Its been awhile since i have done a blog.... this was one that I set up for a class project but i like it so i decided to keep it and use it for our sugar detox program... first those that are not familiar for the sugar detox program please check out the link
<a href="http://the21daysugardetox.com/%22%3E%3C/a>. It gives you the rundown of the program and all the deets.
Okay so you are asking why am i doing this and making my family join me!!! First some background on me.... 5 years ago I weighed over 300 pounds, on the edge of diabetes, tired and depressed. With my life in a whirlwind, the one thing that I could control was myself and took charge of my situation. To date I have lost 160 pounds, went back to school, got my degree in nutrition and became a group fitness instructor part time...... Right now I teach Zumba!!! WHOO HOO.
Now I am at a point where I needs something more... i need to shock my system... Working out 6 times a week in not cutting it.... i want more from myself and we all know that getting fit and healthy is dependent on nutrition. Abs are not made in the gym they are made in the kitchen..... To be where I want to be I have to do more. I have cut back on the aerobic to 3 times a week, added a weight resistance program (Les Mills Body Pump....... LOVE IT)and overhauled my diet starting with this program.
So this is day one...... June first and well breakfast was good.... a few well a lot of complaints from the Hubster.....(I'm gonna starve..... what I cant have sweet tea .... what about bread) gonna have him sit down tonite and read the manual.  As the days go on  you will meet all the characters in my family:
The Hubster, Chikki (my tween) Bubba(my boy) and Nana (my mom)
So wish me luck and i will keep y'all posted!!!!

Much Crazy Love..... tammie

Unit 9 Final

Well I am still working on my final project.  I have been working on it little by little each day so I don't get overwhelmed in the end. I am sad to say that this class is almost over.  I have gained so much especially about myself. My outlook and perception on life has changed. No longer is it all about my physical body and to what lengths can I push it but its now a never ending circle. The body effects the spirit and the spirit effects the mind and the mind effects the body. You can not have one without the other and still live in health, happiness and wholeness. I will miss our weekly mini meditations and the positive encouragements among us students.  I will miss you all. Tammie

Unit 8 What I found that worked for me.

Looking back at the past 8 weeks and all the exercises and practice sessions, the two that I have found the most beneficial are the loving-kindness approach and the subtle mind. With the love-kindness approach, I try to treat everyone how I want to be treated. When I speak, I want my words to come from the heart even when I am talking to a stranger while standing in line at Walmart. I found by responding to a person or situation instead of reacting, has allowed me to think about what I want to say or do and do it with loving-kindness. This is especially value when  my nerves are frazzled and I am about to fly off the handle at any moment and lose my temper. I stop, take a few deep breathes in and out, allowing my frustrations to leave with the in breathe and release loving-kindness on the out breathe. The other exercise that I have working for me is meditation and the subtle mind. Using meditation with the subtle mind exercise, I have found my mind finally becoming a bit more still with each day. This has given way to better sleep, the hamster finally has gotten of the wheel for a while or at least slowed down to a crawl. I do not feel so stressed, I am smiling more and able to cope with my never ending daily duties. My plan is to incorporation some meditation in my TurboKick classes as part of the cool down. I want to share what I have learned with others so that they can flourish and do the subtle mind exercise at night so I will get a good nights sleep and be ready for the wonderful things and possibilities that are in store for me the next day.

Physical Health Motivation

Many of you may know that exercise is my passions and before this class, I thought this was what being healthy was all about. Now I know there is so much more. Being healthy involves not only the body but the mind and the spirit. 8 weeks into  this class, my mind is calmer and my spirit is finally begin attended to. All this has lead to an even greater physical health. My body is coming into a balance. I what to use what I have learned to help others that are struggling with their own battles of weight loss with a balance life. I want to show you what  I have been able to accomplish and flourish as a human. I have not reached my full potential but like the sunshine creeping through a cloudy day, I see glimpses of what is possible in my life and how I am able to help others through my obstacles and battles.



Christmas 2007



In 2008, I topped the scales at 300 pounds and a size 24W,  to date I have lost 135 pounds and wear a size 8-10. This was accomplished  through proper nutrition and exercise. I am now a certified TurboKick instructor and with my knowledge in nutritional science, I want to help others find their lives's potential.



Nov 2010



May 2008



Nov 2010



My Wedding Day May 22, 2010

May 22, 2010

Meeting Asciepius - Unit 7

The exercise for this unit, Meeting Asciepius, I found a little difficult to try to envision a wise loving person that I know so the image that came into my mind was a old Asian Man that I have a small statue of. You know the bland one with a long white beard holding a long staft. I was able to focus on him and visualize the beam of white light reaching from him to myself. I just had to remind myself to keep focus on him image which was hard. My mother did this exercise with me and several times she fell asleep and when she snored I lost my focus. It did help me to refocus. I did this exercise right after I came home from my three hour kickboxing workshop so my physical body was exhausted which allowed me to focus on my mind. My tight muscles relaxed and my heart rate slowed down and cooled down my excited mood.


The saying "One cannot lead another where one has not gone himself" remind me of the idea that you just can't talk the talk but you have to walk the walk. You have to be a living example. An example of this would be, a doctor telling me to lose weight when themselves are overweight. What right to you have to tell me to do something when you yourself don't take your own advice. As a parent, I have to remember that I am the biggest influence on my children, they see what I do more then what I say. I can not tell them not to do this when I am doing it myself  This goes for any health and wellness professional. We are the living examples for your patients, they will see our actions and will be influenced by them. I try to remember that they are looking to me for help and guidance and the best thing I can do for them is to do myself what I am asking them to do. Beware of yourself and your actions, you will never know when someone is looking to you for an example.I have to make an intentional decision in all that I do and basically talk the talk and walk the walk. I can not help others when I have not helped myself. My journey can be used as an example and motivation for someone else has they embark on their own journey toward health, happiness and wholeness with love and kindness.

Integral Assestment Unit 6

The universal loving-kindness is was not only relaxing but helped to calm me. This past week as been very busy and stressful. I have felt like everything I did was for everyone else. Now don't get me wrong, I like to help people but it seemed that other's needs override my very own basic needs like sleep, exercise and time for myself not to mention the time I need to do my schoolwork. It kinda set me off, I felt like my basic needs were not important and came after other's wants. You say that it left me mad and with an angry attitude towards people. With this exercise, I let it all go. I felt like it allowed my heart, mind and body to rid myself of negative emotions and replace them with love and kindness and able to rejuvenate myself.
With the integral assessment, I always find assessing myself has always been a struggle.  Most of the time, I know what things I excel at and are good at  but determining what needs work and figuring out what I need to do has always been a struggle. This has been no different.
I realized that I have focused on my physical body in a physical ways but have ignored those exercise that have promoted the growth of my mind and especially my spirit.  This has lead to a dependency on my physical body to deal with all my emotional distresses and negative thoughts causing an over loaded mind and a weakened spirit. I thought if i kept my physical body exhausted, I would not have to deal with my stress levels and deflated spirit. I was wrong, it only caused my life to spiral uncontrollable and in turn affected my love ones and those that I interact with on a daily bases.
The one exercise that I want to focus on is yoga and meditation. I want to be able to slow down and calm down. I don't have to do everything for everyone especially when it comes to own health. I have to make time for myself to participate doing these things. I realized that if I want to help others it can not be at my own personal expense of health and mental stability. What good  am I  if I am stressed out and mad all the time and taxing my physical body trying to deal with my neglect of my mental and spiritual health.

Unit 5 Project Weight Loss