Day 40...

They say it takes 30 days to form a new habit.

Today makes day 40 of eliminating meats (beef, pork, and poultry) from my diet. I do eat fish/shellfish. I must say poultry has been the hardest to give up. I got a whiff of sausage a few days ago and it made me nauseous. I also stepped up my daily activity. I'm loving hot yoga, but totally frustrated that I still can't get some of the poses. I'm determined to be a runner. If I can run a 5k by Autumn, it will make me so proud. No I didn't get a bad report from my doctor. I'm doing this for me! And my daughter. I want her to see a positive image of a black woman in her house. Someone who is fit in mind and body. Below are a few inspirational quotes that keep me going on my new fit and healthy journey. Enjoy your weekend! Walk the dog, if you don't have a dog borrow your neighbors.

Source: fit4-life.tumblr.com via Lisa on Pinterest

Source: healthyisclassy.tumblr.com via Naomi on Pinterest

Source: Uploaded by user via Jennifer on Pinterest

Source: health-heaven.tumblr.com via Cindy on Pinterest

I Walk...

This past Sunday my sister-n-law and I did a walk for AIDS funding. The walk was sponsored by Triad Health Project. The 20th Annual Winter Walk for AIDS is a three-mile walk that raises vital funding for Triad Health Project's direct client services and preventioneducation programs. The theme of this year's event is "I Walk...", and it serves as a powerful reminder that HIV/AIDS affects everyone.

Wendy and I had a gorgeous 3 mile walk through the streets of downtown Greensboro. We were very pleased to see alot of North Carolina A&T student involvement. Even though quite a few of the female students walked in Uggs and riding boots, we were still happy that they supported the walk.

I'm on a mission to get my 10,000 steps in a day. My dad who is also making a lifestyle change to walk 10,000 steps a day, gave me the pedometer shown below. As you can see, I walked over 10,000 steps this past Sunday. I walked my dog, walked 3 miles for AIDS, and I walked around Costco "sampling." Wendy and I got to Costco at a great time. All of the good samples were out! I walked in Costco hungry, but when I walked out, I was satisfied. Cheers!

Birthday Week...

Hey all! If you got my first post, I forgot to attach the pics. Briefly, this is my birthday week. To start it off I along with my good friend, Lydia, walked in a 5k Saturday. The event was Foster Friends NC Marathon. There was marathon runners, half marathon runners, and 5k runners/walkers. It was freezing Saturday morning. The temps were 27 degrees. Lydia and I finished in an hour, but could have finished sooner if some chick didn't have to make a quick port-a-potty pit stop. Check out the pics.



Lydia running through the finish line.


"Act like you're running!"



We made it! Super fun!

Namaste...

Today I attended a Bikram (hot) yoga class. I have a 20 class membership to a Bikram yoga studio in Kernersville, NC that I purchased from Groupon. Many of you know that I am on a never ending struggle to lose weight once and for all! Since I am being a rather big nuisance to my husband and children who have to listen to me whine and talk about how I need to lose weight, I want to start running, if only I was 20 lbs lighter, etc. etc. I have decided that I will now concentrate on getting healthy and hopefully the weight loss will follow...eventually.

I have a new love... Whole Foods. I'm a cart watcher. I look at what other people put in their carts. I discovered a love for quinoa (keen-wa), vegan cookies, brown rice, berries, steel cut oats, etc. I rather eat Greek yogurt than the other stuff. I'm making the switch to whole wheat pasta. If only my family will follow. Sigh. My son says, "Whole wheat pasta tastes like cardboard." Oh really, so you know what cardboard tastes like??

Back to hot yoga. The last time I went to hot yoga was about 8 yrs ago when I lived in Baltimore, MD. My instructor today was a cute thin red head, who advised me to stay in the back of the room with the ballet poles so I could use them for support. She was right. The room was really hot! 105 degrees and rising. Our instructor cracked open the doors a bit because the humidity was rising. I loved the class! Sweated thru my clothes. Stayed in the room and did my best for the whole 90 minutes. The only complaint I have is the instructor didn't show us the yoga positions, she talked it through to us on her mic. I had to rely on the 70 yr old man next to me, who gave me a few pointers. LOL! Clearly he was a yogi. It was like having Russell Simmons in my class. I just laughed and shook my head. I can not let this senior show me up! After class, Christina, my instructor, told me I did great! Namaste...

Fit for Life...

In my never ending quest to get fit and stay fit for life, I tried something new yesterday. I read an article online a few months ago that a woman lost 300 lbs by walking laps in the pool. Now by no means do I have to lose 300 lbs, but I could stand to lose a good 30. When I got my latest issue of Shape magazine, the cover read Burn 300 calories by swimming for just 30 minutes.

Yesterday, I threw on my swimsuit, rubbed myself down with sunscreen, grabbed my towel and my pink goggles and headed out the door to my community pool. The above picture was taken at our pool. The water was incredibly warm. I have no idea what I was thinking, I swam not even 1/2 a lap and was exhausted! I tossed my pink goggles to the side and walked back and forth the length of the pool for 30 minutes. It was tough. Not at all like walking on a sidewalk.

When I got out, my legs were like jello. I walked home and was starving when I hit the door. That was an awesome workout. I got the best sleep last night. I'm definitely going to do it again. Hopefully today!

What interesting workouts have you done lately?

Fit for Life...Zumba

Today was my first day attending a Zumba class. What is Zumba? It combines Latin and international music in dance routines featuring aerobic and fitness interval training done to a combination of fast and slow rhythms. The class was a lot of fun! The classes are held at a dance studio in Greensboro called Break-N-Out. It is a fast paced class that will have you sweating the entire hour. I wasn't Shakira, but I was able to keep up. I'm looking forward to the next class.