The Skin I lIve In: 100 Pounds and Down Day VIII

Monday morning, up and at uhm! 🙂 It’s a beautiful Cali day, feeling good in my hood.  It’s funny the things you learn about yourself when your daily rituals change. And I mean you learn fast too!  I’m not so nice when I’m really hungry. Lol.

For years I’ve been able to work the entire day without any grumbles or hunger pains, no fussing or fighting; but now when I’m hungry the boxing gloves come out.  At first I thought I was imagining things; “I couldn’t be This upset over who moved the spoon” kind of thing, but as it turns out, as a T2D (Type II Diabetic) one of the most frequented emotional tangents is anger when hungry or blood sugar is low.

Who would have thought that not having some applesauce could make a person go Postal?  Well, like I’ve been saying, it’s an everyday learning experience.  When I got rid of the dairy and meet, poultry etc and foods cooked at high temperatures I hadn’t realized how my mood would be connected to my eating habits and food choices.  Nevertheless, I’m getting a grip.  Really!  I’m adding more foods that would not otherwise make the weekly grocery list, snow peas and hicama, hummus and Greek olives, hell kale for that matter.  Every day I try something new at home or in a restaurant.  The point is my dedication is leading me in a new food direction.

Check this out, a breakfast or lunch smoothie recipe I came up with myself!  And guess what folks; it is delicious!

The “Thank God its Monday” Smoothie.  Makes three servings.

1 banana broken up

1 cup of fresh cantaloupe

1 cup of fresh spinach

The juice from 1 whole orange

The juice from ½ a lemon

2 full celery sticks, (tops are optional)

2 cups of ice

1 teaspoon of Agave nectar

In a blender add half of you ice and ½ of the OJ, pulse until mixed, add your bananas, cantaloupe and keep the blender going until smooth, add your spinach, blend on high, add the other half of your OJ and the lemon juice continue blending, add celery the other half of your ice and a bit of agave to taste.  Pour in a glass and enjoy a bit of heaven.

Part of eating better for me is eating Fun, cooking, preparing and trying new things is what keeps me alive and well in this process.  Figure out your flow so you can Go Get It!

In the last 24 hours I’ve had Cheesy Kelp Noodles (all raw) Sushi with no fish or rice, just veggies, mmm good and even…check this out… Raw Nachos, the best!

Look below for my flow.

See you in a bit.

Share this: Abraham McDonald Music The Life

Thank God for the inner voice that matters so much to personal strength. Today has been a test in and out.  From sun up to sun down I have had every temptation presented my way.  Like most people I’m accustomed to the foods and daily eating habits I learned as a child.  As I’m unlearning those inset habits I’m seeking out new ones it’s clear that I can’t take something away without putting something new in.

I have to laugh at myself because I realize how “profound” I appear to be at this moment.  But had you seen me at Trader Joes (market) earlier today you would have definitely told me to “get it together!  Lol.  There was nothing sweet nor profound about the inner thoughts I was having of strangling someone from hunger as the service worker attempted to lead me to what she thought was a good idea.  An aisle, with oh say, 200 bags of nuts in different varieties; all roasted and salted and stripped of every bit of nutrience needed to consider it “live food.  She smiled I snarled and managed to chisel out a bit of dry humor, I grabbed a bag from what they considered a variety of raw nuts (4) and some dried fruit and got the hell up out of there.

I was completely disgusted and discouraged!  Hungry as hell and with an attitude building to be the size of Mount Rushmore.  Terrible at its best! So, what did I learn today?  That this here journey will not be easy but I completely believe and Know that I will do it.  My new mission is not to find foods, treats and snacks that remind me of what I ate growing up, but instead find new ways to create a broader taste pallet.  Nope, much like you I am nowhere near habituated to eating raw everything, but I do know there are some cool ideas to explore as I uncover the new me.

As I’m appreciating the “becoming me” I’m also delving into the rich flavors that I took for granted not only weeks ago.  An avocado SAVED MY LIFE today! Lol.  Avocado with a lil sea salt, pepper and cayenne was a saving grace as well as the homemade trail mix I was able to make thanks to Traders limited but available nuts and dried fruits.  After that I had a mixed greens salad with a bit of fresh pressed extra virgin olive oil, lemon and vinegar…of course I mixed some fresh herbs into it and finally felt great.

Living good, right or healthy isn’t always easy, but it IS LIVING!  In my moment of discouragement I realized that this is only on 1 person, but that’s because it’s for the most important person I know…Me.  I took my temper tantrum like a man J forfeited my need to kick and scream, pulled out a Big Boy Pill and got my ass what I needed to stay the course.

Variety is the key to survival for me, well, variety, a good sense of humor and a personal desire that I didn’t even recognize I have.

It’s like my good friend Diane Warren wrote about for the Legendary Whitney Houston, “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength; once you find that mark, that private personal space of courage…Daily I might add…because it IS a daily walk… You’ll find yourself standing hill on top of HILL…Victorious!

The Skin I Live In: 100 Pounds and Down Day II

I saw a movie with Antonio Banderas recently, the premise was, well, crazy as hell. But it did leave a lingering notion to ponder. If I could be anyone else, who would I be? If I could change any body parts, which would I choose? The more I thought about the “modern” world with all of its cutting and changing of sorts, bleeding to be someone you weren’t born to be… I decided! Yes, there are changes that need to be made, some shape shifting that needs to happen but more than any of those thoughts was the wondrous truth that I would Never want to be anyone more than I want to be me. So why not make me Better!
Though I wouldn’t want to be anyone else, live in any other persons skin, and I damn sure don’t want to change any body parts…is there a way to be a better, brighter, more in tune me without succumbing to the lazy idea of cutting it off, over lapping and layering it, pinching and pulling on it?

Yes! There is! Wake up Fat Fat! Day II

The Wake Up Call for me was stepping on an electronic scale that read “ERROR”. I mean, what the hell!!!? You mean to tell me they don’t even make home scales that could tally my weight? It was disheartening, embarrassing and I even felt a bit of humiliation to say the least. And the truth is, there was no one there pointing fingers at me, laughing or making me feel like I was less than human. No one physically pointing I mean.

In one fell swoop I felt everything I’d felt back in my 11th grade math class. I came in, I sat down and the floor picked me up! Lol. Now, the reality is, the chair was a misfit. But it was still terrible. The teacher laughed 1st and there went my confidence as the classroom went into an uproar. The scale represented for me years of feeling alone and unwanted, reasonably unattractive simply because I weighed more than others. An untruth.

I was so clouded by the weight I’d put on that I began to limit my idea of self and who I am called to be. Leaving the weight behind is easy, (kinda) ☺ but the memories and reasoning in why I chose to eat the things I did, well, that’s the part that has to be fixed. I say has as in the present, because I still struggle, I still revert back to some of those thoughts that make me feel like salvation is Not in the church but in Church’s Chicken. But NOW the difference is, I call Victory before the battle. I understand that how I think about myself determines how far I’ll go, how much I’ll win, what I will accomplish. The goal is set and the mark Will be met. But that takes arming yourself properly. And that’s exactly what I’m doing.

My weapons of choice:
• DHERBS Full Body Cleanse
• A Gym Membership (Not a damn visitors pass) a pass can be revoked, membership is a decided action
• A RAW Food diet (Laaaaaawd knows this one is a work in progress)
• And Margo my fearless trainer (She’s last only because I have to be self motivated. Weight loss is a journey; no one is obligated to do this with you.)

Day 1 was hard, my mood was a flux, and I could all of a sudden smell every sweet and savory ingredient known to man and for some reason everybody seemed to be speaking to me extra loud and in code. Don’t know What that was all about. Lol.

I did manage to find some good raw food and I had two brilliant workouts. Yes ladies and gentlemen I said two, 2, dos, more than one. Believe it or not the workouts made me feel incredible.  Look! The process is a process. Lets not weave false doctrine or smoke and lights…It’s going to take hard work to make the PV (Physical Vision) come to life. Lord knows I hope I’m as positive tomorrow as I sound today lol. Each day is different.

Tomorrow we’ll talk about me walking in the house to the smell of homemade hamburgers and then getting asked to make a store run for cupcakes, soda and cheetos.  Lord knows, it took everything in me not to slap DEEE hell out of everyone in my path. Lol.

  Everything you see here is raw, homemade and delicious.  From the homeade Kale Shake to the Raw Tacos with Sun Chorizo (nuts and seeds) to the Hearty homemade salad.

Keep an eye out for my work out posts, I’m 6’8 and doin it!

This is my “What the hell! look as I waited to directions in the airport in Tel Aviv, Israel.  I spent two amazing weeks there performing and seeing the amazing city’s of Jerusalem, Nazareth, and a few others.  Amazing to say the least.

The Skin I Live In; 100 Pounds and DOWN!

 

August 20th, 2012

 

Morning world!  Today marks the 1st day of a new journey for me.  I’ve accomplished many things, and have had many opportunities but nothing and no one has challenged me like the road I’m beginning to journey.  Weight loss is one of the most talked about and feared subjects/realities in America today.  We glorify the challenge of losing weight, but not many meet the mark of the challenge.  Today however I embark upon the “newness of me.  Not that I am unhappy with Abraham and how Abraham looks…I always say, “Feeling fat and being fat are two different things”. But what I have not been able to say is, “Being fat and feeling healthy, energetic, spontaneous and agile go hand in hand.  For me, it’s not so much about how I look.  Though chocolate looks better when tall and chiseled…its about my will to live, to have and see my children in the park as I throw the ball or chase the family dog one day.  

 

Several years ago when I was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes, I didn’t really know what it meant for me, I didn’t know the constraints it would begin to have on my life.  Well, the truth is…its MY LIFE.  How dare some foreign, outside “thing” come in to dictate MY LIFE.  Again, I had to realize that it was me, and the decisions I’d decided not to make.  Things like choosing better foods, adding exercise to my daily regimen for life. Things like having another scoop had apparently become such a big deal that Diabetes decided to come in so that I’d exercise some kind of life discipline.  

 

Well, I’m no longer counting on the “policing” diabetes has shadowed me. I’ve decided to stand up, put on a cape, a badge of honor and most importantly my ever sustaining right to live healthy and free.  I’ve decided to cleanse my body and lose the weight necessary to assist in weaning me off of the diabetic pills that “balance” me now.  I’ve decided to be my own superhero and become the change I want to see.

 

This is a blog about the ups and downs of finding myself; in health, in life, in love and FREE.

 

 

 

Day 1 DHerbs Full Body Cleanse

 

 

 

I learned about this cleanse just a short while ago.  After getting a tutorial on how the body works in short, I learned that everyday toxins and poisons affect more than I knew.  I could change what I was putting into my body, but I also had to rid it of some things in the process of restoring my body to proper health.  DHerbs combined with daily exercise and a raw foods diet for 20 days will give my body the flush it needs so that I get a fair chance in restoring this chocolate to its once glorious state! J

 

 

 

Since I’ve NEVER done this before, I’ve decided to do a daily account on how I’m feeling, if it’s working, do I want to throw chairs and hit the wall because I want or need a turkey burger!? Lol.  I mean, I’m hopeful, but we’ll see together how this one goes.

 

 

 

Break-fast:

 

Starting the day with a new shake I learned about over the weekend.  Kale Shake: Kale Bananas, Coconut, Agave and Pistachios. Mmm Good.  Lets hope I don’t charge the 1^st person I smell a slice of bacon on.

 

 

 

Here we go baby!!! 100 Pounds and DOWN!

 

 

 

See you in a bit AB

 

 

 

 

Me and Stacey Dash Directors Guild of America, Hollywood, CA: NAACP Theatre Awards

I was tapped to honor Legendary stage and screen actress Diane Carol with a performance of Music of the Night form Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera 2011.  Stacey was a beautiful and welcomed party to my sound-check.  This photo was taken before the patrons were escorted into the building.  I was elated to serenade Ms. Dash with a private performance.