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...

Don't you hate it when you start doing something, and you are super motivated, you are giving it your all, and then it all goes out the window? Yeah, I hate that too, and that's exactly how my year has started. Well, not all of it, but at least the part that gives me the most work.  So here's what happened. As I said in my last blog, Andrew and I joined the gym to have access to more equipment, to use the treadmill, etc. Because in the past I have had some issues with going to the gym, mainly not knowing what the hell to do, I spend a good amount of time creating this somewhat ambitious 10-week workout plan. Based on the days that Andrew and I had decided to go to the gym, I selected the workouts that I would do there as well as those that I would do on the days I worked out at home. I knew I may have to adjust it; after all, I had not worked out for a couple of weeks, plus I was also incorporating a full-body circuit. I just did not know how much I had to adjust it. ...

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...

On Monday I came back from a wonderful vacation in my beautiful island of Puerto Rico. There, my husband and I spent ten days enjoying the beach, the weather, and the company of family and friends that were with us at one point or another. We spent some time with our friend Elba Vázquez at Brisas de Cidra Guest House. We went to Naguabo, a beautiful town that we had never been to, saw some of the most amazing sunsets, and had fresh and delicious seafood accompanied by mojitos. We spent some time in San Juan, visiting places we had been with the girls when we went last summer. And then we went to my hometown, Arecibo, where I visited family and friends, and spent some amazing time as well.   Throughout our stay there, we tried to incorporate exercising as much as we could. We did not obsess about it; after all, we were on vacation, and the point was to relax. But we walked quite a bit, used our bands for strength training, and even used the fitness room at one of the hotels....

Today is day 23 of my 30 for 30 challenge. At times it seems unbelievable that I have gotten this far, and yet, I always knew that I could do it. Sure, it has been difficult to adjust to this new thing of making sure that I make time for myself, but it has been worth it. And I am very happy to say that of the 23 days, I have only missed working out 4 days. There are times that doing it is just not possible. And yesterday was one of those days. It was a hard day at work. Knowing I only had 2 working days this week before I leave on vacation elevated my stress to new levels. I had tons of things to do, and that was not counting the ones I had to do at home. Doing my taxes, for example. Yes, I always promise myself that I will do them as soon as I get my W-2 forms, but it never happens, and this year was no exception. The difference is that I need money for my vacation and I had been planning to use my tax return for this purpose. Well, guess what? I waited until the last minute and it ...

Today marks the 15th day since I started the 30 for 30 challenge. I can't believe I am half way there! It has not been an easy journey, but definitively one I'm glad I took it, and also look forward to continue. I am already seeing some results from my efforts and can only imagine what is to come as I keep on going. Yesterday, for example, I was getting ready to go to my daughter Ileana's performance, and when I put on the skirt I was planning to wear, it fit me too big! I was so happy about that, and it got better this morning when I was getting ready for work and I put on my gray skirt (which I actually like a lot) and it fit me big as well. I am putting both of them aside to give them away. I am committed to never go back to that size again. And in order to do that, I need to continue to be disciplined, not only about my workouts, but in my nutrition as well. As I mentioned last week, I know that not preparing my lunch was a sure shortfall for me. Not having lunch an...

So here I am today, on Day 9 of my 30 for 30 challenge. I can't believe that it has already been that long! And yet, there are still 21 days to go.  All in all, it has been good. Initially I thought that I was going to be blogging each day, but frankly, after working out I am exhausted and only want to take a bath and go to sleep. So I think I will be blogging on a weekly basis instead. Here's a summary report for days 2 through 8. "Don't wish it were easier. Wish you were better." - Fitness Inspiration for Women on Facebook - February 21, 2013 Progress, one day at a time I have to say that this is the most committed I have been to a workout regimen in the last couple of months. I am actually looking forward to working out every day. Before the challenge, I fantasized about working out, and then a "reason" would come up and I would not do it. But now, since I made this commitment, I am excited about doing it every day, and it helps a lot when I se...

We made it public yesterday. My sister, María Elena Martínez, and I decided to do a "30 for 30" challenge. We made a personal and public commitment of exercising at least 30 minutes per day for the next 30 days. No excuses, no "ifs or buts." We will be checking on each other every other day to assess progress, and give encouragement. And I told her that I would be blogging about it too, as another way to increase our accountability. The stage has been set. Day 1 I had not worked out for about a week, and I was a bit intimidated by going back to it. As I was putting on my workout clothes, though, I was happy to see that they fit loosely (well, let me not exaggerate...not loosely, but not as tight as before). So that gave me a boost of confidence to get going. Plus I had downloaded a couple of routines from Shape magazine to work on "problem areas" (read, the whole body at this point). I spent a good amount of time looking at the videos and was pretty com...