A Blog, A Magazine. It's JustsumInspiration!

A Gallon A Day? No Way!!!

Published on January 23, 2018January 22, 2018 by Roshonda B8 Comments

photo above courtesy of pinterest

First I want to say, that of course I’m no expert on this subject. Months or even a year ago, I would have laughed in your face if you told me to drink a gallon of water a day. Butttt….this year I’m on a whole new bandwagon and I’m loving it. I read an article one time about Gabrielle Union and how she drinks a gallon of water a day, I began to think; how in the world does she do that on her very hectic, yet busy schedule – but if she’s doing it the way I’ve been doing it, then I can see how it would be possible, not just for her but for anyone – you just have to be a little creative with it.

First, not that you probably don’t already know or have heard…let me give you just a little background on water and it’s benefits of drinking it, especially in the morning:

Water helps to balance your lymph system; these much needed glands help us to balance our body fluids and help to fight off infection.
Have Skin Problems? While a dermatologist can help us figure out some things going on with problematic skin, drinking a gallon of water a day can help purge toxins from the blood, which keeps our skin glowing and clear.
Need to drop some extra pounds? Water can Help! Did you know that drinking at least 16 ounces of water first thing in the morning can boost your metabolism by 24%? & it also helps move your bowels as well.
Drinking water consistently helps to increase the production of new blood and muscle cells.
Drinking water on an empty stomach helps to purify the colon, making it easier to absorb nutrients which again, helps you to go to the bathroom….regularly….if you know what I mean.

I have to say, drinking water first thing in the morning was NOT one of my strong suits or something that I had on my to do list, but after reading the benefits of what just a 16.9oz bottle of water does to your body, I thought I’d give it a try and let me tell you, its been a life changer for me; I actually try to drink 24oz of water in the morning before I put anything into my body. I noticed my digestive system is on track to the point in where I can actually track when I’ve been and when I haven’t……I feel as though my energy has increased tremendously and for the first time in my life, I honestly feel as though my body is doing what it’s supposed to do, especially since I’m giving it what it needs to do it’s job.

As mentioned above, when I heard about Gabrielle Union drinking a gallon of water a day, I thought that would be my next goal. However; not only her but there are countless other people whom are also drinking a gallon of water a day and reaping great benefits in doing so. Now let me tell you, there are people that say you’re supposed to drink half your body weight in water a day, while I’ve heard other people state that you’re supposed to drink an ounce of water for every pound that you weigh – personally I think that’s too much water and could lead to water poisoning, because there is a such thing as drinking too much water, let’s just say I prefer to do half my body weight in water and call it a day.

Now I know you must be thinking, how in the world do you drink a gallon of water a day? Well, this is my secret – see below.

The blender bottle on the left is how I break down the gallon of water a day. It’s 20oz, about 25oz when you fill it to the top. This is my break down of the day:

Drink 20 ounces 10min after breakfast
Drink 20 ounces 2 hours later, 10min after morning snack
Drink 20 ounces 10min after lunch
Drink 20 ounces 2 hours after lunch, 10 min after evening snack
Drink 20 ounces 10min after dinner
Drink the rest of the 28 ounces prior to bed.

And yes, I go to the bathroom all day long – which is the small downfall to all of this, however; if I know I have a meeting or will be extremely busy during the day and not able to go to the bathroom every second, it seems – then I slow down on the water drinking because let’s face it, I can’t always do it everyday as I want – but I do get in enough water maybe not the whole 128 ounces of the gallon but I try to get close, sometimes I can only do 80 ounces.

Another thing I do, because the taste of water can get boring on most days – I’ll cut up some lemon or add a sugar free packet to it, especially if I feel as if I’m having a hard time getting through the gallon. My favorite sugar free packets are below:

Water - Sugar Free Packets — With only calories for half a pack, caffeine and green tea – you’ll get through that jug in no time.

Yes, it’s only 5 calories for half a pack (read the labels) but I use the whole packet and this helps me get through those challenging days of chugging the gallon and it helps. To be honest, I don’t do it everyday but only use the packets as a motivator – I don’t want to depend on the packs to get me through each gallon of water as the goal is to just drink the plain water, which to me is more beneficial.

If you decide to do the gallon a day, it’s totally up to you in how creative you want to be in getting your body and mind tricked into drinking it everyday. You can choose to write notes or short affirmations to yourself on the jug – just as the picture in the header or come up with your own way of getting it in and down your body a day; just as I did. Another tip is: You can choose to drink 8oz of water every hour or drink two 16.9oz bottles with every main meal and one bottle with every snack (which should be one or two a day).

Whatever you do, start slow and work your way up as it won’t happen overnight. Hey, the creative juices are in your hand – make it work for you, just get your daily recommended amount of water in. If you have any questions about the amount of water you’re supposed to drink, I would talk with a “certified” nutritionist or doctor because everyone’s needs and limitations are different.

Written by – Roshonda N. Blackmon – Creator of A Blog, A Magazine. It’s JustsumInspiration, Author, Speaker & Encourager

Don’t forget!! to come back this Thursday and read the Inspirational story of Kristi Data! Kristi will be sharing her ups of being active in organized sports to her downfall of having an eating disorder in college, so how did she bounce back? – you don’t want to miss her inspirational story.

Just Put the “H” In It!! Meaning….

Published on January 18, 2018January 18, 2018 by Roshonda B7 Comments

photo above courtesy of bing

PUT SOME HEALTH IN IT!!!

So, you may be wondering what in the world is she talking about now. Well, I thought about the H during the first week of January when we were all settled in (or maybe we just were here on this side of the world) waiting on the snow to go away. Due to the snow coming in out of nowhere seems like, I was stuck in the house for a couple of days….4 to be exact. My neighborhood was so slick and covered with snow, we couldn’t even get out to go to the store – Thank God I went the night before.

While all snuggled in the house, it threw me off of my regular “work” routine – where I would’ve been in an environment that kept me on my feet all day long and on the right schedule as far as eating right is concerned, now here I was stuck in the house with food, allllllll…..dayyyyyyy……longgggggg. I wanted everything “bad” from pancakes, to cookies to fatty foods like a good ole’ cheeseburger and pasta. Now, I know you’re wondering – what are you doing with that stuff in the house, well I have a teenager and a pre-teen – soooooo….okay. Now, I do watch what they eat and I bake all my meats and cook at least one veggie and starch with every meal, they eat healthy fruits and so forth; but I do buy them some sweets as well, I mean I don’t want to totally push it out of their sight and/or punish them just because I’m trying to get on the good foot.

But this particular day of being stuck in the house all day, made those tempting things I bought for them extra hard to resist. Those cupcakes began to look really good, every time I opened the fridge; I felt the urge to want to eat it….

but what I had to realize was that just because it’s in front of you, tempting as it may be; wanting you to devour it’s goodness, doesn’t mean you necessarily have too – there’s one thing you can do to turn that unhealthy option into a good one and that’s to put the “H” in it. Puzzled? Let me explain further…

On that snowy day over a week ago, I had a craving for some pancakes – I’m not much of a pancake eater but for some reason that day – I couldn’t get them off my mind. I had some pancake mix in the cabinet but it wasn’t made out of coconut flour, if you get my drift. It was the regular flour mix – while I wanted the pancakes, the first thing I thought about was “How can I make these a little healthier.” So that way, I’m not just eating plain pancakes, but pancakes that have been healthfully boosted to be actually good for me. I mean, just because I was in the house didn’t mean I needed to go “rogue” with my eating habits. Once I gave my counter a look over, those plain pancakes became a much more healthier alternative than what they would have been had I had just fixed them up.

I measured out a good enough amount of mix that would make two pancakes and added a little coconut sugar, almond milk, chia seeds, unsweetened applesauce, ground flax seeds and a dab of hemp hearts. After stirring it all up, I put them in a skillet with a little coconut oil; once done, I added two tablespoons of SF Syrup and viola, I had healthy pancakes and I must say – they turned out better than I had expected! (see below).

Honestly, if you think about it and if your goal is to really make healthy choices this year; this could be a good start to those early resolutions. You can start small and work your way up. Listed below are some of the things I do to add a little health to my foods.

Other Simple beneficial suggestions you can use to add a little bit of “Health” to your food:

Adding cinnamon to cheerios
Adding chia seeds or flax seeds to salads
Adding slices of avocado to a sandwich
Adding hemp hearts to a Peanut butter sandwich

The list above is just a small number of healthy choices you can use to add to some of your favorite meals. The deal is coming up with healthy ways to spruce up your everyday meals, especially if your budget is tight and you can’t afford to buy into those expensive weight-loss food delivery programs such as Jenny Craig, Blue Apron or Weight Watchers, it’s all about taking out time to read the labels and choosing a healthy option over a non healthy one or adding a healthy one to an unhealthy one.

So, the next time you eat something that doesn’t seem to have an H in it, begin to think of ways you can jazz it up to take it from Fatty to Healthy.

What are some ways you add the “H” (health) to some of your favorite foods, I would love to hear about them!

Roshonda N. Blackmon – Creator of A Blog, A Magazine. It’s JustsumInspiration, Author, Speaker & Encourager

On next Tuesday 01/23: I’ll have a pop-up blog post entitled “A Gallon A Day?, No Way! – How do you drink your gallon of water a day, in that post I’ll share and give tips on how I drink mine, so if you’re wondering how to get down a gallon of water….stay tuned, help is on the way.

You know they say networking is a great thing and I love it because you never know whom you’re going to meet, well next Thursday 01/25: I’m going to be sharing the story of my new friend Kristi Data whom I instantly connected with via Instagram, her empowering persona and paying it forward attitude had me at “Hello.” Kristi will be sharing her ups of being active in organized sports to her downfall of having an eating disorder in college, so how did she bounce back? You’ll have to tune in next week – you don’t want to miss her inspirational story.

Sunday’s Thought: The Struggle is REAL!

Published on January 14, 2018January 13, 2018 by Roshonda B3 Comments

Photo above courtesy of bing

Sometimes our struggles to live or continually be saved feels like an ice-cream scoop. No matter how hard we try to get that perfect circle on that scoop – something happens and life comes tumbling down, just like that ice cream below in which probably landed on the ground after only a couple of licks.

I recently seen a post in which someone asked the following question:

It’s so easy to say we should hate sin and run from each temptation, but it’s a different thing to do it. That’s where I’ve had trouble. I want God so much, but I have certain areas in my life that sin still has a hold on me. I do good for a while, then fail. Or lose my temper, or etc. So how do I make it from here to there. How do I cultivate this holiness that is required to see God. How can I keep my focus and passion high enough to fight until I can overcome?

This question was answered perfectly by the blogger, but it got me to thinking. “How many other people feel this way”, “How many other people are there that really have a desire to walk in holiness and be a good christian but miserably fail at it; anytime they get up to do the right thing – it seems like they trip and fall every time. So, while the question above was answered, this is my answer to anyone else whom may struggle on a daily to be fully committed to God. (see below)

We all have times in which we want to give God our everything but for some reason while that’s our hearts desire, the temptations of life seem to always get in the way of us fulfilling what our heart wants and that’s to be closer to God. The Apostle Paul said, (paraphrasing)….Every time I want to do good, Evil seems to always be there too. Romans 7:21

We have to understand that when we have a mind to want to please God, the enemy is going to always be there, to make sure that we don’t fall through with our choice. His job is to always bring distractions and destruction to our path, anything he can use to make you discouraged in fully trusting and/or believing in God. But there’s a secret to overpowering his deception, and it’s this “Your will for wanting to serve God has to be stronger than your struggle not too” – meaning, You have to fight your way through your decisions and/or struggles to fully rely on God and it’s not going to be easy.

When the enemy sees that your will is stronger than anything he’s throwing your way? Then he’ll leave you alone for a season…because he’ll have to step back and figure out where your new weakness lies. We have to be consistent, that’s where our true power resides….In consistency. The enemy fights us where we’re weak, if one minute you’re in and the next minute you’re not, then that also means you’re double minded, and the bible says in James 1:8 “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways” constantly wavering between doing right and not doing right is a breading ground for the enemy.

If he can keep you confused and perplexed about your walk with Christ, then he’ll continually keep throwing things in your path to keep you that way. Another thing you have to keep in mind is this, because this is my thought process when it comes to the enemy “He doesn’t really have that much power, we give him the power to do things. The enemy has to go and bow down before Christ, just to ask him a question about us” So, if he was sooooo powerful and mighty – then why does he still have to bow down, you know why? Because he recognizes that God is ALL powerful and the ruler of the Universe, he also knows that God is over him – he can’t do anything unless he gets permission from God to do it. God is all his love and glory, brags about you and tells the enemy that you won’t fail or fall for his tactics, he speaks highly of us. So when the enemy tempts us and we fall or fail…..he laughs and tells God “See, what I tell you” but God, like any Father or parent believes so highly in us, he knows that next time – we he’ll be the last one laughing. I know what I said may sound sort of juvenile but I want you to know that God wants you to succeed and never wants you to fail. You can see that here:

The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. 1 Corinthians 10:13

You see?, the only thing you have to do is ask God to make a way of escape for you – If you really don’t want to do something, all you have to do is ask God to get you out. I’m telling you this, because I’m a witness of him doing it in my own life.

Once your desire becomes stronger than your struggle – that’s how you WIN!

Roshonda N. Blackmon – Creator of A Blog, A Magazine. It’s JustsumInspiration, Author, Speaker & Encourager

The Next Step is Meal Prep!

Published on January 11, 2018January 11, 2018 by Roshonda B1 Comment

Photo above is courtesy of Pinterest

Now that the new year has officially gotten underway, the number one goal on everyone’s agenda whether for the first week, month or entire year is to get healthy, cut out the sugar, go to the gym and eat clean!

Well in order to achieve those goals, the other number one thing you have to do outside of getting healthy is prepping your meals. Trust and believe, I’m no expert at doing this and if I can be honest, I find the whole cooking everything on a Sunday for the rest of the week to be very cumbersome and plus if you’re an avid follower of mine, then you already know this girl, HATES COOKING! LOL!

But, my light at the end of the tunnel came last year when I noticed the money in my pockets were getting slimmer and slimmer and this wasn’t due to the bills I had but the food places I frequently visited on a daily…..Yes….every….single….day. If it wasn’t Burger King, it was Mickey D’s or Taco Bell or anything FAST that I could get my hands on and while that was a good quick fix, that fix became a habit that continued to get out of control very quickly. It was then that I had a “come to Jesus” meeting with myself and vowed that I would take my lunch, even if it was a PB&J but I was determined to save money.

It’s been almost a year now and I can attest that I “planned my work and worked my plan!” I think I can count on one hand the times I went out to get lunch and for me?, that’s a HUMONGOUS accomplishment to say the least and that was all thanks to biting the bullet and starting to meal prep. Now, don’t get me wrong – this girl still hates cooking but what I had begun to do was cook more at dinner and take leftovers to work and if I didn’t do that, I made sure that I had something to take to eat – no excuses! In times past I was also the person that would successfully take my lunch, butttttttttt….if a co-worker or friend wanted to go out to eat, I would helplessly tag along and vow to eat my lunch the next day….which almost never happened. Not only was I spending money, that I didn’t necessarily have to spend but I was wasting good food that could’ve been eaten.

Last year, I gave snacking meal prep a try – you know those healthy snacks that you need in between eating breakfast, lunch and dinner? I’ve learned that eating 5 times a day keeps your metabolism burning, making you to continually burn calories. There was a young lady whom was doing snacking trays last year and because I love to support people, I thought I’d give it a try and it was great – but once mid-summer ended, so did the special she had running of getting five trays in which all consisted of either fruit, turkey and ham, veggies and cheese and you even got a small packet of ranch dressing for dipping. It was then that I set out to do my own trays for a cheaper cost of course, listed below is what I found, the prices I got it for and the trays I made up for the week.

Meal Prep6 — The Price was cheap, the meat alone at reg. price was $6.88 and the tray at reg. price was $10.00. The cheese is a Walmart GV brand, it was $1.84 and the strawberries were on sale for $1.00 a tray

Meal Prep7 — Once I divided up what I had, this is what I got!

Meal Prep5 — All fixed and ready for the week, I even did me a ranch cup! Don’t mind the donut holes on the side, those were my son and daughter’s holes…lol. I promise I didn’t eat one. #Keepingit100

Meal prepping can be as simple or as hard as you make it but I always like to choose the simple route, so save those left overs and go to the grocery store and search out the low prices on fruit, greens and etc and make up your own snack trays. Hey, you got goals this year and I’m sure you want to make those goals a success, if I can do it – surely you can. There’s a quote that says “Don’t fear failure, Fear being in the exact same place next year as you are today” – No matter what your health or life goals are for this year, make them count and make them work!!

In last week’s post I stated that I would share a breakfast meal prepping recipe from a certified trainer and here it is

Aaron Summerville is an Elite Trainer of Burn Boot Camp Greenville, NC, where he and trainer, Eric D. Kea help shape, inspire and train women of all ages and sizes. They put the “A” in Awesome! Listed below is a meal prep breakfast recipe that Aaron fixes up to stay healthy and charged on a busy schedule.

I usually eat all the ingredients anyway for breakfast, but this recipe will help save me time and energy every morning to cook breakfast and help hit my goals! If you work crazy hours like me or struggle with getting a healthy breakfast in this might be the recipe for you. Aaron Summerville

Yum, Yum Breakfast Muffins

Protein: 15g
Carbs: 11g
Fats: 5g
.
.
6 Whole Eggs
2 Cups Egg Whites
1 1/2 Sweet Potato
10 oz. Turkey Sausage
6 Tbsp Tomato
6 Tbsp Onion
1/2 Cup Spinach
4 Oz. Cheese
25-Minutes @ 350.

I just want to add, for this recipe you will mash up the sweet potato and put it in the bottom of the muffin pan and pour your mixture on top.

You can follow and get to know Aaron Summerville on the following social sites below:

For more heath tips and meal prep ideas, follow him here Facebook

Get to know him! check out Aaron’s vlog post here YouTube

Need some Inspirational gear for the gym?, then sign up and be the first to know when his new t-shirt line Peak Clothing is available.

Hey and if you like strength training, cardio or if your gym classes aren’t giving you that extra push in your workouts, there may be a burn boot camp in your home town or near you. Did I mention that I currently do burn boot camp and have lost a total of 10+ inches off my whole body?, the workouts are tough but they really do work, I’m not only a fan but a witness! check to see if you have one near you here

Roshonda N. Blackmon – Creator of A Blog, A Magazine. It’s JustsumInspiration, Author, Speaker & Encourager

Just put the “H” in It!! – Put the H in what?, What is the H? Well, you just have to come back next week to find out = )

NO! Is the New Sexy for 2018

Published on January 4, 2018January 3, 2018 by Roshonda B18 Comments

photo above courtesy of bing

Hey You! Happy New Year!!!

I don’t know about you but I could have used another week of rest, 2017 came in as fast as it went out and honestly it went so fast until there are only a couple of things or months I should say that I really remember, let’s hope and pray that this year goes by a little slower because I can’t do Christmas again in 2 months….get it?…LOL!

Okay, so here we are in 2018 – Isn’t it exciting when a new year rolls around? It’s a fresh time in which we all declare for the 18th time that we’re going to finally get our life right! We make our list and promise to really stick to it this time – more than we did in years past and while we’re working on finally loosing those extra pounds, getting our finances in order and actually SAVE money this time around or get up the nerve to go back to school to get that degree, there’s one more thing that I am adding to my “resolved” list this year and that’s to exercise my right in saying NO!….let me explain..

Sometimes I can be a people pleaser and I’m easily pressured into doing things that I wouldn’t normally want to do….BUT!….because I don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings or make someone feel bad or have someone not like me; I say YES. I constantly have to catch myself at times because I’m known to do things out of impulse because I feel that’s what people want me to do or I’ll stall on giving a complete answer and when I do say yes to something and my yes doesn’t work out, I hide in a corner or duck and dodge around to keep from facing the individual or the truth of the matter – all because I’m people pleasing.

Recently, I asked a young man (he’s no more than 12 or 13yrs old) to wash my car. He washed it once before and did an amazing job, I mean he’s really good to be his age and if he keeps it up, I really see a bright future for him in business. However; when he came by the house, I asked him to come back the following Saturday and he could wash the car then; well as my luck would have it, I had the money but something more important took precedence over me getting my car washed that day. I didn’t know what to tell him because I knew he was coming, it was close to Christmas and he was looking forward to working to earn money, needless to say he didn’t come to the house until much later that day, I heard him knock on the door but I couldn’t open it to face him to tell him the truth. He came back a day later and knocked again and the following day after that and knocked again. With each knock, my heart pounded and I grew sorrowful and weary. I just couldn’t get up the nerve to face him to say “Look little guy, I can’t afford to pay you right now” simple words huh?, no – they’re really not. A couple of days later, I had a credit come into my account of a purchase that I had cancelled, it wasn’t much money and again, I had something else that I had to do with it, but the Lord began to deal with my heart and said “Follow peace with all men” even this young man.

While I didn’t have the money to really give him, I asked the lord to bring him by the house as I didn’t think he would come due to seeing my car sitting in the driveway but not receiving a response. He didn’t even have to wash the car, I just felt obligated to give him something for his time and that’s exactly what I did. The look on his face said everything and the yoke on my shoulder suddenly melted away. The lesson I learned in all of that is that things could have been a lot easier, had I just had the courage to tell him No or No, not right now.

Do you have trouble with telling people No? Why is that?

Listed below are just a few tips to consider when you have to say the treacherous “N.O.”

1. Who are you trying to Please?

The first thing you have to ask yourself is “Why am I saying Yes” If this is to please someone or if you feel that individual will like you if you less if you said No, then maybe you need to re-evaluate your relationship with them. There are many people whom would love nothing more than for us to do what they want but you have to consider the person that means the most in this situation and that’s YOU & YOUR WANTS!

2. NO is Empowering!

You know what?, you have to protect yourself. Saying “Yes” all the time is not a good thing, don’t allow your mind or emotions to play tricks with you in thinking that saying No is a bad thing because it’s not. There’s only one you and if you don’t want something or are not feeling something or someone for that matter – it’s okay to say NO! This is your life, think of it as you being the president of your own world and you have to make the decision on what will pass and what won’t. What are you willing to allow and what are you willing to let go.

3. STAND UP!

Fear is the number one thing that keeps us from doing the things that we really want to do. I’ll tell you, I wasn’t always good about standing up for myself – I’d rather just sit and let the chips fall where they may, whether they were right or whether they were wrong because for so long I allowed myself to have a silent voice. If you don’t stand up for yourself, then who will. We live in a world where partially everyone is out to get what is rightfully theirs, so what’s stopping you from getting what’s yours including your voice back, it’s just waiting on you to open up and take charge.

This year, go after what you want for your life. It’s time out for allowing people to step all over you, It’s time to speak up and take control of your destiny. The word NO holds so much power in it and you have a right to use it, who cares if someone gets mad and who cares if they talk about you. You only get one shot to make a difference and that little bit of light at the end of the tunnel, could be held in two little words…..NO!

Now go get your NO, Sexy Back!

Thank you Martha Brown for this thought!

Roshonda N. Blackmon – Creator of A Blog, A Magazine. It’s JustsumInspiration, Author, Speaker & Encourager

Do you want to take your lunch to work more this year, than last year? Well, make sure you come back next week, I’ll be giving you some grocery shopping tips on how to meal prep for cheap and provide a delicious meal prep breakfast recipe from a certified trainer.