Well it is November 29th! In a little over a month 2012 will come a knocking! Or rather come a' kicking in the door! I had a goal of 19 l.bs by New Years Eve! I dunno yall lol 5 weeks which I guess is not that bad a 3.8 pound per week loss! If I keep it tight its doable! Totally!
Countdown!
Thinking positive! I'mma make it happen or darn near it!
Well my workouts have been on point! I feel really good about getting back on track! As a quick review
I was struggling with my eating this weekend! The extra exercise really causes me to get hungry! It is not just in my head! As this article says:
The basic problem is that while it's true that exercise burns calories and that you must burn calories to lose weight, exercise has another effect: it can stimulate hunger. That causes us to eat more, which in turn can negate the weight-loss benefits we just accrued. Exercise, in other words, isn't necessarily helping us lose weight. It may even be making it harder.
What a dilemma! You exercise to lose weight but it makes you hungry! So I been dealing with that! On Sunday it was bad I went over by 26 points *gulp* and Monday by 10 points! Sunday I worked out harddd for 2 hours so I came home reallllly hungry! I can confess I had a McDonald's caramel sundae which is now 10 points, then I had some wine, a bag of kettle corn which is 7 points, and peanut butter also 7 points! *BOOM* 26 extra points! Granted I earned 32 points exercising! But if I am really on it, I need to not touch those! All those points are basically like having a Big Mac! :-( But that is the beauty of Weight Watchers I earned the points therefore if I need them they are there! So better to use them having exercised than just over eating with no activity points in the bank! *Silver lining* :-)
Monday I was a lil better but still over so I am not going to beat myself up because I am just getting on track! But no excuses! But every day I am getting better!
My challenge this week is getting 4 days in. And in all honesty I want to do something every day because missing one day is a slippery slope for me!
Today I work 7:30-3:30, then teach from 5-9pm I am going to do something even if it is 100 crunches before the end of the day.
Weds- I work 7:30-3:30 then teach from 8:15-9:30 I really could workout at the school and bring a change of clothing. Scratch that I WILL take my gym bag and workout after work!
Thursday- I work 7:30-3:30 then I have an Alpha Phi Alpha event from 6:00-7:30pm (is the latest I plan to stay) Something at work again maybe the stairs!? Still need to train for that event in February!
Friday - Is date night :-)
Saturday- 7:30am check in with WW and I set up a 9am Personal Training session with Charles but I have a sorority meeting/luncheon at my old chapter I must get to by 11am so that is cutting it close
Ughh my life, my life, my life! And I wouldn't change a thing!
Speaking of date night our friend Beres Fan is still around :-) We had a failure to communicate a few weeks ago but we resolved it and we are starting from scratch. I can't act like I am not happy. I like him! So there's a new movie I want to see called My Week With Marilyn Monore so that's our game plan for Friday night! :-)
Anyyyhoooo I am still in shock that its almost 2012! Time flies! But I must say I am looking forward to what I will look like and feel like at the end of the countdown! Do you have any goals you want to reach before 2011 says bye bye? If not think of at least 3! My countdown goals are 1) Journal daily 2) Exercise at least 4 days a week 3) Do daily healthy & happy affirmations!
Well Thanksgiving has come and gone and I am elated to report I did a good job! I went to visit with a Soror and another friend from grad school and had a good time and did not over do it! I did bring home leftovers for me and my sister and also did a good job with that.
My workouts have been on point as well. On Thanksgiving Day I went to the gym and did a 90 minute spinning class (OUCH). I skipped the Black Friday madness and stayed in all day until I treated myself to a massage! The best massage i;ve ever had and I had to take a minute to tell the woman when I get my Oprah money she has a job for life! She was so appreciative! As was I for the great service! It was just what I needed! Then I took my sister out to get a mani/pedi with me and called it night.
On Saturday I went back to my usual 9:30am spinning class that I've been MIA from for a while but had a great workout and I am headed out to the gym for an 8:30am spinning class, 9:30am Body Pump, and if I am up to it and 10:30am Body Combat class! Its been a minute since I had a 3 hour workout marathon but let's see what happens!
I also went to Weight Watchers yesterday! *GULP* Yes I did! I know but the fact of the matter is not going wouldn't help. I am up and I wont wallow in that fact I am just moving ahead. In fact there is some kind of partnership with Dr. Oz so I signed up for that!
My usually leader was away for the holiday and a new leader was there and she was sweet. I can't lie I was turned off when she said she lost 28 pounds to get to her goal weight. 28 pounds? Pluessseeee! But looking at my check in book... I am now 27 pounds away from my (recycled) goal weight. LOL So 28 pounds IS a big deal! LOL Thank you ego check!
So I turned my attitude around and paid attention to the meeting. I took notes on my blackberry and added to the group discussion and it was a fruitful meeting.
To end it she asked everyone to listen to a poem called Only One Pound. I already heard that poem and even posted it here so I got ready to walk out but the words were different! Here's the poem below! It's a good one! Enjoy the rest of your weekend! I'll check in again soon! My goal is still to lose 19 lbs by New years Eve and I need the support and accountability of you all to help me do that! What goals do you have on your list to achieve by the end of the year?
Only One Pound
Hello, do you know me?
If you don't, you should. I'm a pound of fat,
And I'm the HAPPIEST pound of fat that you would ever want to meet.
Want to know why?
It's because no one ever wants to lose me;
I'm ONLY ONE POUND, just a pound!
Everyone wants to lose three pounds, five pounds, or fifteen pounds, but never only one.
So I just stick around and happily keep you fat.
Then I add to myself, ever so slyly, so that you never seem to notice it.
That is, until I've grown to ten, twenty, thirty or even more pounds in weight.
Yes, it's fun being ONLY ONE POUND OF FAT, left to do as I please.
So, when you weigh in, keep right on saying, "Oh, I only lost one pound."
(As if that were such a terrible thing.)
For you see, if you do this, you'll encourage others to keep me around because they'll think I'm not worth losing.
And, I love being around you - your arms, your legs, your chin, your hips and every part of you.
Well I am in Week 3 of Bootcamp! I am a morning person but working out in the wee hours (5:30am) of the morning isn't really my cup of tea! LOL I missed last Thursday because I had a Bar Association event that night and since I actually have a job that requires 8 hours of work (lol) I had to go in early to work in order to catch the event that evening. What a great event! It was the movie premier of the new George Lucas film Red Tails a movie based on the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of African-American combat pilots during World War II. It was good! It comes out this Spring be sure to check it out!
However, by the weekend I was so tired! I literally stayed in bed all weekend except for a handful of times I left the house for food! It was cold and honestly I am a little burnt out between a busy work season, teaching (now four) classes, AKA, Foundation fundraising chairman work, Bar Association stuff, now I have a new project with Junior League...and oh yeah I sleep from time to time as well! lol
I missed all the Omega Psi Phi 100th Part II events & I took an L on the gym alll weekend! :-( buttttt I did get some much needed sleep!! So I aint mad!
Well Tuesday morning came mighty quick and I woke up around 4:00am and I started to hear myself talk myself out of going to the bootcamp that day. You know, you been there! That small voice creeps in your subconscious saying "It's only one day! You can miss it" and "You can go Thursday!" or "You need more sleep!" I took a deep breath and got up and took a shower got dressed like I was on auto pilot! I got in the car and blasted my Best of Jay Z CD and made a beeline for the gym! I got there a little before 5:30am and saw all my fellow Bootcampers still in their cars! :-/
Not good!
I was so tired and fought my way there and what? Charles overslept? *humph* a few minutes later he drove up and explained the security guards forgot to come and let him in and he gave us the option of going home OR we could improvise and do a 1.3 mile outdoor walk. :-/
It was cold and dark BUT we all said might as well, we are up and out the house already MIGHT AS WELL BURN SOME CALORIES!
I've said this before and I'll say it again! I am not an outdoors workout person. Yes I realize I've done a 5k, a half marathon, and even a triathlon HOWEVER I like the clean, crisp, air conditioned, and well lit safety of the gym!
So again for the record! Working outdoors: Me no likey!
But after a weekend of sleeping off I HAD to do something! I am a planner by nature! I like to write things down and execute them. I don't do improvising but... I had no choice.
Well we started out walking, some jogging, and as is always the case I ended up being too slow for the fast people and too fast for the slow people! I swear this always happens! I end up alone with my thoughts! I think God is trying to tell me something! LOL
I picked up the pace but still found myself alone and I started to think about this Louise Hay CD I been listening to in my car on the way to work. I left off on a section she discusses the power of affirmations. I remember watching Saturday Night Live with Stuart Smalley and thinking how incredibly corny it was to tell yourself things like his famous "I'm good enough. I'm smart enough. And doggone it, people like me."
But as the saying goes there is a little truth in every joke! And I have long said this journey to wellness was about more that just losing weight for me it was a physical, mental, and spiritual journey for me and so its not all about getting to spin class or going to my weigh ins at Weight Watchers, it goes deeper than that. Well anyhoo I used that time to think of some new positive affirmations. If my mind can whisper stay in bed instead of exercise surely I have the right to feed it some new thoughts, positve thoughts that will help me reach my goals!
My mantra for 2011 was "My Best Life Ever!" and I must say 2011 has been living up to that high goal. I may not be where I want to be weight wise but life is good! In fact in an effort to clean out the clutter I found my "before pants" and whoosahhh I need to take one of those pictures with myself in one leg! I have come a long way in the past (almost) 3 years and I think it has finally set in that this is a lifelong journey but I don't need to be bitter about it!
Its all about my mindset. Just like on Tuesday morning. There are going to be times when I need to improvise and that is a okay! My blog is about my quest for a fit & fab life and I have that! I can make it more fab (read-- get my Oprah money lol) and more fit (keep working towards my goal of being happier and healthier) and choice by choice it will all come together! I found this quote that sums it up perfectly for the planner forced improvising control freak in me ! :-)
"No, improvising is wonderful.
But, the thing is that you cannot improvise
unless
you know exactly what you're doing."Christopher Walken
Hot off the presses my personal trainer Charles "Chizel It" Harris released his first book! The title is "I'm Too Cute to Sweat." Its a great book to look at all the EXCUSES we make to not workout! Everything from our hair, to not enough time, to not knowing the right exercises to do! It's all in there! I always sing Charles's praises from the roof tops b/c working out with him changed my life. I was always resistant to a personal trainer because I felt I could workout myself but he really showed me the great advantage it gives to one's efforts to reaching their goals. He is very passionate about fitness and about health so this book comes from the heart! Get a copy today! http://www.chizelit.com/book.html We may be cute but don't ever think you are too cute to sweat ladies! There is nothing sexier than a fit (and no dress size defines fit!) & confident woman!
Now I know you are all thinking dang she was MIA for like a month now she's posting every day :-) but I guess I have been slacking on my journaling so this blog acts as a substitute for that. I felt compelled to write about the untimely death of rapper/actor Heavy D. I like many others of my generation loved and admired Heavy D! Our Mr. Big Stuff.
He was big and seemingly proud or at the very least confident in his size and stature. He carried his weight well, had a great career, and could dance like no body's bizznezz. He was so light on his feet you almost forgot his size. He had a good personality. I didn't know him personally but I did friend him on facebook and one of the last things I remember was him commenting that he could find everything in Walmart maybe he could find his wife there! I did offer to stop in since it was my favorite place to go too lol
Yesterday facebook went all a flurry with the news of his death and although I didn't join in I was deeply sadden to hear about his passing.
Heavy D was only 44 years old.
That's crazy.
That's when one hits their prime! I often say I can't wait to be 40 and that's not just something to say! I expect to be at a certain place in my life and I know now that I am taking that for granted.
I heard Ricky Smiley say (something to the effect) this morning that he wants to get into a fitness routine but it seems like people end up dying and it frightens him. Now he aint lying. Big Pun and Luther Vandross are two examples that come to mind. It did seem like as soon as they got the weight loss under control they passed away.
Before and after
Heavy D did lose a lot of weight too. So I understand Ricky's fear but I was troubled by Smiley saying that on a national radio station that has a wide audience of African American listeners. A majority of us who need to lose weight and/or get an exercise program in our lives! Of course I'mma write him a letter! Because the fact of the matter is all three of these men spent a good portion of their lives morbidly obese.
That makes a difference.
Being overweight, especially that over weight shortens your life expectancy, and even if you lose weight the damage has been done by abusing your body for years. Now that's not to say you should stay overweight and not eat right. I am saying the opposite START NOW do what ever you have to do to get your health under control.
According to TMZ (who now has more reporting street cred than CNN) Heavy D was 6'4' and 344 pounds and he lost over 100 pound some years ago and people in the hospital say it was a heart attack that took his life. That's tragic.
I am going to get off my soapbox but needless to say as someone who spent a number of my "good" years overweight it struck a cord with me for more reasons than just losing a great artist. Our health really is our wealth.
Invest in yourselves people and encourage those you love to invest in themselves as well. Tomorrow is Day # 2 of bootcamp and while I can't say I am going in with a big smile I am grateful for this journey to wellness as I often call it. I am grateful that I get another day to get it right and stay on the path to a longer, healthier, and happier life.
Heavy's last tweet on twitter sums up this post for me. "Be Inspired"
Well I did it! I got up and went to Day #1 of the Chizel It Bootcamp! Let me tell you something...it was hard! My mind was racing all night, it finally got quiet around midnight then I jumped back up at 3am and I knew I was in for it!
Well to put things in perspective I was asked to be the Fundraising Chairman of my sorority's Foundation...humm well asked isn't really the right word...what had happened was I gave two ideas and someone quickly nominated me and someone quickly seconded and the vote was called and all I heard was "all in favor say I" and I got the job lol I've never been a fundraising chair let alone on the fundraising committee so I appreciate the vote of confidence. And in classic me fashion I hit the ground running by the next morning I had a proposal for our first event and by the end of the week the second for the other event. So it is going well. It is nice to see that the skills I have are transferable to others areas or service. :-)
Anyway all that was to say I had a meeting last night so I didn't get home until after 9pm then I spent a good bit of time talking with a Soror and finally I called it a night after 10:30pm.
So I am not working on much sleep. A/w the workout was great! Charles set up circuits or stations and we went around for 1 minute and a half doing various exercises like jumping on the trampoline, leg presses, working on shoulders with the pull down machine, working on biceps by sitting on a workout ball and doing bicep curls with hand weights, and a few other things that produced a lot of sweat! We ended the class with 10 minutes of ab work which I know I will feel later!
All in all it was a great workout and at least there was light out by the time we left. I still had time to get home, take a shower, get on the road, and catch my 8am bus.
I think Bootcamps are great ways to jump start your workouts but in a group of 15 I know myself I will slack off which is why I am now so dependent on having a personal trainer; Charles helps to keep me honest. That one and one time is invaluable but I must say this Bootcamp helped me to refocus my goals!
My goal is 19 LBs by NY Eve! If you say it fast it rhymes :-)
Anyway it was a great workout and I sooo missed morning workouts so this perfect! I actually have this week off from one of my teaching jobs so at least my body can get used to it. Hopefully! Oh and I forgot I put a plea out on facebook to some of my sorors to join me and few said they would! So I was soooo happy when one of my favorite Sorors came and I met another Soror so yet another positive thing! below is my new vision board! the picture was from my friend Tosha's wedding. I must say I think I look guuuuddd! Anyway like I said I felt inspired so I did another one on the online O Dream Board! Thank you Oprah! Its really a cool tool!
Well I can't lie and say I am not dragging a little bit in spite of being proud of myself but at least I got it done! :-)
Well its been a few weeks again but not as bad as the last time! I've been (all together now) BUSY!! I know, I know what's new? LOL Well I must say for the record life has been hectic but when I started this blog way back when that was the premise and the reason I decided to take a stab at blogging again because my story was like a lot of other busy women on the go who neglect themselves and their health for so many other things and people. Its a habit I had to unlearn and I felt the need to share my workout journey to prove we can still take over the world and exercise and be fit & fab.
I am learning:
I don't always have to be the first person to say yes or the second one to volunteer to help or feel guilty for missing a meeting for a workout or to just rest
I don't have to be too hard on myself all the time. Missed workouts will happen. New jeans will get tight. I can go back to square one and get back on track. and most importantly if I love & take care of myself all the pieces really do come together...
But its a process. I would never say I am cutting back on my busy ways. Some people thrive off being busy! That's me. If I don't have a lot of stuff to do I will pull my hair out, out of boredom. I can only take down time in small controlled doses like at a spa day. I could never just stay home even if I was Paris Hilton rich I'd have to find something to do. That's just who I am. A lot of the women in my family are the same way so its in my DNA and my only real goal is to incorporate some self love in the form of eating right and exercise more times than not to reach my goals.
Confession time! I finally saw my trainer yesterday after over a month! :-O I know right! On the upside the workout was good and I felt like I got a good workout in and I don't feel super sore today.
Charles is starting a bootcamp from this Tuesday and it meets twice a week (Tues/Thurs) at 5:30am till Dec 15th! That actually works for me because I have that longgg commute but I am teaching 3 classes soon to be 4 and I've been going in late anyway so I can go straight to class in the evenings.
I jumped on it because my 14s are tighhttttt and my goal was to lose 25 pounds and only lost 13. Not that I am turning my nose up at 13 pounds b/c I see the difference big time!
At my friend Tosha's wedding 11-5-2011
I plan to work on a new Vision Board for my end of the year goals! I plan to lose these 19 pounds by 12-31-2011
Let's Do It!
I already put a request out to some of my peeps to see if they will join me! This will be great! I can feel it! :-)
