Brrrr...It's cold outside.

Have you been outside today? I haven't. It was too too cold! It was -15 degrees here in Chicago and -40 degrees when you factor in the wind chill. Plus, I was technically trapped in my house for most of the day. The snow guy didn't come to shovel my snow last night and then the city trucks pushed the snow into my drive way this morning. My poor Stormie would have gotten stuck on a miniature snow bank.

 Needless to say I didn't make it to spin today, and more than likely I am not going to Zumba tomorrow. However, today wasn't a total workout bust. Thank God for Xfinity On Demand. I was able to find a good cardio workout video and got in a good workout. I also got some house chores done which adds to my workout total right? I will definitely take advantage of those videos again tomorrow.

 How do you maintain your work out regime when its cold? What are some exercises you complete at home?

Whats the damage?

Hello and Happy New Year!!! I know it has been a long time since you heard from me and a lot has happened in that time. I dropped my laptop and it has and it is finally working. Look at that damage!

I fed into the holiday feeding frenzy and completely fell off the wagon. I gained a significant amount of weight between Thanksgiving and now. I am now back up to 248lbs. Yikes!!!  There is no excuse for and I can't even begin to explain why I did it. So I have decided to mend my wounds, fix my wagon, and keep going down my path a better healthier lifestyle. 

First things first, there are some things that I definitely need to address some things for 2014. No it's not a New Year's resolution, but this is a way for me to do better for the rest of my life and not just in January and February. I have the tendency to get excited about a particular initiative and I go hard at it for a while, but then I get bored and just stop. Plus, I have a lazy side to me. This is a huge problem for me, not just with losing weight or getting healthy, but with trying to focus and decide my life goals. How do I fix that?

By staying consistent! Consistency is the word for 2014! And  that is where you guys come in. Will you guys help and continue to support me? Please feel free to call me out on my stuff, trust me I am going to need it. 

Day 113 - Weigh In Day

I gained, but not really....

I have been blogging for awhile and we have established a connection and I feel like we can take a leap in our friendship. Everyone knows that women gain weight from water because of....you know. So I feel like I lost this week, but it is masked by water. I'm hopeful.

Day 109 -- Late Weigh In Day

I actually weighed myself Thursday, I just haven't had time to post the weight in to the blog,

sorry. I lost a few ounces and I know that i need to work a little harder.

Today was actually the first day that I have prepared a meal. I haven't cooked anything since the two Monday's ago when I cooked a huge pot of chilli. That was probably a contributing factor to my weight gain. I know that I need to get better about preparing my food, especially with Thanksgiving around the corner. i wonder if going back to preparing multiple meals on Sunday would significantly change my eating patterns. Ummm...what kind of process do you use to control your eating?

Breakfast:
Sausage
Biscuits

Lunch:
Turkey Chilli

Dinner:
Chicken
Spinach
Brown Rices

Like my page on Facebook at facebook.com/bettermehealthylee, and if you enjoy what you read follow my blog and share it with your friends. I can always use the additional support!

Day 104 - Up and at 'em

My husband kicked me out of the house tonight so I had no other choice but to go work out. After a three day weekend filled with pure laziness, I was looking for any excuse not to work out tonight. It is really cold here and I wo use it as an excuse, but he just told me to put on a heavier coat lol. Oh well! I really didn'as trying tt have a good reason not to go, so I went and I enjoyed it.

On a side note, I have some really great news! My sister is going to start going to the gym! Wait I am jumping ahead...She asked our little brother to help her work out so I hope this means that she is going to gym. I am going to stay on her until she goes. I will keep you posted on her progress.


Like my page on Facebook at facebook.com/bettermehealthylee, and if you enjoy what you read follow my blog and share it with your friends. I can always use the additional support!

Day 99 - Weigh In Day

It was bound to happen sooner or later...I have gain this week. I gained 1.7lbs back up to 240.5 lbs, but I am not at all salty about it. I had gotten complacent and I wasn't pushing myself hard enough.  This happened the last time I lost weight. Instead of working harder when the pounds dropped, I just slacked off. I stopped working out as much, then I stopped going to the gym. Then I gained all of the weight back.  This is just the wake up call I need to get the fire back burning.  Watch I am going to come back better!


Like my page on Facebook at facebook.com/bettermehealthylee, and if you enjoy what you read follow my blog and share it with your friends. I can always use the additional support!

Day 98 - Slimming Down

Oh boy am I tired tonight. Bose had us do kickbox cardio with weights. I would hate/love to be in her body works plus abs class. She had us doing burpees and planks most of the class, and I actually could do some of it. I was proud of myself. I am so clumsy; it felt good to be able to do those without falling. I am glad i got a really good work out in because I was soo bad at lunch today. All that talk about cheese yesterday made me want a grilled cheese for lunch lol. It was tasty too. I have no shame.

I also noticed that my back is getting smaller. Check out the before and after pic. I love it when you can see the progression. Don't you?

Breakfast:
Oatmeal
Sausage


Lunch:
Grilled Cheese
Fries

Dinner:
Baked Chicken
Carrots

Like my page on Facebook at facebook.com/bettermehealthylee, and if you enjoy what you read follow my blog and share it with your friends. I can always use the additional support!

Day 97 - Mac and Cheese

I make a pretty decent mac and cheese. Matter of fact, on Labor day i was teased by my cousins because I didn't make any mac and cheese for the bar-b-que. As I mentioned yesterday my family has already started planning the Thanksgiving festivities and my mother-in-law made sure that my mac and cheese is on the menu.

My mac and cheese is not for the lactose intolerant, nor is it for the person who is having a lifestyle change. So in the spirit of trying to be healthy I went searching for some mac-and-cheese options that would satisfy everyone and I came across some recipes on Cooking LIght. I am really excited about the three cheese recipe, and if that doesn't work I have 11 others to choose from lol, I will try this out this weekend and let you know how it went.

Breakfast:
Oatmeal
Sausage

Lunch:
Grilled Chicken
Potatoes

Dinner:
Turkey Chili


Like my page on Facebook at facebook.com/bettermehealthylee, and if you enjoy what you read follow my blog and share it with your friends. I can always use the additional support!

Day 96 - Happy Holidays

The holiday are just around the corner, so know , that that means...food, food, and more food. My family is already planning the festivities. Not because they want to enjoy the time with their families; they want to eat lol. I am nervous about how I will handle myself this holiday season. There is so much temptation with the amount of food that is available. I hope I can contain myself.

While everyone is planning the amount food that they are going to eat, I am going to plan the type of food that I am going to eat. So for the next few weeks until Thanksgiving, I am going to research so low fat, healthier alternatives to some of my favorite Thanksgiving meals that I will share with you. Feel free to share with me as well.

Breakfast:
Oatmeal
Sausage

Lunch:
Chicken
Rice

Dinner:
Turkey Chili


Like my page on Facebook at facebook.com/bettermehealthylee, and if you enjoy what you read follow my blog and share it with your friends. I can always use the additional support!

Day 92 - Weigh In Day

Let's get down to the business for my gladiators that are waiting for Scandal. I have lost again! Down 1.1lbs from last week. I am going to keep it moving.

Breakfast:

Oatmeal

Sasauge

Lunch:

Chicken

Rice

Dinner:

Turkey Chilli

Day 91 - Lessons Learned

Yesterday marked the 90th day of my lifestyle change and I thought I would take some time to reflect on the past 90 days.

It has been 90 days since I have eaten McDonalds, Burger King, Taco Bell, Bar-B-que, Popeyes, and my favorite Dominoes. I use to drink a 32oz sweet tea from McDonalds every day, and my husband and I would "treat" ourselves to Dairy Queen twice a week. Now I cook fresh vegetables and bake or grill everything I cook, and I might "treat" myself to sweets once a month. I still have a ways to go to have the best eating habits, but I think I have come a long way and I get bored easily. I will have a bright idea, go strong for a while, and stop doing that idea as suddenly as I started. As you know there were times when I wanted to stop or took a break, but the bottom line is I am still going strong and I really proud of the fact that I staying the course.

When I started the change I made the decision to hide my journey from my family in Houston. The plan was to show up at Christmas 25-30lbs lighter than I was when they saw me on Memorial Day. (Truth be told I wanted to rub it in my sister's face who proclaims that I am the biggest thing walking the earth even though we wore the same size in clothes). It was a very easy to hide my journey even with the blog. My siblings barely use Facebook, and my mother can barely send a text lol. I was moving along losing the weight, but something felt off. I couldn't share my victories or my defeats with my family. Here I am motivating others around the world to lose weight, and I wasn't helping my loved ones who are ALL over weight.

I finally decided to tell my family. I even have my sister thinking about joining gym. Then it hit me, the true meaning of my journey is to share my experiences with others and hopefully motivate them to live a healthier lifestyle. Next I am setting my sights on my cousin, who is now the biggest she has every been in her 41 years of living. I will let you know how successful I am at changing her heart.

Breakfast:
Oatmeal

Lunch:
Beef
Tomatoes
Lettuce

Dinner:
Chicken
Squash
Corn

Like my page on Facebook at facebook.com/bettermehealthylee, and if you enjoy what you read follow my blog and share it with your friends. I can always use the additional support!

Day 90 - I'm so bad today

Sooooo I know you are not suppose to laugh at people while they are working out, but I had to laugh today. I was in Zumba today, and you know that Zumba is basically a dance class. Our instructor tries to incorporate traditional exercises, but for the most part we are just dancing. I didn't notice her at first, because she was behind me. What made me pay attention was the instructor walking over to her to try to help her with the steps, something she rarely does because she just lets us do our thing. I have to say I have never seen anyone dance that bad. It was horrible. I am talking Kevin James in Hitch bad. I know I am so wrong for this but I can't help it. I found myself watching her for the rest of the class. She was keeping up with the steps, it was just her rhythm was way off.

Breakfast:
Oatmeal
Sausage

Lunch:
Rice
Chicken

Dinner:
Spinach
Squash
Chicken

Like my page on Facebook at facebook.com/bettermehealthylee, and if you enjoy what you read follow my blog and share it with your friends. I can always use the additional support!

Day 89 - Check Me Out

Sorry about missing the post yesterday, but I had a verrry long, fun weekend. I was one of the judges for the Miss Teen Chicago pageant. It was time for me to wear my new smaller sized clothes. I had a ball this weekend. The girls were awesome and I made some great connections. Look at some of the pictures from this weekend's event.

I also have another non-scale victory. Jason is trying to learn to cook. Yes! The hubby is cooking for me. Now when I come home there is a meal on the table. Isn't that nice?

Like my page on Facebook at facebook.com/bettermehealthylee, and if you enjoy what you read follow my blog and share it with your friends. I can always use the additional support!

Day 85 - Weigh In Day

I lost again....down 2.4lbs down from two weeks ago. I am 2 lbs away from 20lbs down. I hope that next week's weigh in will be that day.
 

Breakfast:
Oatmeal
Sausage

Lunch:
White Chicken Chilli

Dinner:
Cereal (It was so late)



Like my page on Facebook at facebook.com/bettermehealthylee, and if you enjoy what you read follow my blog and share it with your friends. I can always use the additional support!

Day 84 - Lessons Learned

It is so easy to be lazy isn't it? I could come home and lay in the bed, not work out hell not go to work lol. Could you imagine not caring about what you eat or how you look. Just overweight and happy right? But the truth is you will never be happy like that. You will always want to do better, be better, and be healthy. That is not the life you want. Right now I can't paint your toenails because of the weight, wear certain shoes or clothes, or do fun activities. This past week I spent time thinking about the possibilities for a better quality of life has led me to my only lesson learned.

DON'T GIVE UP - It is OK to stop and take a break, but you have to keep going. Last week was a make or break week for me. I could have stopped doing my blog all together, but I decided to get back on the horse. The journey is long and hard. I just got to stay the course.


Like my page on Facebook at facebook.com/bettermehealthylee, and if you enjoy what you read follow my blog and share it with your friends. I can always use the additional support!

Day 83 - Happy Tuesday

My coworker said I look smaller te he he he. I am really excited about that. I love it when other people start to notice the changes in your body. I have the privilege of being a judge for the Miss Teen Chicago pageant this weekend coming up, and l have spent the past couple of weeks looking for the best outfit and I am happy to say that I am officially a dress size smaller. I can't wait to wear my new outfit. I will post pictures so that you guys can see how fine I am lol.

Breakfast:
Oatmeal

Lunch:
Chicken
Salsa

Dinner:
Turkey Patty
Salad


Like my page on Facebook at facebook.com/bettermehealthylee, and if you enjoy what you read follow my blog and share it with your friends. I can always use the additional support!

Day 82 - Back at it

I almost died today...not really, but it felt like it. Serves me right going two weeks without working out. Granted I was sick the first week, but there was really no excuse for the second. I really didn't feel like going to work out today. I had gotten into a lazy slump and I felt myself backsliding into my bad habits. So I forced myself to get up and go work out.

I will tell you that it felt good to be back working out. I felt like I released a lot of tension and Bose, the instructor, is always very motivating.

Breakfast:
Oatmeal

Lunch:
Steak
Tomato
Cabbage
Carrots
Brocolli
Feta

Dinner:

Brisket
Red Beans and Rice

Snack:
Cereal


Like my page on Facebook at facebook.com/bettermehealthylee, and if you enjoy what you read follow my blog and share it with your friends. I can always use the additional support!

Day 81 - Get your mind right

I am so sorry, but I needed a break. I had to take a step back and remind myself why I did this everyday. The pressure of trying to do the right thing was getting to me and I lost focus on me. Unfortunately, that meant that I complete slacked on the ab challenge and I the lifestyle change. The good news is this was exactly the thing I needed and I am totally refocused on improving my quality of life.  Scouts honor this time!


Like my page on Facebook at facebook.com/bettermehealthylee, and if you enjoy what you read follow my blog and share it with your friends. I can always use the additional support!

Day 74 - Eye Opening

According to the U.S. Office of Minority Health, 4 out 5 African American women are overweight or obese. That is a very alarming statistic! Then I thought about it, most of my friends are overweight. Matter of fact, every woman in my family, other than my fifteen-year niece, is overweight. The only adult woman in my family that wasn't over weight was my Aunt Linda that passed in May. She was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer 4 years ago, and was given months to live. She worked hard to increase her life span by changing her lifestyle and maintaining her healthy eating habits. The doctor always told her, she managed because of how healthy she was physically. It provided additional motivation to get healthy and stay healthy. I don't want to be another statistic and don't want others to be either.

I think I am going to start focusing on changing that statistic. Will you guys help?
It is my mission to recruit 5 women to join me in getting healthy and staying healthy. Starting November 1st, you could take the steps to improving the quality of life. I know it is hard, I know you are scared, and I know it seems so much easier to stay overweight. Trust me I know exactly how you feel. Many people don't know what it means or how it feels to be overweight. They don't understand the pressure that it puts on your body and your mind. Now is the time for change. I spoke with my sister, and I am hopeful that I can get her to join in on the journey. Hit me up if you are willing to join in as well.


Like my page on Facebook at facebook.com/bettermehealthylee, and if you enjoy what you read follow my blog and share it with your friends. I can always use the additional support!

Day 71 - Weigh in Day

I am down again! Woot Woot. It was probably due to my poor appetite while i was sick. I hope that i can keep it up fot next week. Until then...