How Much Will I Weigh Today!?

I face the scale in 8 hours. I need to have my booty in bed. I have really pushed my body this week with a perfect combo of toning and cardio w/o overdoing it for four consecutive days. I have also tracked my POINTS to a tee online even swapping out for activity. So I am interested to see what the scale has to say.

I am excited b/c Sunday I am participating in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk. It's a five-mile non-competitive walk that I try to do annually to support the women in my family who perished from the disease. I won't be speed walkin, but I will turn on the "active" mode of my pedo. Gainin Activity POINTS for a cure, baybee. :)

I'm excited. Gotta get up bright and early... have yet to decide if I'm gonna take RJ in the stroller and make a morning out of it. Guess it depends on the weather. My gidget says it's supposed to be sunny and 76... so it might be nice to make a morning out of it. We'll both be hungry by the time I'm done. lol

OK, I should take my bottom to bed. My after workout euphoric state is crashing, so I can go to bed successfully now w/o the JITTERS! I am proud to announce that Turbo Sculpt w/ 5lb weights is starting to get easy. Soon, it will be time to toggle b/t 5 and 8 lbs... perhaps in a week or so. It's been a while since I strength trained, so I am back to basics for real. But, we all must start somewhere, right?

"Good byyye. I mean, good niiiight."

(500 points to anyone who can tell me where that quote is from. lol)

Shrinkage and Sore Abs

OK, so my abs hurt when I cough or laugh. This is an unpleasant little trophy that I am doing something right down there. I was looking at how long my hair is when stretched. That's one of the cool, frustrating things about black natural hair... it SHRINKS like a mofo. I've seen some sistahs with hair that drapes their neck that can stretch to their BRA STRAP. I will be doing comparison shots as I go along this journey to see the difference in stretching lengths... for snaps and giggles.

Back to Ab Jam tonight... along with a lil Cardio Party 2.

So, I am in love with my hair. Who knew it would take a hairdo to really cement what I had been telling people for four years!?

The picture on the right is my hair close-up. Are you my hair twin? My texture can be a bia, but I love it the same. The pic is at 2.5 weeks. I love how the tips of my braids have coiled into each other. I will post a pic of them the first day I got them done and you can see how the ends were puffy. The pic on the left is my hair today at officially three weeks. I must say my hair still looks great to me. I was originally going to keep these in for 6 weeks, but as I look at my braids, I am not quite sure that will work. While Trina would be ecstatic, I am not quite ready to loc my hair. Don't know if I will ever be seeing as how with this PSC (protective style challenge) through spring I am too geeked to see my BAA (big ass afro) come summer. :)

At any rate, in other updates the mister seems to be finally on board with getting in shape as well. Not that he really needs it, since ya'll know they could eat a whole cow and not gain nearly as much as we do, but I digress. We went to do some running this past weekend and stopped to get some workout equipment and some vitamins for us. I picked up some GNC Healthy Skin, Hair and Nail vitamins. They contain Biotin (which I have read on more than one occasion is good for healthy growth of all three). After following up with my midwife (yes, I still use my midwife as my PCP for gynecological services so what!) making sure it was safe for me to take while nursing, I started taking them today in addition to my daily vitamin.

My hair and skin are doing pretty well as is right now, I drink a LOT of water daily and I think that in addition to the exercise and fresh produce is playing a strong role. But the vitamin couldn't hurt right? In addition, I am soaking off my gel overlay over my natural nail and seeing what the vitamin can do for those. I will have them cut down some b/c after removing the gel the nail bed is left weak and I am on a computer about 10 hours out of a day -- at least. Not that I ever left much, but I am returning to the true au natural state that is me. I loooove having longer nails, they make my hands look so much more feminine but I don't want to be dependent on the gel and it will cut down on my monthly costs considerably getting manicures instead of fill-ins with my pedicure. :)

As you can see, my ticker says I am down 6.6 pounds as of Friday's weigh in. Loves that. And I am 10 pounds shy of hitting my 10% goal of weight loss. It's all quite exciting. I am resuming Turbo Jam this week. Again shooting for 5 straight days of activity. Yesterday, I did Ab Jam and 20-Minute. A nice start to the week after some days off over the weekend.

My goal in the next two-to-three weeks is to BUTTON my fave jean. They currently slide up, but buttoning not so much. lol

OK, a longer than normal post as an update. I'm gonna try to do better at updating this thing everyday -- like a REAL journal of sorts.

Mas, Mas, Weightloss!

*laughs like The Count from Sesame Street*

I was down 1.8 at my WI this morning *Eddie Murphy Cabbage Patch*. In general, I would LOVE to lose at least two pounds a week so this is great for me. I am still nursing so it's really not recommended I lose more than that a week anyhow. Too quick weight loss could result is loss of milk production and we don't want that just yet. In 8 months, milk can dry up like the Sahara for all I care, but not sooner. Soon, RJ will be eating solids in addition though, and I am supposed to recalculate my POINTS based on how much I am nursing... however, when he's eating solids, I'll be pumping for storage, so it's still considered pumping. I'll work it out I'm sure. But I gots me 5 lb star... TOLD YOU I WOULD!

Ohhhh yeaaaah!

Challenges, Box Braids, and Letting Go to Let God...

I am well on my way to the Promise Land.

In addition, I have been tracking everything all day today both on paper and online and am well w/in my range. I decided to let my body rest some today since I did big sets of cardio and strength yesterday. I usually do a smaller set of cardio on strength days but I needed to blow off some steam so before I knew it I was doing something crazy.

Emotionally, I am not in the best place, but it makes me happy to know that I am dealing with those emotions in a positive way vs. eating up any and everything. I am apart of a "Biggest Loser" challenge in an online community and it's a bit intense. In competitions I tend to get a little "Jillian-like" (Jillian is the new trainer of the black team on the Biggest Loser) and I am working on that. I've always been very competitive. Ever since I was a small child. Not in the sore loser kind of way, I didn't mind losing the few times I did ("Second is not an option”) but more so in the "I trained harder than you, I deserve more than you" kind of way. The thing about competitions though is that they are big on teamwork and that teamwork aspect of the BL TV show is that they are all always in constant communication with the others...living on the same campus. It's hard to recreate that same atmosphere online of all places. We don't have trainers making sure we get up and go, so everything is basically you're accountable for your own actions. SO, because of this it would only be right to have completely fair moderators over the whole shebang. Not so much since this competition began and it made me want to work harder to make sure my team puts up impressive numbers... but already, I see that the enthuuuusiasm has dwindled to a little yawn vs. a big roar! Did I mention I hate to lose? And when I bear witness to those kinda attitudes I want to go crazy on several someone’s.

And I wonder if this is all unhealthy for someone who is studying to be a personal trainer or if this is all NECESSARY for someone who is studying to be a personal trainer. I really don't know. I do know that I am passionate about healthy living and being our healthiest selves and that I can communicate that in person much better than I ever could online via message boards.

I've been in and out of moods lately... I'm not quite sure what my deal is, but I have way too much on my mind. I have been studying and trying to make myself a better person. I have to learn to pray in difficult times to overcome the adversity of an argument so that my words aren't tear-filled and overly emotional. But it's something that's not going to change about me overnight. I do need to continue doing what I'm doing though: studying, building my faith, my knowledge, believing I can make myself better and achieve my goals and leave the worrying to my God.

In the meantime, I enter week 2 of box braids (love them!) and I weighed in today for wonderful news. I was down 2.4 pounds for a total of 4.8. :D My body isn't looking much different. I think that's because pregnancy has changed my shape. But I can't worry about that now. I have begun... to arrive. I will admire the finished product when it makes debut.

From the Root to the Toot

I have so many tiny goals to achieve it can sometimes seem a bit overwhelming. I have one main goal: to become and remain a healthy, happier me inside out... that includes my roots.

I have been a happy nappy girl for four years now and just this year really decided to take my mane serious. I am focused on getting it to it's healthiest self and retaining length.

For the past three months (coincidentally how old my son is) I have been 90% protective styling my hair by usually getting a predominantly cornrowed hairstyle with a section (usually something bang-like) in two-strand twist. This leaves every strand of my hair protected from being manipulated for at least two weeks. I then let my hair breathe for a day or two (depending on my stylist's schedule) before I try either the same do with a twist or something new all together. Today, I am getting my first REAL set of box braids. I am so nervous because I don’t know what the outcome will be. I see sisters all the time pulling off this hairstyle with the greatest of ease and it's SO fly. But the one time I started to do them on my head it was looking ridiculous! Well, this time I am coming with enforcements: my stylist standing out of the blue corner at 4' 9" tall at a whopping 110 pounds. lol

It is no secret that I am not good at styling my own hair unless it's two-strand twists, which I really just started perfecting within the last year. I can also make myself a super duper fly chunky twist-out. But I want to unravel twists (because it is so easy to do) in a week for fabulous twist out results. The secret to retaining length I am learning is to keep your tresses conditioned, moisturized and protected. Protective styling like braids and twists, especially with the winter coming up, are a necessity to stop breakage and retain length. So, I am going to need to commit (there's that word again) to a system so that by spring, I can see some change not only on the scales, but in my mane as well. I just took my hair down yesterday and it's awesome how big/long my hair is getting. I know that is in large part to the protective styling (AKA being lazy) I have been doing since my sun was birthed into the world. So this fall, I am starting my first-ever hair care & protective style challenge to see what actually listening and paying attention to my hair can do. Wish me luck that I don't look crazy with box braids... I really want to conquer rocking this style as box braids take more work to undo than two-strands, so I am more likely to leave them in for longer than the week or two I leave in my twists. Also, it will afford me the chance to begin styling, trying pin-ups and what not so that I don't get bored.

I am still working on my daily schedule as I stated in the previous post and I am almost done once I get my hair routine(s) figured out and squeezed into the flow of things. October 2007 is truly going to kick off an amazing transformation for me from the roots of my head, to my spirituality, to my muscles... in other words the TRUE meaning of "mind, body and soul." Next fall, I will emerge a more beautiful, healthier, longer haired, butterfly from HEAD to TOE with a new job and lifestyle. I see it, and it's perfect.

My schedule. My plan. My life.

I have been weighed in twice since my official return to Weight Watchers and I am down 3 pounds! The first weigh in, I gained nothing/lost nothing. This was more than perfect for me because I usually take a week or two to really get in the swing of things when committing to Weight Watchers. So today when I went in, I was ready. I had tracked about 40% of my meals, got in more than my daily water everyday and was active 3 days out of the week. I knew the scale would move downward, the question be how far down? The answer was an even 3 and I was ecstatic. Now this week (week three) is usually the week where I really start to get into my groove. I've got a whole new outlook on how to excel at this beautiful way of life... persistent, hard work. I can't get by with the half-assed way I used to do things. I must reach far beyond my goals.

My two main goals I really want to attain with recommitting myself to WW this time around (besides life membership) is to continuously see progression:

1. Don't miss a week -- at all.
(I looked at my old weight tracker books and saw how sometimes I wouldn't go for a week or two at a time. This is not the way to become a life member. Not at all.)
2. Do everything in my power to FOLLOW THE PROGRAM and avoid gains. In other words: LOSE LOSE LOSE.
(A plateau, while still not as sexy as losing is better than gaining. I am determined to lose SOMETHING every week. No gains. Full speed ahead, dammit.)

I have my pamphlet to be a team leader on my fridge along with an old picture of me in high school. Granted, I don't want to be as thin as I was in high school, my goal weight is actually 10-15 pounds more than that, but it gives me the "after" picture I am looking for.

The way I operate, the way I need to start to be successful at damn near everything I do needs, needs, needs to start with a plan. A schedule, if you will, for success. From my daily routine with life to the maintenance of my hair, I now understand I need a daily blueprint to follow. For life to be so short, it sure is busy. There aren't enough hours in a day, so one should spend her time making the better of every one of them.

From my religious studying, to family time & home life, to work, to fitness and my healthier lifestyle, to my hair, everything needs it's own little commitment in my days and weeks for it all to emerge victorious. My goal for the rest of September is to get my schedule -- for each of the important things that comprise what is my life -- in order for continued, visual success in the future months to come.

It would be nice to at least be at my 10% target before year's end: exactly 14 pounds for 14 more weeks/weigh-ins. (The goal would actually be to be MORE than my 10% but since I am nursing, a pound a week, every week for the rest of this year would put me at my 10% at a healthy pace without sabotaging my milk production, but you know what I mean!)

60% Mental 40% Physical.

So, I found and accepted a different job (part time) during my maternity leave and told my previous employer to kick rocks. And I am settling into my fourth week of work of the new gig. I like it. I'm a marketing/office manager for a much smaller company and it's working out very well.

Speaking of working out... I have not been. After like my first week of work, I went to pick out (i.e., shop for) a few choice items at a couple of my favorite stores and they were four dress sizes larger than what I was last year this time. :-/ Needless to say, I didn't buy everything I wanted... my pride wouldn't let me.

I originally wanted to be 14 pounds lighter by next week, seven weeks ago. This really isn't going to happen. Since this is absolutely not going to happen (I've actually gained some weight since I let the cookie fetish WIN once I got back to work and cooking daily starting to dwindle) I've got to start anew... really getting on my game.

Not only do I need to get on the ball with my certifications, but also I simply must just GET in gear. And I have finally admitted to myself that I need help... accountability. SO, Friday, I got up at my normal time and went to a WW meeting before I went in to work. Yep, I signed up again. This time it was for the monthly pass that includes FREE eTools (that makes me happy, I loved eTools but not enough to pay $12 a month or whatever it was for it). As usual, it's taken me a few days to get into the swing of things.

But today, I finally got my water intake and I took a vitamin after forgetting to do so for two days in a row. I also, after not being able to crawl out of bed this morning because RJ was irritable and wouldn't let me go very far, worked out to my step DVD. Erm, for 17 minutes. *sigh* The DVD was 30 minutes long. I felt flushed and hot and my thighs were stinging in 17 minutes. Finally RJ started whining in his bouncer chair and I used it as an excuse to stop. I probably could have finished, but man, it was a mess.

For the first time in a long time, I felt like a complete novice loser -- NOT that people who just get on the ball are losers. That is totally NOT what I meant but for ME, I am in a slump. Any who, this feeling is something I hadn't felt since I first decided to get back on the ball and take charge of my health/weight in Summer 2003. The first time I remembered I used to be a dual athlete in high school and tip-top shape. The first time (since that one time in college) that I went to a floor aerobics class and was sweating like a faucet. It left me breathing like my lungs were on fire.

I feel it in my body when I walk around the house. Things jiggling cause they have lost their muscle tone and it kind of depresses me. I know I have a beautiful excuse, who lays next to me sleeping as I type... but it's still a little hump to get over. But today, I no longer live in the dark. I accept the fact that while I am still fabulous, there is work to do. No more pretending it's not happening. I have to take control before it gets outta whack. I have to start being accountable for my actions. Weight Watchers helps me do that. They WATCH me. I have however, decided that I am going to get a note from Sandy (my nurse gyno) saying what weight is a healthy for me. While Weight Watchers wants me to be 135, I think that's a bit too small for me. So my LM goal will be 145. As of my weigh in Friday, that's 33.6 pounds AKA the weight I was a mere last summer. It's so amazing how fast it can come back without paying attention.

This blog is my first step at not only being more accountable for myself, but also as a great marketing tool (of some sort) for my fitness business. I will be on the scale once a week. The OFFICIAL scale... watching it decrease and resuming the life I once loved but with an adorable addition -- my family.