Jan. 12 - Reference Guides for Structure

Coach Brittani had me logging in everything that I was eating for the first week. I didn't do so bad, but it has to get better!  I realize that I can't keep the same eating pattern that I had, if I want to create a healthier lifestyle, so I'm going to use the 4 books shown to get on the right path. I love the SHRED book by Dr. Ian!  It has a fabulous eating schedule that I will post below.  This week, my goal is the use the SHRED book's eating guide and meal plans to kick this journey into high gear.  I took my weight today and I didn't lose any weight and I didn't gain any either.

Here is the eating schedule that I'm going to try and maintain for the next few weeks.  In order, to maintain this schedule, I'm going to have to prepare several meals at one time and do all the prep work at once.  I'm going to start with making some of the soups from the 2 DAY DIABETES DIET book.  I'm using the SOUTH BEACH DIET BOOK to find some low carb dishes. If I can stay off bread, carbs and sweets for a few weeks, I might see some weight loss. I'm loving the green tea and honey, but this week, I'm going to try far less honey.

I spent the day working on this new company I'm starting with 2 other partners. After being in the publishing industry over 10 years and supporting many new authors and alot of veterans, I've learned one thing, we all try to do too much!  Once you become overwhelmed, sometimes you lose sight of the vision. So, I'm creating a new company that will take the burden off new business owners, artists and authors! I'm truly exciting about it, but not ready to launch it right now. I'm still working on training the team.

My grandmother use to get on to me about my mouth as a teen. I was a mean girl and I bully!  While my grandmother created this selfish, egotistical monster, she tried to reign me in as often as possible. Sometimes it worked and most times it didn't.  I'm still suffering a few stripes from those bad times!  Karma is a beast!  But, it hasn't changed my mind or re-shaped my grandmothers words:  everybody has the power to heal, create, and destroy within them. It's up to you to determine how to use that power!  My great-grandmother used her power to save others from themselves and she was definitely a healer.  My grandmother was a creator!  She gave people the encouragement and the inspiration to do whatever they wanted. She might have given me too much...LOL!

Today, I encourage others to use their creativity to start a profit making business!  We all have the power to create!  The foundation to starting a success journey with this creativity is to create a SELF that will recognize the talent, use that talent, and that will live a life without fear or judgement of that very talent!   Think about it!

Jan. 10 - It's My Time

Whew...Friday was a beast of a day!  My mind was overloaded with work and stress at home. The contractors called at the break of dawn wanting to come in and fix the drywall in the kitchen and storage area. I wasn't up and nor was my partner!  He took over the entire kitchen area before anyone even had breakfast.  This was the start of a bad day for me. Not to mention my partner had this attitude all day.  After inquiring as to what was wrong, I kicked in the FOUR AGREEMENTS and said:  I'm not taking this personal and I'm not making any assumptions!

I went off course on the eating right and only drank 3 glasses of water all day.  By the end of Friday night I was in such brain fog, I couldn't calm down to do my nightly unplugging, I didn't blog about my food and I didn't say one prayer.  I just zoned the hell out!  My nerves were shot because EDC Creations has 4 books releasing on Tuesday and a total of 16 radio show in Jan!  The problem is, the authors haven't sent in all the information we need and my team of outsource girls are sweating me something fierce!  But look, all is well!

Today, Saturday, I was able to get it together and get back on track!  I woke up and meditated from the bed.  And totally reflected on the banner shown above. It's my time!  I've spent years trying to be the perfect: sister, daughter, mother, wife, partner, business owner and friend. I'm just want to focus on being the BEST Ella I can be now for Ella!  The only expectations I want to live up to today are my own! I deserve to live the best life ever at 50 and in my mind...it starts now!  My daily chant goes a little something like this:  My name is Ella Curry and I succeed in all that I do. The past is over and done. I'm living in the moment. Life loves me and I love life! 

Losing this 100 pounds is my primary focus for 2015, along with launch my career as a women's empowerment coach!  I know that THIS year is going to bring about the positive change I expect. I have all the tools, faith and team members I need to succeed. I'm starting each day with the declaration that I'm winning!  After all, my thoughts, my self talk, is what creates my future. 

HERE IS MY FOOD TRACKING FOR TODAY

Right now I'm only able to drink about 4-5 bottles per day.

BREAKFAST
8:20 -  Three mini gluten free pancakes, shown on above. Baked hash-brown, 2 pieces of bacon and cranberry juice.


LUNCH
1:20 - One banana; homemade salsa and tortilla chips. One ounce of pepper jack cheese wedge. Water.


SNACK 1
4:20 - One bowl of sliced cucumbers in vinegar and Italian salad dressing. Water.


DINNER
7: 15 - Curry chicken, small serving of rice, red cabbage and water.

Jan. 8 - Flat Abs Walk - Full Length 40 Minute Walking Workout

I'm so excited about the coming of 2015!  For the first time in life, I want to focus on ELLA in a healthy way, a more relaxed, smarter way than ever before! This is the start of a new year and a new way of life for me. I have so much energy and I can just feel the opportunities coming my way.  While I'm ready to go out and live my life in living color, I also want to go inside myself with mediation to find my inner voice.  Right now, that voice is telling me to make this year explosive, and fun, and sexy!  I need to find my way back the ELLA!

I want to lose the weight, but more importantly I want to just enjoy life, seek out new things that give me joy and to start back going out more. I use to be THAT party girl!  I have faith that LIFE is going to bring me all that I need and I'm going after all that I desire. If you are reading this blog, I so need you to come along with me for this adventure!

During this journey I want to look at my old habits of eating and how I treat my own self.  I'm looking at everything in my life that needs revising!  The old habits, beliefs and self-doubt has to go, so I can make room for more love, adventures and inner peace.  I hope that you will leave comments on my posts and share your journey too!

I'm only 5 feet 5 inches and I weigh a disturbing 240 pounds. This is stressful for me to deal with right now. I use to be so slim as a younger person, but the Crohn's Disease and steroids changed all of that.  I think the biggest factor in all of this weight gain was moving to Maryland and starting a computer based business!  I'm sitting behind a desk or in my bed sometimes 18 hours per day working for my company EDC Creations.  I'm also snacking during that time. 

Some of my weight gain has come from emotional eating too!  The stress of running my own company and trying to earn enough money, sometimes causes worry and self-doubt. This entire blog journey is to correct all of my destructive eating habits from the last 7 years.  I hope you will continue down this path with me!

I found a even better video to use for exercise in the house.  My stomach is huge and I want it gone!  I love this video because it's geared toward losing the mass around your core and stomach areas.  When I become a little more comfortable with letting people see my body and me exercising, I will post videos of me using this video from Youtube. I hope that you will find it useful too!

HERE IS MY FOOD TRACKING FOR TODAY

WATER:  I'm drinking more and more water each day.  My goal is to build up to a gallon per day. Right now I'm only able to drink about 4-5 bottles per day.


BREAKFAST
8:40 -  16 oz green smoothie drink and 4 mini rice cakes; grapes and bottled water.


SNACK 1
10: 45 - 2 tablespoons of peanut butter and gluten free tortilla chips. Lemon tea.



LUNCH
1:45 - chopped chicken with stop light peppers and lots of onions; sliced tomatoes and avocado; 8 pita chips; 3 gherkin pickles; bottle of water.  The chicken looks like a Philly steak and cheese without the bread or the steak...LOL



SNACK 2
3:40 - 1 small yellow apple and 2 tablespoons of peanut butter;  green tea with honey



DINNER
7: 40 -  chicken kabobs with loads of peppers and onions. I also had a small salad with mushrooms, tomatoes, cheese, cauliflower and avocado. Here is the photo, from the web, I used to make my own kabobs. I used a marinade on the chicken and grilled it all on top of the stove.

 

Jan. 7 - Starting the Food Journal

Coach Brittani D. Williams had me to start a food journal, so that I can keep up with the meals I eat and how often. So, I went out and got the journal to write about my strengths and weakness, but I will also use it to plan out my weekly menu.  I'm still using MyFitnessPal too.

I'm also reading the book THINspired to give me some inspiration from a woman that lost 90 pounds, while gaining a real understanding of her over eating. The book has some really good recipes that busy career women can use.  

I found this great video to workout to each morning until I can walk 3 miles. This video is a great fit for those days I don't want to go outside.  It's a little hard to go 1 mile right now, but my goal is to make it all the way to 3 miles within 2 months!  Let's go!

HERE IS MY FOOD TRACKING FOR TODAY:

WATER:  I'm drinking more and more water each day.  My goal is to build up to a gallon per day. Right now I'm only able to drink about 4-5 bottles per day.


BREAKFAST
8:40 -  1 cup peach Greek yogurt and 1 tangerine.  16 oz green smoothie drink.
Because of the snow, I threw on my gear, turned up the iPod and exercised to this video: http://youtu.be/wuDp6v_oL34.  It helps you to walk a mile in the house!!  Love it!



SNACK 1
11: 20 - 1 cup of homemade salsa and tortilla chips. I had the rest of my green smoothie drink.



LUNCH
1:34 - 1 cup of chicken salad, frozen grapes, 3 gherkin pickles, sliced tomato and green tea. I also used this time off for a 15 minute guided meditation session.


SNACK 2
3:10 - 1 small yellow apple and 2 tablespoons of peanut butter;  green tea



DINNER
6: 40 - Steamed purple cabbage with jalapeno peppers and onions;  baked swai fish topped with salsa; small baked potato and a huge glass of water.



SNACK 3
9:00 -  1 small sliced kiwi;  some vitamins and water.  I watched the EMPIRE TV show on ABC, so I wasn't really thinking about food...LOL.

Jan. 6 - Snow Day and Meal Preparation

There was 4 inches of snow in DC today, so I got plenty of exercise shoveling the snow from the walk way.  I took some great photos of my breakfast, lunch and dinner. I was so hurt when the photos didn't come out on my old phone. My new phone came today, so I can do much better at sharing my prepared meals.

I spent about 2 hours creating little baggies of my fruit and greens for morning smoothies.  Also, I chopped alot of the vegetables I will use for dinner this week. I'm trying to make things easier for me to prepare dinner after a long day at EDC Creations Media.  Sigh! 

Breakfast - 8:30 am:   Chex cereal, almond milk, banana and strawberries.

Snack - 9:30 am:  Homemade salsa and gluten free tortilla chips and cranberry juice.

Lunch - 1:15 pm:  Chicken salad, blackberries, gluten free tortilla chips and gherkin pickles. Tea.

Dinner - 7: 42 pm:  Blackened swai fish, baked potato, green beans, yellow squash. Tea

This image brought so much inspiration to me today and I wanted to share it with you too! 

Jan. 5 - The Journey Begins with Coach Brittani D. Williams

I started day one of my transformation off with guided meditation, a walk around my neighborhood and a very simple breakfast.  Lunch was salsa and a few gluten free tortilla chips. Dinner included backed salmon, green beans and rice. I'm looking forward to this journey and all that it brings good or bad. 

Here is a link to the recipe I used to cook the salmon: http://www.oprah.com/food/Seared-Salmon-with-Green-Bean-Salad-and-Balsamic-Vinaigrette-Recipe

Coach Brittani D. Williams wants me to answer these questions to get the program started.  I'm going to answer them all now, because my work schedule this week is unbelievable. 


01/05: What is your why? 
I have extremely high blood pressure, so I must lose some of this weight. My family is filled with horror stories of the results of high BP. I turn 50 in August and I want to be a healthy, fit 50 and not sick.  I have ONE child, she is 19 and I want to be there for her as she starts her journey to adulthood.




01/06: Why is this time different? Are you really making a LIFESTYLE CHANGE? The purpose of my company is to assist in healthier lifestyles not temporary diets.
Yes, this is a lifestyle change for me!  I have already given up adding salt to my food and I'm trying to go totally gluten free.  I have Crohn's Disease, which led to me having 4 major surgeries on my intestines. I can go through the hardship of this debilitating disease by not eating well.  I want to go back to a healthier life, the life I had 6 years ago.  I realize that I must get out more;  exercise more and work behind this computer less!



01/07: How do you plan to stay on track?
I created this blog so that I can keep track of my journey with notes, photos, inspiration and  video.  I have a daily journal that I will write down the times and amounts of things I eat.  I also downloaded MyFitnessPal to my new phone to look up calorie content and the amounts of sodium in foods.