Transformation of the Day: Genae lost 63 pounds. Seeing her sister exercise regularly despite fighting Stage 3 Breast Cancer was her main motivation. She knew that she had no excuses. She shared with us in detail how she took action to release the weight.
What was your motivation?
I was motivated to lose weight for one major reason. While visiting family and friends for the holidays I remember seeing my sister, who at the time was battling Stage 3 Breast Cancer, get up daily to go walking to help manage the weight gain from the steroids being administered. I thought to myself that I have no excuse not to make time to get healthy when I have a loved one fighting for their health. Regardless of her fatigue and aching bones from chemo, she did all that she could, including exercise, to become healthy. I’m happy to report that she is a survivor and because her I’m overcomer of obesity
What inspired you when you wanted to give up?
I remembered why I started and I promised myself that this time I would see my victory. For me that included prayer and faith in God. I had to trust that I had come too far to quit. Scripture says that the race is not given to the swift but to those that endure to the end.
How did you change your eating habits?
I started first by adding things to my diet/food plan before eliminating items. For instance, I added drinking a minimum of a gallon of water daily and taking in 5 cups of green leafy vegetables. By incorporating these habits, I naturally began to lose the desire for bad foods. I also lost the stomach capacity to consume because I was consuming so much water and vegetables daily. Next, I begin to revamp my protein and carb selections. I removed pork and beef from my diet early in life (childhood), but I eventually became a pescatarian by removing poultry as well. I removed chicken and turkey because I found out I only liked them fried or barbequed and drenched in fattening condiments or smothered in an artery clogging gravy. I have learned that it is important to be honest with yourself about your vices. I don’t like baked or broiled chicken breast. I liked wings deep fried, tossed in buffalo sauce, and ready to be dipped in ranch or blue cheese. This honest assessment helped me to conclude that was best that I remove it from my diet completely. Now, I eat seafood as a main source of protein and I eat very complex carbs.
What did your workout routines look like?
My routine has completely evolved and continues to evolve on this fitness journey. When I initially started my journey, I mainly focused on cardio to shed the pounds in addition to a healthy diet. I would hit the treadmill, elliptical, stair master or hit the outdoor trails. As the pounds came off. I began to introduce body weight workouts into the regimen in the form of HIIT (high intensity interval training). When that became easier I tried weight lifting, which is my love! I sometimes lift heavy, try supersets or drop sets, and finish with burnouts/muscle failure. I still include cardio in every session, but no more than 30 minutes. In addition, I have tried aerial yoga, Zumba and cardio kickboxing. Currently, I work out 5-6 days a week for 1- 2 hours per session. This time includes stretching before and after my workout and my warmup and cool down. Some mornings, if I’m up to it, I will do fasted cardio. Fasted cardio is performing cardio only exercise on an empty stomach as soon as you wake up. Because you have not eaten it taps into your fat storage for fuel. My current workout schedule looks like
- Monday- Full Body
- Tuesday-Legs/Cardio
- Wednesday-Bis/Tris/Chest/Cardio
- Thursday-Legs/Cardio
- Friday- Back/Shoulders/Cardio
- Saturday- Full Body
- Sunday-Rest
Starting weight/Current weight
My starting weight was 213 pounds. My current weight is 150 -155 pounds. I’m 5’3.5” tall. No surgery involved.
How long did your transformation take?
I started my journey in July of 2015 and I am still transforming. Now that I have shed most of the pounds, I am working on toning, sculpting and defining. You can’t spot reduce fat but you can spot train muscle. I am on a fitness journey. To me, that’s a three step process consisting of weight loss or weigh gain, toning/sculpting and challenging/maintaining. I want to keep getting stronger and continue to improve!
What advice do you have for others who want to lose weight?
Go for it with everything you have because that is what it’s going to take. Do not stop when you hit plateaus and walls. The workout isn’t getting easier or isn’t ineffective. You are just stronger now. Keep your muscles confused by constantly introducing new workouts and challenges to your body. Never allow your workouts to become boring or mundane. Try different activities at least once before you say you don’t like it. That’s how I found out I loved weight lifting. I would have never imagined I would be a heavy iron lifting chick!
Instagram: @surgib
LaKaye says
This is a great post. I love how she broke it down and introduced new good behaviors before attempting to remove bad ones.
Wendy says
Awesome job – your hard work paid off and you look Marvelous!!!! I’ve been playing at working out. Giving into every greedy craving and praying for the strength to follow through with my every week “commitment” to start my fitness journey for the umpteeth time. Thank you for your story – truly inspiring! Continued blessings