Today a question was passed my way: "What events in your life have impacted your weight gain?" and I said......

As for me, I grew up with my mom and my grandfather as major impacts in my life, mom was more so on the heavier side but my grandfather did his best to remain fit. And he always told me that a woman should take care of her body and mind her appearance. Also, growing up in the city I noticed how my friends (skinny chicks) were treated compared to me the rounder lady of the bunch….

As I got older, I then learned about medical hits my family was taking from diabetes. I lost one of my favorite great aunts to the disease, a disease that I thought was one obtained by just simple bad luck. When I learned it could be prevented and for some reversed (learned this with my husband in my head, Luther Vandross), I then began to take charge and look at the way I viewed food and physical fitness.

My final year in high school, I knew I was graduating and I knew that I would never see these folks again. My normal 170 frame blew up to 200 lbs in less than 6 months, all from sweet birthday cake, soda, pizza, and the wonderful fried foods.

When I hit my freshman year at NSU, I began making better choices with eating and fitting in physical activity when ever I could. When I officially cut out the beef and pork my wide statue became a sleek slender frame coming in at 1 motha-freaking 50…. Lawd the good ole days lol lol.

I now am not aiming to be small (although I am on a mission to get some type of abs lol) I want to be physically fit so I don’t feel like 35, 40, hell even 50!!!!

I also can not bear any types of surgery or shooting my self with insulin, those are not options for me. So I focus on steering clear of anything that can be prevented by moderation and exercise.

Now your turn....... what events have impacted your weight gain of loss??

Accomplishments

I always manage to come up with tons of ideas, and guess what.... I usually don't follow through, bad yes, I know.

This time around things are different. I am not sure if I got tired of my daughter calling me juicy (her term for FAT!!!) or if I was just wanting my 30's to be completely different compared to my 20's.

How often do you sit back and think about your list of goals to meet? How many of them have you hit? What have you accomplished thus far? How often do you ask yourself this question; how often do you ask others this question?

Time to consider the possible along with the impossible and get on the ball.

Look forward to videos!!!

And soon to come, live meetings!!! Nothing like getting some exercise in while outdoors!!!!

Here is to a Brand Nu You!!!

A Journey Inspired

I sat down with my best friend who is currently on her own journey with weight loss and management. Her over all goals inspired me to follow through with plans made and her story is one to share.

When inspired, share the story, it was created to touch others.....

1.      How tall are you?[Toccara Robinson]  5’11


2.      What type of surgery did you have?[Toccara Robinson]  Gastric Sleeve.. its different from the gastric bypass because they do not cut your intestines. With the Gastric Sleeve, they pretty much remove a large portion of your stomach.  It makes it so that your esophagus, stomach, and intestines are like one long tube or sleeve.


 3.      I understand you and the gym have become best friends, what motivates you on a daily basis to live this healthy lifestyle.[Toccara Robinson]   I never thought I would ever say this but yes, the gym and I have become very acquainted. I am there pretty much 5 to 6 days a week and twice a day a couple times out of the week. My will to live is what motivates me on a daily basis.  I watched my cousin die from her weight and I vowed at her funeral that, it would be me.  Whenever I feel like not going to the gym, I just remember my cousin and how she would have given anything to have the opportunity to change her lifestyle.  Trust me it’s not easy but when I see other morbidly obese people like myself, something insides me just won’t let me give up and quit. 


4.      Do you plan on making an impression on others? And if so, who is your target audience?[Toccara Robinson]   I definitely want my journey to serve as a motivator for other people.  I want people to look at me and look back at my past pictures and say WOW, if she can do it, I can do it because this journey has very little to do with where you start but has everything to do with where you end up.  I am open to inspiring any one that needs the inspiration but I am really passionate about helping those people that are at a point where they can’t even help themselves.  I want to make a lasting impression on the folks that society has pretty much given up on.  The people that look at themselves and say, being fit will never be me and that feel like there is little they can do to change because they are destine to just be fat.  I want them to know that there is still hope and that they are worth the effort despite of what they think and what society wants them to believe.  There is still hope for change.


5.      Name one thing at the end of every day you set out to accomplish? Is that target hit every day?[Toccara Robinson]  Umm that is a hard one.  Every day I try to accomplish celebrating the little things.  I try to relish in the fact that it’s another day for me to try to do just a little more than I did before.  To try something new and to push myself towards another goal.  I have come to realize and my friends have been very instrumental in helping me come to this realization, that I am very hard on myself and that I don’t give myself enough credit for the accomplishments that I have made.  So my goal is to take a few moments everyday to reflect and to give myself a pat on the back.  There is still room for improvement but I can never forget where I came from


Stay tuned, we will definitely watch this woman succeed!!!

Go Toccara!!

Be sure to check out her blog; watch as learns, teaches, and shares with the world! 


Click HERE to check out Toccara's Blog

Building this CORE

The best way to gauge performance is to make sure it is tracked, researched, and rewarded of course silly!
I am proud of where I stand and the direction I am heading. I always find, and do my best to share stories of motivation and inspiration but I think I tend to skip my personal thoughts and consideration when it comes to those words (motivation & inspiration).

When it comes to your core, remember that is the center of where your energy comes from. As long as you work on making it stronger you can't go wrong. I've listed a few things for you to remember...

In order to join me on this journey in finding those abs kiss the spot reduction GOOD BYE..... doing crunches every day will do you no justice and will discourage you since results are at a minimum. Make sure your cardio and strength training are apart of your training routine.

Your abdominal muscles are just like every other muscle in your body, they require rest. Focusing on that core every other day will do just fine hun. And be sure to experiment with various exercises!!

If you'd like to have that strong core you'd better learn more about your back! There is no way to have a nice tight core yet a loose back. Be sure to incorporate some exercises that train that back, you'll thank me later.

Pay attention to what your body responds to since some moves are way more effective than others. I cuss the most when I put in some bicycles, a reverse crunch, and a stability ball crunch. This means they are effective! 

Make sure you EAT your way to a flatter belly since we all know "ABS ARE MADE IN THE KITCHEN!". Avoid sugars (especially those good ole sweet beverages) and keep a clean diet.

Stay tuned more to come on the 5 topics just touched. Don't want to put you in info overload!!!

Great night Fam!!!!!

Motivation!!!!! - The Pics Say it ALL

So I was working my way here, and was side tracked by my girls blog, Health4Life, and it blew my mind to see how much weight she has lost.


It takes me back to the actual act of inspiration. What inspires you? How do you remain inspired?

I must admit that I am inspired by others with out a doubt, BUT at the end of the day my goal is to inspire my self. Who better to cheer me on right???

Here are a few bodies I admire! I need to post these things on my damn wall so I know exactly what my focus is!!!

My girl Beyonce. Hands down, this woman is with out a doubt beautiful on the inside and out. I would love to have her core strength!

You hate to love her, but hell, you have to.

Mz. Kim Kardash!!!!

While her face has gone straight to hell, her curves are still in tact; you can't do anything but respect that.

While slim and always stylish, I love the risk she takes when she has clothes on, and from this peice of motivation you can see exactly why she takes those risks, Rihanna:

Last but not least, Rose, Amber Rose.


No hair, and extra curves, gotta love it!

If this didn't motivate you then I have failed....

But something tells me, that is NOT the case!!!!

Here goes all the hard work coming from within!!! (Don't worry - I've got your back!)

Let's Do the Math

Hey sis, did you know there are 3500 calories in one pound of fat? Does that sound like a lot? Hummm, lets see.

The average person takes in between 1500 -1900 calories perday (recommended) there are 7 days in a week!!! Imagine the numbers now!

I found a site that was useful in helping me understand, with numbers, the amount of energy (calories) my body could take in and still get me to my goal! (I vowe to make this as much fun as possible! lol). As well as the number of calories burned during daily activities!

Plug your numbers in: (The purple is an example of my layout email me if you have any questions or need help with your numbers.)

How many calories should you intake (max): 1570

How many calories to you take in during the week: (daily total X 7 days in a week) 10990

How many calories do you burn in a day (use this calculator for number) 508 (taebo)

How many caloris do you burn in a week: Number of days exercised x calories burned 3048 (6 days)

Calories consumed in a week - Calories burned in a week : 7942

Now: Divide your total by 3500: 2.3

NOTE: If it averages out to 2.5 or more calories, adjust your intake or calories burned, you may work too hard to achieve your goals, and burn out quickly!




Keep playing with the numbers until you hit something that is realistic.



Lessons for the day 2.21.12

Did you know that one spoon of sugar shuts down the immune system for three hours!!!!!

Yes! So please re-think that sweet soda we give our kids early in the AM. Hell rethink all the sweet stuff we intake! Is it really worht it?

Did you know milk is Mother Nature's "perfect food"... for a calf, until it is weaned... Soooo

Why are YOU still drinking it?

ALL cows milk (regular and organic) has 59 (yea thats NOT a typo) active hormones, scores of allergens, fat and cholesterol.

Not trying to make you change the way you eat, if you really don't want to.

What I will do, is do my BEST to educate you! We have so much to learn!!!!