My Cinchspiration: 4 Weeks, 8 Pounds Gone!
Exactly a month ago, I blogged – yet again – about my new year’s resolution to lose weight.
I’m happy to report that I’ve lost eight pounds in the past four weeks — a healthy rate of weight loss – thanks to the Shaklee Cinch weight loss product line and the constant support of Sommer Poquette, aka Green and Clean Mom, and the other bloggers and many tweeters in the #Cinchspiration” campaign.
I admit I started this with some trepidation. I wasn’t convinced that a program that consists mainly of high protein meal replacement shakes and bars would work for me. I fretted at the waste of packaging…there I was leaving the CSA with my share, only to open up a meal replacement bar. But you know what? I decided to give it a shot. I would have never tried this had Sommer not offered a free test run, in exchange for some tweets and blog posts sharing my experiences.
But the proof is in the pudding (or the soy shake mix). I just coughed up several hundred of my own buckaroos to re-up in the program for the next 12 weeks. My new kit arrived today, and I was never so happy to see a new supply of protein bars!
My verdict? Here’s my review of the Shaklee Cinch weight loss program – pros and cons:
Pros:
1. Simplicity – My life is hectic enough without worrying about meal plans or meetings away from home.
2. Fun – Something about the program is fun. The copy in the support materials is excellent – the voice sounds like it belongs to a friend. It’s not dull or boring. It’s real – and fun!
3. Online camaraderie – I spend a lot of my time online – and the fact that I know Sommer and Karen and a lot of the other Shaklee Cinch people made it really easy to believe that this program would work.
4. Variety – Surprisingly, there’s enough variety amongst the various flavors of shakes and meal bars to prevent monotony from settling in. The lemon-cranberry is my fave!
5. Simple Ideas – I grew to love the fact that Cinch recommends a mid-afternoon break for tea and a snack. How civilized. I love my new tea time routine! Much better than grabbing a diet soda!
Cons:
1. I do think the program is a bit pricey, even when compared with meal replacement shakes sold at places like Whole Foods. That said, I justified the cost by figuring I would no longer be raiding my kids’ supplies of cookies and Goldfish! There – money saved and reallocated to this!
2. I’m still a bit nervous about transitioning away from the meal replacement phase to a more regular diet. I think those wonderful Shaklee copy writers could do a better job of explaining just how that process works — upfront, at the beginning of the program.
3. Although Shaklee does a lot of positive things for the environment, they could still be a bit more thoughtful with product packaging. It burns me to have to open up a tiny package of tea – such waste! I’d rather have loose leaf tea or conventional teabags.
I have a ways to go on my weight loss journey, so I’ll plan to check in every month or so and let you know how I’m doing….Pray that I finally lose all the weight I want to lose this time around!
— Lynn
Note: This post was written as part of my participation in the Shaklee Cinchspiration campaign. I received a free initial supply of Cinch weight loss products in exchange for sharing my views via my social media channels. As if you couldn’t tell, the opinions here (pros and cons) are completely my own!
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Blogging Break is Over, New Year Seems Full of Possibilities!
I’m soooo glad I took a long blogging break to enjoy Advent and the full twelve days of Christmas. We just wrapped up the holiday season yesterday – yes, that’s right, not until Saturday, 7th January …with a trip to see “Merry Madagascar” topped off by a Three Kings Day party with some old friends.
So now that the Christmas cookies and The Three Kings cake are eaten, I’m focused on new year’s resolutions. I tend to make the same ones year after year: lose weight and get more organized.
This year I decided to get more help in achieving my goals. On the organizational front, I’ve actually hired a coach – and I start working with her tomorrow! I’m very excited about this. I’m hoping to organize my life in its entirety: family, work, spirituality and the greater Green good, physical activity / health /fitness and then finally, me-time. (Yeah, I know…what’s me-time?)
Back in 2010, I blogged that I was going to “tackle the big one – weight loss.” I even started a twitter feed – @weight_loss2010. Here it is, two years later and I weigh about the same. So what’s different? Why will it work this time?
I’m hoping that getting better organized – via the coach – will lessen my stress levels. I KNOW I eat when I’m stressed. I’ll eat a very healthy day’s worth of meals and then just completely blow it during the “witching hour” that every Mom knows so well. All it takes is a few handfuls of cookies or goldfish(R) or a beer (or what the heck, all three!) at 6:00 p.m. to undo all those salads, whole grains, and lean proteins.
I’m trying a new twist on the online support I looked for with @weight_loss2010. With the encouragement of Sommer Poquette, aka Green and Clean Mom, I’ve agreed to join Shaklee’s “#Cinchspiration” campaign. I’m hoping that the combination of online support, Sommer’s infectious enthusiasm and winning weight loss results (22 pounds!) and a free initial supply of Shaklee’s meal replacement shake will be just the ticket to losing weight.
I also made a trip over the holidays to the Reebok outlet to finally replace my old, worn, holey sneakers. And I also picked up two pairs of very cool work out pants, which I’m wearing right now, since I just returned from the gym.
And finally, as far as this blog goes, you can expect to see a greater emphasis on climate change. Time is running out to reverse the damage climate change has already inflicted – and the weather-related horrors that most leading scientists predict are yet to come. In fact, “Resolutions to Fight Climate Change” will be the topic of our first Green Moms Carnival of 2012, which will run at Strocel.com on January 23.
So stay tuned, enjoy the beginning of an exciting new year, and tell me – what are you up to that’s new and different in 2012?
— Lynn
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People who know me “in the real world” know I’m not shy. You can still tell that I was the girl voted “most talkative” in my high school class! Yet when it comes to the blogosphere, I haven’t always been my normal gregarious self. I’ve been ribbed about not having a picture up on Twitter, and for trying to pass myself off as Catherine Zeta Jones here on OrganicMania.
There’s something special about connecting with other like-minded souls though the power of our words. When I read blogs, I think about the blogger’s sentiments. I don’t look at someone who may or may not share my race, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, or age.
Yet as I prepared for BlogHER DC and my first face-to-face meeting with some of my Green Mom’s Carnival friends, I reverted to the old stereotype that I poked fun of in this post, BlogHERs Worrying About What to Wear. Of course, I had more to worry about than just meeting a bunch of cybersisters for the first time – I was also self-conscious about appearing on camera for noted documentary film maker Min Sook Lee’s upcoming film.
I couldn’t avoid the camera this time. This was something different – something worth doing. Min Sook is trying to raise awareness of the toxic products marketed to the most innocent among us – our babies.
She first spoke to Sommer Poquette aka Green & Clean Mom about her film project, and Sommer suggested that Min fly to DC’s BlogHER conference to meet several of the other “Green Moms Carnival” Moms. Although we email each other on a near-daily basis, it was the first time we had all met each other – Jenn Savedge of The Green Parent, Jennifer Taggert, aka SmartMama, Diane MacEachern of Big Green Purse fame, Jess, formerly of SurelyYouNest and late of Green Phone Booth, and Sommer.
So I put aside my fears and put on my lead-free lipstick and marched out to the conference. We enjoyed BlogHER and met up for dinner afterwards, joined by C. Levine of FoodieTots.
It was one of the most amazing experiences I’ve had in my journey as a mother. These women are so bright, and so committed to making a difference and to empowering other women to make the right decisions for the health of their children.
And as I looked around the BlogHER conference room at all the women I didn’t know, I smiled at a few of the BlogHERs. As I looked at their faces, I wondered about what was going on inside their heads. What words of wisdom would pour out of their blogs the next day as they reflected on BlogHER?
In some sense, I wish I hadn’t been so preoccupied with Min and the cameras – I missed much of the conference as Min filmed The Smart Mama testing Big Boy’s toys for lead. (Be sure to read Jess’s great post about what turned up in the lead testing). But next year, there will be another BlogHER. The opportunity to be a part of Min’s film and to connect with these very special “Green Moms” was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Just one more example of how blogging truly has changed my life.
— Lynn
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