Monday, January 23, 2012

Why am I fat ?

The impression that question left on me, will last a lifetime. I sat this morning with a young woman who attempted to answer that question. I think its hilarious that so many people think that you become over weight simply because of food.  I often think that some of the most physically beautiful people are the ugliest of the bunch.

For many food  is isolation, it helps them to cope with a pain that others may not understand.  I am not saying that all over weight people have this issue but I am simply speaking about the ones that do. The idea that simply losing weight will solve your problems is absurd. If that is the case then why do so many people gain it back. 

When I look at this journey that I have been on, I realize that I have had to deal with some many "other" issues. In fact the losing weight has been the easiest part, it is dealing with why I ate the way I did that was the most difficult part. I have had to walk away from a few friends, associates and family members in order to be successful. When you change, you will find that many of your loved ones liked you just the way you were. They were comfortable with  the old you and changing will cause tension and make you choose.

I look back at who I used to be and I see that the best parts of me have stayed  with me.  However, the part of me that allowed myself to be repeatedly hurt, taken advantaged  of  and humiliated  I  left behind with those who enjoyed it. The strength that I have now at this moment, was not created simply by losing weight. It was created by dealing with my reality and my past. Part of being a  person walking around emotionally  wounded,is that you lack the ability to see your worth. So you allow others to take advantage of you and it becomes who you are.  I am not afraid to admit, that USED to be me, I put myself in situations in which I could not win. Over and over again, never realizing that I allowed my self to be there.

Each and everyone of you has something special to give to this world. If you have trouble looking at yourself in the mirror and realizing what it is, without ridiculing your self. Then you have more to do then just diet and exercise. That work, will be the most important work you will do on this journey.

Although the results are amazing, leaving people behind is painful. Getting off the couch is not just about  moving physically, but it  includes  mental and emotional  fitness.  The only question I have is, are you still on the couch?

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

The Nosey Neighbor

We all have them , that one person who you run from when you are entering or leaving your house.  Well on my block we have a few of them who seem to observe everything. Recently while I was in the grocery store Miss. Nosey  approached me to ask about my shopping habits, she also asked about my husband  but anyway.

Miss Nosey: Why do you only shop on the edge of the grocery store?

Me:  Because that is where all the things I need are.

Miss Nosey:  If that is all your eating I see why you don lost all that weight.

Me: ( silence)

Miss Nosey: Retha though you got the surgery but I told her I used to see you running in the morning when I was drinking my coffee.

Me: No I did not have surgery

Miss Nosey: I figured, cause I woulda noticed if you were gone anyway. Shoot I don't see the Pizza man come to your house no more  either.

Me: (silence)


Besides that fact that I noticed this woman is watching my house. I realized that other people notice when you change, regardless  of it being positive or negative. When you change it shows,  don't think that your changes go un noticed. In fact even the Grocery store you shop at is aware of your changes.  I always get store coupons, that spit out the machines at the end of my purchases. I used to get cookie coupons and soda coupons. Now I get organic food coupons and fruit coupons because that is what I purchase. Your changes will be apparent  to everyone,  that is one more way to hold your self accountable. Think about who is watching while you slowly change.

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Clean Eating

There are 14 principles to Clean Eating, so I will break this down in a few different blog posts.

Eat 6 mini meals spread out throughout the day. - Eating 6 small meals a day will keep you from getting hungry.  These meals should be composed of only clean food and make sure you eat portion sizes. clean basically means that foods are selected from those in their natural state; unprocessed and whole. So no boxed macaroni and cheese. If you look on the back of the box and you don't know what the ingredients are, it s processed and unclean.

 Eat every 2 1/2 to 3 hours.- Make sure that you space your meals  from 2 1/2 to 3 hours apart. Basically depending on how soon you feel hungry. I am up early so I am 6/9/12/3/6/9, I will sometime skip 9 if I am not hungry. But I work out from 5-7 so I usually am.


Eat  lean protein and  complex carbohydrates at every meal . - I am sure you are like what is that.  Shoot so was I, so I created a list of the things I eat that are in those categories

Lean Protein:
Beans
Beef Tenderloin
Chicken Breasts
Eggs (Egg Whites)
Fat free plain yogurt ( can be strained and turned into cheese)
Fresh fish
Lean Ground turkey ( ground turkey breast, no the ground yucky stuff)
Natural nut butters (almonds, cashew, peanut)
Pork Tenderloin


Examples of Complex Carbohydrates:
Brown Rice
Oatmeal  (can be ground and used as flour)
Quinoa **
Whole-Grain Pasta
Bananas
Carrots
Chickpeas **
Beans **
Sweet Potatoes
Yams

** these can be used as a protein source

Carbohydrates from fruits and vegetables
Asparagus
Broccoli
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Celery
Cucumbers
Kale
Lettuce
Onions
Spinach
Tomatoes
Turnip Greens


Fruits:
Apples
Berries
Oranges
dried fruits 
grapefruit
grapes
kiwi
mango
melons
papaya
passion fruit
pears
plums

Healthy fats
Almonds
Avocado
Cold-water fish
Flax seed
Nut butters (natural organic, read the label it should only be the nut ground up in the jar)
Olive Oil
Pecans
Walnuts

 If you can start with theses three steps, you will be making a major change in how you eat. If you are o Weight Watchers I am sure you can see how this attributes to the simply filling plan.  I recently cleaned out my cupboards and  made my entire house clean, my family is better for it.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

New Journey...

Yup, that is right 2012 marks  the beginning of a new journey for me. I have been successful on this journey for 538 days, about a year and a half. For the most part I have been researching and learning how to be who I wanted to be.  Now that I am sure, what direction I want to go in it feel amazing to have the tools to do what I want. The ticker on the side of the page brings me so much joy and I feel like I have a accomplished goal that I have been working for most of my adult life.

So I am not making any resolutions because they seem to fade. I have goals for this year that I will accomplish.    

1. Eat Clean- I am switching my family to clean eating. I have dabbled in it for 8 months and  I am switching to eating clean at least 95% of the time. I usually have 1 meal a week that is just a treat, so I will leave room for that. Eating clean will help me to get my body where I want to be. As far as muscle definition and will help my work outs really do what they are meant to do. The reality of this journey is that 80% of losing weight is your diet!!! I will be doing a few blogs on clean eating soon. If your on Weight Watchers a good way to switch to eating clean in to use the Simply Filling Plan.

2. I have joined the 2012 Golds Gym 12 week Challenge  and  plan to win it!!!! So look for more blogs on the challenge and my results. It starts Jan 4th  and ends March 28th!

3. I am running the Divas Half Marathon on May 20th in Myrtle Beach SC.

4. Keep Going, Keep Pushing, Work Harder!!!!!!  


4 fitness goal for 2012 seem like more than enough. I hope that this year I can help motivate you to keep going and if you have not started to start today!!!

Day 1 GET UP !!!!!!