Weight Loss | The Misadventures of Mrs. B

I’ve been putting this off. As much as it really, seriously doesn’t bother me to tell the truth about my weight and measurements, especially in light of the fact that I’m working to change things for the better…I still have to take a deep breath prior to posting these “before” photos.

As I told you a couple of weeks ago, I was accepted into the Shaklee 180 blogger program and since March 1st have been drinking Shaklee smoothies and eating their meal bars and snack bars. Also provided were energizing tea and metabolic supplements. The Shaklee180 weight loss program promises that I’ll lose belly fat (which, as you can see from the photos below, I need help with) and of course to help me maintain muscle while losing weight.

It helps that I think everything I’ve tried so far is delicious. My favorite smoothie involves the vanilla shake powder, almond milk, frozen peaches, vanilla extract and cinnamon. It’s ridiculous in an amazing, “I could drink this every day for the rest of my life” way.

So without further ado, here are my “before” pictures:

And my stats:

Bust: 49″

Waist: 45 1/2″

Hips: 50″

Arms: 14″

Weight: 230 lbs

It can only get better from here, right? I’m trusting that the Shaklee weight loss program, plus the support of my wonderful fellow bloggers, will get me through.

Stay tuned for my progress for the next six months!

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post as part of the Shaklee Corporation blogger program. I have received free products, online support and incentives for participating. My opinions are honest and my own. People following the weight-loss portion of the Shaklee 180™ Program can expect to lose 1-2 pounds per week.

Oh and by the way, did you see that I’m hosting a giveaway which closes Monday March 11th? Rob is going to redesign the blog of one lucky reader! Don’t miss the chance to enter!

Do you have any weight loss goals you’re pursuing in 2013? Tell me about them!

If you’ve spent any time at all reading my blog (and if you have, I humbly thank you, truly) you know that weight has been an issue for me throughout my life.

Even when I was a little girl and not overweight at all, I was still bigger than the other girls in my class. Taller, bigger boned, with chipmunk cheeks. I would never be tiny and petite like my classmates.

Kids don’t understand that. To them, “big” means “fat”. “Fat” usually means “Picked on mercilessly”.

Over time it was that image of myself as the “fat girl” that, along with other issues, led to compulsive overeating. It sent me straight to 280 lbs by the time I turned 25.

That compulsion still lingers in the back of my mind, even though I’ve lost a lot of weight since I was at my heaviest. Even though the mental picture I have of myself carries a lot more respect, admiration and love than it did when I was mindlessly shoveling food into my mouth until my chest hurt.

Yes, things have gotten better. The fact remains, though, that I need help releasing the rest of this excess weight.

Which is why I’m over the moon excited about what I’m sharing with you right now.

Last week I found out that I and 89 other amazing, lovely women were chosen as Shaklee180 bloggers!

What does this mean? It means that I’ll be spending the next six months working hard. Getting down to the nitty gritty. Letting this amazing sense of responsibility I have towards my life, my health and my happiness trickle down into some concrete hard work. And Shaklee (not to mention my fellow bloggers) will be by my side.

I mean, it’s one thing to know that I need to make positive choices. But I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve been resting on my laurels, letting my 12,000 steps-per-day goal be as far as I go sometimes, eating that extra piece of chocolate (or two) since I only had a salad for dinner. Having that extra glass of wine (or two) because “it’s the weekend”.

So the Shaklee180 program could not have come at a better time.

I’ll be sharing my “before” photos with you soon (the program starts March 1st) and I hope I’ll have you all by my side, cheering me on as I bare it all.

In my next #Shaklee180 post: Before pictures/measurements and my ultimate goals (both for my weight and my self-confidence!).

If you want to chat with me or any other Shaklee blogger, check us out under the #Shaklee180 hashtag on Twitter!

This is a sponsored post as part of the Shaklee Corporation blogger program. I have received free products, online support and incentives for participating. My opinions are my own. People following the weight-loss portion of the Shaklee 180™ Program can expect to lose 1-2 pounds per week.

Do you have any health or weight loss goals? Tell me about them – we can cheer each other on!

I sortakindanotreallybutsorta announced this on Twitter…what was it, last week? I think it was last week at some point. The days tend to blur together when I’m sick.

(Also, can I take a moment and send a tip of the hat to Twitter and the fact that I miss being there so much but at the same time find myself much more productive without it?)

Anyway, I sortakinda made it a point to mention that I’ve lost 50 pounds. But I framed it in the context of the fact that I.absolutely.cannot.wait. to buy new clothes for the fall. Because I really can’t wait. Seriously, check out my Pinterest style board if you think I’m kidding.

To answer any questions which may have you raising your eyebrows:

Yes. A lot of this weight loss has to do with illness. But not all of it. I mean, it’s not hard to gain weight back after you’ve been sick. I managed to maintain my original loss over the course of the past 7 or so months and have lost since then.

No. This is not where I want to end up. I have at least 50 pounds to go before I reach the highest end of my “healthy” range. But it’s a nice start, right?

It’s nice to feel smaller. Today I wrapped my towel around myself after my shower and you know what? It closed all the way down. I can cross my legs in the car or on the train.

Sometimes I have to remind myself to cool my jets. Like, I’m not skinny. And I don’t want to be. I don’t think I even have the frame to carry “skinny” well. I’m broad and wide.

I’d rather be Sophia Loren, if given my druthers.

Yeah. I'll take that.

via Creative Commons

I keep saying to myself that I can’t wait to eat again. Because eating is a challenge when I’m coming off a bad flare. This morning, for instance, I ate half a muffin and felt like I was going to be sick. The other half still sits here, on my desk.

Anyone want a vegan muffin top?

But you know something? The idea of being able to ever again eat with abandon scares me.

I scare me.

I’ve been doing a lot of work, most intensively over the past six months, on compulsive eating. How the ego plays such a huge part in the whole mess of addiction, the stories the ego feeds us which keep us in the same old patterns of victimization.

I know my issues. I’m working through them. And writing through them. 30k words and counting.

I do love eating healthy food. I’ve been embroiled in a tawdry affair with quinoa for some time now. I wish I could grow avocados because it would save a lot of money. I love juicing and making green smoothies.

But I’m still afraid.

Because I have gained it back in the past. I’m currently smaller than I’ve ever been in my adult life, but I’m not much smaller than I was around five years ago.

So it’s scary. Because I don’t want to go back there.

And I want to continue this love affair with good food. Because if there’s one blessing I can take from this horrible, ugly illness it’s the new relationship with nutrition which I’ve been forced into. And I want to share it with y’all!

I love the gentle understanding my body and I are coming to. Sometimes it’s one step forward, two back…but it’s progress. Before I got sick…again…I was doing some easy yoga in the mornings and stretching in the evenings. To connect with myself and be good to myself. Not to lose weight.

I’m trying to learn to like myself. I also need to learn to trust myself…

…as I put together my dream closet via Pinterest.

Have you ever gone through a big weight loss? How did you handle it?