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 ...

We all have our reasons for why we may fall off the exercise wagon. My reasons were the Covid-19 quarantine, a job as an over-the-road expediter, and most recently, taking a month to help care for my uncle who was battling cancer. Long story short, my yoga mat has been missing me, the weight has piled on, and now I have lower back pain.  The past year and a half has taken as much of an emotional toll on me as it has a physical toll. It has been killing me mentally to not be able to go to the dance studio as I was once able to because of everything that has gone on in my life. Although the job I had brought in a nice salary, it left absolutely no time for anything else, not even the ability to be a present parent. Now that most of the dust has settled, I am going to pick up where I left off in reclaiming my body and treating it well. I started by going back to the basics: a brief yoga video on YouTube that is led by yoga instructor Jessamyn Stanley. When I first saw her I immediatel...

I have lost count of the number of times that I've pressed the reset button on my life. It used to something that I'd beat myself up about, but I've realized that if I want to continue living that I'd have to start over as many times as necessary.  Life isn't always the way we would like for it to be. I think almost anyone who has ever lived would agree with that statement. I started this blog with great expectations but things happened. I haven't even been to the dance studio in months because of those things. Between being a caregiver for my sick mother, being a mother myself, trying and failing to pay all my bills on time, and having my own brief stint in the hospital, this past year has not been worth bragging about. However, I'm still here. I hope that despite whatever struggles you have had, you will continue pressing forward, too.  Many grand ideas have crossed my mind over the years, but executing has always been an issue. I thought...

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 .

Weight loss isn’t easy. I think most people who have tried to lose weight would agree with that statement. It is a simple process for most, but not easy. There aren’t any specials tricks necessary for most people. Eat fewer calories than you burn and you’ll lose weight eventually. However, with so much conflicting information that exists and all of the marketing tactics and fads to get you to buy the next big trend, many people have no clue where to start or why they even want to start. Personal Health Goals I don’t have a weight loss goal. My goal is good health and as a result of becoming healthier, I have shed 25-30lbs depending on what time of the month it is. There was a time in my life in my teens where I used to be concerned with the number. I weighed more than most people, but I carried it well enough that no one believed me when I told them my size. At some point, I shed that mentality and decided that I wanted to pursue health and just feel good. I let go of the ...

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...

Everything is fine. No, it isn’t. Often, I’ll say that everything is alright, but it really isn’t. Concerning improving and maintaining good health, weight gain/loss isn’t the only area in need of change. Small habits, like even acknowledging when something isn’t right, are needed. There are several apps I use to help me keep track of my activities and hold myself accountable for my own well-being. I use the Fitbit app to keep track of my heart rate and active minutes. I use an app to remind myself to drink water. The third app that I use daily is called Flo, which is a feminine health tracker. Within the app, there is an option to list symptoms that the user might experience every day and based on those symptoms the app will provide relevant articles and information that may be helpful. For a while, I would go into the app and mark “Everything is ok” every day. I’d disregard mild cramps or stomach discomfort or mood swings, forgetting (or not caring) abo...

It has actually been more than a year of progress. It all started in my head when I decided that I was tired of being tired of everything: my credit score, my health, my life. Yesterday was my birthday. This past year has been spent dedicating more time to honoring myself and making better choices in my life. Every now and then I think I should have made more progress than the roughly 25lbs I have lost over the course of 2018, but then I let that thought go and appreciate the fact that I've gained so much more than weight loss. I will probably always be a bit on the fluffier side and I'm okay with that. I'm naturally curvy and carry a lot of weight in my hips and thighs. I'm just glad that I can breathe again and that now I can move my body in ways that I could not a year ago. The picture only shows the weight loss from February to October. It doesn't show the five minutes I take every morning to do a quick Spanish lesson to help keep m...