The Rosa Chronicles: The Ups, the Downs, and the Wardrobe Changes

Has it really been nine months since I last wrote an entry? Time does go by too fast! Well, here I am again, continuing to chronicle my journey to getting fit and healthy…and all the things that happen in between. Wouldn't it be great if getting fit would happen  as fast as time goes by? I'd be super fit by now! Some updates since the last time I was here: I have lost a good amount of weight! When I started this journey I was at 179 lbs, which I think was almost as heavy as I was when I was pregnant with my second daughter. With the workouts and the changes in my diet, I managed to lose 22 lbs, and wow, how great does that feel! I got rid of a lot of my clothes that did not fit me anymore; I went from sizes 14/12 to a size 10 and finally to a size 8. I remember the day that I tried my 19 year old daughter's pants, which no longer fit her - I was hesitant but tried them on anyway and whoa, what a surprise that they fit me! As I had mentioned in this entry , I had re...

More than 10 years ago I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. I was not surprised - diabetes had been a part of my life ever since I could remember. My brother José, 10 years older than me, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes when he was 9 years old. As I grew older, I found out that a sister of mine whom I did not get to meet had died of complications related to diabetes at age 3. Years later, my 5 year old niece was also diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, and my own mother received her Type 2 diagnosis soon after we moved to Chicago. To me, it was just a matter of time until I was diagnosed. My diagnosis came as a result of my inability to lose weight. I had joined a gym, hired a trainer, made some changes to my eating habits, and yet, I was not able to lose much weight. Concerned, I went to my doctor and explained my symptoms. She recommended a battery of tests which came back with a diagnosis of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) . PCOS, in turn, is associated with diabetes. I had man...

It has been a while since I last wrote something. Somehow the end of a year does something to my mood and it takes me a while to recuperate, and I still don't get enough energy to get back into routines, any type of routines. It is hard to believe that another year came to an end. It feels as if I had barely started working on my goals for the year, and then, boom, we welcomed a new year. Why is it that time goes by so fast? I remember being young and thinking that a year lasted, well, a whole year. Now, a year feels like it last about 6 months or less. So, as many people do at this time, I was faced with the issue of setting resolutions for the new year. Ay, qué dilema!  Was I really ready to do this? Was it even necessary? After much thought, I decided that resolutions were not for me. Instead, I would rather continue working on what I had already started. Take for example my desire to go back to school. Approximately a year ago I decided that I wanted to go back to school ...

I wrote this around three years ago, when I first started taking steps to lose weight. It has been a long "eviction" process, and I continue engaged in this battle. I am reposting it as a reminder of this struggle and as motivation to continue working on my goals. "Mmmm, excuse me?" I started hesitantly. "I regret to inform you that your stay in this body has come to an end. You have to move out; your body is no longer wanted." And with that, I gave an eviction notice to the body I no longer wanted. You see, around 14 years ago a new body took a hold of my old body, and it has not let go ever since. From there on, whenever I looked in the mirror, I would not see my body, the one I used to have, but the one that has taken residency without having been invited. The "original" body. This is in 1987, when I first came from Puerto Rico. Oh, don't take me wrong! I was expecting some changes after having my two daughters. In fact, I welcomed...

Vacation is over. Conference is done with. Now back to reality. Y ahí es donde la puerca entorchó el rabo (this is difficult to translate, but it means "this is where things get difficult.') It was time to get back into routines. I generally handle routines well; in fact, I welcome routines as they keeps me focused. I like knowing what is happening, when and where. Little did I know that our home routines had been seriously altered and that we had to adjust to a new reality! Amanda's and Ileana's new school schedules are crazy! It keeps them away from home during evenings, sometimes as late as 9:30 p.m. Needless to say, this threw our routines out of the window. We come home and there's nobody here. And because it is weird cooking for one or two people only, (then again, I don't like cooking much!) we have resorted to ordering out quite a bit. Yeah...unhealthy stuff, big portions...and no leftovers for next day. Right now, I am in the middle of that tangl...

Eight months ago I made the decision to commit to my health by exercising and eating healthy. It has not been easy; I have had ups and downs, I have felt like quitting at times. I have tried different exercise routines, some that have been good, some that were not so much. I have felt discouraged because I have not seen results, or at least the results I had wanted so see. I have had to struggle against the lack of support at certain levels, and battle the constant temptations, whether it is food or falling back into old habits. But I have remained constant. And I have seen results. And I have gotten stronger. It has taken me a while, and still have a long way to go, but I love the changes in my body! Take for example, my runs in the park. When I first started, I was walking most of the way. Then I started doing running and walking intervals: running two minutes and walking one. I remember how I wanted to turn around and go back home when I first started doing this! But I k...

As much as sometimes we hate it, change is a constant in our lives. It is exactly what keeps us renewing ourselves, reinventing ourselves over and over so that we can keep up with...well other changes that are going on around us. That is what I have been going through for the past couple of months, but most focused during the past two weeks. Two weeks ago I started a Nutrition course through Coursera.org . The course, which lasts 6 weeks, covers a variety of issues as they relate to nutrition, such as heart disease, cancer, and obesity and weight management. This week, we are are working on Diabetes, which is of a lot of interest to me as a Type 2 diabetic . So, in the process of completing my weekly readings and assignments, I have learned a lot of of things about my diet (and by my diet I am talking about what I eat on a regular basis; I am not following a specific diet). For example, one of my assignments required me to track my food intake for a period of 24 hours, including w...

This week, on Monday, I started my leave from CALOR, the organization I founded, after 21 years of uninterrupted services. After consulting with my husband, who has always been supportive, and my doctor, we determined that I needed a break to focus on my health and my family, and to decide what to do in the future. I have been feeling burned out. Overwhelmed with shifts in funding and other changes that I could not control, but that nevertheless affected me. I have been feeling torn between being able to provide direct services and being buried in paperwork, that, while important, it can be cumbersome. At the end of the day, I was feeling drained, but not the kind of drain you feel when you accomplish something good. It was a feeling of having been doing a lot and still not having done much. I have always taken pride of having an organized desk, and suddenly my desk was covered with papers and files and reports...I felt defeated. I was losing patience with simple things like emails; ...