Taking a step back...

So I didn't do Weigh-In Wednesday this week. And it wasn't that I forgot. I am very aware of my weigh-in day every single week....actually ima go ahead and admit, I was getting obsessed about my goal number of 150 lbs. On Wednesday I woke up as usual, went to the potty and jumped on the scale. I weighed 153...and that was exciting because I was down 1 pound from the week before. (The obsessive part soon followed.) After I had a glass of water and chilled out for a second, I jumped on the scale again. This time to my befuddlement I weighed 154! How did I gain a pound in the course of 10 minutes? I of course attributed my "magical" weight gain to that glass of water. (Told you I was obsessing.) So I told myself that I would just re-weigh myself after my workout that morning...and I did. I still weighed 154! This process kinda continued until today (Friday.)

I hadn't told anyone that I was obsessing about my magical number until today. I was on my way to the gym with my boyfriend and I told him. And I told him that I wanted to stop it. I want to enjoy my journey as I watch my body change. Because honestly when the number that I expected didn't show up, I was disappointed in my performance. And I didn't appreciate what I had accomplished.

Some of my accomplishments that I am proud of:

• I have worked out 5-6 days a week consistently for months now.
  
• I have noticed a considerable change in my clothes.
• I have motivated others to join me in this healthy lifestyle.
• I am happy and energetic.

I gotta recognize that this is a never-ending life-style. If I keep focusing on that number, then what happens after I hit that number? I am not saying that I am gonna stop weighing myself. And I am not saying that having a goal is bad. I am just not gonna focus or obsess anymore. And I plan on celebrating the small milestones and highlights.

I know that this may sound exactly contrary to what I said in the beginning of my blog posts about having a goal, but I am learning myself along the way. This blog of mine is my trial and error. I am NOT an expert on any of this. And the real learning comes from experience and making mistakes. The point is to try something!!

Have a healthy weekend...leave your thoughts and comments.

LaQuesha

Weigh-In Wednesday

No change on the scale today. But this is my typical pattern. I seem to be losing about a half a pound a week, which is good for me. I am happy with my results. I am happy because I eat like I am NOT on a diet. I eat for real life. It is crazy when you have a healthy lifestyle people assume that you eat only salads and Lean Cuisines. Well I am here to testify that you can eat pizza, cookies, and ice cream. You just have to be smart about it.

Lemme go ahead and be completely honest. I love to eat. That is why I workout so much. I workout 6 days a week and this tends to make me VERY hungry because of all the calories I'm burning. If I didn't eat as much as I did, I would be an absolute mess. The important thing is learning how much fuel your body needs to effectively run and what fuel works the best.

Learn to track your caloric intake. If you don't have a Bodybugg that tracks your calorie burn like I do, check online for the approximate burn for various activities. There are so many resources available to get you, and keep you, on track. It is up to you to make that happen. Now what I need to make happen is seeing that 153 on the scale next week. I was slightly bad last week. And starting today, not next week, I am cleaning up my diet so that I can hit that goal. What are you working towards? How are your goals coming along?

LaQuesha

3/3: 159
3/10: 159
3/17: 159
3/24: 158
3/31:158
4/7: 156
4/14: 155
4/21: 155
4/28: 155
5/5: 154
5/12: 154

Crazy in love...and losing weight

My boyfriend has a saying regarding relationships that is very profound, he says that one person in the relationship can't be a crackhead while the other one goes to church. Basically, both people in the relationship have to be on the same page. This is the exact same philosophy that we bring to our health...we are both very health conscious. I don't think it would work if I were sitting around eating cake all the time, while he spends 2 hours a day, 6 days a week in the gym. One of us would end up sabotaging the other. He would nag me to put down the cake. I would want him to quit spending so much time away. Two opposite agendas won't work.

Thank goodness me and my guy are both passionate about our health and taking care of ourselves. When we started dating a year and a half ago, I was 172 lbs. I was a regular in the gym before I met him, but I didn't push myself and I didn't have a very clean diet. As of right now, I weigh 154 lbs. I have lost almost 20 pounds since dating my man. Who can say that? I mean, don't folks usually gain weight when they start dating someone? You nab that person, you start eating out more. You start cuddling and sleeping in instead of going out. You honestly just get comfortable and don't try as hard to impress folks because you snagged somebody. I know this happens because I have seen it in others and I have seen it first hand in my life.

The healthiest thing you can do is bring your significant other along with you on your healthy lifestyle. There are a couple other couples at our gym and it is the awesome-est sight. You see these other people wanting to keep their sweeties healthy. And there are only upsides to having a healthy lifestyle. You get to watch your guy/girl sweating it out at the gym. Your boo will keep that body tight and sexy. You will (hopefully) have a longer time with this person because y'all are staying healthier together. So love your significant other enough to stay healthy for them...and hopefully they are doing the same for you. That is waaayyyy better than any other present they could give.

LaQuesha

(I have included some before and after pics...one is from November 2008, the other is from may 2010.)

Weigh-In Wednesday

So I am finally under the 155 lb mark. I am at 154.4 lb. So for those of you that have not been watching the progression since March, it is as follows.

3/3: 159
3/10: 159
3/17: 159
3/24: 158
3/31:158
4/7: 156
4/14: 155
4/21: 155
4/28: 155
5/5: 154

Ima just use whole numbers from now on with my results.

The way I see it, I should hit my goal by the end of June. It took me 2 full months to lose 5 lbs. It will probably take me another 2 months to lose those last 4 lbs. Just to be clear, I am not not a strict, starve myself type of diet. I eat when I am hungry. Some days I feel like eating pizza or ice cream, and guess what?? I do it. My goals are more for the long term. So in reality, my weight should stabilize here...well that is what I am hoping. My rational is, since I am eating like a regular person now and still losing weight (albeit slowing), I should be able to keep it off as long as I don't go crazy and start binging. (I highly doubt that I will start binging, because errr ummm, I ain't throwing away alla this hard work!)

Anyways, Ima keep pushing to get to that magically 150. Then after I squash that goal, it will be time to find something else to accomplish!

LaQuesha

Why do people wait so long???

We all, especially women, notice changes in our bodies. We have to because if we change too much, our clothes fit differently. We start to feel differently. So I am wondering, and wish that someone would actually answer me, why do people wait so long to get their health on track?

I was in the ladies' locker room last week, and I saw this lady getting dressed for her work day. I wasn't all out gawking, but I caught glimpses of her in the mirror without being very obvious. This lady had soooo much extra skin, like a deflated balloon. You could tell that she was really big and that she recently lost ALOT of weight. She was also an older lady. So not only does she have all this extra skin, the fact that she is older means that her skin just won't pop back into place...it has been so stretched out for way too long. This older lady's body is probably along the same lines that many people our age will look like in the near future. I mean just look around. We are all carrying around waaayyyy too much weight. And folks wanna act like they are happy and comfortable wearing all those pounds, and that is fine. But just as soon as the real dangerous aspects of all that weight start becoming apparent, then folks will scramble to lose it.

But why wait so long? Why wait until you are having real health problems, or until your skin is so stretched out to start making changes? That cannot be a very comfortable way to live. I personally do not know...so I am guessing that having alot of extra skin and weight kinda makes things challenging in life. If you are actually reading this, you probably have that motivation to make a change, and actually continue with healthy choices. But maybe have to nerve to bring someone along with you on this journey. Help someone else to not make that mistake. We should all work to encourage someone else...I am doing my part. Will you??

LaQuesha