The site is great! Full of inspiration, much like the book itself, "motivation for physical and spiritual fitness". Posts have included yummy, healthy recipes (there are some of those in the book, too... from Candace's own kitchen) shared. There have also been videos from guest contributors and interviews with Candace.
Other blog authors are following along and contributing have been giving away copies of the book. Darlene has also had sponsors that are giving away things on the Reshaping It All Challenge site. I recently got in on one of those giveaways. The way to enter was to send in a picture of yourself with your copy of the Reshaping It All book. My son/personal photographer, Wyatt, took many pictures of me before we got the one I sent in. I had the book turned around backwards in a bunch of them. I didn't realize it until I loaded them on the computer; he thought I meant to have it backwards, because "There was still a picture of her on the back." Gotta love him. So, here's the one I sent in:
There is a story behind that blue shirt. It is just a Danskin shirt from Walmart. I bought it on clearance for $3. Actually, I bought two of them, one in a size large and the other a size small. I would have preferred to buy a medium, but they were on clearance, and those were my choices. When I bought them, I would not wear the small out of the house, but Thomas said I should keep it. It is my favorite color of blue, soft and comfy cotton, and a great price! I bought them more than six months ago. I didn't take the tag off the small until the date you see on the photo. And I actually wore the shirt out of the house that day!
So, the giveaway was a hoodie from Union28, an online marriage apparel store. Oh, they have some really cool clothes! I highly recommend checking them out. I will be shopping there in the future! Then Darlene made the giveaway even sweeter, she added a copy of the book to give to a friend.
There were lots of giveaways for people who didn't have a book, and some comments to send you to the site even said to sign up and win one for a friend, if you already had a copy. I have a least a dozen friends I'd like to give the book to, so I did sign up for at least one, maybe two giveaways. Then I went to sign up to win other copies of the book and I couldn't enter to win. There were all these comments from ladies who didn't have a copy and so badly wanted one. So, I couldn't bring myself to enter anymore of those book giveaways, but this was a "My Husband Rocks" hoodie AND a copy of the book specifically to give to a friend! And I won!!! Thank you Darlene and Union28!!!
So, some of you may be wondering... have you lost weight, or did you just get brave wearing the size small shirt? Well, I did Cinch! earlier this year. My Mom saw the book on the Rachel Ray Show, I think, and then bought the book. She and Dad did the 30 day diet. Then she loaned me the book. Thomas was doing his "Fat Boy Challenge" at work (the guys all gain weight over the holidays and then try to lose the most percentage of weight in 2 or 3 months). So, we did the Cinch Kick Off, and we both enjoyed the food and I read the book. We both lost weight, and I continued to use the main ideas in the book to judge when I should eat and how to balance what I was eating.
Now Mom and Dad are doing the Food Lovers Diet. I think they were both in place that they thought there was nothing more they could do, but the inches just seem to be melting off them. My great-grandpa (Dad's grandpa) had a belly, and Dad was just sure his was inherited. Well, he's losing that belly now! I almost can't believe how lose their clothes are getting! They haven't lost hug amounts of weight on the scales, but they are losing inches. Mom keeps going shopping for new clothes, and keeps trying to get rid of Dad's that are falling off of him. He had a pair of jeans on last week that looked like they were pleated, but the look was just because he had to tighten his belt so much to keep them up. They've shared some of what they've learned from Food Lovers, too. Anyway, to make a long story shorter, the keys are much what Candace shares with her readers in Reshaping It All, eating in moderation... and treats/desserts are okay in moderation, eating a balanced diet (plenty of fruits, veggies, whole grains, lean protein, and just making sure you're eating real food... the stuff that God created), and exercise!
My parents have really inspired me to get moving again. I know I need to be a good example to my kids, but I honestly get lazy sometimes. Seeing my Mom and Dad shape up and have more energy... oh! I want that, too! I know I feel better and get more done when I eat right and exercise. I really just want my clothes to fit well, to be healthy, and have lots of energy. I'm not concerned with what my scale says... unless those numbers go back to where they were at the end of 2010, which was the heaviest I'd been since having kids!
I am loving how Candace keys in turning to God, and loving His word more than sweets. I actually used that on lunch at work the other day. The store was having a cook out for us, so that meant free burgers, hot dogs, chips, etc. And my manager was saying how great the burgers were, much better than usual. So, I'm thinking, free food, I should take advantage of that, right?! But I had carefully packed a yummy, healthy lunch of baby spinach leaves with balsamic vinaigrette, my special recipe herbed chicken salad, and a serving of Kashi Heart to Heart whole grain crackers. I could eat that later though.... So, I picked up a burger, no bun, topped it with a slice of tomato, grabbed some All Natural Lays Barbecue chips (cuz I'd been wanting to try them for weeks... and I didn't get a bun!). I put another plate on top and headed out to my suv to enjoy the sunshine and some contemporary Christian music while I ate, and charge my cell phone.
I ate the free food, (I passed on the soda, too... I had some cold homemade herbal tea in my lunch box, mmm) but I wasn't satisfied. So, I ate my spinach "salad" and vinaigrette. Then I wanted something sweet. I try to keep a square of Ghirardelli dark chocolate in my purse for sweet cravings or just when you need a chocolate fix (only one per day! remember... moderation). I don't actually have chocolate everyday anymore, but that's something I learned from Cinch!.
I started to go for the chocolate, then I thought, do I really want, or need, that chocolate right now. The answer was no, so I reached for the Bible I keep in the basket with my cds and dvds and enjoyed some honey from my Lord. I had a book mark in Romans from something I was looking up and just opened up there are started reading. When I was done, I didn't care about the chocolate anymore, nor any other food. I wasn't sure if Reshaping It All was going to be all I hoped the book would be, but the further I read, the more I glean from the stories and wisdom. I am really enjoying and learning from this book.
