Better than Starbucks!!

If you don't follow me on Facebook, this is my newest note on there. And it's worth sharing with the world so I'm featuring on my blog today. Enjoy!

If there is one thing to know about Marian, it is my undying love for my tall, dark and handsome. No, I'm not talking about a man...I'm talking about my daily tall dark brew from Starbucks. I LOVE coffee. But what if I told you that I have a new-found love and it's GOOD FOR YOU?

Drum roll please...

My new love is called Le'vive! The reason I say it's better than Starbucks is because it gives me a jolt of energy that lasts me the whole day! And it's not the gnarly high that coffee gives a temporary boost. Just 4 ounces in the morning provides me with an even release of energy that keeps me focused and energized without the extreme high and low that caffeine gives.

Aside from being the ultimate energy beverage, Le'vive has helped my skin. I'm rash-prone and since taking the Le'vive on a daily basis it has helped keep my rashes at bay and clearing them. I have a try patch on my forehead that is no longer dry and itchy.

Le'vive has helped rid my body of toxins and is assisting me in my weight loss program. I was pleased to drop 7 pounds in the first week and since lost a total of about 15 pounds. CRAZY but true.

I could go on and on but here are some additional reasons to drink Le'vive and to drink it EVERYDAY!

It contains:

POMEGRANATE: comes from Egypt & Asia. It is one of the oldest fruits known to man. Rich in vitamins A, B, & C. potassium, phosphorous, magnesium, calcium, sodium and fiber.

GOJI: from Himalaya, Tibet, Mongolia. It is considered miraculous since ancient times. Rich in polysaccharides, with 18 amino acids, vitamins A, C, B, & E, 21 minerals, proteins, fiber and Omega-6 oils.

ACAI BERRY: from Amazon, Brazil. Legendary fruit from the amazon that contains 10 to 33 times more antioxidants than grapes used for red wine.

NONI: from Polynesian Island, India. It's used as medicinal plant for thousands of years to help different conditions. Contains polysaccharide-based nutrients, organic acids, vitamins and minerals.

MANGOSTEEN: from Thailand. An Asian native that has caused a commotion with its splendid flavor, Known as the Queen of Fruits, Possesses high levels of xanthones which is beneficial in helping many conditions including: allergies, infections (microbial, fungus, viral), cholesterol levels, inflammation, skin disorders, gastro-intestinal disorders, and fatigue. Xanthones are some of the most potent antioxidants known. It is thought to be more potent than both Vitamin C and Vitamin E!!

You can't buy this in stores but I can hook you up so please contact me for ordering information!

FREE Le'vive TASTE TESTING -- Send me a message or call me!

I'm Back!!

Oh my goodness, was JANUARY really the last time I blogged? AGH! Believe me, this blog has been on my heart and mind all these months but my job aka "time sucker" consistently prevented me from investing time here. HOWEVER, I was recently laid off so now I have the time to commit to my blog and my body once again. YESS!! I view being laid off as a door of opportunity into the next phase of my life. Most people cringe at the idea of losing their job. But I felt so LIBERATED at LOSING my job.

So what's next?

I've spent time in lots of thought and prayer as to what I will dedicate and commit my time to:

1. Spending time with God (prayer and the Word). It's God's truth that reveals His will and call for your life. I wanna be even more propelled into what He has for me.

2. Health. I will once again commit myself to my health in all areas. But specifically physically. I now have to excuse to missing a workout or not having the time to prepare my meals. I now have the time for BOTH. No excuses!

3. My book and blog. I will be working on completing a book I started last year. And this blog will be where I think things out! Bookmark this site and stay tuned!

4. My business. I am building a health and wellness business of my own. I'm so excited to be able to do this full-time! Stay tuned here as I will fill all of you in on this as well!

5. Yes, I will begin my You Tube videos again. This journey is never ending so I will be picking up from where I left off.

The Fear of Failure Will Guarantee Your Fail!

2 Timothy 1:7 (New Living Translation) "For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline."

Fearing that you won't be able to do something will almost always cause you to freeze up, become immobilized, and cause you to retreat. Freezing up and becoming immobile in result of fear is never a positive thing. Going backward annuls all progress to get to where you are now. Therefore the only option is to eliminate fear.

I have a heap of fear in a certain area of my life right now. It has nothing to do with my weight loss journey or fitness, but this lesson can be applied to that as well. We all have our fears. And in this particular area of my life, I feel myself bumping into a cement wall. I feel like I have been capped -- as if it's impossible for myself to attain anything more than what I have in this moment.

These limitations that I have held on to have most likely taken root from my childhood days, through my teens, my 20's and I have brought them to where I am now. My fear has halted relationships, the exploration of various career paths, and even the very blessing of God! You see, fear is the direct enemy of faith! If you adopt an attitude of fear, you are rejecting the faith that would like to see growth, empowerment and fruit in your life.

The scripture that I quoted above reads "For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline." The spirit of fear that I held on to for many years did not come from God. That did not come in the package deal when I got saved and was adopted into God's family.

But I declare today, fear will indeed end here. 2010 is a new year and I refuse to be held back any longer! I reject the fear of rejection and I push past the fear of failure. I call the BS flag on both of them. Fear is nothing but smoke and mirrors. A big lie the enemy has tried to set up in front of you to keep you from the big prize that lies just a few yards in front of you.

Now that you know that fear is a big fake you must get rid of it by speaking the Truth over yourself. Who does God say that you are? Are you being true to yourself? Love and embrace the real you. The you that you are NOW and the you that you will develop into. It's time to tell the voices in your head to shut the hell up (yes I said hell because you must be fierce and they are from hell to be honest!), pack their bags and move out of your head! Sounds crazy right? But the truth of the matter is this: You are crazy for listening them in the first place -- crazy for allowing your fear to stagnate you! Via Twitter a friend had told me "So many of us give in to the fear of failure which just makes us fail!" So true!

So get moving! What things are you wanting to move forward in? What's stopping you? Is it fear? If so, you know what to do. Be blessed!

My First Weigh-In of 2010 is TODAY!

Weigh-ins are so daunting. Most weeks I stress wondering if the scale will reflect all my hard work of the week past. However today, I know that the scale will only reflect the result of slacking off all November and December. December was so crazy that I never got to the gym. NOT ONCE! I make no excuses. I could've crawled out of bed and hit the gym in the wee morning hours. But I wasn't trying to lose my precious sleep. lol.

Anyway, I've been having dreams about today's weigh-in. On Sunday night I dreamed that I gained everything I lost back and more. But I know that isn't true. I weighed myself at home this morning. I am disappointed in myself though. I hate that I let all my effort from August to October just get flabby...literally.

I asked my co-worker BFF this morning where I can find motivation to get back to that place. I loved cooking then. I loved working out then. Perhaps I just need to DO IT so that I can find my groove again. I will do it...even if out of discipline. Hopefully out of routine, I will find that love for it again.

But I am excited for today. I will not fear the numbers on the scale. I will NEVER see that number again. I have such GREAT expectation for 2010. I am finalizing my goals for this year. I will post them later this week!

Ok, This Is Just Ridiculous Already!

Hey all,

So I needed to just take a moment to update my blog. I've neglected all of you long enough. Hopefully you all have not given up on me and are able to read this.

I completely left Weight Watchers and all my goals by the wayside last month around Thanksgiving. I really let the holidays kick my butt this year! A friend of mine from kindergarten and fellow WW follower told me not too...she said "Marian don't overdo it. You'll regret it." Over the past 4-6 weeks I've noticed that I've picked some of the old habits that I had dropped. In doing so, I've gained back some of the weight that I lost from August - October. And not only that but I feel really "yuck" in my body.

So HOW did this happen? The holiday season in and of itself got really busy. I never planned on NOT having the time to work out. I didn't plan on NOT having the time to cook and make my own meals. And to be honest I could have MADE the time but I failed to plan. And like the old saying goes, "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." And I failed myself over this past holiday season. I allowed myself to get lazy and eat whatever and didn't plan time for the gym. In doing so, I only cheated myself.

As you can see, I make no excuses. This is my fault. Yes, it was Thanksgiving and Christmas. But Thanksgiving and Christmas take place every year. Yes, I had parties and events. I should've had a game plan so that I would not overindulge. I should've made time for workouts. Even 30 minutes 3-4 times a week is better than nothing.

Anyway, I am not making a new year's resolution to workout, eat better and lose weight. Instead I am recommitting myself to what I have already resolved to do.

More to come!

GET A VISION!

The following is something I wrote for Facebook but I will also post here since it goes with last week's post. Thanks all for reading and loving on my blog!

Anyone that reads my FB statuses, follows me on Twitter, reads my blog...or just talks to me may have noticed that I have been unmotivated these past couple weeks...ok, pretty much all of October. If Marian were dressed in a costume the entire month of October, it would have been a slug costume. You may not have noticed on the outside since I'm always looking so fabulous (lol...kidding!) but on the inside I felt exhausted, drab, sluggish (hence the costume), and just plain lazy. If I could've designed my own silk-screen T-shirt it would have read "I don't WANNA do nothin'!" **I know that's a double negative. My degree is in English so of course I know. Get over it.** You get the picture.

Have you ever gotten up in the morning thinking "Do I hafta go to work?" When it's time to head to the gym, you all of a sudden "can't FIND your sports bra?" How about "I've been too busy to cook so pizza was the fastest thing I could make." These questions represent the three areas in my life that have suffered last month because I lacked the right motivation. I wanted to just stay in bed and sleep, I didn't want to work out and I wanted to eat WHATEVER I wanted. What does this sound like to you? To me, it sounds like a woman who lacks vision.

You may be perplexed thinking, "Marian, you don't have a vision for your life? Don't you know that GOD has a plan for your life? Don't you want to walk out your purpose?" Yes! Of course I KNOW all that. But last month, I found myself struggling in a stagnant moat of quicksand. And the more I struggled, the deeper I seemed to sink in. Somehow, I lost sight of where I was going and hence, could not accomplish any of the goals I had established.

Proverbs 29:18 reads, "Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he" (KJV). Without vision...might I add, DIVINE vision, GOD'S vision...you will perish...feel slugghish, lack zeal for life...feel unmotivated. The Message translation reads, " If people can't see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; But when they attend to what He reveals, they are most blessed." Based on that verse, I found that I had lost sight of the DIVINE reason I was committed doing the things I was doing. It all became frivolous and unimportant because I took God out of my doing. I tell you...if you ever take God OUT of what you're doing, it will become vanity and unimportant.

In Ecclesiastes 3:11 it says that God has PLANTED eternity in the human heart. The things that I am destined to do and WILL do have eternal purpose. Attaching that to my commitments gives them worth. Knowing that I am keeping my body strong and healthy so that I can be God's instrument to reach people is for more valuable than "I wanna lose fiddy (50 ebonically speaking) pounds.

It's all about your perspective. It is beneficial to find your WHY behind the WHAT you do. If God is behind your WHY, you will have the gas in your tank to endure. If your reason is just "because" you will, like myself, become apethetic and indifferent toward what God intended to be an exciting adventure designed especially for you.

What's your point Marian? The charge I make today is "GET A VISION!" Pray and ask God to give you a vision. Ask God to give you the passion to see that vision come to fruition. Tack the vision to your forehead, computer monitor, journal, bathroom mirror...where you will see it often. Partner with God and pray over your vision...He WANTS to help you tackle it...imagine that!

WhenI realized what was going on, it changed how I viewed my job, the people in my life, the things I'm involved in, etc. You don't have to wait until 2010 to get a fresh vision...you can do it NOW!

Slump of Unmotivation

Ok people, if any of you watch my YouTube vids you'll notice that I haven't posted any in almost a month. It's because I'm in a "SLUMP OF UNMOTIVATION." That is what I've offically named this mental state that I'm in. And that's exactly what it is: A MENTAL STATE. I really need to shift how I've been thinking and process my eating and exercising because I've been downright rebellious and it's not benefiting me at all! I completely know this and yet I feel like I'm in quicksand. The more I struggle to get out, the deeper I find myself sinking. I keep thinking I need to find some quote of inspiration that'll jolt me out of this stagnant pond of poo I'm in. Thankfully the number on the scale is not changing much, but I know it's only a matter of time before it creeps up and I do not want to flush all of my efforts down the toilet.

So today, I resolve that I am serving this slump an eviction notice. You have of close of business today to get on out of my house. If you are not out by tonight, I am kicking you out into the morning cold when I have a date to exercise with a friend promptly at 5am. I EXPECT you to be gone by then. There will be no further extensions or allowances. Your time is up!