Still going strong!!!

It's week three guys and I'm still going strong with my diet!!! I don't even have the urge to eat the way I used to, and I can't remember the last time I had fast food--wait, I lie, I just had a buck double this weekend (so good), but that's okay because I was good throughout the entire week. And . . .I've lost two more pounds, so now I'm down a total of 5 pounds. Even though I wasn't trying to lose weight, the idea of getting down under the 200 mark is exciting. But, in general I feel better as a whole. Cleaning up my diet has made a huge change in my life. These three weeks alone have done so much for my body image. I can't wait to see what I look like at the end of week six; I might have a six pack and I'm actually thinking about making a lifestyle change, so that eating this way becomes a habit instead of a chore.

On another note, tomorrow is a big day; we have our first team meeting. I can't wait to see all the new faces. But, aside from that, I have asked Mike to address the team. I'm going to say a few words about my time at NSU and what I expect from myself and the team this year. I think for too long I have been passive because I didn't want to step on any ones toes, but this year I'm going to be the leader I should have been when I stepped on campus. I'm not going to let anyone slip through the cracks; everyone is going to have to be accountable, not only to them selves, but to their team. If it's one thing this team is missing, it's a sense of "team." Track is an individual sport, so it's kind of hard to have a team attitude, but no one person can win a conference or national team title alone. I excited for the year ahead; I hope what I say will leave a lasting impression on all the girls, both new and old.

Hello again!!!!!

Hola!!!! I know, I know it seems like forever since I last updated, but I think I've decided to start updating on a weekly basis instead of a daily basis to give you all a chance to miss me. No, but seriously, I am moving to weekly updates.

Enough of that, I've got good news!!!!! The first week of my diet has been a success!!!! The eating routine I set up has really helped me reduce my eating and random snacking. It seems like having defined eating times makes me find something to do other than eat. I'm actually finishing a project that was supposed to be done 3 months. It's kind of sad, but I kind of plan my day around the times I get to eat. None the less, I'm sticking to it. AND I lost 3 pounds!!!! go me. It might not seem like much, but that's huge to me. If by chance I get down below 200 pounds I'm going to flip!

In other news, school started back today! I'm excited because that mean that the next wave of greatness just came through. I'm excited for all the newcomers, but especially the female throwers. I don't want them to come to college feeling like they're at the bottom and they need to try to crawl to the top. Confidence is everything and if these girls come in with a winning attitude, we could have a dominating squad. I hate to say it, but at times, I know I can be intimidating, but I want them to know that I want them to be as successful as possible. I did a lot of growing in the 4 years I've been at NSU and if I can help any of the girls avoid some of the pot holes I hit along the way, then I think they'll be okay. College isn't like high school at all. In high school, you may only have one or two people in the entire city with some athletic talent, but college is like a rude awakening. For the most part, everyone on the collegiate level is a viable competitor. At my first collegiate meet, which by the way was at the University of Arkansas, I didn't even make it to finals with a throw that would've won a state title the previous year. Something like that can really break your confidence and quit possibly ruin your entire career; I know it seems a bit extreme, but it's true. So, I'm making it my responsibility to ensure that these girls don't surrender to intimidation.

TTYL

Day 1

Okay guys, just like I promised, I started my diet today! I decided that I would try to implement an eating schedule for 5 of the 7 days in a week. Monday thru Friday I'm going to be eating 3 snacks and three mini meals during the day and any time I get hungry, I'm just going to drink water. On the weekends, I'm going to be a little more relaxed on what I eat that way I won't get as tempted to eat poorly during the week; the weekends will be reward days for a job well done during the week. Like I said before, I'm not really looking to lose a ton of weight, I just want to slim down in the waist area. Since today was day one I did the honor of snapping this lovely picture-----------------------------------------------> which will be a reference point for my progress. Please notice how the shirt forms around my curves, especially around the love handles. lol By the end of the six weeks, I hope to have a smoother fit. And, just for fun, I went ahead and weighed in just to see how much weight I can actually lose during this six weeks. A lot of people wouldn't have the courage to do this, but like I said, it's about accountability. Today I weighed in at 207 (surprisingly, not the heaviest I've been). I would like to see myself back under the 200 pound mark, which I don't think is out of the question. Here soon, I'm going to incorporate walking into this plan because I can't run because of bad knees.

Today I actually did pretty good with controlling the urge to snack randomly. I did a little sampling while I was cooking, but it wasn't too bad. Here soon I plan to have a complete eating schedule written out, so choosing meal isn't as difficult. I'm excited to be taking this challenge and I can't wait to share the results with you all.

6 pack or bust

As promised, I will be starting a 6 week diet regimen now that I'm back from Dallas. I should have started this week, but because I haven't updated my blog in a while I decided to start next week so that you all will see each day of the diet. But, I need a little help. I don't really want to diet, but I do want to get on an eating plan, so do you guys have any suggesstions??? My plan is to drink lots and lots of water and then when I think I can't drink anymore, take another sip. My goal is not to necessary lose weight, but I want to get rid of this baby belly I've been holding on to since Cherie was born--I don't know that I can still call it a baby-belly at this point. I'll have official weigh-in on Monday and every day after that for six weeks I will update my weight and let you guys know how close to getting a six pack I am. lol

There comes a time . . .

There comes a time in life when no matter how much success, fame or money that you have, it still doesn't seem like enough. Sadly, I think I'm at that point and I don't even have any of the latter. Track and field is my life and if God says the same it will be my career, but I'm at a point where I want more out of life. I find myself thinking about marriage and children and just all kinds of things that I want, but I know the timing is all wrong. At a time when I should be foucused on nothing but track and furthering my education, I find myself getting distracted by my personal life. LUCKILY for me, I have a boyfriend who helps keep me grounded when my head is in the clouds. I don't know why, but I'm always thinking about the future: what will I be doing in 5 years? Where will I be in 5 years? I just can't sit back and wait for life to happen and I'm kind of tired of living the college life. I'm ready to start a career and move beyond Natchitoches. But, then I remember that I'm trying to be a National champ before I leave, I'm trying to set new conference, state and national records and I can't do that unless I'm totally focused. That's when it all starts to make sense again. Anybody close to me knows that I have really been struggling with the thought of going back to school this year for personal and financial reasons, but in the end it just makes sense. I'm trying to leave my "mark" before I move on.

COMMENTS

If anyone tried to leave a comment and was unable to, I apologize. I changed the comment settings, so now you all should be able to comment on my posts without signing in!!!! Thanks. I look forward to hearing what you all have to say and please feel free to ask as many questions as you would like.

Accountability

Hello, Hello, Hello!!! It's almost 2 a.m. and I'm not sleep, so I figured I better blog. :) I'm actually Dallas (this is that mini "vay-cay" I was talking about) right now because Cherie (my daughter) turned 5 today--well, really yesterday. Anyways, I have a confession to make. Today I almost skipped weights because of this trip. I hadn't packed or cleaned and I had to go to work twice today, so I thought about not working out, so I could get everything done that I needed to do. But then I stopped and thought. Was I really going to compromise my training because of poor planning on my part? I tried to justify it in my head by telling myself these workouts are voluntary and I don't have to go, which is true, but I made a promise to myself and to each of you. Again I'll say, "If I'm going to be the best, I have to train like the best." But, I am happy to report that I got my weights in today. I didn't get to get everything done before I left, but some of those other things can wait.

It's Motivation

Last year when Mike and I went to Iowa for the US Championships, we sat in the car for almost and hour talking about his coaching style and how uninspired I felt as an athlete. I started feeling like getting by was just good enough and nothing more was really expected of me. I guess that had a little something to do with why my season started to go down hill before it ever reached its peaked. I know people say you've got to challenge yourself and compete for yourself, but that doesn't work for everybody. I need to be pushed; I need to feel like I have something to prove, otherwise I'm just getting by. I mean, last year was crazy; I was getting more media coverage than the whole track team had seen since we had athletes go to the Olympics and it all really started to take a toll on me, which is why the conversation in the car started anyways--I wasn't feeling the pressure anymore. Well, since then, Mike has gotten a little better with trying to motivate me and get under my skin a little bit and I hope that when the season comes he really unleashes the beast. Today in the weight room, while I was working out, he said something that kind of pissed me off, which is why I came home to write this blog entry in the first place, but now I cant even remember what he said--must not have been that bad. But, aside from me, I want my entire team to be motivated. Individual awards are great, but before I leave NSU, which is this year, I want to know what it feels like to take a victory lap as a team and hold one finger in the sky proudly. I guess it's about motivation though, some have, some don't. I'm starting to find it within myself and I'm hoping I can help my teammates find it too. When I leave NSU, I'm going to leave a legacy--there's no doubt about that, but I want to leave more than just my name in the record books. I want to be the fuel that sparks a fire of greatness. I want athletes to show up at the big meets and be inspired to be greater than they have before. I haven't figured out how I'm going to do it, but it will be done. Who knows? This blog might be the match.

Schedule Preview!!!!

I'm so excited . . .just got a little preview of the 2011 track schedule and it's looking pretty good, gotta lot of big time meets on it. Just to give y'all a little preview: Texas A&M Invitational, Sooner Invitational, Texas Relays, Drake Relays,and did I mention we're hosting conference at home this year??? I'm getting excited just looking at it. There's about 20 meets listed; I plan to compete in half (give or take a few) of them. This is the first time I will ever do this and the reason being because last year I felt so burnt out at the end of the season that I lost some of the excitement. I hope reducing the amount of meets will help keep me focused.That's all for now!

Let me know if there's any subject y'all want me to discus and I'll be sure to include it in a blog!!! Thanks for reading!

Back at it!!!

Going to the weight room in a little bit--gotta stay ahead of my competition!!! My calfs still burn from last Thursday cuz I haven't worked them out in forever, which is kind of sad considering they are so important to a throw. But, as I mature as an athlete, I realize that I have to be willing to put in extra time to make sure I'm doing what I need to do to make sure I'm the best. Nobody can get in the ring and throw for me and if I really want to be the best, I need to train like the best. I used to try to rush out of the weight room and I hated giving up my summer to stay in Natchitoches to train, but now I wouldn't have it any other way. Losing gets old, especially when I know I'm the best. So in about an hour, I'm going to the weight room and take care of business. See you guys later!!!!

Fundraiser Ideas

This year, our team is going to try to fundraise a little more than we have in the past so we can go to some of the bigger meets this year, but we need some ideas. Can anybody offer any suggestions?

SN: Please, please feel free to comment on any of my posts and invite your friends to follow me!!!! Thx. I look forward to hearing from everyone!

If the camera adds 10lbs, how much will this barbeque add??? The 20 pound challenge!!!!!!

Since I started college I've put on close 25 pounds and Mike, my coach, has been telling me to diet and try to get my weight down, but my eating habits are so bad I've pretty much given up hope. I have a small addiction to fries and from time to time I like to enjoy a honey bun or 12. And since it's the summer time, we bbq every other day and today is no different. My boyfriend, LeBronte bka "Burger," and I are going to his parents' house in few to put some meat on the grill--this is probably one of the healthiest meals I'm going to eat. Yesteday I had a burger and fries from Checker's for lunch and chicken nuggets from Mc Donalds for dinner--good eating I know. I guess the reason I can't get this diet thing down is because I don't really care. I don't have body image issues and the girls I compete against are no light-weights. I'm not gonna lie, I could stand to do a few crunches. Seriously though, starting next week (I say next week cuz I'm going on a mini vacation this week)I'm going to start eating right so I can be healthier me and maybe lose some of this baby-weight I've been claiming for five years. Stay posted cuz I'm going to posting photos and updates of my progress. Let's see if I can drop 20 pounds.