Not About the Number

Most of my friends know that I have a bra fitting and personal image consultant business.  Yes, I fit women for bras, hit me up (www.fitsmeright.com).  One of my clients has lost 30 lbs (woo hoo) and needed to be fitted for new bras.  S/N - when you lose weight, its time to assess everything in your closet, especially bras for the ladies.  Anyway, I'm so very proud of her.  It takes a lot to be dedicated to working out regularly and eating right when we all have these incredibly full schedules.  She proudly announced her weight and I quickly (without thinking) said, "Oh we weigh the same now!"  Then she retreated her excitement and said, "But I don't look anything like you."  (Yes, I do stop traffic, sorry . . . a little horn tooting)

I had stopped worrying about the actual number once I got into my good tight jeans again but in just a few words, I had killed her joy and I didn't mean to.  I quickly recovered and reminded her that everyone is different.  All my life, I've been a dancer - ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, West African - and my thighs and calves are the proof that I worked hard.  They don't call me Hamhocks for nothing!  I also weight train.  I teach 6 Zumba Fitness classes a week.  Once I noted these differences to her, she came back to life.  Whew!! I thought I had destroyed her excitement for good. 

We spend so much time comparing ourselves to other people that we can often lose sight of the great progress we've made.  I'd rather compare me to me any day and take feel pride in what I have accomplished.  We also forget that there is one uncontrollable factor - genetics.  I may not EVER have 6 pack abs but I can make any little black dress look SMOKING HOT!!  174 lbs is the smallest I have ever been in my adult life.  That's where I am now and consequently may or may not reduce that number but a whole lot BUT I like the way I look.  I am proud to say I can go through my Zumba Classes at top speed without a significant break and without collapsing.  Can you hang with me?

I do agree that we should use weight as one of the markers to indicate we are moving in the right direction, but if that's your only number, you're not getting a clear picture of your state of health.  This is why I like Doctor Oz's truth tube.  It tells what's really going on inside and can't no body magic cover that up!

Can you walk up the steps without huffing and puffing?
Are you able to get to your target heart rate without passing out?
How many inches is your waist line? How much visceral fat are you carrying?
What's your average blood pressure?
When was the last time you had your fasting blood sugar checked?
Can you go run around with the children in your family?
And yes, Cholesterol still counts!

If you go to the doctor and your weight is the only number the doctor is concerned about, I'd venture to say that you're doing pretty good.  I don't want us to obsess over the number of pounds we weigh since gravity pulls us all down at 9.8 m per second per second (one of the few things I remember from Physics).  I want us to be concerned with the factors that make us prime candidates for Heart Disease, Diabetes, Kidney Disease before the doctor has to give us that diagnosis.  Skinny people have Heart Disease too, did you know that? 

Weight for Love

I met my fiancee just short of a year ago. He's a chef but loves to eat rich food, high fatty foods, he loved Kool-aid, drank Mountain Dew, and frequented the local "Greasy Spoon" restaurants and carry-outs. When we met, I was still a new Zumba (r) Fitness Instructor but absolutely married to eating healthy. I couldn't afford to go back to my 200lbs and sick life. He would fix me food and plop mashed potatoes or rice on my plate. At first, to be nice, I'd eat it, but then I finally told him that I was serious about my health and if he wanted to be with me, he would take his health serious too.

Like most men, he hadn't been to the doctor in a few years. When he finally went, the doctor told him he was a candidate for all the things I had tried to warn him about: High Cholesterol, Hypertension and Diabetes. She gave him 30 days to make some changes but he couldn't get around the Diabetes in 30 days. Now, he had reason to listen to me when I said, "No, we're not eating that." That ended the last night stops to Wendy's and McDonald's and when we do, we get Chicken. I encouraged him to stop over eating or piling the plate or at least, SLOW DOWN and chew. Yes, he is a victim of eating everything on the plate as fast as you can and we now know this to be one way we over eat since our brains don't calculate the "STOP EATING" message quite that rapidly. We don't make Kool-aid and we don't buy sodas. Water is our main drink. I've tried to get him to try my fruit and vegetable blends but I don't think he's ready for the green machine (Spinach, Blueberries, Pineapple, Kiwi, Pear, Granny Smith Apple).

I am proud to say that approaching our 1 year anniversary, my sweetheart has lost about 30 lbs AND is quitting smoking. I've even gotten him to wear a suit!! OW!!

July 2011

February 2012

We took his mother out to dinner recently and y'all know how tight those booths can be. As we slid into the booth, she asked him, "Do you have enough room?" Then she chuckled, "Oh yeah, you got plenty of room now, you fit just fine," as he proudly looked down at the space between the table and his shrunken belly.

I'm also down to my pre-Love weight (WOOO HOOO) but still on my journey to try to drop just one more size.  I've added more Zumba Fitness classes so I'm currently teaching five times a week, whew!  I've moved to a satellite office at work and there is a FREE gym in building so I will definitely be lifting before the Spring Swings all the way in. 

His family says they tried to get him to lose weight and change his eating but I guess it just took a different kind of love to make that change.  We're looking forward to living happy and healthy lives together and teach our future children better.

Office Potluck

Here we are, its that time of the year when your office spends more time planning and having luncheons and potlucks than doing actual work. It is a trap to derail your progress. I saved up my cheat days so I could enjoy Thanksgiving (yes, I had two Thanksgiving dinners on Thanksgiving Day and it was good) without feeling guilty. My plates had veggies and small servings of everything. I ate until I was satisfied and then, helped serve at a local church to burn even just a few calories. But here I am, in my office and they have decided to have an AFTER Thanksgiving Potluck. Oh geez, somebody help me!

Yesterday, I actually signed up to bring in Cheesecake - I make a great cheesecake. After teaching my Zumba Fitness class, going to my voice lesson and making it home, I realized I didn't have the energy or desire to make something that hell, I COULDN'T EAT!!! I mean, I shouldn't eat it because I'm lactose intolerant and I shouldn't eat it because it wouldn't be my cheat day and my will power for desserts is slim to none. Instead, I got myself up and packed my lunch and gym bag. While these folks are chowing down, I'm going to the gym. My red holiday dress is still calling me and I have to make sure to get it in.

Here is my resistance plan:

This morning, I had some left over roasted pork with broccoli and cauliflower. I've had a banana and I'm going to also have a bowl of oatmeal at snack time. Yes, I eat a real meal in the morning. This has helped to ward off the desire for salt and sugar throughout the day. The oatmeal will fill me up while they are preparing the spread. When lunch is served, I'm going to the gym. By the time I get back, it will all be devoured and I'll HAVE to eat the lunch that's already waiting for me. The other thing I tell myself is, "You don't know all these people. The food might not be safe to eat." It's a dirty trick but I have to do something.

I've successfully avoided the Thanksgiving potluck, but I know the Christmas Potluck and company Holiday party are coming fast, plus that extra holiday I get in December - my birthday :-) so I'm going to have to repeat this tactic at least one more time at work. So how do I avoid holiday parties at a friend's house . . . I eat before I go and get a workout in to burn some calories ahead of time. I try to show up fashionably late after people have arrived and started eating, then there may only be enough for small portions. Yes, I know, "but I want to celebrate with my friends," but I want to fit into my favorite dress and drop down into a firm size 8. In order to do that, we have to stay on task and keep working at it. The delayed reward is better than the instant gratification, I promise.

What tactics are you using during the holiday to avoid over eating? Let us know. And if you have some good favorite holiday food substitutes, share that too. Let's get it . . One More Dress Size.

#PixieDustPotent

Do What Works for You, Just don't Quit

All diets are not created equal . . . that’s really the bottom line. There is only one method I know that works for everyone, eat good food and exercise but for a lot of us, that’s easier said than done. How much exercise is necessary? A 30 minute walk everyday is enough for some, for others, it takes hard core cardio and strength training to drop the pounds or maybe you need to train to run a marathon in order to push pass the weight your body is holding on to. And food, some need high protein diets, others need a healthy balance, some need to just leave all meat alone and go hard core vegan.

Now, I have been challenged - or rather I opened my big mouth and gave a number – anyway, I have a challenge of 20lbs or so to lose. Actually, peeps, The Collective. Let’s see how far I get by the end of the year but hell, as long as I can fit into my favorite red dress without wearing SPANX, I’m happy.

I have heard a lot of advice on how to make it happen. Do Weight Watchers (nope, but I’ve seen the results work well for others), Go Running (this actually works but I HATE RUNNING), Try an all liquid diet or all raw food diet (this is a great jump start actually, check out one of my friends doing it - Under200poundsby40). Do a Cleanse (I have NO problem with the exiting process), and cut this-cut that, so I have decided I’m going to do what I know works.

This morning, at 5 am, I put in a new Zumba® Instructors video (shout out to all my ZIN family) and got it in.

Thirty minutes later, I was in the shower and feeling good. I actually feel thinner already, no really, I do. I put on a skirt and tucked the blouse in . . . I look HAWT! #Pixiedustpotent. I’m also using the principles of the Flat Belly Diet promoted by Prevention Magazine. This diet actually promotes eating well and concentrates on eating Monounsaturated Fats which are good for you and keeping each meal to 400 calories. It even includes what you can eat from a fast food menu and make that belly go away. Why I like this diet? This one helps me keep my energy up all day long instead of having those crash and burn sessions. I’m eating on schedule and eating enough to keep me going until the next meal. But this is my mental challenge: When people start heating their food before its time for my next meal, my brain goes, “Mmm, smell that? You could be eating too. Oh, go ahead and eat now.” But I’m not finished burning the fuel I have, I have another hour to wait; besides I’m not hungry, am I? Discipline yourself girl! Take a sip of water, that will tell you if its time . . . nope, not yet. I can hold out.

Its funny that when I tell my friends and family that I’m attempting 20+ more pounds, they look at me and ask, “Where you gonna find 20 more pounds from?” I have one place in mind but that would require surgery and uhm, I ain’t got the money for that . . . besides, I kind of like the “girls.” In additiona to my early morning Zumba ® sessions, and teaching class 3 days a week, I’ve put strength training on a schedule too – Mondays and Wednesdays. The third day is sort of a floating holiday because things always come up with my crazy schedule. I thought I didn’t have time and I was really considering letting the challenge go. I then realized that I could be the encouragement someone else needs to get up and get moving (and I look PHAT TA DEF in that red dress). Is that what you need? Be honest. You need someone to dig in that tail and say get up!! Okay, GET UP! If you’re sitting on Facebook, just take a 15 minute break and go walk around the office. Go ahead, Facebook will wait for you; so will YouTube and Twitter, go ‘head. My challenge to you is to make a determination right now what you’re going to do about your body, your weight, your heart, your blood pressure, your sugar, your cholesterol. Write it down, make a plan and make a schedule. Then put the goal in big letters and say, “Whatever it takes, I will not QUIT.”

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!