bkny.vegan

[bkn-y-blog]

16: 8 Update

When done correctly and consistently, I can see how the fasting may work but I have fallen off the wagon a few times. There was a week where I lost 3 lbs. in 3 days. But I don’t remember what I did within those days. But I can talk about this week, losing 3 lbs in 3 days again.

Monday Morning Weigh In- 237

Tuesday Morning Weigh In- 235

Wednesday Morning Weigh In- 234

I will run down my day to day which was pretty much the same every day.

Sunday- I do not remember what I ate Sunday. But I did meal prep and pretty sure I ate well past 9pm! lol

Food

Woke up around 6:45 am and weighed in at 237 lbs. 1 c. water + 2 Wheat Grass tablets (I purchased mine from The Vitamin Shoppe)

I arrive to work at 8:15 am and sip on tea until break time.

My morning break is at 9:45 am and that’s when I head to my car and have breakfast. This week’s breakfast is overnight oats. 1 c. dry old fashioned oats + 1 c. unsweetened original almond milk + 1 tsp cinnamon + 1/3 pink lady apple, chopped + 1 tbsp of agave maple syrup + 1 tbsp semi sweet chocolate chips. All items were vegan and purchased at Trader Joe’s.

Lunch at 12:00 pm- Baked Tofu (At Food Lion I found Nasoya’s Organic Pressed Super Firm Tofu + 1/2 c. soy sauce + 2 tbsp agave maple syrup + 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil + 2 cloves garlic, grated... did not have any ginger on hand so I added 1 tbsp ground all spice + 1 tbsp black pepper) Green Beans (sauteed with garlic & spices in grapeseed oil) & Trader Joe’s Colorful Cauliflower (tossed in grapeseed oil with garlic & spices)

Dinner is usually at 5:30 pm since 6:00 pm starts my fasting and also the time I clock into my second job. Burrito bowl (1.5 c dry brown rice cooked with 3 c of water + 1 Sazón packet then add in + 1 can black beans + 1 can yellow corn + 1 tomato, diced + 1/2 onion, top with avocado + salsa + cilantro)

The recipe for the oatmeal was for one serving. The lunch and dinner recipes covered 4 days worth of meals for each. I repeated the same thing on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. The only difference is that on Monday & Tuesday I did not have any avocado. Also, on Tuesday & Wednesday mornings I had a large banana with my tea which was supposed to be my morning snack but I couldn’t wait. I also snacked on Snack Factory’s Original Pretzel Chips during the afternoon.

Water Intake

Aside from the tea, I only drink water; unfortunately not a lot. It is hard for me to get enough water in daily because I just don’t think about it. So each day, I only had 2 water bottles plus the tea in my 24 oz Tervis so about 56 oz of water each day.

Physical Activity

I have a very old school full time office job that ties me to my desk all day long so I am pretty much sedentary. And now that I am in North Carolina, I drive everywhere! The only exercise I get during the day is taking the stairs at work (4th floor) and at home (3rd floor). Usually, I only work at night on Monday & Wednesday nights, but with my trip coming up, I have been working basically everyday. So at night for 4 hours, I am standing.

Thoughts..

If I can get more activity in during the day, I think it would be more effective. I do want to start being more consistent in the gym and with yoga again.

The meals were all plant based and took me less than 2 hours to prepare.

So far so good.. Let’s see how much I can lose by the end of the week or will I plateau.

[bkn-y-blog]

Alterations

Alterations are the stepping stones to a change. Change takes time and just saying that something needs to change can put a lot of pressure on someone. Some issues need that pressure, but for more personal changes to be more permanent it needs to be done right- gradually. Transitioning into any lifestyle change is hard, no matter how important or critical it is.

For some people, it’s a change that they know they should do, but are not motivated to do so until someone says it needs to be done. Even though that someone should be you, a lot of times it isn’t. This is especially common with preventative health issues. Most people have lost control over their own bodies. For someone to go from struggling day to day without doing anything about it to completely doing a 360 just because a doctor said “If you don’t change, you will DIE” seems so drastic to me. All the motivation they needed came from someone saying that D word. What if we were still in control of our bodies. We could listen to what our bodies want, need, love and hate and then respond accordingly. That will be the ultimate self love!

But then, there are those people who believe they are in complete control of their bodies and would respond to that physician with “Well we all have to die someday” or some outdated, irrelevant to current factors story about their great grand-pappy who smoked cigarettes daily and ate bacon for every meal and he lived to be 110 years old. Congratulations to him! But who says you’ll have that same luck.

At the end of the day, everyone is going to do what makes them feel good and happy-as they should. As for me, I do know they are things that I want to work on and things I want to be able to do. And being able to accomplish those things will make me happy.

Some of my personal goals (in order of importance to me):

Weight- I am currently at 234 lbs, at 6′0′ that puts me at a BMI of 31.7 (obese). According to the BMI chart, a normal BMI of 25 puts me at 184 lbs!! I haven’t been 184 since high school and those photos look slightly unattractive to my current eye. I learned to love some of the weight. My goal by the end of the year is 200 lbs. Which gives me 5 months to lose 34 lbs. Whether I decide to lose more or maintain beyond that point, I’d be fine. I like my body, but of course we all have those trouble areas (stomach and legs for me). I do enjoy walking. I do not enjoy my legs rubbing together vigorously creating a burning sensation when I am wearing a shorts or a skirt and forgot to put on shorts underneath because its 96 degrees outside and my who-haa needs to breathe. Or even when I buy jeans and after about 30 wears, there’s a split on both sides near the inner thigh. I am running out of money and patience and the frustrations do not stop there. Goal- lose 34 lbs before the new year begins.

Eating habits- I have recently started to change a lot of my bad-for-me eating habits. My habits were getting out of control to the point where a typical day for me would consist of a fried breakfast (i.e. Chik-Fil-A egg white & pepper jack cheese biscuit with hash rounds), Doritos as a morning snack, a cheap lunch (Burger King veggie burger & fries), more Doritos or Twix or Hershey’s Cookie & Cream or White Chocolate Kit Kat (sometimes 2 or all 3) for an afternoon snack, then dinner.... then another snack and THEN a midnight run to Cookout for a cheese quesadilla tray with hush-puppies, Cajun fries, and a banana fudge smoothie. If I thought about a food, I would go and get it whenever. Not only was my eating schedule awful, my food choices were just as bad. I do not want to be too strict with myself so I am going to allow myself exceptions of course like when I go out drinking, I will need to eat after 6:00 to combat any chances of a hangover and if I am craving an overly processed veggie burger with fries I will do so in moderation. Goal- no eating past 6:00 pm and transition into a mostly plant based diet. 

Yoga- I don’t plan on doing any classes but I do enjoy doing sessions in my living room late at night with Yoga With Adrienne on my TV. Goal- yoga at least 3 nights a week and balcony yoga every Saturday or Sunday morning

Mindfulness- I want to be more mindful. I feel as though I am aware of what is going on around me, but I am not mindful of myself or even the way I think. Being present is difficult for me because I feel like there is always something that needs to be done- which I get from my mother. I want to enjoy the moment without worrying about needs to be done next, later, next week, next month. Goal- be in the NOW. be mindful that the glass is half full and not half empty.

Money- My credit score, credit report, credit history, my credit SUCKS! Like sucks sucks .. like sucks ass. Like “have you ever considered bankruptcy?” sucks! I will not go into much more detail on that. Goal- work on credit & work on building a savings account.

Travel- “I want to go places!” -says most people who have a warm beating heart. I have not left the U.S. of A. in 4 years and I have finally planned a trip to kick off my birthday month. I will be sailing to Cuba and Mexico!! So right now that is my main focus. But I do plan on traveling more. Even if it’s to a weekend trip to a neighbor state or even a day trip to a nearby city. I think what I want to do upon my arrival back from my cruise is to start Travel Sundays! Goal- find a new place to go or new thing to do every Sunday and of course plan at least one international trip for each year.

[bkn-y-blog]

AREPAS!!

I went to Guasaca for the hundredth time with my besite Curtis for his first time. It’s hard to get Curtis to try new things sometimes, but he was up for it. He tried to order a bowl which I then yelled out “NO! YOU PROMISED TO TRY SOMETHING NEW!” Guasaca is a Venezuelan style Chipotle to me. Just swap out burritos for arepas and add some bomb ass toppings. Curtis frequents at Chik-fil-A and Chipotle and gets the same thing at each location. When he asked the lady for a bowl, I immediately knew he was going to get just steak and rice as he would at Chipotle. *sigh* After my outburst, he ordered the arepas (with just steak and rice of course!) But at least he tried something new and I was proud. As for me I loaded up on the good stuff (brown rice, black eye peas, black beans, plantain, onions, salsa and guasaca (similar to guacamole but more chunky!!! 😍). His came with a cilantro sauce which was AMAZING! He enjoyed his meal so I was happy with that. Doesn’t hurt to try something new at all.

[bkn-y-blog]

16:8 .. 16 Hours & Still Ain’t 8 Sh**

On June 21st, 2018, I accidentally started 16:8 intermittent fasting. At this point, everybody pretty much knows what this is. In short, it is fasting for 16 hours and only eating within a 8-hour window. There are other variations that shorten or lengthen the fasting time such as 5:2, eating for 5 days and fasting for 2. There is a lot of recent research out there that shows how this type of fasting can help with weight loss and lower risks for conditions like type 2 diabetes. I do want to loss weight and I don’t want a list of health conditions so why not give it a try. 

After reading research and people’s testimonies, I tried it out for like a day and I went out with friends and of course I ate! But a week ago, I woke up without an appetite.. (which for me is unusual). I am a firm believer in at least 3 meals a day, every day and snacks in between! It wasn’t until my morning break at 10 am that I finally ate something. Then I realized that I should try this intermittent fasting. It has been about 12 days, almost two weeks now.. and I haven’t lost any weight. But I have learned discipline when it comes to food. As a vegan, it’s one thing to not eat a lot of things because essentially you don’t want to and you have your belief in that to back you up. But to not eat whenever, however you want is a whole other discipline. I want to avocado toast at 7 am (2 please!) and a veggie burger with the works (tomato, lettuce, onion, ketchup, mustard, bun) and fries at 11 pm! 

I think about food ALL the time. And when I’m stressed I don’t even think about it, I just eat eat eat eat eat. I eat when I’m hungry, I eat when I think about food even when I’m not hungry. I just love food. But it’s becoming a problem... or always been a problem and I’m just now wanting to do something about it?

Surprisingly, since I started I haven’t had a hard time eating within the time frame. Except for this past Saturday night when I decided to drink and had some chips and salsa prior to drinking and some hash browns after being drunk. But those were responsible decisions because who drinks on an empty stomach and who sobers up on an empty stomach. No One! The next day, I was able to jump right back into the schedule. I am proud of that control I am gaining with food.

Still no weight loss but hopefully, I can make better choices to help with that. I said I was vegan, not perfect.

[bkn-y-blog]

Extrovert? Introvert? Both!

Ask my introverted friends and they would argue that I am not an introvert, I am 100% extrovert! And they are not completely wrong. Ask me, and I say I am both, it depends. They see the one side of me that loves to be around them and so I am always making plans to hang out with them. The one who is the loudest of them all and who isn’t afraid to talk to other people when we are out.

What they don’t see is the me that also loves my alone time. I leave my phone wherever it is and just lay in bed, on the couch, on the balcony, drive around, yoga, run, read, cook, bake, clean, bathe, sit, and just be. Some of my favorite weekends are when it is just me. I get to reset, recharge, and just fall in love with me.

I work two jobs. I work 8-5 in a small office with 15 other people. I am in close proximity with two other assistants so I am forced to engage in conversations with them all day, every day. I also get calls from angry people who got into car accidents. Then I go to my second job as a supervisor for a retailer who caters to every single crazy unrealistic needs of their consumers. One lady last week sat in our store for 6 hours until she got what she wanted with her child running around opening and spilling things. So yeah I am constantly dealing with crazy adults throwing tantrums like children!

So when I finally get home, I go straight to sleep most nights. Some nights I fight for some me time, so I’ll stay up and watch a show or do yoga. And some nights I am begging for some adult conversation so I will call my best friends.

One weekend, I am hanging out with my cronies drinking and partying and then regretting even going out. The next weekend, I shut everyone out as I sip on my morning tea listening to the birds chirp. One week I am all over social media and then the next every app on my phone is deleted or deactivated and messages are left on read. Sometimes it even happens within a minute, one minute I want to hug and snuggle with bae, the next minute I want to snuggle with myself. Then I started thinking to myself...am I bipolar? But my mental health seems pretty balanced to me. Then I saw a FB post asking people “Are you ambivert?” and I was like hmm what’s that?

So I took a test.. because of course everything you see online is true! And it turned out that I am not bipolar I am an AMBIVERT! Sounds way better than being moody, doesn’t it?! After reading more into it, I realized these personality traits lie within a spectrum, anywhere from hot to cold. Where someone can be completely one thing or both or teeter tooter more to one side but still touch a little bit of the other.

I do battle with myself and who I am because I love so many things to the point where I get “I didn’t know you liked that!” as if I can’t be into 21 Savage and George Michael. I’ve had friends who put me in a box trying to put a reason behind something that I do or that I like other than the fact that I CAN! And there is nothing more frustrating than being stuck inside of a box. I love short hair as much as I love long hair. I like make up as much as I like a bare face. I like the way skinny girls look just as much as I like how big girls look. I love New York City as much as I love North Carolina. I can love it all because everything does something for me. New York City- I was born and raised in Brooklyn and lived there up until I was 23. The experience of summer in NYC growing up is like no other. My friends and family are all still in NY. I love it! North Carolina- I moved here after I my 23rd birthday. Peace and quiet to think, during my daily travel to work. I have created my own semi stress-free space. I have friends and my cousins here in NC. I love it! Two totally opposite places that I both love dearly. What? I can’t love NC because it’s supposed to be “BK ALL DAY!”

I also like to look at things from as many perspectives as I can. That’s why I enjoy discussions and watching documentaries and reading commentary because the world isn’t black and white, it is so colorful and so is the brain and the way people think. I may have my own opinion and feelings about a situation but at the same time I like to understand another person’s perception of the same situation. Sometimes what they say may slightly change my mind or doesn’t make enough sense or not supported enough to make me change my mind at all. But I still learn from it. I may learn a fact that I never knew. I may learn how that person thinks, how they see the world and how that has effected them.

I don’t have one way of thinking, of feeling, of being. So why put me in a box my friend? Because dealing with a multifaceted person is way too much.

[bkn-y-blog]

Back to Life.. Back to Veganism

Aight so boom check it!

This on and off vegan bull I’ve been on, it’s really got to stop. It’s exhausting for me as well as my friends and family. I get used to them saying things like “Let’s go eat here. Wait, can you eat there?” or “Let’s not go there because Shanice can’t eat there.” or just flat out not even concerned “Let’s go to Cookout, we out!” When I am on my vegan wave (yes my veganism comes in waves), my response is usually, “Don’t worry I’ll find something on the menu” and look for a salad or settle for just some fries. But when I’m back on my bullshit, I usually respond “As long as they have a seafood option I’m good.” and go straight for the shrimp quesadilla.

Before it was tough eating out with friends but now there are so many places with vegan options or ways to make your meal vegan or an actual vegan restaurant! So I have no reason really to fail.

Today will be day one of my road back to vegan!

Breakfast consisted of non traditional banana pancakes and an apple.

Disclaimer: These measurements might be off AF. That’s because I literally just add as I feel necessary. But it’s pretty much close, just add as needed.

I grounded 1/4 cup of old fashioned oats in my food processor and mixed it with 2 tablespoons of flour (any type of flour would work, I only had all-purpose on hand), some cinnamon and nutmeg, a pinch of baking soda and baking powder (because I don’t know the difference between them lol). In a separate bowl I mashed up one banana, added about 2 tablespoons of unsweetened coconut milk and 1 flax egg (1 tablespoon of flax seed meal+ 3 tablespoon of water). I combined dry and wet and made the pancakes in a pan with some olive oil (I ran out of coconut oil & vegan butter).

I opted for Agave Sweetener from Trader Joe’s as my syrup.

For lunch, I had sesame tofu, brown & black rice, and balsamic carrots. I used extra-firm tofu. I don’t have a tofu press so I sliced and “dry fried” the tofu. Dry-frying is the process of frying the tofu in a non-stick pan without any oil or butter to remove excess water. You can use a spatula to gently press into the tofu to help the water come out. I then marinated the tofu overnight in a homemade marinade with whatever I had on hand (toasted sesame oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar, grated ginger and turbinado sugar). My plan was to put it on the grill but unfortunately the grills in my complex were out. So I baked the tofu on a baking sheet for about 10-15 minutes on each side at 400-degrees F. I used the remaining marinade and simmered it until it became a glaze for the tofu.

For the carrots, I tossed a bag of baby carrots in a mixture of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper and topped with parsley. And the rice, I just boiled according to package.

I will have this again tomorrow, but with bulgur wheat instead of rice. I’m starting this vegan life right!

[bkn-y-blog]

Where Do You Get Your Protein From?!.. Yo Momma! *rolls eyes & walks away*

Protein deficiency is still very rare actually. I know, shocking right! Especially with all those non meat eaters out there, how the hell is protein deficiency not more common. “You don’t eat meat, how do you get your protein?” Stop asking people that! You are not truly concerned with my nutritional intake, you are not my dietitian, you just want to start a debate on why I should be eating meat and that is a debate you will not win.

Plant Based Sources of Protein:

Edamame- 18g / cup

Tempeh- 16g / 3 oz

Tofu - 8g-15g / 3 oz

Lentils- 9 g / 0.5 cup

Black Beans - 7.6 g / 0.5 cup

Peanuts - 7 g / 0.25 cup or (2 tbsp of peanut butter)

Wild rice, lima beans, chickpeas, almonds, oatmeal, spinach.. the list goes on and on and on.

The real concern should be where do you get your iron from? That is a much bigger concern. Iron deficiency is an actual thing, it is not rare, and it affect a lot of people, vegan and not vegan. Stats show that 80% of people in the world do not get enough iron and 30% of people suffer from iron deficiency anemia. There are two types of iron (heme and non-heme). Heme is iron from meat, poultry, seafood and fish with red meat being the best source. Non heme iron is found in plants. The two major differences between these types of iron are the sources and the absorption rate. Heme iron is absorbed more rapidly at 15-35% and non heme at 2-20%. But, Vitamin C is known for helping with non heme iron absorption.

Sources of Non Heme Iron:

Iron enriched cereals

Beans

Nuts

Tofu

Pumpkin, sesame, squach seeds

Apricots

Spinach

Broccoli

Again the list goes on

Those same people who are concerned with another’s dietary intake should start focusing on their own intake. The number one thing that most Americans are lacking in their diet is fiber. I don’t know about you, but I poop regularly, yes I do!

So the next time someone asks you “Where do you get your protein from?” You can answer one of many ways:

You can list all of the many sources ”Beans, tofu, tempeh, oatmeal, spinach, etc.”

You can answer a question with a question “Where do you get your fiber from? You’re looking a little backed up.”

Or you can just be a smart ass and reply “Yo Momma!” roll your eyes and walk away.

[bkn-y-blog]

Vegan.. Again.. No For Real!

This struggle has been going on for 5 years now. May 2013- not only did I big chop my hair for the first time, I big chopped my diet too. My Friday night with a turkey burger with lettuce, tomato, onion, pepper jack cheese, and a fried egg and sweet potato fries somehow turned into a Netflix binge night with Forks Over Knife, Vegucated, Super Size Me, and countless of other health related documentaries, I made an immediate decision to go vegan! I was convinced this was an entire life change and I was going to stick with it forever.

I did good too! The next morning I complied a grocery list for the new vegan recipes I was going to try and I hopped the 5 train into Manhattan-14th street. It was the summer break before senior year and I was of course still living with my mom, so this was my first time grocery shopping on my own. I walked over to Trader Joe’s, bought a few things including one of their recyclable bags and headed over to Whole Foods, which was an experience. It was beautiful! Two floors of fruits and vegetables and grains and nuts and so many things I had no idea about. So I did spend quite some time in there... as well as money.

After a few months of being a vegan, I loved it. I was mostly plant based, lost 20 lbs within 5-6 months and was full of energy. Then, I decided to try the meat alternatives- vegan sausage, then vegan chik’n nuggets, vegan cheese. I wasn’t a big fan so I didn’t consume much of them and then I started putting real cheese & yogurt back into my diet and eventually seafood- salmon, tuna, shrimp. That was beginning of years of toggling between vegan and pescatarian. I never want to inconvenience anyone and loved hanging out with my friends, so when they asked about where we should eat, I’d say “don’t worry about me as long as they have seafood, I’ll be fine”. But it wasn’t fine. I’d go out with friends and order fish or shrimp and enjoy it.. in the moment. But then I’d go home and be sad that I even ate it and then vow to not eat it again. And in a couple of weeks or months, I would repeat that behavior. With a background in nutrition, to make myself feel better, I would list all of the health benefits of consuming seafood. But I was not fooling myself. Then I would tell myself I was eating it because I enjoyed it and I need to live my life and eat whatever I want, whenever I want, no restrictions. I can not be tamed!

So now here I am begging myself to go back to a plant based diet! Eggs and most diary has not been a huge problem for me. I barely enjoy eggs anymore and cow’s milk has been a big no for years. My current issue is seafood and cheese. Pizza, quesadillas, baked macaroni and cheese, bun & cheese, did I say PIZZA! Domino’s garlic crust, deep dish pizza with spinach and mushrooms.. Mmmm who would ever willing give that up. A fool that’s who. Or someone who knows that a plant based version would be just as satisfying.

This past weekend I decided to cook salmon for myself. I’d cook seafood for others over the years, but every time I’d consume it for myself, it was at restaurants or events. I went to Harris Teeter, bought about 1 lb. of salmon, went home prepped it and baked it. During the prepping session, I was so disgusted with it. I could not believe that I was consciously making a decision to cook this for myself as an option. Smh. The smell of it, the touch of the raw flesh, I knew then it was time for me to give it up.. again. But I had just spent my last $40 on groceries and payday wasn’t for another 5 days, so I had to work with it. So today for lunch, I had the last piece of it which I did not enjoy. And I can’t wait to go home and eat the tofu dish I prepared as well!

So yes I am vegan.. AGAIN! 

[bkn-y-blog]

I Am Not My Hair... I Might Be.

My hair is inconsistent.. that’s me. My hair is not afraid to try new & different things.. me too! My hair is fun.. definitely me.

Natural. Relaxed. Curled. Straight. Pixie Cut. Mushroom. Twa. Dark Caesar. Sew-Ins. Wigs. Faux Locs. Braids. Crochet. Clip-Ins. Buns. Ponytails. Undercut. The list literally goes on and on. But I have had it all, every hairstyle it seems. Not because it was in style or trendy or because I wanted to fit in, but because honestly, I get bored pretty quick and like I said I will try almost anything! Lol.

My last relaxer was January 2013. And when I went back home for spring break, I got braids.

On May 8th, 2018, after a small argument with my boyfriend at the time, I stormed out of the library and went to my dorm to take out my braids and then I handed my suite-mate a pair of scissors and told her to cut out everything that was relaxed. I had no plans on going natural, no transition phase. I literally was just like FUCK IT! It’s just hair! I was feeling curious about my hair texture, I was feeling rebellious attending a PWI. My suite-mate chopped it off and my slightly forgiven boyfriend came and went over it with the clippers and then Voilà!

I fell in love! This will sound cliche, but it made me feel stronger and free. Being a 6′0″ tall black woman, I was always careful not try to stand out even more. So I would try to shrink myself. I was still a loud, fiery person, I couldn’t help that but when it came to appearance, I did not dare step out of the box. No crazy hairstyles, no major designer labels, no show boating, none of that. But after this cut, there was no going back. I knew nothing about wigs at that time, my hair was too short for braids so I literally had no choice but to embrace it which wasn’t hard because I was looking gorgeous! My friends loved it, my boyfriend loved it, classmates and coworkers all loved it so those slight moments when I started to feel a little insecure (”OMG! I look like a boy!), I had someone there telling me I still looked bomb. I felt empowered to do whatever the FUCK I want.

The more it grew, the less I was feeling it so I kept it low for a few months, until I started senior year of college and I had no time to worry about my hair. So I let it grow for a while. In that time, I experimented with color and did a lot of protective styles- braids, faux locs, Senegalese and Havana twists- all of which I had to learn to do on my own because again “Broke College Student”

My fro grew and I guess I loved it.. for a while. Having a fro was fun and versatile. I could color it, pick it out, Bantu knot, twist out, braids, pineapple! But the itch to chop always lingered and until I would scratch it. At first, the urge only popped up when the weather started to get warm. So every summer, I’d big chop. I would convinced myself, that every cut was the last time. Summer 2016, I even went and bought my own clippers and did an undercut to try to fight the urge. Which did help for a while.. until February 2017 when I big chopped again in the winter! And then again for New Years 2018, when I went lower than ever. 

Currently, I am satisfying my young girl desires of locs. I remember when I was little girl, I kept begging my mother to loc my hair and her response was that my hair would “fall off”. I can not make this up at all. My mother did have a way of exaggerating things so that I did not do the things that she did not want me to do. Which now as an adult with a mind of my own, I realized that is not true at all lol. Especially when I went to Guyana to visit her side of the family and found out that my aunt, her daughter, and her grandson all had long beautiful locs. But 2 weeks ago, I have started a journey to loc my hair. I can be very inconsistent (just like my hair) and impatient and spontaneous so I am not sure how long this journey will last, but I do know that I feel ready so let’s go!

[bkn-y-blog]

Lifestyle Changes

I have always been the type to try a lot of different things- different hairstyles, different foods, different colleges, different majors, different cities, different men. LOL. I am not a consistent person.. for the most part. 

Surprisingly, in May 2012, I tried “going natural” and never got a relaxer again. Consistency! A year later, May 2013, I decided to “go vegan” after a night of binge watching countless of Netflix documents. It went well for the first six months; I even lost 20 pounds! But, I had to return to being a broke college for my senior year.. off campus.. no more meal plan, which meant HUNGER! The first month was fine, but after my savings from my summer job started to deplete so did my patience. Free pizza at open mic nights on Tuesday?! Yes, please! FEED. ME. Inconsistent.

So I transitioned from a plant based diet to a vegetarian diet. But then things started to spiral and somehow fish snuck back into my diet. Now it’s 5 years later and eggs and diary have become regular in my diet and sometimes seafood when eating out with friends, but still no chicken, no turkey, no beef, no pork, etc. I spent the past few years wanting to go back to the plant based lifestyle, and I would do good for a week or two and then I go out with friends and suddenly a salad was not cutting it anymore. Inconsistent.

Consistency (n.) “conformity in the application of something, typically that which is necessary for the sake of logic, accuracy, or fairness.” 

All things I like to be- logical, accurate, and fair. So yeah, it is time to get some consistency in my life.

[bkn-y-blog]

Blogging- Part Deux

This is my second time around the Tumblr block. My first page was created many many years ago back in high school when I had nothing to do but repost and talk about my boyfriends. Blah! So now that I’m slightly older with much more things to talk about and more experiences to share, why not give it another chance.