Music

Check out my beautiful friend and her beautiful music! Tenille

www.Tenillemusic.com

www.soundcloud.com/tenillemusic

Salon vs. Bald? Hair or No Hair? Relaxed or Natural?

Someone asked me to blog on this topic. I wasn't quite sure, but just so happens that earlier that day I was speaking to a friend about hair and later that same night I saw something on TV about hair being part of your first impression. Here goes nothing........

So, it takes guts along with a nicely shaped head to pull off a super short, Amber Rose, type cut. I have nothing against that, to each is own. The question that follows a cut like that is, Why?! I understand that for some it functions better in their day to day life, but is it low maintenance? How often do you have to cut it? And lets talk "black hair" or "ethnic hair" if you will. If you have the ethnic coarse hair then how often do you have to relax it if you want to keep it nice and slicked down with this super short cut?

I was in the bathroom at a club a few weeks ago and while washing my hands I heard a woman discussing how she relaxed her super short, slicked down hair, once a week! And it was dyed a golden color. That's insane! During the same convo a lady had dreads and she says that she loves her locks, but they must be maintained, must be small, and must be kept about chin length for her, but that she's really in to hair and appreciates all types of hair. At this moment I'm done washing my hands, the convo was pretty quick, and before I could turn around the ladies began discussing my hair, whether it was all mine, and that I must not be "all the way black". LMAO my eyes got huge and everyone was waiting for me to answer. Before I could speak, in comes my distraction, for the moment, a woman that tells them how rude they were. She says they should have said how nice my hair is and should have asked where I get it done. Then maybe I would have revealed whether it was real or not. After the brief scold, everyone turned back to me for the answer. At this point I'm looking like a deer in headlights because all I wanted to do was wash my hands! I then started to laugh and explain that....... when I go out I add a few clip ins to my hair that I make myself. I also explained that I no longer get relaxers and have had to train my hair. Then came an onslaught of questions that thankfully a drunken bride, still in her wedding dress, was this her reception?, bursts in the bathroom declaring that she was just wed. Well good for her and out I went! The funny part was that the night before, at a different club, a woman started playing in my hair as we were waiting in line for the bathroom! I turned around in shock and she apologized saying that my hair was so pretty she couldn't resist and that, "It feels so real! Is it all real?". I just began to laugh and observed that this lady also had a super low cut that was blonde and slicked down.

Needless to say I've had quite a few hair questions, even one morning as I drove through McDonald's drive thru. And let's not forget the lady in walmart 2 days ago that thought that touching my hair without an invitation was okay. Goodness!

The truth about my personal hair. So I am mixed, Puerto Rican (mom) and Black (dad). My mom has the same texture hair as I do and my dad has soft wavy hair. As a kid I had soft wavy/curly hair for quite some time. At about the age of 4 I began getting relaxers to better maintain my wild thick hair. In my teens I began to experiment with dye and learned a hard lesson. You can't bleach and relax your hair!! It falls out!! Thankfully I have a ton of hair and was able to hide the damage. In about the 10th grade my hair was fried! It went from past the shoulders to my chin and no bangs due to all the damage from relaxers, dye, and abuse with the flat irons and blow dryer. I didn't dye my hair again for years and even then I still had problems.

About 3 years ago I was having lots of breakage, hair was falling out, the texture was uneven, the length was uneven, I mean it was to the point that I would wake up and some small section of hair would have broken off and only be about 3 inches long! I was devastated and at that point said, NO MORE RELAXERS! And then the thought, well what am I gonna do with all this hair then? I went to see my wonderful stylist and hair savior, Kyong! She did a consult, made a plan and the next week I was in to get a treatment called the Grund. Look it up if you would like to know more about it. It conditions, strengthens and is not a harsh chemical treatment on your hair and can be safely done even after a dye job or relaxer. Right after the Grund was done I could safely run my fingers through my hair without any loss of hair or breakage. I was excited! It wasn't cheap, took 4hrs, but was well worth it.

It was a while before I had to see Kyong again for a treatment aside from regular trims. Last summer around June I went back to her for another hair treatment. This time I had the original formula Brazilian done. It took much less time than the grund because it is about 1 step less, but the downfall was that I couldn't wash my hair for like 5 days or so. This stopped my work out and horseback riding activities. But when I got to hot and humid Miami it did alright with the humidity. And for a while after you have to use very specific shampoos in your hair in order not to strip it out right away. At the moment my hair continues to grow strong, I straighten it about once a week and the rest of the time it's wash and wear due to my work out and farm work. I sweat too much to keep straight hair.

My mom cut it all off!! My mom used to have beautiful hair, much longer than mine. I called her one day and she said that she cut it all off!! My mom had pulled a Britney Spears!!! I could not believe my ears!!! My mom's philosophy is that, "It's just hair". Are you crazy?! She said she was tired of having to deal with it and she was over it so she whacked it off! She has no plans on growing her hair back and is quite content with how it is. More power to her, but it's not a move I would pull.

Hair and self confidence- First Impression- I was watching the news where they ran a story about how a bad hair day for women is linked to how they feel and present themselves the rest of that day. The hair is very directly tied to our emotions and outward projection to others. It's amazing how this works. I will be honest, although my hair is a nice length I do not like doing photo shoots without extensions in. I don't feel as sexy without them. When I go out to a club or a nice event, in go the clips. I just feel that it gives me an extra umph! Not that I couldn't go with my real hair and make it look just as nice.

Is it a silly thing that your hair maybe not speaks for you, but has such a huge influence on how you present yourself to someone? That something as simple as hair could ruin your whole day? Writing this is leaving me with more questions than answers.

To sum this all up, I don't really care one way or the other what you do, just make whatever choice you've made work! Wear it proudly. I've had to work horrible haircuts before. I'm sure we all have. But ladies, if you want to go back to being natural, do you really have to shave it all off to accomplish it? What makes you want to go back natural? For me it was just damaging my hair to get the chemical laden relaxers. My personal preference is long beautiful hair. And I truly envy those that are able to cut it all off and still look gorgeous!

I would love to hear what you ladies have done with your hair and why. How do you maintain it? Ladies are you interested in getting your hair back to a healthy state and want some tips? Hit me up! Men, what do you prefer on your woman?

We NEED Donations

So the Spring Hill Heritage Poultry Conservatory (a not for profit, Florida State recognized incorporation) needs donations to help us to continue to feed, medicate, and run our educational farm in general. We have great volunteers that stop by on a weekly basis that help out tremendously by donating their time. At the moment we have several birds for sale and we are GIVING AWAY FREE silky roosters. We have peacocks for sale at this moment also. If anyone is interested please send an email to SpringHillHPC@gmail.com , we will ship birds, for additional shipping costs of course, to anywhere in the USA.

In the meantime if you are interested in donating please click the PayPal link below. Every bit counts even if it's just one dollar.

Say a Kind Word Today

It amazes me how you never know what's going on in someone's head. I just saw a story about a person hanging himself, rich, well off, and seemed to have it all. Say a kind word to someone today, you never know, you could save a life.

TRUE STORY- This story really makes me tear every time I think of it.

At the clinic I just left before I moved to FL we had an old lady client, we'll call her Sue, and every time she was in the clinic and saw a soldier in uniform, no matter what she was doing, she would go out of her way to thank them for their service and tell them how much they were appreciated. Our client base was mostly military. So after hearing this for the millionth time I turned to my co-worker and said, man she's weird, she does this every time she comes in here. My co-worker turned and said there's a reason. She told me that one day Sue was out and passed a soldier, Sue normally would thank service members, but not all the time, this time she passed the soldier, had second thoughts and went back to give them her thank you speech. Right after Sue finished speaking the soldier broke down and thanked her for her kind words telling her that she had saved his life. He was feeling very unappreciated, very down and planned on heading home to kill himself that day.

I could not believe what I was hearing. It brought instant tears to my eyes. I mean could you imagine?? Words carry a large weight. Please say a kind word or two today. And please teach your kids the value of kind words.

That's all for today.

AJ

My life on the farm!

I'm sure you guys love the ever changing climate of my life just as much as I do. I now live on a BIRD FARM!! What are the odds?? So I'm back in Florida and helping out my mom on her farm. Here she raises all types of chickens and most importantly PEACOCKS! The birds are beautiful and have personalities all their own. Believe me, these birds are almost like dogs, they either like you or they don't. It's a pretty interesting place to be.

There has been a serious adjustment period for me. It has taken me a week to just get over the fact that I'm here. I made a choice as a responsible daughter to come down to help my mom out because she is not in the best of health and if you allow it, a farm will grow out of control. There is lots to be organized here and bunch of birds to send to new homes because we must downsize here.

THE MAIN GOAL??

My mom began growing this bird farm with the intention of making it a hands on educational place for children. She has had many of her clients take great interest in the farm and children love to come experience something and be hands on with animals they would normally never be able to touch. We do have a state recognized name under a non-profit organization here- The full title- Cielo Heritage Poultry and Peafowl Farm Incorporated. We are particularly focusing on the heritage chickens that are on the endangered list. The heritage chickens we have will be show quality so that we have the best stock of birds and the children that participate in 4-H are able to have a quality bird and be well educated on the type of bird they have.

As things progress here I hope be able to give you updates along with pictures and video.

Anything you want to see specifically??

P.S. I do have a farm shoot coming up. I'm gonna be creative with this on, bikini and muck boots!!

Announcement

I am officially finsished with modeling!! Long time coming, I have my own reasons, it is what it is, all that good stuff. Soooo on to the next! I might just keep pushing forward in my photography, but I'm honestly considering hanging that up also. We shall see what happens over the next few weeks.

In the meantime I'm going to put myself in to my horse, Blaze. I love spending time with him and the other horses at my friends house. Couldn't ask for a better bond with such a large creature.

The workouts do continue on. I'm more working out at the gym now. P90x gave me a great leg up on things and I was able to drop weight and tone up.

Until the next update, Have a great week!

End of week 4 almost through week 5!

Okay, I know I'm a little behind schedule on this update, but I went outta town over the weekend and was super tired when I got back.

Anyways 4 week Progress??? Hmmm......

• My legs are much tighter. Finally the dimples are going away. Yes people, I have cellulite too! I'm getting some significant definition in my calf and thigh areas
• My ARMS OMG something I'm most proud of , my triceps are cutting in, it's so beautiful!!
• My stomach is getting flatter! I'm getting much stronger & able to do 25 reps of most everything on the ab ripper DVD. I can even feel definition when i poke around my belly.
• My back is really getting tight. No more back fat under the bra strap for me!
• No, I have not lost a large amount of weight. I've only lost like 5 or 6 lbs. Muscle weighs more than fat and you need muscle to begin to burn fat.
• No, I have not really changed much in measurements either.

So, as you can tell there have been lots of changes going on in a short, dedicated 4 week period. Yes, it has been rough some days. Some days I have to drag myself in front of the DVD play to work out and think to myself, "Lets just get this over with". My eating habits have changed a bunch considering that when I eat something out of my norm I get sick to my stomach.

I'm still thinking about broadcasting some of my workouts. We'll see.

Stay up!

Alonna "AJ" James

Week 3 coming to an end

I am coming to the end of week #3!! I've been making super efforts to push through and do make up sessions when life steps in and throw me off. I already feel myself getting much stronger. Infact last night was arms and shoulders, I can't remember what the move was, but the 10lb weights aren't so heavy anymore and I almost dinged myself in the face. That would have been beautiful! lol

I am really happy to announce that for the first time I was able to do 20 stacked push ups!!

I haven't done any measurments and probably won't until the end of week 4 or 5. I will keep u guys posted on that.

Have a beautiful day! Remember only 1 hour of ur time (except for yoga day).

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!! (12th)

Yesterday was my birthday and I did have a very joyful day spent with the people that mean the most to me. With that said...... it did not spot me from eating lots of bad food that I shouldn't have, nor did it stop me from my work out. Just because it was my birthday it was no excuse to slack off. Besides, as I always say, it's only an hour of your time. In fact I got off of work late, rushed home, popped in my dvd, worked out, and was dressed for my birthday dinner with 10mins to spare. So if I can do it so can you.

Have a great day!!

AJ

The End of week 1!

I MADE IT! This was a very hard long week for me. My work hours kept pushing back my workout times, but I still managed to push through, dedicate an hour of my time, 1.5hrs on yoga day (ugh), and get it DONE! I will admit that i'm so sore that I hurt sitting still but soon enough this will pass.

I'm doing really well with my meal planning and cooking. I don't follow exactly what P90X has laid out for me, I modify it some what. For the most part I'm making sure to take in lots of protein. I have also cut out fast food all together. The trick to that..... I made sure I spent all my money on groceries. I also allow myself to have 1 cheat day. Cheat day means 1 really YUMMY meal during that day and it's a meal that I cook, no ordering out. I also will be doing it on a workout day. I atleast want to be able to burn off some of the calories from the meal. I don't want to do it on my rest day when I'm bumming it & hardly burning any calories.

I'm still trying to get a workout buddy but so many people have so many excuses about getting in shape. It kind of annoys me because it's only 1 hour of your time, 2 TV shows! And so what if you can't do as many reps as there are on the DVD, you do what you can do. Believe me, one day you will be able to keep up with everything.

I'm done with my sunday rant. I'll come back later to edit this post with measurements.

P.S. I've already gained several pounds of muscle this week. Time to stop looking at the scale or I'll really get discouraged. I alwasy pack on pounds before I begin to shed them. Need muscle to burn fat!

DAY 2 P90X LEAN

Hey guys, I'm checking in. This is day 2 of my P90X Lean program. Lets just say that I forgot how heavy my legs are. lol. They are super sore today. I also forgot how much of a great shape I was in while doing the first round of P90X. 2 days in, and 88 more days to go. I can't wait to see my progress here in the next few weeks. I'm going to make sure I take some measurements and stuff tomorrow so that I can chart my progress; along with pics. And for the record I've kept off the inches from the first 7 week round that I did of P90X.

Tonight's dinner....... baked chicken breast stuffed with spinach and a lil bit of cheese with a side of brown rice!! Yummy!

Special hello to everyone in my P90X group that I've just joined. If you're reading this then that means you got my email tonight. Heeey!!

AJ

My bad, I kno I kno

Okay everyone I know I have been gone for a really long time. Soooo many many things happened that got me off course, but I'm back. I did tone up lots with my last round of P90X, dropped several inches off of my waist, and lost a few pounds while I was recovering from my tonsillectomy. Now that I'm all healed and cleared I'm back on my grind. I really want to make it through the FULL course of the P90X so that I can order the Insanity series next. Work out till you vomit!! lol Gross huh???

Anyways, my BIRTHDAY is Jan 12th, right around the corner and I need to find something great to do for it. Any suggestions?? Let me know how you celebrated one of your best birthdays. You can submit a comment here or you can email me @ fanmail@alonnajames.com. Hope to chat with you guys soon!

Oh yeah, if you want to keep up to date with my work outs or want to get on schedule with me just let me know. Most workouts will take place around 6:30pm, weds at 7:30pm and a random time on saturdays. Stay tuned b/c I may just allow you to watch my workouts, but those will be announced.

I will probably broadcast my first one tomorrow 1/4/10. Since that's the case log on to yahoo about 10mins before hand to be accepted. Hopefully my cam works, it's BUSTED, time for a new one.

Chat with you guys later!!

AJ

P90X update week 5

So I finished 4 weeks of P90X. I had to take a week off because my sleeping schedule was thrown way off and I got sick last week, but I'm back on the grind for week 5. So far I've lost 3 inches on my waist and dropped a total of 6lbs and am gaining great muscle tone in my arms and legs, especially my thighs! I'm very happy with the results. I'm also able to do a ton more push ups than ever and am using heavier weights for some of the arm/lunge combos. If any of you know what plank to chataranga run is then you know how hard it is. The 5th week and I was able to get down to chatranga run without even thinking about it!!

Well I'll keep you all posted. If any of you have just started or have been on it I would love to hear from you. And if you're thinking about getting it, just do it!! You can't go wrong.

Until next time,
Alonna "AJ" James

2nd week of P90X comes to an end

I've completed 2 weeks of P90X so far. I'm already seeing results. I'm successuflly sticking to a high protein diet and so far have dropped 4lbs, an inch on my thighs, and a half inch on my waist. Keep in mind I've been working out for 2 weeks, but started the diet the week before I started working out. And some of my tactics my be a little too drasitc for some.

This week I managed to get a small tear of my left calf muscle. If you all remember correctly I did a horrible tear on my right calf muscle a few months ago that put me outta commission for about 2 weeks. But this one is not as bad and I'm working through it.

I really really hated the yogaX and this past week I decided to open my mind some more to it and really put a 100% in. Half the problem is that it seems never endning because the dvd is 1.5 hrs. That's just way too freaking long for something so slow for me. At the end of the session I felt relaxed, tight, and calm all over. It was really weird. Now that I gave it a real chance I like it.
I really love the Kenpo workout. Lots of sweat! It keeps your heartrate up, it's non stop.

That's all for now I'll make sure to update again at the end of phase one.

P90X - 89 more days to go

Alright so for the most part no back issues. Okay, well I'm being pinched at the moment, but I'll take it easy. So I started working out with the P90X system. I've seen it for a very long time on infomercials and thought it seemed like great body boot camp. On top of it I have met several people that have used it and have EXCELLENT results. Those that have used it swear by it. I decided to just spend the money and get it.



I opened the box last night, read over all the literature that comes with it, and started on day 90! They give you a fit test to begin with. I must say that if you're not in at least good shape and have some enurance it may not be for you. The first day kicked my ass! I could not complete certain sets. It made me feel good to see a workout dvd where the people on the tv were sweating and suffering just as much as I was. For the most part they did everything, but at their own pace and slight modifications.




Needless to say today I'm super sore! Oh yeah, I did take before pics and measurements which are so embarrasing I'll keep them to myself for now.



They do have an eating plan in the nutrition plan book and i've been told that you don't have to follow it exactly to have results, but you still need to eat good clean foods. If you can't go by the menu they lay out for you they do break down how many servings of protiens, carbs, fats, fruits, ect that you can have during the day along with a list of all the foods you CAN eat and how much of each is considered to be a serving.



Okay to wrap it up because I'm rambling....... You will need a pull up bar, yoga mat, weights, a chair(helps if you need assistance with pull ups), and it's recommended to have a heart rate monitor so that you're not overworking yourself. Do think about a recovery drink for after your workouts because an hour with the dvd is hell, you will be drained therefore needed to put things back in your body to help you recover from your workout.



I'll keep you posted. Should any of you decide to try it let me know!



Have a great weekend!

AJ~~~ 89 more days to go!

March Update/Announcement......

Alright, so I've been pain free for about 2 weeks and have forced myself back in the gym. This time minus a personal trainer for the moment. Right now I'm going to concentrate on cardio and abs for 3-4 weeks and move in to weights after that, still keeping up with cardio of course. My cardio for the most part consists of the Gauntlet (mobile steps) aka stairway to hell (thanks T). I love those stairs, they give you a great thigh and booty work out while you sweat you ass off! My nomal time is 45mins, but if I'm really feeling it I can go for an hour!

Announcement
I will be the North Carolina, and surrounding areas, photographer for Southern Xposure Models (SouthernxposureModels.com). I'm starting off by going down to Daytona the weekend of the 20th to shoot models with the lead photographer Ahmed Almodovar. So ladies if you're interested in being shot by me hit me up!

Update working out & injuries

Here it is. My calf muscle is healed for the most part, it's still sore and I still have to work on getting it stretched out and I took 2 weeks off of the gym for it. I was due back in the gym yesterday, 1/27, unfortunatly out of no where my back injury came to haunt me. Since Monday I've been having pain and last night it was so bad i could barely move. Long story short, I've been ordered to get an MRI !! Do you have any clue how expensive those things are? I don't know what I'm going to do. What I do know is that I have to get to the bottom of the problem because the chronic pain is beginning to rule my life. Once again I'm not able to work out.

I will say that I've started Lipo 6 and have lost about 6-7 lbs so far. I just wish i could get more cardio in becasue I'm sure I'd see even more of a difference.

That's the update for now, stay tuned!!

So I have an injury today....

First off, yes, yes, yes there is video coming to the blog really soon. No, I was not taping when this injury happened. Yes, I did stretch this morning. What happened was, I was doing squat thrusts, squat down, hands on the ground, thrust ur legs out to a push up position, back in, stand up, jump. On about the 4th one just as i was thrusting back i heard, "POP", coming from my calf muscle. GREAT! This was at the beginning of my work out. I was able to complete the whole hour with no problem. Now it's 12:30 and it's progressivly getting worse. Not what I really wanted. I guess I'll have to stay off of it for a few days or maybe a week until it heals. I'm assumming that i may have had too much tension on it and came really close to a tear, or I may have a slight tear. Either way I have to stay off of it. Other than that things are progressing.

I began taking a suppliment called Lipo 6 yesterday. I must say I can feel it work. You have to work your way up to 4 pills per day. I'm at 2 per day, not so sure how or if I'll make it to 4 pills. I did take some measurements and it looks like I may have lost an 8th of an inch on my waist and hips.

That's the update for now. Stay tuned!

Gym Update

Alright it has been 2 weeks and I honestly don't see many results.  I have not lost any weight in fact I've gained 2 pounds.  My measurements have not changed either.  I will say that I'm starting to be able to get through the workouts without so much bitching and moaning.  My trainer is great in the fact that he's very creative with the workouts so I'm constantly feeling some sort of muscle pain.  But, no pain no gain.  We also had to scale back on the workouts some because it was causing me to have back pain.  The last few sessions have really worked on getting my abs tighter to give me support with my back.  I've also had to lay off of lifting a lot of weight.  That just means more reps and more sets to feel the burn.  

I do have some video, but I'm having trouble loading it because I have to convert, edit, and merge multiple clips.  Since I have no expertise in this area it's taking longer than expected to load up video.   But soon you will be able to see just what I do in the gym.

Pets, Your Pets, My Pets.....

If you have pet pics and/or stories, send them to PetPics@alonnajames.com and I will make sure to read and post your stories and pics, along with mine, on this blogspot. Thank you to those of you who have sent in pics already.

This pic is from when I first got my Bear.

Check out Ninja, the cute Min Pin.

Check out the spoiled Niko and his story straight from his owner, Mosharraf.

I had to give away my last pit (Brutus) in April 2006 two months before I bought my house in June 2006 (just my luck). I didn’t want to get another dog yet cause I wasn’t over giving away Brutus. So in Nov 06, my cousin told me about this girl who had two puppies left. I was like I don’t know, but my ex overheard it and was like let's go see. (She's the worst, she only likes when they are small and controllable). So we go see the two puppies (they were 3 weeks old), Niko was the quiet and smaller of the two. The other was a little bigger and was more concerned about eating then seeing us. So my ex was like lets get him, and I’m looking at her like I know what’s going to happen ( and it happened). When we brought him back home and went to sleep. This quiet dog turned into a new born baby for the next 5 days straight making sure to cry when we were a sleep leaving me to wake up, while my happy ex is snoring her ass off. And during the day when I got home from work, little nigga was just as playful and bad as hell. It wasn’t his fault cause he was getting carried everywhere by my ex while I let him walk to gain his strength and independency. When the spring 07 came, he was at the dog park scared out his mind because he was new to it and all the bigger dogs would knock him over.  Well that changed in a matter of days. He began playing fine with the other dogs and eventually became the serial humper of the dog park (he would always hump this Great Dane which was f'ing funny). Niko was pretty much my dog because of all the time, energy, money I gave to him. My ex and I broke up around xmas 07 and its been me and him since.

My daily routine for him; he wakes up and sits right in front of me. He'll take his paw and drag my arm to him so I can rub his face ( he's spoiled and thinks he's human). When I stop rubbing his face, he'll keep pawing me until he feels he’s had enough. Then he'll walk on top of me a few times to get me out of bed. I’ll walk him, feed him and put him in the cage so I can go to work. When I get home, I walk him again. Then he is flying around the house or jumping on me trying to play fight. If I’m on the phone he'll whine ( people think I’m babysitting or at my weekend job with kids at a group home) or he'll bark until I pay him attention or I get off the phone. Now when I start to eat, he'll extort me for some of my food, but either standing up at the table, trying to work his way into my lap, or his best bet me cracking down and giving him a piece of my food. After dinner I'll sit on the couch where he either works his way up into my lap or he just straight up jumps onto my lap.  Bedtime, he'll start sniffing the comforter like a vacuum, then start chasing his tail on the bed and until I have to spank him ( yes he gets spanked).  Finally he'll stop and then lay on top of me until he feels like moving.

  Yeah yeah he's spoiled, but he is like any black kid growing up. Lovable but bad as hell and only really becomes scared when I’m yelling or I’m about to spank his ass. All in all, he is my brat and I would trade him for anything. 

My weightloss/body toning goal

Okay, so it's time for me to come clean with EVERYTHING! I'm being more real in the upcoming months than I've ever been with the public/my fans. I almost feel like I'm throwing myself under the bus here!

So a little over a year ago I moved back to North Carolina. At that time I did not have a gym membership. So after about 6 months I ended up with a gym sponsor (nov 07). This came from http://www.enigma-games.com/ and I am very thankful to the company! So I got back on the band wagon and was doing great until I got sick with strep for the 1st out of 4 times early this year (08). I was sick for a while it threw me off, then I moved back into my house, began working on that, no time for the gym. Needless to say time passed. I began getting back on the wagon again several months ago with in home working out and back to the gym again, until I injured my back. I was really upset because I was starting to see results. My sciatic nerve was pinched so badly that I was on crutches, heavily drugged so that I could sleep at night, injured for 2 weeks straight, and taking it easy for another 2 weeks. This was in september. From there I really fell off because my injury was really bad and I've had episodes inbetween. So in some ways I'm really scared to get back to working out.

Over the last year I've managed to put on 15lbs. Now here's where I come clean. I always list my weight at 145 and i'm 5'6". Seems more acceptable than 5'6 155-160 (more ideal toned weight for my body structure). If I listed those numbers I'm sure every one would think I was fat. But the truth is I do my photo editing and I don't do any major altering of my body. What you see is what you get. I wear a size 11 jean and have worn that size for a very long time now, even at a nicely toned weight. My hips are very very wide. At this point I still fit in an 11 (snug) lol and still wear a medium shirt. Although within the last month have noticed I have a roll under my bra strap across my back. Ewwwww. I think I almost had a meltdown in Target the day I saw it. I'm just all over out of shape and have lost most of the tone I was so proud of a year ago.

General Knowledge
Once upon a time I used to weigh around 190lbs. Yes, for a short moment in my life I was fat. No thanks to the hormones of human development. At one point I had tried every diet there was with the help of my mom and doctors. I even had bloodwork run to see if there were medical reasons for why I had gained so much so quickly when my food and calorie in take was being monitored. At that point I cut out all fast food for a solid year. I also did little exercises here and there, and my food selections were very limited. It took a ton of self control, but I did cut back the weight. My lowest weight to date has been 140lbs. I don't choose to get down that low again. I looked sickly. All of my bones were sticking out and my face looked sunken. I think a healthy weight for me is a toned/firm150-155.

I know there are a lot of people out there who want to lose weight over the winter so they can have wonderful bodies for the spring/summer and I hope I am able to inspire you. I was talking to my close friend today who gave me a pep talk, she's doing the same thing right now, and she said as long as I stick with it for a month straight I will be fine. It will then become habit. I'm hoping she's right, lol, okay I know she's right because I've been down this road before.

Time to toss out the junk. You must must must remove the temptation out of the house. That's what I've done. I'm lazy and won't go out to the gas station in the cold at 10pm searching for chips, cookies, soda, or snickers bars. haha

Okay so here are my current stats. Although I want to lose 15lbs I'm maily focused on losing inches, how my clothes fit, and overall body tone. I will post a before picture of me in a bikini by the end of the week.

Bust: 34DD (not losing any there just toning)
Waist: 29 (I would like to be at 26 or 25)
Hips: 45 ( would like to get down to 43 or 42)
Weight: 172lbs (I'm focused on inches, but will update as I weigh myself once every 3-4weeks)

Ladies: If you are working out to lose weight, weigh yourself once a month at some point well outside of your monthly cycle. Weighing yourself too often will discourage you. Remember muscle weighs more than fat and in my case due to weight training I will gain weight, due to muscle mass, before I begin to lose weight. You need muscle to burn fat.

I will also try to keep you posted on my food journal.

***** Note, In no way am I a personal trainer. I am just here to share my experience with you. Please in no way attempt to do what I'm doing without first consulting with your doctor or your personal trainer. I have no problem sharing with you how I do things, but most of what I know or say is from the knowledge of the persoanl trainers I've worked with.*****