How can you not love Sir Charles:
Friday, March 30, 2012
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Treat of Choice: Smoothie from Jugo Juice
Either way, the smoothies from Jugo Juice are totally worth if you ask me. They're not only made with 100% real fruit, but they're also good for you; totalling about 5 points (on the old program) for a 24oz smoothie.
I know it's tempting to opt for the bad stuff when treating yourself, but there's nothing like treating yourself to something that not only taste just as good as the bad stuff, but is good for you at the same time.
Phots-source: www.googleimages.com
Phots-source: www.googleimages.com
Down 1 Dress Size...but...
So I'm officially down a dress size but, for some reason, my mind hasn't caught up to the fact that I'm at a much smaller size than the previous size I was wearing. Take the last couple of weeks for example, I was out shopping for a new dress for an event I was to attend the week after, and naturally I gravitated toward the size I had grown quite accustomed to for so long-a size 14/XL. So I went and grabbed the dress, tried it on, and when I came out to get a better glimpse in the full length mirror outside of the change room, the floor lady was like "ahhh that dress is a tad bit big on you, you definitely need a smaller one". I was like, what is this lady talking about, is she crazy, I'm thinking, "there's no way that I'm a much smaller size as this lady is suggesting."
So as the story goes, the floor lady grabbed me the next size down a- 12/L and of course, it fit much better than the initial size I had grabbed. I was down a size and I couldn't believe it, and despite being down in size my mind had a hard time catching up to it.
Interesting thing is that I'm not the only one this has happened to. When my best-friend had lost weight a few years back and had gotten down to a size 6/8 her mind was telling her that she was still the size she was months prior-size 10/12. It took a while for her mind to catch up to the fact that she was a smaller size, not to mention the few taunts she received from friends and family that her clothes were way too loose on her and she needed much smaller, fitting clothing. The same thing with a few of the members at my meeting who had lost weight on Weight Watchers; I'm talking 50/100/150 pounds. Despite losing significant amounts of weight, they were still living in their former fatter selves and believed that they were much bigger than they presented.
I'm not sure why those of us losing weight go through this, but it's quite fascinating and one that I attribute to living in a culture or a society where nothing ever seems to be good enough and that seems to be the case with these examples.
My only hope is that as I'm losing weight, I come to embrace the little changes that come my way, especially as my appearance starts to change with weight loss . I'm of the mind-frame where: when I lose this weight, I want to keep it off for as long as I possibly can and if I can do those little things to embrace where I'm at with each day, it'll make the world of a difference.
Mo'Nique: Fighting to Reach Goal Weight
“I want to get to 180. That’s an amazing weight for me. I’m still a thick girl but it’s a healthy weight.”
Academy-winning actress and comedian Mo'Nique is not playing around these days. Ever since BET cancelled her show, she's back watching her diet and exercising 5 times per week in an attempt to lose even more weight than she did last year and finally reach her goal weight of 180 pounds.
Long-time followers and critics of Mo'Nique are not too happy with the once full-size woman, claiming that she's becoming one of those skinny chicks she used to despise, but Mo'Nique is keeping it real by spreading awareness that her former way of living was one that wasn't healthy and one that easily could have pushed her to the brink of death. You go Mo'Nique!
Photo-source: www.clutchmagonline.com
Weigh-in and Update-Week #9
It's officially 9 weeks since I've been on WW and as of today I'm down .8 pounds. Didn't lose as much as I expected to, but hey, a loss is a loss, as I always say, and I'll definitely take the .8 of a pound vs. not losing anything.
As far as updates, last week was a bit challenging in that I had days where I was just starving, and when I say starving, that insane type of starving where you're going to lose your mind. The ironic part is that I've pretty much been eating the same type of things over the previous weeks as I was this week and I really can't pin-point what was different this time around. It could be that the additional days of exercise and strength training has boosted my metabolism and as a result I'm having to compensate by eating more, but who knows. I think for this coming week, I may have to experiment with the program a little by using my Activity Points. If you're not quite familiar with WW Activity Points (AP's), AP's are points you can earn each week by incorporating exercise into the program. So for example, on the old WW program (which I decided to go back to), if I exercise on one day for a total of 30 minutes at medium intensity I can earn 2 points. I then have the option to trade in those points for food or I can leave them untouched. The only catch is that those additional points MUST be used the same week you earn them.
I've never really bothered much to use my AP's for fear of not losing, but I think my body's trying to tell me something with the increased hunger levels and it may be time to dip into those points I've been avoiding for so long.
Aside from the increased hunger levels, the program is going pretty well and I am more determined than ever to reach my goal weight. I have my days where I feel like caving in (as I'm sure we all do) but I'm feeling pretty optimistic that this time around will be different.
Happy Saturday (oh and St. Patty's Day) everyone!
Results
01/15/12: -2.2
01/28/12: -2.0
02/01/12: -3.2
02/11/12: -0.8
02/18/12: +1.4
02/25/12: +1.2
03/03/12: -3.4
03/10/12: -1.2
03/17/12: -0.8
Total Weigh lost:
13.6 pounds
As far as updates, last week was a bit challenging in that I had days where I was just starving, and when I say starving, that insane type of starving where you're going to lose your mind. The ironic part is that I've pretty much been eating the same type of things over the previous weeks as I was this week and I really can't pin-point what was different this time around. It could be that the additional days of exercise and strength training has boosted my metabolism and as a result I'm having to compensate by eating more, but who knows. I think for this coming week, I may have to experiment with the program a little by using my Activity Points. If you're not quite familiar with WW Activity Points (AP's), AP's are points you can earn each week by incorporating exercise into the program. So for example, on the old WW program (which I decided to go back to), if I exercise on one day for a total of 30 minutes at medium intensity I can earn 2 points. I then have the option to trade in those points for food or I can leave them untouched. The only catch is that those additional points MUST be used the same week you earn them.
I've never really bothered much to use my AP's for fear of not losing, but I think my body's trying to tell me something with the increased hunger levels and it may be time to dip into those points I've been avoiding for so long.
Aside from the increased hunger levels, the program is going pretty well and I am more determined than ever to reach my goal weight. I have my days where I feel like caving in (as I'm sure we all do) but I'm feeling pretty optimistic that this time around will be different.
Happy Saturday (oh and St. Patty's Day) everyone!
Results
01/15/12: -2.2
01/28/12: -2.0
02/01/12: -3.2
02/11/12: -0.8
02/18/12: +1.4
02/25/12: +1.2
03/03/12: -3.4
03/10/12: -1.2
03/17/12: -0.8
Total Weigh lost:
13.6 pounds
Friday, March 16, 2012
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Weekly Weigh-In
Here are my results from this morning's weigh-in:
Results
01/15/12: -2.2
01/28/12: -2.0
02/01/12: -3.2
02/11/12: -0.8
02/18/12: +1.4
02/25/12: +1.2
03/03/12: -3.4
03/10/12: -1.2
Total Weigh lost:
12.8 pounds
Results
01/15/12: -2.2
01/28/12: -2.0
02/01/12: -3.2
02/11/12: -0.8
02/18/12: +1.4
02/25/12: +1.2
03/03/12: -3.4
03/10/12: -1.2
Total Weigh lost:
12.8 pounds
Friday, March 9, 2012
12 Week Bikini Body Challenge
Guess what I'm going to be doing over the next 12 weeks? Joining a 12 week Bikini Body challenge courtesy of the girls who run the blog site Omalicha Curls. I'm always up for a challenge and with summer just around the corner, not to mention a big trip I'm going on with family and friends, it's even more the reason for me to jump on board with the challenge in hopes of looking my best when that time comes.
The rules of the challenge are really quite simple and are structured in such a way that anyone, no matter what program you're following can easily follow the program. Here's an example:
- Weekly check-ins with progress including initial measurements of the waist line, hip line and bust line as well as the circumference of both legs (thigh area).
- A minimum of 3 meals a day (breakfast is required)
- Limited to two healthy snacks per day (***MUST EAT ONLY ONE SERVING SIZE INDICATED ON THE PACKAGING)
- Daily intake of a Multivitamin supplement
- A minimum, of five 30 minute workouts per week, be sure to include 1 full rest day throughout the week
- A maximum intake of 2000 calories per day
- No bogus supplements (e.g. quick trim, hydroxycut etc.)
- Incorporate two fruits or vegetables with each meal
- Drink at least eight-8 oz. glasses of water per day
- No white bread-Wheat only!
Seems quite doable if you ask me and one that I can easily stick to since I'm already following Weight Watchers. Besides many of the rules for the 12 week challenge are similar to the Good Healthy Guidelines set in place for Weight Watchers, so I should be able to have no problem sticking to program.
The challenge officially started this past Monday with I believe 20 of us in gear ready to get our bodies in tip-top shape by the time the 12 weeks roll around. My first weigh-in is tomorrow so I will definitely keep you posted on how the first week goes.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Charles Barkley on Man Food
I love the message contained within this video clip. Serves as a nice little reminder that a diet is not one where you deprive yourself. A diet is one where still get to enjoy the foods you love, but enjoy them in moderation, and that's what Weight Watchers is for me and the many others who are on the program.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
How Am I Doing?
I know it's been a while since I last posted on my progress since starting back on Weight Watchers, so I thought I'd do a quick update to let my readers know how I've been doing with the program, especially since many of you have been sending me e-mails inquiring about my progress.
It's been a total of 7 weeks since I've been on program and I'm actually down a total of 11.6 pounds, which works out to an average of 1.65 pounds/week for weight loss-not to bad if you ask me.
I will admit, that I have gone back to the old Weight Watchers points system since I'm not liking PointsPlus 2012 all that much. It's definitely a great program as far as teaching and encouraging a healthier way of eating, but I'm not liking the fact that weight loss seems so inconsistent from week to week (no different from what I experienced when I did PP2011 last year). On the new program, I'd have weeks where I have big losses, then weeks where I gain and compared to the old program it's not very consistent for me in terms of tracking and getting a really good sense of how I'm doing with weight loss from week to week. Then again, I can only speak for myself as far as my experiences on the program as I have friends who are on the new program and are having fantastic results from week to week with weight loss.
Aside from from the diet component of the program, I've also upped the exercise and am exercising 4-5x/week doing a mix of cardio, strength, swimming, and Zumba.
I'd say that things seems to be going pretty well and for once in my life, I am FOCUSED.
I know that many of you have been sending me e-mails to check in on my progress, so here's a quick glance of how weight loss has been going since I started back on program:
Results
01/15/12: -2.2
01/28/12: -2.0
02/01/12: -3.2
02/11/12: -0.8
02/18/12: +1.4
02/25/12: +1.2
03/03/12: -3.4 (switched back to the Old Momentum program at this point)
Grocery Haul: Oikos Greek Yogurt
My new favourite thing right now is Danone's OIKOS Greek yogurt. Despite all the hype around Greek yogurt when it was first introduced a while back, I tried to get into it during that time, but had no luck as I couldn't get beyond the bland, unappealing taste of the plain options that were only available at local grocery outlets. Lucky for me, Danone has just come out with fruit, flavoured options that range from plain, strawberry, blueberry, right down to keylime pie, which is my absolute favourite of the varieties.
For those of you who have never tried Greek yogurt, proponents of this style of yogurt don't lie when they rave about how super thick and creamy its texture is compared to other styles of yogurt. And the best thing of all is Danone's new OIKOS Greek yogurt is super low in calories, and works out to only 2 points on both the old and new WeightWatchers system. Totally worth the investment if you ask me :)
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