Health Journey Update....

(Warning: Quite a bit of rambling!)

I am feeling really good about where I am with my body. I am at a size that I like, I am doing track practice in order to become stronger and a faster runner, my biking is coming along nicely, and my workouts with Berhane are getting tougher and tougher.

Throughout the winter I continued to run and bike and workout with Berhane, and I really have made leaps and bounds with my diet. I have tried quite a few recipes, thanks to sources such as the blogs Black Girls Guide to Weight Lost and Gluten Free Goodness, that I am quite pleased with.

I have been thinking a lot about how do a person maintain weight lost? Talking to Berhane, it dawned on me how to maintain weight lost, and it is really simple. We must focus on the correct numbers: cholesterol, blood pressure, body fat, the amount of weights that we lift, our running speed and time, etc. instead of the number on the scale. We must always be working on our fitness level and diets, all of the time, in order to maintain weight lost and be fit and healthy. So, now that I am smaller than I was before, I must continue to work on my fitness level and closely monitor my diet in order to maintain the weight lost and be fit and healthy. If I only concentrate on the diet and not the fitness piece, I may not gain the weight back, but I more than likely will not be fit. If I only concentrate on the fitness part and not the diet, then I will definitely gain the weight back and not be healthy. Diet and Fitness and Health go hand in hand.

Let's talk about the diet piece. There is no way that I will run like crazy on a track in this summer heat, bike some of the hilliest roads in the DC area, let Berhane work me to the point where I literally want to beat him up, and turn around and eat anything from McDonald's or put ANYTHING in my mouth that will sabotage those crazy ass workouts. I can burn about 1000 calories in one workout, and turn around and have a meal from McDonald's that is over 1000 calories, and there goes my workout. Well....I ain't doing that for sure. We can not compete with what we eat. I do splurge every now and then, and believe me when I say that the splurges are calculated and worth it.

Check out those calories for one meal!

I've completely fallen in love with vegetables, and I prepare them all types of healthy, delicious ways. We must constantly tweak our diets in order to not get bored and go back to eating foods that caused us to gain the weight in the first place. So, it is important to sample a variety of foods and recipes so that our taste buds get use to different favors and textures.

For instance, Berhane told me that I should try cottage cheese, because it is high in protein and is good for the body. When I first tried it, I could not stomach the taste. But every day for awhile, I would eat one spoon full, and now I absolutely love it, and it is one of my favorite snacks. Our taste buds is just like our bodies, they can get use to almost anything.

With the fitness piece, there is always another level that we can go to. For instance, I have been running with my running group on Saturdays for years. However, the group also does track workouts to work on speed. This year, after being coerced by Berhane, I decided to give track workouts a try in order to get stronger and run faster, and the bonus is that sprinting and running faster burns a hell of a lot of calories which helps me to not only get stronger and more fit, but it helps me to maintain my weight lost. Because remember, as we get smaller, we must increase the intensity of our workouts in order to not plateau and to change the way that our bodies look. Also, taking the fitness to new levels makes our important numbers better: cholesterol, blood pressure, body fat, and our hearts absolutely love it.

Also, I know that we all love when our boyfriends, girlfriends, mates, husband tells us that they do not notice when we gain weight. But as for me and my house, I want my boyfriend, husband, friends, and trainer to notice when or if I slack on my workouts and eating habits and start to gain weight. I want the friendly reminder, because this is an area of my life where I NEED people to notice and alert me. I am striving to be healthy and fit until I die, and I need my army to rise and be honest with me.

On that note, Berhane wanted me to stop eating beans for awhile, and you know that I love me some beans. So, after not eating beans for awhile, I just had to have some lentils, and so I cooked and ate lentils for about three days. I had to eat them ALL right? I couldn't throw them away. Well, when I walked in to work out with Berhane, he touched my stomach and stated "cut the carbs." Really??? How the hell did he know that I had been eating those delicious lentils? The body does not have a clue how to keep a secret, and it tells every damn thing for sure. Nope, I did not like Berhane that day, but I truly appreciate that he keeps me honest and that is what I want from everyone in life; hold me to high standards all of the time.

I've had to learn the hard way that I can bike in a century (100 miles) ride; hike to the top of Mount Everest; run a ultra-marathon on a woody trail, which is equivalent to running the length of a football field 461 times; do crazy ass workouts with Berhane eight times a week; and I can still be overweight, unhealthy, and not fit if I do not watch my diet. That's the truth, My people.........

So, my health journey is going very well. I've grown by leaps and bound, and I ain't turning back no time soon, and that's for sure.......

Now remember, this is not 'The Truth' but 'My Truth!'

Go out and do something today that is absolutely awesome for your body!

Happy Saturday, My People!

I just can't give up now...