Homecoming Workout Plan - Day 21 "The Pants II"

Homecoming Workout Plan - Day 15

Homecoming Workout Plan - Day 6 "The Pants"

Daily Weight Loss Tip and Homecoming Workoust Plan - Day 2

Need a Good Night's Sleep - Got Milk?

As we've already established, sleep is one of the easiest things you can do to aid in your weight loss. But with the extremely busy, stressful lives many of us lead, a good night's sleep can be as elusive as the rumored pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

While there are many sleep aids, many can become addictive and have unpleasant side effects. One of the most natural and cheapest sleep aids is a glass of warm milk. Milk helps promote better sleep and tastes pretty good to boot. Yes, the simple remedy your momma gave you as a child can still work for you as an adult.

Not realizing that her goal was to put me to bed quick, my mother used to give me warm milk and cookies at bed time just about every night. And yes - I slept like the baby I was. So if you want to sleep like a baby - drink up - 'cause that good night sleep could turn into a great day on the scale.

All African-American Women Could be Overweight by 2034

From Yahoo News:

If the trends of those years continue, the researchers estimate that 86 percent of American adults will be overweight by 2030, with an obesity rate of 51 percent. By 2048, all U.S. adults could be at least mildly overweight.

Weight problems will be most acute among African-Americans and Mexican- Americans, the study projects. All black women could be overweight by 2034, according to the researchers, as could more than 90 percent of Mexican-American men.

All of this rests on the "big assumption" that the trends of recent decades will march on unabated, Liang acknowledged.

"This is really intended as a wake-up call to show what could happen if nothing changes," she said.

Waistlines aren't the only thing poised to balloon in the future, according to Liang and her colleagues. They estimate that the healthcare costs directly related to excess pounds will double each decade, reaching $957 billion in 2030 -- accounting for one of every six healthcare dollars spent in the U.S.

America in general is fat, but Black America is even fatter. This something we MUST get under control. Some tips on making sure you don't continue to be a statistic:

1. 90 minutes a day. Scientifically that's what it takes to lose the weight and keep it off.
2. Water is your friend. Bump 8oz, try a liter. Water flushes all the impurities out of your system and prevents you from being bloated and fills you up. Often when people think they are hungry, they are really dehydrated.
3. Watch those portions. Portion control is an easy and effective way to get the weight off. I've lost 15lbs by drinking lots of water and reducing my portion sizes.

Diet Mondays: Portion Control -- It Works

One the easiest and least painful ways to get your diet started is to use portion control. So often, in much of diet literature, portion control is overlooked or not discussed seriously. Many “experts” claim that it’s too hard and the everyday individual is loathe to practice it because of its difficulty. The reality is portion control is quite easy and if you follow a few simple steps you can be on your way to a slimmer waistline:

1. Fix your plate the way you normally would. Pile the food on. Don’t worry about whether you’re putting too much on your plate, just follow your normal routine.

2. When you’re done take half the food off your plate and put in a container for later.

3. Eat the half you have left.

4. After you finish eating, wait 10 minutes and if you still feel hungry go and get the food that you put away and take half of that, put it on your plate and eat it.

5. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

Try it for a week. After the first couple of days you probably won’t even need that second helping and my guess is, by the end of the week, you may have lost a couple of pounds. Ultimately, portion control is about eating less food so you consume fewer calories. If you’re now eating half of what you normally eat then you’re consuming half the calories and pounds will begin to come off.

Obviously what you eat matters, but if you’re just starting a dieting regime and you feel overwhelmed with all of the health and fitness advice from the “experts” this is a simple way to get the ball rolling. Once you see those early results you will feel motivated to keep it going and make even bigger changes in your diet and lifestyle.

Adore The Skin You Are In

You live, you die
And spend the years in between asking the question
Why you've been through what you been
You lose, you win
You even pay for other sins
But you must always adore the skin you are in

A couple of weekends ago, I went out to a sports bar with a girlfriend. We were dressed to the nines as we planned to head out to a club afterwards to meet up with some folks for a birthday celebration. I was wearing a sassy skirt and a sleeveless top that dipped dangerously in the middle. When I weighed over 300lbs you wouldn't dare catch me in anything sleeveless. Even though my weight was pretty evenly distributed over my 5'9 frame, my arms were extremely large. I was disgusted by them so naturally everyone else would be. For most of my teens years into my twenties, I kept them under wraps.

Now that I have lost the weight, my arms still remain fairly large. Although it's been a while since I stopped covering them up, whenever I see pictures of myself, my eye still goes to my arms and how they appear in comparison to the rest of my body. I often try to pose to hide them.

On this particular night as we were finishing up dinner, a photographer came around taking picture for the restaurant website. I hate being photographed because I don't consider myself especially photogenic. Probably stems from the days I was super morbidly obese and was reminded of how I looked to other people every time I looked at a photo of myself. As the photographer started to take the picture, I unconsciously pulled my jacket up over my arms. He gave me a disapproving look until I removed it.

Afterwards, he sat down next to me and told me how beautiful I was and how women out there were paying thousands of dollars to get what I had. "Love what you got. Don't be ashamed of it or cover it up." I didn't get the sense he was trying to get his mack on. He was just telling it as he saw it. His words definitely gave me plenty of food for thought.

When I decided to have the surgery, my main goals were to be healthy and to truly be comfortable in my own skin. I wanted to like what I saw when I walked past the mirror. So many women, whether they are a size 2 or a 22, are not happy with themselves. If you're not happy with yourself, how can anyone else be happy with you or around you. I don't want that. I want to truly embrace and adore the skin I am in.

Do you? If not, what are you doing about it?

Trying to Lose/Maintain Your Weight? Be Active like the Amish.

We really do make losing weight harder than what it is. It really is as simple as burning more calories than you eat. The more active you are, the more weight you will lose and the easier it will be to maintain. From MSN:

University of Tennessee researchers studied the Amish community because the Amish, who use no electricity, are highly active in their daily lives. Amish men—many of whom are farmers—reported an average of 10 hours of vigorous work activity per week and, according to pedometers they wore, took an average of 18,425 steps per day. One man took more than 51,000 steps in a day by walking behind his horses in the fields. Women—who engaged in more moderate intensity activity such as gardening, cooking and childcare—tallied an average of 14,196 daily steps.

The researchers observed that the Amish diet is typically high in calories, fat and refined sugar foods such as meat, potatoes, gravy, eggs, vegetables, bread, pies and cakes. But only 4 percent of those surveyed were obese (compared to nearly 33 percent of modern adults) and only 26 percent were overweight (compared to around 65 percent of modern adults), as determined by their body mass index. This study suggests that the Amish were able to maintain healthier weights because they move so much.

Obsession, You're My Obsession....

Hey All!

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving weekend! I took some "me" time, got mani'd and pedi'd and the hair did, and got a few things done around the house for Christmas! Didn't do too bad on Turkey Day - managed to fry one up without burning down someone's house or having to roll someone around in the grass......

I really would like to be funny tonite (or today, depending on when you are reading this), and I had a couple of ideas on what I would write, but something happened just a few hours ago that has kind of shaken me up .

I put a question to Nona earlier this week about being obsessed with the whole weight loss thing. I admit, I dwell on this subject more than I should, almost to the point to where it takes over most of my conversations. Nona informed me that she rarely brings the subject up herself, and that she uses her blog to vent and rant about the struggle. Sooo...I'm gonna take her lead and do that tonite.

For the month of November, I have been in all or nothing mode. I think with the weigh in being right after the holiday and me not reaching some of the goals that I had set for myself had put me in a tailspin. All that I have been able to think about is those numbers on the scale, what I they say now and what I would like them to say by weigh in. I planned what I was going to eat until then, when my period came and how I was going to deal with the excess bloat and how I was going to handle Thanksgiving.

The week of the holiday, I was on a downward slide, so I figured if I upped my water, and ate only when I was hungry I could get a good jump in before the next Tuesday. My only big meal was lunch. On Thanksgiving, I would only have that one good meal. Plus walking every nite, no matter how cold.

Well, it worked. I would have my flavoured coffee w/cream and a few macadamia nuts, a good lunch or a nice meal around five (nothing big after 7p) drink my 64oz of water, then go and do my power walk. Last Monday I was at 222 - this morning I weighed in at 217. I haven't lost 5 lbs in a week since this whole thing started. And I admit, I felt great!! I finally had control over this thing.....

Control...remember this word, we will be coming back to it...

I took and extra vacation day to rest up from the weekend and get a few things done. I ran my mom to her doctor appointment, we did a little shopping and I started and completed a small painting project. I got ADHD, what can I say? Anyhoo, I looked up and realized that it was about 7:15 and I had not had any dinner or water. I had a small salad for lunch, and I was very hungry so I made some tuna salad and poured myself 20oz of water. By 7:45, I had eaten the salad and managed to drink all 64 oz of water. The water was no problem, it was the food that I was having trouble with. On Atkins, or any diet, you are advised to eat until satisfied, not stuffed. Because I was hungry, I was eating a bit more that I would have liked, but I noticed that I was trying to make do with two or three bites of food. I was equating the feeling of hunger and an empty stomach with the weight loss, when just the opposite is true. So I choked down a little more and finished off the rest of my allotted water.

Now, I usually go walking about an hour after my last meal. It was pretty late so I decided to do maybe a half hour on the stair stepper and call it good. That was before I got on the scale..

See, I am a scale junkie...I would say that I weigh myself 3-6 times a day. I use the scale to measure how much exercise, if any, that I would do that nite to either maintain my current weight or lose for the week. On a normal day of eating , if I weighed in before my walk, my weight would be up about 2 lbs.

When I weighed in tonite, the scale read 224 - seven pounds! I had a panic attack, my head literally swam. All that I could think about was how I blew it, how I shouldn't have eaten that damn tuna (never mind that a gallon of water probably weighs 5lbs) and how I am not going to make my goal for the weigh in tomorrow. Then I looked in the mirror and something happened that made me almost get sick.

I didn't like what I saw. You know how you look at circus mirrors and it's all distorted? That's how I looked. All that I could see was an old "before" image of me.

Well that did it - I bundled up and at 9:00 pm in 27 degree weather, I headed out for a four mile walk. Only, I didn't walk. I felt crazy, just really anxious and the walk didn't feel like it was doing any good. I still felt bloated, I felt bigger. So I started to run. Not jog, not fastwalk, but run - and run til I was out of breath. Then I would slow down, catch my breath and run some more. I probably was running two blocks and walking two blocks, something that I always wanted to be able to do at this point in my exercise training. And I tried to tell myself that I was finally getting to a new level, but I knew exactly what I was doing.

I was trying to control my body and get rid of this ugly feeling of failure that I had. A scale - an inanimate object - had me losing my mind. Look, I am far from being an anorexic, but I got a taste of what goes on and it scared me. I couldn't for the life of me figure out why it was so important to be at a certain weight or why I was being so competitive in the first place. Or why I was panicking.

So, I arrived home winded and confused, and immediately sat down and took a minute to count my blessings. My mom is in good health, my brothers are prosperous and have their right minds, I have great friends both here and in the blogosphere, I am gainfully employed and life overall is good and filled with God's blessings.

So why can't I get over the scale? I did weigh myself again - the running worked, down to 219. And I have told myself that I will be happy with whatever the scale says tomorrow - but I don't know if I believe that.....

Til next time.....

Oh! Shout out to Nona! Glad you are feeling better! And to Dia at Runchilde, congrats on your recent loss! You will be on that motorcycle in no time!

YOU CAN DO IT!!

A Dose of Hateration: Damn Those Men!

Why Men Lose Faster than Women

Men Have Faster Metabolisms
Men are biologically programmed to have higher amounts of lean body mass, or muscle, than women. Lean body mass is the key factor that determines the rate of one's metabolism, the body's calorie-burning system. Since men have more muscle, their metabolisms are higher, and they burn more calories even when they're resting, so the final result is a more rapid weight loss.

How much faster are men's metabolisms than women's? Research has found that on average the metabolism of a man is 5 to 10 percent higher than that of a woman of the same weight and height.¹

Men Are More Active
Another reason men often lose weight faster then women is that they tend to be more physically active. In fact, a study reported in the American Journal of Physiology found that women burn an average of 16 percent fewer daily calories than men.² The researchers looked into that difference, finding that the women's resting metabolic rate was 6 percent lower than that of men (e.g., a slower metabolism) and that the calories burned in physical activity was 37 percent lower than that of men. In other words, the women were simply not moving as much as the guys so were burning fewer calories.

This burns me up. I know it shouldn't. But I'm sure if you've ever dieted with a male friend or significant other and watched while he gets all svelte and sexy and you still look like a chunky monkey you know how I feel.

This is why there will never be a female Biggest Loser. I just don't think it's possible with men burning off more calories at a faster rate. I'm convinced that as long as the game is played the way it is it's just not going to happen.

This particular article doesn't mention it but others do that because women are the birthing ones of the species we keep a higher percentage of body fat which also makes it difficult for us to lose weight. ARRRRGH, I say.

But the more active thing we can work on. Even if men aren't athletes they still get out there and play ball or something physical in nature. Women aren't so inclined to do that. We sit around and talk..lol. And if you're like me and my friends, there is usually some food involved. LOL. So yeah...we gotta take responsibility for what we can.

To read the rest of the article click on Why Men Lose Faster than Women under 'Articles' in the sidebar.

Happy dance, y'all!

225.6!!!!!

Hello Lovely People!!

Gotta run to another hiking expedition, so this will be short....Weighed in Friday at 227.6 for a contest loss of 7.9 pounds for the month - yay!

Wanted to keep the momentum going, so I tried faster walking/slow jogging for a few blocks of my nightly walk.

Got on the scale this morning, and danced all thru the house!! 19.2 lbs. lost so far!!! Maybe I will make my goal after all!

Talk at ya later!!

OH! And a big welcome to Nona from England! Can't wait to hear from the other side of the pond!

Setting Weight Loss Goals

A while back Tracy talked about setting goals if you're serious about losing weight. Well, I agreed whole heartedly....and then didn't do anything about it. Namely setting my own goals. Conventional wisdom tells us that those people who set and implement their goals are the most successful at whatever it is they are trying to accomplish. It's a way of holding yourself accountable and gives you a visual representation of where you are and where you need to be.

I NEVER set goals. At least not enough to take the time to write them down and say, "Okay. This is what I want to do and this is how I plan on getting there." And maybe that's why I never (or rarely) end up where I want to be in the time I want to be there in.

Well, today is a new day. And I'm no longer waiting.

My Weight Loss Plan

Current Weight: 161 pounds (Publix scale. It doesn't lie)

Goal: To be 140 pounds

Start Date: Already Started

End Date: By December 31. Trying to look good for that New Years Bash! And for a lifetime. This time I'm keeping it off!

How: A combination of diet and exercise mainly focusing on fiber intake and ratcheting up the cardio via wogging, stair master, walking on treadmill and soon dancing.

Plan: I don't do well with diets. I've got authority issues and don't like being told what to do even if it's passively from a diet book. But I recognize that I HAVE to change my eating habits and adjust my workouts for my body type if I'm going to succeed. And as I've mentioned before, I like ice cream too much and most diets don't allow it.

So because of my ice cream desires and my authority issues I've decided to focus on something that I can do....and that's focus on my fiber intake. Americans get about 7 - 15 grams of fiber a day and if you're a woman you need about 25 - 30 grams of fiber to keep the system moving.

Studies have also shown that eating fiber keeps the weight off AND helps you to lose the weight. I figure if I focus on my fiber intake then the rest will take care of itself. 80% of weight loss is diet anyways.

As far as exercise goes I have generally been good about that but I have to tailor my work outs to my body type (more on that later) and that's been my big issue.


So that's it. My Great Weight Loss Plan. I'll update weekly with weekly weigh ins, food diaries and dress size changes. If I'm encouraging everyone else to get on the ride then I need to make sure I'm hopping on the ride as well. And a weigh we go!

Today is a new day. What are you waiting for?

If nothing that I have said so far has persuaded you....

Where the hell are we?

The Gang! Ken, Me, Michele, Cynthia, and Little Lizzie!

...to change your lifestyle and get healthy and fit.....please read on!!

Hi All!

I have been really happy lately, just really, really happy. Dunno if it is the exercise or the vitamins or what, but I have just been elated. OH!! I know why! It happened last Friday....

I was getting some lunch. It had been a long week and I decided that I would treat myself to some pizza - crustless of course! (God, I love this diet!!) So I placed my order and sat on a bench in the foyer to wait.

Now, let me set the scene for you. Here I was, little ol me, in my cute Jones New York slinky top, my boot cut slim pants, and my brand new wig (yes I unapologetically wear wigs! You got a problem with that, you are more than welcome to come over and do my hair every morning!)

In short, I was looking F - I - N - E fine! To me anyways....Anyhoo, there was this guy in the buffet line probably 30 feet from me. Tall, cowboy lookin guy, wavy hair, nice butt - and he kept looking over at me! ME! It was like, get some pizza, look at me, get some salad, look at me, get some cheesy bread, you get the idea....

Now I am a stickler for eye contact and smiling and saying 'hello'. I don't trust anyone that cannot return your gaze, especially when speaking to you. When you are a big girl tho, eye contact from another male can be rare. Sometimes you get the quick look away, or the look over your head thing, or the look scared and run in the other direction. Ladies, any man that would do any of these things is not worth the precious breath that you are wasting on them.......MOOOVE OOON!

Oh, back to the story...so anyway, dude was looking at me, and I smiled and said "Hi! How are ya?" and dude KEPT EYE CONTACT, KEPT SMILING and said "Good, how are you?"

I said "Fine" and he said, get this, he said "Yes ya are"! Just like that, country twang and all!

Then he went and probably joined his wife for lunch......but that one moment made me feel so wonderful!!!

And it happened a couple more times this weekend! Eye contact, little conversation, no ones running away.......Dang, I must be getting good looking!

Every one says that they can see the loss in my face....which I thought was a nice way of saying "....but your butt is still massive..." but..I am starting to see and feel different, better, more energetic. Every morning is like Christmas....wait, barf, change that.....Every morning is exciting because of the subtle changes that I am going thru.

Weigh in is this Friday and so far I am at 228. I am a qualified size 20 and an and 18 in elastic.

My body and the scale are doing two opposite things, so I have come to a decision. The first weigh in showed our team with a total loss of 37 pounds. The number one team had a loss of 90 pounds. So I don't think that we are going to win this one. But my team is not giving up the fight for fitness!

In my obsessive battle with the scale, and because of a slight injury, I decided to drop the weight training, thinking it was the training that was keeping my weight from dropping. (Sorry, Grant)

Well, I am starting weights up again, along with my powerwalking and my new sport, hiking. In the end, its only numbers on a scale. And those numbers are the only thing blocking the total picture - my health. So, no more jumping on the scale until it says what I think it should say, no more fretting over hormonal/water retention bouts, no more weighing up to 10 times a day!

I will continue my diet and exercise plan, and let my body do it's thing the way it wants to. Make Peace and Mooooove On!!

Well gotta get some of my fabby new clothes out for work tomorrow! Life is really fun!! Oh, and the pics are of a hiking trip that my team went on a couple weeks ago - four miles in the woods! We had a great time!!

Til next time.....YOU CAN DO IT!

Socio-economic Reasons Behind Obesity and Responses From Readers

Alternet.org has an interesting take on the obesity epidemic in the U.S. They look at it from a genetic, body image, socio-economic and class perspective. While I don't know if I agree with the body image take and study after study has shown that genetics play a limited role in obesity/overweight issues, the socio-economic/class issues really hit home.

Just from personal experience it can be very expensive to eat healthily. If you're poor or on a fixed income you just don't have the money to shop at Whole Foods. And fresh fruits and vegetables as well as lean meats are EXPENSIVE. Here is a bit of the article:

It's not as if we don't have the evidence that these factors -- culture, class, education, genetics -- matter. Yet another study just came out by University of Washington researchers who found gaping disparities in obesity rates among ZIP codes in the Seattle area. Every $100,000 in median home value for a ZIP code corresponded with a 2 percent drop in obesity.

Adam Drewnowski, director of the UW Center for Obesity Research, told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer,"If you have this mind-set that obesity has to do with the individual alone, then ZIP codes or areas really should not come into this. But they do, big-time."

This is not to say that individual behavior doesn't play a vital role in our country's obesity rate, but we too often neglect to think about the cultural and institutional influences on a person's behavior when it comes to eating and exercise.

You would never look at a working class, single mother driving a jalopy with three kids crawling around in the back and say, "Gees, what's her problem? Why can't she drive the Lexus hybrid like me?" You understand that she doesn't have the means, and furthermore, probably doesn't have the peer influence that would make it seem like a viable option.

In the comments section of the article a working mom comments about the class aspect of weight loss and healthy eating:

Most interesting, this article. I am a working-class single mother
who, until very recently, worked two jobs, six days a week, and
could only squeeze in one weekend afternoon (after work) a
swim at my local "Y". I worked out for three years, and made
much progress on my physique, but also note that without a
car, I was not able to work out more often.
Two years ago, I was suddenly diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer, had to move to a smaller residence (where I now live
alone, my kids are now grown), and cope with my new illness
as best as I could living on S.S.I.
What I've discovered that compared to my previous working life, I now had time to focus on physical health, learn to be
able to pamper myself, and eat healthier than I used to.
What I've also discovered is it takes a lot of work to eat
healthier, as I've noted, you can't keep a head of lettuce
(or any produce, for that matter) for a week in your fridge.
In order to be able to just keep up a regimen of healthy eating, you have to shop several times a week to keep
fresh fruits and vegetables available for most every meal.
There is no way on God's earth with the kind of grueling
schedule I used to keep that I could have the luxury of
sashaying off to my local health food produce store to
keep fresh food on hand as I can now that I no longer am
working.

Other readers make an excellent point that the article actually misses and that's the role of Big Food, Big Agriculture and Big Government play in the obesity issues that face the US:

However, what is missing here is some discussion of the effects of industrial farming practices on the nutritional content/value of the food we buy and eat every day. And the preservation of the integrity of the soil. [This is not the place for organics-fans, vegetarians and vegans to insert a statement of how clever they are to buy organic: this problem is much bigger than your adorable little consumer habits. Call me hostile, but it would be a real break if the solipsists could just peek above their personal horizons for a brief moment to look at the bigger picture.]

We cannot continue to extract our food by the brutal forces we apply in crop farming, animal farming, food marketing, artificial this and Bt that, terminator seeds a third, and still expect to preserve the integrity of our food and our environment. It's gradually becoming clearer to the brighter lights among us that despite the vast amounts of food consumed by many here in the West, that people are actually still hungry, that no amount of this nutritionally empty industrially produced food laced with hunger-generating hormones will satisfy.

And another

...check out the labels on some common foods and condiments (ketchup, worcestershire sauce, etc.). these days it is difficult to find a prepared food that does not include the ingredient "high fructose corn syrup". this is not a naturally occurring additive - it is highly processed and has no nutritional value. in fact, it is very likely a health hazard. even bread products now have this as one of the main ingredients. i challenge you to look at the list of ingredients next time you go to buy bread. asking people to give up carbohydrates entirely is absurd, but even food that is not considered "carb" contains this ingredient. it is entirely for the profit of the manufacturers that this is in our diet, and its inclusion probably contributes to the problem of weight with which many of us struggle. obesity in america has many underlying causes. let's not forget that seemingly innocent foods can be as much a part of that as the trend over the past several years to make servings at restaurants and take-away food merchants enormous. some responsibility has to be laid at the feet of the purveyors.

I think what the article and the comments show is that the obesity issue in this country is no where near as simple as "Just take personal responsibility for your behavior and choices." While that is a part of it there are also a lot of entities working to make SURE you overeat. I think you have to look at the whole picture and understand ALL the FACTORS involved regarding weight and food in America to best devise a strategy to lose the weight and live a healthier life.

To read the rest of How to Address Obesity in a Fat-Phobic Society click on the link in the sidebar under "Articles." Be sure to read the comments as well.

Practical Guide to Getting 90 Minutes of Exercise a Day

This was posted at the bottom of the previous blog but I thought it was important enough to warrant its own post.

Tips to Getting 90 Minutes of Exercise A Day

1. Take the stairs. Stairs burn lots of calories. Instead of taking the elevator, hop on the stairs. Yes, even if you're on the sixth floor. The higher the better.

2. Park far away. You'll be amazed at how much walking you do when you don't park near the building you're trying to enter.

3. Take a page from Tracy's book and work out on your lunch hour (or half hour). A brisk walk or weight work out will contribute to the 90 minutes you need to make each day.

4. Get up early and walk, run or go to the gym. If you just don't have the time during the day to work out, get up early and make it happen. Yes I recognize that could mean 4 or 5 in the morning for some of you, but hey if you treat exercise like you do work then it shouldn't be a problem.

5. Go for a walk after dinner. It's simple yet effective.

Well...Since We're Putting Up Pictures...

This is the BEFORE me. I'm 157 - 161 pounds give or take a pint of ice cream or two. My goal is to be 140 pounds by the end of the year. Dec. 31 to be eact, so I can spend my New Years celebrating the fact that I lost 20 pounds (25 pounds in all I was 165 when I started on this weight loss journey).

I had to put up a hot pic. Couldn't let Tracy outdo me. LOL.

Week two - I will survive!

Hi All!

Sorry about the gap between postings, been a busy week for Ms. Tracy. Here is my "before" pic of me at 244!

Well, second week has gone by. Didn't lose any pounds this week. :( But..... I have gone from a size 26 to a 22! I know this because when I weighed in Sunday morning and didn't see the loss on the scale, I immediately went to the "Archives". Now, ladies, everyone has an archive closet. This is the closet full of clothes that don't fit you anymore, but you don't get rid of them because:

A: You paid too much for them - "This suit cost $400.00! I'll be DAMNED if I get rid of this!"

- or -

B: You paid too little for them -"Get rid of the Anne Klein Plus dress that I got on the clearance rack for $3?!?! Oh hell naw....."

So....I spent a better part of the morning trying on clothes that I had long since forgotten about...and all of the 22's fit!! YAY! And you know what the best part is? Most of the stuff was the wide legged pants with wide waistband and the short cropped jackets! THE STUFF THAT IS IN STYLE FOR THIS FALL!! I'm set !!

.....Of course, I have to have some new shoes and a new look to go with all the clothes that I can get into now, so to soothe my battered ego over the scale (evil! evil scale!) I went out and bought me some eff-me black four inch pumps. And I colored my hair red, well copper. My mom says I look like a hooker, but I feel like a million.

(Speaking of my mother, who is as big of a stitch than I am, she capped on me the other day. Showed me an article on Krispi Kreme going into bankruptcy and said "See what happens when you go on a diet?" Ah hahaha Mom! You're so funny. Looking for your nursing home is going to be a riot!!)

I have been in this weight loss game long enough to know about the body changes, plateaus, muscle weight gain, bla bla. But I have to get at least 8 more pounds off by weigh in on the 21st to reach my goal. ITS CRUNCH TIME! I will admit, last week wasn't a great week for exercise for me....It rained a few nights and I could not do my 7 mile walk and I did skip a few lunchtime walks. Oh yeah and Friday I kinda went overboard on the smoked almonds and the low carb pizza....but that is behind me! Gotta MOOOVE ON!

So, today I joined the local weight training club. This has the basic weights and a couple of treadmills. I also invested in a mini stair stepper to keep at home. I call it my mini heart attack waiting to happen- this thing is so haarrd! I can barely do 10 minutes on it without collapsing in a pool of sweat - but I will persevere! I will admit, this is a lot harder than it used to be...I'm starting to believe all that crap about what happens to you after 40!

So while I am struggling with my goal for the month, I thought I would go into detail about the diet that my doctor and I have chosen. I am following the Atkins low carb diet for two reasons:

1. I am a type 2 diabetic with normal cholesterol and blood pressure- I can control my blood sugar with diet and exercise. Under my doctor's supervision, I have not taken my medicine since I started the diet and tracked my blood sugar levels daily. My blood sugar levels have been normal.

2. Cannot do the leaf and twig thing. Sorry, no butter, no meat, no Tracy. Yes, I have to give up my precious Mountain Dew (I was up to six a day) and Snickers bars (ditto) and my mocha carmel whipped cream infused extra tall coffee (I am crying right now) , but I can have fish, steak, chicken, pork and a great assortment of veggies and salads to go with them. I have even altered a chocolate soy milk to taste as good (well, not as good) as my coffee.

See, this is a life style change, not just a diet and I have chosen the change that I can live with. I want to expound on two things before I go on. You must, must, before starting any diet, see your doctor! Get a checkup, get some tests done, find out what is right for your body type. And ask questions - it's your body, it's your life! And please don't let not having insurance stop you from getting health care for yourself - surf the Internet, call around locally, there are places that charge by your income or not at all! In my time of need, I found a few!

The second thing is this: Get your pens and paper out- ALL DIETS WORK! Yep all of em! Low fat? Sure! Low Carb? Uh Huh! Veggies only? Go for it! Pick the one that you can live with, stick with it and moooove on!

So anyhoo, I chose Atkins because it makes me cut way down on sugars, starches and carbs while letting me enjoy - in moderation - protein rich foods. Contrary to popular belief, you do not just eat fatty meat all day, you have to eat your veggies , you have to eat dairy and salad greens to balance it all out.

But the main reason that I chose Atkins is the Scientific part.....by getting rid of the carbs, your body has to turn to its own fat stores for energy. So, when you move, breathe, exercise, you are burning fat! That is how I went down two sizes! There is also this test that you do with ketone strips to see if your body is in fat burning mode! You pee on the strips and if the strip is purple, you are burning fat for energy! These, plus the scale, have a down side for us obsessive, compulsives tho... more on that another time.

If you would like more info on the Atkin's diet - go get the book! Read it from cover to cover because there is alot more to this than what I have written here!

Well, tonite was the first night of my workouts with the weights and my muscles are rebelling, so till next time!

You can do it!! So can I! Just not right now.....

Oh wait! I almost forgot!! So far, my team has lost of total of 27 lbs! Go Team!

And I would like to give a shout out to Dia at Runchilde - her blog should be called RunLiftWeightsandSweatchilde, cuz sista is doin it all!! And managing to blog everyday! Girl ya making me look bad! Anyhoo, congrats on your weight loss too!

Til next time! YOU CAN ZZZZZZzzzzzz....

A Little Backtracking....

BUT FIRST...MY FIRST UPDATE!!

Hi All!

Hope you had a wonderful 3 day weekend! I did!! In case you are just tuning into this blog (and too lazy to scroll down to my other posts) , my name is Tracy (hi!) and I have joined a weight loss contest that started in August and ends in January 2008!

In addition to a big moola payout for the winners, I am also trying to lose weight for my health, my personal well being, and to make all of my thinner girlfriends hate themselves...I was always the prettiest one anyways....

So anyhoo..here is the big update!! On August 24th, I weighed in at 244.8 lbs. This Sunday, September 2nd, I weighed in at......237.8!!! I LOST 7 LBS!! WOO HOO! LETS CELEBRATE! MEET YA AT PIZZA HUT AND....oh wait....never mind...

So, I have been on cloud nine because I reached my goal for the week! My goal was to break 240 in a safe way (no starving, no over, over exertion) and I DID IT!!

You know what? I am so vain, it's all about me, me, me! Let me tell you how my team is doing also! Ken, the only guy in our team , our company's I T Manager, and the sole reason my pics aren't on the blog yet (hurry up, man!) has lost 4 pounds so far, and that was Wednesday! Everyone else is scared of the scale and will not weigh themselves until the next contest weigh in on Sept 21st. But, from what I see they all look great! I want to say "GO TEAM" and don't worry, I will not be posting your weights on this blog! Not this one anyway....

OK, now that the update is over, I want to the backtracking. I kinda got ahead of myself with the posts and wanted to go over a very important part of starting any weight loss program or really anything that is going to be life altering. A pastor once told me that before you start anything, any project - you have to have a plan. And you have to write that plan down, not only to look at it and see where you are, but also to see how far you have come. See ladies, too many times we start something wonderful and we are all gung ho for a couple of days, maybe weeks, some of you a couple of hours, then we lose sight, get discouraged and give up. Then we are back to.....you guessed it, the Lane Bryant girdle section.

But if you take a moment to plan your strategy, and write down the how, when and wheres of it all, you have a bit more clarity . You may even have to alter your plan a few times as you progress with your project, but always focus on your goal. Oh, yes, have a goal!

Sooo, since I am using this blog as my personal memoir of the weight loss battle, I have decided to share my plan of action with you all! Feel free to use mine as a skeleton for your own plan journal !

The Objective: Starting on August 24th, and ending January 4th, 2008, I will be participating in a weight loss contest with four other team members. Our objective is to safely lose as much weight as possible in that time period. (Actually , our objective is to win the cash by any means necessary, liposuction included, but that doesn't look pretty on paper).

My Personal Goal: To be under 200 lbs by the end of the contest (and not 199 and 3/8ths either - substantially under 200 lbs!). I then plan to win the contest and collect enuf dough to go over to Europe and get me one of them men that are on the AfroMatch dating sites! Gotta brush up on my German....

How I plan to meet my Goal: After checking with my doctor, I have decided to follow the Atkins diet. I will follow the diet to the letter, no cheating!

I am also adding exercise to this plan. I will exercise a minimum of 30 min. a day, maximum 1 1/2 hours a day. I will walk or exercise at work on my lunch break at least 3 times a week, for 30 minutes. I will walk my extended route at home 4 times a week and swim two times a week, leaving one day to bitch and moan ... I mean to give my muscles a rest, yeah..

Ongoing projections: My ongoing weight loss goal is 160 lbs. I will continue to follow the Atkins diet and exercise plan already listed, adding weight training with a sexy male trainer towards the end of my goal.

How much will this cost? Groceries for my diet plan will run aprox. $50 a week. The membership to swim at the Y is $35 for the Fall season and walking is free!! Wait, no it isn't...pepper spray is $10, bug repellent is $5, cute new tennies are $45 on sale...yeah that should do it...

My next weight loss goal is:________________________

The last entry I leave blank. My first goal was to break 240, I did that. So, my next goal is to lose a minimum of 15 lbs total by the 21st weigh in. If I lose more, great. I CAN DO IT!

A lot of well meaning folks like to remind me that the best weight loss is slow - you shouldn't lose more than 1-2 pounds per week. They also tell me that it is unrealistic to try to lose 15-20 lbs in a months time..... wellllllll...

Excuse me, but if you hadn't noticed, I'm a Black Woman. You know me....

I'm the ninety year old church mother who gets up at dawn on Saturday morning, cleans, cooks, packages and sells 100 chicken dinners before 2pm so the church lights won't get turned off(church men, you got to step up!)

I'm the crack addict that everyone wrote off, that picked herself up, got an education and is now a successful lawyer (love ya Cookie!)

I'm the single mother that feeds her kids, pays the bills and manages to get her some Revlon from a paycheck of mostly thin air...(love you Mom!)

I'm that nerdy girl that you made fun of cuz she couldn't dance and always did her homework - now you are asking her for a job!

Where and when I enter I carry the entire Black race with me...(That's Paula Giddings, y'all, every Black woman should have that book!)

So.....when you tell me about expectations and reality....I have surpassed normal expectations and made my own reality all my life, this will be no exception. Again, I will do it safely, and I will except any stumbling blocks as a learning process. So nyah!

OK! Q&A time!!

This time, I have a question for anyone that can answer! I am trying to lose as much weight as possible before this contest ends. Right now, I am walking about 7 miles four times a week and swimming about 40 laps 2 times a week. Should I add weight training? or should I wait until after the contest, since weight training builds muscle. Will this add a substantial amount of weight? Thanks to all in advance on this subject.

Well, ladies, time for me to head out, labor day weekend is over. Next post will catch up on Atkins, why all diets work, and why white women are thin and black women are not...

Stay tuned! Stay motivated! YOU CAN DO IT!!

Tracy

Magical Mystery Weight Loss Tour!! C'mon along!

Hello All!!

First, I would like to thank Miz T.S. for allowing me to use her wonderful blog!! Sisters helping sisters, that's the way it should be!!

Second, please allow me to introduce myself! My name is Tracy, and I have decided to take that big step....again...but this time I'm serious...again. I am a 41 year old, single professional woman who loves life and all it has to offer, especially in the Chinese buffet line. I have decided to lose the extra poundage and take control of my health. After so many years of being a "thick" sista, I am ready to shed this extra weight and do things that I have not done in years....

like look down and see my feet....
go braless without getting arrested and/or scaring small children...
walk thru the junior section in department stores and not be accused of shoplifting....
go up a flight of stairs without having 911 on my cellphone speedial....
date a man with a job....(you would not believe how many no ambition-having jerks there are out there!!) (Oh wait, if you are linking from Evia's blog, yes you do!)

So anywho, I want to lose this weight and I started looking for the proper motivation to get this thing kickstarted. See, I have reverse bulimia. When normal bulimics look in the mirror, they see an overweight person, a distorted view of what they really are.

When I look in the mirror, especially after the nails are polished, makeup applied, and the hair is "did", I think that I am the most gorgeous, sexiest thing to put on a pair of draws! When I figure out how to post pictures on this thing, I'm sure that you will agree with me...

Yep, I look great, until I see the family reunion or work outing photos....then I am screaming at some poor innocent soul ("You need to quit playing with Photoshop!! My ass is not that big!")for showing me the truth. Unfortunately, the pics were not motivation enough. Neither was growing out of my clothes. I love shopping, so I just bought bigger sizes (damn you Lane Bryant!). Not even getting diabetes last year phased me. I take pills to control my sugar and I manage to keep it pretty level. But diabetes is a silent killer, and the more I play around with it, the more I am shortening my life span. So I had to find something that was going to make me go for it and stick to it!

Well, just my luck, our local hospital has a yearly weight loss contest. Participants form a team of five, pay and entry fee and weigh in. You have a total of five months to lose weight and the team that loses the most weight wins the entry fee money from all of the teams! Last year, the prize money of $10,000.00 was split between two teams - that's $5000.00 a team, $1000.00 a team member. This year the pot is even bigger.

Hmmmm....cash. All of a sudden, I feel like jogging! Eating is sooo overrated!! I e-mailed the idea to some folks at work, thinking that I would have to beg to get four more team members. Turns out that everyone loved the idea (they are greedy too!) and we ended up with four teams!
To make it fair, we drew names to form our teams! I tell ya, that day all of the fat folks in the office were feeling the love! Every one wanted to pull the big butts, because we can lose the most weight. People were praying to get us! This made up for prom night for most of us!

Alas, luck was on my side that day. Along with myself weighing in at 244 and 1/2 of a 1/4 lbs, I pulled most of the pleasantly plump (read: big, fat) members! Our team name? Tons of Fun!
We officially weighed in on Friday, and now we are all rarin' to go!! I am so blessed to be with a team of people that are so fun and motivated..We are gonna do it guys!!! WOOHOO!

So, I would like to share this journey to fitness with all of you!! We are going to have a great time together !! In addition to reading about how I almost killed someone for bringing donuts in on the day of the contest, I will be sharing diet tips ( I chose Atkins ), fabulous recipes, inspirational stories, and, on some days I will be telling you just how much dieting and exercising can suck!

But I will always tell you, as I tell myself and my team members, not to give up. Keep going, people succeed at this all the time. Let's for once be the "after"s in this weight loss game.

Please note: I am this blog's cheerleader! Your happiness counselor! I will do my best to keep you motivated and full of hope for the days to come! THERE WILL BE NO CRYING ON THIS BLOG!! Darlings, I have been to several of these wonderful sites for black women - bravo to all of you! But ladies...gyaad!...I kinda think some of us like suffering and crying! Every overweight woman, especially black women, has some issue to deal with. Well, here, we are going to deal with it and MOOOOOVE ON!

Had a bad relationship? Forgive that insensitive jerk, forgive the stank that had his baby and MOOOOVE ON!

Daddy issues? Go to him, tell him you forgive him and love him and WORK THAT GUILT THANG!! (you laffing, but I haven't paid my own car payment in two years! Hi Dad!)

Another thing ladies....Miz T has made a really great blog /forum for us. It amazes me when I go to other sites and read their posts and comments. One negative comment will generate fifty thousand comments, complete with death threats and more than a few "yo mama"s.
But come to a site that has, oh, something that might help you deal with life's daily stresses and what do we get?

"0 comments"

or one comment that's like:
"Hi ! Nice site! Um, do you have a link to the "We Hate BlackMen" posts?"

Now, come on y'all!!! Show some love! If you like this post, tell a friend, then they will tell two friends, and so on and so on....

So if you liked this post, and TS's post, please come and join me on my five month journey to some serious cash......I mean to fitness.....nah hell with it, I meant cash....

I will try to blog at least two times a week with my progress, and my "before" pics are coming soon! Glad to know all of you! I CAN DO IT!! YOU CAN TOO!!

Tracy