The Benefits of Morning Exercise

I’ve been working out for 3 weeks straight and today I thought that I was ready to write about it. Basically I’ve joined a gym since last December and I was going after work (a couple of days a week). While this “routine” worked for a couple of months I got to a point where I just could not handle it. I just remember feeling tired and not wanting to go anymore.

One night after a hefty dinner I could not sleep, it was 3 in the morning I believe, that guilty feeling for eating a lot and the fact that my birthday was a month away made me say to myself I cannot do this anymore (it was like my AHA moment!) 2 hours later I jump up off bed, got my stuff ready and hit the gym.

What started as an abrupt decision of me going to the gym at that Insane hour became a habit, I only was planning on doing this for a straight month, only to see what it felt (after all I’ve never did this in my life), but honestly I think that this has become my new way of living. I wake up every day at 5:00 am and get ready for my 6:00 am gym time, after that I get ready there and go to work.

Today I want to share with you all of the great things that have happened since I have been doing this:

I feel more awake. Yes people often say that morning exercise really helps you feel more awake during the day. And it really does, my work requires my brain to be awake so since I started working out I completely forgot about “needing a coffee to wake up and start my day”

I think faster and give more accurate solutions. Sometimes there are situations that need to be fixed fast and correctly, before working out early I felt tired all the time and lazy, now I find an easy way out when I have to solve a problem at work or take better decisions.

My breathing has improved. Before this I would say I breathed normally, but believe me when I tell you that every day I leave the gym ready to start my day my breathing is different and feels good, I feel that I can really expand my lungs, which makes me feel pretty alive.

I don’t stress anymore. I used to be a person who could get stressed pretty easily, when I went to the gym after work I went and got out all the “stress of the day” but REALLY, now that I think about it, working out in the morning helps me not to have stress during the day.

I smile more. It is easy to smile when you are awake, have good natural energy and feel awake.

I sleep better. Incredibly I do, I don’t have any more problems with my sleeping habits plus I sleep early because I wake up at a bloody early hour every day.

I eat better (ok I try). I am still lacking a bit on this side, but I believe I become more selective because I do think more before putting stuff in my mouth and if it is a snack and it doesn’t taste good why bother I just won’t eat it.

And basically that is it, I know I have more to go, but today when my alarm rang and I woke up with no hassle and started getting ready without nagging I realized that it already became a habit for me and nothing can beat that.

Have you had an AHA moment lately?

How to Avoid Case of a Grumpy Cat?

Remember grumpy cat? You know the cat that has been floating around the internet and stands out for being negative and sarcastic. Well I think I could say I had a case of grumpy cat myself these past few days. It is not normal on me, I am typically a calmed person and I don’t overreact, but I just could not control myself. Now that I think about it and go back I want to reflect on some things in order to avoid it in the future.

How to avoid a grumpy cat case:

1. First of all I need to start by getting less bothered for others peoples actions. I know, people do things NOT to bother me, their worlds does not evolve around me all the time. So I need to stop taking stuff personal.

2. I cannot please everyone; not everybody will agree in the same, but that is fine because that makes me unique.

3. You never know, simple as that. When somebody is in a rush or angry it is easy to judge but you never know what is going on with the other person. Maybe they have family, financial, marital problems. You just never know, so stop judging.

4. Pick being kind over being right. Yes it is amazing when I am right! But how does it feel if I do it at others expense?…guilty!!! I mean when I tell someone that they are wrong in front of others is just shameful. Sometimes this is subconsciously done; but I need to try to avoid it by thinking before words come to my mouth.

So yep these are my tips hope that they’re helpful as they were for me.

Have you had a grumpy cat case?

Is Willpower Enough for Losing Weight?

A friend once told me:

If you really want to be healthy and lose weight you need to follow this equation:

Now it sounds simple, but in my head and looking at my background I thought that things were different, I mean I thought that 80% was the exercise and 20% controlling what I put in my mouth. Well that hasn’t taken me any farther so now I am under an experiment.

This experiment started last week when the hubs and I felt really down and with no motivation for working out or taking care of our meals. Until he was like ENOUGH I can’t take it anymore, and I was like yeah sure…(in my mind I couldn’t take it either but I was just craving some desert that I didn’t want to listen).

Does this situation ring a bell to you?

After that declaration we cleaned our fridge (with all my pain) and made a healthy groceries list. We redefined our goals for losing weight which resume in:

• We will lose at least 2 pounds per week (until we reach our personal goal)

• We will weight weekly and take our measurements once a month.

• We will go to the gym at least 5 times a week (1 hour minimum).

• We will not eat any junk food, processed food and Sodas are way out of limits.

• We will eat more Veggies and Fruits (that is how we get our sugar from).

• Dinner after gym will only be salad and a small protein portion (tuna or chicken).

Ok at this point I was going to cry LOL. But took the determination of saying, if you want different results you have to do things differently.

My first week just went by and let me tell you my experience, I did have some freaking cravings which are not fun, these cravings were due to the fact that I was in the junk food cycle, you know, the more you eat that type of food the more you desire it. BUT the gratification of seeing my weight in the scale this past Saturday was WORTH IT, I lost almost 4 pounds (even though I must confess that I did cheat twice over the week, but I don’t care).

I am not saying that I am over it, and that from now on things will be easy as pie, but if last year was the time when I became from an exercise hater to a person who enjoys it, this year will be the one when I will become a person who enjoys eating healthy.

In my belief, although willpower is important while conquering losing weight or any other goal (because you have to say NO to the good to say YES to the best), I also think that the words commitment, patience and perseverance play a big role. Why? Well because losing weight is not a thing that happens from one day to another, you have to let go of old patterns and develop a new way of life, which makes you a patient and perseverant person, and you do have to be committed all the time, is not like “I eat healthy on weekdays and have 2 free weekend days to eat what I want”. No it does not work like that, if you do that you are only fooling yourself.

Now, I am starting week number 2 now I want a Krispy Kream donut, but that’s OK because I am human, so what am I going to do? I am going to my fridge and eat a bit of chopped strawberries before hitting the gym. It is all about the choices, and though it takes willpower, I don’t want to restrict myself, because if I do I will fail. So I am just weighting my options and taking the best one. I know a donut right now will bloat me and will give me energy for like 10 minutes, while strawberries will be fresh, low in sugar and will reduce my craving for a longer period.

Friday + International Women’s Day = SUCCESS!!

Today is Friday so we must be excited about that, and what else? Well it’s International Women’s Day. Happy Day to all the ladies around the world, and it’s time to party…

But not only that I mean women in history have come a long way, and thanks to a lot of brave women we are here right now able to have a job and write about whatever the heck we want to. So whenever someone tells you, you can’t do it screw them and go with your guts girl, because if you trust yourself anything can be possible.

So how are you celebrating?

Until Next Time,

xoxo

Feeling Depressed? Hit the Gym

Ok so last week was very hectic for me I must say, if you go a couple of posts back you would know that I was involved in a car accident and I’ve been going on and off dealing with car insurances, yara yara…anyways besides this I had tons of work and a dentist appointment (which was stressful). My mood was awful.

I was only able to fit 3 gym days and yesterday I was feeling grumpy and I didn’t know why? I only felt bothered at everything and very very tired. I didn’t even feel like going to my spin class, but that was when it hit me. I had to go more than ever because I needed exercise to feel better.

So after work I put my sneakers and hit my spin class. I must say I felt great after, and the instructor just puts you in this great mood always. He was saying to us “Smile just for 20 seconds, it’s free and it will make you feel good” so that’s what I did, even if those were the hardest 20 seconds of our strength class, that made me feel amazing.

Of course that you need to hear your body and if you feel physical exhaustion you do need to rest, but in my case most of the times is anxiousness from the day, that I do need to release by exercising. So next time you start feeling depressed and not so good, put your sneakers and go to the gym or just go for a walk, the thing is to do something different than be sitting in front of your computer or watching TV believe me your body will thank you later.

Until Next Time,

xoxo

Is This The Perfect Moment To…?

In the past I remember telling myself this story, “I need to work out and have a healthy diet, but I have so many things to do like school, work, and house chores, that I don’t have time. Maybe I need to wait until I graduate, move, and have enough money to get into a gym and start working out”

In my mind, those were the things that limited me into being a healthy person, now I just see them as excuses, because if life has taught me something, is that there isn’t anything like “the perfect moment”. If we wait and wait to do something just because we need the perfect moment to arrive, that time might never come, and you will be losing valuable time instead of living your life.

Today I know, that if I want to do something the perfect moment to start is NOW, Sometimes we even restraint ourselves of doing something we really want only because we are afraid; of failure, of what others might think, etc. But, I have learned as well that if you are scared of jumping you have to do it because it will help you grow, and you shouldn’t care of what others might think, I mean you cannot please everybody and you are doing this because YOU WANT TO, not because you want people to think this or that.

So is this the perfect moment to….?

Heck Yes!

Until Next Time,

xoxo

Understanding the Opportunity Cost in Our Lives

If you know something about Economics there might be a chance that you have heard about the “Opportunity Cost” term. If not don’t worry, you might have done it without knowing; when we talk about opportunity cost, it means that every decision we make in our lives is based on what must be give up to accomplish something (goals, tasks, etc.). There is always a cost, in the things we do; it can be time, money, energy, etc.

But how compromised are we to pay that Cost? What I mean is when you have something you want to accomplish so badly, how much are you willing to pay for it? In our lives we have dreams, goals and things we want to accomplish, let’s say that you want to buy this fantastic, awesome computer, but you don’t have enough money, doing your math you know that if you don’t go out for a month (to the movies, restaurants or shopping) you will be able to buy it. So in this case to be able to buy your computer you must give up going out for a month. Some people might say is preposterous but this is life, we cannot have everything and choosing is part of our lives.

Right now I am starting to understand that, you all know that I want to be healthy and I know that I will accomplish that by exercising and eating better (Losing weight is an extra). I joined a gym for all 2013 and have a calendar near my desk where I check every time I go to the gym and write my weight on Mondays. But I know that getting to this point took me a lot of years.

I think that I was not compromised enough to pay the cost of being healthy, but when you come from a family where all your grandparents had diabetes, you know you have to do something. These days, I really prefer taking the afternoon for going to the gym a couple of hours instead of sitting in my couch watching TV and eating junk food. I am paying the cost of being comfy in my home for hitting the gym and working out.

So here I want to give you some tips on how you can work with what you want for this year:

1. Know what you want (Have an Idea). It is possible that you want to do something, but don’t know what, work on something you want to accomplish this year. Learn something new, Run a Marathon, Lose Weight.

2. Write what you want (Put it in Paper). Now that you have your idea, build it up, if you write it down you can make it happen.

3. Have a plan. If you want to learn something new investigate how you can do that, are there any classes you can take? If you want to run a Marathon, You know you have to start training, investigate how you can do that and plan your hours with the time you have available.

4. Surround with People with the same ideals. If you want to lose weight, it might not be a good idea to be with people who love eating junk food. Try to make friends with the same ideals; odds are that if you have a gym partner it will be easier to go, than alone.

5. Measure. You need to have something to measure your progress; in my case I have my trusty calendar.

6. Are we finished yet? Make sure you know when to finish, for instance I know I need to lose 44 pounds to reach my goal. If you know when you have to finish you can calculate how much time will it take you.

7. Don’t give up. We all have good and bad days, but the important thing here is never give up, like one of my trainers says, it doesn’t matter how many times you fall the important thing is to get up again.

So I hope this has been helpful for you, I know it is hard sacrificing something, but when you see that your goal is beginning to come true, it is all worth it.

Until Next Time,

Flow with the Goal

So the other day my hubby and I were having problems related to our goals, and we came into a disagreement, so I decided to do a tool that could help us find our way back when we are lost in our goal, and this is what we came up with:

I did the draft of the flow which we decided to call “Flow with the Goal” and he did all the improvements to make it look presentable for all of you. I Hope this helps you the same way it has helped us.

Enjoy!

xoxo

It’s Time to Overcome my Traumas

All these past few days I’ve been working with my will on doing the things I have to do each day (exercise, eat healthy, etc.) If you have followed my losing weigh updates you know that I am a person who battles doing exercise, there will be days were I love doing it but the rest will be literally painful.

Losing Weight: Week 8 Update

Week 8 hurt and it keeps hurting today. I started all excited with my exercise routines that I decided it was time to do something more heavily for me. I’ve been using the elliptical machine since I started my workouts so I really wanted something different. My sister lent me her P90X videos, these are a complete routine of exercises and I have honestly heard good things about it so I really wanted to give these a try.