Tested, Tried, FAILED!

You never know who you are until you are face to face with a situation. Then you shall see if you are what you've been saying you are.  I think its healthy for us to have these situations.  How else will we know what we are made of?  Sometimes we think we are stronger or over certain things but you will never know until you confront those bones in the closet.   Had one of those days....well a couple of days.  Instead of crying about it...I decide to move on...thank God I'm alive and look forward to 2013.  Reflecting on it...it shows you that God can shield you by any means necessary...

Read More

Ouch!

Never try and exercise in your Grandma's crowded house. Wounded. Slight teary eyed. Hopefully no bruises.  As much as I love coming here...no one has time to entertain me. Now Im bored, in pain and sad. Monday I said I wanted to stay forever...today I feel slightly different. Getting out of this house to find something to do...an idle mind starts to make up unnecessary foolery. :) Till Next Time, Enjoying My Time :)...

Read More

20 Down...Reflection

This entry wont be long... Just sitting and reflecting on a doctor's visit in 2006 when I first began to gain this weight and couldn't figure out why I gained 50 pounds in less than a year.  Tests and test and more tests..doctor comes in says Hyperinsulemia.  WHAT THE HECK IS THAT!?!? Then the words...obese, hypertension, and diabetes II came into the conversation.... WAIT! I'm only 25 years old...and I don't want any of that!  What can I do? How can I stop this?  Why do I have this?  More talk about insulin, glucose, and hormones...and then the possibility of the birth control I was...

Read More

Letters for Leslie Entry #2

Hallelujah! Glory to God! I have done it! Twenty pounds down and I am finally opened a letter, I ripped that thing off the wall like a beast and read it.  It was written by my good friend whose name is the same as mine without the E at the end.  I cried and cried.  She literally wrote me a four page letter.... So here's my YouTube entry:  1. Apple Cinnamon Water has boosted my metabolism 2. Green smoothies are good for digestion 3. Broccoli is delicous 4. Weight Loss is NOT linear 5. Weight Training HELPS and HURTS 6. People are much nicer to me now....its sad. 7. Running is HARD 8. Rest days are ESSENTIAL 9. Jillian Micheal is MEAN and a BEAST 10. Still Cant Tell AT ALL!  Till Next Time, Pushing toward 3...

Read More

Letters of Leslie Entry #1

If you have kept up you'd know that I've asked seven women to write me letters for every ten pounds I lose and for each goal reach I would review that enclosed letter here on the blog.  Well I have reached the first increment....actually I did a long time ago.  I don't have a letter to open as of yet but that doesn't stop the show, so here's the latest update in video form...and my face! Till Next Time,  Slimming Down ...

Read More

Everyday Fight: Eating Disorders

You don't hear about it much these days...definitely not among African Americans but its real....it exists...it kills.  Eating disorders.  There are so many different kinds, so many different symptoms and if affects so many different people.  My battle was bulimia   I didn't even know I had it until I researched it for myself....I thought bulimics just threw up, which I never have done.  I hate vomiting so that never crossed my mind.  It started in college...very innocently.   I gained weight my freshman and sophomore years eating a great diet full of carbs...

Read More

Food You Enjoy...

Most difficult part of this weight loss journey for me is being consistent with the food.  Food is LIFE...literally.  I have no problem drinking water and eating veggies or fruit but that stuff takes effort, you have to cook it, buy it, clean it, etc...yeah clearly my busy lifestyle interferes with my homemaking desires.  I enjoy cooking food...Im quite good at it.  But on the run its so much easier to run through BK and get a whopper Jr and a small onion ring....which is a whopping 550 calories!   This battle has caused me to be serious about time management and MAKING the time to cook and plan meals.  Now that...

Read More

My Battle: Snacks!

OK! I think I have gotten my meals down pretty good.  I like my food to taste good and if I cook it...I can ensure it will filling, filled with veggies and flavors.  Light on oil and heavy on fiber and TASTE.  The calories are low...and its GREAT!   But between meals..the snacking gets me. Its not necessarily bad snacks, I just eat too many of them....and the calories PILE UP before you know it.  One day I can eat almost 1000 calories worth of snacks when I am supposed to have about 250 calories....not good! Not good at all.  Most day I do OK...but I need to do GREAT everyday.  Im over ten pounds down again...and...

Read More

Packing Protein

Now that I am strength training Ive been reading and hearing that I need to have more protein... I am done with the meatless diet for now... Unless I hit an stubborn plateau...than Im going LIQUID! Anywho....I decided to add whey protein to my diet... I bought some of Jillian Micheal's Whey Protein (vanilla) from my local Wal-Mart. I add 1/2 scoop to my green smoothies.  ITS SO YUMMY & FILLING! Whey protein contains the amino acid leucine which is very important to the fat burning process according to studies, leucine helps maintain muscle mass during weight loss...sparing it from being lost and drives your weight loss toward water...

Read More

The Road to Nineveh

The road you've avoided this whole time is the road you must travel.  These are words we don't want to hear....EVER.  Why cant life be easy?  Take my advise.  Don't ever ask that question.   Some super spiritual people don't like to say things are "hard"...well I beg to differ.  Some things are HARD as DIAMONDS (they rank the highest on the Moh's scale of hardness...had to throw some science in).  Just like diamonds...hard battles are worth winning.  Im sure Jesus didnt look at the cross and say....that was easy.  Face it friends...some stuff is rough! Admitting that does not mean your...

Read More

Weight Loss is Not Linear

This wont be long... The scientist in me...likes to extrapolate and predict what the results will be for the next few months...and when it doesn't happen I get ANGRY!   I've learned that it wont work that way. I've learned that there are trends but they are NOT linear.  So my formulas and predictions are not always accurate but that's real life.  I have to accept that....and thats OK.  Will I still make predictions and extrapolation...probably...its fun.  At the end of it all....there will be a trend line and I will be able to find its equation how exciting will that be... Till...

Read More

Here Comes the Muscle!

So I've knocked off 10 pounds...most likely its all water. I can never tell.  Still meatless.  Eating well but I know that its time to bring on the weights. This is what I am not looking forward to because I know the fast weight loss is over...the muscles are going to start building and the numbers on the scale will start going loco.  I must stay diligent.  I will start looking at the fat percentage on my scale to help my mind stay at ease.  So I am hoping to lose 5-7 pounds a month at this point, if I get more than that; FANTASTIC!  In November, I will begin to add fish back into my diet....and if I...

Read More

Not Today.

Get your tissues girls.... This is tear jerker. No more tears from this end...just frustration, anguish and disappointments.  Behind it all there is a light, there is something greater at the other side...but in the valley its a bit dark.  Today is one of those days....or weeks, months maybe. I don't want to dress up no more...whats the point comes to mind.  No amount of makeup or clothes that I own is going to cover up the fact that I HATE EVERYTHING I OWN.  No amount of compliments will make me feel like I look appropriate because I don't feel appropriate.  No cliches or quotes will suffice today,...

Read More

Ahhh! No food in the house...probably not true.

Did I mention my hair is mid back length?  That has NOTHING to do with this blog entry but God knows that is a big deal!  Exercise and eating veggies does wonders for the hair...that's for sure! The point of this entry is to talk about the phrase "I have no food in the house"  I often say it...and meant it.  Ive found that this is most likely not true... So today is day 10 without meat...well I had fish yesterday...long story... Well I will tell it... I forgot my breakfast and lunch which were contained in my lunchbox on the dining room table.... So I was foodless for the entire day until I got home from work...I was...

Read More

Till It's Gone...

"Now why you wanna go and do that?" I can hear myself upset about my belly even after making such progress...progress I couldn't see.  Rightfully so because I see myself everyday and gradual changes are not to be seen by the naked constant eye.   Until you gain the weight again and realize you had it pretty good.  MY BELLY HAS REBOUNDED LIKE NEVER BEFORE!  The saying is true that you don't know what you got till its gone...I'll take my old belly back for 200 Alex!  Its really amazing how we don't pay attention to the little changes good or bad that our body makes.   6.6 lbs down...

Read More

#TeamFat

#TeamFat. I hate this team!  Yet I keep coming back...well technically I never left but I was making progress...got to 17 pounds.  Somehow some way...17 pounds is now a measly TWO.  So here we go again.... Back to juicing and eating veggies and dusting off the Wii Fit and other tools of trade.  Gotta keep trying until it works... Seems like I always start when Im bloated already, further dampening my excitement...its been three days since I restarted my journey to health.  Logged back in to MyFitnessPal and saw how many people had made so much progress during my hiatus.  I hid my virtual face...

Read More

Shedding and Breakage....Which Is It?

So I am still in the protective mode.... Today I took out my updo and washed and deep conditioned my hair.  I will air dry and twist again tomorrow.  One thing I dont like about twisting my hair is the tangles that I get...I am still perfecting my ability to take my time and CAREFULLY take down twists. I find that I get alot of breakage when I am removing twists.  Im sure this is not at all as bad as what I am thinking but any breakage is BAD during a growth challenge. I can say my hair remained moisturized and conditioned...it was not dry and brittle when I took the twists down which was an awesome thing!   From now on...I...

Read More

Protective Style #1

So I really wanted to get kinky twists because they look so beautiful...but reality hit and I know that they never last more than two days in my head (well may be 2-3 weeks) and I dont get the full benefit of them.  I saw some pics of people who have twisted their own hair and did some awesome things with it and I decided to give it a shot.  I mean I have a decent amount of hair it should work! So I attempted to do an updo and I think it came out pretty good....its modeled after FusionofCultures on youtube I put one of her videos in my last entry about flat twisting.  I am not that good and the flat twisting but I am am...

Read More

Hair Growth: Protective Styling

So I am not sure if my hair has grown at all during my little challenge!  It does seems thicker, less hair is trapped in my combs and brushes and definitely more moisturized...I haven't measured again yet...that isn't due until July.  I am still using MTG and covering my hair and that has served its purpose...I will continue to do that!  Next phase is protective styling!  I am not one for true protective styling because I like my hair to be FREE so I can play with it!  BUT I've seen the proof....protective styling is very important for length retention! So I must try it... Starting next...

Read More

You Deserve It!!!

Take a look at your life. Do you treat yourself well? How do you keep your home? How do you look when you leave the house? All of these things are direct correlations to how you really think about yourself. There is a scripture that says "For as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." (Proverbs 23:7). Such a powerful scripture! However you think about you...will manifest in your everyday life. You may think you have high self esteem and you may even convince others but if you really felt that way...you would treat yourself better. Would a queen really sit in filth day after day and be ok with it? Would you look like yesterday's...

Read More

Still Pushing...

Im still here!  Dont you doubt me...lol! So life got busy... My parents were coming to town, it was my church's anniversary so there were services and activities to prepare for and attend, I was getting ordained, and it was FCAT time (for a Florida teacher...that means WORK!).  So many things going on in the month of April...my head could've popped off!  Despite of that I know I can do ALL things through Christ...so its all good!  Made it through the season...but my weight suffered a bit...working out was falling farther and farther on my to do list...until it wasn't there!   So my weight go from 17 pounds...

Read More