I Amaze myself sometimes!

I usually hit the gym at 5 pm, but I was late getting there today because my daughter had color guard practice today at 6 pm. I DUG UP IN IT TODAY!! I can't believe my numbers myself , I shalt not make you wait any further. 

Thursday January 24,2013: Gym Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Treadmill: 

• 420 calories burned in 30 minutes
• 2.88 miles
• level 4
• speeds 4-8
• incline 1.5-5

Leg workout:

Squat Machine: 

• 3 sets of 12 with 25#

Sumo Squats:

• 3 sets of 12 with 20# dumb bell

Lunges:

• 3 sets of 16 with #5 cow bells

Standing squats:

• 12 reps with 20#
• 12 reps with 50#
• 15 reps with #50

Upside down squats:

• 3 sets of 12 with 70#

Last but not least Willie's 4 minutes Ab workout

Food intake:

5am:

4 oz grilled chicken breast 1 egg white

8am:

1/2 cup oatmeal with raisins and 1 tablespoon honey

11am Lunch:

4 oz grilled chicken breast

baked sweet potato with 1 tablespoon of honey

1 cup of steamed broccoli

1pm Snack:

canned mandarin oranges and fresh strawberries

3pm Snack:

Greek yogurt with coca

 

Dinner:

baked tilopia

baked beans

spinach

Water Intake:

77 ounces

I bout passed out but I DID IT!!

Today was full sauna suit day! Well Shuntella what is Full Sauna Suit day? It is the wearing of a shorts, plastic pants with sweatpants on top. It is wearing a long sleeve dry fit shirt with a plastic shirt on top. YES! it is HOT!!! But there are goals to be met and no time for crying. Ok, maybe a few tears and "Willie I can't go anymore." "Willie, your killing me." "Willie I am hot!", " Ok I can do this." I think that was all I said! lol
Any who, here's how my numbers look for January 23,2013:

Treadmill (FULL Sauna Suit): 30 min. 2.8 miles 400 calories burned
Bike(no sauna suit): 20 min. level 7, hill workout, 3.76 miles, 137 calories burned

Lifting Workout: Shoulders
Shoulder press: 3 sets of 15 7.5 weights
Free weight lifts: weights 10#( 15x's), 25#(10x's), 45#( 5x's) then going back down 45# at 5,25# at 10 and 10# at 15. Done twice.

Lower ab work.

Time in gym 2 hours

Food intake:
8am:

• 4 oz grilled chicken and 2egg whites
•  cup of coffee with creamer only
• canned pears

11am Lunch:

• Grilled chicken sandwich on 100% whole wheat High fructose free bread(2 slices), light salad dressing
• water
• pears

2pm Snack:

Oatmeal with 1 tablespoon pure honey and 1/2 cup raisins

Water intake:
69 oz

Urban Mountain Challenge/ Yesterday's numbers

Can you believe it,The Urban Mountain Challenge is THIS Saturday January 26,2013!
I am SUPER excited that I will be able to participate again this year.  For those of you that do not know what the Urban Mountain Challenge is it is a timed race to run up the stairs of the 5th 3rd bank building, which is 29 stories, 638 stairs in downtown Lexington, Ky. This year they have stepped the game up by adding another building, Central Bank building. That will now be a combined total of climbing 50 stories!! I, on the other hand WILL NOT be climbing both buildings. I will ONLY be climbing the 5th 3rd bank building to beat my last year time of 11 minutes 47 seconds! I totally amped!

So with all that being said I had my BMI(Body Mass Index) taken yesterday to see where I am at and where I need to be. Check out this link to better understand what BMI is www.cdc.gov and look up BMI.
Here are my numbers:
Height: 5ft 1 in.
Weight: 163.8
BMI: 31.0
Fat%: 33.6%
Fat Mass: 55.0 lb
FFM: 108.8 lb

Desirable Range:
Fat %: 21-33%
Fat Mass: 20.0-53.6 lb

Target Body Fat: 25%
Predicted weight 145.0 lb
Predicted fat mass: 36.2 lb
FAT TO LOSE: 18.8 LB
So, as you can see I am .6% from reaching a desirable Fat Percentage and 1.4 pounds from reaching a desirable Fat Mass. My FFM is muscle and I was told I want this number to stay the same or go up! This is ONE HAPPY CHICK!!! I was told I am healthy and keep up the good work! When I told Marvin, he gave me a high five and said," Now it's time to step it up!"

But, before getting these numbers Willie had already decided that I needed to step my game up YET AGAIN! He figures since his goal is to burn 400 calories on the treadmill guess what? I should too! So now this is my NEW goal to burn 400 calories in 30 minutes. I met AND exceeded my goal yesterday!
I did 2.8 miles in 30 minutes, burning 408 calories on level 4, on inclines 1.5-5.0, walking speed of 5, running speeds of 6-8. Woo lawd I was tired! But it is for the betterment of me so I am all on that!
 Yesterday was also my back workout day. So I did:

• lawn mowers with 15# weights with 3 sets of 20 reps
• Back pulls with 7.5# weights 3 sets of 20 reps
• another back workout not sure of it's name with 5# weights 3 sets of 20 reps.

I keep a handy dandy planner with me to write down all that I am doing and which body parts I am working and with how much weight so we can keep track of what I'm doing and weight lifted.
I LOVE MY TRAINERS!!!

FOOD INTAKE:
8am:
Oatmeal with pure honey and mandarin oranges
1 cup of coffee with creamer only
11 am Lunch:
Southwest chicken strips wrapped in half a burrito wrap with sweet potato fries and water (23 oz.)
2 pm Snack:
Southwest chicken strips and 2 egg whites scrambled
8 pm dinner:
1 salisbury steak, kraft mac and cheese and green beans and water(8 oz.)

My water consumption for the day was low. Only 54 oz. of water yesterday Boo! me :-( Gotta do better!
*23 oz were consumed during my workout*

It happens

Well, I must say I am disappointed in myself. I didn't go workout today I tried really hard to convince myself to get up,get dressed and go but I just didn't. It was pure laziness. It happens to even the seemingly strong. So I will share me meals for today. January 17,2013:
Morning Snack: 5:30am
Banana

Breakfast: 8am
Pure Granola with Almonds added 1/4 dates, 1/2 cup raisins and banana and Almond milk.

Snack: 10am
Grapes

Lunch: 11am
Baked tilopia,broccoli,rice pilaf, Fresh kiwi and strawberries

Snack: 4pm
Pure Granola with almonds,raisins and almond milk

Dinner: 8pm
4pieces of turkey Bacon and biscuit with pure honey.

Water consumed today:
32oz( 4cups)

Let's play catch up shall we!

So.... My last blog was in November when I announced my ambition/goal to enter a bodybuilding competition! Well almost 2 months later I'M STILL GOING STRONG!I hit the gym Monday through Friday generally for 2 hours(depending on if my kids have things going on). It is very challenging BUT I am seeing results!
 So let me introduce my trainers! Let's start with my first trainer Robert(Rob), now Rob is a little chocolate drop that LOVES to crack jokes and keep the workout fun. Currently, Rob is helping me with legs and abs. Rob is a graduate of the University of Kentucky and former track star. He is also helping prepare me for the Urban Mountain Challenge,which is next weekend.:-)!
 Then, there is Willie,he is tall,buff and has THE BEST personality with a killer smile and former baseball player. Now, Willie does most of my workouts which includes treadmill,elliptical,weight lifting and abs. Woo... That's a lot! Ya'll this man is pushing me EVERY day with a smile on his face,partly for encouragement and the other I think he enjoys pushing me and seeing me makes faces and moan in pain!Some of Willie's favorite words to me from time to time, " I'm going to go get you a piece of candy your looking a little pink we need to get your color back.", "Umm... Why are you holding on we don't do that here." and last but not least my favorite,"Don't cheat me out my money, I want ALL my money!" "money" being reps/time.
 Last but certainly not least is the big man,with pretty eyes and smile Marvin! Marvin is like the sergeant, being that has a military background. He keeps me motivated and pushes me when I feel like I'm done. He makes sure my diet is good and that I'm not pushing myself too much. Which, is easy to do when your going and feeling good, you feel unstoppable and confident. All three of these men are to a person who is trying to lose weight and keep it off a PERFECT DREAM TEAM!I love and appreciate them so very much! They make it fun,challenging and safe.
  So now about me, I had dropped 2 pounds weighing in at 161. As of yesterday I weighed in at 166 BUT I have lost 3 inches from my body! So I am gaining muscle! Yay! I am seeing definition slowly but surely.Willie has me running on the treadmill on the leg shaper setting which is like running up and down hills. I run on level 4,my highest incline being 5 and on speeds between 6-8(it changes as Willie sees fit) :-). I have recently added a FULL sauna suit+ to the workout on the treadmill. For those of you that don't know what a sauna suit is, it is a top and bottom made out of plastic that you wear to make you sweat more while you workout. I am wearing this to remove excess water from my body. I usually wear shorts,sauna bottoms,sweatpants,t-shirt,or long sleeve shirt to hold the sweat and sauna top. Right! It is VERY hot,sweaty and exhausting! I was wearing it everyday when I ran bu,t it was suggested that I wear it every other day to give my body a chance to recoup. Thank You Jesus! Oh! and I wear a belly band too!That is to help me sweat more around my stomach area. That is pretty much all of it I believe.
 I have learned how to blog from my phone so I can now keep my blogs updated I hope! My goal for here on out is to try and post what I ate for the day and my workout numbers of calories burned on what machines, for how long and other stuff. For those of you who are curious how it's really going down! lol
   So I will end this now with my workout numbers for yesterday and today. I'm so happy to be back.

  January 15,2013:
Treadmill(no sauna suit):400 calories burned on the treadmill in 30 minutes
Leg workout: 25# weight doing squats 3 sets of 15, 45# weight doing leg presses with bar 3 sets of 10
Thigh workout: 3 sets of 8.
 FAMOUS Willie's 4 minute non-stop ab workout:.

  January 16,2013:
Treadmill(full sauna suit):364 calories burned distance of 2.5 miles in 30 min.
Bike machine:184 calories burned distance 6.4 miles in 30 min.
Abs with Rob

 My measurements as of January 16,2013:
Chest:36
Waist:34.5
Hips: 34

Weight:166

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.