Artist Madrid, Naturally

Hi Everyone! I hope ya'll are having a Great weekend! When I say that for the majority of September I did not lose any weight, I am not exaggerating. For every pound I lost, I'd gain two more. This reminds me of my old "dieting days". What was holding up my progress? For about three months now, I have been totally slacking in using my Weight Watchers food tracker app (which is even worse now that I am supposed to be recording what I eat for the Elimination diet). It is really easy to use but after months of being on the WW program, I guess I just got lazy. The first two months of me not using the tracker, I still did pretty good with staying on track. But in September things got stressful, so portion sizes and balanced eating was put on the back burner. Now, I didn't do horrible. I was able to maintain my weight (which gives me hope for the future). But I realize in order to continue my weight loss I definitely have to record what I eat, especially on those ...

The Rundown: I did a good job staying away from everything except for the fats . I was not allowed to have margarine, butter, shortening, processed oils. I think this category was so hard was because it took more forethought. I did absolutely fine at home, I cooked with olive and sesame oil. But when I ate out, I had a problem. Instead of just looking at visible ingredients, I had to think about how the food was prepared. I automatically said "No!" to fried foods (which I rarely eat anyway). But there are so many other dishes that are prepared with some sort of fat. There were several times that I was mid-way through a meal and then I'd remember: "Wow, I really shouldn't be eating this!" And then I would finish my food lol. Benefits: I must say that I have had more energy this week. It was definitely a hectic week but I didn't miss a beat. Which is surprising because the past couple of weeks I have had to cancel a lot of my activities due to exhau...

I bought this DVD in a multi-pack, that included some more of Hemalayaa's workout, about a year ago. I have tried the other two DVD workouts (once!) but never this one… Until now! I used to have a horrible habit of buying workout videos and then half-way through: I am on the couch watching the people on the screen finish the workout. I am very pleased to say that I actually finished this one! It has an option to complete the mini workouts separately but in the end I just kept going. It was that much fun!!! Afterwards, I was like there is no way that this workout was 45 minutes. This Bollywood- inspired dance workout was a mixture of bhangra and belly dance. But with of its bouncing around it is somehow remains a low-impact workout (there one move where there is hopping involved but Hemalayaa insists several times not to do this move if you have knee problems). I wore my coin (hip) scarf to get into the mind-frame of a Bollywood Workout Princess.  Wearing the scarf, hel...

I' m human, I make mistakes and my viewpoint is flawed. But I'm also determined not to let yesterday's mistakes dictate today's choices. I'm determined to reconcile the two totally different ways I view my body into one true positive image. Today, I will work harder and smarter at being healthy and continually remind myself why I am Uniquely Awesome... And That I Am Fighter! ...And so are you! Have a Happy Friday : )

Most of the time I realize I've made tremendous progress with my weight. As a result, I am healthier, stronger, and usually more confident. Why use words like "most of the time" and "usually"? Well, sometimes I have "bad image" days. No matter how much I stare in the mirror, I can not find that new person. All I see is the person I was two years ago, before going natural made me brave and using a healthy lifestyle to loose weight made me appreciate Me. I can only see the imperfections, the things I need to change. I feel like the last 8 months have been a big waste of my time because nothing much has changed. I've had this issue since I was a teenager but I guess I thought as I lost weight this problem would slowly disappear as well. I mean don't get me wrong, I have definitely come a long way on my journey of self-acceptance but I realize I still have a ways to go.

I have decided to do a "modified" version  of the Elimination Diet. Today is my first day, although I've been toying around with the idea for a while. Even though, I eat much healthier then I did a year ago, I know many of the chemicals in the food in my diet are in no way helping with my Fibro woes. There is also a chance that I have other food allergies besides being lactose intolerant. That is where the Elimination diet comes in. It allows you to weed out those offending foods. How does it work? In the original Elimination Diet, you are supposed to cut out different types of foods all at once (see the "Exclude foods" on the chart below). Then after three to four weeks, add them back slowly to see which ones are the culprit. Now, y'all know me! I think if I were to cut out beef, eggs, gluten (most starches) and artificial sweeteners all at once, I would starve and then I would die (not from starvation but heartbreak). Also, I don't think I could remem...

My Fave Tracks: Clarity (feat.  Foxes) –  Zedd Safe and Sound - Capital Cities Counting Stars -  OneRepublic Parachute - Ingrid  Michaelson As Long As You Love Me - Justin  Bieber These songs were among the ones that got me through my first 5K. Sometimes when the pain gets to me, I will actually sing-a-long. Plus,  its  harder to get bored when walking if you have a catchy beat getting you pumped. My Fave Treats: My  fave  food, right now, is Greek yogurt. I think I’m a tad bit obsessed. Why do I say that? Well for starters, I  have three different  faves : Yoplait  Greek 100 Yogurt (Peach) : When I need a filling but low-points snack, this is a welcome alternative to carrot  sticks ;  ) Per Serving: 5.3 oz, 100 Calories, Fat-0g, Carb-14g, Fiber-0g, Protein-10g *2 WW Points Plus* Dannon Oikos  Fat Free  Greek Yogurt  with Fruit at the Bottom (Strawberry) : This yogurt is impossibly smo...

Nuf Said!

I realize that I haven’t written about my hair in a while. And I will really soon, I promise! But right now, I want to update you on my next jogging goal! My next 5k will be November 23 rd ! It is another evening race, so I guess I will have to mosey on down to Academy Sports soon  to get a warmer runn ing outfit (wink, wink). It is also a “ Crit ” (or criterium  style race). Trust me! I had to look up what that meant too lol. I now  know   it  is a lap course usually in a city. Th is one will cover about 2 blocks.  My first 5K was a flat route through shady (and normally quiet) neighborhoods.  So I am  definitely  excited about trying a different type of  course. I am also excited because I am pretty sure that some of my friends will be joining me this time. YAY!!! My goal is to complete the course in less than 45 minutes (10 minutes faster than my first) and to jog a least half of the time. Which means: In total, I will h...

I know, I know...Months ago, I said I was going to do a post on my stretch routine. I am extremely slack. Well, here it is! Before I begin, I do a few dynamic stretches to get me warmed up. These include leg swings and lunges. Then I start off walking fairly slow, until I'm all loosen up. My post jog stretch routine gets a little more complicated. So, since a picture is worth a thousand words, I decided to save y'all the headache of figuring out my vague descriptions and created a Pinterest board instead. Check it out! Post Jog Stretches-Pinterest Board