SECRETS

SECRETS

I have come to realize that secrets keep us living in fear.    We all have them.  We’re afraid that if someone finds out whatever our secrets are, that catastrophe will occur.   That is what is so destructive about secrets.  They hold us captive by their darkness.

Now, I’m not talking about some huge secret.  I’m talking about the little secrets that we keep.  I remember last August meeting Courtney Luper after she spoke in Dallas.  She told her story about her weight loss journey and how she put it all out there in her group.  Even her weight!  EVEN HER WEIGHT!!!  I almost couldn’t breathe when she said that.  Who in their right mind would tell someone, and a bunch of someones, at that, how much you weigh????

I saw her in the hall later dressed in that hot pink shirt, looking fabulous!  I went up to her and said, “Did you really put in your group your weight?”  She said, “I did.  What did I have to lose?”  Courtney will never know what a life changing impact that had on my life.

I have thought about that a lot since last August.  Oh, I didn’t decide to jump right out there and announce my weight to everyone.  It was just too scary.  I knew how cruel people could be.  I lived it for many years as a child and young adult.  Anyone who is overweight knows that when you are in a disagreement with someone, all they have to do is say, “Oh, yeah?  Well you’re FAT!”  And that ends it.

A month or so ago I decided to just put it out there.  I told Facebook and my group that two years ago I weighed 317 pounds.  When I started Skinny Fiber I weighed 287.  I now weigh 240.  Why should I be embarrassed?  I am a winner at losing!

And you know what happened?  People supported me.  People encouraged me.  People I didn’t even know.  And some people decided to try Skinny Fiber.

I’m not saying you should share all of your life with just anyone.  Some things in your life shouldn’t be shared with just anyone; but only those who have earned the right to know.  But there are many secrets that all of us carry that mean nothing in the big picture of our lives.  When you have a secret that is holding you back, open up.  Start with just telling one person you truly trust.

Once the secret has light on it, its power to control you is gone.  So what if you weighed 300 pounds or more!   What matters is that you are controlling your own life.  It amazes me what freedom I have gained from just taking that step and telling the facebook world my highest and current weight.

If you have a secret that is holding you back or keeping you from living, let it go.  Put that secret in the light and see how its power dissipates.  You will not regret it.

copyrighted 2014

caryn cannatella

www.caryncann.com/?SOURCE=BLOG

CAN YOU ALWAYS SEE GROWTH AS IT IS HAPPENING?

CAN YOU ALWAYS SEE GROWTH AS IT IS HAPPENING?

Last night I was thinking about my Skinny Fiber business and my weight loss.  I was thinking how slow both are going.  Or to me it seems that way!  We often get discouraged when we have a goal and we don’t see movement as quickly as we like.  Sometimes we even think, why bother!  I’m making no progress!

I had been going through pictures of my daughter when she was a toddler to post for her birthday today (Happy Birthday, Pookie!).  I thought about how I had watched her grow from a baby 25 inches long to 5’7” as a woman.  Then it dawned on me.  Her growth was very gradual.  I didn’t actually notice her growing from 25 inches to 30 inches.  Her growth was only obvious when I took her to the doctor or I measured her on the wall.

Losing weight, growing your business or pretty much any goal you have is like watching a child grow.  You don’t actually see the process of them growing.  You notice it when compared to something…like their pants getting shorter or their tops getting shorter.  It is the same with losing weight or growing your SBC business.

How many times have we read about people who didn’t think they had lost much weight or many inches?  Then they took pictures to compare to their before and were amazed with the difference!

When you get discouraged or feel like giving up, go back and see how far you have come in your pursuit of your goals.     I bet you have made more progress than you think you have.  And then be sure to remind yourself that although your progress is slow, you are still moving towards that goal! That is what matters!

copyrighted 2014
caryn cannatella

www.caryncann.com/?SOURCE=BLOG

A FRAUD AND A FAILURE

A FRAUD AND A FAILURE

Last week was a difficult week for me.  I hate to even write about it because it makes me feel like a fraud and a failure.

This past week I have eaten like a pig.  I don’t mean a little bit.  I mean A LOT!  I feel like the preacher who can talk the talk but not walk the walk.  I’ve been playing back the past week to try to figure out what caused me to get so off track.  When did it start?  What triggered it?  Why have I stayed stuck in the mire?

It started Tuesday morning.  I woke up and weighed.  I was up 11 pounds from the day before.  Now I know realistically I could not have gained 11 pounds overnight.  But that is what the scale said.  So that started me feeling like a big fat failure.  That’s why I usually hide the scales.  They have always been used to judge my worth.

When I was a kid I was weighed and measured almost every Saturday morning.  If it was up, it meant I was a failure.  If it was down it meant I wasn’t.  I was a failure more than not.  In my house we all had our “medals” to wear.  It didn’t much matter what other accomplishments you had, if you didn’t accomplish the medal our mother had given us, the rest was irrelevant.  Mine medal was to be thin.  I never accomplished it.  Still haven’t.  When I get certain triggers, I become that kid again who never measured up.

Then I met a man.  He seems nice and really a lot like me.  When I was about 12, I was once told, “if you wear that, you are going to be a whore one day.”  Somewhere in my brain, I figured if I was fat, no one would want me and so I couldn’t ever be a whore.  Do you know I still believe in my heart that if I become thin I will become a whore?

Next my boss yelled at me both days he was in the office.  When I am yelled at I feel like a little kid.  Being yelled at makes me feel worthless.  It doesn't matter how much I do or if he tells me how much he needs me.  All that is wiped away when he yells.

And then I got sick.  Which somehow gives me the ok to eat stuff I shouldn’t.  I’m sick.   I deserve it.

I woke up this morning feeling fat, bloated, ugly and a failure once again.  I know I just have to get back on track and eat the food that makes me healthy and feel good.  I try and try to figure out why I feel the need to punish myself and my body.  To be honest, I don’t even like to eat.  If I could, I would choose to never eat again.  But you have to eat to live and you have to eat to lose weight.  It is required.  When I get in this defeated frame of mind, I just live to eat.  Somewhere inside I figure, “what difference does it make?”

Why am I sharing this?  Because I don’t know any other people who would understand like those of you who are trying to lose weight and get healthy.  If you have suggestions or ideas, please share.  I’m open to them.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.  I feel like a 60 year old woman trapped in the body and mind of a little 10 year old fat girl.  I just want out once and for all.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Copyrighted 2014
caryn cannatella

www.caryncann.com/?SOURCE=BLOG

ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE

ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE

Are your thoughts on what you don't have in your life or what you do have?

I used to live my life in the "Why not me?"  mode.  Why didn't I have a better job?  How come I didn't make more money?  Why couldn't I live in a nicer home?  Why Why Why. 

About 11 years ago I started changing my focus.  Instead of wondering why I started being grateful.  I would say out loud what I was grateful for.  My eyesight.  My hearing.  My children.  My car.  The birds.  Air conditioning.  Heat.  Toilet paper.  Electricity.  Indoor plumbing.  The fact I could buy whatever groceries I wanted.  My job (even though I hated it).  So many things in my life I just took for granted.  No matter what chaos is going on around you, there are many things to be thankful for.  Everything in my life became an opportunity to be grateful.

My life didn't change overnight.  It was a process in me.  I can tell you that it does change your life.  I live the most amazing life.  It is everything I want it to be.  Sure, there are parts that are still changing and improving but I wake up every day believing that my life is the best life in the world!

I live such a blessed life.  Even the little bumps that occur in life (and there are bumps, big and small) just don't seem like much in the grand scheme of my life.  What I have noticed through this past decade is that it becomes easier and easier to be grateful in all things.  And the more grateful I am, the more blessed I become.

I know that the change that happened is me.  I changed.  If you want to change your life, take a moment each day to find something to be grateful for.  You will find abundance in doing so.  I know.  I'm living proof.  

Join me in my last weight loss journey with Skinny Fiber @ www.caryncann.com

copyrighted 2014
caryn cannatella


www.caryncann.com/?SOURCE=BLOG

STOP LYING TO YOURSELF!!!!

STOP LYING TO YOURSELF!!!!

JOIN ME AND START LOSING!

I’ve been thinking about sharing this with you guys for a while now.  I’m a liar.  Yep, when it comes to food and being honest, well, I’m just not.

As many of you know, I'm on Skinny Fiber and I am doing well.  But I realized I could be doing better.  If I would just make a few changes, I could lose a lot more weight!

I don’t keep a food journal because I figure if I don’t write it down, then it doesn’t count.  Oh, I know intellectually it counts.  But somewhere in my brain, I’ve convinced myself that it’s like a magic eraser if it isn’t written down.

I have lost a lot of weight the past 6 months but I could have lost more.  I know I would probably have lost at least another 20 pounds.  The first month I was losing I probably ate at least one bag of hot peanuts every day.  Some days two.  That’s at least 400 calories.  Almost a pound a week I could have lost.  I comforted myself by reminding myself that peanuts are protein.  They are also fat but who cares about all the details?  Two pkgs of peanuts a day means I could have lost another 20.8 pounds. 

This year I started looking at what I’m really eating.  Not what I want people to think I eat.  By lying to myself I realize that the only person it hurts is me.  Now, I don’t think there is anything wrong with having peanuts every now and then…just not every day a couple times a day!

One reason I make my meals ahead of time is because I no longer recognize the signals that I’m full.  I portion out my breakfast, lunch and dinner.  If I stick with those, I’m fine.  When I eat out, I always have a to go box brought to me with my meal.  I eat half and take the other half home for another meal. 

My problem comes in if I just take a bite of something.  You know….graze a bit.  And that one bite, is suddenly two or three.  Your mind tricks you into thinking it doesn’t count.  It does count and can have an effect on your weight loss.  I know it does for me.

My most difficult time is in the evening.  I love to eat at night and alone.  I have frequently called food my secret lover.  Don’t want to share with anyone or even let them know I have this lover.  It’s mine.  All mine.  I don’t have to share it.  No one knows about it.  But just like a secret lover, I know the truth.  And I’m the only one that can bring it into the light and change it.  Since I know this is my weakness, I’ve decided to go back to my protein shake before bedtime.  It tastes like a milkshake, full of protein and helps keep my blood sugar stable.

Here’s my plan:

1.       Meals are portioned ahead of time, even when eating out.

2.      Keep no food  in the house that might interfere with my weight loss.

3.      Snacks are limited to my protein shakes or Atkins snacks. 

I’m committing myself to doing this for the next 7 days!  I’ll report in with my struggles and success.

Losing weight is hard.  Skinny Fiber does help me a lot but you still have to be committed to healthy eating and refraining from over eating.  Anyone who says or thinks that losing weight is easy, has never lost weight through changing their eating.  I know this time I am going to make it to my goal.  But there are still those times when I think….what if I fail again?  I try to stay focused and keep my eye on my goal. 

I’m going to make it to my goal and I hope all of you will be right here with me!

www.caryncann.com/?SOURCE=BLOG

#weightloss @loseweight #gethealthy #get fit!