I'm back... sorry it took me so long

As I started to prepare myself for 1st 5k, I totally neglected my blog and didn't take the time to write posts on it. Now I'm going to restart again little by little and write about my ups and downs in general. One interesting thing that happened this week is that I got contacted by Fitblogging to write a new post to be featured on their website, I'm really exited about it and will do my best to write something with good content and message. Thank you for staying around.
Take care,
Ximena

FMM- Driving Force

FMM: The Driving Force

What is the driving force behind your weight-loss?  

Once again I'm faced with the question that defines a lot of my decisions when starting the road of being healthy and thiner. For years I made all sorts of commitments to be in a better shape and happy with my image and in the end I always ended up quitting once I saw good results, I felt comfortable with them and thought my work was done and I started to overindulge until I was back and beyond my starting point and even farther away from my goal to look pretty and wear a "normal" size of clothing. I finally got to the point where my body ached every morning after waking up, my arms will get numb, I would be out of breath after a fly of stairs and I was not eating the right things to nourish myself, instead I was on the path of self destruction. I was not happy with those results but I was not strong enough or better committed enough to stop that destructive trend and really take control of my habits. I was a happy person, I became a mother of the most beautiful gift GOD has given me, I have a supportive and loving husband by my side, my family and friends love me but the reality is that I wasn't ready to really do my homework to be healthier. One year ago I had a powerful conversation with my husband, he was worried about my health and also my eating habits, he said I was addicted to food and that I needed professional help. That comment and a picture I saw of myself hurt my pride and I would say they made me make the decision of being healthy.

My friend was pregnant I was not and I looked way too big.

 I then realized I had all I wanted and that if I wanted to be there in the future to enjoy it I had to do something. And I finally accepted I had to be gentle to myself. My driving force was already there, they were my HUSBAND and DAUGHTER. In the beginning my goal was to loose the weight and be healthy, now that I've lost the majority of that weight and I'm in a healthy range my new goal is to maintain it and to continue to nourish my body and soul with quality and not quantity. I'm not perfect and don't want to be perfect, I want to make mistakes, learn from them and also live my life to be an example for my daughter, I want to be there for my husband. I love to have the extra energy and to wear clothes that are a smaller size and I totally enjoy going out for a workout and sweat like crazy.

Enjoying a run with my daughter Emma and a beautiful trail close to our home

Thank you for taking time to read me.
Take care,
 Ximena

FMM - A letter to My Future Self

This week's topic is really interesting I hope to get to know my future self as a good role model for my family and friends, right now my present self is working on it...

FMM: A Letter To My Future Self

Dear Ximena,

Today is Monday, August 8 2011 and you are 39 years old. How old are you future Ximena? I truly hope you are proud of the accomplishments you have made and with your life when you read this post. I want you to have a good attitude towards  life and to have all the energy and enthusiasm as if you were still 39. This year has been the beginning of a lot of new and exciting challenges in your life, I'm learning how to run 5k in 100 days, I'm eating healthy and becoming more loving of our body and soul. I'm starting to take better care of ourselves and I hope you are enjoying the benefits of this changes. There are a lot of things I would like to tell you right now but I will stick to a couple that to me ,are really making me move forward today: I want you to ALWAYS love yourself and be thankful for the blessings you receive every single day. You are strong and when you are committed to something you prove you can do it. The picture below is a proof to you that you can dream big and accomplish what you want.

I also want you to be constantly challenging yourself and to strive to be a better person everyday. Never stop dreaming. Don't punish yourself if you have made the wrong decisions in the past but be diligent and find a solution to avoid making the same mistakes. I love you very much and this is the legacy I want to give you. I promise I will keep working hard to make you happy and proud of yourself.

Love,

Ximena

I'm learning to Run 5K in 100 days

Hi there, I'm really excited to write this post because is the first time I'm running and really enjoying it. I always liked cycling and I was not bad at it. I have never been the most athletic person on earth but I like exercise and enjoy how I feel after I finish a workout. I now have a new love that is growing and is for running. About 9 weeks ago I started a program called Learn to Run 5K in 100 days and its taught by Brad Gansberg, please check his website and give it a try he is starting a new group in August. Every week we send him a report on how our week has been and it helps him to measure our progress. This week I wrote one report that was longer than usual and I want to share it in this post, I hope you enjoy reading it. Take care and have a great weekend.
Ximena

Fartlek is an unstructured workout this term is a Swedish word.

Fartlek Rocks and explaining my sense of accomplishment!

Fartlek, what a fun workout! I started this week on Saturday and I know I’m supposed to run only 3 days a week, but this week I’m doing 4 runs, all of them with one rest day in between. I hope this report won’t be to long, but I need to explain my feeling of accomplishment every time I finish my workouts. The workout I did with the farlek in mind helped me realize why I feel so good, energized and above all a runner. To make my story short, I walked for 10 minutes and ran two intervals of 15 and 16 minutes each with 1-minute recovery. For the 1^st interval I started by setting my 1^st goal in the distance and when I reached it I was feeling great and continued jogging; I stopped because Emma wanted some water and it was at the bottom of her stroller and I couldn’t reach it while running, if not, I would have continued and could have run for 30 minutes straight. I love the running portions for several reasons but this one is kind of shallow, I thought I loved them because when I start the runs is usually after I turn around from walking and start my way back home. That day I was already running before I turned back and I still felt awesome so I confirmed that running is not about the time in the intervals or the fact I’m returning home. Running to me is about enjoying the feeling and how my body is adapting to the challenge and enjoying myself, enjoying the scenery I chose to run at and most of all enjoying how I feel when I sweat, and in the end the fact that I’m running is really what is making me feel that I’m tackling something that I have never done before and I’m actually running. Overall, this has been a powerful week for me and is also a turning point in my workouts.

Take care,

Ximena.

What are you having for breakfast tomorrow?

Hi there, I'm back with an unusual but fun blog to write. This week I joined my new blog friend Kenlie from All the Weigh in a breakfast swap. She is doing the summer breakfast challenge with Attune Foods and she is eating their Uncle Sam cereals and is blogging about her experience. I decided to join her because I'm looking for healthy, delicious and nutritious food to fuel my body and what is best than starting my day with a great kickoff than a good balanced breakfast? On Monday morning I prepared my green tea, a bowl with fresh cut strawberries and peaches, yogurt and 1serving or Uncle Sam Original cereal. Below is the picture of my POWER bowl.

 I called it like that because it gave a lot of good nutrition, energy and I was totally satisfied after finishing it. One thing 3/4 of a cup may seem not a big portion but boy it really was and it was very filling!

 Here is the proof I really enjoy it!

On Tuesday I used 1/2 a cup in the morning power bowl and was still very satisfied. At night I prepared baked okra and I  used 1/4 cup to bread the okra, it was really good and crunchy. Sorry there is not a picture of it I was trying to get dinner ready for daddy and baby and in the whole process forgot to document the food.

I invite you to join us to use this cereal as a great start for your day.

FMM - Defining moments

Hi Everybody,
I hope all of you had a great weekend, here is my answer to the FMM - defining moments question that Kenlie had posted on her blog All the Weight. If you haven't checked it out you are missing a great blog full of inspiration and very touching stories. I hope you enjoy the reading.
Ximena

FMM and Some Other Stuff

FMM: Defining Moments

Was there a defining moment in which you realized that you needed to lose weight?  If so, will you elaborate? (If you experienced this moment in some other area of your life, please feel free to share that too!)

Well, this is certainly a question that I have an answer for. In August 2010, I was reaching one of my heaviest weights; I was 193 lbs, 7 pounds lighter from my heaviest weight while being pregnant of my daughter. She was born on January 2010 and after that I lost most of the pregnancy weight, about 20lbs. When I started my pregnancy I was already close to 180 lbs and I lost some due to an ovarian cyst that sent me to the hospital for 5 days. I became a stay at home mom, which I love but this new phase of my life and my new sedentary lifestyle started to become a pound gaining rollercoaster and in 7 months I went from 200 to 175 to 193. I knew I had to do something but I was not ready to make the commitment with myself. In late August I hosted a baby shower for a friend and one of the pictures taken that day made me realized that the person I saw every morning in the mirror was not the same as the one I was seeing in the picture. The one in my mirror didn’t look that big but the one in the picture looked not only big but not happy. I saw that picture and I wanted to hide and cry. I felt very disappointed of me and I felt like I was not the right role model for my daughter. 

Not too long after the picture was taken I also had a deep conversation with my husband and one of the things he said to me was that I had an addiction to food. When he said that I got upset, angry and defensive. I was angry with myself but poor husband got the anger outburst and the whole crying scene for hurting me that way. Today when I think of that conversation I give thanks that we had it and that he was totally honest with me. It took me a while to digest that indeed I had an additive relationship with food. After that deep moment I knew I had to do something and went to WW. I started it and lost about 7 lbs from mid September to late October but I switched to Take Shape For Life (TSFL), and since then I have lost the majority of my extra weight. I made the switch because I wanted a program where I could loose weight without thinking too much about what to do or what to cook and also learn new habits to become a healthier person and this program worked for me. It had the structure I needed and also I learned to make better choices in terms of food. I also became more active, I’m enjoying a lot this new me and the chance to be a good role model for my daughter. I didn’t want her to remember me as the couch potato mom. I also did it for my health and for my husband; he has been an amazing support in this journey. I know this was a little too long but I really needed to put in words. 

Thanks for the question Kenz.

And thanks to those who have taken the time to read my story.

Take care,

Ximena

One year has passed since....

Hi There I just wanted to share some pictures of my weight loss since I started to commit with myself to be a healthier person. I'm on a journey that hopefully will last for the rest of my life because I really want to be there for my husband and daughter to enjoy.
Take care and hope to hear from you one day.
Ximena