Black Weight Loss Success

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Ajima Jackson

Make your New Year’s Resolutions Come True

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Trying to lose weight? Want to turn your life’s passion into a real career? Or, do you have simpler goals like spending more time with your kids or dealing with stress.

ResolutionsMany of you know that I’m currently a student with the Institute of Integrative Nutrition.  IIN has recently created a great Free guide to show you how to reach your goals this year.  It’s called “The Definitive Guide of Accomplishing Your Resolutions”.

From this guide you’ll learn:

  • The Best Kept Secret for Making Resolutions a Reality
  • The Right Way to Set Your Resolutions to Ensure Success
  • 12 Resolutions to Make 2013 Your Healthiest, Happiest Year

At Integrative Nutrition, the world’s largest nutrition school, we are taught that food is not the only food.  We have primary food that is our relationships, our family life, our work life, etc.  IIN has spent 20 years teaching students how to help people get healthy and lose weight, but also how to transform not only their nutrition habits but their lifestyles into what they dream of.

Glorie lost over 30 pounds

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Update: Glorie lost another 10 pounds.  Check out her update below.

Today’s featured weight loss success story: Our international BWLW Member, Glorie, wrote us to tell us about her weight release journey.  She says, “Hi there! my name is Glorie and I am in Tanzania-East Africa. Your updates inspired me a lot to change my image and in less than 5 months I have lost over 30 pounds and still going!  I started eanting healthy and enrolled in a gym. So,  here is my before and after pics to share with every other black women around the world! We are doing this! Its time to be healthy!”

Glorie weight loss

“I started eating healthy by avoiding junk foods that I used to eat. As you know here in Africa the most common foods are rice, ugali (maize flour) which are rich caboyhrates and red meat is used in almost all of our daily dishes. I was on a diet program that allowed me to eat healthy and not to exceed 600 calories per day for the first 9 days. Thereafter, I joined a gym and I was working out 5 days a week in aerobics classes and drinking lots of water. For now am on a strict diet, that i have developed myself whereby it rotates raw foods and juices for 1 week each.  I have also found out that drinking cinnamon tea mixed with honey also helps in shedding the pounds off. I now do strength training where I concentrate on my thighs and tummy as thats where I carry most of my weight. I am truly inspired by your page and it gives me hope and alot of tips when am slacking or giving hope. So be assured that this is all over the WORLD!  Even in Africa, we’re losing the weight too.  Thank you alot and never stop what you are doing.  Be blessed.”

Update May 17, 2013 –

Hello there!  It’s Gloria Ojare all the way from Tanzania-East Africa. Again I have made some tremendous efforts and YAY…I am down 40 pounds now!!! Yay! Yay! I am so thankful to God and again so proud of myself; I just can’t imagine if I had never made up my mind to get healthy what would have happened or how would I be now. To me this is my new lifestyle. I have managed to pull off the extra 10 pounds since I last shared with ya’ll. This time I had to change my regimen. Every morning I took warm water mixed with cinnamon, lemon juice and ginger powder. I also continued to exercise but this time I skip rope at least 30-45mins every 4days. I also completely cut all sugary stuffs and limited my carbohydrates intake by adopting the STANLEY DIET.  I kept on going no matter what or how I felt and so far I am ecstatic of my transformation. I speak to every woman trying to loose weight..DONT EVER GIVE UP!  Stay ON and be consistence surely you shall see result in you and your general health. I thank everyone whose photo has been posted because whenever I look at them I smile and I say WOW..it can be done…it can be done. 9th July,2013 will mark 1year since I started my weight release journey!

Glorie weight loss before and after

Kenya lost 130 pounds with weight loss surgery

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Kenya lost 130 pounds.  She wrote to us saying, “I have a weight lost story for ya. I lost over 130 lbs.  I started in 2009 and I am so happy about it.   My previous weight was 325 lbs.   I had bariatric surgery in 2009 (gastric bypass).  Now, I exercise every other day and watch what I eat closely. I was on 4 different meds when I was overweight, now I take no meds.   I speak to a lot of people about my weight and let them know that weight lost surgery is not a bad thing.   It can be a blessing.”

kenya lost 130 pounds

 

Day 1 – Recipe Resources for the February Challenge

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It is Day one of our February Challenge – The Clean Eating / Food Diary Challenge!  Our 3 main GOALS: eating clean, february goalskeeping a food diary for 3 weeks (Feb 4 – 24) and exercising 5 days a week (45 minutes minimum).  If we are consistent, we will develop habits that will become permanent lifestyle changes.  That is the Key.  If you are like me, you are not interested in losing weight just to see it come back in a month or two.  Releasing the weight for good is our ultimate goal.
Recipe Resources: I want to share with you a list of free resources for eating clean.  I’ve been gathering this information so that I have plenty of recipes to choose from during the challenge.  One of the main goals of eating this way is to avoid highly processed food/junk food and replace it with healthy food. You want to use recipes and meal planning so that you are prepared make the switch.  Take some time to do your research and find new things to eat so that you have tasty options.
Reminder: Monday Night Chat 
Don’t forget to join us tonight from 8-9 pm Eastern for our weekly weight loss support chat.  We will discuss clean eating and our February goals.  Login at 8pm.

Keiah lost 124 pounds

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Today’s featured weight loss success story: Keiah lost 124 pounds and part of her journey has been becoming vegetarian.  I think that more black women should explore the benefits of vegetarianism and going vegan.  Embracing a plant-based diet can be a great way to increase health and lose weight.

Keiah weight loss

Here is what Keiah had to say:

“My name is Keiah and I am very inspired by your web page, its keeps me motivated and going strong. I am so proud of all the beautiful black women featured, what an inspiration! I hope to do the same! I have lost 124 lbs so far. My heaviest weight was 334 and I am now 209. I want to lose about 50 more pounds. I started my weight loss journey in 2010. I have been a vegetarian for 3 years now. I work out an hour daily mixing weight training and cardio.”

Marie lost 149 pounds

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Marie lost 149 pounds.  She wrote to us to share her story.

“I love ur page.  I started out at 338 pounds and now I weight 189 pounds.  I started this journey in 2010.  I stopped drinking sodas, fried foods, starchy foods, and cut out all fast foods.  I love all fresh veggies, shrimp and fish (salmon).  I make my own protein shakes.  I speed walk, run, jog hills, do strength training, do spinning, Body Pump classes, squats and jumping jacks.  I also eat 5 to 6 healthy meals a day.  I drink green tea and I do a detox at the end of each month.

NO SURGERY NO PILLS NO WEIGHT LOSS SHAKES…. I JUST GOT UP… EVERY MORNING AND PUSHED MYSELF…AND I’M STILL PUSHING MYSELF.”

marie weight loss

 

Malikah lost 138 pounds

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Today’s featured weight loss success story: Malikah lost 138 pounds by eating right and exercising.  She is proof that consistency and hard work will PAY OFF if you stick with it.

Malikah weight loss

Here is what she shared with us about her weight loss journey:

“My weight loss journey started Jan 2011. I decided to start making better food choices and start losing weight because I was turning 30 and I didnt want to go into my 30’s being over weight. I’ve been over weight my entire life. And I didnt want to start the next chapter of my life being overweight. I also wanted to be able to shop at regular stores, I don’t want to go into the stores and have to ask if they carry plus size. My goal is to one day get to 174. I have an extremely long way to go but the important part is that I’m on my way to a better me. I’m currently down 138lbs. I’m doing weight watchers, zumba, hitting the gym every chance I get. I also started running with BGR (blackgirlsrun.com). When I can’t make it to the gym or Zumba, I workout at home on the Wii or do workout DVDs (either the biggest loser cardio max or walk away the pounds). My goal this year is to do the broad street run, thats the longest 10 miler ever.  I also want to run a half marathon. Now I’m looking good and feeling good. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for me. I’m just trying to make my way to fit and fabulous.

Latese lost 134 pounds in 2 years

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Update May 2016: It’s been 2 1/2  yrs and Latese is still maintaining her success. She’s lost 162 pounds.

“I have learned self discipline and that we can be our own worst enemies. My children drive me and I will do anything to be around them as long as I can. Meal prep and planning is time consuming, but it keeps you accountable.” Her starting weight was 302 pounds and her current weight is 140 pounds (height? 5’5″)”

tete

September 2013 Update:  “It’s me checking in.  Since I last shared with you all I have lost 8 more pounds.  I have not gained back the weight in 2 years.  Overall, I’ve lost 134 pounds total.”

Original Post:

Latese lost 95 pounds.  She says, “I have been on my journey since about Dec of 2011 but kicked it into high gear during May of 2012.  I’m now down about 95 pounds.  I still have a ways to go, but I am sticking to keeping my protein on high and having little to no carbs.  I am strictly a water drinker and I am doing boot camp.  Five days per week,  I walk/run for 2-3 miles”

Latese’s Facebook page

weight loss before and after

Updated Photo:

Latese weight loss

Recipes – 5 Great Skinny Salads You Should Try

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saladI’m dedicated to fresh, vegetarian and vegan eating.  Salads are a huge part of that.   The issue: Salads can get repetitive and boring.  As a black woman, I love flavor and I don’t skimp on it even with salads.  I’ve found these 5 salad recipes that I want to share with your that are tasty and flavorful as well as positive for your waistline.  For the ones that include meat as part of the ingredients, you can replace it with thing like tofu, seitan, or more fruits or veggies.

Grilled Chicken and Wheat-Berry Salad from Health.com – This salad is a complex yet delicious mix of veggies, fruit, and protein all at once.   It’s perfect for the clean eating part of our challenge because it’s got a little bit of everything.  The mixture of yogurt dressing and mustard provides a boost of flavor and calcium. Wheat-berries are whole wheat nuggets of nutty flavor.  The wheat bran is not removed on wheat-berries so they are full of nutrients like iron, vitamin B, protein, and trace minerals

Ingredients: Wheat berries, bay leaf, spinach, green apple, red bell pepper, cucumber yogurt dressing, Dijon mustard, chicken breasts, salt, pepper and green onion
Calories: 332

Curried Scallop-Apple Salad from Eating Well – “Curry complements seared scallops, tart apples and sweet dried cranberries while toasted almonds add crunch in this quick fall dinner salad. Serve with toasted whole-wheat baguette and a glass of sauvignon blanc.”  I could not have said it better myself.  Oh, the Maryland seafood lover in me LOVES this salad

Ingredients: olive oil, shallots, curry powder, apple cider, salt, cider vinegar, sea scallops, ground pepper, mixed salad greens, tart apple (Granny Smith), dried cranberries and sliced almonds
Calories: 291

Couscous and Fruit Salad from Fitness Magazine – This recipe is super simple and very filling.  Make sure that you use whole grain couscous so that your meal is all “whole food”.  It also makes for a great side dish with fish (salmon) or chicken.

Ingredients: olive oil, orange juice (fresh is better than regular), cider vinegar, shallots, salt, pepper, whole-wheat couscous, nectarine, mixed fresh berries (such as blueberries and raspberries), sliced almonds
Calories: 259

Simplified Salad Niçoise from CleanEatingMag.com – Get the taste of the french classic salad without all of the fat.  Great salad for fish lovers who want to try something different, but with reasonably priced ingredients.

Ingredients: eggs, green beans, redskin potatoes, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, anchovy paste, clove garlic, olive oil, romaine lettuce and canned tuna
Calories: 340

Celery, Walnut, and Parmesan Salad from CookingLight.com – This is a great crunchy salad that shows that not every salad has to have a leafy green (although I have added spinach and romaine to this recipe and it’s great).  I suggest that you pair this salad with a protein or add chia seed or wheat-berries to it.  My boyfriend loves it with salmon or roasted turkey.

Ingredients: celery, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, walnuts, olive oil, fresh lemon juice, ground black pepper and kosher salt

Calories: 305

Arlena lost 122 pounds

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Today’s featured weight loss success story: Arlena lost 122 pounds with weight loss surgery (gastric bypass) and inspired her sixteen year old to lose 102 pounds without surgery while eating right and exercising with her.

Arlena lost 122 pounds

Here is what Arlena shared with us about her weight loss journey:

“Hi, my name is Arlena. I was overweight so long that I thought this was normal until I started getting older and I noticed that it was getting harder to carry all this extra weight around.  I tried every diet known to man until I considered weight loss surgery.  Some people think that this is the easy way out.  Trust me, it’s not.  You still have to be deligent about what goes in your mouth.  I am 122 pounds lighter in ten months.

I still have a ways to go but with eating right and working out.  I plan to get to my goal weight. I started working out 5x’s a week at least 30 minutes lifting weights twice a week eating lots of protein and veggies I took all the white carbs out my diet and even inspired my sixteen year old who lost 102 pounds without surgery by eating right and exercising with me.”