Fountain of Youth

By George, I think I've found the fountain of youth. No really, I think so. I'm not ashamed to tell people that I have reached my 30's! It always seems to be a shock to people that I'm not still in my 20's. I'll admit, I actually like it when younger men try to pick me up. I was recently at a small house party and it spilled out that I was over 30; as a matter of fact, I'll be turning 32 this year, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. Well, you must have thought I was standing there naked because everyone's mouth dropped open in disbelief. Ha, I think my mouth dropped out a little when they revealed they were still in their 20's when I would have guessed that we were all the same age. One young lady finally asked me, "What's your secret? What are you doing?" In my "as a matter of fact" way, I said, "I exercise, I eat lots of fruits and vegetables, I don't drink heavily and I . . . " - I paused. I was getting ready to say, "I don't smoke" but the young lady that asked for the secret had puffed three cigarettes in the short time that I'd been there. That would have been an absolute slap in the face, right? Maybe I should have said it anyway. Isn't it general knowledge that smoking ages you? It hinders your breathing, makes your tongue and teeth grey and gives you purple lips. Smoking will restrict blood flow and if the blood ain't pumping, the rosy cheeks from youth will quickly fade to grey (or worse, black - YUCK!!) I finally told her that I do my best to enjoy life and smile a lot.

"So you exercise?"
"Yes, at least 3 or 4 days a week" (at that point, I wasn't teaching Zumba yet but I was taking class).
"Wow, I need to exercise. I'd probably pass out."

Was that my window to let her know I also didn't smoke? Because I was thinking it and according to the host, he was thinking it too!!

Have you ever taken a real assessment of your age? Dr. Oz does the real age test when he puts guests into the truth tube revealing their Blood Pressure, Cholesterol Levels and Weight. What is aging you? There are plenty of things that can, and some of them, I want you to get rid of immediately. I'm not going to say food, or cigarettes, or tell you that you need to exercise more (though don't count these out). I want you to get rid of people. People stress you out and make you frown, make you sad and unhappy. They do; trust me, they do. Stress will age you like nothing else. Staying in a bad or just boring relationship will dry you up. AND slaving (or sleeping) at that boring, ain't got no promotion coming job will stress you out and age you. And you know what stress does? It keeps you from concentrating on your dreams and goals including the goal of losing one more dress size. In order to lose weight, you have to sleep and if you're having trouble sleeping, chances are, you are having trouble losing weight too. I am definitely lacking sleep these days but its from doing what I love. I can see the goal getting closer and closer but while I'm going through, I refuse to be or look defeated. I'm smiling, I'm living, I'm loving and throwing away any trash that might keep me from be the healthy, beautiful woman that I am supposed to be. Eat well, live well, be well.

Keyona

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

One Dress Size Journey

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Welcome to my One Dress Size Journey! I am on a journey to drop one more dress size . . . why?  Because the camera is evil.  As a performer, I'm in front of the camera all the time and I want to look my best.  Hell, I just want to look good all the time, how about that? 

All of my life, I was a chunky girl.  Chunky, chubby, wearing a size 14/16 girl, even in elementary school.  So you know shopping with mom was always a GREAT TIME filled with lots of eye rolling, frustration and sometimes crying.  Every year, the doctor would put me on a new diet, and after a few weeks . . . what diet?  After I became an adult and graduated from college, my blood pressure crept up and so did my weight.  I wasn't as active as I had been before and the scale showed 205lbs at my heaviest.  Here I am, singing at my brother's wedding.  Yes, I was the big girl bridesmaid.  And can you believe my brother, damn nut picked a STRAPLESS dress?!? Of all things for your chubby sister, this was not a smart idea.  I had straps put on my dress so it would stay up but that just made it feel like a moo moo.

Yo, this wasn't going well and I hated being the "big girl" in the picture.  About 2007, food began to make me miserable.  I had gas all the time and sometimes worse things would happen everyday.  My stomach was constantly in pain and I wasn't losing any weight no matter how hard I danced, walked the track or crunched.  Finally at work one day, I decided I was going to find out what the problem was.  I cut out all dairy - eggs, milk, cheese - all fast food, junk food and eventually went Vegan to figure out what the problem was.  My doctor even sent me to have a colonoscopy at age 27.  On a vegan diet, I lost 20 pounds without exercising.  WOW!!!  I was now buying size 12 but still buying a 12 out of the Plus Size store; I wanted to buy a 12 or smaller out of the regular size!  When I think back, the food I was eating wasn't necessarily killing me but it was setting me up for hindered quality of life.  If I had stayed on that path, who knows what kind of medication I'd be on now.  I slowly introduced meat back into my diet and some rewards for training hard and eating well.

Right before my 30th birthday, I hired a personal trainer and he got me into that 10 range.  I was so happy!!  He had me lifting and sticking tight to my eating regiment.  I was ready to take the stage and start my singing career.  My skin was clearing up and I discovered I had some serious Pixie Dust. 

What is Pixie Dust??  Pixie Dust is the magic that draws you in to a woman.  As children, we know Pixie Dust is the magic dust trailing the movements of the character Tinker Bell.  This dust can help humans fly if they believe in happy thoughts.  The essence of Keyona was coming out because I was now confident enough to let it sprinkle among the world.  I wasn't hiding behind clothes, I could show my arms, legs, wear a form fitting dress and strut proudly across the room like, "Yeah, I know, I'm FINE!!"

So now, I'm on my final weight journey to make it to single digit dress size . . . can I have an 8 please?  I don't care about the weight actually; I'm proud to say I'm about 174 lbs at 5'5".  Forget that damn chart, I'm healthy and happy.  Why a size 8?  To say I actually did it and perhaps I could get a flatter stomach too.  That's the hardest part. 

So, here I am, rocking a size 10 and thinking, "What do I have to do to get to an 8?" Well, here's where we hold each other accountable.  People ask me all the time, "How did you do it? Can you help me?"  Follow me on this journey to another dress size and I'll share everything I'm doing, grocery list, exercise pattern including my Zumba Fitness Class and even what I choose when I have to eat out.  I can't promise a weight loss number but I can tell you that my blood pressure is better than perfect, cholesterol levels excellent, skin glowing, lip gloss popping, Pixie Dust gettin' 'em . . . I feel SO good.  I'll give you a weekly and monthly challenge.  This will take discipline, determination and an open mind so if you're ready, I'm ready, Let's Go!!

Check out the vlog for your first challenge - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IO690gzc3Uk

Let's Get Pixie Dust Potent!