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Lena lost 40 pounds

December 9, 2014 by Ajima Jackson 4 Comments

Weight Loss Story of the Day: Lena lost 40 pounds. This proud and petite mom found her motivation to lose weight and get healthy. She’s been so successful that now she helps others reach their goals too. Here is what she shared with us…

Lena before and after

My name is Lena and I am the mother of a beautiful 3 year old boy. This is where it all began, after having him. At my sons 1st birthday party, I had a professional photographer capturing precious moments. When the pictures came back I was mortified at how I looked. It was so hard to balance a new baby and a full time job but those pics were a scary wake up call. Even then, I did nothing…apparently I still didn’t get the picture. I didn’t get it until I went to the doctor 6 months later for a wellness checkup and the doctor told me my BMI was too high, tipping the scale at 200 lbs at only 5’3″ and my son was 18 months old. She sent me to a nutritionist and gave me ways to change my lifestyle. THIS was the TRUE WAKEUP CALL!

I worked a normal 9-5 job so I would make green smoothies, oatmeal or egg whites/turkey bacon for breakfast. I packed 2 snacks (nuts, popcorn or fruit) and lunch (veggie and/or grain and a meat). My snacks were in super small baggies so I could ensure I didn’t pack/eat too much. I drank water only or 0 calorie drinks. I stopped eating pork and lowered my beef intake, so I ate grilled chicken and seafood mainly. I had one cheat day a week IF I had a consistent week. I call it “earning a cheat”. As far as my workout, I was in the gym 3 times a week. My workouts consisted of a leg/glute/ab day with 15-30 minutes of cardio and an Arm/back/ab day with 45-60 minutes of cardio. On the 3rd day I would do a day if intense cardio. If I could fit any exercises in at home, I surely took advantage. I also did a 5 week bootcamp with Hard Exercise Works.

I completely changed my way of thinking and all else fell in place. Now, 40 lbs later, I weigh less than I weighed before I got pregnant. I am more toned, I have abs (after a baby!!!!), I feel better and look better. Fast forward to January 2014, I started an accountability weight loss group called @finegirls_fit (on instagram) where we have weight loss challenges, workout challenges, discussions, recipes with prizes. Its a way to help one another in a fun way. We learn from each other and its a very positive environment. This journey was so worth it. I have had 4 rounds of weight loss challenges and we have collectively lost over 800lbs!

Tummy Transformation: Jennifer’s abs are showing

July 13, 2014 by Ajima Jackson Leave a Comment

Jennifer contacted us from the UK to tell us about how she lost 28 pounds. She has a lean back and 6 pack abs now. Those abs are Showing and all that muscle is giving her definition. This tall beauty can now fit into her daughter’s jeans! Here is what she shared with us:

Jennifer weight loss abs

Jennifer back development Hi, my name is Jennifer Malvo I lost my 2 stone (28 lbs) in weight by working out and eating healthy. I cut out the junk and the processed food I was eating. I was putting on weight and my clothes were feeling tight. I just looked bit chunky so I decided to train myself and change my diet. I liked the pictures of the bikini models and women who are bodybuilders. They looked good. I’ve never had muscles. I was 12 stone (168 pounds – 5’9″ tall) when I started my weight loss journey 8 weeks ago. I worked in a Gym Legends gym in Worcester, Great Britain. So, my transformation began when I started using light weights and doing cardio. I got back home from the gym started to do Pilates body stretches. Within one week, my body was changing. 3 weeks later, I had abs and then back definition. I’ve never had abs before. I was so happy that the weight was coming off. I had more energy. I felt good and looked good. I was eating more vegetables, fish and chicken for protein. I had healthy things like rice and nuts for carbs, as well as berries. I also cut back on chocolate and fizzy drinks. I had water and fruit teas instead.When I was at home I would train too, doing light weights and dance. Another thing about my workouts; Doing two or more exercise combined worked for me. I can get into my daughter’s jean now. Now I’m 10 stone (140 pounds) and still training 🙂

Weight Loss Story of the Day: Khadijah lost 46 pounds

May 2, 2014 by Ajima Jackson 13 Comments

Weight Loss Story of the Day: Khadijah lost 46 pounds. She changed her eating habits so that she could have more energy to exercise. Then she kicked her workouts up to full speed and lost the pounds. Here is what she shared with us about her weight loss journey:

“When I started my journey I weighted 268 pounds. At this weight I began to notice a lack of energy and increased laziness. I was always the girl to love sports and weight lifting. However, I knew to be a little better than I was, some of the weight had to disappear. Being a better me and living longer than my mom and grandma served as great motivation for me. It also helps a lot that I have a super energetic one year old niece.

I went from eating junk and gunk to being a lean, mean, protein machine. From candy and fast food with lots of grease to eggs, chicken and tons of greens. It is safe to say lettuce is now my favorite food. I knew with extra work on my nutrition that my energy levels would increase and I was back at the weights in no time. I also began running one to two miles every day and going to the gym 3x a week to lift weight and work on abs.

After all of this hard work (about 3 months worth), I can proudly say that I now weigh 222 pounds. 46 pounds gone and at least 30 lbs more to go.Never give up in yourself. If you do others will began to give up on you too. It’s not easy at first because it’s different, but we are made to overcome the challenges that are put in front of us. We determine our destiny. So, Come on ladies! Eat clean and start your transformation. And remember that abs are made in the kitchen. “

Rhonda lost 20 pounds

December 2, 2013 by Ajima Jackson 2 Comments

Let’s show some love to Rhonda. This Sigma Gamma Rho sista (my soror) lost 20 pounds and tightened up her midsection. Check out what she had to say about her weight loss journey:

Rhonda weight loss photos

“Love and Light to BWLW! My name is Rhonda Brown-Massey and I am a 33 year old mother of a 7 year old. These are my 8 month fitness progression photos and I am submitting them in hopes of inspiring those in the fight to gain control of their weight. I went from 188 pounds in February 2013 to 168 lbs in October 2013 and although I still have a ways to go, I am so happy with my progress so far. I am a living testimony of the concept that meeting your fitness goals is 30% what you do in the gym and 70% what you do in the kitchen. I’ve always been a gym rat that could run and weight train and be conceptually fit, but you wouldn’t be able to tell from looking at me because I was eating fast food, and loads and loads of sugar everyday. I read an article one day titled “Are You Addicted to Sugar” that made me see the light. I realized that the sugar I was consuming was keeping me from looking the way I wanted to. Once I understood what I was doing to myself, I was able to combat it with better choices that eventually lead to a lifestyle change that yielded the results that you see in my after photo. Reducing my sugar (and carbs, which your body processes just like sugar) eating clean, and High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) changed my life. Now, I have more confidence, and am loving the body I have even more! I never thought that the skin on my belly would ever look good enough to show after being a “C- Section Victim”, but with hard work, faith in myself and most importantly, faith in God, I’ve been able to show my mid-section without being embarrassed. Follow me on instagram for fitness motivation: @massrhoyalty22

Mary J. Blige Looks Amazing in a Bikini on the Cover of Shape

November 20, 2013 by Ajima Jackson 3 Comments

Mary J Blige Shape Magazine — Mary J. Blige Cover – All Rights Reserved DON FLOOD/SHAPE MAGAZINE

Oh My Goodness. I must add the R&B queen Mary J. Blige to my list of Ab Divas after seeing the new Shape Magazine cover featuring her for their December Issue. WOW!! Do you see those abs! Fitspiration!

In the article, she talks about her new holiday album and how she is committed to not over doing it with holiday temptations. She also says that she has embraced running for cardio and tries to get in 6 to 8 miles per week. She has even learned to swim for exercise.

They also talked with her about how she has been sober for 1 year and 3 months. I think that is always a blessing when stars like Mary talk about their struggles with substance abuse. Someone needs to hear that and understand that they are not alone.

ON Eating Habits, she says: “Diet, of course, plays a central role in how she looks and especially how she feels. She cut out sugar for three weeks before her cover shoot and sticks to a gluten-free, dairy-free and low-carb diet most of the time.” – Shape Magazine. Click here to read the full article.

Now my one slight issue: Where are her tattoos? The one on her right arm and on her right leg are missing. You can see them in photos here.

Never-the-less, make sure that you buy this magazine when you see it on the rack. We have to let the publishing industry know that we want to see more fit and healthy black women featured on their covers.

Are Breast Cancer and Being Overweight Linked?

September 19, 2013 by Ajima Jackson Leave a Comment

How is being overweight and breast cancer linked?

If you follow health news then you know that research has shown a link between being overweight and an increased risk breast cancer. The link is only just beginning to be understood by scientists and it is revealing some facts that should have a very positive influence on reducing the instances of breast cancer worldwide and obesity rates. The only way to reduce the risk of breast cancer related to obesity is to lose the weight and keep it off. Losing the weight doesn’t absolutely proof your body against breast cancer, as there can be many other factors that can raise your risk as well. However, it is a factor that you can control (for most people, that is).

Overweight and obese women — defined as having a BMI (body mass index) over 25 — have a higher risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer compared to women who maintain a healthy weight, especially after menopause. Being overweight also can increase the risk of the breast cancer coming back (recurrence) in women who have had the disease. – breastcancer.org

Being overweight is not linked to all breast cancers

To understand how weight and breast cancer are linked, it is easiest to begin with how they are not connected together. Scientists have found that the link exists in women after menopause, putting most of the women who are diagnosed with breast cancer that is connected to obesity in the 50s and above. There has been some evidence that being slightly overweight before menopause is not linked to an increased risk of breast cancer, and it may actually help to fight early breast cancer. So why does being overweight go from being something good to something bad?

Hormones, fat cells and breast cancer

Fat cells have a high level of estrogen receptor cells inside them. This means that they can store high levels of the hormone estrogen. Estrogen is needed by the body in varying degrees throughout life for reproduction. Menopause is when a woman’s body changes, the reproductive cycle shuts down and estrogen ceases to be produced in the levels that would be needed to reproduce. Fat cells that have stored excess estrogen keep an abnormally high level in the body. Many instances of breast cancer involve something called “hormone-positive-receptors.” This means the cancer cell needs the estrogen in order to grow. The presence of the estrogen laden fat cell in the body acts as a fuel source. Since the estrogen is not being used by any other system, it is all available for the use of the cancer cells.

The most dangerous areas to be overweight

Not all areas that hold fat will produce the same breast cancer risk. If you are fatty deposits around your thighs and hips, your risk for hormone positive receptor breast cancer is not as high as if the fat is located on your abdomen. While it is still uncertain why this particular type of fat cell locates on the abdominal area, it is known that this abdominal fat cell holds much higher amounts of estrogen than fat cells that will be located in any other area of the body.

How to lose weight and lower your risk

Some women will immediately run out to purchase that latest abdominal exerciser or focus their whole routines on sit-ups and crunches but that is not going to help you lose the weight that is putting you at risk for breast cancer. There is no way to “target” weight loss to a specific area of the body. Fat is lost when the body consumes it as fuel. For most people, it begins with fat in the extremities and then moves inward, ending with the last reserves located in the abdominal area. It is not a linear progression, but the metabolism spreads out its consumption so a little is taken from everything at a time. This is the body’s way of protecting itself from starvation. It is also why it is harder and slower to lose belly fat than fat from your arms and legs.

The best way to lose weight is to do whole body exercises and to change your eating habits. To keep weight off you have to remain physically active and adopt healthy living practices. The number one reason why so many people regain the weight they have worked so hard to lose is that they adopt a temporary fitness routine, but never change the longstanding living habits. When their fitness goals are reached, they return to the way they were living before and regain the weight. To lessen your risk of weight gain related breast cancer, change your lifestyle and change your approach to fitness.

Curvy Confident & Fit: Trina lost 52 pounds

February 10, 2013 by Ajima Jackson 22 Comments

Today’s weight loss success story: Trina lost over 52 pounds and has abs for days! She is the founder of Curvy, Confident and Fit, a great Facebook community for fitness and weight loss.

I asked her to share her weight loss journey with us:

“Hello everyone!! I wanted to share my weight loss story and more with you ladies!!

This before picture is of me two weeks after giving birth to my son by c-section four years ago and my after picture is me after changing my eating habits and working out for the lasts 13 months!! I started Jan 2012 weighing 230 and reached my goal of 180 Jun 2012. Lost a couple more since but focusing more on inches and toning:-).

I began my journey On January 2, 2012 by the grace of God with a new mind and determination!! I had always been somewhat into fitness but I could never control my eating habits!! Through prayer and God’s strength, He gave me the self-control that I needed and I immeditaley was easily able to cut out all the chips, cake, cookies, sodas, fried and sugary foods, etc and started eating more lean meats only baked, fruits, veggies, whole-grains, legumes, and also I cut out the sodas and juices! I was able to loose 50 pounds and go from my starting weight of 230 to my goal weight of 180 in the first 6 months! Once the weight came off I focus more on the toning. I cut out all the long cardio session and started doing more short intensifed workouts and focus more on toning and shaping my body. I basically use anywhere from 10-30 lbs dumbbells and do exercises like squats, lunges, deadlifts, should pressess, dips, etc. Nothing fancy:-) My cardio consist of running and spinning most of the time but always at a high intensity level as well:-) I work my core three days a week and do a variety of exercises like front and side planks, bridges, jackknives, flutter kicks, reverse crunches and the supermans to target the lower back, etc. I can tell you ladies to maintain yor midsection you MUST get your eating habits right at least 90% of the time. There are times when I notice a difference in my midsection, I don’t care how hard I worked for that week, if my eating was really off my stomach was off 🙂 Anyway ladies just wanted to share and let you all know it is possible to get your body back!!

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