Will?... Will?.... WILL?....

Oh where, oh where has my WILL POWER gone? 
OK, so since November 17th... my diet and exercise routine has gone down hill.  I know that it's because I have been lazy.  I can try to hide behind my excuse (I was in RI, then it was Thanksgiving and right after my birthday celebrations and then some family issues...), but I have to admit that I am just being lazy and I let all these things take control. 
I have to shake this off... I need to get back to that place where I was ubber motivated to workout and eat healthy.  I need to do this no matter what... not the Holidays, not family visiting and not all the holiday parties can get in my way. 
This is vow to myself that tomorrow I will start and get back on the my journey to healthy and I will feel happier again.
I will find my WILL POWER!

I believe a unique core self is born into every human being; the result of millennia of environment and heredity combined in an unpredictable way that could never happen before or again.--Gloria Stienem

Positive Affirmations are so important for me during this process.  I have to learn to refocus when I am deviated from my journey... and getting back to reading positive quotes and phrases help remind me of why I am doing this and what I am worth.
Rejection is something that [I don't think] not one person likes to feel... the worse is when it keeps happening to you [consecutively].  I can't help but feel that I am not good enough- no matter how untrue that is.   The truth is the person who rejects me is not rejecting me because of me, it's because of himself, it's his problem [not mine]... it really has nothing to do with me.  These people, I believe, are challenges or road blocks that will give me that jolt to wake me up and make me work a little bit harder to becoming the better person that I can be.  These challenges will help prepare me for the person that will value and love me the way we deserve to be valued and loved.

Some affirmations:

• From now on I will only surround myself by people that value me and truly care for me.
• I will believe that I am worthy of someones time.
• I know that I deserve love and I accept it now.
• When I believe in myself, so will others.
• I choose love, joy and freedom, open my heart and allow wonderful things to flow into my life.

The thing is this journey that I am on is not just about my physical changes, it's also (and more importantly) about my emotional and mental changes-- which are the most difficult to work on.

Gracias. Obrigada. Thank You. Grazie. Gratias Agimus Tibi.

I have so much to be thankful for this year and especially the last few months.  I am so thankful for all of the support that I have received as I’ve tried to make changes in my life.   Through this journey not only have a found  new ways to be happier and healthier, but I’ve also learned who my friends really are.

I am thankful for this year because I have learned so much about myself.

Now off to do my Thanksgiving workout!  It’s been a little over a week since I’ve been to the gym… great day to get back!

Irony

An outcome of events contrary to what was, or might have been, expected.

This week is what I would consider to be a flop after I wrote the blog about not being complacent. The Irony.  I guess there will be those days when you are not on your “A game”.  What is important is to acknowledge it and get back in the game.  My work out with Wesley today was intense… it was all strengthen/ endurance exercises... and it was all fast.  I was sweating buckets! 
My workout also showed that I’ve slacked this week… he could tell.  So I have to push myself for better and more

complacent:

adjective

1.

pleased, especially with oneself or one's merits, advantages, situation, etc., often without awareness of some potential danger or defect; self-satisfied.

2.

pleasant; complaisant

Goal is to NOT become COMPLACENT... Always push for more.

So every time I workout, I try to push myself to the next level.  There are still somethings that I struggle with [anything that has to do do with upper body strength].   Every time I work that area out, I just try to do the best that I can and again try to push myself to do one more...

I am up to 15 minutes of jogging with good control of my breathing... that is a big accomplishment for me.  So happy.

So far I've been working out with these trainers and it has been so beneficial to me, I am learning so much and they help me push myself to the next level. 

One of the guys that I train with is always saying to me "Don't be complacent..."  That has become my mantra. 

I can't wait to check my measurements, weight, body fat analysis and have my fitness test... I hope to see some significant improvements. 

Challenges will help me reach my goals...

So part of the reason why I am so motivated to become healthy is due to my family history of cardiac diseases.  
My paternal grandfather died very early in life due to a heart attack and my uncle (who is only in his mid-50's) just suffered a severe heart attack that left 50% of his heart so weak that he could not undergo surgery.
My late maternal grandfather suffered a number of strokes and had kidney cancer.  My grandmother has diabetes, my aunt has high blood pressure, and some of my other aunts and cousins have thyroid problems. 
Yeah,  I need to be healthy now in order to try to avoid these issues being my personal ones in the future.
When I did the step test last week and I saw how high my heart rate was, that scared me.

What am I doing to improve my physical self? 
I have never been a runner by any means, so the idea of running or even jogging makes me nervous.  One of the reasons is because I have a hard time controlling my breathing, or better said remembering to breathe.  I also have this irrational fear of falling. 
So what I am doing to overcome this fear is running on the treadmill; I only jog/run for 1/4 of each lap that I do.  It looks silly but eventually I will be able to jog/run a whole lap and then eventually the whole time I'm on the treadmill (which is usually about 30 minutes).  I am also keeping track of my heart rate, I need to get that under control as well.
Today while I was working out with Wesley (my trainer) he asked me to work on push-ups, crunches, and squats daily.  He explained to me that the stronger my upper body becomes the leaner my abdomen will get... makes so much sense.  So I am going to make it a personal challenge for myself ; to do this everyday for 30 days, and hopefully once day 31 is here it will just be part of my daily habits. 

I am so excited about this new chapter in my life. 
I'll keep checking in.   Oh and P.S., today while I was getting dressed I couldn't help but notice the slight differences in my body- It was a great feeling!

Corpo, Alma e Mente

Body, Soul and Mind

This change is not just about me feeling physically better; it's for all of me to be in harmony and healthy. 

Body:
I have learned to have a conscious about what I put in my mouth (I am still in the process of "perfecting" healthy eating and balancing everything).  I have also started a workout regimen, that is with the the help of the Wesley and Frank- LA Fitness trainers.  I'm so grateful for them.  I'm logging what I do for a workout every time I work out... my goal is to get in at least 5 days of working out each week. (If I do 7 days, then I will treat myself with a little something.)

Soul:
Surrounding myself with positive people.  I don't want negativity and drama around me... it puts a damper in my soul.  I want to be around people that get me and are supportive of these changes that I'm embarking upon. 
I am also learning to let go of those small things that really don't matter.  I am focused on what's good, try to keep an open mind about everything and alway remind myself that people come from a good place.
I am also making it a point to NOT engage in conversations where there are put downs or bad mouthing of other people  - All that energy (in my opinion) just makes me ugly.

We all have a purpose in this crazy world and we all come for a good place.

Mind:
I've been taking a Brazilian Portuguese class for the last few weeks.  I've always loved the Portuguese language, culture and people.  Unfortunately in Florida I was unable to find a European Portuguese class, so I settled for the Brazilian Portuguese.  (Believe me there are slight differences in the pronunciations of words.)  Taking this class has been fun and has also made me realize that I don't have be afraid of going back to school to get me degree.
Writing this blog has also been a good exercise for my mind... I have always loved writing and for some reason stopped.  Now that I'm back into it, it's a great release for me and form of expression. 
I don't plan to be next New York Times Best Seller by any means... this is just fun and I love that my friends are enjoying my blog.

✾◕ ‿ ◕✾ Have a GREAT weekend!

It's a learning process

Today was my 1st Fitness Evaluation day.  This evaluation made me realize that I have a lot to work on and with hard work I will achieve my goals. (I learned that I've been measuring my "waist" wrong; my waist is actually at my belly button- duh!).  So I did weight myself on my scale before getting to the gym, Frank said it was OK to use the weight that I got on my scale. 

• OK so here we go... weight 159lbs, on my chest I have lost 0.5 inches (since 10/07) and on my hips I have lost 3/4 inch (since 10/07)-- Yay!  He also measured my neck, shoulders, the right waist measurement, right and left biceps, right and left thighs, and right and left calves. 
• To test my heart rate he had me run up and down the stairs for 3 minutes... I made it to 2 minutes and my heart rate was at 172bpm (NO BUENO). 
• For upper body strength I did modified push-ups (knees)-  I made it to 15 reps. 
• For lower body strength I did squats- I made it to 11 reps.
• For flexibility, in a seated position with legs wide opened I reached to towards the center with my hands and got to 23 inches.
• For muscular endurance I was only able to do 5 sit-ups.
• So my Body Fat % was tested again, I got 40.5%.... YUP that means it's gone down 2%!!!

Overall, it was a good day at the gym and now I have a good baseline to go by and push myself to improve all these numbers.   I also met the other trainer that I will be working with, Wesley, and he seems like he will motivate me to get to where I want to be.  I meet with him next Friday.  So for now on I push myself and look forward to my weekly session with a trainer.

No pain, no gain...

Whoa... it's happening, it's really happening.

So I decided to amp up my workouts...
On Friday I met with a trainer and had a complimentary training session.  He made me feel comfortable and not intimidated at all, therefore I felt motivated to workout.  So we worked on triceps, shoulders and chest [and cardio afterwards]... I'm still sore today.  It was an amazing workout though, and it's made me realize how weak my body is and how I really need to work at making myself strong.  I want to slim down, but I want to also be strong... I don't want to be skinny fat.
Today I met with him again and we worked on legs [and cardio after]... so yeah my legs are now jello.  Again, awesome workout.  I'm ready for bed. 
After these two workouts I realize that I need a teacher to help me figure out the safe and efficient ways to exercise so I can become toned and slim.  I am going to invest in myself, my health and my future and I will be meeting with a trainer weekly...  I think it's worth it.  I will be accountable to a teacher of fitness and I will be learning the safe ways to get to that healthy self. 
I'm excited to take this challenge on...
I will meet with Frank on Friday again for weigh-in, measurements, body fat percent and a fitness evaluation and then from that point forward these evaluations will be monthly...  And I want to SHINE every month!
What I really like about this trainer is that I feel that he's genuine, respectful and he believes in me.... He can see how bad I want to be healthy again.

42.5 %

"My body is amazing and I love my body. In order to show the deep love and respect for my body, I choose to eat healthy foods.  Each moment I decide to eat or drink something, I am conscious of the impact it will have on my overall health and I make healthy choices."

Sounds like common sense, but I feel like I need to read this on a daily basis to remind myself why I am choosing to change my lifestyle.  It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle change that I'm trying to achieve and it's hard.  Some days are easier than others.  I'm learning that it's all about surrounding myself with positivity. 

Today was my day 20 of my 30 Day Cleanse... That means weigh-in and measurement day.
I've lost 10 lbs, 2 inches from my chest, 2.5 inches from my waist and 1 inch from my hips in 32 days.  (I did start weigh-ins and measurements 8 days before I started the full cleanse, that's why I count back to 9.5.11.)  So this means I get my 1st reward-a new pair of shoes... I'm planning on going to the store this weekend to get my new shoes!

Today I took another step towards my commitment to myself and my healthy lifestyle.  I saw a trainer at the gym, I am so glad I did so because he was so helpful.  (The last time -over one year ago- I saw a trainer; the guy was flirting with me and totally not even helping me.)  This guy Frank really helped me and taught me that I can push my body to do things that I didn't think it could.  I did 30 modified push-ups... yeah, me, I did!  I didn't think I could get through 5 push-ups and I did 30.  The workout he had me do was awesome and he helped me really push myself.  It was great and could you believe that I already feel a little sore.  Yup my ass was handed to today at LA Fitness!

I also had a body fat analysis ... I'm at 42.5% body fat.  When I saw that number I freaked out, thinking "that's half of me!", but then Frank made me aware that for women at a healthy range are between 20-23% body fat.  Phew!

My next weight-in and measurement day is Monday, October 17th!  I'm excited to see these inches go down more!

Patience

In the last two days I have been feeling lighter and slimmer than what I felt a week ago.  I am anxious to weight myself, but I have to be patient and wait until the October 7th to do my weigh in and take my measurements.  The cleanse that I'm in states to weigh your self on Days 1, 8, 20 and 30... I wonder why they came up with those days (I mean I get Day 1 and 30).  I'm trying to be patient and wait until the 7th; I want to keep very strict to the regimen.  I can't believe how good I've been doing with the work outs, it's been so great!  It doesn't hurt that every time I go to the gym there is a guaranteed hottie working out near me.  Soon I'll have the confidence to maybe say "hello" to one of those hotties. 

Six in Twenty!

Yes, I have lost 6 pounds in 20 days!!!  Now I only have 34 pounds left to go. 
I've lost 1.5 inch on my chest, 0.5 inch on my waist and 0.5 inch on my hips (it doesn't seem like a lot of inches... but it's motivating me to lose more).  It hasn't been easy... but it has to be done. 

OK so when I started this blog, I slowly started to be more conscious of what I eat and how active I am.  Now I'm in full blown health conscious mode!

I am now on my Day 8 of  a  cleanse.  Here's a link to what I am doing: 
Isagenix 30 Day Cleanse System.   It's a bit difficult because you are limited to the kinds of foods you can eat and also no alcohol drinking...

For some reason since I've been living in Florida I have found myself going out to eat more (thanks to all the great deals for happy hours) and drinking more than I did in Rhode Island.  Luckily I have a great group of friends that are very supportive of my journey and there is never any pressure.  Last night is a great example; Adrienne's Birthday.  We celebrated at World of Beers, they ordered pizza and had cupcakes.  THREE things that I can not consume at the moment.  When I got there, the pizza was already there and everyone was enjoying their beers and pizza, I ordered water.  I had a shake before leaving the house, so I wasn't hungry (Plus I had a great workout right after work, so I didn't want to let all that work go to waste).  The cupcakes smelled amazing - for those who know me well, know that I'm a sugar addict.  I was tempted to eat one sprinkle, but quickly put it down, because really how many sprinkles have I had my whole life (I know what they taste like already).  I just enjoyed the wonderful smell of that lemon icing on the vanilla cupcakes.  Baked goods really do smell awesome! It was awesome being around all these friends, because really there was no pressure to drink or even eat, we were all just happy to be around each other and share our stories.  I love them.

This week I have been really good at my workouts, I'll have to give myself a pat in the back for that.  I am so easily unmotivated; but not this week.  What I decided to do [spontaneously] is to try out all the different LA Fitness locations in Palm Beach County, and it was actually fun to do that.  And I did it all on my own.  I'm learning that the only person I can truly count on is myself so I need to do more of these things on my own.  I'm easing my way into the workout I'm doing because I don't want to crash and burn; so I've just focused on cardio (the elliptical, cross ramp or the treadmill) this past week.

The best reward has been that I feel happy. Go figure, living a healthy life actually impacts your moods.

Here's to a great week ahead, more work out and healthy eating!

Goals = Success

That's the idea right?  If I set up small goals and rewards, then I will eventually get to the finish line of my goal weight/size.

Each 10 pounds closer to Happier ME!

Reward once I shed my first 10lbs is a pair of new shoes. (Everyone I see at work will agree that I need a new pair for work.)

Reward once I shed 20lbs is a facial.  (I haven't had a facial since Megan has been on maternity leave and I'm so past over due for one.)

Reward once I shed 30lb are two clips for my new Pandora bracelet.  (I'm so excited to start this new bracelet.)

Reward once I shed 40lbs is new clothes.... I'm sure going to need some by then!

Woot!  I'm excited!!!

Dresses that I bought and have not had a chance to wear them, so hopefully I'll be able to wear them for the holiday season:

Reflections…

Ever take a look in the mirror and you don’t recognize the person that is staring you back in the face?  That happened to me today [sad face].  When did this happen?  How did I let this happen?  Was I that blinded by personal unhappiness, that I just let myself go this much?  Time for me to get serious; a healthy me will make a happy me. 

Today, I had a great pool day with friends.  And we had a healthy lunch.  My friend Bobby made great chicken, avocado and tomatoes wraps (sundried tomatoes wraps) and I made an arugula, spinach, strawberry salad with onions, walnuts and feta cheese.  YUM 

Tomorrow I start my morning work-out schedule.  I’ll be checking in.  Wish me luck!!!



10 days

I started this blog 10 days ago.  I feel that overall, I'm starting to be more conscious of my choices.  Distractions and all, I would say I get a B-.  The past few days, I have not been feeling well, but I've managed to stay away from my "comfort foods" and am sticking to water, tea, soup and THERAFLU (of course).  And I'm adding Vitamin C to my daily multi-vitamin intake.

this stuff is magic

I've been drinking about 6-7 of these a day!!! 

(They say to weigh yourself, divide the number by 2 and that's the amount of ounces of water you should drink daily.)

 

Not a hundred percent

It started on Saturday night… feeling very tired.  Then Sunday again achy body and feeling a little stuffy… I thought it was aches from helping a friend move on Friday and allergies.  (I always have allergies, so that’s usually the 1^st to be blamed.)  Yesterday, I was stuffy all day- again I’m still sticking to thinking it’s my allergies (although I’ve been taking my allergy medication).  So I stopped at the store last night and picked up some Theraflu (my new favorite cold medicine) and had some last night – just in case.  This morning I made it to the gym.  I had some more Theraflu before leaving to work, was feeling better until about 2:30… it hit me, crazy stuffiness, runny nose, my ears hurt, my eyes burn and I feel like I have fluid in my sinuses.  I feel unbalanced.  Sniff, sniff.

I need to start a better multi vitamin… any suggestions?

Unprepared = Disappointment

I didn’t not prepare well today.  I did well at work and ate healthy overall.  Drank water all day long, I have a new love for water … again.  I came home after work and passed out into a 3 hour nap.  I woke up hungry and ended up warming up one of my grandmother’s empanadas, it seemed like a good idea at first but I was wrong.  I hate to say this but I didn’t think it was good and ended up only eating half of it.  Now I’m feeling disappointed in myself and am swimming in all that guilt that I wrote about last night.  One day at a time, right… one day.

Challenges… keep them coming (or not)

Sometimes I wish I could join The Biggest Loser camp.  Be secluded from the world and all its challenges and temptations.  But reality is that I have to work and live among all other human beings; the humans that are consciously healthy, unconsciously [and consciously aka they don’t really care] unhealthy, and the very few that have great genes and don’t have to be consciously healthy, yet are/look very healthy.

OK so day 2 was a bit of challenge.  Date night, I convinced my date to go to Season 52 for dinner.  Seasons 52 is a very health conscious restaurant, the meals are 475 calories or less and they only have seasonal foods in the menu, so everything is fresh.  I am satisfied with how disciplined I was… I drank ice cold water throughout the whole meal.  My date wanted to order 2 appetizers, so we ordered the flat bread with chicken and roasted peppers and the shrimp stuffed mushrooms…Wow they were absolutely amazing dishes and were portioned perfectly for two people.  For my main entrée I ordered the grilled salmon that was accompanied by asparagus, sweet baby carrots and roasted potatoes- again portioned perfectly.  We did order desserts (tisk, tisk), but they are the ones in shot glasses, better than huge piece of pie.  I was very satisfied with the meal. I did not feel like I could roll out of there like I feel most of the time when I go out to eat.

The difficult thing about going out of eating with another person (or people) is that they may not necessarily be on the same health conscious page that you are on; therefore you are faced with temptations.  So I need to make an effort to surround myself with people who are supportive of me journey to a healthy me. 

Day 3.

 I worked from home, which as actually easy because I was alone most of the day and realized that we don’t really have a lot of unhealthy food here (that is mine, that is) – this made the temptations non-existent for me.  I realized something about myself- I am more of a food grazer if people around me are also grazing.  (I’m a food follower in a sense.)  My younger cousin came home and was going to McDonalds for lunch; she was thoughtful and offered to get me something to which I immediately answer with a “No thank you”.  Snaps for me!  I discovered a new trick while I was home… we have those cute little lemon look alike bottles that have real lemon juice in it… well I put a few drops of that in my water and  I had lemonade without the sugar.  Sweet!  Nice way to jazz up my water. 

After my work day, I met some friends for Happy Hour at RA… my happy hour drink was water with lemon. I didn’t want to drink my calories away ~ I’d rather eat them.  I would say that I didn’t over do it, like I normally could. I did end up having the regular menu items that we all normally have [pineapple cheese wontons, pork gyozas, viva las vegas roll, rainbow roll, and tootsy maki roll], because we share everything.    I really wanted to have some dessert, but I stopped myself from even verbalizing it to my friends.  I would have to say that this it was a challenge for me; I give myself credit because I made the decision to just drink water. Left RA, feeling satisfied not stuffed.

I don’t want to feel guilty anymore for living my life normally, I can’t avoid doing things [like going out to dinner] with my friends; I just have to make better choices.

I FEEL what I eat…

In the past few years I’ve learned the term ‘You are what you eat’ to be very true.  I’m also finding more and more that it’s more like ‘You Feel what you eat’ to be even more true.  The heavier I eat, the heavier I feel.  The healthier I eat, the lighter I feel.

When I think about “comfort” food that I love so much such as Burgers/Fries, NE Clam Chowder in a bread bowl, any kind of pasta dish (especially Lobster Ravioli), ice cream sundaes, cheesecake, anything with sugar or that involves carbohydrates, etc.   Well basically after I eat any of these meals… I feel terribly heavy and groggy.  All I want to do is take a siesta after “comfort” food.

NE Clam Chowder in a bread bowl

Today went great!  I started my day with ice cold water and then a chocolate flavored protein shake.  For lunch I made myself a tuna salad with lots of celery and small amount of mayonnaise, had that with romaine lettuce, a few slices of tomatoes and wheat bread.  I finished off my meal with a few strawberries…sweet, sweet strawberries…YUM.  Then for dinner, I had another chocolate flavored protein shake.  Throughout the day I’ve been drinking lots of ice cold water. 

Thirst Quenching! 

 tuna salad

 



sweet, sweet strawberries

Accomplishments:

®    I went the whole day without Diet Coke (my weakness…big time)

®    I woke up early and made myself a healthy lunch

®    It’s 8:30pm and I already had more than all the water I need for the day

P.S.  Healthy food looks so much prettier… don’t you agree?



Tomorrow is always a new start…

I have lost track of how many times I’ve said that in the last 1 ½ year.  This is my new gadget for motivation.  I want to start a new healthy lifestyle because I want to look good and feel better. 

For the last 7 years I have been struggling with my weight.  Back in 2004, my gradual weight gain began.  Before I knew it, in 2007 I found myself at my heaviest…174lbs [at 5 foot 2 ¾ inches tall].  It was then that I did a natural detoxifying cleanse, I lost 17lbs in my first 30 days… the weight kept shedding as I continued to keep up this lifestyle.  I would do these detoxifying cleanses every once in a while for the next 2 years and I finally got all the way down to 135lbs.  It was great!  I felt great and had so much confidence.  

Then in 2009, I started to slack and relearned all my nasty habits again.  Replacing exercise time with TV time, eating fast food again and just not caring about myself as much.  The price I paid for my slacking… now it’s the 8th month of 2011 and I’m back at 170lbs.   According to the BMI [Body Mass Index] scale I’m at 31.2… yup that’s considered OBESE.  In order for me to be considered HEALTHY [and that is at the higher end of the HEALTHY scale] I would have to be at 130lbs.  That means that I would have to lose 40lbs…I did it before, I can do it again!

I want to thank you all for reading my blog, your support and encouragement. 

Get Ready, Set, Go…