I was featured on Black Weight Loss Success!

It really motivates me when I compare my before and "during" photos or to see other great transformation photos. Honestly, some days I feel so defeated as if I just didn't lose 102 pounds in less than 11 months. I try to not feel bad about the things that I eat when I have a cheat meal that turns into a cheat week! SHEESH! It gets really hard some days. What helps me to keep going on these hard days and hard weeks is posting on Instagram, posting on my many groups on Facebook, on my fitness page on Facebook and here in my blog. I had been having an okay week, but when I woke up to see that I had been featured on Black Weight Loss Success, it really made my day! 

This feature really helped me think about what really got me motivated to start this journey. Here is what I submitted and what was featured: "I am ready to share my story. I have been over weight most of my life but was pretty active playing softball and being in the Marching Band in High School and College. There were many things that motivated me to lose the weight and get healthy. I had a miscarriage right before getting married in May 2011. I took it pretty hard and ultimately left the Doctorate program that I was in partly because of depression. After the miscarriage I continued to gain weight. In April 2012, my maternal grandmother got really sick and was in the hospital for about a month before finding out that she had lung cancer along with the High Blood Pressure and Diabetes that she had already been diagnosed with. She ended up passing away a week later. I did get to see her before she past and it really was a terrible experience. I knew at that point I had to do something about my health.

Fast forward to May 2012. My husband and I had just purchased our first home that had upstairs! I always said that I didn’t want a home with stairs. I could barely get up the stairs without stopping. So, because I wanted to be healthy for myself, my husband, my family, and my future children is why I lost the weight.

I have lost 102 lbs since June 20th 2012. Initially, I lost it by walking using Walk-Away-The-Pounds, cutting out all drinks except for water, using myfitnesspal and drinking nutritional shakes (Shakeology) for my breakfast. I eventually added in dancing and two a day’s workouts. I did some awesome boot camps through Groupon. I started working out using Turbo Fire this past January. I am now doing Insanity and feeling great!"

I would like to tell anyone out there that does not "know" how to start a weight-loss journey that:

1. You know more than you think you know! 

2. You need to know what is making your weight increase

3. Believe that you are worth changing and worth losing the weight

4. Take baby steps

5. Seek support

6. Non Scale Victories are AWESOME! 
7. This is a process!
8. Mind over Matter
9. Shake things UP!
10. Share the Wealth!

I will do separate posts talking about the details of each of these this week.

Check out the post on Black Weight Loss Success here:

http://www.blackweightlosssuccess.com/yas-lost-102-pounds/#comment-46390

Make sure you check out and like my fitness page on facebook! www.facebook.com/TheGirlyEngineerGettingFit

Be Sure to Follow me on Instagram: @YasJasFitness

If you would like to find out more about the Shakes that I drink or the workouts (Turbo Fire, Insanity, P90X and more) that I do, check out my beach body websites:

For just info on the shakes:

http://myshakeology.com/YasJas2011

For info on the shakes and workouts combinations:

http://beachbodycoach.com/esuite/home/YasJas2011

The Girly Engineer

102 Pounds Down Update!!

WOW!! It has been so long since I have updated my blog. I know, I know, shameful right? I have been keeping my Instagram (Username YasJasFitness) updated and my Facebook Fitness page ( www.facebook.com/TheGirlyEngineerGettingFit ) updated though. I am still on Myfitnesspal (Username YasJas2011). It is just so much easier to do. I mean who starts a weight-loss journey, a natural hair journey, starts being an instructor and completing their PhD at the same dang time!? I do I guess. LOL!! I have never been too normal though. HA!

Tomorrow will be my 11th month on my weight-loss journey and I am down 102lbs; the last I checked. It is still so shocking to me. Just about ALL of my clothes are too big and it all just seems like a dream. I think it has been most surprising that I have inspired and motivated people along the way without even trying. I am still pushing hard by starting Power 90 and Insanity on last week. It is just that, INSANITY!!! LOL!! But honestly, I did all of this stuff while doing Bootcamp. So I was already mentally prepared for it I suppose. It is still challenging though. I will be sure to post my results at the end.

I will post pictures below that I haven't post in the blog before, just in case anyone has not seen them.

Make sure you check out and like my fitness page on facebook! www.facebook.com/TheGirlyEngineerGettingFit

Be Sure to Follow me on Instagram: @YasJasFitness

If you would like to find out more about the Shakes that I drink or the workouts (Turbo Fire, Insanity, P90X and more) that I do, check out my beach body websites:

For just info on the shakes:

http://myshakeology.com/YasJas2011

For info on the shakes and workouts combinations:

http://beachbodycoach.com/esuite/home/YasJas2011

The Girly Engineer

31 Days of Food Journaling Challenge!

Good Tuesday ALL!

I have so many people that has asked me what has been the most beneficial things used to lose weight. Some will think the workouts or the Shakeology. Both of those have proved to be great tools and I don't think I would have lost 85lbs in about 8.5 months without them. You will be surprise to hear that what has helped me the most was writing/logging down my foods! Many of you may know that I use www.myfitnesspal.com to log my foods daily, but I have also used www.sparkpeople.com and other apps to log in my foods (all free sites). Since that was what I would call the main factor in me losing the weight, I wanted to create a 31 Day Food Journaling Challenge!

 

Why are you creating the Challenge?

I have found myself not logging in all of my foods or not logging in the "bad days". This is something that I did consistently at the beginning. It is really a challenge for myself, but why have all of the fun and gain all of the benefits. :-) Sharing is Caring!

Is there a difference between Food Logging and Food Journaling?

Yes, it is. With Food Logging, you are just logging in what you eat and totaling up the calories. With Food Journaling, it is logging your food with the total of calories and reflecting on how you felt while eating the foods, what made you eat the foods, did you skip any meals and etcetera. This is something that I need to work more on and will be part of the challenge.

What is the Challenge?

This is a very simple and very difficult challenge all at the same time. It is very important in weight loss especially if you are working out like crazy! You may not see the results you desire if you have no idea what you are consuming. This will be a 31 day challenge and will run from March 1- March 31st and can be as complex or as simple as you need it to be. This should not be a stressful process. It should only aid in becoming a healthier you and helping to shed those stubborn pounds.

Journaling Options:
Write down every meal, your mood, your energy, how long it took, how hungry you were, how you felt after. Be consistent in what you track. You can track how much or less that you desire. Minimum tracking every meal and daily reflection is required.

Take a picture of every meal (this has really been shown to help improve food choices) and jot down your thoughts

Buy a journal.

Use an online App such as myfitnesspal, lose it, or sparkpeople and take advantage of the note section of the daily log area.

Decide if you want to use a digital journal or pen/paper

Share your food journal if you think that will help you stay more accountable.

I have created an event on my Facebook fitness page if you want accountability and support: www.facebook.com/TheGirlyEngineerGettingFit

The direct link to the Event is: https://www.facebook.com/TheGirlyEngineerGettingFit?ref=hl#!/events/343211262462826/

As a mini challenge you must try 3 new fruits and/or vegetables for the 31 days!

If you are doing the Challenge Via Instagram, Tag your pictures to: #31DayFJChallenge
 
 
 
 
 

If you are trying to go even further with your journaling, here is more great advice from an excerpt from: http://www.healthfulpursuit.com/2011/11/food-journaling-challenge/

"Don’t be scared of the ‘bad days’

Please understand that there are no bad foods or bad days, and that these days are just as important to report as the good days.

Remember that guilty days where we feel like we’ve cheated our body are only bad patterns that come to the forefront when we’re journaling. It’s important that we record each and every thing, no matter how we feel about ourselves during/after we ate it. The whole reason behind food journaling is to begin to understand why we made these choices, so write it all down!

All the answers are right there

So you’ve recorded a week. Now what?

Set aside a couple of minutes per week to review your journal to understand:

· What you eat

· When you eat

· How much

· Where

· With whom

· Why

From there, you can begin to look at what you’ve eaten and start picking out patterns. Some things I look for:

· How many fruits, vegetables, proteins are you getting on a daily basis? Are there days where you had more of one type of food that you felt better than other days?

· Are you skipping meals and subsequently overeating later in the day?

· Are your meals balanced? Are you eating all of your starchy foods in the morning and packing in the protein in the afternoon?

· Is there a long span of time between meals?

· Do you notice any food groups that are completely missing?

· Do you notice you overeat if you wait too long in between your meals?

· What is the perfect amount of time between each of your meals? What is too long, what is too short?

· Do you get a particular symptom after eating a certain type of food?

· What is the ideal day for you? What patterns were you following that day? Why did you feel so good?

· Is there a meal that you may have too often?

· When you consider the day as a whole, is most of what’s being consumed whole, unprocessed food or is it primarily packaged?

Translating the answers into solutions

Now you know all of these neat things about yourself. How does that help you exactly?

I usually add a blank page to my journal and write down all of the things I learned in the previous week. Then I write a list of the things I’ll work on for the following week. For instance, here’s the list of things I’m currently working on:

· Remember to take my B complex daily. It really helps with brain fuzziness.

· Try to have at least 1 vegetable protein per day, preferably in the morning.

· Increase protein during my morning snack, maybe with stevia sweetened coconut flour muffins?

I refer back to this list on a daily basis to make sure that I’m setting some of the learnings into action!"

Try Food Journaling out and I am sure you will see huge changes! Let's do THIS!!! March will be awesome!
 

 The Girly Engineer

How I make my Spaghetti Squash and Mashed Sweet Potatoes

I get a lot of people that ask me how I make my Spaghetti Squash and Sweet potatoes. Here you go.


I use Spaghetti Squash to replace pasta for spaghetti.

Here is how I make it:

1. Poke holes in the squash with a knife all around. You don't want it to blow up in the microwave
2. Cook it for 6 minutes per pound in the microwave; in a microwave safe dish. It is normally 2 pounds. I cook it for 6 minutes on one side and flip over for the other 6 minutes.
3. Cut the tip off and cut in half
4. Scoop the seeds out with a folk
5. Scrap out the squash
6. Season with salt and pepper and it is ready to eat

This has become a weekly favorite and a daily treat!

How I make my mash sweet potatoes:

1.  Rinse potatoes off
2. Puncture with folk multiple times around and put it on paper towels and in to the microwave.
3. I had pretty large potatoes this time and cooked them for 7 minutes; flip them and cooked for 7 more mins. (generally 4 minutes per potato, but keep cooking until it is tender)
4. Let cool. You can peel it and mash. I do a combination of cutting, peeling and scrapping with a knife and folk.
5. Add 1 tablespoon of Raw Honey, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
6. Stir with a spoon until it is mixed/whipped. This (the picture below) was enough for about 1/2 cup for 7 of my meals

 

 

Make sure you check out and like my fitness page on facebook! www.facebook.com/TheGirlyEngineerGettingFit

Be Sure to Follow me on Instagram: @yashicab

If you would like to find out more about the Shakes that I drink or the workouts (Turbo Fire, Insanity, P90X and more) that I do, check out my beach body websites:

For just info on the shakes:

http://myshakeology.com/YasJas2011

For info on the shakes and workouts combinations:

http://beachbodycoach.com/YasJas2011

The Girly Engineer

Meal Prepping: FAQs!

 
Hello Everyone!
 

I have decided to do a post on how I meal prep. I am no expert. I am just a researcher that happens to be a Southern Girl that likes to cook! LOL! I will be answering FAQ's on what meats I use, what sides and more. I have used YouTube, Google and a Friend to get this information.

I currently eat a Semi-Paleo Diet. Meaning, I still drink my Shakeology, eat my honey roasted peanuts, and peanut butter (does are my snacks during the day and I refuse to give them up! LOL!), I also have "Cheat Day(s)" on the weekend.

FAQ's :

 

1. What is the Paleo Diet?

In short, it is eating as the cave people would. In other words, foods that is in their most natural form as meats, seafood, fruits, veggies and nuts. This means no dairy (milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream and etc.?) No processed foods (Sorry no McDonald's and 100 calorie packs), no sugar or artificial flavoring, no Legumes (beans and peas) and no starch (Sweet potatoes has been said to be okay). Maybe one day I can fully convert to this! For the first week, I had no cheat days and lost 7lbs! So if you are at weight-loss hiatus or want to jump start your weight loss, you may what to try this. You can Google for more info but here are a few helpful websites if you are interested (Shout out to my girl Kenna for the links!):

 

www.ultimatepaleoguide.com

(that website has a lot of information, shopping lists, lists of Paleo friendly food, definition of Paleo, etc)

www.fastpaleo.com

lots of good recipes and stuff to help you)

http://www.thecavegirldish.com 

(more great recipes here)

http://www.fatburningman.com/paleo-diet-tips-how-to-eat-paleo-at-the-airport-podcast/

(for the traveling Paleo eater)

http://www.paleoplan.com/recipes/#Poultry

(more recipes)

http://www.unrefinedkitchen.com/

(Paleo, Primal, gluten free recipes here)
 
 

2. What meats can you use for meal prepping?

You can really any meat that you desire. I found that most (grilled or baked) meats will do well if frozen for a week or two (maybe even longer). Think of it as a microwave dinner. I use Boneless Chicken Breast, Pork Tenderloins, Salmon, Steak (Whatever is on sale) and Ground Turkey.



Grilled Chicken Breast and Pork Tenderloin

 

3. How do you cook your meats?

My husband will sometimes grill my meats. If not, I will bake them or use the George Foreman grill.

4. How much meat do I prep?

Normally enough to make lunches and dinners for 6 days. I will do 1 serving size normally of a meat per container.

5. Do you freeze your meals?

I sure do. Even if I will eat it the next day. It works for me because I am normally on the go and by the time it is time to eat, it may be unfrozen. I pop it in the microwave and it is good to go.

6. What sides do you make?

I make Mashed Sweet Potatoes made with Raw Honey, Cinnamon and Nutmeg, Squash and Zucchini, Sautéed Kale, Steam Cabbage, and broccoli. Most veggies will be okay frozen. The only one I would be concerned with is Asparagus because they tend to get soggy. I also make Spaghetti Squash with meat sauce and the Ground Turkey. I will sometimes use the Ground Turkey to make stuffed bell peppers. (I will do a separate post on how I make my Mashed Sweet Potatoes and Spaghetti Squash).



Sweet Potatoes Cooked in the Microwave



Spaghetti Squash cooked in the Microwave

 


Kale, Squash and Zucchini



Yellow Squash, Zucchini and Green Onions



7. Where do you get your storage containers?

I got mines from Wal-Mart. You can get them from most stores. You may want to try to get BPA free storage containers.

8. Do you cook all of your food in one day?

I do. It normally takes me 2-4 hours depending on what all I have to make. You could do some one day and some the next. I like to have everything done and to put it right in the freezer.

 

9. Do you prep your fruits for smoothies/shakes?

Sometimes. I just cut up the fruits and freeze them on a tray for a few hours and put them in Ziploc bags.

Banana and Pears

 

Bananas

 

Pears

 
 
 

10. What are Green Pops and how do you make them?

Green Pops are an ideal that I got off of YouTube. It is just greens of your choice blended with water and frozen in ice trays. I used Kale, Spinach, Cucumbers, and Celery in my last mix and added 1-2 cups of water and blended in my Ninja until it turns into liquid. I then pour it into the ice trays and let freeze overnight. When they are done, I put them in one big Ziploc Bag.

 

11. How many serving of fruit is in each cube?

I have no clue! LOL! I just kind of guess on this when it comes to putting it in myfitnesspal I normally put 3 to 4 cubes in my Shakeology.

I hope this answer most of your questions. Of course I use www.myfitnesspal.com or the App to keep up with how much of these foods I am eating. Please leave a comment below if you have more questions.

 

 

Make sure you check out and like my fitness page on facebook! www.facebook.com/TheGirlyEngineerGettingFit

 

Be Sure to Follow me on Instagram: @yashicab

If you would like to find out more about the Shakes that I drink or the workouts (Turbo Fire, Insanity, P90X and more) that I do, check out my beach body websites:

For just info on the shakes:

http://myshakeology.com/YasJas2011

For info on the shakes and workouts combinations:

http://beachbodycoach.com/esuite/home/YasJas2011

The Girly Engineer

 
 
 

 

 
 

The 240 Day Update!!

Good Afternoon Everyone and a Wonderful Saturday to you! It snowing here in NC! Which is so strange. Yesterday it was at least 70 degrees.


WooHoo!! It has been 240 days/8 Months since I have started this weight-loss journey. February has been the best month to date. I have been doing Turbo Fire and 30 Day Shred and I still love them! I am officially on day 25 of Turbo Fire. I have really seen so much progress in the last 30 days.

I have been prepping all of my meals and I really love the effects of doing so.

Not only does it keep my calories in check, it helps with saving money and I don't have to figure out what I am eating for the day. My Shakeology keeps my cravings to a minimal. I am still doing a semi-paleo eating program. I do have a cheat day or two on the weekend with eating some starches and sweets.

Things that I have learned/Progress in the last 30 Days:
1. I STILL LOVE TURBO FIRE!! I think I have found my Cardio soul mate! LOL!
2. I am stronger than I ever knew I could be.

3. Food Prepping is AWESOME!
4. I can bounce back even from a horrible couple of weeks! I had to learn that one or 5 bad days does not have to result in continuously eating badly!
5. 30 Day Shred is THE TRUTH!!!
6. Instagram has really become so helpful. I love sharing my progress and having so many new people cheer me on.
7. I love how I feel after doing Turbo Fire, especially the stretching.

Things that I have been doing consistently to lose the weight:

•Drinking a Shakeology Shake every morning (Including flax seeds, some fruits (A Banana every morning and any other fruit that I may have), and my Green pops (Made with Cucumbers, Spinach, Kale and Celery).

•Drinking on average 16 cups of water (equivalent to 128oz)

•Working out at least 6-7 times a week  (Turbo Fire, and 30 Day Shred)

•Eating what I have prepped for the week and using Myfitnesspal.com to track my calories

· Eating less of fruits and more veggies

· Eating Protein with my meals

· Drinking a Protein shake after most of my workouts

•Staying within or under my 1400 daily calories (Averaging 1200 calories). I currently do not eat back my calories from working out. This has changed from 1500 calories that I eating last month.

•Use the general rule to only eat half of my meal when going out to restaurants to eat.
•I keep moving by parking a little farther from where I am going and using stairs.

My new main numbers:

Waist: 37 inches-Down from 51 inches

Lower Stomach: 42inches - Down from 55.34 Inches

Weight: 277lbs- Down from 360lbs

Shirt Size: 14/16 or XL in some shirts- Down from Size 26-28 or 3x
Jeans: Size 18 in most- Down from Size 26.

I am Officially Down 83 lbs.!!! YAY!!!

I have notice big changes in my overall body in 240 days!

Now for the pictures comparing Day 1 and Day 240!

 

 

Make sure you check out and like my fitness page on facebook! www.facebook.com/TheGirlyEngineerGettingFit

If you would like to find out more about the Shakes that I drink or the workouts (Turbo Fire, Insanity, P90X and more) that I do, check out my beach body websites:

For just info on the shakes:

http://myshakeology.com/YasJas2011

For info on the shakes and workouts combinations:

http://beachbodycoach.com/esuite/home/YasJas2011

The Girly Engineer