Icela (First Wave) gives us a two-fer with her September and October updates all wrapped up in one!

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by Icela of Shapely Alterations

Hmmmm.  I really don’t know what to say other than I have NOT made significant progress.  As a matter of fact, as far as the last 2 months are concerned, the Hairscapades GOC was THE furthest thing on my mind.  I feel absolutely horrible saying so, but I have to be honest.  In this post, I started off being very optimistic for September when it came to my fitness goals.  I knew what I did wrong in August and all I had to do was implement those changes in order to see progress.  Unfortunately, I gave up one bad habit (eating chips) and replaced it with another (fast food was what I ate most of the time).  The reasons I did it, and trust me when I say that I’m not trying to justify my actions, was because it was easy . . . plain and simple.

Uh yeah  . . . .so, this stuff has gotta go!

Phil and I did a significant amount of filming in the last 2 months (for Enemy Mind our feature-length script), so eating pizzas and burgers almost became a daily occurrence because it was fast and readily accessible.  Couple that with the fact that I haven’t worked out AT ALL since this post, and you got yourself a recipe for disaster.

Please excuse the pajama pants, lol . . . But. . .uh, yeah . . . I’m up 5 lbs. . . YEESH!

As you can see, the number on the scale has gone up.  This is VERY disappointing.  But you know what?  I have no one to blame but myself.  These are the consequences of eating more and moving less.  Besides for the weight increase, physically, I don’t feel as great.  During the day I’m sluggish, tired and irritable.  At night, sometimes I suffer from insomnia.  By 3 pm I was ready to pass out, by 5 pm I’d be struggling to stay awake, but by 7 pm I’d be tired but NOT sleepy.  I don’t like taking pills so an over the counter sleep aid was out the question.  Eventually, I found a “Sleepy Time” Tea at Trader Joe’s that helped me out.  However, on the nights I did “sleep”, I’d wake up feeling drowsy, achy and moved A LOT slower throughout the day.  In other words, I felt a helluva lot older than I really am.  Not good.

As far as my hair is concerned, it’s safe to say that braids are NOT for me.  Again, what started off as a good idea (in this post), didn’t pan out like I thought it would.  I’m very low maintenance (another way of saying lazy), and LOVED the idea of the braids providing me with “get up and go” days, which it did . . . . in the beginning.  But then my schedule got all hectic and I didn’t make time to get a touch up and then I washed my hair a few times and . . . well . . . . you can just imagine.  The braids ain’t look all that hot after about a month so I’m in the process of slowly removing them. To me, they look ragged and unkempt so it’s back to just me and my natural curls . . . .by around the 11th.  Yes, I do plan to take this long to take the braids out.  I’ll just rock a few hats and wigs til then 🙂  I do, however, have to say that I’ve got some serous new growth sprouting here so I’m definitely happy about that.  Check out the pics below . . .

My lovely braids, before (Sept 2011)

So this is what I’ve been up to (or not up to) the last 2 months.  November is a NEW month and I plan to redeem myself in a BIG way.

Here are the goals I’ve set for myself:
1. Hair – Wash and DC EVERY week (After being in braids for 2 months, my hair is in DESPERATE need of some TLC)
2. Hair – Go with protective styles during the week (rocking hats)
3. Hair – Experiment with more styles (on weekends)
4. Hair – PROTEIN:  I’m not sure if I’ll be sticking with Henna or trying Giovanni’s Smooth As Silk Xtreme Protein Infusion
5. Fitness – Train for a new event
6. Fitness – Drink more water (1 Gallon a day)
7. Fitness – Hit weights at least 3 times a week
8. Fitness – Cardio at least 3 times a week
9. Fitness – Start any form of Yoga this month

If I accomplish these goals, I plan to treat myself to a $30 shopping spree on accessories at this little boutique on Austin Street in Forest Hills (the name escapes me).

Stay tuned and wish me luck!

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