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| (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...
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