I just finished Jennifer Hudson’s new book I Got This: How I Changed My Ways and Lost What Weighed Me Down. I’m a fan of Jennifer Hudson. I have both of her albums and couldn’t wait to get her new book. I’m totally inspired by her 80 pound weight loss with Weight Watchers. I love that she’s a positive Black role model. But, I kind of have mixed feelings about her book. I read a review on Amazon.com that said that reading the book was like reading her Wikipedia entry, and it was! I hate to say it, but the book almost seems sugar-coated.
I was completely outraged that she did not even mention the horrible murder of her mother, brother and nephew by her sister’s estranged husband. You better believe if my sister’s estranged husband killed my Mama, my other sister and my niece, y’all are going to hear about it. Jennifer simply said, “my Superbowl performance was my first public appearance after my family tragedy” Really JHud? Some readers may not even know what her “family tragedy” was. I’ve never lost people that close to me, so I can’t image how difficult it would be to discuss it, but I would have loved to hear how she was able to overcome such extreme adversity and still remain a positive happy well-balanced person. A part of me wonders if her “brushing over it” is how she coped….Okay, I’ll leave it alone…but that was just not what I expected.
Then she had a whole section on the biomechanics of Weight Watchers and a bunch of statistics. I realize that when the program is great you almost become a spokesperson (as I have) because you’re proud of the way it helped change your life. But, some parts were a little too “Team Weight Watchers.” Okay, enough of the negative, but I had to keep it real.
Finally, her personality started to show in the book. She was raised that curves on a woman were a good thing, and she “never felt self-conscious.” I can believe that, a lot of times in the black community, guys like a “thick” girl. A little extra weight is a bonus. When I picture myself at my goal weight, I’m a size 8 or 10. I have no desire to be a size 2 or 4.
It was interesting to learn that Jennifer was not an emotional eater. She literally didn’t know what healthy food was and how to eat healthy portion sizes. She lost weight solely for health reasons, not because of how she looked. She was also inspired by the birth of her son and a career field that thrives on image. That was an interesting perspective.
She mentioned some good food ideas I can’t wait to try like apples and cashews that taste like a caramel apple and how cinnamon on salmon with lemon is delicious. She even included a few recipes at the end.
Her WW leader Liz gave her great insight on being active, she told her don’t do exercise that you don’t like and have as many options as possible. She also reminded her that every day is a chance to start over. Since Jennifer lost weight, she inspired many of her family members to join WW and they have lost over 2,000 pounds. I would have to say that my favorite part of the book was near the end. Unlike her easy breezy “track and lose weight” she discussed her struggles with life after losing such a drastic amount of weight and how it changed her image. She discussed how at one point while filming Winnie, she feared she was too thin, and how some fans rejected her instead of supporting her new found health and body. She also explained how she embraces her extra skin and stretch marks as battle scars to show how far she’s come. I’m long way from taking pride in my stretch marks, but it was refreshing to see how to overcome it once you are on the maintenance side of losing.
Overall, I give the book 3 out of 5 stars. I love that she explains the importance of family and how the strength and lessons of her deceased grandmother pulled her through difficult times. I’m so happy that she found her calling through singing and inspiring, and I believe that she’s right where God wants her to be.
For the past couple of days I’ve mulled around in my miserable fatness. I did not want to sprinkle my raindrops on you if you were having a sunny day so I decided not to post a blog entry. I was so frustrated that I’m gradually gaining weight back. Yesterday, I convinced myself that two hotdogs wrapped in pretzels from Annie Anne’s and two cookies from Mrs. Fields at the mall would somehow make me feel better. Miraculously, they did while I ate them, and ironically made me feel equally as bad as soon as I was finished.
Since I tremendously enjoyed the book “A Course in Weight loss” as recommended by Oprah, I decided to try the book she recommended “Women Food and God” to give me a new perspective. Honestly, I was pretty disappointed. Not only because I feel scammed that she starts off the book explaining why the book is not about God, but I felt that she was trying to secretly brainwash me into attending her off kilter fat camp seminars. I know that that sounds kind of harsh, but that’s how I felt about it. Then she occasionally threw in the “F” word to make sure you were still awake. However, I maintain my theory that you should gain at least one good Golden Nugget from everything you read and experience. She often reiterated the idea that it doesn’t make sense for us to believe that we can hate ourselves and hate our bodies into losing weight. Saying negative things and repeating constant self degrading messages in our minds will not logically produce the desired effect of a happy thinner version of yourself. It made me pay attention to the negative monologue that loops in my mind about me and my weight. After sitting down last night and really thinking about it, I just realized that you gotta do the work. There is no easy way out of this. I have most of the tools, and the knowledge to lose weight. It won’t be easy or fun. Anything worth having takes a lot of work to maintain. I decided to focus on what I am good at, which ironically is working out, running and writing. No matter how tired I was today, I was going to do Week 3. Despite the fact that I went to a wedding out of town and missed my weekend routine, I still wanted to run with week three. As soon as I got off work I came home changed into all black fitness clothes and made my way to Forest Park. I was a little intimidated by the three minute runs but there was no way I was going back to week two. I picked a scenic route that would keep me distracted from the burning sensation in my calves. I “wrote” this post in my head over and over to keep my mind off of running. The last three minute run interval was tough, but just as I felt like I couldn’t run anymore; a group of about 5 jogging ladies smiled and cheered me on. I believe that God sends little reminders and encouragement right when you need it. It felt so good to complete all of the intervals without stopping. So that’s my goal for the next week focus on the things I’m good at, and maybe the other things will fall into place.
Who is Bob? You know Bob and Jillian
, Biggest Loser trainer Bob. Bob Harper, that Bob. Over the weekend I read The Biggest Loser: The Weight Loss Program to Transform Your Body, Health, and Life. I’m such a nerd I read the whole book cover to cover on Sunday. It’s an older book written a couple years ago, shortly after the first highly successful season of the Biggest Loser Reality Show
. I watch the show sometimes, but I’m not like a super fan. The book was still good, I enjoyed it. I like that it didn’t promise some miracle pill or magic food that will make you skinny overnight. I didn’t really learn anything new, as I’ve been “dieting” for the last 10 years. But it was a nice refresher course for the professional dieter like me, or a great start for a beginner. It hit on all of the things you must do to lose weight and keep it off.
Rule 1) Find a Reason Why- To be Healthier, to Improve your physical appearance, to Look Great in clothes (one of my major motivations), To be fitter, To Be Normal without life revolving around food (I can’t even imagine how great that would be), to have better relationships, to gain more self respect & self confidence….I think we all could use a little more self confidence.
Rule 2) Get Organized – Get a calorie counting guide. (I’m such an internet girl that I use the weightwatcher e-tools or calorie count.com). Get measuring cups or spoons, and a food journal. Ugh….that is one of the hardest parts of weight loss for me. I hate writing down my food, I feel stupid having to write down what I eat, it feels “abnormal” coupled with the thought that to be successful, I’ll probably have to do it “forever” *sigh* That’s just one of the mental roadblocks I need to move on my road to Healthyville…. Anyway, the next tool is a Weight Scale
. It’s recommended that you weigh weekly. I don’t know if I’ve ever said it, but I usually weigh myself daily in the morning. That’s not good for everyone, but I use it for information, not judgment. If it’s a pound or so different it doesn’t bother me, but if it’s a few pounds, it’s a reminder to cut back on the calories. Next, they recommend Mantras for Motivation like “Keep on Keeping on”, “I have a strong healthy body”, ” I’m Beautiful” etc. Telling yourself positive thoughts is integral part to being a successful “Loser”
Rule 3) Eating to Lose – The book discussed Calories needed for weight loss formula is your current weight x 7. For example if I weigh 160 lbs (don’t laugh, I will one day)…anyway If I weigh 160, then multiply by 7, my daily caloric intake needed for weight loss would be 1,120 calories. It also talked about basics like reading a label and how to eat a balanced meal with the right serving sizes. It further stressed the idea of eating 4-6 small meals a day. I usually eat breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, and dinner.
Rule 4) The Exercise Plan- They have a really nice 12 week cardio workout plan mixed with walking/running, based on your current level of fitness. I think I do pretty good working out usually at least 3 times a week, sometime I don’t get a chance to blog about every time I get in some activity, but usually 3 times a week. Reading the book helped me realize I can amp it up to 4 times a week. My first thought was “I don’t have time.” But as I kept reading, one of the contestants recommended Biggest Loser DVD’s. I put it in my Netflix queue and made a plan for a quick morning workout. Even though, y’all know I don’t “do” mornings too well, getting up 30 minutes earlier and working out in my PJ’s in my living room is not going to kill me. Like my girl said, this is the kinda stuff it’s going to take right?
I got the The Biggest Loser Boot Camp DVD
with Bob. It was really good…dare I say I enjoyed it? Bob talks to the screen a lot and has tons of positive and encouraging things to say, while pushing you at the same time. I did the warm up, the Week 1 routine, and the cool down, and was done in about 30 minutes. I was sweating good too. I was shocked I got in a “real” workout without leaving the house. It was only one time during the moving pushups that I stopped and told Bob “you’re crazy” and he said just say, Bob I love you. And I did!
Amber lost nearly 90 pounds with Jillian’s program!
