Before I share ways to calculate your basal metabolic rate (BMR), I think it’s important to highlight reasons why having one blanket number for all women — and, in a sense, differentiating between the genders – is so wrong.

Our body’s caloric needs are dependent upon countless factors – everything from your height to your weight to your age to your muscle mass, all of these numbers matter. They matter because…

1) As you age, your ability to burn calories decreases because, quite frankly, you’re no longer in your teens or early twenties. You’re not “growing” any more. Your body isn’t shutting down, so to speak, but it is coming down off the need to continuously fuel growth.

2) As you build muscle, your caloric need increases. Let’s put it this way. In order for your body to be able to thrive and function, it has to have energy to burn. Carrying different parts of the body requires different amounts of energy. Your body will burn through more calories carrying a pound of muscle than it will in carrying a pound of fat, which is what makes building muscle so necessary for someone coming down from a higher weight who is used to eating more.

3) A 28 woman who is 5’0″, 100lbs needs maybe 1,300 calories total to maintain their weight. A woman who is 6’0″, 180lbs needs approximately 1,600… and that’s not even accounting for muscle mass. A person who is 5’0″ and 100lbs has no business aspiring to 2,000 calories. That’d put them at a weight gaining rate of almost 2lbs a week. Different sized bodies require different values of calories to maintain their current weight. Part of this is why it’s so laughable to me when people push second and third helpings on their thinner friends, telling them “Go on, eat, eat! You always eat so little!” as if to compare the thinner friend’s plate to their own. Well, no, they don’t require as many calories as you think they might to get by throughout the day. Stop trying to shovel food onto folks. Also, stop comparing your plate to folks who are smaller than you in either height or weight. Your plates shouldn’t look the same… your bodies aren’t the same and don’t have the same needs for maintaining their size.

4) If you are, in fact, that 5’0″ 100lb person and think all women should aspire to 2,000 calories? Chances are, you think simply cutting 500 from that total 2,000 is what you need to do to create your caloric deficit. However, if your basal metabolic rate is only maaaaaaaaybe 1,300 calories, you’re still going to gain weight because you’re not working with the deficit you expected.

The existence of a “recommended daily caloric intake,” for me, is laughable and always has been. It has always felt like a scam – similar to the way the sugar industry tried to get the World health Organization to say that sugar could safely be the source of 20% of one’s calories for the day (which is what it says in the US of A) instead of the 10% it says now – and a way for the food industry to manipulate our perceptions of what our bodies need… which, in turn, results in us NOT reducing our intake… which results in them reducing their profits. There’s a very long blog post in there somewhere, but the reality is that giving off any make-believe foolishness that all of our bodies could firmly maintain that glorified under-200lb ideal that we keep hearing about is nuts.

But, if we know that height, weight, and age all affect how many calories our bodies can burn, then how do we find a formula that accounts for all of those values?

Grab your calculator.

The method that I use goes as follows: 655 + (4.3 x B) + (4.7 x D) – (4.7 x F)*

In that equation, B is the stand in for “your weight in pounds;” D is the stand-in for “your height in inches;” and “F” is the stand-in for “your age.”

So, let’s take the average American woman, 5’4″ and 154lbs. Let’s make her 33. The math would look like this:

655 + (4.3 x 154) + (4.7 x 64) – (4.7 x 33) = ____

Do the math in the parentheses, and you get:

655 + (662) + (300) – (155) = ___

Do a little more math, and you get:

(655+662+300) – 155 = _____

…

1,617 – 155 = 1,462

Your BMR is, then, 1,462.

So…see how different that is from what’s “recommended?” See why any “recommendation” that doesn’t take your specifics into account is harmful?

You also need to factor in your activity levels, as well, though. You have to take into account the intensity of your workouts and how active you are throughout the day:

If you are sedentary every single day (meaning, stay at a desk all day, walk to and from the vending machine or cafeteria or your car, come home sit on the couch), multiply your BMR by 1.2, which would give you 1,754 as your maintenance rate, which means that in order to stay at 155lbs, you’d need to eat somewhere around 1,754 calories.

If you are lightly active, multiply by 1.3. That’d give you 1,900.

Moderately active that day? 1.4 is your magic number, which would give you 2,046 (now we finally break 2,000!) calories.

If you have intense exercise planned that day, then you multiply your BMR by 1.5. This gives you 2,193.

If you’re to the point where you’re training with Pinky and the Brain to take over the world, you’re looking at 1.6, which puts you at 2,339 calories.

How do you cut calories at 1,400 calories, though? You certainly don’t cut a full 500, leaving yourself with only 900 calories to eat each day. This is where exercise becomes so important.

In order to lose 1lb each week, a person simply has to maintain a 500 calorie deficit each day, whereas after seven days the requisite 3,500 calories would’ve been burned. If you cut only 200 – 250 calories and burn the other 250 in moderate exercise, and add lots of veggies in place of some other items to make up for the volume of food you might be missing on your plate, that’s a sustainable rate.

This is also a big part of why, the smaller you become, the harder you have to work if your goal is weight loss. Because the smaller your BMR becomes, the harder it is to sensibly cut calories. At some point, you can’t do it anymore without the exercise. This is also a big part of where weight loss plateaus originate… not checking your BMR as your weight decreases by grand amounts. As your body changes, so do these numbers.

Did I miss anything?

*I know this formula doesn’t account for body fat percentage, but because it’s so hard to get an accurate measure of that without hydrostatic testing, it’d only fudge the numbers more. You can also get a calorimetry test done to determine your real basal metabolic rate. You can also acquire one of those awesome band-y things that’s supposed to measure your calories burned for you… I’ve never used one, but if you’ve got suggestions, let’s hear ‘em.

Q&A Wednesday: If 2,000 Isn’t Right, How Many Calories Should I Consume? is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

Related posts:

1. Q&A Wednesday: I’m Not Getting Enough Calories!
2. Where Do Americans Get Their Calories?
3. Comprehending Calories: The Basics

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Ever consider purchasing an indoor electric grill?

1  (2-pound) side of salmon, skin on
1  tablespoon  extra-virgin olive oil
1  teaspoon  sea salt
1/2  teaspoon  freshly ground pepper
2  tablespoons  chopped fresh chives
2  tablespoons  chopped fresh cilantro
2  limes

Grilled Wild Salmon is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

Related posts:

1. Woman Loses 300lbs “The Hard Way,” Crowd Goes Wild

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Post tags: chives, cilantro, salmon, seafood

Surprise, surprise, no one was reading all that.

That’s okay. I’m breaking it up into a few parts that everyone will be able to digest slowly and properly (pun intended), and hopefully we can explore why healthier, cleaner, more chemical-free food choices are so important. It is critical that any person embarking on a clean eating journey have an understanding of why the journey is so vital to their success in losing weight.

Consider this part III of the series.

So, if the foods aren’t nutritionally deficient, why is this a problem?

Well, how much credit do you give food science? The rule is simply that the foods cannot be deficient in nutrients that science recognizes as valuable. What about what science hasn’t spotted yet? What about all these hyphenated chemicals that science hasn’t identified (or is prevented from identifying) as harmful to our health?

And before you call me a conspiracy theorist, consider this: it took science decades to recognize that trans-fats – once a massive part of margarine and other major foods – were hazardous to our health. Believe it or not, the government still allows trans-fats in foods, and actually allows food manufacturers to lie about how much trans-fats are in their foods. (More on that later.)

What else, in these foods, is doing us in? Science doesn’t know yet. And really, since most of our food science studies are funded by the very industry they affect… do you genuinely expect science to find out? I’m not telling you that they’d intentionally fudge numbers to present favorable results – trying to remain unbiased, here – but I am telling you it’s easy to divert funds elsewhere… as in, another study. Maybe even… a study attempting to debunk something claiming their products are harmful.

That’s not the conspiracy theorist in me. That’s just smart business on their part… regardless of what it does to the consumer. Keep the consumer far enough away from the research, and they’ll never know the downfall of buying my product. It just happens that way.

So since this is all cyclical, let’s go back to that availability of food thing. Now, all this food (food, mind you, that seeks to NOT be nutritionally deficient although it admits that it is) is available to our families. We, knowing what it’s like to have to worry about food not being available, begin to indulge. Factories – and factory jobs – are springing up because industries are blossoming. Longer work hours, both adults in the household are now working, and all this super convenient food at hand. We’re eating what we can, when we can, and eating a lot of it… since we’re enjoying the ability to eat at our discretion, not at the discretion of a ration.

Keep in mind, also, at this time… a new generation of children are being born under this new understanding of food. Family tradition might lend to certain dishes being made a certain way, but lots of dishes are being replaced by the magic elixir in the box. Some of us have that Grandma who insists on cooking everything from scratch. We tend to write her off as crazy or paranoid because “Times have changed” and “No one has time for all that cooking,” or maybe because “This is the [insert decade]s, Nana, we don’t live in the kitchen the way you used to!” Things that are all true, but come with consequences.

I asked you, dear reader, to keep in mind the point I made earlier about hyphenated chemical ingredients in our food, right? I hope you did. The interesting loophole in the FDA’s policy about imitation foods is that there’s very little limit to what can now be put INTO food. That’s an important point.

You know how, if you leave food sitting out, it will attract flies? Why? Because flies and rodents are attracted to the same things that our bodies are attracted to in food – nutrients. Ever notice that with ALL the food in a supermarket, there’s rarely any ants or bugs in the aisles, but you have to swat them away from the tomatoes or kiwi in the produce area? That’s not because every area in the grocery store – except the produce – is sprayed down. I can only offer theory as to why that is. For starters, the processed foods have to be processed to maintain shelf life. They have to be able to handle being transported to the facility. They have to be able to withstand sitting on a shelf until purchased. They have to be able to withstand sitting in your cabinets until you cook them.

Can you do that with your home made cooking? I doubt it.

Here’s another question: What do you think they’re putting in these processed foods to ward off insects and rodents?

Last question: Do you think it’s a good idea to ingest the same chemicals that are put in food… food that flies don’t even want? The same chemicals that prevent flies from desiring our food, are the same chemicals we’re ingesting when we eat this stuff anyway. How healthy can that be? Nothing in the world can debunk what feels like logic to me.

Stay tuned for the conclusion of “The Problem With Processed Food!”

The Problem With Processed Foods, Part III: Nutritional Deficiencies is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

Related posts:

1. The Problem With Processed Foods, Part I: What Is Processed Food?
2. The Problem With Processed Foods, Part IV: The Conclusion
3. The Problem With Processed Foods, Part II: The Change In Food Manufacturing

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This might be April of '09.. not sure.

I hate watching stories about health and obesity on the news. Why? Because to signify the “dreaded plague of obesity” in America, there’s always these video clips of people – never showing their faces, so we’re supposed to presume they have no identity… or, well, no head – and their bellies. You might get a little thigh in the shot, maybe if the cameraman can find a person walking around with a massive wedgie in their derriere you’ll get that too… but you always get the “Santa belly.” Never fails.

That, against the “my-tummy-is-so-flat-because-Photoshop-is-my-personal-trainer” images we see in the average magazine? It’s left us all hunting for an answer to how to avoid looking like the former, and get as close to the latter as possible.

Well… I can help. Sort of. I have three tips that have helped me shrink – and continue to shrink – my tummy down from what it was before to what you see now… and hopefully it will take me to the competition-level tummy that I seek.

Skip the processed foods.

Yes, yes, respect my scarf!

I know, I know.. I harp on this all day, but this time, I have very good reason. Two of ‘em, actually.

First, processed foods are notorious for being devoid of fiber. I mean, there is little to no fiber in processed foods at all. What is fiber? It’s a substance in our food that your system is unable to digest, but it serves a very important purpose. Because the digestive system is unable to do anything with it, it basically serves the purpose of cleaning out your digestive tract and pushing the food out of your intestines into your colon… eventually leaving your system.

Yes, that means it helps you poop.

Think about it – all the food you take in, how much actually comes out? How much of it is still sitting in your intestines? Yuck. Take a look at where your digestive system sits: right in that belly area! I’m tellin’ you. Skip the processed foods, get your fiber in, treat your insides properly.

Secondly, you’ll be avoiding the sugar by default. As I wrote before, because sugar’s original purpose in nature was to draw us to the foods with the vitamins and minerals we need (think fruits), we do love it and can become addicted to it. But because it always came packaged with other vitamins and minerals, we were also able to get full from it, too. In a processed food item, that isn’t the case. It’s basically empty calories, meant to help you feel “belly full.” So because the sugar isn’t serving it’s original purpose, we’re eating too much of it. Couple that with the fact that since there’s no fiber to push the stuff out of your system… it’s a lose-lose for the belly. And again, like I wrote before… when you take in an excess of something, the body stores it… as fat. Not to mention, since high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is in almost every processed food you buy, it’s hard to escape.

I don’t even want to go into that study that says HFCS contributes directly to belly fat. Not at all.

So we’ve covered dropping the sugar and upping the fiber… what else could there be?

Get moving! No, really. Get some activity in your life. Changing your diet will help you avoid putting on extra fat, but you’ve got to get rid of the stuff you’ve already got… and being active is the best way to do that. Run! If you’re not a runner, walk. Hit the elliptical! Jumping jacks! Something.

Try to get your crunches in. I’m far too proud of the lines forming in my tummy to ignore what a good set of crunches can do for the tummy. Yes, regular ol’ plain ol’ crunches. Some days I add a little weight to my chest to make it more difficult, other days I just go a little longer in my sets. But the ab exercises are a must!

Figure out how this works into your life, and get on it! I know I am!

Battling Belly Fat is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

Related posts:

1. Q&A Wednesday: My Belly Won’t Shrink!
2. Q&A Wednesday: Inches, Belly Fat and The Quitter’s Disease
3. Study: Cardio Beats Resistance Training In Belly Fat Battle

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Post tags: belly fat, crunches, fiber, high fructose corn syrup, processed foods

So, at last week’s FITNESS Magazine Meet & Tweet, I attended a panel discussion titled “The Real Deal on Carbs, Cleanses and Caffeine.” Believe it or not, the crowd was kind of sparse – I feel like people were far more interested in the swag than the dialogue – but y’all know me. I’m nerdly… and I don’t turn down the opportunity to gather more info for BGG2WL. Considering how they had June DeMelo, FITNESS magazine’s nutrition editor; as well as Keri Gans, RD and author of The Small Change Diet (grrr, there’s that word again); and Tanya Zuckerbrot, RD and author of The Miracle Carb Diet (…and again…), I figured there’d be some valuable information worthy of sharing, here.

So…I recorded the dialogue.

I separated out the portion on coffee because I think its worthy of its own separate post, since so many people ask me about it. I feel like, far too little, people differentiate between “coffee” and “instant” coffee, coffee that you brew yourself and “coffee” that you get from certain places, or are even unwilling to say “a little coffee” vs the “all or nothing” approach.

Considering what I knew about coffee before I attended, I was glad to see some of what I knew to be confirmed…but lots of things weren’t touched.

Quoting the participants:

“There’s actually research that shows that a little bit of coffee before your workout can help you work out harder, longer, not feel the kind of the pain or difficulty and just a lot of research in general saying it has health benefits and that you don’t need to feel guilty in drinking it.”

Hmmm….

“There are, actually, so many health benefits now associated with intake of coffee and, [applause] I’m with you on that. Coffee can lower your risk to everything from Alzheimer’s to depression. Of course coffee’s been linked to reducing your risk for cancer, so there are some amazing health benefits associated with drinking coffee. Of course, you don’t want to exceed what is recommended, which is approximately 3 cups (24oz) a day, which is what they say is a safe amount for women. As far as the benefits for exercise, some studies do correlate if you drink approximately one cup of coffee before a workout, that your intake will enhance performance and that’s because caffeine is a stimulant. You will have energy. What I will warn you about is, if your workouts are longer than an hour, you will come crashing down. If it’s just a quick burst of energy, studies have shown that a cup of coffee is effective and is no different from an energy drink some people would have… it’s just not a good supply of long term energy. But there are health benefits, you do not have to stop coffee… except in two cases: 1) if you’re trying to get pregnant, more than two cups of coffee a day have been shown to reduce fertility by a rate of 40%; and 2) if you are pregnant, you should not drink more than one cup of coffee per day because it may increase the risk of a miscarriage, but pregnant women, have your coffee. It’s been known to be a mood enhancer.”

Double hmmm….

“What you want to be careful of, though, is not letting your cup of joe become a dessert. I think one too many people think “Oh, I can drink coffee,” but they’re not thinking about what they’re putting in that coffee. So, if we’re telling someone “Oh, have a cup of coffee for exercise, we’re not talking about some mocha frappucino something or other with whipped cream that’s five hundred calories. That’d be pretty silly if you’re going to work out and try to be healthy. So I think that what people really need to look at, is what they’re putting in their coffee. It’s one thing to have a tall black coffee, you know, a few calories, but then you start to add things… the coffee really starts to become more like a dessert. I also know, that if someone’s not a coffee drinker, it’s just like wine – you don’t need to become a coffee drinker. And there’s benefits, yes, from the caffeine, but a lot of it is the antioxidants that are in the coffee and not the caffeine. So, for instance, lowering the risk of diabetes can come from drinking coffee but it has, really, nothing to do with the caffeine but possibly the antioxidants. What I recommend, as opposed to having that cup of coffee before working out, is having a healthy snack. Keeping your body fueled properly throughout the day, in my opinion, is much more beneficial that drinking coffee all day. I mean, I love my coffee. I am a coffee drinker. However, I’m not using that for my fuel. I’m using food for fuel. So, before a workout, I’d much prefer to see someone have a piece of fruit and maybe some string cheese or maybe a yogurt and some fruit works, again, replete with energy.”

All are great quotes. I just…need to contrast them with this:

Scientists agree that caffeine activates the pleasure centers of the brain by slowing down the rate of dopamine reabsorption, thus making us feel peppy and good (cocaine and heroin do the same thing, but obviouslyl to a much greater degree.) Caffeine also provides a shot of adrenaline, so we feel charged up, while blocking reception of adenosine, another neurotransmitter believed to play a part in promoting sleep, making us feel sharp and awake. Now, once the adrenaline wears off, what’s next? Well, as any coffee drinker knows, we feel tired, in the dumps, irritated, and jumpy, and our heads hurt, too, since caffeine restricts the blood vessels in our brains, and we need a coffee to get our adrenaline levels back to the levels to which our bodies have grown accustomed. [source]

Coffee, it seems, is one of those things people either go for or don’t really care for, and I’m totally fine with that. That being said, all coffee is not created equal. There’s a reason why, even though there’s “instant” “coffee” (it dissolves in your cup!…?!??) there’s still a “brew your own at home” market. And, even though there are brands that are out here with catchy commercials and epic marketing, there’s still a market for people who like to have their beans ground right in front of them. There’s a reason why, for all of that.

I think the infographic above, courtesy of Good.is, covers fair trade and its importance pretty thoroughly. There’s easily another thousand words I could throw in here about this, but I’ll save that for another day. Suffice it to say, when things come too cheaply, someone’s getting shortchanged in the end… and it’s usually the person with the fewest representatives and the smallest “voice” (read: least money.) You want to consume consciously not only for your health, but for the sustainability of our communities (yes, even the global community, as well).

As with all other things, the more manipulated it is by man, the less the benefit you can receive when it comes time to consume it. So instant coffee… that’s out. Nothing should be dissolving into your drink and creating “awesomey goodness.” That’s the height of hyper-processed food trickery. If it dissolves… it’s gotta go.

Processed coffees with branding, labels and other fancy schmanciness… let’s just say this. If you have a spot in your coffee section that allows you to portion out your own beans and grind them, then you should do that.The less the processing, the more of those antioxidants you’ll be receiving from your cup. There are different flavors available – they’re made in almost every way between “pouring ‘natural flavors’ on your beans” to “roasting the beans with fruits to give their flavor” – and often times, the flavors are good enough where you neither want nor need all the sugar and cream and goodness knows what else in your coffee. You can also add flavors to your own beans and roast them yourself. There are lots of coffee shops who will do that for you, as well.

That leads me to another point, that one of the RDs made above. What are you putting in your coffee? If it’s some form of artificial sweetener… let’s talk. Are you using raw sugar? Actual raw sugar? Unbleached? (No, not even those “bleached but coated in molasses after the fact” sugars will do.) Consider using something a little less…adulterated.

And what about those creamers? If you’re using a certain creamer brand, you can rest assured it’s not clean. In fact, it has trans fats in it. If you’re using a non-dairy creamer, again… rest assured, it uses trans fats. Coffee, though it may have antioxidants, is not essential enough to sacrifice “clean-liness” for it. If you’re in need of a pick-me-up that badly, a hearty piece of fruit does the job just as well as coffee… unless you’ve become addicted to it (which, considering how it has effects similar to other addictive substances, would make sense.) Try to stick with regular creamy substances to avoid the negative side effects of consuming mystery chemicals on a regular basis. Using creamer is, more often than not, a means of adding fat to the drink to make it more palpable – people can often be caught adding any member of the sugar/fat/salt trifecta to their food – so, I must say, coffee isn’t essential enough for the strife.

As a “clean” coffee habit can get kind of pricey – fair trade, flavorful beans, raw cane sugar, clean creamers – it’s easy to see why someone would simply tap out. To drink, or not to drink… that is the question.

That being said, I wish y’all could see the cup of coffee I have sitting beside me on my desk. Pardon me as I hug my island roast, complete with coconut milk. Swag my morning out.

I do it the el cheapo way because, quite frankly, I’m cheap. I invested in a french press. I use, maybe, one tablespoon of coffee each morning in the bottom of my french press and boil two hearty cups. Sometimes I use something to make it creamy, sometimes I don’t. I don’t add sugar, but I also don’t swallow my cup whole. It’s coffee, not kool-aid.

I also went to a coffee shop and paid outright for a full pound of coffee, ground especially for a french press. Because the press uses so much less coffee than a coffeemaker (and uses less electricity), I wind up saving money both ways. The pound of coffee has lasted me six weeks thus far, and I just got to the half-pound mark.

So…tell me. How do you do your coffee?

The Coffee Conundrum: To Drink Or Not To Drink? is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

Related posts:

1. Do YOU Drink 93 Packets Of Sugar A Day?
2. Weekend WTF: Can’t Eat Your Bacon? Drink It!
3. Why The Food Stamp Soft Drink Ban Is BS

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Every few days, we’re going to add a new “rule” to the mix, as well as preparing ourselves for an upcoming change. Things like “ditching the cereal” might be an easier fix that “no more fast food,” especially if you’re one of those people who eats fast food simply because “you don’t have time for anything else.” I’m sensitive to that, but I’m also mindful of the fact that you, sometimes, have to make changes. Growth doesn’t happen without change.

That being said, here’s the first rule for the boot camp: before you go to drink any juice or soft drink, vow to drink two cups – that’s 16 ounces – of water first. If, after 16oz. of water, you still want the sugary drink, then go for it. But you must always drink the two cups of water, first.

Got it? Who’s in?

What Time Is It? Clean Eating Boot Camp Time! is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

Related posts:

1. Clean Eating Boot Camp: Step Two
2. Clean Eating Boot Camp: Ready For Step 3?
3. Welcome To Clean Eating Boot Camp!

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1 tablespoon butter, melted

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1/4 cup melted butter

1/4 cup flour

2 cups heavy cream

2 cups chicken stock or bouillon

1/2 pound fresh broccoli

1 cup matchstick carrots

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 cup grated sharp cheddar

Drop your butter in the skillet with the onions, and set the onions aside once golden. Whisk your butter and flour together over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Stir in the cream and chicken stock, and let it sit for about 20 minutes over low-medium heat (on a scale of 1-10, on 5.)

Toss in your carrots, onions and broccoli. Cook until the carrots are tender, and add the salt and pepper. Add the cheese and nutmeg, and ta da! Soup!

If you said my soup didn’t taste equal to or better than Panera’s, you’d be a hot blooded lie!

Broccoli Cheese Soup is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

Related posts:

1. Weekend WTF: The Supa Dupa Fly Ho With Cheese
2. Now That I’m Clean Eating, What Can I Cook?

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Post tags: clean eating, Recipes, vegetarian

Toast almonds in small skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until pale golden and fragrant, 2 to 4 minutes. Cool almonds to room temperature.

Process cooled almonds, tomatoes, basil, garlic, pepperoncini, 1 teaspoon salt, and red pepper flakes (if using) in food processor until smooth, about 1 minute. Scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula. With machine running, slowly drizzle in oil, about 30 seconds.

Meanwhile, bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add pasta and 1 tablespoon salt and cook until al dente. Reserve ½ cup cooking water; drain pasta and transfer back to cooking pot.

Add pesto and ½ cup Parmesan to cooked pasta, adjusting consistency with reserved pasta cooking water so that pesto coats pasta. Serve immediately, passing Parmesan separately. Serves 4-6, so don’t be afraid to cut it down!

Pasta With Tomato and Almond Pesto is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

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1. Q&A Wednesday: Does Enjoyable Whole Wheat Pasta Exist?
2. Do You Think Tomato Paste Is A Vegetable? Your Government Does!
3. Should A 2,500 Calorie Plate of Pasta Be Illegal?

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Post tags: almonds, pasta, tomatoes, vegetarian

No, really. I’m not the girlfriend at the table who whips out the calculator when we’re all out dining together (you know who I’m talking about) but I am the one who has a close eye on all the sales, will frustrate the cashier at the store with a handful of coupons and has no problem “negotiating” down the price on a product… regardless of how long it takes or who it holds up.

I look at it like this – I save where I can, so I can spend where I need.

So, when I first learned about eating healthy and “organic foods,” you can imagine the sticker shock I endured when I first saw those price tags. No, really. I was pretty pissed. At first, I truly didn’t understand it. What justifies adding an extra dollar and some change to the per pound weight of spinach just because it’s organic?

Then…I did some digging.

On this site, I talk a lot about the harmful chemicals inside of our processed food items, how poorly our bodies digest them, and how they negatively impact our health (and, ultimately, our weight.) There are chemicals in our food that alter our thought patterns, chemicals that make us think one thing is truly another and chemicals that, without question, are actually used harmfully (even fatally) in other contexts. Why would our fruits and vegetables be any different?

So, you think about your fruits and veggies…growing in some far away garden on some faraway farmland. You don’t think about the bugs that those farmers and gardeners have to fend off, though. That’s why farmers use pesticides. It keeps the bugs at bay with minimal effort for the farmer. There’s nothing wrong with that in principle, but the fact remains that many of these pesticides are considered to be a little suspect in not only their effects on the environment they’re sprayed on, but our bodies as well.

Look at it this way – sure, pesticides may be an important part of keeping bugs off our food, but what do those chemicals do once they hit the ground? What happens when they seep into the soil and wind up elsewhere? If we’re still not 1000% sure (and by that I mean sure without a doubt) about these chemicals, why support their use? That’s where buying organic comes in.

To purchase something as organic means that it is certified t have not used pesticides or other harmful chemicals in the growing of that product. This is great, but… is it always necessary? Do I have to buy everything organic?

No!

If you are a budding die hard environmentalist, you may decide that you don’t want any of your money encouraging the use of pesticides, and that’s okay. For others, the goal may be to merely get their feet wet in the world of organics and make a small leap instead of diving head first.

Realistically speaking, I prefer it this way. I didn’t dive head first into organics. I only bought a few things here and there. The more I started cutting out other crap in my diet, the more room my budget had to purchase other things. That’s okay. Baby steps.

So what things should you buy organic, and what can you bypass? For me, there are three simple rules of thumb you can apply across the board in regard to what should and shouldn’t be bought organic if you’re seeking to avoid pesticides. Have at ‘em:

The harder the skin, the safer the insides – it’s as simple as this. The outside of the plant is sprayed. If the skin is hardened – think pineapple, lemon, lime, avocado, and mango – it’ll be easier to protect the part of the fruit that you actually eat.

If it says organic on a box, reconsider your purchase – buying organic fruits and veggies is one thing, but buying organic processed foods? Not only are you going to pay a premium for it, you’re still buying a processed food! Having “organic” stamped on the side doesn’t automatically erase the issues that come with processed foods, it doesn’t automatically make the food healthier and it certainly doesn’t take away the “junk food” label. Oh, yes. There is organic junk food. “Organic” doesn’t mean “healthy.” It means “no pesticides, not a clone food.” It’s not a free pass.

Besides, there’s also this:

Products made entirely with certified organic ingredients and methods can be labeled “100% organic”. Products with at least 95% organic ingredients can use the word “organic”. Both of these categories may also display the USDA organic seal. A third category, containing a minimum of 70% organic ingredients, can be labeled “made with organic ingredients”. In addition, products may also display the logo of the certification body that approved them. Products made with less than 70% organic ingredients cannot advertise this information to consumers and can only mention this fact in the product’s ingredient statement. [source]

The more exposed the edible parts of the food, the more important it is to go organic – just like the first rule was pretty easy to understand, this one is the same. Think berries, apples, peaches, grapes, pears, cucumbers, leafy greens. I’ll never forget the day that I bit into a cucumber that I just cleaned, and my tongue went numb. No, thank you. If you’re cringing at the thought of buying your favorite foods at a higher price, do yourself a favor and buy them in-season. They’re cheaper, then.

Now, there are other elements to buying organics – I didn’t even mention clone foods, animal or animal by-products, here, but just you wait – but as far as pesticides on fruits and veggies goes, this is a great start for a beginner who wants to try.

Want some more resources? Greenopolis has a pretty clear list of what you can get away with purchasing while escaping the organic sticker shock, as well as explanations that can help you better understand the thought process behind your purchases. The Environmental Working Group also has a list of fruits and veggies ranked from best to worst as far as what can be purchased without the organic label. And if you can swallow even more hippie talk, Focus Organic has a list of effects that purchasing organic has on the world around us.

One final point – if you’re purchasing from a farmer’s market and worried about the “organic” label, don’t hesitate to ask the farmer about their pesticide use, yourself. Some farms cannot afford the “organic” certification, and others simply don’t bother. If your family has been farming the same way for 75 years, it’s highly unlikely that you’d feel like you needed a stamp to validate what you’d been doing long before the organic stamp existed, too.

Remember, purchasing organic isn’t a requirement, but it is certainly a “something extra” that those who can, should definitely consider. It’s one step closer to getting as close to the source as possible. It’s cutting out another middle man. You don’t have to, but when you do, you can taste it!

Which foods do you make sure to purchase organic? What tips do you use to clean your inorganic foods? What tips do you have to share for someone getting their feet wet? Let’s hear it!

Pesticides: When Organic Matters (Or Doesn’t) is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

Related posts:

1. Organic …Pesticides?

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Post tags: clean eating, fruits, grocery shopping, Healthy Eating, inorganic, nutrition, organic, pesticides, saving money, vegetables

Everyone was kind of caught off guard by my cluelessness – I get to walk around? I get…samples? – but they all were awesome in explaining what I’m supposed to do and where I go. The event was a combination of panels as well as vendors explaining their product to me.

Reebok's booth with their new shoe line

I did make it through to all the vendors…but y’all know me – I’m a nerd. I was most interested in what the panelists have to say. Five panels in particular – a panel on “Carbs, Cleanses and Coffee;” “Fitness Facts & Fibs;” “The Spandex Segment: Fashion and Fitness;” a panel on building a blog into a career as well as the panelist who spoke during the lunch segment about food addiction (who totally had my heart, talking about a subject near and dear to me) – had me doing more note taking than actual schmoozing… but people were spotting my tweets and coming up to me asking “are you Erika?” and telling me “Your ‘fro is way more awesome in person!”

The pearly pink Birkenstocks they gifted me...and y'all know I love my pink!

I’m tellin’ y’all… the ‘fro. It’s awesome. Boss, even.

The epicly-built Reign of @TaburaFitness, who wouldn't be still long enough for me to snap her photo, led the KiwiSweat Pop-up workout class at the end of the conference!

At any rate, I recorded the sessions from the Meet & Tweet and plan to post the important quotes from them…but the event was awesome. Mia Hamm, badass soccer player, was there – I didn’t get to meet her, but tons of people got signed soccer balls from her. Oakley – who apparently makes sports apparel, something I’m mad late in learning – was there; Birkenstock (which totally brought out the urban hippie in me); KiwiSweat, who hosts pop-up fitness classes in NYC (hmmm…) was there; Reebok showed off their new line of running sneaks and Camelbak promoted it’s new product (that I’m totally gonna have to share with y’all)… V8, Vichy, Pure Protein, The Grain Foods Foundation, Sun-Maid? All there. Showin’ off.

My own little swag bag... with my non-processed food swag

I did wind up taking home an awesome swag bag, full of products from Reebok, Birkenstock, Oakley (glasses that don’t slide down your face when you sweat? Dude…), Dogwood Jewelry, Schick (I know, brand overload), but no other product was appreciated as much as the concealer I uncovered in the bottom of my bag…

Yes, that is my hand. With the concealer on it.

Sexy, right?

At any rate, be on the lookout for those quotes from the panels that took place, because transcribing those quotes is taking me a bit longer than I anticipated.

(Side note: it takes me longer to write these short posts than the regular uber-long ones I write! What gives?)

My Recap Of The @FITNESSMagazine Blogger Meet & Tweet is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

Related posts:

1. 8 Amazing Blogger Weight Loss Transformations Featuring… Me!
2. Vote For BGG2WL: SHAPE Mag’s Best Weight Loss Blogger Award

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Sauté first 3 ingredients in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat 10 minutes or until onions are translucent. Add mushrooms, zucchini, and squash; sauté 3 more minutes. Add chili powder and next 2 ingredients, and sauté 5 more minutes.

Stir together tomato sauce and tomato juice in a 6-qt. slow cooker until smooth. Stir in diced tomatoes, next 2 ingredients, and carrot mixture. Cover and cook on LOW 8 hours.

Note: Cool leftovers, and freeze in plastic freezer containers or zip-top plastic freezer bags for up to 2 months.

Slow Cooker Veggie Chili is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

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1. Embracing The Slow Food Movement

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Post tags: basil, beans, carrots, celery, corn, mushrooms, onion, squash, tomatoes, zucchini

Drain and rinse tofu; pat dry. Slice the block crosswise into eight 1/2-inch-thick slabs. Coarsely crumble each slice into smaller, uneven pieces.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add tofu and cook in a single layer, without stirring, until the pieces begin to turn golden brown on the bottom, about 5 minutes. Then gently stir and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until all sides are golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes more.

Add tomatoes and mushrooms and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are just cooked, 1 to 2 minutes more. Remove from the heat and stir in pesto and feta.

Tofu With Tomato Mushroom Sauce is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

Related posts:

1. Do You Think Tomato Paste Is A Vegetable? Your Government Does!

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Post tags: feta, mushrooms, pesto, tofu, tomatoes

You know that saying, it goes somethin’ like “In order to know where you’re going, you have to know where you’ve been?” I’d also stand to argue that “In order to appreciate where you are, you have to understand where you were.” Where I was as a woman is so far removed from who I am today that I look back on my past with tears in my eyes… not because I have pity, but because I know the pain that this woman will have to endure in order to turn into the person I am today.

Feminism, to me, is about allowing women the space to be who they are free of gendered expectations, free of stereotype, free of gendered limitations. I know that a lot of women may turn their noses up at feminism as something that man-haters do, but my eventual embracing of feminism wasn’t born of a desire to hate men. It was borne of a journey that came from learning to love myself and, at the same time, hate the societal standards that prevented me from doing so.

When I first started working out, I struggled with the idea of entering a space that wasn’t very welcoming to women… and that was the weight lifting area. It’s hard to enter a space where you see no one who looks like you – my gym had very little to offer in the way of Blacks, women, or Black women entirely – and make yourself at home, because you consistently wonder if there’s something that intentionally keeps you away from doing so. (Notice how much this sounds like seeing persons of color in any medium, and how difficult it must be to be the first to transcend this.) You eventually realize that yes, there is something that intentionally keeps women out of the weight lifting area: a general societal understanding that women aren’t supposed to be strong. That muscles are the realm of men, and having them would make a woman look… manly. Femininity, as defined by people who aren’t, ostensibly, female… doesn’t include muscles. It was a gendered expectation that was preventing me from becoming my more fit self, and it frustrated me to no end.

Then, I moved on from working out to focusing specifically on food… and the expectation is that I’d starve myself. I’d sustain on carrots and diet coke. That’s what women do. They starve themselves and deprive themselves… and when they’ve starved themselves down to nothing and have suffered enough, maybe then I’d have earned the right to male attention. It’s just what women do to lose weight. Heaven forbid that I eat real food and enjoy myself. I, a woman, couldn’t have a sensible relationship with food. By virtue of being a woman who was changing her relationship with food, I had to be starving myself. It needed to be reinforced that I’d diet myself down to nothing.

The expectation, once I’d lost a respectable amount of weight, was that I’d done so by dieting. (Y’all know that dieting and I don’t get along worth a damn.) Dieting is just what women do. You hate food for making you fat. You fear food because it makes you fatter. You avoid food because you don’t want to be fat. You turn “fat” into a loaded term… you turn against yourself and hate yourself for having fat (news flash: even athletes have fat), you cringe when you see “fat people” enjoying their lives because you can’t enjoy yours because, well, you’re too busy being fixated on fat. It’s just the cycle that women go through. By virtue of being a woman, you’re expected to engage in this cycle.

As I moved on in trying to decide what I wanted to look like, I had to contend with demands and expectations from all sides. On one end, I was being advised that being thin was the ideal. No muscle, no “curve” – “curvy is just pretty language for fat,” and we all know how bad “fat” is – just thinness. On another angle, I was being told that, as a Black woman, I needed to keep my curves. [Black] men love curves, and if I lost mine, surely no man would want me then. From a third angle, I not only needed to have curves, but I was worthless without the right kind of curves. No gut, huge ass, giant breasts. My body wasn’t my own to make the decisions for – everything was a mitigating factor in what my body should look like. The only thing that didn’t matter in the equation was what I wanted to look like in the end.

And really, the amount of flack I received – and still receive – for being a proponent of pole fitness is astounding. The fear that Black women have of everything we do making us more sexual than we already are… prevents us from doing things that we really enjoy, regardless of whether or not they’re inherently sexual. We can’t be sexual on our own terms because we’re too busy trying to mitigate the terms laid before us regarding us. By virtue of being a Black woman, you’re constantly fighting the idea that you’re some kind of whore… and you’ll – by and large – avoid anything that could further that belief, regardless of how innocent the activity is and regardless of whether or not you’d truly enjoy it.

And can you remove yourself from it? Of course, but let’s keep it funky, here. It’s the mentality of the dominant culture. It’s a battle you have to face every day. Every decision you make to pursue your fitness in the way you want in order to achieve the body you desire – be it thin, thick, muscular, runner’s physique, whatever – is challenged by the fact that you shouldn’t know anything about fitness, woman. You’re supposed to diet yourself miserable to please a man, or “thicken up” to please a man. You’re supposed to be a whore, and while you spend your life competing to try to prove that you’re not this thing that society says is so wrong, you’re chastized for not being the whore you’re expected to be.

Losing weight turned me into a feminist because every single time I reached a new level in my journey, I experienced a road block that I’d never experienced before when I was overweight. For me, losing weight was a journey that made me more aware of my surroundings and how they affected me. No longer was I burying my head in the school books, the music, the responsibilities. In deciding to focus more on me, I had to focus on how things affected me. That included the stigmas that prevented me from being able to fully embrace my whole self and the things that make me happy. Lifting weights makes me happy. Swinging on the pole in my living room makes me happy (not, as conventional wisdom would have it, a slut.) Dieting and depriving myself makes me stabby. Knowing these things about myself and knowing how hard it was for me to learn these things are a huge part of what inspired me to start this blog and keep it going.

So, really, I’d have to say that losing weight made me a feminist because I set out to dismantle the things that preventedme from loving myself in all my totality. It didn’t make me a man-hater, and it didn’t make me burn my sports bras – they were too expensive, anyway, and y’all know I’m cheap – but it made me set out to help other women learn the language of self-love and acceptance, embrace the idea of being humble and vulnerable, and for goodness sakes… it made me set out to convince y’all to lift a weight or two and jump on a pole. Make the world a better place. You know you wanna.

How Losing Weight Made Me A Feminist is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

Related posts:

1. Losing Weight and Losing Identity
2. Friday 5: Five Things Every Feminist Who Wants To Lose Weight Should Remember
3. “Dating While Fat And Feminist,” And The Nasty Things You Learn About People After You Lose Weight

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© Erika for A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss, 2012. | Permalink | 30 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Body Image, body policing, feminism, sex, weight lifting

Well, I hear ya. I have a few words for you and more than a few links to help you along the way.

Refrain from using the word desperate. Every time I see this, I cringe… but this isn’t for my personal emotional thoughts and feelings. It’s a self-esteem issue. “Desperate,” as defined by Merriam-Webster, means “having lost hope, moved by despair, suffering extreme need or anxiety, involving or employing extreme measures in an attempt to escape defeat or frustration.” The quote in bold is why I cringe. So many of us have such poor body image and command of our overall health that those “extreme measures” that we employ involve things that, by and large, ruin our health and put us in jeopardy. Pills with nebulous ingredient lists, eating disorders, starvation tactics… these are things that only further compromise our bodies’ ability to heal itself, nourish itself properly and carry you through your day adequately. The answer to long-lasting, sustainable, healthily obtained weight loss – to me, at least – is never, and never will include, anything that fails to nourish (or steals nourishment from) your body.

Do not diet. I cannot stress this enough. Don’t diet. The same way you lose the weight needs to be the same way you keep it off. IF you want to starve yourself eating only baby food for a month, do you, boo. However, when you go back to eating chewables and find yourself putting on all that weight and then some? You’re going to feel like an ass. Use this time to change how you live in a way that is conducive to your continued success. Don’t starve yourself and then feel proud that you survived – literally – only to look a plum nelly fool when you gain it back. Do successful dieters exist? Sure, they may… I’m just not one of ‘em.

Realize that this is not an overnight process. You don’t just wake up one morning and decide to wipe out your cabinets, clear off your counter tops and start eating cleanly. It doesn’t happen that way. Our environments include certain subtle elements that not only encourage our current habits, but also make it a struggle to leave them behind. It takes time to flesh out the things that contribute negatively, and it takes us learning to not be mindless eaters so that we have the ability to identify those enablers. Everything from the path you take to work that crosses in front of “Fast Food Avenue” to the drawer full of chocolate at your desk that you may reach into every time your boss says something snide to you (what better way to feel better about potentially losing your job in this economy than with chocolate?), it all must go.

Be compassionate towards yourself. Regardless of what society might say and how people might treat you (even if you’re 5lbs or 50lbs overweight, all it takes is one cruel comment to make you wanna throw something), you deserve compassion. You are a human being, and you deserve respect… and that starts with you. Connect the way you treat your body to “self-respect.” Take the time to sit and identify your weaknesses. Take the time to learn where you struggle. Give yourself the space to error, and then sit and think about what happened. Did you buy something you wanted to give up? Why? What do you need to do to prevent from having to deal with this situation again?

Use this as a self-esteem building experience. Don’t think I’m saying you have no self-esteem if you’re wanting to lose weight. However, understand that learning where we’ve gone wrong and how much work it will be to change and fix this is kinda demoralizing. Actually, it’s really demoralizing. It sucks. Trust me. I had an ego before I began. I got humbled. Verily. However, when I take the time to think about what I’m feeling instead of reaching for something that I know would make me feel better, I take pride in that. Not because “being able to say no” is some great moral platitude, but because I was able to teach myself how to say no to something I could never turn down before. It’s a new ability that’s hard to develop, and you should always allow yourself the ability to revel in the joys of that kind of success. It feels good. Yes, this good.

Again – be compassionate toward yourself. Remember – if the weight doesn’t come off as fast as you’d like, and you’re positive that you’re not cheating yourself by sneaking things you’ve aimed to get rid of, then don’t beat yourself up. I’m not a proponent of the scale – though many of my readership are – and I find it pretty annoying as a weight lifter, but that’s because the numbers never tell the full tale of how changing the way you live can improve your health. Don’t be mad that you can’t always see the changes you’re going for. Just appreciate the progress you are making, allow yourself to become excited by the possibilities of a healthier tomorrow and give yourself the time necessary to make the strides you want.

As for the mechanics of weight loss, I’ve written quite a bit about that all over the blog. I’m a calorie counter, but not in the sense that I have to compute every meal before I ingest it. I learned calorie counts, protein and fat percentages by learning how to cook and learning what ingredients belong where and what certain ingredients do to certain dishes. I can look at a dish and estimate the amount of calories and how far it’s going to set me back in my calorie wallet. That’s the knowledge that keeps me from eating the mess I was eating before. It might look good, it might taste good, but it’s not helping me get to where I’m going.

The final point that I have to share is to be patient. Patience is the enemy of desperation, because if you want to come out of dire circumstances immediately, the last thing you want to have to do is be patient. It prevents you from taking drastic measures to “save yourself.” We’ve talked about those measures already.

Sure, I could’ve written about calories and protein and treadmills and diets, but I think the things I’ve listed above are far more important and take precedence over the others, simply because a person who uses a word like “desperate” is signifying a very specific need and urge, and I can’t entirely ignore that. Do you think I left something out? Let’s hear it!

Q&A Wednesday: I’m Desperate To Lose Weight! Help?! is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

Related posts:

1. Q&A Wednesday: Is Calorie Counting The Only Way To Lose Weight?
2. Q&A Wednesday: I Work In Fast Food And Want To Lose Weight! Help!
3. Q&A Wednesday: Harder To Lose As We Age?

The FULL list of meal plans is currently available. Check it out and get your copy today!

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When I first started working out, I had a gym. I experienced a bit of success but, like I’ve written before, it wasn’t until I actually abandoned my old eating habits that I truly experienced success.

At that time, I wasn’t even working out… just changing the food I ate… but I knew something was missing. I eventually wound up working out at home. Keeping it (sort of) simple, I just filled a couple of half-gallon jugs that I’d had on hand and got to work. I lost a lot of weight that way. A lot.

That being said, I’m pretty attached to the idea of working out at home… but my current [temporary] home could double as Barbie’s Urban Dream House. If I lift a dumbbell, I’m likely to put a hole in the wall. If I do a one-legged downward facing dog, I’m likely to put my foot through the ceiling.

Thank you, New York real estate, for convincing me to get myself a gym membership.

My gyms before were quite small…but now? Huge… which means more people… which means more things to drive me nuts. I’m just sayin’… if you do one of these things, and I catch you… just don’t be mad if you get a hole stared through you.

1) People who are more preoccupied with their cell phones than their workouts. There’s nothing more frustrating than the person who wants to sit on the machine while they’re talking on the phone or responding to their e-mails. We get it, you’re important. But can you take your important ass to the lobby or the snack shop and handle your business, so that I can handle mine on the equipment you’re hogging up?

I know, I know, you’re just waiting between your sets. But friend, if you’re waiting upwards of a whole minute between your sets, you need to just get up and let someone else “work in” with you. In other words, let someone else do one of their sets while you’re waiting. It’s just fair.

Say no, and you might get tossed across the room, anyway. Anything to free up a machine. Just sayin’.

2) People who leave fresh booty sweat on a machine. Man, you and I both see that long strip of sweat on that seat. If you’re hitting your workouts commando or baby-powder free, whatever. That’s cool, I guess. But can you be so polite as to spare the rest of us from your booty sweat? Your back sweat is bad enough, whatever, I’m hitting the showers anyway. But booty sweat crosses the line. It just crosses the damn line!

3) Inappropriate dress. By nature, the gym environment is going to require a lack of clothes, or at least clothing of the “form fitting” variety. So no, this isn’t a rant of the “just because its in your size doesn’t mean you should wear it!” ilk. This is, however, a rant of the “if you have triple Ds, don’t wear only a sports bra as a top to yoga class and share your areolas with your fellow downward facing doggers” type. It’s an “if you’re on the abductor/adductor machine, make sure your shorts can accommodate all your junkage… or at least make sure you have on underwear” type rant. It’s a “for goodness sakes, if you’re going to insist on doing pull ups, make sure I can’t see straight into your shorts when you hang up there curled in a ball!!!” type rant. And yes, I’m too busy working out to be gawking, but it’s amazing what you get a glance of when you get up from one machine to move to the next.

4) The conversationalists. Chile, I can’t talk to you. I’m too busy trying to not have the greatest treadmill fall of all time… all time!

I mean, I get it. You’re warming up, you’re not “in your zone” yet, okay. Cool story. But… I am! Go watch the TV, shuffle through your iPod or talk to a gym staffer or something. Don’t interrupt me while I’m focused because you’re not. That’s not my problem!

I’ll never forget this big hulking dude interrupting me while I was on a lifting machine in the middle of a set to ask me when I’d be done… and had the audacity to get mad when I ignored him. Just because you think my weight is penny Annie compared to what you lift for breakfast doesn’t mean it’s not challenging for me. Show some respect! You were scrawny once, too!

5) The slob. You know what, I hate you people the most. You’re the jerks who leave your towels on the equipment – so that you can walk around during your “rest time” instead of staying your ass put or letting someone else “work in,” instead – as a means of keeping people off of it because you know that leaving your towel somewhere is soooooooo disgusting that it’s a great way to ward people off. I hate you with the fiery passion of a thousand burning suns. Hate.

There’s also you awesome people who leave your towels all over the benches in the locker rooms. Hell naw, I’m not about to sit there – the towel you just dragged through between your legs was just all sprawled out on that bench! And can we talk about people who literally do the dance while they drag that towel through between their legs? And did you just put that towel on a communal space, not directly in the towel bin? Gosh, and I thought I was country. (And no, I’m not looking, but seeing someone wiggle from side to side while they do that makes it much more identifiable in your peripheral vision.)

I get it – if you pay enough for a gym, it absolutely should feel like home. But…this ain’t your damn house – you share it with other people, who you have to consider in your regular actions.

There are, however, five actions that drive people nuts at the gym that I’m generally not bothered by:

1) Makeup girl. Hey, boo. I see you. You look cute… you didn’t do that for the gym, right? Usually, not. “Makeup girl” is, more often than not, coming from some place where she needed to wear that makeup, and didn’t have the time necessary to wipe it all off. This may not always matter, but it does if you’ve only got, say, an hour to get it all in.

Now, don’t confuse “Makeup Girl” with “Flirty Girl,” who comes in both the “make-up” and “no make-up” models. She is another pain in the hind quarters entirely. And we all know why.

2) Sweat on the equipment. I know, I know, I’m contradicting myself. I know… but I firmly believe that booty sweat is a-whole-nother level of disrespect. Sweat on the equipment can come in any form from hand sweat on the weights to neck sweat on the bars to back or chest sweat on a lay-down. You have to be proactive about dealing with sweat, which falls right in line with being considerate. Get yourself a nice towel and wipe down any equipment before and after you use it. Repeat after me: “I will wipe down equipment before and after I use it.” You’ll thank me later.

(Oh, and if your gym doesn’t have spray bottles or wipes with cleaner to keep the equipment clean? Consider leaving a sugestion in the “suggestion box.” Every. Day.)

3) The resident Alpha Dog. There’s always one. Cut-off shirt, peacock strutting, halfway pretty and halfway scumbag? There is absolutely always one. It’s considered a privilege to be able to ascend to that level. Don’t watch them, watch yourself. You might not want to be that hyper-confident, but you want to be confident… and some day, your confidence level will wind up looking like you’re Alpha Doggin’ it across the room. Sometimes, the swag… it’s uncontainable. Even when it’s mildly annoying.

4) People who ignore the cardio machine limits. Why? Because I understand. Someday, it’s likely that this’ll be you. Just… it’s frustrating, but go easy on it. Find something else to do – jump rope, jumping jacks, mountain climbers – to bide your time until it’s your turn. (Orrr you could just go to the gym during off-peak hours…. Or find a gym that doesn’t have cardio limits… they do exist, and thank goodness.)

5) Grunting, dropping of weights, and ugly faces. I’ve already shared I’m a proponent of the ugly face. It’s just… it’s a marker of “I’m ridin’ ’round and I’m gettin’ it” that everybody understands. However, the grunting and the weights dropping frustrates people just because they throw others out of their zones. I mean, don’t get me wrong – nothing scares me more than hearing a big husky voice growling behind me…but have you ever had to do the kind of lift where it’s so heavy, you drop the weight at the end? The kind where your face turns red? It’s not as easy as “if the weight feels that heavy, you need to decrease it” for everyone, and I think that’s fair. Just like the ugly face is a marker of “gettin’ it,” so is that grunt and so is that drop. (Provided the gym has a floor that accommodates weight dropping, in which case that’s an issue the gym’s management will take up with the culprit.)

Either way, when you hear that grunt or that drop, snap back into your zone and start going so hard that you might find yourself growling a time or two, yourself! (Maybe not growling, so to speak, but maybe close? How else are you going to get those fit booties?!)

What drives you nuts at your gym? What bothers others that you’re generally not affected by? Let’s hear it!

Friday 5: 5 Things That Drive Me Nuts At The Gym (And 5 Things You Need To Get Over) is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

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The launch of Fat Ho Burgers feels like a soft opening. A temporary sign featuring the name in bright red letters flutters above the front door. Not much has been done to spruce up the interior—the mural of a mariachi band on the wall makes it clear that the restaurant has not received a fresh coat of paint since its last life as a taqueria. Mismatched chairs are pushed up to the tables, which are covered in plastic-coated red tablecloths.

Newly minted restaurateur Lakita Evans, 24, said the joint’s provocative name came to her when she was watching Mo’Nique’s 2006 film Phat Girlz. “I was trying to make myself laugh,” she said. “I knew the name would put a smile on people’s faces, so I just did it.”

Evans, a 2005 graduate of Waco High School, studied culinary arts at community college and worked overnight shifts in the produce department at Walmart prior to striking it out on her own. “All I wanted to do is find a way in this economy,” she said. “I was just planning on opening a regular burger shack. I didn’t know it was going to be like this.” Fat Ho Burgers has been so popular that they’ve been selling out each day.

The burger joint has enjoyed both national and international media attention since opening its doors last Tuesday. There has been some handwringing over the suggestive name from local churches, and others have complained of the restaurant’s casual misogyny. But business is booming. Some glass-half-full Wacoans view any press as good press for the town. “Shout out to @fatHOburger for making Waco in the news for something other than drugs, Baylor and Branch Davidians,” Katie Beaird tweeted. A fan (perhaps hoping to piggyback on the restaurant’s buzz) has even written and recorded a theme song for the restaurant, with the chorus: “Fat Ho Burgers, juicy as they want to be/Fat Ho Burgers, one bite will set you free.”

Two Baylor freshman made the trek from campus to the restaurant after hearing about it on the news. The pair braved the lunch rush Monday, when they patiently waited over an hour for their food.

Both admitted they were intrigued by the name. “I’m sure the name was a shock to some of the people in the community,” said Thomas Gibbons, 19. “It’s smart though—it’s packed.” Native Houstonian George Strake, 19, joked about the lack of dining options in town. “It’s always exciting when there’s a new restaurant in Waco,” he said. “It’s amazing what a name can do,” Strake said of Fat Ho’s busy first week.

But while the name will get you in the door, the food won’t necessarily keep you coming back. “Supa Fly Ho with Cheese” was not especially juicy—or fatty, as the restaurant’s name would suggest—and the patty itself was almost charred. Strake said while his Ho burger wasn’t amazing, he preferred it to the fare at Health Camp, Waco’s other cheekily named burger joint.

Evans’ offerings are unlikely to score her a spot on TEXAS MONTHLY’s 50 best burgers list unless her cooking catches up to her marketing acumen. In the meantime, she can cash in on the name’s shock value. Both Baylor students happily chirped that they’d buy Fat Ho T-shirts if the restaurant were to sell them.

I always found the “moral” critique of the restaurant to be an interesting one. I mean, we’re a capitalist society, right? And realistically speaking, a capitalist society is only as “moral” as its buying public. That’s why “Fat Ho Burgers” can flourish next to a “Gospel Cafe” that serves meals to the homeless. If it isn’t sacred to the people of/near Waco, then someone’s gonna use it to make money.

And while the “double standard” question – would this be funny if a Black man or non-Black person did this? – is an interesting one, I don’t know that I’d be ashamed of my answer. It’s the equivalent of “Bitch Cafe” to me. The person behind the restaurant had better have a damned good answer of why they’re misappropriating such a loaded term, and their answer had better be believable.

Lastly, that Ho up there? He does not look Supa Fly. It looks like a bun made of enriched flour; I can’t tell what’s going on with that meat and, although I don’t eat beef, I spent enough time working in restaurants to be able to identify the quality of the food I’m looking at; those fries look a little less than appetizing and that looks like a slice of processed cheese food product. I was hoping she could do much better – and she still can – but right now, Clean is something that that Ho up there… is not.

I’m still proud of her, buuuut… I reserve my financial support for restaurants that serve quality products. Here’s hoping that she’ll get there someday.

Fat Ho Burgers Receiving Negative Critiques is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

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Post tags: fat ho burgers, restaurant, restaurants

Sauce:
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
Parsley sprigs (optional)

Prepare grill. To prepare kebabs, combine first 7 ingredients; toss well. Thread 3 steak pieces, 2 peach wedges, 1 onion wedge, and 1 bell pepper piece alternately onto each of 16 (12-inch) skewers. Place kebabs on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 6 minutes or until tender, turning occasionally. Place kebabs on a platter; cover loosely with foil. Let stand 5 minutes. To prepare sauce, combine chopped parsley and next 5 ingredients (chopped parsley through garlic), stirring with a whisk. Spoon over kebabs. Garnish with parsley sprigs, if desired.

Grilled Sirloin Skewers With Peaches and Peppers is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

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Post tags: bell peppers, black pepper, cumin, garlic, olive oil, parsley, peaches, red onions, red peppers, red wine vinegar, sirloin, steak

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Post tags: bell pepper, cucumber, tomato, tomato juice

This isn’t even an “outraged” WTF?!…. it’s just a “sit there, laugh, pull out your receipt and shake your head” kind of WTF?!, here.

I was particularly interested in what Whole Foods’ response would be to this because, as the following mentions, they’re pretty strict about photography and camera work on their property. Apparently, they were pretty cool about it:

Using just a Canon 5D and a group of talented friends, they shot without permission at various locations. “Whole Foods has a strict policy about not shooting, and they asked us very politely to leave… but we shot enough at three different locations on no budget.”

The stores may not have wanted them to shoot, from the corporate point of view, it’s all good. Sirr Less, the global VP of Communications at Whole Foods – whose name instantly makes one think of Sir Mix a Lot, being on this tangent — had this to say: “Creativity like this always resonates with our company, and we take it as a big compliment…” While he’s happy that they’re happy, Wittman is adamant this was not some sort of infomercial. “It was not something I did to promote Whole Foods or promote Kombucha; we just did it to have fun.” And Whole Foods is thrilled; the attitude of the grocery store chain is a healthy one (excuse the pun) when it comes to Fog and Smog’s parody of the healthful living they have turned into big business. “Nobody makes more fun of us than we do of ourselves, but we’re always happy to see someone do it in a novel way. While we’re serious about good food, healthy living and selling groceries, we also believe that laughter is the sweetest thing — and these guys get that!” Less said.

In some moments this past week, Wittman’s been a bit turned off as people have approached the group to create the same sort of thing for their brands, but that was never the intention of doing the video. “The point of it was being honest and funny. I’m a grown man, I have a day job. I’m not gonna sit here and say I don’t need to work for a living, because I do, so I can afford that $80 bucks for six things [watch the video and you’ll understand]. But I also wanna be conscious of it. So the irony is that this video I made, is saying that.”[source]

Can’t say I’m surprisd others wanted the “Parking Lot Video Pimpin’” treatment. This video has gotten lots of attention.

Thoughts?

Video Vault: …In The Whole Foods Parking Lot! is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

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Post tags: whole foods

You could also always just laugh, give 'em the #obamaface and ask 'em "Why are you so worried about what I eat?"

Q: I remember reading a story that you posted about your aunt complaining about the food at your daughter’s birthday party. I’m having the same issue. Ever since I transitioned to my new lifestyle, I have been receiving flack from friends and family about the way I now eat. I know they are just teasing but after awhile, I get tired of hearing “You eat rabbit food,” or “I like eating REAL food.” This past weekend my family decided to have burgers from Culver’s and I told them I didn’t want anything. So we leave the drive-thru and my grandma says, “Tee, you really didn’t get anything?” They must not think I’m serious. Then my mom offered me lemon cake and I refused. I was at my mom’s house and was not prepared to stay as long as I did so I didn’t have my “clean” dinner that night. The only “clean” food item mom had was a can of green beans. I ate that with some seasoning and a glass of water. My mom then teased about how the house smelled like “bland” green beans. I said “I put seasoning in it.” She says “No, you don’t understand what I mean.” I, then, knew she was talking about fat and pork, etc. Then my grandmother goes on to say “Yeah I can’t just eat green beans all the time. I like REAL food.” I know she was teasing but it bothered me how ignorant they were being. I wanted to say “No, I am the one who IS eating real food. YOU are not! You eat over-cooked, fried, baked in fat, processed foods. I don’t!” I didn’t say that, of course. My mom said “Yeah I couldn’t eat that either.” I said “Well you just have to know the right combinations in order to make a good, nutritious, and filling meal.” My grandmother says “No, what she’s eating is good. She just has to watch her portions.” Now mind you, my mother is not at all overweight or even pudgy for that matter. She works out often and drinks lots of water. However, she has not made the changes that I have made. She is aware of what clean eating is. I guess she just doesn’t want to make the necessary decisions.  I never once openly criticized what they ate but they teased so much about what I ate. Like I said, I know they were just teasing, but it bothered me. Friends tease me as well. How do I deal with it? Am I taking it too personally?

In short, yes… but so are they. Methinks the ladies doth protest too much.

I have my qualms about your grandmother saying “No, what she’s eating is good. She just has to watch her portions.” It smacks of that annoying little “everything in moderation” phrase that drives me nuts. No, what you’re eating isn’t always good especially if you have suspect ingredients.

It makes sense that our elders would take offense to us flat out rejecting what they grew up eating and blaming that for the misfortunne we are facing, especially if they’re not overweight or experiencing health problems. Now, mind you, they’ll still bristle at it even if they are overweight and experiencing health problems too – they’ll claim “well, I’m still alive, so…” and wonder what the big deal is. Our elders don’t really know why our traditional food has “turned its back on us,” but what they do know is that its hard to give up what they’ve always loved. It’s not your responsibility to put on your cape and try to save them. Besides, that’s only possible after they’ve had their “come to fitness” moment, and not a second before. (And I know that’s a hard approach to take on this, but think about if the shoe was on the other foot – would you want someone beating you over the head with how to change your life at every turn even though you were quite happy with how you life was going at that time? I don’t know too many people who would appreciate that. I, actually, don’t think I know too many people who wouldn’t toss you right out of the room after the fourth or fifth go at it.)

Let’s face it. They feel judged by our decisions, and they’re trying to make themselves feel better by derailing you. I don’t want to say that’s human nature, but to take the path of least resistance IS, in fact, human nature… and it’s easier to change YOUR mind than it is to adjust the history of how they’ve lived. It’s as simple as that.

At the same time, you’re letting this get to you far too much, and your inner masochist is coming out a bit – why are you sticking around for this? If I set down at a table and start to eat, and in comes the tag team to try to throw shade? Deuces. I set the terms of any conversation in which I participate. And while I certainly won’t try to end the conversation among myself and my elders, I certainly can remove myself from it. If they walk in talk in’ that ying yang, I’m only going to sit through so much of it. I leave.

That’s my advice to you – leave any environment that makes you feel less comfortable, less secure, and less welcome. It sends a distinct message to the other participants in the conversation without making the situation far worse: suppose you said something to tell them to try to make them leave you alone? Seeing as how that already didn’t work in the beginning – “I put seasoning on it” apparently was an epic and confusing failure – then what happens? You keep going, wind up getting emotional, and then get shamed for being some form of “little girl” or “crybaby?” You get a little TOO buck wild and you say something super disrespectful to your elders? I’m all for protecting and defending myself, but I’m also big on respecting my elders. For me, this is a hand-in-hand type situation.

This is also why I’m big on simply leaving the room. Taking my toys and going home, yes. It’s hard to feel chastised by your elders. Makes you wanna go cry in the car…or is that just me? (Hey, I can admit I’m a punk when it comes to my Mama.) As soon as they start up, you pick up your bowl and head elsewhere. Two things, here, may happen. Either they’ll “Awww, come back!” you or they’ll laugh and continue to crack jokes as you leave, which you REALLY don’t want to be a part of, anyway. Either way, someone – probably your mother – will come back and talk to you, in a different tone, about your choices. If she’s already fit, she should see the value in you becoming more like herself, and if she doesn’t then you can take that time (while you’re leaving) to think of ways to explain that to her. Explain that some of us have to do what we have to do, and for some of us, this includes skipping the fat and salt in order to reduce how addicted you feel to it. Explain that there are a thousand ways to eat green beans or [insert newly-controversial vegetable] and salt and pork covered isn’t the only way to go. Explain that you want her support in this, but if she’s not going to give it, then there’s gonna be lots of “these slippers were made for walking” going on and far less time spent together inside that house. It’s that simple.

Q&A Wednesday: Clean Eating, Your Relatives and Criticism is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

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