KQ Fitness

I AM STRONGER THAN MY BIGGEST WEAKNESS . . .

2011-11-10T10:46:00.000-05:00

I've admitted numerous times I am very weak & have little to NO willpower/self-control when it comes to nuts & trailmix. Now this wouldn't be a bad thing if I didn't eat them in such OBSCENE quantities. By doing this for the past few weeks (let's be real . . . MONTHS) it has caused some unwanted weight gain and a major disappoint with self. I've said I would stop several times then I immediately give in for this reason or that reason after a day or so. Well we're approaching almost a week with NO Nuts or Trailmix and I'm honestly vowing to gain self-control over this demon that I've let have power over me for TOOOOOO long. I have long term goals in mind and allowing myself to be controlled by something instead of me controlling it will NOT get me to where I want to be!!

We ALL have a weaknesses. . .be it food, drink, activities, people, etc that aren't necessarily beneficial for us and to our long term goals but what are we doing about it?!?! Are we trying to gain control over them or are we continuing to let these things control us? It's not necessarily about saying NO to things things FOREVER but it is about saying NO for Right Now!! Having the strength to say NO for now and really mean it is a VERY EMPOWERING feeling. By gaining back some my power everyday I become stronger & stronger and I further know that there's NOTHING I can't put my mind to and accomplish. It also lets me know that what I thought I "had" to have or "had" to do wasn't really a necessity at all but more of a want or a crutch that I used to lean on for when I was going through something. I would turn to nuts & trailmix when I was feeling bad (illness), when I wasn't thinking highly of myself, when someone aggravated me, when I was pinched for time but NOT out of time and could've made a better choice, when I was claiming to be hungry from my competition dieting and here's the BIGGEST one. . . when I was accepting DEFEAT and just deciding it was better to give up & participate in self sabotage. . . WELL NO MORE because I AM STRONGER THAN MY BIGGEST WEAKNESS!! I am no longer a vessel that can be easily controlled by outside forces. With the guidance of God, self-discipline, and determination to be the BEST me that I know I can be I will work tirelessly everyday to say NO to these weaknesses and regain a little piece of me with everyday that passes.
Are you're ABLE but are you WILLING to be STRONGER THAN YOUR BIGGEST WEAKNESS?

KQ~

ps . . .the 1st step in this process is ADMITTING you weaknesses because contrary to what people may lead you to believe we ALL have weaknesses & things that can lead to our downfall

Coming OUT of the Closet. . .

2011-06-27T09:59:00.000-04:00

ahhhhhhhhhhhh I peaked your interest I bet but pick your jaws up because I'm NOT coming outta that closet ;) hehehehe!! The closet I've been in is . . . . the fact that I'm a CLOSETED EATER!!

WOW, SURPRISING, SHOCKING I KNOW BUT TRUE!!
Now its not like I've been in the closet eating doritos, soda, fried chicken or anything so don't get paranoid but I have been secretly indulging in Nuts in an obscene fashion.
On a scale of 1 to 10 this is probably on the lower half (somewhere between 1-5) but nonetheless its a BAD HABIT!! As I told ya'll a few days back I've been training HARD since January 1st and I've given it ALL I HAD!! During that time I would have a few nuts here and there and no biggie but while approaching my 1st show they had my FAVORITE nuts on sale 3/$10 (now this is a deal considering those foolish things were $6.99 a container). So when I saw that I HAD to stock up for afterwards and STOCK UP I did. I purchased 6 containers and hid them under my backseat and left them there until after the show. When the day of the show approached I put 1 can in my show bag and nibbled ever so sparingly. BUT when the show ended it was ON!!! I tried to gorge myself in such a fashion that I ended up dropping the entire container outside in the pouring rain so I just said forget it. For the next few weeks I did good because I was prepping for my 2nd show so I had several of those containers left. Once the last show came & went IT WAS ON!! I have been eating nuts like someone crazy. And since LC watches my nut consumption I had to keep them hidden in my car. I know ya'll still think this is NO big deal but for a person like me who's All or Nothing I made sure I gave my ALL to eating every last nut ;) And every time I ate them I felt a guilt you can't imagine (or maybe you can if you have your own secret bad habit).
Having to hide what you're doing is an obvious sign that 1) you probably shouldn't be doing it and 2) you may have a problem with whatever activity you're involving yourself in. So the real question here is WHY am I admitting this?!?! Well there's several reasons:

SHAME!! My 6yr old saw me buy more nuts then put them under my seat and start grabbing them here and there and finally she said "Mommy, why are you keeping nuts in your car?" I told her I was hiding them and she said "Mommy, that's CRAZY!! Why would someone hide something in their car and sneak and eat it?!? I mean mommy if you're supposed to have them then why hide them?!?" WOWOW THE SHAME!!
The GUILT of continuing this behavior was just killing me because I emotionally & physically BEAT myself up every time I allowed myself to over induldge
HERNIA IRRITATION :( As ya'll already know I have this umbilical hernia and every time I eat'em (and I'm talking about even a handful) I end up with this WORST pain in my hernia and it bulges out and looks so awful.
I want ya'll to know I'm NORMAL & HUMAN like everyone else. No matter what successes I have achieved I struggle like everyone else with different vices and NUTS are mine :(

There's prolly several other reasons but these are the biggest ones and after reading them again you ask yourself like I asked myself "WHY IN THE WORLD DO YOU DO IT THEN?!?!" Well once I really asked myself that question honestly & truthfully I had NO GOOD answer and again I felt immense shame. Just a quick thing about me if you haven't realized it already, I suffer from a guilt complex. But we'll talk about that later, lets get back to my confession. So I decided on Saturday that I was DONE!! That's IT, I QUIT, NO MORE. . .I'm going COLD TURKEY!! I know its going to be hard because I'm already thinking about Nuts but I'm STRONGER then that and I WON'T be defeated!! I feel so much better now that I've confessed this to everyone . . .first I told my bestie Kendra and she totally understood, which makes me feel better then I told LC and he shook his head and said "I knew it, I knew it!! I'm going to hafta keep my eye on you". LOLOLOL!! Honestly I knew he was going to say that which is why I told him because that's what I needed, someone to hold me accountable :) Now I've told ya'll and I feel like a load has been lifted off of me and I can move on. So here we go. . .I'm entering the Betty Ford Rehab Center for my Nut Addiction and I can't guarantee how many days I'll be in the program but unlike these celebrities I'm going to stay until I complete the program, LOLOL!! Hey at least I can joke about it. With that being said it feels GREAT to be OUT OF THE CLOSET!! Ya'll continue to Push Hard and Work for what you Want!!
KQ~
ps . . .remember the 30 in 30 starts on Friday so stay on the lookout for an event invitation from me and more details to come today ;) Love all of ya'll and I'm here to support you just as much as you're here to support me and together we're headed to the TOP!!

Accepting I'm NOT a Failure

2011-06-23T21:51:00.000-04:00

. . . YUP I said it!!
Now the question is WHY did I say it?!?! Well here's why, I've been in INTENSIVE training for this years competition season since JANUARY 1st!! That is NO LIE, NO JOKE. . . straight up FOR REAL, HARDCORE, PEDAL TO THE MEDAL Training and I had yet 1 more show planned for the year on the books that's coming up this weekend aaaaaaaaaaaaaand I'M NOT COMPETING :(
Deciding NOT to compete was VERY hard for me but it honestly should've been easier when you hear the reasons why, which are:

I am/have been suffering from an umbilical hernia for VERY VERY long time and lately its been getting OUT OF CONTROL because of this my health could be seriously at risk :(
I have a WONDERFUL family (LC & KZ, plus all my extended kinfolks) whom I want to spend more time with. Being that I've spent so much time this year focusing on these shows I know I've alienated them and made them uncomfortable with having to run to the gym all the time and carry my food "competition" everywhere I go (I will always carry some kinda food b/c I don't eat the MESS out in the streets)
I wan to spend time growing my personal training business and time reaching out to all of ya'll and helping you in any way I possibly can!!

These are the main reasons for my decision and seeing them written here you'd think it would've been easy for me to say NO to competing this weekend but its been HARD!! I feel like such a FAILURE/QUITTER!! I am very much an All or Nothing person and after having decided what shows I wanted to do this year, saying NO to one of them is crushing me!! Now honestly I know I'm not a failure and I've made tremendous progress this year, much more then I've ever expected actually, but that doesn't stop me from having these feelings. I just can't explain to ya'll how this week has felt like the longest week of my life because I know what's its leading up to and I know I won't be there to participate. Writing this to ya'll is KILLING ME right now!! This is the main reason why I've been so quiet cause I've honestly I just don't wanna talk :( and those who know me know if I don't have anything to say SOMETHING GOT'S TO BE WRONG!!
This also explains to ya'll why I've been going through some up's & down's over the last few weeks because I knew this decision was a serious possibility and I just couldn't deal. But I know I'll be Ok in no time and right now I need to go through this emotionally down time in order to come out better on the other side. So my silence will most likely continue until thru the weekend because I'm spending some serious "QUALITY TIME" with my 2 FAVORITE people and I'm going to use that time to clear my mind and come back to reality. I'm just going to continue praying & pushing forward and working on all the things I have on my "to-do" list and everything will be ok!!
As always I Love Ya'll to pieces and I'll be talking with ya soon!! Until then STAY FOCUSED, KEEP PUSHING, & GIVE IT ALL YOU GOT!!!
KQ~

Will Work(OUT) 4 Food!!!

2011-05-17T14:26:00.000-04:00

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!!

2011-05-06T09:59:00.000-04:00

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:

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!!
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
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
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.
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.
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!!
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 . . .

2011-05-05T12:29:00.000-04:00

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~

Ready, Set, Gooooooooo!!!

2011-04-29T11:26:00.000-04:00

That's right . . . Tomorrow is the BIG DAY again!!
Now just a little history . . . last year this time I was competing in my very 1st show and it was this exact same one which is why I HAD to compete in it again this year. Last year however I was in the fitness model category which was fine but now I'm where I belong which is FIGURE baby!!!

here's a pic from last years show (4/2010)

And just to recap last year as always I wanted to win but my main goal was Top 10 and I achieved that by placing 8th. I was happy with that and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I learned a lot, I met a lot of great people and the fire was lit in my belly!! I honestly don't normally talk weight or anything like that except the fact of the total weight I've lost in this journey but I will share that I went into this show between 153-155ish which was AIIIIIIIIIIIGHT but NOT acceptable on any level if I was really trying to make my mark.


pic from 4/16/2010 show

For the show that just passed on the 16th I was the Leanest & Meanest I've ever been and walked on stage at an AWESOMELY SMOKING 143-145lbs. I felt GREAT, I looked GREAT & the outcome was GREAT!! Ya'll know as always I wanted to win but Top 5 was the plan and again I had another SUCCESSFUL mission and placed 5th. I still have lots to learn and was given great advice from my trainer who has been a complete God Send!! I have listened to him 100% and stuck to the plan and have been more then PLEASED with the results. So I know if I keep sticking with him and doing as I'm told I will continue to see the results on and off the stage that I desire.
With that being said lets talk about this show and were I'm coming in at . . . HOLD YOUR HATS FOR THIS ONE . . . As of this AM I weighed in at

140 lbs

WHAT?!?! WHAT?!?! Ya'll betta act like you know!! Who would've ever thought?!?! NOT ME!! I made myself several promises when I started this journey almost 6yrs ago that I wanted a better body then I had when I was a teenager and NOW I HAVE IT and I WORKED FOR IT!! I'm just so overcome with emotions I can't even begin to explain it to ya'll. There are times when I think back I can just cry for the sake of crying because I was DELIVERED from being overweight!! Heck even when I thought I was "right" I was "wrong" LOLOL! I so hate the word I'm about to use but it's all so "surreal" to me. I saw this body in my mind but I never thought I'd attain it or better yet I didn't know how or if it was even possible for me to attain it.
So now we approaching another Showtime and like normal I WANNA WIN!! And without a shadow of doubt I believe I have exactly what it takes to make that possible but there's always a goal which is Top 3 this time and I know I'm rocking a Top 3 body. With that being said I'm going to go out there tomorrow and present to them with my physique in the BEST WAY I know how and the cards will fall where they may. Regardless of the outcome I want ya'll to know I'm already a WINNER!!! So with that being said I'm going to wrap this blog up and get ready to get my tan and rest for the remainder of the day. . . As always I LOVE YA'LL & Thank Ya'll from the bottom of my heart for all the support and kind words. I'll keep ya posted on the progress of the day and I'll post links to the site where you can watch it live.
KQ

I'm NOT the Big Girl they said I was . . .

2011-04-27T13:19:00.000-04:00

I'm sure MANY of you will be able to relate to what I'm about to say today and why I'm saying it, but. . .

I'M NOT THE BIG GIRL THEY SAID I WAS!!!

So why am I saying this and where'd it come from all of a sudden. Well those answers are pretty dern simple, you see what had happened was (LOLOL) . . . This morning LC had to be up at like 4:30am for work (odd for him to have to be the one waking up early instead of me, but it was his turn for a change). So when he got up I turned on the TV and there was some fitness infomercial on (don't get me to lying cause I don't remember which one?!?!). While I was partially awake and listening to the infomercial this lady says "I'm NOT the Big Girl they always said I was". WOWOWOW!! At that exact moment I woke up (briefly) and listened to her because I could totally relate. To give you a little background history I am the youngest by 9+ years of 2 girls. My older sister was a model and she was the ISH on the runway & in pics (still is. . . she will serve it up on the runway like none other). So obviously she was Tall & Uber Thin & HAWT and as I grew up I was the Bigger one. Now I'm sure my friends and family meant nothing by it but when I would say I wanted a haircut like hers or to wear something or whatever I'd hear . . . "Oh you can't do that because. . .your necks too big, you're too muscular, you're the Bigger one, etc". So hearing that I grew up always thinking I was the Big Girl and that was that.

Needless to say I was in shape through high school and college for the most part but still I was BIGGER. Bigger then my mom, my sister, my friends heck everyone except for the few chicks who were taller than me and even they were slender in comparison to me. But hey it was no biggie I accepted it and kept it moving. As I got older I was that "Thick Chick", "Dragging a Wagon", "Big Seat" and all other names folks could think of to describe me and again I accepted it because that's who I was Right?!?!? Well once I hit 245lbs I felt for sure everyone was right but I was so uncomfortable & UNHAPPY. . . so were they Right about me or not?!?!

NO THEY WERE WRONG. . . I wasn't that person and I quickly found it out as I started my weight loss journey! As I began to shed the weight I started seeing The REAL Me then I really became confused because now the person whom I thought I was, whom I had been told I was, whom I'd even seen in the mirror previously was NOT real!! This was the REAL me. . .long, lean, fit, fabulous & FIERCE! Despite recognizing this new person and trying my best to enjoy her I still DIDN'T ACCEPT IT!! I still saw myself with my FAT mind. I shopped (and still shop) with my Fat mind, I look down at my legs or my body and my FAT mind tells me it's something different then I really know it is. I am HONESTLY admitting that only RECENTLY, and when I say recently I mean in the last few days after looking at pics of myself from the show, do I TRULY see myself as that LONG, LEAN, FIT, FABULOUS & FIERCE chick who's been living inside of me for 34 years.

All of this is to say . . . PLEASE BE COGNIZANT of what you're saying to people because after hearing something about yourself for so long you start to believe it and make it true!! Because I know how this feels first hand I am very aware of what I say to my daughter and how I praise her continuously. I let her know that she's Gawgeous, Smart, Funny, Perfectly Built and anything else I can think of to keep her from having delusional ideals of who she REALLY is!! This is a painful struggle and I know I make light of it and joke around on a continuous basis but that doesn't mean this situation doesn't TORMENT sometimes. And that is one of the main reasons why I blog and talk to you all about it because it allows me to release myself of this emotional baggage that has plagued me so I can move one & GROW as a person and hopefully help someone else either overcome the same thing or keep them from going thru the same thing. So on that note I will bid you farewell and get back to work and say as always I Love's Ya'll and I'll talk to ya soon!!

I've got Triple D's!!!

2011-04-25T21:41:00.000-04:00

. . . . Ummmmmmmmm don't get excited because I'm not talking about the show or "The Girlz" LOL!!
But don't get me wrong though I ABSOLUTELY LOVE Diners, Drive-ins & Dives aka Triple D and I'd LOVE some "Girlz" hehehe, but that's not what we're talking about today!!
Today's Triple D's are . . .

DETERMINATION, DRIVE & DISCIPLINE

This has been a very long & ongoing journey for me and I could've never been or will never be successful without these VERY important and basic Triple D's!! Now let's take these 3 D's and break'em down based on their definitions and see where I fit in and think about where you fit into those definitions too. .

DETERMINATION can be defined as . . .

Firmness of purpose; resolutness - Well I don't think there's any question that I have a Firmness of purpose & a resolutness in the direction of which I plan to go! About 6yrs ago I decided what it was that I wanted to do in terms of my health & wellness and also in the fitness industry. And I have been working diligently towards that goal/purpose since then! Just because I had a purpose in mind it did not in any way, shape or form come together over night!! It's taken continued focus and work to just get on the road to where I belong cause I have YET to achieve the BIG goal but we're headed in the right direction. . .
The process of establishing something exactly, typically by calculation or research - OHHHHHH the words calculation & research are 2 that those around me will tell you I've done and still do extensively!! I'm online daily researching the industry, workouts, EATS and anything else I can think of in relation to my goals & this journey. I feel like KNOWLEDGE is KEY so I'm going to flood myself with as much of it that my lil brain can hold then I'll put the rest on layaway for later so I can squeeze it all in, hehehe!!
A tendency to move in a fixed direction - I mean c'mon seriously . . . ya'll know this is me ALL DAY/EVERYDAY!! I am NOT wavering from the direction in whence I want to go for ANYTHING!! Now that doesn't mean my personal or professional life outside of fitness has to suffer cause it doesn't. Even though the direction I'm moving in will ULTIMATELY benefit my family and my life I can't let my determination to get there invade or interrupt their lives any more then it has to because that just wouldn't be fair. They want this for me BUT this isn't their Dream its MINE so I have to remember that daily

DRIVE can be defined as. . .

A strong organized effort to accomplish a purpose - Listen I suffer from the BIG "O" when I'm not running on zero energy. The BIG "O" is ORGANIZATION and I'm all about it and I feel like you can't be successful without some sort of organization. Because how can you get there (wherever there is) IF you haven't organized & devised a plan to make it happen. Like I always say . . . If you FAIL to PLAN then you PLAN to FAIL!! I may let some other things around me fall to the waist side when I start running on empty but I'm gonna tell you what won't fall to the waist side and that's my planning & preparation for my workouts & Eats!!
Energy, push, or aggressiveness - These 3 words are what you see in the dictionary next to Kenisha :) If I am nothing I am FOR SURE 100% ENERGETIC & AGGRESSIVE when it comes to accomplishing goals and achieving whatever I set my mind to!!

DISCIPLINE (Self-Discipline) can be defined as. . .

Training that one gives oneself to accomplish a certain task or to adopt a particular pattern of behavior, even if one would rather be doing something else - OH MY LAWD!! If I'm not disciplined then I dunno who is?!?! If there is any 1 thing about this journey that's hard its sometimes the DISCIPLINE when it comes to the EATS!! I truthfully don't suffer from cravings anymore which is a huge accomplishment in itself. Don't get me wrong I want to EAT things that aren't currently on my meal plan BUT they're honestly not bad things at all and are pretty much considered healthy & borderline clean. Or I have desires to eat more of things I'm allowed to have just not in the quantities that I desire like my sweet potatoes :) But what's the hardest is disciplining myself to eat some of the stuff that I'm not accustomed to or honestly don't like. Funny thing about that is after training (forcing LOL) myself to eat these things they slowly became some of my favorites . . .like oatmeal & asparagus. However I can tell you one thing that I will NEVER EVER enjoy (at least in the fashion that I have to eat it) is Cream of Rice. In the name of Sweet Baby Jesus!! Now if it doesn't take DISCIPLINE & borderline INSANITY for me to eat that stuff I wouldn't be able to choke it down. BUT. . . I buckle down and I discipline myself to do it for the few meals because I know what I want to accomplish and unfortunately this God forsaken nasty stuff will get me there!

Now that you've had a chance to read about my Triple D's and their definitions and how I feel like they apply to me, I now want you to evaluate yourself & your goals (whatever they may be) against these Triple D's and see if you measuring up!!
ANYTHING WORTH HAVING IS WORTH WORKING FOR and you should always remember that!! So you may have to make some sacrifices by burning the midnight oil then waking up again the next morning before the chickens. You may have to deny yourself what you "think" are needs (pleasures) when instead they're just wants (desires) that one can live without until the ultimate goal is reached. So whatever your goal maybe are you putting forth your BEST & BIGGEST Triple D's cause I know I am!! As always Love Ya'll and much success in EVERY endeavor you set your mind to!!
KQ

7 days and counting . . . AGAIN!!

2011-04-23T17:03:00.000-04:00

This past week was FULL of FUN & EXCITEMENT!!
As you already know last week ended with a WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE at the WBFF Fitness Atlantic show where I placed 5th in my 1st Figure Tall competition!! I want to honestly say I couldn't have asked for anything more because come from whence I came and actually being up there and BELONGING was the GREATEST reward ever, getting the medal was just the Icing on the Cake!!
Now we're prepping for Show #2 Fitness Universe New England Championship at the Mohegan Sun. This was my very 1st show ever last year and it too was a GREAT experience. BTW (by the way) if you'd like to share in the experience with me you can watch LIVE & FOR FREE by clicking here on Saturday, April 30th. It'll also be broadcast on ESPN3 starting @ 12pm.


Kyndal & MeMe (aka my mom Deloris) painting pottery

So anyway back to last week . . . my mom finally got a chance to come visit me in Connecticut and she had a GREAT time!! Kyndal & I took her this place & that place, we did paint your own pottery , shopped for things for the house (more specifically Kyndal's room), we went to NYC for the day (which was crazy hectic due to the holiday) and then I took her to Rhode Island. Needless to say we all had a FULL WEEK!! I've been rather tired because I was getting up really early in the AM and working out, then coming home and prepping breakfast for everyone then hitting the streets for the day then back home every night for dinner and another workout if I needed it. I was literally passing out wherever my butt landed LOL. My mom "partially" understands what I'm doing and why I'm doing it but I didn't want to take away fun time with her & Kyndal for my own selfish need to prepare for this next show so I just had to do what I had to do. Now that doesn't mean I wasn't still working hard and trying to stay disciplined because I was and lemmi tell you it was HARD!! As ya'll already know my mom is the Designer & Builder of The House that Snacks Made as you can see from the picture below. This is just a snapshot from her house on one of my visits home. She wholeheartedly believes in Buy1Get1Free!! LOL

With that being said she came loaded down with SNACKS for her trip. I mean but it was smart because that way she didn't have to buy anything on the train. OHHHHHHHHH YEAH. . .did I fail to mention she rode the train here. LAWD JESUS HELP HER LOLOL!! I thought driving the 12+ hours from SC/NC to CT was a killer, well lemmi tell ya that train ride was like 17hrs. But Oh Well. . .that's what she wanted to do and I accommodated her wish but I did explain to her next trip she's flying cause I don't have time for the complaining that went on for 2 days after she arrived about how tired she was from the ride.
Buuuuuuuuuuuuut back to the subject at hand . . . 7 days till SHOWTIME . . . AGAIN!! I have been worried all week that my visit with my trainer was going to yield poor results but needless to say True to Form my worrying was WASTED ENERGY!! My weight was down, my BF% (body fat percentage) and my body was looking better this time going into show prep week then last time. I'm NOT sure how that's possible but I won't look a gift horse in the mouth. So I got my PLAN from the Best Trainer/Coach ever (aka Kevin Topka) and he gave me very positive and constructive criticism from last weeks show. He showed me little things that I did wrong and things I did right and things we're going to work on for the June show in Boston, MA to ensure contention for PRO STATUS!! Thankfully I've done the hard part which was drop the weight. HECK I had no idea I had that much to drop or that I would look so different but I'm glad I did it and I LOVE how I look and I'm ready to bring it together and get that much deserved PRO CARD!!
I gotta make this one a quick one because 1) I'm unfortunately not feeling super witty today because I have a slight headache due to my contacts bothering me earlier this week so I've been back and forth between wearing nothing & wearing my glasses. And 2) I hafta prepare for LC's return from Spain tomorrow so that mean's cooking him his favorite meals and grocery shopping for the "basics" that he likes to have at the house that were so kindly eaten up by his buddy Kyndal & my mom. As always I LOVE YA'LL & THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART for all the kind words of encouragement and congratulations that I received. They meant the world to me and I will NEVER forget it and I'm going to go out there again next week and do it for ya'll again!!
KQ

UPDATE A lil late but . . .WHAT AN AWESOME EXPERIENCE!!!

2011-04-19T23:09:00.001-04:00

Hey Ya'll I know I'm a lil late with this post and I intended to do it Sunday but I was BEAT, then wanted to do it yesterday but my mom's here visiting and we spent all day out and about shopping for Ms Kyndal's Big Girl Room. So here we are I'm finally getting a minute to myself to write this blog . . .

Saturday was ABSOLUTELY AWESOME!!

I started the day off on a high because I couldn't even sleep until time for my alarm to go off LOL!! I was up @ 530am and decided to start working on my hair and makeup which turned out FLAWLESS!! Now ya'll who really know me know I've never been a huge makeup wearer but I'm getting much better. But let me tell you some foolishness that happened while I was getting ready. . . So I brought my chair from my bedroom into the bathroom so I can sit and give my legs a rest and I got up to look closely in the mirror and didn't realize I pushed the chair back. Wellllllllllllllll need I say more?!?! I went to sit back down and BAM, I fell and hit my bootay on that hard a$$ tiled bathroom floor. OUCHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!! I knew at the time that in the days to come this was going to come back to bite me in the ARSE literally and it has!!! My tailbone is KILLING ME, but I'm just putting it outta my mind and moving on.

Now about the actual SHOW. . . it was THE BEST EXPERIENCE EVER!!!
For starters if I haven't mentioned it yet I PLACED IN THE TOP 5 (5th place to be exact) and that was a HUGE achievement for me. This is technically my 2nd show & my 1st time competing in Figure and I felt so confident about my body and how I presented myself. I have never been so proud of myself and felt an adrenaline rush like that even though it was physically taxing LOL!! Now one mentioned how you'd feel like you've been in a fight when you hold poses & try to keep looking pretty at the same time LOL. And I don't care how "dehydrated" I was, sweat was still trying to flow because those lights were HOT as ALL outdoors. . . Whewwww Jesus! But again I pushed through it and GAVE IT ALL I HAD.


sorry its blurry but it was a Blackberry camera?!?!

Another thing that made the day so wonderful was sharing it with my girl Madalena who competed in Bikini and totally ROCKED IT. She rocked it so much so to where she won her PRO CARD!!! She was absolutely flawless and really SERVED it up and was rightfully awarded for doing so. After I came off stage all I could do was get dressed and stand backstage cheering for her and crying along with her over her success. Just to let ya'll know (if you already didn't) I am one of those people who REALLY & TRULY wants the best for those I care for and I'm behind them 100% when they want something. If you want a Cheerleader then you WANT ME cause I will keep the momentum going like none other!! And speaking of Cheerleader I was fortunate enough to have a WONDERFUL one myself named Carmen. Now lemmi tell ya a little about Carmen . . . she's actually my training & cardio buddy. We have been supporting each other mentally & physically through this entire journey and trust me it has benefited the both of us tremendously. On a side note she & I will be competing together at the Fitness New England Championships and we're going to ROCK IT!!
There weren't any sour notes to mention for the show weekend, the only SAD thing was LC couldn't attend because he had to travel to Spain for work (which is much more important) so I've really gotta bring it next weekend so he can see me win!! He is SOOOOOOOOOO SUPPORTIVE and pushes me all the time even though I drive him nuts sometimes LOL!! So now its onto Show #2 as I mentioned a lil while ago and I just have 11 more days left. I'm mentally & physically ready but I will confess I'm a little WORN OUT!! Thankfully I'm on vacation from both my full-time and part-time jobs so I can focus on my family & myself as I get ready for Round 2.

Love ya'll & talk to ya tomorrow cause a girl is TIRED!!
KQ

uhhhhhhhhh ohhhhhhhhhhhhh . . . I need to UPDATE this blog because how could I talk about the day without mentioning a new fitness friend Fleur De Kine. She and I were privileged enough to meet during WBFF posing workshops that were held leading up to the show and she is a TRIP!! She also kept me calm & LAUGHING the entire time and as you see from the picture we were hamming it up for sure. She is an AWESOME competitor and has a GREAT spirit!! I really enjoyed getting to know her more & spending the day with her. I'm sure they'll be many more shows and events for us to hang at and have fun like we did this time!! Wishing her MUCH success with the remainder of her competition season cause she's going to do GREAT things!!
KQ

THE DEVIL IS A LIAR . . . 3 days & counting

2011-04-13T10:35:00.000-04:00

I know today's blog title is a bit confusing but I'm going to explain it . . . .

Let me preface this by saying I LOVE MY FRIENDS & FAMILY UNCONDITIONALLY but if you're not with me then GET THE H*LL OUTTA MY WAY because I'm rising to the top and NOTHING will STOP me!!

So now onto the reason for the title. Yesterday I got in my car to go to the gym, got to the light and someone tld me I had a flat tire. . . I think to myself "WOOOOOOOOOOOOOW that's all I need". So I turn around and come home and LC (who is the sweetest) is pulling in at the same time and we go check the tire and fill it up and realize its a slow leak so I make plans to go handle it later. Needless to say I'm still VERY frustrated at this point because something has occurred to try and distract me, but I decide I'll just sit in silence for a minute then move one. Well while I'm sitting here I pull up my Facebook and start reading my notifications and to my SURPRISE I have a message telling that I'M A WINNER!!

WHAT?!? HUH?!? WHO ME?!?!

Yeppers I won a contest and not one where they pull you name out of a hat, instead it was a Facebook contest that 6 Pack Fitness had where they requested fitness pictures and a little explanation to go with it.

Here's the picture I submitted along with my story explaining the before and after. . . . and they PICKED me as a WINNER!! I was immediately thrown into a better mood because the Lord was letting me know that what he's been telling me is TRUE, that I am a WINNER and VICTORY is mine!! LC was very happy for me along with my sister & my friends. Here's where the foolishness comes in. Now like I said earlier I LOVE my friends & family unconditionally BUT sometimes certain people can really TAKE ME THERE!!

I called my mom this AM to tell her the Good News about my win and she IMMEDIATELY has something negative to say!?!? I mean who knows where something so simple as a Facebook contest win could go. Instead of seeing that she starts talking negative and after 2-3 words out of her mouth I politely tell her GOODBYE and hang up the phone because I can't let that negativity into my life and my preparation!! Again I will say I LOVE my mom and would do anything for her and I know she'd do anything for me. . . BUT I have to be honest . . . through this entire journey she has been LESS than supportive. I know she wants me to be successful in my endeavors and I also know everyone doesn't understand why I do what I do and I can respect that. With that being said you can at least be happy for me when I celebrate a victory no matter how small or confusing that victory may be to you its a VICTORY to me!!

The reason I'm writing this is to RELEASE myself of these demons that I know have been holding me back because after winning yesterday I said "Why Me". For some reason the less than positive support that I've received over the years has left me with "issues" when it comes to certain things and thinking I'm "WORTHY" sometimes is a problem for me. I will admit that I'm getting much better with this because I AM WORTHY!! If I Trust & Believe in the Lord and what he's been laying on my spirit then I have to know & believe I AM WORTHY!! So with that I will end this and release these thoughts from my mind because. . . .

VICTORY IS MINE SO SAITH THE LORD!!!!

KQ. . .

5 Days & Counting . . . .

2011-04-11T21:40:00.000-04:00

Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhh BUDDY!! We are in the final stretch for Show #1 for 2011, sooooooo here goes my favorite saying

LET'S GET IT!!!

Well if I haven't mentioned my plans for the season let me go ahead and take a brief minute to do that now. This the Lord has BIG PLANS for me and I'm just following his directions. So part of those plans include participating in several shows, really throwing myself into my fitness career & spending time with (and building) my family.

Now let's tackle the first thing I mentioned which are my shows. I'm planning to do 5 (maybe 6) shows this year and they are as follows:

APRIL

April 16th: WBFF Fitness Atlantic

April 30th: FAP New England Championship

MAY

I really don't plan on doing anything because this year we'll be celebrating LC's 40th Birthday and that's HUGE so I want all my focus on that. But don't get it twisted I will be seriously maintaining my physique because per LC's repeated suggestion (harassment, LOL) I'm doing a few photoshoots.

JUNE

June 25th: WBFF Eastern US Championship

JULY

Again nothing BIG planned but I may participate in some events at the Europa Battle of Champions here in Hartford, CT. There's going to be a HUGE expo and some other events going on so no worries I've been diligently working on getting myself involved in some form or fashion :) So I'll keep ya'll posted on that

AUGUST

August 13th: FAP Carolina Championship (this is a maybe)

August 27th: WBFF World Championships!!

I'm REALLY excited about participating in the WBFF Federation and I really want to involve myself in as many events with them as possible because I see BIG things on the horizon with them.

NOVEMBER

November 5th: WBFF New England Championship. . . This show is a MUST b/c it's being put on by my trainer Kevin Topka who is THE BOMB DIGGITY!! He has gotten this bullheaded chick on the right path and I know he will keep me there.

Now I know that's a hectic competition season but I think its perfectly spread out to keep me going and I've got a strategic plan to function at a new maintenance weight which is going to mean a World of Difference for me from here on out. And on top of all of this I'll be spending more time dedicated to my blog & building my business. As I told ya'll previously I am INSANELY thinking of and creating recipes for my Clean/Healthy Eats which is something I'm adapting from here on out. I've actually eaten very healthy for the past several years but we're going to take it a step further and clean things up. So in an attempt to do that I'm flooding myself with an abundance of information regarding certain ways of eating so I can create a plan that will work well for "me" and my family. In the process I will most definitely share with you my creative successes & failures, cause I'm sure there will be many of both LOLOL!! Anyway, its getting late and I'm tired and low on energy so I'm gonna do a lil more blinging on this suit then take it Doooooooooooown and call it a night :)

Love my sweets

KQ!!

I have a case of the 4 P's and I LOVE IT!!

2011-04-07T12:05:00.000-04:00

Prayer

Passion

Positivity

Persistence

I'll first begin today's blog by saying . . . I have 9 days until I step on stage and STRUT MY AWESOMELY HOT STUFF and I can't wait!!! It's bout to be on and popping like a pot of neck bones (what do you expect I'm a Kuntry Girl, LOL)
Now onto the REAL subject & reason for today's blog. . . The 4 P's . . .PRAYER, PASSION, POSITIVITY & PERSISTENCE!! I am having a SEVERE case of them and I'M PROUD OF IT!!

PRAYER

I mean helloooooooooooo this one speaks for itself but I'll speak for it and on it for a brief minute. Prayer honestly & truthfully CHANGES THINGS!! When I pray I'm able to clear my mind and turn things over to God (or whomever you worship) and remove it from my hands and leave it in his. A quiet moment of prayer allows me to see things that he has for me in my future and that is why I know without a shadow of doubt Victory Is MINE!! I know now more than ever I'm walking in the path & direction he has set forth for me.

PASSION

Ohhhhhhhhhhh Boy . . . if you know me you know I am a VERY PASSIONATE person!! In life, love and any activity/endeavor I involve myself in. Listen when I do or feel something, I do it and feel it to the FULLEST . . . I'm talking the 10th Power here!! Let's take health & fitness for example, man oh man when I get to talking about my story, my journey, my desire to help others, workout or nutrition tips, etc I get FIRED UP!! It happened to me just a few days ago in the gym, I was feeling sluggish as I pushed through my workout and a new client approached me about her goals and what she's been doing and I immediately perked up and was on the rampage. Unfortunately my passion can sometimes back fire on me because I'm guilty sometimes of wanting things for people MORE than they want it for themselves and that often drives me insane. I tried to tell myself to stop feeling that way & stop taking it personal and feeling so deeply about their success but the Lord (in prayer) told me NO. . . this is who you are and its what makes you a special person. So I'm going to keep being passionate about myself & my success along with the success and happiness of those around me. And if someone has a problem with it . . . welllllllllllllll I dunno what to tell you because this is me and I will be Kenisha Q. Smith to the FULLEST at all times :)

POSITIVITY

Ya'll this is one that was VERY hard for me and that's no lie. I have been insanely guilty in the past for having not so positive thoughts. I'm not sure if they can totally be labeled negative but they for sure weren't positive. Insane amounts of self doubt & questioning one's self existed in my life. An example of that was sharing my story with you all and thinking "no one cares what I have to say, they don't wanna hear my opinions, experiences, feelings, journey, etc". Well that coulda been the furthest thing from the truth come to find out. The non-positive . . .ok we'll just call it what it is . . . The negative thoughts were even affecting my progress as I prepared for this show and the ones in the past. OHHHHHHHHHH MY!! I can't even count how often I put myself down saying I wasn't "good enough, muscular enough, lean enough, that I had no business up there with those other women" and everything else you can think of under the sun. It was so bad I was getting on my own nerves and it took a few special people (Lawrence, Kendra & Carmen) to rip me a new bootay hole and set me straight. After being torn from limb to limb by all of them I had a serious prayer session and those thoughts have been the furthest things from my mind for awhile now and I have experienced nothing but Positive results & progress since then!! So Thanks ya'll . . . I Love all of ya'll to pieces and you know it!

PERSISTENCE

Simply I can put this by saying . . . . I WON'T BE STOPPED!! I will continue pushing forward until I reach that place that has been set forth for me and I know it's within arms reach. And guess what . . . when I get there I will KEEP ON KEEPING ON and further advancing myself and challenging myself because that's what it's all about. Life is a continual mountain that you have to climb and once you reach one pinnacle/goal you set another goal and you strive until you reach it and keep going. . . If I wouldn't have done that I would've never experienced the success I have to this point and I'm not just referring to the weight loss, I'm referring to every goal I've ever accomplished in my life and will accomplish.

Well this blog has kinda extended a lil past what I expected it to but ya'll know I'm a blabber mouth so I'm sure you're NOT surprised. . . I will bid you farewell as I kick my feet up, work & relax until I have to go train my clients and workout this afternoon.

ps . . .there's an extra one that's NOT exactly a P but I made it one . . .

I'm becoming a PHOODIE

(this is the KQ way of spelling Foodie. . .

hey why else have a blog if you can't be creative with your word creations)

I LOOOOOOOOVE TO COOK & CREATE and I love to share that with my friends and family. I won't dive too deep into this one right now because I'm working hard on trying to start dedicating a portion of my blog to EATS. . . just know some goodies are for sure on the horizon in this category!!

Love U My Sweets!!

The REASONS why I do what I do . . .

2011-04-04T10:41:00.000-04:00

Today's blog was soooooooooo going to be about something different but thinking about my daughter (Kyndal) & LC, I was IMMEDIATELY emotionally overwhelmed and brought to tears. That's been happening a lot lately but like my good friend Kendra says, "let the tears out because that means it more water leaving the body"!! I love that chick, she's a trip :)
Anyway back to the story/topic at hand. I do these shows for many reasons first & foremost I do them for myself and for the Discipline & the Competition aspect because I am an Athlete and I am driven by setting goals, accomplishing them and winning. In this case winning isn't necessarily defined by getting 1st place or the trophy but by beating myself every time I step foot on that stage. Each time I want to bring a Better Kenisha to the stage in every aspect . . . conditioning, presentation, poise, etc and so far so good. I just want to be a BETTER ME at all cost . . . . BUT the second reason I do this and prolly it's more like 50/50 on the reasons is my Family (Kyndal & LC).

The 2 people you see here are my HEART!! I will SACRIFICE EVERYTHING for these 2 because I love them with all my heart and I know they want the best for me. For starters my daughter Kyndal . . . OH MY LAWD, I am just in tears typing this & that's no lie. This child is a Gift from God. . . a TRUE BLESSING that I could've never imagined that would've been bestowed on me. She motivates me and pushes me to be a better person ALL THE TIME. And prepping for these shows is no different. Please let me tell you how this little 6yr old "woman" keeps me in CHECK!! On any given day she can be heard saying the following things. . .

No mommy you can't have that . .

Mommy I'm gonna tell Lawrence if you eat that (and she tells too)

My mommy doesn't need a menu because she has her food. . . she's training for a show so WE can Win!

Look at my muscles mommy . . .I've got BIG muscles like you and I'm strong like you

and so many other things . . .

She is the BEST cheerleader a girl could ask for! She's also a GREAT training partner! Kyndal will go to the track, the stairs, or the gym with me and she will push me, keep count, take video, etc because she wants to see her mommy do her best. When I'm tired, covered in sweat, hurting and can't go another step she rubs me on my back and tells me how GREAT of a mommy I am then gives me something to drink or eat. So when I think about that HOW COULD I NOT WANT TO BE THE BEST!! I want her to see what can happen when you put your mind to something and you work hard for it.

Then there's LC (Lawrence). . .WOW where do I begin with him?!?! He too is a Gift from God to me because how BLESSED & FORTUNATE am I do be in Love with my BEST FRIEND?!?! This man was with me years ago when I was bigger (not my biggest, but bigger) so he's experienced both Kenisha's and he loves me just the same :) I think there was a time he may have believed in my and my success more than I did. Constantly pushing me to put myself & my story out there but I was so afraid and said "no one cares about what I have to say and what I'm doing". . . well that was the Devil talking but the Lord sent him (and several of you) to REBUKE that and show me that people do care and are moved & motivated by my continued journey. I know I drive him NUTS sometimes but without a shadow of a doubt he sees What & Who I could be in this industry and please believe he pushes me like none other sometimes. All I can hear is . . . "did you email this person, did you call that person, when are you going to schedule a photoshoot, when are you going to start training clients and the list goes on. He was always someone who worked out but now he pushes even harder and when he noticed the major changes in himself I saw a fire spark and then he said the ultimate thing. . . ."I want to eat CLEAN with you next week while I'm home". Ya'll just don't know?!?!? I coulda dropped to my knees and kissed this man's feet but uhhhhhhhhh we won't be doing that LOL. . . the most he'll get is a foot rub (there's one waiting for you when you get home babes) LOLOL! But seriously it was that big of a deal and it made my week flow smoothly & successfully!

Soooooooo when you are wondering why I do these things, why I put myself thru what appears to be agony, why I push so hard and won't give up now you know. I want to be #1 not only for me but for THEM! I want to be the AWESOME Woman & Mother they believe I am, I want to be successful in my every endeavor so I can provide them the luxuries in life. I want them to see what hard work, determination, discipline and their belief in me will produce. Again I tell you I love these 2 people with my whole heart and there's NO sacrifice that's too great to ensure their happiness which in turn makes me happy!! So I'm gonna dry my tears and get back to work. . . . I just wanted to share this tidbit of info with ya'll :)

p.s. 12 DAYS TILL LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!!

Let the countdown begin . . . T-minus 15 days

2011-04-01T17:31:00.000-04:00

Competition season is OFFICIALLY UNDERWAY!! With 15 days until my 1st show its time to ROCK!!

I know I have been hella quiet and that's HONESTLY NOT going to happen any longer because we're about to get this thing ROCKING & ROLLING. . . Once we're through this first competition I'm going to have some GREAT surprises for you all regarding the blog, training, workouts, recipes, and much, much more!! These posts for the next few days will be brief and mostly revolve around what I'm doing to complete my preparation and how my body is looking then we're gonna crank it up. Since I'm trying to keep my Mental Burden off my family this will be the perfect outlet for me to express what I'm going through and feeling as the BIG Event approaches.

Soooooo I'm gonna run to the gym and knock out my workout then I'll be back home blinging out my suit and I'm gonna take some pics for ya'll so you can see my 1st creation, of many I hope.

Stay Strong & Stay Focused and I'll be back in a few
KQ

P.S. . . . I've posted a ticker countdown @ the top of my blogs and I'll keep adding them as shows, events, etc come up. I'll do the same for you and whatever goals you want to work towards to.

TOGETHER WE WILL BE VICTORIOUS

On an Emotional Rollercoaster!!

2011-02-08T17:14:00.000-05:00

I am usually the person that's always upbeat and happy who keeps everyone positive and motivated, fired up and laughing . . .BUT right now that's NOT who I am!! Currently I'm on a serious "Emotional Rollercoaster" and I want off ASAP!!


This is a good visual description of how my roller coaster looks

This rollercoaster ride started Wednesday when I spent 17hrs getting from Connecticut to Dallas. It was honestly the WORST experience of my life but I handled it in stride and said I couldn't be mad because it was weather related and I tried to make lemonade out of lemons by working out, talking to people and continuing to eat clean. But knowingly the damage had be done!! Once I got to Dallas the weather went from bad to worse for them and it snowed and ya'll know they couldn't handle that so there I was basically stranded in the room but again I made the best of it by staying on top of my eats and working out. Finally the weather broke so LC & I had planned to hit the town a few nights like we did in Miami last year and have a blast . . . THAT WAS AN EPIC FAILURE!! The best part of the trip was I finally got to meet up with my friend Kendra and we had a KILLER workout, went to eat and she took me to get my beloved cocoa almonds. It was GREAT!! Unfortunately I had to fly back Sunday because that was the only day I could get a flight out and everything was going smooth until I got to D.C. and find out that United so graciously canceled my flight and I wasn't gonna get home until midnight at the earliest. Needless to say I flipped out because that meant another 7hrs in an airport. I completely lost it and went into a ranting & raving fussing & cussing fest. Then I broke down and ate some of the cocoa almonds I had in my bag and that made me feel worse about myself. And that's when the rollercoaster really took off.
Today is Tuesday and I've been crying on and off about this and that since Sunday and I'm just ready to be over it because I so hate being in these types of moods for several reasons the main one being its Counterproductive:

what can you get accomplished when you're experiencing these highs & lows
normally when you're experiencing highs & lows like this your stress level is high which makes your cortisol levels rise which can in turn cause you to hold more fat (so NOT good!!)
self-doubt and all kinds of negative thoughts start creeping in . . . and that's where I'm at right now
emotional eating (Thank God I only have clean food in my house which keeps me from consuming the wrong thing)

I so desperately want to dig myself out of this emotional rut but it's proving to be harder then usual this time around. I will admit to you all I am VERY hard on myself and set VERY high expectations and standards that I do my best to attain, so when I'm not meeting those expectations I immediately feel like a failure. Now I know deep down inside I'm not a failure and that I've come a long way in life but I want MORE for myself, is that so wrong?!? I honestly don't think so but I'm going to have to get some perspective when it comes to handling setbacks and whatever other issues arise. I will say that blogging and getting it out is one of the BEST ways for me to release myself. I honestly feel better now that I've let it out a bit and I'm going to gather myself and head out the door for an awesome workout and maybe after that I'll troll around some stores and get some visual retail therapy :) So thank you for listening and I hope to report back to you in a few days with a much better deposition because this one is CRAPPY!!

KQ (desperately trying to keep my head up)

Against All Odds!!!

2011-02-03T14:14:00.000-05:00

Boy Oh BOY lemmi tell ya. . . yesterday was a VERY challenging and long day, but I passed with flying colors if you ask me!!
As you all already know its SuperBowl week and I headed to Dallas to spend time with LC and some of my friends down here in the Big D. Needless to say we are all pretty much being affected by this weather one way or another and yesterday was my day to be affected by it in EVERY WAY!! I initially wanted to be upset and I realized what purpose was that gonna serve. Instead I just sat back and took the entire day in stride and stuck to my original plan which included 2 major things which were 1) eating my own food and 2) getting a workout in at some point during the day. I basically decided that Against All Odds I was going to succeed!

So sit back and lemmi give you a rundown of how the day went from start to finish, hopefully you can get a laugh out of it as I have been able to now that it's over LOLOL . . . For starters I received my first shocker when I tried to check into my flight the night before to unexpectedly find out I've been moved from my Hartford to Charlotte flight and now I'm going Hartford to Philly. . . hmmmmmmm ok can you say email or call a sista?!?! The only plus to that was the flight was later in the morning so I figured the roads would be ok, ummmmmmmm NOT! I had to de-ice my car and dig it out then slowly (10-20miles/hr) make my way to the airport. Getting checked in and to my gate was a breeze cause ALL the other flights were CANCELLED, hmmmm this didn't have me feeling very good about the situation, but they assured us we'd be getting out because we weren't flying into a city that was riddled with snow & ice. So my boarding time comes & goes and in the meantime between time a Charlotte flight lands and prepares to take off again and I ask "why wasn't I put on that one". Well they try to switch me then deliver the disturbing news that IF I take that flight my luggage WON'T be flying with me and they don't know when it'll get to Dallas, ok NO Thank You! So we wait, and Wait and WAIT!! During this waiting period I stuck to my schedule and ate my meals that I prepared. Well after I did that I was BORED and decided I would get a quick workout in since I was wearing my workout leggings and my sneakers were in my bag. Little did I know I was gonna start a trend. . . by the time it was all said and done there were 3 others working out with me :) It was soooo good to see others want to get up and get their Health & Fitness on with me.

Getting ready 2 get my workout on

My workout consisted of the following:

Walking lunges up & down the terminal to warmup
Dynamic Squats
Push-ups superset w/Dips off the airport chairs
Reverse lunges w/forward kick
High knees
Toe touches up & down 3 rows of airport seats
Abs

I soooooo HATE I forgot to record this workout for ya'll. I have no idea where my mind was. . . well actually I do, it was thinking about when are we gonna get on this dern plane!! After I got all cleaned up I had another meal then went to sleep for a little while because the thoughts of mixed nuts were dancing through my head. And thankfully I gave myself that rest because before I knew it we were on the plane . . . YEAHHH!!! What really should've been an 1hr15min flight turned out to be a smidge over 2hrs, URGH!! For one we were on the tarmac forever, then we had to be de-iced and finally we took off only to experience some "In the name of Jesus turbulence". We were put in a holding pattern and it had us going around and Around and AROUND thru some awful turbulence and the entire time I was holding onto the seat saying "Jesus, Jesus, JESUS" over and over again. I was so happy to land I coulda kissed the ground but I had no time I had to run thru the Philly airport to my next gate b/c my flight was taking off in 45min. YEAH RIGHT. . . I get to my gate and the flight was moved, I get to the new gate and the flights been delayed 2.5hrs.

Lawd Have Mercy Jesus

I was just mentally out down at this point so I just walked the Philly airport for a long time looking at the shops and eventually treating myself to some retail therapy in a cute accessory store. I finally went back to my gate and began eating some of my food and noticed I was sitting around several BIG ex-football playing men and one of them was eyeballing my grub and said "WOW you packed good, I need come over there and see whatcha got cause I'm hungry". OHHHHHHHHHHHH NO!! I gave him a look as if to say "you think you've delivered and felt a hard hit on the field but you come over here and touch this food and you'll get the football hit of your lifetime! Don't mess with a sista's food after she's been stuck in the airport all dern day. Especially now that it looked like we were about to be delayed again because yet again my flight time came & went. Once that happened the drunks started acting up and causing a ruckus and we thought we weren't ever gonna get to leave but finally we were allowed to board to find ourselves sitting for another 30-45min, then the pilot informs us that the flight will take longer then normal because of the serious head winds we're flying through, URGHHHHHH I was just OUT DONE so I said my prayers and closed my eyes and slept! Finally after 17 long hours in airports and airplanes I made it to Dallas. I am happy to report that during the entire day I only consumed food that was prepared by me and got in a very good impromptu workout so I suppose since I got here safely and stuck to my plan all in all it was a Good Day!! But its a day that I NEVER want to experience again!! So Against All Odds you can still stick to your fitness & nutrition goals especially if you remember to always, Always, ALWAYS Plan & Prepare!!

Love ya & talk to ya soon!!

21day Detox - Day 5.5 (lol)

2011-01-20T10:00:00.000-05:00

Yes I'm going through a Detox so to speak as I prepare for my next show. As I mentioned in my Cardio Rambling vlog, I decided to meet with a trainer up here in CT because I really needed & wanted my hand held this time. Now there's no doubt I would've done just fine without a trainer but "doing fine" isn't what I want . . . I WANNA WIN!! So to ensure success I sought out the knowledge of a local trainer to literally kick my arse in shape and to allow me to clear my mind a bit. So when I met with him this past weekend and we did m weight & body fat (which we will NOT talk about in detail hehehe), he decided I needed to go on a Detox to get myself back on track and I couldn't have agreed more. Truthfully this is just clean eats to the extreme which is what I would normally be doing close to the end of competition prep. Honestly the majority of the things I have to say NO to aren't that hard except for my Splenda Brown Sugar. But the things on my NO-NO list that are no problem for me are:ugar or sugar substitute

sugar - NEVER use regular sugar
salt - used very sparingly to begin with
bread - don't eat it anyway
dairy - don't drink milk anyway
pasta - don't eat this either
gluten based products - I already do everything in my power to stay away from these
alcohol - I rarely drink except for times like NYE

Now here are the one's that are killing me:

splenda brown sugar
salsa
nuts & trailmix
marinades or low fat dressings I would sometimes use to make meals

The list of the things that are driving me batty is very small but VERY powerful!!! The funny thing is I don't over indulge in any of them except the nuts & trailmix but I miss them all the same. For example the splenda & salsa. . . I use a very minimal amount of these when I'm eating my oatmeal or eggs, broccoli & chicken. Now I can't have them at all and I just find myself staring at them in the cabinet or fridge when I'm prepping my food. But I will say now that I've made it 6 days without these things I'm actually doing pretty good. I only suffered one brief moment when I was being haunted by nuts but I quickly got over it with the satisfying taste of a sweet potato.
Honestly I have to tell you I've never felt better, not so much because of the fact that I'm doing something different then I've ever done but because I'm following the plan to the letter!! This includes my workouts and my cardio. Yes my beloved cardio got cut back too but for good reason. I was actually hurting myself more than I was helping myself with the massive amounts of cardio I was doing and lack of calories I was feeding myself. Ohhhhhhhhh and the other thing that's driving me crazy is NOT being able to weigh. . . .YES I'm admitting that I've been a scale junkie and I was getting on it constantly and driving myself bananas with the results. Well now I can't weigh until my 21 days are up and I'm going to stick to it!
This Detox is not only helping my body it's helping my mental state!! I'm using this time to cleanse my mind of all the negativity and craziness that I would feed myself on a regular basis. This behavior was spawned from negative comments and actions from friends and family close to me in the past that has driven me to question the success that I have had up to this point. So all in all this Detox is the BEST thing that could've ever happened to me and I welcome it with open arms!!
See ya in a few days with my ploymetrics & olympic lift demo
Much Love
KQ

I know its LATE but . . .

2011-01-12T20:17:00.000-05:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! LOLOLOL!!!

I just want ya'll to know this was one of the BEST holiday seasons I've ever had. I spent Thanksgiving with my mom & LC's family and that was GREAT!! We really had a wonderful time just hanging out & relaxing.

Here's some pics from that weekend

Then for Christmas we were at my mom's house and that's where Santa met us ;) On Christmas morning Kyndal ran in the room to announce to myself & LC that "Santa's real!! He's really real!! You see he ate some of the cookie and drank the hot chocolate". Now needless to say ya'll she had to pass the gifts to pick up the plate with the cookies and hot chocolate and somehow she overlooked the gifts, so we had to send her back out there to check out her gifts. Well once she saw all that Santa left for her she tried to run back in our room but ended up going in the closet instead LOLOL. She said "OMG do you see all that stuff he left me . . .I am about to FREAK OUT!!" Trust me when I tell you we hollered laughing LOLOL!! She totally enjoyed all her gifts at my moms, then she went to her dad's then a few days later we went to LC's parents house and she got even more gifts. So lemmi tell you this child has a WONDERFUL & BLESSED Christmas!!! After an AWESOME Christmas it was off to the ATL to spend NYE with some of his friends then time to head back to CT but not without making a stop at some of LC's family friends house where we laughed ourselves silly.

Here's some pics from Christmas

Now hold your breath for the NYE2010 pics

As I stated earlier it was a GREAT Holiday Season as you can see by the many pictures. Now its DOWN TO BUSINESS!! In about 13.5 weeks I'm competing in my 1st show of the season up here in CT and I'm trying to BRING IT!! This season I'm going to do what I should've last year and that's compete in Figure and I'll do 1 or 2 Fitness Model competitions too. So later stay tuned I'll be blogging about my competition prep and other things. I'm also planning on doing several vlogs along the way showing my workouts, giving updates and just rambling on about whatever because sometimes I just need to get it out LOLOL!! Anyway stay focused and as always I'm wishing you much success on your journeys

Love

Oh to the Wellllll

2010-12-14T19:42:00.000-05:00

YUP its that kinda mood!! And obviously from my title you can tell I DIDN'T get that call I was waiting for. But hey . . . Oh to the Well!! I am a little disappointed but I'm not discouraged. The only thing that's bothering me is getting back on track, which is really difficult right now. The reason its difficult is because I'm getting my personal training schedule together with my already busy schedule and its a little rocky, but again . . . Oh to the Well LOLOL because I gotta do what I gotta do to 1) take care of myself & my family (first & foremost) 2) better myself physically & 3) make a place for myself in the wonderful world of Health & Fitness. Things are going really good with the personal training and I see great opportunities and growth with the gyms I'm training out of. And now that I'm getting that schedule together I can get my training schedule together for my shows for next year because I'm trying to hit the stage with A MISSION & A VENGEANCE!!!
Lately my mind has been so clouded with input from everywhere & everyone but myself on how to diet & train, what shows to do or not to do, what division to be in or not be in to where I've about gone bout stone crazy! So now I'm turning off all those voices except for a few tried, true & trusted voices and I'm going for what I know. I'm going with old skool, in the trenches, back in the day grinding butt kicking, sweat filled, body aching workouts and let the cards fall where they may. I didn't get these 100lbs off just by chance and I keep confusing myself letting all this other stuff into my head. Don't get me wrong I know its time for a change, for a coach, for someone to watch over what I'm doing more closely but they have to be in line to listen to me and some of my wants in terms of how I want to continue to train not for LIFE not just for competitions. This is not something I'm doing just to walk the stage just for a competition this is something I'm doing to walk the stage of LIFE!! Well on that note I gotta run and cook.
Ohhhhhhhhhhh btw (by the way) I'm going to be on vacation from ALL my jobs starting Friday and I'm going to use that time to regroup and decide how I'm going to attack the blog and everything else that I'm participating in so there should be some GREAT changes and additions to come in the near future. As always Love ya and wishing you much success on your endeavors
KQ

M.I.A. because I fell short

2010-12-09T18:56:00.000-05:00

Oh well here we go again . . . I've been a terrible blogger b/c I've been MIA for a few weeks and I think its because of 2 things. 1) I FELL SHORT and I was very upset with myself because I feel like I let you all down more so then letting my own self down. 2) My mind has been consumed waiting to hear back from an open call I went to.
So let's address the #1 reason why I went missing. I started my 30 days till Turkey Day challenge with a BANG and I was rocking & rolling. I was working out consistently, eating clean/healthy, getting my cardio in, etc and everything was GREAT! I had even dropped down to 151 which was only 6lbs away from my goal weight of 145. . . then the wheels fell off. I think it all happened somewhere around the middle of the month while I was trying to finalize everything for our move. I found myself missing a workout here or a workout there, then it became 2 days and the guilt just started mounting. Once that happened I told myself I didn't have to eat clean anymore and I could just eat healthy and that's when it went from bad to worse because Thanksgiving came. Now I will honestly admit I ate pretty decent. I didn't have any glutinous plates of food but I did eat things like popcorn, biscuits, NUTS, and even a Krispy Kreme doughnut which immediately gave me diabetes because I haven't had anything that sweet since "Hector was a pup". (let me explain that saying real fast b/c I use it a lot: Hector is a name of a imaginary dog . . . so if I haven't done something since "Hector was a pup" then it's been a looooooooooong time LOLOL!!!) So back to the story. . . I knew things were a little out of whack because I have eyes and I saw my abs weren't as visible and my pants were a smidge tighter but not uncomfortable. Well when I got back home I weighed myself, LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWD why did I do that. Let's just say it wasn't an ideal weight. I now found myself in a worse mood then I was when I initially fell of the wagon and I had some damage control work to do and I did it then my "friend" decided it was time to grace me with her aggravating presence. Since I'm dealing with that situation right now I've decided not to weigh myself again until this Sunday and I'll report back to you on my progress, but if I keep up the pace I've been going at all will be well. I'm very hard on myself and I set a lofty but attainable goal and I was VERY DISAPPOINTED with myself for failing and letting you all down. I am good at carrying Guilt!! This is why I've never been able to cheat or steal because I can't live with the thought of knowing what I've done, it just eats me up like none other!
So now let's talk about the #2 reason why I've been away . . . Ya'll know I participated in the Wilhelmina open call for the Next Hot Body and it went GREAT!! So much so to where I was completely blown away. They were very impressed with me, my store, my progress, the whole nine. Nooooooooow we're drawing closer to the day where they announce the semi-finalists and I'm nervously awaiting a phone call, email, snail mail, singing telegram, a sky writing or any form of communication they'd like to use to get in touch with me and let me know I've made the cut. My friends & family seem to believe I've already got it in the bag and on the 14th I'll be contacted and all will be well. I don't deny that I'm just anxious. I know I did all I could do to impress them and express why I should be chosen as a participant in this contest and now its in God's hands. But again I'm still nervous mainly to do with my #1 reason for being MIA. I've gotta get my body back in tip top, knock'em dead, give the people what they want shape and I vow not to rest until I've done so. On that note I have to take these sweaty clothes off from my recent cardio workout and change for my lifting workout for the evening. I WILL NOT BE DENIED!! So I'll wrap this up by saying I am soooooooooooo very sorry for failing in my challenge and for going missing. I promise to do better next time.
Love you all and talk to ya soon
KQ

All I can say is . . I'M BLESSED!!!

2010-11-19T13:20:00.000-05:00

I was quiet yesterday because I was deep in thought and I almost blogged but I'm glad I waited until today. I may have to number the things I want to talk about to ensure I get them all in LOLOLOL!!!!

I AM SO BLESSED. . . .

To have such a GOOD, SUPPORTIVE, NO NONSENSE man!! I have never held any punches when I told you all I have been through some tough things in the relationship world over the last several years. To now be in a relationship with someone I can call my BEST FRIEND, CONFIDANT, A$$ KICKER and several other things (hehehe) is a WONDERFUL thing!! When my ugly self doubt kicks in he is always there to encourage, support & push me. He is also there to wrestle me down to the ground to take food out of my mouth that I'm trying to sneak when I'm supposed to be on a strict diet (and YES he does do that. . .NO LIE). He is a great provider for myself & my daughter and is 100% behind me in living my dream to launch my career in the fitness world. Ya'll now that earlier this week (on Tuesday) I quit my part-time job on a whim because I was just tired of the BS and I called him and told him I did it and he said "Ok, no problem" then the next day (Wednesday) I had an interview and got hired to personal train at a new gym up here (hehehe YES I snuck that one in on ya'll) and he said to me Thursday how proud he was that I went out and got the job doing what I want I'm passionate about and that I didn't hesitate. Hearing him say that which is actually something so simple made me explode on the inside with joy because I knew I was doing the right thing and I have someone in my corner who knows & believes the same thing. Ok so enough about him. . . on to the next topic
To know who I am & not let anyone sway me from what I believe & know is right & true!! When people see certain things in you that they themselves want or wish they had (I'm not just talking about material things, I'm talking about personality, drive, determination, motivation, fearlessness/bravery and anything else you can possibly think of) they try to do things to tear you down. There's something someone once told me and I will always remember it . . . .People HATE what they LOVE and want to be!! I know that sounds weird but think about it. . . you have all these qualities or material things that they wish they had and instead of encouraging & supporting you they hate on you, talk about you, heck talk down to you or are just plum T nasty. It's because they want to be walking in your shoes but oddly enough they have no clue what you had to do to get those shoes and how difficult that walk has been and still is. But when people throw this negative mess at you it sometimes makes you question yourself but through my journey I've grown so much and now there is no amount of hate, negativity or foolishness anyone can send my way to sway me or change who & what I am!
I gotta wrap it up cause there's tons to do today so the final thing I'll mention is . . . I'm SO BLESSED to have the courage to STEP OUT ON FAITH!! July 1st 2010 I made the BIGGEST move in my life from NC to CT and please believe me everyone asked me if I was scared and said they would be and that was such a big & crazy move . . . BUT this has turned out to be the BEST thing I've ever done in my life outside of the move I made to Charlotte on a whim 11yrs ago. This is my first time saying this out loud to anyone other than my besties Michelle, Rebecca & Kendra but YES I was scared when I made the move because I didn't know what the future here in CT held but I had FAITH and TRUSTED in God and knew he would continue to provide & direct me in the way I should go and that's exactly what has happened!!! I have done so many things I said I would do when I was living in Charlotte but never did. I can't explain the EXCITEMENT I feel just thinking about what's on the horizon for me. I could get up out this chair and shout through this house and fall to my knees and say my Praises & Thanks to the Lord for his grace & mercy!! LC, my mom & friends will tell you that sometimes I'm so overwhelmed with happiness now I can barely contain myself.

So with that being said I'm going to end this blog for the day cause I hafta cook & pack to go see LC tonight in the NY and have some fun with him before I head back down south for the holidays. I love you all and I wish you all the success & happiness in the world. Please believe ANYTHING & EVERYTHING is possible with a little faith, strength, courage, determination, motivation and belief in yourself.
KQ

No more shoulda, coulda, woulda, gonna or about to. . .

2010-11-17T11:49:00.000-05:00

This edict was handed down by Dallas's one & only superstar Kendra :) Like I told ya'll yesterday she's the one who listens to all my insanities because LC ain't trying to hear any of the nonsense that comes out of my mouth. I complain and whine and he looks at me like I'm pure T insane.
But I'm most guilty of saying a lot about what I'm gonna do, about to do, shoulda done, coulda done, or would like to do. Heck doing it gets on my nerves so I know it irritates those closest to me cause trust me I ramble on a lot. So what does that mean. . . it means its TIME OUT for that and it's Time for Action!! I'm not going to talk about anything until I've actually done what it was that I set out to do or I'm in the midst of doing it because it actually upsets me to keep mentioning these things and never completing them. LC said something to me a few weeks ago and I really took it to heart. . . . he said "Now you have to keep the momentum going" and he was absolutely 100% on the money with that one. Not only will I keep the momentum going but it is WAR!! I am very guilty of loving camouflage especially when paired with pink so I've pulled all my camo out of the closet and I'm prolly gonna re-up on a more because I am a soldier and like I said its WAR and I hafta be prepared. Something about stepping out on Faith yesterday and quitting my part-time job has given me a rejuvenated spirit and I'm ready for my success which is within my reach.
By the way, it's Day 22 (8 more days till Thanksgiving) and I'm still committed to my 30 day challenge. I pray I reach my weightloss goals and I'm doing everything I can to get there but if not I will keep on pushing . . . ummmmmm after Thanksgiving Dinner that is LOLOL!! I have to allow myself 1 day of enjoyment then it's back to business. Oh well I hafta go now because I have a meeting at a personal training studio later and I've got errands to run before then. Ya'll hold it down and I'll talk to ya later
KQ

I QUIT and I couldn't be happier!!

2010-11-16T15:56:00.000-05:00

I took my own dayum advice today and I'm making things happen. . . as most of you know I have 2 jobs (my full-time bread & butter and a part-time job that I was using to catch up on some bills and what not). Well for starters neither of these jobs are in the field that I'd like to ultimately find myself one day which is Health & Fitness and that right there is a HUGE problem. Sooooooooooo I QUIT!! That's right I QUIT my part-time job and tomorrow I have a meeting at a personal training studio to hopefully start training there (keep me in your prayers regarding that opportunity).
For years (and I mean years) I've been sitting on my certifications and not training and saying one day, one day, one day. . . WELL TODAY IS THE DAY! I'm tired of putting off tomorrow what can & should be done today. I was planning on doing it around Christmas or the first of the year but I said to H#LL with it and did it today. Now I know it was a hasty move but it felt GREAT!! It's time to walk in my calling and this was the first step.
As always love ya & continuing to pray for your success
KQ

Who Gone Check Me Boo?!?!

2010-11-16T11:20:00.000-05:00

Ohhhhhhhhh yes it's bout to be one of those blogs. . . but before I begin let me preface this by saying this is a PG-13 blog so I may give reference to or say a profane word or two. I apologize now if I offend anyone but its not meant to be harmful. . . .oooooooook now that we got that out of the way back to the subject

"Who Gone Check Me Boo?!?!"

Yeah that's right Who's gonna check me . . . Well it looks like I'm gonna check myself. I mean what better person to dig in your shyt then yourself. 21 days ago I started my 30 days till Turkey Day Challenge and I was partially there mentally but I think after these last few days I'm completely there and ready to get my arse in gear. I internalize a lot of my feelings & thoughts about my weight, my fitness & reaching my goals and only share them with my homegirl Kendra from time to time. And when I share how I'm feeling then go back and read over all the dayum complaining, b*thcing and moaning that I'm doing I get on my own freaking nerves!! I mean if I was working out with someone and they were doing all that complaining I would dig in their shyt so quick they wouldn't know what hit them so I think its time I do the same thing for myself. Funny how I can dish it, but I can't seem to take my own medicine.

Having been through complete H#LL over the last 6 years why in the world am I allowing myself to participate in such self destructive behavior and mentally tear myself down. Shoot that's what others did to me over the last 6 years and I absolutely HATED IT and I have enjoyed looking back at them and saying "How ya like me now". But my question is why in the Sam H#LL am I doing it to myself?!?! Back then I was made to feel like pure T shyt, like I was inadequate, less than, like I would never succeed, that what I was doing by trying to loose the weight was FOOLISH all in all I was talked about and talked to like a pure T dog and its upsetting just thinking about it. But I made it through so why am I at this crossroads right now. I look in the mirror and all I see and hear are those terrible comments and sometimes I can't shake'em but guess what . . . The Buck Stops Here. . . right here right now!!! There are 6 weeks left in the year and then its time for some serious a$$ kicking on the stage next year, but I'm no longer going to treat my training like I'm in or out of competition season because I'm about to be ON at all times!! Spreading the word of health & fitness is what I want to do and being that I've been through hell and back to get where I am today and where I will be in the future I feel like I'd be a good spokesperson.

Sooooooooooo Kenisha (yes that' my real name hehehe) . . . shake it off and get your ARSE in gear. Either you want it or you do, either you will or you won't be talking about the shyt and b*tching and complaining ain't gonna getcha to where you need to be!!! I've been a prisoner to the negative things people have said and done to me too long and when I broke free from their jail I willing put myself in my own jail by feeding into everything negative I could think of. Well NO MORE!!

ANYTHING WORTH HAVING IS WORTH WORKING FOR

so why aren't I working as hard as I can to get what I DESERVE. . . get to WORK

PROCRASTINATION IS THE ASSASSINATION OF MOTIVATION

what am I waiting for. . . time waits for NO MAN and trust me waiting doesn't make you want it more

ACCOUNTABILITY IS RESPONSIBILITY & RESPONSIBILITY IS ACCOUNTABILITY

I can blame nor hold ANYONE else responsible for my success or failure but MYSELF

FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD!!

I can't continue to pray for success IF I'm not going to do the work & make the sacrifice to get it

Love ya'll and praying for all success for all of us!!

Attacked by the NOOK (10days till Turkey Day)

2010-11-15T11:13:00.000-05:00

I've been out of sorts these past few days and not really been feeling like myself. I have to admit I was in a pissy mood starting Thursday night and that just wrecked my entire motivation to workout. I hardly slept Thursday so I was unable to wake up early Friday and get going @ my normal 630-7am so I decided I'd get a workout in midday but I was soooooooooo dayum tired I ended up taking a nap and that screwed the entire plan up. Then some of LC's co-workers invited me to a birthday party so I decided to hang out for a lil while . . . here's a pic from the evenings shenanigans. . .

It was a GREAT time and I'm glad I decided to get up and get dressed and hang with people for a change LOLOL!! So on Saturday I had planned to drive to New Haven, CT to visit one of my favorite stores IKEA and then I had a meeting with a trainer I'm thinking about working with for next years competition season. For starters we need to celebrate the fact that I got to New Haven & IKEA without getting lost. I am seriously directionally challenged so we're thankful for small miracles. Then I went to meet the trainer but we got our plans a little crossed and he was away at a show. Oh well there's always next weekend . . . so I headed back home and thought about going to the gym before going home but I was so hongry (yes I did say hongry) I couldn't think straight so I went to my beloved Whole Foods & trolled the aisles for a little while then bought a tasty salad, then went home and inhaled it. Guess I was tired from getting up so early Saturday AM that I fell asleep. Then came Sunday and again my plans were foiled. . . I wanted to get up early and workout, grocery shop, grab a few more items from the old house then go to church. Well I got up early and got started on my journey then I sat down for a few then went back to sleep. I mean seriously what's up with all the sleeping?!?! Guess my body decided I needed the rest, so hey I won't complain and just enjoy it.
But yesterday was a good day because LC was coming home from off the road. . .YEAHHHHHHHHH!! So in preparation for his arrival I did some extensive grocery shopping and cooked a special dinner for him that he requested consisting of t-bone steak, broccoli (and cheese sauce made from scratch), twice baked sweet potatoes & texas toast (which I only let him have every blue moon). Let me tell ya'll he devoured it and danced like usual which is a great thing. So we spent last night cuddled on the couch watching Family Guy, Football & the movie "It's Complicated" then off to bed. I was FOR SURE I would be making it to the gym this AM but when my alarm went off and I started getting out of bed that's when the NOOK attacked me. The nook is comfortable place I like to sleep when LC & I are all canoodled up underneath each other and as I tried to get up this AM he pulled me back down and sucked me into the nook. I mean I couldn't say no being that I haven't seen him in almost a week. So I'm a LAZY BUM and I'm really beating myself up for my poor work ethic these last few days. I'm seriously getting back on track because there's only 10days left till Turkey Day and its still possible for me to make my goal.
Holla atcha later
KQ

Challenge Day 16: The ONLY female?!?!

2010-11-11T14:43:00.001-05:00

Yesterday I was quiet on ALL social networks including my blog but none the less I still got my workout in. Being that I only had to work 1 job yesterday I decided I'd do my workout midday and that's what I did.
Now I have one BIG question. . . WHY at almost every gym I do to (and I've been to a lot of gyms. . . I actually have 2 memberships here in CT) am I the ONLY female over in the free weights?!?! And why do men look at me like I have 2 freaking heads?!?!? C'mon ladies ya'll gotta join me over there because machines are not always your answer. Free weights are your FRIEND!! They include barbells, dumbbells, weight bars, kettlebells, and the weight benches (flat, incline & decline). Do women not go because of fear, too many men, uncertainty as to what to do or just not interested in lifting free weights? I will admit sometimes there's a few ladies over there with me and we are almost drawn to one another and somehow we'll eventually speak and get to know each other because we know we belong to a small weightlifting sorority hehehe!! But on the serious note I really wish more females would join me in the free weight section because it could mean a world of difference when it comes to the results you're getting. Anyone can sit on a machine and let it control their stability and their range of motion but it takes work to balance yourself, keep your core tight, keep your range of motion steady and under control while executing the exercise. LC is gonna kill me for saying this but he was a machine lover once himself but I got him off of the machines and back into free weights and its made a world of difference. His core has tightened up tremendously, his balance & stability has gotten way better and his power & strength are going through the roof. So with all this being said PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE ya'll start joining me in the free weights and let's show those boys how to really pump some iron and maybe they'll stop looking at me like I'm crazy and do their own dang workouts. And I promise after I get my new video camera I'll start recording some of my workouts and posting them for ya'll to see.
Oh well. . . I'm cutting it short today because I'm feeling a little off. I'm not sick or anything I just feel weak & light headed. Prolly because I need to eat some more cause like a bad girl I waited a long time after my workout to eat and that affects me very badly. So love ya as usual and I'll talk to ya later. OHHHHHHHHH I'll post stats for ya tomorrow!!
KQ

Rowing my way to freedom. . .

2010-11-09T11:00:00.000-05:00

Ooooooook for starters lemmi backtrack and give you the 411 on yesterday's workout. . .
Yesterday was Challenge day 13 and man I had a GREAT quick & efficient workout which consisted of the following:

30min intervals w/Mr Stairmill (ya'll know how I LOVE him!! Bout as much as I LOVE LC hehe)
a nice good stretch (after my move a sista needed to stretch cause I felt like I was wound up tight as all outdoors)

Upper body workout: (Chest, Bi's & Tri's) - just a quick drive-by on those body parts to keep my muscle tone and everything tight. I'll get back to the heavy weights real soon but here's what I did

flat DB (dumbbell) BP (bench press) 3 x 20 @ 30lbs
incline DB BP 3 x 20 @ 30lbs
ABS - knee ups 3 x 30reps
barbell curls 3 x 20 @ 40lbs
DB tricep kickbacks 3 x 20 @ 25lbs
ABS - regular crunches

Now I would've done more cardio but LC wanted to move a few more things from over at the other place and he wanted me to help him put his seats from his truck in the garage. So between carrying them God Awful heavy seats & walking up and down the hall at the old loft with that heavy box shoooooooooot that was workout enough for me.

Ok so back to today . . .Rowing my way to freedom is what I felt like today when I was on the rowing machine for 30min. That was a GREAT fullbody cardio workout because the upper body pulling /rowing action and the lower body pushing action was something serious. Shoot when I got off that machine I was like did I just row my way to freedom hehehe!! Then I did a real quick lower body workout. Listen ya'll just don't know I used to be "Dragging a Wagon"!! Heck back in the day when I was 150lbs and thought I was fit (ummmm found out later I wasn't) my old track coach used to call me "Big Seat". How embarrassing is that?!?! Now I'm no longer "Big Seat" and I'm not "Dragging as big of a Wagon" but I still got thigh & butt work to do and trust me I'm going to take a stick of dynamite to this "arse" and blow this thing up and pray it shrinks by half. I build muscle quickly especially on my lower half so sometimes I back off the super heavy weights and go for high reps & lighter weight (not baby weight just lighter, I'm still putting up big numbers compared to most. So here's a snapshot of what I did:

30 min rowing machine
DB plie squat 3 x 30 @ 50lbs
leg press machine 3 x 20 @ 225lbs
single leg extensions 3 x 20 @ 30lbs each leg
single leg curls 3 x 20 @ 30lbs each leg
stiff legged dead lifts 3 x 15 @ 100lbs

I know ya'll are like "heffa them ain't not light weights" but trust me they are and one day they will be for you too. Please believe I didn't just walk in the gym and say "hello & how you doing" to the super heavy weights. I worked my way up to them and it has paid off. Don't be afraid of the increasing the weights because YOU WILL NOT GET BIG LIKE A MAN!! Instead you will continue to build some lean sexy muscle and everything will get tight and you will be walking around with your own "internal" body magic and all your homegurls will be jealous that you're not wearing a girdle or body magic to make yourself look good in that tight dress. HEHEHEHE ya'll know I'm crazy!! Oh well I gotta roll out cause LC is gone again :( but that means I can get everything from the move organized the way I want it without him being in the way LOLOL
KQ

30 days till Turkey Day - weekend wrapup (Days 10-12)

2010-11-08T10:55:00.000-05:00

WHEWWWWWWWWWW WHAT A WEEK/WEEKEND!! Moving all week, sweat drenched cardio workouts everyday, then to top the week off I had to "flip my wig" yesterday on a lady and let Shabakabuka out up in the grocery store. . . NOT whatcha want. So here's how it all went . . .

After being in CT for 4 months I'm officially SETTLED!! No more living out of suitcases and boxes. . . PRAISE THE LORD, I feel so Happy & Blessed!! We did a lot of moving during the week but Friday & Saturday were our BIG move days. I was able to still get a GREAT workout in Friday but Saturday all that walking up & down 3 flights of stairs with boxes, bags and everything else in between I had to call it a day cause my body was beat. After the move LC & I were like 2 big vegetables. . .we crashed on the couch, took a nap, got up and ate a quick bite, then BAM back to sleep on the couch for a night of seriously uncomfortable rest.
Sunday we were up early and because I suffer from the BIG "O" (organization) I had to start breaking things down and putting them up because I live by the Deloris Smith creed (that's my mom btw) "There's a Place for Everything & EVERYTHING in its PLACE!!!" The irony with that is this . . . before we hardly had enough space to put up the things we have, now we have MORE closets, drawers, & cabinets then we can use. But please believe I will find something to put in all these different nooks & crannies. After I had my bout with the BIG "O" I headed out for a loooooooooooooong ride on the CardioTrain!! I did 2hrs of cardio. . . I know that sounds crazy but it was a great mental release and also a release of the sweat & toxins in my body from my move.
Now here's were things got a lil scary, after my workout I went to the grocery store to get a few things for dinner and all was well until I got to the checkout line. This RUDE lady commenced to taking the grocery divider and shoving my grocery down as if to say "get this mess outta here". . . but Ok, I went along with it and didn't say anything but I took a mental note. Then I walked down towards the end to help the girl bag and what not and this same lady walks all the way to the end and stands infront of the debit card machine and basically I'm no longer even in the aisle. . . UMMMMMMMM EXCUSE ME MA'AM . . .do you mind if I finish getting my grocery before you push me out of the way, unless you want to do your good deed for the day and pay for it for me and if that's the case then you can stay right there. Well needless to say she grins and moves back and here's where the DRAMA starts. This other lady walks up and says "OMG what did that "black" girl say to you? Are you ok. . .did that "black" girl scare you? WHAAAAAAAAAAAT?!?! Ya'll I flipped my wig and SHABAKABUKA came straight out and I let her know 1) I'm not a "black" girl I'm a GROWN woman and I'm standing right here and I can hear you & you will NOT disrespect me 2) the other lady was the one in the wrong and she needs to mind her own business. . . I was LIVID!! But oh well some folks are ignorant so chalk it up and keep it moving
Today is Day 13 of the Challenge and my cycle came yesterday so I'll do a separate blog for today and discussing your cycle and what all this means for your workout & weight loss. So talk to ya soon
KQ

Workout, Weather & my Wig (I don't wear a wig but you get it LOL)

2010-11-04T12:32:00.000-04:00

Well what better day to discuss this issue then today because it's COLD & RAINING here in the Northeast and its Thursday which means "hair day" in my house. Now I will let you in on my other journey which is going natural with my hair and that hasn't been too big of a challenge for me when it comes to my workouts because I've always done my hair in-between salon visits. I'm thankful to my Grandma Cora who was a hairstylist for over 60yrs who taught me how to do my own hair and made sure I was always well equipped with the proper products and utensils to make it happen and trust me I did. Shoot I was rocking the doobie before it became popular cause that's how G-ma Cora would do it.
Anyway, so let's talk about dealing with your hair be it permed, natural or transitioning. . .I will admit I have it easy because my full-time job has me working from home so if I fail to do my hair or complete a style it's ok because no one will see me except LC and trust me if I'm starting to look real crazy he'll say "soooooooo whatcha gonna do with that wig or lion's mane". I threaten to cut it off all the time and he looks at me cross-eyed cause he knows I would HATE having short hair. So how do you still get your workouts in and maintain a presentable looking head. Well there's several hair blogs (natural, transitioning & permed) out there for you to go to and arm yourself with mountains of information. There are several key things to remember regardless of your hair status. . . it needs to be clean, moisturized and maintained. Just like we work at educating ourselves to get jobs, educate ourselves to get in shape, work at our relationships with friends & family we have to do the EXACT same thing with our hair.
I've been on this weightloss journey for over 5yrs now and the majority of that time I was permed and I maintained my hair by doing the following

washed & deep conditioned weekly
used a good leave in conditioner with plenty of moisture
styled my hair in several different ways that would allow me to workout & keep a presentable appearance -> braidouts, flexi-rod sets, roller sets, doobie, straight . . .I would rotate between these styles every week
moisturize every morning & night
protect it at night by either rebraiding it, pulling it up in a high ponytail or re-wrap it
I always slept with a satin scarf or a satin pillow

Now that I'm transitioning I'm using all of the same principles with more frequency on the washing but instead of washing it with shampoo I do a lot of co-washing with conditioner and it serves the same purpose and my hair feels so much softer and moisturized. Unfortunately I'm having to alter a bit because its CRAZY cold up here and I can't walk around with wet hair like I used to in NC. I'm trying to setup a new schedule I can stick to which is co-wash, moisturize & style on Thursday in a way which will allow me to wear it until Sunday after church (with some touch-ups here and there). Then on Sunday that's when I dedicate several hours . . . I pre-poo for several hours sometimes depending on what I'm doing, then I do 1 wash with diluted shampoo, then 1 wash with a cheapy conditioner, then I deep condition (either under the dryer for @ least 45min or I walk around the house with a plastic cap on for several hours), Once I'm done deep conditioning I decide on a style and begin my process with a GOOD leave in conditioner, some coconut oil, one of my many frizz free products then I style. Since today's a hair day I'll take pics of what I look like now then I'll do my hair and I'll post pics.
GREAT HAIR SITES

Mane & Chic -> this link here has tons & tons of info
Curly Nikki
KISS
Spiced Honey
and there's several others but ya'll will think I'm a hair crackhead if I put them all here

Ok lemmi go cause LC is packing and keeps yelling my name and my head is dirty and its yelling @ me too. I'll be back with the final results
KQ

Buried in the midst of boxes but still commited to the Challenge!!

2010-11-03T10:11:00.001-04:00

Despite my silence over the last 2 days I haven't forgotten ya'll, my workouts or The Challenge. But ya'll things have been so HECTIC its unreal. Lemmi catch you up real fast then I'll give you the daily updates . . . for starters WE'RE MOVING!!! Yeahhhhhhhhhh for that but what's made it slightly difficult was LC was outta town working the World Series. Now thankfully for both of us San Fran won and wrapped that bad boy up and he was able to come home yesterday. After 1wk away I'm glad to have him back!! I missed having him in the house to laugh with, cooking dinner for him, working out with him and just plain enjoying life. So needless to say my plans to blog last night after work were foiled because I spent time catching up with LC, then cooking & packing for our move (did I say YEAHHHHHHHHHHHH already hehehehe!!) Needless to say I really LOVE our new place. . . its Bigger, its Newer (ya'll they don't like new up here, so its hard finding newly built places) and its so Nice cause now I have my own office and LC is thrilled to pieces about that LOLOLOL.
So today is Day 8 in the 30 days to Turkey Day Challenge and its MEASUREMENTS time.

CD23 - cycle day 23 out of a 28 day menstrual cycle (again I'll explain what this really means)
height - 5'10 (well this is still 1 consistent measurement last I checked LOL)
weight - 155 (now this is only 1lb but I will admit that I've been weighing in daily and this past Saturday I dropped to 154 which was golden but I had some serious bloating over the weekend and still now)
bust - 32in
waist - smallest point (about 1in above my navel) = 25.5in; largest point (about 1in below my navel) = 27in (down .5in)
hips - 36in
thighs - BOTH 22in

The measurements in black are the consistent ones that haven't changed or won't ever change and the ones in purple are ones that have changed. . .YEAHHHHHHHHHH!!
I've been working out everyday since the Challenge started and I've done enough cardio to burn at least 500 cals each time and if I continue on this track I could guarantee myself 5lbs lost before we even talk about nutrition and resistance training. So once we add those 2 major components in we will for sure be on track for our 10lb weight loss. This week we will discuss nutrition, calories needed to loose, maintain or even gain weight and the importance of protein, carbs, fats, etc.
I'm a lil scatter brained right now because I'm in the midst of boxes and what not but be patient with a chick cause I'm still trying to hold it down for ya'll. I'll be back this afternoon to summarize days 4-7 (Sat - Tues). I need to be taken to the woodshed and have my hips beat for letting myself get so side tracked that I couldn't keep in touch with ya'll. Hmmmmm beating my hips wouldn't be a bad idea cause maybe they'll get smaller LOLOLOL!! Alrighty I'll talk to ya'll in a few with those updates
KQ

I've been ATTACKED. . .

2010-10-29T15:51:00.000-04:00

I was attacked by HORMONES & a package or trailmix!! I'm feel "some" sort of way today and its NOT a good way. I don't really know how to describe it but I feel this overwhelming stress, tension, uneasiness and any other UNNERVING feeling that you can think of. For starters let me tell you today is CD18 (cycle day 18). which means my cycle is 10 days a way. Based on the principles of Hormonal Timing on CD18 & 19 can be "Game Changing" days. . . at least for me. To just give you a high level overview this is when you're entering the 2 week phase that encompasses your menstrual cycle & the days prior. So basically that time of the month when you feel like CRAP! The body wants to start retaining water, you're having cravings (which really aren't cravings, its your body burning up to 500 calories EXTRA), you're feeling sluggish and all the other things that occur to you during your monthly cycle. . . And that's the phase I'm approaching right now. I LOVE HORMONAL TIMING and know what my body is going through and when its going to go through it. Not to be all super personal but I haven't been on the pill or any kind of BC in almost 6 years and I can tell you "to the day" almost every month when my cycle will start (unless I'm prepping for a show and still its on schedule). I have been able to capitalize on that knowledge of my body and use it to my advantage to alter my workouts, nutrition, and rest so my body will work EFFICIENTLY & EFFECTIVELY!!

Ok so back to my attack. . . I have just had this ICKY feeling all day and I just couldn't take it anymore so I jumped in my truck and went to CVS and of all the things that could happen a bag of trailmix leaped off the shelf and threatened me within an inch of my life if I didn't take it home so ya'll know I was scared so I took the bag home and it didn't make it out of the parking lot (hehehehe)!! Luckily it was just a $1 mini bag with 2 servings and it made me happy and now I'm moving on with my day. But I will admit there was a time, thankfully a long time ago where I would've devoured something much more damaging to my diet. Knowledge, Growth, & Self-Control are all a big part in my decisions these days. Trust me I think about the bad stuff just like anyone else but I know what I want, where I want to be, how eating those bad things will affect me mentally, physically, emotionally and any other "lly" you can think of, hehehe!!

As you can tell typing this is giving me a RELEASE and I'm feeling so much better about myself because the situation was GRIM a minute ago. But I would be doing ya'll an injustice if I didn't share with you another thing that happened to make me smile and feel better. Earlier this afternoon LC called me from San Fran to tell me he's boarding the plan for Dallas (he's working the MLB World Series) and he's been having flight drama today. So I told him how I was feeling and this is how the conversation went

LC says: Well I don't know why you're feeling that way but maybe you need a drink
(he knows I barely drink so that had to be a joke)
KQ says: You know maybe you're right I might go downstairs and get some Mama Juana that we got from the Dominican Republic
LC says: Yeah why don't you get some it's mechanical (or something like that)
KQ says: WHAT?!?! What did you just say? Did you mean "medicinal" and I HOLLERED LAUGHING!!

Ya'll I have no idea right now exactly what he said but all I know is he didn't say "medicinal" and I hit the floor laughing. Of course I gave him the benefit of the doubt b/c he'd been up since 4am PST and it was going on 11am PST and he'd been getting the run around at the airport but none the less that thing was funny. Anyway I'm SERIOUSLY feeling better now that I was able to vent to ya'll so now I will continue on with my day and I hope there are no more "drive-by trailmix attacks". You know you hafta be very careful of those because they can happen at anytime LOLOLOLOL!!!!
KQ

Making changes on the blog

2010-10-29T11:03:00.000-04:00

Just wanted to let ya'll know you'll see some changes coming up over the weekend. I'm adding a few extra features like a search feature, adding labels to all my posts, I've already added several new pages which include - workouts, nutrition, recipes, videos, etc and I will be updating those pages regularly. If there's anything you'd like me to talk about or answer please feel free to let me know and I'll be sure to add it to the blog immediately.

Talk to ya soon and hope you enjoy the new additions
KQ

Day 3: Laaaaaaaawd my hammies are SORE!!

2010-10-29T11:00:00.000-04:00

Man lemmi tell yall . . . .my hamstrings are suing me for SUPPORT and I'm loosing the lawsuit!!! As ya'll all know I had my Secret Rendezvous with Mr. Stairmill this week & I did legs right after that. Also I've been doing intervals & long runs on the treddy (my name of the treadmill) this week which have all added up to some SOOOOOOOOOOORE hammies (hamstrings)!! But that is no excuse so like in any GREAT production . . .THE SHOW MUST GO ON. I didn't hop outta bed with any kinda vigor today because I have a neighbor who I call "Jabber Jaws" and he wanted to run his dang gum mouth all night & laugh like a hiena all night long.

Whewwwwwwwww let's please have a side conversation about this situation . . . OK check it out, we live in an old mill that's been turned into a loft and its got great high ceilings and huge windows with exposed brick walls and beams and THIN A$$ WALLS!!! So lately Jabber has been next door running his mouth like a leaking faucet and doing it LATE at night. Now I'm sure he hears me & LC because we are 2 nuts and we're always in here clowning but we don't carry on like that late at night. Shoooot folks gotta sleep so they can get up and get their workout on the next morning *wink*wink*. . . .

Ok back to your regularly scheduled programming . . . sooooo again I didn't jump outta bed like I had been doing all week. I basically had to drag myself out after hitting snooze 1 too many times. I decided it would be just be cardio this AM then my workout and a little bit more cardio tonight. Well I don't like doing the same thing over & over again at the gym for cardio (except when it comes to MY LOVE Mr Stairmill) so I decided it was a running day and that decision went real wrong REAL fast. After walking for 5min @ 3.5-4.0mph on the treddy I jumped off and stretched a bit because I already knew I was feeling tight from those killer deadlifts I did earlier in the week. Once I got back on and started my run and all was well for the first 10min but then I was like maaaaaaaaan my hammies are sore so I decided to err on the side of caution and not take a risk b/c I can't blow a tire (sports talk for pulling a hamstring, hehehe). I up'd the incline to 12 and lowered my running speed from 6mph to 4mph and walked up hill for another 30min. What do I say about that . . . hmmmmmm?!?!? Still difficult because I was sweating like a little piglet.

Now I'm home and trying to stretch these hammies out because my foam roller is in storage still. I'll keep stretching the remainder of today then tonight its PLYOMETRICS TIME!! I hate I don't have anyone to video tape this workout for me because ya'll would love it. This is going to be short, sweet & EFFECTIVE! I'll not only get in a good total body workout but it will also be cardio because of the high intensity and the little rest I'll take between sets. Alrighty, I'm off to get some things done for work today but as always enjoy your day and stay focused on your goals and WE WILL ACCOMPLISH ALL OUR GOALS TOGETHER!!

Day 2: Using my Fat Burning Burnaces!!

2010-10-28T11:54:00.001-04:00

Well its Day 2 of the 30 days till Turkey Day Challenge and as promised AM workout COMPLETE!! Now I mentioned yesterday I would do 2 a-days 3 times a week and I missed doing it on Monday b/c The Boss told me it was too late to leave and go back out to the gym since he wasn't at home to go with me. Soooooo I'm going to hafta do 3 days in a row of 2 a-days (Wed, Thurs, & Friday). A sista is gonna be beat but hey we working towards the MASTER PLAN!!
I got up EARLY this AM but instead of heading straight to the gym I had to wash this birds nest I call a head of hair first because it was TERRIBLE then I hit the gym for 45min of sweaty cardio. Now here's a lil fitness fact real fast . . .

3500 calories to burn 1lb of FAT

Now we've had this discussion before about how that LOVELY muscle you're building will help you burn that stubborn fat. But I'll break that one down once more:

1(one) lb of muscle burns 50 EXTRA calories (1lb of fat burns less than 3 calories

So now you know it takes 3500 calories to burn 1lb of FAT and you know that 1lb of muscle burns 50 extra calories lets put this Bad Boy together

10lbs muscle x 50 cals each lb x 7 days = 3500 calories BURNED = 1LB LOST!

How bout we kick it up one more notch and say hmmmmm if we're doing our resistance training and building that SEXY muscle (which by the way is your GOD GIVEN Body Magic) then we add in some sweat filled cardio and burn somewhere between 300-500 cals each cardio session now you're kicking your weekly weight loss into another realm and you are using those FAT BURNING FURNACES to their fullest ability!! I have vowed to do enough cardio everyday to burn my 500 cals so doing that 7 days a week (which I'm going to do, but you don't have to take it to this extreme - REMEMBER I've been training like this for a long time and I'm working towards a LOFTY goal) I will assist myself in not only burning my first 3500 cals with that SEXY LEAN MUSCLE I've built but I'm burning another 3500 thru some sweat drenched cardio and in the words of my FB friend F.A. Harper AKA Air Harp BOOOOOYAAAAAAH I've hopefully burned my 2lbs of fat.

I have of course given a high level overview of this process and as time continues to go by in this Challenge I will break this concept down further along with discussing other things I've used to assist me in my weight loss journey and I'm still using today like Hormonal Timing created by my BELOVED & FEARLESS BUFFMOTHER!! leader Michelle. And I know many of you are doing or have done P90x with your boy Tony Horton who promotes the concept of muscle confusion which I have to admit is something I've been made to do since I started participating in sports back at the ALMIGHTY Spring Valley High School. I had old skool KUNTRY coaches and they didn't believe in mainstream ways of working out. So to keep the muscle building & fat furnaces going I am always incorporating muscle confusion through doing several different things and I'll share all those with you too. Anyway, I gotta run out to the post office cause a sista gotta mail something before I'm in hot water. I'll holla atcha later and we'll talk more then. As always feel free to comment, send me questions or just read and enjoy!!
Love ya
KQ

30 Days till Turkey Day - Day 1 Part Deux

2010-10-27T16:48:00.002-04:00

Let's get it! Day 1 Part Deux! Cardio, lunges (add to early to total 100) & abs. A Sexy body ain't coming 2 get U. . .U gotta go get it.

Well the first portion of this blog I did while I was in the midst of my cardio LOL! See I'm always thinking about ya and wanting to keep the motivation going. So the result of that workout was a hardcore upright bike cardio session where I rode @ level 10 for 30min going no slower than 88-90+ rpm. I was soaking wet when I finished and that was because I was working hard and it was hot & HUMID up in that gym. WHAT IS THAT ALL ABOUT?!?!? Do these folks in CT not believe in air in the gym? Later on tonight I'll finish up my lunges so I can total 100 for the day then I'll do my abs before I get in the bed. I can't neglect those and a little a day goes a LONG way, trust me. I gotta run so I can jump in the shower. I'll be back tomorrow and we'll talk more about nutrition & workouts
As always much LOVE & SUCCESS with your goals
KQ

30 Days till Turkey Day - Day 1 Met my SECRET Lover!!

2010-10-27T09:55:00.000-04:00

Ok as most of you know and will learn over this journey I am a TRIP. I say crazy things at the drop of a dime just depending on how I'm feeling. As much as possible I "try" to always keep a positive outlook and keep it light and happy. Sooooooooooo let's begin our journey with DAY 1. . . .
As promised I did my workout today and I took my beginning measurements. Since I've been doing certain exercises and workouts for so long I don't usually write my workouts down because I have a catalog of them in my brain but for you LOVELY followers I will start documenting them on a regular basis and if need be I will demo any the exercises myself or find a GREAT video showing you how to do what I've just done . . . aren't I such a sweetheart?!?! LOLOL
Anyway, back to beginning measurements and workout
Day 1 Measurements

height - 5'10 (this is 1 measurement I can assure you won't be changing LOLOL)
weight - 156 (not THRILLED with this b/c I wanted to be 155 but I will say this is the first time since I started College that I've successfully been in the 150's so long. I have officially been between 150-155 since my show in August
bust - 32in
waist - smallest point (about 1in above my navel) = 25.5in; largest point (about 1in below my navel) = 27.5in
hips - 36in
thighs - BOTH 22in!! (now that's a miracle b/c usually one thigh is slightly bigger than the other but lately they are they same YEAHHHHHH)

These measurements are quite acceptable for my off season but I would like to get to a new maintenance weight of 145lbs which would mean these numbers will decrease significantly . . . fiiiiiiiiiine by me :) This will require CONSISTENCY & INTENSITY both of which I'm willing to commit to with my whole heart. Now on to the exciting workout and explanation of the title . . . .

I MET WITH MY SECRET LOVER TODAY . . . . Mr. Stairmill!!!!! OHHHHHHHHH how he makes my heart skip a beat LITERALLY! Unfortunately we haven't been seeing each other lately but today we had a date and it was GREAT. He was really busy and was only able to commit to a 20min time block but I took it and rocked out a SWEAT filled 20min of intervals (1min fast/1min slow). It was so wonderful to spend time with him again but I had to move on to the rest of my workout where I did Superset of all my exercises. Most of the time people do supersets of opposing muscle groups or body parts (example: bicep curls & tricep extensions). Instead I did more of a Compound Superset which can be defined here.
So here's what I did today:

20min stairmill intervals
Plie Squats w/50lb dumbell x 20 superset w/Toe Touches on a flat bench x 20 (3 sets)
Smith machine lunges x 20 @ 100lbs w/Mountain Climbers x 20 (3 sets)
Leg Extensions x 20 @ 75lbs w/Seated Leg Curls x 20 @ 50lbs (3 sets)
Barbell Stiff Legged Dead Lift x 10 @ 135lbs w/Burpees x 20 (3 sets)

After this workout I was DRENCHED in sweat because I took minimal rest. Now I'm home all showered up and ready to work. I've had my coffee (new addiction that I need to break) and had Meal 1 - 6 EW (egg whites) w/asparagus and I've downed 32oz of water already. So off to work and to help motivate you all to reach your goals. As always much love & success to you on your journey and LET'S ROCK DAY 1!!!
KQ

30 days till TURKEY DAY!!

2010-10-26T22:32:00.001-04:00

Ooooook as of today there are exactly 30 days until Thanksgiving (aka Turkey Day) so what does that mean?!?!? It means it's CHALLENGE TIME!! I am going to embark on a challenge I'm calling

30 Days till Turkey Day Challenge

During this challenge let's pick a goal that we want to accomplish by Thanksgiving day. For me personally I'm going to challenge myself to drop 10lbs in the effort to reach my new maintenance weight and walk to the Thanksgiving table looking FINE as WINE!! To reach this goal and to help you reach yours I will hold myself accountable I will be doing several things that I will list below. Now let me say, this doesn't have to be just a health & fitness / weightloss goal, even though that would be AWESOME because what better way to start the hectic, irresistible good tasting food, gift giving, family driving you crazy season then by reaching new fitness goals and walking to the dinner table looking like WHOOAAAAAAAAAA (hehehe ya'll know I'm crazy). So sit down and take inventory and decide what goal you'd like to accomplish in the next 30 days along with me and let's get cracking.

To keep myself accountable, motivated and to keep you guys going I will do the following things:

WORKOUT DAILY - I will do some sort of workout everyday in a commitment to make it to this goal
BLOG DAILY!! - This one has been a hard on for me but no matter how I'm feeling, what mood I'm in or what I'm going through I will promise to blog
TRACK MY MEASUREMENTS - Since today is Day 1 I will weigh in and take measurements of my chest, waist, hips & thighs and post those results for you all to see. To reach my goal I need to drop 2.5lbs on average a week so that means work, work, work!!
DO WEEKLY NUTRITIONAL & FITNESS POSTS - I'll do a weekly post about workouts, supplementation, nutrition, and different meal creations that I come up with. I may even start vlogging (YEAHHHHHHHHHHH for videos!!)
BE THERE FOR YOU!! - I will make myself available via this blog, Facebook, Twitter, or Email. Basically I will be here for you in any way shape or form so don't hesitate to contact me.

With that being said let the 30 Day to Turkey Day Challenge BEGINNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!

Had a revelation & gained PERSPECTIVE!!

2010-10-18T11:55:00.000-04:00

As most of you know this has been a long journey for me and its been filled with emotional & physical up's & down's but through it all I pushed on and I'm coming out on the other side victoriously!! Let me share with you something that I said to myself during the very early stages of my journey when I was 200+ lbs and still feeling hopeless. . . I told myself I was going to 1) loose the weight and be in shape 2) compete in figure competitions and 3) be a fitness model or spokeswoman for the African American community on how you can be healthy & fit despite all of life's obstacles. Needless to say I was

laughed at by everyone, including those closest to me, it hurt but it was ok because guess what . . . 1) I've lost the weight 2) I competed in not 1 but 2 shows this year and many more next year and 3) I'm on my way working towards becoming a fitness model/spokesperson for health & fitness because I FINALLY BELIEVE IN MYSELF!! I mentioned before that despite the obvious changes I've made sometimes I got caught up not believing in myself. Well last night in my attempt to clean house b/c we're moving . . . YESSSSSSSSSSSSSS I SAID IT WE'RE MOVING into our new place in a few weeks (can you tell I'm excited LOLOL) . . . anyway back to the subject. In my attempt to clean house I went thru my computer box where I have all my cd's and techie stuff and I was checking out the data on these disks and low & behold there were pictures of me pre & post baby and let me tell you A SISTA WAS TORE OUT THE FRAME!! I mean when I saw pics of myself from before I even got preggers I was blown away.

To give you an example of what I'm talking about here's a picture and I barely recognize my face. As you see this doesn't even look like me and I can't lie I was again emotionally overwhelmed when I saw it!! Now this was pre-pregnancy so as you see I wasn't lying when I said I was in a BAD spot when I got preggers and the only place to go was up and I went UP. Anyway seeing these pics last night gave me a serious revelation & perspective as to where I am now and made me feel SO THANKFUL!! I may complain sometimes and say crazy stuff about my weight and beat myself up but looking back at where I was then and where I am now and the possibility of things to come I feel so blessed and I can't Thank God enough for giving me the strength and ability to get where I am now. I have gained some serious perspective in the matter of minutes and I will STOP this self destructive behavior because I have come a long way and couldn't be happier.
I'll also share a little secret with you . . . I took this picture one summer when I was in NYC working and during that summer I went by Wilhelmina modeling agency to audition to be a plus size model. Needless to say they sent me packing immediately. Well this past weekend I went by the agency to enter in the Next Hot Body contest and the response was totally different and I shared with them I had been there 6 years prior for a totally different reason and now I'm back and even BETTER!! All I can say is GOD IS GOOD and FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD!! I will continue to praise Him & thank Him on a daily basis while I keep pushing on because my blessing is coming!!!

KQ

By the way this is how I looked this time when I walked into Wilhelmina. Actually I think I may have topped this body by getting a bit leaner but who cares I was miles away from where I was the first time I went to see them and it showed. I had an awesome time and I'll continue to pray for & work towards my SUCCESS!!!

GOALS set . . . now it's time to make them a REALITY!!

2010-09-09T22:18:00.000-04:00

It's time for me to finally BELIEVE IN MYSELF & PUT MYSELF OUT THERE!!

Now the self belief part is totally internal and something I've been working on daily. For some reason I used to feel like no one cared or wanted to hear about my story/journey, that I wasn't good enough to hang with the Big Dawgs and that I would never get to where I am today which is still a good ways away from the Ultimate Goal (but I'm on the right path). Well now I know better!! I'm so glad many of you are inspired by my journey and see that I'm a real person, living a real (hectic) life and I'm achieving my fitness goals one push up, squat & bench press at a time LOLOLOL!!! When it comes to feeling like I hang with the Big Dawgs. . . well obviously I don't feel that way anymore b/c I've finally embarked on my competition journey and held my own quite well and there are many more competitions to come so keep your eye out for me. Achieving the Ultimate Goal is still a journey and will probably always be one because every goal I accomplish I see as a rung on a ladder and I just keep climbing and when I reach the top (ie the Ultimate Goal) then I'll just grab a new ladder and start climbing it.
So now what does all this hafta do with "putting myself out there"?!?! You see all the self-doubt that I previously described has kept me from venturing out there and entering different online contests, doing photoshoots, contacting agents, etc. That is over with now and I have an announcement . . . . I'M GOING TO DO A PHOTOSHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!! Yup that's right you heard me, I'm finally doing it because there's no time like the present. I told myself at the beginning of the year 2010 was my year to step out there and that's exactly what I'm doing. In 20days I'm jumping off the ledge and doing my first photoshoot.

GOALS set . . . now it's time to make them a REALITY!!

Shhhhhhhhhh. . . Do you listen

2010-08-30T13:55:00.000-04:00

To your body that is?!?!?
Well for the most part I do but sometimes I think I know better than my body and I don't listen. But this time listened and my body was telling me I needed some REST!! So that's exactly what I did. I started my World Wind Tour on Aug 7th by rushing to SC for a friends Bridal Shower and it was non-stop since that point. As you already know after the shower came the competition,then final preparations for the my friend Brittany's Wedding and while I prepped for her wedding I started doing Crossfit and lemmi tell ya it's NOT for the faint at heart but it will for sure GET YOU RIGHT!! After the wedding it was time to get Miss Kyndal prepared for her first week of BIG School (that's what she calls it) and I was just TIRED!! So I decided last week while I got her together I would take a break from my workouts to give me body some much deserved REST.
If any of you are like me when it comes to a goal you want to accomplish and you feel like "Oh I just need to keep going, Don't stop, I'll get there but I gotta keep pushing". Well sometimes that's just not the mentality to have and that's such a hard lesson for me to learn but I'm trying. When you've been going Super Hard for a really long time and you don't take a much needed rest you run the risk of hurting yourself & your progress more than helping yourself. You stop seeing results, your body starts fighting you, fatigue and boredom come much quicker and that's sooooooooooo NOT what we want.I started competition training January 2, 2010 and I've been going HARD ever sense. I have competed in 2 shows and finally learned on 2 occasions (subsequently after both shows) to take a MUCH NEEDED BREAK!!
Now HOW exactly do you take this break and not hinder your hard earned progress. Well for starters this whole journey is a LIFESTYLE CHANGE!! Its not just a diet to help you fit into a dress (women) or suit (men), look good @ a reunion or even participate in a competition. This is about learning to listen to your needs instead of your wants, about daily exercise and healthy nutrition to help you build that flawless body you've been wanting for so long. So honestly while taking this break you shouldn't feel the urge to over indulge and succumb to temptation. I mean we're tempted everyday all around us but we don't give in so why should this small break be any different. Now I'm not saying don't enjoy a cheat meal or even a cheat day BUT keep it in perspective. Everything's about moderation & healthy substitutions and that's what you have to remember. Stay tuned for another blog this week about choosing those healthy substitutions and how to eat in moderation while still satisfying yourself and not feeling hungry.

BACK HOME!!!

2010-08-28T20:28:00.000-04:00

I don't have much for you tonight or probably even tomorrow but my WORLD WIND TOUR down to NC & SC is over and I'm back home in CT. I will report that I stayed on track with my eats and I didn't let any of the convenience store goodies trick me into buying them EVEN THOUGH they all looked good and as my girl Kendra says they always seem to have better goodies than the grocery stores and what not. My body is tired from the drive but it's RESTED from taking last week off so workouts next week will be INSANE and ALL OUT!! I'm gonna sign off and see if I can get a rub down :)

KQ

2010-08-26T23:35:00.001-04:00

Please be patient as I test out new options on my blog. So if you're seeing pics appear & disappear, etc know I'm working on it!!

Wedding and a WORKOUT!!

2010-08-24T16:08:00.000-04:00

Sooooooooooo if you follow me on Facebook you already know I was in a wedding this weekend for my friends Brittany Brooks & BJ Mckie. It was an ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL WEDDING and I was VERY honored to participate in their SPECIAL Day!! Needless to say ya'll already know wedding are whirlwind affairs so it was HUSTLE, HUSTLE, & HUSTLE some more all weekend when you're a participant in the wedding party.

Friday started the festivities for the wedding weekend but I had PLENTY to do before I could even get to the host hotel. First I had to drive back from Charlotte cause I had to get KZ. Then LC was flying in, I had to get my dress from alterations, I needed to hit up the Fresh Market for my Okra Chips, LAWDDDDDDDDD my feet & nails needed attention (unfortunately only my nails got the attention LOLOL) thennnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn I could check-in. So we got settled and whooooooooooosh off to rehearsal I went. And as usual I was STARVING but girl is always prepared, I had my almonds in my purse. Once that was over we had the dinner but I was delayed a bit cause LC didn't know what time we were going to finish and he was being an excellent example of Health & Fitness so he was just wrapping up his workout. Well obviously I couldn't leave him hanging so I made sure he got everything together and we went down to the dinner. Unfortunately I COULDN'T EAT ANYTHING, but I ended up making do with salad & cutting up the chicken they had and put it on there and that whereas my dinner. I know it was a celebration and all but I couldn't bring myself to eat mashed potatoes, BREAD, and all kinds of other goodies I just don't partake in on a normal basis. Then LC & I went out in TIRED Columbia and founds nonsense to get into until 4am!! WOWOWOW what was I thinking cause Saturday was the BIG day and I had to be up early . . .

And BAM its 8am Saturday and I'm up. . . urghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh TIRED but gotta do what I gotta do. After I reluctantly drug myself outta the bed and got dressed I headed outside and YES I'm about to say it . . . . .WORKED OUT!!! Yes I sure did, I got in my workout while everyone slept & I mean SLEPT HARD including the Bride. So here's a pic of the hill I ran right outside our hotel

I ran from the hotel to the CVS then back to the hotel. After that I did 10 hill sprints, and finally hit the gym for a little bit of lifting then off to prepare for the wedding. Unfortunately I didn't take as many pics as I wanted to take but I took a few and I've posted them here, please feel free to view & comment. So after the wedding which was ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL we went to Main St in Columbia, SC and did action shots RUNNING & JUMPING UP & DOWN!! WHEWWWWWWWWWW C'mon now?!?! A sista has on 3+ inch heels, a strapless dress, face full of makup and now I'm sweating bullets like man. Now to top it all off they wanted the bridesmaids to hold the groom. Who do ya'll think carried the weight of that load?!?! Ummmmmmmm hmmmmmmmmmmm ME! But I wouldn't have wanted it any other way because I'm sure the pics will turn out GREAT. Then they whisk us off to the reception and I have to be honest and admit . . . I HAD A DRINK (actually more than 1). For those of you who know I rarely ever drink so 1 sends me over the top. Needless to say I was done! But that didn't stop me & LC from dancing the night away as we usually do. They played our favorite Before I Let Go by Frankie Beverly so you know we cut up on that one, then we Swagged Surfed, I did the ChaCha slide cause he's NOT about to do that and we danced to several other songs between stuffing our faces with the delicious food. She had a buffet with grilled veggies and that's mostly all I ate and I ate so many I was sick LOLOLOL!! Hey if you're gonna get sick might as well be off of some veggies.

All in All it was a GREAT weekend because I got to spend time with GREAT friends & family and have a busy but relaxing time, LOL! Kyndal got to hang with MeMe (that's what they call my mom), she also got to play & wrestle with her buddy LC and here's a pic of them after they were pooped out. I mean is that not the most BEAUTIFUL thing. This was a perfect ending to a PERFECT weekend. Now I'm READY to get back to CT!!

Love KQ!!

Reflecting on the PAST as I Prepare for the FUTURE!!

2010-08-17T21:59:00.000-04:00

Currently I'm in Columbia, SC staying at my mom's house as I tackle all the things I need to get completed during my stay down south. So yesterday while I was on the phone with LC running my mouth a million miles an hour I was putting up clothes for my mom and noticed a pair of pants amongst the laundry that I had given her several years ago when they began getting a little big on me. Well I thought to myself . . . hmmmmmmm I should try these on and see just how BIG they really are now. Once I got these pants on I was completely & utterly BLOWN AWAY!! Not only did these pants once FIT they were TIGHT at one time and now they're HUGE!! Of course I had to document this occasion, too bad I didn't take one of the SHOCKED look on my face

Now here's another reason why I did this . . . . DESPITE the obvious success I can see when I put these pants on and take a picture I don't always feel like I've moved on from that old place to where I am now. I KNOW IT SOUNDS CRAZY . . . . but sometimes I still think I'm in that old body. This may not be the most politically correct thing to say but I call it "THINKING WITH MY FAT MIND!" Again I know its sounds CRAZY but sadly its TRUE! I have to continually talk to myself and teach myself I am no longer in the body I used to be in and honestly I'm getting better. I go longer & longer between these mental bouts than I used to. I no longer DWELL instead I just reflect on where I used to be, I'm able to have a small mental celebration and it gives me motivation & ammunition to make it through the next obstacle or tackle the next goal on my list. . . .
So I'm saying all this to say sometimes its good to reflect on the past so you can move on into the FUTURE!! Since I mentioned it let's talk about that FUTURE!! OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH BOY, where do I begin. . . hmmmmmmmmmmm, OK! Today the Lord dropped something on me and I don't have all the details worked out yet and all of how's, and where's and when's worked out BUT I know its going to happen! First and foremost I began this journey with Health & Fitness cause I was tired of being overweight and I wanted a healthier life. I continued in my journey and began educating myself more because this was actually something I was always interested in since High School but I allowed myself to be talked out of it as a major in College by my family. Thennnnnnnnnnn I joined the BEST group EVER BUFFMOTHER and it became my goal to be an inspiration and good example for my child and my family and it has just continued to grow from there. Now I have a mind full of ideas, goals & DREAMS I'd like to accomplish. I really want to be a MOVING FORCE in the Health & Fitness World and be an inspiration, motivation and a HUGE ENCOURAGEMENT to women but more than just women I want to be a motivation & inspiration to WOMEN OF COLOR (any color)!! I am seriously positioning myself to be at your disposal and beck & call to encourage, motivate, educate, mutilate (lol not literally but figuratively b/c I'm no hold's barred when it comes to working out)! I want to be a shoulder for you to cry on and I want to be that hand that picks you up and dusts you off and makes sure you keep going when you think all is lost. By doing this together we can all reach our goals, whatever they may be and have a HEALTHY & HAPPY LIFE TOGETHER!!
Love ya'll
KQ!!!

OOOOOOOOOOOMG I'VE BEEN A TERRIBLE BLOGGER

2010-08-14T09:15:00.001-04:00

Ok I just need to be punished and sent to BLOGGER JAIL!! As I prepped for the show I become insanely side tracked and have slacked BIG TIME on my blogging but I PROMISE you today I will no longer stay away for so long NO MATTER WHAT!!! So I'm going to have to give a quick rundown of everything that's going on . . READY . . . SET. . . GOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
1) FIRST FITNESS SHOW - WENT GREAT!! I couldn't believe I got my tail up there and did the dang thing!! I would have loved Top 5 but I know where I went wrong and placing 8th was fine with me. Here's a few photos from the show. I promise to dedicate an entire blog to this WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE

2) 2nd Show - was supposed to have been June 26th BUT. . . I was in the process of preparing to move and while on vacation in the Dominican Republic (which was MUCH NEEDED & ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS) I decided I needed to focus on my move and there will be another chance to compete. So I didn't do the show :( Sad I know and I HATE feeling like a quitter but it was the best decision

3) THE MOVE - oooooooooooook this topic deserves its own post and it'll probably get one REAL SOON but

I MOVED TO CONNECTICUT!!!!!!

I couldn't be happier to be here and building a Life with my LOVE, my BEST FRIEND, my BIGGEST FAN, and my TRUE PARTNER IN CRIME!! He is the BEST & truly believes in me and isn't trying to change me, convince me to be someone different or do something different b/c it SUITS him and MAKES him feel more comfortable with himself. True SELF CONFIDENT man whom I LOVE with ALL MY HEART!! Oooooooook I'm in tears typing this so I gotta stop and move on . . .

4) TODAY'S SHOW!!! -Today is SATURDAY, AUGUST 14TH and I'm about to ROCK THE STAGE AGAIN!! Preparing for this show has been tremendous UP'S & DOWN'S lemmi tell ya!! As you already know I moved allllllllllllllll the way from NC to CT and that was a journey in itself. I went back & forth almost every other day about this show and wanting to back out . . . BUT I'M A SOLDIER & WE NEVER QUIT!! So I am tanned, dehydrated, dieted down and ready to ROCK THE STAGE!! I changed up SEVERAL things for this show so I'm praying for a WIN but mostly I want to go out there and show my other #1 fan, my daughter Kyndal that SHE CAN DO ANYTHING just like mommy if she puts her mind to it. She is one of the main reasons why I do this because I want to be a GREAT MOTIVATION & INSPIRATION to her and I want to show her there are NO LIMITS on you except the ones you put on yourself. I always tell her she's a SUPERSTAR and to go for whatever it is she wants. I am seriously crying so I'm moving onto the next topic LOL. I AM WINNER & I'M ABOUT TO GO OUT HERE AND LEAVE IT ALL ON THIS STAGE . . . .my BLOOD, SWEAT & TEARS (half of which I've left at this computer but hey whatever, I can round up some more)

P.S. I will be blogging about this experience once its over and I PROMISE not to wait 100 years like I did this time. Plus I'll take TOOOOOOOOOOOOONS of pictures for ya'll!!

5) Future Plans - THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT. . .lemmi tell ya!! This is MY time, MY opportunity & I'm about to walk in Faith and do everything in My power & God's Will to achieve the goals He's set forth for me!! OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH LAWD YA'LL JUST DON'T KNOW?!?!? I am sooooooo emotionally overwhelmed right now b/c I FEEL IT!! I seriously gotta get off this computer and get ready but I promise you I WON'T LET YOU DOWN!! I'm gonna live up to my ability & show everyone with FAITH & HARDWORK YOU CAN ACHIEVE ANYTHING!!A Blog about my future plans to come I PROMISE!!

I seriously want to Thank Everyone who listens to my rants & raves and my crazy talking that I do sometimes. I used to think I was just out here talking to myself and no one even cared and that woulda been just fine with me b/c this is how I release and its my sounding board so hey if I'm talking to myself then IT'S ALL GOOD!! But if I'm talking to anyone out there and I'm able to touch just 1 person I've done what I came here to do. I LOOOOVE YOU ALL, THANK YOU FOR BELIEVING IN ME, THANK YOU FOR HOLDING ME ACCOUNTABLE, and THANK YOU SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART FOR ENCOURAGING ME!! I truly wouldn't be able to do it without ya'lls support!!

Love ya, K to the Q!!!!!

Are you relying on Body Magic or the MAGIC of your Body

2010-05-26T14:13:00.000-04:00

Now going into this blog I have accepted the fact I may step on some toes, I may upset some people & I may even loose a FB friend of a blog follower BUT I wouldn't be ME if I didn't tell the TRUTH!!! This blog post is also manly for the ladies but fellla's you can listen up too because they sell Body Magic for men also.
OOOOOOOOOOOOK now that we've gotten the disclaimers out of the way let me go in on this subject. Lately on TV, in the celebrity blogs and on Facebook everyone's carrying on about Body Magic. Well honestly I was clueless because I don't pay a lot attention to some of these advertisements so I was like "What is Body Magic". So I looked it up and here's what it claims (DIRECTLY FROM THEIR SITE) Reshape YOUR body INSTANTLY . . . No Diets, No Exercise, No Surgery. . .

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!?!?! That's all I could and can say. Are you freaking fracking serious?!?! Now let me say this, I am not knocking girdles or fitted slip tops or items like that which will keep you from having too much jiggle or make you have smooth lines in your clothes. BUT THIS HERE IS ANOTHER SITUATION! As I combed over the site and listed to people talk about it and watched the infomercials it's claiming to reshape your body in 10minutes and you can loose up to 3 dress sizes. Well here's what I have to say to that. . . NO WAY, NOW HOW . . . NOT HAPPENING PERIOD END OF DISCUSSION!!!
It's very unfortunate that we have become a society of RIGHT NOW and seeing this product made me believe that more now than ever before. When it comes to your Health & Fitness its not a RIGHT NOW thing its a LIFESTYLE CHANGE and a PROCESS!! I'm sure all of you have heard this and you will unfortunately have to hear it again . . . ANYTHING WORTH HAVING IS WORTH WORKING FOR!!! We want a good job we WORK on educating and equipping ourselves to get that job, we want a new car we WORK on saving and searching for that perfect car, you want a great relationship with your significant other and you WORK at making it happen. . . so what happened to WORKING FOR A HEALTHY & FIT BODY?!?! Truth be told the body is a perfect instrument created by God. In this perfect body that we have been gifted we possess an INTERNAL BODY MAGIC which is called MUSCLE!!! We will digress back to my blog post several days ago where I discussed the importance of resistance training which will help you build lean muscle which will in-turn help you burn more fat. Well that same lean muscle that you're gaining with the resistance training will automatically serve and your INTERNAL BODY MAGIC!!
I am 33 years old with a 5 year old (soon to be 6) daughter, I weigh between 150-155lbs and being that I am more into my health & fitness I am smaller now than I was when I was 23 and I weighed less back then. Now if that doesn't show you the positive affects of your INTERNAL BODY MAGIC I don't know what will. Muscle is a MAGIC thing and it can help you!! It can serve as your body's internal girdle, it can protect your bones, make you strong and if you're going about this entire process the right way you will most likely be healthy. People I just want you to understand there is no such thing as INSTANT!! Body Magic claims NO DIET, NO EXERCISE, NO SURGERY well guess what else . . . NO CHANGE in your body either. If you want a change you have to do something different and wearing Body Magic isn't it! Once you take that contraption off you are right where you started and possibly worse because it's been giving you a false sense of what you're really working with and you could've possibly allowing yourself to indulge more and exercise less which means you're putting on weight. This is a VICIOUS cycle and we MUST BREAK IT NOW!! There are NO MAGIC pills, NO MAGIC potion, NO BODY MAGIC contraptions that will replace hard work when it comes to changing your body. I'm sorry to be the barrier of bad news but I'm also the deliverer of the TRUTH!! So with this being said please feel free to comment, debate with me or agree you know all are welcomed here at any time!!
Love ya like always (regardless if you promote Body Magic or not)
KQ

Plan, Prepare then PROSPER!!!

2010-05-24T16:04:00.001-04:00

For those of you who know me and know my mommy you knows she's hella organized and she is all about being PREPARED!! So growing up I used to talk so much trash about all this organizing and all this preparing and what not cause I just thought she was INSANE. Well as it would be the Lord BLESSED me to live long enough to 1) live on my with others & on my own and 2) have a child & responsibilities of my own. When those things occurred (Thankfully not all at the same time) I realized this lady wasn't as crazy as I once told myself she was and I also realized her habits had rubbed off on me. I really found out how bad I had it once I had my daughter and I had things lined up, bought special organization things for her closet, drawers, bottles, etc. Also how I line everything up in the pantry and what not. . . it's almost sickening but hey it makes life flow smoothly for me. And when I'm not organized please believe it makes me NERVOUS & UNEASY and things get outta whack really quick.

Soooooooooo how does all this relate to your Health & Fitness!?!? Taking care of your Health & Fitness is an everyday part of your life just like everything else so why not take the time to plan, prepare & prosper in that avenue too. I will give you a good example by using myself. I am extremely well prepared during the week by cooking my meals on Sunday for Monday - Wednesday then normally cooking again on Wednesday for Thursday - Saturday, but when the weekends come I tend to mess up with my meal times and have so many gaps in my meals and skipped meals or even grab something in a hurry cause its time to eat and I don't have my food with me. The same applies for my weekday & weekend workouts. During the week I'm on point with my times because like most of you I have a job, kids & things that need to be accomplished so I know I'm going to get up @ 6am, eat by 630am, out the door by 730am, in the gym by 8-815am and the day continues from there. But again the weekend comes and I'm like well I'll get up when I get up and I'll get there and get it done and normally it turns into a rushed mess and I miss my full workout or sometimes don't get one. Well are these weekend SABOTAGES getting me to my goals . . . I'll safely say NO!!

Now how are we gonna correct this . . . .we're going to PLAN, PREPARE & ultimately PROSPER!! For starters if you're not mapping out your weekday game plan YOU NEED TO BEGIN NOW!! I'm a notebook, calendar, Blackberry person and I try to keep everything organized using a combination of those 3 things. The key is to find what's going to work best for you and start implementing it. Some things are going to for the most part remain consistent, you go to work at X time, kids go to school & get out of school/camp at Y time, you want them in bed by Z time and so forth and so on sooooooooo by knowing all of this you can figure out how and when you're going to get your workouts in. Once you've mastered the weekdays the EVIL WEEKEND SABOTAGE is next!! This one is soooooo much harder but YOU CAN DO IT!! Again some things are going to be consistent like sports practices, hair & nail appointments and all the other fun stuff we do on the weekends. But the good about the weekends is the workout can be a ALL INCLUSIVE thing with the family!!No matter what you do or how you have to do it YOU MUST START PLANNING, PREPARING & THEN PROSPERING!!!

Love Ya
KQ

PS. . . How could I forget the most important part. Just like getting your daily / weekly schedule organized you'll need to do the same for your meals (yourself & your family). This will also help in SAVING MONEY & TIME (which is important to most of us). But the key is to plan, Plan, PLAN!!! Then prepare, Prepare, PREPARE!! Make your meal plan out for yourself & the family or one just you and one for the family (depending on what you're training for), hit the grocery store and purchase JUST what you need to facilitate your meal plan. This way you're ensuring there's not a lot of excess snacks in the house to tempt you. Of course you can't deny your family & kids but try picking healthier snacks that would serve a better nutritional purpose for them other than cookies and candy that way if you break down and have some it won't be wrecking your diet. Soooooooooooo now you've PLANNED & PREPARED both your daily workout schedule & your meal plan and you have NO OTHER OPTION BUT TO . . . PROSPER

3500. . .

2010-05-17T14:51:00.003-04:00

It takes 3500 Calories to burn 1lb of FAT. I know that sounds like a lot but don't get OVERWHELMED by that number because there's several ways we can tackle that number and burn that stubborn FAT!. Of course the majority of the population believes when you're trying to loose weight it's cardio, cardio, cardio. . . and trust me cardio will help but there's more to the equation than that. Let's start looking at our Health & Fitness equation as a pie. YEPPERS THAT'S RIGHT I said PIE, but I don't mean a slice of Grandma's Apple Pie or whatever you favorite pie is, but a pie chart. Once we start doing that we will see that there are three (3) very IMPORTANT compents that come together to complete our Health & Fitness pie. They are Cardio, Nutrition, and the most often forgotten RESISTANCE TRAINING.

Our bodies are furnaces and they are constantly burning calories all day and yes the old equation is true

CALORIES IN - CALORIES BURNED =

WEIGHTLOSS!!

But we can manipulate that equation to work for us in a more efficient way. For starters you're already gonna burn calories just getting up and going about your normal daily activities. We will assume for arguments sake since you're reading this blog you're concerned about your Health & Fitness and you're doing some level of cardiovascular exercise and at least are aware of where you're at nutritionally (those 2 areas we will revisit later on this week I PROMISE). So with that being said let's talk about Resistance Training . . . Now this is to all my lovely ladies (men you can tune out on this one if you'd like) LIFTING WEIGHTS WILL NOT MAKE YOU LOOK LIKE A MAN!! There is no way, no how, NOT POSSIBLE. . . without the assistance of something (we will leave what that something is up to your imagination). But there's no way that normal everyday resistance training will having you looking like anything else other than a lean, mean, sexy fighting machine! Now that we've debunked that myth let's move on. As I stated previously it takes 3500 calories to burn 1 lb of FAT and ultimately the more FAT we burn the leaner & healthier we become. But did you know that 1 lb of MUSCLE burns 50 CALORIES compared to 1 lb of FAT only burning 3 CALORIES. Now obviously I'm no mathematician BUT clearly you already see the advantages to building lean muscle. But let's expand on this mathematical formula. If you start incorporating Resistance Training into your daily routine and you gain 10lbs of muscle (over time of course) you would be burning 500 EXTRA CALORIES A DAY. . . . hmmmmmmmmm ok so let's take that a step further. Now I've gained 10lbs of Muscle which now burns 500 calories / day there are 7 days in the week for a total of 3500 CALORIES!!!

1lb muscle = 50 calories burned x 10 = 10lbs of muscle = 500 calories burned x 7 days = 3500 CALORIES

Now you haven't counted 1 calorie or done 1 long drawn out session of cardio. So think about the outcome when you add those 2 components in. OMG!! You're about to take yourself to a level where you're getting some SERIOUS FAT BURNING going. This now also explains to you how some people are having weeks where they're loosing 3,4,5+ lbs a week. They are like FAT BURNING FURNACES because they're building the lean muscle, they're watching their nutrition & incorporating intense cardio thus allowing them significant weightloss thus reaching the ULTIMATE GOAL of being . . . .

HEALTHY & FIT!!!

Ok so I've officially ran my dern mouth too much today and I'm gonna say good-bye and let you "chew the Fat" amongst yourself (LOL) and ponder over the information I gave you today. If you have any questions, concerns, arguments or whatever you know as always you're free to comment and I'll always do my best to respond, clarify or partake in some playful back & forth debate if needed LOLOL

As always LOVE YA

PS. . FAMILY WE'RE TRYING TO RESHAPE THE BODY!! All your first 2 basic components of Cardio & Nutrition will help you change but you throw RESISTANCE TRAINING in and you will COMPLETELY RESHAPE THE BODY!!!!

Do you have a PLAN?!?!

2010-05-13T15:10:00.000-04:00

So far since I landed back in Charlotte this past Saturday from my 18days in CT I have lost 4.5 lbs.

WHAT. . . WHAT?!?!

We're back to 156.5 on CD24 (4 more days until my cycle starts so this weight is good) and I'm happy. I actually told myself this past Sunday I would be at 156-158 by the end of the week no matter what and I've already accomplished that goal with 2 more days remaining . .. YEAH ME!! Now of course I'm still not 100% satisfied but I pleased and this keeps my GAME FACE on. I know where I WANT to be & where I NEED to be and with 6wks & a few days out from my show I'm in a decent position. So I will continue to push on for the remainder of the week and see where I come in at weight wise by Sunday morning which will allow me to set my goals for next week.So it is time to employ one of my FAVORITE motto's

"If you FAIL to PLAN, then you PLAN to FAIL".

This goes hand & hand with setting GOALS. I have a goal of where I want to be on June 26th so me & and my AWESOME trainer Buffmother have devised a P.O.A. (PLAN of ATTACK) to get me there but in the meantime between time it is a necessity to make small goals to help you attain the BIG ULTIMATE GOAL and those little goals need their own P.O.A. too!! I mean honestly people if you don't know where you're going how in the world are you gonna get there?!?!? Ok, ok, ok get off my soapbox. . . I know I'm gonna sit down and hush and get back to the reason for this blog LOL!!

Soooooooooo anyway all of that is to say I want to be @ 145 or less when I walk across that stage on June 26th and be a lean mean fighting machine. I have even given myself goal measurements for my waist, hips & thighs which will also be truth tellers as to whether I'm on the right path or not. Now I know I've set some lofty goals but I am up for the CHALLENGE. What is life if we don't have Challenges & Obstacles to overcome. If everything was easy and everything came easy then what would we really have to work for. As I said today on my Facebook page . . .ANYTHING WORTH HAVING IS WORTH WORKING FOR! I believe that 110% and that applies to every aspect of my life . . .if I want a well behaved & respectful child, I discipline and teach them the way I want them to behave. . .if I want a good job I get a good education and do what's needed to attain that job so why would wanting a good body be any different. You have to feed it and train it properly and you will reap the benefits and that's what I'm about to do to reach these goals and that's what I want you to do too.

Set your ULTIMATE GOAL, then create a PLAN of ATTACK and to ensure you reach your ULTIMATE GOAL set some smaller goals and create plans of attack for them too. Remember if you don't know where you're going how in the ham & cheese are you gonna get there?!?!

Love ya always

Today's AWESOME Plyometrics & Olympic Lift workout

2010-05-12T20:36:00.001-04:00

MAN O'MAN O'MAN!!! Today's workout was KILLER and something to write home about thus the reason why I'm blogging about it to you guys LOLOLOL!! Since I have an athletic background I love those off the wall functional fitness workouts and that's why I loved what I did today. I know you're gonna think I'm totally crazy but I was so anxious and excited about today's workout I couldn't wait to get to the gym and get my Plyometric and Olympic lift circuit ON & POPPING!!!
As defined by Wikipedia . . . Plyometrics is a type of exercise training designed to produce fast, powerful movements, and improve the functions of the nervous system, generally for the purpose of improving performance in sports. Plyometric movements, in which a muscle is loaded and then contracted in rapid sequence, use the strength, elasticity and innervation of muscle and surrounding tissues to jump higher, run faster, throw farther, or hit harder, depending on the desired training goal. Plyometrics is used to increase the speed or force of muscular contractions, providing explosiveness for a variety of sport-specific activities.

But PLEASE understand these types of exercises are not just for past & present athletes these types of exercises help EVERYONE. Anyone can do machines all the time or cardio all the time and possibly go from an apple to a cherry. I mean if you look to your left you see virtually the same shape just a different size. NO, NO, NO, NO NO . . .That's not what we're going for. . . WE WANT TO CHANGE THE BODY! As I was once told you can either carve a block of granite with a spoon or a jack hammer. Now eventually we'll get to the same result but obviously one will take longer than the other so we're trying to use these types of exercises and go from overweight Star Jones to Angela Basset or Madonna.

Now Olympic style lifts are pretty standard and don't really change much or have a lot of variations but when it comes to Plyometrics the sky is the limit. You can do so many different Plyometric moves in so many different ways its almost unimaginable. Click here to read over a sampling of different plyometric & olympic lift exercises and still this doesn't scratch the surface LOLOL. So what did I do today you ask . . . well here goes. I superset (Two different physical exercises performed back-to-back, without a period of rest between them) my exercises

10min warmup - Arc Trainer

1 arm snatch 3 x 5 @ 35lbs
burpees 3 x 20

Hang Cleans 3 x 5 @ 95lbs
Mountain Climbers w/Bosu ball

Push Press 3 x 5 @ 95lbs
Box Jumps 3 x 20

Plie Squats 3 x 15 @ 50lbs
Layup Hops 3 x 20 (for this one I'll have to take a video for you)

1 Legged Squats off bench x 10 each side
Toe taps (I'll hafta video tap this exercise too b/c I can't find a picture for you anywhere)

Now after all of that I'm going to eat some grilled chicken & TONS of green beans then do some abs before I finally climb in the bed. So that was it for the night and if you have any questions you know how to get me

As always BE FREE UNTIL YOU'RE FOOL!!!

KQ!!

Despite today's obstacles . . .

2010-05-10T13:49:00.000-04:00

I pushed on and got my 1st workout in with MUCH success!! I'm feeling a bit down on myself for not pushing as hard these last several days since the show ended so I'm "wanting" to do a little extra without going overboard so I decided I'll get in some AM cardio.
Well today started off well with me getting up @ 6am and immediately eating my oatmeal & chicken breast then began getting myself together before I woke Kyndal up. Once I woke her up that's when things started going DOWN HILL!! For starters she's as DRAMATIC as a Soap Opera Star (wonder where she got that) and she was carrying on about being tired and her legs hurting which is what she says every morning cause she wants me to let her lay back down and watch TV. So anyway, we move on past that and its time for me to do something to her hair. Now someone PLEASE tell me if this child slept on top of her head last night b/c it was a WRECK. I was like WHAT IN THE WORLD, URGHHHHHHHHHH!! Needless to say what normally takes me 15-20min to do when I'm restyling in the morning too 45min again I say URGHHHHHHHH!! Now my plans of being to the gym @ 730am are COMPLETELY RUINED!! We finally get off to school and I'm stuck with just a few minutes before time to log into work so I decide to come back home, log in, look over mail talk to my mom then leave for the gym @ 9am. WELLLLLLLLLLLL that plan was spoiled when she told me about my grandmother still having a swollen hand and needing to go to the Dr. Now as ya'll know I live in CHARLOTTE, NC. . . they live in COLUMBIA, SC. . . why was I the one who had to call the Dr. who's also in COLUMBIA, SC.
Now after all that I FINALLY got a workout in. I had to take my lunch break EARLY and hustle to the gym and do the following:

10min Arc trainer warmup
15min INTENSE PLYOMETRICS
15min Stairmill intervals
5min cool down

M2 time came right before I left for the gym so I did 1 tbsp peanut butter with celery and once I got back home I ravished my next meal which consisted of 2 sweet potato patties & 1/2 cup turkey and egg white mixture. YUMMMMMMMMMMMM!!! Now I'm working and I'll go back to the gym this afternoon to do my Legs and prolly go stretch in the sauna which will feel like pure HEAVEN!!
KQ

Today's Eats:
M1: 1/2 cup Oatmeal w/4oz chicken breast
snack: celery w/1 tbsp Peanut Butter
M2: 2 sweet potato patties & 1/2 cup ground turkey and egg white mixture

Plyometrics workout consisted of the following

box jumps x 20
bosu ball pushups x 20
military crawl x 20
high knees x 20
bench knee ups x 20
layup hops on bench x 20
mountain climbers w/bosu ball x 20
double legged side to side box jumps x 20

Hopefully I'll be able to take some video of myself doing plyometrics real soon because they have to be some of my most FAVORITE exercises!!!

Tomorrow is the BIG DAY!! This is how you PERSEVERE!!

2010-04-23T12:39:00.000-04:00

I've been sooooooooo bad about blogging but I will do better starting next week, but TOMORROW IS THE DAY!!
5years ago I weighed in around 240lbs after having my daughter, now as I mentioned earlier I started off heavy too @ 190lbs before my pregnancy. Needless to say after having Kyndal I never would've believed this day would come. The task in front of me looked so daunting and so overwhelming it was unreal but being overweight and unhappy with the foreign body that I was living with was motivation for me to PERSEVERE and take this long journey. During these 5yrs I have been through it all but yet I PERSEVERED. . . . I had a child, got married, got divorced, I was emotionally destroyed by those closest to me, ended up so broke I had no idea where the next meal was coming from but I PERSEVERED!! I am a REAL PERSON living a REAL LIFE, dealing with REAL THINGS and still I let nothing sway me from accomplishing my goal of walking across that stage calling myself a legitimate Fitness Competitor.
No matter the outcome from tomorrows judging I AM A WINNER!!! No matter the outcome I will continue to PERSEVERE and move onto the next show and I will get better and better and one day YOU WILL see me on the cover of a magazine, in a fitness ad, endorsing fitness products and anything else my heart desires b/c I BELIEVE IN ME!! When no one else thought I could do it, when all the odds were stacked up against me as high as a mountain top I BELIEVED IN ME!! So many said it wouldn't be possible and doubted me along the way but with my FAITH and BELIEF and TRUST in God I was able to accomplish this goal and tomorrow will be the most GLORIOUS day of my life outside of giving birth to my daughter. I love you all and THANK YOU so much for taking this rollercoaster ride with me. I'm so happy I was able to motivate and inspire many of my friends and even people I didn't know who I can now call my friends. All of you mean the world to me and I think about you everyday and every step of this journey. I'm gonna wrap it up now but for those of ya'll who REALLY know me, they're about to see the REAL KQSMITH tomorrow and I'm about to be FREE till I'm FOOL b/c in my mind and in my heart I AM A WINNER!!
Love ya
KQ

OMG I have been a BAD blogger

2010-03-17T15:14:00.000-04:00

I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SORRY for not blogging for the last several weeks. As most of you know I'm preparing for my first Figure & Fitness Model Competition and I have been going NUTS!! We can sometimes be our own worst enemy and I have truly been mine. I had to have to have a long prayer session and then I had to tell the Devil he's a LIAR b/c he was really trying to make me believe I wouldn't be able to accomplish this goal especially since I've been down this road SEVERAL TIMES and failed to compete each time for this reason or that reason. FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION!!! I promise to blog tonight after all my evening duties are done to catch you up on everything and keep going on my posts regarding MOTIVATION!!
KQ

M to the O to the VATION!!! MOTIVATION, how do we get it & keep it?!?!

2010-02-17T15:35:00.000-05:00

Well now that we've been through my "how'd you get here" story its time to get down to the meat & potatoes, the nitty & the gritty of this whole health & fitness thing and wShat better place to start than at the beginning which is MOTIVATION!!!

How do I get motivated to start?
What do I do to stay motivated?
When the going gets tough where am I going to draw my motivation from?
Now that I've reached my goal what's going to motivate me to continue?
and the list goes on. . . ..

So lets just jump in with figuring out how to even get motivated and get this ball rolling. Well one thing you will learn about me is I have a MILLION sayings, some that are originally mine and others I have borrowed from people & places. My FAVORITE saying pertains to our current topic about MOTIVATION. . . during this journey regardless if you're single, married, have kids, no kids, employed, unemployed or any other category or definition you can find to describe yourself you need to adopt the principle of

SELF FIRST NOT SELFISH!!!

So lemmi explain what that means and what it has to do with our nemesis Motivation. No matter what you're trying to accomplish in life be it better health & fitness, a better job, college education, more money, peace at work / peace at home, happiness and anything else you can name you have to start with SELF!! If you focus on yourself and the goals at hand and take care of yourself you can better accomplish the goals and tasks that lay before you. For example . . . you want to be able to provide better for yourself and your family. In order to do that you may need a more education to get a better job to make more money to ultimately take care of your family. Well you can't do that if you don't focus on yourself and accomplish the goal of working towards that better education which will in turn put you in the proper position for the better job, which will ultimately result in more money to support your family. Well its the same thing with your health & fitness. It doesn't matter if your goal is a big one like being healthy for your kids and your family so you can be around longer to enjoy them or a bit more personal like fitting in that dress (women) or that suit (men) for a function, or to look good for a reunion or upcoming event you at least have a starting point. Now that you have the reasoning and the goal in mind you have to attack it and make it come to life. In order to do that you have to focus a bit more on YOURSELF!! Again this is NOT selfish, this is self first, because if YOUtake better care of YOU in whatever facet that may be you can now take better care of others and those important to you.

Now I'll share with you what initially motivated me. When I became preggers I was already heavier than what I thought I was and I was floored. Unfortunately the pregnancy weight gain was inevitable and in the end I was in a place I really didn't want to be. After having Kyndal I was THRILLED to have such a beautiful baby and to be a mom but ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED with the way I looked. Much to my dismay I didn't immediately do anything about it and then that day came . . . I saw a picture of me and my stomach was so big my arms rested on it as if it was a shelf. WHAT?!? IS THIS REAL OR IS THIS A CRUEL JOKE?!? That's when I decided "The buck STOPS here"!!! It was time for me to hold myself accountable and responsible for where I currently find myself and do something about it. So my initial motivation was partially vain . . . I wanted to look at myself in the mirror and like what was looking back at me. I no longer wanted to be overweight. I no longer wanted to rock myself to get out of a car, to not be able to roll around on the floor with Kyndal and play without my knees hurting, to be able to go up and down the stairs in my house without being labored. And that was all it took to get my ball rolling.

So what will it take to get you MOTIVATED and get your ball rolling?!?! There are a million things that you can use to motivate you to get started but one of the easiest things we can do is first determining what the ULTIMATE goal will be, then once we have that lets break it down into several smaller goals and we will use each one of them as our MOTIVATION. As you start accomplishing the smaller goals your mojo gets going and that keeps you energized to move on to the next goal then the next and before you know it you've reached what seemed to be the impossible the unreachable final frontier.

Now that we're motivated to get started "What do we do to stay motivated??" Stay tuned for the next blog as we tackle our next step to maintain our MOTIVATION. . . .Until then talk to ya later

Part 3: Let's Get Real & Get Right

2010-02-15T13:51:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the delay on part 3 but here I am and here's the rest of the nitty gritty!!!

So I was 20 months in and NOW WHAT?!?! Fortunately I had taken my time and built an AWESOME foundation for my new lifestyle and this wasn't going to be just some overnight wham bam thank you ma'am situation. This was now my new life and I was living it and LOVING IT!!

I have always been a competitive person and thrived off of that motivation and excitement that competition brings. With that being the case I decided to run track again and it was full steam ahead. . . at least in my mind it was b/c it sure wasn't on the track LOL!! Turns out it was a slow and long road but I took it on no matter how painful it was and I kept pushing. Here I am 30 years old and I'm trying to get back out on the track. Things were slow going at first but they eventually picked up and everything was GREAT!! Unfortunately I had to sidetrack that dream because of work and family after I invested 2 years into it. But hey no biggie on to the next goal.

So during the 2 years of training to hit the track I was privileged enough to participate in an infomercial and how amazing was it that!!! For now we'll leave out what product I was endorsing b/c the infomercial has been pulled and will be redone soon but PLEASE BELIEVE its an honest infomercial and I followed the program and to this day I'm still following the program to this day!! I have to admit this was the absolute BEST EXPERIENCE OF MY LIFE!! I was afforded the opportunity to share my story, to meet ladies I've been corresponding with through the internet for years and ultimately realize this fitness thing was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I was so overwhelmed by this experience I spent half the day crying because to think about where I came from to where I was that day it was just unbelievable. Here are a few shots from that day

After that experience it was ON!! So in 2009 I spent the beginning portion of the year preparing for my first figure show. I was working harder than ever. Hitting the track, gym, cardio, nutrition on point. . . THE WHOLE 9. Well needless to say I'm human and "something" backfired and a few days after Easter I started noticing my weight was increasing instead of decreasing. All of a sudden I went from 155lbs to 171lbs within a matter of weeks. WHAT IN THE WORLD IS HAPPENING?!?!? This was not the plan and I was DEVASTATED. Heck devastated isn't even the word, my world was completely WRECKED. All I could see and hear in my mind was all the negative things people had said to me in the past about my weight when I was heavier and I questioned myself like never before. I immediately panicked and thought "Oh No I'm going to be 200+ again then what do I do". Needless to say I have GREAT friends and a GREAT boyfriend and they all slapped me back to reality and explained to me I need to let the past go and I had a bump in the road and now I just need to move forward and do what needs to be done to get back to where I was. Unfortunately it took me several months to get my mind right again but eventually I did and here I am back and better!!

All of that being said is to explain that WE ALL go through up's & down's. We are all human and things happen out of our control BUT if you have built a strong foundation and know what to do you can easily get back on track. I will say I learned a good lesson during that situation which is having your mind in the right place is more than half the battle. So thanks to a friend and to the Bible here's one of my favorite sayings that I will end this blog on . . .

TO CHANGE THE MIND YOU MUST CHANGE THE CULTURE AND TO CHANGE THE CULTURE YOU MUST CHANGE THE MIND!!

Love ya
KQ

Part 2: The year of MAJOR changes

2010-02-02T19:52:00.000-05:00

I was officially on FIRE after my first year back to being healthy and in shape. I was very conscious about what I ate, what I drank, how I worked out, my cardio, I left nothing out. And several more months later in July '06I took what I felt were HOT pictures considering there I'd come from 17months earlier. I mean I was looking like something and somebody for a change. I had a shape to my legs, my waist was slimming down and I started having definition in my arms. BOY WAS I EVER EXCITED. But still I didn't stop here. At this point I was working out DAILY. I was eating AT LEAST 5-6 meals a day which consisted of lean protein, complex carbs and veggies. Of course I'm human I had my cheat days but after several months of operating this way it was almost like a cheat day wasn't really a cheat. And it turned from an entire day to a meal or snacks but compared to where I'd been before my cheats weren't that bad. I came from a place where I ate Oreo's, drank Pepsi, ate entire Totino's pizza's for lunch, made things for dinner like Hamburger Helper and anything else starchy that was HIGH in carbs and FAT!! By the way I HATE Oreo's & Pepsi but I ate and drank them because they were in the house - so here's your FIRST step. . . eliminate these items from your grocery list thus eliminating them from YOUR HOUSE!! If you don't have these items in your house and you have a craving for them that means you have to get up get dresses and go get them. Having to put forth so much effort at random times of day and night will make you think twice about eating such unhealthy items. In order to clean our bodies up on the outside we have to start with the inside and that starts with what we put in our mouths. Now this may not be for everyone but I also eliminated cheese & milk from my diet and obtained my calcium from alternate sources one of which being VITAMINS.

Now at this point I am a full fledged full steam ahead BUFFMOTHER. I'm blogging on a daily basis and receiving all kinds of healthy tips and information from women who had now become my friends. My workouts were going great and the changes were happening in a way I had never expected. Needless to say some Life situations kept me from competing but the dream to walk across that stage never left my heart. October 2006 I felt it was time to take one more picture to see where I was and I was floored. Especially when I compared them to my starting point. In 20months I had completely changed my LIFE by changing my habits and my behavior and it paid off in an astronomical way!!

Those 20 months were the foundation of it all. They were the beginning hard months that taught me a lesson about myself and about my will power over my cravings and my mind. The journey of weight loss is not an easy journey and if it was everyone would be doing it and loosing weight at the drop of a dime, but they're not. It takes MOTIVATION, DEDICATION, DETERMINATION, KNOWLEDGE AND SUPPORT to achieve your goal of weight loss and I'm here to provide you all of that and MORE!!! I'm going to bid farewell right now and go workout myself but when I come back we will finish this story and move into the nitty gritty with Part 3: Let's Get Real & Get Right!! How I got to where I am today and how I will get to where I belong in the future.
Love Ya, KQ

Here's my first entry. . Part 1: The beginning of a WONDERFUL Journey

2010-02-02T19:02:00.000-05:00

So I'll share a little bit about myself. I'm a 32 year old mother of 1 beautiful daughter named Kyndal. Prior to having kids I was a collegiate athlete where I weighed somewhere between 150 - 160lbs and wore about a size 10 and thought I was in good shape. After college I kept working out consistently for the first year then slowly that began to dwindle but I was still fooling myself and believing I was in good shape because my stomach was flat and in the mirror I looked good. As the time went by the weight started increasing little by little by little and eventually I weighed in around 180 +. Again I wasn't all that moved by it for some reason, then suddenly I became ill with a terrible stomach virus and lost 25-30lbs in a few weeks and I was back down to 150-155lbs and couldn't have been happier. As you all know that weight eventually came back and it came back with some extra friends and by the time I weighed in at my first prenatal appointment which was only about 6wks into my pregnancy I was 192lbs. I WAS ABSOLUTELY DEVASTATED!! I already knew I would gain weight due to the pregnancy which I had no control over and I am starting at 192lbs?!?!? We will fast forward to the end of the pregnancy and I finally weighed in around 245-250lbs WOWOWOW!! A few days after her delivery I weighed in around 230lbs which was just unbelievable to me. I kept hoping the weight would come off with breastfeeding but it didn't come off the way I expected and that was due to the fact that I was totally out of shape at the beginning of the pregnancy and I couldn't expect breastfeeding alone to resolve the problem I had.
Six months after having Kyndal I was watching TV one evening and an infomercial came on for The FIRM. Well orginally being from Columbia, SC I knew all about The FIRM and what a good program they had, so I quickly ordered it because there was no way I was going to the gym looking like this. I couldn't have been happier to receive my little treat in the mail. When it arrived I immediately weighed myself in and I was still over 200lbs. . . 225lbs to be exact. That was the night when I took these pictures: February 2005. I was completely and utterly DEVASTATED again!! Even looking at them today I am floored and almost to the point of tears thinking back to that day. I didn't even recognize myself! WHO HAD I BECOME? CAN THE REAL KENISHA PLEASE STAND UP?!?! I mean what was seriously going on! It was time to devise a plan and CHANGE THE GAME!
I trained at home for a few months using The Firm and began loosing some weight but I knew I had to kick it up a notch and get back into the gym. At this point I had enough knowledge to know the lifting and cardio would help me get this goal accomplished quicker. In the evenings during this time I was also flooding myself with knowledge and information. I Googled almost everything in creation to find my answers and somehow I stumbled across Michelle Berger AKA "BUFFMOTHER" at the time it was just a Yahoo group but I quickly joined and read posts and information until I was overwhelmed and in tears. Here were other women like me who had children and they were FIT & FABULOUS! I was officially on a mission. That weekend I joined the gym and the journey had now been kicked up a notch.

Needless to say I was slapped in the face with another revelation that I was worse off then I thought fitness wise. I would go LATE at night as to keep from seeing people I knew and ride the bike, train on the elliptical and run on the treadmill and please believe when I tell you I was sucking wind like there was no tomorrow and my legs were on fire as if they were burning from the inside. I had never experienced anything like this in my life. I HONESTLY couldn't do more than 5min on the elliptical before I started huffing like I smoked all the cigarettes ever made in North Carolina. But I didn't quit! I began getting more and more knowledge from Michelle and the other Buffmothers and I started seeing changes. About 5months later I was seeing some progress as displayed the picture to the left from July '05.

Still not acceptable but at least I was starting to have a resemblance of some sort of shape. Don't know what shape that was but hey I had it, LOLOL!! I kept flooding myself with knowledge and learning from Michelle who had turned out to be an absolute GOD Send!! She is the sweetest person I could have even encountered on this journey and she assured me I could make it and I would reach my goals as long as I continued working hard. During this time I experienced a lot of plateaus, so I knew I still needed to turn up the volume but what could I do. . . . . I decided to do like a lot of my other Buffmother's and COMPETE in a figure competition and really get this ball rolling. This was around October and I took another picture. Looking back on it I was still looking like a linebacker but at the time I was seeing progress. Unfortunately I'm not 100% sure of my weight at this time but it wasn't where I wanted to be that's all I know.

I began learning more and more about nutrition and the affects healthy eating will play in speeding up my progress and I was HOOKED. I mean I was reading every website, blog, journal, magazine, government nutritional website you name it I read it and I have notebooks, torn out pages, notes to myself and the whole 9 to prove it. I was just becoming a huge sponge and it awakened something in me that I thought was gone and that was my passion for fitness. When I finished high school and entered college I wanted to major in sports fitness but not knowing what I would do with a career like that I went into computers and put that on the back burner. Things began progressing much better and by March 06 I no longer had extreme love handles and honches. I know you're like what in the world are honches LOLOLOL well its another word for saddlebags. So I got brave and put on a 2 piece swimsuit while on vacation. Looking back again a decision slightly gone wrong but hey I'd come a long way BABY in 1yr and 1mo. At this point I could accept how I was looking that since I had come from 225lbs in my first picture. Unfortunately I can't dig up any pictures from me at my heaviest and that's probably because I was avoiding the cameras for good reason. So we will end part 1 of my journey here and begin with part 2: The Year of Major Change!!

KQ Fitness

I AM STRONGER THAN MY BIGGEST WEAKNESS . . .

Coming OUT of the Closet. . .

Accepting I'm NOT a Failure

Will Work(OUT) 4 Food!!!

Question & Answer Session 2day!!

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

Ready, Set, Gooooooooo!!!

I'm NOT the Big Girl they said I was . . .

I've got Triple D's!!!

7 days and counting . . . AGAIN!!

**UPDATE** A lil late but . . .WHAT AN AWESOME EXPERIENCE!!!

THE DEVIL IS A LIAR . . . 3 days & counting

5 Days & Counting . . . .

I have a case of the 4 P's and I LOVE IT!!

The REASONS why I do what I do . . .

Let the countdown begin . . . T-minus 15 days

On an Emotional Rollercoaster!!

Against All Odds!!!

21day Detox - Day 5.5 (lol)

I know its LATE but . . .

Oh to the Wellllll

M.I.A. because I fell short

All I can say is . . I'M BLESSED!!!

No more shoulda, coulda, woulda, gonna or about to. . .

I QUIT and I couldn't be happier!!

Who Gone Check Me Boo?!?!

Attacked by the NOOK (10days till Turkey Day)

Challenge Day 16: The ONLY female?!?!

Rowing my way to freedom. . .

30 days till Turkey Day - weekend wrapup (Days 10-12)

Workout, Weather & my Wig (I don't wear a wig but you get it LOL)

Buried in the midst of boxes but still commited to the Challenge!!

I've been ATTACKED. . .

Making changes on the blog

Day 3: Laaaaaaaawd my hammies are SORE!!

Day 2: Using my Fat Burning Burnaces!!

30 Days till Turkey Day - Day 1 Part Deux

30 Days till Turkey Day - Day 1 Met my SECRET Lover!!

30 days till TURKEY DAY!!

Had a revelation & gained PERSPECTIVE!!

GOALS set . . . now it's time to make them a REALITY!!

Shhhhhhhhhh. . . Do you listen

BACK HOME!!!

Wedding and a WORKOUT!!

Reflecting on the PAST as I Prepare for the FUTURE!!

OOOOOOOOOOOMG I'VE BEEN A TERRIBLE BLOGGER

Are you relying on Body Magic or the MAGIC of your Body

Plan, Prepare then PROSPER!!!

3500. . .

Do you have a PLAN?!?!

Today's AWESOME Plyometrics & Olympic Lift workout

Despite today's obstacles . . .

Tomorrow is the BIG DAY!! This is how you PERSEVERE!!

OMG I have been a BAD blogger

M to the O to the VATION!!! MOTIVATION, how do we get it & keep it?!?!

Part 3: Let's Get Real & Get Right

Part 2: The year of MAJOR changes

Here's my first entry. . Part 1: The beginning of a WONDERFUL Journey

UPDATE A lil late but . . .WHAT AN AWESOME EXPERIENCE!!!