My Weight Lost Journey: Golf Day

 

 

 

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Okay guys you all have waited long enough, so here I go. July 1, 2016 was my first official golf day-I learned how to play the game. If you viewed my video then you all know that I was very nervous about playing golf with veteran golfers, and I almost did not go. Continue reading “My Weight Lost Journey: Golf Day”

My Weight Lost Journey: My 5k Race Day

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Okay guys, by now I know that you all are waiting to hear how I did on June 18, 2016 (My 5k Race) and the answer to the question is…………I did okay. Continue reading “My Weight Lost Journey: My 5k Race Day”

My Weight Lost Journey: 2 Years and 52 Days

 

Hey guys. I  know it has been awhile since my last post, so I know you all are wondering what has been going with me and my training for my upcoming 5k. And I must say that my training this time around has been a little challenging. Continue reading “My Weight Lost Journey: 2 Years and 52 Days”

My Weight Lost Journey: 2 Years and 25 Days

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Hey guys, I know it has been awhile since my last post and video, but I have been super busy trying to get myself situated. New jobs, starting a business, and making bracelets to sell all while being a mom and a wife has taken up a lot of my time. But please believe that I was thinking about my faithful supporter, because you all matter to me too. You guys help keep me motivated to push my self to be the best I can be, so thank you for your continuous support as I travel on my journey.

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So, what is the scoop you may be wondering? How is the training going? Continue reading “My Weight Lost Journey: 2 Years and 25 Days”

My Weight Lost Journey: 697 Days-2Years

First let me acknowledge a huge milestone for myself, I have been on my weight lost journey for 2 years now and I am very proud of myself. This journey has been a roller coaster, both emotionally and physically, yet I have been consistently monitoring and tracking my points, and working out. So, congrats to me for making it to 2 years and 1 step closer to my weight lost goal. And now for my workout update, and let me tell you this class was not what I thought at all. Continue reading “My Weight Lost Journey: 697 Days-2Years”

My Weight Lost Journey: 694 Days-1Year 362 Days

Guys, I have so much to talk about that I don’t know where to start. So, I guess I should start at the beginning right? Right…. Well, guys I was laid off from my job of 11 years (Westwood College closed their doors). Continue reading “My Weight Lost Journey: 694 Days-1Year 362 Days”

My Weight Lost Journey: Day 632-1 Year and 299 Days

OKAY guys, I did it-well, I did part of it. I decided on what new workout activity I will be doing for the rest of this month, and the winning activity is-a Hip Hop Fitness class. So, the class is a break down of the newest hip hop dance moves that are choreographed to the latest music. It sounds fun and scary. But I am sooooooo excited to try something new and out of my comfort zone. The other thing that I have been trying to do consistently is do more cardio in my regular workouts. So, now I am walking/running on the treadmill for at least 30 minutes (40 minutes on a good day, and if my favorite treadmill is not available I will use the elliptical for at least 30 minutes) and I do each activity on level 16 (increase by 1 level each month). After I have completed my cardio workout I will then figure out which body part I want to weight train (chest, back, legs, shoulders, and arms). Once I decide which body part I am going to focus on, I then decide on what cardio workout I will do in between the weight training sets. And I have to say that I have been making progress with my weight lost; I now weigh 224lbs and I am so happy about that. This year I have decided to embrace and love my body now (at my current weight). And the reason that I have chosen to do this is because the more and more I focused on what I want the more frustrated I became when I would fall down. This year I want peace and positivity, so I (me) have to bring them into my life. Please don’t misunderstand me, I am still focused on where I want to be, but faith is now and God can’t get me to the places I want to go if I don’t appreciate where I am now and praise Him now.

Even though I am working out consistently and adding more cardio into my activity, the other part of the weight lost journey (for anyone and everyone) is the nutrition piece. I still believe that I should be able to eat things that I like to eat, but I have to remember to be mindful of what I am putting in my mouth and not go overboard with the foods I know cause me trouble. Because it’s the going overboard that gets me in trouble. I have also started to add more veggies and fruits into my diet. I switch out my ice cream with fruit, so my fruit has become my dessert. But that does not mean that I don’t eat ice cream (I make better decisions concerning the ice cream).  So, if you don’t take anything away from this post take this-NUTRITION is KEY in Losing WEIGHT…… The reason that I say that is because I can run and do all of the activity that I am able to do, but if I don’t monitor what I am putting in my mouth the activity will not do to much. I know this to be true because at the end of 2015 that is what I was doing and I was gaining weight not losing. Again-NUTRITION is KEY.

Well guys, my first hip hop class is this Thursday, so wish me luck. And I can’t wait to hear about you guys stepping out of your comfort zones to get to the places you want to be in your life. Until next time…….

My Weight Loss Journey: Day 512-1 Year and 148 Days

Image result for just do it A couple of days ago I expressed how my journey has began to feel like a chore, and I also said that even though I felt that way that I was going to continue to go to my Weight Watchers meetings. And that is exactly what I did.
So, the week before last we were asked to change the negative thoughts that we have/had into positive thoughts and the one negative thought that I have is working out is a chore. Now, my challenge was (and still is) to change that thought into a positive one, and the only thing that I came up with is the Nike slogan-Just Do It..… The slogan to me now means don’t just sit around and compliment about things that are wrong with your situation do something to change it. Yeah, working out does feel like a chore, but I feel so much better about my self when I go workout, so Just Do It. When I start to feel that negative feeling come up (which happens an hour before I am to go workout) I tell myself to Just Do It…

This week we were asked to choose one best practice that is key to our weight loss success and to plan on incorporating it into our maintenance plan; and my one best practice is planning. I have learned how to plan meals out, plan how many points I want to use on a meal, plan when to workout, and plan for the unexpected.  So, the key to my weight loss journey (one of the keys) is the plan it out. The last time I attempted to lose weight (with some success) I really did not plan things out. I kind of just planned out my workouts and that was all I really thought was important. And then when I moved the Chicago, it got hard to find time to workout, but I still eat the same way and the weight came back. So, learning how to plan out almost everything has helped me to be successfully this time around.

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I have to admit that I still have somethings to learn about myself, but the more I remain on this journey I am learning that gaining weight is really not all about the food; there are unresolved issues in someone’s life that causes them to turn to food because food really does not criticize or breaks your heart. Food’s job is to sustain you and that is what everyone is looking for in this world-something that sustains you, feeds you, fuels you. Food does just that, but toooooooo much of it is bad and learning how to have self control with food will teach you how to have self control in other areas of your life. You will be able to make better and smarter choices when you learn how to deal with food. Weight Watchers is showing me this and the being on this journey is teaching me how to use what Weight Watchers is showing me. I still have a long way to go, but I can say that I am proud of where I am on this journey. So, the take away from this post for everyone reading this post is plan, and stay positive. #PlanItOut and #JustDoIt

Until next time…..

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Postpartum Changes

By now everyone knows that I have had a baby and that my baby is a month old. By now everyone has been made aware of how my labor went and how I handle it. I have received praise and congratulation from everyone. Now, I want to tell you all how having a baby has changed me.

 On Tuesday I was asked if I thought having a baby changed me and I couldn’t answer the question. I began to think to myself, changed me how; I am the same person I was before I had Lee. For some reason that question remained with me and I began to wonder, have I changed and if so how have I changed. So, have I changed? And the answer would be yes, I have changed. It’s obvious that my life has changed as far as sleeping like I use to, shopping like I use to, and going any where I wanted to go when ever I wanted t go. But how have I changed under the surface.

Emotionally, my heart made room to love someone else; so I am not as selfish as I was before I had Lee. I have began to place his needs first, and I though that it would not happen. For 32 years I only had to think about myself and now I have a little person that I have to think about and provide for. The shift in the way that I think is something that just happened; I really can’t tell you when the shift actually took place, but it did. I am also a little disconnected for my husband, family, and friends because I am all into Lee. So, my relationships have changed emotionally. I haven’t found that balance yet, and that can be very frustrating for everyone. Lastly, I have become more patience. I found myself taking more deep breathe and just saying to myself he is just a baby.

I am sure that I will continue to change over time, but for now these are some of the traits that I have noticed that have changed. I have conversed with alot of women and they all talked about the obvious changes that will happen, so I was ready for those changes; but I didn’t know that I would change as person so much. I still desire the same things I have always desired, but this world looks different to me now that I have become a parent. I can’t tell you when the transformation took place but it did. And if any of you out there are pregnant please be aware that you will transform too.

That’s my story so far,but I want to hear yours. Please inform me of how you may have changed after having your child, or give me a heads up on what to look forward to. Until next time…..

My Truth About Breast Feeding

Breast feeding is the nature way of feeding your child, and many women don’t get the opportunity to breast feed their child. I was so fortunate that I was able to breast feed my son, and I must say I enjoyed every minute of it. But I must say that I did not know how frustrating it can be when you are starting to breast feed; and no one told me that it would be so frustrating. This is my truth about breast feeding from the beginning to the end.

When I got pregnant I knew that I wanted to breast feed my child because I know how good it is for my child, and how it could help my body heal and bounce back. But I wondered if I could breast feed because my sister could not breast feed; and I could not remember if my mother was able to breast feed. So, needless to say, I was very concerned about breast feeding my child. During my pregnancy I constantly checked my breast to see if any milk was coming out, and there was nothing coming out. I began to get a little discouraged and I began to think about what I should do if I can’t breast feed. Even though I began to formulate a back up plan, I still wanted to try to breast feed my child. So, I began to talk to other women who where pregnant during the time I was pregnant about breast feeding. I would ask them if they were going to breast feed, and they all said yes; and then I asked if they had any milk coming out of their breast and so of them told me that their doctor told them that they probably would not see anything until their 9th month. So, I began to calm down a little bit and realized that every woman is different. I also discussed it with my midwife, and they told me to calm done and realize that every woman is different.

After Lee was born, I still didn’t see any milk coming out of my breast. And all of the doctors, nurses, and midwives told me that I had to keep trying because the only way to get the milk to come down is to let your baby suck it out. But it was so frustrating because I didn’t think anything was coming because Lee was still so hungry. So, after I would breast feed Lee the nursery nurse would give him a bottle and that made me even more frustrated. While I was in the hospital I had so many people telling me how to breast feed, and telling me to pump because that was the only way to get the milk down. I was told to do this about every hour or every other hour to point that it was beginning to get annoying. Even though it was beginning to get a little overwhelming, I continued to try because I want to make sure that Lee going those nutrients that he needed from my breasts milk.

Lee and I stayed in the hospital for 3 days after I gave birth to him, so when I was sent home I was told to pump and breast feed. My thought about the whole thing was if Lee was getting enough milk, if any milk, from my breast while we were in the hospital why should I continue to breast feed when I get home. But I still continued to breast feed Lee when I got home, and guess what, my milk came down. My breast got so hard and sore, but that Lee was sleep when this happened. So, I began to pump. During that time pumping felt so good, and I was soooooooo happy because my milk came down. I breast fed my son for 1 month and it felt so good. I was able to feed me son the way God intended for me to feed him. While he breast fed I would look into his eyes and I just felt very blessed. I can’t fully explain the feeling that you get while you breast feed your child, but it was a feeling that I was very blessed to feel and I was so happy that I could experience it.



Feeding Lee Arthur Smith,V
 To all the women out there who have a hard time breast feed my advice to yo would be to keep trying because it will come. And if you only breast feed for a short period, it is better than not doing it at all. Plus you bond with your child and that is a special bond that no one can change. I hope my story has helped someone and if you anyone has any advice for me concerning motherhood, please share. Until next time…..