Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Month Nombre FIVE-O.

It's officially five months in Hawaii!

How crazy is that?

I didn't think I'd last a month in this household, but it's been a nice little transition. I will miss home, and I'm proud to call this place, "home." I think now I know where I get my accepting spirit and my generosity from. Can't really help but be accepting here with all the diversity in culture and whatnot.

I absolutely love it here, and if I could afford to live here, I would stay. I'm just not ready to come home yet. It's going to be tough relocating to another place. I've been spoiled by the weather here, how there's always someone ready and willing to talk to you and the lovingness that I've experienced since I've been here.

Yes, I've met a couple of jerks here as well, but those experiences have made me stronger. I'm proud of myself, and I'm really grateful for the people who have impacted me here. I'll miss my family a lot when I leave, my sister, Kaui, my other sister, Maka...hell, I'm even going to miss that lady Marlene at the bus stop that I see every morning. lol.

But, change helps me grow and I'm ready for a new change soon. :)

Hawaii is awesome, though.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

The Art of Losing


This blog's for you, Maeva. I believe you asked me awhile back, for the link to my blog about losing weight. I was inspired tonight when I talked to two personal trainers at a church meeting. I've been in several instances since I've been to Hawaii where exercise has been the topic of conversation, so here's my story of how I lost over 80 pounds within a year period.

The first picture is actually my before picture. That was me in 2008. I weighed about 220 pounds. The biggest I've gotten, however, is 240. Everything that made me happy was somehow related to food. When I was 16, that was fine. It wasn't as hard to burn off calories. But, by the time I hit 25 years old, my metabolism began to slow down. I started to slow down, and I became more and more comfortable getting sedentary as well.


A few months after the picture above was taken, I decided to slowly diet. I didn't begin by running three miles a day. The fact of the matter is, is your body gets used to exercising. Yes, you can lose weight faster by working out more. That's common sense. However, you will plateau. I began by walking 10 minutes. Yes, that's how out of shape I was. I did that for about a week. I then moved on to 20 minutes, which is equivalent to a mile of walking, for two weeks. After the second week, I had moved up to 30 minutes and increased the speed. The following month, I began working out for an hour a day, six days a week.

I went from 196 to 170 within a month. This was in 2009. I eventually got down to 150. That's the slimmest I ever was. I never made it a goal to get down to a certain weight. At 150, I was wearing a size five. So although I was never that thin according to my literal weight, I was losing inches like crazy.

It's 2012, and I've managed to keep the weight off:

I have no secrets. I keep myself very active. I don't do any type of diet fads. I never have and never will promote that. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out to just eat less, workout more. Or, increase your intake of vegetables. Even some fruits are loaded with natural sugars. I love bananas, but if I eat those all day, it would defeat the whole purpose.

I also didn't join any gym. I didn't ask anyone what they did to lose weight. I just stayed consistent. I did incorporate spirituality into my exercise regimen. I think physical health is more about being mentally focused. If you have that, along with motivation, you'll lose weight and you'll keep it off.

I always ate about six meals a day. It would usually go as follows:

Breakfast: Oatmeal with a piece of fruit.

Snack: Raw almonds or raw peanuts.

Lunch: My lunch would vary. I'd usually eat some type of protein for lunch like chicken or tuna with a salad. I cut out red meat altogether.

Snack: Organic fig newtons with raw almonds and/or sliced apples.

Dinner: Meat and vegetables. Sometimes I'd have rice, but I was very careful about eating rice.

Snack: Something healthy. Can't remember what but probably more peanuts. lol.

I also drank a lot of water--usually about a gallon a day. Yeah, you'll go to the bathroom quite a bit, but it's really good for you. It makes you fuller and will help keep your metabolism up. I never drank soda.

This may sound corny to some, but I also prayed before each workout. I wanted to make sure I was focused on the important aspect of losing weight--not just losing weight but staying healthy. For me, health is part of my spirituality because it nourishes the soul.

So, there you go... for now. :)