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Why do I like transformation Tuesday?

Transformation Tuesday

Transformation Tuesday

If you, like myself, are totally caught up in social media then you are familiar with the “oh so popular” Instagram “Transformation Tuesday”. Now usually I don’t like the social media games or different trends but I do find benefits to transformation Tuesday both on and off of Instagram.

During this extended weight loss journey/healthy life style challenge I have, many times, become overwhelmingly discouraged. Why am I not seeing results? Why is everyone else losing weight but me? What am I doing wrong? Should I just give up and be fat forever? And then I look through my old pictures…..and I start to compare them to current pictures. I have an app on my phone, well two, both “photogrid” and “picstitch”. I use both of these apps to put pictures side by side, almost like a collage, to see my progress side by side. When I do this I am able to compare different things on my body.

For me, it is easiest to look at how my face has changed, how my neck is changed, how I look healthier in those areas alone. I also look at how clothes fit differently and how my body is changing. By me looking at these pictures, one old and one current, I am able to re-up on my motivation and pull some more strength out to keep going. I realize, it is hard to see transformations when you look at yourself every single day. I am in the mirror everyday, multiple times a day, so I adjusted to how I looked and it got hard for me to see the difference the gym and a healthier diet was making. So I started participating in “Transformation Tuesday” by each month going into my photo album and making collages, most I keep for myself just as daily reminders that even if it is a small difference, it is still a difference!

I also realized that:
1. some people in life are never going to give you credit or never going to admit you are making positive changes and that’s okay, it sucks for them, but you don’t need their validation! Who are you doing this for? YOU!
2. It takes 4 weeks for you to see any difference on your body and just about double that time for others to, and a lot longer for people to give you sincere complements on your progress. Don’t wait for anyone to tell you that you look great, be your own motivator. (Though it is good to have positive people in your life, without two of my best friends Carolita and Jojo and their positive feedback I probably would’ve have a lot more times of being discouraged)
3. Change isn’t going to happen over night, unless you’re on Biggest Loser, take me as an example, it has taken me years and I am still not where I need to be but I have never gained the weight back because I am committed. Slow progress is better than no progress, and even moving slow in the gym is still faster than those on the couch!

My advice: Take as many progress pictures as you possibly can, don’t go into overload expecting differences every day, but take them week to week and try to wear some of the same clothes to really see the difference. If possible, have someone else take pictures for you and from different angles! Also if you are on IG follow some pages that help give you motivation, have motivation EVERYWHERE, a page I love is @bodynomics, she constantly posts exercises that are awesome to try and her follower’s transformation pictures.

Does anyone have any before/after/current pictures that they’d like to see featured on my blog? Email them to kalynflournoy@gmail.com!

transformation

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 Posted on January 9, 2015 by

 Weight Loss, Weight Loss Blog Posts

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New Recipes!!!

With the New Year comes New Year’s Resolutions, new people in the gym and NEW RECIPES!!

I must admit that I love good tasting food and love to find good tasting food that is also good for you and one of my resolutions was to do just that. I asked around and did some research myself and found a site that had all different kinds of recipes that I was instantly excited to try.

The first recipe that I tried was jerk-style chicken. Chicken is my go to protein because its inexpensive and super easy to cook!

Here is a link to the website that I found this recipe and many more on http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/jerk-style-chicken !

With my jerk chicken I made whole grain rice and green beans giving me a meal under 350 calories! (See pic below)

Another website that I absolutely love is http://www.skinnytaste.com/ !!!
Do you guys have any websites or recipes that you really love? Comment below!

Jamaican Jerk Chicken

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 Posted on January 7, 2015 by

 Recipes And Prep And Meals, Oh My!, Weight Loss, Weight Loss Blog Posts

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Importance of Meal Prepping

One thing I’ve noticed is that when I am not eating the way I should be eating, no matter how hard or how much I work out…I don’t lose any weight. While in school it was very hard to get myself to eat healthy or to even eat regularly, being a working adult, I can also see running into this problem. This made it very important for me to properly plan out my week with what food I would be eating, including breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Being that I live alone I go grocery shopping every week and buy only what I need for that week, especially because I buy a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables. I started following different Instagram accounts and pinning things on pinterest that talked about “meal prepping” so I could get a better understanding of what to do and what not to do. After all, meal prepping a bunch of foods that aren’t very good for you doesn’t help you at all. I looked into what food groups you needed to eat and what you could go without and I also was aware of what budget I wanted to stay in, fresh food is definitely costly but worth it.

Two of my favorite and very simple meal prepping meals are :

1. Baked chicken, broccoli, and roasted potatoes.
2. Homemade turkey burgers, sweet potato fries and string beans.

The most important thing is to have a balanced meal and to watch your portions. Also be sure to make enough food for the whole week! Some weeks I’ll do salmon for the beginning of the week and do chicken for the end!

For breakfast I’ll do different things such as oatmeal, whole grain cereal or turkey bacon and two scrambled eggs. If I do ever eat bread it is whole grain!

For snacks, I’ll have peanut butter with either a rice cake, apple, crackers, or celery stick. I’ll also do greek yogurt some days! For those with a sweet tooth I’ve found that freezing grapes is a good way to avoid eating candy!

These are just some examples of the meals that I have, I don’t mind eating the same thing over and over again but I know that a lot of people can’t do that without getting bored!

A good piece of advice that I’ve gotten was to remember why you are eating, because you are actually hungry and need to give your body nutrients/energy….not because you are bored or because something tastes good, or even if you are just craving sweets! Eat with a purpose and eat smart.

Some of the IG pages that I follow are @Meal @fitnessdishes @gymexcercises and @6packexercises !

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 Posted on December 23, 2014 by

 Recipes And Prep And Meals, Oh My!, Weight Loss, Weight Loss Blog Posts

The WorkOut

thick fit I’ve learned thus far on this journey to a healthier life, eating is the most important part…..but working out and being active is pretty important.

I try to go to the gym 5 times a week, but I also don’t have kids and the gym is both at my job and my apartment complex so it is not that hard for me!

At the gym I definitely like to get my cardio in. I will do 400 jumps on the jump rope and 100 jumping jacks. I also do either 30 minutes on the elliptical, the treadmill or the bike. I like to switch it up to not get too bored.

Bike: start at a lower speed for 2 min warm up (about 6). increase to 8 for 2 min and then increase to 12 for about 5-7 min. I then, go to 8 for 2 min then back to 12 and continue until 1/2 hour is done.

Elliptical: start at a low incline and speed for warm up (2 min) increase both, depending on how I’m feeling that day, but always try to push myself, and always will increase for 5-7 min or 10 min then decrease for 2. stay on for 1/2 hour

Treadmill: I get creative with the treadmill. always warm up for 2 min. some days I will jog for 26 min and then cool down for 2. some days I will start at 2min and every 5 min increase the speed and the incline until 1/2 hour, decreasing every once in a while. something new I got from Mo’nique (Queen of comedy and her IG THEREALMOWORLDWIDE) is to be at 3 speed and 12 incline and to kill it the entire 26 min (with 2 min warm up and 2 min cool down). be creative with what works for you.

Main point: get that heart rate up, sweat!

I then switch up my days by arm, abs and leg days! No specific order week by week!

On leg days: squats, wall sits, leg machines, calf raises, lunges etc.

On Arm days: resistance band exercise, arm machines, free weights etc.

On Ab days: mat exercise.

I can go into detail on what the actual exercise are that I do and even post videos or websites that I go to, to get better explanation. I also follow a ton of IG pages that show me different moves to target different areas of the body! Lastly, my awesome friends (Janel, Kiiera, Ola, Ray, Nikia etc.) give me suggestions that I can share with you all.

Find some motivation! I cut off my crazy cable package with Comcast and now I go to the gym to watch all of my favorite reality tv shows! I will faithfully be in the gym to watch Housewives of Atlanta, Beverly Hills and Tamar and Vince! I also find that when I am super stressed from either family or work or bills or what ever have you be…the gym is the answer! Find your reason!

I mentioned in another blog post that I have some small things in my house that I use on days I either don’t go to the gym or sometimes I bring them to the gym with me.

Weights: 7 lb Weights that I got from Marshalls for 4.50 on clearance. They were 5.99 regular price (still not too bad) But you can find equipment at Five Below (which I love), Target, Walmart, Dicks Sporting Goods etc. but Marshalls and Five Below will be a little easier on your budget.

Resistance Band: Brand (Marika) it is a standard resistance band that I got from Marshalls for 3.50 on clearance (they always have good things in their mini active department either full price or on sale). But again you can get this at many other stores, they are not very expensive at all.

Weighted Jump Rope: Brand (Series-8 Fitness) I got this for 5.35 at Five Below! Love this jump rope, I suggest everyone with good/decent knees get one!

Yoga Mat: I got my yoga mat at Marshalls for 7.99, I know that Five Below has great ones for 5.00 (my first one that my grandmother “borrowed” came from there and I loved it).

I use these things all the time so they were definitely worth the investment.

It is also imperative to get a good pair of running/workout shoes. I actually have a pair of reebox tennis shoes that I LOVE and a pair of Nike Shocks that I love to work out in as well. You will mess yourself up if you don’t workout in the right shoes! As far as clothes go, I use old free t-shirts that I get at random events and sweat pants, though I have bought some yoga pants/capris at Dicks and at Marshalls.

I also have gotten good sports bras (good for the bustier chicks). I got my sports bras from Target, Five Below, Marshalls, Aerie when they are having good sales and Dick’s Sporting Goods. Never pay full price for work out clothes, they are going to get smelly!

Also make good use of Amazon or Ebay!

Comment below if you shop somewhere different!
Do you have any brands you like better? Any exercise tips? Any IG pages that you love to follow?

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 Posted on December 13, 2014 by

 Weight Loss, Weight Loss Blog Posts

The Cleanse

The Cleanse

The Cleanse

I have a uncle who is very fit and into his health and he is always giving his opinion and giving advice to the family, which is always appreciated! This Thanksgiving, him and his girlfriend told me about a few “cleanses” they had done and how much success they had. I decided to try a cleanse…it was after Thanksgiving, it would test my strength and self-control, would aid in weight loss, the loss of cravings for sugars and sweets and “shrink” your stomach….why not! (Now I am not a doctor, but I did look into what I was doing and what it would do to my body.)

The cleanse is called “Eat Your Heart Out” and it is 7 days long. Each day you have a very specific list or group of foods that you can have or can’t have! Every day you drink lots of water!!

I started the cleanse on Tuesday, December 2, 2014! I went all 7 days strong and did not cheat! This was the first thing I’ve done, like this, where I felt so restricted on what I couldn’t have so of course my body decided to crave everything from fried chicken to chipotle, but self-control is key!

Day 1: Fruit Day!! (BUT NO BANANA)
I ate lots and lots and lots of cantaloupe, grapes, an orange, watermelon, grapefruit, a pear and some pineapple. It is very important to drink LOTS AND LOTS of water this day. You can not eat a banana this day, unfortunately. This day was hard because my team at work decided to eat buffalo chicken wraps and I went to the Celtics game after work where there was food EVERYWHERE….BEWARE you will use the bathroom a lot on this day

Day 2: Veggie Day (+ 1 Baked Potato)
Eat tons and tons of veggie and again drink a lot of water. On this day I ate broccoli, asparagus, carrots, a garden salad (spinach, green peppers, banana peppers, and cucumbers) NO SALAD DRESSING and the potato (which I cut in half and ate at breakfast and at dinner)…oh yeah my team decided to order Chipotle on this day.

Day 3: Fruit and Veggie Day (still no bananas and no potato today)
Combine day 1 & 2. Not that bad! Still lots of melons, berries, grapefruit etc. get creative. be colorful. lots of veggies. tons of water

Day 4: Banana Yogurt Day
I LOVE bananas so this day was fun for me. You can eat up to 8 bananas (a lot I know) and drink 8 glasses of skim milk. You can sub the skim milk for weight watchers yogurt…I actually did plain greek yogurt on this day instead…still drink a lot of water on this day!

Day 5: Fowl and Tomato Day (chicken, turkey)
On this day I diced up a tomato, baked chicken (used some pepper and parsley for seasoning) and put them in the crockpot over night! It was actually really delicious! I literally just ate this morning, day and night! Get creative on this day!

Day 6: Fowl and Veggie Day (chicken and turkey)
On this day I did a mini stir fry situation, yes… I used olive oil. I baked some chicken and some veggies and combined them to a mini stir fry with pepper for seasoning. I actually chopped cucumbers (weird I know), red, green and yellow peppers, and onions and ate it with chicken. I had broccoli and asparagus for breakfast. My stir fry for a snack. A salad for lunch (just spinach, tomatoes and broccoli and still no dressing). For dinner I ate the rest of the my baked chicken and string beans (my fav!)

Day 7: Miracle Soup Day (LAST DAY!!!)
You need cabbage, 2 large onions, celery, two cans of diced tomatoes, lipton beefy onion soup mix and water! Chop everything up and throw them in a pot or crockpot, minus the soup mix. Let cook for 10 minutes, then throw in the soup mix. Then I left it in the pot overnight! This was the toughest day for me because I was so close to the end, but preserver friends! I ate this all day, it was brutal and there was a ton left over.

When I started the cleanse I was 183.4 lbs and on the last day and the day after I weighed in at 174. I knew it was a lot of water weight lost but I was still at 177 even today! The cleanse was not easy but it is mainly a mental game, you think you’re hungry because you’re bored or thinking of food but your body doesn’t need food. I did feel lighter, my stomach felt tighter, I definitely didn’t have as big of an appetite after, and I was not craving the same things that I was craving when I first started!

I also took “Vitafusion MultiVites” that I picked up in Walmart for about 5 dollars! Please take vitamins!!!

Note, I also did not work out until Day 5 of the cleanse. At that point I went to the gym did cardio and the weights like I normally would. In my apartment I have 7 lb weights, a resistance band, yoga mat and jump rope that I slightly used on days 1-4. Please see other blog post “The Workout” for information of what brands and where I picked these things up at!

Comment below if you are going to do the cleanse! Or shoot me an email kalynflournoy@gmail.com! Let me know how it goes or if you have any questions!

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 Posted on December 13, 2014 by

 Recipes And Prep And Meals, Oh My!, Weight Loss

Let’s Get Serious

As you can see, there was a HUGE gap inbetween the time of my first post and this one, but there was a reason. I wanted to get serious about this blog, about my weight loss and to make sure I knew what I was getting myself into.

Since the last post I’ve realized I need to reveal a little more information about myself.

1. I turned 22 on November 14.

2. I started this weight loss journey freshman year of my college career, so 2010. Yes it has taken me 4 years to get where I am and I still have a lot more to go! #noshame

3.  I started this weight loss journey weighing 220 lbs and I wore a 1x tshirt and a size 18-20 in pants but LOVED to squeeze into a 16. I am now at 175 lbs in a size large tshirt and a size 14 in pants, now trying to squeeze into 12’s!

4. I’ve lost several inches off of my waist and my feet have actually gotten a little skinnier (no longer need a wide shoe)

5. I’ve tried  a lot, there is still a lot more for me try and there are people out there just like me who can benefit from my blog…so here it is!!

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 Posted on December 13, 2014 by

 Weight Loss, Weight Loss Blog Posts

Beginning of a Wonderful journey

BLOGSeptember 16, 2014 I took a peek into the forbidden vault…yes, you’re thinking right, the weight loss documentation vault locked away on my iPhone.

I knew either joy and inspiration would come or a feeling of defeat and angst. Which one did I experience? Yes you’re right again…DEVASTATION. Did I not make any progress? Had all my hard work been washed away with the gallons of wine I drank? Was the scale lying to me? Did I just want to see progress in the mirror?

As usual I took to the internet to find tips, tricks, advice, a friend, anything to help.  (See this happens at least once a month where I relapse and get depressed that all of the sacrifices I had been making had gone unnoticed to the scale and my thighs). But this time I found an article, “50 Ways to lose 10 Pounds”, so of course I read it, 10 pounds! I’d love to lose another 10 pounds. The article had sound advice and it got me to thinking, especially #15…START A BLOG, start a blog the say? When would I have the time? Where would I start? Who would even read the blog for goodness sake? ……

Well I did it, I’m doing it and you’re reading it! And I hope you continue to read. I have a passion for helping people and I find that this in turn helps me, I will try different recipes, different workouts, different products, whatever it is and will take advice….tune in and also be on the lookout for other projects!

Starting Weight 2012: 220 lbs.

Goal: 50 lbs down

Today’s Weight: …193 lbs.
Btw if anyone is interested in checking out the article follow this link http://www.prevention.com/weight-loss/weight-loss-tips/50-ways-lose-10-pounds?s=16

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 Posted on September 16, 2014 by

 Weight Loss, Weight Loss Blog Posts

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