Will Work(OUT) 4 Food!!!

YES you read that right . . . I said it . . . I will WORKOUT 4 FOOD!!! Now you're probably wondering WHAT IN THE WORLD I'm talking about and I will explain . . .

this is Kendra . . . She's SO AWESOME!!

Thanks to a WONDERFUL FRIEND, MOTIVATOR, TEACHER, INSPIRATION & so many other adjectives I can think of to describe my girl Kendra I have adopted this theory and needless to say IT WORKS!! For starters I eat at least 5 times a day and I eat Healthy & Clean almost all the time. . . BUT I still make myself "work for those meals". For example, in the AM when I wake up I will either do my cardio or my entire workout before having my 1st meal. Then for the remainder of the day (when time permits) I will do abs, pushups, etc 30min prior to having my meal that way I feel as though I've earned it. Now again those meals are Healthy and/or Clean so its not like I'm working hard so I can eat junk because that's NOT happening!! Doing this prior to each meal also helps me keep my mind focused on the goals at hand.

Sooooooooo how does this apply to you and how can you try to adapt this principle. Unlike me I know most of you don't work from home so that does allow me the ability to do a lot of different things before my meals but you can adjust it to work for you. Let's say you work in an office building and you have 1hr for lunch, welllllllllllll then why not lace up your sneakers and walk the stairs in the building for 15min then you have the remaining 45min to enjoy your meal and rest. If the weather permits then go for a brief stroll around the parking lot or walk to the restaurant where you're planning to have lunch. At any rate Do Something before eating your meals and you will feel as though you've earned them and in turn you'll cherish them more and start making better choices because you don't want your work to be in vain ;)

Now I will honestly tell ya'll that I took this theory to a NEW level today when I did my workout then took spin class where we got our butts KICKED!! Not only this this instructor hard under normal circumstances but he decided to turn it up a notch today. . . for starters NO music, then he didn't spin so he could walk around and adjust our tension when he felt we weren't working hard enough, then he stopped class early so we could do abs & pushups. Since we have men in our class he'll challenge the men to do X number of pushups then the ladies can stop . . . welllllllll needless to say he puts me in the "men" category and today he challenged me to 100 and PLEASE BELIEVE I BEAT THE OTHER MEN and the ladies were eternally grateful because they were tired. So after pushing myself as hard as possible lifting, then again in spin class I think I EARNED my meal . . . I rushed home and enjoyed a BIG plate of kale & chick breast w/a some sweet potatoes (gotta replenish those carbs expended during that workout). I will now kick my feet up, get back to work and when my next meal rolls around in 3hrs I yet again do "something" to earn it. Since I've done a gazillion pushups & abs just recently I'll probably do body squats or lunges or whatever else I can think of but I will do SOMETHING in order to "Work(out) 4 Food"!!!

 Much Love . . .
KQ~

Question & Answer Session 2day!!

Well hey ya'll . . . I hope all is well in your world today and that ya'll have some fun stuff planned for your mom's & yourselves this weekend. I have something fun planned . . . doing ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!! LOLOL I'm exhausted from the ripping & running I've been doing so I think I'm just gonna rest and work on my bootcamps for next week at the gym :) I'm such a nerd I know but hey I get relaxation and enjoyment outta doing what I love.
Sooooooooo onto today's topic which really isn't a topic at all, it's actually a Question & Answer Session. I'm doing this today for several reasons . . .1) I kinda didn't have a topic in mind 2) I wanted to do a kinda get to know me where I came from msg again and 3) I got lucky enough for a fan to request all the information so why not GRANT her request for answers by sharing'em with ya'll too. With that being said here goes . . . below you will find the message that Anita posted on the Fanpage yesterday asking all kinds of good questions:

hi K, the folks in our boot-camp class this morning was curious about your journey, hope you don't mind me asking several questions. 1. how long? 2. how were you when you got started? 3. what was/is your diet? 4. how many hours per day did you committed to changing in your body? 5. did you ever drink alcohol? if so, when did you stop...? 6. how much weight did you drop per month? Again, WOW!!! I heard you had a baby? is that true? how old is your baby? I have 2 girls of my own, its difficult to find time to workout sometimes. I'm 200 pounds, i do work out 3-4 times per week, i usually eat right, have 2 small children, and almost 50 years old. what advice do you have for me? My goal is to drop 70 lbs...Thanks!

Okkkkkkkkkk ya'll so here are my answers:

1. How long? a few pounds did come off on their own after the baby but NOT A LOT!! It took me about 18-20months to drop 70lbs. This was due to lack of focus, plateaus, frustration and everything else you can think of!! The remaining weight has come off progressively over time  because the saying "the last 10lbs are the hardest to loose is TRUE (to some degree)!!" My body found a place it was comfortable at and could easily live with the way I was eating & training. So to make my body flip the switch I had to shock it and make some changes by STEP OUTTA MY COMFORT ZONE!! That resulted in smaller weight loss successes BUT more IMPORTANTLY I was RESHAPING MY BODY which is what was REALLY changing the game!! With that being said for the TOTAL 100LBS took about 5yrs. I know it seems like a long time but this is a MARATHON not a SPRINT!!
2. How were you when you started? After the baby I was between 240-250lbs give or take depending on the day. By the time I was FED UP and truly committed myself to my weight loss I was maybe 220-225lbs
3. What is/was your diet? OOOOOOOOOOK here comes the question that is literally & figuratively the MEAT & POTATOES of this journey!! This is also a TRICKY question, so here goes . . . .As I've shared with ya'll before I am a self admitted COMPUTER NERD . . . 1) b/c that's what my job is & 2) I'm addicted to information and knowledge. So I grabbed my computer & my laptop oh so many years ago and I FLOODED myself with information on nutrition, eating properly, weight loss, etc. As I've also shared I was a Collegiate Athlete so I knew about working out but not so much about eating right. But I remembered a Coach I had who used to try to give me nutritional insight and as fate would have it I had some info she'd given me to look over. I learned about eating my 4-5+ small meals a day and how that HELPS your metabolism, when to eat what, types for foods to incorporated & to COMPLETELY remove from my diet. With that being said I immediately went to eating 5 meals a day which all included protein, carbs & veggies (except for breakfast).  As time went on and I gained more knowledge this changed slightly here & there but I STILL eat 5+ meals a day. Nothing there has changed because that is the Gospel and its here to stay!! I still eat my proteins, carbs & veggies BUT in different combination's.  Now my CURRENT diet (right this exact minute) is geared towards my competitions so it is not what would suggest for ya'll. Again this Blog is NOT about promoting competing, that's just something I have chosen to do for myself. It's about promoting regular everyday weight loss. We will cover the EATS part of this journey more in depth in the VERY near future because it is a VERY INTEGRAL part of this equation to ensure a healthy & successful weightloss
4. How many hours per day did you commit to changing your body? OOOOOOOOK another MEAT & POTATOES question . . .I will again letcha know I am an "All or Nothing" person so once I committed myself I was COMMITTED!! Now that doesn't mean I spent every waking moment in the gym or that I do now because I don't!! Like I told ya'll earlier on the Michael Baisden Show initially all I could do was WALK and that's exactly what I did EVERYDAY. I started off with 30min then mapped out a 3mile path through my neighborhood and I would walk that for however long it took me to get it done. Once I could get moving & stay moving without hurting I purchased The Firm and started working out at home and those workouts were about 30min - 1hr depending on what it was. I also kept walking because I was doing that during lunch to clear my mind from the nonsense of the folks I hafta deal with!! Then one day I just said enough is ENOUGH and I joined the gym again. LAWD HAVE MERCY lemmi tell ya!! For starters I'd go laaaaaaaaaaaate at night so no one I knew would see me and I could barely do 5min on the elliptical without dying. But I stuck with it and I would push myself to do 20min on the elliptical, treadmill (walking) & bike. As the journey progressed how & when I worked out & how long I trained all changed based on what I was trying to do. I will say however on average I spend (even now) 1-1.5hr working out and sometimes that's broken into 2 sessions: 1) Cardio & 2) Lifting, I also have days where I just do 30-45min cardio and that's it. Now when I'm prepping for a show that obviously increases because again I'm going for a different goal. 
5. Did you ever drink alcohol? If so, when did you stop? WHEWWWWWWWWW LAWD LEMMI TELL YA. . . .Did I drink?!?! Prior to getting preggers I was a drinker and I partied and hung out on the regular and drank alcohol every time my foot stepped out the door. Currently NO I DO NOT DRINK AT ALL!! I stopped drinking for about 5yrs and when I started again it put several pounds back on me and I IMMEDIATELY STOPPED!! IF I drink anything now it is a sip for a celebration because I have NO tolerance and LC ain't trying to hear me getting twisted. Now I will say this . . .DRINKING WAS A BIG part of my weight gain and a lot of peoples weight gain if you ask me. Alcohol slows your metabolism down for a substantial amount of time. The reason why I say "substantial" amount of time and not a definite number is because folks debate about it all the time, but I would say for sure somewhere between 24-48hrs you could expect slower metabolism after what I will call moderately heavy drinking (by that I mean more then 1 or 2 glasses of wine. . . I'm talking bout GETTING YO DRINK ON!! Which let's be honest MOST folks do because its easy to put back 2, 3 or 4 beer, wine & mixed drinks in a night out with friends and depending on what you're drinking and your tolerance feel no effects of it.
6. How much weight did you drop per month? I honestly have NO IDEA!! I am sooooo sorry about this one. I kept up with it to some degree and I have it documented somewhere but since my move from Charlotte to Connecticut I have organized myself into confusion so I gotta dig it up for you and I promise I will!!
7. I heard you had a baby? Is this True? How old is your baby?  YESSSSSSSSSSS I HAVE A BABY!! But let her tell it she's NO baby anymore, but as ya'll know she will Always & Forever be my BABY!! My daughter is 6yrs old and a total Joy & Blessing 

Me (KQ) & My baby girl (KZ) after her 1st bath

Me & Mini Me knocked out!!

 

 

 

Me & KZ @ her 1st day of school

Me & KZ @ my 1st show this year. She was SOOOOO PROUD OF ME!! Btw that's my mom back there sipping away on her beverage LOL!!

Hopefully I've answered all your questions to the BEST of my ABILITY!! I apologize for the length but I have a tendency to be long winded & to tell the WHOLE STORY LOLOL!! If you have any additional questions to go along with my answers to the ones you asked above please feel free to comment and I will do my best to answer those too. 

Again Thank You All SOOOOOOOOO MUCH for liking my fanpage and following me on the blog. I greatly appreciate it and I hope you enjoy all I that I have to offer and TOGETHER WE WILL MAKE A CHANGE!!!

As always wishing ya'll much success & blessings in your endeavors . . . 

Love KQ~

Work, Fitness, Family & Life Balancing Act . . .

For starters let me begin by saying OHHHHHHHHHHHHH HOW I FEEL BLESSED!! What is currently in motion now is what I have prayed & worked for over many many years!!! The Lord has been good to me and I Thank Him for it EVERYDAY!! I am a VERY humble person and right now it's just unbelievable to me the impact I'm having on people I don't even know. It's such a blessing & a wonderful thing it just brings me to tears at the mere thought. . . also I'd like to Thank All of ya'll for listening to my crazy ramblings on the Michael Baisden Show!! For all ya'll who know me ya'll know I am completely off the chains and Free until I'm Fool sometimes. When it comes to this journey I am an open book and I have no problem letting my guard down and revealing it ALL to ya'll. . . . so with that being said lemmi get off my emotional soapbox and get to the reason for the topic of this blog.

As most of ya'll know Fitness isn't my bread & butter (yet), I have a full-time job that I'm still working in conjunction with my Personal Training aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand Competition Prep. YEAHHHHHHHHHH I know it sounds like a lot and honestly it is because to add to that I have a family to take care off too :) Well over these last few days I have totally become overwhelmed and realized I need to immediately enact a Work, Fitness, Family & Life Balancing Act to ensure 1) no one or nothing gets neglected 2) I don't go crazy in the process 3) my family nor ya'll throw me to the wolves for not being able to provide you everything you need & require from me. Remember on the Baisden Show I said . . . Self First NOT Selfish!!! By that I mean. . .you HAVE to take care of yourself first (mentally, physically, spiritually, etc) in order to be able to take care of anyone or anything else!! If you don't everything will fall apart including YOU and we just can't have that now can we!! Sooooooooo today while I was in spin class I started thinking to myself its time it's time to enact a PLAN and stick to it!!

Well here's the PLAN. . . Thankfully my job offers a program where you can take extra vacation time and I decided it would be beneficial for me to participate in this program. And I actually decided this waaaaaaaay before things started rolling like they are now so ya'll know I'm glad I made that choice :)  Starting in June I'll be working an abbreviated weekly work schedule which will allow me to 1) spend more time with my family - AKA my pumpkin Kyndal & LC during the Summer  2) devote more time to building my personal training business & building my fitness/spokes model career 3) log tooooooooons of man hours being an Ambassador for Weightloss and helping each & every one of you in any facet that I can when it comes to reaching whatever goals you may have regarding your health & fitness!!

I am TRULY one of those people who tries to do it all and I recognize that in myself. And anything that I do or put my mind to I do it to the fullest (as you can see by the tremendous weight loss I experienced). Now knowing and understanding these things I also know & understand I have to balance them all to be sure they are all completed successfully. Another thing you'll hear me say a lot and you'll prolly get sick of it but Oh To The Well . . . If you Fail to Plan then Plan to Fail and I ain't Planning on no Failure anytime soon, so here's my schedule . .

Monday, Wednesday & Friday:
Work on anything related to Fitness

• Training clients
• Working on things for the Fanpage, Blog, Website, etc - which will include but not limited to: workout & cooking videos, workout plans, nutrition plans, video taped question & answer sessions, my story or what I'm currently going thru (along with featuring the story of others) and anything else ya'll want insight on
• Basically HELP as many people and do as much that I can related to Health & Fitness in 1 day

Tuesday & Thursday:
WORK FULLTIME JOB!!! Limited access to Fanpage, Blog, etc so I can focus on keeping my bread & butter until the Lord sees fit for me to move onto Bigger & Better things
Saturday:
I will dedicate a few hours in the early AM to do all the things related to Health & Fitness that I did on Mon, Wed & Friday then it's off to be with the Fam!!
Sunday:
TOTALLY A ME & MY FAMILY DAY!!! Very little interaction on Facebook or my blog outside of reading and catching up on what I need to do on Monday.
I hope in setting up this schedule I'm not neglecting ya'll or anything I'm just going to hafta do it this way to ensure everything continues to run like a well oiled machine!! Soooooooo come tomorrow its ON & POPPIN. . . . so ya'll better hold on to the seat of your pants cause I'm hitting the ground running EARLY tomorrow!!
As always Much Love & Success to all of ya'll
KQ~