The Ice Cream Truck Theme Song is ruined for me....FOREVER

This morning...the song played by Ice Cream trucks all over the country was officially ruined for me. I came across an article that prompted me to go listen to the original song, which was written in 1916. The song is called "Nigger Love A Watermelon! Ha! Ha! Ha!" My mouth hit the floor as I recalled how just yesterday the Ice Cream Truck came into the neighborhood and all the little kids instantly recognized the jingle and raced to the truck. After reading the article below, I was sickened. Click the link to read the article:

"Recall That Ice Cream Truck Song" Article

And then, I went to Youtube and found the original version of the song....and I threw up. Literally. Click the link to listen

YOUTUBE video of "Nigger Love A Watermelon Ha! Ha! Ha!

Yeah. Summer is officially ruined for me and I may never purchase anything from an Ice Cream truck again. SMH

The Finish Line

For those of you who participated in the "Operation Go Hard" challenge with me, I'd like to congratulate you! And I hope you were able to see some results....

This challenge was definitely a challenge for me from the beginning to the end. It was difficult finding time to squeeze in a work out. I struggled to meet my goals for water intake. The diet was hard to get used to. There were days when I did exceptionally well....and then there were days where I messed up completely...but I didn't quit. I stuck it out to the end and that's the most important part.

Change is never easy....but it's necessary. I look at my "Before" pictures and then I look in the mirror and I am happy with what I see. My stomach has slimmed down considerably and so has my face. But that's not the only changes I noticed. I'm a food junkie, and that will never change, but I notice that I now crave different kinds of foods. My stomach rumbles for fruit and veggies more so than cookies and candy...I crave spinach more so than steak...I choose water over juice.

Overall, I'm pleased how the experience went and I plan to keep the changes in diet and activity. Hopefully, everyone who participated can say the same. <3

5 DAY MASTERCLEANSE

For those that celebrate Easter....I hope you enjoyed your feast yesterday! For those that don't observe Easter...I hope you ate good just because.

The focus for the last week of OPERATION: GO HARD will be a fast, commonly known as The Master Cleanse or The Lemonade Detox. This will be a 2 part process:

• The Master Cleanse 
• The Ease-Out

The Ingredients: Purified Water (Preferably Alkaline Water), Lemons, Organic Maple Syrup, Cayenne Pepper and a laxative (I use Organic Smooth Move Tea).

We're going to strive for 5 days of fasting and detoxing followed by 3 days of easing back into solid foods as to not shock our systems! 

The Recipe:

• 2 TBSP fresh lemon juice from 1/2 a lemon
• 2 TBSP Organic Maple Sugar
• 1/10 of a tsp of Cayenne Pepper (adjust according to taste)
• 1-2 cups of Purified Water

This is to replace you meals. In addition to this "lemonade", continue to drink half your body weight of water in ounces. Also the laxative is to be used every night (or morning for the graveyard shift workers like myself). As for the Ease Out part, we'll touch on that as we near the end of our fast. It's nothing difficult, just making sure we safely re-introduce solid food back into our systems. And that's it. Simple enough, huh? Well lets get started.

Operation GO HARD - Week 3 (April 13th- April 19th)

CONGRATS TO MAKING IT TO:

WEEK THREE


      Daily Dietary for this week is as follows:             
                   Meal: GREEN DRINK SMOOTHIE.
                    Snack: FRUIT OR VEGGIE
                    Meal: PROTEIN (Lean Meat, Beans, etc) + RAW VEGETABLES
                    Snack: FRUIT OR VEGGIE
                    Meal: PROTEIN (Lean Meat, Beans, etc) + RAW VEGETABLES

**Pick TWO days this week to be a MEATLESS day! On these days, do not eat any meat and attempt to limit you intake of anything that comes from animals...like butter, milk, cheese, etc.**

**Also in preparation, next week we will be doing the LEMONADE DETOX for 5 days! So stock up on lemons, organic maple syrup, water, cayenne pepper, Smooth Move organic tea. It's about to get REAL!!**

**Activities in bold may be unfamiliar to most, therefore there will be picture examples listed for those exercises. If there's one I missed, feel free to let me know in the comments**

     Sunday April 13th

        Cardio:               (2 sets)       25 Jumping Jacks///5 Burpees///20 Mountain Climbers

          Quads/Thighs:    (2 sets)      12 Fire Hydrants///10 Jump Squats///10 Frog Leaps

          Butt:                                    65 squats///65 Basic Bridge///90 second wall sit

 Monday April 14th

          Arms:                 (2 sets)     15 push ups///15 Dips///25 Bicep Curls///25 Dumbbell Punches

          Abs:                  (2 sets)      12 crunches///12 leg raises///12 side leg raises///25 second plank

 Tuesday April 15th

          Cardio:               (2 sets)     30 Jumping Jacks///6 Burpees///25 Mountain Climbers//

          Arms:                 (2 sets)     20 push ups///20 Dips///25 Bicep Curls///25 Dumbbell Punches

          Quads/Thighs:    (2 sets)      10 Split Squats///10 Plie Pulses///10 Platypus Walk

          Abs:                  (2 sets)      15 crunches///15 leg raises///25 second plank

          Butt:                                    70 squats///70 Basic Bridge///95 second wall sit

Wednesday April 16th

                                     REST DAY

Thursday April 17th

        Cardio:               (2 sets)       30 Jumping Jacks///6 Burpees///25 Mountain Climbers

          Quads/Thighs:    (2 sets)      12 Fire Hydrants///10 Platypus Walk///12 Frog Leaps

          Butt:                                    65 squats///65 Basic Bridge///90 second wall sit

Friday April 18th

          Arms:                 (2 sets)     15 push ups///15 Dips///25 Bicep Curls///25 Dumbbell Punches

          Abs:                  (2 sets)      12 crunches///12 leg raises///12 side leg raises///25 second plank

 Saturday April 19th

          Cardio:               (2 sets)     30 Jumping Jacks///6 Burpees///25 Mountain Climbers//

          Arms:                 (2 sets)     20 push ups///20 Dips///25 Bicep Curls///25 Dumbbell Punches

          Quads/Thighs:    (2 sets)      10 Split Squats///10 Plie Pulses///10 Platypus Walk

          Abs:                  (2 sets)      15 crunches///15 leg raises///25 second plank///

          Butt:                                    70 squats///70 Basic Bridge///95 second wall sit

                                  

                                            BURPEES                                                         

MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS

DIPS

QUADRUPED ARM / LEG RAISE

SPLIT SQUATS

PLIE PULSES (Pulse up & down 3 times before returning to start position)

Platypus Walk (Walk across the room in this squat position w/ dumbbell over head)

LEG RAISES

BASIC BRIDGE

WALL SIT

JUMP SQUATS

                                                                  RUSSIAN TWISTS
                                   

                                                                FIRE HYDRANTS

FROG LEAP

Operation GO HARD - Week 2 (April 6th- April 12th)

WEEK TWO

      Daily Dietary for this week is as follows:             
                   Meal: GREEN DRINK SMOOTHIE.
                    Snack: FRUIT OR VEGGIE
                    Meal: PROTEIN (Lean Meat, Beans, etc) + RAW VEGETABLES
                    Snack: FRUIT OR VEGGIE
                    Meal: PROTEIN (Lean Meat, Beans, etc) + RAW VEGETABLES
**Pick one day this week to be a MEATLESS day! On this day, do not eat any meat and attempt to limit you intake of anything that comes from animals...like butter, milk, cheese, etc.**

**Activities in bold may be unfamiliar to most, therefore there will be picture examples listed for those exercises. If there's one I missed, feel free to let me know in the comments**

     Sunday April 6th

         Cardio:               (2 sets)      10 Jumping Jacks///10 Woodchoppers///5 Burpees///

                                                    20 Mountain Climbers//20 minute Walk/Jog/Run

          Quads/Thighs:    (2 sets)      8 Fire Hydrants///8 Platypus Walk

          Butt:                                    55 squats///55 Basic Bridge///45 second wall sit

 Monday April 7th

            Cardio:               (2 sets)     15 Rope Jumps///5 Jump Squats///15 Russian Twists///

                                                      20 Mountain Climbers

           Arms:                 (2 sets)      11 push ups///11 Dips///20 Bicep Curls///20 Dumbbell Punches

           Quads/Thighs:    (2 sets)      10 Fire Hydrants///5 Frog Leaps

           Abs:                   (2 sets)      10 crunches///10 leg raises///15 second plank

           Butt:                                    60 squats///30 Forward Lunges///60 second wall sit

 Tuesday April 8th

          Cardio:               (2 sets)     20 Rope Jumps///7 Jump Squats///20 Russian Twists///20 Mountain                                                          Climbers

          Arms:                 (2 sets)     13 push ups///13 Dips///20 Bicep Curls///25 Dumbbell Punches

          Abs:                  (2 sets)      12 crunches///12 leg raises///15 second plank

Wednesday April 9th

                                     REST DAY

Thursday April 10th

          Cardio:               (2 sets)     15 Jumping Jacks///15 Woodchoppers///5 Burpees///

                                                    25 Mountain Climbers//20 minute Walk/Jog/Run

          Arms:                 (2 sets)     15 push ups///15 Dips///25 Bicep Curls///25 Dumbbell Punches

          Quads/Thighs:    (2 sets)      10 Split Squats///10 Plie Pulses///10 Platypus Walk

          Abs:                  (2 sets)      13 crunches///13 leg raises///20 second plank

          Butt:                                    65 squats///65 Basic Bridge///60 second wall sit

Friday April 11th

          Cardio:               (2 sets)     25 Rope Jumps///9 Jump Squats///25 Russian Twists///20 Mountain                                                          Climbers

          Arms:                 (2 sets)     15 push ups///15 Dips///25 Bicep Curls///25 Dumbbell Punches

          Abs:                  (2 sets)      8 crunches///8 leg raises///12 second plank

 Saturday April 12th

         Cardio:               (2 sets)      25 Jumping Jacks///20 Woodchoppers///5 Burpees///

                                                    20 Mountain Climbers//20 minute Walk/Jog/Run

          Quads/Thighs:    (2 sets)      10 Fire Hydrants///10 Platypus Walk

          Butt:                                    65 squats///65 Basic Bridge///90 second wall sit

                                       WOODCHOPPER (Can substitute the ball for dumbbells)

                                            BURPEES                                                         

MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS

DIPS

SPLIT SQUATS

PLIE PULSES (Pulse up & down for 15 seconds before returning to start position)

Platypus Walk (Walk across the room in this squat position w/ dumbbell over head)

LEG RAISES

BASIC BRIDGE

WALL SIT

JUMP SQUATS

                                                                  RUSSIAN TWISTS
                                   

                                                                FIRE HYDRANTS

FROG LEAP

Operation: GO HARD - WEEK 1: (April 1- April 5th)

WEEK ONE

      Daily Dietary for this week is as follows:             
                   Meal: GREEN DRINK SMOOTHIE.
                    Snack: FRUIT OR VEGGIE
                    Meal: PROTEIN (Lean Meat, Beans, etc) + RAW VEGETABLES
                    Snack: FRUIT OR VEGGIE
                    Meal: PROTEIN (Lean Meat, Beans, etc) + RAW VEGETABLES

**Activities in bold may be unfamiliar to most, therefore there will be picture examples listed fpr those exercises. If there's one I missed, feel free to let me know in the comments**

     Wednesday April 2nd

          Cardio:               (2 sets)     10 Jumping Jacks///10 Woodchoppers///3 Burpees///

                                                    10 Mountain Climbers//20 minute Walk/Jog/Run

          Arms:                 (2 sets)     5 push ups///5 Dips///10 Bicep Curls///10 Dumbbell Punches

          Quads/Thighs:    (2 sets)      5 Split Squats///10 Plie Pulses///5 Platypus Walk

          Abs:                  (2 sets)      5 crunches///5 leg raises///10 second plank

          Butt:                                    50 squats///50 Basic Bridge///30 second wall sit

 Thursday April 3rd

          Cardio:               (2 sets)     10 Rope Jumps///3 Jump Squats///10 Russian Twists///10 Mountain                                                          Climbers

          Arms:                 (2 sets)     8 push ups///8 Dips///15 Bicep Curls///15 Dumbbell Punches

          Abs:                  (2 sets)      8 crunches///8 leg raises///12 second plank

 Friday April 4th

         Cardio:               (2 sets)      10 Jumping Jacks///10 Woodchoppers///5 Burpees///

                                                    20 Mountain Climbers//20 minute Walk/Jog/Run

          Quads/Thighs:    (2 sets)      8 Fire Hydrants///8 Platypus Walk

          Butt:                                    55 squats///55 Basic Bridge///45 second wall sit

Saturday April 5th

            Cardio:               (2 sets)     15 Rope Jumps///5 Jump Squats///15 Russian Twists///

                                                      20 Mountain Climbers

           Arms:                 (2 sets)      11 push ups///11 Dips///20 Bicep Curls///20 Dumbbell Punches

           Quads/Thighs:    (2 sets)      10 Fire Hydrants///5 Frog Leaps

           Abs:                   (2 sets)      10 crunches///10 leg raises///15 second plank

           Butt:                                    60 squats///30 Forward Lunges///60 second wall sit

                                       WOODCHOPPER (Can substitute the ball for dumbbells)

                                            BURPEES                                                         

MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS

DIPS

SPLIT SQUATS

PLIE PULSES (Pulse up & down for 15 seconds before returning to start position)

Platypus Walk (Walk across the room in this squat position w/ dumbbell over head)

LEG RAISES

BASIC BRIDGE

WALL SIT

JUMP SQUATS

                                                                  RUSSIAN TWISTS
                                   

                                                                FIRE HYDRANTS

FROG LEAP

Operation: GO HARD Activated

Today is April 1st and we know what that means...OPERATION: GO HARD is now officially in full effect.

Every Sunday morning, I will post the dietary and fitness challenges for the week. We will stick to the regimen for the entire month of April. This week's challenges will be posted later tonight. Today is all about getting our bodies and our minds in tune with the changes that are about to occur. Consider it to be your prep or practice day. As some of you know, I am recovering from a bad car accident so this prep day will be especially beneficial.

Now keep in mind that I am in no way, shape or form a fitness or dietary expert. I research and found some stuff that seemed like it would work so we are all guinea pigs right now....but the good kind tho lol. REMEMBER TO TAKE BEFORE PICTURES AND DOCUMENT YOUR STARTING WEIGHT SO YOU CAN SEE EXACTLY HOW MUCH PROGRESS YOU MAKE ALONG THE WAY!

TODAY'S GOALS: 
1. Write down your goal. At the end of this Operation, what do you hope to accomplish?
2. Keep Food Journal. Grab a pen and a notepad and write down EVERYTHING that you eat and drink. For a lot of people eating can be a subconscious thing and keeping a journal keeps us conscious of what we eat and holds us accountable for our decisions.
3. Deep Stretch for an hour. This can be yoga poses, Qigong poses, etc. Just take and hour to relax and stretch out every part of your body from the head to the feet...slowly and deliberately. Remember to use deep breathing techniques to assist with deeper stretches. Here's an example:

4. Increase Water Intake. For the entire month (and possibly longer) we will drink half our body in water in ounces EVERY day. So if you weigh 200 pounds, you must drink a minimum of 100 ounces of water a day. To make this easier for me, I buy a case of water and then reuse them and keep track of how much I drink in my Food Journal.
5. Increase Raw Veggie Intake & Decrease Meat Intake. By the end of this challenge, the goal is to eat vegetables (preferably raw) with every meal and decrease meat intake to a couple times a week or less. So for today let's make sure we are prepared for that. Make sure you have an abundance of fruits and veggies on deck. Our diet will consist of:

                    Meal: GREEN DRINK SMOOTHIE.
                    Snack: FRUIT OR VEGGIE
                    Meal: PROTEIN (Lean Meat, Beans, etc) + RAW VEGETABLES
                    Snack: FRUIT OR VEGGIE
                    Meal: PROTEIN (Lean Meat, Beans, etc) + RAW VEGETABLES

For right now, limit your meat intake to once a day. As the weeks go by, we will slowly cut out the number of days per week we eat meat period. You should eat every few hours so keep the portion sizes small.

And that's it for today. By 6am tomorrow morning, I will have listed the fitness routines and dietary plan (which won't be much different) for the rest of the week. GOOD LUCK <3

"Operation: GO HARD" - Preparation Tips

It's almost time for "Operation: GO HARD"!! Are you ready?

This is the time to mentally prepare for the 30 day regimen. Here's are a couple tips to prepare.

1.   Set a goal. Is there a particular body part that you hope to tighten? Do you want to be able to do 50 push ups? Do you want to drop a couple plans? Whatever your goal is...BE SURE TO WRITE IT DOWN. I don't know what it is about writing things down that makes it more tangible....it makes it more real...and the chances of you actually accomplishing your goal improve drastically.

2. Stock Up.  Your diet will consist of mostly water, fruits and vegetables so make sure you stock up on those items in preparation. This regimen will also consist of a Master Cleanse detox period so be sure to grab lemons, organic maple syrup, cayenne pepper and organic Smooth Move tea. All the other items can be purchased as you go, but the goal is to make fruits and vegetables (preferably raw) 95% of what we eat.

3.Schedule Your Workouts. Approach your workout regimen with a plan. Don't try to squeeze a workout in, schedule one. For example, I work overnights so the best time for me to work out is first thing in the morning when I get off. That's the time of the day when I really have free time. So I add it to my schedule "Work Out @ 7am." Once you add it to your schedule, it becomes part of your routine and therefore becomes easier to stick to.

Hope these tips help! April 1st is right around the corner......... :-)

Operation: GO HARD!

The fall of 2013? Oh honey, I had big plans. I was going to spend the entire winter working on my summer body. I was going to work out 5 times a week and start eating right. I spent weeks creating the "perfect" work out and diet plan. I spent a bunch of money on work out clothes and gadgets that would make it "fun" to eat healthier. And I was dedicated for the first couple weeks, and then I slowly fell back into my old habits.

And then last week it finally hit me. I was standing in front of mirror completely nude analyzing my body. I didn't look too bad, of course there were a couple problem areas, but it didn't look too unflattering. And then I decided to snap a couple pictures from various angles with my iPhone. Why oh why did I do that? I don't know what kind of funny mirrors I have in my house, but when I saw the pictures and my jaw hit the floor. I was was honestly disgusted by what I saw. I didn't realize how much my body had changed over the past few months...and even though I had permanently made some healthier lifestyle choices...I was even farther from my goal now than when I originally started.

That's when I decided that it was time to go hard. Summer is right around the corner...and I refuse to look sloppy once it hits. And I'm certain that I'm not the only woman who feels this way. So I invite you all to join me and let's GO HARD for 30 days straight. The entire month of April will be a sweaty one....but it will be worth it. I WANT RESULTS!! It's time to get those bodies looking right and those insides feeling right!

I will be posting the regime in a few days. If you plan on participating, leave a comment below. You know what they say....TEAM WORK MAKES A DREAM WORK...