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

I have always kept journals. It has been a good way for me to reflect back on what I have done, notice patterns, and laugh at youthful silliness. The past couple of days I spent time reading my journal from when I was 18-19, and I cried for, was embarrassed at, and laughed at my younger self. But that is another story. The journal that relates to this entry is my weight loss journal. I have kept it for years, writing on and off and documenting my struggle with weight loss. Appropriately labeled "Morphing Journal," I have been keeping notes in there since 2006. That was truly the beginning of the "Ups and Downs, and Wardrobe Changes." In there I journal my successes and defeats related to this never ending process. Recently, I grabbed the journal again to jot down my new workout routine. It is a rather small notebook, perfect fitting for my gym bag, easy to carry around so that I don't forget that after squats I have to do push ups, and then mountain climbers. ...

After that wonderful Hawaiian vacation, we came back to reality and the daily routines. We all had some adjustments to make, particularly with the jet lag, but me, with my insomnia, it took me a bit longer to get back on track. And to top it off, I only had about a week and a half to get adjusted, as I had to pack again to attend the United States Conference on AIDS (USCA) 2013, which was taking place in New Orleans, LA. I was very excited to go to USCA. It was going to be a great opportunity to network with colleagues in the HIV/AIDS field, many of whom I had met in 2012 at the  XIX International AIDS Conference , which took place in Washington, DC. Last year, I was selected by the National Latino AIDS Action Network (NLAAN) to be an Embajadora  at the conference. As an Embajadora (Ambassador), I covered various of the conference sessions and shared this information through a blog and other social media outlets, like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  Some other peop...

Sometimes you seek guidance from others instead of trusting what you are already doing. This was my experience this week when I sought out help from a nutritionist in my fight against diabetes. Here's what happened. As I have mentioned in previous posts, I have been taking a nutrition course online. It has been great; I have learned a lot and as a result have been able to make some changes to my diet. Now I know the balance I must have between carbs, protein and fat, and I have been adjusting my meals to try to keep with that goal. This has meant that I have had to let go of some foods that I liked but that were not contributing anything but empty calories to my diet. I have moved away from refined grains to whole grains, I am looking at foods with a low sodium count, and I am making sure I get my recommended servings of fruits and vegetables. All in all, it has been a great course...until two weeks ago. Constant companions: fresh fruit and a scale to weight my food. The w...

A month. It seems like only yesterday that I stared my leave of absence from work to focus on my mental and physical health and to sort out my plans for my future. But a month has already gone by, way too fast. Things did not necessarily work out the way I had envisioned them, but they worked out all right. When planning for my leave, I had envisioned waking up in the mornings, running in the park in the mornings, spend time at home cleaning, reorganizing things around the house, having dinner ready for my family when they got home, and spending time at the park reading the many books that called for my attention. It was idyllic; I should have known better. The three of us on our respective grammar school graduations. I was conscious of my daughters' upcoming graduations (Amanda graduated from 12th grade and Ileana from 8th grade), but I was not conscious that it was going to take such a big amount of time and energy. So while I did get to do some of the things I had envisio...