though you will endure much in your life, you will make it to that Promised Land.  And you will be in my arms when we get there.  Thank you for keeping me safe.”

copyrighted 2014

caryn cannatella

Skinny Fiber Sales:  www.caryncann.com

EXERCISE IS HARD!

EXERCISE IS HARD!

There I said it!  I know when I was over 300 pounds, I wasn’t impressed by people who exercised.  They were normal size or even small.  How difficult could it be?  They just get up and jog or run.  When they go workout at the gym it is a piece of cake.  I doubted they ever sweated or even got out of breath.

As I have travelled this road of my last weight loss journey, I have seen the light.  I have experienced the truth.  I’m going to share it with you.  Anyone who is exercising is working hard.  And I mean HARD!  The same commitment it takes for me to exercise is no more or less than the commitment it takes for a body builder or skinny person.     We all start at the beginning.

Just because someone is lean or their muscles are cut doesn’t mean they were born that way or were there when they started their exercise routine.  Chances are they were far from where they have ended up after months of exercise!  Nothing comes easy when we talk about changing our bodies.  It is work!

We all start where we are, wherever that is.   We start slow.  We set small goals and build on them like a foundation.   We set new goals and push ourselves.    We don’t exercise if we have time; we make time to exercise.  When someone tells me they don’t have time to exercise, I ask them how much time they spend watching television or posting on Facebook (or other social media) or playing games?  If it’s more than 30 minutes a day, you have time to exercise.  You just choose not to exercise.  It’s not a matter of time;  it is a matter of choice.

Now, I admit, I’m nowhere close to my goal weight or even my exercise goals.  I don’t focus on that.  I focus on what I am doing.   I set those small goals for myself.  I push myself hard even when it hurts.  I don’t listen to my body complain about exercising.  I listen to my mind telling me “YOU CAN DO THIS!  JUST KEEP MOVING!”

Every week I see improvements in my stamina, my endurance and my body.  I notice my calves beginning to look like runner’s calves.  I see how my knees are getting smaller and smaller.  Although my inner thighs still jiggle, my outer thighs and the backs are my thighs are becoming hard and lean.  Each time I notice improvement, it spurs me on to keep going.

When I started jogging the first week of June 2014, I was happy when I made it to ½ mile.  Now, 14 weeks later I have completed a 5K (no walking) and I’m training for a 10K within 6 weeks from now.  Yesterday I jogged/ran almost 4 miles in an hour.    When I started I was a slow jogger.  My pace has picked up and I now intersperse running with my jogging.  I started with 100 steps of running.  Now, I am running between 200 and 225 steps at a time.  By the 10K, my goal is to jog ½ and run ½.  I believe I will do it!

So why am I telling you that exercise is hard?  Because I believe in keeping it real and telling the truth.    I don’t jog every day.  There are days that I battle with my body and mind just to get out there.  Even then I get in 4-5 days a week.  Some days I only put in 2 miles.  But I still get out there and do it.  You can too.

When it comes to exercise you have to start where you are.  It’s not a competition with anyone but yourself.    You can start by walking 20 steps a day.  By the end of a month, I guarantee you can be walking at least ½ mile.  Maybe more.  Depends on your commitment and focus.

The best thing I have done this year was to start moving.  I chose jogging.  I do enjoy jogging but there are days that it is a battle.   Make a commitment to yourself to start moving.  Choose your own exercise.  Yours might be dance, or skating, or walking or Tae-Bo or Richard Simmons.  It doesn’t really matter.  What matters is that you have to move, you have to commit to it and you have to keep your focus.  That’s what matters.  And remember this:  your body will follow wherever your mind leads.  Always.

copyrighted 2014

caryn cannatella

Skinny Fiber Sales:  www.caryncann.com

IT’S MONDAY! ARE YOU STARTING ANOTHER DIET?

IT’S MONDAY!  ARE YOU STARTING ANOTHER DIET?

Stop the madness!  Decide to do it right this time!

Start eating whole foods!  Cut out the sodas (or coke as we call it in Texas).  Stop drinking fruit juice!  Both are just packed with sugar!  Get rid of the diet drinks!  Start drinking WATER!  Once you start feeding your body water, you will recognize when you are dehydrated before it happens!  I can drink a diet soda now and it makes me so thirsty that it takes 2 bottles of water to quench my thirst!

What should you eat?  Protein (it rebuilds your muscles)!  Whole grains (make sure they really are!)  Fresh vegetables and fruits!   Remember to always eat breakfast.  It is the most important meal of the day.  Don’t skip meals!  Even if you aren’t hungry, eat a little something or you will be ravished later.  If you are ravished, you will overeat.  Don’t go grocery shopping on an empty stomach.  Decide to leave things at the store that might tempt you to eat empty calories or overeat.

Some people do better by eating 5-6 small meals a day.  A small meal is just that – SMALL.  It would be more like a large snack.  It’s not a burger and fries.  Just saying….

Because I’m a diabetic, I stick to 3 squares a day, high protein and low carbs.  Most of my snack are nuts.  I usually eat 1/3 banana before I go running.  Why?  It’s because your body needs carbs when you are exercising.  Your body only stores about 15-20 minutes of carbs.  If you exercise longer than that, then your body starts using your muscle mass for energy.   After you exercise, eat protein or drink a protein shake to repair your muscles.

It’s a process.  Start each day anew.  Don’t try to look 30 days down the road.  Just focus on today.  When today ends, put it to bed.  Get up tomorrow morning with renewed dedication and focus.   Weight loss should be slow.  You should lose ½ to 1 pound per week.  Don’t look at it as “IS THAT ALL?”   In a year that is 26-52 pounds.  In two years that is 52-104 pounds. 

Don’t wait!  Start today.  You can do this!  Just look at me!  I’ve been at it 13 months.  I’m slowly but surely getting down the path to my goal.  Come join me on my last weight loss journey.  Make it yours too!

And if you need a tool to help you on your journey, join me and thousands of others using Skinny Fiber!  It works for us and it will work for you!  www.caryncann.com

copyright 2014

caryn cannatella

Skinny Fiber Sales:  www.caryncann.com