Week 1 of The Protein Diet..Results?

So below is what I ate for the first few days...just so you could get an idea on what I was eating...I then later stopped documenting my meals. I got lazy.


9/12:
Breakfast- 1 1/2 french toast (all bad), scrambled egg, potatoes (smh) & coffee
Lunch-Nectarine, 1 slice of turkey meat, half of slice of cheese
Snack- chips & water
Dinner- Salsbury steak & green beans
9/13:
Breakfast- 2 small pancakes, sausage, an egg & coffee
Lunch- 1 slice of turkey meat, half of slice of cheese
Snack- Doritos
Dinner- Baked french onion chicken, & green beans

9/14:

Breakfast- Plum
Lunch- Cereal, & left over bake french onion chicken
Snack- Pumpkin pie squares, & a donuts hole ( I forgot that donuts is bread which equals carbs galore :(
Dinner- Salsbury steak & corn

I did my best to stay away from the carbs-starches, sweets & things of that nature...


I weighed myself today 9/20 & I lost 5 pounds!!! BOO-YAH! My workout was just doing what I do at work with the kiddies. So, my aunt was right...I have noticed a little difference in how my underwear fit. And this is something I've noticed when I was on my fitness challenge in Jan. woot!
I plan on sticking this out & uping my protein intake because I have been slacking this week & I have been eating way more fruits & the same amount of veggies :)
I'll be getting my gym membership next month...I always accomplish my goals that I set. Majority of them aren't easy, but not impossible.....

So set some goals, & execute them folks :) you can do itttttttttttttttttttttttttt!!

Random: Oh Boy. You're REACHING!

Ugh, I'm annoyed...I find myself being the sweet Aquarius that I am & give people a chance... Oh how I'm a fool...If I go out of my way to speak...chile...especially from a long day at work...feel FANTASTIC, because I could be using my energy elsewhere.


BOY you're reaching AKA doing the most...Okay I'm done...
I'm not mad, nor will this mess with my attitude. I'm cool....on you.
Adios... 

Sunday Service Words From Kiah...

So the lovely Kiah from From The Rez To The City blogged about her Sunday outfit she wore to church and what the pastor preached about for that sermon. I love the positive words Kiah shares with others, and I thought I share what she said here...Mainly for myself but I'm sure someone else could get something out of it :)

Check her out....

"Today my pastor spoke on how FAITH can overcomes obstacles. If we believe then we will work for it and we will speak the things that are not as though they are. We need to stop focusing on the negative and start focusing on the positive. Death and life are in the power of your tongue. No matter what your situation, we are over comers by the blood of the lamb! God has the power to change your situation. You may be sick but God is a healer! You may be broke but God is a provider! Put your FAITH in God!"


Thank you Kiah :)

5 Things-That Got Me Through The Week!

So the lovely Kimberly over at Femmes With Benefits[FWB] did a post on 7 things that got her through the week...
I'll be sharing 5 things that got me through the week....


1. God) There was some unnecessary drama I got sucked into via Facebook 0_o "Where they do that at?" It was so childish. How an innocent comment went south. Lol. I can laugh about it now, because at the time I was really upset just how it ALL played out. God got me through it & a few close friends. But I owe it to Him because he has allowed me to move on from the situation. It takes a lot for me to move from certain things..whether it was a touchy, sensitive, angry subject.

2. Medicine) Omg, I think my kids at work got me sick this week. I seen it ALL playing out in my head Monday when one of the kids at my job kept sneezing, then one girl who had been absent because she was sick, was coughing. I had to remind them to cover there mouths. And chileeeee. My allergies started acting up, The next day I got a sore throat, and now I'm coughing. All it takes is for me to have one thing wrong (earache, sore throat, allergies) before everything in my body goes CRAZY & triggers my Asthma....man "That sh*t cray" ::in my Kanye West voice:: lol


3. Packages) I've been waiting on 4 different packages that I either won from giveaways ( weeks, months ago) & a order I made on the E.L.F. website during their Labor Day free shipping deal. I'll be talking about that stuff on my beauty website www.glamnolabelz.com


4. Candy) Chileeeee, I'm on this protein diet (If you haven't read about it, check it out HERE) & I didn't know how hard this mess would be. But, I can say that it has been a great challenge. I'll be posting my views on it later. And I know candy isn't any better because of ALL the sugar we consume...


5. Music) Other than God, who is first before anything else. Music really truly gets me through a lot. I mean..it's universal and we can all relate to it in some sort of way. I had to play a few Kanye, Jay Z, Rihanna & The Weeknd's songs to get me going or through this week.


Sigh, very fun post! Be my guest on posting your 5 things that got you through the week. This was fun. I may do this every so often. My life isn't that eventful so making it a routine wouldn't work lol...

Beauty Haul: Shea Moisture, Argan Oil, Deep Conditioners & etc...

So a few weeks ago I did some much needed hauling. I bought products that I've been wanting to try since I've started this natural hair journey of mine. Below I'll just be showing photo's of the items I bought...the product name & where I bought it from/price. I'll be doing a review on each item/brand in the future (Once I've had time to really test them out).

Shea Moisture: Curl Enhancing Smoothie *Stocking up on*
Shea Moisture: Deep Treatment Masque
(I mentioned in my past post that they had their buy one get one 50% off At WalGreens. I bought one item for $9.99 *regular price* & the other for $4.99)

LEFT-TO-RIGHT:
One n' Only Argan Oil: Restorative Mask 
($8.99 With Beauty Club card from Sally Beauty Supply)
Silk Elements: Mixed Silk *Nourishing Deep Conditioner*
Silk Elements: Mixed Silk *Leave in Conditioner Creme'*
(The Silk E. products were buy 2 for $10 from Sally Beauty Supply)
ApHogee: Balancing Moisturizer
ApHogee: ProVitamin Leave-in Conditioner
(The ApHogee were buy 2 for $10 from Sally Beauty Supply)
I FINALLY PURCHASED THE BEAUTY CLUB CARD. I PURCHASE ITEMS FROM SALLY BEAUTY SUPPLY LIKE ONCE A MONTH. IT'S WELL WORTH IT. IT'S ONLY $5, YOU GET GREAT DEALS.

TRESemme': Heat Tamer Spray
(From WalMart for $2.98)

Suave Conditioner: Juicy Green Apple
(From Walmart as well $0.98)
Creme Of Nature: Detangling & Conditioning Shampoo
(I bought this last month so I don't remember the price, but it was no more than $5. It was on sale at Sally Beauty Supply)

Beauty Mixers/Meet ups: Hair, Bloggers, Makeup etc

I wanted to ask if anyone knew, or heard about any Southern Cali Mixers or Meets up regarding natural hair, beauty or bloggers in general the next coming months. If so please let me know. Leave a comment below. I'm thinking about having one next year. We'll see how that goes though :)

Ps.

I also have reviews, hauls, & more information about my hair journey coming soon. I've been slacking on those type of posts. Forgive me lol. I'm a working woman now. Thank you Jesus!!!

UP NEXT! A Protein Diet

Yes, you read it right. I'm going to try to start this protein diet tomorrow. I don't know how that's going to work seeing as aunt flow is in town & I tend to like to snack on things that I don't normally eat heavily. But then again, it would be a great challenge for me.


How did this come about? My mom was talking to my aunt yesterday & she said she's been losing weight. I jumped on the phone & into the conversation and asked what she had been doing. My aunt is known for trying out diets. She actually sticks to them 9/10 & this is one she's familiar with. Any who she said she was on the protein diet which is basically no carbs (Carbohydrates), and one cheat day. I'm still doing some research on it. I wanted to do a small cleanse before starting this, but I guess it depends on when I plan to start this.


I do plan on blogging about it just so I can keep track and share this with you all. I only plan to go a week. My aunt told her friend to try it out for a week and she'll see some results (weight loss, clothes fitting differently). And come to find out she did. Although it maybe different for every individual, I want to see what it does for me. I'm not big on diets just because people tend to fall off...but I actually want to challenge myself with this.


I also, want to incorporate a new workout plan. Some of you may have read my fitness challenge I did for two weeks last month. If not you can check that out HERE. I did pretty good.


Okay, so...I'll start this diet tomorrow (Monday Sept 12th). My exercise for this week will more than likely be me being active at work with the kids. When I'm cramping badly, I can't do much, & since I have no choice but to go to work I'll make the best of it.


-Protein diet tomorrow
-Keep track of what I eat
-Normal activity this week
-Next week incorporate a workout routine
Sounds bomb.com to me :)

Food	Protein grams
1 ounce meat, fish, poultry	7
1 large egg	6
4 ounces milk	4
4 ounces low-fat yogurt	6
4 ounces soy milk	5
3 ounces tofu, firm	13
1 ounce cheese	7
1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese	14
1/2 cup cooked kidney beans	7
1/2 cup lentils	9
1 ounce nuts	7
2 tablespoons peanut butter	8
1/2 cup vegetables	2
1 slice bread	2
1/2 cup of most grains/pastas	2

I'm getting some of my information from WebMD (Which is where this table is from).


If you're currently working out what are doing? Working out at the gym, videos, walking? Also if you're on a diet what kind? I would love to know who's doing what just in case we could be of some support to one another.

SO SO SO SO irritated!!!

There are days when I just don't want to blog anymore...I'm more so referring to my beauty blog. For quit a few reasons...
All I'm going to say is that until people reciprocate what I do back, I'm not doing it anymore...
I work hard on that blog...
Time to clean my list up...
Have a good one folks!

Light skin/Red Bone: A Skin Preference? What?!?!

::Types in redbone in google search-images:: Hmm, all I see is pictures of dogs...Okay, so I was on Twitter (Like any other day) & some guy (Black male) tweeted that he loves light skins & @replied to the chick who happened to be what he thought was "light skin". 

My definition of someone light skin is an African American or someone mixed with AA who skin is light (I don't want to go back & forth on what the def. of a light skin person is because that's not the purpose of this post). Well, I've noticed that black males are calling those who are fair skin (Caucasians, Asians, non-AA women) light skin. But my observation comes from males from Oklahoma. Hmmmm. I've also noticed they mostly deal with chicks who are everything under the sun except black females.

Okay...going back to the title "preference". I get that. We all have a preference. But me being ME I'm not going to say I don't date black men all together for whatever reason (And I'm AA). But then again that's me. Okay, back on topic Ashley!!!


So like I mentioned, they have given other females who aren't AA/mixed with AA the title as being light skin and they (Caucasians, Asians, non-AA women) have literally RUN with it. So they are now #TeamLightSkin 0_o what?!! 

Next...Red bone...What exactly is a red bone? This name has came from the South I believe. I googled the word & from the photo I've taken on my phone you'll the "Definition" & how it came about. I mean just about ALL of the southern rappers say "A bad red bone"...red bone this, red bone that.
My assumption is someone that has a lighter skin complexion right? But WHO exactly (Race wise) would be considered a red bone? Again, I'm assuming the same for the whole "light skin" issue for this as well.


This all seems like pure ignorance right? Yea I know. I had to touch base on this because it's been bothering me. I know I couldn't have had this discussion on Twitter. Especially with the individuals who I've saw tweet this. 


It always seems like every time I have a intelligent debate, disagreement with a male on Twitter (Black males) they get mad & want to call someone out their name. I say grow some balls HOMEBOY!!!


I think I'm seriously going to ask these guys a few questions & report back with my findings. It's so disturbing how the rap industry will pull GROWN folks into this pure ignorance. The obvious isn't so obvious for everyone.
Am, I tripping? Am I the only one that sees something wrong with this? 
1st photo from: chimovement.com
2nd photo from: 24hourhiphop.com 

Product Review: Shea Moisture-Shampoo+Curl Enhanhcing Smoothie

I WAS SUPPOSE TO POST THIS LIKE MONTHS AGO -_-
I posted on my beauty blog "Shopping List Item: Curl Enhancing Smoothie" of wanting to purchase this item and I finally DID! Yes! Walgreens was having a buy one get one free deal (Bogo sale) until Saturday (April 2nd). I was somewhat broke and couldn't past up this deal, so I scrapped up some money and went down to make that purchase.

As I stated in the Share Your Hair Type: The Simplicity post (Which was basically a description of my hair)...Coarse!

RATING: 4/5

This is the Shea Moisture: Organic Raw Shea Butter Moisture Retention Shampoo

I'm not a big fan of the scent, but I like the way it makes my hair while working it into my hair/scalp. Depending on how much build up & product you had in your hair it may take the second time around to get your head soapy/foamy. It doesn't easily foam because of the ingredients that aren't used in this product versus other shampoo's we should stay away from as often. 

It does a great job of cleansing my hair :)

With the top on

RATING: 4/5

With the top off 

As you can see it's really creamy. It's semi-thick/clumpy until you dip your finger into the product. I love the scent. This as well as the Aussie leave in conditioner have really great scents & that's one of the main reasons why I use them.

I noticed that it helps with my curls. When my mom used it on the front part of her leave out hair (Which she presses *With a pressing comb*) she said she noticed the next day when she presses her hair that her hair is curly from the other of using this & that she found it difficult to straighten her hair. So it does what it says.

 I actually don't use it to enhance my curls. I just use it as a replacement of IF I had Shea butter to use on my hair, and then seal my hair & ends with an oil (EVOO). So this is MY Shea butter.

The purchase was so bitter-sweet at the time....but I'm glad I was able to make this purchase. 

Have any of you tried out any of their other products? I plan on going BACK to WalGreens this weekend because their having another BOGO sale (Not as good as the last). It's buy 1 get the other 50% off. So check it out.