Protein Power!

Lol, the title makes me sound like I'm a weird nutritionist trying to influence the significance of protein.
It's actually the title of a nutrition plan (I don't want to call it a diet...that seems short term) that I plan to adopt once I receive and fully read the books associated with it.

By the end of this post, I'm sure many of you will think I'm schizophrenic. It seems like every few weeks, I'm changing my meal plan but I asure you, there's nothing schizo about trying different things to see what works for you. It's been three years and I have yet to reach my weight loss goal. Part of that is because my focus and diligence isn't where it used to be. It's also because what has worked in the beginning is no longer working yet I keep returning to it hoping for the best. I'm learning that what I did to take off the first 90 (now 70) pounds isn't going to work in getting off the next 70. That realization promted me to continue to research other ways of eating. That and the fact that its becoming harder and harder to adhere to the guidlines I had stuck to early on. In the begininng I was focused, frustrated and FED-UP! I HAD to lose weight...I just wasn't happy and it was ALL I thought about. I started and was cheat free for 4 months but three years later, I'm lucky if I can go a week before I eat something off course. Thankfully I learned that I'm human and if I don't allow myself to slip up there's no way in hell I'm going to reach my goals and if I did, I wouldn't be able to maintain them. I'd also be bored and completely miserable and I will not subject myself to that for however long it takes me to get the rest of this weight off.

I purchased these two books on www.ebay.com for about $4 each. I can't weight until they arrive so I can read them. Prior to discovering this plan, I was already in the process of revamping my way of eating by introducing calorie restriction. I put it off for so long because it felt too much like homework. I'm a fulltime supervisor as well as a fulltime student, the LAST thing I needed was an extra tedious homework assignment but now I've seen the error of my ways and I know that tracking my cals are extremely vital to reaching my goals. It's different from Atkins (as I've read from reviews on Amazon) and the allowance of more freedom carb wise influence me to give it a try. I'm hoping that this is just what I need to get me to ONEderland and beyond.

Thinspiration Thursdays

It's that time again...in short, here are some photos from my thinspiration folder...

Transformation Tuesdays

Some of you might remember this girl from MTV's "I USED to be Fat" and if you do, you'll remember that she was super ANNOYING! She did nothing but cry, complain and fight the trainer tooth and nail but her results speak for themselves. She apparently overcame her lazy/bratty nature, sucked it up and did the damn thing! Her results are nothing short of AMAZING! They also leave me to wonder if she has loose skin on her abdomen as it was pretty large in her before and also because she lost the weight fairly quickly. I wish I knew her name so I could find her on some kind of social networking. I'm curious to see if she has rebounded or if not, I'd like to see how much her life has changed...

*Edited to add*

Ok, so I found her facebook and while she looks like she's gained a BIT of the weight back, she still looks great. I'm glad she has kept it off...I hope. I wasn't paying much attention to the dates but she has modeling photos posted but the dates say 2011 so who know's where she is with her weight by now but here are some photos from her page...

Getting into the habit

One of the most difficult things about my weight loss journey was/is trying to make exercise a permanent part of my regimen and life. Being busy isn't an excuse at all because if something is REALLY important to someone, they WILL make time for it. I have come to the realization that...I'M LAZY!!! I have yet to find a workout that is efficient that I look forward to doing. I'm at the point in my journey where simply dieting isn't gonna get me to my goals so no matter how much I dread it, I gotta get my ass up and get moving!

I've settled on working out at home for the time being due to work and school. I recently decided against that because I wasn't motivated to workout once I got home. After realizing I'm not that good with coming up with an efficient strength training routine, I decided that it's best I stick with DVD's until I have more time on my hands. Knowing me, I'll go and knock out some cardio then stand there starring at the machines trying to figure out which one to do first at how many reps  and so on...

So for now, I've settled on alternating these two workouts 4x a week. There's a suggested 6 week program for maximum results where you do the workout 4-5x a week moving up between levels 1, 2 & 3 as you progress. I've completed level 1 of both so far and found that the cardio workout is a lot tougher than the sculpting workout which I found to be weird. I barely struggled with the workout at all and I didn't feel any soreness after. I will try adding heavier weights to see if there's a difference. If not, I'll just supplement with a few apps I have on my phone I guess. I want to be on each level concurrently or else I'd just advance to get a better workout. The cardio workout had me panting, sweating, biting my lip and rolling my eyes at Bill Harper's ass from beginning to end. I definitely feel the soreness, my glutes are on FIRE! The workouts are only 30 minutes long; 5min warm up, 20min workout and 5min cool down, which is perfect for me with my time constraints...and laziness lol

Thinspiration Thursday

The title says it all...on thursdays I will post pics or quotes that inspire me and hopefully, they will inspire you too, ENJOY!

I'm actually shaped like this...underneath lol. small boobies, wide hips, thick thighs...

Most of these are just "regular girls" who aren't wearing anything special in particular but I'm moreso inspired by their shape and the way their clothes fit them. I always say your body is your best accessory as the most basic of outfits could be seen as hot/sexy/stunning on a girl who's in shape.

The following is the status from a page I am following on Facebook called "Black women losing weight" It's very motivational so if you're on facebook and haven't done so already, you should "like" it.

Black Women Losing Weight

Today's Inspiration: Dose of Truth
There is no quick fix for weight loss.
There is no magic plan that works for everyone.
NO ONE is going to hold your hand and lose the weight for you.
You will have to eat right.
...

You will have to educate yourself about food choices and nutrition.
You will have to move more and exercise even if it's just walking in place.
It will take time to lose the weight because it took time to gain the weight.
Yes, it is hard.
Yes, we all have bad days, we all slip up and give up from time to time.

Weight loss is possible, but it's not easy. You have to commit for the long haul. If you're not willing to do what is hard, to challenge yourself...you don't have a weight problem as much as you have an attitude/commitment problem. Do it for YOU!!! You are worth the challenge.

P.S. I'm not sure when I will update my progress. The scale puts too much pressure on me and I tend to get discouraged if the numbers don't reflect my hard work and quite frankly I'm tired of that digital b!tc# (excuse my french) ruining my day! One reason I want to consult the scale is to see if the samples I bought of a detox pill works so I can let you guys know in case you need a jumpstart to your journeys as well or need to push past a plateu. Anywho, time will tell as I start them saturday. My diet has been on point so far, tomorrow through sunday is carb up and I can add some flax buns, sweet potato, brown rice or berries to my diet.

Introducing: Transformation Tuesdays

When I first got my Instagram, I found that I was more diligent in posting when I had themed days. I had "WTF Wednesdays" where I posted pics that when you viewed them you couldn't help but ask "WTF???"; "Thinspiration Thursdays" where I posted before and afters, healthy dishes and inspirational quotes; Lastly, I had "Fashion Fridays" where I posted all things fashion related that I thought were HOT. If you're interested in seeing any of that, follow me on Instagram @bitchy_bella

This pic is without a doubt one of my most favorite before & afters for obvious reasons. My own holds a special place in my heart even though it's a before and DURING because it shows me where I started and how far I have come. This one is just as close to me as it shows me ANYTHING is possible and that with hard work and determination, even I can acheieve the body of my dreams. In her after, one could assume that she's been in shape her entire life and that she's a great athlete and that she had to be born with a great foundation (small frame/naturally thin) to look that way but NO! She knew what she wanted and she worked her ASS off (literally) to get it. I want this! I wish I knew who she was or if she has a blog because I would literally STALK it. *sigh* My time will come...

Like Lightening...

I completely forgot that I wanted to post this so excuse the fact that I have 2 post in one day. Not that there's a limit or anything lol IJS.

I was shopping online and peeped something that took my breath away...

 These lightening/semi tie-dye pants GAVE ME LIFE!!! And it wasn't JUST the pants, it was the shoes...

Which were actually what I was looking for as the site doesn't show how the shoe looks on a person its just pictured by itself unless you're looking at pants or dresses...Anywho, it wasn't JUST the pants or the shoes either it was...

The weigh (I'll do that a lot...substitute way for weigh and wait for weight. I'm a thinspo blog so I can do that) they fit her was AMAZING!. I felt inspired just by looking at it lol it made me aspire to look that way in a pair of jeans: SKINNY  yet  CURVY 

I seriously thought about buying a pair for motivation but having bought many clothes for that purpose that I have yet to wear cause even 3 years later I'm STILL not at goal (insert sad/hurt/upset/crying smiley here), I decided against it because apparently that tactic doesn't work for me and I'm just wasting money smh.

So for now, I have these pics and I'm sure when I reach my goal, there will be PLENTY pants among other things that I will fall in love with and actually look how I want to while wearing them so until then....

XO----Bella

Grateful

I will refrain from gloating about having my electricity back and a full tank of gas because I know how angry it made me to see that people were getting their power and I was still in the dark. With that said, I'll keep it short and sweet. Now that things are semi normal for me, I have resumed my "healthy" eating. Today-Thursday I will eat low carb and Friday-Sunday I will add about 50-60 grams in the form of complex carbs. On friday I plan to visit my school gym for the 1st time in AGES. I haven't worked out at home since august so it's been a while and I'm excited to get back to it. My monthly is here so I won't be weighing in for a while. It's also preventing me from using my detox pills that I have a two week supply of just to help me get back on track and break into ONEderland.

That's all for now my belles, TTYL

Besos, Bella