Guest Post: Caitlin of Operation Beautiful & Healthy Tipping Point

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My name is Caitlin and I blog about my healthy lifestyle at Healthy Tipping Point.  About a year ago, I recognized a need in our community for a way to stop Fat Talk, or negative internal self-talk.  As Jillian Michaels said, “Fat talk is transcending….  It affects your reality and damages you professionally, personally, and physically.”

To help end Fat Talk, I launched the Operation Beautiful website, which is becoming a book on August 3, 2010 (if you want to order the book, it’s available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble,Borders, and Indie Bound).  The mission of Operation Beautiful is to post anonymous notes in public places for other women to find. The point is that WE ARE ALL BEAUTIFUL. You are enough… just the way you are!

By posting these notes, girls, women, and even men are redefining what “beautiful” means and focusing on their internal qualities for validation.  I think we spend too much time, energy, and money chasing an unrealistic ideal of perfection.

So, what do we really mean when we say, “I’m so fat”?  We  actually mean that we are FULL WITH AN EMOTION. Oftentimes, it’s shame.  Or sadness.  Or fear.   Why do we express our inner turmoil by hating our bodies?  Because that’s what Fat Talk and society tells us to do.  Don’t admit you’re scared, just feel fat!  Don’t admit you’re lonely or depressed, you’re just fat!   We can deal with ugliness, we cannot deal with weakness.  The next time you feel the urge to say, “I’m so fat,” think about what you REALLY mean. By berating your body, you aren’t doing any favors.  But by honoring your emotions, you’re living a happier, more honest life.

If you wouldn’t say it out loud to a friend, why would you say it to yourself?

Maybe right now you’re thinking: “But a little guilt can be a GOOD thing!” or “Guilt is a normal reaction to indulging!” But, if guilt was healthy or “normal,” it would be PRODUCTIVE and it would make you HAPPY.  Do you find yourself feeling guilty over food a lot?  Well, then — you’re repeating the same actions over and over again, and clearly… Guilt isn’t productive, it doesn’t work, and it only serves to lower your self -esteem. Guilt is a waste of time and takes away from productive things you could be doing with your time — meditating, studying, sleeping, calling your friends on the phone, and more.

For tips on how to stop Fat Talk and begin to see yourself in a more positive light, check out Change the Way You See, Not the Way You Look.

If you’d like to spread the message of positivity and hope, post an Operation Beautiful note!  Take a picture of your note and email it to me at seebriderun@gmail.com, and I’ll post it on the site for thousands of others to read and enjoy.

Join me on the quest to eliminate Fat Talk in all its nasty and evil forms from our lives!  Remember, it starts now… and it starts with you.

I’ve posted this video about Fat Talk a few times before, but not recently.  If you haven’t watched this before, please do! It’s so powerful and I cry every time:


Moved but Not Unpacked

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So the Hubz and I have finally moved into our new place and it is better than I remembered.  The only down falls right now is that our place is filled with boxes that probably won’t get unpacked until this weekend since we both have to work.   Since we have basically no food in our fridge and no desire to cook we headed out for dinner in downtown Burlington and ended up with a lovely glass of red and a Vermont Soy tofu burger, this is my last hurray since I am taking a break from soy.

I know this post is short and sweet but I am off to bed because I have to get up early to head to an out of town meeting that is going to last all day.  Also yes that is mayo on the board behind my tofu burger it is the standard tray of condiments that comes out but don’t worry no we didn’t eat them just the mustard and ketchup.

Moving Day…Again

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Hey Bloggies!

Today is moving day again…but this time we actually get to move into our new condo! We are so excited and are hoping that we will have internet tonight so I can actually do a good blog post.  Alright blog you later but in your spare time check this out…because something exciting is coming!

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Hiking the Long Trail

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The Hubz has been wanting to do some hiking this year and we haven’t made it out in the past month and half so today we decided to hike part of the Long Trail which is conveniently located near my parents’ house.  We did a 6 mile hike; the hike was basically straight up the mountain and we came across some great views where we stopped to have some snacks.

Our first stop was Prospect Point a this great lookout where we took a few photos and shared a Lara bar.

Next stop Roundtop Shelter (almost to the summit of Roundtop Mountain) where we enjoyed Nuttzo with jam and beautiful view.

Most repulsive smelling place ever---the outhouse- no we didn't use it

After hiking a yummy grilled tofu sandwich and baked sweet potato fries were in order…however hunger made me forget to take a picture.

AHHHH We’re Finally Moving!

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Hey Bloggies,

So if you haven’t heard my good news over twitter yet here it is: WE’RE FINALLY MOVING! Yes, we finally found out that we can move into our new condo on Tuesday which is great because living in my parents second living room just isn’t working for us.  It’s been nice staying with them just not their living room as well as driving an hour+ to work every day. I do have some bad news though….my camera battery died- BOOOO- and I can’t seem to find my charger because it’s probably packed up in all of our belongings.  However thanks to my job I have my iPhone so I will be able to take some mediocre iPhone photos until I find my battery charger.

However I have some photos thanks to our rental agencies website of our new place, well not of our place but of other condos in the same complex to give you an idea of what it will look like before it is filled with our belongings.

So these photos are an example of what our place looks like but are not exact.

Living Room

Kitchen with a dishwasher! Love it!

Master Bedroom from the Bathroom view

Master Bathroom with view into the guest bathroom (yes there is a door between the two bathrooms as well as access to the guest bathroom from the hall it's a little awkward but we don't mind)

Now it’s time to get down to school work and enjoy my coffee.

Super Simple Summer Salads!

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Hi Bloggies!  Thank you all so much for your support regarding my last post.  I appreciate it so much!

Anyways back to business, it has been crazy hot here….like nearly 100F.

When it is this hot out raw foods/salads are the perfect thing to cool you down.  Lunch today is amazing, refreshing and cooling- Massaged Kale Salad, Sauteed Portobellos (cold) and brown rice salad.

We also had it for dinner last night

Massaged Kale Salad

Ingredients:

  • 1 bunch of kale, washed and ripped into large pieces
  • 1 avocado
  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • 1/2t garlic powder
  • 1t salt
  • 1/2 pepper
  • dash of cayenne
  • 1T nutritional yeast

Directions:

Place everything into a bowl and then take your (clean) fingers and massage everything into the kale for 2-3 minutes; until evenly coated. Let sit for 5 minutes. Taste for seasonings and serve!

Brown Rice & Veggie Salad

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups cooked, day old brown rice
  • 2 stalks of celery, diced
  • 1/3 cup green onions, sliced
  • 2 carrots, diced
  • 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
  • Dressing: (whisk together)
    • 1T dijon mustard
    • 1t agave
    • 2T red wine vinegar
    • 2T olive oil

Directions:

Toss everything together and serve.  However this is best made at least 30 minutes prior to eating so that all the flavors can marry.

Alright Bloggies this is short because I have to get back to working.

Q: What is your favorite salad?

Dealing With A Loss

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The Hubz and I were not going to publicize our pregnancy until we were at least 12 weeks so it may seem strange now that we have decided to publicize our loss. Last week, the day before our 8 week and first midwife appointment, something just didn’t seem right and after an ultrasound it was confirmed I had a miscarriage for the 2nd time. Over the last week we have been dealing with the loss of our pregnancy and are doing fine, it’s never an easy thing but we have the support of each other, our family, bosses and the few friends who knew.

So why am I writing this post and telling the world? I received a wonderful gift from Earth Mama’s today and I just felt like I should post and let others know that things like this happen even to healthy people and that there are great resources out there to deal with losses like ours.  I was originally going to do a post for Earth Mama’s about their tea but when I lost the pregnancy I let them know that I would no longer be doing a post and that the shouldn’t send the product to review.  They sent me the most kind and caring note back expressing their sympathy for our loss and to my surprise I received a few wonderful items today: Harmony Tea and Seeds of Hope.

It brings tears to my eyes that people I don’t even know can be so supportive and caring about our loss.  I think that it is important for others to know that there are things out there to comfort women who are dealing with loss of pregnancy. During our last miscarriage my husband and I felt lost and a lack of support resources.  There are so many resources out there for postpartum or loss of a child but miscarriages seem to get pushed to the side; for those of your who know someone that has experienced one or you yourself have know that it’s heartbreaking and an extremely emotional experience. I would like to note that Earth Mama’s have not asked me to do a review of these items but that they were sent as a sympathy gift and I felt that it was important to pass on that there are things out there for those who are dealing with such a loss.

During our last miscarriage Kristen Suzanne of Kristen’s Raw was such an inspiration and role model for me during our hard time.  Reading her posts helped me through my hard times; I actually went back to her post at this point and just felt more at peace with things because her fertility ups and downs have kept me positive.  I would like to mention that Kristen just had a baby girl Kamea which gives me hope that even with our struggles someday we will be able to have a our baby of our own. Congratulations Kristen & Hubby! I recommend that if you are pregnant, thinking of getting pregnant, are dealing with a pregnancy loss or fertility struggles Kristen is a great resource.

Once we move into our new apartment (hopefully this weekend) we will find a beautiful pot and plant our Seeds of Hope.  I want to thank everyone for their support during this hard time and say Hubz I love you.


Update: I just found out at I have extremely low progesterone which may be the reason why we have had issues staying pregnant; http://www.buzzle.com/articles/low-progesterone.html Do you know of any natural ways in which to increase progesterone levels?