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!