Here is a man who a few years ago contemplated suicide.  He felt hopeless and had no desire to live.  He wanted to disappear from the world around him.  Just a few years later, he’s completely changed his life and is starring in his own television show.

His story should certainly give hope to others who currently struggle with obesity.  You do not need surgery and you certainly do not need anything fancy in terms of exercise and diet.  A consistent and diligent effort has once again come out on top… [read more] — Fitness 102

Check him out:

Never be amazed by what a little hard work can do. Be INSPIRED by what a little hard work can do. : )

400 Pounds Lost? No Surgery? Stop Lying! is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

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1. On The French Paradox: “Stop Lying About How The French Live!”
2. Restaurant Patron Leaves Tip: You Could Stand To Lose A Few Pounds
3. Personal Trainer Chooses To Gain 70+ Pounds And Go From Fit To Fat To Fit

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© Erika for A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss, 2012. | Permalink | 23 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: extreme weight loss, weight loss inspiration

Taken: February 26th, 2009

I like writing about the things I’ve learned and struggled with along my way. The things that I’ve used this site to reinforce for myself, the things I’ve used this site to remind myself of along the way and the things I’ve used this site to rant about. This site has served as my backbone in a way, because I’ve certainly had to remind myself of a few things in my own moment of weakness.

But without writing about myself… I suppose I’d be doing the very thing that I’ve always claimed is so harmful, and that’s pushing myself to the back burner instead of keeping myself and my own betterment in the forefront. So.. let’s talk about me, where I’ve been and where I’m going.

My tummy trying to tighten back up!

Mentally, I had began to settle a little too much into the idea that I was happy with where I’d gone with my figure. I’d gotten so close to my goals, perhaps I’d felt like I was going to just slide right on through. It didn’t help that so many people were so surprised with all the weight I’d lost, that I kept getting the compliments. It starts to seep in, so to speak. I was dangerously close to believing my own hype. If you know that you have so far to go, give yourself credit for your journey thus far but you shouldn’t be impressed with yourself until you get there.

Then.. I decided that maybe… juuuuuuuust maybe… I’d want to compete in a figure competition. For no other reason than to be “The Formerly 330lb Girl Who Now Can Compete In A Figure Competition.” It was the awakening and goal shift that I’d needed.

So… I’ve spent the past few months shifting my energy toward muscle building. I need my skin to conform to an actual figure once it finally does what it’s supposed to do. I’ve spent time trying to step my game up in the cardio level, because my last major challenge is defeating this fear I’ve had of getting my heart rate too high. An awful experience with a prescription medication left me with a fearful response to my heart rate creeping a little too high. Learning how my heart behaves and training it to endure a little more will help me be a better marathon runner. I’m embracing that challenge head on.

My goals have shifted, and though I am happy with what I have now and am thankful, I look forward to the challenges that my new goals present. What’s more, is that I am thankful that I have this site and posts like this to remind me to always take steps to reclaim my humility – to never get so high off your own hype that you forget how hard you worked and how much harder you will have to work to get there. To act with my goals ever present in my mind, and formulate each step so that it always brings me closer to where I’m going. Not just walking to watch myself… though I do look good walking. (#justsayin’)

We all have different goals, no doubt, but I think that’s an important point: to not get so high off of our own hype, or so comfortable that we fail to realize how hard we need to work to achieve our goals. So no matter how crazysexycool we may think we are now, we have realistic goals worth our realistic effort. What are your goals? Just a little belly pouch? More toned thighs? Let’s hear ‘em!

So.. Where Am I Now? is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

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© Erika for A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss, 2012. | Permalink | 72 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: weight loss inspiration

“She is performing the best shows of her life and her body looks amazing,” her trainer and author of Power Moves, Marco Borges, tells In Touch. “She feels really good about herself, and she’s got a ton of energy.”

Borges reveals the secret to achieving Beyoncé’s incredible physique is training with health in mind, as opposed to looks. “If you think about being as healthy as you possibly can, there is no way you’re not going to look like a million bucks. And that’s what Beyoncé did,” he tells In Touch. Their goal was to make sure she could run around for two hours onstage without feeling winded every night. So before the tour, Beyoncé, 28, did interval training — 45 minutes of alternating between sprinting and running on the treadmill, followed by body-resistance work. Now, Beyoncé does yoga and Pilates for an hour on show days and body-resistance exercises on days when she’s not performing. Borges also tells In Touch that the star eats a sensible 1,600-calorie diet of lean proteins with healthy carbs. “The truth is, it’s a lot of sacrifice. You have to push yourself,” Beyoncé has said.

I like it! This part is the most important to me, though:

If you think about being as healthy as you possibly can, there is no way you’re not going to look like a million bucks.

How awesome is that? Making a goal that is larger than something superficial can only help ensure that you meet and exceed your more “superficial goal,” because you’re not even checking for that. It’s like wanting to run a 3k marathon, but enrolling in the 5k. You’re bound to bypass that 3k on your path to something greater. In fact, if you’re focused enough, I suppose you might not even notice that you hit that 3k.

I have a personal goal and a superficial goal, as well. Just like it currently says in my “about me” page, I’m trying to fit inside of a Bebe skirt. That’s my superficial goal! I used to go to the mall with my girl Alyse, and she has always been fit and in shape. I’d go in Bebe with her and she’d just pull stuff from the racks… shopping all day. I had never been inside of a Bebe store and, at the time, was something like a size 22. Clearly, there was no way I was fitting in anything in there – and I see that now – but back then? I KEPT ON trying to find a shirt that I could at least squeeze into! No dice. It wasn’t happening. I never forgot that feeling I felt in walking into a store and not being able to wear anything in there.

It wasn’t long before I realized that there were a LOT of stores that I never walked into because I knew they didn’t accommodate women my size. That was okay then, but I’m determined to change that, now. I’m trying to fit into everything in everybody’s store, LOL.

My long term goal? Simple. I want to live long enough to watch my grandchildren walk down the aisle. I have to be in top physical health now and keep it up for a lifetime to do that. That’s at least another 50 years.

What are YOUR goals?

Beyoncé’s Personal Fitness Mantra: Do You Have One? is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

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1. My Personal Guide To Getting Through The Holidays
2. Making It Through Labor Day: My Personal Holiday Guide
3. Personal Trainer Chooses To Gain 70+ Pounds And Go From Fit To Fat To Fit

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

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© Erika for A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss, 2012. | Permalink | 26 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: celebrities, weight loss inspiration

I worked out in a gym for six months, and didn’t have much to show for it. I mean, yes – some weight loss took place, lots of muscle development took place, but I still felt so defeated. I wanted to lose inches!! I wanted to be smaller! Why was I not progressing!

This was the start of a 3 month break from fitness. I just… I had other priorities. I had other focuses. I had other places my energy needed to be directed toward. I didn’t need the constant disappointment of trying to be healthier and failing. Repeatedly. Miserably. I just didn’t want to be bothered.

Well, in 3 months, I gained 10lbs.Yeah, it was a stressful 3 months and I was running to food to try to give me temporary release and relief… but 10lbs? Ten pounds? By March, I realized… “Well, if I’m going to have the gauntlet thrown at me, I might as well prepare my body for it.”

I started thinking about how I can properly tackle my health without cheating, being lazy, getting in my own way. A lifestyle change that would become second nature. I thought about this… over a bowl of queso. That I ate… for breakfast.

By late April (the picture above is from April), I got into the habit of cooking everything I ate. I realized that perhaps if it were more difficult for me to indulge in the foods I liked, I wouldn’t indulge so much. If I wanted cookies, I had to bake them myself. If I wanted queso, I had to make it myself. Want a quesadilla? Do it yourself. This helped with my blood pressure. Why? Because processed foods overdo it on the salt. It helped with my risk for overeating. Why? Because I was eating whole nutrients… my body was getting the nutrition it was looking for, so I wasn’t continually compelled to keep eating while my body sought out nutrition.

As soon as I got my eating habits together, I dropped 17lbs. That was when I realized what kept me from losing the inches I wanted – I was still filling my body with crap! I finally figured out how I could get a lock on this thing… and just like that, I started working out again.

Just going for a walk every day and eating better, I lost another 15lbs. I was doing so much more than my body was used to… that it was burning all kinds of energy to keep up. It wasn’t used to this kind or amount of effort! I had properly shocked my body, revved up my engine, and was on my way.

6 months later, another 50lbs was gone. I’m not as concerned with the pounds as much as I am concerned with the inches. Why? Because I’ve developed ab, leg, and thigh muscles that weigh just as much as – if not more than – the fat I once carried… and although it might cause me to put on more weight on the scale, my figure has still become much more lean.

I’ve probably lost about 20lbs in the past 3 months, but I’ve lost about 21″ total – 2″ from each thigh, 4″ from my low-rise waist, 4″ from my normal waist, 2″ from each arm, 2″ from the band in my bust, and 3″ from my hips. I can see cuts in my arms, and lines in my abs. My face is way more defined… I feel like a different woman. When I do my Yoga poses, I can see development in my thighs. When I stand in my high heels, I can see lines in my calves from my knee to my ankle. So my scale might be slow, but my tape measure is movin’!

How am I developing nutritionally? There is one processed item in my pantry that is not organic: goldfish crackers. Dreaded things. (I know I’ve written about how my love of these things plagues me.) If my daughter didn’t love them, I might throw them away. Hey, she’s young – I might throw them away, anyway. Besides… it’s my house.

I still cook everything I eat. I get a little more jazzy and bake things that I shouldn’t be eating – home made or not – but at least I’m not gaining weight at the speed I was before. I’m way more mindful of what I’m putting in my body. Thinking about this makes me more emotional than you think… because it passes on to my daughter. If given a choice between those goldfish crackers and a handful of blueberries, she’s going to choose the blueberries. I didn’t have that foresight as a child. If I had, I might not’ve spent middle school as a size 15.

I’m more comfortable working out in front of others, now. Which translates into my being more comfortable with myself as a whole. It’s easier for me to accept my shortcomings because I know the greatest of my troubles – my health – were able to be tamed… there’s nothing I can’t do at this point. My struggle with my weight has taught me the value of facing my shortcomings head on. If I don’t be honest and real with myself about the source of a problem, how could I ever possibly and effectively find a solution? Ever since I’ve had this epiphany – this newfound value in self-transparency – my life is so much less stressful. There’s less satisfaction found in dramatizing the problem, and the peace found in having obtained the solution is way more valuable.

All things I didn’t have a year ago. I didn’t weigh 185 a year ago. I also didn’t have a size 8 shape a year ago. Yay me.

Looking at everything I’ve left in 2008, I am excited to see what I leave behind in 2009. How I learn, how I grow, how I use what I’ve learned to help others. Hopefully, I’ll leave those stupid goldfish crackers behind. That’s first on the list.

A Year Ago Today is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

Related posts:

1. A Year Of Progress In Photos
2. Guess Who Was On NPR Today?
3. Psychology Today Apologizes For Racist “Study”

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© Erika for A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss, 2011. | Permalink | 44 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: weight loss inspiration

If the question is “what can I accomplish in a year with knowing nothing at first?” then my answer is “a hell of a lot if you are patient, open-minded, and willing to put in some work. A year is research, learning how to cook, learning how to cook well, learning how to enjoy life outside of food… learning how to enjoy life with food sprinkled on top. Which do you enjoy more – the ice cream or the sprinkles? The sprinkles are not the same without the ice cream, but the ice cream is that much better with the right kind of sprinkles. A year allowed me to learn what kind of sprinkles I like. Sounds like a little, but it is a huge deal.

And just to prove that a lot can take place in a year’s time… here are 12 photos to show just what kind of difference a year makes!

From May, 2009 to April, 2010:

No jokes on my ensemble... you wiiiiill respect my fresh!

You’re looking at approximately 89 inches total lost, with about 110lbs lost. Sure, I could’ve “dieted” and lost the weight faster, but I didn’t want to starve myself or unreasonably deprive myself, either. I didn’t want to lose weight in a fashion that would cause me to gain it back. I wanted to incorporate healthy living, healthy and reasonable indulgences, as well as room for mistakes in my life. I wanted to learn a new life… in a way that would prevent me from reverting back to my old one. Basically, I wanted a permanent lifestyle change, and I was willing to make a few mistakes in order to learn how to build it from scratch.

There’s so very little information out there – in comparison to the amount of information pushing supplements, pills, products, programs and who knows what other kind of crap – about how to live and be and remain healthy. I used the support of my friend – the only fitness-savvy friend I had – and every book and magazine I could find to learn how to do this.

I went through periods where I believed that “organic means okay,” “as long as I cook it at home, even if it’s a quadruple layer chocolate cake, its okay to eat however much of it whenever I want,” and even had an “Oh, I’m losing… this means I can go back to the crap food” period. I appreciate all three of those “how to screw up royally” moments, because they taught me lessons that I can carry with me for a lifetime.

In the end, I look at it like this – I wouldn’t trade this experience for the world. I’m looking forward to what the next year will bring me in fitness (pole fitness and figure competitions, for the win!) and in terms of the site, as well.

Now, as far as what I look like now? Eh…. you’ll see someday. Here’s a little hint, though:

And yes, that IS electrical tape... what I look like putting holes in my wall? LOL!

Let’s just say that I’ve graduated from the progress dress… to the progress bikini.

A Year Of Progress In Photos is a post from: A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss. Thanks for reading!

Related posts:

1. Motivation and Measuring Weight Loss Progress: The Progress Dress
2. A Year Ago Today
3. Making Foolproof Weight Loss Resolutions For The New Year

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© Erika for A Black Girl's Guide To Weight Loss, 2010. | Permalink | 151 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: motivation, weight loss inspiration