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The Official Blog of the Black Women Losing Weight Community. Tips, articles and weight loss resources for African American Women.

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Update: Tory lost 102 pounds

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Update: Tory (aka Latoria) has lost 102 pounds.  We last featured her story back in Dec 2013 when she was down 84 pounds, so that’s 18 more pounds released.

Tory before and after 100 pounds

Hi! Last year in December 2013 was my last submission and I would like to submit an update letting others know it’s still possible to reach your weight loss goals. 

Well, it has been an entire year and I have been very active. I’m still eating as healthy as possible. Summer 2014 was my first time wearing a two pc bathing suit and I loved it. I’ve ran 5 half marathons and countless of 5k and 10k runs. Now, I’m looking forward to run my first full marathon at the end of this year. I didn’t think it was possible. I was 266 pounds, wearing a size 20W in jeans and I could barely run 30 seconds. Now I’m 164 pounds, running, lifting weights, and eating right. Anything is possible, you just have to believe in yourself.

Instagram: @get_fit_tory

Read more about how she lost the weight from the feature article from Dec 2013.

5 Ways to Avoid Gaining Weight on Vacation

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5 Ways to Avoid Gaining Weight on VacationOh, the summer. Many of us spend all winter either working out or fretting about how to get ready for the warm weather.  We want to get fit before it’s time to expose more of our bodies than can be covered up with a winter parka. Hopefully everyone was successful with their cold weather weight loss goals and feels that it’s important to avoid reversing that progress on vacation.  Even if you haven’t reached your goals yet, you don’t want to be side tracked by a few days out of town. There’s nothing better than enjoying the time away from home with some relaxation but a vacation can also be a weight-gain trap. Follow these 5 tips to avoid gaining weight while on your sabbatical. These suggestions will help you preserve all of your progress and hard work.

Avoid High-Calorie Drinks and Cocktails

Typically, traveling on a vacation often involves plenty of stops at convenience stores to fuel up and drive-thru fast food, especially when traveling with children.  This is something you have to avoid. It’s hard to watch your fellow travelers quench their thirst or have junk food without doing so yourself but joining in could really put a strain on your waistline. Suppose you assume you’re drinking healthy and grab an Arizona Kiwi Strawberry (345 calories) or want to get a little kick with a Rockstar Energy Drink (280 calories) you might as well have a few doughnuts or or 3 ice cream sandwiches for the same amount of empty calories. Then there’s the stresses of traveling that can drive you to have a cocktails, but too many margaritas (full of sugar) and you’ll have to upgrade to a bigger car for the ride home.

Eat Fresh If Possible

Vacations are supposed to be fun and allow you to have no cares in the world, which could constitute a lot of eating out at restaurants for almost every meal. It’s hard to underestimate on a vacation just how much of an impact eating all fresh foods for one meal a day can have. Eating a light menu of fresh food like veggies, fruit and fresh fish can give you energy and reduce the risk of feeling bloated or bogged down so you can see more sights and dance the night away.

Get Some Sort of Workout Daily

If you’re staying in a hotel or resort for your getaway, try and take advantage of the on site workout room if possible. Even just 20 minutes on the treadmill or exercise bike can keep you on your routine of working out.  It can also help to clear your mind for the sometimes stressful family vacations. If workout equipment isn’t supplied get your heart pumping, exercise in another way such as taking a hike, walking around an amusement park, swimming or walking on the beach.

Plan For Your High-Calorie Meals

A vacation might include a trip to visit your family and keeping up with the tradition of eating at your favorite local restaurant while enjoying 2 to 3 cocktails or super fattening mac and cheese. You should by all means enjoy the time with family and nostalgia but make plans for the 3,000+ extra calories you’re going to have to deal with. Make sure to eat in moderation and schedule light meals the next day to make up for jumping off the wagon. Plan physical activities for your family and friends to  burn some calories with you as well.

Get Info About Local Restaurants and Grocery Stores In the Area

In this online information and GPS age there’s no excuse not to have a good roadmap and blueprint of all the healthy dining establishments in the area you’re about to visit. If you’re a super-organizer you can even map out your meals for each day of your trip at local restaurants or plan to visit a grocery store to have a good mix of home-prepared, healthy dining out, and high-calorie splurges.  Online nutrition guides on restaurant websites are your friend.

One important thing to remember is that your top priority while on vacation is to enjoy it. This means you should have a few fancy dinners and lounge around when the schedule permits. Eating high calorie foods in moderation and using portion control is key.  Looking back on your trip you’ll find the vacation was even more stimulating when you step on the scale back home to a limited catastrophe.

Exercise: Getting Sundress Ready Challenge

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Trina over at Curvy, Confident and FIT on Facebook has posted a “Getting Sundress Ready” Challenge that you should check out. You can do this as part of your 6 days/45 minutes per session goal for our March Weight Loss Challenge. She has posted a video showing you how to do the exercises on the calendar below.

curvy confident fit

Day 12 – September Smoothie Challenge – Consider Going Vegan

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Hey, Black Women Losing Weight Sistahood.  I hope you’re having a great day.  To recap day 12 for me, I continued to have 2 smoothies per day and fresh veggie juice at lease once per day as well.  As we are on our September Smoothie Challenge, I’m working to go VEGAN.  I’ve been a vegetarian or vegan in the past and I’ve found that it is the best for my body.  I think that more people should consider the vegan lifestyle in terms of eating or at least incorporate parts of the lifestyle (I still wear leather, eat honey, etc…I’m not a complete vegan).  I’ve also found that I don’t have to do as much exercise to maintain my weight loss when I’ve been vegan or vegetarian in the past.  I thought I’d give you a few reasons to consider going vegan or vegetarian since we are all incorporating more fruits and veggies into our diet, two pillars of these lifestyles.

  • Avoid toxins and chemicals that your body doesn’t identify as food.
  • Avoid antibiotics fed to animals.  Over exposure to antibiotics is causing a health issue for some people who’s bodies don’t react to them anymore.
  • Avoid exposure to hormones used to make animals mature faster so that they can fatten up quickly for market
  • Weight loss is typically seen when people adopt a vegan or vegetarian diet.   These lifestyle eliminate many unhealthy foods that tend to cause weight issues.   Sure, people still eat some fried food and un-complex carbs, but as a lifestyle many unhealthy foods are discouraged.
  • Being vegan saves more than 100 animals a year
  • The meat industry causes a lot of pollution in terms of animal waste.  You can help save the environment by eating less meat.
  • Eat less saturated fat that will clog up your arteries
  • Live Longer: Michael F. Roizen, MD, author of The RealAge Diet: Make Yourself Younger with What You Eat. ”People who consume saturated, four-legged fat have a shorter life span and more disability at the end of their lives. Animal products clog your arteries, zap your energy and slow down your immune system. Meat eaters also experience accelerated cognitive and sexual dysfunction at a younger age.”

Today’s Recipes

From Celeb Chef Marcus Samuelsson – Vegan Super Duper Green Kale Smoothie Recipe
  • small bunch of kale (approx 2 cups)
  • 1 kiwi
  • handful of frozen mixed berries
  • juice 1/2 lemon
  • juice 1 lime
  • 1/2 cup acai berry juice
  • 1/2 cup filtered water
  • 1 tbsp agave nectar (or any vegan sweetener)
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Simple Honeydew Smoothie

  • 2 cups chopped honeydew melon
  • 1 cup plain almond milk
  • 1 cup ice
  • 1 ripe banana
  • honey to taste.
End of Summer Smoothie
  • 1 cup fresh ripe strawberries
  • 1 cup frozen pineapple
  • 1 cup fresh raspberries
  • 1 ripe fresh peach or nectarine
  • 1 cup frozen mango
  • 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice