I've been Setback!!!

Eating right and working out is hard. Eating right and working out is hard when you have a tight schedule. Eating right and working out is hard when you have a tight schedule, are lacking sleep and just down right down feel like it. What’s harder is feeling like you fell off and have no way to return; when you feel like you’ve failed. (Sigh)
This weekend I had a photo shoot with my favorite photographer and my Radio Show Co-Host (Speak on That coming soon to blogtalkradio.com). We chose red dresses for one look; RED is my favorite color! I bought this dress two months ago and let me tell you, I look HOT in it!!

As I slid the dress on and zipped it up, I found out that I had gained weight in EVERYONE’S favorite spot . . . yes, the midsection, the belly, the dreaded abdominal devil had expanded just enough to make me say, “AW MAN” and at that point, I hated my favorite red dress. I didn't even NEED a spanx or ANYTHING to hold it in just TWO months ago. Now I’m thinking, “I’m here, I don’t have a back up red dress, WTH do I do?” I go for the suck in and PRAY that it doesn’t look that bad in the pictures. Do you know what happens when you suck it in? You look stiff and fake and scared and like you’re not breathing . . . makes it hard to look natural in pictures; my advice, don’t do it, no matter how good you think you look, it just makes you look like . . . uh, you’re sucking it in. (Sigh)

So now, I’m sitting here evaluating what did I do wrong? I’m drinking my water, I’m going Zumba crazy, eating good food, eating often . . . wait, how much did I eat? My new beau is a chef and has been making the best meals. Only one problem, he doesn’t know how NOT to fix me a huge plate of food and I’m bad at saying, “I’ve had enough” especially when it’s so good. And yes, I, even I have slacked on the weight training because of a tremendously busy schedule. Key Key, you’ve got to make a choice honey. I’ll admit, I went on scolding myself and then gave myself the “yo, snap out of it” look in the mirror. This is a minor setback that I can come back from. I just have to reorganize my schedule and tell some people and things, “No, can’t do it. I’m busy taking care of myself.” My schedule is already packed pretty tight (actually it’s being held hostage by my full time 9 to 5, but let’s not go there). Last summer, I was weight training on my lunch hour and doing cardio at home. That’s not hard is it? Nope, it just means going back to being diligent and going to the gym the same way I come to work every morning (I love seeing nice, hunky men sweating and grunting . . . oh, sorry, sometimes that is the extra motivation).

Let me just say, I want to beat myself up so badly and say to hell with it all but then I remember how good I feel now compared to how I used to feel. I admittedly think about the people I know that say to me, “I wish I could look like you” and I really want people to keep saying that. I like going into a store and being able to fit a regular size and even more than that, I think of how I’ve lowered my risk for a myriad of diseases that plague my family like Type II Diabetes, High Cholesterol, High Blood Pressure, Gout, Migraines due to poor food choices, increased adult acne, chronic fatigue, joint problems because of weight, asthma, and on and on . . . That’s when I remember that it’s just a minor setback. We can come back. SO . . . if you didn’t do so well on the food challenge the past two weeks, let’s try again. This time, You may eat food outside of your house on the weekends (except fast food) but TRY really hard to be sure you fill up the food chart, eating vegetables and fruit. AND DON’T FORGET THAT WATER!!!

The next installment will be “What you don’t know about food.” You’d be surprised at how some foods we eat are marked as “Healthy” but some of them turn out to be the culprits in our diet. One that you’ve probably had recently: Cereal. I know, I’m getting ready to ruin your life over cereal but trust me on this one.

Keyona
#PixieDustPotent

This Time, I WIN!!!

Today's assignment is to write a letter or poem to the food that keeps you falling off the wagon. Here's mine, I hope you enjoy!

Reese cup, WTF?!
You know you do me wrong
I can’t eat just one
And then, I’m jacked and farting all day long

Chocolate Cake
Ah, you certainly complete a date
Just to have you, warm and properly dressed on my plate
Even before I’d ate . . .
How about a every night, about 8?

Hamburgers with multiple slices of cheese
See how you do me?
All sauced up and greased
With fries on the side, always ready to please

You three were once staples in my diet
But now, don’t even try it
I’ll succumb to you only once in a while
But fat on my butt, stomach and thighs
You shall no longer pile

I love this beautiful frame
It makes my man bow and praise
So I’ll resist you day by day
Come on dammit, bring it, this time, I win this game!!

2 week Food Challenge

Okay, here we go.  The hardest part of losing weight I found is not the exercising.  We can burn calories taking a walk, playing with the kids, jumping up and down, or going Salsa dancing (like me and my girls did - whew that was fun and sweaty!).  The most difficult thing to get a hold of is the food we put in our mouths.  Hold on to your hats, I'm getting ready to give you a lot of information and homework but don't worry, just refer back to the blog or shoot me a message.  What I really want to do is make sure we're making life changes that are actually maintainable.  This is not going to be rocket surgery, I promise.  I mean, I can't tell you to eat bean sprouts or drink shakes for the rest of your life, can I?  HECK NAW!!! That's how most of us end up regaining any weight we lost. (In your best cheerleader voice) Ready?!?! OKAY!!!!!

The food challenge for the next two weeks is . . . to only eat food prepared at home.   Why?  Well, when we go out, we cannot control the amount of salt, sugar, butter, sauce, or preservatives in the food and typically, we eat more than we're supposed to.  I know I do; I leave restaurants feeling like WHOA, roll me outta here!!  On the weekend, you may eat out EXCEPT fast food! I don't want you touching french fries or any burger from YOU KNOW WHERE! I ain't naming no names but you know exactly where I'm talking about, your favorite last minute stop shall no longer be your favorite stop.  For those of us who have someone that likes treat us to a meal or two, please go ahead and order the steak, the Tilapia, the salmon, hell go for the lobster and tell your date that it is a part of your healthy eating plan.  I mean, if you really want the salad, eat it but I don't anyone going hungry.  You'll never survive if you're hungry.  That's easy right.  Uh, but wait, there's more AND you get to choose a cheat day.  This is a principal that was confirmed by my dear friend, fellow singer and vocal coach Eric Arceneaux - http://www.youtube.com/user/EricRCNOmusic. His tactics might be a little radical to follow, but if you're game, I mean, the proof is in the pecs!! I mean, pics :-)

You have two homework assignments.

Food Chart
Food diaries work, yes they do but most of us don't have time to jot down EVERYTHING we ate.  We're going to have colored coded food charts.  Every time you eat a fruit or vegetable of that color during the day, put one X in the box but leave room in the box just in case you eat more items of that color on that day.  The goal is to get at least 5 X's each day.  Yes, this is a trick to get you to eat at least 5 fruits and/or vegetables a day. 

This is the fruit and vegetable chart.  I am NOT against eating meat; I once was vegan but had to put meat back in my diet and I allow a few dairy products here and there (but OH that is SO dangerous for the ozone layer!!) So please eat some meat - steak, Salmon, Croaker, crab (real crab meat), chicken, lamb, turkey - EAT IT!  We don't lose weight because we don't eat enough good food, so please, don't starve . . . eat my dear.  Let's get some squash, mango, zucchini, eggplant, blueberries, raspberries, apples (ooh, I love apples), pears (did you know they had red pears? I love those too), oranges, pineapple.  Be careful with the pineapples and bananas, they have lots of natural sugar so if you're following through on the water, you'll be quite sugary sweet :-)




Hmm, I should make this a little more difficult though . . . and I will, no rice or potatoes until you've had three vegetables for the day.  Uh huh, I said it!  These are starches that your body processes as sugar and ends up in that lovely spare tire around our waists.  :-) Thank me later. 

The second challenge is to come up with a workout schedule for the next two weeks.  It should include 40 minutes of cardio at least four times a week and 30 minutes of strength training two/three times a week.  The strength training can be lifting weights or things like lunges, push ups, tricep dips, squats, yoga even!.  We all have busy schedules so you have to plan it.  Let me know what you came up with for the next two weeks and how you're doing with the food and water challenge.  Its not going to be overnight, but we're going to work at it together.  Until next time, let's get #PixieDustPotent with One Dress Size Less!

Keyona