90 days at last!!! YAY!!!!! *sips courage juice*... *continues with note* WARNING... THIS ISH IS LONG...I had alot to say... LOL
2nd WARNING: I wanted to be open and honest, and if you are insulted by anything I say I can't help you with that. I suggest you stop reading now ;-)
Yesterday marked my 90 day mark on my nutrition plan! YAY!!!! I'm so proud of myself!
15% body fat, 113lbs, size 2/3, white blood cell count stable!!!!!
For people who know me they know that I have no problem exercising and am the infomercial queen! I've completed 2 rounds of insanity, metamorphosis by Tracy, 30 day shred by Jillian Michaels, Zumba, and was getting it in at 24 hour fitness with my fitness mentors Taj and Mark. Even though I was busting my ass for 2 years trying to get back into shape after having Crunch, I was struggling. I didn't have this much difficulty after having Donovan 11 years ago, and had to accept the reality that the truth was -it's MUCH harder, post 30yrs of age (as a woman), to "bounce back". This was also baby #2....
All the while my brother in law was in the trenches of his Herbalife journey, and continued to show his progress. It was annoying, excessive, and I was close to hiding him. After all, he had ZERO examples of women in MY situation that he could use as an example of the product working. "Men lose weight easier than women. The pics of these women you keep posting already are thin, have never had a baby, and are in their early 20s... come on, son!" -*Ed Lover voice* And then 1 day he happened to post something that clicked. He said (summarizing lol) to stop waiting for the proof that it works and BE the proof that it works. What productivity was coming from being critical and a skeptic? Try it. What's the worst that can happen... and so my journey began.
Now I'm going to fast forward to the present, but then back pedal to offer some overall advice to both health enthusiasts and the skeptics... stay tuned or check out now....
On June 5th I started my Herbalife nutrition plan and weighed in at 151.3 lbs, was 33% body fat, and wore a size 9/10 O_O...I'm only 5'1"...THIS was a hard reality for me being a person that spent the majority of my life a size 0.
60 little days later I weighed in and 120lbs, 16% body fat and was down to a size 5!!!!! I lost 31.3lbs in 2 little months?! The ironic thing for me is that I was working out less than prior to the plan, but had better results. I have a variety of friends that were all working on their plans together (some were juicing, some were only eating raw foods, and some were working out 2-3 hrs a day!). I was working out every other day for 35-40 min max (thank you EQUINOX... THOSE CLASSES ARE SOOO DAMN ON POINT). I also did not follow the recommended diet as strictly as I could have (sorry health coaches, but I am still working on my eating... I gave up my Starbucks, didn't I!? Now THAT was a challenge-more on that later). Fast-forward to today... I'm 113.5lbs, size 1/2 and am 15% body fat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I stopped weighing myself at day 60. My weight was not the biggest concern anymore. My goal is to look healthy and fit, not "skinny" so forget the scale. But my biggest success story thus far is that my white blood cell count has been pretty stable since on this plan ^_^ #TakeThatLupus
And now it's time to discuss the most difficult part for me... The post pics...there are more pics in my Herbalife tracker album but it's restricted so if anyone wants to have access that doesn't pls let me know, and I will add you. Though I was just excited over all of those great changes to my body there are some negative changes that come along with weight loss. Changes that are not discussed opening in mainstream America. Where women are ridiculed publically (I can't begin to tell you the amount of times I've seen in my FB timeline and twitter where women are teased for flabby skin, stretch marks, and sagging breasts after weight loss/ having kids). Overall, I've lost a lot of elasticity in my skin. As I'm losing fat in my body the skin is not "bouncing back"... Initially I was disappointed... and then I met some WONDERFUL women in the Herbalife & Black Women Do Work Out communities that focus on empowering women to feeling comfortable in the skin that they are in ^_^. This has helped a lot. I'm not trying to be "in the best shape of my life"...because the best shape of my life was in 2000 before I became pregnant with Donovan lol My goal is to be the best Me that I can be, and along the way try to show the "real body of a woman" in it's TRUE form, and to be a living example that these "flaws" are not something to be embarrassed or ashamed of. It should be celebrated, in ALL forms...
Health Coaches/ personal trainers- don't forget to focus on the personal encouragement that people need. There’s more than just exercising and shakes to making an overall lifestyle changes. That's the part of this "plan" that's missing... that's the part that has so many ppl dropping off it (in my opinion). Offering them a nutrition plan and exercise regimen is not going to "treat" the addiction to an unhealthy lifestyle.
If it wasn't for the support of the people that I found around day 20/ 25 I would've quit this program a long time ago lol The program in itself is not that difficult... as a matter of fact it was/ is the easiest program (food wise) that I've ever done. (Example: metamorphosis by Tracy had a recommended diet that ended up running me approximately $350/week AND veggies don't keep long in the fridge... AND the time dedicated to food preparation was more than I had time for).
Words of advice to people struggling with living a healthier lifestyle:
1) Create a great circle of support. Though I agree with a lot of ppl that think that Herbalife is a cult (lol/ j/k...kindof *_*) I understand the dynamic. I have a group of ppl that share similar goals and it makes things much easier. I have 1 friend that I almost died while doing Tough Mudder. She encourages me in so many ways. She's currently training for a Triathlon!! I have friends that are my spiritual support when I'm down and just pray with me... I have my groups of exercise enthusiasts... and finally (and most importantly) Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dum, my health coaches... who do live by example... even if in excess *_*
2) START...NOW LOL just start... if you don't exercise, start with walking. If you don't drink water, starting drinking water. If you eat out 5 days a week, eat out 4...then 3...then 2... START SOMETHING. Balance is everything.... if you play hard, then you have to work hard
3) Be realistic about your goals. Some friends created an insanity challenge, and there were people participating in it that I was genuinely concerned for. After all, I was pretty active and struggled with it. There's nothing wrong with low impact cardio, and starting off with moderating your eating habits (learning to eliminate the bad things) and then starting the nutrition plan. The biggest loser is another workout that I purchased and it worked WONDERS after I had crunch. I went from 179lbs to 160lbs! Let that marinate for a minute...
My fingers hurt from typing so off I go... check out my pics... check out my Herbalife blog... and it's been a great 90 days... so much that I'm continuing my nutrition with the 24 line of formulas, AND Equinox has invited me to participate in a free 8 week program. Pls send prayers/ positive energy my way! And thanks if you supported me and I didn't mention you. Know that you are "VALUED" (shout out to Mica *_*)
PS- I will do much better with providing updates to my body changes on the 24 formula
