What an appropriate title for what I want to share. Sometimes it’s hard making adjustments, even the smallest of adjustments can be difficult. Just ask yourself when was the last time you had to change the way you do something? Was it easy? Fun? Worth the change?  Taking an all or nothing attitude sometimes is the best approach…especially when it comes to health and fitness. Ladies in the 21 Day Challenge know all too well what I mean when I talk about making the adjustments.  We spend 9 days preparing and making the necessary adjustments before actually starting the challenge. You can’t expect different results if you continue with the same behavior. That’s called insanity. Women make the mistake at looking at other women and become jealous and sometimes envious of their bodies without knowing the adjustment they had to make in order to get the results they have. Not only...

The health of our kids is a very serious thing. Today’s kids don’t eat or do the things that I used to do as a child. Despite not eating as healthy as I should when I was a child at least I was very active in some kind of sports activity. Recently I spoke at Lee Elementary School in Atlanta. This was an invitation that received from one of the 21 Day students.Sonya thank you I really enjoyed talking to the faculty. I spoke to the faculty    about setting an example for the kids. Often times children look up to their teachers, especially in elementary school.  Kids will learn almost everything they need to learn in school; from elementary to college. I honestly feel that elementary is where the root is planted and from the root grows the fruit. Teaching a child what the purpose and function of food is...

The 21 Day Challenge has given me some of the most memorable experiences that I will never forget. When I started this journey last summer I didn't know that it would be what it is today. Though I knew the concept was very important my main goal was to change how women looked at their body and to love their body. The one person that I have impacted the most is my mom. My mom was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease Polymyositis several years ago. An autoimmune disease in simple terms is where the body's immune system attacks itself. With Polymyositis involves inflammation of the muscles and the muscle fibers. The main symptom is weakness. The treatment is the use of corticosteroids. Steroids help decrease the inflammation. Now if you know any thing about steroids they cause a woman's #1 fear... WEIGHT GAIN. Weight gain was the issue my mom had. Despite...

Recently I realized that just because a person says they eat healthy isn't always true. Women all over the world are body image conscious. From the smallest of women to the largest, women are forever looking at ways to enhance or change their look. What you look like on the outside is dependent on what you put on the inside. True beauty starts from within. For instance what did you have for breakfast this morning? What about lunch yesterday? Was it healthy? Or shall I say health conscious? You know that saying "You are what you eat?” It’s true! But how can you know what you are (healthy or unhealthy) if you don't know what you're eating? Starting today I would like for you to keep a food diary for 1 week of all the food you put in your mouth. Everything. From a handful of peanuts to a bottle of...

How would you judge someone’s health? Society has led us to believe that being healthy is determined by how we look on the outside. Weight and clothe size has been what many women use as a guide when they feel they need to lose weight. As women we often look at other women and say “I want her body”. My question to you is why? Why do you want to look like someone else? You are an original design, unique and divinely created. That’s one of the reason I decided that the vision for the 21 Day Challenge was to assist women in developing the I Love MY Body attitude. Weight and size are NOT the determining factors for health and fitness. For years we have followed the “normal” or “ideal body weight” standards. Ideal body weight doesn’t work for everyone. Just because the chart says a 5’3 woman...

As I say hello to another year (my birthday was Feb 28) that God has blessed me with, I can't help but be thankful and grateful. I believe that having an attitude of thanksgiving will open the door for many more blessing to come. Regardless of the situation you face at the time, there is ALWAYS something to be thankful for. Just waking up is something to be thankful for. I recall a saying that my mom use to always say “Be grateful, because there is somebody somewhere a little worse than you”. That stuck with me and I find myself thinking about that statement a lot. When it just seems that nothing is going right in your life, think on that statement. If you don’t believe me just talk to some people and hear all that they're going through, you’ll find yourself saying “Thank You Lord, it’s not as...

Having a healthy body on the outside is good but what about the inside? We all want to do whatever we can to live longer; healthy heart, lungs, and brain. While all those organs are vital for life, how healthy is your colon? That’s something we hardly ever think about when it comes to get healthy. The GI (gastrointestinal) tract begins with the mouth, leads to the esophagus and extends through the stomach, small and large intestine, to end at the anus. Everything you out into your mouth has to go through this chain of events. Meaning nothing that you eat can bypass this section and skip to the next, unless you have had a surgery that alters your anatomy. Complete digestion depends on the kind of food you eat. It normally takes anywhere form 12 -72 hours to digest food.  Certain foods like meat take longer to digest than vegetables. Fiber...

Burr! It's been a cold winter in Georgia. I can't recall it ever being this cold. But you’re talking to a person that keeps the portable heaters all at all times plus the central heat. I'm always cold! When you think about the winter do you envision your self-exercising in or outside and eating healthy? Probably not. Matter of fact your excuse is "It's too cold to exercise." So now that we've established that you don't like exercising in the winter what about the food you eat? Cold, dark winter nights lead many women to over eat, crave fattening comfort foods and let's not get started with the Holidays. I won't revisit that lecture, but I will say that the average holiday plate has 3000 calories! Did you know that a lot of the foods we eat, we eat them because of the season? Here is a list of some of the foods that are...

Are you getting enough fat in your diet? That may be a confusing question for some. Getting the right kind of fat is important when it comes to being healthy. The EFA’s (Essential fatty acids) “good fats” are not made by made the body and therefore must come from your diet. There are two families of EFAs: Omega-3 and Omega-6. EFA’s are vital for cardiovascular, reproductive, immune and nervous systems. EFA’s also regulate body functions like heart rate, blood pressure, blood clotting, fertility, conceptions and immune function. The benefits of consuming Omega 3’s: Reducing the risk of heart disease Decreasing blood pressure in the prevention of stroke Depression Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) Joint pain and other rheumatoid problems, as well as certain Skin issues. Alzheimer's disease. The American Heart Association recommends eating fish (particularly fatty fish such as mackerel, lake trout, herring, sardines, albacore tuna, and salmon) at least 2 times a week. While Omega-3 fatty acids help reduce inflammation,...

Were 2 ½ months into 2010, are you still sticking to your new year’s resolutions? Have you achieved any of the things you said you wanted to accomplish? Are you still going to the gym? I can go on and on but I won't. I just wanted to show you that many people make the same resolutions every year and not keep them. I tell all my students of the 21 Day Challenge to always have a goal in mind. Goals especially for weight loss need to be realistic and measurable. Now if you're feeling a little sad or let down because you had good intentions on sticking with your resolutions of trying to lose weight, or workout more but didn't, don't be upset we've all been there. Here's a simple solution that I think can help. Why not bring the gym to you? Gym membership can cost as much as...