Healthy Vegetarian Greens

I would like to share my Healthy Receipe for Vegetarian Greens.

Vegetarian Greens.
My church had a farmers market on Saturday and Sunday. I was able to buy fresh organic greens. This is how I prepared them.

2 bunches of Organic Greens
1 Onion
3 cloves of garlic
1 turnip
4 cups of water
No Salt Seasoning

I learned to prepare greens from my Liberian sisters. Wash and chop greens. Chop the stems instead of pulling the leaves from the stem. The stem contain most of the vitamins and minerals. Peel and dice the onion. Smash and press the garlic. Peel and dice the turnip. Boil water add Knorr chicken buillion cube if you want meat flavor. Add all veggies to pot. Add No Salt Seasoning to flavor. Boil for 10 minutes. Stir and reduce heat for anoither 10 minutes. Turn off when greens are dark green and tender. Enjoy healthy no high blood pressure greens!

Black Women ,Hair, and Exercise

Our Hair and exercise is an on going issue for most women. It's great to see that the newstation in my hometown (Chicago), decided to do a special on it. Robin Robinson brings up many important issues in this video. Watch it, so we can discuss!






(If the video doesn't work CLICK HERE)

I have addressed the "Hair Issue" several times on my blog. At the end of the day everywoman must decided for herself what works for her. It is great to have resources and options. Here are some of my older posts on the "Hair Issue"

The Hair Issue: Dealing with Hair and Sweat

I Can't Workout, I just got my Hair Done

Sweat Hard Without Damaging Your Hair

Hair Care Products for Black Women that Exercise


Free Yourself: Caring for Black Hair


COMMENT!!!!

I know y'all got something to say, so put ur 2 cents in.

A Black Woman's Weight Loss Success Story

I came across this video on youtube this morning. Hopefully you will find it as inspiring as I did. This woman tell her sucess story of losing 80 LBS (amazing!!1) through strictly exercise and healthier eating. This story has remided me and motivated me to continue to strive to for a healthier/fit body. Right now my focus in on really changing my eating habits and eating to nourish my body (look for a post to come).

This video may be just what it takes to get (or keep) you all motivated. The most important message that is in the video is that she made lifestyle changes. That is the only way to be healthy for GOOD.

CLICK HERE

Watch and Enjoy!

If you are ready to CHANGE YOUR LIFE and start your weight loss journey check out the links below:

The Fitness List

Small Steps to a Healthier You

Get Motivated, Get Active, Get Moving!

Running for My Life!

COMMENT!

Share you success stories, struggles, thoughts on the video.....

BetterU Challenge Update: Participant S.C.

A quick reminder:

Nubian Fitness Goddess is participating in the American Heart Association BetterU Challenge. I received a great response from readers interested in Participating. If you are interested please click here. Also, if you join the challenge create a fitness list to keep you motivated, more information here.

A few readers have graciously agreed to share their experiences with you. Today participant/reader S.C. will share her experience. I am sure some of you can relate to her. She like most black women has several stressors to deal with. Despite theses obstacles she has joined the challenged and lost 4 lbs! She is currently in the third week of the program. She is doing an awesome job!!! Please share your encouragement, motivation, or any questions for her via comments.

Participant S.C.

STATS:

• Age: 37 (I'll be 38 next month)
• Current weight: 182 pounds
• Height: 5'4.75
• Bust: 38
• Waist: 35
• Hips: 45

Background:

Family status: Married, mother of a 10-year old and a 4-year old (both boys). The 4-year old lives with his mother, but had long stays at our house frequently until recently.

Work status: I'm an office manager (which means I sit for long periods of time while at work). I work 9 hour days Monday-Thursday and 4 hours on Friday.

Life Stressors:

• Finances: I'm currently the only one working in the home and things are tight.
• Family: My husband has medical problems that stress him out day in and day out. I find myself carrying some of this stress. We've been unable to see my stepson for the past couple of months due to extreme "baby mama drama". We miss him terribly and seeing my husband in so much pain takes its toll.

Difficulties:

Daily Exercise: I'm not and have never been a morning person. I've tried several times in the past to get up at 4 or 5 in the morning to exercise before work. It's very difficult for me. I think mainly due to the fact that I don't arrive home from work until 6 p.m. or shortly after. In the past I made the effort to get up and work out in the a.m. and I was consistent for a couple of weeks. When I come home I'm usually tired and I have about 4 hours of time before it's time to go to bed. It seems everyone needs attention because they haven't seen me all day. I spend time with my son before he goes to bed between 8:30 and 9:00 p.m. and I spend the time with my husband before we go to bed. There are a few occasions where I will come home and cook, but for the most part my husband takes care of that since he's home.

On the weekend I lack motivation. I view the weekend as my "off" days. Sometimes I go to the garage and walk on the treadmill on Saturday. I think the stress over finances and other issues and having had worked all week just makes me feel like blah.

Eating: Planning separate meals for myself seems like a chore to me. Something I have to set aside time for. I don't feel like I have a ton of time. I've done pretty good lately at making sure I eat breakfast, a mid-morning snack, lunch, a afternoon snack and dinner. I seem to eat better during the week than I do on the weekend. The only time I really have a hard time with "unhealthy" snacks during the week is during my cycle time. When it's that time of the month it seems I have to have chocolate. It doesn't help that one of my co-worker's mom works for Hershey and he always brings a ton of candy to work to share with us. I'm pretty good at resisting except for when I feel I need a afternoon pickup or when it's that time of the month. The only other thing I can think of when it comes to my eating habits is the fact that I love bread and pasta.

I don't belong to a gym, but I have a treadmill, exercise ball and Ab Lounger at home. Plus, the weather is going to be nice soon in California so I have the outdoors for walking or riding my bicycle.

Her Fitness List

Week 1: Eat one serving of fruits and/or vegetables with each meal. I have completed the first week and have met this goal. I am continuing with this goal.

2. Week 2: Take my two 10 minute breaks on each work day. Enjoy a brisk 10 minute walk on each break or combine into one 20 minute power walk.

3. Week 3: Avoid eating sweets that are high in calories, fat, sugar and carbs. Only have in moderation (no more than once per week if at all) and practice portion control to limit calories.

4. Week 4: Eat dinner before 8 p.m. and do not snack after 9 p.m. Allow at least an hour after eating anything before going to bed.

5. Week 5: Increase aerobic exercise from 5 days a week to 6 days a week minimum (I intend to exercise 6 days a week until I reach my goal weight).

6. Week 6: Incorporate strength training exercises three times a week.

7. Week 7: Increase my green tea intake by drinking green tea each morning during the week instead of coffee. Limit coffee to the weekend and on occasion during the week.

8. Week 8: Go to bed before 10 p.m. during the work week (for some reason I can never get to bed before 11 and often times I don't drift off to sleep until nearly midnight).

9. Week 9: Exercise in the early a.m. before starting my work day and on the weekends. (This will require me to get up in the 5 a.m. hour Monday-Friday in order to exercise before leaving for work. Waking up that early is challenging for me).

10. Week 10: Incorporate jogging into my activity regimen (start off with once a week and increase over time as my endurance increases).

In the coming days/weeks I will share info from other participants. I must admit I have not been very focused lately. I am still adjusting to D.C. and I moved into a new apartment this past weekend. Anyway, look for more articles to come!

Remember Share your comments, motivation, encouragement with S.C. via Comments. Let's keep each other motivated!!!

MISSION POSSIBLE: BIKINI BODY WORKOUT PLAN

So the fiance and I are headed to the Beach this week for a little a R & R. So last week I decided to do a little shopping to find a bathing suit I liked. I decided to try on some Bikinis just for the HeLL of it. To my surprise I liked what I saw, so I purchased my first Bikini ever. It's kind of surreal to me considering my starting weight ( like 205, may be even higher cause I stopped weighing myself). Now don't get me wrong I still have some work to do but I am quite comfortable in my Bikini. Anyway I wanted to share with you some of the strategies I used in toning up this summer. I also wanted to share some articles that kept me motivated this summer.
My strategy:

This summer I really tried to mix things up. I started attending a variety of workout classes like spin, body combat, and body pump. I still run but only on days when I can't get to the gym (about twice a week). I also started lifting more weights (body pump is great for weight lifting). My advice is to constantly change up workout if you want to see results.

I also tried to change up my diet a little bit by increasing my fiber and protein. I typically eat fiber loaded cereal (oatmeal) and hardboiled eggs for breakfast (if I am in a hurry I eat Kashi Go Lean Crunch). I increased my green tea intake to a minimum of 3 cups a day. I also started drinking wine instead of cocktails and increased my fruit and veggie intake.

So if you haven't already sign up at your local gym/YMCA (they have classes too) and enroll in some workout classes. If you that's not option try Exercisetv.com for free workout videos. They have 88 free full length videos.

BIKINI BODY Resources

Beach Abs Workout Video

Bikini Body Workout (Fitness Magazine)

More advice at Fitsugar.com


Still got a little ways to go before you get into that Bikini? Essence Mag did a great article on Fly Swimsuits for Black Women.

Comment!

How are you summer weight loss goals coming??????