7 Ways to Exercise at the Office!

7 Ways to Exercise at the Office
In my list of 10 Things I’ve Learned About Blogging my number 6 is to exercise.  Blogging is an insidiously sedentary activity and without exercise it’s easy to put on extra pounds.  For some reason, this year, I’m anxious to find ways to exercise while I work at my computer.  Maybe it’s the many new years resolutions that I’m seeing posted on Facebook, or the fact that I just finished my 6 month journey with Shaklee’s Cinch {now called Shaklee 180}, or maybe I’m just tired of being lazy.  Either way, I’ve done a lot of research on the subject and now I’m sharing it with you in case you want to join me in my weird experiment to use exercise equipment in the office.  Who’s with me?  Here are 7 Ways to Exercise at the Office!exercise ball desk chairExercise BallThe exercise ball also goes by other names such as fitness ball, exercise ball, or balance ball.  It’s made from a thick durable rubber that can easily hold your weight and allows you to do a variety of exercises.  One simple way to use it is to sit on the ball while you work.  I’m thinking that this is a good option for me!  Sitting on it works your core muscles as you maintain good postural alignment.  Check out this awesome exercise ball chair that I found on Amazon!  It’s on sale for $101.99 {marked down from $188.94} with free shipping.  That’s a 46% savings! 

 

Step elliptical trainer

Elliptical Trainer

This is an elliptical like none other because it fits under your desk.  We sold our elliptical a few years ago to make better use of our space but I do miss it.  This would be a great way to get a little exercise in without really thinking about it.  I could just peddle while I worked. This elliptical trainer is on sale for $87 {marked down from $200} with free shipping on Amazon.  That’s a 57% savings!

 

 

Under desk cycle

Cycle

This is similar to the elliptical that rests under your desk but instead of an elliptical motion it moves like a bicycle.  If you put it on top of your desk you can even use it to work out your arms.  However, I wouldn’t recommend this unless you work form home.  You might get made fun of. : )  This adjustable height cycle is on sale for $35.99 {marked down from $60} with free shipping from Amazon.  That’s a 40% savings!

balance diskBalance Discs
I will probably avoid these because I have no sense of balance…or maybe I should get them to improve my balance?  These balance disks are thick rubber that’s filled with air.  Whenever you’re standing at your desk, say on the phone, you could stand on this ball.  It probably wouldn’t be a good idea to use it while wearing heels though!  This balance disk is on sale at Amazon for $15.30 {marked down from $24.99} and it ships for free with Amazon Prime.
resistance bands
Resistance Bands
I have one of these that I got as a freebie last year from a vitamin company’s Facebook offer.  Resistance bands are made of a durable rubber that has plastic handles on each end.  You can do many stretches with these throughout the day and I need to start!  A resistance band is great for shoulder presses, lateral raises, triceps extensions & other exercises I don’t exactly know the names of.  There are a variety of resistance bands out there but I found this set on Amazon for only $17.99 plus free Amazon Prime shipping.  This set reuses the same handles for all of the different strength resistance bands.
treadmill desk
Treadmill Desk
If you’re pressed for time and aren’t able to go to the gym, you can bring your gym to your office with a treadmill desk.  This apparatus has a workstation complete with space for a laptop, books, phone, and water bottle.  You simply walk at a slow pace as you work.  Hey, maybe your mind will be so distracted by what you’re doing that you’ll forget that you’re exercising!  I’m sure I’m not coordinated enough for one of these and I don’t have a treadmill due to space limitations, but I have to say that I would love to try this and see if I could handle working and walking at the same time!  I love a challenge!  This treadmill desk is on sale at Amazon for $483.77 {marked down from $589} and ships for free!
pedal desk
Pedal Desk
Similar to the treadmill desk, the pedal desk allows you to work on your computer while getting a work out.  With the pedal desk you can cycle to your heart’s content while having your computer at your fingertips.  This isn’t as appealing to me as the treadmill desk but I’d still like to take it for a spin!  This pedal desk is on sale at Amazon for $253.96 {marked down from $289} plus free shipping!

 

What about you?  What ways have you found to briefly exercise while at the office?

Month 6: #Cinchspiration Weight Loss Update

I’ve done it, I’ve reached the sixth month of my Cinch program and I’m awful proud of it!  I’ve spent the past six months going through my personal work out boot camp while on the Cinch program and sharing that on a public stage.  You’ve been able to see my struggles as I’ve tried to find balance in living a healthy life as a mom.  The world has been able to watch my ups and downs through their computer screens.  The goal, besides reviewing the Cinch program, was to inspire and show how life’s challenges can be overcome. Of course, the ultimate goal was to learn how to eat and live a healthy lifestyle and to pass those values and habits on to my family.   Now for some fun before and after pictures!!  

Before and After

Okay so I know that these facial pictures don’t show a major difference but the difference is huge to me.  You see, my face has always been chubby and always will be.  Growing up my family use to comfort me by saying that the baby fat on my face would go away as I got older.  If it hasn’t gone away yet I don’t think it ever will.  Even when I weighed around 100 pounds I’ve had a face chubbier than some women who weighed double what I did.  It’s something I have to live with and I’m okay with that.  However, I did gain some weight in my face when I was pregnant and I’m excited to slowly be losing it.  It might not be a dramatic difference for you to see but it makes a HUGE difference in how I feel about myself.  I love it!

I’m sad to say that I don’t have before and after pictures for you just yet.  I have them!  Well, sort of.  I took before pictures and I’ve taken after pictures but the before pictures are stuck on a computer that freezes as soon as we restart it.  I’m really sad about this.  We’ll be taking the computer to get it fixed soon and you can bet that I’ll be showing them off when I get the pictures back!  I’m excited to see the before and after pictures side by side for myself.  I would show you the after picture now but it’s really not that impressive unless you saw what I looked like before.  I still don’t have an athletic build with 6 pack abs but I know that I look better than I did.  I sure feel better anyway! Update: I have pictures for you!!!  Yay!

Before and After

I’ll be honest, when I eat healthier I have more energy. Always!  I might not always like to admit it but it’s true.  I’ll take any extra bit of energy I can get.  Sure eating a candy bar and drinking a pop {or soda, or coke, or whatever} will give me a temporary bit of energy but it’s temporary and it’s usually followed by a sugar crash.  Skipping the sugary sweets alone has helped with my energy but the metabolism boosting Cinch supplement is there to give me an extra oomph.  Plus, their amazing snack bars are a great alternative to a sugary snack.  They have something magical in them that helps keep me fuller longer.  They’re great!

Are you ready to hear how much I lost?  Drum roll please…….

I’ve lost 25 pounds AND 24 inches!

I have to say, “Results and experiences are unique for each person, so results may vary. People following the weight loss portion of Shaklee 180 can expect to lose 1-2 pounds a week.”

That’s more than my kid weighs!  That’s pretty significant for me.  While I can rejoice in this small victory I’m not finished yet.  I still have weight that I want to lose and muscle that I want to tone up.  I hope you’ll continue to follow me on my weight loss/inch loss journey even though my official blogging time with the Cinch program has reached it’s end.

Come and see my final Cinchspiration video here on YouTube if the video doesn’t load below!


I’d like to close by saying a big THANK YOU to the Shaklee program for this opportunity and to Sommer for being such a wonderful friend and cheerleader through it all.

The Cinch™ program {which now goes by the name of Shaklee 180} was provided to me free of charge for 6 months in exchange for my honest opinion!  The posts I’ve written have been 100% my own and have not been edited by Shaklee.  No other compensation was received.

Month 5: #Cinchspiration Weight Loss Update

cinch

 

Way back in the summer, June I believe, I set my Cinch weight loss goal. #Cinchspiration!  I wanted to lose 30+ pounds by the end of this 6 month challenge.  That seemed like a ridiculously high, possibly unreachable, goal.  I started off overzealous, too zealous to the point where it was unhealthy.  Month two was fabulous for me.  I had hit my stride!  I went for walks, I was drinking more water, and I was sticking to Cinch.  I did spend a small time in the hospital having my appendix removed but I didn’t eat much during that time.  Month three was very busy and a difficult month for many reasons.  My grandmother went to be with the Lord, my best friend got married, and at the end of month three I had lost 10 pounds and 20 inches.  I was proud of my weight loss despite my circumstances and diet cheating.  Month four was a wash.  Yep, it hurts to say it but I didn’t gain or lose anything in the fourth month.  I was very sick for almost the entire month and I only followed the Cinch plan for one meal a day.  Through the month I gained a few pounds and lost a few pounds but at the end of the month my scales looked like they did at the end of the third month.  Now here I am ready to report at the end of the fifth month.

 

Can you believe it’s been five months already?  I can’t!  Time has flown by.  Even though my life hasn’t been the ideal circumstances for demonstrating a diet program I’m glad to be able to tell you honestly how it works.  Life happens!  It does and we can’t always be prepared for it.  I’ll be honest, I’m not one of the die-hard people who are working out daily to show that they’ve lost the most weight.  There is a 10,000 spokesperson job with Cinch up for grabs at the end of this 6 month challenge and I believe one of them should probably get it.  They’ve altered more than their eating habits.  They’ve altered their life, their spare time, and what they consume.  That is huge!  Me on the other hand, I’ve never been much of a suck up.  Not that those ladies are!!  They may just be motivated women who want to lose weight.  I feel that if I went above and beyond like that it wouldn’t be right.  It wouldn’t be who I am and it wouldn’t be an honest evaluation of the program.  I don’t want to stop my life for a time being just to “prove” that this program works.  Do you know what I mean?  If I did that, you, my very important readers, would be deceived.  I want to give you an honest opinion from my experience with the program.  I hope that’s okay!

 

Honest feedback about Cinch:

  • It’s yummy!
  • It fills you up.
  • It gives you a little extra energy.
  • It’s convenient.
  • The milkshakes do get old but there are a ton of different ways to mix up the shakes to make them tasty again.  For example, try the chocolate one hot or add pumpkin to the vanilla one.

 

Five months down and I’m proud to say that I’ve lost 20 pounds and 22 inches.  I haven’t reached my goal yet but I have another full month to do so.  Who knows?  Maybe with this Black Friday shopping exercise that’s coming up I’ll be able to knock off another pound or two.  I don’t have my pre-marriage body back but I’m getting very close to having my pre-baby body back and it feels good.  I might not look like I did when I was eighteen but I’m starting to feel good about the way I look again.  I feel better in my own skin and I can’t adequately put that feeling into words.

 

I honestly think that Cinch is a wonderful program.  It’s a convenient way to get protein packed meals to fill you up and keep you feeling you full.   They offer snacks for you in addition to a list of other healthy snacks that you can enjoy if you get the munchies.  If you’re looking for a weight loss plan, or more specifically an inch-loss plan, then you should definitely take a look at the Cinch program.

 

Disclosure: I was provided Cinch products in exchange for my honest opinion.  No monetary compensation was received.

My Past Two Months & #Cinchspiration Update

I’d love to say my journey so far has been effortless, without a speed bump or detour, but  that’s not true. The very first few days I over thought the details of the program and watched EVERYTHING I ate, exercised too much, and I got incredibly weak.  I realized that I only ate 300 calories one day.  I had the meal bar, the shake, a sip of the tea, a snack bar and a very light salad.  300 calories!  No wonder I was exhausted and grumpy.  I realized that this was unhealthy so I added in more fruit and healthy snacks and ate a more sensible (and sometimes down right unhealthy) dinner.  Finding balance in all areas of life is a struggle for me and I’m sure it will be to the day I die.  I want to give everything 110% and time wise that’s not possible and not always a good idea.

 

Hospital pic

 

 

During my journey with Shaklee I also ended up in the hospital {not because of the program!!} and had to have my appendix removed.  Then it wasn’t anytime before my doctor thought I might have Crohn’s Disease and sent me for a colonoscopy.  The tests came back negative, by the way!  You think I would have lost weight with these but nope, I gained 6 pounds after my colonoscopy.  That was discouraging but I was sure it was just fluid from the IVs they were pumping me with.

 

Reviewer's Retreat

 

Four days after my appendectomy I attended the Reviewer’s Retreat which was amazing!  I MUST take the time and write out the details and share more pictures.  It was a great conference and it was so nice to meet “online friends” in person!  In the picture you may recognize Becky from week99er.com, Jaime from CouponCrazyFreebieFanatic.com and Laura from AnotherCentSaved.com.  It was fun to be able to talk to bloggers who started about the same time as me and I’ve been reading ever since.  I also had the privilege of meeting Ted Rubin, who is a social media/marketing genius!  Anyway, stay tuned for more details later.

First Birthday

 

Fast forward a few weeks and I have a little girl’s 1 year birthday party to plan.  {Pictures and all the details will be coming soon, I promise!!} My good friend also asked me to make a birthday cake for her sister for the day before my little girl’s party. Chaos!  Then I had a VBS backdrop to paint and supplies to buy and volunteers to gather.  Not to mention, a lesson to learn, props to buy, and a classroom to decorate.  Somewhere in there my 14 year old cousin came down to stay with us for the week.  I’ll have to post pictures of that week too!  We had so much fun shopping, baking, and crafting.  During this time of chaos we never stopped inviting people over for dinner, accepting invitations out, and I never stopped sitting with the sweetest lady who has Alzheimer a few nights a week.  Let’s see…I’m a little scatterbrained at the moment and I’m sure I’m forgetting 5 or 6 other things.  Sufficient to say, life. has. been. hectic.  The Cinch program was nice because I could quickly eat without giving thought to what I’m going to eat or taking time to slow down and prepare a meal.  I’ll admit that sometimes I didn’t take time to get the blender out and make the shake so I would eat a half peanut butter sandwich, fruit, or even the snack bar for a meal.  That’s better than skipping a meal like I would do before!

 

Birthday party

 

 

We also visited family up in WV to have another birthday party for our baby girl.  That was foiled by a power outage due to the crazy storms that were going on.  It was in the 90’s!!  We were staying at our in-laws the night before the big party and we were actually celebrating the birthday of our niece.  My husband and I ran out quickly to the grocery store to pick up some baby food.  On our way out of the grocery parking lot the storm came.  It felt like we were in a movie {Twister to be exact}!  A HUGE tree fell right in front of us on our way home so we backed up, turned around and tried an alternate route home but there was a tree blocking the road, then we tried another, and another.  We tried a total of six different ways home before we found one that was clear!  It’s a good thing my husband grew up there and knew his way around.  If I was by myself I probably would have sat in the grocery store parking lot and cried.  Everyone was safe and we ended up having a pretty fun party in the dark.  {Notice the picture above.}  We normally slept upstairs at their house but without air conditioning it was just too hot.  The men set up a pretty amazing bed for her downstairs with a table blocking one side of the mattress, the couch the other, etc. but she didn’t like it one bit.  She cried, fussed, and then just laid there whimpering.  I sat outside the door a nervous wreck not having a good solution.  I made my way to the couch and tried to sleep there but I wasn’t too successful.  After a few hours and what had seemed like an eternity later, my husband suggested that we go upstairs to sleep, thinking that maybe it had cooled off enough with the nighttime breeze.  We went up and checked it out and sure enough, it was tolerable.  As soon as we confirmed the next day that we had power down here in NC we made a beeline home.

 

Grandmother's Memorial Service Rainbow

 

Boy, this part is hard to write.  Earlier this month my grandmother went home to be with her Lord.  I know it’s a fact but it still doesn’t seem real.  My husband and I drove up to Cleveland Clinic after we dropped our sweet girl and dog off at my in-laws.  The rest of my family were there waiting for us before they took her off the ventilator.  As we were pulling in the garage ready to meet my dad in the lobby we got a call from him saying that she was fading quickly and he was headed up stairs.  This girl ran and ran and quickly found out just how out of shape she was!  Thankfully, thankfully, I was able to spend time with her and say goodbye.  She even opened her eyes to look at me once!!  Helping my family with the obituary and memorial service details we stayed in town a few more days.  It. was. tough.  I was an emotional wreck.  Even though I ate a few of the snack bars that I brought with me I didn’t hesitate to get ice cream every chance I got.  Ice cream is my go-to comfort food.  Oh and on the way home from the funeral, near the beginning of our 4.5 hour drive, our air conditioner went out!  You can bet I got ice cream at every gas station we stopped at.  {The picture above is of a lovely rainbow that was outside the church after my grandmother’s memorial service. It was perfect!}

 

Best Friend's Wedding

 

The next weekend I was on the road again to travel to go to my best friend’s wedding.  It was such a joy to meet up with some of my closest friends from college!  That was all fun and I didn’t encounter any problems going, there, or coming back!!!

 

Now that I’m back home with a relatively calm schedule I’ve been doing pretty good.  I haven’t been exercising like a maniac or anything but I’ve been going for a morning walk/speed walk with my little girl and dog several days out of the week.  I’m probably not the poster child for this program but I want to give you information about Cinch from a real person’s perspective.  Real people don’t stick to every detail of the plan every day.  We don’t, right?  Life happens.  We don’t go to the gym for a few hours every day.  Nobody else does this, do they?  I think the great thing about Cinch is that you can make it fit your life and not the other way around.  It’s not a dictator of your life but it’s a tool to help you lose unwanted inches.

 

If you’ve read this far you deserve an applause!  Thank you for caring and reading about my story.  Please, if you’re reading this leave me a comment.  It’s unbelievably encouraging to get feedback from you!  After you leave a comment : ), feel free to check out my video on #Cinchspiration Update on YouTube or view it below.

Shaklee #Cinchspiration Kick-Off

Today is the day that I put all of my excuses behind me.  No whining.  No feeling bad about my extra bulge.  Today is the day that I am going to take my first step to reaching my weight loss goals!  Today I will begin the Shaklee Cinch Inch Loss Plan to help me lose weight, lose inches and finally gain my confidence back!

 

cinch

 

And so my story begins….

 

I will be updating this once a month with my weight loss tracked and with pictures.  As you can see, right now my target areas are my thighs and my stomach.  I’ve always had a completely flat stomach and it really grosses me out the way that clothes fit me now.  I’ve never had a problem with this and I don’t know how to tackle it.  My thighs however, have been with me for a while and I know what needs to be done to bring them back to a healthy size.  I just need to do it!  The Cinch Wellness site has workshops {or classes} that will teach me about my body and what I need to do to lose inches and keep them off.  I feel that understanding why I’m overweight is important in knowing how to maintain a healthy body weight.

 

Current weight: Oh, this is hard. Okay, 160.  There I said it.  I weight one hundred and sixty pounds!

 

My goals: Cinch is encouraging the Cinchspiration team to have SMART goals.  Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic,Time-driven goals.

 

My goal is to lose 30 pounds.  20 would still be awesome but 30 is my lofty, dream goal right now.  I figure this is a 12 week program and if I lose just a little over 2 lbs safely per week I’ll reach my goal.  I don’t know what size clothes I’ll be in but I’m pretty sure I would be able to fit into my pre-baby clothes…but if not, I think a shopping trip is in order!  Before I get carried away with myself, I’m going to get off here and go read more about this Cinch plan.

 

I’m a #Cinchspiration Team Member!

Cinch

 

Yay! I’m a #Cinchspiration team member!  I’m excited to have been chosen to join 49 great, inspirational, and funny women in a journey to lose weight.  Yes, I’m fed up with this left over baby weight and I’m ready to get moving and Cinch it!  Cinch a program by Shakelee designed to help women lose inches and not just weight.  I’ll be documenting the highs and lows of my weight loss journey with you and I hope you’ll enjoy following along.

 

I’ll be honest, I am completely petrified at the idea of being held accountable for losing inches/weight.  It’s not that Shakelee will be upset with me if I don’t lose X inches by a certain date but if I document the journey for you, you’ll know if I fail.  Heaven forbid you find out that I’m not perfect!  Ha!  You already know that, don’t you?  It’s just a bit of extra pressure motivation to stick with it.  Nervous or not, I’m going to do this.  The process will be documented, you will see embarrassing pictures, and you will hear details about my life that you never knew before.  Hopefully, you’ll be able to laugh with me and find a bit of inspiration to reach your goals too.