Friday, October 29, 2010

I've been ATTACKED. . .

I was attacked by HORMONES & a package or trailmix!! I'm feel "some" sort of way today and its NOT a good way. I don't really know how to describe it but I feel this overwhelming stress, tension, uneasiness and any other UNNERVING feeling that you can think of. For starters let me tell you today is CD18 (cycle day 18). which means my cycle is 10 days a way. Based on the principles of Hormonal Timing on CD18 & 19  can be "Game Changing" days. . . at least for me. To just give you a high level overview this is when you're entering the 2 week phase that encompasses your menstrual cycle & the days prior. So basically that time of the month when you feel like CRAP! The body wants to start retaining water, you're having cravings (which really aren't cravings, its your body burning up to 500 calories EXTRA), you're feeling sluggish and all the other things that occur to you during your monthly cycle. . . And that's the phase I'm approaching right now. I LOVE HORMONAL TIMING and know what my body is going through and when its going to go through it. Not to be all super personal but I haven't been on the pill or any kind of BC in almost 6 years and I can tell you "to the day" almost every month when my cycle will start (unless I'm prepping for a show and still its on schedule). I have been able to capitalize on that knowledge of my body and use it to my advantage to alter my workouts, nutrition, and rest so my body will work EFFICIENTLY & EFFECTIVELY!!

Ok so back to my attack. . . I have just had this ICKY feeling all day and I just couldn't take it anymore so I jumped in my truck and went to CVS and of all the things that could happen a bag of trailmix leaped off the shelf and threatened me within an inch of my life if I didn't take it home so ya'll know I was scared so I took the bag home and it didn't make it out of the parking lot (hehehehe)!! Luckily it was just a $1 mini bag with 2 servings and it made me happy and now I'm moving on with my day. But I will admit there was a time, thankfully a long time ago where I would've devoured something much more damaging to my diet. Knowledge, Growth, & Self-Control are all a big part in my decisions these days. Trust me I think about the bad stuff just like anyone else but I know what I want, where I want to be, how eating those bad things will affect me mentally, physically, emotionally and any other "lly" you can think of, hehehe!!

As you can tell typing this is giving me a RELEASE and I'm feeling so much better about myself because the situation was GRIM a minute ago. But I would be doing ya'll an injustice if I didn't share with you another thing that happened to make me smile and feel better. Earlier this afternoon LC called me from San Fran to tell me he's boarding the plan for Dallas (he's working the MLB World Series) and he's been having flight drama today. So I told him how I was feeling and this is how the conversation went
  • LC says: Well I don't know why you're feeling that way but maybe you need a drink
  • (he knows I barely drink so that had to be a joke)
  • KQ says: You know maybe you're right I might go downstairs and get some Mama Juana that we got from the Dominican Republic
  • LC says: Yeah why don't you get some it's mechanical (or something like that)
  • KQ says: WHAT?!?! What did you just say? Did you mean "medicinal" and I HOLLERED LAUGHING!!
Ya'll I have no idea right now exactly what he said but all I know is he didn't say "medicinal" and I hit the floor laughing. Of course I gave him the benefit of the doubt b/c he'd been up since 4am PST and it was going on 11am PST and he'd been getting the run around at the airport but none the less that thing was funny. Anyway I'm SERIOUSLY feeling better now that I was able to vent to ya'll so now I will continue on with my day and I hope there are no more "drive-by trailmix attacks". You know you hafta be very careful of those because they can happen at anytime LOLOLOLOL!!!!
KQ

Making changes on the blog

Just wanted to let ya'll know you'll see some changes coming up over the weekend. I'm adding a few extra features like a search feature, adding labels to all my posts, I've already added several new pages which include - workouts, nutrition, recipes, videos, etc and I will be updating those pages regularly. If there's anything you'd like me to talk about or answer please feel free to let me know and I'll be sure to add it to the blog immediately.

Talk to ya soon and hope you enjoy the new additions
KQ

Day 3: Laaaaaaaawd my hammies are SORE!!

Man lemmi tell yall . . . .my hamstrings are suing me for SUPPORT and I'm loosing the lawsuit!!! As ya'll all know I had my Secret Rendezvous with Mr. Stairmill this week & I did legs right after that. Also I've been doing intervals & long runs on the treddy (my name of the treadmill) this week which have all added up to some SOOOOOOOOOOORE hammies (hamstrings)!! But that is no excuse so like in any GREAT production . .  .THE SHOW MUST GO ON. I didn't hop outta bed with any kinda vigor today because I have a neighbor who I call "Jabber Jaws" and he wanted to run his dang gum mouth all night & laugh like a hiena all night long.

Whewwwwwwwww let's please have a side conversation about this situation . . . OK check it out, we live in an old mill that's been turned into a loft and its got great high ceilings and huge windows with exposed brick walls and beams and THIN A$$ WALLS!!! So lately Jabber has been next door running his mouth like a leaking faucet and doing it LATE at night. Now I'm sure he hears me & LC because we are 2 nuts and we're always in here clowning but we don't carry on like that late at night. Shoooot folks gotta sleep so they can get up and get their workout on the next morning *wink*wink*. . . .

Ok back to your regularly scheduled programming . . . sooooo again I didn't jump outta bed like I had been doing all week. I basically had to drag myself out after hitting snooze 1 too many times. I decided it would be just be cardio this AM then my workout and a little bit more cardio tonight. Well I don't like doing the same thing over & over again at the gym for cardio (except when it comes to MY LOVE Mr Stairmill) so I decided it was a running day and that decision went real wrong REAL fast. After walking for 5min @ 3.5-4.0mph on the treddy I jumped off and stretched a bit because I already knew I was feeling tight from those killer deadlifts I did earlier in the week. Once I got back on and started my run and all was well for the first 10min but then I was like maaaaaaaaan my hammies are sore so I decided to err on the side of caution and not take a risk b/c I can't blow a tire (sports talk for pulling a hamstring, hehehe). I up'd the incline to 12 and lowered my running speed from 6mph to 4mph and walked up hill for another 30min. What do I say about that . . . hmmmmmm?!?!? Still difficult because I was sweating like a little piglet. 

Now I'm home and trying to stretch these hammies out because my foam roller is in storage still. I'll keep stretching the remainder of today then tonight its PLYOMETRICS TIME!! I hate I don't have anyone to video tape this workout for me because ya'll would love it. This is going to be short, sweet & EFFECTIVE! I'll not only get in a good total body workout but it will also be cardio because of the high intensity and the little rest I'll take between sets. Alrighty, I'm off to get some things done for work today but as always enjoy your day and stay focused on your goals and WE WILL ACCOMPLISH ALL OUR GOALS TOGETHER!!
KQ


Thursday, October 28, 2010

Day 2: Using my Fat Burning Burnaces!!

Well its Day 2 of the 30 days till Turkey Day Challenge and as promised AM workout COMPLETE!! Now I mentioned yesterday I would do 2 a-days 3 times a week and I missed doing it on Monday b/c The Boss told me it was too late to leave and go back out to the gym since he wasn't at home to go with me. Soooooo I'm going to hafta do 3 days in a row of 2 a-days (Wed, Thurs, & Friday). A sista is gonna be beat but hey we working towards the MASTER PLAN!!
I got up EARLY this AM but instead of heading straight to the gym I had to wash this birds nest I call a head of hair first because it was TERRIBLE then I hit the gym for 45min of sweaty cardio. Now here's a lil fitness fact real fast . . .
  • 3500 calories to burn 1lb of FAT
Now we've had this discussion before about how that LOVELY muscle you're building will help you burn that stubborn fat. But I'll break that one down once more:
  • 1(one) lb of muscle burns 50 EXTRA calories (1lb of fat burns less than 3 calories
So now you know it takes 3500 calories to burn 1lb of FAT and you know that 1lb of muscle burns 50 extra calories lets put this Bad Boy together
  • 10lbs muscle x 50 cals each lb x 7 days = 3500 calories BURNED = 1LB LOST!
How bout we kick it up one more notch and say hmmmmm if we're doing our resistance training and building that SEXY muscle (which by the way is your GOD GIVEN Body Magic) then we add in some sweat filled cardio and burn somewhere between 300-500 cals each cardio session now you're kicking your weekly weight loss into another realm and you are using those FAT BURNING FURNACES to their fullest ability!! I have vowed to do enough cardio everyday to burn my 500 cals so doing that 7 days a week (which I'm going to do, but you don't have to take it to this extreme - REMEMBER I've been training like this for a long time and I'm working towards a LOFTY goal) I will assist myself in not only burning my first 3500 cals with that SEXY LEAN MUSCLE I've built but I'm burning another 3500 thru some sweat drenched cardio and in the words of my FB friend F.A. Harper AKA Air Harp BOOOOOYAAAAAAH I've hopefully burned my 2lbs of fat.

I have of course given a high level overview of this process and as time continues to go by in this Challenge I will break this concept down further along with discussing other things I've used to assist me in my weight loss journey and I'm still using today like Hormonal Timing created by my BELOVED & FEARLESS BUFFMOTHER!! leader Michelle. And I know many of you are doing or have done P90x with your boy Tony Horton who promotes the concept of muscle confusion which I have to admit is something I've been made to do since I started participating in sports back at the ALMIGHTY Spring Valley High School. I had old skool KUNTRY coaches and they didn't believe in mainstream ways of working out. So to keep the muscle building & fat furnaces going I am always incorporating muscle confusion through doing several different things and I'll share all those with you too. Anyway, I gotta run out to the post office cause a sista gotta mail something before I'm in hot water. I'll holla atcha later and we'll talk more then. As always feel free to comment, send me questions or just read and enjoy!!
Love ya
KQ

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

30 Days till Turkey Day - Day 1 Part Deux

Let's get it! Day 1 Part Deux! Cardio, lunges (add to early to total 100) & abs. A Sexy body ain't coming 2 get U. . .U gotta go get it.

Well the first portion of this blog I did while I was in the midst of my cardio LOL! See I'm always thinking about ya and wanting to keep the motivation going. So the result of that workout was a hardcore upright bike cardio session where I rode @ level 10 for 30min going no slower than 88-90+ rpm. I was soaking wet when I finished and that was because I was working hard and it was hot & HUMID up in that gym. WHAT IS THAT ALL ABOUT?!?!? Do these folks in CT not believe in air in the gym? Later on tonight I'll finish up my lunges so I can total 100 for the day then I'll do my abs before I get in the bed. I can't neglect those and a little a day goes a LONG way, trust me. I gotta run so I can jump in the shower. I'll be back tomorrow and we'll talk more about nutrition & workouts
As always much LOVE & SUCCESS with your goals
KQ

30 Days till Turkey Day - Day 1 Met my SECRET Lover!!

Ok as most of you know and will learn over this journey I am a TRIP. I say crazy things at the drop of a dime just depending on how I'm feeling. As much as possible I "try" to always keep a positive outlook and keep it light and happy. Sooooooooooo let's begin our journey with DAY 1. . . .
As promised I did my workout today and I took my beginning measurements. Since I've been doing certain exercises and workouts for so long I don't usually write my workouts down because I have a catalog of them in my brain but for you LOVELY followers I will start documenting them on a regular basis and if need be I will demo any the exercises myself or find a GREAT video showing you how to do what I've just done . . . aren't I such a sweetheart?!?! LOLOL
Anyway, back to beginning measurements and workout
Day 1 Measurements
  • height - 5'10 (this is 1 measurement I can assure you won't be changing LOLOL)
  • weight - 156 (not THRILLED with this b/c I wanted to be 155 but I will say this is the first time since I started College that I've successfully been in the 150's so long. I have officially been between 150-155 since my show in August
  • bust - 32in
  • waist - smallest point (about 1in above my navel) = 25.5inlargest point (about 1in below my navel) = 27.5in
  • hips - 36in
  • thighs - BOTH 22in!! (now that's a miracle b/c usually one thigh is slightly bigger than the other but lately they are they same YEAHHHHHH)
These measurements are quite acceptable for my off season but I would like to get to a new maintenance weight of 145lbs which would mean these numbers will decrease significantly . . . fiiiiiiiiiine by me :) This will require CONSISTENCY & INTENSITY both of which I'm willing to commit to with my whole heart. Now on to the exciting workout and explanation of the title . . . .

I MET WITH MY SECRET LOVER TODAY .  . . . Mr. Stairmill!!!!! OHHHHHHHHH how he makes my heart skip a beat LITERALLY! Unfortunately we haven't been seeing each other lately but today we had a date and it was GREAT. He was really busy and was only able to commit to a 20min time block but I took it and rocked out a SWEAT filled 20min of intervals (1min fast/1min slow). It was so wonderful to spend time with him again but I had to move on to the rest of my workout where I did Superset of all my exercises. Most of the time people do supersets of opposing muscle groups or body parts (example: bicep curls & tricep extensions). Instead I did more of a Compound Superset which can be defined here.
So here's what I did today:
  • 20min stairmill intervals
  • Plie Squats w/50lb dumbell x 20 superset w/Toe Touches on a flat bench x 20 (3 sets)
  • Smith machine lunges x 20 @ 100lbs w/Mountain Climbers x 20 (3 sets)
  • Leg Extensions x 20 @ 75lbs w/Seated Leg Curls x 20 @ 50lbs (3 sets)
  • Barbell Stiff Legged Dead Lift x 10 @ 135lbs w/Burpees x 20 (3 sets)
After this workout I was DRENCHED in sweat because I took minimal rest. Now I'm home all showered up and ready to work. I've had my coffee (new addiction that I need to break) and had Meal 1 - 6 EW (egg whites) w/asparagus and I've downed 32oz of water already. So off to work and to help motivate you all to reach your goals. As always much love & success to you on your journey and LET'S ROCK DAY 1!!!
KQ

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

30 days till TURKEY DAY!!

Ooooook as of today there are exactly 30 days until Thanksgiving (aka Turkey Day) so what does that mean?!?!? It means it's CHALLENGE TIME!! I am going to embark on a challenge I'm calling
30 Days till Turkey Day Challenge
During this challenge let's pick a goal that we want to accomplish by Thanksgiving day. For me personally I'm going to challenge myself to drop 10lbs in the effort to reach my new maintenance weight and walk to the Thanksgiving table looking FINE as WINE!! To reach this goal and to help you reach yours I will hold myself accountable I will be doing several things that I will list below. Now let me say, this doesn't have to be just a health & fitness / weightloss goal, even though that would be AWESOME because what better way to start the hectic, irresistible good tasting food, gift giving, family driving you crazy season then by reaching new fitness goals and walking to the dinner table looking like WHOOAAAAAAAAAA (hehehe ya'll know I'm crazy). So sit down and take inventory and decide what goal you'd like to accomplish in the next 30 days along with me and let's get cracking. 

To keep myself accountable, motivated and to keep you guys going I will do the following things:
  1. WORKOUT DAILY - I will do some sort of workout everyday in a commitment to make it to this goal
  2. BLOG DAILY!! - This one has been a hard on for me but no matter how I'm feeling, what mood I'm in or what I'm going through I will promise to blog
  3. TRACK MY MEASUREMENTS - Since today is Day 1 I will weigh in and take measurements of my chest, waist, hips & thighs and post those results for you all to see. To reach my goal I need to drop 2.5lbs on average a week so that means work, work, work!! 
  4. DO WEEKLY NUTRITIONAL & FITNESS POSTS - I'll do a weekly post about workouts, supplementation, nutrition, and different meal creations that I come up with. I may even start vlogging (YEAHHHHHHHHHHH for videos!!)
  5. BE THERE FOR YOU!! - I will make myself available via this blog, Facebook, Twitter, or Email. Basically I will be here for you in any way shape or form so don't hesitate to contact me. 
With that being said let the 30 Day to Turkey Day Challenge BEGINNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!
KQ

Monday, October 18, 2010

Had a revelation & gained PERSPECTIVE!!

As most of you know this has been a long journey for me and its been filled with emotional & physical up's & down's but through it all I pushed on and I'm coming out on the other side victoriously!! Let me share with you something that I said to myself during the very early stages of my journey when I was 200+ lbs and still feeling hopeless. . . I told myself I was going to 1) loose the weight and be in shape 2) compete in figure competitions and 3) be a fitness model or spokeswoman for the African American community on how you can be healthy & fit despite all of life's obstacles. Needless to say I was
laughed at by everyone, including those closest to me, it hurt but it was ok because guess what . . . 1) I've lost the weight  2) I competed in not 1 but 2 shows this year and many more next year and 3) I'm on my way working towards becoming a fitness model/spokesperson for health & fitness because I FINALLY BELIEVE IN MYSELF!! I mentioned before that despite the obvious changes I've made sometimes I got caught up not believing in myself. Well last night in my attempt to clean house b/c we're moving . . . YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS I SAID IT WE'RE MOVING into our new place in a few weeks (can you tell I'm excited LOLOL) . . . anyway back to the subject. In my attempt to clean house I went thru my computer box where I have all my cd's and techie stuff and I was checking out the data on these disks and low & behold there were pictures of me pre & post baby and let me tell you A SISTA WAS TORE OUT THE FRAME!! I mean when I saw pics of myself from before I even got preggers I was blown away.

To give you an example of what I'm talking about here's a picture and I barely recognize my face. As you see this doesn't even look like me and I can't lie I was again emotionally overwhelmed when I saw it!! Now this was pre-pregnancy so as you see I wasn't lying when I said I was in a BAD spot when I got preggers and the only place to go was up and I went UP. Anyway seeing these pics last night gave me a serious revelation & perspective as to where I am now and made me feel SO THANKFUL!! I may complain sometimes and say crazy stuff about my weight and beat myself up but looking back at where I was then and where I am now and the possibility of things to come I feel so blessed and I can't Thank God enough for giving me the strength and ability to get where I am now. I have gained some serious perspective in the matter of minutes and I will STOP this self destructive behavior because I have come a long way and couldn't be happier.
I'll also share a little secret with you . . . I took this picture one summer when I was in NYC working and during that summer I went by Wilhelmina modeling agency to audition to be a plus size model. Needless to say they sent me packing immediately. Well this past weekend I went by the agency to enter in the Next Hot Body contest and the response was totally different and I shared with them I had been there 6 years prior for a totally different reason and now I'm back and even BETTER!! All I can say is GOD IS GOOD and FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD!! I will continue to praise Him & thank Him on a daily basis while I keep pushing on because my blessing is coming!!!

KQ






By the way this is how I looked this time when I walked into Wilhelmina. Actually I think I may have topped this body by getting a bit leaner but who cares I was miles away from where I was the first time I went to see them and it showed. I had an awesome time and I'll continue to pray for & work towards my SUCCESS!!!