I believe there are many levels of what I consider to be “cheatdom”. Level A is when you eat a slice of pie. Level B is when you eat 2 slices of pie and French Fries. Level 3 is when you eat a whole cake and a pint of ice cream in bed along with fried chicken, macaroni, dressing and pig feet. I was at Level A/B.   3 and a ½ Red Lobster biscuits. What could I say? I was in good company last night. Oh THANKS KATRINA for coming to NY. (gotta blame somebody ).  

No big words of encouragement this week other than when I or anyone falls off the wagon, treat it like sin. Fall down — get back up. Today is day 19. So far so good. Smooches….  

Today is day 12 of my no bread, pastries, pasta, rice and potatoes and I’m doing just fine but a sista wants a sammich. Of course sammich is correctly spelled s-a-n-d-w-i-c-h but when you’re craving  like I’M craving yall it is by default a SAMMICH! So what kind of sammich do I want? danged if I know. Lunch meat, cheeseburger, hamburger, peanut butter, butter, syrup, jello, pickles or hell even tofu. I just need something between some damn bread.

It ain’t even really mid-month yet and I’m already counting down the days. But what am I looking forward to? May 31 so I can go back to eating all those carbs that put weight on me in the first place? Um, in the inimitable words of Madea…..NERR! So what’s a girl to do? Well, I decided that I’m still going to kick carbs to the curb all the time. I’ll treat myself to a sammich once every pay day and for me that every 15 days unless the 15th or the 30th fall on a Sunday and then I’ll treat myself every 13 days contingent on pay day. Why pay day? By the time I finish paying damn bills I gotta pay myself something and I really need a sammich.

Today I was thinking about May 31st and what kind of sammich am I going to get. I think I’m between Wendy’s classic bacon cheeseburger or Quizznoes —– hell ANYTHING from Quizznoes.  Hell that place is so good I could put water in between wheat and it’s going  to be on and poppin. I remember the tangy taste of mustard. The umph of onions and tomatoes.  Yum!!

So as I end this weeks blog I just have one question ……………….where the HELL is May 31st? Smooches

This past weekend I have the pleasure of participating in the Revlon Run/Walk for Women’s Cancers on Saturday morning. I am a member of the Health & Fitness Ministry at my wonderful church First Corinthian Baptist Church in Harlem (quick shout out!! HAAAY).

I woke up early Saturday morning and got to Time Square and joined in with the good people from my church and thousands of walk happy New Yorkers. We walked from Time Square 42nd to 59th before we even got to Central Park. Uh, that’s already 17 blocks right? Right! Then we got up to Central Park. Yall know Central Park? That big old mass of land that feels like light years between 5th and 8th avenues.

Then we got in the park. Still walking with my crew. Then they started leaving me. One by one. No Paul. No Carlotta. No Angie. No Laurieanne. No First Corinthian Baptist Church sign. Nuffin. I was all by myself representing my grandmother, my cousin, and my continued healthy living habits. I started seeing other folk stride past me like I was doing the moonwalk. I started slowing down. Didn’t even want to look back because at that point I decided I was NOT going to be the last chick behind 30,000 people right….and I didn’t look back because I really didn’t want to know. Then I really slowed down some mo. Kept on walking though. At least I didn’t have to grab my inhaler.

Halfway through the park I saw visions of park benches but even they were in the distance. I saw ice cream cone stands. Felt like I was in a desert oasis and it was hot as hell. But it wasn’t. It was rainy and cool outside. Then I started getting pissed and shouting out obscenities because I couldn’t keep up, I was hot, my legs felt like rubber, my knee caps felt like wood and my calves called on Christ…AND MY TEAM LEFT ME!

A part of me got discouraged. Then I started to motivate myself. Said thank you Jesus and I knew I would make it to the finish line. And when I did I felt a sense of accomplishment but CLEARLY I’M STILL NOT IN SHAPE! Got home and slept 5 hours in the same position. My legs still feel like somebody took’um off and put’um back on the opposite direction. Ain’t seen the gym this week and perhaps I’ll even go tomorrow.

And as for the breast cancer walk and walking in general, I’ll do it again!!!!! Smooches

Hey gang,

I’m going on a dare and I need your help. For the entire month of May I’m cutting all (and I mean ALL) carbs. Not even going to walk down the pasta, bread, rice and brownie section in isle 5. Why? Glad yall asked. Yall probably can’t wait until July because that’s when my class reunion will be over and it will be a minute before I look forward to something again with such fervor. But I want to drop however much weight/inches I can lose in one month. Some people will support me and say “great.” Others may say “are you crazy? Ya know you’re gonna gain that weight back once you inhale liquor”!!! And yall also know Memorial day is coming and what does that mean? BARBECUE! Lucky for me, barbecue consists of meat. So anyone willing to go on this carb fast with me for 31 days? And I’ll be honest and let you know if some cupcakes chased me down 125th street and attacked me in the neck 

So tomorrow I’m going to eat nothing BUT pasta. There is a joint near my gig called Sophie’s. It’s a Cuban joint and they have the best rice EVER!!! Also, I’m going on a cookie safari! Chocolate Chip cookie safari but come May 1 it’s on and crackin. I’ll see yall on the other side of the game……………

Smooches…

FIBER FIBER FIBER

I’ve been doing some reading on fiber and it appears that we just don’t get enough of it. Adults are supposed to get about 20 grams of fiber in a day. This is important especially for us who are trying to lose weight and live healthier lives. If you take in the amount of fiber that is needed then you will go to the bathroom and I mean do number two. As in dos. Uh, defecate. You know………boo boo! LMAO! Here are some foods that will allow for more daily fiber intake.

·         Eat whole fruits instead of drinking fruit juices.

·         Replace white rice, bread, and pasta with brown rice and whole grain products.

·         Choose whole grain cereals for breakfast.

·         Snack on raw vegetables instead of chips, crackers, or chocolate bars.

·         Substitute legumes for meat two to three times per week in chili and soups.

·        Experiment with international dishes (such as Indian or Middle Eastern) that use whole grains and legumes as   part of the main meal (as in Indian dahls) or in salads (for example, tabbouleh). 

I GOTTA PEE!!!

Now this doesn’t fiber related but drinking water is crucial. CRUCIAL! I’ve been trying to take in half my body weight of water plus another 20 ounces. Now the real drag is the fact that my desk at work is not noWHERE close to where I sit and pee-ing all day is not doing anything to bring sexy back. BUT – I need to drink water to flush out my system making it operate better, flushing out toxins and assisting in weight loss. It’s also great for skin care especially if you’re too broke to get some Mary Kay! J

So there’s your quick lesson. Take in more fiber so you can uh….ya know……..sit on the porcelain god and drink more water so you can also uh…….sit on the porcelain god. You and your behind will come out better for it. Till next time kids….happy livin’! LMAO

In the past week my friend Telaya and I have been going over the idea of snacks. She’s actually been eating snacks. What is this fascination I have with scooby snacks? well it is true that your metabolism keeps burning when there is something  to burn. Usually, we have the mindset of eating three times a day or get it in where you can fit it in (meaning grubb). But here’s the kicker. If you eat 5 small meals a day this will do the following:

1. Eating frequently prevents hunger pangs and curbs over eating.

2. Eating more often keeps your metabolism working quickly so you burn calories more efficiently.

3. Food is also absorbed more efficiently and quickly when we eat regularly.

So having said that it’s time to EAT!!! Now that doesn’t mean eat like you’re  about to walk the green mile either…it just means eat small meals a day. This will lend to weight loss because of burning metabolism. Now considering I had Indian Food today and I had a gang of it in one sitting I should be the first cat to take my own admonition today huh?

Oh and here are some ideas for healthy snacks; natural peanut butter, beef jerky, pepperoni, string cheese, sugar free pudding, fruits and vegetables, cream cheese ball (made out of cream cheese, scallions and lunch meat in moderation), tuna and crackers, 100 calorie packs. Now those 100 calories packs of pastries MUST be in moderation as well. Hell, I don’t know if I’m telling yall or me cause I can eat the stank off a whole box!!!

So those are ideas folks. Well, I hope you either learned something new or remembered something you’ve forgotten. Until next time happy and healthy eating. Samooches

I have come to one paramount conclusion today. IT IS THE FOOD!!!! It is the reason that I have not lost the weight that I should have lost by now. I have been working out non stop since November 1, 2006. I should have lost about 100 pounds by now but OH NO I’m still down 40. I could take this time to beat myself up and go through all that negative emotional crap but at the end of it all I still have this issue, I have lots of other sh*t to contend with so WHY and for WHAT purpose should I condemn myself for not being where I wanted to be? Hell, I’m 37 and I thought I should have BEEN married by now but Lawd Jesus that’s another blog J.

At any rate, I remember when Weight Watchers worked. I believe it still works for a lot of folk but it just didn’t work for me. The first 20 was easy to drop but after that it was like trying to find free crack on the ground. NOT!  I do manage to still lose inches from time to time and I have a waistline (YAAY) but I still wear size 20. I could look on the bright side. I used to wear a size 26. Now I can even put my a** inside an 18. But I’m telling yall it’s the food. While I eat healthy a lot of times, I still have an occasional order of fries with ranch salad dressing. Some pizza. And don’t let me get started on me being broke as hell a few days before pay day and instead of going to the store to get healthy crap a sista has to get whatEVER is on sale and THAT usually means rice and pasta. Stuff that’s high as hell in carbs but low in the pocketbook. True story. What is a sista to do?

Admittedly, that’s why you all haven’t been receiving blogs every Tuesday for the past 3 months. I haven’t felt like I had anything to share. When there has been no progress (in my mind) there has been nothing to tell. SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO what’cha gotta do is keep on keeping on. My successes and failures have not stopped me from my 4 to 5 day a week pilgrimage to New York Sports Club. I know what I need to do. And sometimes you have to learn to celebrate non-scale related victories. In my case, a victory is that I have been working out consistently for 2 plus years. I have that exercise on lock. A good friend reminded me of that. THANKS TELAYA!!

So I know I’m not the only person suffering from the battle of the bulge right? If you’re out there, just keep doing you. Don’t allow yourself to be pressured by what folks think you should have accomplished by now. Do not beat yourself up. The weight will come off. It’s as simple as that! Until next time.Happy health and samoooches……………..

(truthfully I think that was more  for me than yall .)

Okay, okay, okay….the baby (me) gained a few pounds over the holiday season. I think it started out with that Dorito tirade I went on right before Thanksgiving. I mean Doritos should just be considered the new fruit along with chocolate. Then I went home to Chicago for turkeyday. And then I went to my other home – Washington, DC for Christmas. Ooops then Inauguration came around and lets just be honest that was another “holiday” right? Next thing I know I went up a size in clothes.

EXPLETIVE, EXPLETIVE, EXPLETIVE, EXPLETIIVE, EXPLETIVE!!!!!!!!!

Well just like other blogs I’ve written about getting back up after falling, here I am again. If somebody can suggest to me how to get up and STAY up, I’d pay you!  

So I’m back at the gym. Working like crazy. Have this damn class reunion I want to slide into a nice size for. But then I decided that I’m going to weigh WHATEVER I weigh. I have to have some peace of mind about it. Yes I’ve lost weight. Yes I feel better about myself but I guess I feel sometimes crappy because I have these goals and I want to reach them by a certain time. I have  not reached the goal of what I thought I should be at now.

So the holidays are over and I am back on track but what I want to  convey to anyone who has weight related goals take a step back. Reevaluate and don’t put any pressure on yourself. As long as you are doing  what you need to  do then that’s all that matters. It’s how we feel that will get us to the mental promise land. Until next time, smooches.

So as my title suggests…. I GOTTA START OVER! Dang weight. I gained a few pounds over the holiday. No biggie. I’m not 300 again but  I tried on some pants and they’re a little snugg (WHAAAH )…. So here I am starting over again.

Sometimes folks we have to start again. This is the great thing about the new year. New zeal.  New zest and a new chance to get things in order. So for those of us who went on a spree over the holiday season with regards to “grubbage” (yall like that word? I made it up myself…I derived it from the root word grubb!  ) This is where we can select our diets of choice, gyms of choice, nutritionists of choice and  whatever  help we need  to accomplish our  goals.

One thing is for certain, we have to make our health goals about us. Not anyone else.  And if we make our  goals about someone else we will come up short all the time. Everytime  and one mo’time. To be truthful (ut oh…putting my business out here…) I used to try to lose weight for a man. YES I SAID IT!!! A DAMN MAN!! While I love yall, a lot of yall ain’t worth me trying to kill myself because most of yall don’t appreciate the efforts. (different blog to be written later). But to  those men and women  that have  major health goals whether they are to  lose weight, gain weight (yall make me sick) tone up, body conditioning or whatever make sure its about you okay.

On that note have a happy 2009 and remember this is a new year. New opportunities and a new you. Until next time….smooches. 

Seriously, Thanksgiving is that holiday where we are just NOT going to be good. Our diets will go smooth out the window. Gym visits may not be so often and what the hell is water?  I was drinking beer, amaretto sours and other drinks people bought me. Then I took off and bought some more chicken, pizzas and got a box of pizza puffs. Oh, Chicagoans will be the only ones to know what a pizza puff is!

So for those of us that have a continuing effort to shed pounds and get back into shape don’t let the holiday make you panic.  Perhaps I probably gained 2 pounds but hey I lost enough and I have an effort so I won’t go dig a hole in the ground and slide my head it it. And neither should you.  Let’s get back on that horse yall. Until next time……smooches