The process of changing the way I live began this past Wednesday morning when I made a commitment to incorporating green smoothies, raw fruits and veggies, and portion control into my daily habits. I’ve never been one to hate on “veggie power,” but the idea of drinking stuff like kale and spinach has never been high on my priority list. Like many of us who make assumptions before giving foods a try, I thought drinking green smoothies would be the antithesis of what my pallet would find pleasurable. I know you see that pic to the left. Lookin’ like milk and blended grass.
But in under a week, I’ve learned otherwise. It’s important to note that I haven’t done this alone. For me, much the of the success I’ve achieved has been because of the presence of someone else in my life. But that’s a separate post in itself.
On Wednesday morning, I got on a scale after…well, weeks (maybe months) of not getting on the scale. The most I’ve weighed in my life was 240 lbs. I figured I couldn’t be much more than that given my sedentary lifestyle. Fortunately, I wasn’t. I was 238. Though under my max weight, that was still 20 lbs. more than where I wanted to be — particularly if I had any shot of getting back into athletic form.
Over the last few months and despite my optimistic outlook, I’ve watched my belly grow with me. I’ve found myself sucking it in in pictures and in general when I walk into a room full of people. I’ve gotten tired of it. Having to “hold it tight” isn’t exactly my definition of freedom. I’m sure my abs would agree. **Looks down** They’re curled up asleep under a lipid blanket.
I figured that by changing my eating habits alone, I’d see a few pounds come off. Maybe 1-2 per week. That’s normal and “healthy.” But to my surprise, they melted off quicker than expected. By Friday morning, I was 235. By Sunday, I was 230. I was in such disbelief that I thought my scale had become an artist in deception. “I’ve never dropped weight like this without a strict diet and exercise,” I thought to myself. “Man, I’ma throw this sh*t out the window. This scale is jacked. To Bed, Bath, and Beyond I go.”
I hate chu! I hate chu! Oh my God, I love you! (By the way, I was too lethargic to photoshop the scale. Sorry.)
So I went ready to drop 40-50 bucks on an accurate scale with some BMI calculator built in. I put one of them on the ground and stepped on knowing that I was adorning roughly six pounds of clothing (I wear size 14 shoes. Them sh*ts ain’t light.) I glanced down and the scale said 234.5. Do the math and that puts me at…**grabs calculator** 228.5 lbs. Not the 230 I saw at home, but close enough to make me reconsider the thought that my Thinner scale had forsaken me.
Needless to say, I didn’t buy a scale. It felt good to save money, but it felt better knowing that such a simple change in my dietary habits was paying out such huge dividends.
Now I can’t say this hasn’t been without challenges. I’ve lusted for hood fried chicken, McDonald’s fries, Halal Cart meats with ambiguous white sauce, and Mr. Softee (Pause). I’ve salivated at work thinking about pizza slabs and $5 footlongs (Have you noticed how that $5 list has gotten shorter?). But these results…these results are awesome. They make the restraint worth it.
The kicker is that I haven’t been starving myself. I’ve just been passing up on much of the food that’s abundant in Harlem and around my job. I’m bringing salads and leftovers for lunch. Healthier dinners are being prepared. I’m even craving green smoothies for snacks since my favorite fruits can be added. This is a lifestyle I can get used to. I’m looking forward to talking about it more as my body continues to high five me with a growing sense of lightness I haven’t felt in a while. Cheers to health. Cheers to the story!
Have you ventured into the land of green smoothies? Made any significant changes to diet habits and seen the results? Do you call BS on the green goodness? Let me know in the comments.
That’s what’s up! I can relate…to the struggle and effort put forth, just not the rapid weight loss
But it’s all good.
I was telling someone at work about the weight loss and they scoffed at me. Made me appreciate whatever metabolism I have left.lol. But yes, the struggle is real and rewarding.
Kale, Cucumber, and Apple is the best green juice ever. Use ample kale, the darker green the better. I agree, healthy food is the easiest way to drop weight. My cousin has been eating raw for years and says it also naturally tones your muscles because of the heavy flow of oxygen…
I drink green juice but I can do better with the other parts of my diet. This is reminding me to get on track.
oh and Zico coconut water is like natural gateorade. for some reason Vita Coco isn’t as natural, only Zico
Green smoothies are the business – just keep mixing the ingredients up so you can get the most benefits from them!
L
I’ve been drinking green smoothies off and on for a few weeks. I saw a chick on youtube talking about them so I decided to try it. My energy levels are so low in the morning even when I eat right away so I started on the green smoothies as a way to help with energy. I’ve yet to find just the right combination of fruits and veggies to help with that but I still like the idea of getting in more fruits and veggies. My favorite recipe so far is honeydew melon, cucumber, spinach, ginger and chia seeds. I’ve never thought about wheatgrass though. Are you using wheatgrass juice or the whole thing?
The powder…which tastes a lot like green tea. I was surprised by that. I hear wheat grass juice by itself is a different beast.
After I commented I went and read up on wheatgrass, knowing I should’ve been sleeping! I couldn’t sleep though, smh. Anyway, it looks like the thing to try and I read that the wheatgrass juice gives you energy and the powder has the fiber you need. I’m excited to try it! Thanks for puting me on it Slim!
No prolem and pause!
LMAO you always crack me up with your pauses!
wheatgrass juice is nasty! but is is effective – you have to mix it w/ something like oj. I think there are other means to fill that requirement, that don’t taste horrible. be well.
Yeah, I’ve only had it mixed. I don’t know that I’ll get into the wheatgrass shots and all that. Actually, I’m pretty sure that I won’t.lol
I happened to have some aloe Vera juice on hand so I gave it a try this morning in my smoothie. Wasn’t bad. Still want to try wheatgrass.
Way to go “Slim”!
n my experience, losing the first 12-1I5 pounds happens the way you described. After that initial loss is where the difficulty begins. Regardless, congratulations! I know it feels good mentally and physically. Reward yourself once weekly too. Drink water (or green/black tea) regularly to keep hydrated and flush you kidneys; this helps your body metabolize fat better.
I tried the juicing path many years ago. It got to be a pain juicing and cleaning up, so I stopped. It did help and I felt great. Now I prefer to eat the fruit and vegetables rather than juice them. This way I get the nutrients in the skin, and the fiber too, and there is something mentally satisfying about the chewing for a while vs drinking it down relatively quickly + no major clean up to deal with. Yet, if it works for you ….
I am sure the green juice is doing it’s part. I’m sure a larger part of your success is from keeping away from the halal cart, the pizza slice, the breakfast egg & cheese, and the chicken & waffles on 116th. You have avoided much fat, grease and dairy – our bodies like that.
Sounds like you already saw the documentary “Fat Sick & Nearly Dead”.Give up the McD’s and the like now and forever too – they’ll kill ya for sure. If you need some motivation watch “Super Size Me”.
I’m about to begin my diet journey this week. I’ve started swimming 1250 – 1500 yards five times a week to warm up. It’s dropped me 14 pounds in three weeks. I have some green super food nutritional powder that I mix with water or juice, if that counts. Today I received my calorie burning nutritional kit to amp up my metabolism as well.
Your abs were hiding behind a case, mine are behind a keg, but your post was right on time to boost my resolve & motivation.
i’ll be documenting my adventure into calorie burning vs calorie intake in my blog, and following your progress too, if you keep sharing.
Thanks for the inspiration Slim! I finally lost my “winter weight” (I shed 20 pounds since the day after Thanksgiving) BUT then in the last week I went to a BBQ that had everythang which led to a huge piece of birthday cake. . .next thing you know I was eating 3 cupcakes yesterday. . .Needless to say, I gained 5 pounds in one week. I gots to find me some Green Smoothies!!! Detox Time.
Love this! I’ve been on a diet kick myself but need to add more GREEN smoothies to my line up. I’ve been focusing more on protein smoothie variations which have been really good.
I am looking for an accurate scale though because it seems like I fight with mine every morning!
You can take the same smoothie you’re drinking now and just add some spinach. You’d be surprised how little it affects the taste. I know I was.
This was a very encouraging and inspiring post. I too have been working on getting myself in better physical shape. Just finished my first round of P90X and have improved my eating habits tremendously, but my net pounds lost has been minimal, I think due to the significant increase in muscle mass from P90X (the classic routine is not a weight loss program). Shape and size wise I look a lot better, butI need something to help with finishing off the layer of fluff over these lovely new muscles, and the smoothies/juicing sounds like a good idea to add to my diet.
Do you have any suggestions for websites or books with good recipes and how-to instructions?
I just wish women lost weight as rapidly as you men. My beau stops working out and LOSES weight. I’m just hoping I’ve boosted my metabolism with increasing my muscle mass, and maybe I can get those rapid results from smoothies, too.
I have something to get rid of of that “extra fluff” – the calorie burning kit I mention in my comment. let me know if you’re interested in finding out more.
I don’t have any suggestions off the top, but I will look into it. I’ll be sharing more as I continue to go through this process as well. I genuinely think ante upping the cardio while also changing the eating does wonders, particularly when it comes to dropping body fat. After I get down to my goal weight, it’ll be about dropping the BF so that my abs can see the light of day.
Green smoothies are awesome! I was even able to get my athelete of a 16 year old son to drink them until of couse he found out that the tall glass of creamy cool deliciousness was actually VEGTABLES *gasp*. I tried using collard greens once and found that I’m not as gangster as I claimed to be. I did find that adding a little flaxseed gives an added boost of fiber and Omega3. Also if your fruit isnt as sweet/ripe as you like it a dollop of raw honey makes it better!
Girl I tried kale in mine and was not thug enough. Had to force myself to finish most of the bag.
Good isht man!
Youll see with my SBM post tomorrow that aint isht to it but to do it bro!
IDK about green smoothies, but fruit smoothies are the shite! Drinking those and changing your diet habits will help you flip the script immediately.
Keep Goin!
Can you tell me what do you eat for breakfast? Thanks and congratulations on your weight loss.
I drink a green smoothie. That’s it. At first I was still hungry afterward, but now it’s filling and will hold me over well into lunch time.
I’m loving green smoothies! I just started drinking them myself about 2 months ago after a little research and youtube video watching. I needed something to boost my iron levels–I’m chronically anemic–without the nausea of iron pills. Its a pretty good trade-off. I still need to work on weaning myself off of snacks though–certainly haven’t mastered that, lol. My favorite combo is spinach, banana, mango and raspberry with a tablespoon of flax oil.
Just want to share this story about a pioneer in the Health Care sector Bo Rinaldi author of “CIG to Green Smoothies” & Vegan Fusion consulting have just been contracted to, design, create and deliver the FIRST ALL “Plant Based Restaurant” in a hospital! http://www.facebook.com/CigGreenSmoothies
“I’m looking forward to talking about it more as my body continues to high five me with a growing sense of lightness I haven’t felt in a while. Cheers to health.” Yes! Beautifully stated. I think I’ll try some green smoothies and portion control…what’s the worse that could happen??? Oh, my body my “high five me…” #I’llStartMonday
“I’m looking forward to talking about it more as my body continues to high five me with a growing sense of lightness I haven’t felt in a while. Cheers to health.” Yes! Beautifully stated. I think I’ll try some green smoothies and portion control…what’s the worse that could happen??? Oh, my body my “high five me…” #I’llStartMonday