Over the past few years, not one day goes by without someone asking me, "Za, what books are you reading?" The people want answers!!!

I took the time to curate several list of my favorite books, books that have helped me grow in different areas of this thing we call life. Each list will have my top seven books, I ask that YOU our readers complete my list by adding your top three books in the comment section. 

List 1 "Get Your Shit Together" 

Books that inspire, motivate, and challenge you to GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER!

1. The Four Agreements, by Don Miguel Ruiz (My go to guide) 

2. The Book Of Awakening, by Mark Nepo (A daily read for all life's shit)

3. Year Of Yes, by Shonda Rhimes (Getting over the fear orf being great) 

4. The Seven Spiritual Laws Of Success, by Deepak Chopra 

5. What I Know For Sure, by Oprah Winfrey (Even Oprah has been through some shit)

6. ForGIVEness, 21 Days To Forgive Everyone for Everything, by Iyanla Vanzant (BAAAAAABY this book is life changing)

7. Brave Enough, by Cheryl Strand (Quotes for all this shit life throws your way)

8-10 Readers Choice....leave your top 3 in the comments to share,

It's MONDAY...I LIKE IT!

So this past Saturday,  I was scrolling my Instagram feed (@FBFFITNESS), minding my business like I normally do, my boos over at Bella Body were having a boot camp event in TX....the ladies were moving, it was popping...As I was about to leave a comment on their post, I was stopped in my tracks and appalled at the first two comments..."but you got a gut tho" one woman said speaking on the instructor, another woman followed up with "Yeah, I thought I was they only one who saw that" Now this trainer they were speaking o of was about 140 lbs in a CAT SUIT, a CAT SUIT... "GUT WHERE?" I thought to myself.

So I called these ladies out, asking them "WHY?" why would a woman attempt to point out so called "flaws" of another woman? Instead of showing support...WHY?  The instructor had a room of other women MOVING and doing something healthy, but instead of showing support they choose to throw shade.

1. We as women are our worst enemy...does attempting to point out another woman's "flaws" make you better...STOP IT!!! One of the offenders replied to me "I love what they are doing, but I expect certain things from someone who is training me." My response was, "She is not YOUR trainer and you did not PAY to attend the event, so again...why the shade?" she quickly deleted her comment. 2. Even if she did have a gut...she has enough INFLUENCE to get those women moving! INFLUENCE may not have the perfect abs, or biceps...but it calls people to action!!! Richard Simons, influenced MILLIONS...Oprah, struggles with her weight in front of the world...but she keeps trying, guess how many others she'll INFLUENCE to keep trying..when I started FBF people hated, trainers hated...But this is 214 lbs of INFLUENCE, each day someone in this world moves more because of me, reads more because of me, drinks more water because of me...not because I have perfect abs...but because I am IMPERFECTLY ME!!! #FCKbeingFAT #KEEPDOINGYOU #BEBETTERTHANYESTERDAY

With Thanksgiving looming over our heads, many of us are nervous about sticking to our healthy eating plan. With the allure of cheese, pies, gravies and dips oh my, many will let all our had work go down the drain for just one day of indulgence. Studies show that the Thanksgiving meal ALONE can run you 3,000 calories and that's not including cocktails, dips and appetizers, those can take you up too almost 4,500 calories in ONE day!!!! So what can you do to avoid this caloric catastrophe...myself along with the input of FBF members have comprised a list for you to stay on track this holiday season...

1. Portion Control...use a small plate and take small bites of food options instead of full portions. Print out a portion control pallette online to portion out 3 servings of what is provide during the holiday season.

2. Continue to eat breakfast everyday, so by the time dinner is ready you won't feel
the need to over indulge.
3. Listen to your body to know when your full!! *Put the fork down* Lol!

4. KEEP MOVING- Plan a workout on the day(s) of Holiday gatherings. ie. Holiday Bootcamp on Thanksgiving Morning.  Plan a family soul train line to get everybody up moving as fun way to get your exercise in.

5. Bring a healthy dish to holiday parties so, there is something there you can eat and not feel guilty about.
6. Eat before you go to a holiday party so you are not tempted to gorge on everything tasty there.

7. Think before I eat. "Do I really want they pie or is my eyes deceiving me?"

8. Drink WATER, if you have a cocktail, skip the mixers. 

9. Tell a family member who can help to encourage and keep you on track when they see you over indulging. 

10. STAY POSITIVE: Even if the holiday season gets the best of you some days keep looking forward!! Keep positive and pushing towards your weightloss goals.

Happy Thanksgiving All

Over the years of living a healthier life style and trying to help others do the same, there is one phrase that irks my soul. "Eating healthy is expensive"...I swear this is the go to for many who are simply LAZY. Yes, I said it...LAZY.

"Well what about people who live in food deserts, Za?"

" If I only have $10, fast food is cheaper and more filling, Za" 

I say to this...BULLSHIT...people are lazy and don't want to cook, you will find better health options at a low cost right in your local market, Target or Walmart and I'll prove it to you! This week I will be posting healthier options to feed my family of 3 for under $13, which is the average a family of 3 would spend at your local fast food restaurants "VALUE MENU" in ONE visit. 

So what did we have for dinner last night? 

Turkey Spaghetti with Gluten Free Corn Pasta...

This meal provides 6 servings...so I could feed my family 2 dinners, that's if my 16 y/o doesn't eat three plates for dinner alone. (He did BTW)

Ingredients:

Ground Turkey 1 lb $2.70 ( I purchased a lil over 2 lbs for $5.41) 

Prego Roasted Garlic Sauce $3.44

Sam Mills Gluten Free Corn Pasta  $1.97

TOTAL COST: $8.11 for 6 servings...that's $1.35 per serving. 

This meal is filled with LEAN protein, veggies ( I also added sweet peppers), not to mention the pasta is gluten free, so you don't have to worry about excessive bloat. This trumps a greasy burger any day.... check back tomorrow for tonight's dinner. 

ZA

"Damn, you're cute as shit for a big girl!" This underhanded "compliment" has been one that I've heard hundreds of times during my existence on this earth. I've always had conflicting emotions and feelings over this statement. I never really knew how to take it when I was very overweight. "I mean, it could be worse!" I would say to myself. "I could be ugly AND fat!" I didn't understand the magnitude of disrespect that was being verbally flung my way until I lost a lot of weight; I was really THAT comfortable with my acceptance of being a "pretty big jawn." A part of this acceptance was a HUGE contributing factor as to why I didn't take my health as seriously as I should have. 

Back story: I've been called every adjective of the word PRETTY since the day I was born (with the exception of a few bad pre-teen breakouts and horrible hair decisions, lol). I've been a D cup bra size since elementary school, and I've always had the "gift" of capturing the attention of the opposite sex. I know this is coming off as ridiculously conceited, but this is MY truth. Even as my weight crept past 200 lbs, there was never a moment that I felt undesired by men. So when I was at my biggest and the "pretty for a big girl" comments started, it didn't phase me! The only word I filtered out was "pretty" and felt that the rest of what was being said was irrelevant. I didn't care that I almost had 3 chins, I would just throw on more pretty makeup and take better angled "selfies." I didn't gave a rats ass about the fact that I couldn't fit ANYTHING in my closet, I would just buy more fly shit in a bigger size, throw a Spanx on and keep it moving. I was so delusional about the truth, which was that I was becoming OBESE and UNHEALTHY. I remember sitting in a Weight Watcher's meeting (that I participated in very poorly) and listening to a woman talk. The question asked was: "What is something that you are looking forward to the most after losing weight?" Her answer was, "I really just want men to be attracted to me." All I could think of, sitting there in my 205 lbs of fabulousness, was that it must suck to be her! I didn't have those kind of problems! Or so I thought..

Retrospect can be everything. While I'm unfortunately thinking that everything is all good because men still thought I was cute, I was killing myself slowly. Now that my health and figure have been regained, I can dissect the "pretty for a big girl" comments with a clarified mind. What men were really saying was this: "although I don't normally prefer fat chicks, I'll make an exception for you because you're pretty!" Most of the men that approached me during this period of my life were not attempting to enter it with the intention of a lifelong relationship, but to satisfy their curiosity of being with a big woman. As much self-confidence that I thought I had, I now realize that I was hiding many of my insecurities behind this protective layer of glam, neck up selfies, and other peoples compliments. Boy, am I glad this layer has been stripped away. Losing weight helps you gain such a better perspective on life and the way you're living. The standard for how I now live my life isn't based on anything but what makes ME happy. I don't give a fuck how pretty, ugly, fat, skinny, etc somebody may think I am, I have fallen in love with myself 100% completely for the first time in a loooong time. I will NEVER again let a man disrespect me with such a comment and pretend that I'm being paid a compliment.

There is a huge difference in how I'm approached by men now that I have lost weight, I don't know if its because my inner glow shines a lot brighter these days, if it's because my dedication to weight loss is viewed as a sign of strength and stability, or because all those damn squats and lunges rounded my ass out, lol. But what I can definitely see and feel is a different level of respect from the opposite sex. This isn't a diss to big girls, because I still don't think beauty can be defined from a number on the scale, but nothing is sexier than taking care of yourself from EVERY perspective. Nothing is PRETTIER than good health!

Mell B

Instagram: mellbfit

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