Black Weight Loss Success

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Ajima Jackson

Christi lost 35 pounds in 2 months

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Update Jan 2016: Christi sent in an update to let us know that she’s still going strong and has lost 44 more pounds for a total of 79 pounds gone, down from 237 pounds.

Hello! I was featured back in 2014 after losing a significant amount of weight in just a 2 month time span. I wanted to update you guys and let you know that I maintained my weight up until 2 months ago. That’s when I joined an outdoor fitness group and broke thru my plateau by losing an additional 8 pounds! I have also started toning. I am officially 13lbs away from my DREAM weight! The main thing I’ve learned through this journey is that no matter how you slice it, weight loss comes down to this simple formula: Eat Less and Exercise More! -Christi

Starting weight: 237 pounds
Current weight: 158 pounds
Goal weight: 145 pounds

Christi’s Instagram: @0hS0Pretty.

christi before and after

Running and cutting back on bread helped Christi J to lose 35 pounds in 2 months.  Read her story:

ChristiApr

I’m Christi! My success story is rather Unique!! To be honest ladies, I just got FED UP. I needed a change which motivated me to lose 35 lbs in 2 MONTHS! My starting weight was 200lbs and my current (which I have maintained) is 165lbs. I love outdoor running. That’s literally the only exercise I did. I plugged in my headphones and jammed to Chris Brown the entire 2 months. So, I guess I have him to thank! (JK), but it amazed me how the weight just fell off.  I started to naturally shrink my stomach within a week of getting started. It literally got to the point where I prepared a meal for myself, and would feel totally full halfway through it.

My diet remained the same, however, my daily food intake was a lot less than usual. Bread was the only food I cut back on. I think Bread ultimately made the difference. Instead of regular bacon, I ate turkey bacon. Instead of beef, I ate chicken breast. Amazingly, it all tasted delicious. I cut out all soda-pop and juice, I drank only water (sometimes with different flavors of crystal light) and low-fat skim milk. I never wanted to feel like I was punishing myself by being deprived of certain foods, so every Friday I would treat myself to pizza(To keep myself sane. lol). The very next day I got right back on it. Pretty soon, I was eating less, filling more full and naturally shrinking my stomach. On Friday (my pizza night), I found myself barely being able to eat 2 slices. I also made sure I continued running at least 4 times a week.

My advice for quick, yet HEALTHY weight loss would be to naturally “shrink” your stomach! Good Luck on your journeys!!

Latria lost 76 pounds with weight loss surgery

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Weight Loss Story of the Day: Latria lost 76 pounds with the Lap-Band® weight loss surgery.  Facing chronic health issues and years of being overweight, she decided to make a major change in her life.  She feels that surgery was the best option for her.  Here is what she shared with us about her weight loss journey:

Latria weight loss surgery

“Hello, My name is Latria. I am 30 years old and I would like to share my weight lost journey with you. I’ve always been overweight. I use to tell everyone that I was born fat and I will die fat. For the longest time, I weighed 255 pounds and I learned to live it with and accept it. That was until August of last year, when I noticed my size 20 clothes were getting tight. So, I dusted off my Wii Fit and weighed myself. 267 pounds is what I weighed! I was shocked. This couldn’t be right because I always weighed 255 pounds.

After having a pitty party I decided to do something about it. The next day I was driving into work and I heard the commercial about weight lost surgery. I always consider having the Lap-Band® but I never followed thru. That night I watched the online seminar and decided I wanted to have the surgery.  However I wanted to do one last effort to try lose weight on my own. I told myself I gave my 20’s to obesity and I refuse to give my 30’s to obesity. That was motivation right there! I started working out on my Wii Fit for 30 minutes a day and watching what I eat.  However, when I went to my primary doctor office, I still had high blood pressure and was still borderline for diabetes. I lost 15 pounds and still had health problems but I still continued my healthy lifestyle regiment.

On May 1st 2013, I had the Lap-Band® surgery. This was the best decision I had ever made. I started my journey weighing 267 lbs as of today I weigh 191 lbs! I am so close to my high school weight! Now days I track my meals on My Fitness Pal and I workout 5 days a week.  On 2 of those days I run for about 45 minutes. My advice to anyone who is trying to lose weight is that this is your journey. Don’t try to compare your journey to someone else’s remember this is your journey not theirs.”

Eating for Weight Loss: Alana lost 70 pounds

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Alana lost an additional 5 pounds from when we originally shared her story last month, for a total of 70 pounds.  I asked her to tell us more about her eating habits and she provided a great deal of detail.  She has embraced the Flexitarian lifestyle.  Check it out!

Alana weight loss

“Losing the weight and maintaining can be challenging, especially if you are not aware of what to eat and when to eat certain foods. To lose the weight, I became a Flexitarian. What’s a Flexitarian? It is when you go meatless most of the time, and you’ll lose weight and get healthy with ease. I only eat meat when my body craves the protein. If I do eat meat products, I try to stick to Chicken, Fish or Turkey. Very rarely will I eat red meat or touch any pork. Studies show that both vegetarians and semi-flexitarian women have lower BMIs (body mass indexes) than women who regularly eat meat. When I cut red meat and pork out of my diet, I had more energy. There has been a change in my body and I noticed my mid-section (stomach) has gotten flatter. (I get asked daily, how to get a flatter stomach.) Certain meats take longer to digest in our bodies and to lose the stomach it is 90% what we eat and 10% exercise. You can do crunches all day but until you change what you consume, all you will have is a six-pack under your belly fat. This is not what you want. The goal is to turn your fat into muscle.

I am a big fruit eater and sometimes I will substitute a meal with a plate of various fruits and veggies. If I’m not eating whole fruits, I’m drinking a smoothie that contains all the nutrients I need and will add multi-vitamins or antioxidants to my smoothies. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, you need this to function. Your body is in starvation mode while you are sleeping so you need food to rebuild your energy. Now, with that all being said, I am a chocolate lover. I don’t deprive my body of all sweets, I just know when to eat them. You should treat your body, because what will happen is you will start to over indulge when you come in contact with the things you love to eat. Pick a day out of the week where you will eat those delicacies that you cannot eat on a daily basis. My day is Sunday. Why? Because I know I go hard on Monday with my workout.

Just to give you an example of my day on Mondays, look below: (I’m a night owl because I teach majority in the evenings so the times will seem a little late for some.) I have to wind down off my natural energy so I go to bed a little later and get up a little later in the mornings.  Also, water is very important. Water washes the fat out of your body and helps with digestion and the functioning of your major organs.

9:30-10am Breakfast
Croissant with Omega3 eggs and 1 slice of cheese. (I make this into a breakfast sandwich)
Water, Orange Juice or Cranberry Juice

10:30am Snack
Granola Bar with Water 16.9 oz

12pm Lunch
Salmon Burger with Wheat Bread.. Apply light ketchup with fruit on the side
Or a plate of veggies and fruit
Water 16.9 oz

1pm #GetPulsed
Teach a 1 hour high impact Zumba Class (Burn between 800-950 calories per class)
(By now I have burned off majority everything I have eaten earlier. Because I teach another class 3 hours later, I try not to eat too heavy but enough to sustain)
Drinking two bottles of 16.9oz of water during class.

2:30pm For Energy
Fruit Smoothie with vitamins “Eat to live , not Live to Eat”

3:30pm Snack
Granola bar with water 16.9 oz

4:00pm Mid-day Meal
Salad with chicken and ranch dressing. Watch what you put on your salad. It can up the calories. Water or natural fruit juice

4:30pm #GetPulsed
I take a body works class for toning (Burn between 550-650 calories per class)
Drinking plenty of water

5:45pm #Get Pulsed
Teach a 1 hour high impact Zumba Class (Burn between 800-950 calories per class)
Drinking two bottles of 16.9oz of water

7:00pm Dinner
Baked Fish with Spanish Rice
Natural juice…

9:30pm #GetPulsed
Night toning exercises (burn 350-400 calories)
Water 16.9 oz

If I snack, I will eat some grapes or popcorn with no salt. All carbs are not bad. You actually need carbs to build muscle. You should get to know your body. Every body type is different and your exercise structure should fit you. Don’t compare yourself to someone else. Try to gradually eliminate those foods that are bad for you. Start by eating less of them to eventually only consuming twice a month. Being healthy is a lifestyle. We want to be here for our children, family and friends. Your body is a temple and you only have one, so take care of if. Feel free to ask me questions at www.Facebook.com/GetPulsedFitness. Let’s do this together!

alana before and after

Alana weight loss story

Leigh-Ann lost 37 pounds

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Daily Weight Loss Success Story: Our South African Sista Leigh-Ann lost 37 pounds (17 kg).  After seeking out the advice of doctors and a nutritionist she decided to change her lifestyle and lose the pounds.  Here is what she shared with us:

LeighAnn south africa

Hi, My name’s Leigh-Ann Carey and I am from South Africa. In 2011, I was at my heaviest weight at 77 kilograms (approx. 170 pounds) and I wasn’t really concerned about changing my eating habits although I was active. I saw a nutritionist in 2011 who advised me to shed half of my body weight.  I thought that was crazy, so instead I spoke to my General Practitioner at the time and he advised I lose about 15 kilograms (33 pounds), as opposed to the half the nutritionist had advised me. I still did not worry about my weight, till I saw 2 more doctors. The last doctor I saw was black and I was hoping he’d say something quirky like “We black men like our women with extra meat”, LOL! He told me straight up that I needed to lose weight and refused to prescribe diet meds because I was young and that slimming pills had negative effects on women. He advised me to run and change my eating habits.

I started running and changed my diet. I stopped drinking fizzy drinks, drank more water and tea and ate 4-6 small meals a day.  I also went brown (brown rice, brown bread, brown sugar). My body started changing for the better. Now, I don’t even eat cereal with sugar and I used to be a sugar addict. I still have a long way to go in terms of my eating game. I run every morning at about 4 am. I also do squats and weight lifting.  I’ve lost 17 kilograms (37.4 pounds)
You can do whatever you set your mind to ladies- let’s not feed off things like ” I am big boned or representing team thick”. You have one body that God blessed you with, take care of it.

Shatia lost 20 pounds

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Mother of 5 Shatia has lost 20 pounds since January 2014.  She decided that it was time to give herself some extra attention and change her lifestyle.  Check out here before and after photos:

ShatiaApr14

“My name is Shatia and I’m a 31 year old mom of five. On January 1, 2014, I decided to focus more on myself because I’ve spent so many years mainly catering to the needs of my husband and my children. I was finally ready to take care of me. So, I followed the Bikini Body Mommy’s 90 Day Challenge on YouTube.  I also attended a cardio workout bootcamp every Saturday morning. I also started drinking only water Monday-Saturday and eating a lot healthier. On Sundays I always had “sunday dinner” and wine. LOL, that was my cheat day. I went from 187 pounds to 167 pounds in 90 days. My journey is not over but I’m a lot closer to reaching my goals.”

Instagram: @BEAUTIFUL_MOM_OF5

Sample of the Bikini Body Mom 90 Day Challenge

Saalihah lost 91 pounds

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Weight Loss Success Story: Saalihah lost 91 pounds.  She worked hard to change her life to avoid chronic health issues and develop a healthy lifestyle.  Read all about her 2 year weight loss journey below:

Saalihah weight loss story

What was your motivation?
“My motivation was first myself. I realize I have to live in this body on a daily basis and I got sick and tired of being sick and tired literally and figuratively. I often denied that I could have any medical problems because there isn’t a history of health related issues in my family. I also assumed that because I was young nothing could happen to me. Not me! No way! In 2011 I was encouraged to check my blood pressure and results were pre-hypertensive. At that moment I had a nervous feeling about my future and silently, to myself, I knew I had to change. Suddenly, along with knowing the results of a simple blood pressure test, I began have chest pains that weren’t explainable. I didn’t want to go to the doctors and be told something that would frighten me any further, so when my birthday came on December 2011 I made a commitment to myself to change my life for the better. I never looked back.”

How did you change your eating habits?
“I changed my eating habits by counting my calories. At first, I used a food journal where I wrote every bite, lick and taste. I then moved onto Myfitnesspal where I kept a daily log consistency, documenting all food eaten and any workouts I would do. My stopped eating anything white, increased my fiber intake to at least 25 grams per day and consumed a decent amount of protein and healthy fats. My water intake increased and my sodium decreased. I read labels (which kept me the stores longer) to avoid buying foods with high fructose corn syrup, MSG and trans fat (also goes one known name as hydrogenated cottonseed oil or palm oil, often found in the ingredients). Choosing more vegetables and fruit over refined sugary foods.”

What did your workout routines look like?
“My workouts were of a variety, from kickboxing, strength training, walking, aerobics, HIIT, kettle bell workouts, and running. I embraced running seriously in 2013 and have done several races which included completing 3 half marathons. My dedication to exercise is so serious that I have over 150 workouts videos saved in my Youtube playlist to-date. Most of the time my workouts would be done in the morning before 9am. I started off with working out 3-4 days per week and then moved to 5 days per week consistently. As I lost weight my health improved and I wasn’t getting sick as much, thus allowing me to stay on top of my workouts.”

What was your starting weight? What is your current weight?
“My heaviest starting weight in 2006 was 247 lbs but in 2011 my starting weight was 236 lbs. My current weight is 145 lbs.”

How long did your transformation take?
“It took me 2 years.”

What advice to you have for others who want to lose weight?
“My advice to others is focus on what’s most important in your life that and “living well” should be at the top of the list. If we aren’t taking care of or loving ourselves, how can we give the best to others? Learn to put yourself first and know that YOU matter above all. Stay consistent, even if your steps are small the point is to never give up. When obstacles cross your path knock them out with a plan of action. Focus on smalls goals such as “I want to lose my first 5lbs”. Write down your goals and share your journey with others. This keeps you accountable. Finally, be determined, remain patient, understand life will try to trip you up but always bounce back and remember your ultimate goal. I am proud to say, I am a black woman losing weight!”

April lost 91 pounds

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Daily Weight Loss Success Story: April lost 91 pounds.  She created her own weight loss plan by making practical changes when it came to eating clean and exercise.  Find out more about her weight loss journey:

April weight loss

“Hello, My name is April and I would like to share my weight loss story.  The motivation behind my weight loss was seeing several family members, including my mother, diagnosed with diabetes. The feared that I too was in line right behind these family members, so I began my fitness journey. I started eating clean and cutting out all processed food.  I also started working out 5 days a week, mixing cardio and weightlifting. When I began my fitness journey, my weight was 260 lbs.  My current weight is 169 lbs and still counting. This process took 10 months. My goal is to become a personal trainer/fitness expert (I’m not a Certified Personal Trainer now). My advice to anyone struggling with a weight problem and looking to lose weight: Stay focused and don’t give up even when the scale isn’t moving. Don’t give up. Believe in yourself and have faith in yourself. Don’t focus on how far you have to go, focus on the fact that you are doing this. Tale each day one step at a time. Trust me, if I can do this so can you. Thank you for allowing me to share my story.”

Connect with April on Instagram: @Apryl.Alexander

She’s a 10 Workout – Day 11- April Challenge

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It is time for the workout of the DAY!  Try our “She’s a 10” Workout for day 11 of our April Challenge.  I suggest you start by doing the circuit one time through to gage how challenging it is.  If it’s ok for your level of fitness, start with 2 times through and move on to 3 times.  Rest for 1-2 min between each circuit set.  Don’t forget to stretch before and after the workout.

She is a 10 Workout

Medical Disclaimer – Always consult your physician before beginning any exercise program. If you experience any pain, weakness, unsteadiness, light-headedness or dizziness, chest pain or pressure, nausea, or shortness of breath that is a sign that you need to stop and consult your medical professional of choice. Mild soreness after exercise may be experienced after beginning a new exercise. Contact your physician if the soreness does not improve after 2-3 days.

Chelsea lost 45 pounds

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Featured Weight Loss Story: Chelsea lost 45 pounds.  This petite college Junior started her weight loss journey in 2012 and is now 10 pounds away from her goal.  Slow and steady wins the race!!  Here is what she shared with us about her weight loss journey:

Chelsea's weight loss story

“Hello, my name is Chelsea Watson. I am 21 years old and a Junior at Berea College. I started my weight lost journey on September 24, 2012. On that faithful day, I weighed-in at 198 pounds at 5’2″. Now, I weight 155 pounds! When I started I wore a size XL shirt and a size 13 to 15 pants. Now, I wear a size Small shirt and a size 7 to 9 pants.

I started my weight loss journey because I was tired of being unhealthy and feeling terrible. My journey started with Shaun T’s Insanity workout video and that really inspired me to continue. Now, I go to the gym 4-6 times a week doing various activities ranging from running on the treadmill for 3 to 12 miles or weight-lifting. It is currently training season for my 5th half marathon.

My eating and drinking habits changed over time too. I started drinking water (yes, I said it I STARTED DRINKING WATER) to the point now that’s all I drink. I incorporated vegetables in my diet.  For example, for every lunch I like to eat a huge spinach salad with turkey. Also, I’m a huge fan of egg whites!

Losing weight is tough so it’s important to have a strong mindset. Before I started, it took me a long time just to accomplish this step. Due to my mental strength, I able to push through the tough workout and achieve my plan to lose weight!”

Instagram: @chelw327

Shaan Shares About Becoming a Fitness Model and Competitor

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Shaan Arrts wrote in to share about how she transformed her body and became a fitness competitor.  She lost 30 pounds, shed body fat and gained a LOT of muscle.  Check out her story:

Shaan Arrts

“I just wanted to share my story. I began my weight loss journey at 37 years old. I had always wanted to compete in competitions and look like the fitness models in the magazines. So, in June of 2012 made a resolution to improve my body, get on stage and compete. With the help of my trainer, I was able the lose weight and build enough muscle to compete in my first fitness competition, placing 3rd.

Since then I have continued to improve & sculpt my body, continued competing consistently placing in the top 5 and most recently winning first place in my category. It is now two years later at age 39 I feel and look better than when I was 25!  My starting weight was 150 pounds and my body fat was 30%.  My current weight is 120 pounds and my body fat is 19.5%

I have not only gained an amazing fit new body, confidence, but the desire and drive to continue competing and help others get healthy. I love it!! I live and breath fitness! It is my way of life and my passion. I am proof that fitness can be achieved at any age if you are willing to work hard to achieve it.

My Facebook page is www.facebook.com/shaanarrtsathletepage where I share workouts, motivational quotes and recipes!”
Instagram: @Shaan_Arrts