Fit Mama is Here!!!

There are many different ways to attain a healthy lifestyle. I would like to feature women who are living a healthy life. Jocelyn is a women who has started on a wonderful journey of health, so I decided to interview her. I hope that her story can inspire you. She is also available for health coaching as well. Here is our interview:

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself.

 

I am have been married for almost 12 years and we have 5 children! Yes, 5! Ages; 15, 10, 8, 7 and 5. I am privilege to be a stay at home mom, which I Love! 

2. What started you on your health journey?

 

After so many babies, I have gone up and down in my weight with each pregnancy, each time being harder to loose weight than the last time. My last baby was born in 2008 and I just never lost all my baby weight. 

Back in 2010 I went to the gym with my husband to help "support" him wanting to join the gym. Only a few weeks in, I ended up with a personal trainer, working out 3 days a week! It took me awhile but I loved it and lost 20lbs. I started to feel great but soon my training ended and slowly over 2 years I had gained all my weight back. My key reason was that I never actually changed my eating habits.

I came to a point where I decide that unless I was going to sweat it out at the gym I would never be able to loose the weight again. I kept going to the gym but my one day work out was undone in one day of eating from frustration of seeing no results. It was a vicious cycle. 

I would try to go on "diets" but wasn't eating healthy enough to make a difference. I finally started to give away most of my clothes believing I would just never be able to fit any. I only saved one box called my "Wish box". Those clothes I hoped one day I could fit but never believed I would! 

3. How did you lose weight and get healthy?

I found a program called Take Shape for Life. Many of my friends from 13 year ago had found the program before me and I was watching their results. They had all gained weight over the years, just like me and were now loosing that weight! They all started to look like we all did before kids and marriage! I was hooked, the moment that I could I start on program, I did. I had no doubt that if it worked for them, it could work for me!

I started this new health journey in January of 2013 and I lost 33lbs in 7 weeks! (Results vary) I am now back to my pre-baby weight before babies and marriage and I feel amazing! I even pulled out my "Wish box" and was not able to wear any of the clothes because they were not too small! Such a great feeling!

 

The great thing about this program was that I was not only able to loose the weight but I gained knowledge on how to eat right! I always knew I needed to eat healthy, eating the right foods, right amounts, all your food groups but I had no idea where to start or how to do that. Now I do!

4. What keeps you on track?

While on program, I had a coach who walked beside me to help me stay on track. She also had gone through the program to lose weight and had been a friend from years before as well. It was great to have someone to talk to and celebrate with me as each of my goals were reached for weight loss.

Now with the habits of health that I learned on program I have been able to maintain my weight using those habits daily in my life. You have all the tools you need to maintain your weight for life! It's not a diet but a life change!

The greatest part is that I am now paying it forward. I am now a health coach helping others to walk through their health journey. It's amazing to see others reach their health goals and it also helps me to stay on purpose for my health journey as well!

 

 

5. How does a busy mother of five, find time to exercise?

I now have to find creative ways to work out or exercise. I did not work out while on program and now find it hard to work this into my life. Not because I have no time but because, lets be honest, I don't make time! I no longer have a gym so I challenge myself to work out at home, go for a run (with my oldest daughter sometimes), or even running while my kids ride their bikes to the park. I have found challenges and would love to do a 5k one day!

Exercise is a great habit of health. Especially as you loose weight you start to feel good and want to get up and moving. A run feels good, working out feels good. It might sound crazy now but believe me, it's true! You too can love to exercise! 

It's great if you can find other friends that are like minded as well. Join health groups to encourage you or someone to work out with you. The greatest success is when you have support! So grab your water and get moving!

I would love to be your support and if your interested in more information feel free to e-mail me at jocelyngunter@yahoo.com. You can start your health journey today!

Next month, we will talk more about some fitness tips for busy women on the go.

Natural hair how-to interview....

After receiving several questions as to how  to start on the natural hair journey, I decided to post interviews from women who are already on this journey. Today I will be featuring Candi Scott. She has been wearing her hair natural for several years and she has lots of awesome tips for women.

1. Why did you decide to become natural?

I was natural for most of my life [and] always had a head full of curls. My mom permed my hair once as a little girl and my hair broke off tremendously. I was rocking a teeny weeny fro at the age of 4.

The second time I can remember was age 11, and then I chose to do it again at 15 after relocating to a new city. I always loved my hair, but didn't appreciate it when I moved to the Midwest. I wore braids for most of my HS and college career; it was just easier that way. One day while taking my braids out, it's like I noticed the waves from my new growth for the first time. My mom was against me cutting my hair and refused to do it for me. So, I went to the bathroom and went for it! I've been natural ever since. 

 

2. How long have you been wearing your hair natural?

Since 2004

 

3. What are some tips that you can give to other naturals?

-Be you! Wear your hair however you want and don't be afraid to experiment with new styles.

-Detangle with your fingers first and your favorite oil. It cuts down on breakage and you can easily handle any knots.

-Trim your ends. If you don't want to do them yourself, go to a salon for a free consult with a skilled natural hair stylist.

-Experiment with new products. 

-Deep condition monthly. 

-Accessorize 

4. What hair products do you use?  Why?

My favorite is coconut oil! It's great for detangling in preparation for washing. I also use it for styling and include it in a mixture for deep conditioning. 

I also use Eco style gel to define my curls. Garnier Fructis was a great winter leave in moisturizer. It's a light product and inexpensive about $2.50 a bottle. The product that I'm using right now is . It's great for my chunky twist outs, defining curls, and moisturizing. 

Roots of nature remedies: Butter Whip Coil Cream-perfect moisturizer and curl definer. 

Conditioners: Aussie Moist. It provides great slip and leaves my hair moisturized. 

5. How do you like to style your hair? i.e. twists, bantu knots, kinky, etc.  Why did you choose this style?

 

 I love to twist, braid, and rock updos and buns! BUT, my absolute  favorite way to rock my hair is simply my fro! I love to see the definition of my curls and I especially love when it's fluffy due to the humidity. For me, the bigger the better! 

 

 

 

Jesus in my Happiness!!!

There are many ways that people try to find happiness. I have found the source of true happiness and that is Jesus Christ.

He is the only one who came to the earth, the love us, die for us and save us from hell. Some people ask why a loving God would send anyone to hell. I am here to let you know that God does not SEND anyone to hell.

God is a holy God and He can only have absolute holiness in His presence. Some may say, "I'm a good person, so I should go to heaven." If you say that, you have a valid point the only thing is, think about this:

1. Have you every lied? Even a little white lie? If you say, "no" then you just lied.
2. Have you ever stole? Even if it was a granola bar from the store?
3. Have you ever lusted? Even if it was fantasizing about a model on a magazine cover?

If you have answered "yes" to even one of these questions then you are not absolutely holy and neither am I. I was able to answer "yes" to all of those questions.

So then the question is, "How can I make it to heaven?"

The answer is simply Jesus. He is the only "way, the truth and the life." It was His death on the cross that saved us and forever cleanses us of every sin. Choose Him and He can give you inner happiness.

Just do it and rock those curls!

I have worn my hair curly for the past 3 years. It has been a fun journey and along the way, many women have expressed interest in doing the same. The question everyone has is, "Where do I start?" The funny this is that I had the same question in the beginning. The people that know and love me, know that I just dive in to things. When I received the question, "Where do I start?", I began to think of the pros and cons of what I have learned. I hope that this can give you some guidance.


1. Make a plan.
Since I decided to transition rather than the "big chop" (a phrase used to identify when a person decides to cut off their relaxed hair and wear it as a short afro), I was completely lost. Here's what I looked like in my early days of the transition:

I posted this photo online, hoping that someone would give me some guidance. I did not wear it this way, but I didn't really know how to transition. When you do decide to "rock those curls", hop on the web and see what other people are doing. You can find youtube videos, facebook pages and twitter accounts all about wearing your hair curly. Then you will be able to figure out where you may want to start. You can also get ideas of how you can style your hair.

2. Do your homework.
When you have figured out to wear your hair then the next step is the "how to part". Will you need to find a natural hairstylist? If so, you will need to look and find out which one you would like to go to. What kinds of hair creams would you be interested in trying? This may be more difficult if you are trying to transition. I tried about 4 hair creams, prior to deciding on one I liked for shampoo and then I began creating my own styling cream. Here are the natural hair lines that I recommend:

Shea Moisture Hair Products have lots of different creams and shampoos for many different hair types.

Eco-styler gel is great for holding the style, especially in the California Sun.

3.  Go for it!

 

The idea of being natural is all about creativity. It's not about perfection, but rather experimentation. I have had more fun figuring out the styles that I wanted to try out, then anything else. Here is one of my favorite hair styles in the early days:

 

 

 This style is a bantu knot style with a braid out. Follow us on more tips on how to achieve this style in a future post.

 

 

I hope that this tips will help you start on your natural hair journey!