Enjoy Your Weightloss!

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Dropping a few pounds for summer is often on many people's New Years Resolution, so I felt moved to share with you my personal weight loss tips that I currently follow on how to drop some pounds and enjoy doing it. In my opinion if you are going to lose weight then you might as well have fun doing it, right? So to keep this simple I am going give you three very detailed steps to fun, enjoyable weight loss. *Disclaimer* I am not a health adviser. I am just a young lady sharing tips on information that I read, tried, and worked for me. So it may work for you. Doesnt hurt to read, right? So now that we are clear on that lets get started!

1. Eat what you like just make sure you do not go over your caloric weight loss limit. Know that when it comes to losing pounds of fat that its all about the calories. Now when we talk about health, you do have to consider other factors like vitamins, carbs, protein, and fats. However when it comes to losing the weight from fat gain its all about the calories. If me losing weight meant I have to switch things that I like for things that I dislike, then that would not make my weight loss enjoyable. I would be miserable and try to cheat every chance I get. You will have many diet experts tell you that in order to lose weight you will have to cut certain types of food. When we talk about health, then yes there are some foods that are unhealthier than others. However eating those foods doesn't necessarily mean that you gain fat. Eating any amount of food (health or unhealthy) over your caloric weight loss limit is what cause fat gain. So again you have to consider the calories you eat for that day or week. One pound of fat is 3500 calories. Your body naturally burns a set amount of calories already in a day even if you are an inactive person. So if you eat 3500 calories more over what you burn that week you will gain one pound of fat. On the other hand if you eat less 3500 calories what you burn that week you will lose a pound of fat. So to make this simple the idea is to cut 500 calories per day from however much your body naturally burns (since 500 X 7 day = 3500). Most experts say 1-2 pounds per week is considered healthy weight loss. So the next question is how much does my body naturally burn? You probably can go to a doctor to find out the exact amount. However most of us want to try to do this without paying for a doctor visit. So the easiest way to get a real good estimate is to go to any calorie burn calculator that gives you that information when you put in your age, gender, and current weight. Any one will do considering that they are estimates, however if you just want one go to this one I use. I recommend you choose sedentary (meaning for people who consider themselves inactive) in order to get an idea of how many you burn without having to do anything. That number is an estimate of how many calories your body naturally burns in a day. So in order to get into weight loss mode just subtract 500 calories from that number and your results is the number that you will go by as your caloric weight loss limit. Therefore that is the number you use to go by for when you eat those delicious foods you like and count your calories. However be mindful to not go over that number. Weigh yourself before you start so you know how much your starting weight is. Then follow this limit for a week. Weight yourself after a week to see if you lose a pound (or more considering most people starting a weight loss journey lose alot of weight at first due to losing water weight not pounds of fat). If so then great follow that until you get to a point where your weight loss becomes stagnant then drop 100 more calories daily from that limit to see if you can start losing again. Or if you are happy with what you lost then great you reached your weight loss goal. However If doing this for the first time for a week did not deliver weight loss results, then drop 100 more calories daily to try to start losing. Remember those calculators are estimates. The key is to try to find your caloric weight loss limit to jump start your weight loss. So go ahead and enjoy the foods you like but just cut down on the calories by either cutting portions or choosing delicious foods that are lower in calorie. If you try to force yourself to eat nothing but carrot sticks and you dont even like carrot sticks, then that is going to be a hard weight loss regimen to follow especially for the long term. Please pay attention to serving sizes on the label. A bag of chips may be 150 calories but the serving size says 14 chips. That means only 14 chips is a 150 calories not the whole bag! So be careful with that. If you have food that doesn't have a nutrition label (like most fresh fruits in the market) you can visit any calorie community website that will tell you the calories of that item. I recommend Calorie King.

2. Get active doing something that burns calories that you either enjoy or dont mind doing. Now you can lose weight by just watching the calories you consume once you got your caloric weight loss limit that your body naturally burns without you being active. However burning additional calories while eating less calories just helps your weight loss more. Now most experts will tell you to hit the gym or go run. Well personally I dont like to run nor do I like going to the gym. I was miserable when I tried to use both to lose weight. However thank God, that I dont have to burn calories doing things I hate. So I basically did things that I like doing that helps burn calories like volleyball, basketball, swimming, dance aerobics, playing with my son, etc. Now if you are the type of person who doesnt like to do anything, well then the first step is probably your only option for losing weight while being inactive. However if you have things that are considered active that you like, then why not use that as an aid to your weightloss? You dont have to run to lose weight. You dont have to even touch a tread mill to lose weight, if you dont want to. If you to prefer to go walking or skating then do that instead for atleast 30 minutes or more. There are also calculators that can give an estimate of how much you burned doing an activity based off how many minutes you did it. Remember the key to your weight loss is to keep a daily deficit of 500 calories or more that equals up 3500 calories or more after 7 days to see atleast pound of fat gone week after week.

3. If you mess up by overeating or not working out then DONT GIVE UP. Just get back on track. Sometimes we have our lazy days or days that we want to pig out, and it is going to happen. Just dont make it a week/month of being lazy and pigging out. I think many people who jump on a weight loss journey, and have a cheat day feel guilty and just get into a mental and physical slump of punishing themselves by not doing what they need to do to lose weight. You are going to have to pick yourself up and be mature about the situation and say "yeah I screwed up by eating everything in sight at the buffet, but hey whats done is done let me get right back to working out or counting calories like I am suppose to". Weight loss does require self-control. So if you had a set-back, admit it, and just get back on track. If you have multiple set-backs just keep getting back on the right track till you get there.

So that is basically it. This method is way more fun and less stressful than doing what other people would usually tell you to do (example. run your behind off till you pass out or fast or eat nothing but carrot sticks). You do have to keep track of calories which isnt the most exciting thing about it. However, atleast you know exactly how much you need to eat and how many calories you burn in order to lose weight. A great more detailed information on weight loss is A Calorie Counter. This website was my big eye opener that led me to my personal fun weight loss journey. It is very thorough on information about not only weight loss but even health. The best online tool to track everything about calories and weightloss is Calorie Count.

New Years Resolution?

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Happy New Years my lovelies. I hope your holidays were just as happy and less hectic as I hope for your 2012. My apologies for not posting at all for the month of December. I guess I should add "dont forget about your own blog" to my list of New Years Resolutions (NYR). Speaking of NYR, though I find enjoyment in creating goals and challenges for myself I really dont like the idea of NYRs. Not trying to start off the New Year with a negative tone, but I feel like goals and challenges should not be a beginning of the year thing for me. In my opinion, making, following, and completing goals should be ongoing. It shouldnt start at the beginning of the year. Like if I want to lose weight, I shouldnt have a mindset of "losing weight will be my 2012 resolution". If I am 20 pounds overweight right now, then shouldnt I make that a goal for now even though its May 15th, 2011 and not 2012 yet? (Not really but you know what I mean). I have nothing against New Years, however I just dont like the idea of having a mindset of starting a goal later that should be started right now. Keywords like "Ill start tomorrow, ill start next week, next month, next year" can lead to procrastination which can hinder a goal. I know from personal experience because I can be really bad at procrastination. Like me waiting till 2012 to post something when I should have been posting since December 2011 lol. So if your like me and have goals that need to be taken care of right now, then lets start now shall we? Lets not wait till 2013 or tomorrow or some appointed time that is not today. If you have the time and the ability to do it, then why not?

Wise Preperation = Happy Holidays

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Hello my lovelies. I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving like I did. It felt really good to spend time with my family and friends and eat all that food (and I didnt even bother to watch calories cause I was going to chow down). Anyhoo....I was thinking about the term "happy holidays" and what all that includes. For many people, holiday time is a time of stress and running around like a beheaded chicken to prepare for travel, gifts, dinner, and making way for family that may come in. Its like you dont get to the happy part of the holidays (spending time with family, opening gifts, eating, relaxing, etc) after you have gone through hell to get to that point. So I got to thinking why go through hell on your way to happy? So I pondered on ways to keep holiday preperations as stress-free as possible, and you know I had to share with you guys. I am also looking forward to how you keep your holiday's happy beginning to the end. So here we go!

Avoid Racing Time
I think part of the reason that people stress over the holidays is because they often find themselves racing the clock while it is running out. Like the whole crazy holiday shoppers trying to purchase gifts the day before Christmas Eve type of thing. So the key to beating the time is to not start running while time is running out. When it seems you have all the time in the world to purchase gifts or groceries for holiday dinner, then that is the time to do it. That isnt the time to put it off and say I do it next weekend, because before you know it day before Thanksgiving/Christmas is upon you! So the earlier you start the better.

Keep Some Money in your Wallet
Holidays doesn't have to be a total bank breaker! In my Early Christmas Shopping article I did on Info Barrel, I gave wonderful tips on how to start early and save money on good quality gifts. As far as checking out the deals, couponing, using cash back rewards, and shopping online those tips still and always will apply holiday or no holiday. However starting months before December to do Christmas shopping is kind of irrelevant since December is like a day away from this post lol. Therefore, I am going to focus on how you can still save money even while you are in the month of a big holiday like Christmas. Saving money can be a family effort. This year me and my family decided to change the gift giving tradition this year. Since most of us is all grown there really was no point in each person having to buy a good 10+ gifts for each family member. We believe in doing that when children are involved, but adults not so much lol. So to keep the spirit of giving and receiving gifts for Christmas since having an empty Christmas tree is no fun, we decided on Thanksgiving to do a drawing. Whoever name we draw that is the only person you have to buy a gift for come Christmas time which save lots of money. So instead of me buying 10+ gifts I am only responsible for one gift out of my family. Another way to save money for the holidays is to cut down travel expenses. If your commute is not that far away, then take your car or a rental car instead of a plane. If your visiting family, stay with them instead of a hotel if you can stand them and they can stand you lol. One of the ways you spend so much extra money when traveling is the eating out expense on top of the price of how you get there and where you stay. During the Thanksgiving holidays, we packed lunches to eat on for the commute to and from my mom's house. So if we got hungry, we did not have to stop and spend money on our way to and from our destination. Also, instead of going out to eat directly after Thanksgiving we ate a good filling of the leftovers. We stayed Wednesday all the way till Sunday and only ate out once which was on Saturday. If you can find ways to not spend a ridiculous amount of money for the holidays, I promise you will found ways to keep your hair from turning gray or falling out. Looking at the amount of money spent on holidays use to be my biggest stress.

Avoid the Dreaded T.C.L (:::scary music::: dun dun duuuuuun)
Holidays are notorious for turning people into Scrooge clones. If you want to stay a people person for the holidays, then I suggest you avoid T.C.L. which stands for traffic, crowds, and long lines. Remember when I said you should start early? Well if you do that then you automatically will avoid T.C.L. Try not to do any holiday errands days before the actual holiday. Try to go early in the morning to shop or whatever hour that there isnt many people around. Shop online as much as possible so you dont have to leave the house at all. All these things can definitely cut down on T.C.L.

Do a Meal Plan with Your Family
If you plan the menu for the holiday with your family, then this keeps you from doing all the cooking plus you get to operate with 2+ heads instead of one. Instead of you making the turkey, the dressing, and the greens start delegating tasks to other family members. That is exactly what my mother did. She was an overachiever. She did the fantastic four (turkey, dressing, greens, and sweet potato pies) and many more dishes on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Of course we didn't complain because all we had to do was eat lol. Yes, yes I know we were selfish little piggies. However she said some changes are going to be made and she put our behinds to work. So all she did this year was the turkey and dressing while every family member contributed to other dishes which worked out perfectly especially for her. Doing this brings creativity and variety to the holiday dinner table and doesn't put too much stress on one person.

Dont Wait till After the Holidays to Relax
Actually doing things early, being wise in my spending, and avoiding T.C.L actually gives me time that I can afford to just sit on my bum and relax! For example, lets say I took care of my errands and travel preparations the first two weeks of December. Well the remaining weeks and days leading up to Christmas, means I can do something for myself without any guilt. The only thing I would have to do is cook the ingredients that should already be in my cabinet/fridge or pack if I am traveling. While everyone else is experiencing T.C.L. I will be experiencing T.L.C (tender, love, and care). So if you finished a day of shopping, cooking, or gift wrapping then simply wind down to your favorite movie or show on Netflix or ask your honey to give you a massage because you deserve it. Always, always, always make time for yourself after you made time for everyone else, and I don't know about you but I count errands and holiday preparations as time made for others lol. This helps you keep your sanity. If you saved a good amount of money because you chose to be smart during holiday preparations, then take a small chunk to buy yourself a nice outfit, some entertainment, or go out to eat and put the rest in savings.

Those are just a few of my tips to make your holidays happy, healthy, wealthy, and wise. So what say you? How do you make your holidays as stress-free as possible?

CiCis Pizza Buffet for two only 10.99!!!

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Woohoo! If you love Cici's pizza like I do then you will love this coupon that I am sharing with you today. Why? Because I wub you sooo much 0;)

Print this coupon and take you and a loved one to your nearest CiCis to enjoy 2 adult buffets and 2 drinks for only 10.99. What I really love about Cicis is that if there is a special request pizza you want them to make that is not on the buffet line, just tell them what you want and they will bring it out to your table for no extra charge. They include that with the buffet. Cant beat that so enjoy!

Asian Dramas = My Newfound Obsession

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Last month I spent the weekend with some cousins and siblings, and during my stay we got bored and browsed on Netflix. One of my younger cousins introduced to me a Korean drama called Boys Over Flowers. The drama is one of the live-action versions of a shogun manga (an anime comic catering to school-aged women adolescent to young adult) and is also the newest version right now considering there are other versions out there.

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I was kind of already dozing off, so the little bits I seen caught little interest at that time. However that little bit of curiousity led me to give it my full attention as soon as I got home from visiting family. My instant que on Netflix is full of movies and shows of all sorts, but if I dont "feel" like checking it out then I simply wont. It drives my hubby nuts that I can have a good 200-something of entertainment to watch instantly at my fingertips, yet complain "I dont know what I want to watch" which really means "There is nothing that I really want to see right now". So why this particular show caught my interest when there were other choices I really couldnt tell you. So I ended up watching it, and was hooked like it was crack mix with candy lol. I ended up staying up till odd hours in the morning knowing I had to put my little boy on the bus early in the morning. I find myself wanting more at the end of each episode (which usually cuts off at the most intense scene as most dramas do) and at the blink of an eye click "Next Episode" button. Never mind the fact that each episode is usually about an hour long, and that I have already went through 3 episodes at once and it is past midnight. After I finished about 25 worth of episodes of Boys Over Flowers in 2-3 days, I wanted more. I ended up checking out all the other versions of the manga, and went on an asian drama hunt in which I am so glad I did. So what is so great about these dramas? Well to be honest out of the ones I viewed, they are really no different from any other American or British drama that I have seen. They are usually chock full of romantic comedy, love triangles, cutesy moments, heart wrenching scenes, controversy, and oh yeah....drama. However, I think what makes these dramas addicting to me is their culture (that I personally wasnt closely familar with before) and their impeccable taste in fashion. Oh and speaking of the male actors, you get total heart throbs which looking at them in romantic scenes with their lady co-stars make you blush and say out loud "*sigh* they don't make men like that anymore". Never mind the fact that you may already be partnered up withing someone already wonderful like me lol.

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The only thing I will say about these dramas is that some parts of the acting can really look like they are acting till the point you may giggle at how corny the scene was and be kind of embarrassed for the actor/director on that particular scene. Also, out of the ones I seen they are in whatever native language the show is based off of (Korean, Japanese, etc) with English captions, so if you dont like looking at foreign movies or shows for that reason then you may not want to check out these dramas. However, I will say that I wasn't really into wanting to read captions the whole time I am trying to enjoy the movie. However I did bypass those hangups, and find them quite enjoyable to watch without any regrets. Some Asian dramas you will find on Netflix, however most of them I watched on Dramacrazy.net or Youtube. If you are interested in checking out one, I recommend The Woman Who Still Wants to Marry. Out of all the ones I watched so far, I found myself watching 10 episodes of that one nonstop on a Sunday lol. I dont think I went through that many episodes in all the other ones that I have seen. Boys Over Flowers came close.

So what say you? Have you watched an asian drama or any type of drama that may be foreign to you? What was your reaction? Would you watch another one?

Dance Central 2 Review

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Okay so not too long ago Dance Central 2 came out. For anybody that is unfamiliar with Dance Central let me fill you in on what exactly it is. Dance Central is the best dance video game ever (in my humble opinion lol) for the Xbox Kinect. Personally I think it is better than Dance Revolution, Dance Paradise, Just Dance, Zumba , Michael Jackson game, and [insert any other dance video game you can think of here]. So when I heard they were coming out with a part two I was freakin psyched and of course I bought it! What I love about the Dance Central series is that they have a great mixture of songs that is great for dancing (pop, hiphop, r&b, techno, etc) and can be used for a great fun workout. I can play the game for an hour and 30 minutes nonstop dripping in sweat yet having loads of fun. My personal weight loss philosophy is if you are going to burn calories why not do it while having fun, and this game series allow you to do just that. So if you like dancing and getting a work out then the game series is worth buying. Since it is on the Kinect, you dont have to hold a controller for it to work like you do with the Wii. It will read your body movements without you having to hold the controller. Just be aware that you do have to have both the Xbox 360 game system and the Kinect to play it. Now this review is about part two. I have already praised the series overall, but what do I think of part two compared to the first part of the series?

For the most part, I am satisfied with the song selections and new dance moves on the second series. They did bring back some dance moves from the first, which is fine since the overall dance routines are pretty different from before. Though they brought in new avatar characters you can choose to dance with (which is also fine), I am still kind of disappointed that they got rid of a few dance characters before. I favored one character from the previous series named Oblio. Most of his dances were fun! Now if they have some secret game code where he can be unlocked, I will be satisfied. However as I know for now he is not there and I was kind of pissed about that.

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Now for those who is interested in this game, and never played it before then the character situation probably wouldn't phase you one bit. Another thing that kind of annoys me about both series is that some of the dance routines are kind of disappointing for really great dance songs. For example, on part two they have a song called Goodies by Ciara. That was a pretty hot club song when it came out, and when I saw it in the song list I was excited. However the dance routine they picked for that song SUCKED in my opinion. Part one also had a few sucky dance routines that should have been better considering the great song (example Snoop Dog's Drop It Like Its Hot). Keep in mind though that is definitely not the case for all the songs. For the most part, I really enjoyed alot of dance routines that they have chosen, but there are some bad eggs in the bunch. Dance Central 2 does have a little more features. For example, you can dance beside another player in this game as an ally or beside each other in a dance battle which is more fun. In the first series you can only battle each other in turn taking. They also included more features in the break it down section (where they break down each dance move so you can learn it better if need be). However I feel like part two's break it down section is a little more tedious than the first. In part two's break it down section you say certain commands like "slow it down", "speed it up", etc. However my Kinect didnt hear me well. Also easy dance moves that I know I imitated perfectly didnt read. One would say that is a Kinect problem. However the issue is worst on part two than part one. So I would give part two a negative on that. All in all its safe to say that I still love both games and still think as a series they are the best dance game out there. Zumba for the Kinect would be the second best, while Michael Jackson for the Wii (Xbox version SUCKS) third. However do I like Dance Central 2 better than part one? For some strange reason I don't put one above the other. Even though their are features that support side by side game play with someone on part two only, I end up playing this game by myself most of the time. Therefore that feature doesn't wow me until I bring it for the holidays to my family or my hubby feels like dancing along side of me. Also, I am still hurt that I don't have my Oblio on part two LOL. So I still say I love both games equally. I personally rate this game along with part one a 9/10.

So have you played the Dance Central series? Have you played any dance video game? Do you have any family members that you plan to get the game for the holidays?

Long Healthy Natural (Kinky Curly) Hair Regimen

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So recently this month I finally cut the remaining chemically relaxed ends off my head after I stopped perming in March 2010. That is about a year and 7 months ago, and let me tell you I am loving my new hair texture.



My hair texture is considered type 4 (type 1 straight, type 2 wavy, type 3 curly, and type 4 kinky). Right now it is shoulder length when stretched out but do to it being tightly coiled it looks alot shorter (shrinkage). My hair goal is to reach mid-back length w/ the shrinkage, so the actual length would have to be longer than that. I am incorporating moisture, moisture, moisture lol, little bit of strength, protection, no drying ingredients, no heat (or very little), finger detangling most of the time, less combs & brushes, and oh yeah, simplicity!



My Hair Regimen

Anytime I touch my hair I always mist it with my water spritz (water, glycerin, and aloe vera juice) first and work in sections for ease.

I moisturize my hair every night with my water spritz & leave in creme then seal the moisture with jojoba oil & style into a set style (rollerset, twists, bantu knots) or protective style (buns and updos) using a setting lotion or gel, and protect the style with silk (scarf, bonnet, rollers, and/or pillow) at night to maintain moisture and the style for the morning.

I wash my hair once a week with a moisturizing sulfate-free shampoo then cowash (wash with moisturizing rinse-out conditioner) once a week 3-4 days later from the shampoo day and do a moisturizing deep condition mixed with honey and coconut oil twice a week on both days for atleast an hour or more.

I detangle with a comb and use my brush to style my hair only on the day I shampoo. Any other day I use my fingers to detangle and style. This prevents knots and breakage.

I apply the deep conditioner to each section of my spritzed hair, detangle (comb or fingers depending on if I am shampooing or cowashing), loose plait the hair in about 4-6 plaits on both sides of my head, pin the plaits into 4 big sections, put on a shower cap and let the deep conditioner sit for about an hour or more, and wash each section of plaits at a time while the hair is still plaited. This is the easiest method for me to keep my hair from tangling again while washing. Afterwards, I proceed to apply my leave ins, style, and air dry. If I am pressed for time I will blow dry on high cool setting instead of air drying.

Once a month I clarify my hair & do a protein deep condition mixed with honey and olive oil for strength.

Every season (3 months) I blow dry, flat iron, & trim my hair after clarifying, protein treatment, and using a leave in creme and heat protectant serum. I pass the flat iron through each section one time maybe two max. I only use heat 4x out of the year. Rest of the time I am kinky(rawr)!

I try not to swim more than once a month. Before swimming I moisturize and seal like I do at night to protect the hair from chlorine. Then immediately after swimming I clarify my hair & do a hot oil treatment with avocado oil.

I try to stay away from sulfates, mineral oil, and drying alcohol!

I do not go to a hair stylist and I do not wear weaves UNLESS its a special formal occasion like a ball or glamorous event equaling to prom/wedding (which doesnt happen often). So most of the time I save money by wearing my own God giving strands and taking care of my own head LOL.



That is pretty much my hair regimen. I think this is best for my hair texture so it can be healthy and to retain as much length as possible. I also think this is the most simply method for me and my lifestyle without sacrificing healthy hair practices.

So what about you? What is your hair texture? What goals do you have for your hair? What do you do to take care of it?