Day Twenty-nine - Weigh-in #5

Today was a very eventful day.  To start, I weighed myself and I currently weigh 322!  Awesome!  I lost five pounds during Christmas week and I ate at three family members houses!  How awesome is that?  When I stepped off that scale, I had to do a little praise dance and shout my way out of the bathroom.  I thank God for this loss because I thought I was going to lose another three pounds but thanks be to God for helping me stay focused this week. 

Another awesome thing happened today is the camera my husband ordered me for Christmas finally came today.  I started taking pictures like crazy of anything I could find.  My camera is so awesome that I had to include some pictures in this blog.

I'm cooking ground turkey with fresh garlic, red peppers and onions for my baked Ziti

Southern kale with garlic, pepper, Cayenne pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt



Day Twenty-eight - When say jump you better ask, "How high?"

Growing up in the inner city, kids were always outside playing games, jumping or sitting on their steps.  Remember playing a game called red light green light?  How about helicopter?  How about  jumping double dutch? 

Growing up, my siblings and I weren't allowed outside very often because of the neighborhood we lived in (very bad) and because my parents didn't want bad kids to influence us negatively.  My older sister and I missed out on a lot of childhood games played outside but by the time we were twelve and thirteen, our four younger siblings played outside on a pretty normal basis and we were allowed to also, with parental montorint of course. It wasn't until this age that I learned most of these games from other kids.

When I was about fourteen, my cousin, who is about twelve years my senor, taught me and my three sisters how to jump double dutch.  We use to go to the park with my mother and grandmother all the time and jump rope but it was always single not double dutch.  Anyway, somehow my cousin caught wind that we couldn't jump double dutch and she proceeded to teach us; however, I was the only one how caught on, my other sisters hated playing double dutch (on a regular basis I would force them to turn the rope so I cold jump).  I remember jumping rope and my cousin told me to pick up my feet and I was.  I felt as if I jumped any higher, I would jump into heaven!  Well, here it is twenty something years later and I forgot how to jump rope.

Last week I decided to get a jump rope because I loved jumping rope as a teenager.  I wasn't very good at it but I didn't care.  I just loved to jump rope.  Anyway, I ordered one from www.ebay.com and tried it out as soon as the mail came.  Well, my two little nieces were at my house, they're one and two years of age by the way, and as they sat on my couch and watched me.  No big deal.  As the rope swing over my head I thought to myself, "I'm free! I'm jumping again!"  The rope began to approach my feet and now it was my turn jump up to heaven like I did as a kid.  As the rope approached my feet, I propelled my body into the air and the jump rope stopped at my toes.  I thought I was a little rusty and decided to try again, and again, and again without success all while my nieces sat on my couch and stared at me.  Well, that was the end of that little embarrassing moment.  Thank God their too young to judge me! lol

Today, I was determined to try again and succeed because failure is not an option for me but instead of just jumping, I decided to hire a coach.  I searched the internet for a lower body stretching videos and found a woman with a jump rope video (how did that happen? don't know). 

Coach Nicole helped me say focus and encouraged to keep going.  Now, obviously if I couldn't jump rope when my two nieces were here, then surely I would not be able to keep up with Coach Nicole.  Her point was to keep moving and if you couldn't do her "advanced" jump rope tricks, then you can stick to the basic up and down jump.  I tried a few of her jumps but I couldn't do them because I was hadn't accomplishing the basic up and down jump! I didn't give up though.  I kept trying and trying until I felt I was reaching heaven.  It took me the entire video just to get a constant jump going that lasted between ten to fifteen seconds.  When I began this video, I could last five seconds but by the end I was almost half way to her thirty second interval jumps.  Although my knees hurt a little and out of breath, I accomplished something today, I jumped, broke my wind (a sports term my brother taught me) and I will be able to do jump rope a little longer tomorrow.  Now of course my jump isn't pretty.  I kind of poke my big butt out, lean forward and jump really hard like a one year old learning how to jump but it works for now. 

The lesson I learned today is that although I couldn't go to the gym because of my phobia of people looking at me, I have resources in my home that I can use to exercise.  My other blog post about me not going to the gym are just excuses for wanting something to happen with me doing as little as possible.  I want to lose weight but I don't want to put in the hard work.  The hard work for me isn't eating the right food as much as it is getting up off the couch and moving.  A few weeks ago, my sister-in-law told me to walk instead of going to the gym.  My excuse was I don't like to be cold.  It's the truth.  I hate being cold!  She said you will warm up and it's only for a little bit.  I just said no.  This just tells me I still have a long way to go before my mind reaches and understand of the desires of my heart.  

Thanks for reading! I know this one was long.  Hopefully I can post pictures and video soon with my new camera my hubby got me for Christmas!

Day Twenty-seven - I Got You Babe!

I started this journey exactly twenty-seven days ago.  When I began, I invited family, friends, strangers, anyone I talked with to follow my journey so they could encourage me and help me with staying on course.  People told me they are going to take the challenge with me to lose weight because they needed to lose ten, twenty, even fifty pounds.  I wasn't expecting anyone to take this challenge with me.  I wasn't even expecting my husband to lose weight with me but he decided, on his own, to lose weight.  Well, here it is twenty-seven days later and the only people I know that are still fighting are me and my husband. 

Let me tell you something, this isn't an easy journey.  Changing your eating habits isn't easy when you're use to eating whatever you want when you want.  Your body goes through withdrawal symptoms.  You crave foods you use to eat:  chips, chocolate, bread, pasta, fried fish, fried chicken, baked mac and cheese, Tastycake and in order to change your mind you have to have a mental battle.  "Why are you losing weight?"  "Will that cake make you feel better?"  You literally talk to yourself until the "good" side of you wins.  Some days it's just a decision but most days it's a fight.

If I was depending on people to help me lose weight, I would've lost thirteen pounds.  Like I told my husband, it's me and him against the world.  We have all we need within ourselves:  God, determination, and will power.  No matter what your goals in life are, don't wait for anyone to get you started or to help you get to your goal.  Pray and ask God to lead and guide you to make the right decisions and just do it.  "Nothing is impossible, the word itself says I'm possible" -Audrey Hepburn

To eat or not to eat

Christmas has come and gone and mine was awesome! I spent the weekend with family and I enjoyed myself.  Not only did I receive great presents but I also enjoyed the food I ate.  I know you're wondering if I stuffed myself or was I on guard with my eating habits.  Well let's see.  In two day I visited three family members houses and each of them had a really beautiful spread of different food.  At our first stop, my in-law's, my husband I I ate a tablespoon of five or six different types of food.  Before we left our apartment, I told him I don't plan on eating a lot of food but I planned to enjoy myself and that's exactly what I did.  I even planned to get some exercise in! I played the Michael Jackson's dance game with my sisters-in-law (just two dances but hey it counts). 

Our second stop was my sister's house and she had everything from fried fish to Christmas cookies.  I wasn't hungry when we got to my sister's house so I decided to take my food to go.  I did allow myself three or four cookies but that was my extent of eating at my sister's house.  I really don't go to her house to eat.  I go for the conversation and the company of all my family.  However, when I took my food home, I also asked for Christmas cookies.  Well, I think I brought home thirteen cookies and at eleven or twelve by myself. .  Awful, right?! I know but they were so good! I'm still fighting to over come my addiction to junk food but junk food and I have been dating for twenty plus years.  That's not a relationship you just walk away from without a little baggage (okay, maybe a lot of baggage lol).  Anyway, I'm still a junkaholic and I'm not ashamed to admit it.  The good thing is that I didn't get out of control with other junk food.  Thank God I didn't keep eating junk and I stopped at the cookies.  The old me would have said to myself, "Well, you might as well keep going" and I would've ate everything I could find.  Although I let go on Christmas and OD'd on Christmas cookies, I didn't allow myself to keep going and that is a victory. Thank you Jesus!

The finally place we visited during our Christmas weekend was aunt and uncle's house.  They had a little family gathering on Sunday and I drank water and monitored what I ate.  My aunt and her family had a lot of different food there.  She had Spanish rice and pigs in a blanket, fried chicken, and yes I tasted all three.  Noticed I said "tasted".  There is no reason why I can't enjoy myself  at family gatherings and other events with food that I'm not use to eating anymore and no I don't expect a "special" menu every time someone hears I'm coming to dinner.  My family is very supportive but this change has to take place first in my mind and then it will reflect in my body. 

Well, I hope your Christmas was awesome like mine and I hope you left some food on your plate.  Thanks for reading!

Bollywood & Zumba Workout

Today, I decided to do my first official workout and to be honest, it was hard but I kept going and got through it.  Instead of doing some boring routine consisting of squats, stretches, and bends, I decided to try a dance workout instead.  Earlier today, I started watching belly dancing on FitTv (Comcast) and thought it was interesting.  I searched On Demand until I found something that was similar and just as fun.  Low and behold I stumbled upon Back 2 Bollywood! This is an example of the type of dance moves I performed today.

Anyway, I thought this Bollywood exercise would be easy and simple especially since it was only fifteen minutes.  Well, the joke was on me.  This dance had me out of breath and hurting by the end of the workout!  I was surprised and excited.  I'm not going to lie like those infomercials and say I didn't notice I was working out because I was having so much fun dancing.  You know that's a lie.  I mean, I'm a big girl lol. I felt like I was exercising and it wasn't easy because I was in pain but I just kept saying it's only fifteen minutes and I got through it. 


After I completed Back 2 Bollywood, I wanted to try Zumba.  I heard of Zumba and saw the commercials and it looks fun.  Well, Comcast On Demand only had one six minute video session, which was disappointing.  I attempted to do the Cuban Salsa with the instructors and their background dancers with their flat stomachs and perfectly shaped bodies and their hips moving seductively from side to side but um yeah I was totally out of my comfort zone.  I consider myself to have rhythm. I mean I'm black and even though not all black people have rhythm, I DO!  You can ask my mother if you don't believe me.  I've been dancing since I could walk but this Cuban salsa was no joke.  Most times I was on beat with the music but then other times my body was moving without me giving it instructions! LOL  The Zumba workout  wasn't as intense as the Bollywood workout but like I said it was only six minutes.  Tomorrow I am going to do both workouts again until I master the moves and move my hips like a skinny chick in a fat girl's body!