pills, shakes, replacements. tv ads, and other......."stuff"

first off I apologize that I haven't updated in awhile life has kind of gotten a little carried away and the best of me but I am back and I am going to try my hardest to make it a weekly habit to update and keep people posted on what's going on upstairs knocking between my ears :)

today's topic may not set well with some but bring possibly light to others.
this post isn't to offend and it's 100% my opinion (after all it is MY blog isn't it? LOL) 

heaven knows if there's a weight loss product out there that you can buy either in pill, powder or liquid form that I have probably taken it at one point or another.  the one thing that all and I do mean ALL pills powders and liquids have in common is that if you read the instructions or directions they usually say somewhere in fine print towards the bottom "along with moderate exercise and a well balanced diet".  It's something that is there I can almost 100% guarantee it!!  so after taking many different pills promised to "reduce belly fat" and/or "get me into the best shape of my LIFE" I look at myself in the mirror after a month, two months, three months and notice there isn't really any change than when I first started.  The only thing that's lighter is my bank account.

then i came across a simply BRILLIANT invention called myfitnesspal (referred from here on out simply as MFP). 
this app literally has
CHANGED
MY
LIFE

some people say that it's too much to count calories and log every piece of food you consume into an application.  I say to them "what's worse taking literally 30 seconds to record what you ate or spending three days in the hospital later on in life after a lifetime of bad eating?"  Granted it does take time and work, not too much though, and the best part is it makes you open your eyes to see exactly what you're putting into your body.

with the rates of cancers and other diseases running rapid here has anyone besides me stopped to think that maybe it's because of what we do to our bodies by ingesting that is making ourselves weaker and weaker and more susceptible to these diseases?

I have drastically changed the way that I eat.  Only fresh fruits, veggies, and lean cuts of meats are usually what you'll find on my plate.  I'm not saying that I am 100% perfect and let the person that thinks they are among us be the first to cast a stone because I do go out occasionally and have a beer or two or some wine or a fried food.  I am still a citizen of modern day.  however after I stopped eating the processed food and crap that I had become use to eating I noticed after about one week one big change......I didn't crave those foods anymore....after about a month the thought of going through a drive through repulsed me (and still does to this day)

my body as well as my brain know what are good wholesome foods for me and know what I don't need or want any longer.

alright I strayed a little off topic there but hey I have a lot to say so much that I will probably break this into two sections.

back on track now "along with moderate exercise and a sensible diet"

Moderate exercise=more than what you currently do.  If you're a couch potato then aim to go for one or two walks a week just doing something is better than nothing.  always start small.  A lot of times people say "I'm going to go and run every morning for 5 miles starting tomorrow" that morning comes they go out only run 2 or 3 miles because they aren't trained properly to run 5 miles and they give up! Same thing happens when you change your diet.  I despise the word DIET it's probably the only four letter cuss word in my vocabulary.  however diet when I refer to it means what you're eating day in and day out.  Otherwise it's called a lifestyle.  That's what eating is.  Either you lead a healthy lifestyle (wholesome good for you foods) or an unhealthy lifestyle (fast food processed junk soda).  I can honestly say that in my diet only 1% of it is actually "unnatural" food.  That one percent being my post workout recovery protein shake.  Other than that I try my hardest to steer clear of products that have something on the label that I don't recognize or know what it is. I recently saw a meme on the Internet that read
"if you don't recognize it neither will your body"

the only kind of supplement or anything of the sort that I take now is a fat burner on my cardio days.  It helps me push past my obstacles and overcome what I've done in the past.  I am weening them out of the trend though in the very near future.

another philosophy that I live by is I shouldn't have to replace anything in my diet in order to lose weight.  If you tell me I must forgo a meal and have a shake to drink instead to "save calories" I'm not interested.  I'd rather fuel my body up with good natural foods and push myself harder than I normally do at a workout and eat something I can not only pronounce all the ingredients in but also know exactly verbatim what they are.

if the only thing you take from this first half of the blog is to be conscious of what you put into your body then my job is 25% complete.

I recently started a new routine, which I am not disclosing to anyone until I have completely finished the first cycle, so there will be a blog update on that in a couple months.

another thing that I should of mentioned earlier that people who commit to losing weight or getting into shape together are more likely to succeed than those who don't.  Another great reason to use MFP get on read around on the message boards I can guarantee you that almost ANY lifestyle plan that you're searching for has a group on there that will welcome you with open arms!

before I sign off on this post try to do me one small favor over the next seven days.  Just try writing down what you eat everyday and at the end of everyday before bed just look back over what you have consumed throughout the day.  You'll be surprised to see what the results are!

if you're interested in finding me on MFP, Instagram, or facebook I will post the links below follow me message me or just reach out if you need someone to talk to and lend a supportive ear.

Remember don't be so focused on where you have to go that you lose track of where you've been!!!!

Until next time fellow fitfam readers!!! Be Healthy and do something Healthy this week.  You're body will thank you for it!!


MFP Bmurphy102
IG BMURPHY102
Twitter wrkunprgrs102
FB ilor69@hotmail.com

The Bandwagon, Broken bones, and the aftermath......

hello stranger.....yes I am still alive and well....although there was a point a couple of months ago I thought I'd be better off dead.....first to my readers I have to apologize for not posting in awhile.....I was doing so well and on top of things then one of what I thought was going to be the worst things at the time in my life happened.....

I had started bootcamp here in Orlando at the beginning of March.  I was pumped I was excited I was ready to see some serious results! During my first week I put my body through more pain than it had ever experienced but I kept on pushing through because my desire was stronger than the pain.  my second week on a dreary tuesday morning my course was about to come to a dead end, or so I was thinking at the time.  I was doing line sprints on my third station trying to push harder and dig deeper...then it happened....like in slow motion I could feel my legs go numb starting at my feet and quickly move up to my hips.....what happened next only took about a millisecond to happen but in my mind it felt like forty minutes.  I fell down on the ground and landed with my elbow tucked in under my chest.....when I landed and got up my arm was numb and a little tingly but I pushed on wiped off my embarrassment and pushed through.....until it got to the point where I couldn't extend my arm without excruciating pain...off to urgent care I go for some xrays only to be told I need to see a specialist....great I have $32 in my pocket and $100 in the bank......and I was scheduled to work a double that day....so they put my arm in a half cast and was to be on no work for three days....and off to see a specialist.....long story short I fractured my radial head in my forearm and was replaced on light duty and couldn't lift anything more than five pounds for a month.....ummmm excuse me?  I have a goal to complete and reach and I couldn't have a set back like this....I was devastated.....at my lowest....I temporarily moved back in with my parents with my two dogs which to them I am ever in debt to....I watched what I ate seeing how I was restricted on what I could do as far as a workout....the amount of pain I had at just the thought of turning my hand would bring Dwayne Johnson to his knees (that's "the Rock" for those of you wondering ;) )

well in the mean time I decided to start looking for a new job and literally one fell in my lap....it was only a temp job but now it's going to be going permanent so that's one of the good things to come out of this.....


now as for the "bandwagon" that was previously mentioned....I started an office job...my lunches consisted of fast (fat) food....poor decisions on over all food and to top it off i would lay in bed and eat peanut butter M & M's before bed...soda became a staple of my day....sweet tea and energy drinks consumed my mornings......

then i went to key west for vacation it was at that time that a picture was snapped of me full body.....after I saw the pic I KNEW something had to be done I let myself put back on 15 pounds and my clothes were starting to get tight.....it was then that  I ordered a book called the primal blueprint and the knowledge that i continued to learn through that book was AMAZING!!!!

now I am back on the right track and being healthy and smart about it....I've rearranged my schedule to try to fit in some gym time and over all just make better choices....I don't expect nor want sympathy or empathy but rather my "cheering section" in this journey...Ultimatley I am doing this for myself and no one else...I've made some great friends with strangers and have had people get in contact with me telling me that they have found strength and encouragement through my blogs!! I urge all you readers to follow me on instagram and twitter and let's help turn this world wide epidemic of obesity around and help kick it in it's FAT ASS!!!!

well that's all for today I will be writing again soon about a new thing that I have discovered and started taking which is an all natural fat burner......but i want to test it out before I go putting it out there!! hope everyone had a great weekend and try to do something healthy this week and remember take baby steps!! You didn't put the weight on overnight so don't expect to take it off overnight!!!

Take care readers!!!!

until next time get out there and be HEALTHY!!!!

instagram: bmurphy102
twitter:wrkinprgrs

The numbers game....

today I want to play a game.....

A number game if you will

no not that kind of number game lol

the kind involving everyone's most hated tool that they have in their house

the Scale

people are always intrigued as to how long I have been living a clean lifestyle and how much weight I've lost how much a week did I lose etc etc etc

I also get those people that come to me and say "i've been in the gym busting my ass for two months and I've only lost 5 pounds. what am I doing wrong?" my answer to them is simply this

you're weighing yourself.

I'm not saying that I don't weigh myself because I do BUT I don't attach myself to the scale.

As you go throughout your day your body weight changes so in the morning you may have gained two pounds, according to the scale, but it could be a multitude of things water weight, full intestines, the list goes on and on....

I weigh in every saturday morning at the same time each week that is a healthy way to track weight weighing yourself once a week at the same time on the same day makes you accountable for your weight loss goals...this saturday though will be my last weigh in for the month of March due to the fact that I am starting a bootcamp next week and I want to see what a month in the bootcamp does for my body and I want it to be a drastic change.

weighing yourself once a month on the same date at the same time is a healthy option to otherwise you become so dependent on the scale and  when it doesn't give you the number you wanted or think you deserved you get frustrated and think this isn't working why am I doing this and give up all together....

one of the biggest motivators to myself in this journey that has keep me going, besides losing weight and feeling great, is measurements.  I measure myself once a month at various spots on my body.  I do both bicep's (little unknown fact for you is that everything that you have a pair of on your body one will be bigger than the other see you learned something lol) I measure around my stomach using my belly button as a guide my hips about where my pants sit and both of my upper legs  I then add all them up and, along with my weight, write it down on a calender that hangs right next to my door of my bedroom.  it's something I have to see each time I go out of my room and makes me visually accountable for keeping me focused.

another great tool to use is pictures.  I knew that before I started my weight loss journey I looked like this

the picture on the right is me at the end of september and the picture on the left is myself at the end of October you can see a small difference there
I religiously took my pictures on the first satruday of the month and would put them side by side to see my progress coming to work...I did this for three months and then life happened and while I still ate clean exercised and took my measurements I didn't feel the need for taking a picture anymore....so randomly I decided to take another picture one day in the mirror about three days ago and it turned out like this




I know I am laying down lol but that's the best I could do with my imageing on my phone lol

so I thought ok so I've lost a little bit i can tell in my stomach

it wasn't until I took these two pictures and merged them and this is the final result




see what taking pictures can do for your progress and motivation?!?!?!?  I look completely different now and seeing these two pictures side by side it gives me a boost of confidence and motivation that I need to keep on moving on!

so basically what I am trying to say here is that don't just keep jumping on a scale after a few days of working out thinking that you're going to see great results it takes time

you didn't put the weight in two weeks so you defintley won't take it of in two weeks

one of my favorite sayings is "never give up what you want the most for what you want right now" and it's true I know I am a work in progress but each day i wake up I'm better than I was the day before...

until next time guys!

live healthy be healthy!!