I'm Coming Out!

Well, I can't believe I am about to put myself waaay out there, but I am.  Since I was little I have always been drawn to body building. Why? I guess because of the discipline it takes to achieve a body that is so cut and detailed like that and the amazement of what the body is capable of doing. Plus, it is totally exhausting holding those poses. Did you know that body builders really are not as strong as they look while in competition training? Yep, they are actually pretty weak. They eat mostly protein diet to build muscle mass so they are just scary enough that you won't mess with them but they really are not that powerful.  Now, I do have a preference when it comes to body building. The ONLY divisions I enjoy are the men and women divisions of lightweight, middleweight and heavy weight men and the bikini for women. I'm not impressed with the like super heavy weight men body builders. They are just so big it's scary, to get that big you have to be taking a lot of different stuff to make your body grow outside of it normal capacity and I don't like that. I like the ALL NATURAL lifters! The women in heavy weight don't even look like a woman anymore so that's all I'm going to say about that.

With all that being said I have set my next physical/mental goal to enter an amateur lightweight/bikini division competition in the summer of 2013! Yes, you read it right! My goal is to enter a body building competition! Why? Glad you asked. 

1) Because it has ALWAYS been a dream of mine to be a body builder. I wanted to when I was younger but was told it was unattractive and I would not look like a women and I had to take steroids and men wouldn't like me. So I buried that dream as a secret. Since I am healing me from the inside and building better self esteem about myself I am going for MY DREAM of being oiled up and flexing my muscles! I will achieve this goal ALL Natural! that means No supplements,drugs enhancements of ANY sort just PURE HARD WORK!

2) Not only am I living out my dream as a body builder but it will be MY FIRST TIME EVER IN A BIKINI!!  For that matter a TWO PIECE!!! So I figure why kill two birds with one stone and come out PROUD, CONFIDENT, FIT, MUSCULAR and IN A BIKINI all greased up and strut my stuff across a stage in front of judges and people I don't know and I will hopefully NEVER see again and Pose.Flex. Smile.

3) Discipline. The mental focus it will take on me and my ambition and determination to accomplish what I set out to do! To learn and become more disciplined. The discipline part is not only benefiting my physical and mental state but my spiritual as well. To stay focused on God and the Ancestors path and lessons in store for me. to lean on them when I need help and support and believing in me and what can happen when you listen and follow instructions.

I have no ambition to win or place. My ambition is to reach competition weight and body definition and that's it! I'm not looking to make this a career or enter further competitions(as of yet) just a one time do it and I'm done. Reach my goal. Now don't get me wrong if I win or place I will be SO PROUD I probably will lose my everlasting mind! :-)TING!

I have enlisted the help from the trainers at the William Wells Brown Community Center to help me achieve this goal. And let me tell you they have been breaking a sister down,challenging and encouraging me and pushing me to keep going saying and I quote "this is what you wanted and we are going to get you right and where you need to be!" Thank you Marvin,Willie and Robbie! Laugh Out Loud at one point Marvin said, 

" That's what you get for trying to be G.I. Jane now let's go" Then I had to think that's cool cause in the end G.I. Jane kicked ass! 

So here is the putting myself out there part. I am now going to post my before pictures of my body and let you guys and gals go on this transformation with me! Let me tell you NOW!!! These pictures ARE NOT authorized to be REPRODUCED OR ALTERED AND ANY WAY SHAPE OR FORM! NOR ARE THEY TO BE CUT AND PASTED OR USED FOR ANY OTHER MEANS THAN WHAT I HAVE INTENDED THEM FOR! 

So with that being said here are my before pictures taken November 8,2012 weighing in at 167 pounds this is what I look like without cloths! :-) NOTE: NONE OF MY PREVIOUS WEIGHT LOSS PHOTOS HAVE BEEN PHOTO SHOPPED NOR WAS I WEARING ANY FORM SHAPING UNDERGARMENTS with the exception to the evening wear photo I did have on Spanx to finish off that FABULOUS LOOK! :-)

Now here are pictures just after two weeks of training. I was instructed to hold off on cardio for two weeks so I could strength train and if you know me that bout made me change my mind I LOVE my zumba and aerobics! But after seeing these picture I am happy I chose to stick with it!

I will share more picture one month from now and see how I have progressed! 

No Trick Tips For Losing Weight.

1. LOVE YOURSELF! In ALL your gorgeous beauty from the inside out.
2. Come to terms as to WHY you eat the way you do and your lack of motivation.
3. Change your eating habits. Cook at home more with FRESH vegetables and fruits. 
4. Watch your portions , even overeating of the GOOD stuff can be bad!
5. Find a workout that you ENJOY and is FUN! This ensures that will more than likely STICK with it. 
6. Set small goals to achieve within a reasonable time frame (2-3 months).
7. Set Long term goals.
8. DO NOT take on several healthy small goals at ONE TIME! i.e. Stop smoking,lose weight and stop drinking soda. That's Self Sabotage if you do this!
9. DON'T be so hard on yourself. You CAN DO THIS! You will have setbacks and plateaus work through it. YOU GOT THIS! Remember how much YOU LOVE YOU SOME YOU!
10. Go at YOUR own pace. Don't think you're coming out the running block at full throttle, Nope ain't gonna happen. Do what you CAN DO then increase as you get better and healthier.
11. PUSH yourself! Challenge yourself! Be your own Superhero/She-Ro!
12. Look cute from the neck down! You have to PUT IN THE WORK to see results! That means STOP worrying about sweating your relaxer out or running your make-up. A Sweat Funky woman is a SEXY woman!
13. Use your haters as your MOTIVATORS! Nuff said.
14. DON'T get complacent. When certain workouts become easy with little to no effort needed, TAKE IT UP A NOTCH or find something NEW and FUN to do.
15. DON'T let the cost of purchasing a new wardrobe stop you! Wear what you have til it is literally "falling off" you! Buy a belt and put holes in it as you shrink! :-) Ladies invest in the fashionable big belts to accessorizes those tops and dresses. Then reward yourself with a FEW new pieces( I suggest Goodwill or Consignment shops til you get to your goal/stable weight) because you are STILL going hard and losing!
16. Just because the scale number isn't dropping doesn't mean you're not losing! Your body is still burning fat and you may be losing inches. If you plateau try adjusting your calorie intake(up or down) or shock your body into a new routine (add something different and FUN).
17. STAY OFF THE SCALE SO MUCH! another self sabotage. Maybe weigh yourself once a week to every two weeks.
18. Believe in you! It's not selfish. It's not being conceited or egotistical to PUT YOU FIRST. If you don't love and believe in you NO ONE else will either.

Self Sabotage

  Diving straight in on this one! We self sabotage ourselves when we don't see the changes we "think" we should be seeing at some point in our weight loss journey.  We say to ourselves "I have been at this for two weeks now I should see something." STOP fooling yourself, it's not going to happen that fast!  You didn't gain 30 pounds in two weeks it's not coming off that fast either. A pound or so a week is good, although don't give up because you haven't lost.

  We start manifesting these negative thoughts that, " I should have lost at least 3 pounds already! I'm doing everything right. I'm eating right,I'm working out, I'm determined, I have prayed and mediated on it and nothing is happening? Why?"  You start looking at other people working out as well and say, " Such and such is losing all kinds of weight and we are doing the same workout plan."  Guess what? Such and Such's plan may not be "YOUR" plan! Their calorie intake is different from yours. Their muscle mass and body structure is different from yours. Their metabolism is different from yours. YOU ARE DIFFERENT! 
You CAN NOT base your success goals off someone else's path! DON'T SABOTAGE your efforts based off what someone else is doing. Your path is your path and you can ONLY do what works for you! Just as they can not walk your path.

  Take some time to get to know your body pay attention to how it reacts to the things you are doing with eating and movement.  Kristie Allen said it best when she was on the Dr. Oz show and said that she noticed she lost more weight on a lower amount of calories than she did when she increased her calorie intake.  You and your body need to reacquaint yourselves. Your body is this awesome vessel that will alert you to the things it needs to survive. When you get sick you feel tired, you may cough and your body may ache. It is alerting you that something is wrong. When you are hungry your stomach will growl saying it needs nourishment. Trick here is to NEVER let your stomach growl! Eat 6 small healthy meals a day approximately every two to four hours that way your stomach doesn't growl and you don't overeat or eat the unhealthy "quick grab" foods. When you have muscle cramps that's your body alerting you that you are either dehydrated or need more potassium. As Beyonce' sings in her song entitled "Me,Myself and I" " It's just me,myself and I and from now on I'ma be my own best friend." Become YOUR OWN BEST FRIEND! No one should know you better than YOU, besides the good Lord himself.  When you become one with yourself it's a little harder in my opinion to sabotage yourself. Why? Because you know and understand your capabilities and your limitations. You accept and seek to improve your weaknesses and fine tune your strong attributes. You want the BEST for you? Well, the BEST requires you to love you, your time for you and your very best effort! Once you get to moving you will not allow anyone which includes YOU or anything to cause you to settle for less.

  Keep this in mind, negative manifested thoughts bring about negative energy, which draws negative actions from within and around you. So you start with the negative thought from within,"This ain't working! I don't care,I'm good with how I look (lying to yourself)."   So then comes the negative action around you, someone comes along and says," I thought you've been working out, what happened you stopped going to the gym? I don't see a change." Or they say. " I don't see how you afford those gym fee, or zumba fees?" or maybe it's "Where you getting all this time and money to do this stuff?" My favorite is " You should just be happy with how God made you."  Reality check. God DID NOT create me to be unhealthy! My body is a temple wherein I should treat it as such. Which means, any respectable, honorable person would not walk into a spiritual building and show ANY amount of disrespect that is not pleasing to their God. So, why would you disrespect the same building ( your body) that was created by God to house your soul? You wouldn't and shouldn't.

  Trust me I used to say that "God made us all different and different body shapes and sizes." This is so true and will always be true. Here is where the fault in that logic lies, when we try to apply it to our unhealthy lifestyles.  You just sabotaged yourself with that thought process! No, we all won't and can't be a size 0,6,8 or 12. We won't or can't all have firm booties with thick thighs and a pretty face, but we CAN ALL have healthy, happy bodies,souls and self-esteem! Reality is, I am never going to have a J-Lo booty and she will never have my smile. Why? Because she is Jennifer Lopez and I AM Shuntella Sweat-Whitfield. I AM who I AM in ALL my GREATNESS! Me saying this is not me being conceited or egotistical, it is me recognizing,accepting and believing in the person God made me to be.

I will be the first to tell you, I have my days when I look at women and wish I was that small, but I quickly come back to reality and realize... I'm good just the way I am. I am putting my best effort into me and doing what needs to be done to keep AND maintain my healthiness and I'm PROUD! Please Note: Just because she is a size 0,6,8 or whatever DOES NOT mean she is healthy! That's just good genes and a good metabolism. :-) She may not be able to run or walk a half a mile let alone do a sit-up or push up, but yet you at a size 8,10,12+ can run that half mile and then some and do 20 sit-ups! Don't sabotage yourself on others outward appearance. Realize this, You don't have to be "As Good" as anyone else you HAVE to be YOU everyday ALL day! 

Happy Anniversary BabyGirl!

Before 232 pounds

NOW 164 pounds!

October 1st I turned 36 years old and this month marked my 1 year weight loss journey anniversary! Yay Me! I am so PROUD of myself for sticking with it. I am so blessed that God allowed me to see another year and make the very best of it! I am happy to report I am weighing in at 164 pounds and have taken 32 inches from my body! That's 68 pounds GONE NEVER to return! I went from 232 pounds wearing a size 18-20W to 164 pounds wearing a size 8-10!

A few years back I started drumming with the MOST AMAZING woman EVER Ms. Joan Brannon. Joan is more than my drum teacher she has become my sister,life coach,support system, my source of encouragement,advisor,mentor and friend. Joan has worked with me and loved me unconditionally through the drum, energetically and physically. She has guided me through EVERY growth pain I have felt this pass year and long before the physical transformation. Be it tough love, self realization, being a shoulder to cry on, showing up at events way past her bed time just to support a dream of mine :-), teaching/showing me my worth and things I could not and would not allow myself to see in me,Joan has loved me. Joan is so humble in the work she does and the people lives she touches. I humbly bow at her feet with GREAT respect and admiration. God knew I needed her to balance me and hold my hand through this phase in my life. I shout THANK YOU LORD for guiding Joan to step outside her box so that our paths may cross. I love you Joan beyond words!

There is this group of people that have had my back through this journey as well that I NEVER would have made it through without them, those being my friends and family! They have watched me transform and smiled and encouraged me to keep going they have come to zumba with me, they have come to aerobics with me, they have walked, ran and climbed stairs with me or just been there to cheer me on as I set forth on a goal. So I'm going to take this moment to put you on straight BLAST! Thank you! Jaqui Linder, Josephwich Wise,Laurie Fields,Taunya Huff ,Amy Lewis, Elizabeth Beck, Amy San Pedro,Toya Richmond,Latoya Davis,Sarah McFarland,Lemeka Hawkins,Erika Wiggington, Adriana Thorton, S.Marie Thurman, Nardie White, Baba Kenyatta, Jameca Hardison, Donnie Hardison,Michael Jackson,Michelle White, Jonnie Johnson, Jason Thompson,Felicia Walker,Keith Hampton,Eric Toller,Nakia Raglin,Tanya Smith,Jeannette Connor, Shawn Connor Sr., Orland Moore,Kisha Givens,Phillip Williams,Imani Robinson,Oba T.,Osunnike, Felicia Walker,Tyrone Douglas,Sherry Payne,Janee White,Chante' Webb, Chaterra Webb and Juan Slaughter. Thank you! to ALL those that gave an encouraging word, that told me I was inspiring them, that ALLOWED me to inspire them. To those that liked my facebook pictures and post, that uplifted me when I was down and pushed me to go even further. If I forgot someone check it to my mind not my heart at this moment I am overwhelmed with LOVE for you ALL!

My daughter Kira and I after zumba

The Aerobics Crew on Tuesdays at William Wells Brown Community Center (back row): Jonnie Jones and myself (front row) Michelle White and my son Devin Whitfield

My family and Friends:Friend Phillip Williams, Sister Chante' Webb and Niece Chaterra Webb

Jason Thompson my dear friend and Awesome dancer that got me started on my  fitness journey!

The Queen Beauty herself my Zumba Instructor Felicia Walker

My fellow Zumba Beauty Tanya Smith we were Sweat Funky and  Gorgeous!

My bff lil'sis Latoya Davis and kids cheered me on as I ran the Midsummer Nights Run 5K!

My 36th birthday fell on a zumba day and I asked friends and family to come zumba with me and they did!

My Zumba Birthday Party! (back row left to right) Keith Hampton, Phillip Williams.(middle row  left to right) : Zumba instructor Felicia Walker Tanya Smith and my bff  Kisha Givens (front row left to right) my son Devin,me and my Sister-in-law Jeannette Connor

Zumba girls! My daughter Kira Whitfield and her bff Imani R.

(right to left) Sara McFarland, Lemeka Hawkins and myself. Doing the Shamrock Shuffle 3K

Last but not least I want to send a HUGE THANK YOU! to my children Kira Whitfield 12 yrs and Devin 10 yrs. I know this has been a journey for y'all as well. I took away ALL the yummy foods and made you eat healthy :-( I have infringed on your outdoor/friend time by having to go to some kind of workout regiment 4 days a week(the rest I try to get in before you come home!) but you have watched me change from the inside out and LOVED me through and through! You took it ALL as Mommy is doing something good for her and you have been my BIGGEST fans and SUPPORTERS you have now taken to joining me at OUR workouts now and I LOVE YOU so much! I did this so that I could see you grow up into the beautiful young lady and young man God created you to be! I want to be around for high school and college graduations. For my grandbabies to come in the far, far, far, far future! You two are who I live for. Kira and Devin you are my GREATEST accomplishment and blessing! I LOVE you beyond words, a whole big ole, big ole, big ole bunch times infinity!

A family that prays and works out together grows stronger in love and health together!

Make NO Apologies

I was sitting in church Sunday and I swear Min. Jamaal Pickens was speaking directly to me! His title of his sermon was"The Authority of Persistence". His text came from Mark 10: 46-52 . Where he was speaking of the blind man named Bartimaeus who was sitting on the side of the road begging. When he heard Jesus was there he began to cry out for him.  People told Bartimaeus he should be quiet but it only made him cry out more. Jesus heard his cries and told him to come. But before Bartimaeus came he removed his garments. Jesus asked him what it was he needed and Bartimaeus told him that he wanted his sight back and Jesus gave it to him.

The reason I bring this up is because Min. Pickens said so many things that touched me and hit home with me as I'm on this journey that my heart and soul asked me to share this with you, because I truly believe this will help you as well. One of many points he made was that "This is not the real me." People tend to look at you from the outside and judge you and think this is who you are. As with Bartimaeus he was blind and others as well as he felt his "thing" was to sit on the side of the road and beg. But God created him to be BETTER than that.  When people see you overweight they "assume" that you are fat because you are lazy, don't care about how you look or feel, you can't control yourself when it comes to food and whatever else they may assume about you. And they could be NO FARTHER than from the truth!  They DON'T know you. They DON'T know what you have been through. They DON'T know your story. NOW is the time for you to take a REAL GOOD self evaluation and say,"Hey I am in no way shape or form the person they THINK I am!" My God created me in HIS image therefore I AM GREAT! I AM BEAUTIFUL! I AM  UNIQUE! I AM SMART! I AM LOVE! I AM LOVED and I AM WORTHY!! You are worthy of ALL the blessings God has for you and MAKE NO APOLOGIES for changing your life to receive them!

Make NO apologies for loving you enough to PUT YOU FIRST! I can not say this enough, YOU CAN NOT HELP ANYONE IF YOU HAVE NOT HELPED YOURSELF FIRST!!! How you gonna teach somebody how to ride a bike and you have never got on, wobbled, and fell and scraped your hands and knees from experience and got back up and tried it again,and again, and again til you were rolling right along? Sometimes baby you GOT TO GO THROUGH something to have a testimony to ENCOURAGE someone else that they to can be MORE than a conquer! We are all given choices and test in life and how we deal with them and OVERCOME them is how we HELP others!

Like with Bartimaeus people talked about him like a dog. How he was sitting on the side of the road begging even showed him a little pity and threw a coin or two in his cup. People WILL TALK ABOUT YOU! They're goning talk about you when your doing bad and they damn sho' gonna talk about you for doing good! It's like the rapper Jay-Z says " you gotta brush that dirt off your shoulder." Cause the haters are going to throw mad dirt at you.  Make NO apologies for the path that you have decided to take! Whether it be a spiritual path, a healthy living/weight loss path, getting clean from drugs path, leaving that abusive relationship path ( be it romantic or friendship). Make NO apologies for taking that step into your DIVINE SELF that God created you to be! Make NO apologies for NOT being complacent with where you are and wanting more! Make NO apologies for being DETERMINED to receive your blessings! and DON'T let people try to deter you and shut your spirit up! When they try you cry out even more I AM WORTHY !

Know that before you can receive ALL these blessings you gotta do some shedding of garments just like Bartimaeus did. God didn't tell him to, but he knew if he was going to "receive" his blessing he had to let some stuff go! So you gotta let go of the stuff that your holding onto that is holding you back from moving forward or slowing your progression down. Stop being your own worst enemy! This was another point Min. Pickens made that " Some of the stuff we are holding onto is not even out stuff. Some of this stuff is inherited to us!" Meaning we were "taught" this stuff. As Min. Pickens points out that some of us were "taught" "to lie,steal,cheat, abuse women,and that all men are dogs." So you go into this world with this warped thought process and we manifest it as true and dare not to seek otherwise.  So your momma and granny and aunties cooked with fat back, lard, and put two,three four spoonfuls of food on your plate and you were "taught" that was normal. Eat til you are full. "Don't leave no food on the plate cause food cost too much to be wasting, so you bet' not move from that table til its gone!"  So now you have learned not to practice portion control but not only learned to over eat because you don't want to or scared to waste the food.  You may have been "taught" we don't talk about our feelings because nobody really cares how you feel, or someone hurt you and nothing was done about it so you learn to suppress those feelings with food because it taste good and you enjoy that "good" feeling so you correlate the two and say when I feel bad it feels good to eat. NOW is the time to shed those thoughts! I always say "when you KNOW better you DO better." Times have changed and you don't have to live like your parents,granny and aunties lived. Not saying their way was wrong because their way was right for them at the time and it helped them survive,provide and keep moving forward. You now know the effects of eating unhealthy. You now know the effects of suppressing feelings. BREAK THE CYCLE! Teach the younger generation something better. Let them inherit a better life and positive view on life.

I made the conscious decision to leave and divorce my husband because I didn't want my daughter to think this is how a man should treat a woman. I didn't want my son to think this is how your treat a woman. I had to FIRST want better for ME in order to want better for them.  I made the conscious decision to leave the eight year relationship because I didn't want to my daughter to think that you have to settle and sit around and wait for a man to decide if your are wife material while your playing that role for him in his life all without the commitment and the title of his wife. I didn't want my son to think that you just toy with women's feelings as long as you possibly can and tell them what you they want to hear to pacify them. But I had to realize this for myself before I could say I DESERVE better than this and so do my children. I'm teaching them that you can OVERCOME through persistence. Yes, they have seen me cry, they have felt and seen my pain, but they have also watched me stand up and rise above it all STILL smiling and acknowledging my pain and releasing it,learning from my mistakes,and move forward.  Take off those old garments so that God can outfit  you with NEW and IMPROVED ones! I make NO apologies for the decisions I made.

Min. Pickens said " Just because I can't do everything, doesn't mean I can't do something." take the FIRST step to move forward and I promise you God, the Ancestors and your TRUE friends will support you ALL the way. You may even inspire them to make NO apologies and take off on the path they know deep down inside God has for them. As you travel on this path and make NO apologies for it. Don't be afraid to let people know,"You ain't seen NOTHING yet the BEST is yet to come!"

The Mirror has Two Sides

If you ever have used a make-up mirror this will make good sense to you why I chose this title.  If you haven't, let me explain. Some make-up mirrors have two sides, one side is just your regular everyday mirror and the other side is a magnified mirror to see up close what you are doing.

With the weight loss I am experiencing the mirror is sometimes my worst enemy. It is as if one day I am looking into the regular side and look fine and beautiful and seeing what others are seeing in my hard work to shed the pounds and then the next day I'm looking into the same mirror but it's magnified and I'm seeing EVERY "flaw" there is to see. "Flaws" being the loose skin, stretch marks ( I have those in places I didn't know you could get them in!), old scars seem to become way more noticeable, even the shape of my belly button.  Which in my self image evaluation looks like the outer space big black hole. To me it's where my belly button has sunken in from my stomach getting so big and the skin around it formed this oblong shape giving it the appearance of the "Black Hole".  Can you tell I do quite a bit of self evaluations of my body?  I am constantly looking for "flaws", things I feel should not be there or if and when I find a companion I feel he will notice and find these things unattractive or nasty looking. Yes, it's that deep for me,these are my demons. I know it is rooted in my self beliefs of inadequacy in many things.I struggle with the old Olay slogan of "Love the skin your in."

Now, I ask how can I love the skin I'm in when I see these list of "flaws"?

1. Two C-section scars.
2. Varicose veins on my legs.
3. Stretch marks on my stomach and now my underarms from the weight loss.
4. A tiny Gallbladder removal scar that look huge now.
5. Three circle scars from that darn heart monitor gel that caused a allergic reaction(so not sexy).
6. Loose skin on my inner thighs.
7. Loose skin under my arms.
8. Back fat.
9. Love handles.
10. Normal shaped belly button with flat stomach.

The comedian Katt Williams made a joke in one of his DVD movies "It's Pimpin', Pimpin'" that men don't pay attention to if a woman's nail and toe polish match and that you had stretch marks cause you had babies but the reality is... I care! and probably way too much.

I care so much that I spent a whole Saturday sitting in front of the television on my couch watching the complete episodes of Dr. 90210 on Netflix!  If you don't know about Dr. 90210 it is a reality show based in Hollywood about people(men and women) getting cosmetic surgery, anywhere from Brazilian butt lifts to liposuction to tummy tucks and face lifts. Yep! cosmetic surgery has crossed my mind SEVERAL times to remove excess skin and getting a tummy tuck.  On one particular episode there was an African American woman my age, built and had children and had lost a lot of weight by herself.  She was now having the same problem I was with image. Her dream was to wear a 2 piece bathing suit for once in her life.  So she went in to have excess skin removed from her underarms and inner thighs, liposuction and a tummy tuck.  When she  healed she looked FABULOUS! I was so ready to start manifesting the money to have this done until... She raised her arm and I saw the scar from her elbow to her armpit and another at her "bikini line". Wow! Reality check. Seriously! I don't need nor want more scars.  This would just be something else I would be adding to a new list, and I don't want ANY list. Ugh! i want to comfortable within me and my skin flaws and all. So now I'm back to trying to "Love the skin I'm in." :-(

There are things I do love about my body and yes I do have a list for that too! List are apart of healing, it's that even balance between good/bad, pros/cons,negative/positive, however you want to phrase it. Here is my list:

1. My breast
2. My Thick thighs (look Great in jeans and fitted skirts) :-)
3. My Round but firm butt
4. My Hips
5. My Smile
6. My Muscle definition (without lifting weights)
7. My Natural curves
8. My Legs
9. My eyes
10. Haven't thought of one yet for here. Hopefully it will hit me by the end of this blog :-)

Sometimes I look in the full length(regular) mirror in my daughter's room and smile with such pride and confidence and dance and sing " She's a bad ma'am a jamma" at what I have accomplished and see myself as this beautiful, vibrant and sexy woman. I am amazed how much my inner beauty is coming out and enhancing my outer beauty (this is my view of myself which is perfectly healthy).If you don't see me that way that's cool and your opinion.
 But yet I still struggle to see what others see in me internally and physically.  A very good friend of mine whom has lost a lot of weight herself and been on the cover of a magazine told me," it takes a while for the mind to catch up to what the body is doing." After several years of keeping her weight off, she went from a size 28 to a size 6/8 and she STILL at times sees that over 200+ woman. She encourages me to stay focused and determined and it will all come together.  But I'm telling it's HARD!  It's like the chorus of the Geto Boys song goes" My Mind Playing Tricks On Me."

I would NEVER lie to you or give you false hope that this will be all a joyous and happy go lucky journey because it's not! It's an awakening journey and dealing with stuff you DON'T want to deal with and changing/breaking old habits and REDISCOVERING this person that God created and it HURTS sometimes. But it is WORTH EVERY BIT OF IT! If you want to be healthy mentally and physically you have to go THROUGH this believing GOD WILL NOT leave you! Your ANCESTORS are guiding you and supporting you and your friends and family are encouraging you to KEEP moving forward.

Soon I will have the regular mirror to look at and see me everyday and ONLY use the magnified mirror for some regular maintenance work.

What is Going on With you? Body Changes

If you have started this lifestyle change you may notice things happening in your body that weren't happening before.  Keep in mind I AM NOT a doctor! I am ONLY explaining things that I HAVE experienced. If you have concerns PLEASE CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN!

General Aces and Pains:
 First, DRINK PLENTY of water! Not only to stay hydrated and promote healthy bowel movements but to help keep muscles from cramping. If you are experiencing muscle cramps it could be related to dehydration and low potassium.  If you eat them bananas are a good source of potassium and help combat muscle cramps.

Second, ALWAYS remember to do a good stretching before your workouts. Stretching warms your muscles up and prepares them for the task they are about to embark on :-) Once you begin working out your muscles will tighten up but that doesn't mean STOP! At times you have to work through the pain. If you sit around just because it is hurting from a good workout all the muscle will do is get tighter and then you will hurt even more!  If a particular body part is hurting give it a rest for a day and focus on another area of the body. Example, if your legs are hurting from squats the next day work on arms, then go back to squats the following day.

Lastly, If pain persist more than a few days and is very unbearable I advise you to seek consult from your physician. Usually, after a few days the soreness will lighten up. With each time your work your body it will become easier to do. The initial part is a big shock to the body like,"OMG what are you doing we haven't had movement like this in years." Once you get to the point where a certain exercise is becoming too easy it's time to take it up a level.

Nausea During Workout:
The urge to "throw up" or the act of actually throwing up is normal! As I said above your body has just been shocked into doing something in most cases it hasn't done in God knows how long.  I'll share this with you, when I first did Afro-Caribbean dance with Jason I was rockin' you hear me! I felt like an African Queen dancing my butt off.  By the third song (each being about 3-4minutes long) I was running to the bathroom and throwing up! I later told Jason what had happened and he looked at me and laughed and said ," Good! means your working hard."  There is much truth in the saying " No pain No gain".  If your not feeling something then you are not challenging yourself enough! When you are working out you should be sweating if your not WORK HARDER!!
The sickness to the stomach should subside, If not CONSULT your physician.

Gas and Bowel Movements:
 You may notice if you are eating more fruits and vegetables you become quite full of gas.  This is normal and will subside after your body gets used to the new intake of fiber this link has helped me out quite a bit through my weight loss journey and questions I have www.livestrong.com. Check out this website on how to deal with the gas. Keep Beano on hand to combat this.

When it comes to your bowel movements with all the movement and better food choices you are making you are getting your enzymes moving in your intestines and you will begin to have more of them as you move around and incorporate more fiber and water into your lifestyle. If you go towww.DrOz.com he does a whole Q&A on bowel movements and remedies for constipation. You should be having 1-2 a day.

Periods:
If you didn't experience heavy periods before you will now! If they were heavy you will more than likely see them lighten up. When you first start working out your periods will be heavy and you may experience some cramping,this being from my experience and women I know. This is just another way your body is reacting to the new change in movement and lifestyle. This lifestyle change literally changes everything your body "HAD" become accustomed to.  OMG! I clotted so much it was unreal. I was so exhausted as well.  But as time has gone on my body has adjusted and my period has become lighter and I no way near clot as much as I did before working out and eating better.
Even though you have your period and are tired I encourage you to keep on with your normal workout routine, if it is too much during that week then take it down a notch. Instead of running; walk. If your doing zumba modify your movements where you are still moving just not as intense as usual.  Your body is already going through some intense work internally no need to over extend yourself for the workout too! You must have an even balance and know when you are pushing too much and when to give your body a break.  In my opinion if your are working out 5-6days a week all month long not exercising during your menstrual cycle is o.k. gives your body a rest. but that's my opinion, so do as you feel comfortable doing.

Hemorrhoids:
Now, I haven't had this problem but I know some that have and all I can say to this is seek CONSULT from your physician.

Sex Drive:
Oh YEAH!!! If your libido was low I'm sure your seeing an increase now! If it was average it's probably higher now.  My guess is your feeling sexy now and more confident about your new body and want to flaunt it. Let's face it... YOU'RE SEXY AND YOU KNOW IT!  So go on and sing it to your mate...Ooo,Ooo,Ooo I wanna sex you up! :-)

My Favorite Recipes

Baked Chicken with Spaghetti Squash


What you will need:
     For Chicken:

• 4 oz chicken breast(s)
• Water or Chicken Broth ( your choice) to bake chicken in

For Spaghetti Squash:

• Acorn Squash aka Spaghetti Squash
• Tomato Pesto ( flavor of your choice) I use Sun dried with Basil

Chicken:

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees
2. Cut chicken breast into 4oz halves
3. Place in a casserole dish
4. Season chicken to your taste
5. Add water or Chicken broth ( my choice) half way up breast
6. Cover with aluminium foil
7. Place in oven bake for about 30minutes until not pink on the inside

Squash:
 Preheat oven to 375 degrees

1. Keep squash whole
2. Pierce rind all over with a fork( to create air pockets so it will not explode)
3. Place in microwave on high until skin is soft (approx.2-3min per pound)
4. Remove from microwave let stand for 5min
5. Place in shallow dish
6. Bake in 375degree oven for 1 hour (rotate half way through cooking)
7. Remove from oven CAREFUL VERY HOT!
8. Cut in half and remove seeds from center of squash(should come out fairly easy)
9. Take fork and scrape and twist squash from sides of rind (hence name spaghetti squash because it will look like squash)
10. Place in bowl
11. Take Tomato Pesto of your flavor choice on squash and stir it in
12. Serve warm.

ENJOY!!!




Corn and Red Bean Salad

What you will need:

• Can of Whole Kernel Corn
• Can of Red Kidney Beans
• Optional: Cooked  Brussels Sprouts or Broccoli

1. Open can of Whole Kernel Corn and DRAIN completely
2. Open can of Red Kidney Beans and DRAIN completely
3. Place both in a bowl
4. Add cooked  brussels sprouts( cut in half) or broccoli if you choose to
5. Season to taste
6. Great cold by itself for lunch or as a side dish

ENJOY!!!!

Tune Casserole

What you will need:

• 2Can of tuna (in water) DRAINED
• Egg noddles
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of pepper
• 4 tablespoons flour 
• 2cups of milk
• Optional: Steamed broccoli 
• Whisk(whisk will remove clumps from sauce)
• Cracker crumbs

• Boil egg noddles DO NOT OVER COOK! Will become very mushy
• Cook til a lighter cream color but still firm 
• Preheat oven 350 degrees

Sauce:

1. Melt 4tablespoons butter in 5quart sauce pan
2. Mix in 4 tablespoons of flour (will clump up naturally)STIR CONSTANTLY with whisk or flour will burn 
3. SLOWLY stir in milk (with whisk) Constantly stirring and removing clumps
4. Stir with whisk til thick and smooth ( if too thick add milk to your desired thickness)
5. After your sauce is thick and smooth remove from heat
6. Add tuna,salt and pepper
7. Place back on heat for 3min
8. Place egg noddles in a lightly greased bottom casserole dish
9. Add Tuna Sauce over egg noddles
10. If you chose to add broccoli add it here
11. Stir together
12. Place cracker crumbs on top
13. Place in preheated 350degree over for 15min
14. Let cool slightly

ENJOY!!!

Love You Some You!

Losing weight AND keeping it off just isn't a physical thing it is mostly a mind frame change.  It begins with you dealing with ALL the issues you have suppressed and working through them for the betterment of you!

From a woman's stand point we are nurture's by nature, we WANT and NEED to take care of others and put ourselves on the back burner.  The reality to this is you CAN NOT DO THAT!  It's like the saying goes,"If Momma ain't happy NOBODY'S happy" So, why would you want unhappiness for yourself and those around you that you care for and love?  You HAVE to love, respect and appreciate who you are BEFORE anyone else will!  You CAN NOT give positive love and energy when your all messed up on the inside.

For men. It is your job to naturally protect and provide for your family.  If you aren't feeling like the MAN you feel you should be and WANT to be you can't FULLY provide and protect your family.  You have to love you and FEEL and KNOW you ARE a GOOD MAN who loves himself enough to want the BEST for himself and for those you love,protect and provide for.  By providing I am not only speaking financially I'm speaking emotionally. As a man your manhood is based on ego and feeling needed,wanted, appreciated and that you are "handling your business"  Having six brothers, an ex-husband and ex boyfriends I KNOW when a man doesn't feel NEEDED and APPRECIATED he will check out quicker than the self check out line at the grocery store with one item! Women if and when you crush a man's ego you have truly done some serious damage! He may not be drama filled like we are, he will act out in other ways be it eating, abuse, multiple empty sexual relationship, etc. So, watch your words for they do cut like knives!

With that being said, keep in mind that we can not give to others something that we DO NOT have!  We can wear a mask all day, everyday but at some point the mask HAS to come off.  Instead of dealing with our problems with food and masking the feelings we are having, FEEL THEM. TALK ABOUT THEM. DEAL WITH THEM. and RELEASE THEM.  When we continuously try to bury those feelings we begin to eat ourselves alive from the inside out. What do I mean? I'm saying this, we bury these issues deep within our subconscious and say we are O.K. and keep moving all the while when those issues are causing us health issues internally; high blood pressure,depression,anxiety,sexual over/under drive or impotency,diabetics etc. When something in life ignites the memory of those buried emotions we either,eat,act out physically through, drugs,sex, fighting or social withdraw just to cope.  Then, we have to attempt to bury what we just did to cope with the new emotion that came up. So we keep stocking piling these emotions til we are obese with all kinds of health issues. We are sleeping around with chances of contracting STD's. We have anger issues. We withdraw from friends and family. We need anti-depressants and anxiety pills just to keep us able to function in everyday life. Funny thing is, if we had just dealt with the issue when it happened we wouldn't have to go through all this mess.  All you had to do was LOVE you enough to say, " NO, this hurts and is unacceptable. I am worth more than this. I value me and love me, so I'm going to deal with this and remove this negative energy."

I know its easier said than done. Believe you me I KNOW! I wore my mask for a good 30yrs!  Once you take the mask off and deal with these issues your having,be it a death of a loved one, sexual abuse, rape, unhealthy relationships, poor self-esteem or what have you and heal yourself from the inside it will begin to show on the outside.  I ALWAYS tell people I have been healing me on the inside for the past five years now and it was only natural for me to make my outside look and feel like my inside does. Which is happy,loving and positive and growing a more loving view of myself.

Love on you from time to time. It's O.K. you're Worth it and Deserve it! Find or go back to the things that make/made you happy, that you ENJOYED doing.  Even when it comes to working out, IT'S ABOUT YOU! You HAVE to find a fitness activity that YOU enjoy! You are more likely to stick with it and make it routine if you enjoy it.  There are so many things you can do; yard work(planting flowers, cutting grass), cleaning house, dancing, running/jogging, walking or simply playing with your kids, family and friends outside.
JUST MOVE!  Stop wallowing in your pain and get off the couch and MAKE A LIFESTYLE CHANGE! By moving you release those endorphins which NATURALLY put you in a better mood and make you feel better about you and put a SMILE on your face and all you did was...LOVE YOU SOME YOU!

Don't Get Discouraged: There is a bigger picture

Every morning at 8am Monday-Friday I send a morning text to my family and friends and this one truly hit home with me and a few of my message receivers as well. 

       " A person who RESPECTS you will do anything for you. A person who DOES NOT respect you will do anything to you."-Unknown

I started these messages because they were coming to me left and right. I would be lying in bed crying because I was young, already divorced and a single mother of two. I was in an unhealthy relationship that I couldn't figure out why we kept hanging on to one another and ain't happy. My money ain't right,I'm struggling to make rent and keep the utilities on and everything that could happen was happening to me for whatever reason.I was fat, know what I am on the inside but felt like people really didn't care who I was, I wasn't anybody special. I was like DAMN! God PLEASE can you give me a break. You said you wouldn't put more on me than I can bear but let me tell you, you are sure pushing it! It was like God and the Ancestors were talking to me saying hey listen, let me tell you why you feel like this. Let me ask you this? Did you know if you did this that would happen? These thoughts,questions, realizations came and then I started thinking 'I bet someone else is feeling this way too, I'm going to share what God and the Ancestors are giving to me. This will be my service to my community.  It became VERY therapeutic for me as I was going through a long distance relationship and it was going down the drain and trying to provide for my growing faster than a raise in my paycheck kids. It was TOO MUCH! So I started sending these messages that came to me through those late night conversations with self. The messages would come and immediately I would get my phone and type what I heard and save it for 8am. Sometimes multiple ones would come and I would just saved them all in my phone and when the hour came pick which one spoke to me that day and hit send.  At first, everyone was loving them and thanking me for them and I was again surprised because these were"my" thoughts and I didn't think people would really read them and look forward to them each morning. They were thoughts of love and pain,just saying I love you or saying good morning to a popular song in a funny way. But the glory didn't last that long. First, my partner thought I was just sending them to him but when I explained it went out to others as well my positive task became another issue for us as to who I was sending it to and why this or that person, how did you get that persons number. You said I love you to who? Then I was asked by some people NOT to send them for whatever reason and I became discouraged and wanted to stop all together because some people didn't want to receive them. So I sent out a text (more than once) asking if people wanted to stop getting them from me some said "yes" some said "no". I was still on the fence about it so I went to God and asked what do I do? He said keep going and I did. My thought process was this isn't just about me. It is about the greater good of those around me and those around the people at are around me. I was asked to do a small task to see if I would follow through because I'll be the first to tell you I will walk away real fast when stuff isn't balanced for me. So this was my lesson in learning to not throw in the towel when the not so good happens. Jesus, Buddha,the Dalai Lama, Prophet Muhammad didn't give up because people didn't like or want to hear what they had to say. They as well as I am doing what I was asked to do. I'm being prepped for something bigger.

What you do in this life doesn't JUST affect you it effects ALL those around you. Not everyone is going to be down for the cause. As much as you would like them to be they won't. They will talk about you behind your back, snare up their nose and flap their gums saying,"I can't believe such and such is doing this or that. I would never let that go on with me." When the reality is they have and probably going through the same mess at that very moment. The key is you CAN NOT LET THEM SHAKE YOU!  Stay focused on what God asked you to do and what your spirit wants you to do for the betterment of you! Lesson I had to learn was to not look to other to validate who I AM!  I am MY OWN SUPER HERO.I AM God's GREATEST creation. The world is mine for the taking. Ask and I shall receive. That is ask God NOT man! Whatever God has for you is for you when the divine time is right. Don't give up on you because of others insecurities.  Misery LOVES company. Like the little children's church songs says" Shake, shake,shake, shake. Shake the devil off!" Be of good character for you and for others.

I

BE YOUR OWN SUPERHERO: Setting Goals

Let me be the first to keep it 100% REAL with you. First, EVERYONE WILL NOT SUPPORT YOU! Iyanla  Vanzant says it best," It is unhealthy to hold yourself back to make others feel comfortable". Trust when I tell you, you will find out real quick and in a hurry who your REAL friends and Supporters are. That's GOOD because then you can REMOVE the negative energy from your life so that you can keep moving forward.  Secondly, DON'T DOUBT YOURSELF! STOP putting negative thoughts in your head that you can not achieve what it is you set out to do! Speak and Do positive things and you will reap positive results. No, they may not come as fast as you will like them to but like the old saying goes," Anything worth having you have to work hard for." Be determined to reach your goal,NO ONE can do this but YOU. It didn't take a few weeks to put the weight on, IT'S NOT going to take a few weeks to get it off! Set small attainable goals for yourself and GO FOR IT! If you fall short, it's cool keep going, you know you have been working your ass off to reach that goal just gotta push harder and dig deeper to reach it. Once you do, you will experience the MOST satisfying feeling that can't be put into words. I cry,dance around like a plum fool and give Thanks to GOD and The Ancestors for guiding me one more time and supporting me spiritually at each goal I hit.
BE YOUR OWN SUPERHERO!

Me,Lemeka and Sarah before the 3K

After completing the Urban Mountain Challenge I set myself another goal. I wanted to run a 3K which is just 1.86 miles. So, I registered in February 2012 for the Lexington Shamrock Shuffle. People were beginning to ask what I was doing to loose the weight and when you tell them the hard physical work you HAVE to do some back down real quick.  I invited friends to join in this 3K goal and two took me up on it! Those two would be Lemeka and Sarah. Lemeka agreed to do it ONLY if we could walk not run it. Sarah could only walk it because she was recovering from a broken foot. I wanted to get my friends involved in just moving so I agreed to walk the Shamrock Shuffle with them! I wasn't trying to win the race and honestly I wasn't physically at a point to run 1.86 miles. So I amended my goal to completing a 3K. Same result just a different way of achieving the goal. That Saturday morning of March 17,2012 we met in front of Desha's restaurant and got our walk on. That was one of  THE PROUDEST moments in this whole journey! I was getting the
people I loved involved and I was completing yet ANOTHER goal!  


Words can not express how happy I was to be achieving another goal and this time WITH my friends. BLESSED I tell ya!  I have had THE GREATEST supporters a girl could ask for! I NEVER dreamed for one second that My Journey would be inspiring anyone else. I was on this "I'm healing me" journey. As I kept going and reaching goals, setting new ones and coming into work sore as all outdoors and people laughing with me because I was walking funny from working out people started wanting to workout WITH me and wanted to know what I was doing. I am STILL amazed by it all. That "lil Shuntella" as I'm called at work now was inspiring others. What? WOW!! SURE! If God says this is my purpose then who am I not to fulfill it! Next goal run a 5K! OVERDRIVE BABY!

You are What You Eat!

Many of you wonder what it is that I eat? Let me say I DO NOT plan meals ahead. I Don't have meals plans I eat "normal" food just prepare it differently and do it in moderation. I am the type of person who is when dedicated to something I hold fast to it. So, a lot of this is determination and will for me. I hope though what I do practice can assist you in more ways than one. Remember in my last blog I stated that I began portion control with a little green plate, here it is below. I don't use it anymore because I've trained myself to be more aware of how much I'm putting on my plate. You may want to try this as you begin your lifestyle change.

Let me go on record again saying I AM NOT a licensed/certified nutritionist/dietitian. These are ONLY changes I have made to MY lifestyle.
 First, don't look at this as a Diet. Diets in my opinion are fads, they quickly come and go! This is a LIFESTYLE CHANGE. You literally are what you eat! You fill your body with unhealthy junk your going to feel crappy and sleepy and emotional and mean and whatever emotion there is to feel.

First off, GET RID OF THE SWEETS! Yes, I mean the Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies, the Ho-Ho's, the ice cream, and the sugar.  Sugar naturally is your friend and is good for you and those are found in Fresh fruits like grapes and apples. High Fructose Sugar is your enemy! I encourage you to do your research on it don't just take my word for it! It is man made and so,so bad for you. STAY AWAY from high fructose sugar. Read your label ingredients if it has anything that ends in a "tose" don't even buy it. That is just the industries way of trying to trick you because HFS has gone public. If your like most people sweets are your downfall. Here is your pick me up, remove the sweets and replace it with fresh fruit! When you want that sweet taste the fruit has it naturally. My fruits of choice are: blueberries,strawberries,bananas,kiwi,blackberries,apples;Gala apples I've found are always sweet. Where red delicious apples can be a hit or miss.Other favorites include: raisins, mandarin oranges, pineapples and cantaloupe and pears. Yes, I do buy fruit in the can but NOT in heavy syrup!
 
Surprisingly, High Fructose syrup is even in the wheat and white bread we eat! Again, read your labels if it has it in there don't eat it.  I'm not promoting any brands (God knows I'm not getting paid for it ) but I eat the 100% Whole Wheat bread with no high fructose syrup brand of Brownberry( about $3 a loaf) or Arthur 100% Whole Wheat bread.(about $2.48 a loaf) .Both can be found at Wal-Mart or Krogers.They taste really good. Now, some will tell you to "Don't eat bread" but if you READ your food chart you need it unless you have issues with yeast products, in which there are other ways to get what you need. Since I'm not licensed on that I'll let you do the research or speak with your doctor on that. The key is to do EVERYTHING in moderation! Don't just take on the mentality that,"It's 100% wheat bread and no HFS that I can have eight slices and be OK) that IS NOT what I'm telling you! Myself I limit it to two pieces a day. That's enough for a sandwich. Another change I have made is to replace fixing white rice with brown rice. Yes, it has a different taste and a little different to cook but it's GOOD and GOOD for you! I'm going to step on out here and say this," If it's natural state is brown its good." You can still make chicken and rice, just eat brown rice and bake or boil your chicken. I even make stir fry and use brown rice as my base.

Another thing I do is since I make a conscious habit to workout at least six days a week I eat six meals a day. Yes, Six! They are small meals and snacks through out the day so that my stomach is NEVER empty. That roughly evens out to every 2-4hours. When you get totally empty that's when you reach for the bad stuff. I normally eat a piece of fruit on my way to work at 5:30am. Then, at my 8am break I eat cereal with 2%milk, honestly not a fan of skim milk(which is better for you). Although, almond milk or rice milk I will eat when I can afford it! As your know eating healthy can be costly so I make adjustments according to my wallet! With the cereals I also don't buy anything with the "tose" in it! Normally I pick up these brands. I purchase these at ALDI grocery store for around $1.49 a box. Now with the Granola I LOVE to add raisins to it. At 11am I am eating lunch( mind you I go in to work REALLY early). This meal is usually pretty big for me and is typically leftovers from dinner last night and I top it off with a fruit mix (that I cut up of blueberries, strawberries,blackberries,bananas and kiwi) or I eat a Greek yogurt. Between 1-2:30pm I eat another piece of fruit and then dinner and then another snack of fruit or yogurt.

I purchase these at ALDI for .89cent each

PLEASE don't get me wrong I DO have those craving for sweets and I DO eat them when the craving comes. Here is the thing, once you STOP eating them on a regular bases you begin to want the GOOD stuff as a sweet and every now and then you want ice cream or M&M's and I say eat it when you want it and leave it alone. It's when you attempt to ignore those cravings that you OVER EAT them when you do get it. You will soon realize the artificial stuff doesn't taste all that hot anymore. You begin to just want to, "hit it and quit it" if you will (lol)! I have a friend that comes over and looks in my fridge and ask EVERY time," what you got good to eat?" and my reply is, "nothing you going to eat." and their reply is "Got that right you only got healthy stuff." and sighs and closes the door. It tickles me every time. So start with these little changes and see how that works for you!

Operation: I'm Bringing Sexy Back!

I REACHED ANOTHER MILESTONE TODAY!! I have OFFICIALLY LOST 60 POUNDS Since October 2011. Weighing in at 170.8! I am SO Proud of myself. I've had some set backs but I stayed focused and determined NOT to let it get me down! Yay me!!!

My 34th birthday at 232 pounds

Any hoot! The past five years I've been doing West African drumming and healing my heart,spirit and soul. It's time! It's time to have a balance of my emotional/spiritual self and physical self. My starting weight was 232 pounds. The first change I made was to change what I ate! I declared I will no longer by sweets. I will replace it with fruits. For my 35TH birthday I was given a American Express gift card and I marched right to Wally World and purchased a Black and Decker Juicer for $30. I LOVE strawberries,blueberries,blackberries,kiwi,bananas and found a new love for mandarin oranges and raisins. My kitchen STAYS stocked with these fruits.Mostly to eat and at times I juice them. Honestly, it's very costly to juice. I use it as a TREAT for my hard work sometimes. I also declared NO MORE soda or juices that contained high fructose syrup in it Note: I also found by eliminating the high fructose syrup helped with my son's behavior in school he was able to stay focused and on task. So, I only bought apple juice or grape juice that DID NOT contain HFS. I kept with the chicken, fish and ground turkey so no big change there only in how I prepared things.  I did learn a lot from my ex-boyfriend about food because he had a trainer at one point so I made sure mine and the kids plate contained a 4ounce piece of meat and the rest of the plate was filled with vegetable. I started off with this little green plate that I ate from to help me control my portion control. It is a little bigger than a saucer but it helped. Joan, had suggested that I start taking walks.I have lived in Lexington my whole life and never knew where the arboretum was but I was making NO EXCUSES and goggled it and found where it was and started walking daily AS SOON as I got off from work. I had the mind set that I would get off come home change into my walking cloths and walk right back out the door! I gave myself
NO TIME  to sit down and relax. Walking the arboretum in completion is 2miles. I did it everyday. It kept my mind clear from those days when it was really hard getting over my ex,or i had a sucky day at work, or any stress I was having it took it away. I got to the point where I didn't want to miss a day because it felt good! For the most part I didn't let anything interrupt my scheduled time from 2:30pm-4pm. If it wasn't important you could catch me AFTER my walk. Another great thing my ex gave me before we broke up was this knowledge of a free app to put on my phone called NOOM. I gave my weight and set a goal weight. I told it how much I planned to workout and it told me how many calories I need per day of good(green),bad(red) and ok(yellow) foods I could eat and the percentage on a pie chart. It allows me to log my ALL my meals and tells me if its good,bad or ok. So, now I'm still drumming and healing the inside. I changed the way I eat. Now, I'm actually keeping track of what I eat! At the bottom of the food log on NOOM there are five stars and as you eat you either keep all five gold stars or you start to lose them based on you ideal calorie intake to what you actually took in. Honey, I started really watching it like a little kid I didn't want my stars taken away!  I allowed myself  ONE cheat day(which is Saturday) to eat what I wanted BUT within reason. Not like it was OK to sit down and eat a gallon of ice cream. Soon the weight started coming off!


I set small goals for myself. The first was to reach my made up club of the Under 200pounds club by New Years.  That gave me about 3months to get it together. I kept walking but after a while I felt my body wanted more. I became in sync with my body mentally and physically . Walking wasn't cutting it anymore I needed to do something else. I heard about this Afro-Caribbean class was being taught at Consolidated Baptist Church and was only $3. Honey, that was right up my alley! I love to dance and Afro-Caribbean and it was close to my house and only $3. Thank you Jesus! I went. I got there and there stood Jason Thompson a guy I had grown up with in church I was SO EXCITED because I knew Jason could dance,I'd seen him perform before and was in total awe. I got to moving in that class ya'll non stop and we took a short water break and I ran to the bathroom and straight threw up! I was like dear god he is trying to kill me!! but, I wasn't going to give up. I washed my mouth out and went right back in there and did my thing! After class I told Jason what had happened and he chuckled and said,"Good that means you were working hard!" I came back for the next class ,and the next ,and the next. Oh the scale was coming down. Unfortunately, classes somehow stopped and I was left with nothing but walking again. I kept walking til one day Jason posted on Facebook that he was teaching Zumba at the Legacy Cheer center. I was like YES!!! I'm so there. 

Jason Thompson Zumba instructor ,mentor and friend and I
Legacy Cheer Center 261 Ruccio Way Lexington,Ky Mon-Wed from 7-8pm

I walked in that class on a Monday evening at 7pm and there stood not one, not two but FOUR skinny girls! I was like "Hell Naw why I got to be the fat girl in the class!" My mind quickly went into ego mode. That's when you let your ego flare up and take control like," I'm going to keep up with these skinny girls they ain't going to be laughing and talking about me." Jason started the music and it was on! Going to be honest I COULD NOT do all the hopping and jumping at first. Let me tell you it ain't easy lifting 200+pounds off the floor. Jason kept smiling at me and telling me I was doing a good job and teaching me modifications I could do JUST DON'T STOP and I didn't!! I was there EVERY Monday and Wednesday night. I couldn't do his Tuesday class cause that was Joan's day and you don't touch that day! After awhile the choreography was getting easier and Jason noticed so he began to challenge me more to do those hops and jump and push myself. Don't get complacent with just doing what I could do, do more. I did. For you know it I was rocking it out and people started noticing a change in me emotionally and physically. It was GREAT.


So January 1,2012 came and sister girl didn't make her goal, but was cool. I knew I had been working hard and it would come just had to work harder and it did I MADE the UNDER 200 Club and I was wearing a size 14 in women's! So, I'm rocking Zumba and now Mondays and Wednesday from 7pm-8pm became sacred. Don't you dare fix your lips to ask me to do something on Monday and Wednesday between 7-8pm or Tuesday from 7-9pm! 

January 2012 under 200 pounds wearing a size 14!

Once I reached that goal I set another. I set my eyes on the Fifth Third Bank building in downtown Lexington also known as the Big Blue Building. A commercial came on T.V. about the Urban Mountain Challenge to climb the 29story 638stairs! Oh yeah it's on baby!! The registration fee was $45! Man! I don't have that kind of money and I was ready to give up on this goal but remembered Joan teaching me about manifesting and believing in what I wanted and it would come. I remembered my church teachings "Ask and ye shall receive" So I did both and came up with the idea I will ask my brothers to donate so I could pay the fee. I called my oldest brother, Orland and told him what I was trying to do and he gave me the $45! Thank you Jesus! I paid my registration and was ready to go. Then, I got discouraged again because I have never climbed that many floors and the paper said you could ONLY STOP on certain floors for a break during the race! "All Hell what have I gotten myself into!" My goal was NOT to race just complete it. God and the Ancestors stepped in again and I found out you can do the steps at the 5th3rd building ANYTIME they are open for FREE!!!! All you had to do was sign a waiver that they weren't liable if you hurt yourself. Sign my name on the doted line! So I began doing the stairs on my free days of Tuesday afternoon before practice and Thursday. It killed me but thank the lord for Jason's love of doing squats in class my legs were so prepared. 

On January 28,2012 I completed the inaugural Urban Mountain Challenge in 11minutes 47seconds! Goal completed next goal set a 3K!