I'm back with Shaun

Me and Shaun T are like Nettie and Celie ...... we may take a break but ultimately we find each other again. Me and him us never part lol. My last workout with Shaun was August 28th. Thats when I had my unfortunate knee injury. Other than walking around and "working" I have not worked out since. At first it was pretty cool but last week I noticed that while walking my students back up the stairs I was breathing heavy. No BUENO! I quickly got back on my exercise program. I started out by walking. After getting 2 miles under my belt with NO heavy breathing I decided to go back to Sean.

I cant lie. I didnt want to. When I've been away from Sean for a long period of time, going back scares me. I didnt know how my body was going to react. Chilllldddd I did 45 minutes NONSTOP. I was going just as hard as Sean was and I LOVED IT! My abs hurt sooo much. Everything hurts and right about now all I want is a hot shower and a nice comfy bed...bump a dinner. I really hope that I'm able to roll with Shaun again in the morning. We shall see *fingers crossed*

Bye 80's ....... HELLO 70's

So I've been bummed out all week because I hurt my knee and was unable to work out. I've been eating like crazy ..... fyi the fajita rollup at Applebees is delicious ..... and wasnt really expecting anything major when I hit the scale. Boy was I wrong. I woke up this morning and stepped on the scale. The scale said 178.2 lbs. I instantly thought my scale was broken. There was no way in hell that I was in the 170's. So I stepped off and stepped on again .... again the scale said 178.2. I kicked the scale and went to find my tape measure. I measured my waist and found that I am now at a 34 inch waist. I screamed so loud. I'm sure my neighbors wondered what in the hell was wrong with me.

I've done it! I reached the 70s. I'm 3 lbs away from my goal. I'm 3 lbs away from losing 20 lbs! I'm 2 inches away from having a 32 inch waist! I'm so proud of me. What I'm proud of the most is that I did it the RIGHT way. I didnt diet. I didnt pay any outrageous gym fees. I didnt contribute to the billion dollar industry that is the weight-loss industry. That industry fails people every year. I worked hard but I also ate foods that I enjoyed eating. I didnt starve myself and I didnt deprive myself of rice, pasta or restaurants.

I'm really thankful for myfitnesspal. I should be a paid spokeswoman or something lol. Many people ask me how I am losing the weight. I guess they want some miraculous answer but my answer is always simple ... myfitnesspal. I eat 1200 calories a day and I am very conscience about how many calories I am eating, etc. I also like the fact that so many people on there cheer me on. Losing weight can be a struggle. A good support system is needed and that is what I have. By the way, if you sign up ... befriend me :) @ScorpioDiva81 ;)

Anyhoo my initial goal was to be 175 lbs. Now that I am 3 lbs away from meeting that goal I am anxious to set another one. I always said that I did not want to be skinny-skinny but now that I'm losing the weight I feel great. My second goal is 165. Hello 70's ...... 60's I'm coming for you :)

35 inches ............... 5 down, 3 more to go :)

I now have a 35 inch waist. I know I know .... I cant believe it either. I started this journey with a 40 inch waist. I was at risk for high blood pressure, heart disease & diabetes ....I had people asking me if I was pregnant when I wasnt ...... but most of all I was not healthy at all and not happy either. I mean really .... do you know how frustrating it is to have to explain that you are NOT pregnant O_o

As I've said before health professionals suggest a waist of 32 inches. I was 8 inches over and while the number 8 seems minimal it actually was anything but that. I measured yesterday and again today to make sure everything was correct and it was ... I currently have a 35 inch waist. \o/ It has taken me two months and hard work to lose the 5 inches and I give lots of credit to Shaun T's Hip Hop Abs workout series.

While I am 3 inches away from meeting the goal that was set for me I am aiming for something more. Why stop at 32? Why not go for a 28 or a 26? My goal is to be out of the 30's period! I'm sure that I can do it. I didnt think a 35 inch waist was possible and look at me now. So 28 I'm coming for you baby. Look out world!

Karma is a snitch!

So I had the opportunity to wake up this morning and have a nice long date with Shaun T and I did not take it. At the time I kept saying "do it, get it over with, dont put off what you can do right now" and I still did not do it. I figured hey I'll lay around and get a good workout in this evening. Right? Wrong.

I had a little accident and in the process I ended up facedown, on the floor, on my knees and in pain. All of my weight as I fell landed on my knees and I now have a new level of  respect for athletes who deal with knee injuries. They are no joke. I was in a lot of pain for a minute and then slowly it faded. Or so I thought it did. Me being hard headed me, I got up and started walking ... .washed a few dishes ... yada yada yada. I even convinced myself that I could sneak a little walking in. WRONG! As soon as I went to get dressed in my exercise gear I noticed that my left knee was hella swollen. Bending it is out of the question. The bad thing is that last year I was in a car accident and it was my left knee that was affected. I dont want to aggravate it so that means no exercise for me tonight.

Normally I wouldnt be so bummed about not exercising but today is different. Had I known that I wouldnt be physically able to exercise, I wouldnt have laid up on my couch snacking on snickerdoodles. Yes they were yummy but they were also 300-400 calories that I now can not burn off :/ *kicks a table* It all sucks right now. I've learned my lesson though. When you have the time to exercise ... USE IT!

I just hope I'm ready for my 5:30 date with Shaun T tomorrow. *fingers crossed* Knee, PLEASE get better.

Another moral .... I should've taken my azz to church this morning :/

99 and 1/2 just wont do

I woke up this morning and did 5 miles of power walking. After logging it onto my ticker I realize that I have walked 99 miles so far. I'm one mile away from the 100 mark. I'm so proud of me! I plan on doing one mile this evening so that I'll officially be at 100 miles. My goal for this summer was to walk 200 miles and lose 20 lbs. I'm sure I have walked over a 100 miles when you consider how much walking I did in New Orleans and while I was at the theme parks but thats ok. I'm moving towards my goal....slowly but surely.

For some of you interested in power walking, here are a few benefits:

• Heart Health. Daily physical activity can benefit people of all ages. And according to the American Heart Association, low-intensity exercise, such as power walking, can help reduce the risk of coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, peripheral vascular disease, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

• Weight Loss. A 150-pound person, walking at a brisk pace, approximately four mph, for 30 minutes can burn 183 calories. In addition, power walking regularly can help control weight in the mid-body region, where doctors believe excess pounds are the most dangerous. Power walking can also build muscle, which will enable you to burn more calories at rest.

• Mental Health. Studies have found that walking allows the body to release adrenaline and endorphins. Adrenaline plays a key role in your nervous system and in boosting your mood, while endorphins help create a sense of happiness and relieve pain.

• Memory. The Harvard School of Public Health conducted a study that found women who performed a moderate amount of activity 30 minutes a day performed significantly better on cognitive tests (those that involve logical thinking, reasoning, and memory) than women who walked less than one hour per week.

• Bone Health. Power walking is a weight-bearing exercise-meaning the body is working against gravity. (Exercises such as swimming and cycling are generally considered non-weight bearing.) Weight-bearing exercises have been shown to help strengthen bones and reduce the risk of bone diseases such as osteoporosis and osteoarthritis.

• Sleep. As if having a stronger heart, mind, bones, and body aren't enough, power walking can also promote a better night's sleep. A study conducted by the National Sleep Foundation found that low- to moderate-intensity exercise in the afternoon can help deepen sleep in the evening as well as cut the time it takes you to fall asleep.

3 months from 30

I'm three months away from my thirtieth birthday. People have started to point out that I'll be 30 this year ... what am I going to do? What do I want? I thought long and hard about this and I've decided what I would like for my 30th birthday. I dont want a party. I dont want a dinner. I dont want a big hoo-lah. For my 30th birthday, 1.  I would like to be 20 lbs lighter than I am today .... so that would make me 162 lbs and 2. I want to go to a place that I've never been before. In a perfect world I would finish off my "30 before I turn 30" list(I'll post it later) but the world is not perfect. Those are my two wants and thats what I'm working towards. Anything else is extra. Extra is always appreciated but its never needed. I have 3 months left .... lets go! #TeamFABand30!

Attempting to remain positive

I have an attitude. That attitude has me in a negative mind frame. Ughhh that sucks. Especially when I have so many positive accomplishments to share. So I'm going to do like the title and attempt to remain positive. I'm going to post all of my positives and then at the end rant my booty off and talk about that one little negative. Ok? Here goes

Positives:

* I now have a 37 inch waist. I'm down another inch! Yay! I started out with a 40 inch waist and my goal is to have a 32 inch waist(out of danger). I'm 5 more inches away from my target.

* I lost another inch in my left thigh and two more inches in my right. Its melting baby its melting!

*I'm down another 1.7 lbs. I'm now 8 lbs away from my goal weight. My fitnesspal ticker shows that I have lost 12 lbs. I'm so proud of me!

* I successfully completed the green cardio program. I had to stop to catch my breath a couple of times but I did it!

Negative:

Ok here's the thing that's getting on my nerves. In June I dropped 10 lbs. July was such a slow month. I've only lost 2 lbs in the entire month of July. That sucks! It really makes me mad because I'm suppose to lose 2 lbs per week and July had what? 4 weeks? That does not add up. I know July was difficult because I went away twice on vacation and then I had a funky attitude for a week but still. I'm trying to remain positive and say that maybe I'm gaining muscle. We all know muscle weighs more than fat. I mean I am losing inches right? Wrong! I WANNA SEE IT ON THE SCALE TOO DAMNIT! :/  I went to see my doctor last week. I'm suppose to have my first weigh in on Thursday. I was suppose to be 5 lbs lighter. *laughs* We shall see when Thursday gets here but Im not optimistic about that one. So now we're in August. I'm 8 lbs away from my target weight. I can do this! I'm optimistic about that one.  I WILL DO THIS!

Green Shaun T

I've completed 30 days .... actually more than 30 days .... of Shaun T's hip hop abs. The first 30 days are what are considered blue days. The last 30 days are considered green days. I've been trying to avoid the green days but today I decided to go ahead and try them. Chillllllddddddddd.

First of all the green exercises are longer...much longer. Also the green workouts are more intense. Of course he gives you the option of being low impact with Tonya...which I am going to take full advantage of .... but its still a lot. Lord I'm going to need major motivation, hot music, extra energy and grace and mercy to complete these last 30 days. lol Pray for me

A black womans hair + exercise = a huge headache

I've heard the term "sweat your perm out" several times while growing up but I never knew it was true.  Well I've learned that it is. I've sweated my perm out this summer. My hair is thick and kinky. To me its a small price to pay for losing a few pounds. I've pretty much stayed in the house all summer and when I did go out I rocked a baseball cap. It has worked for me. However now its time for me to go back to school. I've been tossing and turning since yesterday with what am I going to do with my hair. I love my short style and originally had planned on scheduling an appointment to have my hair cut, dyed and permed. The only problem is I am no where near where I would like to be physically. Yes I am 3 lbs(last time I checked) from saying bye bye to the 80s and 8 lbs away from meeting my original goal BUT my belly is still bigger than I would like for it to be. So I have to continue working out. I have to continue with Jillian and Shawn. I have to keep sweating.

Therein lies my problem.  I cant go to work with my hair sticking straight up on top of my head :/ But I dont want to sacrifice meeting my goal for the sake of hair. What do I do? What do I do? The thought of braids/twists entered my mind. They are convenient and will allow me to look great at school and still be able to work out. However I'm a little fearful of braids every since I went to a bad stylist and she took my edges out. They still have not grown back :/  Another option is to simply cut all of the hair off. I've been wanting a baby fro for a little minute now. However I do not know if I'm ready to make such a huge move. What is a girl to do? lol

I'm on the pill

I've always wanted to say that. lol Corny I know but hey *shrugs* at times I can be a corny mofo :) Anyhoo today is the first day that I have taken all 3 pills that the doctor has me on and I wanted to blog about it. Last night I took the Diurcid and slept like a baby AGAIN so I am officially saying its because of the pill and I dont care what anyone says. I didnt dream again last night......a nice, peaceful sleep and lots of energy this morning.  One of the things that messed me up yesterday is time management. I promise at times I can be a total ADHD kid and will not focus. I fixed that today by literally setting up alarms within my phone that go off and tell me to take my pill. Thats the only way I'll be able to fit all 5 in(3 different subscriptions, 5 pills a day).  Midmorning it was time for me to take my thyroid support pill. This was my first time ever taking this. Its suppose to boost your metabolism and give you energy. It was a small, nasty brown pill BUT it did everything it was suppose to do. I had energy. So much so that I knocked 5 miles out without even blinking an eye. Half an hour before lunch brought me to another pill, the red fiber gastrofill. This pill is suppose to do a lot of ish. Its suppose to curb my cravings for carbs, shrink my stomach, curb my appetite and make me eat less. It too does its job. I was not hungry at all although it had been hours since I ate breakfast and I had no snack. For lunch I ended up eating a spinach salad that consisted of lots of veggies but only 2 cups of spinach. I'm STUFFED! I have one more thyroid pill to take at 3, another red fiber pill to take before dinner and then the diurcid. So far so good.

Off to a great start

Last night was my first night popping a pill. I'm suppose to take a supplement before I go to bed and last night I took the diurcids. As I was researching the pill and the side effects I learned that one of the main ingredients within the pill is often used to treat depression. Weird I know but oh well. I took the pill and instantly went to sleep. I slept like a baby!!!! Thats not common for me. I dream crazy dreams every night. Last night I didnt dream about anything. It was just a peaceful sleep. I was in bed by 10 and knocked out. I slept a good 9 hours and woke up with so much energy. I dont know if the pill did all of this, I'm simply telling you about my day so far. I feel great!  I feel as if I could run a marathon. I've already washed clothes, fixed breakfast, written 2 blog posts, and washed dishes. I plan on taking advantage of this energy that I have.

For breakfast this morning I had Kashi cereal and non fat milk. 17 grams of protein thus far. The doctor that I went to yesterday was big on protein protein and more protein. I decided that I'm not doing her diet plan. It sucks. Tuna and egg whites? No ma'am. When I started back on this journey I promised myself that I would not diet...that I would just make better, healthier changes and I've done that. I'm not going to deprive myself and suffer. I'm not going to do it. Isnt that how/why many people fail at diets in the first place? I think I have done pretty good using myfitnesspal. I only eat 1200 calories a day and I limit myself to one cup...one cup of rice, one cup of cereal, one cup of veggies. I'm just not going to deprive myself. That defeats the purpose. The doc can be mad all she wants but hey, I PAY HER, she does not PAY ME. I did decide that I would decrease the sugar as much as possible. I already do not eat foods that have high fructose corn syrup in them but eliminating sugar period is hard. Sugar is in everything!!!! Yogurt, fruit, smoothies :/ I can limit...I can eliminate. I can add more protein too.

I'm off to get these 5 miles in early this morning. I got 5 in last night and up until mile 4 my body was hurting and burning. The vacation from exercising did not benefit me at all. 5 miles .... lets go!

Oh Lord.........NOT the SUGAR (after)

So this morning I woke up and went to the doctor. Boy I was ready. First and foremost, I knew nothing about this doctor. Because I was so afraid of doctors, I didnt have one. Well in order to complete the wellness requirements I HAD to have a doctor. So I picked one off of my insurance site. The first one was totally booked until August. The second one could see me today so I went with the second one. I knew nothing about her .... just her name.

I walked in the doctor's office all cheery and happy.... I was ready. I paused for a good 3 seconds when I got in there. Not only was she a primary care doctor, she was also some big time weight loss guru. O_O. Was this fate?  I sat in the waiting room like "OMG". I start panicking a little bit because I know I'm PMS'ing and I know my numbers are going to be a little off....... I also know shes going to comment about me being obese. *bites nails*

I go back in the office and everything is cool. Everyone is nice, I'm talking, I'm calm .... and then the doctor comes in. She is very nice I will give her that .... but she is also very blunt. Before anything she took one glance and said YOU HAVE TO LOSE WEIGHT. Anyone who knows me knows what happened next .... I instantly went into "defense" mode. I KNOW I need to lose weight .... what do you think I've been doing for the past month? huh? huh? Losing weight! You think I'm bad now you should've seen me a month ago...I've lost 10 lbs lady! *pats self on the back*

I'm going to pause here to say that I dont care how bad you are, someone is always BADDER(is that a word? if not you know what I mean). I met my match today because the doctor was not trying to here ANY of that. She didnt care that I had lost 10 lbs. I was still obese(according to my BMI) and thats ALL she cared about. Needless to say I sat down and was quiet ....... and well, I just allowed the doctor to do her thing.

My first test was my weight. I was worried about my weight because like I said ... PMS messes with my numbers. I weighed in at 185 which was good for ME. I've had a funky period and have not exercised since my trip to Orlando. The fact that I've maintained my weight was a plus for me.... notice I keep saying for me .... the 185 was not good for the doctor lol Also I want to note if I'm 185 while pms'ing, I'm probably more like 180 without it. I'm just saying. ... I'm just saying.

My second test was my blood pressure.  The nurse initially took my blood pressure on my left arm. Then she let out a big WHOA and said this cant be right....child stop worrying and sit still. I didnt know I was moving but oh well. I took a deep breath and she did it on my right arm. My blood pressure ended up being 118/80 which she said was pretty good.

The next test was my sugar. Once again the first time she pricked me, she pricked me on my right hand. she let a big WHOA and said child what did you have for breakfast. Ummm a protein shake. Does it have sugar in it? Yes. She keeps mumbling "this cant be right" and shows me the machine. It says 200. Seriously I'm sitting there with the dumb face. What does that mean? Her reply: You have diabetes.

I'm so serious when I tell you this. After she said that I literally yelled "Oh noooooooooo NOT THE SUGAR!!!!" I really wish I was being videotaped because now as I sit and write this post I see just how funny that ish was. Tears came to my eyes and I just kept repeating "nooooo not the sugar, not the sugar" So the nurse(who was also African American) said let me go and get the other machine...give me your finger. So I went through the entire process all over again .... this time with a new machine and with a different hand. The end results .... 116. High ..... but not like 200. Pre-diabetic ..... NOT diabetic! **insert praise dance** (see the video below)

The last part of the exam was the diet phase. I had several options. I could do a type of liposuction. Hmm sounds good but my bank account says no. I could do injections. Hmmm sounds good but my bank account says no. Or I could do diet, exercise(arent I already doing that????) and pills. Hmmm sounds good and my bank account says yes.

So I'm on 3 pills. I've researched all 3 for the side effects .... I'm no dummy. The first is gastrofill which shrinks your stomach and prevents you from eating a lot .... taken before lunch and dinner. The second is a thyroid pill which basically boosts your metabolism. And the third is diucap. The pills I can do .... the suggested diet is what is going to be difficult. Absolutely NO breads, cereals, potatoes, pasta, blah blah blah .... no bananas, no mangoes, no sugar at all. Just protein protein protein. Blah blah blah.

I went to my car and was really thinking "I'm not going to do this. I'm not giving up ALL carbs" but my mind kept going back to 200 and how I felt when I thought I had diabetes. I never want to feel that way again. If it takes not eating bread or rice or pasta to get to that point then that is just what I'll have to do. My appointment for my cholesterol is tomorrow. I'm ready for it. I have a weigh in next week already.....can you believe it? Dr Merey EXPECTS(her words not mine) to be at 180 by next Thursday. According ot her if I follow the plan I will be there. I'm not even going to point out the fact that if I do my hip hop abs and myfitnesspal and my plan that I can be at 180 by next week too WITH rice included. She is a pistol and its not worth going back and forth. Either way the goal for next week is 180. Lets get get get it!

Videoclip of my favorite obese comedian Lavell Crawford. I cannot think about "the sugar" without thinking about him. WARNING: There is cursing!

Oh lord .... NOT the SUGAR! (before)

Well the moment that I've been preparing for all summer arrived today. I had to go to the doctor for a physical and bloodwork. YIKES!

First and foremost I hate going to the doctor. I know people who will go to the doctor at the slightest cough. Not me...I have to be damn near dead before I will go to the doctor's office. Why? I'm afraid. The doctor never gives you positive news....something is always wrong and I'm afraid to know what. Am I going to die? If so, I'd rather not know.

While I go faithfully to have my woman parts examined, I have never had bloodwork done. Diabetes and Cholesterol scare me. Diabetes is prominent within my culture(I'm African American). I've seen the effects that it has on people. I've seen people literally looking like a walking ghost, asked what was wrong thinking it was something major like cancer, and been told "I have the sugar" The dreadful sugar. I've come to fear the term. So a couple of months ago I started working out and eating right .... to avoid "the sugar". The doctor took one look at me, one look at my big belly and said check her sugar :/ Im no dummy Ive known for a time that having a big belly(a waist larger than 32 inches) is a dead ringer for diabetes BUT that never stopped me from eating...it never stopped me from drinking coke after coke after coke.....because for a long time I had the disease that so many Americans have today.... the "I'm Invincible Disease"

Dont pretend as if you dont know about the I'm Invincible Disease. This disease tells you that what happens to everyone else will NOT happen to you. Its very real lol I know people who partake in dangerous behaviors but refuse HIV tests because they are "invincible" and it just "wont happen to them". Now are you familiar with it. I never thought the sugar would happen to me although I was walking around sporting a cool 40 inch waist :/

The other test that I had to take dealt with cholesterol. My heart. I've written posts before about my heart. I have not been my heart's best friend. I've done major damage. How much? I dont know. I refused to go to the doctor to find out. Just scared out of my mind. I remember sitting in my biology class at Famu. My instructor had previously had open heart surgery. I remember her saying "pound that chest....pound it...you feel that? You feel that bone? Well when you have heart surgery they must get through that bone and it hurts!"  YIKES! I don't know if she knows but she scared the hell out of me on that day ....... its just too bad that she didn't scare me enough for me to make the necessary life changes. Just like with the diabetes I was invincible.

So my school district put a wellness program into play. Glucose, Cholesterol, Weight and Blood Pressure ALL had to be checked ........ it started in January and I had until August 1st to complete the requirements. For the first time I would know my numbers. I would know my status. I would know just how good or *cough* how bad my health actually was ....... and I was AFRAID!

Theres always good in the bad. I look at my progress over the past few months and I am proud of me. I'm thankful for the school district implementing this program because had they not, I never would've taken the initiative to lose the weight. I am motivated by numbers. That 40 inch waist is gone. I am ready for my appointment

The E in Exhausted

I havent blogged in like forever. I havent exercised in like forever. The past 5 days have been filled with tears, prayers, stress and worry. I'm trying to make a change professionally and keep tripping over stumbling blocks. The good thing is although I'm tripping I'm not staying down .... I continue to get up and run the race.

I'm the type of person who is always looking for a lesson. I'm always looking for a bright side or a "this happened because". I'm convinced that things just dont happen .... there is a reason behind it and a learning opportunity as well. Even when bad things happen I always find myself asking myself "What am I suppose to learn from this?" "How is this going to make me a better person?" "Why did this happen?"

I received a phone call on Friday that threw my entire summer for a loop. The entire summer I've been happy and actually looking forward to returning to work. All of that ended with one simple phone call. I dont think I've stopped crying every since. Thankfully I know where my help and strength come from and I found myself falling on my knees.  It was funny because I had just left my knees on Wednesday about another situation and when I woke up Friday that situation had been resolved only for another one to pop up. I had just finished telling everyone how great God was only to find myself in another position of asking him to rescue me.

The one thing that I have learned within my 29 years is that God does not always come when WE want him to BUT he is always right on time. I've had countless experiences where this has been proven. I remember leaving Georgia on a prayer and faith the size of a mustard seed .... thats all I had .... I was penniless, homeless and jobless and within a few weeks God had blessed me with a job, a place and money. You cant have a testimony without a test. Thats the lesson that I am getting out of what I am going through right now.  I believe 100% that God is going to come through for me and while this is a test unlike any other tests that I've ever had ... I know that my testimony is also going to be greater.

As of today I've done all that  I could do. The rest is left up to him. I am exhausted! Stress + Worrying + Bad Nerves + Crying + Lack of Sleep will do that to you :/ Now that my part is over I just want to sleep and allow GOD to work! I know he is working it out for me :)

1Luv
KL

Just call me JOBetta

If I sound a little confused as you read this its probably because as I type it I am laughing and crying .... at the same time. I'm laughing at the title. I spoke with my mother a few minutes ago and informed her that I should've been named JOBetta ....a reference to the character of Job within the bible. Maybe that's being a bit extreme but that's how I feel and I'm crying because well it seems that everything in my life is going wrong. And when I say everything I truly mean everything. Romantically, financially, spiritually, physically, mentally, professionally. I feel like Job. If you've been under a rock Job lost everything .... his kids, his livelihood, his health .... EVERYTHING.

When I think about Job I kind of want to kick myself. Despite everything that's occurring I still have my health, I still have a job, I still have a roof over my head, I still have my child. I dont think anyone has had it worst than Job. The thing that I admire the most about Job was his faith. Despite all that happened Job still believed and trusted in God and because of his faith he was rewarded and blessed. As each incident has taken place within the past few weeks my faith has remained in tact. I've been here before .... hell I've been in worst shape. I've been homeless,  jobless and penniless at the same time and God came through for me. I'm trusting that he will come through again and that everything that is happening is happening for a reason. I'm holding on to the hope that things will get better.

A few Sundays ago we had a guest speaker and the one thing that was said by her that stuck out the most was her quote about faith. She said that when times are good people have all of the faith in the world but when faith is needed, it suddenly disappears. This mean that when everything is going our way we trust in God and believe in him. However when something bad happens the first thing that we do is question why and our faith in God suddenly disappears.....we start seeking answers in Obama, the governor, our parents, and etc.

My faith has been tested plenty of times and I wish I could say that I passed every test but I cant. I get mad sometimes. It sucks to see bad things happening to good people. But no matter what has happened my belief in God has stayed the same. I have no other choice but to believe. I've seen what he has done not only in my life but in other people's life as well. I know that all things are possible through him. I'm just hoping and praying for a breakthrough.

1Luv
KL

Jillian Michaels is NO joke!

I dont know how many of you are familiar with Jillian Michaels. She is one of the trainers on The Biggest Loser. If you've been under a rock, The Biggest Loser is a reality show where severely obese individuals lose a ton of weight. When I use to watch the show I was always amazed by the weight loss. Now I see how they lost it

Man Jillian Michaels is NO joke. I was commenting on facebook that the workouts were only 20 minutes....how much damage can she do in 20 minutes????? I got my answer ...... A LOT! I started out with level 1 and even then I followed the young lady in green ..... the "easy" version .... yeah right.

Jillian has you doing 3 minutes of strength training, 2 minutes of cardio and 1 minute of ab work. I never imagined I'd enjoy doing crunches, sit ups and ab work the most LOL Within that time frame your body is really worked. I mean things were aching on me ..... and I had just completed 2 hip hop ab workouts.

My least favorite are the strength exercises. I'm not a strength girl. However I have been using 2 lb weights all summer so while these exercises were my least favorite, I did them better. The cardio was my weak area. While I loved jumping jacks as a kid, my size D breasts and jumping jacks do not get along. My favorite were the ab exercises. Not only were they quick(ONE minute) they were effective. My tummy still HURTS!

So day one of the 30 day shred is done. I can see myself being on level 1, green girl for the entire 30 days. I'm just being real. If level 1 is like this, imagine level 2..... and I dont even want to think about level 3. Child please.

A shower, dinner and 5 miles await me!

1Luv
KL

Look what I got!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've been hearing good things about Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. I recall seeing it one day while looking for weighted gloves in Walmart. After hearing so many positive things about it I decided to add it to my fitness plan for the month of July.

So now I am doing hip hop abs(I'm about 2 days away from completing blue and going to green YAY!), 5 miles of walking and the 30 day shred. Seriously I'm in beast mode and I dont care. I actually laugh when I wake up(like this morning) and my body is aching. I have a goal and I know what I want to be and how I want to look before I return to work.

I never in a million years knew that this summer would be dedicated to fitness. I didnt plan it that way but some how this fitness thing has taken on a life of its own. Its all that I think about and I think I'm way more than a little obsessed with myfitnesspal and this blog. If I cant work out I'm sad and I'm disappointed if I can only get one workout in. Trust me, I dont know who this person is either but I like her. She's motivated and determined and I'm falling in love with her work ethic.

Of course being this determined has its set backs. You see that picture of me(look up) ... I look a hot mess dont I? lol Working out is like kryptonite to my hair. I dont even bother anymore .... my wardrobe lately consists of jeans, a tshirt, sneakers and a baseball cap .... thats IF I bother leaving the house.  I get by knowing that this phase will not last long. In a month and some days I will return to work and then my workouts will dwindle down to two-a-days. Til then I'm beasting .... I'm getting everything in that I can get in!

30 Day Shred .......................... Lets GO!

Look ma ...... NO HANDS!

Ha ha! I wonder how many people are going to click on this link thinking I'm talking about something freaky *giggles* C'mon peeps..... by now you should know that this is a FITNESS blog! Everything on here relates to my physical, mental and spiritual well being :)

Anyhoo I'm taking a break from working out because while doing my second hip hop ab workout today I had a major accomplishment. I wouldnt be me if i didnt share it :)  You see that picture ... yeah that one up there ..... well I've been working out for a good month and while stretching I've NEVER been able to touch my toes :(  I started out at my calf and worked my way down to my ankle. I tried several times to reach my toes and at some point I became like the two fleas that Dwayne Wayne preached about in A Different World. I kind of gave up and just said "Hey you're not flexible ... move on" Today I dont know what happened but I reached for my feet and I WAS ABLE TO TOUCH MY TOES! I bent alllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll the way down. I'm sure that's some type of great yoga position. I mean I was flat LOL

If you cant tell, I am so proud of me. Another accomplishment under my belt .... who cares if its minor. :)

By the way, if you've never seen the flea clip from A Different World here it is. Great clip :)

The Obesity Epidemic

My comments are in bold :)

U.S. Obesity Epidemic Continues to Spread
By Steven Reinberg THURSDAY, July 7 (HealthDay News) --

A new report outlining how obesity threatens America's future reveals that obesity rates climbed over the past year in 16 states, and not a single state reported a decline in the proportion of excessively overweight residents.

I wonder why

The report, released Thursday, also found that more than 30 percent of the people in 12 states are obese. Four years ago, only one state could make that claim.

Twenty years ago, "there wasn't a single state that had an obesity rate above 15 percent, and now every state is above that," said Jeff Levi, executive director of Trust for America's Health, which compiled the report.

Could this be because of fast food? What about all of the preservatives and additives that they are placing in food? What about the lack of knowledge that people have about what they are putting into their bodies? 20 years ago people probably cooked their food at home instead of eating out. Just things to ponder

"We have seen a dramatic shift over a generation," he added. "This isn't just about how much people weigh, but it has to do with serious health problems like diabetes and hypertension. These are the things that are driving health care costs."

Being obese is costing us not only our lives but financially as well. Air carriers are now charging extra for obese individuals. Healthcare wise insurance companies are too. I for one have to have bloodwork done by the first of august to ensure that I keep my insurance. What are the checking for? Diabetes, cholestrol levels, blood pressure ... you know... the things that come with being overweight :/

With the exception of Michigan, the 10 most obese states are in the South. The Northeast and West reported the lowest obesity rates. In addition, in eight states, more than 10 percent of adults suffer from type 2 diabetes, according to the report.

Why am I not surprised? The South. I live in the South where we love everything fried, smothered and unhealthy. Even our vegetables are unhealthy because they are often slathered in butter, seasoned with a fattening part of the pig and cooked until all of the nutrients are gone. The South ... home of SOUL FOOD! I'm not surprised at all by this.

Mississippi, where 34.4 percent of the people are obese, has the highest obesity rate. Other states with obesity rates above 30 percent include: Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia. Thirty-eight other states have obesity rates above 25 percent.

This is what pisses me off. All of these obesity rates but obese people are discriminated against the most. Its like duhhh America YOU'RE obese! How can you continue to discriminate against obese people? Why are we continuing with this stereotype that Americans are size 2's, 4's and 6's. We're not.

For the second year in a row, obesity rates rose in Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Missouri, Rhode Island and Texas.

And, for the third year straight, more residents of Florida, Kansas, Maine, Oklahoma and Vermont tipped the scale toward obesity.

Colorado, with an obesity rate of 19.8 percent, is the only state where the rate is less than 20 percent, the investigators found.

Other highlights of the report include:

** The number of adults who do not exercise rose across 14 states.

Why am I not surprised? We have become a generation of lazy people. Instead of exercising adults now turn to weight loss pills, surgery or other fad diets.

**Obesity among men is up in nine states, but dropped for women in Nevada.

Women have more pressure to be thin

**Obesity prevalence varies with education and income. The least educated and the poorest had the highest rates of obesity; college graduates had the lowest.

I'm not surprised by this either. It always baffles me when I go grocery shopping around the first of the month and the people with food stamps are there. Some people receive $400-$900 a month in food stamps. You would think they would have healthy choices but I often find these people with carts and carts and carts full of JUNK! Every type of cake, soda, chip, snacks imaginable. Rarely are there fresh fruits and vegetables. I always leave the store baffled.

**More than one-third of children and adolescents are obese or overweight, with the highest prevalence in the South. However, the new data indicate that obesity among children and adolescents may have leveled off, except among the heaviest boys.

Not surprised. The new generation is one of video games. Also with all of the stuff happening in the world with pedophiles, etc its risky to allow your child to go outside and play unless you are right there with him/her. I put my own kid in sports just so he could interact with kids and get exercise.


"This generation of kids could have shorter life spans, because people are getting diabetes and hypertension much earlier," Levi said.

The solution is simple, he added: Eat less, exercise more. "We have reconstructed our lives so that we don't build in physical activity. We have neighborhoods and communities that are food deserts, where the only food you can find is unhealthy fast food," he said.

Samantha Heller, a dietitian in Fairfield, Conn., called childhood obesity "a complex, multi-faceted problem that needs to be tackled from many different angles." She said she wished the report offered ways to educate parents and caregivers about healthy eating for children.

When people find out WHAT they are eating, some change. I've found while doing this journey that many simply do not want to know. Ignorance is bliss

Parents and caregivers make approximately 75 percent of the food decisions for children, Heller said, so it is essential that they learn about healthy, affordable foods and meals for children that make sense to them.

Therein lies the problem. Fast food is affordable but it damn sure is not healthy. Healthy food is healthy but it damn sure is not affordable.


"Overall, I am hopeful that the report will help motivate food companies, local and state governments, schools and communities to generate a good head of steam to help stem the tide of childhood obesity," she added.

Obesity expert Dr. David L. Katz, director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn., called the report "a reminder that obesity ranks among the most urgent public health problems of our time. While efforts to reverse obesity trends are proliferating, the tide has not yet turned, and more needs to be done."

The report makes it clear that interventions need to be tailored to diverse settings, Katz added. "I support the view that the root cause of epidemic obesity is everything about modern living, and that it will take the aggregation of a lot of effective programming to change our course," he said.

Levi noted that the federal government was introducing programs to stem the obesity crisis, but "we need to fund these programs adequately," he said.

"We now know the pieces that need to be put into place [to reduce obesity]," he added. "Some of them are about what we as individuals do, but a lot of it is also about what we as a community come together to do," Levi stated.


The list below, from the Report F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America's Future, shows the percentage of obese adults in all 50 states:


Mississippi 34.4
Maine 26.5
Alabama 32.3
Washington 26.4
West Virginia 32.2
Florida 26.1
Tennessee 31.9
Alaska 25.9
Louisiana 31.6
Virginia 25.9
Kentucky 31.5
Idaho 25.7
Oklahoma 31.4
New Hampshire 25.6
South Carolina 30.9
New Mexico 25.6
Arkansas 30.6
Arizona 25.4
Michigan 30.5
Oregon 25.4
Missouri 30.3
Wyoming 25.4
Texas 30.1
Minnesota 25.3
Ohio 29.6
Nevada 25.0
North Carolina 29.4
California 24.8
Indiana 29.1
New York 24.7
Kansas 29.0
Rhode Island 24.3
Georgia 28.7
New Jersey 24.1
South Dakota 28.7
Montana 23.8
Pennsylvania 28.5
Vermont 23.5
Iowa 28.1
Utah 23.4
Delaware 28.0
Hawaii 23.1
North Dakota 28.0
Massachusetts 22.3
Illinois 27.7
Connecticut 21.8
Nebraska 27.6
District of Columbia 21.7
Wisconsin 27.4
Colorado 19.8

We're back together .....

Today was my first day back exercising with Shaun T. On the calendar it said I was to do total body burn ..... ughhh one of my favorite work outs *insert saracasm* I was so surprised today while doing the workout. One I had tons of energy. I guess being on a couch for a few days does that to you. I really did not expect to have as much as energy as I had. I even did the up tempo exercises. The second surprise was my breathing. Why was I breathing so hard? I have not had hard breathing in a long time so I was surprised when today I actually had to stop once to catch my breath. Was it because I was doing everything up tempo? Who knows ... but that was a surprise. The last surprise was that I had to vomit. Part of being in a funk for the past couple of days was because my body felt like crap. I dont know if I ate something bad, drunk too much alcohol or a combination of both but I have felt horrible since Sunday. I've had the feeling that I wanted and needed to vomit since Sunday but I hate vomiting. Everyone has told me to simply put my finger down my throat and vomit so that I could feel better but I am hardheaded. I'd rather sit on the couch sick then to have my face in a toilet(I really hate vomiting). Well today I had no choice. Man I could feel the toxins exiting my body as I worked out and as soon as I was done .... the vomit came up. I can feel it in my stomach that I have a lot more to bring up .... ughhh I hate that!

I still have my 5 mile walk to do and I'm going to try and throw in an additional hip hop ab workout. I need to get in as much as I can before I leave for Orlando. 10 lbs in July is my goal. LETS GO!

I'm back

When I went to New Orleans I had no idea it would take me so long to get back to my normal schedule. I've been recuperating for the past three days. My days have consisted of me napping on the couch, laying in bed, snacking and sleeping. That's it. I've had no desire to leave the house. I've had no desire to exercise. I've had no desire to even track my food. I've just been a shell of myself....just trapped in a funk!

I kicked myself out of the funk this morning. I had had enough. I got up and measured my breakfast. I actually had my normal breakfast--oatmeal!!!! I'm back to water ... no juice. I'm looking forward to working out with Shaun T. I'm just BACK TO BEING ME!!!! I missed my regular routine. My goal for July is to lose 10 lbs. Well I'm 7 days behind so I have a lot of work to do! LETS GOOOOOO!

I SURVIVED New Orleans

Well today is my last day in New Orleans. *sighs* What a "vacation" this has been. I've been tested physically, spiritually and mentally this entire weekend and I'm so proud of me because I SURVIVED!

When I left for New Orleans I knew that I would be tested physically. I even blogged about it. I love cajun food and alcohol and thought that I would be consuming thousands of calories because of it. However I surprised myself. The only thing that I have eaten has been red beans and rice and sausage. I ate a bowl of it this morning and have not had the desire to eat anything since. I've had cups and cups of water ..... and limited alcohol. I've walked everywhere so my exercise has been taken care of. I give myself a pat on the back.

Spiritually and mentally I did not expect to be tested. I really did not. I really thought I'd come to New Orleans, party, and have a great time. That is not what happened. It was drama from the beginning. There was so much drama that I wanted to say eff the 100s of dollars that I spent and just take me home.

I'm the type of person who loves to travel. I travel a lot. I love going to stuff, partying and just having fun. Whenever I go on vacation I enjoy experiencing the city and just having a good time. I personally have a hard time understanding anyone who would come all of the way to New Orleans and want to stay in the hotel and watch television and sleep. Television and sleeping can be done anywhere. I just have a hard time wrapping my head around that concept. I wont go into deal but the drama that I experienced this weekend was uncalled for and very unnecessary. However it was needed in order to grow mentally and spiritually.

A year ago I would not have thought like that. However now I see that sometimes we are forced to experience a little pain, a little drama, shed a few tears in order for us to be elevated. When everything was going on I turned to God and just prayed. It was the craziest prayer and if I were him I would've chuckled at me. I kept saying the same thing over and over but the funny thing is that it worked. It calmed me down. Once I took it to him and left it there, I had a much better day.

So I survived New Orleans. I leave in the morning and I can not wait to come back next year. Til then, its been real Nawlins :)

Bump pain ..... lets talk about the GAIN

Monday was my official weigh in day. I set a biweekly goal on my Wii Fit and met it. I set the same goal, to lose 2 lbs, and went about my day. Well today I weighed in and the Wii Fit and myself were both shocked. I had lost the 2 lbs already. I met my goal in 2 days. I am now officially 10 lbs down and 4 lbs away from saying bye bye to my 80s. I am so excited. I have worked really hard and my hard work is paying off.

I would like to thank all of the people who continue to encourage me on facebook, twitter, myfitnesspal and via text. You all have no idea how much I appreciate your kind words and encouragement.

The V-word ................... Vacation!

My entire month of June has been dedicated to working out, eating right, working out and eating right. I've pretty much been home the entire month except for a trip to the beach here, a trip to visit my father there and/or a trip to the local movie theater. I tried to do as much as I could in June because I knew July would be a killer. Well July is almost here.

My first vacation of the summer begins tomorrow. I leave for New Orleans and will be there until Monday. Now I dont know how many of you have been to New Orleans before but let me tell you a secret ..... they have some of the best food ever! OMG, I have thought about their red beans and rice and bread pudding since last year. I'm sure the calories are out of this world .... isnt that how it always is when something taste good ;(

I'm taking my pedometer with me because I know I'll be doing a lot of walking. That's my exercise right there. I just have to practice restraint when it comes to eating. I'll be eating out for the entire 5 days. I'm going to have to make wise decisions. Thank God I have the Myfitnesspal app on my blackberry. That should keep me focused.

The bad thing is that I return from New Orleans on Monday and leave for Orlando on that Sunday :/ I'll be in Orlando for four days for my son's birthday. Yes another vacation which means another hotel and more restaurant food :/ The good thing is that just like New Orleans, I'll be doing a lot of walking so my exercise will be taken care of. I keep telling myself to not go overboard. I should be ok but we shall see.

1Love
KL

Pain .... Pain .... GO AWAY!

I'm sitting on my couch with tears running down my face ..... thats how bad it hurts tonight. I knew it was going to hurt. My legs have been throbbing ALL day but I still did my hip hop ab workout tonight .... two of them as a matter of fact. 50 minutes of intense cardio .... I know .... I'm CRAZY.

I'm still rolling with my No Pain, No Gain theory. The only thing is this theory sounds good when I'm saying it or even typing it but its another thing when I'm LIVING IT!

Thankfully for me tomorrow is my last day of hip hop abs. I am going on vacation for five days and will not be able to do any of the workouts. I will be able to exercise, just not with Shaun T. *exhales* I am so happy to be taking a break. Shaun is kicking my azz! lol

Jill Scott ...... you're my SHERO!

Has anyone seen Jill Scott lately? Doesnt she look amazing????? I think I utter those words every time I see her. Its not unusual for a celebrity to lose weight. Many have done this including Jennifer Hudson, Star Jones, Monique and etc. However this is the first time that I've seen a celebrity lose weight and felt inspired myself. I've always been a Jill Scott fan...I'm talking about since her lets take a long walk days...and Jill Scott has always been "plus size". I dont know her personally and I've never met her but she's always come across as being so cool and comfortable within her skin and that just made me love her more.



We live in a society that is obsessed with being thin and where the mere thought of being *cough* fat *cough* is frowned upon. Seriously how many fat jokes have you heard? How many times have you gone into a store and saw a cute skirt, shirt, dress and discovered that the store did not carry your size. Its not always a pleasant experience. There is always the pressure of conforming and meeting America's thin expectations. Thats why I think I've always loved Jill. She's always broken the rules whether it was vocally or physically.



Recently Jill has lost weight and I feel that she looks amazing(told you I say that a lot LOL) Whats even more amazing are all of the men and women on twitter and facebook that I see proclaiming their love for curves, their love for a woman who may not be a size 2, their admiration for her new look. I say KUDOS to you Ms Scott .... you look phenomenal and you dear are my SHERO for the month!

Before:



After:

Inches baby INCHES!

I have just spent about 10 minutes running around my house singing Kanye West's Workout Plan LOL. I know I know ....CRAZY! But I have a good reason. For the past few weeks I have been losing pounds and pounds are good but my waist stayed at 40 inches. I remember reading You On A Diet by Dr Oz and him stressing the importance of losing inches, especially inches around your belly. A 40 inch waist is not only a no-no, its dangerous. A 40 inch waist puts you at risk for high blood pressure, diabetes, and many other health related issues.

So while I was happy to be losing pounds and saying bye bye to the 80s I was still worried about that 40 inch waist. I weigh and measure myself daily and the scale was fine but the tape measure was becoming my enemy. Then something funny happened. The scale has stayed the same for the past few days but the other day when I measured my waist was 39 inches. I nearly cried. Today when I weighed, I was still at 186 pounds BUT my waist was 38 inches. I'm down TWO inches!!!!!! I am so happy. I am looking forward to not only dropping more pounds but MORE INCHES TOO!

Kitchen Must Haves

I remember when I was pregnant with my son. I went to do my baby shower registry and was given a "must have" list by the lady. Throughout my life I've learned that there is a "must have" list for everything. There's a must have list when you're getting married, a must have list when you become a teacher, a must have list when you're going on vacation and so on and so forth.

Many people have asked me how I have survived going for so long with fast food and/or all of the yummy fattening not good for you stuff that I use to love. Well its actually quite simple. 1. I have my must have list and 2. I have my recipes from allrecipes.com. So here is my first must have list for my kitchen......enjoy :)




1. Kashi Go Lean Bars-- My favorite are the honey almond flax. They are so delicious and I usually carry one in my purse when I am on the go. If I get hungry and am on the road I whip that sucker out and eat it while drinking a bottle of water and I'm all good. They are affordable as well.





2. Fresh Fruit --- I've always loved fruit since I was a little girl but lets face it, fruit can be expensive. While its very healthy for you and allows you to get full with few calories its a burden for your wallet. Well I found a farmer's market down the street from my house and I've made it a rule to go once a week. Once I'm home I clean the fruit, chop it up and place it in plastic containers. That way whenever I get hungry I can go to the fridge and pull out a container. I also take the containers with me on the road.

3. Brown Rice --- I am a big rice person. As a matter of fact I'm a big CARBS person LOL I must have some type of carb per meal. The carb of my choice is usually some type of rice. Well I threw out all of the flavored rices ... the red beans and rice, white rice, yellow rice and etc and now my cabinet holds boxes of brown rice. Its easy to cook (10 minutes max) and its pretty affordable(1.89 at Walmart).

4. Frozen Veggies -- I can remember when I use to buy canned veggies. *sighs* That seemed so long ago. Veggies trapped in a can with god knows how much sodium. Then I went fresh and I have to admit I love fresh veggies but I decided to throw frozen veggies in the mix and I havent been the same since LOL Where do I start with the benefits? They are more affordable. I can get a bag of green beans for 98 cents at walmart and that bag will last for a minute. They are quick. They are low in calories. I have fallen in love with stir frying since I brought frozen veggies in the house. I dont think I'll ever go back to canned.



5. Diet V8 Splash -- I use to drink regular V8 all of the time and swore I was doing something good .... I mean its v8 .... it has to be healthy right? Wrong! Check the label. Regular V8 has High Fructose Corn Syrup in it. Its full of calories and sugar. So one day I was in Walmart(my favorite place LOL) and I decided to try the diet v8. I checked the label and saw that it had no HFCS and was relatively low in calories. I really was not expecting much but was pleasantly surprised. The diet v8 tastes better than the regular one. Who knew? I dont drink it all of the time, one bottle may last for two weeks, but I've found that when I'm craving sugar an 8 oz glass of diet v8 cures the craving. For someone who use to love sugar, diet v8 is a must have for my house!

What are some healthy "must haves" for your kitchen?

How did you get here?

My all time favorite song by Deborah Cox is Nobody's Suppose To Be Here? In the song, for those who are not familiar with Ms Cox, Deborah is asking love how did it find its way back into her heart. She was done with love and somehow it snuck back up on her. So the entire song consists of Ms Cox asking "How did you get here? Nobody's suppose to be here!"

Thats exactly how I feel right now LOL. When I finished my last blog post I was beat. I was so tired and I just knew that I'd be fast asleep by now. WRONG! As soon as I got up from the table a sudden burst of energy blew through me. It was weird. I figured I matter as well take advantage of it and get a little walking in. I thought about hitting the trail but was worried that by the time I got my son dressed, got in the car and drove to the trail, my energy may be gone :/ I didnt want to risk it so I popped in my Leslie Sansone's WALKING away the pounds, 5 mile walk dvd.

I said I'd only do 1 mile. Well as soon as the 1 mile was done a double energy boost hit me and before I knew it I was half way through mile 2. Thats when the burning started. My legs were on fire! I worked through the burn and before I knew it I was on mile 4. Then something crazy happened...the fire spread. My shins, thighs and buttocks were on fire. Now my shins and thighs have burned before(when I first started working out) but my butt has never burned. I so wanted to stop BUT I had come so far. What was the use in doing 4 miles if I wasnt going to see it out and do the entire 5 miles. I did stick it out and completed my 5 miles for the day! Woo hoo!

So thats 2 hip hop ab workouts done today and 5 miles too. I believe my total is at 58 miles done for the summer with 142 more to go! Yay me! Now its time for a shower, dinner and law and order :)

1 down, 6 to go

So today was my weigh in. The last time I weighed in was June 16th which was 5 days ago. I try to weigh in every 2-3 days but the past few days have been very difficult due to PMS issues. I really didnt want to weigh in because I was afraid of what the scale would say. Well today I did and I'm down another pound. Thats excellent considering the weekend that I had...lunch at Lee Roy Selmons(one of my favs) and dinner at Red Lobster. So that brings me almost to the midway point in the 80's and motivates me even more. My dream is right in front of me and all I have to do is snatch in. 6 more pounds and I'll be saying bye to the 80s and hello to the 70s. I'm about to cry just thinking about it.

As promised I have done two workouts per day this week in addition to my 5 mile walk. Yesterday was easy but today was killer. First of all I woke up and felt like crap .... sick crap + emotional crap. All I wanted to do was stay in the bed. I had NO appetite at all but I forced myself to eat a bowl of hot oatmeal and drink 8 oz of orange juice. I figured as long as I stayed in the house I'd stay being crappy so me and the kid went to the beach. Awwww it was so relaxing. I was under a pavillion reading a book while the wind blew. Had it not been for me having to workout I would've stayed out there forever. I was soooo relaxed ... maybe too relaxed because doing my hip hop abs today was a challenge. I had ZERO energy. I'm proud of me because I made it through both and 60 minutes of high impact cardio! :) Go me Go me!

Now I am just exhausted and have decided that my 5 miles just will not get done today :( It hurts me to make that decision but I am honestly about to fall asleep as I type this so imagine me after I've showered and eaten dinner. I'm going to be out like a baby. lol

Michael Jackson BAD

I feel Michael Jackson bad ..... *moonwalks* LOL! I just completed two hip hop ab workouts and quite frankly I couldve done two more. I have energy galore. What really impressed me is that I was able to go through both of the workouts(fat burning cardio and ab sculpt) without stopping. Thats a big thing for me because when I first started doing hip hop abs, I had to stop every 5 minutes. Now I can go 60 minutes without stopping for a break!

Woo hoo!

I still have my 5 miles to do but if that goes well I plan on doing another hip hop ab workout. Now tell me this, WHOSE BAD? lol

No Pain No Gain

This is my motto for this week ........................ No Pain, No Gain! I'm psyching myself out before Monday gets here because as I finished my 2nd hip hop abs workout of the day my legs started to give way .... my muscles ached and I wanted a hot bath and a bed. I need to be prepared and strong physically and mentally because in addition to my 5 miles a day, I also have two hip hop abs workouts everyday this week. Tough schedule but definitely capable of being done. I just cant have any excuses. I have to go for it .... with soreness and all. I have a goal and hard work is going to be needed to achieve it. No time for excuses :)

No CROSS, No CROWN

I remember as a little girl my father playing Vickie Winan's no cross no crown. For those who have not heard it, the song talks about being able to take a little heartache, a little pain, a little stress...basically having a cross. If you dont have a cross basically you wont have a crown. A crown being entrance into heaven. The song goes on to say must Jesus bear the a cross alone and all the world go free? No there's a a cross for everyone and theres a cross for me.

You may not know this about me ..... but I'm spoiled. Hey I admit it...no denial over here. I've heard this song a million times and for a million times I thought it did not apply to me. I'm Kimberly ... I am suppose to be happy for ever and ever merely because I want to be. Dont pick at me because some of you feel the same way. In actuality thats not how it works. Life is not perfect. At 29 I laugh at such a thought. If my life was perfect, what a boring life that would be. If life was perfect, how could I learn from my mistakes and hardships and get better. If life was perfect how could I bear my cross and get my crown.

Life is not perfect. Life is full of laughs and tears. Its full of joys and sorrows. I laid in bed for an hour this morning with tears streaming down my face. My heart was heavy and my mind was full. I hate Father's Day for it forces me to remember that I am a single mother and that my son's father is not the "type" of father that I would want for him. After I had cried all that I could cry and cursed all that I could cursed I realized that this is just another cross that I must bear. Its a cross that me and my son must bear. One day my son will be a great man, I can feel this deep down in my soul. I know that God has something special planned just for him just like he had something special planned just for me. One day we both will look back on these years not with regret but with thanks.

I was talking to my oldest sister a few weeks ago and we were reflecting on our childhood. My sister holds on to our childhood more than I do and I shared with her that everything that we went through only aided in making us the strong black women that we are today. Its true. Had I not gone through many of the hurtful things that I've gone through I probably would not be the woman who is standing before you all today. Our hurt, our flaws, our troubles, our mistakes....they all shape us into the beautiful people that we are. How can you have a testimony without first going through a test? You cant.

So while my heart aches today and tears flow down my eyes I accept this cross, I accept the pain and the heartache, I accept the tears for I know that one day I shall have my crown. I will be smiling and everything that I've endured will be a faint memory. Remember NO CROSS, NO CROWN

Happy Father's Day everyone!

*sighs* Its Father's Day

Tomorrow is Father's Day......its the time of year that makes my blood boil. I had a great father growing up and still do so one would think that Father's Day would be a day that I spent celebrating him ... wrong! All of my father's great deeds are overshadowed by the fact that my child's father sucks. Every year without fail I cannot focus on the greatness that is my father ... instead I spend every year engulfed in rage and hatred for the man that helped me to create the most important person in my life. That my friend, sucks!

I feel as if God places tests before us and it is up to us to pass them. If you dont pass them, you're constantly given that test. If you pass them you receive a special blessing from the heavenly father and move on. For example, I had the worst neighbors ever. Just thinking about my neighbors would cause my blood to boil. FYI, I have anger issues. Anyhoo I'd come home and my neighbors would be blasting their music ... my blood would instantly boil and I'd get so upset that I'd say I was near the point of having a stroke. My blood pressure would rise and I'd be on the phone calling the cops and/or landlord. This went on for a long time. I kept failing and failing. If I end up in hell when this life is over, I'm sure I'll be there because of my temper and/or anger issues One day I was sitting on the couch and they started with their music ... but this time I did something different. I counted to 10 and DID NOT GET ANGRY. Dont ask me how but after 10 minutes and me not getting angry, they turned the music down. I didnt go over there or anything ... See how GOD works! The same thing happened the next day and I got the same results. By the third day all I could do was smile. I even managed to speak to my neighbors .... who believe it or not, were not as bad as I thought they were. The point that I'm trying to make is I passed that test. I learned to control my anger in that situation and I did not allow anyone to get the best of me.

That is what I am attempting to do tomorrow. For nine years I have regretted ever meeting my son's father ... I've been angry for nine years that the type of father that I have, my son does not have. That anger, as anger often does, has eaten away at me and made me miserable. I have not enjoyed a father's day in nine years and thats unfair. Its unfair to me, its unfair to my son but most of all its unfair to my father....a great man who raised and loved me for 29 years and my son for 9. My goal for tomorrow is to honor him and not allow my anger for deadbeats to control me. Even as I type this I know that it is going to be a difficult challenge. However I'm going to take a deep breath, I'm going to count to 10 and I'm going to EXHALE and enjoy my day.

Happy Fathers Day to all of the fathers who are taking care of their business! Much love and appreciation to you all

Muah

KL

Weekly Review

Well I did it ..... I completed another week. There has been so much on my mind that I've wanted to blog about and couldnt due to lack of time. I decided tonight that before I did anything else I would at least blog about my week. So as I sit funky from tonight's workout I have a smile on my face. Its been a trying week but I MADE IT! *cues Kirk Franklin*

This week started off BAD. I had such a bad attitude at the beginning of the week. I woke up in pain, tired, bloated and irritable. When I stepped on the scale I had gained 4 lbs. I knew this was wrong. It takes 3200 calories to gain a single pound and I had been struggling to consume 1200. It didnt take long for me to realize that I was PMS'ing and that put me in a real funk. Someone on myfitnesspal.com suggested that I take pamprin and increase my water input to 8-10 cups a day. I did and it worked! I'm still a little tired and irritable but my bloated belly is no more! When I weighed in last night I had actually lost weight ..... bring my total weight loss down to 7.4 lbs! I almost cried .... yeah I'm a cry baby. I have 7 lbs to go before I'm writing a post saying bye bye to the 80s. I cant wait.

Food wise I did great this week. I cooked and perfected a chicken stir fry at the beginning of the week. I could totally eat that every single day and not get tired of it...thats just how delicious it was. My goal is to post the recipe on here ... when I get time :/ My second meal of the week was a veggie lasagna. I'm trying to introduce a new veggie and fruit into my diet biweekly. This week's veggie was eggplant and the fruit was apricot. Eggplant to me is beautiful and I've heard such wonderful things about it. However I personally do not like it. I'm willing to give it another try but in the lasagna it was not tasty. I think I'd rather stick with zucchini and squash. I had the apricot today and it reminded me of a sour peach. Yeah I didnt care for that either. The good news is that my son loved the apricot so they will not go to waste :)

The one thing that I noticed this week and am very proud of is that my stomach/body has adjusted and I now do not have to eat so much. I get full off of one cup of rice, pasta, cereal, etc. The real shocker came this afternoon when I went to Applebees and ordered a burger. I could only eat half of the burger because I was so full. That has never happened before. Honestly I didnt know whether I should be happy or sad. That was one of the best burgers ever and I couldnt even finish it off. :/

Exercise wise I did good. Shaun T kicked my ass this week. He has been babying me with the Fat burn cardio but this week I did the total body burn and lets just say me and shaun arent on the best of terms. My entire body hurts .... but thats ok. I know next week when I weigh in, I'll reap the rewards :)

I'm looking forward to next week. I've been doing this plan for 15 days and am down 7.4 lbs. At this rate I should be at my goal weight by the time I return to work. Watch out now .... team 30 and FAB in full effect ;)

12 Steps: Emotional Eating

I've heard that when a person has an addiction and enters rehab the first thing that he/she must do is first admit that there is a problem. So I guess that is how I will begin this post tonight. Hi, my name is Kimberly and I'm an emotional eater.

As I thought about this post I tried to remember when and how I became an emotional eater. I drew a blank. I do remember when I first realized that food made me feel better. That was in 2006. I had just left my husband, I was a single mom, I was in a stressful position at a new school, I was away from my family & friends, I was in a new town and well food just became everything to me. When I was happy, I ate. When I was sad, I ate. When I was angry, I ate. When I was lonely, I ate. Eating got me through difficult times. I didnt have to cry, I could eat and instantly feel better. And so this was the mentality that was established and therefore I became an emotional eater.

Things got better ..... I really have not gone on any binges lately. That is until tonight. Tonight I completed my five miles(woo hoo) and got the bright idea that I should look at my student's FCAT results. They say curiosity killed the cat and I can see why Mr Cat died because I often find myself placed in awful situations because my curiosity got the best of me. Tonight was no different. First of all I must say that I am a teacher who prides herself on having excellent test scores. I've been in this profession for 7 years(and my waist line shows it lol) and my results have never been less than 90%. This year my score is 76%. Before I knew it all types of emotions were coming and going. I was mad as hell, I wanted to cry, I was happy for those who did well, I was depressed, etc. What was funny is that although I was NOT hungry at all, the first thing that I wanted to do was eat. :/ I knew eating would make me feel better instantly....it would tame all of the emotions that were running through me.

In a perfect world and a perfect blog I'd type that I fought that urge and went about my business. However this is not a perfect world. I had baked chicken, brown rice and black beans, not bad right? Have you ever seen a crackhead fiending for crack? Is that ever a pretty sight? No not at all. I feel like emotional eating is no different .... its an addiction. Dont laugh but seriously there's an emotional eater's anonymous lol <---- sorry for laughing. I've made it to step 4 just by writing this blog post. Hopefully I can make it all the way to step 12 ;)

I did it, I did it, oh yeah yeah yeah

I promise this is one of my favorite scenes from Finding Nemo. To quote Dory, "I DID IT I DID IT OHHHHH YEAH YEAH YEAH" What did I do?

* Ive gone a month without eating fast food

* I've exercised every single day

* I've met my goal of walking 5 miles a day. Now I'm considering moving it up to 10!

* I've tried new fresh fruits(papaya) and veggies(cauliflower)

* I've met my mini-weight loss goal

I am so proud of me. If you dont pat yourself on the back, who will? *Dory voice* I DID IT I DID IT OH YEAH YEAH YEAH ....... THERE'S NO EATING HERE TONIGHT, NO EATING HERE TONIGHT, NO EATING HERE TONIGHT YOU'RE ON A DIEEETTTTT! LOL

Goodnight :)

Bye 90's ...................... HELLO 80's

I really do not know where to begin with this post. I'm really emotional so I'm sure I'm going to be all over the place but here goes.

I have been 190-ish for as long as I can remember. At my largest I was 199 .... a mere 1 lb away from being 200. Last year when I did Insanity I lost inches but pound wise I was stuck at 192...thats as far as I made it. My goal was always to get out of the 90s and quite frankly I never thought I'd make it.

So with this new journey I have been setting mini-goals via the Wii Fit. Nothing major...2 pounds here, 2 pounds there. I achieved the first goal and really didnt think anything of it since the goal was 190 ..... STILL in the freakin 90s :( So then it came to the second goal.... I did two pounds again which would take me to 188 and OUT of the 90s. Today I got on the Wii fit to have a little fun and work on my balance. During the weigh in I noticed that my weight was 189.6. I never would have expected to have the reaction that I did ...... I literally broke down into tears. Even as I type this I feel the tears coming again LOL. I DID IT!!!!!!!! I did what deep down I really did not think I could do. I'm out out of the 90s LOL. My goal has to be met by Wednesday and I have 1.6 pounds to go. I am so motivated. So out with the old and in with the new. Bye bye 90s.....you sucked anyway :) HELLO 80s and 70's I have my EYE on YOU!

Bye Bye Fast Food

Isnt that picture disgusting? Doesnt it make you just wanna puke? Well thats how I felt when I discovered what was actually in fast food. I was minding my business on facebook one day when I came across a site called FoodFacts-Whats actually in your food. While this is the day that saved me I often joke that I wish I would have just put my phone down. My curiosity got the best of me that day and I clicked like. My life has not been the same since. When I discovered what was actually IN alot of the fast food that ate I was sick to my stomach. I havent touched the stuff since.

I'm no different then most of you. I work 8 hours a day in a very stressful field and I have a 9 year old son who happens to be autistic. Sometimes the LAST thing that I want to do after working all day is come home and cook. Wendys, Chick Fila, Pollo Tropical and Burger King were staples in our household. Dunkin Donuts and McDonalds for breakfast were an every day occurence. Pizza on Mondays, wings on Wednesdays.....sometimes I went a full two weeks without ever touching my stove :/ I dont type those things with pride....I type them to show you just how reckless I was living. I cant take back the last year....I cant take back the damage that endless trips to various fast food restaurants have done to my body but I could change.

They say the worst thing that anyone could ever do is to quit a habit cold turkey. Its true lol I gave up fast food cold turkey. No more Burger King, no more Pizza Hut......no more Dunkin Donuts. Shoot! And I was just starting to get addicted to coffee again :) At first it was easy....I simply thought about everything that I had read on foodfacts.com and that knowledge alone was enough to turn me away. However it got to be a lil difficult when I started taking road trips and/or being away from home for long periods of times. Difficult but still doable. I am happy to announce that I have been without fast food for a month. I dont miss it. Yesterday a guy next to me was eating a Popeyes meal .... it smelled delicious and my mouth watered but when I thought about what exactly was IN that meal, my saliva quickly dried up lol

So I happily say, bye bye fast food! It was good while it lasted but like so many other unhealthy relationships in my life, ours has come to an end :)

Hello ..... its me, Kimberly

Its been a year since I last blogged on here. Its been a year since I even thought about working out. Its been a year since I was focused on becoming a "different me". What a year it has been? Emotionally, physically, professionally, and spiritually it has been a very difficult year. At one point I sat back, looked in the mirror and believe it or not, I didnt even recognize the person staring back. I gained ALL of my Insanity weight back and was almost pushing 200 lbs. I hated my job....I hated my career. And I was angry. Angry at the world and angry at myself and the bad thing is I have NO clue WHY I was so angry. I decided that I was going to do some things differently.....take a lil time to find me again and I have to say that I have been LOVING the journey.

So YES I am back to doing "a different me" but I'm doing it on MY terms. I've been doing it for a few weeks and I already see major differences. I cant wait to see the end results. Welcome back to my journey :)