Chezon vs. the Hiney!

Team Body Solutions completed our first team charity walk on Sunday, May 23. Collectively, we covered 2.2 miles in the Walk for Autism at Atlantic Station. Not only were we able to support a great charity, we were able to get in some needed exercise. Getting cardio in on the weekends can be a chore, especially if you find yourself doing the same types of exercises that you did during the week. But the Walk for Autism was the perfect solution.

Because there were so many families walking with us, we started off slower than I expected. But further into the walk an incline was introduced and I was able to get my heart-rate up to the proper zone a few times. Yet, more importantly, I was able to support the Autism Awareness cause with great people. Our team consisted of our adorably cute baby mascot, Giselle; power mom and Body Solutions’ nucleus, Tauheedah; my supportive weight-loss guru, Dan (later nicknamed, Mr. Dan); his beautiful and ambitious girlfriend, Melissa; personal trainer and teeth-blinger, Mike; bubbly sweet Jen; funny and friendly, Jackie, warm and outgoing, Dawn; and my impossibly tall and handsome boyfriend, Jason. Halfway through the walk I was able to catch up with my favorite super-mom-friend, Pam, and her courageously creative son, James.

I’m telling you, everyone needs an active 5 year old on walks like this. James would look at all of the people behind us and excitedly exclaim “We’re winning! We’re winners!” He also motivated me to do the “Hiney!”

“What’s that?” I asked.

“When we walk, you gotta get your knees up high! Higher! Yeah, like that!”

I looked down at James and said “Mr. Dan put you up to this didn’t he? Mr. Dan has me doing exercises like this in his gym!”

“Nope! I learned this in school!” I looked at James suspiciously while lifting my knees. I’m still not convinced that James and Mr. Dan aren’t in cahoots.

Regardless, it was a perfect Sunday morning walk. There was only one thing missing: You! Promise me you’ll join Team Body Solution’s next charity walk.

Chezon vs. the Low-Tech Highs

On Mother’s Day, my father asked me if I would be free to hang out with him next week. Reminiscent of our Daddy Daughter Days we would have when I was younger, he asked if I could make some time to hang out with him. “Sure” I replied eagerly.

When we connected today, my dad inquired about my exercise regimen and I explained about the different types of cardio workouts I did outside of my gym time. He suggested we head over to Ikea and “walk around”. Seriously, that’s the thing I love about my dad. He’s so “low-tech”. All we needed was to keep it simple: let’s talk and walk.

We covered the Ikea showroom floor at a brisk pace. My dad’s always walked quickly, so I had to keep up. He’d ask random questions -- everything from schoolwork inquiries to dieting to comments about Ikea’s inventory -- which kept the conversation flowing. When we got to the stairs, I slowed down and asked if he’d prefer to take the elevator. He looked at me and said “You can handle this. I know I can!” And off he went jogging up the stairs. By the time we hit it a second time, no need for questions, I was already two steps behind.

Hanging out with my dad was the best kind of exercise I’ve done since I’ve started this journey. We walked through Ikea numerous times and when we were done, walked around the neighboring shops. Walking around with him, the time flew by, and before I realized it, more than 2 hours had passed.

Back home, my dad and I collapsed on the couch. Laughing and being silly all day with my dad had put a wide smile on my face. He turned to me and said he’d be headed back to his house soon. He got up to leave and turned to give me a hug. “You’re a good kid! You gotta keep this up! Okay?” Hearing him say that brought tears to my eyes. “I will dad, thanks! Thanks for everything! I love ya!”

I gotta be honest. My father’s comments today were worth more than any pounds I could ever lose!

Chezon vs. the Apartment Gym Treadmill

I absolutely hate the treadmill at my apartment complex's gym. Despite the time I've spent on it, we've developed no rapport. Truthfully, I think I'm spoiled by the equipment at Body Solutions. This one has less displays and I'm always unsure of my progress. For me, it's all about confirmation. I need to see an indication that shows how long I've been walking and the exact distance I've covered. It's a mental thing. Matter of fact: it's a "light at the end of the tunnel" thing.

Here's what happened before I got on my treadmill at home:

(Stage: at Body Solutions)

Dan: "So are you headed home to do your cardio?"

Me: "Yeah, I wanna be closer to home because I have to hurry to orientation at school afterwards."

Dan: "Okay, you're going to do 5 miles on the treadmill, right?"

Me: "5 miles? Can't we do 3 miles today and 2 miles tomorrow?" (Between you and I, I really believed this would fly with Dan, but I forgot, he had backup.)

Mike (another trainer at Body Solutions): "5 miles? Che, you can do 5 miles, easy!"

(Mike has this patent pending smile that he uses to convince people that they can do anything. I swear, as soon as he said that, he smiled and I actually saw his teeth bling like in the toothpaste commercials.)

Me -- mentally: "Did he really just bling his teeth at me? He did! He blinged his teeth at me!"

(Truthfully, the teeth blinging distracted me and I couldn't remember if I agreed to the 5 miles or if we settled on my compromise.) I headed home to the gym at my apartment complex in a daze.

When I jumped on the treadmill, I started watching "Up in the Air" (George Clooney's latest movie) and began walking at a brisk pace. Like I said, the most frustrating thing about my treadmill is it doesn't have accurate progress displays. If the movie's interesting, I'll soon forget about everything else, but if it doesn't hold my interest, I need constant place markers.

During the slow parts, I stared at the treadmill lights wondering what was really going on. How much longer did I need to walk? How far had I come? It wasn't until the credits rolled, the treadmill slowed and an hour and a half had passed, that the treadmill revealed I'd only walked 4.98 miles in 35 minutes. Apartment Gym Treadmill, welcome to my bad side!

Chezon vs. "THE STAIRS"!

Stairs are a sadistic plot created by the government to torment anyone who's out of shape. There I said it! And I don't care if the FBI is monitoring this blog! The truth shall set me free!

Mind you, I haven't perfected this conspiracy theory, but my gluts, my gut and my knees know it's true! And the whole world has bought into it. Look around! Stairs are everywhere!

And, unfortunately, I must report, Dan's fell for it: hook, line and sinker!! He loves 'em! He tells me to go to the top of a flight of stairs; when I arrive breathlessly panting, he asks me to come back down. When I get to the bottom to find out what he wants, he doesn't want anything, he doesn't give me anything. The only thing he wants me is for me to head back up to the top. Sheesh! Again and again with this torture!

And to add insult to burning thighs, he times me! He has this little red stopwatch of evil! It's evil, I tell you! I know this because this week I climb the same amount of stairs in a shorter amount of time than I did last week! Each week he reports that I'm getting more and more in shape, and although my heart rate recovers quickly, I'm still too winded to disagree. Truth be known, I'm afraid to disagree; from fear he might ask me to climb the stairs again to prove his point. He's stubborn like that! But don't tell him I said that. Tell him you heard it somewhere.

Chezon vs Busy Schedule (Let's Call it a Draw)‏

Dieting on a busy schedule is like trying to catch an eel with your bare hands underwater: it's not impossible, but it can feel that way.

The last couple of weeks have been difficult. Just when I believed my personal and professional schedule couldn't be stretched any further, we landed in the middle of a family emergency. My boyfriend's uncle had a sudden heart attack. Back and forth we drove over 50 miles to comfort family and offer support. Unfortunately, his uncle passed away a week later.

During this time, I struggled trying to remember to eat. And when I did remember, the chore lied in finding healthier alternatives within vending machines. After a day or two, I quickly learned, my sanity lied in packing my handbag with bottled water and nonperishable snacks.

Now, my life is trying to settle down. I'm still busy trying to play catch-up, but I'm proud that despite the challenges, I didn't completely fall off of my diet bandwagon. It's times like this where you embrace the small victories. Stay healthy, people.

Death Match: Chezon vs. Comfort Cravings

I've hit that phase of "healthy eating" where I'm starting to crave comfort foods. On the way home from the gym today, I had to continuously fight the urge to pull into a familiar and fattening fast food restaurant. I had done such a good job working out; I didn't want to blow it on a fast fat feast that had been marinated in grease. Yet, I didn't have a lot of time to prepare a meal, because I had to study before my evening class.

For lunch, I ate a sandwich and soup. Filling, yes, but I as I drove to school, I passed numerous unhealthy reminders that my cravings were in the backseat.

Luckily, my class was cut short tonight. So as I climbed into the car, I realized, I have a little extra time to prepare something good for dinner tonight. Here's what I came up with: "Homemade Beef and Broccoli". It's quick (from start to finish, it took about 15-20 minutes) and it tasted just as good as ordering it from my local Chinese take-out. Great way to save time and money!

Diet Low: I'm definitely going to have to clean out the backseat of my car to make sure there aren't any more cravings back there.

Diet High: To give the brown rice a little more flavor, I tossed it in the wok to coat it well before serving.

Homemade Beef and Broccoli

Ingredients
--1 tbsp olive oil or Non-Stick spray
--1/2 cup low sodium beef broth
--1 package broccoli
--1 red pepper diced
--1/2 cup chopped onions
--12 oz sirloin steak, cut in strips
--3 tbsps low sodium soy sauce


Directions

In a skillet or wok heat the oil or coat with nonstick spray; add the sirloin steak strips. Cook thoroughly.

Remove steak. Set aside.

Add to wok prepared vegetables.

Cook, stirring quickly and frequently until the vegetables are crisp/tender and onions are browned.

Stir in the beef strips

Add in the beef broth and soy sauce. (Add 1 teaspoon of cornstarch if you would like to thicken the sauce.)

Toss and coat vegetables and beef

Serve over brown rice

Coffee, Bliss & Motivation

I ran into the sweetest woman at Starbucks today. She struck up a conversation regarding the look of bliss on my face after I took my first sip of coffee. I explained, "Usually when I come in here it's for a frappe or something…anything that leaves room for whipped cream. But today I made a better choice." She asked if I was on a diet. Suppressing the desire to move my fingers into a cross to shield my face, I corrected her. "No, I'm making better lifestyle choices." I stirred my coffee. I HATE the word "diet".

She told me she had been going to a local gym for 4 years. (She's in great shape.) She was explaining it took her roughly a year to find the right trainer. She would talk to different ones about her concerns but the majority of them ignored her comments. She said, "I'm well over 50 years old. I can lift a lot of weights but my doctor doesn't want me to. And the trainers kept going higher & higher with the weights." She went on to explain her fragile bone condition and her concerns with them breaking.

Pretty intense conversation before your first cup of coffee, huh?

It reminded me of those doctor commercials that encourage you to ask questions. Why do we feel more comfortable at Starbucks perfecting our beverage orders than we do at the doctors or at the gym?

Diet Low: Everything under the bakery glass tried to seduce me! (I kicked mass! None for me!)

Diet High: When I'm over 50, I wanna look as good as my Starbucks pal. You can find motivation everywhere!

Death Match: Che vs. Yogurt

I usually can't finish an entire container of yogurt. It's a mental thing. The consistency is like pudding, yet after one bite my taste buds are yelling "Fool! This isn't pudding!" I hate disappointing my taste buds. They're not ones you should cross.

Dan recommended that I try greek yogurt instead. He's not steered me wrong yet, so I purchased some with an open mind.

First bite warning: greek yogurt's texture is a lot like cottage cheese without the weird, chunky lumps. Because my buds were too busy trying to pinpoint the texture, I wasn't turned off immediately. Before the second bite, I crushed granola into it. The granola's sweetness and nutty crunch mixed with the honey flavored greek yogurt made for a perfect snack.

If you're going to make healthier life choices, you gotta try new things….even yogurt.

Diet Low: It's not ice cream :-(
Diet High: My taste buds aren't pissed off :-)

Che the Celeb!

“Life happens fast.” Ferris Bueller said it; so it must be true! It’s only been a couple of weeks, but Fox5’s Beth G contacted Body Solutions to cover the contest results. They wanted to meet the two “losers” Jomal & me, to find, first hand, our perspective of the contest. We made arrangements for the news teams to come to our house and witness how our life has changed. When I got news they were coming, I immediately started a honey-do list. My poor boyfriend worked out hanging, moving and arranging things in my apartment – (thanks babe!) Me? I cleaned and cleaned the same things over and over. Anything to focus my nervous energy.

When I get nervous, I hit two extremens. Either I munch on everything I get my hands on; or I won’t eat at all. This became a test of balance. I kept forgetting to eat, but when I realized what I was doing, I corrected the behavior with healthy choices. Once the crew arrived, Beth immediately put my best friend and I at ease. She’s easy to talk with. We covered diet, support systems and health secrets. As a whole, it’s ninja worthy. Let me know what you think!

Chezon: -4 lbs., Potato Chips: 0!!

Battle One: Chezon vs. The Supermarket

After our introduction on Monday, Dan focused on fully integrating me into the Body Solutions family. We took my measurements and weighed me (ugh!). Before I climbed on the scale, Dan asked me if I wanted to know my number. "Uh, no, or else I'll obsess about it." But true to my female form, I changed my mind as soon as I stepped off the scale. Dan replied, "This number is what happened yesterday. Let's talk about what we can do today!" He gets a gold star for that answer.

We did a cardio assessment to determine my heart-rate-zone -- my new magic number. Once my goal was identified, our new focus was adjusting my exercise to stay within that zone for the allotted time. Nikki became my treadmill neighbor and within no time, we inclined and increased ourselves into our respective target zones. Between my breathy chatting and Nikki's honest & refreshing dieting stories, I'd achieved and surpassed my workout goal.

Nikki & I went up front to discuss grocery shopping with Dan -- if I'm going to be serious about this; I needed healthier food in the house, stat! The best piece of advice Dan gave me was to plan out every meal and use the plan as a grocery list ~ which means, if potato chips are not budgeted into the diet plan, there wasn't a reason to go down that aisle, right? Oh, it sounds so logical.

It sounds -- and felt -- weird, but I had to go online and research foods. I couldn't "think" of anything healthy I wanted to eat, so I needed sparks. With my trusty plan, I walked into Kroger & gave myself a pep talk: "You can do this, Che!" This dude started looking at me like I was crazy…probably because I said that out loud.

If Kroger had a map, the bakery section would have been marked with a big red X: "Temptation Here!" It takes Olympic style willpower for me to say no to cannoli's, so I put on my ipod to distract me from the sound of them calling my name. Fruits and veggies were easy to pick up -- they were easily planned. The struggled lied in the carbs. Is there such thing as a high fiber, low carb, low-calorie bread and more importantly, could I find one before I was overwhelmed by the call of the nearby bagels?

The bagels were playing hardball and I was feeling weak, so I walked away. Honestly I covered extra mileage in the store because I ended up walking away from the bread two times. In the frozen food section, also known as "Lean Cuisine and Veggies Central", I barely avoided a head-on cart collision with another woman. As angrily she passed me, I noticed she had "deli flats" in her cart. Those seemed like exactly what I was looking for. I hesitantly headed back to the bread section, and passed the potato chip aisle yet again without putting anything salty into my cart. (Yea, me!) I searched for the "Deli Flats" and was pleasantly surprised to find they were exactly what I needed!

At the checkout, the woman in front of me had a bag of popcorn, a bag of potato chips and some glue. She looked at me loading the conveyor belt and commented on how "good and healthy" I was being. Then she put down the bag of potato chips and said she didn't need them. I smiled for her and me.

Diet high: "7 Grain Deli Flats" have 100 calories per serving and 5 grams of fiber.
Diet low: It was really hard convincing that bag of BBQ potato chips that it didn't need to come home with me.

Introduction to my Battle of the Bulge!

I’m not afraid to admit it.  I’m a loser!  Even my best friend knows it!  He’s the one who entered me into the “Are You in Love with a Loser” contest over at Body Solutions.  When they called to tell me I was a “loser”, I thought, “Great!  Now everybody knows it!” But that’s not necessarily a bad thing, is it?

According to my best friend, I’m smart, talented and fiercely loyal.  If you ask me, I’ll tell you I’m a ninja warrior…. at least I am in my head.  So now I’m trying to get my body aligned.

Going into battle, I need to make sure my weight loss equipment is intact:

• Weight loss goals? Check
• Body Solutions philosophy? Check
•  Knowledgeable personal trainer? Check
•  Support system? Check
• Baby carrots? Check
• Heart rate monitor? Check
• Will power? Check
• Motivation: Check

Stay tuned as I chronicle my weight loss journey; the ups, the downs, the sizes, the pounds.  Trust me, I’m well-prepared.  I have my sports bra on and I’m ready for battle!

*Trainer Talk: Hello, internet!  My name is Dan McGrath and I am Chezon’s personal trainer at Body Solutions.  Although this blog will mainly be about her weight loss journey, I will be sprinkling in some tips, rationale and general witty commentary along the way.  I’m very excited to be working with Chezon – as you can already see, she’s quite the character!  Having a motivated, upbeat, funny client always makes my life easier!  Lets all cheer Chezon on.. she’s going to do great!