Archive for August, 2007
Okay everyone,
 I just had to report this to you today, that after all of my hard work this summer I stepped on the scale and is read 160 pounds!!! YAHOOOO!! I am finally back to my goal weight again after all of my Thanksgiving, Christmas and New years splurges. Y’all during that time span I almost gained 20 pounds! I am not kidding, however, I learned somethings from the experience too! If you want to keep the weight off you must first continue your exercise no matter what. NO MATTER WHAT!! Second, if you are going to splurge and enjoy yourself you will have to increase your workouts to account for the extra calories that is being consumed. Just think the more calories you put in your mouth the more you will have to burn to keep your weight under control. So, you see these things I did not do at all and that is how the weight sneaked on me so fast over that time span.
So, after the holidays I got my plan in order to work it off. You may say what inspired me to get on track? Well, when I decided to try on some of my summer clothes that are a size 8’s and 10’s and they were too tight to put over my butt!! I was like oh no!! I am not buying bigger sized clothes! No WAY, No HOW!! hee hee!! It took sometime between splurges and all but I managed my way back to the size that I am comfortable with which is now a size 6/8. I have never worn a size 6 before and I believe that is due to the weight training that I have decided to incorporate this year. Fitness experts say that muscle burns more fat which caused me to lose more inches than last year this time. So I love that. The only reason why I know that I can now wear a size 6!!! I went shopping this past Saturday for so new clothes for my new job and I decided, hummmm…. Lets see how the size 6 feels since the size 8 dress slacks were a bit loose. I but them on and bam!!! They fit!! I’ll be damn, They fit!! I was sooo excited. As a result, I will continue to weight train because now my brain knows it works!
So now you may be thinking, how will you avoid this problem this year during the holidays? Well again, I will do what I said above which is to continue working out, but I have also given myself a new goal for myself. Which is to loss an addition 5-10 that will have my weight at 150-155. Why? So that I will have some wiggle room for the holidays and it is a suggested weight from my Doctor. She suggested to stay in this area because it will keep my BMI in the right place of I believe 22-23?? I forget. So here I go. I am on the mission to reach this goal before thanksgiving, and I will also work on toning my muscles too.
Well, I better go for now. I have to end in for my first day! Wish me luck 
Tags: Weight loss, weight loss tips, weight loss success, diet, nutrition
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 “Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education alone will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan “press on” has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”
-John Calvin Coolidge
Tags: Motivation, weight loss, healthy living, weight loss tips
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Hi everyone!
 It’s officially the weekend!! Yey!! So, what are you plans for this weekend? Are you planning a fun event for the family? Finishing up on that last minute back to school shopping with the kids? Or you are finished with the kids shopping and you are ready to treat yourself to some new clothes to that new body you obtained with your weight loss program? Well, I am going to go shopping my self this Saturday while my hubby and our son play hang out! A mother’s dream… To shop in peace!! YES!!! The reason for my trip is that I will be starting a new Job with Sephora!! Did I tell you all how much I love make-up too! And for the first few weeks I have to go through training and the attire is business casual. So I thought to myself… Ah Natasha!! Since you lost all of this weight when did I ever buy work apparel? y’all I have been a stay at home mom for almost 4 years and since I lost this weight I did not have the need to do so and now that my big boy will be starting pre-school, mommy is off to work again. So I instantly panicked and said I don’t have ANYTHING!! OH MAY GOD!! I need to go shopping and fast!
So this weekend I will me shopping at some of my favorite stores to get a just start to my career wardrobe. In th midst of me preparing my research on what to buy I went online and checked many retailers to see what styles I like at their stores like Kohls, Macys, and others. I did find a lot of options, but I need the clothes right away, so I will be heading to those stores. But I came across an interested and great fashion boutique online called www.tobi.com. That I am considering adding them as another favorite to shop at when time is a luxury. This wonderful boutique carries clothing for men and women and they offer a lot of designer brands. If you are looking for casual designer jeans they carry Seven For Mankind, Diesel and other great jeans. The price is moderate to high, but for the quality I would pinch a little for a pieces that I know would last longer than one season. You know what I mean?
I also notice that they carry beautiful career selections again by very well known designers too. The one thing I am intrigued about is their selection of velvet apparel for this fall season. I love how chic and stylish velvet clothing can add a bit of edginess to an outfit. Just imagine and awesome suit with a simple and sleek velvet top or if you are just going out for the evening how a cute velvet baby doll top can offset a hot pair off jeans, heels with the pair accessories!! Velvet clothes are going to me a fashion must have this fall and they have it!!
The other great asset they have going for them a tobi.com is that they give you the consumer the opportunity to chat with a online fashion stylish to help you choose what style works best for your body type. Isn’t that great!! I loved that idea of having someone else picking out clothes that would flatter my figure because sometimes. I swear it never fails but when someone else pick out clothing for me that I would have never thought to try on in a millions years the item would always look great! So I think this is a awesome feature that they could offer a gal. So saying that. Has anyone ever shop at this site before? If so, tell us what your experience was? I am looking forward to checking them out again and see what items would look good on me and purchase y’all.
Tags: weight loss, weight loss tips, velvet apparel, glamour, beauty
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Elliptical Trainers: Cardio without Stress
By Jeanette Pollock
 Elliptical machines and trainers are classified as low-impact cardio workouts because you move the platforms on which your feet stand, rather than hitting the surface with your feet. According to USA Today, the number of elliptical trainer machines in use has increased by over 700 percent since 1997. People who are concerned about the effect of impact on their joints are embracing elliptical trainers as a good low-impact alternative to treadmills.
People who have experience with treadmills will take a while to get used to the motion of elliptical trainer machines, but the progression of a workout can be much the same. Elliptical trainers can increase resistance, go faster, and add an incline, so a treadmill workout can easily be adapted to elliptical trainers.
Most elliptical trainer machines also have handlebars that can be moved to work out your upper body as well as your lower body and add to your cardio workout. Another advantage of elliptical trainers is that they can be used to add variety to a low-impact workout. If you get bored with low-impact aerobics or dance, a workout on an elliptical trainer can be just the change of pace you need to get you more engaged with your workout again. If you’ve put enough mileage on stationary bicycles to cross the country and rowed across virtual oceans on rowing machines, elliptical trainers can give you a good workout and burn calories without the lower-body joint impact that running and jumping can cause.
Popular pieces of health club equipment, elliptical trainer machines are increasingly available and affordable for home use.
Jeanette Pollock is a freelance author and website owner of cardio-workout-hq.com. Visit Jeanette’s site to learn more about elliptical trainers.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeanette_Pollock
http://EzineArticles.com/?Elliptical-Trainers:-Cardio-without-Stress&id=323648
Tags: weight loss, weight loss tips, exercise, fitness, healthy living
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Happy Friday!!
 I am so glad it is Friday! It’s the last day of the work week and time to enjoy the weekend. What do you all have planned this weekend? I hope something fun and enjoyable. Today since I am home I will be meeting another mom for a play date with our kiddos and I can’t wait because it should be fun! we are taking the kids to an Inflatable play land where they can jump around and play for hours and then after that we will be taking them to Mc Donald’s for lunch. Of, course I will be treating myself to a nice salad while everyone is chowing down on a hamburger. Gotta love it!! But the kids should have a blast and I am going to make sure I bring my camera to take lots of cute pics and if I have time I will share them with you all too later this weekend as long as I get them downloaded in time.Speaking of cameras, wouldn’t you say that technology has come a long way? I can’t believe I am saying this because I am so camera illiterate, but I love my digital camera. Digital cameras are used by millions of people everyday to take precious pictures of their families, new milestones in their lives, and other memorable moments. Wouldn’t you agree? I have gotten so much more use out of our digital cameras ever since Arman was born, and believe me I was a snapping queen and then turned scrapping booking queen. Then when I started my weight loss journey poor hubby became my personal photographer to take progress pics which I highly recommend to anyone losing weight. Why? So that you can track your progress and see how far you come.
The camera I use is a Panasonic DMC-LZ2. It’s has a lumix 6x optical zoom and 24x zoom. 4x digital with a 5.0 mega optical Image Stabilizer. I use this camera for almost everything. My little boy could be in the backyard playing in the pool splashing around and I would use, or we could be playing at the park. Okay I will be honest I use it a lot!! Here is a couple that you can see:
 
I love this camera, however it is getting kind of old and I a dreaming of a new camera that I can also take pictures and digital video with too. I also would love to capture the moment of a photo, but at the same time have digital video that I could share with friends and family too. You know what I mean? Do any of you own a camera like such? Tell me watch you love about it or what you do like about it too? The camera I would really like if money was no object is a Nikon D80 DSLR Camera with Quantaray 18-200mm DC 3.5-6.3 Lens. I want a camera with a faster speed because with the camera I have now the speed is low and I hate when I miss that perfect shoot due to the shutter speed of the camera. It also features:
- * 10.2 Megapixel Nikon DX Format CCD Imaging Sensor
- * New High-resolution Nikon image-processing engine
- * Instant 0.18 sec. start-up with fast 80ms shutter response
- * Continuous shooting at up to 3 frames per second and up to 100 consecutive JPEG images
- * Up to 2,700 images per battery charge
- * Nikon 3D Color Matrix Metering II, plus Variable Center-Weighted and Spot Metering
- * In-Camera Image Retouching
- * Built-in Speedlight with Nikon i-TTL flash metering and two-group Wireless Commander
- * 2.5-inch LCD color monitor with 170 degree wide-angle viewing
- * 11-area AF system with Wide-area Center Segment and Auto-area AF functions
- * Seven Digital Vari-Programs plus Programmed Auto with Flexible Program, Shutter-Priority Auto, Shutter-Priority Auto and Manual
- * Image Optimization Functions
- * Large, bright 0.94x viewfinder
- * Built-in Slideshow function with Pictmotion
So I am really salivating over this camera. What do you all this about this one? Click here to check out the other features. I am for sure that my hubby would love this more than myself, but until then I will just enjoy my current camera for now.
Well I am off to have some fun with my kiddo and capture some moments to remember and share!
Happy Friday!!
Tags: Weight loss, weight loss tips, memories,
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Good morning fellow losers and awesome maintenance gurus out there!!
 I am feeling so good that the snack monster has left the building since my last eating frenzy. I mentioned previously that I had a plan to get back on track and I followed that plan since Sunday and the scale is finally back down within 1 pound to my goal weight again!! I AM SOOO EXCITED!! Last Saturday I weighed in at 163. So on Sunday I started my own version of Nutrisystem’s Body boost for the past 3 days along with my exercise routines and guess what? I got on the scale and it read 161 again!! Man, was I jumping for joy!!! The read is making me so excited and now I will continue staying on my plan so that I can reach goal. I can really feel it happening this week.
I really want to be at goal or under my before my 31st birthday on September 2nd? Because my hubby and child will be taking me out to lunch that day and I want to enjoy myself, but at moderation of course. A gal gotta enjoy herself every once in the while, but also keep in mind that with those occasional treats comes a reality that there must be harder work to be completed through exercise in order to keep that scale and weight loss in check. So that will mean harder workouts before and after my b-day. Gotta love it!!
Now thinking of my birthday, my lovely hubby asks what do I want for my birthday? I could not believe my reason because this would have never left my mouth in a million years, but I said I wanted an elliptical trainer from Walmart. I was like did I really say that? Normally, I would want clothes, something for the house, or go to a really expensive restaurant. I guess getting healthy has change my prospective on things. But the elliptical is really cool see:
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The smooth, elliptical motion of the Image 8.25 Elliptical trainer provides an effective fat-burning workout while eliminating the harmful impact on your ankles, knees and hips. Silent magnetic resistance allows you to adjust your workout intensity without interrupting your workout. With ten intensity levels, grip pulse sensors and a large LCD display.
- Large pedals allow you a number of foot positions and provide great stability as you exercise
- Get in shape with four different workout programs that automatically control the resistance of the elliptical for maximum results
- Innovative step counter keeps track of the steps you take while exercising and can be customized to your needs
- Tone and define your legs with a long 18″ stride length that allows you a fuller range of motion
- Yellow tinted LCD display window tracks speed, time, distance, calories burned and pulse so you can monitor your progress throughout your entire workout
- 10 magnetic resistance levels
- Grip pulse sensors let you easily monitor your heart rate
- Maximum user weight: 250 lbs.
- Dimensions: 68″ L x 24″ W x 66″ H
- Some assembly required
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Features:
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Step counter, 18″ stride length, and 4 different workout programs, grip pulse sensors
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Ellipticals from $94 at Walmart.com
The price point is also AWESOME only $212.00!! How cool! I told that right now I don’t need the top of the line, but this will do. I just want one to burn extra calories when I am just sitting down watching T.V. I also sit down watching my favorite show and wondering I could burn extra calories on an elliptical at the same time. This elliptical also had great reviews too. So I checked it out at my local Wal-Mart and it look great!! So, there you go this is what I want. I told my mom too, but I told her she could always get me a gift card to Wal-Mart hee hee. Otherwise if also else fails, I wanna go shopping for new fall clothes. I lots all that weight last and really didn’t buy a lot of fall tops and sweaters, so that would be good too.
Well, I better go, my little one is really ready to go play at the park before it get too hot.
Chat later
Tags: weight loss tips, weight loss, exercise, healthy living, fitness
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 Good Afternoon!
How is your Monday going so far!Are you keeping track of your meal plans and diets this week? I know I am especially after last week’s episode. So far yesterday and today I have been 100% to my meal plan, water, and exercise today too. My main focus is keep track of the amount of calories going in and how much I burn this week. You all may say well how do your keep in track of the calories you eat and how much you burn? Well I utilize calorie counter tools from various websites, however there are limited in what they will give you unless you pay to join. Well, today I just came across this wonderful site called myfitnesspal.com. I love new sites that are easy to use and this one was.
At myfitnesspal.com their calorie counter is fast and easy to use and will teach you the nutritional contents of what you are eating in turn helping you make the right food decisions to keep you on track for successful weight loss or even weight loss maintenance. The best thing I like about this site it is a 100% free - no credit card is ever required. So I thought to myself self why now give it a try and so far great! When I registered for the site that have you put in your weight and how much you would like to lose and then it gave me the amount of calories and workout time I needed to reach my goal. I thought that was awesome! They give you access to a calorie chart, how many calories in food, weight tracker and even a community that you can join to get support for other people working on good health and weight loss too. My favorite part is the food data base where you can search for all of the food that you desire to keep you on track. For example how many calories are in a apple. You will type apple and it will give you the nutritional breakdown.
So if you are looking for a new and fast way to keep you on track and on focus I totally recommend signing up! It’s FREE!!
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 “It takes a little courage, and a little self-control. And some grim determination, If you want to reach the goal. It takes a great deal of striving, and a firm and stern-set chin. No matter what the battle, if you really want to win, there’s no easy path to glory. There is no road to fame. Life, however we may view it, Is no simple parlor game; But its prizes call for fighting, For endurance and for grit; For a rugged disposition that will not quit.”
-Navy SEAL Masterchief
Tags: Motivation, weight loss, weight loss tips
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 Hi everyone!!
I hope that you all are doing well and continuing to work closer to your individual weight loss goals this week. Me on the other hand sabotaged what would have been a weigh in for goal today (160lbs!!). Why? Well in the middle of the week I ate dinner fairly early before it was time for me to go to work in the evening, and I forgot to take a snack with me to work. So as a result, I got home from work and I was hungry for anything with a crunch or sweet taste to it. I swear the snack monster came out of me instantly. I went through of half of a family size bag of Sun Chips, not the small one ya’ll this big one. I am not kidding! Can you imagine the amount of sodium that are in those chips and now how much water I am retaining? Good Grief I was bad! Then to make the week go downhill after that the girls at my job was talking about food, in particular chips and dip. The dip they told me about was a pack of Philadelphia Fat free cream cheese with a layer of Hot pepper raspberry preserves on top. Then you would use wheat thins along with that. I immediately went to H-E-B after work(my grocery store) and bought everything, this was on thursday and I ate half and then I ate all of it that night.
Boo hoo . So Friday arrived and I got on the scale and it ready 162.5 and I was at 160.8 earlier in the week. It never ceases to amaze me how fast the pounds can pack on and how slow it takes to get rid of them. Geez!! So, I got my but in action to workout the remainder of the week in hope of being at goal today and with all of my work the scale is at 163 today! Got to love it. Now I could be mad and go on a binge frenzy, but I will refraim and get back on track.
Today I started back to my normal eating for weight loss. I had for breakfast:
- Scrambled eggs 140 cals
- 1 serving of grapes 60 cals
- Jennie 0 turkey bratwurst 130 cals
Lunch:
- protein shake- chocolate by Slim Fast. I found this last week and it is actually yummy! 220 cals
- 1/2 banana 57 cals
Snack
- Banana. The other half 57 cals
- Kraft String cheese 90 cals
Dinner-
- Grilled chicken 4 oz
- stewed cabbage
- fruit salad.
dessert-
I am not too sure yet. I have to go into work tonight! Did I mentioned that it is my last week at there and I will be starting a new job at Sephora!! I am so excited and yet scared because I will be putting my soon in a preschool this fall, 3 days a week, and I hope that he likes it. We toured the school together and he loved it, so I hope that feeling sticks!! But anyway, I will pack myself some carrots because I think I am just craving something cruchy, and some fruit or dairy product. My hopes is that this will solving my dying need to snack like crazy when I get home later tonight! Please say a prayer. lol.
Today is my day off from exercise, because I worked out 6 days straight last week and the body is tired. Yesterday I did:
- 30 mins of Step aerobics
- 30 mins of Kick boxing
- 20 mins of abs and weight training on my biceps, triceps, lats, and deltoids.
I feel good about the work, but my triceps are so sore. I did triceps pull downs on DH bowflex 30 pounds on each arm and wow!! I am starting to get definition in that area that I have never seen. I saw the little horse shoe developing. Yip!! Yip!! I am not trying to get bulky I just want to be toned and tough!! Hee hee.
Well, I am off to surf the web to see if I find some interested stuff. I you have a bad week and are ready to get back on track or need advice please feel free to drop me a line here at anytime.
No more snack monster this week!! Goal here I come!!
Tags: weight loss, weight loss tips, exercise, diet, nutrition, weight loss challenges
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 Desserts and the Key to Maintaining Weight Loss
By Milton Whitley
Satisfying the proverbial sweet tooth and losing weight or keeping off the pounds that you have already lost can be a daunting task. When you see the dessert, you want to eat it the whole thing and worry about the extra calories later. This method does not always work well when trying to keep the weight off. There are some desserts out that can help keep the weight off and satisfy your craving for sweets.
Fruit cobblers, yogurt mixtures, fruit pies, and low fat cakes are just a few. However, the key to maintaining your weight loss, having your cake and eating it to is in watching your portion size. You can always run into the problem of too much of a good thing. You want to look at the dessert’s calorie count and fat grams associated with the portion size before you begin eating the dessert. You must consider the calorie count associated with your diet and determine if you can have the entire portion size or if you need to eat just half of the portion to stay in line with your diet. If you don’t have the will power to resist the whole portion of a dessert high in calories and fat, then fix the whole, appropriate portion size and throw away ½ of the portion before you sit down to eat it. You can not eat a dessert that is not there.
Now there are some healthy desserts with natural ingredients that you can eat the entire portion, satisfy your sweet tooth craving and stay on your diet. These delicious desserts can be prepared quickly and easily. Don’t worry you don’t have to be a master chef to do it.
For example, fruit pies are a delicious dessert that can be prepared in a manner that yields them low in calories and low in fat. You can begin by washing and draining your fresh fruit. Some fruits that make great pies are apples, peaches or berries. Cut up the fruit as necessary into bite-sized chunks or slices and put it in a bowl. You can add a sugar substitute to your taste or leave the fruit in its naturally sweet state. Then pour the fruit mixture into a pre-made pie crust that’s in a foil pie pan. Be careful not to overfill the pie pan with the fruit mixture. Add one tablespoon of butter (if desired) cut into small pieces and drop the butter chunks through out the fruit mixture that is in the pie pan. Take another pie crust and put it on top. Cut slits in the top pie crust for ventilation. Bake the fruit pie in the oven at about 350 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes or until the pie crust is lightly brown. Let it cool and enjoy!
Yogurt shakes are also an enjoyable low calorie and low fat treat. You can take some low fat yogurt and blend it with your favorite fruit to make a yogurt shake. Or you can add your favorite nuts or add one or two low fat cookies to your yogurt, blend it, and make a crunchy, enjoyable cool treat.
So enjoy and indulge your sweet tooth with appropriately portioned, delicious, healthy desserts that are low in calories and low in fat while you keep the weight off.
Milton Whitley has been commercially baking and preparing products with natural ingredients and 0g trans fat for over 20 years. You can get more recipe ideas for natural, delicious desserts that will help you keep the weight off at http://www.miltonspiefillings.com/.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Milton_Whitley
http://EzineArticles.com/?Desserts-and-the-Key-to-Maintaining-Weight-Loss&id=683507
Tags: weight loss tips, weight loss, healthy living, diet, exercise
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