Saturday, May 25, 2013

Taking a short break...

Hey readers!

For sure you probably think that I've forgotten about you right? Well I haven't!!! But....I'm going to take a short break from the blog until I after graduate on June 28th! I think I will then have more time to dedicate to bringing you more frequent, relevant posts that you can use on this here journey of yours.

I fully expect you to keep up the good work! Feel free to reach out to me on social media if you need a little encouragement over the next 5 or so weeks.

One small shout out! (lol). As you know, I was participating in our FIT camp fitness challenge. Even though I didn't win, one of my good friends (and readers) did....so CONGRATS CENTRELL JACKSON!! I'm super duper proud of you. Post your stats below if you are comfortable! I was able to lose 6 pounds and 1% of body fat in that 8 week period and I'm happy about that! Additionally, Rochelle (another reader and Florida fitness challenge participant) also lost A LOT of weight and inches. I can't remember the exact numbers, but Chelle feel free to comment below if you want to share your accomplishment! I am SUPER DUPER proud of you too! Keep up the GREAT work!

With that said...I'm signing off for a few weeks....we shall chat again soon :)

And as always....thanks for reading :)

Monday, May 13, 2013

Me, Myself, and I

My subject sounds kind of selfish right? Well, it is. I wanted to take a minute and remind you that you are doing this FOR YOU! So much of our lives is spent doing for everyone else. And sometimes if we start to focus on ourselves, it's looked down upon or we're labeled as selfish.

Well....this health and wellness journey is a little selfish. It means focusing on you. Learning your idiosyncrasies, your likes and dislikes, your exercise limits, and your diet restrictions. No two people's journey is exactly the same. This is the reason why I always tell people that there is no "secret" to this process. For me, tracking calories and doing FIT camp has worked for me. I am fully aware that it may not work for you.

I say all of this to say, FIND WHAT WORKS FOR YOU! Yes, there are some foundational things that need to be in place to get you off the ground and running (like healthy eating habits and exercise), but finding that combo for you is important.

Don't be afraid to be a little selfish...do what it takes to get to where you are trying to go.

For those who decided to participate in the fitness challenge...just a few more days and it will be over! I hope you've seen a significant change over the past 8 weeks. Email me and let know your final measurements. Keep up the momentum you've gained and keep going!

YOU CAN DO IT!!!

Thanks for reading :)

Friday, May 3, 2013

I WANT YOU!!

Hey there...I promised one of my faithful readers (Chelle) that I would write a little something about cravings and then I got busy....and a little lazy....I finally had a week off from school and I didn't feel like thinking (you ever have those days???)

Anywho...let's talk cravings. I mean we all have them. Some of us crave chocolate, some crave soda, chips, sweettarts, now and laters, caramel popcorn, chocolate covered pretzels (those last four are kinda personal lol)...but the point is that we ALL have cravings.

What is a craving? According to Merriam-Webster, a craving is an intense, urgent, or abnormal desire or longing. Example of craving, "I had a sudden craving for french fries, so I pulled into the nearest fast-food restaurant." Yeah, we've all been there.

But what do you do with your cravings when you're on this journey to health and wellness? Well, I will say this....CRAVINGS SUCK!!! I mean they just do. Sometimes they can be so overwhelming that it makes you feel a little crazy...like OMG! I gotta have it right now. Ladies, ours can get really bad when Aunt Flo/Eve's Curse comes around (you KNOW what I'm talking about!!!! lol).

I ask again, what do you do with your cravings when you're on this journey to health and wellness? My answer is BE REALISTIC! Realize that your body is craving something that you've given it before. It's difficult to crave a french fry if a french fry has never touched your lips. First, have a little talk with yourself...you know I talked before about getting your mind right??? Yeah, well it works. I've actually said to myself before, April, I know you WANT that entire pack of Now and Laters, but you're gonna eat this greek yogurt and be satisfied. After a little while, I noticed that the craving was gone.

Butttttttttt...if all else fails (lol)...don't kill yourself. Go to the store and buy the candy bar....do I sound crazy yet? Well here is my reasoning....health and wellness is a marathon, not a sprint. In my opinion, it takes more self-control to say, "I'm only going to eat half of this candy bar and give the other half away." The bigger challenge here is teaching your body that YOU are in control...so like I said to Chelle, GIRL GO GET THE CANDY BAR! But start to train yourself to control what you choose to indulge in. Some folks try to deny the craving so much that when they do "give in" they go get 7 candy bars and eat them all and then feel like a failure. Don't do that to yourself folks!!! Tell yourself, SELF (lol), you're only getting five of these now and laters and the rest are going to be thrown away or given away....period...full stop! I make it sound simple, but take it one step at a time and I guarantee that you'll get better at it with time.

I want you to know that I appreciate you...my readers...I mean if you didn't read this blog, I would just be writing to myself! LOL! Do me favor and comment sometimes...let me know you're out there...I would love to hear from you.

Thanks for reading :)