I'm back!

So several days into my “lifestyle upgrade”, I crashed...my computer that is! I'm not naming any names, but a certain one of my friends came over and visited a certain website. Minutes later, my files started erasing, I couldn't log onto the internet, and my whole world - at least the portion that involves my revered laptop - ended abruptly. But a week and a computer expert later, I'm back up and running! ...and as for my working toward my goals…

I'm still going strong!


I got on a scale today and discovered to my happiness that I'm down 11 pounds!!! Now I've encountered a few skeptics who say that what I'm doing isn't going to be permanent because I'm losing weight too quickly, so I feel that now is a great time to provide a disclaimer:

I'm young and metabolistic (in case you're wondering...I made that word up), I'm focused on my goals, and I have pretty good genes. My mother was a 96-pound fitness instructor (until she had children), and my father was a career soldier, who ran regularly and is to this day fit and lean. Yes, I'm losing weight quickly, but that is because I have been exercising regularly, eating clean most of the time, and thanking God daily for the great genes that were given to me by my health-conscious parents. Every body is different. Mine just happens to give a little less push back when I put my mind to being healthier.

Now that is not to say that the journey thus far has been without struggle. I lost my mind four days ago when a vendor came to my job with a box of Dunkin Donuts. Just seeing that colorful array of glazed goodness in front of me made my mouth water, and my goals vanish. But I didn't eat one.

I ate two.

Actually, that's sort of an exaggeration. I ate half of one, and then had the will power to toss it in the trash. …Then I ate half of another, and gave the other half to my coworker. Either way though, I could not seem to resist the power of those damn donuts.

Quite often I seek the advice of my fit friends – I would strongly recommend that anyone who’s trying to permanently lose weight do the same. I've noticed that I seem to want something sweet in the afternoon, and I wanted answers. I was advised (in the best way that I can possibly explain), that this is because I'm on a low carb diet, but carbs break down into sugars, and since I’m cutting out both sugar and carbs, my body is screaming for some form of sugar. This may or may not be correct, but hey - it sounds good to me. So I've begun buying plain M&Ms (my fav), and mixing half a bag with assorted nuts. The nuts fill me up quicker, while the M&Ms satisfy my need for sugar, without overdoing it. Other days, I'll have a 90 calorie fiber one bar, and others, some form of fruit. I'm trying to be realistic, and realistically I know that I will not go the rest of my life eating only the best foods for my body. But if I eat mostly the best foods for my body, there is definitely a bit of wiggle room.

As for exercise...

I must say- Ms. Shalene Johnson is a BEAST!! I would recommend TurboFire to everybody and their mother. I've worked out every day since I started except one, and my stamina, flexibility, energy and confidence have increased dramatically. Remember, it has only been two weeks! I rejoined my gym yesterday and decided to hang up TurboFire for today, instead opting to work out at the gym. This morning, I worked out for 15 minutes on a stair climber - the kind with the small pedals that you have to lightly jog on to keep from sinking to the floor. Before now, 15 minutes would have been unheard of! I sweat profusely but didn't feel like I was going to die. Then I worked on various weight machines for 40 minutes.

Then...

I went back to the gym in the evening, did a 1 hour hip hop aerobics class and aside from the trainers, I was the only one who didn't tap out at some point. Immediately following, I took an abs and core class - tapped out a couple of times there, but at least I've discovered an area of opportunity. Then I ran for 10 minutes straight on the treadmill. All of this would have been completely unheard of prior to starting TurboFire. If you're wondering about it, all I can say is

DO IT DO IT DO IT! It is the BEST money I have ever spent!!

And as for food, I'm sure you don't want a breakdown of everything I've eaten over the past week or more. But I will say that I had a moment of weakness last week, when I started to think that my diet was unrealistic, and that I wasn't eating foods that I enjoy. Then I went to a market near my house called Milk and Honey that sells lots of organic, specialty and local items. I found an asian chile marinade that was fat free and low in carbs. I'm no Rachel Ray, but just using what I had in the house, I made the best meal I have had in my entire fucking life.

I rubbed about 2 teaspoons of marinade on a tilapia filet, then sprinkled a little crushed black pepper on it. I pan seared the tilapia, and when it had roughly 3 minutes left to cook, I topped it with baby spinach, a little more black pepper and a touch - just a touch- of season salt. I then put a lid on it. 3 minutes later, I put the lightly wilted spinach on my plate, topped it with the tilapia filet, and also ate a little cucumber salad that I prepared the night before using just a cucumber, a red onion, and lite vinaigrette. It was spectacular, and completely renewed my hope in the fact that eating clean can be more appetizing than a whopper with bacon and cheese.

Tonight I'm making soup. I purchased organic black bean soup in one of those boxes, and I'm adding B/S chicken, fresh diced tomato, diced jalepenos (not fresh- I wanted to use what I have in the house), and fresh chopped cilantro. My friend is coming over for dinner, so I’ll top hers with a little cheese, but I'm guessing it'll be fabulous even without.

So, that's it! I'm 2 weeks in, 11 pounds down and feeling fucking fabulous!

I've decided that I may not blog daily. I'm getting into the busy season at work which means staying later, I'm still managing theOUTguide.com, and I'm working out and preparing all of my meals daily, so things are a tad busy currently. But I'll be back throughout the week to tell you how it's going!

Good night : *

Child Support.

Exercise

So yesterday I did my first 15 minute TurboFire HIIT workout and that shit was intense! I dropped out a couple times, but made it through. There was one point when I had to stop, but when I caught my breath I pressed rewind, tried it again and succeeded. It occurred to me today that by the time I make it through TurboFire, going for a run will be a piece of cake! My body is ridiculously sore, but I'm still excited to do today's workout (which I'll blog about tonight)- so bring it on Shalene!!!

I've been trying to get my mom and sister to do a workout with me, and they don't seem very serious about it. Last night I asked if my sister could do it twice this week with me, and she said kind of angrily that this is my thing- not hers. She and other members of my family launched into a conversation about how they don't believe in "no pain, no gain", and they feel that one doesn't need to do a strenuous workout to lose weight. The whole ordeal hurt my feelings a bit since I thought that my family might be a good source of moral support. My mom (who used to be an aerobics instructor) says she'll work out with me, but the date that she'd like to seems to get further and further away. I admit that their lack of enthusiasm was disheartening for a minute. And then I realized that I'm doing this for me, and although I would expect my loved ones to care, I really have to pull the motivation from within. When I reach my goals, perhaps they'll notice and be interested in working out with me. Or not. Who cares?

Get Fit Thought of the Day

Learn to love yourself in any condition! If you're losing weight so that you can start loving yourself, you won't love yourself enough to stick to losing weight.

Food

- Low sodium V8

- One slice of thin cut whole wheat bread with light earth balance buttery spread

- Nutrigrain bar

- Shredded Rotisserie chicken on a bed of mixed greens and onions, with balsamic vinaigrette

- half of a cup cake (It was my niece's first birthday)

Speaking of which...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY CHARLEY!!!

February 19th 2011 - Baby Steps

Exercise:
This morning I did a Turbo Fire, Fire 30 workout. ...at least I attempted to. Those bad boys are strenuous! Yesterday I made it through about five of the thirty minute video. In that five minutes, I sweat more than I have in a long time, then I started wheezing and had to use my inhaler....and then about half an hour later and for the next 3 or 4 hours, I felt invincible! Just in those few minutes of working out, I gained so much energy, and remained motivated to make good food decisions for the rest of the day! So today I pushed myself harder (even though I was pretty sore from the day before) and I made it through 10 minutes. Although my class schedule says that I'm to do Fire 30 and Stretch 10 together on the first day, I still feel proud that my stamina seems to be increasing, and I'm more determined than ever to come back and try it again, and defeat that shit!

I'm also going dancing tonight! Woop Woop!

Stay fit tip of the Day:
When you're thinking of eating something that you may regret later, grab an apple or a bottle of water instead, and google "weight loss success stories" to keep you motivated.


Food:

- 1/4 cup Cream of wheat prepared with almond milk and half a grape fruit

- A nutrigrain bar

- Activia Yogurt

- Betty Crocker lunch thingy- Three Cheese Rotini

- 3 starbursts. ...might have been four ; )

- Pan seared salmon on a bed of fresh baby spinach with onions, cherry tomatos, and light balsamic vinaigrette

Here's the Skinny.

Aaah yes, Miami.

Home to beautiful blue beaches...

J Lo...at least that's where she lives in my dreams....

Super Small Bikinis...

And for one week in May 2011, Me.

(For the record, that's me on the right.) -------^

Last week I had a doctor's appointment, and I stepped on a scale for the first time in I'm not telling you. What I discovered was a number so ghastly, I had to check to be sure the doctor wasn't standing on the scale with me:

197.6

Let me break that down for you, because I don't think you understand the severity of the situation:

One hundred, ninety seven point six pounds. If I had to pee after eating a hamburger, I would weigh 200 pounds, perhaps more!

200 pounds?!!?!

That's two hearty Sheep!

...800 Oranges!!

1.7 Rihannas!!!!



...And at least 50 pounds more than I'd like to weigh : (

The rest of my family weighs 140 pounds on average, so I know that I can be smaller. I can't stand that I always feel so big when compared to the girls I date, and I feel like they're always watching the things that I eat and wondering why I still am eating, which I admit sounds crazy...but I digress- I have had enough!


Here's my goal:


I'd like to be fit and toned for my trip to Miami, and more importantly, for the rest of my life. I plan to do this by eating better and documenting what I eat right here for the whole world to see, working out (I just started TurboFire yesterday and wooo! I can't wait to talk about that!), and getting my friends and those who read my blog to join me, to help keep me motivated.


So join me as I work, sweat, cry, and succeed- because I WILL succeed- in being more physically fit, sexier, slimmer, and even more fabulous than I already am!


...And if you live in the DMV and you'd like to join in, email me at brwilliams387@yahoo.com - I'd love to join you for a workout : )

See you lighter!