Changes

This week I've made some changes in my ongoing journey to be as healthy and in-shape as possible:

Cancel my Planet Fitness Membership

While I used to enjoy going there, it's very clear that I don't need them anymore. They have free pizza at the beginning of every month, and chocolates at the counter. They're a 15-minute drive through traffic. They're cheap ($10 a month), but I haven't been there in almost a year. But the final straw was their “No Judgment Zone” rule. While I like the concept, I hate their interpretation of it because one of the rules is that they don't have scales in their gyms. What in the fuck does not knowing how much I weigh have to do with no judgment?? People use scales to see how much weight they've gained/lost and use it as a barometer for how hard they should work out. It's such a stupid concept, and it's very difficult to find a reliable yet cheap scale to buy these days. I mean, I've lost all this weight and I don't even know how much I weigh now!

The only reason I think they do it is so that people won't know how much they weigh and will turn going to the gym into a social thing more than a workout for self-improvement. After all, most people equate how much weight they lose to how many times they go to the gym that month. If they don't know how much they weigh, then it won't be a factor any longer and they'll go just for the hell of it. I can't count how many times I've done workouts while everyone else was standing around watching others or having conversations. Truly disgusting. Besides, canceling my membership will keep me away from more annoying people. Definitely a plus.

Limiting my Beef Intake

Fat from the George Foreman grill after making 2 beef burgers

Fat from the George Foreman grill after making 2 turkey burgers. BIG difference.

See that shit? Imagine all that fat in my system, man! I love making turkey burgers over beef burgers and they taste much better, so I'm eliminating beef burgers from my regular diet altogether. It'll take a while to get beef completely out of my diet, as I need to learn how to make delicious alternatives like chicken and fish. But, by the end of 2014, I should be off beef for good. There are so many other ways to get proteins that don't require a large amount of fat clogging my system.

No More Food from Anita

I liked seeing my mom this weekend. I really did. It was like a little piece of home came to visit me in hell. But she brought something that I was completely obsessed with as a kid:

Party Time!

I love Jollof rice! Any African that doesn't know of or like Jollof rice can't be an African at all. Any time I saw Jollof rice as a kid, I knew there was a party going on. And she made it perfectly, with all the oils that make it taste so good. But Jollof rice isn't all that good for me, and my mom doesn't seem to understand that my diet has changed. Not many moms do. In their minds, they made the food and you're gonna eat it. So I'll make sure that, should she ever come back, that she doesn't bring food with her. And I'll try to make Jollof rice myself, but with healthier ingredients like olive oil. The taste was awesome though, and it saved money and time not having to cook food for the last 5 days.

This week I'm doing DDP Yoga's Week 8 workouts completely, and then finally moving on to Week 9 next week.