Question 5. When You Began Your Journey What Was a the Hardest Thing To Cut Back On

This next question is awesome because so many things came to mind. But the one thing I kept coming back to was my diet coke. I was a hard core diet coke drinker. Well to me I was anyway, considering that now I might have 1 a week if that... It was hard at first I won't lie. I had done some research on diet coke, it's ingredients and just all the caffeine.i had to take it slow to keep down the withdraw headaches. I had also been doing research on water intake and how much your body should have. Well I found that there are a couple of ideas on this. One being 8, 8 ounce glasses a day. The other is to drink half your body weight in water. Well, for whatever the reason at the time I was so disgusted with my weight that this would mean I would have to have 110 ounces of water in a day.. This literally was how I saw this. That number was huge just like me so I was gonna do it because it was going to help me get my other number down.. Now every day, I drink at least 150 ounces of water a day. I don't even put anything in it anymore. I use to have to add things like crystal lite packs to it because I wasn't a fan of just plane water. But the more I drank the more I just began to leave it plane. And just recently I began to notice I haven't drank quite as much cofee as I have in the past.. I am usually now just walking with a water bottle. And I have also noticed the change in my skin and that is also a good thing. It's just all around healthier for your body not to contain the chemicals of a diet drink and the caffeine in coffee..
Thank you guys again so much for your questions. If you would like so send a question you can do so to divatammy93@gmail.com.  Thank you all so much for your support.

Skin is so much smoother 

Question 3. Aside From Your Cardio What Else Do You Do?

Hey hey yall, I have gotten soo many questions and I'm loving every minute of it. 
So question 3 is
Other than the 30 min empty stomach cardio that you do first thing in the morning what else do you do.
This is a good question as well. Please keep in mind yall that I am no expert I am simply giving you what I have found works for me. Make sure you consult your doctor before starting any diet to make sure you have an idea of where to start and see if you have any restrictions. Our goal here is health FIRST..
So trust me when I say that I have tried so many things that did and didn't work. But my go to surefire was sent to me by a very sweet friend and if I don't do anything else (and that happens trust me ha ha) this is what I do.

A circuit of: 10 burpees, 10 air squats, 10 push ups, 10 sit-ups, 10 lunges. Do as many rounds as u can. Try not to rest too much in between but don't do for more than 30 mins. This is a good overall circuit that works arms, legs and core.
This is so amazing yall. I have since up'd this to 15. It's true it works everything. I think the first time I done all of this I was so out of shape I felt like a beached whale.  I have since stopped feeling that way lol. It's never ever good to be so down on yourself over your weight. I say this from experience, we are all our worst enemy but that won't help you. 
It don't stop here though. I have one more thing I have been doing. Planking.
This isn't as easy as it looks and is awesome in engaging all of your muscles.
Thanks so much yall for all questions. If you happen to have a question please send them to
divatammy93@gmail.com.  I look forward to hearing from you.

Question 4..Carb Cravings, How I Combat Them

This is such an amazing question. The reason I say this is because trust me when I tell u I am a southern Belle born and raised there wasn't anything in my diet that wasn't a carb.. Potatoes, breads, pastas, I mean u name it we do it and do it right in the south. Well I won't lie when I tell u it wasn't easy.
One thing I want you to remember though is you aren't cutting out carbs you are switching the kind of carbs you eat. You are now going to eat complex carbs. What I mean by this is instead of eating a big baked potato, eat a big baked sweet potato,  instead of white bread have whole grain bread. Instead of white rice yiu have brown rice. I am going to add a link to a page I found offline that was so helpful.. I actually made a copy of this and have it on hand just to keep me on my toes. I was asked how I handled the craving that come with cutting out those foods. Well I will say I haven't had alot of craving for them but if I do I always try to grab a piece of fruit or a rice cake with some almond butter.
It's not easy but it is so worth it. I drink about a gallon and a half of water every day which is a big change for me and it also helps with the carb cravings.
Please keep in mind I am no doctor, I like every one else is doing what I know works for me so far. Everyone's body is different and will respond different to things. Take you time,  don't get discouraged and never ever be afraid to ask for help..
If you happen every any questions you would like to ask please send them to
divatammy93@gmail.com.  I appreciate your support and look forward to hearing from you.

Question 2.. Awesome!! A Two Part One

  Question #2
The day you decided to start, how did you go about it?
Did you plan things out or jump in head first?
I can feel my body screaming for all those bad carbs when I try to make that transition. ..thanks!...
Wow.. what a question. An amazing one. Well the day I decided to start came after a new patient appt to a new doctor and finding I had high cholesterol.  I was put on medication and was told the do's and don't's and sent on my way. Well I was on this medication for about 5 days and then my body had a horrible reaction to it. So much so that I was informed by said doctor that I wouldn't be able to control my cholesterol with meds so then I got this list of foods I can and can't eat and all that.
By this time my heart is broken and I'm just beside myself because I know how hard it's going to be to get this weight off. And doing it the right way is gonna be even harder but I knew it had to happen..
Well for the next few weeks I did alot of reading and research of any and all diets I had seen on TV and everywhere else.. A lot of what I did felt like I was getting no where.  Well about 5 years ago I finally had a long hard talk with myself and The Good Lord above and decided I would get started and would just figure it out as I went along..
And that's pretty much what I did for a couple of years and almost even up until now because it is a daily struggle still. I just feel like I am on the right and on a better track to handling it now.
This is the deal. First things first,  SEE YOUR DOCTOR.. Any time you begin any kind of diet please consult your doctor so that u have an idea of what is healthiest and best for you. And what is healthiest weight range for you. From there it's trial and error for you as to what works best for you.
It will in no way tell u that what is or has worked for me is the best to do because I can't do that and I'm not qualified to do so. I am just simply sharing my experiences with you and hope maybe some of them will help you.
Now in all of my research I have found that these are the things that work for me and where I have gotten the best results.  The body needs at least 65 but no more than that to properly burn fat. Now my old thinking would have thrown me into Oh yay I can have some bread, or some pasta. Something like that because it's what I'm used to having. Now check this out.. Complex carbs are so much better and when eaten correctly work amazingly in adeing burning fat.
What are complex carbs u ask? One of my favorites are sweet potatoes. They are so good and can be cooked so many ways. I have included the two pictures, these are two I got off Internet a few years ago and it helped me with the kinds of carbs to use.
But all in all, my real true reason for doing this is the fact that I am a mother, I'm a grandmother.  It's important that I be healthy for my angels.

I hope I have helped answer some questions for you. Please keep them coming. 

divatammy93@gmail.com 

The first pic, BIG NO NO.. STAY AWAY FROM THESE. 

SECOND PIC... MAKE IT YOUR BIBLE

Question #1 Breakfast. How Do You Start Your Day.

I am excited, I have one of my first questions to answer..
1. Breakfast. What do you do to start your day?
This is a great queation. As a rule people say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, how many of u heard that growing up?
I went to a doctor several years ago when I started this what then was a horrible weight loss journey, Who proceeded to shed a little light on this matter for me. Turns out that yes it is an important part of the day if done correctly. Now before u get all irritated at me and ask me when I became an expert, I didn't I have just spent several long FAT years sorting through so much information it almost made me need a steak (ha ha ).
If u are going to have breakfast, have it within three hours of getting up. Also make it the highest meal in protein that day or at least as high as u can..
Whey protein is what I use. Now I'm not going to tell u this is "the best there is" to use but I will tell u this is what the doctor I saw suggested to me. It tastes great and I like it. I have it with a tblsp of pb2 and almond milk..
I also do 30 min of empty stomach cardio first thing in the morning.
This is how I start my 1200 calorie a day diet. High lean proteins with complex carbs..
Thank u guys so much for your participation in this. It's not an easy journey but it's something I had to do. Please feel free to send your questions to
divatammy93@gmail.com and you will find your answers here. 

My First Picture On New Blog.

A picture I took the day I began this journey.

A Whole new Me..

Hey yall, Let me take a sec to introduce myself.  Some of you may remember me from a previous blog I ran called The Diva's Mix. Well for many reasons this blog no longer exists but I have embarked on a new adventure. Many of you know I have tossed around weight issues for a long time. Well this year I have had to actually get serious about it due to health issues.
I have been asked by numerous people what diet I am on, or what I am eating or the exercises I am doing. So I have decided I would find a place that I could answer all your questions and a place I could vent about it being a pain in the butt to do this. Please make sure u stay tuned and if u have questions please let me know and I'll do what I can to answer.. tomorrow will start the post of recipes, and plenty of other things.. So glad to be back.