Go Diva!

One of the great ways to enhance your confidence is to take class that help you embrace and love being a woman. 

"GoDiva Studio is an exotic dance studio located in Bloomfield, New Jersey that specializes in pole, belly and erotic fitness dance classes.  Founded in 2010 by three friends, Ty Smith, Nikki Philip and Sonya Miller, GoDiva Studio strives to assist women in discovering their sensuality while simultaneously confronting the negative stereotypes associated with exotic dancing, and using it for a positive purpose."
 
Not only have these ladies successfully put a spin on erotic fitness, they proudly represent the natural hair community while doing so. For more information, visit the GoDiva’s website at Go Diva Studio.

Afro-Belly Boogie

Every single week, I look forward to my favorite exercise class: Afro-Belly Boggie.  I enjoy this class so much, that I want to share information about the class with everyone. This class is full of positive energy and beyond fun.  It never fails, every week, to remind the women in the class, that we are strong, beautiful women. And sometimes, we do need that encouragement in our lives. The instructor Angel Thacker, is always encouraging and knows how to make everyone laugh. I always leave the class, completely soaked with sweat, but feeling amazing.  And what makes the class even more fun, is that we can bring our own belly dance hip skirts to wear, which adds to our ability to embrace our feminine beauty. 

"Created by Angel Thacker, Afro-Belly Boogie™ is a dance fitness program making noise across Northern California and beyond!  Since it's full launch in August 2010, the workout has gained a following of loyal participants who've enjoyed the weight loss an toning benefits that Afro-Belly Boogie™ brings.  Combining the cardio and toning aspects of African dance movements and toning and conditioning aspects of Bellydance, this fitness program combines the best of these worlds with a dash of club mix to bring the grove come to life. Great music, fabulous dance moves and big fun make this workout a revolution in dance fitness.  So join your local Afro-Belly Boogie™ workout class and "Join the Dance Revolution!"  - Afrobellyboogie.com.  

 

Angel's classes can be found in numerous cities in California. She also has instructors that teach the classes in various gyms. To find a class or request that the class be taught you in your area, go to class schedule.  Besides being an amazing instructor and inspiration coach in our classes, Angel is also a life coach and has a great 30 Fitness Program that she offers to any one that wants to improve their health and life. 

Thank you Angel, for offering this class, that helps us to embrace life and our beauty as woman.  

To and read more, go to - Afrobellyboogie.com,  Facebook.com, Meetup.com,  Examiner.com

Rue's visit to the White House

Rue Mapp created a great website called Out Door Afro. It is a site the encourages African Americans to get out and enjoy outdoor recreation. Activities like skiing, rock climbing, hiking, sky diving, and more...  are all things that people from any culture can go out and enjoy.  Because of Rue's great work with her website, public speaking and for reaching out to the community, she was invited to go the White House for the first ever America’s Great Outdoors conference.  "This event was designed to bring leaders from around the country to discuss ways to re-connect Americans to the Great Outdoors and also hosted the historic signing of the Presidential Memorandum on the topic."

"President Obama, who stood mere feet from where I was seated, impressed upon us in his speech that reconnecting all Americans to the outdoors  honors our collective national heritage. The President said “few pursuits are more satisfying to the spirit than discovering the greatness of America’s outdoors,” which referenced his personal family value of outdoor recreation."

Check out Rue's interview on the Naturally Beautiful Hair Websites interview page.  I was also interviews by Rue, and had a chance to talk about my own experiences with learning to love outdoor activities. To see my interview, click here.

20% and 80% ?!?

Last week on on the Tyra Banks show, Tyra talked about her new healthy choice lifestyle: Get your shape in shape.
Most of the information she gave is stuff we already know. But in my case, I just don't apply it! Which is why I continue to struggle with my weight till this day. But Tyra's nutritionist, Heather Bauer, talked about how weight loss is 20% exercise and 80% diet! I have never heard of that before or thought of it that way. But it makes perfect sense.

I work out at the gym 4 to 5 times a week. Although I have not gained any weight over the last couple of years, I am not losing any weight (which is my goal). So basically the reality is setting in that no matter how much you work out, if your diet sucks - it will not make a difference.

So I really want to make an effort to pay attention to what I put in my mouth and follow some of these tips from Tyra and Heather:

#5 Portion Control: Do you eat more than you should? To be sure you are eating a healthy, well-proportioned meal, follow this guide to build your plate… Protein: Picture 2 iPhones stacked together…that’s how much meat you should have on your plate. No more, no less. Carbs: Make your hand into a fist…that’s the maximum amount of carbs you should be eating. If you've been eating more than that amount on a regular basis, well, that could explain the extra pounds. Veggies: When it comes to vegetables, you can never have too much, says Heather. Try to fill half of your plate with veggies (come on, there's got to be one green veg you like!) and you're on your way to a healthier life.

#4 "Phase Eating": A "phase eater" is someone who picks one or two things to eat (while dieting for weight loss) and sticks with it. It's actually not a bad idea, Heather says--if it's a healthy choice of food (like a tuna/no mayo sandwich). Many dieters actually prefer this way of dieting; it’s an easier way to keep up with their plan. If you feel this is a route you’d want to take, go for it!

#3 Breakfast: In today’s busy world, who has time for breakfast? You should! You've heard it before and now you're hearing it again. It's the most important meal of the day. Sometimes when we wake up without an appetite it could mean you ate BIG the night before. However, waking up hungry is a very good sign of being healthy…it means that your body is working. Also, when it comes to weight loss (and brain food) you miss b-fast and you're working against yourself. Need some ideas for a healthy (low fat) breakfast? Pick something from the menu below.

BREAKFAST MENU: Yogurt w/fruit, High fiber cereal, Eggs (scrambled), Tomato and mozzarella, Oatmeal(You can pick one of these things and "phase eat" it too!)

#2 Exercise: A good work out is always a great idea. Even if your diet is fierce and you’ve been on it without any cheating, you could still use a good workout at least 3 times a week. Take a walk or run on a treadmill, you'll immediately see and feel the difference.

#1 NO Smoking: You may be a smoker (we hope not), but if you’re trying to get fit and lose weight, you've got to stay off the smokes! It’ll do nothing but hinder your plan, kill your workout and leave you literally, breathless. It's not easy gving up the habit, but if you are really ready to Get Your Shape in Shape, it's the only way to go.

City Farm Girl

My family and I live in the Bay Area, which is located in the Northern part of California. We got lucky, because when we moved, we found a great place that has a nice size back yard. My husband and my daughters work together with our neighbor to create a cool garden in our back yard. When the garden is in full bloom, we get tons of great veggies - squash, zucchini, tomatoes, lettuce and more. We also have 5 chickens, and get fresh eggs every morning.

With this, comes our pets that stay in our home. We have a lot of pets. Right now, we have 2 cats, 8 fish, and we are taking care of a friends snake. There are also deer in our neighborhood, if you can imagine that! So its no surprise to wake up and find a deer in your yard, just chillin'. But I love it all. I never thought in a million years, that I would have a little farm. I am a city girl at heart. But I have to admit, that this farm life is kinda cool... :-)

How I beat Diabetes

I was diagnose with Diabetes about 2 years ago. For the first year, I was in total denial. I didn't make any changes to my diet or lifestyle. And I paid for it. I was physically suffering; and I started to have vision problems. By the second year, thanks to my family and research, I started to take my diagnoses seriously. Being Diabetic is very serious. If not careful, a person can have the following problems: lose of vision, heart attack, stroke, and more. Also, because a Diabetic is unable to heal wounds like someone that is healthier. So a small cut/infection can turn into a huge infection that is so bad, that it can cause a limb (hand, leg, arm, foot, toes or fingers) to be amputated. So with all this news, and because I did not want to suffer any more - I started working out regularly and eating healthier.

When the economy started to fail, I was laid off from my corporate job. This was definitely a financial hardship on my family. But being laid off was also a blessing in disguise. I decide to work from home as a Personal & Administrative Assistant for a local business owner. With this job, came the ability to make my own hours. So for the past 4 to 5 months, I have been able to work out for 1 to 2 hours per day, 5 days a week. My work out routine includes cardio, weights and core exercises. With this, I have decrease my food portions and I also cut down on sugar intake. Because of this, I received some amazing news!!! I have been to 2 different doctors in the past two weeks, and both have told me that my Diabetes is no longer an issue!!! It's gone... :-D. I am so so very happy for this second chance. Diabetes is not joke. Even with this great news that I have beat my Diabetes, I am going to continue to live a healthy lifestyle so that I don't' have to fear the return of this illness.

I know that saying "go workout 2 hours a day" may be an impossible and unrealistic suggestion. This job, that has allowed me to have this schedule, is very temporary, so I two, will need to go back to the 9 to 5 type job soon. When that time comes, even with limited free time, I hope to continue to be able to exercise at least and hour to half and hour a day, some kind of way. And I am committed to doing this in the future.

For those of you who may be struggling with your weight, or have a desire to live a healthier lifestyle, check out Spark People. You can track you food, share photo's, blog about your goals and share and receive encouragement from fellow friends on the site. Best of all its free. To see my page, go to HealthyKB.