BootCamp.....Rule #1

There are several publications that I enjoy reading. Some make me vomit because I simply cannot handle the information that is given but others are quite informative. Recently my favorite site, A Black Girl's Guide to Weight Loss,  decided to bring in the new year with a bootcamp. I misunderstood her AFTER I had decided I would do it. I was excited until I read its a HEALTHY EATING boot camp. I thought it would only be about exercise. Lord help me. lol I have a group of people of Facebook who have said they are going to do it with me. May God be with all of us lol. That being said....here's rule number 1. Good luck ladies :)


That being said, here’s the first rule for the boot camp: before you go to drink any juice or soft drink, vow to drink two cups – that’s 16 ounces – of water first. If, after 16oz. of water, you still want the sugary drink, then go for it. But you must always drink the two cups of water, first.

Got it? Who’s in?

(Excerpted from What Time Is It? Clean Eating Boot Camp Time! | A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss)

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.

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

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 :)