Archive | August, 2014

Weight-Loss Draft

18 Aug
You see me struggling, but the woman reflected in the mirror is part of my O-line. That's Willa.

You see me struggling, but the woman reflected in the mirror is part of my O-line. That’s Willa.

Skinny People, my favorite time of year is fast approaching. In 17 days, the Packers will face the Seahawks in the first game of the NFL season.

I. Can’t. WAIT!

I’ve made my love of football abundantly clear on this blog. It’s a fun game to watch. Over the years I’ve been able to garner an understanding of the rules (even if they do change season to season).

What I haven’t been able to do is get into pre-season football. I understand it’s necessity. Teams need to weed out the players that aren’t going to work throughout the season. It’s a good way to get fans excited about the upcoming season. And it’s a good way to get superfans started on their fantasy drafts.

Fantasy drafts are where people, from superfans to the indifferent gambler, draft players from various teams. Trades can be made throughout the season and some leagues offer winners bragging rights or even money. But to be a good general manager, you have to know what skills are key to a great team. You can pick a marquee player because you like him and he’ll get more minutes. You also have to keep in mind what kind of injuries this player has had, and what kind of team he plays with.

Cicely, how the hell does this relate to weight loss? you’re asking.

Well, many times on this blog, I’ve said that your weight-loss journey is an individual sport, and it is. You will lose the weight on your own. You will do the work and you will monitor your eating habits as an individual. But somewhere along the way, you’re going to need support. You’re going to need someone to put a bug in your ear (or up your butt) to encourage you to do better.

Getting yourself ready to take the journey is like drafting for your fantasy team. You’ll need to have a good defense ready, but also have a squad of support that will help you get a win. Just remember, you’re the quarterback on this team, so you call the plays.

If you’re totally on your own (without any groups or classes to attend), then your running back may very well be your trainer. A good trainer is hard to find. So when you find him/her, grab hold with both hands. Like the relationship between a quarterback and running back, you want someone who understands your rhythms and goals and works with you to help you achieve them. Your trainer cannot and will not do the work for you. But he will be the first to notice when you’re doing better and when you’re slacking off. A good trainer is not only someone who prepares you physically for the challenges ahead, but is also like a therapist who will listen. The beginning of your weight-loss journey is a shock to the system, and a trainer knows when you’re body is trying to psych your mind out. He will listen to you complain, and then show you that you can do more.

After you’ve picked your running back you’ve got to have your O-line (offensive line). These people are close family and friends. I don’t always advise letting people in on your journey, because it’s personal. But close family and friends whom you know will be nothing but supportive  should be clued in on what’s going on with you. They will be the ones who will compliment you when you’re doing well. They’ll join you on morning walks or runs for you to have some company. For me, the best person on my O-line was my grandmother. When I began my journey while living in Atlanta, I had to let her know that all of her Sunday dinner usuals weren’t going to work for me. So she would make sure to have some sliced cucumbers (my favorite) set aside for me. Or ff she was frying chicken that day, she’d bake a couple pieces for me to have with my meal.

The defensive end really relies on you. If you have a lot of junk food in your house, and you’re committed to starting your journey, then that stuff has to go. If you’re planning to start running, you’re going to need good shoes. Head to the store now and get sized for the right shoes that will work with the surface you’re running on. You know whether you’re an early riser. Don’t schedule training sessions or classes at times you know you’re not going to be up for. Don’ t set yourself up to fail.

 

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Forever an STL Girl

14 Aug
photo: The Associated Press

photo: The Associated Press

Editor’s note: This will be brief because it’s off topic. But I have to share.

One night, many, many moons ago, my boyfriend at the time was driving me home from night at the movies. My boyfriend had a Ford Taurus, which at the time was the isht car to have.

It was about 12, 12:30 in the morning when we were pulled over less than a mile from my house. The officer asked him to step outside the vehicle without asking for license and insurance. They talked for what seemed like 15 minutes, then I had to pass the insurance info out the window. When my boyfriend got back into the car, he was seething.

One thing you’ve got to know about this guy is that he was and is one of the most easygoing people you’d ever meet. Sure, he’s he’s an enormous human being, but it takes a lot to get him to grit his teeth in anger. The officer pulled us over not because he was driving recklessly, not because he was speeding, not even because of some citywide curfew for teenagers that didn’t exist. It was because my young, black, teenage boyfriend was driving near the speed limit. That’s right: boo had the audacity to drive 34 in a 35 mile-per-hour zone in a nice car.

I tell this story because this light form of police harassment happened almost 16 years ago less than two miles from where an 18 year old, not unlike my ex in stature, was killed by a police officer working in North County St. Louis.

Not all police officers choose to be antagonistic toward the black citizens of North County. But I grew up not far from where the turmoil from last weekend started. I know the anger and frustration that the people there feel. I still have family living in that community. My cousin owns a business in that community. And my heart breaks every day that I see new stories come out.

I’ve met some of the journalists covering this story, one of whom was arrested, and I commend them for going after what appear to be war-zone stories. I have to watch from afar, relying on MSNBC, Twitter and the occasional family phone call to keep me updated.

What I can tell you is North County is not Iraq nor Afghanistan nor the Ukraine. It is my home, and it is hurting. I want justice for Mike Brown. I want peace in the home that I love so much. And I want a resolution that causes no more pain to a grieving public.

I’ll leave you with a song that has been on heavy rotation on my iPhone since my cousin suggested it the other day. I hope it eases you as it did me.

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You ARE Beach Ready

11 Aug
Don't you just want to wiggle your toes around in that?

Don’t you just want to wiggle your toes around in that?

While many of you parents are jumping for joy now that your kids are out of the house and back in school, a lot of us footloose-and-fancy-free folks are lamenting the last few weeks of summer. There are fewer cookouts on the horizon. Fewer screenings in the park. And, worst of all, fewer beach days to take advantage of.

I love the beach. I love the sand in my toes, the smell of the ocean, even the guy trying to sell me a bathing suit from an umbrella. Many of you worked really hard during the winter and early spring to prepare for this moment. You wanted a summer slim down. You wanted to be beach-body ready. But what if you were ready the whole time?

Stick with me, Dorothy. The idea of being beach-body ready is all subjective. I’ve put myself through this same mental torture.

What if my thighs jiggle too much?

What if my stomach isn’t flat enough?

What if somebody sees me?

Here’s the thing: all of these things have been true the entire time. Does that mean you shouldn’t enjoy yourself? Absolutely not.

The only thing you need to be beach ready is sunscreen. If you’re like me and enjoy the beach, then go to the damn beach. Put on a bathing suit that you feel comfortable in. It doesn’t have to be a teeny-weeny bikini. It could be a one-piece with a skirt or a sarong. It could be a nice tank and boy shorts. Hell, it could be a muumuu. Don’t let the current state of your weight-loss journey prevent you from doing the things you enjoy.

The sun isn’t always your enemy. Slather on some SPF 50 and get some Vitamin D. Let the salt water and sand exfoliate your skin. Get in some cardio with a swim. And do it all in beach wear that is comfortable to you.

That’s what some women are doing with the hashtag #fatkini. If you haven’t seen it on Instagram, women (mostly of larger size) around the world are posting pics of themselves in their two pieces. And they are werking it! They are on the beach, in the pool or even hanging out in the park looking like the fly divas they are. They are enjoying themselves regardless of societal pressures to look another way.

The messages they’ve posted with these photos are inspiring.

http://instagram.com/p/q8CV2IzDrU

http://instagram.com/p/rizQSYiCPj/

This woman preaches body positivity. And that’s one of the things this blog strives for. I want you all to just be comfortable in your skin. The weight-loss and healthy-lifestyle journeys are difficult. You will leap tiny mounds and giant mountains to reach your goal. But you still have to live life in the process.

I’ve said before that there are tiny steps up this big mountain. That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the progress you’ve made. So what if you haven’t lost your goal weight by the end of summer. Are you going to wait until next summer to enjoy the sun and sand? That’s ridiculous. Enjoy it now, enjoy it again next summer. There’s no need to punish yourself when there’s so much life to live.

So go out, find that suit that suits you, and rock it in the sand. No one’s going to live this life for you.

How are you taking advantage of the last few weekends of summer?

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Fun Run

7 Aug

You know how at carnivals, there’s always some yahoo putting together balloon animals? In the end they always look snakes. Well what if you could take that idiotic joy and use it for your run?

While it’s not my experience, I’ve come across many people who don’t like to run.

“It’s too hard.”

“It’s too sweaty.”

“It’s boring as hell.”

The first two, I can’t help you with. But for those of you who may have uttered the last phrase a time or two, I’d like you to meet Claire Wyckoff.

Claire found a really cool way to spark up her runs. She’s using the Nike+ running app to draw different routes. For example, say you’re out for a run and thinking about stripper poles (just go with me). Claire, who according to her website lives in San Francisco, has found a route that lets you draw a person dangling from a pole.

pole

Or, say you’re in the mood for aliens. You just saw Guardians of the Galaxy and creatures from other worlds are on your mind. Claire has found a route that looks like a space invader. This one you can tell she paused her run to do the eyes.

alien

But far and away, Claire’s most popular posts are phallic. Because in the end, we’re all 13-year-old boys, even those of us without wangs. So far she’s got four penises on her Tumblr page and she shows no signs of slowing.

penis

Claire is running about three to six miles and having fun with it. She’s actually mapping out new courses and taking time to enjoy her workouts. I applaud her. Running the same route over and over can be mundane and sap the joy out of your workout.

I’ve said before  that you’ll be taking tons of small steps to reach your goal. So why not have fun in the process. Map out a run of an angel, or a horse, or a penis.

I’m going to try it out on one of the running apps I use. I’ll let you know how it goes.

photos courtesy of Running Drawing

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Yonce Taught me

4 Aug

SAM_2641Editor’s note: This recap is late as I went to the On the Run tour stop in Chicago a couple weeks ago. I’ve been in the middle of my own three-city tour, so I haven’t had time to write up a post about the show. Anyway, here’s what I learned from the Carters.

1. Traffic is stressful. What should have been an hour-and-a-half drive to Soldier Field ended up being three hours, two if which were spent in standstill traffic. It turns out when the Obamas want to see Bey and Jay, the rest of us have to bow down and wait for Secret Service to secure the area. The good news is that the show started late, so we only missed the first 10 minutes.

2. ‘Tom Ford’ is a great stress reliever. My friend and I were rightfully pissed to have to wait so long to get into the show, but somehow Jay Z telling us to “clap for a n—- with yo trappin’ ass” put us right on easy street.

Beyonce (and I) sang ‘Ex-Factor’…and it was everything.

3. There’s nothing like a sing along. Belting “Resentment” is great. Shouting it at the top of your lungs with 61,000 of your new besties is even better. Also, seeing what you look like when you’re belting one of your favorite songs is what Oprah calls an ah-ha moment.

4. Dance like no one’s watching. Sure, I was surrounded by thousands of people. But I’ve been practicing my Beyonce moves for a while and I got bodied with the best of them. As is always the case when I’m in Chicago, it was chilly. But my fellow fans kept the stadium nice and warm with all their dancing, too.

5. You can sleep and still grind. I’m thoroughly convinced that the Carters haven’t slept since 1998. They took the phrase “you sleep, we grind” too literally because it’s evident in the amount of work they put into the show. Of course, they didn’t physically do the lighting or the sound. They didn’t choreograph all the routines. But their stamps are imprinted on every minutia of the show. They’re the hardest working couple in show business and eventually they’re going to run out of juice. Don’t let that be you. Take time to enjoy what you’re doing. Work hard, but enjoy the fruits of your labor.

6. It takes a village. With that, recognize that they have teams of people helping them achieve their success. Temper your expectations when you tell yourself you want a body like Bey’s or Les Twins (her fine, French dancers). That takes a lot of time and will not happen over night.

7. Power of positive influence. One of the things I noticed is how much more toned Jay is. Most of us remember Jay of the ’90s. Lanky, but a little doughey. Modern-era Jay seems to be taking a keener interest in his health. He even went vegan for a month last year. That’s always nice to see.

8. One monkey doesn’t stop a show. Back in the old days of 2004, Jay-Z was on tour with R. Kelly. They had a falling out and R. Kelly left the tour. I had tickets to see them both, so I was a little concerned about what was going to happen. Right after R-uh left, Jay announced it would be him and friends. It was like a circus, with Mary J. Blige, Ciara, Bone Crusher, Lil Jon, Lil Scrappy, and a bunch of other Lil people. Jay told us he promised us a show and, “One m—f— monkey don’t stop no show.” I say all that to say the Carters are professionals. Whatever issues they’re having at home, people paid a lot of money to see them on stage together and they will honor that commitment. Anything else is none of my business.

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