Want to lose weight and keep it off? Try being integral with yourself. Yep, good ol'-fashioned self-honesty can really do what millions of fad diets won't.
But be warned - "That'll get the first 10 pounds off," yet it's not the end of the road, explains
evangelist and gospel singer Juanita Bynum. She says that most dieters fail because they don't keep their word to themselves.
"You can't sit back and say 'I'm going to be a great dancer' and you're on the couch eating doughnuts every day, because you're lying to yourself," says Bynum, 52, adding that you have to press on and meet the goal. And she ought to know.
Over the past eight months, Bynum's quietly
shed 30 pounds, dropping from a size 16 to her current size 8. And she isn't done. The prophetess, who now weighs 150 pounds now, is 15 pounds away from her goal weight of 135, which would fit her 5-foot-4-inch frame into a size 6.
Just after starting her new plan, Bynum was diagnosed with diabetes, which prompted her to want to lose that last 15 pounds.
Bynum's desire to return to her "original health status" fueled her initial decision to lose weight. When she was in her 20s, Bynum spent a decade as a strict vegetarian, abstaining from eating meat and dairy-products, and felt her healthiest.
"I felt more alert and more in tune with my body and what I was putting into my body," shares Bynum, who's led a fairly active life and never struggled with weight before.
She's currently not a vegan, and because of a contractual agreement with the publisher of her health and wellness book due out later this year, she would only say, "I'm just very, very conscious of what I put in my body and how much of it I put in my body."
Bynum's new regimen also allowed her to recover from the 2007 headline-making parking lot brawl between her and then-husband
Bishop Thomas Weeks III that led to their divorce.
"All that I had gone through, I felt like it was an opportunity to recreate myself. Not a lot of people get an opportunity to walk in the place where they experience trouble and then have emotional strength and the spiritual support through their relationship with God or even a friendship that pulls them to a place of making a correction," she says.
To help make her transformation successful, Bynum works out three to four times a week, engaging in various activities like
Bikram yoga, weight training, spin class and treadmill walking. She also relies on her
self-discipline at the dinner table where she monitors her intake, knowing her limit and sticking to it. With a tour in the works, the Chicago native says there's no way she could accomplish her goals if she's not mentally and physically healthy.
For her, it all comes back to integrity. When a person breaks their word to themselves, it causes more detriment than often realized, and makes that individual more susceptible to unpleasantries such as depression.
"Because you're not depressed about what's coming at you, you're depressed because of what you're allowing to sit inside of you because you've broken your own word to yourself and you can't depend on you," Bynum says.
To avoid this fate, Bynum advises to stick to your healthy living plan "by any means necessary."
But even she knows that that can be challenging, a reason why even she recently had to rely on her own form of Jedi mind tricks to keep from falling prey to laziness at the gym.
"I was walking on the treadmill – with people in the gym, walking next to me – and I just started whipping my leg with my hand, saying 'you are not going to get off this treadmill until you get up to 60 minutes,'" Bynum remembers.
The result? One of the best workouts she'd ever had. "It was almost as if someone gave me an energy pill and I hadn't taken anything. It was as if my blood vessels, my heart, everything just opened up and my body just came alive. That's how I know
it's mind over matter," she continues.
Need help staying motivated? Bynum offers three gems to remember while on your weight-loss journey:
1. Don't make your scale your only measurement of progress. "Determine it by what your clothes look like on you, your heart rate and what your energy levels feel like. That determines if you're healthy, getting stronger, or if your body is becoming more vibrant and live."
2. Remember: life is ever-evolving and often filled with challenges that test our growth. "There will always be challenges. You could lose 50 pounds and 50 pounds being lost, you'll run into another challenge that'll send you back to eating again and become non-integral."
3. Always 'do right by yourself.' "One of the best things about losing weight is the ability to know that no matter what the circumstances, you're doing right by yourself. You take on a different sense of pride."
Has Juanita Bynum's weight loss story inspired you to shed some pounds? Please share your thoughts below, and check out a gallery of other inspiring celebrity weight transformations.
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Celebrity Weight Loss
In 2005, singer Faith Evans lost 60 pounds the old-fashioned way: diet and exercise!
She told People Magazine, "I never saw myself doing push-ups, but now I'll do 50 by the side of the stage. It feels good to know I can do it."
Her confidence looks good on her!
Getty Images / WireImage
Celebrity Weight Loss
In 2005, singer Faith Evans lost 60 pounds the old-fashioned way: diet and exercise!
She told People Magazine, "I never saw myself doing push-ups, but now I'll do 50 by the side of the stage. It feels good to know I can do it."
Her confidence looks good on her!
Celebrity Weight Loss
Forest had to gain 70 pounds for his role as Idi Amin in "The Last King of Scotland," but when cameras stopped rolling and it was time to take the weight back off, he shocked everyone by going far past his original size. In fact, he was downright skinny! Apparently he owes it all to becoming a vegan.
"I did meet with a nutritionist ... and he talked to me about the way I was eating," Forest told Rachael Ray. "I shifted the way I was eating, the way I was living. I started working out. I just wanted to be able to live a really good life."
Celebrity Weight Loss
When someone suddenly goes from stocky to super skinny, rumors are sure to arise. Such was the case for singer Freddie Jackson, who seemed to be suspiciously svelte out of the blue.
"Why can't a Black man just lose weight without having to die of AIDS or having a kidney problem?" he asked in respond to accusations of sickness. According to him, he simply got tired of being large and went on a diet!
Celebrity Weight Loss
Janet's weight has always been up and down. The problem is, it's always to an extreme – when it's up, she's huge, and when it's down, it's REALLY down.
However, today the singer and actress seems to have finally reached a happy size – she no longer has a six-pack, but she's fit and seems to be really balancing diet and exercise.
Celebrity Weight Loss
The singer and Weight Watchers spokeswoman went from a size 16 to a size 6, stating that it was her son that prompted her to hit the gym.
"I realized [that] when I was pregnant, I was like, 'Man, I was wearing the same clothes I was wearing before I was pregnant.' That was kind of like a wake up call and I wanted to set a good example for my son," she told Ellen DeGeneres.
Though Hudson is keeping the pounds off, she has publicly stated numerous times that she has no desire to be super skinny.
Celebrity Weight Loss
Right after Jill Scott lost 30 pounds, Tyler Perry asked her to put it back on for a movie role! Still, the singer loved reaping the benefits of diet and exercise so much that she kept at it after she finished filming, and recently showed up to the premiere of "Why Did I Get Married Too?" looking great.
Celebrity Weight Loss
According to Juanita Bynum, a little bit of self-actualization will get you a long way. The singer realized that she would never get back to her original weight without the proper plan, so she turned to diet, exercise and self-motivation to drop 30 pounds the all-natural way. However, she's not done there – she still plans to lose a few more!
Celebrity Weight Loss
We cheered comedienne Kim Coles on when she was on her way to losing almost 30 pounds on "Celebrity Fit Club," and it was hard to find that she'd gained it all back over the years that followed the show.
Now, Coles is on a new regime that has kept the weight down and is keeping her trim to this day. Sometimes you just need to find a plan that sticks!
Celebrity Weight Loss
Though she hasn't become an official spokesperson for the brand (yet), former Floetry member Marsha Ambrosius attributes her 60-pound weight loss to Weight Watchers.
Marsha has really been looking her best since leaving the duo, shedding pounds, picking up a sexy hairstyle, and promoting her new album "Late Nights & Early Mornings".
Celebrity Weight Loss
Formerly the proudest plus-size girl in Hollywood, even actress and comedienne Mo'Nique has debuted a new her. However, it was her doctor and her husband, Sidney Hicks – not her – that motivated her to lose some weight.
"I was very comfortable at 262 pounds," she told Oprah. "I'm in the bathroom mirror one day admiring 262. And Sid says to me when he comes out of the shower, 'Mama, how much do you weigh?' I said, '262.' And he said to me in the most gentle, loving way, 'I want you for a lifetime. I started working out right then."
Love, plus a diagnosis of high blood pressure, is making Mo'Nique really change for the better!
Celebrity Weight Loss
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Comments: (52)
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By: Greg on 2/22/2011 2:54AM
To: nod*ckgreg
Obsessed with black women?...lol..lol You only wish that were the case. Please, Don't hold your breathe. But, then again....do hold your breathe, and do us all a favor.
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By: Greg on 2/22/2011 3:02AM
To:gregsuckspenises
You shouldn't concern yourself about what I do with my time. But, I can assure you that I make more money in one quarter, than you've made in the past five years! Maybe even more!
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By: Greg on 2/22/2011 3:10AM
To: Eduoard
That's not my posted comment! Why would I compliment Junaita Bynum in my initial post, and then turn around, and post that foolishness? Some people here are playing their usual games! I never use profanity! I'm sure that I already know who it is! But, I've seen that silliness before. Don't allow yourself to get sucked into this usual BW nonsense.
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By: Eduoard on 2/26/2011 4:15AM
Greg, indeed it is your posting. No one else here makes up stats to justify their rantings. It is amazing how much effort you put into denigrating black women. What is this obsession all about? Where is all the hate coming from? You cannot possibly have a decent relationship with your mother, for no man that loves his mother would talk to other women this way. You have some deep seeded issues that you will have to confront sooner than later. This thing is eating you alive and you are too stupid to see it. I personally think that you hate all women, but you have take it out on black women for whatever reasons. There are plenty of men out there that are out of the closet. Go out and meet some of them.
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By: Greg on 2/22/2011 3:55AM
CDC Data & Statistics Resources
Obesity and African American Women
African American women have the highest prevelance of being overweight 64.5%, or obese compared to all other racial groups in the U.S..
According to the CDC, approximately 80% of African American women are overweight, or obese. That's four out of every five.
In 2010, African American women were 62% more likely to be obese than Non-Hispanic White women. 37% more than Hispanic women,
If, you don't concur with the finding, and years of clinical research that the Centers For Disease Control (CDC) has complied, Then you can do one of two things. You can contact them directly, and tell them that they're wrong! Or, you can provide, and post your own years of clinical research data here for everyone to see to refute their's! However, I'm sure that you won't do that, because you have no data elements, and absolutely no research whatsoever to provide! I'll even provide you with their contact data:
CDC
Atlanta Human Resources Center
4770 Buford Highway
Mailstop K-08
Atlanta, GA 30341
(770)-488-1725
Stop living in denial!
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By: gregsuckpenises on 2/22/2011 10:02AM
Greg, why stop there?
Just say," I 'm 6'4" 226lbs, with 6% body fat, and a former US Army Ranger officer, and in great shape and hate all women because I'm GAY.
I know who you are Greg. You know me too; very well I might add
(wink)
Look at yourself girl. You're up at 5:30 ranting, waving and belittering black women. Yet you don't want to admit that you're gay. I totally understand, been there. I just never felt the need to put down women of any race, just because I realized that I wanted a man. you need to search your heart and soul and maybe you will be able to find some peace within yourself. Right now you are totally lost. Don't ask, don't tell. Remember that?
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By: Gloria on 2/22/2011 4:48AM
Greg...Are You a Fatty?
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By: Greg on 2/22/2011 5:19AM
Me a fatty? You must be kidding! I'm 6'4" 226lbs, with 6% body fat, and a former US Army Ranger officer, and in great shape!
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By: Ellie on 2/22/2011 7:53AM
Wow! Now she will be able to run faster as she steals money from the gullible fools who actually believe in her. She'll be able to run faster when the next man beats her butt in public.
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By: augie on 2/22/2011 1:43PM
I think that she has overcome the obstacles in her life and is doing great. She is beautiful and successful as well. What an opportunity she is giving other women by showing how they can build their self esteem and go forward no matter what the odds are in standing to the confrontation face.
God bless you
augie
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