4 years ago

Four years ago yesterday, I was at Carnival Court with my friends & Barry and that night I had decided that I was going to stop being stubborn and hurt and officially make the decision to "date" Barry. We had already been seeing each other & hanging out for two and a half months but I was too scared to start a relationship with anyone because of my past hurts.
You see, that same day, 1 year before I was engaged to my high school sweetheart and he broke off our wedding and relationship 2 months before our wedding day. I was devastated as you can imagine. Not going to go into that.
Little did I know that God had something in store for me. And I never imagined it would be someone I dated 3 years prior. And definitely didn't imagine he would've come so quickly.
So that evening at Carnival Court, I decided to replace the bad memory of June 14 with a better one. The day I knew I was going to take that last step forward and never look back. I am proud to say I did that and my life is better than I ever imagined it could be. Everything fell into place perfectly after I made that decision. Two months after that decision, I knew in my heart I was going to marry that man. Our life together has been wonderful. He is my bestest friend and I love spending my time with him. He makes me laugh and he will do anything to make me happy.
So, in closing, my good friend Antwone was right that night when he said," That's a good look for you." That's all the approval I needed :)

Looking young

So tonight I taught a Turbo kick class and the instructor who taught before me decided she would stay for my class. It was a bit comforting. We chatted after class and got to know each other a little for about 10 minutes. She was really nice & sweet and we are both new to instructing so we were sharing some tips together. She was thin & fit. The whole time we were talking, I was so excited to have made a "fitness" friend. And she looked to be around my age which was a plus. She had mentioned that she had 3 kids and I was like wow! She's still in great shape.
Anyway, I went and requested her to be my friend on facebook and I saw that she graduated high school in 1993. Uhhhhhh, in 93 I was 9 years old which would make her.....37? I couldn't believe it. I seriously thought she was around my age! It just reminded me of how much fitness is important to looking youthful. I want to look like her when I'm 37! I better stick to this fitness thing I got going on here so I can continue to look young. That's all. Thanks for listening to my thoughts for the day :)

My breakfast

I wanted to post this on Facebook but I just have too many thoughts to share. I want to share my breakfast with you. Which I do often if you follow me on Facebook, Twitter or instagram, but I would like to talk a little bit about the choices I make and why.

Okay, so it's Saturday today and I normally cook a big breakfast because it is the only day of the week that my husband & I get to eat breakfast together. But today we are having a barbecue with some leaders from our youth group and I want to save my points. This meal is 4 points plus and 260 calories. Oh, by points I mean Weight Watcher points. I have been successful on the program and am currently in maintenance mode for 2 more weeks. FYI, this can benefit from anyone (not just weight watcher members). Okay, enough babbling. 
The first thing I want to share has nothing to do with the food I chose. It's about saving points or calories or whatever until later. I want you to know that is NEVER a good idea to eat NOTHING because you are going to eat a lot later. I used to do that in my younger days (yes I said younger) and it only hurts your body. It is good to be conscience and plan for a bigger meal, but you must eat something. Fruit and vegetables are always a good choice and even a piece of whole wheat toast with your choice of topping. Okay, now to the food. Is it ridiculous that I have so many thoughts about food? I think it is, but I am not going to lie, I LOVE food! So much, that I actually had to learn how to have a healthy relationship with it. Ugh! Enough with the babbling again... 
Coffee cake. Not much to say about the coffee cake. This particular one is a weight watchers product you can buy at the store. It's small because...well, our portions are distorted and we are used to Starbucks sized coffee cakes which you don't even want to know how many calories are in those. None the less it was tasty and fast enough for me to find the points plus value right on the box. I prefer to stay away from processed foods now,(that's a whole-nother blog) however I am learning that it is a big process to get rid of them. I am doing it slowly, one item at a time. 
Banana. No brainer. On the weight watchers program all fruits & most vegetables are free and you are supposed to get 5 servings a day. I would have to say that is the biggest change weight watchers brought into my life. I eat more fruits and vegetables than I ever have in my life! So, I eat a fruit with EVERY breakfast. It's healthy and it helps me get more full and stay full longer.
Coffee. Eh, what can I say about the coffee? It's a part of my everyday life. Now, I am talking about black coffee. Black coffee is zero points. But this is where people make mistakes....CREAMER. During the week I drink black coffee with 2 sweet n lows (I have slowly made the switch to Truvia) but on the weekends I splurge and use flavored creamer! Mmmm, we have so many different kinds and I look forward to Saturday mornings with my creamer...I mean, coffee with creamer. I can't stress enough how important it is to measure out your creamer. Creamer is very fatty and if you are eye balling the amount, you are most likely putting too much in, and then tracking it incorrectly. Most creamers are 1 point for 1 tablespoon. Get the tablespoon out and measure it! And do this with everything! You are never going to be good enough to be your own measuring cup. I will post later about why I feel so strongly about this. 
So, hmmmm, I'm not quite sure how to end this. It's actually kind of awkward now that I am looking at this long blog about a banana, coffee and cake. But I hope it benefited just one person. And if it did, then I am happy. And if it didn't, then I am still happy because I am writing about something I love...food :)

Weight loss update...

Wow! Why is it so hard to stay up to date on blogging? I love it. I just wish I had the time. There's so much I want to share with everyone.
My weight loss journey is going great! Since February of 2011 I have lost 26 lbs! 19 of those have been thanks to Weight Watchers. A few weeks ago I officially lost 10% of my body weight (which is the first goal they give you). And since I hit that, I am officially in the "normal" range for my BMI. So, now I have to figure out what I would like my goal weight to be, which I'm having a hard time trying to figure out. Honestly, weight wise, I feel great. But I would like to concentrate on my fitness more so I can gain some muscle and get rid of my "fat" on those problem areas. You know what I mean...that pudgy stomach, arm & back fat. After talking to my leader when I hit my 10% goal, I decided to lose 5 more lbs. I am about 2 lbs away from that goal. Once I reach that, I will go through a "maintenance" phase where weight watchers will give me more points that I can eat in a day and I will have to maintain my weight for 6 weeks. That means weighing in for 6 straight weeks without gaining or losing more than 2 lbs. After the 6 weeks, I become a LIFETIME MEMBER! That means I can continue to go to the meetings without paying! If you know me, you know that's a huge motivating factor! Anything to save money :)
I started weight watchers May 27 and to date I have lost 19 lbs. I have learned so much about myself and the nutrition in my life. I can't thank weight watchers enough. I am finally at my PRE-wedding weight! I hope once I meet my weight loss goal I can pay it forward and inspire others to get fit and healthier.
Okay, so now that you have followed me this far and read this much, are you ready to hear my stats???

This is obviously a picture of me at my wedding:
Weight: 140 lbs


And this is a picture of me 6 months after our wedding:
Weight: 165ish


And here we are a few weeks ago:
Weight: 142 lbs


Today, I am 138.8 lbs and my weight watchers goal is 137. Almost there! I hope to reach it by the end of next week. I hope this inspired you and let me know if there is anyway I can help you on your weight loss challenge.

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