Going to the mall for the heck of it? Yep. Haven't done that in a while. Started around the time I decided that the mall was the devil while trying to improve my finances. Always luring me in with perfectly put together outfits draped over perfect figured mannequins that looked nothing like me; the worst ones being with a clearance sticker on it. In my younger days, I had to have it all! Hence the need to avoid those traps. On one end this was a good idea, however, it also cut off a pretty easy avenue for being less sedentary and I didn't realize how detrimental that was for the family.
"Detrimental" may be too harsh a word but you get the point. Rather than sitting at home watching cable or going to the movies over-indulging in buttered popcorn-- because that's the only way I enjoy it-- walking around the mall is a much better alternative.
Having matured tremendously with my finances, I no longer fear over spending. If I must make a purchase something it'll be something me or the kids have been in need of and it won't be full price.
As long as the benefit of moving outweighs the few purchases I may make, I'll leave it as on option. This will make my daughter very happy.
LaCharmine (L.A.) Jefferson
Author, Writer, Blogger
Website: www.lajefferson.com
Blogs by me:
L.A.'s Literary Love Life@ http://lajefferson.blogspot.com
A Day in the Life of L.A. Jefferson @ http://lajefferson.blogspot.com
All Things Love @ http://all-things-love.blogspot.com
Naturally L.A. @ http://naturallyla.wordpress.com
Surviving Work @ http://survivingmydayjob.wordpress.com
Follow me on Twitter @lajefferson
20 years is far too long to be singing the "whoa is me" song about the body that I want and only I can create. 2015 is the year to shut up or put up!
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Friday, May 25, 2012
The Company You Keep
"Keeping company with like-minded people is key to staying on target with ones fitness regimen."
I've read something along these lines plenty of times in one fitness magazine or another over the last several years. I've always believed it to be true but today I had sort of an epiphany on the matter.
An unexpected lunch with my ex-husband, of all people, drove the point home. It's simply something not right about eating unhealthy, fattening food in the presence of someone who knew you in your more slender days, especially when they're currently on a stringent fitness regimen and have the mouth that my ex-husband has. Therefore, given the choice of lunch venues I chose Subway; he decided on Coney Island.
"Is this a setup?" He wants to tempt me with burgers & fries while he, the more disciplined eater, gets something healthy.
No way was I going to subject myself to his eventual ridicule. Ironically, I chose the same salad that he did.
Question is: would this story have ended the same had I had lunch with my current husband, a far cry from being health conscience? Not likely. French fries would have been a definite selection.
Does this mean that I need to spend more time with my ex? Absolutely NOT! It does mean that I need to be the leader of my food decisions at all times. Just maybe, my husband will follow my lead and choose more healthily if I do.
LaCharmine (L.A.) Jefferson
Author, Writer, Blogger
Website: www.lajefferson.com
Blogs by me:
L.A.'s Literary Love Life@ http://lajefferson.blogspot.com
A Day in the Life of L.A. Jefferson @ http://lajefferson.blogspot.com
All Things Love @ http://all-things-love.blogspot.com
Naturally L.A. @ http://naturallyla.wordpress.com
Surviving Work @ http://survivingmydayjob.wordpress.com
Follow me on Twitter @lajefferson or @skinnyfatisme
I've read something along these lines plenty of times in one fitness magazine or another over the last several years. I've always believed it to be true but today I had sort of an epiphany on the matter.
An unexpected lunch with my ex-husband, of all people, drove the point home. It's simply something not right about eating unhealthy, fattening food in the presence of someone who knew you in your more slender days, especially when they're currently on a stringent fitness regimen and have the mouth that my ex-husband has. Therefore, given the choice of lunch venues I chose Subway; he decided on Coney Island.
"Is this a setup?" He wants to tempt me with burgers & fries while he, the more disciplined eater, gets something healthy.
No way was I going to subject myself to his eventual ridicule. Ironically, I chose the same salad that he did.
Question is: would this story have ended the same had I had lunch with my current husband, a far cry from being health conscience? Not likely. French fries would have been a definite selection.
Does this mean that I need to spend more time with my ex? Absolutely NOT! It does mean that I need to be the leader of my food decisions at all times. Just maybe, my husband will follow my lead and choose more healthily if I do.
LaCharmine (L.A.) Jefferson
Author, Writer, Blogger
Website: www.lajefferson.com
Blogs by me:
L.A.'s Literary Love Life@ http://lajefferson.blogspot.com
A Day in the Life of L.A. Jefferson @ http://lajefferson.blogspot.com
All Things Love @ http://all-things-love.blogspot.com
Naturally L.A. @ http://naturallyla.wordpress.com
Surviving Work @ http://survivingmydayjob.wordpress.com
Follow me on Twitter @lajefferson or @skinnyfatisme
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Zumba Here I AM
Tonight I made my Zumba instructor very happy. In my mind I see her doing a little happy dance because another one of her students has stuffed her face with all the wrong things. More money in her pockets, not that I'm hating. Maybe if I went to her class to work off frustration and combat the estrogen imbalance of my monthly cycle instead of stuffing my face with Swiss Rolls, Pringles, and Sprite Zero I wouldn't be feeling as crappy as I do the morning after.
Last time I was in class I looked over the class make-up. All body types were represented. The fitness enthusiasts with already nicely shaped bodies, severely overweight people keeping up with the moves at a much slower pace but moving nonetheless. Then there were those in my category--the belly girls without a whole lot of weight anywhere else. Not that diet isn't important with all the other body types but with us in particular diet is of the upmost importance to trim belly fat. I know it. They know it. And our instructor knows it.
So every time we put the wrong things in our mouth our instructor leaps for joy because that means we'll never reach our goal and therefore will have to keep going to her class looking at her gorgeous body in quiet envy.
Always Dieting,
Skinny Fat
Website: www.lajefferson.com
Interesting Blogs of Note:
L.A.'s Literary Love Life@ http://lajefferson.blogspot.com
A Day in the Life of L.A. Jefferson @ http://lajefferson.blogspot.com
All Things Love @ http://all-things-love.blogspot.com
Naturally L.A. @ http://naturallyla.wordpress.com
Surviving Work @ http://survivingmydayjob.wordpress.com
Follow me on Twitter @lajefferson
Last time I was in class I looked over the class make-up. All body types were represented. The fitness enthusiasts with already nicely shaped bodies, severely overweight people keeping up with the moves at a much slower pace but moving nonetheless. Then there were those in my category--the belly girls without a whole lot of weight anywhere else. Not that diet isn't important with all the other body types but with us in particular diet is of the upmost importance to trim belly fat. I know it. They know it. And our instructor knows it.
So every time we put the wrong things in our mouth our instructor leaps for joy because that means we'll never reach our goal and therefore will have to keep going to her class looking at her gorgeous body in quiet envy.
Always Dieting,
Skinny Fat
Website: www.lajefferson.com
Interesting Blogs of Note:
L.A.'s Literary Love Life@ http://lajefferson.blogspot.com
A Day in the Life of L.A. Jefferson @ http://lajefferson.blogspot.com
All Things Love @ http://all-things-love.blogspot.com
Naturally L.A. @ http://naturallyla.wordpress.com
Surviving Work @ http://survivingmydayjob.wordpress.com
Follow me on Twitter @lajefferson
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
A Trip to the Doctor
A glimpse of the tears falling from my daughter's eyes as we awaited her pediatrician coming into the examination room indicated I'd done the right thing. The nurse had just weighed her and again the numbers were not in her favor.
My 17yr old daughter has been making some serious changes to her life in recent months trying to shed some pounds. Sure, she's faltered a few times but who hasn't on this crazy weight loss grind? Still with all the cut backs and sweat drenching bouts of working out that she's been doing, that damn scale read no different. At the worse, the numbers increased. More than she was discouraged, I was upset and concerned.
What if she had a medical condition that her pediatrician missed? A thyroid condition, maybe. All of my life, I've heard women complain about thyroid problems. Although my daughter is a teenager, for all I know, she could be suffering from something like that too.
Of course, I didn't want that to be the case, BUT, I did want the doctor to tell me something different than what I'd been preaching all along. Especially for the $25 copayment that I forked over for this appointment.
No such luck--for lack of a better phrase. With my own eyes I saw the results of my daughter's result of her last physical. Everything, specifically her thyroid test, was normal.
Nevertheless the appointment and $25 copayment was not totally in vain. For starters, the appointment alone indicated that I take my daughter's desire to lose weight seriously. Second, she got to hear from a professional--not mom--that her weight has EVERYTHING to do with what she's putting in her mouth. She learned that life isn't fair and that her metabolism doesn't work hard for her so she's got to make it. How? By taking control and empowering herself to make the changes in her life necessary to get what she wants.
After the appointment, my daughter didn't ask me to buy any fast food. Instead she cooked a turkey burger and mixed vegetable for dinner. Hopefully she stays on track.
I want this for her almost as bad as she does.
My 17yr old daughter has been making some serious changes to her life in recent months trying to shed some pounds. Sure, she's faltered a few times but who hasn't on this crazy weight loss grind? Still with all the cut backs and sweat drenching bouts of working out that she's been doing, that damn scale read no different. At the worse, the numbers increased. More than she was discouraged, I was upset and concerned.
What if she had a medical condition that her pediatrician missed? A thyroid condition, maybe. All of my life, I've heard women complain about thyroid problems. Although my daughter is a teenager, for all I know, she could be suffering from something like that too.
Of course, I didn't want that to be the case, BUT, I did want the doctor to tell me something different than what I'd been preaching all along. Especially for the $25 copayment that I forked over for this appointment.
No such luck--for lack of a better phrase. With my own eyes I saw the results of my daughter's result of her last physical. Everything, specifically her thyroid test, was normal.
Nevertheless the appointment and $25 copayment was not totally in vain. For starters, the appointment alone indicated that I take my daughter's desire to lose weight seriously. Second, she got to hear from a professional--not mom--that her weight has EVERYTHING to do with what she's putting in her mouth. She learned that life isn't fair and that her metabolism doesn't work hard for her so she's got to make it. How? By taking control and empowering herself to make the changes in her life necessary to get what she wants.
After the appointment, my daughter didn't ask me to buy any fast food. Instead she cooked a turkey burger and mixed vegetable for dinner. Hopefully she stays on track.
I want this for her almost as bad as she does.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
I'm so Ashamed
If you follow me on Twitter you notice today all the love I was giving to The Hollywood Trainer, Jeanette Jenkins. One would easily assume that I'm just finding about this African American fitness expert. While that's not the case, I haven't known about her that long. Maybe about as long as I've been tweeting my skinnyfat journey because she's one that I follow. Nonetheless, I didnt become enthralled with her until today for some reason. Not really sure why. I hope it has nothing to do with the adage about African American women not being able to celebrate each others successes and support each other. Because this woman is the BOMB! As an African American so-called fitness fanatic woman, it is shameful that I do not own an exercise DVD led by an African American, with the exception of an a step aerobics VHS that was included with the stepper I purchased when step aerobics was all the rave!
That all changes today. As much as I love my Chris Freytag workout DVD set and Denise Austin, it's past time for a splash of color.
Ironically I'm always telling my daughter not to try to model herself after our European counterparts always being thrown in our faces as the image we should be. "You need to look at black folks, those you share a likeness with," I tell her often.
Shouldn't I as well?
LaCharmine (L.A.) Jefferson
Author, Writer, Blogger
Website: www.lajefferson.com
Blogs by me:
L.A.'s Literary Love Life@ http://lajefferson.blogspot.com
A Day in the Life of L.A. Jefferson @ http://lajefferson.blogspot.com
All Things Love @ http://all-things-love.blogspot.com
Naturally L.A. @ http://naturallyla.wordpress.com
Surviving Work @ http://survivingmydayjob.wordpress.com
Follow me on Twitter @lajefferson
Monday, March 5, 2012
Skinny Fat Weight Loss Update
Yesterday I joined a new weight loss challenge. This one with my church. The good news is that my starting weight for this challenge is a whole whopping 3lbs less than where I started with the other challenge 4 weeks ago! Clearly, I'm doing something right this time as compared to the last 3 challenges I participated in over the last 2 yeras and I'm sure increasing the intensity of my frequent workouts had helped tremendously.
Wish me luck in keeping up the good work. I've got a good 20 more to go in the long run and a satisfactory 5-7 more in the next 2wks.
Check ya later!
SkinnyFat
Follow me on Twitter @skinnyfat
Wish me luck in keeping up the good work. I've got a good 20 more to go in the long run and a satisfactory 5-7 more in the next 2wks.
Check ya later!
SkinnyFat
Follow me on Twitter @skinnyfat
Thursday, March 1, 2012
SkinnyFat Workout Plans
My daughter was only speaking the truth when she said to me, "Ma, since you're skinny you're going to have to work out harder if you ever want to lose any weight." Harder meaning walking faster than 2.5 for 50 minutes on the treadmill. Harder meaning walking, instead, on 4.0 for 25 -30 minutes.
Is this fair? Absolutely not! However, if I want to do more than maintain my current weight, I HAVE to work my body hard. In retrospect, that's how I did it before. I hit the gym 3-4 days a week and walked and jogged on the treadmill and sometimes on the track. Then, I wasn't on the mission I'm on today. Then, I was working off the frustrations of a failing marriage. In those situations it's easy to--sometimes--to eat less and burn fat.
Today I'm motivated by a few factors:
1. I going to Vegas or Niagara Falls in a few weeks to get married. Ironic, huh?
2. Sometime this year or early next year I'm going on a cruise on plan to look fabulous in my swimsuit!
3. My best friend is getting married in October and whether or not I'm in the wedding party, I MUST look stunning in whatever dress I wear. This is my friend who rocked a bikini on the last cruise we went on last year.
4. Lastly, I want to be as close as possible to my ideal weight when I have that surgery I wrote about in a previous post.
LaCharmine (L.A.) Jefferson
Author, Writer, Blogger
Website: http://www.lajefferson.com/
Blogs by me:
L.A.'s Literary Love Life@ http://lajefferson.blogspot.com/
A Day in the Life of L.A. Jefferson @ http://lajefferson.blogspot.com/
All Things Love @ http://all-things-love.blogspot.com/
Naturally L.A. @ http://naturallyla.wordpress.com/
Surviving Work @ http://survivingmydayjob.wordpress.com/
Follow me on Twitter @lajefferson
Is this fair? Absolutely not! However, if I want to do more than maintain my current weight, I HAVE to work my body hard. In retrospect, that's how I did it before. I hit the gym 3-4 days a week and walked and jogged on the treadmill and sometimes on the track. Then, I wasn't on the mission I'm on today. Then, I was working off the frustrations of a failing marriage. In those situations it's easy to--sometimes--to eat less and burn fat.
Today I'm motivated by a few factors:
1. I going to Vegas or Niagara Falls in a few weeks to get married. Ironic, huh?
2. Sometime this year or early next year I'm going on a cruise on plan to look fabulous in my swimsuit!
3. My best friend is getting married in October and whether or not I'm in the wedding party, I MUST look stunning in whatever dress I wear. This is my friend who rocked a bikini on the last cruise we went on last year.
4. Lastly, I want to be as close as possible to my ideal weight when I have that surgery I wrote about in a previous post.
LaCharmine (L.A.) Jefferson
Author, Writer, Blogger
Website: http://www.lajefferson.com/
Blogs by me:
L.A.'s Literary Love Life@ http://lajefferson.blogspot.com/
A Day in the Life of L.A. Jefferson @ http://lajefferson.blogspot.com/
All Things Love @ http://all-things-love.blogspot.com/
Naturally L.A. @ http://naturallyla.wordpress.com/
Surviving Work @ http://survivingmydayjob.wordpress.com/
Follow me on Twitter @lajefferson
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