Sunday, June 30, 2013

The Sweet Life

It has been a long thirty days! I challenged myself to avoid all sweets for the month of June. Boy, am I glad June is only thirty days, because thirty-one would have killed me! lol. I would not be telling the whole truth if I said I lived a completely sugar-free life for the last 30 days. I did avoid chocolate, cakes, cupcakes, pies, cookies, and candy all month. I did enjoy an occasional sweet beverage. However, I am still proud of the discipline I showed because last month I went CRAZY with the sweets. Now, I know that I don't need sugar to make it through the day. Not to make light of what drug addicts go through, but I really felt helpless to it. I made "secret" runs to the store, had a stash of Reeses in my car. Oh, it was bad! The more that I consumed, the more I wanted. I had to break the cycle because I felt dependent on sugar as a stress reliever for that short period of time. It was no longer something I truly enjoyed occasionally as a treat. Sugar was something I started to depend on to get me through the day. I was getting an "addicts" mentality, and I did not want to go down that road. Thankfully, I continued to be very active, but I did put on a few pounds for whatever reason; it could have been the sugar, the weight training,or my hormones.

This month has been great, and busy!...my baby boy has been out of town enjoying the company of his grandparents for the last month. I have certainly enjoyed this much needed time alone with my husband. We've enjoyed attempting to make home improvements, and impromptu late night runs to Wal-mart. I've gotten a chance to really focus on my fitness. I could run or workout at times I normally wouldn't be able to, and I have gotten to run more with different Black Girls Run groups around the city. Some of them would probably tell you that I've been a running fool! We take a group picture at the end of each run and post them on the BGR Charlotte Facebook page. I've probably been in about 20 pictures this month alone. By the looks of my Nike Run App, I guess I am a fool for running. I have logged over 50 miles this month! I am not sure if this is a first because I've never been real consistent with tracking my miles up until now. Even still, there were a few short runs I did this month that I didn't track. Some runs were slower than others, but regardless, I finished! It has been very humid lately, which my body does not handle well. So I have been focusing more on frequency, and less on speed and distance. I've been so busy and active, I've hardly noticed the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup minis at the checkout counter, or the cookies from Qdoba at work. Nope, didn't give them a second glance! I've been tightening up,and although I have only lost about two of the six pounds I've gained, I've never felt more in shape or beautiful!

So, tomorrow marks the 1st day of my 17 day long birthday celebration! Since I turned 29, birthdays have been very important to me. Maybe it is because at 29, I decided to make a turn for better health. I saw a truth about myself I've always known, but was too afraid to confront. I felt I didn't deserve to feel good about my self, and I hid it behind being a people-pleaser and over-eater. I didn't want to go into my 30s feeling the same way. So, for the next 17 days until my big day, I must warn you all, I may be a little bit obnoxious and extremely sentimental! I have been thinking of ways to celebrate every day in small ways. One thought that came to mind was to celebrate a person who has had a big impact in my life each day of the 17 days. I am going to write a journal entry(I actually have a paper journal, too) about each person and do a Facebook entry about that person as well. I want to focus on myself, but celebrate others who have positively impacted my life as well. I also want to do something I've never done before, like rock-climbing(in doors, of course) or hike a local mountain.


So, just continue to follow me on the journey...it is not over yet. I may be saying goodbye to 31, but I am rejoicing in the blessings I have now and the ones coming my way. It has been very hard for me to not be anxious about the things my heart truly desires. My good friend shared a quote today from Christine Caine, a powerful woman of God who has preached at my church many times. She said, "Don't put a due date on something God is going to deliver in due season.". I needed to hear that so much! I know that my desires need to be in line with God's will, and I have been praying the two become aligned. So I am dedicated to stepping into 32 with this quote in mind. I'm gonna live the Sweet Life with maybe a little less sweets this time around! Here's to my new year!

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Weighed Down

Well folks, I got through most of May without weighing myself, and I am not sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing. On the plus side, I was not obsessive with jumping on the dreadful scale. I really tried to focus on other indicators of being healthy, such as how I felt inside and how my clothes fit on the outside. It wasn’t until this past week when I went to my doctor to check on some things that I became concerned. I had put on about six pounds over the past four weeks! For some people, this may not sound like much, but for me, I was in melt down mode! I might as well have gained 60 pounds! My husband says, “I am sure it is all muscle”. I have been working hard on improving the definition of my arms and doing a million squats which probably enhanced my already genetically blessed derrière and thighs. May, for various reasons was also a very stressful month for me. I looked to sugar for comfort frequently. It also did not help that there were multiple events which involved food at the hospital I work at, and it was very rare to find something healthy on those menus. Talk about one of healthcare’s biggest contradictions…we are health professionals and we reward ourselves with unhealthy foods. Can we get a nice, catered salad bar, please? I’ve also recently stopped taking anything that would prevent a baby from forming, but I doubt if a kid was growing in my womb he or she would have caused such a rapid weight gain.


So, it is June 1st. I have pledged to not eat sweets over the next 30 days and should I get a craving for something sugary, I will reach for a piece of fruit instead. I was very proud of myself today. We had our company picnic, and I did not have one dessert! My husband has also taken up juicing, which has helped him shed a few pounds. I have benefited from this by supplementing an occasional breakfast meal with a nice blend of fruits and veggies. I have noticed that I can’t get into my size 8 pants anymore, which is a little disheartening, but I don’t feel jiggly. I feel pretty firm and fit; I just wish the scale would mirror what I feel. I am much more optimistic this month, and excited about trying for another child. Like I said before, this will be a different experience from my past pregnancy. With my son, David, I started off grossly overweight, tipping the scale at 250 upon entering my ninth month. I don’t even know how I made it to the ninth month being only 5’2 and my belly was spread from the east to the west coast! I regretfully had to have a caesarean section, which thankfully was uncomplicated. If I can avoid having one this time, it would be such a blessing. This time around, I am at my healthiest weight since high school; I am six years older, and very physically active. My goal is to only gain between 15 to 20 pounds the next pregnancy (so, kid, if you’re in there, I hope you are listening!). I am inspired by the women in my Black Girls Run group. One woman just finished her first half marathon while several months pregnant! God willing, this will be me. Of course I will do my best not to endanger my child for the sake of maintaining my current lifestyle. I will do all the necessary modifications to ensure that we stay as active and healthy as possible so that I can make it to a safe delivery.


Currently, my son is over 2000 miles away with his grandparents for the next month. Though I miss him terribly, I am grateful for this little break. My husband and I are having a great time together, and learning more about each other (you’d think we would know everything about each other after nearly fourteen years together). We are attempting to do some minor home improvements(note, I said attempting. Neither of us is very handy). I am getting more opportunities to run with the girls of Black Girls Run all over the Charlotte area. I love the camaraderie and I enjoy sharing my story with others. I am fortunate enough to be a social media ambassador for Black Girls Run this year, and I have started a new blog, solejourney2013.blogspot.com. The blog will feature various topics while tracing my journey as I embark on training/preparing for the upcoming Black Girls Run “Sweat With Your Sole” 5K/10K race and conference in September. The conference will be held in Charlotte this year, so I am extremely excited it is right at my back door. I hope to convince my mom to run the 5k race. For this next month, I am going to try my best to stay positive even in the midst of the little storms. I have got 47 days until my 32nd birthday;I have got to keep it tight and right! Thank God for the ability to run! It has been my saving grace through some of May’s trials. I really don’t think I would have bounced back as quickly had running not been an outlet for me.

“I don’t have to feel weighed down by life’s burdens. God is strong enough to carry that weight for me, free of charge.” ---Sanpri