Friends....how many of us have them?

In my opinion friendship is one of the most important relationships you can have because it's your opportunity to pick who you want to be in your family. About 12 years ago that's exactly what happened for me. I met a beautiful girl named Kelley that was 10 years younger than me and decided to make her my sister. She was very mature for her age and we had a lot in common. Our love for fashion and our love for partying. Our fashion sense....we still maintain. Our party girl status, not so much. HA! We have shared so many adventures together it could fill the pages of a novel but here's the cliff's notes version. I decided to become a natural hairstylist and open a salon. I begged her to let me train her so she could work for me. She said no. She wanted to travel the world. She became a flight attendant. The airline closed down. She took me up on my offer and became my shampoo assistant. I trained her so she became a stylist. I decided to leave my first salon. She and I decided to open a salon together. We have laughed, we have cried and we have traveled. We've spent more time laughing and traveling. But the most important journey we have shared is our weight loss journey. I don't know when that began but we have always been supportive of each other in it. If I decide to do a crazy food challenge she's the first one to agree to do it with me. She convinced me to go to my first trainer. We work out when we're on vacation. We became vegetarians and vegans together (We teeter between the two.) We support each other and give each other loving words of encouragement. And that's what's most important. Having someone who genuinely has your best interest at heart. We have NEVER had an argument. She's all about happiness and I'm all about love. Friendships, like families are never perfect but this one has managed to come pretty close. If I'm tripping she checks me and vice versa. Then to add icing to the cake or cupcake because everyone knows I LOVE CUPCAKES (I digress), we met Jessica. She has made us a trifecta that equals the likes of Charlie's Angels and Destiny's child all rolled into one. I love these ladies with all that I have and all that I am. They are the epitome of what true friendship should consist of. The picture I've attached to this blog is of Kelley and I 10 years ago vs today. A lot has changed but our friendship has remained the same. In the words of Drake "forget your fake friends, where your real friends at?" (OK, he really says a curse word but you get the point. LOL) I'm blessed beyond measure. I hope everyone has the joy of true friendship. Enjoyed my blog? You can also follow me on IG or Twitter: @roc_star and like my FB fan page. Happy Easter, egg hunting or whatever it is you do. :)

How I lost 8 lbs in one week without exercising...

Well, 7 days later and my juice fast is over. The experience was great. I'm glad I did it. Did I get hungry at times? YES. What made me not give in? The awesomely amazing people that agreed to do the fast with me. Accountability is what keeps me focused. What does it for you? I learned a lot about my body during this fast. It just felt different. My stomach feels flatter. No upset stomach and I had more frequent trips to the bathroom. It just seems like it started functioning as a well oiled machine in just one week. I even lost 8 lbs in one week. As I stated in my previous blog, I don't usually weigh myself but I did for this challenge. I did have a headache the first 2 days, developed acne, had a runny nose and a small case of eczema on my hand which I thought was weird but upon research found that its actually normal. The body releases toxins first through the skin so you sometimes have breakouts, rashes, psoriasis and eczema during the detox period. And the body expels mucus as a way of detoxing also hence the runny nose. I can't lie, I was scared to eat my first meal. It felt strange to chew after 7 days. I opted for a soup and salad. I probably should have just had the soup. I got full quickly and felt a little nauseated. Your body has to readjust to eating again. I really enjoyed this experience so much that I'm going to continue to juice 1 to 2 meals a day. Next time I'll challenge myself to 14 days. If you're a beginner that loves food but wants to juice, I suggest you start out with a 3 day fast if you want to detox. I made up most of my recipes but there are SO many options online since everyone is jumping on the juicing bandwagon. I started out with a juicer but my juicer broke the second day of my fast so I blended most of my meals with a ninja that my mom gave me years ago. There is a difference between juicing and blending. Blended products have more texture. It's about preference. I also drank protein and superfood shakes that I mixed with almond milk. I did NOT do any weight loss shakes, shots or magic pills. I'm a healthy eater and a vegan (because YES there are unhealthy fat vegans...just to let you know, Oreos are vegan). What do I eat? Fruits and veggies....but that's a whole different blog. I hope this helps! Have an amazing day!!
OHHHHH....You can see some of my recipes on my IG account. @roc_star

Fat Girl

I really wanted to wait until I reached my target goal weight to post this blog but considering I have no idea what that is....I'm posting it now. I used to be a fat girl. When some people see me now it's hard for them to believe and they even gasp when I show them the pictures. It's interesting to me. People keep asking "how much weight do you want to lose...how small are you going to get...do you eat?" I don't have an answer. When I started this journey I only had one goal in mind: God, make my outside look like my inside. So, when that occurs, I'll be done. This blog isn't about weight loss or how I did it. This blog is about the side of weight loss no one talks about. The psychological side. When I was a big girl, I was CUTE! I used to dress my ass off and I didn't care about being skinny, I was reppin' for the big girls! I was in perfect health and overall I felt good. I would sometimes get discouraged when I went shopping because they didn't make enough fly clothes in my size and I would get mad at the retailers. I felt like if I was happy where I was, they should accommodate me. I had ballooned to a size 24/26 and I was still mad at them....not me. Eventually I somehow dropped down to a 14/16 and stayed there for a good 2 years. I still was emotional eating and just "living my life". Then one day something happened. I just felt this strong desire to be the best me ever. I felt like I was dishonoring God by not taking care of my body. I was approaching 40 and I didn't want to go into another decade carrying any emotional baggage or making excuses for my life. So I decided it was time to make some changes. But as I stated earlier my prayer wasn't to lose weight....my prayer was for my outside to reflect my inside. I knew I was a great person but I wasn't treating myself like it. I treated my friends better than myself. I talked trash to myself because I couldn't stopped eating snicker bars and Reese cups. So one day I decided to STOP that crazy talk! I agreed to only talk good to Tinesha. To only give her positive reinforcement and to question any bad decisions she may have been making. And THAT'S when everything changed. I started making better eating choices. I started giving up things that were bad for me even though I loved them (like alcohol....I still can't believe I gave that up) and that's not to say I won't have a drink every now and then but I was doing way too much on the drinking tip. I replaced desserts with cocktails. (But that's a different blog! LOL) I don't have cheat days because I don't feel like its cheating. If I want a candy bar, I'll have a talk with myself. If I know I won't feel guilty about it after I'll tear that thing up and not think anything else about it. Weight loss is mental. I hardly ever weigh myself because for me, it's self defeating. And I don't count calories because that's stresses me out. I treat myself with kindness and respect like I would my best friends. And that has made all the difference. The outcome? I don't really care that I'm almost a size 10 because it still seems unreal to me. I still sometimes go to the plus size section at the store. I still pick up clothes and go in the dressing room and they are falling off me. I still look in the mirror and don't see what everyone else sees. But I'm ok with that. You know why? Because these are the things that really make me happy: I can cross my legs, I can bend over and tie my shoe without almost passing out, I can stand up and put on my tights, I can sit on my man's lap, I can look down and see my toes, I can sit on the countertop in my kitchen and I can fit comfortably into the seats on the airplane. Skinny girls have never experienced the humiliation of anything I mentioned above. I feel you big girls. I swear. I will do everything I can to help every big girl I know on this journey. You can do this. You are strong, you are worthy and you deserve it! You can reach me on IG or twitter: @roc_star or like my fan page on FB: Tinesha Matthews
I will also be launching my website soon: tineshamatthews.com

#7dayspringclean

It's the first day of Spring! What does that mean? Things are changing as am I. I decided to do a 7 day juice fast to start off Spring on a new note. Since I'm still recovering from my surgery and can't workout yet I have to be diligent in my eating habits to keep this weight off. I've recently converted to veganism but I miss fish so I'm not sure how long this will be a part of my lifestyle. :) I am excited about this fast because it will require some of the most discipline out of any of the other fast I've ever done and requires much more preparation. But I'm looking forward to the journey and to those that are joining me. I'll be posting pics on Instagram of the smoothies and juices I will be enjoying. My IG name is roc_star. Let's do this!!! :)