Fit2BeMyself: Diary of a Woman Seeking Wellness

There's no set schedule for this. My plan is to be 40lbs lighter by the end of 2021. I have done it before and I know the steps I need to take to do it again. It isn't easy. It wasn't easy losing it the first time. Sometimes I wish I could turn back the clock to 2018 when I was doing fairly well financially and I was in the best shape I had been in for quite a while. However, time has to pass and life has to happen. Admittedly, it was easier to stay consistent when I had a trainer, but that whole quip about life proved true and I don't have a trainer anymore. Let me backtrack to 2019 though. You can skim past this to the actual plan below if you're not interested in reading my entire spiel or you could try my workouts. I have an entire program including videos that I created in Google Classroom called Fit2BeMyself Masterminds. Join my class here . Sign up using your Google account. A little background... In late 2018, my personal trainer thought I had the potential ...

Here's my pandemic/over-the-road driver body that I acquired in 2020. A lot happened last year for everybody, but I had my share of personal victories. Unfortunately, the pandemic and the time I spent on the road took away a lot of time that I would've spent dancing and strength training.  The past few weeks I've been reacquainting myself with my yoga mat (I have a cuter one now) and I'm not quite as graceful as I once was. Anything that requires me to "ground" or "root" myself throws off my balance, which, I think, is one of the reasons such asanas exist. A reminder to steady yourself. It'll all come back together soon enough, my weight and athleticism, I have the gift of muscle memory on my side, but I must say that this is the best I have felt in a long time.

I recently published a new blog post on my other blog Life in a Few Words . I normally post poetry and book reviews there, but the topic of self-care is very important and it is worthy to be shared everywhere. Here's a link to the post. I hope you find it useful. Also, if you're into poetry and books, check out the rest of the blog. Staying Motivated When Life Gets Tough - https://letarawrites.wordpress.com/2019/08/25/staying-motivated-when-life-gets-tough/ If you enjoy this website and want to support, you can either  buy me coffee ,  buy my book , or  shop in my eBay store .

It doesn’t have to cost a fortune to start building your home gym or to start working out. My go-to store is Target, but there are certainly places where you can find cheaper workout equipment. Five Below The first time I visited Five Below, I was very impressed by how much fitness equipment they have. They have light dumbbells, light kettlebells, sandbags, foam rollers, and more. I was even more impressed that they have cute yoga mats for $5 and slightly saddened that I paid around $30 for my starter kit, although the mat that I have has alignment markers on it and the kit came with a yoga block and a strap, which I personally find very helpful as someone who is still somewhat early in my yoga practice. I also saw some fitness apparel and t-shirts, but none of them appeared to fit plus-sizes, so I just took mental note of those. I’m in the market for a new yoga mat and a deep tissue foam roller, so I’ll be going back there soon to collect those. If you have a Five...

It isn’t easy to stay motivated doing anything, much less sticking to a workout routine. In the spirit of keeping this short and simple today, I’ll just say that in order to keep going you must be committed, not necessarily motivated. Motivation is fleeting the same way that feelings of love and infatuation are. It is the same as any other type of relationship. If you want a really good relationship with another person, romantic or platonic, to last, you’ll have to be willing to humble yourself at times and do things you don’t necessarily want to do. You’ll have plenty of fun times, but there will also be times when you simply don’t want to be bothered. It takes effective communication. There’s some nurturing involved and ultimately you have to decide if a relationship with the other person is really what you want. The same applies to your health. Effective communication with yourself could be journaling, meditating, using a fitness or period tracking app—paying attention to yours...

Today I just wanted to share one of my workout videos. I'm not the most animated personality, but I have heard from my group that my workouts are effective. Try it for yourself, leave a comment, and if you like it, sign up for my free group using the form below! Join my FREE online fitness group! * indicates required Email Address * First Name

*This post contains affiliate links. This means that if you choose to purchase any of the products I link to I may receive a small commission. I only recommend products I have personally had a positive experience with. Purchasing any of the products mentioned is completely optional. There was a time when I could hardly make it through the day without almost involuntarily falling asleep. I’d wake up morning tired and by 3 PM I'd to pull my car over into a parking lot somewhere, put the sunshade in the windshield, recline the driver seat, and set my alarm to wake me up in thirty minutes. Aside from the fact that I wasn’t and still don't always get the recommended 8 hours of sleep every night, a major player in my lack of energy was due to my weight. I still have some pounds to lose but shedding thirty made a difference. Work and motherhood are enough to tire anyone out, but I couldn’t keep functioning that way. I had to make some changes before I could...

I t’s still hard sometimes. As a matter of fact, I’ve been meaning to visit a spin studio that I’ve never visited before. I booked a spot in class through ClassPass * then canceled my reservation the day before because I was a little intimidated. However, I’m proud to say that I have made a lot of progress in overcoming my fear of group fitness classes and unfamiliar gyms. Let me explain. Gym intimidation is real. As a matter of fact, any place where you feel out of place makes you not want to go to that place at all. Pin for later! I began my fitness journey at home. In past years I always worked out at home. Or maybe I went walking around the neighborhood. I had exercise DVDs. When I lived in an apartment complex with an onsite gym, I visited that gym once. I didn’t see the gym as a fun place and I was not motivated to continue going. I felt like I did best when I took walks and followed the DVDs in my living room. As much as I enjoyed how I fel...

T his post is for anyone looking for a few tips to be successful in fitness, but this is coming from the perspective of a single mother who works outside of the home, has always carried extra weight (and probably always will), and who can physically move better than most people would guess. As of the writing of this post, I have lost 30lbs, decreased my resting heart rate and improved my overall health and fitness level by changing my eating habits and becoming physically active. Low lunge pose January 7, 2019, marks the official launch of my online fitness group, Fit2BeMyself Masterminds . It’s funny. Around this time last year, I would have never guessed that I would go in this direction. I have certainly had my share of hits and misses in entrepreneurship in several fields, but fitness was never on the radar. I suppose that’s what happens when you finally decide to care for yourself. You eventually attract people who actually care about your success...

I feel like I've made progress with my Dolphin Pose. The top photo is from May 2018 and the bottom is from this September 25. It still takes my breath away, but my core has gotten stronger. I fell right after I took the pic lol but I'm still proud of myself. I feel like I've made some progress with my Pigeon Pose (Eka Pada Rajakapotasana) because I couldn't do it at all a few months ago. Now I'm just trying to transfer this same energy to other areas of my life. I began practicing because I wanted to be more flexible and I wanted to try something new. I had seen Jessamyn Stanley, a plus size yoga instructor, featured in an article online and I was so inspired. Not inspired enough to take action right away that day, but enough to continue following her on social media and YouTube. Eventually, I worked up the nerve to buy a yoga starter kit from Target and try one of the videos she has posted on YouTube. The firs...

I originally shared this on my social media accounts. As a matter of fact, I have shared the majority of my fitness progress on Instagram , but I've finally decided to move forward with blogging all of it. From February 2018 to June 2018 I lost around 10lbs, a ton of body fat and gained some muscle. You may not be able to tell the difference, but I can. I probably would've lost more by now if I could stay away from ice cream and cookies. I was already pretty bad about staring at myself in the mirror (I guess that's where my daughter gets it from), but now I really can't stay away from it. More than how I look, I'm enjoying how I feel. I've lost inches everywhere except my arms. My arms have actually grown about an inch, my biceps are getting ridiculous 💪 . It feels good to feel good, which is why I started exercising.  Now it is September 15 and I have since lost an additional 10lbs. I don't have a goal w...