Workout Plan Weeks 3 - 7/Weight Update

Okay okay okay, I have slacked off with blogging big time. But I have fortunately lost 10 pounds!!!!!! Tooooo freaking excited people :o). But anywho, here is how my weeks 3 - 7 went:

Week 3: Oct  17 - 23
Treadmill: was no problem of course....walked at 8.0 incline and 3.0 speed
Stretching: no problem
Sit-ups: 4 sets and 25 reps were no problem
Planks: I HATE doing these and 3 sets of 25 seconds sucked for me as always.
Crunches: 3 sets of 25 were no problem
Wall Sit: 5 sets and 30sec were burning my legs are course.....sometimes I could not go the full 30secs
Sit Ups: 10lbs weights at 3 sets of 15 reps were difficult of course
Squats: I HATE doing these but not as much as the planks lol....20 reps were not always met
Calf Raises: 8lbs were not difficult at all for 3 sets of 50

Week 4: Oct 24 - 30
Treadmill: 8.0 incline at 3.5 speed was a little difficult....was more comfortable no more than 3.3
Stretching: no problem
Sit Ups: 4 sets of 25 was not bad
Planks: Worse nightmare of course at 4 sets of 25.......could hardly get past 2 sets
Crunches: 3 sets of 25 was no problem
Wall Sit: with 10 lb weights were deadly.....4 sets for 1 min was insane.
Sit-Up: with 10lb weight were still difficult
Squats: did not have medicine ball in gym, but its deadly to me either way at 5 sets for 20 sec
Side Plank....C'mon you already know the answer to that lol {not good at all}
Calf Raise: 8lbs at 3 sets for 50 reps burns of course, but definitely doable
Russian Twist: always difficult...3 sets of 20 reps were hard, but they were done
High Knees: 3 sets for 15 sec were difficult because I have a large chest area...nothing is easy to press against a large chest
Bicep Curls: 3 sets of 15 reps were not difficult to do
Tricep Curls: 3 sets of 15 reps...not hard to do, but really starts to burn at that 2nd rep
Lunges: with 10bs weight and 3 sets at 3 reps were difficult on my knees
Treadmill: Was not able to ru with 5lb weights because none were available in the gym...running for 1min every 3 min was not the easiest thing to to and was not accomplished at 15min. Jogging was more comfortable

Week 5: Oct 31 - Nov 6
Due to me having a busy week/overtime at work, the core/resistant exercises were not accomplished, but I did include an hour of cardio through Zumba 3 days this week.

Week 6: Nov 7 - Nov 13
Due to a busy week/overtime at work, I worked out this routine twice this week, instead of 4.
Treadmill: 9.0 incline and 3.5 speed was a little difficult as far as speed wise. Incline is never an issue for me
Stretching: is no problem
Sit Ups: 4 sets of 25 reps were no problem
Planks: 4 sets of 60 secs, ummmmm no lol. I could do half of that.
Crunches: 3 sets for 25 reps were no problem
Wall Sit: 15lbs weight was really hard......1 min did not happen
Sit Ups: with 10lb weight was okay.....3 sets for 15 reps were taking longer to do
Squats: medicine ball was no applicable, but 3 sets of 15 were not difficult, but hard on my knees
Side Plank: could barely do 1....
Calf Raise: 10lbs at 4 sets of 50 reps were more of a burn, but accomplished
Russian Twist: difficult with 10lb weights.....chest area is an issue
Jumping Jacks: with 5lbs weights were hard due to my chest area
High Knees: difficulty with chest area
Lunges: difficult on my knees...medicine ball not applicable
Bicep Curls: 3 sets of 15 reps were okay.....always burned at 10th rep
Tricep Curls: 3 Sets of 15 reps were okay.....always burned around the 10th rep
Box Jump: not applicable
Treadmill: running is not my forte....especially for 3 min every 2 min :o/......just walked on 9.0 incline at 3.0 speed

Week 7: Nov 14 - Nov 20
Due to busy week/working overtime and surgery, I worked out 3 times this week with Zumba for 1hr and 30min prior to surgery that Friday {Nov 19}.

Finally A New Hairstyle :o) {Courtesy of Sandra TheLocStar}

Week Two of Workout Plan...

Week 2: Oct 10 - Oct 16

Since I have to be bluntly honest of what I have been doing, I will say I behaved for the most part lol. I did all of my cardio within an hour consistently instead of breaking it up in two 30min intervals (public gym). I did this plan 3 days this week instead of 4, but my 4th day just consisted of resistant exercises and weight lift. I am still implementing my food intake before 7:00pm and I have also decided to eat vegetarian meat and fish during the week. My plank exercises still suck and I was not able to complete each set for 20 seconds consecutively smh. Some days I feel myself getting lazy, but I know nothing will change if I do nothing. I am not a happy camper being without my carbs, but my stomach does feel alot lighter since I have been away from it.


I can honestly say that this plan so far has helped me become even more conscious of what I am taking in and how it makes me feel when I do good or bad....Now, I will admit that friday of this week is noway that I am behaving due to the fair being here this week {at least I'm honest haha}....I dont eat alot of bread or fried candy at the fair, but meat is definitely going to be my problem. I just figured I would go ahead and put that out there ;o)


Unfortunately I have had a distaste for water this week. Like I have no desire to drink it :o(. Sometimes I get in that stage where that's all I want to drink, and then there are times I cant stand the taste of it. I dont know what that's about, but I'm hoping that it gets back to my primary drink soon :o/

Trying Something New....

Hey I know its been a minute, but I have been trying to make some changes to my diet/lifestyle change. It has been a challenge and I won't say that I have been enjoying this 100%. Struggle has definitely been the word to describe this feeling and it did not help when my doctor went in on me about my weight....The word she described was "disturbing" smh So, like any other person who is trying to lose weight, I am trying another method.

My best friend is currently in school and taking a fitness training course. She is going to provide a strict 7 week plan for me and a couple of other people to follow so see how effective her plan works. It started Oct 2, but this is one of the 1st steps I have to take to follow it....and that's to blog every week. As you can tell by the dates, I dont blog every week, but this is something I have to discipline myself with in order to make this plan work. So first things first, I had to report my current weight (which has not changed much) and my body measurements and goals.You guys already know my goal is to lose 100lbs lol. The requirement is for me to blog every week of how I did/did not follow this plan and this is how my first week went:
OCTOBER 3 - OCTOBER 9 {I always start over on Mondays}

Week 1: Balance
Warm-up(35min)
Exercise	Sets/Speed	Duration	Coaching Tip
Treadmill	1 set	30min	3.0 incline 3.5 speed
Stretching	1 set	15 sec	Hold each stretch for 15 sec
Core/Resistance(20min)
Exercise	Sets	Reps	Coaching Tips
Sit-ups	3	15	Do not touch the floor or your knees
planks	4	15 sec	Press your stomach to your back
crunches	3	15	Lift shoulder blades off the floor
Wall Sit	4	15 sec	Back straight, Legs shoulder with apart.  Do not rest arms on knees
Sit-ups	3	15	Do not touch the floor or your knees
Calf Raises	3	15	Slow/ Accurate Tempo
REST 10 SECS IN BETWEEN
Cool Down(40min)
Exercise	Sets	Reps	Coaching Tips
Treadmill	1	30 min	5.5 incline 3.3 speed
Stretching	1	30 sec	Hold each stretch for 30 sec

~I did not go completely without carbs...but when I ate carbs, it was whole wheat, but most of my meals consisted of fruits, veggies & protein
~ I followed the cardio exercises as required, but I  didnt feel "challenged". I always walk at a higher incline than 3.5 - 5.5 and I need a good sweat to feel like I really worked out.
~ It was not easy to hop off the treadmill to work on my resistant exercises due to other people being in the gym at the same time. Once you hop off that treadmill, 5 more people behind you are trying to get it after you.
~ I added more resistance by doing dumbbell presses since I could not add more cardio
~ Resistant exercises are not my favorite {particularly planks}, but I'll probably get better as I keep doing them
~ I also implemented the not eating after 7:00pm & I already lost a pound this week. I probably would have been 2 pounds if I did not eat carbs at all. My goal is to do much better for the 2nd week. The 1st is always the hardest since there's so much that has to be stopped so abruptly {carbs}.
~ I've already been doing this for a while, but MyFitnessPal.com is also helpful. It helps me stay at 1400 calories a day.

Im Back To Black :o)

Finally! I've overcome my fear of putting a color rinse in my hair :o) I'm officially back to jet/midnight black again and I LOOOOOOVE it!!!!!!!

I was really worried that I didn't know what I was doing and that I may experience slippage, but thankfully all is in tact *big smiles*. 

Before applying my rinse, I tried to research videos and blogs of how you perform a rinse on sisterlocks and all I found were vids and blogs on permanent coloring and traditional locs. Everything I found on SL's only had ladies saying "yeah, I applied a rinse to my locs & this is the result" but there was no description or steps of how they did it and that made me nervous.  I know a rinse is much safer than permanent, but I'm someone who is no expert on locs & everything I do other than washing is going to freak me out b/c of fear that something may go wrong. ....I've only given myself a rinse when my hair was relaxed.

But anywho, I just thought about the steps my old beautician did when I used to get relaxers and applied it the way she did....minus the relaxer of course ;o)

PRODUCTS:

 ~Clairol's Beautiful Collection: Midnight Black {always used this color when I had a relaxer & your hair smells good afterwards}

~SL Starter Shampoo diluted w/ water in a dispenser bottle {the spray bottle was broken :-/}

~Black gloves {doesn't matter what color you are using} and rubber bands to section off my relaxed ends from my locs

 DIRECTIONS:

1. Wash hair 1st {only have permission to use the SL starter shampoo, so that's what I used. Also, this is the ONLY time I get the green light to wash my hair without braiding & bundling}

2.  Towel dry {dark colored towel} and part sections of locs so you can dispense color rinse evenly. {Since I have relaxed ends, the rubber bands were also used to separate my relaxed ends from my locs....could only dispense color where my locs began & ended to prevent unraveling.}

3. With gloves, apply color approx .5-1 inches away from scalp {you don't want to have blk/blue scalp!} and run your hands down your locs and apply additional amount as needed. {And by the way, I only needed to use one bottle! I thought I was going to need at least 2, but I guess you can say I have short-med length hair}

4. Once all of your sections have been colored, tuck your hair in a clear conditioning cap & sit under the dryer for 10-30min.....I sat under the dryer for 30min b/c the longer you sit under the dryer, the longer you color will stick.

5. Unfortunately I forgot to put my gloves back on, but when you do, rinse your hair again with a good shampoo and rinse until the water runs clear from your hair....my beautiful french tip nails were turned green :o(

6. After towel drying again, I parted my locs in sections and separated them individually to prevent tangling & bunching {thank God I did that!}...As I separated my locs, I went ahead & started to braid and bundle as if I was getting ready to wash it. I made smaller bundles to have a tighter crinkle....I'll admit, this was very tedious, but the outcome was for the best :)

7. This step does not have to be done, but I sat under the dryer again for 30min to make sure my hair would be dry by the next day {my hair holds water}. 

8. I wrapped my hair with a satin scarf first and a cotton bandanna after...the bandanna holds my satin scarf in place & it always prevents color from seaping onto your pillows....one of the cons of when you first get your color rinse.

BEFORE

Dusty, reddish-brown hair

AFTER

Back To Black!!!!!! :o)

DIFFERENCES

This picture helped me distinguish where my natural hair ended and where my relaxed hair began...this is from the front part of my head where the majority of my hair is relaxed..the back is more natural due to my bob cut prior to locs.

Health/Diet Update

I picked up on my workouts again this week. The little weight I lost were gained back and I'm fed up with the slack. BUT the real motivation came from when I came across an article on google. The article featured a young lady in Essence magazine who was from Morrisville, NC and she lost 125lbs in 9 months. My original plan was not to lose the 100lbs that fast, but its close enough to pay attention to her method....I want to lose my 100lbs in a year.

My goal is to burn 700 calories per workout which has been meet since I've started back. That is my made up goal to assist with the young lady's weight loss method. She said she works out an hour a day and followed Dr. Ian Smith's Fat Smash Diet Book.  I found the book on half.com for .92 cents and I said it wouldn't hurt to try it for that price. It's available on amazon and walmart, but you can never beat half.com prices. My book just got shipped so I'll probably start the plan next week to get a feel of what I need to buy at the grocery store. I'm actually excited about restarting my regimen this time. This is definitely one of my top priorities not just for the year, but for my life. I havent set an exact weight goal for december, but I do plan on seeing a significant difference by the end of the year. I have my fitness pal account created, and by far, it is the best food journal I have come across.....anywho, my sl update will be up soon :o)

Sisterlocks In This Summer Heat {Ugh}

Omg the heat this summer has been completely ratchet! Triple digit temperature almost everyday for the past couple of weeks. Yes, having locs in this kind of heat is definitely convenient, BUT once again my relaxed ends have me blown :o/. In the summer my hair and skin gets very oily and I'm noticing my braidouts do not last as long. The crinkles dont go away completely, but they are falling quicker {within 3 days} as if I'm putting products in my hair. I know it's the natural oil my body is producing along with the continuous sweat that's causing this debacle :o/. My locktician told me I'm still suppose to wash my hair at 2 weeks, but I'm on the verge to pleading with her to let me wash it once a week until this heat wave is over. My scalp is getting itchy and the fuzziness in the front of my head is in full effect smh. I just got a re-ti 2 weeks ago and it doesn't look/feel like I have one :o(

P.S.

I Still Love My Sisterlocks! I'm just cursing this heat for attacking my babies {16 month old SL's}

Amy Winehouse....Another Genius Gone

The second song on my playlist on here is by Amy Winehouse called "Brother"....one of my favorite songs from her & I just wanted to post these lyrics in dedication to her. Ironic the words may be because of her life, but they were deep & from her heart as everything else she sang. This was from her debut album "Frank" and this was before she was caught up in addiction.......Rest in peace Amy Jade Winehouse

Brother,
It’s so much that I could never say to your face
But by now
You should know the world and all its ways
So find your place

How do I find words that do not condescend
When she bore you before me
Cause she doesn’t need a child she needs a friend
A son, not a sob story


Now you must of never heard of what she did for you
And your priority it must be heard
Now you must of never heard of what she did for you
Cause we’ll never be the way we were

She can’t always be there just to hold your down
Our mother
When you are at a age now
well life turns around, my brother

Realize that you don’t have to answer to no man
Responsibility comes down to you
But how can I expect you to understand
When you live life like its so unthrough



Now you must of never heard of what she did for you
And your priority, it must be heard
Now you must of never heard of what she did for you
Cause we’ll never be the way we were

The way we were
We’ll never be
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh
At your priority, It must be heard

Beautification Night

I've been thinking lately it's a shame that I dont have "beautification night" like I did when I was college. My last post made me think about this because I expressed how lazy I have been with my locs lately...Thursday nights would always be my night of choice because of how busy I was with classes and work. I would always go back to my dorm room and wash my hair and style/experiment with it all night so it could be "fly" for the weekend. And that's when I would do all of my shaving, get my eyebrows waxed, nails done etc...just went the whole 9 yards. I even beautified my room!

Whhhhhhyyyyyyyy have I not been doing this since I have locs????? :o(. 

The only answer would be that the shake and go  thing has spoiled me like no other. I had much less time on my hands in college & paid more attention to appearance than I've ever done now. I have waaaaaaay more time now to do my hair and yet, I dont take initiative to change it :o/

When I was relaxed, I LOVED curls and I cant believe that I have not attempted curls that much since I'm free to do more styles. I've even been given permission to put a rinse in my hair.....what the crap have I been waiting on???

15.5 Month Old Sisterlocks

I will not reach exactly 16 months until the 27th of this month, but you can observe the fullness and length of my locs. My hair is much shorter in the back due to the fact that my hair was cut into a bob prior to my SL installation. I'm glad that it was cut that way so it could grow out into a simple style since I am prohibited to do anything extreme to my hair right now. My re-ti is tomorrow and I think going to add a cute style to it afterwards....my bf expressed that he misses my perm-rod set lol. I only did it once back in feb and I'm amazed that I didn't do it again because of all of the compliments I received. I'll admit that I have gotten lazy with my hair as far as styling. I just sport the braid-outs and sometimes do a half-up, half-down ponytail when it gets too hot smh. So much has been going on and I am in the process of looking for another j.o.b. You saw in my last post a month ago that my job was dramatic and the pettiness has gotten out of control {not on my part of course}. I just didnt have interest to do any special styles to my locs for that environment. "When you feel good, you look good" ~ and vice versa....that job did not make me feel good at all :o/. I thought when you're unsure about the people around you, you just keep it cordial and keep to yourself. Apparently that's not good enough to avoid mess. Not to say that my locs didnt look good, because SL's ALWAYS look good ;o). I just didnt feel the need to spruce up any styles that's all. Anywho, I may post more pics tomorrow since I have slacked off so much with my blogging :o(.

Work, Sadness, SL Update.....

I have been seriously busy and have totally neglected my blog. So much has happened since graduation and I dont even know where to begin. Work is work right now. I thank God for it, but you know working in a small office full of women spells D.R.A.M.A. Im pretty cool with everyone in the office, but you know I have to stay on my toes when it comes to being the new girl.

Unfortunately I heard some bad news today. I found out my high school classmate was tragically killed last night along with 3 other people. All sooooo young and the manner of death was not deserving to them. I just know that God does not make mistakes and the only thing we can do is pray for their families and that God grants them the strength to pull through this troubling time.....Im really at a loss for words of what happened to those 4 victims, but it hits so close to home when you find out your peers die in such a tragic way. Just gotta stay prayed up people smh.

Just had my re-ti two days ago and I got a great report from my locktician: I CAN USE A RINSE NOW!!!!!! But see, the trick to that is im on my own with that {She's not going to put it in for me lol}. The ironic part is that I have been whining about not being able to color my hair and here I am SCARED about doing it now. I guess I feel uncomfortable/sketchy about the whole thing because I am still using the braiding/binding technique to wash my hair.....im actually scared of what will happen when I wash my locs without binding them. I guess I was waiting on hearing when I could stop binding all together. I thought I would be able to get the rinse when I had the green light to no longer braid/bind. My locktician is granting me this one time opportunity to not bind so I can apply the rinse.....I dont trust myself smh. I have been compliant for 1 year and three months and I dont want to screw up all of this hard work and patience. What should I do???? She said its my decision, but I thought I had to wait til my locs were mature enough to not braid/bind anymore :o/. I guess if Im questioning myself of this task, I need to wait a while longer. I know it takes trial and error to know what works, but I have come a looooooong way. My re-ti time has been cut down to 3 1/2hrs versus 4 now......oh the irony smh

Graduation/Mother's Day

First off, Happy Mother's Day to all of the wonderful mothers in the world! It was truly a beautiful day yesterday and also an exhausting one.....of course not from doing for mommy, but this was graduation weekend as well. I truly enjoyed myself this weekend, but it was also a draining one. I ended up sick with a cold and I feel bad because I work with patients. I reaaaaallllly dont want to get them sick, but ya girl gotta make her money too! I did not do a particular hairstyle for graduation due to the fact that heat & sweat does not get along with my hair and the ceremony was held outside. And I'm pretty glad that I did the regular 'ol braid out because it was sooooooo hot. When I was going back through my pictures, I realized my hair has gotten longer! The braid out turned out to be the best option for my cap & gown :o) {click on pictures to get larger view}

 Mi Familia :o) {Mommy, Dad & Sis }

 

My hair has gotten so long!!!! :o) 

This was me a exactly a year ago at my homegirl's graduation {look how short my locs were! }

Graduation Hairstyles/Weight Update

Graduation is approaching and I still don't know what to do with my hair. I'm thinking of doing the perm-rod curls again, but I feel like I wont have time to do it with this new schedule I got. There are plenty of styles I want to try, but I don't think they will work with the cap :o(. I'm facing the challenge of having these permed ends and I don't want to sweat them out {especially since I don't have permission to use products yet}. I'm at a lost with how to style this hair when the relaxed ends want to lay the way that they want to. I have researched youtube and other blogs, but everything seems to look so much better with the all natural locs *sighs*.

As far as the weight update goes, I have been maintaining my weight {no bueno}. I think I'm just going to chuck it up and start weight watchers. Whatever I am doing is NOT working I need an extra nudge to get things popping. I cant stand being at a stand-still and change is what I need. I gets hard when you are doing this by yourself and I don't understand how I keep allowing myself to get off track. There's not too much to be said until some changes really start happening. I'm pretty disappointed/embarrassed with all of the slack that I have experienced in the past month. Now that I don't have to commute for an hour anymore, there's definitely no excuse from here on out. Monday is the day to typically start over with your dieting, soooooo we'll try this again tomorrow. {Pray for me}

Adjusting To The New....

*Sighs* Ladies, I am TIRED. I have slacked a bit from my blogging, but let me tell you this 40hr week thing is taking some adjusting to smh. I thank God for my new job, but its keeping busy like no other. And it does not help that I have to commute an hour to get to work {thank God its temporary for training}. I have a few people driving me nuts, but this is the perfect way to practice professionalism more effectively. I will admit that I have fell waaaaaaaay off with my health regime for the past month and Texas is what triggered it all sadly. Eating out for an entire week will jack up your health flow quickly and I really dont think I can get back on track until I get to my permanent office at the end of the month {excuses I know}. My dieting is fine since I've been home,  but its just the physical activity that's absent smh. Things will get better soon enough, but I really am feeling that "I have no time" stage. I know the importance of taking care of self is priority and I just need to stop TRYING and start DOING. Just pray for ya girl.......Im feeling "off" from everything. Since I'm adjusting to new things out of my control {new job schedule}, I need to make my "voluntary" routines {diet, exercise and sleep} get  it in where it SHOULD fit in.

1 YEAR SL BIRTHDAY!!!!!!

 Its my 1 Year SL birthday and I am very proud of myself :o) Of course I am excited, but I am more proud than anything. Having these SL's for a whole year has definitely proven that I can be patient when I am determined about something I really want. If you knew me personally, patience is not what I possess {when it comes to hair} lol. This is a serious accomplishment for me and I am ready for the next stages of going natural. In dedication for my 1st birthday, I'm going to do a simple Q&A for my family, friends & others who have asked me questions since I've been SL'd. 

1. Why did you choose to go natural?

   ~I was tired of relaxing my hair & letting it get in the way of small things in life {"dont touch my hair", wind blowing, sweating, weather etc}. Also there was no consistent growth & I wanted to try various styles that my length could not achieve. {Weaves & wigs were NOT an option}....no shade ladies ;o) 

2. Why sisterlocks?

~I wanted traditional locs at 1st, but after seeing my mother not fully locking I knew my hair would do the same {she had TL's for almost 2 years}. I didnt know about SL's at the time, but when my mom told me about them, I immediately wanted them. The versatility is just....wow lol

3. Why didnt you do the "big chop"/ why did you keep your relaxed ends?

 ~ 2 major reasons: I'm REALLY tender-headed  & I have a big head lol.  Another reason was fear of not being able to style my hair/comb it. My hair is really thick and I knew that I wasnt going to deal with it really well. One of the main things that attracted me to SL's was that I could keep my relaxed ends while transitioning. Being a college student and not being able to afford a stylist every 2 weeks was very discouraging at the time. 

4. How do you wash your hair & how often?

 ~ I still use the braid and bind technique with the spray bottle to disperse my shampoo and I wash every 2 weeks. 

5. What products do you use?

  ~ Honestly? NADA.... except the "getting started" SL shampoo. I see alot of people on their blogs and videos saying that they are using different shampoos long before their 1 year mark. The getting started shampoo works fine for me & I see no reason to switch right now. Also, my hair is really soft & I refuse to risk slippage....LESS IS MORE :o)

6. But your hair is so shiny. You mean to tell me you're not using ANY hair oil?

 ~Nope and 2 Words: Natural Oil......You will be amazed at how much natural oil your scalp will produce when you do not smother your hair with products. If you happen to come across me when my hair is looking a little dreary/dull, it just means I need to wash my hair & POOF, my hair will be so shiny after a washing. Now that I think about it, this is the 1st time in years that my hair has the right amount of shine without it being overly shiny/greasy or not being shiny enough.

7. Wow. How do you sit there for 4 hours when you get a retightening?

 ~It's no different than sitting in a hair salon with clients sitting in front of you. I used to be at my beautician's salon from 4pm to 8pm for a simple relaxer & NO style. The only difference is those 4 hours are dedicated to ME and only ME :o).

8. Are you going to retighten it yourself eventually?

 ~Ummmmm I think not. I do want to take the re-ti class, but I am so lazy when it comes to my hair. I love the shake-and-go thing, and as long as there's a good consultant like mine around, I'll sit in that chair for 4 hours. I rather not take up my entire weekend to finish my hair lol.  Much love to the DIY ladies! 

9.  How long are you going to keep them in?

 ~At this point, I honestly dont think I will be getting rid of my SL's. The versatility is too great and the fact that you can still achieve styles as if you have a relaxer is amazing. Why give that up when you can have healthy hair in the process?

10. Soooo what are the reactions of the opposite sex? Are you worried you wont attract men as much?

~ This is the most hilarious/ironic question of all lol. I have actually received MORE compliments as natural than I did when I was relaxed. I have always believed that if a man cant accept/love you in your natural state {no make up, real hair, basically anything that can be taken off at night} then he doesnt accept/love you at all. You cant always look like a diva/beauty queen 24 hours a day. But it doesnt mean you dont care about your appearance just because you're natural. I definitely wear make-up every now and then, get my eyebrows waxed and I sure do get my nails done, so femininity is not an issue. But I guess it depends on the man. If he wants a "barbie" looking chick, then that's on him. But I also see alot of single women who are relaxed and weaved up, so there is no difference in my eyes. I just dont understand how going natural is associated with being unattractive and single. My boyfriend LOVES my locs and he was with me when my hair was relaxed and silky ladies sooooo......

11. So what do you do when your relaxed ends lose that "crimp" from the braidouts in between washes?
 ~ I just braid and bind them at night. But usually if that "crimp" cannot stay,  that usually means its time to wash my hair again.

12. Since you've started working out, how do you protect your locs?
 ~ Braid and bind...when my hair is damp from sweating, it gives my locs the advantage to have a "fresh looking" braid out when I take them a loose. This is why I prefer to work out in the evenings so I can keep the braids in until they are dry by the next morning.

13, Have you experienced breakage with your relaxed ends since you cannot oil/moisturize them?
 ~Surprisingly, I have not had any breakage whatsoever with my relaxed ends. I guess my hair takes to relaxers well and my ends are still as smooth as they were when I had my last relaxer (november '09). Its crazy because they are still soft and strong. My hair was pretty healthy when I had a relaxer so I am just as surprised as anyone else that I didnt experience breakage while transitioning. 

These questions are not done in a particular order, but this is what I get asked pretty often. Im sure alot of locked sisters get these questions asked all the time, but there aren't many women around me who are natural. So many women have expressed to me that they want to go natural or get SL's, but not ready to take that leap for various reasons. All of that is understandable, but I hope this Q&A helped a little bit. I dont pretend to be an expert, but I have learned alot this past year. I still have a long way to go, but I believe the hardest part is over :o)