Striving for the desired physique of your choice can be a challenge at times. Some of us are near our goals and others, not so much. Just because you aren’t close to your fitness expectations doesn’t suggest you should give up. Yes, it can for sure take some time, but the question is, are you willing to be patient and work for it? Are you ready to put down your favorite snacks or beverages? What about willing to make some sacrifices? Are you all for making special accommodations and staying dedicated? Ask yourself those questions, and if “Yes” is the answer to either, go out there and execute your goals!
Throughout my journey, there are times when I want to give up. There have also been times when I may have had one snack or drink too many. But I know what I want, so I try my best to stay inspired and keep pushing. Within these past few weeks, I had been struggling to keep up with my fitness routine. My weight plateauing affected me and hampered me because I felt like I wasn’t getting anywhere. I began to get drained with my job schedule and commute. Additionally, I was tired of sacrificing my sleep to workout before work.
Although I slowed drastically, quitting was not an option. I did not come this far to stop and give up when I’m so close to my goals! I have to keep pushing forward and make all of the sacrifices worth it. I needed a booster, so I recently sought assistance from one of my favorites, Alondra Garcia, an Herbalife coach whom I recently featured on the blog. I told her everything that was going on plus my expectations, and immediately we were able to develop a healthy plan for my next 30-days. I reached out to her because I knew if I paid for her assistance, I would have to stay on top of things, or it would be like putting my money into a garbage disposal. I tend to waste a lot of money on food, but hopefully not my fitness.
It’s been one week since I started the task, and so far, everything is going smoothly. Because a majority of my earlier workouts consisted of me walking a few miles per day, the exercises given have been rigorous! My entire body had been sore this past week, but I finally recouped! I guess I must be doing something correctly- who knows. I will add, performing my very first Zumba session via Zoom was quite the experience. I have absolutely no rhythm, so I was looking ridiculous trying to dance in front of strangers. I finished with a sweat-filled body, so I guess you can say, I got the job done! I’m just aiming to get the best and maximized results by day 30, and I’m confident I’ll be able to accomplish that!
The only struggle I’ve been encountering is within my eating and water intake. Because I don’t eat much, it is complicating to consume the required amount of calories needed for the program. I don’t like the feeling of being full, so I’ll stop eating after a few nibbles, and that is how I waste a crap ton of food. I also tend to get extraordinarily uninterested or tired of drinking water; therefore, I’ve pretty much been forcing myself to drink it. Sadly, I still haven’t been reaching the limit; my goal is to do much better this week. When I’m passionate about something, I tend to put forth my best efforts so each week will include significant improvements.
The moral of the message is to NEVER GIVE UP! If you are close to your fitness goals, keep pushing, and if you need to seek additional help, get it. If you don’t have the necessary funds to pay for a personal trainer or coach, use YouTube or create a private group with some of your close friends to motivate, inspire, and uplift each other or join another group so you won’t get distracted within your friends. Groups are ideal because they assure you aren’t alone. Alondra added me to an Herbalife group chat on Telegram, and I love it because everyone is so inspiring, and we all want the same thing- a healthier, cleaner, and fit lifestyle.
Good luck to all of you, I am rooting for you because I know you can do it!
I’m sure a majority of the country can agree 2020 has not been the ideal year. I happen to be more fortunate with everything going on as far as the pandemic. I’m so eager to announce my latest win- I have officially lost 40 pounds since the beginning of this chaotic year! I’m beyond pleased with my victories, and proud of my damn self. The feeling of being lighter, stronger, and somewhat healthier than before is simply phenomenal. I am proof that one can do whatever they put their mind to. My journey has come with drastic sacrifices, a plethora of tears, hard work, and determination. The sacrifices I have made most people would think I’m crazy- I’ll go in-depth soon.
None of it was easy; I had to stay true to myself. Forcing myself to get up and exercise each morning was challenging at times. Lack of sleep was especially distasteful throughout it all. Eating certain foods without having an appetite became a struggle but I still ate them. Staying on top of my water intake was a major improvement. Once I begin to actually see the results of my journey, I pushed harder. I have slightly slowed down but will ultimately get entirely back on track soon. I slowed because I hit a plateau- my weight wasn’t going anywhere and I was walking daily. I paused for a few days, returned to my regiment, and the weight began to decline again. I had honestly gotten discouraged for a few days but I quickly snapped out of it because I needed to surpass my goal! I still have a long way to go so stay tuned.
If you’re currently on a weight-loss mission, continue to do everything to prevail. Find someone or a group of encouraging, optimistic, and determined individuals to help you remain motivated. Always try to have fun while working out. Determine your favorite work-outs and stick to them. Make a hype playlist to keep you pumped during the process. Switch up your routine so you won’t hit a plateau as I did. Make small daily goals and mini-challenges to fulfill, then expand them after you’ve accomplished the first ones. Try new things so you won’t get bored or discouraged. Most importantly, don’t forget to drink your water. You can and you will do it! I am rooting for all of you so please, do not give up!
Remember to do all of this while having fun and ”Living a Little.”
This week’s featured hooter happens to be one of my favorite Instagram fitness enthusiasts. Her name is, Alondra Garcia, and I absolutely love her ambition when it comes to health and fitness. Alondra is an Herbal Life fitness coach, and she is probably one of the best and most hype coaches one could ever have. Her spirits are beyond bubbly, she’s always encouraging and pushing people to achieve their goals, she gives motivational speeches just about every morning, and she always reminds everyone they can be successful by showing her mind-blowing fitness progress.
Her story is so inspiring to me because she showed people you can lose weight and change your lifestyle with pure motivation and determination. It takes a lot of courage for someone to post about their “unhappy” weight. Seeing Alondra’s transitions over these last few months really shows her hard work is for sure paying off. I was even more intrigued by her page because she’s beyond active with all of her Herbal Life clients. Speaking highly of her clients, showing their progress, doing Zumba via Zoom, doing small and simple healthy meals, making everyone happy and satisfied with their goals, and so much more. Not to mention she always does competitions with cash as the prize! Who doesn’t want to win some extra cash?
Alondra’s story is proof that you can achieve anything you put your mind to. You have to get up, claim your goals, work on yourself to the fullest extent, and don’t give up until you are happy and satisfied with YOU! Not anyone else but YOU.
I had the pleasure of asking her a few questions about her beautiful journey and I’m happy I did because she inspired me even more with her responses…
Check It Out:
Where are you from?
“I am originally from Puerto Rico but reside in Orlando, Florida since I was 12 years old then my single mother moved to the states in hopes of a better future for my younger brother and I.”
At what point did you realize you needed/wanted change?
“I have always been a “heavy boned” girl or so my grandma used to say until I learned there is no such thing. Right out of high school back in 2018 I felt the pressure of having to figure all of my future plans. Food and comfort became my best friends rising my weight from 175 to 220 at 5’5. I also come from a religious background therefore the main focus was always spiritual well-being, overall health was never really enforced. 18 years old at 220lbs….my confidence and self love was nonexistent. During this time the Body Positivity Movement began I began thinking it was okay to accept my bad habits until I got diagnosed as a pre-diabetic patient. At that moment I knew, changes were not for image but for HEALTH at that point.”
What motivated you and helped you push towards your goals?
“First and foremost…MOTIVATION IS GARBAGE. Motivation is here one day and gone the next, until I learned that… I didn’t get it right. I began to change my mentality and accept nothing but success from myself. I got tired of starting and quitting every goal I set for myself. I have learned that you have to set standards for yourself and actually do what YOU SAY YOU WILL DO. It takes a lot of mental strength. After all in this journey you must look at your mind as another muscle and do heavy training just as much as you would at the gym but on your thoughts. Thats what gets us through!”
What inspired you to help others?
“In my own journey I was alone with no knowledge of nutrition or workouts. At first I began as a hobby sharing my beginners knowledge and workouts on Instagram platform with hopes of keeping myself accountable. Little did I know many people had the same struggle and so I began sharing meal plans and workouts I was purchasing just to assist others with their goals. I loved the purpose and wholeness it created for me and I began to think for the first time there is something I actually enjoy and see myself doing long term.”
How long have you been partnered with Herbalife Nutrition?
“I have been with Herbalife Nutrition For soon to be one year. I studied the company and understood that the mission statement was one that I truly believe in and see myself sharing not only for my personal goals but my health philosophy which is holistic health and wellness. I decided to start my own business partner did with Herbalife and my life has taken a completely different direction in the most positive way. Every day I wake up grateful that I can impact women all over the country and due to my clientele the world because I have Clients in different countries as well. It Uncovered potential in me that I didn’t know as a businesswoman and a physical and mental health advocate. I am extremely grateful for this company and the opportunity to continue teaching others how to control what they can control and let go of what they can’t by teaching them better habits and mental strength. As well as teachers others how to have a positive impact in the online and local community as well.”
What are all of the services available for your clients?
“My main focus is to ensure that my clients learn habits that change their lifestyle long term and not for a short moment. Being that our physical results are 80% nutrition 20% physical activity my main focus is nutrition. I provide my clients with meal plans according to their goals wether the client is vegan, vegetarian, plant based, low cal and/or simply intuitive eating etc. Workout plans are also very important I want my clients to have an active lifestyle and learn how to develop their muscles and strength! Motivational chats and community has to be one of my favorite benefits due to it being what helped me the most personally, having a community that holds you accountable and pushes you not worrying where you’re at, its a very important factor.”
How can new people reach you to inquire or sign-up?
“I am always taking new clients and doing free evaluation‘s on my ONLY Instagram platform. @alogarrcia through DM or form in my bio!”
What is a positive message to encourage others?
“The most important factor of your world is YOU. Even if it doesn’t feel like it. Whether you are a parent, college student, girlfriend, wife, business woman, caregiver etc. I have worked with them all and I can honestly say that with all the troubles of life is very easy to focus on others and not ourselves. WELL what if I told you that being that you are the pillar of your life and circumstance if you are not OK everything else falls?”
“I exhort everyone to look within themselves and see how powerful they are and how much they matter. To see how much their own well-being matters. My attitude my way of loving changed completely when I gave myself a chance to love me first. LOVE YOU FIRST.“
How do you keep your clients motivated?
“I personally take upon myself to send my clients daily affirmations and a shift of mindset for their day. Everything else is on them to transform their motivation into discipline. discipline is what forms a change of lifestyle and not a change for the moment.”
How many clients have you successfully helped reach their goals?
“As I answer this question I become emotional to see how many lives have been transformed by simply transforming my own. I have personally been able to impact over 65+ clients and some of those clients decided to change someone else’s life. The domino effect of lives being changed in my team is amazing and it’s truly growing at an exponential rate.“
“I always want you to know that it doesn’t matter where you come from you have the power to change someone else’s life. It doesn’t always take a lot of money or a lot of time it’s simply takes a positive impact In someone’s day. Sometimes that change is a smile, sometimes a change is a I hope you have a good day, however other times it’s telling someone you can do it too.”
Thank you so much, Alondra, for taking the time to share your story! You are truly a special gift for so many people, and I hope you continue to change lives!
Although my health and fitness journey started on the “right” track, I have to admit how badly I’ve begun to slack since returning to work. My routine was going so great, but then I lost my “mojo.”
I returned to work at the beginning of June and was confident keeping things in order would be a success. Sadly, that wasn’t the case because since it had been almost three months of leave, I forgot how draining employment was. Don’t get me wrong, my job is somewhat smooth and I’m grateful even to be employed during the circumstances. The issue is, most of my shifts consist of ten plus hours, plus I commute a little less than 200 miles (about an hour and a half to and from work) each day. That alone is beyond bizarre, but hey, it’s what I signed up for!
I guess you can say I became spoiled with my break.
My sleep pattern was ultimately off, and I was able to work out whenever I felt like it- most mornings just not exceptionally early. Of course, I now had to re-figure life out, and that only took dedication (as I’ve spoken of previously). For some reason, the commitment was absent. Luckily for me, I will always be the one to “practice what I preach.” Having a lifestyle category on my blog, expressing how easy it is to lose weight or get fit with just dedication and consistency- I can’t BS my audience, and I won’t!
Eventually (about a week later), once I was back into the “groove of things,” I pushed myself to get up early enough to visit my local park. At my local park, I’ve been able to walk at least one to two miles before work. I haven’t been able to ride my cruiser since, but walking is all I need to keep my weight loss journey going. Each day I do walk, I try to beat my previous recorded time. Sometimes I walk a little faster, sometimes a bit slower, but that doesn’t matter because I made it there in the first place!
The moral of the story: KEEP PUSHING, even if it is draining, KEEP PUSHING! Stay true to yourself, find the time for yourself and make it happen, be consistent, and DO NOT GIVE UP!
Social distancing either improves you or makes you miserable. I feel sorry for those who became miserable instead of finding ways to be more creative. You didn’t literally have to stay locked in your home, being lazy with absolutely nothing to do. Yes, face-to-face communication with some of your favorites may have been limited, but there were plenty of other ways to manage.
Gyms were closed for the longest, so a lot of people were as they say, “unable to workout” instead of just going to walk outside or doing simple exercises that don’t require a gym or equipment. My opinion is those were excuses, because if you really wanted to stay fit or active, you would have done everything in your power to accomplish those goals. People rely on and get so attached to people, places, or things, and forget about the basics or what was done before they were even introduced to those places, people, or things.
Then you have strong, dedicated, and motivated people like my Mum. Yes, she does have exercising equipment, but she barely used it due to her gym preference. Of course, the closure of gyms did not affect her too much because she was now forced to use her equipment. Not only did she work on herself, but she also created a workout group chat with a few women (including myself), and I named it, Losing Weight With Tae. The group was a 21-day weight loss challenge and was meant to support each other while social distancing.
We knew some women needed that extra push to get into the weight loss spirits, so what better motivation than a cash prize? Like seriously, who doesn’t want a chance at winning some easy coins? By the end of the challenge, each player sent the winner $20, so that was a cute little payout. The purpose of the challenge was not to defeat each other but to encourage, motivate, push, and support one another.
Sending inspirational quotes and workout plans, checking-in and sharing photos of our daily workouts and meal preps, keeping each other on track so no one would give up, etc., were all ways we helped the group. It was a getting fit and healthier social distancing experiment, and it was a success! I’m very proud to have been apart of such greatness. I will be honest and admit, I slacked once it was time for me to return to work, but I still managed to lose 7lbs. Not bad if you ask me.
I encourage those struggling to lose weight due to the pandemic to consider creating a group for emotional support! Always remember, you can do whatever you put your mind to. All goals can be accomplished with consistency and dedication. Good luck on your weight journey!
Take a look at some things I did to stay on track:
My favorite meal prep consists of jerk salmon with broccoli and shrimp.
Sup Hooters? Let’s get into this new lifestyle I’ve officially decided to join– the “Healthy World”! It was time for an extreme change within my weight and appearance. When you’ve been 115-126lbs just about your entire life, seeing yourself with extra weight takes a toll on you- at least that’s what it did to me. My weight gain had nothing to do with food but medications so I never tried too hard to fix it. I felt it was pointless to try to lose weight when the medications were just going to cause me to gain it back (that’s exactly what happened). Eventually, after trying various medications my doctor was finally able to prescribe me something that didn’t cause weight gain! I now had assurance the main factor to my problem would somewhat be resolved. The real solution was to officially get healthy and execute change!
Honestly, I was never big on eating completely healthy until recently. Seriously, who really wants to eat healthy when there’s so many amazingly delicious desserts, snacks, and entrees to choose from? During the Coronavirus shutdown, I had plenty of time to reevaluate my life. Self-improvement was my top priority so I chose to work on myself. For starters, getting more fit and healthier was the main goal. Although I had already been somewhat active, I wasn’t active enough. My gym and hiking routine before work was really helping me with losing my unwanted weight and getting back into shape.
When the pandemic began, the gyms and trails closed- I almost panicked because I felt like my workout regiment was ruined. I was walking 1-2 miles each morning before work for a great start to my day. The consistency gave me a sense of hope (even when I didn’t feel like it) and it kept me motivated to continue each day. We all need that extra little “push” and my early morning walks served as that purpose. All of my walks were refreshing, I enjoyed the peace of mind and the beautiful nature when I was able to hike.
Yes, all of the walking really paid off for me but my biggest struggle was my horrible eating habit. I was eating spicy Thai fried rice, pizza, or Buffalo Wild Wings just about every single week. Plus, I was drinking a crap ton of Dr. Peppers (for the sizzle in my throat- *insider) more often than usual. At work, I would order Subway or have tuna with crackers most days for lunch but that was tiring. Eating the same thing repeatedly gets so annoying! It’s like I get bored with food and then I’ll stop eating it for a while. Whomp. Whomp. Whomp!
Luckily, overeating has never been a struggle for me so I knew that wasn’t a contributing factor towards my weight gain prior. Knowing I could lose weight without eating completely healthy was quite interesting. My desire for wanting to lose the “more to love” pounds quicker was even more interesting so I decided to act on it! I bought a bike because I now had nothing but time on my hands and I was able to actually enjoy it for a while. I also invested in a dance pole to have other options when I didn’t feel like riding my bike or walking around the local park. Now that my options for working out increased, it was time to crack down on the eating.
I had slacked on my water intake during “quarantine” and I noticed that made a major difference by slowing down my weight loss process. I begin drinking more water again and I unintentionally stopped drinking Dr. Peppers. Assuming it was a natural instinct due to my determination, I didn’t realize I hadn’t drink a soda in weeks until literally a few days ago. No complaints though! A tough milestone had been defeated but I didn’t stop there.
Researching ways to eat cleaner in the wee hours of the night became obsessive for me. I was going to lose more weight before my next birthday and before I returned to work- I claimed it and I did! Even though Buffalo Wild Wings is one of my favorite places to eat and enjoy beers, I had to cut back. Pizza Hut is one of my favorite pizza chains, I had to cut back. That amazing spicy Thai fried rice, goodness gracious- I had to cut back! Those were extremely tough decisions to make but great for my health and my pocket$.
Eating cleaner started as a challenge because healthy foods tend to waste quicker and I had no desires of running back and forth to the grocery stores during a pandemic- I did though. Haha! I tried to buy as many green foods, salmon (absolutely love), and shrimp as possible for my new journey. I will say, immediately I noticed a difference and I was happy about that. I also purchased a nice yoga app, Yoga Go, that offered meal plans. Unfortunately, none of the meals were appealing enough for me so I had to “86” that tab of the app!
I don’t know what it is with me but I’m not too fond of a lot of healthy foods (avocado, lentils, nuts, quinoa, oatmeal, yogurt, etc.) that most healthy people eat. Some of it just doesn’t look tasteful. I could be wrong with the assumptions but I’m honestly not ready to find out and not sure when I will be ready. I will say, I have been trying to keep an open mind when it comes to new healthy foods but it will definitely take some time! I feel like once I’m able to try these new foods, I’ll be able to perfect the healthy and clean eating lifestyle.
I highly encourage those looking to improve their lifestyle to start by getting healthier and more fit. It may be challenging at first and you may want to give up but you have to keep pushing! Even if you need to find that one person to give you motivation each day- do it! My biggest workout inspiration comes from my Mum. Just about everyday she gets up at 2-3am and heads straight to the gym before work. Even when she doesn’t feel like it, she still goes because she is beyond determined to have a healthier lifestyle. I promise you will feel so much more cleaner and lighter once you decide to make that drastic change in your life!
Thank you so much for visiting my blog. Good or bad, I will be keeping you all updated on my progress with my new lifestyle. Wish me luck and best of luck to you because I know you’re choosing to join the Healthy World!
