The Real Secret to Weight-loss!

How I Really Lost Weight...

I'm asked all of the time about how I lost my weight. People are like, 'what's the secret' or 'is exercise more important or is eating healthy more important'.  Sometimes I'm asked 'How did you really lose your weight'?  Most of the time I immediately respond with what I did as far as exercising and changing my eating habits.

But the real secret to my weight-loss is that I made up in my mind that I was fed up with my current state and I was going to do whatever it takes to lose weight.  Think on R. Kelly's lyrics 'when a woman's fed up, there is nothing you can do about it..'!  This is true for anything in our lives.  I was fed up with being tired all of the time, not fitting into my size 14s, and just not feeling great about myself.  I made up my mind that I was going to do something about it and nothing or no one (including myself) was going to stop me!

A changed & made up mind is really the only secret.  I've tried herbal life and it didn't work however, it has worked for a lot of people.  I've tried HCG and it didn't work, however, that has also worked for a lot of people.  I can go on and on but the point is it didn't work because I did not have a made up mind!  I was not fed up.  I was looking for a temporary quick fix.

When we change our minds, we change our lives.  Now of course you have to do something however, the start to doing something is a result of changing your mind.  As the quote says 'Your fitness is 100% mental; your body won't go where your mind doesn't push it'!

Once you train your mind (& continue to train it daily) start right away!  Get active, drink more water, eat healthier foods and log what you eat.  Make sure you begin with the end in mind.  Is your goal to lose weight?  Is it to live a healthier lifestyle?  Is it to have more energy?  Is it to fit into a particular size?  Whatever it is write that goal(s) down and get to moving!

With weight-loss don't just rely on the scale.  Pay attention to how your clothes fit.  In the picture below I bought that particular dress knowing I could not wear it at the time but when I saw it I thought to myself 'that's the type of dressed I'd like to be able to wear' so I got it!  When I met my first goal of weighing less than 200lbs I tried it on (that's the first pic).  At that point I said I wanted to be able to wear it by my birthday.  I was able to wear it a week before my birthday (the second pic) and now it's very loose (third pic)!  Also pay attention to how you feel.  If you notice that you're not as winded when you walk up stairs or walk to your car, you are making progress!!

I really wish I could give you a top secret way that required little to no effort to lose the weight!  You simply have to make up your mind.  I say simply because it really is as simple as that however we tend to complicate it.  Anything we want to do, achieve, or succeed at requires us to make up our mind that we can and no matter what, we will do what it takes to do it!  

Now make up your mind.

Seasoned with Grace,

QueenZadia

Speak What You Seek

Happy Saturday!! We are just two days away from the end of the first half of 2014.  As I look over these past months I see the pattern I'm known for.. starting off strong then losing steam or getting bored or moving on to the next 'thing' I'm feeling... in other words not finishing what I start :|.  I've decided that I'm not going to dwell on the negatives!  I'm moving forward, speaking life and taking action!  

I'm speaking Psalms 1:3 over my life until I see it (& even after).  I don't want to be unrooted by storms, people's opinions, fear, doubt or anything for that matter.  I want to planted.  I want to be anchored!   I also want to bear fruit in every season of my life - great times, difficult times, when I have money, when I don't, when I'm happy, when I'm sad... I want to bear fruit period.  I want to be prosperous- to flourish, to be successful, to thrive (not just survive), I want to be in the money!  

I declare the next half of 2014 (and beyond) will be fruitful and prosperous!  The best is yet to come.

What are you speaking over your life?  Find a Bible verse or a quote that you desire to see in your life, personalize it by adding your name, then speak it everyday!  Of course we need to take action but the action we take will be based on what we believe!  As a man thinks in his heart, so is he (Proverbs 23:7).  Our beliefs are often shaped by what we take in and think about most of the time.  As we speak what we want to see day in and day out along with taking action we will see it manifest!

#SpeakLife

#LiveLife.. #OnPurpose

Seasoned with Grace,

QueenZadia

G.E.T. I.T.

Goals Executed Timely -  Intentional Transformation - GET IT!

I've recently been attending a local gym called Crome (Challenging Results-Oriented Measured Exercise).  To sum it up the gym facilitates 30 minute personal group training sessions with different workouts.  I had an epiphany about goals a few weeks ago after one of the workouts!

The workout for the beginner level (yep, that was me that day) was to complete 240 squats, 160 push-ups and 80 pull-ups within 30 minutes.  Going into it I thought to myself, how am I going to do all of this in 30 minutes?  I even had the thought that maybe I couldn't complete it all.  But guess what?  I was able to complete it all with time to spare by breaking down those reps.

Squats are easy for me so I set in my mind to complete at least 75 at a time before breaking for a few seconds.  Pull ups on the other hand are difficult for me!  I had to adjust my goal for those a few times!  I initially wanted to do at least 20 regular pull-ups before modifying them but I realized if I kept that goal I would not have completed the entire workout.  So I moved on to the modified version.  After about 30 pull-ups I could no longer do 10 at a time so I modified that goal and aimed for five pull-ups at a time.  The last set of exercises for me were the pushups and there was plenty of time left to complete those!  I actually found myself not going as hard as a result so I had to push myself harder!  If I did not have low expectations of myself I could have challenged myself and completed the middle level!

Okay, so you completed a hard workout, what's the point Alzadia?  Right now our dreams seem so big that it can feel overwhelming to the point of feeling defeated before we even get started!  But the fact of the matter is we can do it.  We just have to be intentional about everything we do!  We have to always examine our actions and ask ourselves if what we're doing and/or the decisions we're making helping us become the person we're meant to be and if its helping us fulfill our purpose.

So my epiphany was with goals and intentional living our purpose can be fulfilled and our dreams can be realized.  I started to think about other programs I've used like the Couch to 5K app to help me start running and the Gipis app that helped me train for the marathon.  Both of these tools also had clear goals for me to accomplish what I wanted.  So here are some of my thoughts about us going after our dreams by setting goals then making it happen!

Set Goals and Demolish Them!

"Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible"  We've probably seen it a thousand times - make sure your goals are S.M.A.R.T. (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-based)!  We've seen it so much because it actually works if applied!  What do you want- exactly; how are you going to measure what you're doing to make sure you're making progress; is the goals something that you can actually do; is your goal too far fetched (i.e. lose 50lbs in a month) or is it something that can be achieved if you work hard; have you set a timeframe to accomplish this goal and is it enough time?  But with your goals remember 'if the plan doesn't work, change the plan but never the goal'!  Don't give up so easily, modify if necessary but never give up!

Do Your Best.. Forget the Rest (as Tony Horton says)
Don't compare what or how you're doing with what or how others are doing!  We all have a purpose in life that is unique to us!  We all have different strengths, we're all on different levels so watching others and taking note of how much they've accomplished is a waste of time!  Do you and do you well!

Let Your Actions Do the Talking

We don't have to announce to the world every time we're aiming to achieve something!  Sure it's fine to tell a close friend to help you stay accountable but there is no need to tell everyone.  We tell people by doing!  Our actions speaks much louder than words!

Get a Mentor or Coach
I need to get a mentor!  I think we all do!  Just as trainers in the gym assist you along the way (with your form, pushing you, etc..), mentors also do that.  We can learn so much from others if we're open to it.

Start Where You Are and Start Now

None of this will work if we do not start!  The only perfect time to start is NOW.  Do research, ask questions, find a mentor, whatever it is we need to do to start - just do it!

Now let's - Goals Executed Timely -  Intentional Transformation! Let's execute our goals!  Let's make sure the way we live match our goals!  Let's live intentional, purpose-driven lives!  

G.E.T. I.T.

Seasoned with Grace,

QueenZadia

Half Year Review - Go Get It!

But You Have to GO GET IT!

It's June and it's time to 'Go Get It'!!  By now, we should all have defined or have some idea of what our 'IT' is!  If you read my Write the Vision post, you know I believe having a vision is important.  It's equally important for us to review how we're doing based on that vision and our purpose.  I like to review my progress every quarter!  June is perfect because it's not only the month that completes the 2nd quarter but it's also the last month in the first half of the year.

We need to Go Hard this month on our goals and Go Get It!  That's the theme for the blog this month, Go Get IT!  It's time to stop half stepping, time out for doubting, time out for walking in fear, time out for not saying and going after what we really want!  It's time to Go Get what we really want!  You know, taking that leap of faith with your entrepreneurship goals, opening your business, writing that book, going back to school, getting healthy, changing your life, doing more for yourself, ________________ (you fill in the blank) yes, that IT that you really want to do!

Don't minimize your IT! Decide what IT is and go get IT!

If we're going to Go Get It and go harder this month we need to conduct a half-year review on ourselves!  Let's evaluate how we're really doing so far with a spirit of grace (if you're like me, you're hard enough on yourself)!  Take some time today and over this week to Review, Refresh, then Run!

Review
This is all about evaluating our progress.  Looking at the goals that you've set, have you made the progress you expected to make at this point?  What is going well?  Is there anything you've checked off as being achieved (if so, celebrate that)?  What about challenges and lessons that were learned?  Have you loss steam or motivation for some of your goals?

One of my goals that I'm not progressing as well with is to finish drafting this children's book that I'm writing.  Back in March I extended the timeline I set for myself to this month.  I have not focused on this the way I should so this is one of my goals that I am going to go harder with!  What about you?

Refresh
Does your goals still fit?  Do you need modify any of them?  Are your goals effective?  Are your goals realistic?  Are you trying hard enough?  Are you focusing on the right goals?  How will you remain motivated and focused?

Goals can change.  Don't continue to go after something that just doesn't matter any more or fits within your purpose for the sake of completing it.  Move on, be purpose driven!  If your goals are too small, step outside of your comfort zone.  We never know what we can achieve if we don't try!

Are you out of your comfort zone?

Run
Le'ts Go Get It!  'So I run with purpose every step..' -1 Cor. 9:26 (NLT).  Whether you're failing or succeeding so far, run!  Go after your dreams and your desires.  But let's make sure we're doing it with intention and purpose!  Let's make sure who we are and what we're doing is getting us closer to our own dream.

Here's to all of us being in the DID category!

Seasoned with Grace,

QueenZadia