Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail

I figured out early on that I needed some sort of structure to keep me on track with my nutrition and exercise program. One of the quotes I love from Bill Phillips is "Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail." I can attribute much of my success thus far to this mantra.

I try to plan my meals and workouts in advance. Usually on a Sunday I'll sit down and decide what I'm going to eat for the week. If I'm eating home-cooked meals I make my grocery list, shop for the ingredients, and cook up most or all of my meals for the week in one day.

Pulled Duck Dinner Salad

If I'm doing Jenny Craig or a meal delivery service like Freshology, I just customize my menu for the week. This leaves nothing to chance. That means if someone orders a pizza at the office or I'm out and about and there's no healthy options wherever I am, I won't be stuck or tempted because I don't have a plan. It takes the guesswork out of everything and ensures I'll stay on track.

Finger-lickin' Fried Chicken

A good example of this is I went to the annual Long Beach Jazz Festival here in Long Beach, CA last Friday with a girlfriend. I packed a small cooler with my dinner for the evening (a "Pulled Duck and Edamame Salad). I initially thought that I might be able to get some food from one of the many vendors at the festival but I didn't want to take the chance that they might not have something I could eat. I'm so glad I decided to bring my own food. Every single vendor we encountered was selling food like fried catfish, fried chicken, french fries and funnel cakes. I reminded myself that just 1 fried chicken breast can pack a whopping 490 calories, 31g of fat and 1080 mg of sodium!  There were no healthy alternatives and I was glad I  had the foresight to pack my own meal. I was so proud of myself that I honored my self-promise to eat clean. Now don't get me wrong! I love me some fried chicken and catfish on occasion in moderation, but I only try to do 1 "splurge" or "free" meal a week and I had already planned that for the following day.

With exercise I know what days I'm going to do cardio and what days I'm going to do weight training. For cardio I usually choose the classes I'm taking in advance and schedule it on my calendar like an appointment so I'm less likely to bail out. For weight training days I write down on a progress report what specific exercises I plan to do for each body part, how many sets, how many reps, as well as how much weight I'll lift. During my workout I jot down what my actual sets, reps, and level of intensity are.  This helps to keep me focused. When I go into the gym I know exactly what I'm going to do and I'm not wasting time training in a haphazard or random way.  Every 2-4 weeks I increase my weight and switch up my exercises to keep my muscles from adapting or acclimating too much.


I've noticed in the past that during the weeks where I haven't planned appropriately, I almost always falter and don't see good results.

I don't know about you, but personally I like being in control and not leaving too much to chance.

Plan, Prepare, Execute, Succeed....

the formula really does work.

Day 2 - (12 Week Body Transformation)

A New Beginning


As I sit here this morning munching on my Jenny Craig coffee cake, extra lean turkey bacon, and hazelnut cup o' joe, I reflect on and celebrate my recent 17 lb weight loss!  Wow...it feels really great to know that I made some positive, healthy changes in my life and overcame some perceived psychological, circumstantial, and physical limitations to achieve a goal. I proved to myself that I could do it. Never mind that it took me a lot longer than I intended -- the point is that I got focused, abandoned a lot of excuses, and got off the couch to reach a significant milestone in my fat loss and fitness journey. :)

I see this end and every end as a new beginning.  Now I have a new set of goals and milestones to reach. As I mentioned in a previous blog, I'm taking on a 12 - week body transformation challenge and tracking my progress on this page: "Stacie's Weight Loss Goals & Results." There's no such thing as perfection so I'm striving for progress once again and managing my results to help me stay accountable and on track.

3 Things I Did Yesterday to Move Me Closer to My Goals:

1. Took my "Before" photos
2. Collected my body measurements  
3. Planned my cardio and strength-training workouts

A Word on "Before" photos:

If you don't know where you're at right now, how can you possibly know where you're headed? This is why I highly recommend "before" photos. They are not the same as looking at yourself in the mirror either.  My "before" photos were a huge wakeup call.  Pictures don't lie and mine sure didn't. Staring back at me was the evidence of several years of unhealthy eating and a sedentary lifestyle.  I have to admit I was "smh" as I saw my rather obvious trouble spots and imperfections blatantly exposed in a 2-piece bikini that I reluctantly donned.  "I honestly can't believe this is me" I thought silently to myself... but I once read that I should look at my "before" pictures everyday when I wake up and every night before I go to bed to remind me of where I am now, why I'm taking on this rigorous challenge, and where I want to be. The good news is I have a better vision for myself. At the end of my 12-week transformation I'll take my "after" pictures and they will reflect a "new and improved" me.  I can actually see a pretty nice improvement in my 8/10 pictures over where I was in 11/09 when I started my fitness journey. Seeing these pics side-by-side reinforces that you're on the right track and gives you a visual of the progress you're making. I look forward to sharing more of my results later this year. 

Mina Hobby and Oprah Winfrey

In the meantime, I'm reminded of Mina Hobby (a former BFL Champion) who completed four, consecutive, 12-week "Body-for-Life" programs to completely transform her body and her life! In her "before " photo she stood 5'1" and 200 lbs. At the completion of her challenges she was 115 lbs.  "Ouch! I had a long way to go but I stuck with it one day at a time ...and then the willpower paid off," she said. Mina even received an invitation to the Oprah Winfrey show to share her weight loss success story. The cardboard cut out Oprah is touching is a life-sized replica of what Mina looked like at the beginning of her weight loss journey. Looking at her now you would never guess it was the same person! She tapped the power within and has a new level of "energy, self-confidence, and personal strength." She's a great inspiration for us all.

Stacie's Top 5 Tips for Losing Body Fat and Getting Fit

Did you know that just a 10% reduction in body fat substantially improves your health and reduces your risk for heart disease, hypertension, stroke, cancer and diabetes?!  As someone who has a family history of all of these diseases I realize how important it is to take ownership of my body and my health before it's too late.  I've lost a total of 7-8% body fat thus far so I am well on my way to achieving that milestone.  What goals have you set for yourself and what milestones have you achieved?

"Strive for Progress, not Perfection" - Bill Phillips (Body-for-Life) 

You'll probably notice that I reference Body-for-Life and Bill Phillips a lot in my blog. When I began eating healthy and working out several years ago, his book was my referential bible for fitness & nutrition. If you're just getting started or just want a refresher it's a great read. Available at Amazon.com.....


Ok, I wanted to share my "TOP 5 TIPS" which have worked for me in losing 16 lbs thus far. Some of these may look familiar to you but I guess a little positive reinforcement is never a bad thing.  :)  Okay so here goes:

First of all you've gotta EAT, you gotta SLEEP and you gotta MOVE!

1)  (EAT) -  Eat 5-6 small meals a day which include a protein and a carb to balance your blood sugar and avoid the spikes which will cause you to get hungrier and eat more.  Focus on eating complex carbs like vegetables, brown rice etc.

2)  Write down and document everything you eat and calculate your calorie burn every day. You may say, "well that sounds like a pain in the a$$" or "I don't have time to do that", but if you want to see good results you have to know what's going in your mouth. The bottom line is we all too often underestimate the calories we're consuming and overestimate our level of activity or exercise.

3)  Drink water, water, water all day, everyday!  Your body needs it more than you'll ever know. Our muscles are made up of about 70% water. Water is essential to transport nutrients like vitamins and minerals throughout your body. If you've ever felt sluggish and tired, it may be because you're very dehydrated and your body's ability to transport nutrients is compromised because you're not drinking enough of it.  There's often a buildup of waste (i.e., ammonia, urea, uric acid and other  junk in your body). So drink at least 8, 8-ounce servings of water a day.

4) (SLEEP) - Get 7-8 hours of sleep a night.  Lack of adequate sleep is linked to excess fat and increases the risk of abdominal obesity (or the dreaded belly bloat).  This one was hard for me because I'm a night owl and I love to stay up late watching TV and  surfing the 'Net.... but lack of adequate sleep alters hormones that control hunger and increase your appetite for calorie-dense foods like bread, candy, and chips. The later you stay up the hungrier you get and you're more likely to snack on foods that will completely ruin your calorie deficit. So word to the wise -- get plenty of sleep.

5) (MOVE) - This tip has made the biggest difference in my progress. Exercise burns excess calories so they don't get stored as fat. Simple as that. The best exercise for you to do to lose weight is that which you love. Some people like to run. I personally hate running. So I'm not going to force myself to run and be miserable. Instead, I do other forms of cardio like kickboxing, dance classes and elliptical machines. But also, (and I can't stress this enough especially to all of the women out there), we need some form of resistance training or weight training in our exercise regimen (about 2-3 days a week). While cardio provides the quick calorie burn that lasts only as long as you're exercising, resistance training gives you a slow calorie burn so you burn calories even when you're at REST! It's also the best way to re-sculpt and reshape your body!! So start off with a few days of cardio and a few days of weight training if you're a beginner. Try to work your way up to a total of 6 days of exercise a week (1 hour sessions) to see maximum results.

In the future I'll be featuring a few of my favorite Jenny Craig snacks and meals. For anyone who has not tried the program, it definitely works and the food is tasty. If you are busy like me and don't really have time to shop for groceries, prep, cook, & clean up the kitchen etc.,  I'd highly recommend a program like Jenny Craig to get you started.  Until next time.... :)

Making the Decision to Change

I decided to start this blog to share my weight loss/fitness journey with others and help keep me accountable.

Over the last decade I have tried numerous diets and weight loss programs -- everything from Slim Fast to Weight Watchers to Jenny Craig. What I've realized is that there's no magic pill for getting fit. If you burn more calories then you consume you will lose weight and if you fuel your body with the right nutrient-dense foods you will have the energy to fuel your workouts.

My battle with weight began in my mid to late 20s. Prior to that I rarely worked out and effortlessly maintained a nicely sized 3-5 figure. With age, my metabolism slowed down and I started to pack on the pounds. Even though my eating habits hadn't changed, my sedentary lifestyle caught up with me. My dress sizes were creeping up and up and soon going shopping was a depressing event instead of the fun adventure it used to be. I had gone from FAB to FLAB!

In 2003 I tried a body transformation program called "Body-for-Life" which was quite successful. I managed to lose 17 lbs over the course of 12 weeks, and not only was I really liking the changes I saw in my body, but the compliments were flowing in from friends, family & co-workers alike. My skin was radiant and I had more energy than ever before. Unfortunately, I got a bit over-confident, started slacking on my workouts, and returned to some of my old eating habits indulging in cheeseburgers, fries, chocolate shakes etc.  I thought that because the fat had started melting off of me I could afford to "cheat" on my diet here and there. Well...the result was that I gained all the weight back and then some. For the next 5-6 years I struggled with trying to lose the weight again and get fit but it seemed like every time I would make an attempt, life would get in the way. Work came with its demands and then there were household chores to do and friends, family and significant others to spend time with. I just never seemed to be able to "cross the abyss."

Then in the Fall of 2009 I finally said enough is enough! I had reached my highest scale weight and body fat percentage ever. I no longer recognized myself in the mirror or in pictures. My mother (God bless her),  who has probably been one of my biggest supporters, was also my most vocal critic.  I knew deep down inside that I had let myself go and needed to make some changes. I knew I wasn't "living my best life." I said to myself "I really should be a better steward of the body God gave me since it's the only one I'll ever get." So I joined Jenny Craig in 11/09 and started my weight loss journey to build my best body for life. As of today I have lost 16 lbs on the program. The biggest benefit is the convenience of not having to cook your own meals and the fact that the meals are calorie-apportioned so you don't have to count points or calories. I am on a 1200 calorie-a-day diet. When combined with some light to moderate exercise, it creates the calorie deficit I need to lose weight.

Kimberley Locke (American Idol) dropped 40 lbs on Jenny Craig
going from 178 lbs to 138 lbs and a size 14 to a size 6.

I'm going to continue the Jenny Craig program but I have also decided to accept the BFL (Body-for-Life) challenge again starting on 8/2/10.  It's a 12-week body transformation contest involving healthy nutrition and supplementation as well as cardio and resistance training 6 days a week. There are multiple monetary prizes of $10K and $25K for winners in different categories. It would be an absolute honor for the judges to select me for one of the prizes and the competition aspect is very motivating. The end of the 12 weeks coincides with my 39th birthday. I see this as being the greatest gift I can give to myself.

I'll be sharing all of my 12 week goals in a future blog update as well as info about my meals and workouts. I've learned if you can't measure it, you can't manage it, so I try to document my goals and measure my progress against them.

Thanks for going on this journey to wellness and fitness with me and I hope we can learn many things from each other. :)