Weight Lifting Goddess!

Cendrine says that personal training helps her to feel comfortable using the machines to lift weights and workout.

Stress Weight Gain

Janice in 2003 as account executive for a major airline. This was a stressful job that consisted of driving the Chicagoland area to call on travel agents. Our family diet was take out and fast food because  of my hectic schedule commuting all over Chicagoland. I had little time to prepare meals at home. My weight soared to the highest in my life.

Before Photo 2004

My Herbalife Days 2004 - 2005

After photo 2005

Now I am focusing on weight loss with change of diet and lifestyle habits with more walking, yoga, Zumba. I spent thousands of dollars on weight loss products. My journey forward is more a simple and inexpensive approach that will last a lifetime.

What diets or products have you tried in the past?

5 Weightloss Tips

Zumba Instructor talking to participants who have lost over 100 lbs.

At Zumba class today some women were sharing their desire to get rid of belly fat.  They want to know how to maximize their exercise results. In my opinion Zumba is a great dance fitness that allows you to burn intense calories.

Janice on vacation in Cancun

In addition to the Zumba workout you can try these weightloss tips below:

1. Adding lemon or lime to your water makes it alkaline. When you body is in an alkaline state it makes it difficult for disease to exist in your body.

2. Eating an apple a day helps to cleanse your digestive tract. It is also a negative calorie food which means it burns more calories than consumed by your body.

3. Adding more fiber by eating more fruits and vegetables during the day because fruits are cleansers and vegetables are blood builders.

4. Drinking sixteen ounces of water when first wake up in the morning because this heaps to reduce your appetite during the day.

5. Walking or biking after dinner to aid digestion of your meals for the day.

Work in Progess

These are five of my personal belly fat blasting tips that I use in conjunction with my workout. I have had results in three weeks.

What tips would you like to share for reducing stomach fat?

Why Wednesdays: Why is it so difficult to find whole grain bread without sugar or preservatives?

Ladies,  Have you ever looked at the ingredients on the back of breads in your supermarket? Ever notice that there are 25+ ingredients? Ever tried to pronounce any of these ingredients? Last week I spent an hour in my local supermarket trying to find a whole grain bread without high fructose corn syrup, sugar, or a ton of preservatives. Do you know what I found? Nada. There are several brands that present themselves as the healthy choice. Labels like whole grain, whole wheat, multigrain, lo-cal etc. But if you  look at the label you will see that they still have a ton of sugar and/or high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). So in the end I had to settle for the item with the lowest amount of sugar. I know some sugar is okay in moderation but these days manufacturers sneak sugar and (HFCS) into everything. It is so unnecessary. If you are trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle you need to be aware that there is sugar in foods that really do not require it.

Another issue with bread purchased in the supermarket are all the random preservatives. Have you ever noticed how quickly bread from a bakery gets stale? It is usually within one day, unlike most packaged breads which lasts for weeks.

So, if you are watching your sugar intake and trying to get you family to eat healthier you must pay attention to the labels. 

Here are a few recommendations for purchasing a healthy whole grain bread:

1. Trader Joes and Whole Foods (the generic 365 brand) have loaves of whole grain bread for less than 3 bucks. My favorite is the soft wheat from Trader Joes.

2. Buy Bakery fresh baguettes (at your local super market or bakery)

3. Feel like Baking?? Bake your own bread! Check out this site http://wholewheatbreadrecipe.blogspot.com/

Comment!

Any suggestions for a healthy whole grains bread?


 

Weight Loss in the Fast lane

Hey there Goddesses!

As woman, many of us probably have a "need" to lose weight FAST! Perhaps you've stepped on the scale after summer vacation or your clothes don't fit, whatever it is, you're not like the weight and you need it to come off yesterday! You may need to fit into your bridesmaid dress that suddenly feels a bit snug, look fab before you run into an ex, or even avoid shopping for new wardrobe because you can barely squeeze into your favorite jeans! While we are advocates for lifetyle changes, we know that life happens and sometimes you need to jump a few steps to get where you want to be.

But you can still be healthy & lose weight quickly. Here are a few quick tips (via Women's Health magazine:

• Find a diet buddy. Someone who will help you be accountable but make sure you aren't going overboard. It's much harder to stick with a strick plan on your own.


• Educate yourself. Really look into how much calories you need to eat each day, and then actually read the nutrition labels to see if its really worth it. Look beyond the "100 calories" marketing tricks. It may be 100 calories for 2 pieces, but let's be honest...if its really good, you might go for 20!


• Give yourself a bed time! The less sleep you get the more you crave carbs and sugary foods/drinks. Nowadays you can watch your favorite shows online or via Tivo.


• Reward yourself a long the way. Perhaps you give yourself a facial every 5 pounds, or a new pair of shoes for every jean size you drop. Or maybe the reward is the goal itself--fitting into that dress and looking great is the best feeling ever! Keep your eye on the prize.

Here are some other tips provided by WebMD on speedy--but healthy--weight loss:

1. 1,050 to 1,200 calories and one hour of exercise a day (but be sure not to dip below this calorie level for safety's sake). On this type of plan, you can expect to lose 3-5 pounds the first week, or more if you weigh over 250 pounds.


2. You may lose even more weight initially if you limit salt and starches.


3. Drink lots and lots of water. At least four bottles of water a day (if you need to use the ladies room a lot, you're on the right track!)


4. Focus on cardio work outs, at least one hour a day! A great excuse to try a new fitness class or grab a friend to walk. Working outside actually has some mental benefits as well!

Curious to see if your diet efforts are too much or too little to reach your weight loss goal? Take the WebMD Personal Diet Evaluation

Now we turn to our Goddesses! Share your HEALTHY fast weight loss tips! One of our favorite tips will win a trial set of Dr. Natura's Cleanse and Detox system--cleanse your body to promote energy, regularity, weight loss, emotional balance, energy, and beyond. We'll be trying it out on our end and will share our honest feedback! So stayed tuned!

**REMEMBER** Always consult a phsyician before you begin any weight loss/diet plan.

RosetheFitnessInstructor's Weight Loss Story!

My weight-loss story

By: RosetheFitnessInstructor

It was a hot, humid, Saturday afternoon. I was sitting in my bed in a house with no air conditioning. I was completely uncomfortable in my own body and with no energy whatsoever. This is when I knew that I had to do something.

At that time, I was probably around 238 pounds. Yes, I just put my weight out there! I don’t weigh that number anymore, but I want to remind women out there that it’s just a number…it doesn’t define you. In fact, I’m not very far from that number now! Shocking, but you’ll see why J.

I started looking into weight loss options, not sure where to go and what was successful. I was reluctant to spend money on something that I didn’t know would work for me. After all, what’s good for one person may not work for the other person. I was at church one day and the pastor’s wife pulled me aside for a chat. She told me she noticed that I’ve gained weight and she knew it was from a lot of recent stress in my life. Without knowing I was exploring my options, she told me about her success with WeightWatchers and she thought it would be a great program for me. That had to be a sign from God or my guardian angel at the very least. Little did I know how much that conversation/intervention would change the rest of my life.

I started WeightWatchers one summer before senior year of college. I lost 20 lbs that summer and I was feeling great! My sorority sisters started to notice my results and wanted to join in the success as well. So when school started, not only did I have a few gym buddies, but I had lunch buddies as well. It was awesome…the constant support I got from my sisters kept me going. We worked out together, ate healthy together, had a yahoo listserv for all sorority members who were doing WeightWatchers to share their success and challenges.
Before I knew it, I lost 68 lbs! My body completely changed. I was a size 18 and I went down to a size 8. I was a 40DDD bra size and went to a 36D. Most importantly, I had tons of energy and found a new love for physical activity.

I graduated from college and moved back home with my mom and brother. I quickly realized how easy it was to lose weight in college where the food was made and the gym was a walk away. I controlled what came into my single-dorm too. Now, I had to fight the temptation of trail mix, cookies, fried food, etc. etc. The gym wasn’t close and after long days working in the “real world”, I started to get tired and wanted a night to just chill and not mess up my hair! It was hard but I managed. It helped that I found a gym which soon became my new family. I got hooked onto the group fitness classes and would sometimes take 3 classes in a row (three hours total).

But then I started to get ahead of myself. I would “cheat” every other day and tell myself “its okay, you’ll burn it off tomorrow”. The thing was, my body was starting to change as I entered into my later 20’s…my body stopped growing completely. I wasn’t burning off the calories as fast as I used too. The weight started to creep back up. Not enough for others to notice, but the scale did and my jeans started to feel a little snug.

So I thought I needed to step it up. This is why I became a group fitness instructor. I figured I would really kick it into gear because I didn’t want to stand in front of 20-40 people at a time, with my belly sticking out. I wanted to be a role model and be the image you see on TV when you think of a fitness instructor. That’s still not working for me! I’ve gained about half of the weight I’ve put on…and I gained one jean size. So I know most of it is from muscle as I teach BodyPump, but I also know a lot of it is from poor food choices. However, I’ve still become a role model for others. Women who are nervous about entering a gym class for the first time won’t feel intimated when they see me. They see a real woman doing the workouts and the moves that may seem intimating. I can tell they feel inspired because they come back! This is why I love to teach.

I’m still working on losing the 30 lbs I gained. I think it’s funny that 30 lbs ago, I thought I was still too heavy. But now I know that I want to be a healthy girl..not a skinny girl.

Major moral of my story for success: You can’t have one without the other. Eat right and work out. No short-cuts because they will come back to haunt you later. Keep it slow and steady…that’s the best way to lose.

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.....

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??????