Cynthia Newman

Dear Tosca,

After giving birth to my daughter in September of 2008, I was ready to lose the baby weight. I had incorrectly thought I would have this baby and everything would magically return to normal. Boy, was I wrong! I was a flabby mess. My belly jiggled when I walked and I had to buy a post-partum support belt just so I wouldn't feel the movement. I was extremely self-conscious. 

I would have good days and bad days when I first attempted to lose the weight. One day I was perfect and the next I was eating everything in sight. This wasn’t an all too uncommon problem for me. I had competed in several bikini competitions and I had always had problems with bingeing after an event. It was no surprise to me that I fell into the same pattern after attempting such a big life change.

I needed direction. When I was pregnant, there was a goal: getting my baby here, happy and healthy. When competing there was a goal: getting on stage in that teeny bikini. After her birth, I didn’t have a goal or the drive. I finally found a goal to reach in November 2009 when I decided to do another competition. But how to get there?

I had previously worked with a trainer but now I was on my own. I found The Eat Clean Diet® Cookbook and that reminded me of the Eat-Clean Diet principles and gave me the inspiration I needed to get started again. It also gave me a new way to look at food. No longer was I getting ready for a competition to temporarily look amazing and fall off track immediately after. Why not change my way of thinking to eat healthy all the time and still have room to enjoy a treat now and then?

I competed in November 2009 and although I didn't place in the top 10, I was proud of my accomplishments. I have a healthy body I can be happy with and I don’t have to rely on depriving myself to achieve it. The Eat-Clean Diet has given me a new lifestyle, a new attitude and the inspiration to create a whole new world of eating opportunities.

Cynthia Newman,
Mission Viejo, CA