Retrofit: Vanita One Year Later and 20 Pounds Lighter
I met my SEO consultant Vanita Cyril almost exactly a year ago. She left me a comment on my blog and tweeted to me to say hello. She was interested in learning about Retrofit when I did this very same giveaway last year. My auto picker didn’t pick her but she impressed me so much that I recommended her to the nice folks at Retrofit as a brand ambassador. When she signed on, I read about her Retrofit experience all year. And rooted for her as the pounds came off.
Now that it’s a New Year, I wanted to do the Retrofit Giveaway again. Change another life. So I recruited Vanita to tell her story, 1 year later. The After to the Before. I think she’s inspirational and I hope that you do to.
Did you make any New Year’s resolutions this year? Please share! I’ll be giving away one year’s subscription to Retrofit for $2995 (a $3108 value) in the Rafflecopter below.
Congrats to Dee B! She won the Retrofit Weight Loss Program!
———————-
Here’s her story:
It’s been almost a year since I last believed I’d never lose weight…that my case was hopeless.
For years I haven’t eaten sweets and barely ate takeout.
No soda. No sweets.
Okay the coffee creamer is sweet. But it’s for coffee, a couple of spoons, how fattening can that be?
No red meat with secret sauce.
No deep fried yumyum potatoes in zesty spices.
Yet my weight continued to climb.
I kept wondering why.
Why do I keep gaining.
Why?
I KNEW I wasn’t moving enough.
I mean, come on, my butt was plastered to this desk chair 16 hours a day.
And what does sleep have to do with weight loss?
Evidently a lot.
Ten years ago when I hit 180lbs and decided to “work out and eat right”, it took me two years to lose 25 lbs.
Why? Cause nothing I read was working.
I kept going back and forth trying different diets, different exercise routines…
With everything I’ve read, all the programs I’ve tried, I just didn’t know why what I was doing wasn’t working until I had a group of experts available to enlighten, support and motivate me.
I didn’t know I was gaining 50lbs/a year from my coffee creamer.
I didn’t know how doing something so little as placing a peddler under my desk could help.
I did not know that sleeping a full 8 hours would help me lose weight.
And forget about finding time for a gym or going to weight loss sessions.
There’s no time.
It’s why Retrofit is so perfect for my life.
Hi tech digital tracking, virtual sessions, support an email or phone call away…
A virtual team of experts, tracking me, help me through tough spots, motivating me.
During my 8 months I have slipped once.
But my program adviser gave me the strength and motivation I needed to stand up and do it again.
So many things I learned from my team.
What I should eat less/more of, when I should be eating, how to really work out from home, and most importantly, how to work through my stress.
My name’s Vanita and I was an emotional eater for many years.
In my first four months with Retrofit, I lost 20 lbs.
Let me clarify, at the age of 36, two years after giving birth two years in a row, I lost 20 lbs in 4 months.
No crazy diet.
No eating weird stuff.
No missing out on eating my favorite stuff.
No crazy exercising.
I admit, I couldn’t do more than 6 hours of sleep.
I’m a work-at-home-mom of 4 and my life’s just two busy to squeeze in that extra 2 hours.
Since summer, life has become even crazier.
Pretty stressful too.
But this time?
This time I didn’t do what I always do.
I didn’t eat all day to work through the stress. I didn’t turn to food for comfort or companionship.
Everything my coaches have taught me is now 2nd nature to me.
I haven’t gained a pound.
I’ve been maintaining my weight without having to think about it.
And it’s amazing.
In the past, life would get hectic and food was the answer.
Now, life gets hectic and I know how to work through it.
I know what to eat and when to eat.
I know to get my butt out of this desk chair and do some walking or some dancing, whatever will burn calories, even if only for a few minutes.
And if I do gain a few pounds, I can tell you this for sure, I will never ever feel helpless or hopeless again. My Retrofit team has proven to me I can do this. I can rock this! Sometimes all you need is the right support to get you in gear.
I can wholeheartedly recommend RetroFit and the good news is that they are giving away a free year’s membership worth $2995 here on PragmaticMom! If you’re ready to make a change today (or if you’re not the lucky winner) I’ve got a special $513 discount for you! Enter CYRIL at check out and you can sign up to pay low monthly payments. There’s a 45 day risk free trial and a Retrofit No Fail Promise that you must check out. It honestly has changed my life and I hope it changes yours too.
Happy New Year! It’s a new year and you can do it too!





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I’m not seeing the Rafflecopter?
Valerie, Rafflecopters sometimes get wonky, but you can still enter now by following the link that reads “a Rafflecopter giveaway” located under the picture of my kids and I.
vanita recently posted…Sacrificing My Blog
Twitter: VanitaCyril
Thanks Vanita,
Not sure if it stopped working because they switched to paid model too! Just fixed it.
Pragmatic Mom recently posted…Book Club for Kids: My Best Post of 2012
Hi Valerie,
Sorry, I fixed that. Darn Rafflecopter went to a paid model so the old one I put up stopped working. I had to pay them.
Pragmatic Mom recently posted…Book Club for Kids: My Best Post of 2012
My tip would be to try to eat mostly plants.
great tip. leafy greens are a staple around here. sometimes our cultural dishes get really boring (especially when you’ve been eating it all your life) my Retrofit nutritionist has been great about sending out links to awesome recipes. adds a really good twist. makes healthy food exciting again.
vanita recently posted…Sacrificing My Blog
Twitter: VanitaCyril
Hi Vanita,
What is your favorite leafy green? Does it change by the season?
Pragmatic Mom recently posted…Book Club for Kids: My Best Post of 2012
girl we put spinach in almost every dish. from soups to pasta. add to curries and stews too. and if we’re doing sandwiches, then its baby spinach on the side.
vanita recently posted…Sacrificing My Blog
Twitter: VanitaCyril
Hi Vanita,
Spinach, huh? No wonder you are a superwoman! You have Popeye’s special secret power! My kids will eat baby spinach in lasagne but otherwise it is hard to get them to eat it. I will have to try harder!
Pragmatic Mom recently posted…Book Club for Kids: My Best Post of 2012
Hi Valerie,
That is a great tip even if you are not strictly vegetarian or vegan!
Pragmatic Mom recently posted…Book Club for Kids: My Best Post of 2012
I would say, use more calories than you consume. It’s basic and straightforward, but most people don’t calorie count or really even think about what they’re putting in their mouths.
So eat right, and exercise!
Congrats on losing and keeping the weight off, V!
Twitter: AlisonSWLee
Hi Alison,
I love your tip! Sometimes KISS … simple is best! What is your favorite form of exercise?
Pragmatic Mom recently posted…Book Club for Kids: My Best Post of 2012
New years resolution and weight loss tip….no more skipping breakfast
Hi Rebecca,
Great tip that I should follow myself! I am a breakfast skipper and late night snacker instead. Yes, totally wrong!
Pragmatic Mom recently posted…Book Club for Kids: My Best Post of 2012
according to my Retrofit Nutritionist, eating one hour after waking, even if it’s a peanut butter fiber bar, which is my fav snack, gets the digestive system working and the metabolism up and running.
vanita recently posted…Sacrificing My Blog
Twitter: VanitaCyril
Hi Vanita,
Great advice and a nutrition bar sounds easy enough to pull off in the morning. What brand do you like?
Pragmatic Mom recently posted…Book Club for Kids: My Best Post of 2012
My tip is to write down everything you eat to keep yourself accountable. Otherwise it’s easy to forget you’ve eaten something (either consciously or unconsciously).
Dee recently posted…Clearing out the Clutter
Twitter: HynesMom
Hi Dee,
YES! We had to keep a food diary for one of our kids and it was amazing how easy it is to forget that snack or that drink that wasn’t water. And when you write it all down, it can be quite a lot! Good tip!!
Pragmatic Mom recently posted…Wonder by R J Palacio Helps Us Understand Our Differences
Great prize and way to go Vanita!
Ann recently posted…Happy New Year
Twitter: DoodlesandJots
Hi Ann,
Vanita has been such a great role model for weight loss! I’m glad she is sharing her story with everyone! What a difference a year makes!! We’d love to give this same experience to someone else again and track how it changes their life.
Pragmatic Mom recently posted…Wonder by R J Palacio Helps Us Understand Our Differences
My tip is just to try to keep moving as much as possible. Blog standing up- or sit on one of those exercise balls. Jump up every 10-15 minutes and just do a few jumping jacks or something equally ridiculous. Great giveaway!
Jeanette from Artchoo recently posted…Block Print Wrapping Paper Fail!
Twitter: artchootwit
Hi Jeanette,
My friend just told me she spends 8 hours at work standing up and that’s her exercise tip — 50 calories burned an hour by standing versus sitting!
Pragmatic Mom recently posted…Wonder by R J Palacio Helps Us Understand Our Differences
My New Year’s resolution is lose the weight I gained this past year due to injuries. FitnessDiva7 needs a comeback!
Twitter: FitnessDiva7
Hi Sally,
Good luck to you! I hope your injuries are healed and I know you can do it! You go Fitness Diva7!!!
Pragmatic Mom recently posted…Arthur Dove Abstract Art Project for Kids