Sugar Addict Alert!!!!

Hello beautiful people! Long time no see, huh? Yea, I know, life picked up.
So onto my purpose for writting today. I have a confession (cue the doomed music), I have been at a plateau for the past 4 months, argh! This weightloss has come to a quick halt and the caution lights are on. I am so ready to get this show back on the road. At least I haven't gained any weight, right? I'm at a place where I'm beginning to figure out why the plateau has happened.

I've come to 2 reasons why this plateau is taking place.
1. My workouts need more cardio.
2. I need to cut back on sweets.

I have been too focused on shaping my body as I lost weight. My train of thought was along the lines of having my skin shape to muscle instead of just sagging. Not thoroughly thinking through that logic is what got me to this place. While i'm happy with the way my body's looking, I can't form muscle fast enough to catch up with fat lost. I was simply not thinking logically. Thank goodness I wasn't totally locked in on this train of thought. Now I understand that I need to kick up the volume of my cardio. I've been doing quite a bit of tabata style exercises lately, which does include weights and focusing on specific body zones. Doing all of that has been great, but I need to do cardio to burn fat, which is the most important piece of this puzzle.

And on to my sugar addiction...

{clears throat} "Uhm hello, I on a weightloss journey and still addicted to sugar." Yes, I wear the sugar badge. I know what you're thinking, "How can she lose over 40lbs and still eat alot of sugar?" Well, I don't have an answer to the question either. I know that I would use portion control, but lately it's been out of control. I recognize what is my problem,  now I need to get a solid solution. During the day, I would say that I eat fairly good. It's after dinner that I have a problem, I start to crave chocolate/sugary tweets everyday.

I've come up with a small strategy for me to at least cut back on the sugar. I bought Blue Bunny Reduced Fat, No Sugar ice cream and some Snack Wells chocolate chip cookie 100 calorie packs. Hopefully, this will help me to gain a better control of this sugar addiction and begin to break this plateau.

Stay tuned,
DownBy30Journey

Why Start A Weightloss Journey

I had someone ask me just the other day, "What made you start a healthy journey?" I had no hesitation with my answer, however I'd never really thought about what made me really get serious in October 2011. The main reason was for my health. 2011 proved to be the year where I realized that I wasn't just a young woman and that my body was getting older. Being overweight and maturing body was not a good combination.

I'd been married for 3 years and, of course, the baby pressure was starting to build after several unsuccessful attempts. My doctor told me that my hormones were not regular. After undergoing several test, there was not one tangible illness that could be the cause of my hormonal imbalance. He then went on to say that it was solely my weight. I feel as a wife, aside from myself, birthing a child that my husband and I created, is the most precious gift I can give him. Hearing this news from my doctor was one of my fears. I felt broken after hearing this news. I would have to say this was the straw that broke the camels back. I am a fighter by nature and I refuse to give in to something that I can control with mere discipline.

Another health issue that reared it's ugly head in March 2011 was being diagnosed with high blood pressure. I remember the day I was diagnosed like it was yesterday. My paternal side of the family has a long line of high blood pressure and diabetes. I've always been more watchful of diabetes, watchin my salt intake and all the things associated to sodium and blood sugar levels, I also had my blood checked on a yearly basis to make sure that I didn't have diabetes. To stay on top of diabetes prevention all of these years and to hear that I have high blood pressure was like a slap in the face. I broke down as soon as I walked into my home. My husband was there to help me get out of that slump and my mom wasn't far behind him. On that very day, the weightloss thoughts began to come more to the surface of my mind. Between March and October, i got fed up with taking meds everyday for high blood pressure.

In October I made up in my mind that i would start to workout on a regular basis and see where that got me. I started to lose the weight just by incorporating workouts. From there, as they say, "The rest is history!"

Xoxo,
DownBy30Journey

Outside Motivation

This past weekend, I traveled to visit family. I'm pretty sure over time you'll see that I refer to my family often. They are the cornerstone on this earth of who I am. I don't know where i'd be without their support. I hadn't been there to visit for close to 2 months.

As i'm walking up to my parents home, my mother greets me at the door and singing praises on how I looked. I could feel the love, but my mother never hesitates to tell me the good that i'm doing. I can definitely rely on what she says, but I didn't want her praises to go to my head. :)

Throughout the entire weekend, as i'm visiting family they can't believe how different I look in 2 months. Personally, I can't tell that much difference, but it's apparent that I am looking different. My clothes are getting bigger and bigger and i'm loving it. The one person that was my gauge for knowing if this was really working would be my grandmother. She is the old southern grandma that won't hold her tongue, but can love you at the same time. I just adore her. She either says, "Girl, you done put on some weight, ain'tcha?" or you'll get, "Chile, you lookin good." Well, I was on the, "Chile, you lookin good" side, this weekend.  :) Even my grandmother couldn't believe that I looked so much smaller in such a short amount of time. She sealed the deal for me and my weekend was complete. I talked and shared what I was doing with her and one of my aunt's.

I'm trying to adjust to the attention that i'm receiving since starting this journey. I have never been one to receive many looks from men. Now, I've had my fair share, but not EVERY place I go. My mother isn't any more used to it than I am. While we were out taking care of business, a few of the men were swooning around us while we waited. She couldn't believe how much attention I was getting. All this attention is very weird for me, but I'd like to think i'm handling it gracefully. My mom laughed and said, "I made a beautiful baby girl, didn't I?" I quickly replied, YES! Like I said in a previous post, i've never had trouble with self-confidence. :)

I hope for those that are on a weightloss journey don't let the new attention get to you. Rather, it serves as a boost to your self-confidence and helps to motivate/encourage you to continue on your journey.

XoXo,
DownBy30Journey

Veggies.... The Added Value

I went by quiznos to pick up a quick salad for dinner. When I got home I realized the salad only had lettuce, chicken, and cheese. Can u say disappointed? I'm mindful, now more than ever, of my veggie/fruit intake in a day. Sooooo, what did I decide to do you may ask? I shredded my own carrots and added those to my salad. I had to also remove some of the chicken/bacon mixture on top of the bed of lettuce. I felt so much better knowing that I added veggie value to my salad other than lettuce. :) Goooo me! I know, I know, cheesy right? LOL! Well, u might wanna get used to that while reading this here blog.

FYI, I am trying out the mobile version of blogger for this post. I've never used it before, now i'll know how it works.

Hope u all have a great weekend!

Xoxo,
DownBy30Journey

Why this Blog?

Writing is a form of therapy that has always worked for me, whether it was making important decisions or just so I can go back to see the many changes that I’ve made in my life. It was put on my heart today through much prayer as to whether or not I wanted to share my complete thoughts with everyone or not. Well, I guess you now know that I decided to share with everyone. I get questions all the time about what I’m doing to lose weight, so I decided to start sharing my journey. If you read this and just continue on with your day, I’m cool with that. However, if you read this and can take something away or this hits home for you or someone you know, I will be most grateful. With that being said, let’s get on with it shall we?

Welcome to Down by 30 Journey!