I was so disappointed in myself when I looked through the pics from my trip to Tennessee. Pictures don’t lie. I could not believe that I let myself that big again. I went to the doctor and she was concerned with my recent weight gain. She did tests to see if I have a thyroid problem or a vitamin absorption problem. Nope, neither. I’m all good. There is nothing physically causing me to gain weight. Her recommendation was behavior modification. She was 100% right. I’ve been stressed about money and stressed about failing real estate investments. While all along, eating myself into oblivion. And guess, what? Once I comeback to reality, all my financial woes are still right there, plus the extra pounds. It’s that same vicious cycle. Nothing new. Anyway, I decided I’d had enough. I realized, there was no way I was going to reach my initial 30th birthday weight loss goal in a month. So, I set a new one. As my Mother always taught me, “If at first, you don’t succeed, try-try again.” So I am. I had to stop whining about it being “too hard,” and just do it. I knew I needed fast results to stay motivated. I started the Master Cleanse/Lemonade Diet. Well, sort of. By dinner time, the first day, I knew that I couldn’t do it 100%. I drank the lemonade concoction all day, and I ate veggies for dinner, and that helped satisfied me. Although I ate a little lean meat and veggies with very little, if any carbs, the first 3 days were brutal. So, just to make it clear, I’m not fully doing the Master Cleanse liquid-only diet. I’ve essentially substituted the drink for small meals throughout the day, and I eat one very lean meal. It’s almost like the Slim-fast plan. After the 3rd day, my stomach shrank some, and I didn’t feel like I was hungry enough to take bite out of Nyah. The rest of the week has been great, I’ve lost a SIGNIFICANT amount of weight. I know weight loss is about a lifestyle change, but I really needed something to get me moving in the right direction again. I’m not physically craving the sugary carb loaded foods, and that feels good. Mentally, the cravings are still there sometimes. I have to turn off the TV fast food commercials and purposefully stay away from the kitchen at work that is notorious for cookies, cakes and chips. Since the Master Cleanse is a 10 day “diet,” I plan to gradually implement more healthy foods back into my meal plan in the coming weeks. At first, I wasn’t going to blog about it because I don’t want people out there saying “Carli did the Master Cleanse.” I like to promote programs like Weight Watchers or Hypnosis that can be maintained for a lifetime. But, sometimes you have to mix it up, and since it’s working for me, I thought I’d share with you.
It was so nice to have absolutely nothing to do today. My mom and I went to the market and got some fresh fruits and veggies. I came home and cleaned a little. My little sister helped. I cleaned out my tiny spare bedroom that I turned into a walk-in closet. I slowly began to except that I have a slight (major) shopping problem. I have so many clothes, all sizes from 14-22. I didn’t realize how many clothes I had, until I started to run out of hangers and shoe boxes. There were clothes with tags and shoes that have never been worn. That’s sad. Now that I’m broke, I’ve cut back a lot. I didn’t buy anything new for my trip to Tennessee. I usually buy new clothes for all of my trips. I honestly didn’t realize how much stuff I had. I did go through everything, and picked out some shoes and shirts that I know I’ll never wear again. I put them in a bag to donate to the church. After we cleaned I stir-fried some veggies for me and my little sister for dinner. I just added everything I had in the frezzer.
We had big plans of walking a few miles in the park until we stepped outside. It was so freaking hot. I literally was starting to sweat by the time I walked off my porch. We immediately turned back around, and came back in the house. I told her we should at least do a work out DVD. I jokingly asked her if she wanted to work out with Richard Simmons
. She said “the guy from the Klumps movie?” I rolled my eyes, she’s so young that’s her only reference for Richard Simmons, is a short parody clip from The Nutty Professor Movie. But, in her defense the tape came out when she was 2 years old. I have several VHS tapes of Richard Simmons that I bought from a guy off of craigslist for about $6 dollars. I had to find my VCR and wipe the dust off. I almost forgot how to hook it up to the TV. I turned to channel 3, and there was the grainy image. We’ve come a long way in terms of video technology. Me and my sis laughed at each other as we danced along with flamboyant Richard. It was so nice to see the husky men and plus size women moving and dancing with us. They had on everyday clothes that were fashionable back in the mid 90’s, that made it even more entertaining. After 30 minutes of “waving the rainbow” and grapevining across my living room, we were pretty tired. We didn’t finish the whole routine. Richard might be a thing of the past, but his videos
are still fun today.
Usually, people say they are going to “run” some errands. Today, I walked my errands. Before lunch, I mapped out how far the post office was from my office. It was almost exactly 1 mile each way. It was very hot and humid outside (mid 80’s), so I didn’t really want to walk. But, I put on my tennis shoes and my extra deodorant and did it anyway. I had happy hour plans with my old coworker friend, and I knew I would not feel like going to the gym late on a Friday night. The closer I got to the post office, the more I regretted it. I was really starting to sweat. My little sister warned me before I left that it was too warm, and that I would probably smell like a wet dog by the time I got back to the office. She also didn’t hesitate to remind me how unprofessional that would be for me to return to the law firm sweaty and funky. So, all I could think about while I walked, was the fact that I was going to run everybody out of the office with my sweaty odor. I returned a phone call to my Shopping Cousin who told me that she was so happy that I found my niche (writing). And she told me how much reading my blog brightened her day. That gave me a little boost of motivation. I pushed through the thick St. Louis heat, and made it to the post office where I took a few minutes to enjoy the cool air-conditioning. I left the post office, and power-walked down the street to the bank while I was on the phone catching up with my Big Little Sister. I’m so addicted to my phone. But, it was a good distraction. Anyway, the best part about walking outside is that regardless of how tired you are, you still have to get back to your starting point. Finally, I made it back to my office with time to spare. I was sweating like I had been to the gym. I was so glad that my shirt was black and you couldn’t see the sweat spots on my back. Two miles isn’t a challenging distance for me, but it was just so sticky outside. I went to the bathroom and brushed my windblown hair and freshen up a little. It was a really great workout and a very productive lunch. I ran two errands and power walked two miles. I was also proud of myself for avoiding the cookie cake at the office baby shower. Instead, I opted for four small crackers and hummus, and fresh veggies. That’s about all folks! Have a Great Weekend!
My Lawyer friend’s birthday is on the Fourth of July. We celebrated her 30th birthday in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. At first, I was a little leery of spending the holiday weekend in a cabin in the mountains.
However, I was pleasantly surprised to discover how much I enjoyed it. The wood cabin was fairly new with 3 bedrooms on the second level. There were 5 bathrooms, a game room, hot tub and a movie theater.
It was huge! Once we got settled in, I volunteered to prepare a Mexican feast for the birthday girl, her mom, her sister and her 2 other friends. They loved it. I was glad everyone liked it since I’m not used to cooking for that many people. The next morning, I woke up and walked out on the deck to inhale the crisp beautiful scenery. It was so peaceful and serene.
Sunday night we went to the “first” 4th of July Midnight parade to kick things off. I have to say it was the strangest parade I’ve ever attended. There was a weird guy walking around with a cat that waved named Princess Sugarpop, dressed up in doll clothes with a hat and reading glasses. Since it was my friend’s birthday, we were really hype and cheering and laughing. Everyone around us was pretty quiet and just lazily clapped. It was so strange, I figured that maybe they were like that because it was late and they were tired. The Christian groups were a little more aggressive than the churches at home. They passed out pamphlets and had a life sized Jesus on the cross on the back of a pick up truck in the parade.
We ate so much during the entire trip. The next morning my friend’s mom got up and cooked Fish and grits with biscuits, eggs and fried potatoes. It was delicious! We lounged in the pool and watched “Hall Pass” down in the theater. That movie is so outrageous. It was sort of Hangover-like.
On the 4th, I went to the gym at our private resort. I felt like I absolutely had to go, especially since I was eating so much, and did not like the image that looked back at me in the trip pictures. I’ve slowly gained back so much weight. I didn’t care that it was a holiday, that I was celebrating my friend’s birthday, or that I was on vacation, I had to work out. I grinded it out on the elliptical machine (with the arms) for just over 20 minutes. I worked up a sweat and felt great. Afterwards, I joined the rest of the ladies in the pool. My Friend’s mom bar-b-qued and made all the other “fixins.” I made a cute Birthday/4th of July Flag designed cake for dessert.
I watched a low budget movie in the theater by myself while some others took a nap. That evening we went into downtown Gatlinburg for the holiday fireworks. We got to see a little bit more of the culture. They were selling deep fried everything (including snickers and twinkies), stuff I’ve only seen on TV. 
There were images of bears and confederate flags EVERYwhere and we were greeted with heavy southern accents. Most people were friendly, but there was an older guy at the popcorn shop showing subtle racism; no eye contact, obviously not wanting to serve me, putting my change on the counter so he wouldn’t have to touch my hand, you know ignorant stuff like that. But it’s the south, and that kind of crap happens at home too, so I didn’t really let it bother me. We watched the fireworks, and sat in rocking chairs outside sharing stories. It was such a beautiful night, the temperature was perfect. Then just for fun, we got dressed up and took some ol’ Time Western photos. Me and my lawyer friend posed with guns and liquor as her mom posed as our madam. It was such much fun pretending. I love the pictures. (sorry it’s blurry, I didn’t get to scan it it in yet, so I just took a pic of the pic)
On Tuesday, we went to breakfast at the Red Rooster pancake house and hit the highway for our 9 hour road trip. I feel relaxed and refreshed and rejuvenated. I’ve got a good chocolately tan too from lounging in the pool. It was so nice for six educated women to spend time together in a house with absolutely no drama. There were no fights or arguments, we didn’t even disagree. If you get a chance, and want to unwind, head on over to Gatlinburg. It has my stamp of approval. 
Raising Self-Esteem
High self-esteem is a critical factor that can positively affect many areas of your life. On the other hand, if you have low self-esteem, it acts like a constant challenge . . . a hurdle you have to jump over each time you want to try something new, a constant force dragging you down.
While self-esteem can be difficult to change, it’s not impossible. I’ve found a few time-tested tips for improving your self-esteem, and feeling better and more positive about yourself on a daily basis. Here are a few ideas:
- Make a list of things you like about yourself – and refer back to it often. This list should include your successes and achievements, and your positive traits and qualities. The more you practice liking and accepting yourself, the more things you’ll be able to add to the list. I like that I’m a positive person, I like that my blog inspires people to get active everyday, I like that I have 2 college degrees, I like that I finished a Half-Marathon, I like that I’m close to my family, I like my legs.
- Surround yourself with people who are loving and accepting. Don’t let yourself get dragged down by the negative attitudes of others. Your true friends will like you the way you are. My family and close friends great supporters. You all always leave positive comments that motivate me to do better.
- Take care of yourself. Give yourself the care and attention you deserve, whether that means breaking a few bad habits, paying more attention to your physical health and appearance, or taking a break with some relaxing time alone. I usually work out at least 3 times week, and I take plenty of breaks, I love to travel everytime I get the opportunity.
- Do what you love. Find a way that you can shine, using your strengths and talents to the best of your abilities. Doing activities that you’re good at is one of the best ways to build self-confidence! (That’s why I blog, it personifes everything about me!)
High self-esteem is a powerful motivator and an important predictor of future success. You can improve your self-esteem.
Core Inner Strength, a hypnosis program developed by Dr. Shirley McNeal. It’s a program by the same people that created the Weight Loss Hypnois Program. It is a fun and easy way to improve your self-esteem. There are four hypnotic sessions, to help you discover the life-changing secrets behind experiencing comfort and safety in yourself, raising your self-esteem and self-confidence, and finding your inner strength.
To learn more about Dr. McNeal’s program, click here:
http://www.hypnosisnetwork.com/hypnosis/self_esteem.php
