The Official Blog of the Black Women Losing Weight Community. Tips, articles and weight loss resources for African American Women.
Weight Loss Inspiration: Don’t worry about your pace or how quickly you are losing weight. Focus on crossing the finish line. The finish line is your unique weight loss and wellness goals. You will reach them Right on time!! Just keep going and stay on course. Victory is on the way and your weight loss journey will evolve the way it is destined to.
Today’s weight loss success story: Prachel lost 72 pounds. Her goal was to be able to wear a bikini and now she competes in bikini competitions. Here is what she shared with us about her weight loss journey:
“On March 17, 2012, I was driving home from work and stopped at In and Out Burger (a popular SoCal burger chain) and had a grilled cheese sandwich, fries and a strawberry milkshake. Then, I drove across the street and had two buttermilk donuts.
I was at an emotional low, after a very turbulent 3 1/2 years, I had gotten up to 222lbs and 38% body fat. After this “meal”, something stirred inside of me to move. So, the same night, I walked 15 minutes on the treadmill, because that’s all I could do. But, I went back the day after and walked again. I ended up walking on the treadmill everyday for 30 days. I had lost 10 lbs in a month and felt great. However, there was still something inside of me telling me to move. So, I increased my intensity with my workouts and by October of 2012 I was down 40lbs.
All the while I had one goal in mind – to walk onstage in a bikini. I hadn’t worn a bathing suit since I was 14 years old. In November of 2012, I hired Fit Diva Dawn Rae to work with me. Dawn taught me things about my body that I didn’t know before and together we worked on my plan to compete in a Bikini Competition. Well, just a few days ago, I achieved that goal and ended up with a first place trophy in my division.
I now weigh 150lbs and am around 26% body fat. I cut out all unhealthy foods and allow myself to have a treat every once in a while. I also don’t eat simple carbs after 5 and eat about 5-6 times per day. I eat very clean, healthy and fresh. I’m never hungry. I also take apple cider vinegar and drink fresh coconut water (from the coconut, not from a can) on a daily basis.
My life has been forever changed and I am so thankful that I listened to that voice inside of me telling me to move. I now know that my purpose is not to sit around and lead a boring life…it is to have fun, be excited and experience adventures. They say to never post anything online that you wouldn’t want on the front page news one day. I am very proud of myself right now and am posting these to hopefully inspire other people to live their dreams out loud. It’s a great feeling to be led by the spirit.”
Today’s Weight Loss on a Budget Tip #18 – Make an Actual Shopping List. We have all heard the old expression, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail”. Well, that saying rings true when it comes to eating for weight loss. Chances are that the majority of what you are eating are foods that you have prepared for yourself. I talking about homemade, healthy recipes and and healthy convenience foods like, yogurt, whole wheat cereal or low sodium soup. You can save money and stay on track with your weight loss goals by making a list before heading to the grocery store. It requires willpower, but you can do it!
If you need help putting a list together, we’ve got shopping lists that you can take to the store with you as a part of our Free Meal Plans. Check out our 4 week plans. One is for vegetarians and the other is just clean eating.
Let’s show some love to another Sista who wants to inspire others by sharing her success! Jacinta lost 65 pounds. Here is what she shared with us about her weight loss journey:
What was your motivation? “Waking up to my daughter telling me I was fat.”
How did you change your eating habits? “I completely cut out soda pop and slowly increased my water intake until I was able to drink a of water gallon each day. I also cut out all fried foods and limited my restaurant nights to once a week. I have always been a big veggie eater, but after learning the benefits of raw veggies I began to eat more salads rather than just cooking them.”
What did your workout routines look like? “Although I was a athlete in high school, after having kids I became a couch potato and had to retrain myself. I started by buying an walking dvd and walking in my living room because I was to embarrassed of my body to go out. As the weight dropped, I began to lift weights and slowly began to add on doing internet challenges.”
What was your starting weight? “My starting weight was 230 pounds.”
What is your current weight? “My current weight is 165 pounds.”
How long did your transformation take? “11 months”
Today’s featured weight loss success story: BrieAunna lost 40 pounds. She was dealing with a high blood pressure diagnosis since 20 years old and gallbladder issues. This proud mom of two wrote in to us to share how she lost the weight by working out at home and finding a way of eating that worked for her.
“Hello BWLW community, My name is BrieAunna. I am 27 yrs. old and I joined this group for daily inspiration to help me along my journey to loose 100 pounds. I love seeing so many of us take our health and happiness into our own hands. So far, I have lost 40 pounds since January by working out six days a week and cleaning up my eating. I hope to loose another 30 lb. by the end of the year. I have stuggled with weight since childhood and developed medical issues related to my weight at an early age. I was diagnosed with high blood pressure at the age of 20 that is only controlled with medication. I selfishly put my two babies at risk by being overweight when I got pregnant. By the grace of God they both made it close to term and were healthy. I have been to the ER countless times thinking I was having a heart attack, but in reality I was suffering from gallbladder attacks all along. I’m bad with medicine and bad with doctors so I knew I had to make a change.
I began by making subtle changes to my diet, I began to drink water only and not waste my calories on sugary drinks. I try to avoid eating out as much as possible, but when I have to due to lack of planning I try to make the best choices possible. I have also began replacing at least one of my meals with a shake, smoothie, or nutriblast. I work in retail and this works really well when I work night shifts. I make sure to eat 5-6 meals a day, all equally balanced and around the same amount of calories. I use My Fitness Pal to count my calories and to track my exercise.
I prefer to workout from home. With my schedule and two small kids the gym is not worth the hassle. At home, I can wear what I want and not worry about keeping up with others, or about finding a gym with childcare and working around their hours. I get up before everyone else and knock it out so I can start my day. I also plan to turn my garage into a gym space soon. I have been using workout DVD’s to lose the weight. I have done Zumba, Turbo Jam, Turbo Fire, Chalean Extreme, and sometimes throw a youtube workout for kettlebells in the mix. I love weight lifting the most. It helped me break through a plateau and changed the shape of my body. Lifting weights will not make you look you manly. It leans you out and muscle burns fat. My starting weight was 271 pounds and at my heaviest I was 290 pounds. I currently weigh 231 lbs. I hope to get to 200 by January and lose another 30 pounds after that. I still struggle with my blood pressure but I don’t have the constant headaches associated with it any longer.
My advice to anyone looking to lose weight is just get moving. Don’t think to hard about it, just get up. Find things you enjoy to do so it doesn’t seem like a chore. Plan your meals ahead of time to avoid being caught in a tough situation. Don’t drink your calories!!! Most importantly don’t give up until you get where YOU want to be. Thanks for letting me share.
It’s time for Weight Loss on a Budget Tip #17: Consider Joining a DietBet. So, what is DietBet? It’s a online diet contest/weight loss betting pool site that gives you 28 days to lose 4% or more of your weight. If you meet the goal you get a cut of the pot of everyone’s bets. Bet amounts vary.
“DietBet is a game where you’ve got 4 weeks to lose 4% of your starting weight. To begin, everyone puts money into the pot. After four weeks, whoever’s hit their 4% goal is a winner and splits the pot.” – dietbet.com
Kinda cool, right? It’s a new school take on the old school practice of weight loss pots at the office, among friends, etc. You can start your own dietbet and compete with friends, with family or you can find a contest on the DietBet website.
Is it legit? They have a lot of controls to try to ensure fairness. You can check out the details on their website.
“Players will submit official weigh-in photos at the start and end of a game. DietBet will verify each photo and certify the final winners.”
“Two days before your game begins, you’ll be prompted to submit your official starting weight.
Our standard weigh-in process involves you submitting two photos, one of you on a scale in airport security attire; another of the scale’s readout with your weigh-in word.”
The weigh-in word is a great idea. You don’t find out what the word is until 2 days before the contest starts to put it in your before photos (on a piece of paper). You get a new word at the end of the contest for your after photos. That makes it very difficult to cheat. Here is the list of dietbet games that are currently going on.
Let’s show some love to Erica. She lost 77 pounds after having gastric sleeve weight reduction surgery earlier this year. She went from 300 pounds down to 223 pounds. Here is what she shared with us about her weight loss journey:
“My name is Erica. I was a diabetic, had high blood pressure, and my knees & ankles were getting bad. My blood sugar levels were running anywhere from 250 to 270 and they started me on insulin. My doctor suggested gastric sleeve surgery to get my weight down and stabilize the sugar or death was the possibility I would face. I had weight lost surgery on January 29 2013. It was the start of my new life and I had the Gastric Sleeve done. My starting weight was 300 pounds and as of today, I weight 223 pounds (8 months later). I’m down 77 lbs. My goal weight is 190 pounds, so I have 33 lbs to go. I eat small healthy portions of food. Drink plenty of water and walk 5 days a week.”
What did you do to change your eating habits?
“My eating habits were a complete 360 from what I was use to. I started baking all meats. I eat baked chicken & fish. I use turkey products and cut beef & pork from my diet. Also, fresh vegitables are a big part of every meal. My portion sizes were cut to a 4th of what I use to eat.”
What did you do in terms of exercise?
“I work out 4 days a week. I walk a mile a day and lift weights to help try to tone my arms.”
What is your advice for other ladies who want to lose weight?
“My advice for others is to determine your love for yourself and make a commitment to yourself to take each day one at a time and if you have the will power to do it one day you will have that same power to do it the next day. You have to get healthy in the mind also to put it into action. And finally surgery is not all bad it can be a blessing for those that feel like they tried it all. I am no longer on diabetes medications or high blood pressure medication and I feel wonderful.”
It seems that with weight loss plans like Nutrisystem® or The Fresh Diet® we have been bombarded by the value that delivery diet meals can give us. They are convenient and face it, in today’s world, who doesn’t want fresh low calorie meals they don’t have to worry about preparing? They are popular in America because many of us feel we don’t have time to cook meals to specific calorie counts, especially when we have to take care of the house and cook for a family, which can be a challenge in and of itself. However, we understand that every family dynamic is unique so I’ve have taken the time to give you some pros and cons of these programs so you can make an educated choice.
Pros for home diet food delivery services
Cons of home diet food delivery
Bottomline: If you wish to try the packaged variety of diet plan, make sure you do your research. Not all diet meal delivery plans are created equal. One great way to decide if a plan is for you is to see if you can do one month as a trial, taste the food and read the labels. You should go to see the diet delivery plan specialist in person if there is a store near you. This is because you can generally get a taste-test there, like at a Jenny Craig®. If you do it online then choose one with a minimum time limit or minimum purchase. If it doesn’t work for you then you haven’t been contracted into a long-term affair.
When most people think of exercise and they think pool—normally the first thing they think of is swimming. However, there are many exercises you can do in a pool that can help you reduce weigh, maintain a healthy weight—as well as build a stronger cardiovascular system.
Pool Exercises that burn fat fast!
You don’t have to be a marathon swimmer in order to burn calories in the pool. You can actually increase resistance by allowing the water to work against you. You may not realize that water puts pounds of pressure on your body that can have the same effect on you as your free weights or workout machines in the gym.
Steps to have a successful experience in the pool
Before we suggest that you to “jump right into the deep end” so to speak we will give you some tips to successful and effective water exercise that will burn fat and tone your body as well!
Now for the exercises
Well there you have it. Great ways to tone and strengthen your body and burn maximum calories in the water. The water can be the best gym you could ever have. Feel free to elaborate on any of those exercises and make them work for you. Go at your own pace and be SAFE!
Today’s weight loss success story: Chandra lost 61 pounds. This proud mom was motivated by her son who is fighting obesity as well. Here is what she shared with us about how she is losing the weight:
“I’ve lost 61 pounds so far from my highest weight. I plan to lose 50 more. I’ve done this by switching to a high protein, low carb diet, drinking plenty of water, and exercising at least 3 days a week. I had to finally make up in my mind that I was ready to make a change.
My first motivation is to be an example to my son who is struggling with obesity. Secondly I just want to live a healthier lifestyle so I can live longer. I’ve struggled with weight all of my life and I’m ready to change for good. My starting weight was 336 pounds and my current weight is 275 pounds. My goal is 235 pounds. I’ve been working with a nutritionist who has been helping me with a high protein, low carb plan. I eat between 1200 and 1400 protein calories a day and no more than 30 grams of carbs a day. For exercise, I workout on the elliptical for 30 minutes, 3 times a week and other multiple machines that target my thighs, stomach, and arms.”
