I need to get into my Wedding Dress!

Hi, my name is Melissa. I’m a 34 year old mother of 2, who is engaged to be married. This blog will follow my adventures and challenges as I plan a wedding, try to lose 15-20 lbs. to fit into my wedding dress, and work from home while parenting two young children.

(Copyright Manda Aiello Photography)

My son, Tristan, is 16 months old, and my daughter Makena is six. While pregnant with Tristan, I split up with my fiancé, and probably due in part to the stress and depression of the situation, I gained 75 lbs. The recommended weight gain for a normal pregnancy that starts out at a healthy weight is 25-30 lbs. So after giving birth and losing the initial 15 lbs or so that is the baby himself and a lot of fluid, I was left weighing about 215 lbs and wearing a size 18. I’m 5’9, and normally weight between 150- 155 lbs. I can pull off weighing up to 165 without looking overweight. I am normally fairly active- I live close to the beach in Southern California and love surfing, snorkeling, and diving. I also enjoy riding my bike, walking the trail near my house that runs along a golf course, and doing Tae Bo and Spin classes at the gym.


At the weight I was after giving birth to Tristan, however, none of these activities that I usually enjoy were appealing, or even possible, to some extent. I couldn’t surf. Besides having a newborn and not having any time to myself, at that size I literally cannot paddle into or stand up on waves. And going to the gym after a year away was something I dreaded.


Tristan was born in May, and I spent most of last summer just trying to keep my head above water taking care of him and Makena, while also working from home as an Account Executive for a Direct Mail Marketing company. It was stressful and difficult, to say the least. Lest you think I’m complaining, I must tell you that at this time I was living with family, my parents, who helped out a lot, and who I am very grateful for. Mark, my ex and the children’s father, was helping a little at this time, but I was trying to avoid seeing him, as it was just painful and added stress to an already full load.


In September, an old friend of mine got in touch with me via Facebook. I had met Ituri 11 or 12 years earlier when I was 22. I had taken a wild adventure road trip south into Mexico, driving down the Baja Peninsula to Los Cabos. I met Ituri one night in a nightclub in Cabo San Lucas, and he took me out to meet his family, who were living on the East Cape, outside of San Jose del Cabo. I had an eye-opening experience out there the week that I was there, and have always considered Ituri a soul mate. Unfortunately, we were separated upon returning to Los Angeles, and I had never been able to locate him or get back in touch. Until the advent of social media. When I got into MySpace in 2004, I would check periodically to see if Ituri was on there. I had pretty much given up hope of ever locating him, but one day I searched his name, and there he was. I sent him a message, but didn’t hear back from him, and from looking at his page, it seemed he had stopped logging in. Then, about a year later, I got a message back from him, saying to find him on Facebook, as he rarely went on MySpace.


Long story short, we finally connected in September of ’09. He told me that he was now living in the L.A. area with his long-term girlfriend, Beth. He said that he planned to eventually go back to Cabo, but was up here building a business. He proceeded to tell me about Isagenix, and asked me to go to his website and check it out. I did, and at first my impression was that it was just another MLM, and I had already wasted money on a few of those since Makena was born. I spent $250 buying products for The Body Shop at Home, where I was supposed to hold home parties and sell body scrubs and lotions. Never made a dime from that, but I have had enough lotion, body wash and scrubs to last me several years. About a year and a half ago, my older sister got involved in the launch of a DNA-specific vitamin, where you swab your cheek and have a vitamin formulated for your unique DNA. She got all of our family and friends all hyped up and excited about it, and it never got off the ground, due to some compliance issues. I didn’t invest in that one, but just about everyone close to me did, and they are all disgruntled by the idea of Network Marketing as a result.


So, when Ituri pitched Isagenix to me, I wasn’t excited about the business, and I didn’t think it was something I could do well at. I did, however, need to lose weight, and was already a believer in cleansing. Since becoming a mother in 2004, I have been very concerned about nutrition and the foods that we eat. I have done a lot of research on the damaging effects of hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup, which nearly every packaged food at the grocery store contains. I do most of our grocery shopping at Trader Joe’s, and try to buy organic whenever possible. We have a hard fast rule of NEVER eating McDonald’s (except for the occasional low fat ice cream cone, which is actually surprisingly low in fat and calories).


It is a constant struggle for me to get healthy food into my daughter and keep toxic food out. As a child, I was overweight and teased mercilessly throughout elementary school and junior high. If there was one thing I could give my daughter, I want to give her the gift of healthy eating habits and a lean body. Sometimes I feel like I have already failed. Because I am a single mom, I’ve had to rely on other people to care for Makena while I work. Outside of school, these caregivers have largely been my parents. The problem here is that these are the same people who raised me as an overweight child, and they still have the same unhealthy eating habits that made me that way.


In fairness to my parents, I will say that it is likely that we have a genetic predisposition to being overweight. As an adult, I now know that I can eat the exact same diet as some of my naturally thin friends, and get the same amount of activity (perhaps more), and they will remain thin while I gain weight. That is just a fact of life that I have come to accept, and likely one that Makena will have to accept and account for as well. Until she reaches adulthood, however, it’s my responsibility to see to it that she stays healthy. It seems that the harder I try, the more resistance I get from both Makena and my parents.


So after checking out Isagenix, I agreed to give the products a try. I’ll be honest, it had a lot more to do with helping Ituri out than it did with the products, because I respect him and he helped me out years ago. I ordered a shake and cleanse system, the 9-day system. I asked Beth if it was safe to do while breastfeeding, and she got back to me and said that I could use the products, but I couldn’t do the cleanse days- I needed to eat food as long as I was breastfeeding in order for my son to get enough nutrition. So I did 2 shakes a day for 9 days, and drank the Cleanse for Life in the morning along with it. I think I probably ate 2 small meals instead of one, as well. I lost 8 lbs. in 9 days, and I was pretty excited about that!


I couldn’t afford to keep buying the products, however, so I cancelled my autoship after the second month. I figured one day if I had more time, I might try to give the business a try so that I could keep using the products.


That day turned out to be the next spring. After a few tries and misses at connecting in person, Ituri and I finally got together in early June of 2010. I was able to talk to him and hear more about Isagenix, both the products and the business. I met Beth, and she and I became instant friends. They were on their way to Cabo, where they were moving to open Isagenix in Mexico. They brought me a sample of Want More Energy?, the Isagenix energy drink, which contains no stimulants, just B Vitamins and electrolytes. I loved it, and was excited about the company after hanging out with them.


Now it’s September, and I’ve lost a total of about 50 lbs. I just got engaged (again!) to Tristan’s father, Mark. It has been a long process for us, and we are in a really good place now. I am excited (and a little stressed!) about planning a wedding for Spring. I had picked out the perfect dress 2 years ago when we were engaged the first time around, and I was really hoping I would still be able to get it. As luck would have it, my sister’s friend who works for Enzoani (http://www.bluebyenzoani.com/) had one left in her warehouse, in a size 10. Wedding gown sizing is a little strange, and a 10 is more like an 8 in regular sizes. As I am currently wearing a 12 in most clothing (I can squeeze into a 10 pants, but have a huge muffin top if I do- gross!), I have some work to do to get into that dress!


It looks like the wedding date will be in late February or early March, so I have 5 or 6 months to get my body back into pre-baby shape. I am currently doing the Isagenix shakes twice a day, with one sensible meal. Well, I am trying to do that at least! Things keep coming up that cause me to cheat, like tonight for instance we have a beach bonfire, where I’m sure there will be hot dogs and s’mores. And tomorrow we have a wedding to attend, then a Labor Day pool party.


I’ll be keeping you posted on my progress! I’m also making it a goal to get to the gym 3 times a week. This week I made it twice to Body Pump, which is an hour long weight and cardio combination. I’ll let you know if I make it tomorrow morning at 9am like planned...

Study – Fasting Causes Enzyme to Switch Off Production of Fat, Cholesterol

(by Dené Davis on Friday, July 9, 2010 at 8:10am- copied from Facebook.)
A new report reviews how fasting affects fat and cholesterol, which also may apply to Cleanse Days.


Harvard researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital have found that fasting causes an enzyme (SIRT1)to shut down production of fat and cholesterol, which could open up the scientific field to studying new approaches for lowering weight and improving lipid profiles.

Fasting has been previously known to suppress proteins called SREBPs, which are responsible for controlling fat synthesis and storage, butthe mechanism was not well understood. The researchers reportedthat after a series of experiments in worms, fruitflies and mice they found that fasting acts directly on SIRT1, one of a family of sirtuin enzymes, thereby down-regulating these SREBPs.

Sirtuin enzymes have become an active area of research since early 2000s because of findings that stimulation of sirtuin activity—via calorie restriction, intermittent fasting and compounds such as resveratrol—protected mice fed a high-calorie diet against weight gain, and increased the lifespan in nematode worms, fruitflies, fish and rodents.

Geneticists and medical researchers are only just beginning to understand how genes encode sirtuin enzymes, how the enzymes influence energy metabolism, and investigating various drugs as possible candidates to stimulate SIRT1.

Fasting and Cleanse Days

The study may potentially offer new insights into the science behind Isagenix products and systems.”The biological mechanism by which fasting turns off the proteins that stimulate fat and cholesterol synthesis may explain partially our success with our two weight-loss programs, where we incorporate one to two days per week of Cleanse Days, whichwe’ve shownsuccessfully produce healthy weight loss in adults,” says Susie Rockway, Ph.D., director of Isagenix Research and Science.

Dr. Rockway adds, “Similarly, the new study is interestingas it could have other implications because it offers support to intermittent fasting, or Cleanse Days, as a potential alternative to caloric restriction for stimulating SIRT1.”

In late April, Dr. Rockway presented the results of two pilot studies—a nine-day study and 28-day study—both of which found Isagenix products and Cleanse Days supported adults with healthy weight loss, maintaining healthy lipid profiles. The studies also found subjects felt better about their weight, health and energy levels.

Cleanse Days— days of limited food calories and water complemented by the botanical-based detox drink, Cleanse for Life—are a component of the Isagenix Cleansing and Fat Burning System, a nutritional program developed by the company to help customers achieve their health goals with cleansing and detoxification, replenishing with proper diet and nutrition, and controlling caloric intake.

Reference: Walker AK, Yang F, Jiang K et al. Conserved role of SIRT1 orthologs in fasting-dependent inhibition of the lipid/cholesterol regulator SREBP. Genes Dev 2010;24:1403-17.

I love Mondays!

Does somebody have a case of 'The Mondays'?  Ever dreaded Monday morning?  I have.  When I used to have to go into the office on Monday morning, I started dreading it Sunday afternoon.  Think of how wrong that is- You work 5 days a week to get 2 to enjoy your life, and then one of them is taken over by the dread of the next 5.  That's not a quality life!

I am so grateful for the freedom I have now, being self-employed and having the ability to work from my home office (also known as my kitchen, Starbucks, the pool, the playground, or the gym...)  Now I wake up on Monday morning eager and excited to start the day.  Today I am meeting a friend at the mall for coffee, where I will talk to at least 2 people about Isagenix, therefore making it a business trip and the coffee I buy a tax write-off.  Then I'm meeting another friend for lunch to talk about business while catching up.  I will probably spend the afternoon swimming with the kids or playing at the beach, then finish my day with a Body Pump class at the gym with Lindsay, the instructor that I gave samples to on Saturday and told that I would follow up with tonight. 

It's easy to combine an active, fulfilling lifestyle with business.  When you have a product you are passion about, that is tranforming lives, telling others about it transform your quality of life as well. 

In other news, I am down to 174 this morning.  I haven't yet taken my measurements for the day, but I will fill you in on those once I do.  I am well on my way to fitting in my wedding dress!  Watch me as I go.

Happy Monday!!

Celebration- Final Day

I have had a great time down here in San Diego the past 4 days!  I have learned a lot, but even more importantly, I have met so many wonderful people, many of whom I know will become lifelong friends and business partners.

Last night after having dinner with my family at The Old Spaghetti Factory (http://www.osf.com/locations/sandiego.html), Mark and I went walking with Tristan back to the Marriott Marina, by the convention center, where I stayed the first night.   On the way, we walked past the Hard Rock Hotel, and decided to go in because I wanted to show Mark the pool and outdoor bar on 4th floor roof called Float.  We went up a different way than I had gone the last time I came there, and ended up walking down a hallway of guest rooms.  It was creepy!!  I would never stay there.  The halls and doors are all dark purple, and feel almost as if they have been burned.  It feels more like a haunted house than a luxury hotel!  Yikes.  We were laughing and curling our index fingers, saying "Red Rum, Red Rum!"

Out at the pool, the evening crowd had not yet arrived, and we were the only ones there beside the bartenders.  After a moment, however, another couple with a baby around Tristan's age walked up.  They started chatting with us about how they were part of the Fire Fighter's Union Convention, which is currently sharing the convention center with Isagenix.  He told me that he was curious about our convention, and I told him that I could probably sneak him in today if he'd like.  I gave them an individually packaged IsaLean Shake and a Want More Energy drink mix, along with my contact info.  They were excited about the weight loss oppurtunity, so I expect to hear from them sometime today.  Mark and the guy really hit it off.  I think he may well have his first Associate!

After that, we walked back over to the Marriott, intending to go for a walk along the harbor, but got sidetracked walking through the hotel.  First, I ran into a woman named Dana, who I knew from Ron Reid's weekly conference call.  Dana has lost 300 lbs on Isagenix.  At 28, she weighed 800 lbs, and was hospitalized.  She couldn't fit in any regualar vehicle or ambulance, so she had to be taken home in the bed of a pickup truck.  When she was released from the hospital, her discharge form said that she was being sent home "to die with dignity."

Dana was in the lobby of the hotel surrounded by a small crowd of people.  She is still in a wheelchair, and is going to need physical therapy once she gets down to a walking weight.  But she is glowing! She seems joyful and full of hope for her future.  And she just got engaged!  I met her fiance (I think his name was Stephan), and they both seemed so happy.  I was so touched by what she has achieved, and what her future holds.

After that, Tristan was on a rampage, running up and down the halls of the lobby (thankfully, it is a very large lobby.)  People kept laughing and telling me how adorable he is.  So adorable if you are not the one chasing him and trying to keep him from riding up and down the escalators!!

Mark and I got a beer and sat by the pool, stripped Tristan down and let him do what he'd been begging to do- go back in the pool.  It was a warm, tropical-feeling night.  We could almost pretend that we were in Hawaii.  It was the perfect end to an exciting day.

Today, Tuesday, I got to the convention center around 9:30, and watched some of the general session. There was training on some useful new tools in the back office, and some Martial Arts demonstrations (not so useful, but whatever.)  After a while, I was tired of sitting and headed back to the pool.  It was a beautiful day!  Summer has finally come to Southern California!  I did some work on my laptop, made a few calls, and had a chicken caesar salad and a pina colada. Now that's what I call a productive workday!

I ran into Rowena again by the pool, and we chatted and caught up, then went over to the Isagenix product store at the convention center, to pick up some marketing and training materials.  The final general session is still going on right now, but I was tired and came back to the hotel room to rest.  I also got a bit too much sun, being at the pool from 11:30- 2:30.  I put on sunblock, but too late.  I borrowed some from a family near me once I started feeling like I was burning. I had several bottles of my own sunblock, but had packed most of my stuff into the car this morning when we checked out of our room. (I am using Beth and Judy's hotel room now.  They were thoughtful and left me a key.)

I am trying to decide whether to stay for the 80s Dance Party tonight or head home.  It sounds like a lot of fun, but doesn't start until 8pm and I am so tired!  It's been a long and fun convention, but I am ready for a relaxing night at home now.  I just think I had better wait until a little later to leave, or I will get stuck in traffic heading back up to O.C. on the 5 freeway.  I miss the days when there was never any congestion between OC and SD, and you could zip from South OC to SD in an hour or less. 

Isagenix Celebration- Day 2

It has been another exciting day in beautiful, sunny San Diego with Isagenix Celebration! My day started off early, with me awaking at 7 and going down to the lobby Starbucks for a decaf Americano before heading over to the convention center for the Isagenix Social Media Roadshow.

The Social Media Roadshow was awesome.  A lot of what they went over are things that I have already figured out in the past few months, but it was great to tie it all together.  I enjoyed meeting and hearing from Kevin Gawthrope (@gawthrok) and Michael O'Neill (@itsaboutsocial).  I was on my laptop tweeting and adding Facebook friends as they taught.  I think the best nugget I picked up was "Friend EVERYONE!!"  I used to be really specific about only adding friends to Facebook who were actual friends in the sense that I had at least met them in real life and made a connection with them.  But now I see that in the world of online and network marketing, you want as many friends as possible!!

After the class, I went back to the Marriott and met up with Beth, Rick, and Chris in the room, where we blended up some IsaLean Vanilla Shakes (it was 10:30 by that point and I was HUNGRY!!) and then packed up the room, because we had to change hotels.  My mom works for Marriott, and we were blessed to be able to utilize her discount for the convention.  We moved to the Residence Inn Gaslamp

Isagenix Celebration- Day 1

It's Saturday (well, technically Sunday now), and I am in San Diego, once again staying at the lovely Marriott Marina Hotel. This has a much different vibe than my previous visits here, however, as the hotel is largely populated by Isagenix Celebration attendees.

Here's a really bad-quality shot of the Marriott San Diego Hotel and Marina

I arrived this afternoon around 2:30pm, after driving here in bumper-to-bumper traffic all the way from San Juan Capistrano, where I dropped Tristan off with Mark. I was so excited when I left to have a night of FREEDOM, away from the kids!! Tristan has been extremely clingy and whiny the past few days, so I was feeling like, "Good Riddance!!" Of course, now I miss my little bubbaroo and can't wait to see him tomorrow afternoon.

Beth Miller and Rowena

After driving down here in aforementioned heinous traffic, I got off at Rosecrans in S.D. in dire need of a restroom and some food. I went into Target to buy a cheap bathing suit bottom, since I had once again forgotten a piece at home. Then I decided to drive through my old college haunt, Santana's in Point Loma, for some tasty, GREASY Mexican food. Upon entering the drive thru, I saw a sign saying that 'Fresh Mxn is the new Santana's' and was a bit apprehensive. How can you change Santana's?! But have no fear, it's just as greasy and cheesy and rolled-taco-with-and-guacamole-y as ever. Some of you may be disappointed to hear that I did not order a California Burrito, but I am partial to the Rolled Tacos and giant Jack Quesadilla. I was only able to eat less than half of my order, but mmm, mmm, it was good.

Beth and I, First Day of Isagenix Celebration 2010 San Diego

I then drove down Harbor Drive to the hotel, and when I arrived there was a line in the lobby to check in that took nearly an hour! I was so burnt out by the time I got to the room, I just stripped off my clothes, through on a bikini, and went straight to the pool. While ordering a beer at the bar, I met two wonderful Isagenix ladies from Canada- Montreal and Quebec, I believe. We chatted while I waited for Beth to arrive from the airport (where she had just flown in from San Jose del Cabo). Rowena, Kim, and I became fast friends, and when Beth arrived she joined the comeraderie.










Apparently, I met the owner of the company, Jim Coover, which I'm told is a big deal. I'm not one to be impressed by such things, so I just chatted with him like I did with all the other people in the group, and helped him get the attention of the bartender, who was ignoring him. After he left, Beth thought it was hillarious that I had been so blase about it, because I guess people usually fawn all over him like he's a celebrity. I, however, wouldn't have treated a celebrity any differently, either. People are people. And, I'm sorry, but I can't quite get into this whole Ra-Ra Network Marketing Worship Fest. I just came here to meet some cool people, learn how to better market my business, and be inspired by what others have done.

We also had some laughs with the Midori folks, who gave us these groovy green 80s shades:

We agreed to meet our new friend Rowena from Canada in the lobby at 7:30 for dinner. That turned into more like 8 by the time Beth had finished a phone call (by the sound of it, signing up a new Associate), and gotten dressed. Rowena was good-natured about our tardiness. We walked from the hotel over toward the Gaslamp area, and were lured by an effective doorman into Fleming's Steakhouse. The food was amazing- I ordered a Rib Eye steak with a Gorgonzola cream and spicy shrimp topping, and Beth had Alaskan King Crab legs, which we shared. We also had sides of mushrooms, creamed spinach, and escalloped potatoes.

It was all you could ask for in a meal, but by the time I had taken a few bites, exhaustion set in and I started feeling lightheaded. I had to excuse myself and walk back to the hotel.

Beth's friends who had driven down from Seattle to join us, Rick Richard and his wife Cathy, had just arrived, and I met them in the room and directed them to the restaurant to join the ladies for wine (we had a good bottle of Greg Norman Cabernet) and offered them the rest of my dinner, which seemed a total shame to waste. For those who aren't familiar, Fleming's is simmilar to Morton's- very high end, very rich, very excellent food. Any other time, I would have ravaged that Rib Eye, but I am still recovering from my bronchitis, plus I had been awake since about 5am.

As I walked back to the hotel from the restaurant, there was a beautiful fireworks display lighting off directly behind our hotel, over the water of the Marina. They reflected off the mirrored highrises across the street, and it was beautiful. There was also an outdoor concert happening in the park near the trolley, and I was briefly regretful that I was so tired and couldn't enjoy the nightlife. My one night without kids, and I was in the room in bed by 10:00. I went right to bed, falling asleep to the end of 'The Wedding Singer' on T.V.

I awoke sweating and looked at the clock to see that it was 1am. None of my roomies were back yet, so I texted to make sure they were alright. They said they were, so I threw on some pants and went down to the car to retrieve my cell phone charger, so that I would have a battery for tomorrow, and also so that I could use my phone as a wi-fi port to write this.

I will write more about the festivities tomorrow. Good night!