Slave to hair....SEWED SOME IN!

Ya'll have heard me talk about how "we" - both African American women and WOMEN in general of all races will alter our physical activity based on our hair!  I've read about the Brazilian Keratin Treatment (BKT) craze in one of the zillions of mags I read - one woman wrote about her experience.  How after having it done, you cannot get it wet for 4 days, no showering, no swimming, and....YEP no sweating!  This was a white woman, so its not just "us."  Before relaxing my hair I won't workout for the prior 2-3 days because increased blood flow to the scalp can make the experience less than pleasant....okay, okay, I'll just come out and say it - it'll BURN!  Lately I've been rollersetting my hair each weekend.  I swear, whenever I do it, I feel so beautiful, my hair is so soft and bouncy.  Then I consider going to the gym.  I usually say....lemme just HAVE the weekend (I do my hair Friday or Saturday) then the curls stay intact.  Monday rolls around and I say "Oooh my hair looks good still"  so I won't go!  I am in the process of growing my hair out.  Its almost back to the longest I've ever been able to grow it (which is between APL & BSL for those on hair boards/forums) back in my early 20's - and it was WORK then - and so far I am in love with it!  However, lately I've been feeling like its taking over my life!  At night, I debate how I'm going to wear it the next day...I carefully moisturize and place it in plaits, rollers or pincurls.  If the style is cute, I don't wanna work out the next day!  Then if I do....my scalp is sweaty and after 2-3 days it becomes itchy so I wash it.  For those who are not aware, typically black women don't wash their hair as frequently as women of other races because our hair is drier by nature.  So at best I'm wearing a style for THREE DAYS and lord knows I don't have the time or patience to rollerset mid-week!  I wasn't like this when I first started either journey (hair or weight loss) seems like it was easier.  Maybe because my hair was shorter?  IDK because I think longer hair is easier.  At least I can do a bun/ponytail and look presentable now.  I think maybe its because now that its longer, I love wearing it out! 

Anywhoooo, I'm just ranting about how I felt.  And I wanted a change for the fall.  So....I sewed some hair in!  That's right I pulled out my "bin o' hair" found some Virgin Indian Hair I bought a couple years ago but never used, did a lil research and installed it myself!  Normally I have a stylist do it, but it was such a spur of the moment thing plus I don't know who I trust to do it here (in my current city), and it's EXPENSIVE!  I'm sure with working out it won't last me the 3 months I normally keep it in, but only 6-8 weeks.  I've done weaves on other people many times - and they always look FIYAH if I do say so myself.  So I decided to do it myself!  I do need some practice I will admit but the finished product is gawwww-geous, and I feel free to workout as much as I want! 

My "best" isn't your best

So...while working out with my trainer (who've I developed a deep personal relationship with) on Monday....I nearly died.  See, what had happened was....last week I was so swamped.  I volunteered to teach the teen group at Vacation Bible School, and add that to my school responsibilities, I was exhausted.  Translation: worked out very little.  So I was totally prepared to "struggle" on Monday...although I wasn't prepared to be quite that bad.  Anyways, he was getting really frustrated with me and at one point said "Look, Princess, just shuttup and do it.  No more talking, no more excuses.  Damn.......if you would just do the shit, we could've moved on by now."  So now, I'm jogging AND I'M PISSED!  How dare he get an attitude with me when I'm doing my best?!?!  Of course, now I'm panting so hard that I can't express my indignation but I held onto it until the workout was done.

"I'm trying!!!!" I exclaimed as soon as I could breath somewhat normally  "I'm doing my best and you never EVER give me any praise.  I have ONE bad week where I slack off and you don't remember all the other times I did awesome!"

"Your best isn't really the best you can do.  Your best is what your mind, not your body tells you is good enough.  I know you can do so much more...I know your capabilities by now."

Of course this made me stop and think....I probably do sell myself a little short.  In my head running for 3 minutes is good enough because previously I only ran 1-2 minutes at a time.  Although I probably could make it to 5 minutes, I accept going further than last time as good enough although I probably could do even better. 

He continued after a moment and said "Your 'best' isn't good enough....because I know it isn't really your best."

Well....I can't necessarily argue with him.  Now I'm out to change my mindset.  I need to stop having a good/hard workout only once in a while and give it 110% each and every time.  I need to stop accepting having done a workout as good enough and go HARD everytime, pushing my body beyond my comfort zone.  Is this necessary for everyone to do?  Of course not.  But when I first talked to him about my goals, I told him that's the type of person I wanted to be.  I want to be a FITNESS person, an athlete, someone who works out....not just exercises.  And God help me....I will be.  Operation MIND OVERALL in effect.  First goal, run for 10 minutes without stopping. 

Am I missing that gene?

I'm not sure what it is that I am missing - maybe my "fat gene" replaced my "I love to workout" gene, I don't know but working out still isn't FUN for me yet!  I find myself thinking about it constantly...what am I going to do today, and if not what then when.  I've fallen off the bandwagon of doing it first thing in the morning so more times than not lately I'm up at 1 a.m. poppin' in a DVD.  I feel GREAT when I finish, but getting the motivation to get started is the difficult part for me.  I'm glad that I'm still going and so thankful each time I look in the mirror that things have elongated and flattened since the start of my journey.  But then I see things that should be further along due to my lack of discipline and I get a little frustrated with myself.  I keep reminding myself that my original goal was to go back home for the holidays at a svelte 140 lbs or less.  So with half a year gone, I essentially have 20 lbs to lose by Thanksgiving.  Doable, realistic, and a healthy goal.  That being said, I have to keep finding ways to make it FUN for me.  This week it came in the form of a well spent $2 at K-mart.  A HULA HOOP!  Man, I used to love my purple and white hula hoop as a child (although I was never very good at it).  And its summer - what says summer fun more than a good hula?  So I randomly stop what I'm doing throughout the day (study break, cleaning break) to hula for about 5 minutes.  I can do it while squatting, on one foot, rocking....all kinds of ways to work different muscle groups, burn a few calories and have a little fun.  I've also used it as my warm up (because I HATE the warmups on my Firm DVDs).  Check me out ya'll......


Fun with Hula Hoop from PhluffyPrincess on Vimeo.

What are some secrets you have for making working out fun? 

Jumping Rope...for kids and for ME!

When I was little, all you had to do was walk for a couple of blocks and you would come across a group of girls jumping Double Dutch.  And if you couldn't jump - well you know you were a TURNER!  Am I right?  I mean we had songs and games that we played IN the rope.  And not only did we jump until we messed up, but we took 3 turns each!  Not a family gathering or BBQ went by without somebody bringing a rope, either!  Ok...so it was a clothes line, but hey that was the best kind, right?!  Nowadays, I can drive for miles and not see a single rope outside...and we wonder why our kids are overweight? 

I remember we had a BBQ at my Uncle's house and I brought a rope for my little cousins to jump with (they were around 7 or 8 at the time) and NOBODY knew how to jump OR turn for double dutch and one of them didn't even know how to do single jump rope.  I was appalled!  Now I realize DD may be cultural - not everyone grows up doing it, but SINGLE jump rope?!  Then I started thinking about it and none of the cousins younger than me know how to jump DD - not a single one.  Not surprisingly, most are struggling with weight issues now (from age 12 - 20).  Now it isn't all about jumping rope, it is about the lack of outside activity period...but still, it does make you think right?

Anyways, I have been incorporating jumping rope into my workouts.  Walking at the park and stopping for 100 jump intervals - increases the calorie burn from just a regular walk.  I have jumped 500 jumps straight (with water breaks), 100x100 jumping jacks and rope jumps alternating until a total of 500 each were reached.  I really have been enjoying it, I feel its a great way to build endurance and OH BOY my calves have been singing.  I am trying to go 30 days straight jumping rope in some form. 

I don't remember it being this hard 20 years ago...lol.  I wish I had some DD partners now, I find that such a fun activity!

Personal Challenge & Family Successes

This week I am challenging myself to consume 64 oz of water per day.  My "normal" previous goal (which I've met) was to consume at least 32 oz, but ideally 48 oz.  I drank 64 oz yesterday and felt much less dehydrated than I normally do, even with the 32 or 48 oz.  Plus I am really  noticing my skin clearing up!  YAY!

About my family - as I've noted in the "about me" section, we have a fat gene.  To be honest....I don't know if we are genetically predisposed to being overweight or if we just have a family legacy of the women being overweight, but in any event, my family (particularly the women) struggle with weight issues.  However, within the last 6-8 months, we have had so much success as a FAMILY with weight loss!!!

• Cousin #1 - male, 26 years old. thin during childhood and early adulthood, began gaining weight after college, marriage and 3 kids.  Lost approximately 30 lbs to get into shape.  Motivation:  admission into the armed forces.  Method:  drinking more water, working out 5x per week, and simply "watching what he eats"
• Cousin #2 - female, 32 years old.  3 children.  Thin until pregnancies...gained at least 100 lbs after all 3 kids.  Going through an very painful divorce...depression jumpstarted weight loss.  However, she then began working out and watching what she ate.  Weight lost:  unknown, but she is looking really good!
• Uncle R:  overweight as a child & adult.  Recent health problems:  COPD (severe) & rheumatoid arthritis.  Began the Fat Smash Diet with me.  Is doing extremely well despite being unable to exercise (recommendation of his doctor was to ONLY walk and very low intensity due to blood clot complications...however his arthritis prevents him from being able to do so).  He has never been able to successfully lose a significant amount of weight.  Weight lost:  about 15-20 lbs.
• Cousin #3 - female 36, single, no kids.  Struggled with weight problems since childhood.  Got progressively worse as an adult.  Has had coronary blockage, referred chest pain (similar to what happens during a heart attack) and was scheduled for gastric bypass/banding surgery.  We spoke - she was going to try to lose it on her own.  She has lost 25 lbs and decided to cancel the surgery!!!!!  Working out regularly, watching what she eats, being patient...
• Brother:  31 years old, single, no kids.  Never really had a weight problem, maybe just a few extra pounds to lose at certain points in life.  VERY skinny as a child/teen.  Went through a bad breakup, depressed and lost 7 lbs without trying.  Decided to keep going...has lost 1 lbs total which was his goal.  Methods:  cut out all "extra" sugar from his diet, stopped eating out, drank nothing but water.
• Father:  thin as a teen/young adult.  Gained weight after having kids and kept going.  Chronical yo-yo dieter.  Decided to do exactly what my brother did.  Has lost a little weight so far.  I actually doubt that he even plans to keep it off...but he's happy with being able to lose it.
• Grandmother:  79, lives with Uncle, so she's been losing by default!  LOL.  She's lost 7 lbs so far!  She also works the front desk at our local community fitness center/gym so she rides the recumbent bike a few times per week.  Sidenote:  my granny is a huge source of inspiration for me.  She still WORKS, DRIVES, and lives on her own!  (my uncle is staying with her, not the other way around)
• I have a few more, but you get the picture.  We are also doing a family weight challenge (which I initiated) from Feb 1st to June 1st.  We teamed up and reported our combined weights.  The team that loses a) the most amount of pounds and b) the highest percentage of weight loss will win prize money.  My uncle and I are on a team together....I have high hopes we will win! 

I am so ecstatic about all of this.  There are a few people that haven't jumped on the bandwagon, but I am SO HAPPY that we are changing our family legacy!!!  I think we should be featured on Oprah!  LOL.

So...yesterday I did indeed go for a walk in the park and I took my jump rope with me.  Walked for a bit, did 75 jumps.  By the 2nd lap around the park, I was up to 100 jumps per break.  And I felt so extremely accomplished.  I will do the same today...already changed out of my church clothes.  Let me just say that I am loving the fact that I am actually enjoying my workouts!!!

You wouldn't believe what I went through...

Just to find a fitness class today!!!!  Okay you guys may remember a while back I posted that I wasn't learning to love exercise like some of you have?  It's still true...I am still plugging along but I realized that group fitness classes and intramural sports may be the best thing for me to be involved in long-term.  I enjoy those activities more than just getting on the treadmill, walking at the park, riding my elliptical or doing a DVD.  Some people use the solitude of those types of work outs to think, plan, meditate, contemplate, push themselves, etc.  I do those things during other activities so honestly I don't LOVE solo workouts!  I do enjoy them from time-to-time, but I'm looking at the long term big picture.  I want to make sure that I find things that I will continue to do....FOREVER.

So...the tennis camp that I was so excited about?  Um, it was in a different state.  Same city name, different state.  LOL.  After that fail - I went online to find a local gym that had workout classes.  See, my gym only costs $15/month and the personal training sessions are the cheapest around - BUT no group classes at all.  So I found one, signed up for a free 7 day pass and today got dressed, wrapped my hair in my gym scarf (a pretty presentable satin scarf unlike my bedtime one!) and hit the door.  I get to the gym location only to discover it had gone out of business...UM...I received a confirmation email about my 7 day pass and everything!  Why the website is still up and running, I have no idea... *sigh*  So now, I'm like now what?  I do NOT feel like going to the gym to do a solo workout...my mind was all set to do a class!!!!  I ended up stopping by each and every gym near my home to see if they had fitness classes that you could pay PER CLASS.  I did not find any through those methods, BUT one gym would allow me to take one class for free.  So, today I enjoyed "BodyPump" at a local gym - a very high intensity weight training class that is an entire body workout.  Its a nationally taught program and I'd highly recommend it.  I much prefer those types of weight training sessions rather than using the machines.  I have no idea why...I guess because I do different muscle groups back-to-back with little rest in between I feel I am burning more calories.  Hence the reason I enjoy the personal training sessions so much.

When I got home, I immediately hopped online and found a local community center that has a bunch of fitness classes that I can take for only $3 per class, PLUS adult tennis intramurals! Tomorrow I will be taking a class and investigating the tennis.  So I am hoping that I will burn a bunch of calories tomorrow plus discover a way to get back into a hobby that I love.  Cross your fingers for me!

Tomorrow I will update you on how badly being sick threw me off...smh, I'll be surprised if I haven't gained!  lol.

Working out. & Epiphany

I've been following Julie (visit "The Accidental Fat Chick" here - awesome blog!) as she competes in her gym's "Around the World" challenge.  I am not sure of all the competition details but I am assuming you travel enough to go around the world.  Anywho, I have been reading all about her amazing workouts and it made me think about my own workouts.  I still am struggling to go beyond 30 minutes per day.  Not because I am incapable, but because for as long as I can remember I've only done gym workouts in 30 minute sessions, unless I was taking a class or was participating in sports.  I remember the days of the 80s and 90s when exercising 20 minutes 3x per week was standard!  Friday was the first day I went beyond 30 minutes.  And I felt great!  I began to think about my life beyond reaching my goal weight.  I know I will reach it, I've proven that before and my personality is an OCD one (lol), but what is going to ensure that this is forever?  I thought it was forever LAST time!  So I really am more concerned about maintaining my weight as opposed to reaching it.  I'm still young, marriages and pregnancies are going to happen, Lord willing - and those are obstacles that cause many women to gain weight.  I realized as I followed Julie's workouts that the thing I enjoy most about exercising isn't exercising!  It's competition.  I wondered, what would motivate me to workout that hard?  I'm sorry to say but it isn't losing weight alone that will do it for me.  Anything where I have to play someone or beat someone will motivate me to continue.  So that is my plan!  I will still workout at the gym, but I will join a tennis league, eventually run marathons, play raquetball....anything of that sort feels FUN to me.  With this in mind I googled for tennis leagues in my city & I found an upcoming adult tennis league that actually fits into my schedule!!!!!  And registration is only $10!  I couldn't believe it!  The deadline is next weekend....how lucky am I?!  I really enjoy playing tennis, but in the black community there are not a whole lot of people who play, and that is something that I know I will push very hard to do.  I hate to lose...although I am not a sore loser, and I hate to not be good competition for the other person.  So I know that I will get a much better cardio workout in than I would do in a gym relying on my own mind to push me.

Anyone else have these worries?  I read some of your blogs and you say "I felt awful because I didn't go to the gym" or "I used to hate exercising, but now it is my therapy, stress reliever, etc."  I doubt that I will feel that way (I hope so, but am just being realistic) but I know how much I enjoy sports!  What motivates you to continue to workout, especially after you've reached your goal weight?  Is it enough to know you are doing it so that you won't gain it back?

Seeing small changes!

I am starting to see some small changes in my body from my workout routines.  I work with a trainer 2 on Mondays and Wednesdays and he usually combines cardio with strength training (i.e. shoulder presses as I step on and off a platform).  On the days I am on my own I usually do interval cardio for 30 minutes and some ab work.  I try to work out at least 5 days per week...that is my lifelong goal.  Lately I've been hitting it, but if I fall short at 4 days I'm not too upset.

I have noticed my upper body is much more defined, I feel slightly less flabby in my arms (my primary target problem area other than my stomach), my back has less emerging rolls and my thighs definitely feel stronger and firmer.  My stomach still has a ton of fat on it, but it hasn't been very long and I am VERY pleased with the progress I am making, my workouts are becoming easier and more intense at the same time!  Investing in the PT is the best decision I've made so far.

I cannot wait until this summer when the pool at my complex opens...I definitely plan to utilize it for some of my workouts and already have a new bathing suit picked out!  Wednesday's weigh in better be kind to me this week!!!

WHAT A WORKOUT!

You may or may not have read my post about me joining a gym specifically to hire a personal trainer.  Well, my trainer - Ira - certainly unleashed on me tonight.  I have 2 sessions with him per week and last week I struggled but I wasn't feeling like "I can't."  Today, I mean I seriously wanted to give him the finger at one point!!!  LOL.  Which is actually a good thing.  I know for a fact that I would never push myself that hard and so I definitely feel it is worth it to get me to work beyond what I would do on my own.  But compared to last week's workouts (which weren't easy either BTW) it was like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with him today.  One minute we were chatting it up and I was stretching, the next he was like "DON'T STOP OR I WILL JUST ADD MORE TIME!!!!"  I can't wait til I get to the point where I'm telling him, "is that all you got?!?!"  Now....that will probably take like 6 months, but hey when it happens, don't think I am not gonna talk that ISH!

Now...I cannot wait to weigh in on Wednesday!  As Bob Harper on the NBC's The Biggest Loser says, "That scale owes me this week!"

Met my Gym Goal!!!

I DID IT!  I FINALLY DID IT!!!! WORKED OUT 5 DAYS THIS WEEK!!!  Monday, Wednesday (with the trainer) Thursday, Friday and today (Saturday)!  I cannot remember the last time I worked out 5 days in 1 week!  I definitely never have done it consistently (beyond playing sports in high school) and definitely never at the top of my weight loss, only when I was already at my goal weight.  I am so proud of myself.   You just don't know!!!

Okay some new things I have been trying - tracking.  Yes, I am returning to my Weight Watchers' roots and tracking everything that I eat.  I tell you - this works for me!!!  I am so conscious of popping something in my mouth if I know it will be in black & white later.  Instead of using a paper tracker, I have been logging everything online at LiveStrong.com.  This is an awesome website!  All you have to do is begin typing in the name of the food and the nutritional information is already in the site!  Less work on me and I so appreciate it!

I am looking really forward to seeing great results with this.  The Fat Smash Diet is not one where you have to count calories and such, but I like knowing exactly what I have eaten.  As I said, I make better choices while tracking, plus with everything right in front of me I can see what is working and what doesn't work.  One thing I think I did in the beginning was to not eat ENOUGH food. Also, you can build recipes there with specific brands of food and it will add up the caloric information.  Very awesome site.  I just began following this WONDERFUL blog Getting Healthy with Melissa and she recently began tracking and lost a whopping 2.7 lbs this week!  I only hope to have the same success!  Melissa is also in the "Cute as a Bunny" Challenge.


Wish me luck this week - my miniature goal is to drink 64 oz. of water per day. 

Working it Out!!!

I have a home gym.  Not one of those bowflex types of machines, but enough equipment that I literally have a home gym.  I will be posting pictures of my fitness space soon.  I have a NordicTrack elliptical machine, on of the steps from The Firm workout system, a 9 lb body bar, dumbells (2, 5 and 10 lbs), resistance bands (both handled and non), a body bar, and thigh master.  Not to mention the couple of workout DVD's I own & Exercise TV On Demand.  WHEW!  Now, there is absolutely no reason I cannot workout regularly, right?!  Oh and I forgot to mention that my apartment complex has a workout room.

With all of that, what I am about to say may make absolutely NO SENSE to you...but I will share nonetheless.  I joined a gym.  Wait wait wait, before you gasp and wonder why I would waste my money, let me explain!  I am trying to figure out all of my shortcomings and roadblocks and what I can do to overcome them.  And to be honest, working out regularly is a challenge for me.  And beyond that, working out with intensity is difficult for me.  So, when I kept seeing a special for a local gym for $14.95 per month with a month-to-month contract, I absolutely HAD to learn more.  Once I went in, I saw some machines that of course would help me tone certain areas that I may not be able to do on my own, but does that justify me joining, even if it is only $15?!  The answer is no.  I joined specifically to hire a personal trainer.  My mother hired one a few months ago and got fantastic results.  I wanted to hire a trainer for a number of reasons, please allow me to share:

• To be pushed beyond my comfort zone and my own limitations.  This will really accelerate my weight lose, help me to burn more calories, and get my trouble zones toned more quickly.
• To force me to exercise regularly.  If I make an appointment, I am going to keep it.  That is really simple enough.
• Its the "accountability" factor.  If I have to weigh in & have my measurements taken in front of someone I'm going to do what I have to do to get those results.  I think that is why Weight Watchers worked for me also.
• I want to get my money's worth.  I won't slack off when working with the trainer because I am paying my good money for it!

So I begin tomorrow - I chose to work with a man.  Am I setting the feminist movement back by admitting that I prefer a man to work me out?  For whatever reason I feel they will be able to push me harder and get better results.  If it was Jillian Michaels (of NBC's The Biggest Loser) I wouldn't feel that way, but the woman I witnessed in action today had such a soft-spoken, quiet demeanor....and that is NOT what I want.  I want someone who is going to MAKE me work hard!!!!  My body fat percentage is 34.6%...I will let you know my measurements tomorrow.  They will be taking a before picture because they "felt" I would be a good advertisement person (I will be posting a pic of my body only).  Another point of accountability - they had full confidence that I would be an awesome client and I will be damned if I prove them wrong!