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 :)

Out with the old...in with the New!

Hey ya'll...

Just wanted to quickly talk a little about letting go of the old and embracing the new. As you begin your weight loss journey, you will OBVIOUSLY start to need new clothes. Now for someone like me who doesn't like shopping all that much but LOVES new clothes (lol...go figure), this won't be a hard thing for you. But I used to hold on to old clothes FOREVER!!! One day I wore some pants to work and someone came up to me and said, "Ummmm...those don't fit you anymore...you should probably get rid of them!" LOL.

You know how we are..."these are my fat clothes and I'll hold on to them JUST IN CASE." In my opinion, HUGE mistake. You are setting up yourself for failure (again, my opinion). Why have a contingency plan for giving up your journey? Don't do it to yourself. When clothes start to get too big, weed them out of your closet. If you don't want to throw them away right away, bag them up and put them in the garage or the attic.

I've talked before about getting your mind right...this may seem like a small thing, but it's another way to get your mind on board for the long term. Every time I looked at those bags (that sat in my room for a few months lol), I reminded myself that I will NEVER go back there.

Try it...let me know if it works for you...

Thanks for reading :)

To eat or not to eat...that is the question...

Hey there...hope you're doing well.

So I wanted to write a little about eating and the importance of eating. Eating to lose...sounds crazy right? Well, it's not. Many people think that in order to lose weight, you have to stop eating or eat much less. That is not entirely true so it is important to understand how food plays a part in living a healthier life.

Did I have to start eating less to start losing weight? Absolutely! But I had to start eating less in regards to the amount of calories that I was eating. When I first started, I had the same mindset of eating nothing and that would be what I needed to do to lose weight. I quickly found out that was the wrong mindset. Eating less food actually slowed down my metabolism and didn't provide me the fuel I needed to workout and build lean muscle. In addition to that, I would get halfway through my workout and be dead tired. My body didn't have any fuel to continue.

Here's what I had to learn...I HAVE TO EAT! However, food has become more of my fuel than just something I do to appease my bad feelings. There are times that I have to eat something that I may not particularly fancy if I know that it will keep me full and satisfied. For example, I eat eggs but I don't particularly like eggs unless they are smothered in cheese and mixed with onions and bell pepper lol.

Here's a typical meal day for me:

Breakfast (usually around 9-9:30am)
Met-Rx protein shake (1 scoop with water) (SN: this protein shake is 96% lactose free which really helps me because anything with too much lactose tears my stomach into pieces! lol)

2 eggs scrambled with cheese
Hot Green Tea with Honey

Snack (11:30am)
1/2 bag of Trader Joe's handful of nuts trail mix
 

 Lunch (1-2pm)
Garden Salad with Grilled Chicken Breast
No dressing (olive oil & balsamic vinegar only)
Diet Green Tea with Citrus (contains no high fructose corn syrup or aspartame)

Snack (3:30-4pm)
Trader Joes Strawberry Greek Yogurt (HIGH protein!!)


Dinner (7-8pm)
Pan Seared Lemon Pepper Tilapia
Brussel Sprouts (typical serving is 8 sprouts)

Throughout the day, I also drink 64oz of water. On the days that workout, I add in another protein shake 30 mins before my workout and immediately after. Remember that I eat all of this and still only eat between 1500-1600 calories a day.

Now this is just an example, I don't eat this clean EVERY day...I'm getting there. Some days I may want a little piece of candy or I may eat a chicken salad flatbread sandwich on Thursdays lol. I more wanted you to see how often I eat...THAT is what is important!

Hope this helps...

Thanks for reading :)

But I don't WANNA!!!!

Hey my friends! Hope you're doing well and sticking to your journey. Take it day by day!

So when was the last time you said, "BUT I DON'T WANNA!!!" Well you may not have said it out loud, but maybe in your head??? LOL! I admit that I LOVE food...like really love food. I talked about before how food used to be a comfort for me, but I generally love food....especially nicely seasoned food...ANYWAYS>>>>MOVE ON APRIL LOL.

My trainer made me start writing down my daily food intake and I realized I was eating TOO MUCH food! So now I've gotten to point that I can eat between 1600-1800 calories a day and be fully satisfied. Going from eating 3500 calories per day to 1600 a day is a huge difference. BUT every now and then, my mind says "BUT I DON'T WANNA!!!!"

It seems like right when I had gotten the calories down, now my trainer wanted to add something else that I had to watch. Now that I was staying below my calorie count per day, I never realized how much sodium I was eating...this past Saturday my trainer sat me down AGAIN and started talking about my food intake (and scrutinizing my MyFitness Pal diary lol) and I'll be honest and say that I got really frustrated and started crying. I mean, I'm working hard over here and it seems like it isn't enough. But, truth is folks, it was necessary. I had to take a look at my current eating habits and make sure it lined up with my goals.

So I want to encourage you with this...plateaus will come...there will be times when you have to refocus and regroup. It may feel like a swift kick in the rear, but sometimes a kick is necessary!

When you get a chance, check out my friend Hope Reid's blog talking about trans fat! GREAT INFO!!! Click here to check it out!

Thanks for reading :)

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 :)

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