AND THE STRUGGLE CONTINUES

My body has been craving carbs so badly.   And my body doesn't process carbs well.   Probably why I'm 10-15 pounds up, depending on the day.  Sometimes this journey is so hard I just want to give up.   Just roll over, eat until I can't eat another bite.

And then I think of my friend, Debbie, gone at 63.  Or my friend Joe, dead at 61.  Or my ex, dead at 71.   I don't want to die.   Especially from diabetes.   My friend, my sister, Patty, has been with her son for the past year who is in the end stages of diabetes.  He's 38.  I hurt for them both every day.

People who have never had to lose weight really have no true understanding of how difficult it is.  You have to eat to live and for so many of us, we live to eat.  I watch many shows that deal with anorexics an bulimics.   I'm always touched by the tenderness and care with which they are handled.  

But then when I see a program about an obese person, I don't see that same tenderness and love.   We aren't people with a disease.  We are just fat people who eat too much.  We aren't looked at as having a disease.  We are looked at as people with no self-discipline, no self-control, no will power. 

I know how to do it all.   I probably no more about nutrition, calories, the food pyramid, how to exercise and what exercises to do than most.  And I've done it all.   Healthy, unhealthy, strict, lenient, extreme, dangerous.  I've followed plans for a month and for years. 

But you just get tired.   You want your body to act and function normally.  And it doesn't.  You want to just scream WHY ME?  WHY DO I HAVE TO BE FAT?   But you know there are so many people who could scream the same words about what ever condition they deal with daily.

I know I will never be thin.   But I know I can be healthy.  And at this point that is all I am going to work towards. 

So, here I am, struggling with my brain to get into the right frame of mind.   I know what I need to do.  I just have to decide to do it.

And the struggle continues.

copyrighted 2015

caryn cannatella

Skinny Fiber Sales:  www.caryncann2.com

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SHOULD I GO OR SHOULD I STAY?

SHOULD I GO OR SHOULD I STAY?

Ok, here goes.  This is a very hard and embarrassing thing to write.  I hope someone of you will understand how I am feeling.  But I am not going to lie to ya'll.  They say the truth will set you free.  I'm hoping by putting it in the light, it will help me.

I am struggling.  I'm frustrated.  I feel like a failure.  I have gained 10 pounds.   It goes down and comes back.  I admit I'm not eating the healthiest these days but I have gained 10 pounds in the past week.  I wore a pair of pants last Monday and they fit fine.  Saturday I tried them on and I couldn't even button them.

I've had this happen for 54 years.  The path of least resistance is to just give up.  Start overeating and just quit.  I hear those voices from the past over and over:  "What are you trying to do?  Gain 100 pounds?"   "Hurry and eat before she gets to the table."  "You're so pretty but......"   "It's so difficult to sew clothes for you."   "Your waist should be 24.  Your bust should be 36.  Your hips should be 36."  This is the one area of my life that I have consistently failed at.  And I learned at a very early age that for me, if I was fat I was unworthy.   Still fat.  Still unworthy. 

I''ve never stayed on a weight loss program this long, 18 months.  I don't want to fail.  I want to reach my goal of being healthy and lean.  If I don't, I'm gonna die early.  I promised my daughter I wouldn't do that.  I want to see my kids get married and have children. 

I know my body and nutrition better than anyone.  I know that low carb/high protein is what works best for me.  I know I have to exercise 4-5 times a week, every week.  It’s not a matter of IF I want to.  It’s a matter of HAVE to.

My choices are these:  give up, gain the weight back and die from complications of diabetes or get back on what works for me and accept that this is the way I must live.    I wouldn't let anyone pump my body full of penicillin because I know it would kill me.   I have to accept that I can't pump my body full of food, especially unhealthy food and lose weight, even more important, LIVE a long life.

I don't need pity.  I don't need to be told what I need to do.  I need support and encouragement.  If you are struggling on your weight loss journey or even starting one, join me.   Please.  I need your help.  And hopefully, you need mine. 

copyrighted 2015

caryn cannatella

Skinny Fiber Sales:  www.caryncann2.com

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

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SO, YOU ATE TOO MUCH!

SO, YOU ATE TOO MUCH!

Let's talk about weight loss here.  You have a plan.  You are working it.  You are doing good.  Then the weekend comes.  Or you go out of town.  Or someone brings some goodies by.   You eat too much.  You eat something not on your plan.  What happens?

You feel like a failure!  YOU ARE NOT A FAILURE!  YOU ARE HUMAN!  None of us are perfect.  We aren't going to be perfect on our weight loss journey.  There are going to be times we overeat.  Times we go off our plan, times we just want something we are trying to avoid.

So do we just give up?  Should we throw our hands up in the air and say, "I QUIT!  I'M A FAILURE!  I ALWAYS FAIL AT LOSING WEIGHT!" 

No!  Just enjoy what you ate and when you go to sleep, LET IT GO!  Tomorrow is a new day.  You will wake up refreshed and re-focused.    Don’t wallow in a pool of self-pity.  Just pick yourself up and dust yourself off.  You hit a pot hole; not a 5 car pick-up.  At this point it is easy to get back on track.

Don't give up and don't beat yourself up.  It's not a sprint.  It's a marathon.  One meal will not sabotage your weight loss unless you let it.

copyrighted 2015

caryn cannatella

Skinny Fiber Sales:  www.caryncann2.com

Twitter:  https://twitter.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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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

STRUGGLES WITH WEIGHT LOSS!

STRUGGLES WITH WEIGHT LOSS!

Even with Skinny Fiber, the past few months have been tough for me on this last weight loss journey.  My weight fluctuates always so I don’t pay much attention to the scales.  I pay attention to my clothes.   They seem to fit about the same but I don’t feel the same.

I feel bloated.  I feel unhealthy.  I feel fat.  I feel tired.  Nothing I am currently feeling is a good feeling. 

This weekend I decided to take stock of what was going on in my life and what I was and wasn’t doing to reach my goals.

Here are my reasons, which we all know are just excuses.   My ex died in August and it has really affected me much more than I thought it would.  I was in a car wreck in October.  I was restricted from jogging for almost 2 months.  I’ve been sick for the past 3 weeks.  It’s Thanksgiving.  It’s the holidays.  I’m busy.  I changed my schedule at work.  I guess I could add that we had rain some days.  Some days it was cold.  Some days it was hot.   There is always an excuse isn’t there?

So Sunday after the football game (Go Texans!), I decided to really think about what was going on.  Where had I gotten off track?  Here is what I realized.

1.      I wasn’t limiting my carbs like I had been.  Might explain why my blood sugar has increased.

2.      I wasn’t drinking 10 bottles of water a day.   Some days I was only getting in 4 bottles.  Not nearly enough for a big girl like me.

3.      I wasn’t eating enough protein.  I need protein 3 times a day, minimum!

4.      Some days I had forgotten to take my evening Skinny Fiber.  If you only take it half the dosage, it’s only going to work half as well.

5.      I was comforting myself with food again.  When you are eating and not paying attention to what or how much you are eating, that is for comfort.  No different than a baby with a pacifier.

6.      I stopped moving much at all.

7.      I stopped preparing my weekly meals on the weekend.

8.      I stopped portioning my food.

9.      I started drinking diet sodas again.  Not a lot but more than 2-3 a week.  Nothing wrong with a soda every now and then but let’s face it, folks, they are really bad for you.  And they are full of sodium which bloats you!

I had my answer.  When I was losing, the magic was ME.  When I stopped losing, the problem was ME.  Oh, the magic is still there.  I just chose to ignore it.  For awhile.

Sunday after the game, I cooked my breakfasts, lunch and dinners for the upcoming week.  No thought or preparation needed when thinking about eating.  Everything is portion controlled.

Monday I drank my protein shake when I woke up.  Two hours later I ate my egg muffins.  5 hours later I ate my meat muffin.   For dinner I had a bowl of chili.  And for a snack, another protein shake.  And it was all under 1500 and very few carbs.   I also pushed my water intake back up to 8 bottles. 

I slept so well last night.  I don’t think I woke up even once.  When I did wake up, I felt great.  I was ready to get up, get dressed and get moving.  I have felt energized all day!  I know by the end of the week, I won’t feel bloated anymore.  My system will be corrected.  I’ll be back moving come Thursday.  My body will be happy and so will I.

I could have given up.  In the past I would have.  Not this time.  I have come too far to turn back now.  If you are struggling and feeling like you have failed in your weight loss journey, you haven’t.  It’s just a set-back unless you decide to quit.  Re-commit.  Re-focus.  Remind yourself why you started this journey.

Come get back on your program with me.  Order your Skinny Fiber and commit to making 2015 your year of reaching your weight loss goals!  I have!

copyrighted 2014

caryn cannatella

Skinny Fiber Sales:  www.caryncann.com

HAVE YOU LOST ALL HOPE OF LOSING WEIGHT?

HAVE YOU LOST ALL HOPE OF LOSING WEIGHT?

In January 2013 I consciously decided that I would never diet again.  I wasn’t interested in even trying.  I was fat.  I had been fat for over 50 years.  I was going to die fat.   I weighed 317 pounds and figured I would weigh that much or more when I died.   I was done.  I had given up.  I had no hope. 

When I started this last weight loss journey in July 2013 using Skinny Fiber, I still had no hope.  I just didn’t believe it was possible for me to lose weight.  I mean really lose weight for the long term and keep it off.  I was completely defeated.    I figured I would use Skinny Fiber for 30 days and then return the empty bottle for my money back guarantee.

But this time, something happened.  It worked.  I lost 10 pounds that first month.  I had not changed what I ate one bit.  I just followed the three steps of Skinny Fiber.  I took two capsules twice a day with 12 ounces of water.  I drank enough water daily to equal half my body weight in ounces.  And I stopped eating when I felt that first feeling of fullness. 

Besides losing weight, I began to feel better.  When I started Skinny Fiber, I could walk less than a block.  I have progressed from walking to jogging to even running.  I’ve been taken off 2 blood pressure medications (it was still 160/90 with the meds); my thyroid medication has been decreased, I’m off medication for acid reflux, arthritis and fibromyalgia.  And I have completed a 5k.

I haven’t just changed my body and appearance.  I’ve changed everything about myself:  the way I think, the way I act, the way I respond.   Today I was looking at pictures from my cruise to Belize and Cozumel.   There I was having a blast, dancing like I was on Solid Gold, and smiling.  I don’t even remember when the last time was that I saw pictures of me smiling.  Not a forced smile or a fake smile.  Just a big beautiful smile.  I have been telling people for months:  I am changing from the inside out and the outside in.  When I look at those pictures, I truly see this transformation. 

Why am I writing this?  Because I know there are many people out there reading this that feel like I did in January 2013.  I know how you feel; I know where you are; and I know you have given up.  I’m here to tell you, there is hope!  I don’t care how old or young you are.  I don’t care how few pounds or how many pounds you have to lose.  I don’t care how many times you have tried and failed.  I’m here to tell you there is hope!  You can lose weight.   It can happen.  You just have to take one more chance.  And when you do, your hope that is just a burning ember in your heart will light anew.   Give Skinny Fiber 90 days and the flame of hope will burst inside you. 

I’m not unique.  I failed at dieting for 53 years.  And now, without dieting, I am finally succeeding at losing weight and getting healthy.  You can too.   I will help you along the way.  If you need or want to contact me, email me at caryncann@gmail.com.  You can contact me on Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/Caryncann.  You can contact me on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/Caryncann.

I know Skinny Fiber works.  It has worked for me for about 15 months.  When I jog and run I feel like an athlete instead of someone waiting to die.  Every time someone decides to try one more time and gives Skinny Fiber a chance, I know that hope is going to return to their life.

Step out in faith one more time and let hope fill your heart again.  Start today with your Skinny Fiber.  I’ll walk this journey with you.    www.caryncann2.com.

copyrighted 2014

caryn cannatella

Skinny Fiber Sales:  www.caryncann2.com

BLACK SHEEP OF THE FAMILY

BLACK SHEEP OF THE FAMILY

If you are, join the crowd!  I was and have always been the black sheep of the family.  I was always told I had the lowest IQ in the family, “probably no more than 100”.   It wasn’t until I was 55 that I learned it was actually 130.  It never really mattered to me.  I have told people for years that I am smarter than the average bear and that was good enough for me.

I never dated.  “Who would want a fat girl”, they said.  I now can say my ex-husband did (and many since then).  I must be honest.  My ex and I never dated.  He was a dj and I called in & requested a song.  We talked on the phone for over a month.  He invited me over to meet him.  I never left.  Oh, and of all the kids, my marriage lasted the longest.  What can I say?  Maybe dating is over-rated!   Lol

I never finished college.  “You never finish anything!”  I realized as I got older I finished many things, just not college.  Having said that, I’ve had great jobs, supported myself and later my children.  I’ve never asked anyone to help me out.  I’ve always been independent.  I can sew, crochet, throw pottery, paint, draw, cook, etch, knot, cross-stitch, just to name a few.  And I’ve finished many things!  And given everything I ever made away.

“I guess you will always be FAT!”  I certainly believed that one!  At 61 I finally know that I don’t have to be fat and I’m working my way down!  I still say I’m fat, a big girl, a chunky monkey, a biscuit above being thick.  And that’s ok.  It reminds me that I’m still on my journey but I know the fat is leaving and showing the real me that lives inside! 

“You’ll never amount to anything!”  I remind myself often how much I have accomplished in my life.  I started and ran a hotline for 5 years for people who had been abused.  I know my boss would say (and has) he wished he had hired me 5 years earlier.  My employees tell me I’m a great manager.  I have raised two awesome children.    At 61, my home is paid off, I am debt free, I am retiring to part-time in December 2014.  Even at part time I can live just like I live now.   I travel whenever I want.  And I have investments that will take care of me until I die.  Plus, I will leave my children an inheritance, which was a goal of my ex-husband and me.   I guess I have amounted to something, huh?

“You aren’t a good person.”  In fact, one family member called me evil.  Lol  I am a lot of things but evil isn’t one of them.  I’m not bragging but I am a very good person.  I help a lot of people and organizations.  I go out of my way to do for others.    Most people don’t know what I do because I prefer for my giving to be done in private.  I don’t need accolades.   And I’ll share a secret with you:  The more you give, the more you get.  The less you give; the less you get.  It’s a law of God.

Why am I sharing all this with you?  Well, first, I want you to know that I have finally realized that I am an AWESOME person!  And I bet you are too!  You know what we do as kids (and adults)?  We take those statements spoken over us and they become tapes in our heads.  We don’t even hear the voice of the person who originally said them.  We start to hear our own voice telling us those LIES!  And that is what they are.  Just lies!

We have to start changing the voice in our head.  When you hear one of the lies playing in your head, just say “STOP IT!”  “I am a good person!”  “I am smart!”  “I am desirable!”  “I am a success!”  “I have accomplished things!”  And , for me, “I WILL NOT ALWAYS BE FAT!”

There is nothing wrong with being the black sheep of the family.  It just means you follow your own path.  You are an independent person.  You stand out from the crowd.   When someone looks for you, you are easy to find.  You are the black sheep!  Embrace it and love yourself for being that!  You have made your own way in life and lived it the way you chose!  That makes you very special!  Now, say it out loud, “I AM VERY SPECIAL!” and believe it.

copyrighted

caryn cannatella

Skinny Fiber Sales:  www.caryncann.com

IMPERFECT PROGRESS

IMPERFECT PROGRESS

How many times have you resisted change because you knew you wouldn’t or couldn’t do it perfectly?  I know I have, especially when it came to weight loss.   My thought was “I’ve tried before and I always failed.”  I always failed because I always quit!  I always quit because I wasn’t perfect. 

This morning I heard someone say “imperfect progress”.  It immediately resonated with me.  I have never used that term but I certainly know that is what I have been doing for the last 15 months.  When I started my last weight loss journey with Skinny Fiber I decided I would be doing it differently this time.

I realized that I couldn’t be perfect.  I knew that I would “cheat”.  I changed the way I approached this journey.  No food was off limits.  If I wanted it, I would eat it but in moderation.  I admit, there have been a few times that I wanted it, I ate it and it wasn’t in moderation.  BUT HERE IS THE DIFFERENCE!  I didn’t beat myself up over it.  I tried to figure out what made me overeat when I wasn’t hungry.  And the most important thing I did was I didn’t quit!  Nope, the next morning I was back on my program.  This has kept me sane and on track for these past 15 months.  I have never stayed on any weight loss plan more than 6 months.  EVER.  And I’ve been doing this weight loss thing for 53 years.

There is no perfect change because we aren’t perfect.  What we can have is imperfect progress.  Sure we fall.  But all we have to do is get back up and start anew.  That is the difference in failure and success.  As long as you get back up, you have progress.  It might be imperfect progress but it is progress just the same.  If you stick with it, you will reach your goal.  How I wish I had learned this decades ago.  But I’m learning it now and it has brought me freedom in this journey and this journey is bringing me freedom in my life.

This works no matter what the change you are trying to make.  It doesn’t matter if it is weight loss, finances, a career, school, etc.  Try it and see!  Reach your goal with imperfect progress.  You will definitely get there.

Why don’t you join me in my imperfect progress of my last weight loss journey with Skinny Fiber?  It could be your last weight loss journey too.  And if you don’t need to lose weight, then join me in my imperfect progress of building my own business with Skinny Fiber.  Just click the link below for either.

copyrighted 2014

caryn cannatella

Skinny Fiber Sales:  www.caryncann.com

Email:  caryncann@gmail.com