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Category Archives: Weight Loss

Slow Down To Speed Up

07 May

I recently had the misfortune opportunity to really see how much my lifestyle has changed. I had to listen to my body tell me I needed rest from 5k training. For an entire week, I did nothing but rest. (That drove me absolutely crazy!) No running, No weight training. Nothing…..

A few short months ago, that would have certainly spelled doom and destruction to my weight loss plan. This time, however, was different. Instead of mentally checking out for a week concerning all things weight-loss related, I found myself poring old food and exercise logs. I paid closer attention to what I was eating. After all weight-loss is 80% mental and 20% physical. How many times have I said that? Oddly enough, I was even more engaged in the process.

Sometimes you have to slow down to speed up. That’s exactly what I was reminded up during my rest period. I was refreshed, rested, and amazingly I was more productive when I returned to working out.

If you’re not experiencing the results you think you should. Instead of simply trying harder, and continuing to do the same thing and expecting the same results (Isn’t that the definition of insanity?), slow down. Review your logs, identify areas on which you can improve and go from there.

Sometimes you have to slow down to speed up.

Hmmmmm… Seems like I mentioned something about that here and here

 
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Posted by on 05/07/2013 in Exercise, Inspirational, Nutrition, Weight Loss

 

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May’s Update

01 May

Okay, April has come and gone. Here’s the second set of pictures for the Monthly updates in pictures. I think this was a good idea.

Why? Well, for one I absolutely abhor taking these pictures. Why is that good? That means I’m uncomfortable and outside of my comfort zone.

Another reason it’s good is because it pushes me to work harder and be more accountable because I know I have to take another picture in four weeks.

Click to see May’s Monthly update.

fyi – Click on the picture to enlarge it.

 
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Posted by on 05/01/2013 in Exercise, Inspirational, Nutrition, Weight Loss

 

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New Monthly Updates

03 Apr

new

Okay, I’ve been thinking how to make this blog more. More what you may ask? Just more in general. More helpful. More inspiring. More accountable for me.

One of the things requested in e-mails was more pictures. I’m working on that. In the mean time, what I’ve decided to do is post monthly updates in pictures. It’ll be a picture of me at the beginning of each month. The picture will be taken in the same clothes so you follow my progress monthly.

I chose a shirt that is painted on. (for the time being) Out of all my too big and loose-fitting shirts, why did I choose this one? Well, #1 I need the motivation to do more. #2 It would be difficult to see that I’m actually making progress in an already loose shirt. So I chose a shirt that was already a size smaller than what I wear and has shrunk quite a bit because I threw it in the dryer. Once again being vulnerable and forcing myself to be accountable. (Hey it worked the first time. So here goes!)

Click to see April’s Monthly update.

fyi – Click on the picture to enlarge it.

 
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Posted by on 04/03/2013 in Inspirational, Weight Loss

 

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Lessons From The Treadmill

25 Mar

I’m training to run my first 5k in May. I’ve been talking about doing it for a while. Now I’m actually doing it. (That’s another blog for another day.) At any rate, I’m on week 4 of the Couch to 5k program. This is the first week where it got hard. (for me anyway) Alternating between running for 3 and 5 minutes for 30 minutes. For me it was grueling, it was hard, and it was the most rewarding so far.

I was reminded of three valuable lessons while doing the workout.

You can do more than you think you can
I’ve never been a runner. I’m the guy who absolutely loathed P.E. class when we had to run a
mile. But in week four, I’ve realized that not only can I walk on the treadmill, I can run on it
for 5 minutes straight. Doing more than I thought I could. Now I know, if I can do 5 minutes I
can do 8 minutes (that’s week 5 of the program)

Pain is temporary
During the last 5 minute run, my legs hurt, lungs were burning, breathing was labored. The thought of ending the run prematurely quitting definitely crossed my mind a time or three. But I kept going and finished it. Wouldn’t you know it, as soon as I finished, the pain that was so unbearable seemingly quickly dissipated. I realized that the pain (well strong discomfort) that I was feeling wasn’t as bad as I thought. Imagine how I would’ve felt had I quit early.

Greatest growth comes when you leave your comfort zone
This whole thing is outside of my comfort zone. Running in a race, 1/2 a mile no less a 3 mile race is so not me. It’s something I’ve never done and training for it is something I’ve never done. But there in lies the beauty of it. I’ve grown in the 4 short weeks I’ve been preparing for it. I’ve run more. I’ve become for fit. I’ve become more confident and most importantly I’ve gained more belief in myself that I can do anything.

Those are three major lessons I’ve learned on this journey. I was glad that I was reminded of them while on the treadmill. Remember you can always do more, pain is temporary, and growth occurs outside of your comfort zone.

 
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Posted by on 03/25/2013 in Exercise, Weight Loss

 

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Three Questions….

13 Mar

dI’ve been reflecting lately on how I’ve been able to finally turn the corner on my health. What made this time different? How was I able to keep going?

The answer to those questions(and many others) was answered in three questions I asked myself the first day I started. Unknowingly, the answer to these three questions shaped the foundation for my weight loss.

The first question I asked myself was “What do I want?” The question, at first glance, appears simple. However, it really required thought for me. What did I want? Did I just want to lose weight? Did I want to be healthier? It took about an hour to answer that question. Knowing what you want is essential. It begins to bring clarity to what you’re looking to accomplish.

With the answer to the first question in hand, I moved on to the second question. “Why do I want it?” When you figure out what you want and why you want it, you start to get an emotional tie. I’ve found that by having an emotional tie to what I wanted, a need to accomplish it was created. The need was so strong that I became almost obsessive over it. (I prefer the term laser focus.) That focus, obsessiveness, whatever you want to call it became the seeds of discipline that sprouted into a no excuses attitude.

Lastly, and maybe most important, I asked myself “What was I willing to give up to get what I wanted?” In my case, it was an hour of my day to exercise. I was willing to give up a couple of hours of sleep so I could exercise before going to work. I was willing to give up soda. You get the point.

Everything has a cost associated with it. You have to decide if what you want, why you want it, and the things you’ll have to give up (some temporarily I might add) are worth the cost. And if it’s worth it, are you willing to pay the cost.

For me, it was definitely worth it. And looking back on it, the price wasn’t nearly as expensive it appeared in the beginning.

 
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Posted by on 03/13/2013 in Inspirational, Weight Loss

 

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Glancing Back and Looking Forward

01 Jan

hny

2012 is nearing an end. There have been many changes this year for me. New job, new city, new state. The last few months have been ridiculously crazy for me. Lots of travel, long work hours, figuring out how to squeeze exercise in all of that.

That’s when it hit me. I have truly gone from losing weight to being healthy and living healthier. When I started this blog, I was nervous about being so transparent. Honestly though it’s been one of the best things I could have done.

While I didn’t write as much towards the end of the year, I’ll be writing more, doing more with the blog in 2013. My goal is to grow the blog next year. (I’m not completely sure what that means.) So if you have any ideas on what you’d like to see. What I can do better or topics about which you’d like me to write, by all means email me, tweet me, facebook me, etc…

I’m excited about 2013. I’ve lost 101 lbs so far. I’ve set my goals for 2013 and will be pursuing them!! I hope you do the same! Your dreams and goals are definitely worth the chase!!

Thank you all for sharing this journey with me. Your e-mails, words of encouragement, questions, criticism have helped me tremendously. I appreciate you all so much!!

Here’s to a fantastic 2013. May it be filled with all your heart’s desires!!

-Antuan

 
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Posted by on 01/01/2013 in Inspirational, Weight Loss

 

Stay Focused

12 Sep

I get the “How do you stay motivated” question all the time. I think the better question is “How do you stay focused?” Motivation is cool and works for a while. I assure you there will be a point where you’re not motivated. You don’t feel like it. The routine will become boring… It’s at that point where focus needs to replace motivation.

Honestly, I passed the point of motivation a while ago. There came a point where I no longer felt “excited” about all of this. I wasn’t eagerly anticipating the next healthy meal. I wasn’t excited to get up before the sun to go work out. It was at that point where I had to focus.

I focused on what I was accomplishing. I focused on making sure I kept going regardless of how I felt. I focused on how confident I’d feel at my next weigh in. I focused on how I’d feel the day I lost 20 lbs.. 50 lbs.. etc… I just resolved to trust the process. Resolved to do something everyday to get me closer to where I wanted to be.

I got to a point where I just did it. Remember that Nike Ad? That’s what I did. I just did it. I just made the right decisions. I just got back on track when I made bad decisions. I just entrenched myself in the routine of it all and got it done.

I wish I could say everyday I was motivated but I wasn’t. I was focused way more days than I was motivated. If you ask me, I think the ability to stay focused is better than being motivated.

If you lose your motivation, remain focused. I promise that focus will help you rediscover your motivation.

 
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Posted by on 09/12/2012 in Inspirational, Weight Loss

 

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Good Decision Making

15 Aug

The past few weeks have been extremely hectic. My day usually starts between 3:00AM – 3:30AM and concludes around 9PM or 10PM. I haven’t quite yet figured out the time to work on my blog. Bear with me as I figure it out.

Not only is this schedule causing me to focus more and manage my time better, it’s providing numerous opportunities to make decisions that could eventually derail my success.

I have really good excuses reasons to not work out. All can easily be justified. It’s no longer convenient for me to work out. But that’s just it. Success isn’t built around convenience. In fact, success is paved on the road of inconvenience.

Success in weight loss or any other thing isn’t determined by some major life changing event. It’s made up of moments when it’s just as easy to make decisions detrimental to success as it is to make decisions that propel you to your success. It’s the moment when you have to decide do you go work out after driving two hours or do you go home and see your family. Do you buy that peanut butter (my favorite) or chocolate chip cookie in the cafeteria or not. I mean one cookie won’t hurt right? Well not today it won’t. But over time if you keep making that decision, you won’t experience success losing weight. See my point?

It’s not the slight errors in judgement that destroy your success. It’s the slight errors in judgement compounded over time that destroy your success.

So remember it’s those small seemingly insignificant moments of decision that determine whether you’ll experience the success you want. Be it in weight loss or anything else.

 
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Posted by on 08/15/2012 in Inspirational, Weight Loss

 

I Learned to Budget

13 Jul

I’ve been on this mission to become debt free. And I’ve also been on a mission to become healthy and lose weight. Now why would I mention those too seemingly unrelated things. Well, my friend, I’m glad you asked. In becoming more fiscally responsible I learned am learning how to live on a budget. A set amount of money each month spent wisely. In living off of a budget, I’ve had to remove some things that weren’t necessary and were taking away from my budget.

See where I’m going? Well if not, here it is. Like the road to debt freedom, the road to weight loss and a healthy lifestyle both require budgeting. In the case of weight loss the currency is calories and not money.

I began to “budget” my daily calories. I have a set amount of calories I eat daily. My goal each day is to “spend” them wisely. I can spend 400 calories on a honey bun or I can spend the same 400 calories on a grilled chicken breast, baked sweet potato and broccoli. Which is the better deal? One honey bun or a complete meal?

Once that thought process became second nature to me, weight loss became easier. More importantly, maintaining the weight loss has become easier.

One more thing, the calorie budget has helped my debt freedom goal. How? Well, since I spend considerably less money in restaurants and take out, (because I budget my calories wiser) I have more money available to spend on things like…paying off bills.

Who would’ve thought that a fiscal budget and calorie budget would work so well together!

 
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Posted by on 07/13/2012 in Nutrition, Weight Loss

 

Habits

14 Jun

I once heard that habits start as spider webs and end as iron chains. I had to agree. You don’t even realize you’re creating habits until they’re pretty well set. That can be good or bad depending on the habit. When I began,I definitely had bad habits. What’s crazy is I didn’t realize I had them.

Once I started the process of changing those habits, the “iron chains” part of the quote became very real to me. The first few weeks were harder simply because I was breaking bad habits and creating new ones. In the beginning, not consistently going to the gym, ordering tea at a restaurant, regularly eating out were all habits that I was fighting to break. Honestly, it was very tough. I lost those small battles more times than I won at first.

However, I kept with it and over time I replaced the bad habits with good ones. Now, very rarely do I miss a morning workout regardless of how I feel. The few times I dine out I now order water without hesitation.

Changing habits is quite simple. But like I’ve said before simple doesn’t equate to easy. Yes, it’s hard at times. No, it doesn’t happen over night. But believe me if you consistently work on creating good habits, eventually those good habits will become as iron chains.

If I can do it… you can do it….

 
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Posted by on 06/14/2012 in Weight Loss

 
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