I have talked to countless clients that do not exercise because of one thing: Hair. The lack of exercise and poor diet is the number one culprit of so many things ailing the black community today. Hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, and obesity are just a few conditions that can be controlled with exercise. I mean really, is hair a good reason to let your health go? I think it’s a poor excuse. So I decided to put my money where my mouth is. I will take on an endeavor and record how I deal with my hair during the process. But what can I do? I’ve got it, a marathon: 26 long miles of straight running. Now I’m not the most athletic person around, so it’s going to take some training. I will be 43 on December 30, and my goal is to complete a marathon by age 45. We’re talking some sweat here and I’m sure some challenging hair days. My girlfriend Andrea is embarking on this new lease on life with me. I have a relaxer, and she, a press and curl. So we have two different textures of hair and bad hair days will be no excuse. I will not only record what is happening with our hair, but my diet and how I feel. I’m sure there will be days that I feel I am a winner, and days that I will want to quit. So I hope you will take this journey with me and hopefully encourage other women of color to begin to put their health first.
Day One
I have to build up my endurance so the new Insanity workout is the initial training of choice. 60 days of training 6 days a week. The first day was an endurance test. We record how many reps of each exercise we can do in one minute intervals. Needless to say, it felt like the hardest workout I have ever done. I thought I had lost a lung. My hair was filthy the first day, and I planned to shampoo it after the workout, so I wore a bandanna. I do not suggest this, because my hair was soaking wet. Andrea pin curled her hair and managed very well. I have been pressing her hair for about 5 years now, so it is very well trained. We were a little worried about how her hair would react but it seemed ok. As for me, my hair was a mess to begin with, so I really didn’t care. I knew I was going to start this program, so I did something really stupid. I ate 3 small Kit Kats, 3 mini ice cream sandwiches, and a Hershey’s Dark Chocolate bar in addition to 3 tacos filled with ground beef, cheese, sour cream, lettuce, and salsa. Yeah I know, but I was saying goodbye to my former life, give me a break. When I got home I felt pretty ok, not hurting too much.
Day Two
I woke up this morning and made a berry smoothie for breakfast. It consisted of frozen mixed berries, non-fat yogurt, strawberry banana juice and ice. I shampooed my hair the night before, tied it up and wraped it, and let it dry while I was sleeping. I curled it while drinking my breakfast. For lunch I ate a little lamb curry with rice and cabbage and had water to drink. At the end of the day I headed for Andrea’s house to do our second day of the Insanity workout. When I pulled up, Andrea was standing outside talking to her neighbor and her hair looked great. It still had lots of body and bounced as she walked towards me smiling and yelling out “are you ready girl?” As for my hair, it looked great because I had just shampooed and styled it so it was fresh and shiny. We began the workout, and I must say Shaun T needs to be shot. The many drills of suicide runs, jumping jacks, pushups, football and basketball drills, and countless other exercises wore us out. There were many times I had to walk in place just to catch my breath. I drank 2 bottles of water during the workout, which is something I have never done. Guess I really wasn’t working out before. I am about a week away from my touch up, and I could feel my hair drawing up at my scalp. I knew it; my scalp will feel like indoor/outdoor carpet by the time this is over. Sure enough, after the work out, my curls were sitting on a little fro and dry as the Sahara desert. I didn’t put a scarf on my hair because it would lock too much heat in. So I came home, put some of The Hair Care Company Hair and Scalp Hydrator on it, brushed it through, wraped it, and tied it down tight. For dinner I ate a multigrain English muffin with cream cheese, red onions, capers, and smoked salmon. To drink, water and a half glass of red wine. I hope my hair will be smooth by morning so I can curl it. We’ll see what happens tomorrow.
Day One
I have to build up my endurance so the new Insanity workout is the initial training of choice. 60 days of training 6 days a week. The first day was an endurance test. We record how many reps of each exercise we can do in one minute intervals. Needless to say, it felt like the hardest workout I have ever done. I thought I had lost a lung. My hair was filthy the first day, and I planned to shampoo it after the workout, so I wore a bandanna. I do not suggest this, because my hair was soaking wet. Andrea pin curled her hair and managed very well. I have been pressing her hair for about 5 years now, so it is very well trained. We were a little worried about how her hair would react but it seemed ok. As for me, my hair was a mess to begin with, so I really didn’t care. I knew I was going to start this program, so I did something really stupid. I ate 3 small Kit Kats, 3 mini ice cream sandwiches, and a Hershey’s Dark Chocolate bar in addition to 3 tacos filled with ground beef, cheese, sour cream, lettuce, and salsa. Yeah I know, but I was saying goodbye to my former life, give me a break. When I got home I felt pretty ok, not hurting too much.
Day Two
I woke up this morning and made a berry smoothie for breakfast. It consisted of frozen mixed berries, non-fat yogurt, strawberry banana juice and ice. I shampooed my hair the night before, tied it up and wraped it, and let it dry while I was sleeping. I curled it while drinking my breakfast. For lunch I ate a little lamb curry with rice and cabbage and had water to drink. At the end of the day I headed for Andrea’s house to do our second day of the Insanity workout. When I pulled up, Andrea was standing outside talking to her neighbor and her hair looked great. It still had lots of body and bounced as she walked towards me smiling and yelling out “are you ready girl?” As for my hair, it looked great because I had just shampooed and styled it so it was fresh and shiny. We began the workout, and I must say Shaun T needs to be shot. The many drills of suicide runs, jumping jacks, pushups, football and basketball drills, and countless other exercises wore us out. There were many times I had to walk in place just to catch my breath. I drank 2 bottles of water during the workout, which is something I have never done. Guess I really wasn’t working out before. I am about a week away from my touch up, and I could feel my hair drawing up at my scalp. I knew it; my scalp will feel like indoor/outdoor carpet by the time this is over. Sure enough, after the work out, my curls were sitting on a little fro and dry as the Sahara desert. I didn’t put a scarf on my hair because it would lock too much heat in. So I came home, put some of The Hair Care Company Hair and Scalp Hydrator on it, brushed it through, wraped it, and tied it down tight. For dinner I ate a multigrain English muffin with cream cheese, red onions, capers, and smoked salmon. To drink, water and a half glass of red wine. I hope my hair will be smooth by morning so I can curl it. We’ll see what happens tomorrow.
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