Zumba! Surgeon General - Regina Benjamin, Dr. Pamela Peeke, and Beto Per...

My First Zumba Party

On Thursday, March 17th, I attended my first Zumba party with Sharon and Letica. I didn't know what to expect, but boy was I surprised when I went to the SF Marriott to stand in line for entry. There were tons of people in line in bright colors of hot pink, lime green, reds, and of course, decked out in Shamrocks! I mean...it was St. Patrick's Day, after all.

You honestly would have thought there was a major music star we were all waiting to see. But in Zumba life, the major star was Beto Perez, the creator of this fitness party, Zumba! He was leading the Zumba party while we attendees supported Augies Quest to fight ALS. This Zumba party was a party with a cause and rather than be decked out in our fly skirts, pumps, etc., we were decked out in workout gear, sneakers, and headbands.

Upon entry, there was a stage set up for Beto and his crew along with a DJ and live percussion band. It was freakin awesome, yet unbelievable at the same time. I was really in awe. I mean, who would come out to the SF Marriott and NOT go the the View Bar on the 39th floor?

There were a few speakers to remind us why we were attending this event along with the US Surgeon General, Dr. Regina Benjamin and Dr. Pamela Peeke. Both provided great support to Beto.

Once the music started, Beto said, 'let's warm up' and off we went to WORK IT OUT! It was such a great time and great fun! It was said there were more than 2000 people in attendance and $210,000 was raised.

Attending a Zumba party was way better than going to the club!



http://www.augiesquest.org/
http://www.zumba.com/us/

When the scale doesn't show hard work....

So...it's no secret that I am always working on bringing sex-ier back. I say 'sexier' for obvious reasons...I already know I'm sexy! Let me tell you, it's not easy. From a previous post, I've starting taking Zumba classes led by my friend, Sharon.

This past February, I decided to re-join Weight Watcher's (WW) to assist with my bringing sex-ier back challenge. Fitness and Medical experts say exercise combined with a healthy diet will lead to weight loss and a healthier self. I know and understand all of that. In fact, my doctors say I'm healthy (numbers wise), but I need to lose a few pounds to ensure I don't develop high cholesterol or blood pressure. (I am not even close to being in jeapordy for that!)

I know with weight loss there are up and down weeks, but two weeks ago, I followed WW as best I could. I logged every morsel I put in my mouth, I worked out, and I slept well. I went for my weekly weigh in and I was up .8lbs. To many, that is nothing, but when you know you busted your butt all week and said, 'no' to the sweet treats, it was a little discouraging. I returned home from my meeting to log my weekly weight and than checked my email. In my inbox, my best friend, Yvette, shared an article ironically sent from WW. The focus of the article was to celebrate your 'non-scale victories'. Pretty apropos, huh?

The article talked about not letting the scale be the only factor being considered as part of your weight loss journey. Consider ALL of the many things this experience is doing for you and celebrate them, too.

• Exercising regularly
• Eating better i.e. more fruits and vegetables
• Clothes are fitting differently i.e. better!, etc.

This article gave me great pause to really sit back and tell myself, 'yes, I am doing a great job at becoming a healthier me'. I had to kick start my damn self, put away the thoughts of what junk food I wanted to enjoy at my pity party.

And so, off I went to prepare a yummy, healthy breakfast of egg white scramble with mushrooms, bell peppers, turkey bacon, and whole wheat english muffin. On WW, that's a 7 point breakfast. The next week, I weighed in 1.2 lbs lighter.

I celebrated that victory, too!


http://www.weightwatchers.com/index.aspx