This girl DON'T jump!!

In the midst of a hectic day, I got so many comments on my blog today and it really meant a lot to me...thanks everyone!

I am SURE you're wondering what in the world is this girl talking about in regards to this post title. When I started FIT camp, I came to my trainer with a list of things that I DO NOT do. These things included running, jogging, jumping, sit ups, running, jumping, jump rope, anything that involved too much movement....LOL!! But yes, I came with my own set of "rules" and I was dead set that I would not do those things. Well you can see how swearing not to do anything of those things would be impossible at a FIT (Boot) camp (lol...I mean really April??). So my trainer was like OK, we'll get you there.

One day I walk in to my session and on the white board I see box jumps. So I was thinking, BOX JUMPS?!?!? Didn't I tell this man that I don't jump! I remember getting to the point in the workout and just looking at my trainer like ummmm...sir. So he pulled this box over and said, "I want you to start here...

Sorry that it's a little blurry, but you get the point. I stood there and looked at the box for like 5 mins with literal tears in my eyes. At first he just wanted me to step up and down because I just looked at the box like I CANNOT jump on that. The thought of picking up my weight and putting it on an object was beyond what my mind could comprehend.

Well I EVENTUALLY got to jumping up on that little blue box (thank you Jesus! lol). And moved on to this box...

and now, I'm jumping on the box below...

What the point?? My list were the boundaries I had set FOR MYSELF. I can't, I won't, I could never see myself doing that! How many times have you heard those words in your head? Well, it's time to let go of those words, those boundaries and restrictions. Don't be afraid to take a leap into something new...something that's going to challenge you and get you out of your comfort zone.

Oh...did I mention that one of my "DO NOTs" was no running??? Yeah...well....as of today, I've ran 4 5K's...

You can do this!

Thanks for reading :)

Tell me what you think...

So tonight's post is simple...

Let me know what you think about this blog. Please comment below. 

This is the 10th post and I want to know if it's something I should continue...

Let me know your thoughts...

Have an EXCELLENT weekend folks :)

Getting Bored...

Hey you...thanks for reading...I mean all I'm doing is writing down my thoughts on this here blog thingy and you are reading it. Just want to say THANKS!!

So, how's your journey going? If you started your journey on January 1st with the "new year, new me" group, statistics show that you should have given up the commitment like 6 days ago. HOWEVER, if you have stuck with it, you are well on your way to establishing a habit! It only takes 21 days right?

It's so possible to get bored with this thing...I mean that is one of the main reasons I hired a trainer. I don't want to go in the gym and act like I know what the HECK I'm doing. LOL... Ok, so seriously, I get bored with stuff really quick. If you don't catch my attention in like the first 5 mins, my mind is elsewhere. It's honestly something I have to mentally focus on in most situations.

So with working out and eating right, the possibility of getting bored is bound to happen. How do you combat that?

Mix up your workout - With my trainer, even though we tend to do the same exercises, we have no idea what he's choosing for each workout and that keeps it from getting boring. No trainer? do some research...look up new exercises that you can do to keep yourself engaged.
        
Be on the lookout for yummy tasting, healthier options. I'm a TRADER JOE'S FANATIC!!! They are a low-cost health food store up here in NC and they have so much YUMMY food! Be sure to look at labels even in the health food store.              
Don't be afraid to try something new...you never know what you may stumble upon. I had tried Greek yogurt a while ago and HATED it. But I decided to try Trader Joe's Greek yogurt and I LOVE IT...and it's low-calorie, low sodium, AND a GREAT source of protein...YAAY!                                    
Have you tried anything new this week? Leave a comment below.....

Thanks for reading!!!!

I almost gave up!

Hey there! I know I've been MIA for a few days but my life is...!!!!! No words...lol. I told you before I'm working on my Masters. Well I'm taking 2 classes every 8 weeks...this set of classes consists of Business Economics (for the BIRDS!!!!!) and Marketing Management. The Marketing class is not that bad but the Economics class can go kick rocks!! LOL...and work is busy...chile...amen.

I honestly said to myself while driving home from Praise Team rehearsal tonight, I'm not gonna write a blog post tonight...ain't no one missing it lol...plus I just wanted to eat a little something, watch a little CSI: Miami and go to sleep. But then I got a message from a reader (S/O to Kasey Carlton!!!!) and I was motivated to get back on it....God works in deliberate ways!

So what helps you get started and then STAY on it? Sheer will power? Fear? Encouragement from others? Honestly, there's no secret to getting started and holding steady. For me, it took me making a mental decision that my life HAD to change. I literally had to block everyone else out...not listen to the voice in my head that told me that I could start again tomorrow...block out the pain and determine that it was time to not just talk but DO.

What will it take for you? Will it be a bad report from the doctor telling you that if you don't lose weight, you'll have high blood pressure and diabetes? Will it be the day that you're trying to run up the stairs and can't breathe after flight #1? Will it be the day that you can't keep up to play with your children, your nieces or nephews, your godchildren? Ask yourself...WHAT WILL IT TAKE??? Once you can answer that question, THEN and only THEN will you be ready to get started and stay on your journey...if it helps print the answer out and hang it somewhere that you will see everyday as a constant reminder.

Will you do me a favor? Post a comment below to help your fellow sojourners especially Kasey...she needs some encouragement :)

Kasey, you can do it! We believe in you!

UGHHHH...Protein Shakes (lol)

I just finished WORKING!!! Like ugh...it's our busy time in my department :) Extremely thankful to have a job though...

So I'm going to keep this concise...Rochelle asked me about protein shakes and I thought I would make it into a post.

Protein shakes are disgusting! LOL!!! My trainer explained to me that in order to build lean muscle, it is necessary to take in a significant amount of protein a day. Because I was so sore in the beginning, he assured me that supplementing/increasing my protein intake would help with the muscle soreness as well. When you are trying to build muscle, your protein intake needs to be .6 to .8 g per pound of weight per day. So let's say you weigh 180 pounds, your protein intake needs to be between 108 to 144 g per day. Now you can get this protein from food, but for someone like me that doesn't eat meat on the regular, that is difficult to do. Meat is one of your significant sources of protein.

This is where the infamous protein shake comes into play. It's a great way to supplement your protein intake per day. I personally HATE them...especially since I choose to drink mine with just water and nothing else. My thought process is that the only reason I'm drinking that shake is to get protein. If I add more things to it, I'm adding calories.

So! What's the point? Protein shakes work! They may not taste good but they do work. I find that if I do a protein shake before I go work out and one after I work out, my muscles are less sore and I find that my recovery period is shortened. Find one that works best for you keeping in mind that some of them have a milk base which will bother you if you are lactose intolerant. You want to choose a protein shake that is low calorie, low sugar and 100% protein. Be careful about some protein shakes because some of them have a bunch of other stuff in it that you don't need. I think it's best to go with a powder than something that is already bottled up because those tend to not be 100% protein.  I personally use a soy protein, unflavored shake and I am JUST starting back to drinking them.

Thanks for reading :)

I love to eat, eat, EAT!

Truth is folks...I love to eat! Yep! I said it! lol. I'm that kid that would dance and hum when my mom and dad used to feed me...I mean I just enjoy food overall. ESPECIALLY if the food is well seasoned...chile...I'm getting hungry just thinking about it LOL.

Ok, so yes, I love food and I also love to cook :) But I realized when I started down this road, that I had to drastically change my relationship with food. Yes, I said my relationship! It was that serious! I've tried diet upon diet upon diet. The biggest downfall for me was that I felt deprived..."well, no I can't eat that"...HATE IT! I like to hang out with my friends and I don't want everyone to feel like they can't go somewhere because of my diet. So I wanted to do something where I felt like I really had the option to eat what I wanted.

So like I've said before, I will tell you what has worked for me. Being the analytical head that I am, my trainer knew just how to get me lol! He had me to start writing down every single thing that I put in my mouth and the calories associated with it. Lord, I wish I could find those papers. I gave up beef and pork almost 5 years ago. So I was only eating chicken, fish, and turkey already and I thought I was a pretty healthy eater. WRONG! I was consuming almost 3,500 calories a day!!!! What in the world???? I was flabbergasted! You notice that most food have a label that tells you that you should eat between 2,000-2,500 calories per day right? Most people ignore it....I know I always did. Well those little papers were a huge wake up call.

So I discussed my little papers with my trainer and he encouraged me to reduce the amount of calories I was eating per day to between 1,600-1,700 calories per day. Um folks, that's about HALF of what I was eating before. I thought I was going to be hungry all the time and the first few days, I WAS!!! But eventually my stomach got used to it and I realized that everything that I needed to survive could be contained in that 1,600-1,800 calories per day. I can basically eat anything I want as long as it falls within that calorie count. Considering that the real good, yummy stuff is more calories, I definitely have to be MODEST, but if I want a cookie, I eat it lol! Then I found an iPhone/iPad app that I could use to do my tracking electronically and I was in business!

I'll use a few more of my posts to talk about how I've done this food thing, but that's the starting point. Interested in the app I mentioned, search for MyFitness Pal on your iPhone or Android mobile device. You can also access it online by visiting www.myfitnesspal.com. You can set up your profile on there and even input your food there and it will sync with your app. Feel free to add me, my screen name is ahall0510.

Thanks for reading :)

Life Comes At You FAST.......

I fully planned to start talking about food today...because that's such a vital part of the journey, but I woke up with some stuff on my heart and wanted to share...

Sticking to your journey in spite of adversity is DIFFICULT...Adversity can come in different forms, but it is sure to come at some point. Let me share two that I've faced.

1. PEOPLE - People are stupid. Sorry, that's not nice LOL. But truthfully, people can say some really DUMB stuff! The same person that says to you, "You look like you're gaining some weight!" or "You could really stand to lose some weight!" is usually the same person to say, "Well aren't you looking skinny?" or "Don't get TOO skinny on us now!" Somebody say ANNOYING.COM!!! Don't allow yourself to get hung up on what people say or do! Stick to this journey FOR YOU....set your goals and work to accomplish them no matter what. This is with or without encouragement or reminders etc. When people say things that might discourage you, use it as fuel to get to where you are trying to go.

2. LIFE - yeah, this is vague but life comes at you fast. There are going to be so many things that comes at you that can throw you off track. It's not the getting off track that's the problem! It's the getting back on track that matters. Let me give you a very personal example. One of life's many curve balls can be a breakup...heart break. I can only speak from the viewpoint of a woman but I can imagine that men go thru this too. This happened to me last year. The relationship ended and I was DEVASTATED! I think I cried for a whole month straight...I mean everyday. When I normally go to FIT camp, it's a mental exercise for me as well and I literally like block out all other thoughts when I'm about to work out. I remember one day in particular and it was a BAD day...everything made me cry...I was highly emotional. I dragged myself to FIT camp in spite of but when I got there, I just couldn't do it. We started stretching and I started crying (lol...sounds so crazy to me now lol). I had to leave...couldn't do it. I left that night and went to the store and bought a pint of Blue Bell Pecan Pralines & Cream ice cream (yep! my fav). I got home and sobbed as I ate the entire pint. It was one of those days. BUT....I woke up the next day and looked at myself in the mirror with puffy eyes and had a nice talk with myself. I promised myself that the night before was the LAST time that happened to me. That day I went to FIT camp and did the DARN thing. Has tough times come since then???...YES! but I was/am determined to STAY ON TRACK!

The bottom line is that adversity will come...heart break, death, sickness, stress, work, etc. If you have a day, get up the next day, have a talk with yourself and get back on track.

I believe in you!

Thanks for reading :)

Goals...HUH....what is it good for? Absolutely EVERYTHING!!!

Hey...did ya'll think I forgot about you??? Well truth is, I have A LOT going on. I work full-time and I'm a full-time student pursuing my MBA with a concentration in Accounting and I sing and I try to have a life.....AND I WORK OUT!!!! So yeah...I'm juggling many things but I promise to only take a few days off a week and then I'll be here to share more of my journey....

 

Ok, so you're probably trying to figure out what the heck I meant by my post title. Today, I wanted to talk about GOALS. More importantly, talk about REALISTIC goals. When people decide they want to lose weight, they tend to think that after two days of working out, they should have lost AT LEAST 10 pounds....ummm, you didn't gain 10 pounds in two days, how do you expect to lose them so fast (LOL)? Amen. So, one of the most important things to do when you start your journey is to set realistic goals. This is one of the reasons that having a trainer can help you. They are educated on how to set realistic goals and then push you to keep on track to achieve them. However, if you are setting out on this journey alone, keep certain things in mind. 

1. Start small and work your way up - it's said that the healthiest way to lose weight is to lose about 1-2 pounds per week. Start there! Can't get through an hour workout? Start with 20 minutes of intense activity and then work your way up!

2. Once you meet one goal, set another one. Don't let significant time lapse between your goals; keep the momentum going!

3. Stay on track! Don't deviate from the plan. When you find something that works for you, keep doing it. While you may need to mix it up a little bit (to break the monotony), stay the course! If you do something for 21 days or more, it becomes a habit and that's what you want this to become.

4. Don't make goals based around events. For example, I'm going on a diet to get ready for my cruise in April. Well, that doesn't work because what happens AFTER April?? Remember you are making a LIFE change...so make your goals accordingly.

I think you get the point. Realistic goals are EVERYTHING to this journey. It can make or break your progress.

Let me give you an example of my own goal. So I told you in my third post my weight and measurements at the start of my FIT camp experience. This is where I am now:

Weight: 216

Waist: 34

Hip: 42

Pretty big difference right??? Well, it is to me! Hunny, I am proud of MYSELF!! :) I've done this with just good ole good eating and exercise...no magic pills or shakes etc. I share that with you so you can understand why I call this a journey. I'm taking it slow...so I can condition my brain to KEEP the weight off. I've talked to my trainer about what I want to work on this year, but my main goal is this: 12/31/13 - weight: 175!! That's kind of scary to me seeing that I can't remember the last time I was that weight, but I have a WHOLE year to get there :)

Are you willing to share some of your goals for 2013? Comment below!

Thanks for reading :)

FIT Camp: Day One

I would like to affectionately call FIT camp day one HELL day. Yep it was THAT serious! I admit that I was scared and highly emotional. I mean I was doing something that I hadn't done in years. Plus I was going to be working out with other people. That was something I swore I would not do...I STILL to this day have a strong dislike for the gym. Anywho, I drove to this gym with butterflies in my stomach...extremely anxious and scared. The thoughts going thru my head were a little ridiculous but I had already made a commitment to be there so I went on my merry little way....

**Touch your neighbor and say DISASTER!!!!** (sorry, that was a little churchy lol). But while I can't exactly remember what the workout was that day, I can remember that I only got thru 25 minutes of it. Keep in mind that this was a 1 hour class. 25 minutes in I was sitting on the sidelines shaking like a leaf, nauseated beyond belief, and EXTREMELY embarrassed. I wanted to crawl in a hole and die. I mean all of the people at the camp were older than me and were BEASTIN and I was sitting here with my 28 year old self shaking and about to pass out. My trainer was uber supportive but I was NOT IN THE MOOD!!!! Did I mention I was emotional??? So afterwards, he gave me a pat on the back and said I did great and I gave him one of my typical April looks ((((((MAJOR SIDE EYE)))) and hobbled out to the car.

(Me & my trainer, Milton, at my 3rd 5K)

I drove home teary eyed and when I pulled up, I regretted the day I decided to live on the second floor of my apartment building. I couldn't imagine walking up two flights of stairs. So I text my trainer and asked him why in God's name I was so nauseous and he called me back immediately to tell me it was normal. I sat in my car for an hour! I BAWLED and then took a short nap (lol)!!! It was brutal but I was determined....and the item below became my BEST friend for the next week....

How was your first workout experience? Leave a comment below.

From the beginning...

OK, so in order understand how I am where I am right now, I guess I should give you a brief look into my past...weight wasn't ALWAYS an issue for me. Actually, when I was younger I was SKINNY...I mean SKINTY!! My dad used to call me chicken neck LOL. It wasn't until my early teens that things started to change...chile, I wasn't ready! Truth is my family went through some pretty hard times which propelled me into an intense struggle with depression and low self-esteem. Food became my drug...it hid my insecurities and masked my true feelings. I found solace in eating and indulged in any and everything. Going through puberty and dealing with depression is a lethal combination. Couple that with the fact that I HATED any physical activity and the combination became even more lethal.

I can honestly say that I was probably my heaviest in high school. Those were some tough years. During that time, my mom tried to help the best way she could think of. She took me to the doctor, got me some weight loss meds and even tried a brief stint in Weight Watchers. Can you imagine a young girl in her teens sitting in a room with a bunch of older women getting ribbons for weight loss??? CHILE.....BOO!!! (no suh lol). I remember losing a significant amount of weight my senior year of high school from taking meds but never changed my relationship with food. In bible college, I started walking 2 miles a day and lost more weight but it was short lived I'm afraid. Not too long after that, I gained all that weight back and more.

Now I'm leaving out A LOT of details but you get the idea...I have been on this journey for a LONG time. I honestly thought I would never conquer this struggle. You know how it feels to just struggle and struggle and struggle with something feeling like this is something that you may deal with for the rest of your life. Yep, been there, done that.

So fast forward, I had lived in beautiful, sunny Florida for 7 years and had decided to move to North Carolina in December 2009. For the first 4 months of 2010 I was unemployed and BORED!!! and so I ATE!!! and ATE!!!! and ATE!!! Ugh...gained so much weight :( Finally the time came that I was tired of this struggle and decided something had to be done. So I decided to do something I hadn't tried yet....EXERCISE!!! Talk about scared...***remember I said I was going to be transparent???**** April 21 (or 22), 2011 I went to my first FIT Camp...

My initial measurements were:
Weight: 270 pounds
Waist: 45 inches
Hip: 53 inches

So Here We GO....

Ok, so I decided to do this! I'm starting a blog. I have no guarantee that anyone will follow my blog, but I'm willing to share my story if it means helping and encouraging others. I'll try to make it funny, light-hearted, but most of all, TRANSPARENT! If you are looking for a typical health & wellness blog filled with typical weight-loss stuff, this probably ain't it!! I'm just gonna talk about me...talk about how I got to where I am now and pass along the knowledge that I have been empowered with in the past two years of my life. Somehow, I got it and I believe you can too. So, ready or not...HERE WE GO!!!!