Black Lesbians Do Workout - My Journey to a Fit & Healthy Me

Last October I made the decision to get healthy. I don’t know if it was losing one of my Mother’s or the fact that I was finally getting closer to the one thing I had worked so hard for – Nursing, or that I was at yet another epiphany. The bottom line is I wanted to change. Healthy eating and lifestyles were never valued as much in the African-American community. I mean come on let’s face it, we’d fry water if they let us. Growing up in my father’s home I was surrounded by bad eating and lifestyle habits – chain smoking, fried foods, junk foods, sugary drinks, high salt processed foods, whole milk, etc. I had changed my eating habits back in high school, realizing that I did not want to end up with the same health problems they had and just because that shit – yes SHIT is what it is – was making me very sick. I think it was my body’s way of saying Hey B!tch, this ain’t going down how you think anymore.

Over the years I have been very consistent with my changes – no red meat, no pork, only poultry or fish, only skim milk – but I still indulged in the occasional bowl of Capt N’ Crunch or a Chicken Cheesesteak and Fries. After months of pondering I finally went online and signed up for a membership at my local Planet Fitness. I met with the Trainer and we spoke about Nutrition which I already knew about because at the time  I was taking a required Diet & Nutrition course for Nursing school so I pretty much knew what I had to do. But one thing she did enlighten me about was that in order to lose weight you must do more strength training than you do cardio – I, like most people, thought it was all about the cardio.

I changed my diet – more fruits, more veggies, more broiled/grilled/bakes fish or meat, more healthy adult cereals (Special K, Honey Bunches of Oats, and Chex) – and began to work out 5 days per week at Planet Fitness. Initially, the weight was coming off the way I wanted it to and I was toning at the same time which was great because people were really starting to notice. All was going well until I plateaued. I even switched my routine at the gym but nothing seemed to work. I got discouraged, even considered cutting more calories but all it did was make me nauseous.

Fast Forward to March 2012. My friends and I decided to have not one but two Pole Parties at a local studio. Now for those of you who have been following me for a while you remember my post about Pole Dancing so you know how much I love and admire the art form and those who use it to support themselves. My friends and I had so much fun at our Pole Party that I got back into taking Pole Dance classes. Little did I know that would be the turning point in my being fit and healthy journey.

A Sensual You Pole Dance and Fitness Studio is who I owe many thanks to. I cancelled my Planet Fitness membership and have been exclusively taking classes with my wonderful, knowledgeable instructor Barbara. It’s not all about the Pole, although that’s what initially draws you there. I take classes 5 days per week which include Pole, Kickboxing, Cardio, Ballet, Yoga, Climb and Core, Stiletto Fit (working out in heels!) and Twerk (yes there is a class to show you how to move like the Twerk Team but don’t be fooled it’s a lot of hard cardio work). My upper body strength is amazing!

Thus far, since my journey began in October 2011 I have lost 35lbs. Some people may not think it’s a lot but I prefer to take the weight off gradually instead of using starvation techniques that only make you gain double the weight once you eat a calorie more than you used to. I love the way I look, I love how I feel, and I am sticking to my current diet and fitness routine.

Here are some helpful tips/info that helped me along my journey:

(a) 50% is Nutrition, 40% Strength Training, 10% Cardio

(b) My Fitness Pal – iPod/Smartphone app that will help you keep track of your calories and your fitness profile. I have been using this since day one of my journey and it is so helpful with keeping track of nutrients. It will let you know when you have over consumed on nutrients such as sodium, cholesterol, fats, etc. Very helpful and highly recommended

(c) Fun classes versus the Gym – I find that if I take a fitness class that is more fun and doesn’t seem like a workout routine I go more consistently and I actually look forward to being there, whereas at the gym you know you are at the gym and there is only so much pleasure one can get out of going from machine to machine

(d) Multi-Vitamin – I’m the first to admit that I am not a fan of taking a pill everyday but have found that taking a multivitamin especially when I work out as much as I do really helps

(e) NEVER GIVE UP. There will be days you don’t feel like working out or days where you feel like nothing is happening fast enough. Just stick with it and I promise you this journey will pay off