As a woman in her 30s, I feel that my metabolism hates me some days...most days. Merely thinking about licking icing off of a cupcake adds an extra inch to my thighs or butt. On top of that, my schedule has caused me to foster excuses about my poor eating habits. Fast food and caffeine kept me going on days that I worked 16-hour shifts. The other days of the week, I'd say I was too tired to cook. And it was true. I was drained.
I'd become complacent with my habits of running off of four hours of sleep and snacking instead of eating balanced meals. My sleep and eating patterns weren't the best. Quite frankly, neither was my spark for creativity. I felt sluggish and stagnant in multiple areas in my life. Trying to dodge full-length mirrors, I knew that I couldn't escape the reality that I needed to change, and actively change!
I wanted to be healthy both mentally and physically. A lot of times, those two things go hand in hand. Thirty days ago, I decided, "If I can control what goes into my mouth, I can control what comes out of my mouth." It was about what I could control. If I could tame and discipline my flesh to choose healthier food options and actually rest, I could tame the manifestations coming out of my mouth as well. Here's how I reclaimed my discipline:
Planning Meals:
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I started by planning my meals. Yes, we all know that meal prepping works. It helped me to control the number of calories I was consuming and I replaced all drinks with water. Yes, this took some getting used to as caffeine gave me the energy I needed in the mornings and midday. Yet, eventually it got easier. My bank account saw significantly less transactions for fast food purchases too.
Planning Quiet Time:
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As I plan out everything else in my life, I planned out time to pray and simply do nothing. I picked 20 minutes at the beginning of the day and 20 minutes at the end of the day. I give my time to my job, to my family, and to my friends but often I neglected to give myself time for just me.
I deserve to enjoy my own company.
And honestly this resulted in me having to say "no" to many things I was asked. That meant that I chose me before choosing to do things for others that they could do themselves. I had to take off my cape and realize that I didn't have to swoop in and save the day for everyone. They could do it themselves. It was me learning to put a cap on how far I extended myself to others and their access to me.
Planning Exercise:
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OK, I'll confess. Your girl doesn't like to work out. I really don't. One day I thought that I was brave enough to try the 30-Day Calliet Way, but I was way too ambitious. I looked at his meal plan. Check! I could do that. Pre-workout. Check! Full workout...I didn't get that far. The pre-workout felt like the full workout and I thought I was dying a little. Did I mention that I don't like to sweat? While I may have failed doing it the Calliet Way, I did incorporate more walking into my everyday routine. Perhaps in a month or two, I'll have the courage to try his workout plan again. But for now, I am making strides to be more active.
Planning to Exercise my Mind:
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By nature, I'm a creative person. When I'm not being creative, I don't feel my best. In efforts to do just that, I started reading and writing more. This is when I feel as though I am in my zone. Making money is great, but I needed to have an outlet that my jobs don't provide. I needed to start having vision again. I needed to start being optimistic and manifesting good things into my future again.
I learned to speak life and not defeat into my future.
Overall, I know that this will be an ongoing process. Yes, I'm excited by the weight loss, the inches I've shaved off my figure, the clear skin, and the extra hours of sleep, but there have been days when I've found myself wanting to slip back into not my old habits because it would be convenient. In those moments, I had to remind myself of the progress I've made. I'm learning how to have a healthy balance in my life. I'm learning that there is a time to work and there is a time to rest. And I mean really rest, not checking work emails from my phone while in bed.
I've learned that convenience isn't always the best choice. Yes, it's easy to go through the drive-thru, but slowly yet surely, those bad habits attach themselves to you like unwanted pounds. We can all find something to complain about, yet we have even more to be grateful for and can live each new day optimistic.
You are your best investment. Work on your passion and what drives you. You owe it to yourself to not be stagnant. It's an everyday process and choice, but you are capable of being able to tame your mind and your body.
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While speaking to xoNecole, Eva shares that she’s a lot like the beloved 1994 character in many ways. “Lyric is so me. She's the odd flower. A flower nonetheless, but definitely not a peony,” she tells us.
“She's not the average flower you see presented, and so she reminds me of myself. I'm a sunflower, beautiful, but different. And what I loved about her character then, and even more so now, is that she was very sure of herself.
"Sure of what she wanted in life and okay to sacrifice her moments right now, to get what she knew she deserved later. And that is me. I'm not an instant gratification kind of a person. I am a long game. I'm not a sprinter, I'm a marathon.
America first fell in love with Eva when she graced our screens on cycle 3 of America’s Next Top Model in 2004, which she emerged as the winner. Since then, she's ventured into different avenues, from acting on various TV series like House of Payne to starring on Real Housewives of Atlanta.
Je-Caryous Johnson Entertainment
Eva praises her castmates and the play’s producer, Je’Caryous for her positive experience. “You know what? Je’Caryous fuels my audacity car daily, ‘cause I consider myself an extremely audacious woman, and I believe in what I know, even if no one else knows it, because God gave it to me. So I know what I know. That is who Je’Caryous is.”
But the mom of three isn’t the only one in the family who enjoys acting. Eva reveals her daughter Marley has also caught the acting bug.
“It is the most adorable thing you can ever see. She’s got a part in her school play. She's in her chorus, and she loves it,” she says. “I don't know if she loves it, because it's like, mommy does it, so maybe I should do it, but there is something about her.”
Overall, Eva hopes that her contribution to the role and the play as a whole serves as motivation for others to reach for the stars.
“I want them to walk out with hope. I want them to re-vision their dreams. Whatever they were. Whatever they are. To re-see them and then have that thing inside of them say, ‘You know what? I'm going to do that. Whatever dream you put on the back burner, go pick it up.
"Whatever dream you've accomplished, make a new dream, but continue to reach for the stars. Continue to reach for what is beyond what people say we can do, especially as [a] Black collective but especially as Black women. When it comes to us and who we are and what we accept and what we're worth, it's not about having seen it before. It's about knowing that I deserve it.”
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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