Maintaining Weight Loss

So I realized today that I have maintained my weight loss (40 lbs) for almost a year now....
Just in case you are not familiar with my story I started working out hardcore February of 08 and lost most of the weight by August of 08. I went from a size 14 to a size 8. I achieved this by jogging. I started off jogging a few blocks and now I run 4-5 miles regularly. In the beginning I was working out about 6 days a week, now I do 5 days. I also cut down on fast food (except subway), fried foods, and sweets.

Anyway I wanted to share some of the strategies I used to maintain my weight loss.

1. Finding creative ways to exercise--Swimming, dance class, different exercise DVDs see my post Tired of the Gym

2. Drinking Green Tea all day--Green tea boosts your metabolism and it has worked wonders for me .

3. Continuing to work out at least 4 days a week. If you really want to maintain your weight loss you have to continue to be physically active, so find something you enjoy.

4. Using Calorieking.com to look up foods before eat (especially for restaurant food).

5. Weight Training- In the past 3 months I have not really lost any more weight. But I have managed to drop a size my weight training and toning.

6. The most important tip I have is try new things. You have to change up your routine (eating and exercise) otherwise your hard work is less effective. So use magazines to help you stay creative (Fitness, Shape, and Oxygen). I use this magazines to find new exercises to add to my routine. They also regularly have healthy eating tips (i.e. best 100 calorie ice cream)


My next step is to continue toning until I get my bikini body! I am going to change things up by signing up of the American Heart Association free 12-week online nutrition program. I am looking for two more women to sign up with me. You will receive the BetterU kit for more info click HERE. If you are looking to lose some weight or just get healthier this is great opportunity for you. Questions??? Please email me at nubianfitnessgoddess@gmail.com

Comment!

What tips do you have for maintaining weight loss?

Small steps to a Healthier You

Heart disease is the #1 killer for women in the U.S. Like many other diseases (i.e. type 2 diabetes) your diet and exercise can decrease your risk. The American Heart Association has put together a campaign targeting women to spread the word about Heart Disease and ways to decrease your risk. Nubian Fitness Goddess is proud to participate in the Go Red for Women Campaign.

Research shows that many women do not view heart disease as health threat so here are some stats and info to better inform you :

Heart disease includes conditions affecting the heart, such as coronary heart disease, heart attack, congestive heart failure, and congenital heart disease. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women in the U.S. Keys to prevention include quitting smoking, lowering cholesterol, controlling high blood pressure, maintaining a healthy weight, and exercising (from WebMD).

• Only 13% of women view heart disease as a health threat, even though it’s women's No. 1 killer.
• Cardiovascular disease (CVD) kills over 480,000 women a year, about one per minute.
• One in three adult females and males in the United States suffers from a form of CVD.
• CVD claims more lives than the next four most common causes of death combined.
• On average, an American dies of CVD every 35 seconds.

The great thing about the AHA is they are offering you resources to improve your health. They are offering a free 12-week online nutrition program and fitness program for women. Be sure to check out to get started on your path to fitness. One of the goals of this campaign is to illustrate to women that a few small changes in your eating and activity can lead to significant health changes (i.e. decreasing your risk for Heart disease). For example, choosing baked not fried, or choosing to get your cholesterol checked.


In addition the American Heart Association has provided Nubian Fitness Goddess with 3 BetterMe kits to help you get started on improving your health. I am looking for 3 women to commit to the 12 week online program and share their experience. I will provide you with the BetterMe kit to aid you in your journey. Please email me at nubianfitnessgoddess.gmail.com for more details.

The BetterU, BetterMe Kit giveaway. The kit has everything you need to start the BetterU program, including:

• Super-cute tote bag for the gym
• BPA-free water bottle
• Go Red Grocery Guide to help you made heart-healthy choices at the store
• Go Red yoga mat
• Our signature red dress pin
• Heart-healthy snack, Craisins

More resources:

• The Go Red BetterMe Coaching Tool. It’s a Widget to keep women on track to meet their health goals. The tool includes daily reminders and tips, interactive videos from “women like me,” and links to a journal and goals.
• I will also be providing tips and advices from Lifestyle expert and former “Biggest Loser” competitor, Andrea Baptiste.

I know that was alot of info but its important that we protect our hearts and decrease our risk for heart diesease. Also, please share this information with your Mom's, Sisters, friends!

Comment!
Are you interested in the free online program?
What steps have you taken to prevent heart disease?

"I CAN'T WORK OUT, I JUST GOT MY HAIR DONE!"

Ok ladies, the time has come for us to have the “beauty and health” discussion. Now no one is more into hair than me. I mean I just love hair, whether it’s the hair I was born with or someone else’s hair that I’m borrowing (tee hee!), I just love it! But more importantly I love it to look good. Now unfortunately it’ s a fact that many of us let our hair deter us from being healthy. This needs to stop! I do all kinds of things to my hair but I make sure that whatever is going on with my coif, it will not be something so elaborate that I say things like “oh no girl, I am not sweatin my hair out!” I just refuse to let hair get in the way of me being healthy and feeling good. That’s what we have to remember, that feeling good is more than keeping your every 2 week appointment with your hair stylist, feeling good is an inside out kind of thing. If you neglect your inside then you are missing the whole point of what feeling good about yourself is really about. I’ll be honest, it really disturbs me when I see severely obese black women in the nail salon getting ‘acrylics’ and other such nail adornments. I mean huh? What is having talons doing to improve your health? The fact that you are getting beautified is nice I suppose but it’s really skipping over the bigger issue. Should overweight or obese people not get their groom on? No, I’m not saying that at all but what I am saying is let’s groom everything. Groom your insides too by taking a brisk walk and throwing some fruits and veggies in your diet. Sacrificing health for beauty is just plain ole silly. What good is perfect hair and manicured nails when you have diabetes, hypertension or any of the other myriad of diseases that afflict us.

From now on reverse your thinking. Make your beauty regimen fit your healthy lifestyle instead of the other way around. After all, when you are your best you, that’s when your real beauty shines through.

You Are What You Drink

I have always known that soft drinks and sweetened juices are really high in calories. But I was shocked to learn that for most Americans almost a quarter of their daily calories come from these high calorie drinks. As I get more consicous about my eating habits I am also going to try and count down on all the sugary drinks. I'm going to try and substitute the sugary drinks with Crystal Light or Minute Maid Light Lemonade (it doesn't taste too bad).

Breaking the habit of drinking kool aid, soft drinks, lemonade, etc. is a hard habit to break because most people in our communities grow up drinking this stuff. It's cheaper than 100% Juice and it tastes great. I admit is difficult for me, I crave fruity drinks from time to time sometimes water just doesn't cut it. But decreasing my caloric intake by 21% is definitely worth switching lemonade for lemonade light. It is clear that sweetened fruit drinks and soda are causing problems in the African American Community. Several studies have found that Soft drinks are linked to increased risk for Diabetes in African America Women.

In a study at Boston Univerisity they found that Women who consumed two or more soft drinks a day had a 24 percent increase in incidence of relative to women who drank less than one soft drink per month. A similar association was observed for sweetened fruit drinks, with a 31 percent increase observed for two or more servings per day relative to less than one per month.


If you haven't already starting adding more water and cutting the soft drinks these articles should convince you!

Study Links Soft Drinks and Fruit Drinks with Risk of Diabetes in African American Women


You Are Also What You Drink

Popeyes or KFC?

This choice is made on daily basis in our community because there are several locations where KFC and Popeyes are right next to each other ( don't believe me, check out the southside of chicago). If you don't want fried chicken you have several other local fast food options around. Want to eat something healthy? Looking for a Trader Joes, Whole Foods, Panera, Jamba Juice, a Sushi Spot? You won't find one in most areas that are heavily populated by Blacks.

So, how exactly are we supposed to eat healthy? In most cases, you have to drive 15 minutes to find food that is slightly healthy. You really don't have much of chance at eating healthy unless you have the 4.50/gallon to drive somewhere and get some "healthy food" or prepare all your own meals.

It really seems like our people are set up for failure. Even if healthy food was a little more accessible we still have the problem of the ridiculous cost.......(next post)

Well, I just had to get this off my chest. I'll probably add more to this post.

Please Comment
I can only speak from my experience in Chicago neighborhoods. So please share your experiences!!

"I'M THICK!!" : Are Black Women in Denial About Their Health??

You have all heard these words thrown around; Thick, Voluptuous, etc. But what do these words really mean? Are women that use these words to describe themselves considered to be healthy? Is the popularity of terms like "Thick", "F.A.T." (Fabulous and Thick) increasing obesity in Black Women?

My 2 Cents:
A recent conversation with a friend made me realize that there are varying definitions to the word "Thick", some that may be detrimental to the health of Black Women.

Some people consider "Thick" to be a woman with a small waist, relatively flat stomach, thick legs, and large breasts. The word is also used to describe women that are overweight.
For example, Mo'Nique considers her self to be "Thick". As a matter of fact she calls herself Fabulous And Thick (FAT). Now, I am all for women of all shapes and sizes embracing their beauty and having confidence. But it is also important for women to be aware of how much their weight affects their risk for diabetes, breast cancer, and other diseases plaguing the Black Community. So as long Black women that consider themselves "Thick" are concerned about improving their health and making significant changes in their physical activity and eating habits, I'm all for it!!

I try to avoid these types of classifications. While I recognize that I'm not my ideal weight or size. I try stay focused on my goal of physical fitness, decreasing my chance at disease, and increasing my life expectancy.


What Others Say (I do not endorse the validity of anything below) :

This is a rating system I found online; Originally posted by GeniusG

"Skinny" (Naomi Campbell)
"Slim" (Ashanti)
"Medium" (Gabrielle Union, Ericka Alexander)
"Thick" (Lisa Nicole Carson, Kenya Moore)
"Hella Thick" (Buffie the Body, Ki-Toy Johnson)
"Buff" (Serena Williams, Jana Stewart)
"Super Thick" (Queen Latifah, Kym Whitley)
"Big" (Monique)

Here's an Article I found: Click the title for the full Article
The Bridge: Thick, Healthy, or Fat , By Darryl James:
I remember in the late 1980’s when Black men first started using the word “thick” to define a woman with ample bottom and/or breasts. We knew what we were describing and it was more about T & A than the result of too many Twinkies, Ho-Hos, Moo-Moos and Cow-Cows.
We also knew that “healthy” was a term reserved for women with a little meat on their bones. They really were considered healthy because they ate regular meals (that they often cooked at home) and had beautiful bountiful bodies to show for it. They were proportionate and anything but obese.............(click title for more)



What Do You Think?
I think this topic is worthy of discussion. I am really interested in your thoughts on the issue. I'm am concerned with how these terms affect the health of Black women.