Authorized YOU Turn

Many times in life we decide that today is the day and now is the time to start your journey to health and wellness. You are moving along and doing your thing and then you fall off track. Please know that falling off track doesn't mean that it's over. At the very point that you realize that you are going down the wrong road do something good for yourself and make a authorized YOU turn as you are worth it.

Do you believe that today is your day to make a YOU turn but you need just a little help? If so e-mail YOU Gal Toni or Stacy or join the YOU Gals community on facebook.

Fitness Fridays

This week You Gal Stacy decided to write about her strength training regime. I must admit that it has not always been a joyous occasion. I remember when I first started to meet with my trainer I thought he was killing me. I often wondered why I chose to pay for torture and why my trainer insisted on beating me down. Working out was certainly a love/ hate relationship.

I can remember giving my trainer dirty looks, cursing him out under my breath, panting for air, and thinking I was going to die. I would wake up in the middle of the night with pains all over my body and muscle cramps. I was feeling muscles in my body that I did not think ever existed.

I will never forget the first time we did an upper body workout - I was doing bicep curls, triceps pull downs, push ups, reverse curls and bench presses. The next morning I woke up in excruciating pain and I could not put my arms down. I literally spent the next day at work unable to stretch my arms and looked like I was holding a tray in my arms. It was so hilarious!

Now here I am 5 months later and loving my workouts! I eagerly look forward to my next session. I have become so much stronger, leaner and focused. What I appreciate about my trainer is that we never keep my workouts the same he often changes them up and includes interval sessions, he is also so encouraging and knows what he is doing. This has aided in my continual weight loss. Although my workouts are still very much challenging my attitude towards them have changed. When I am feeling like the workout is overwhelmingly hard I look in the mirror and focus on the changes in my body, I focus on the muscle group being worked and try to feel each contraction and I breathe through each movement.

Here I am 41lbs lighter, my muscles are pushing through the fat and my waistline is back - all because of the hard work and dedication I have put in.

Here's to sweat, pain and dedication!!!

YOU Gals at the 3rd Annual VCU/MCV Community Health Fair

Join YOU Gals at 3rd Annual VCU/MCV Campus Community Health Fair. The purpose of the Health Fair is to provide free basic care and health information to the Richmond Community

When: March 6, 2010
Where: Armstrong High School, 2300 Cool Lane, Richmond, VA 23223
Time: 10:00am to 3:00pm

Free Screenings offered for:
Blood Pressure
Cholesterol
Diabetes
Dental screening
HIV
H1N1 Shots

Health information regarding follow up visits and other important health issues will also be made available to those who attend.

Lunch will be provided for the first 400 people!

There is also a kids area with moon bounce and games!

Hope to see you there!

Fitness Fridays

As discovered last week I love to move and groove and shake my tail feather! These You Gals have some serious aerobic dance steps in us. Since dancing was such a success last week I decided this week’s Fitness Friday would be along the same lines - dancing!

Recently I purchased “Just Dance” for Wii. It’s an interactive game that contains 32 tracks that range from the disco 70’s to the grooving 80’s and up through the 90’s. Your job is to get a remote and mimic the dance moves the on screen silhouette demonstrates. The more moves you successfully mimic the more points you rack up.

Some of the dances you are required to do are the mashed potato, the whop, M.C. Hammer, and other classic steps. It cracks me up just to attempt some of these dance moves – I could only imagine what I look like. Here I am working up a sweat and panting attempting to rack up all my points and my kids are on the couch in pure hysterics.

The real fun comes in when there is a little friendly competition. Normally my daughter and I have a “dance off” she is just so determined to beat me and there is no way I can let her put me to shame. She would never let me live it down. So here I am panting away on the verge of passing out and I look over and she is not even getting ready to break a sweat. I think to myself, “my goodness this is track #3 and she is showing no signs of exhaustion!!!” I dig deep, grab some water and get to moving and grooving. Then my moment comes the next song is up – it’s my jam!!!! I look at my pedometer and realized in these past 40 minutes I racked up 4000 steps!!! Amazing! I feel re-energized and ready to get down with my song. It’s like a Zumba dance and is right up my alley. So the aching in my feet and sheer muscle fatigue can’t hold me back. I am pumping, dipping low, wailing my arms, shaking what my mama gave me, throwing in some Samba moves and getting into this dance. Oh my, the scores are off the charts my poor daughter does not have a chance and she realizes it but just like her mama she can’t give up. It’s a race to the finish. Songs over and the winner is ….. YOU Gal Stacy!!!!

The moral of my story is exercising should be fun. Have fun with it! Dance your heart away and enjoy every moment.

Oh and total steps for 50 minutes of fun was 6500!!! Whew not too bad!!!

Stay tuned to next week’s fitness adventure.

Before and After Pics - You Gal Stacy

You Gal Stacy started her weight loss journey September 15, 2009 when she appeared as a guest on the nationally televised Dr. Oz show. As she said on the first show "my big girl numbers are plastered all over the television" so she decided that she needed to make a change and she started down the road of waist loss following the principals in the book YOU: On a Diet, acquiring 10,000 steps daily and most importantly support from her family and friends.

As she lost the weight folk told her how great she looked but since she sees herself every day it was hard for her to notice the changes. YOU Gal Toni was complimenting Stacy on her success and how far she had come but she still didn't quite see it so we decided to have her take a picture so that we could compare her progress. So while Stacy is still on her journey her progress is definitely noticable.

Let's applaude her for her success of 36 lbs lost and 10 inches from her waist! YOU go Stacy!!!!

Fitness Friday's

So YOU Gal Stacy and I decided that we would try and find new and exciting workouts that would generate steps and report out on it. Well our first venture was at Victory Lady Fitness at their West End location in Richmond, Virginia where we meet 3 new friends all named Brenda. We settled on this location based on the particular class that was being offered. We had just participated in the CBS 6 Healthy Lifestyles Expo and while there I heard someone on the mic sounding like a deejay and it intrigued me so that I walked over. They were moving and grooving and I liked what I saw. Well later that day the instructor came over to our booth and I introduced us and what were doing and inquired about his class and where he taught so he gave me the skinny on where we could find him and alerted me of his next class at Victory Lady Fitness. I got on the horn made the arrangements and notified YOU Gal Stacy and she was game!

So we show up take the tour and take our position in the class. This class filled up quick! There were lines and lines of women ready to get down. So while I’ve been telling folk that I was going to Hip Hop Aerobics the class is actually called Live, Love, Dance with Kemel. We started off just marching in place to the beat and in my mind I’m thinking I could do this at home although I was stepping a bit high because these women weren’t going to show me up. At the end of the song my hips were burning, but that’s a good thing. We move to the next song and boy does it have some choreography. We were moving, grooving and having a good time. During this class we did the electric slide, cupid shuffle and the bus stop just to name a few of the line dances that we did. I was sweating, smiling and having a good time. When the class was over I must admit I was whipped! I started the class with 4243 steps and I ended with 10442 that’s a total of 6199 step in one hour! Whew! Whoever thought that all that dancing would rack up so many steps and that’s with me trying to catch on.

When Toni told me about this class I was so excited. I often say these dance type aerobic classes are as close to partying/ clubbing that we can get to. This class had me working up a sweat, moving, shaking what my momma gave me and having fun. Having fun? That's right Kemel made this class seem like we were at a party! The atmosphere he managed to create was able to take my mind off the fact that my thighs were on fire and legs left felt like 200 pounds each.

What also impressed me about this class beyond the fact that it was not your normal Jane Fonda workout was that the instructor walked around. He was not on stage shouting out movements. Instead he mingles as we grooved, he stood right next to you when you had the steps all wrong (he was by me a few times!!!) and showed you what you needed to do and where you were going wrong. Once you got the moves down off he went to the next person. He certainly left no woman behind and allowed everyone to groove at their own pace.

I highly recommend this class to everyone. I have a bad knee which usually causes discomfort during these type of classes however, I am glad to say it was not an issue. The pain I felt was sadness when the class was over - ok I was a little excited that it was over also.

For those of you in the area looking for a good workout while having a good time check out Live, Love, Dance with Kemel it was a great time.

I’m hoping to get back to Victory Lady Fitness to check out that Walk It Off with Scott.

Until next time! Get to stepping!

CBS 6 Healthy Lifestyle Expo

YOU Gals was so honored to be invited to participate in the CBS 6 Healthy Lifestyle Expo with our fellow Housewife Brooke Page of A Healthier YOU. We were able to meet many new friends many of which already knew our names, faces, stories and voices. Enjoy the pics of our time there!