How do you stay healthy? - Part 2

Howdy peeps!  Well continuing with how I've been trying to stay healthy...besides the obvious sugars, I also tried to avoid the unhidden sugars, which I've learned can be avoided when we avoid simple carbs, such as white bread, white rice, or starches.  I've been going whole wheat and grains, that wasn't too much of a sacrifice really. Amazingly I've been able to reduce red meat drastically in my diet.  I personally like beans, so thats what I did.  I incorporated more beans into my diet, and I am not talking about refried beans! loll (honestly my grandma makes some mean refried beans, good thing I only have them when she visits, or we travel to Mexico) Our diets now consists of lean proteins, which is amazing to me.  I used to do some type of pork meat at least once a week.  Red meat at least 3 times a week! Like I mentioned in my earlier blog, this change didn't happen overnight, I still eat pork...but not as much.  I had pozole in December for Christmas Eve dinner, that has been what? 4 months ago? and you know what, I am not feeling deprived.  My personal experience, is to strike a balance with your meals.  I don't get discouraged if  I have tacos one day, I don't even think about as a "cheat" anymore.  However, if I am going to indulge I do try to be smart about it and go for the foods that I really enjoy and not just eat because the food is there.  I know that the next day I will  make it up by by having fish, or even lentils.  However, what I fear right now is that I will loose that balance.  I have to tackle this weightless journey one day at a time, I can't get too cocky :)

If you are looking for a structured weight loss programs, that includes meal plans I recommend you look at beachbody fitness programs, they are fun, and they will get you moving.

How do you stay healthy? - Part 1

Hello peeps! To "kill" sometime between now and the next time I talk about my turbo jam progress, I want to talk about the things I do to stay healthy, maybe you can tell me what you do and we can swap some tips. 

What drove me into trying my best to stay healthy is my kids and my husband.  I don't want them to get a disease that could have been easily prevented if I would have taken the time to instill some healthy habits.  Omar (kid #2) was diagnosed with high cholesterol in 2009, he was only 11, so that scared me.  With changes in his lifestyle, he hasn't been put on medications to control it, and I am thankful for that. 

As soon my focus in nutrition and exercises shifted from "looking good" to "being healthy" I actually started to see results! I am not yo-yoing anymore, its been a steady decline  in pounds for me! maybe not as fast, but it has been cosistent.  I keep reading that loosing weight slowly is the most healthy way to do it, as it keeps you from gaining that weigt back :)

I also decided that I am not going to diet.  Its hard to stick to a diet in the long run.  So I decided to eat healthy for life!...as soon as you change that mind set, you will notice a difference, trust me.  I can't go cold turkey.  I will set up myself for failure.  Instead, I started making small changes to our meals. I eliminated unnecessary sugars, like soda.  We now only drink it at parties, or when we go out to amusement parks, but its no longer part of our daily lives.  I had to substitute with something so I went for Juice, but it has the same amount of sugar as soda (or even more)!  So I learned to read labels and made sure the Juice I buy has no more than 10 grams of sugar ( I avoid any juice that says cocktail),  and I always water down the juice! at first the kids didn't like it, but now they drink it down with out blinking!  I also eliminated all the BIG cups from our house, and I bought 8oz cups,  not only does my bottle of juice last longer it also limits the juice intake to an actual cup (every calories counts!) as the rule is "only one cup of juice with dinner, if you are thristy before of after get water"  That was the first change I made to our meals.

I'll talk about more things I changed  tomorrow (I need you to keep coming back :), for now try to stay healthy and don't beat yourself if you fell off the wagon today, just get back on it. 

Ginger/Cinammon and Green Tea Drink!

In my internet surfing about about the worlds greatest foods I've come accross ginger a lot.  It always ranked on the top foods list.  I am thinking, Ginger?  I am Mexican and we really don't use ginger in our cooking, so I am thinking how can I incorporate Ginger in my meals?  I can't do Indian food as my husband is totally against Indian food (I've tried to get him to at least taste it, but he won't give in, stubborn man :) anyway some of the benefits of ginger is that it aids with digestion and has antioxidant effects which are things that interest me.  I also came accross cinammon as being a good blood sugar controler and a natural perservative.  Its hard to incorporate cinammon as I am not a baker, and besides oatmeal I don't have many uses for it.  SO I decided to spice up my regular green tea! I cut a piece of ginger, peeled it  added it to into boiling water (about 12oz)  as well as as half a piece of cinammon stick and let it simmer for 5min. I then added my green tea bag and let it steep for 5minutes.  It was good, plus I gave my body some good nutrients without really eating any more food.  Try it and let me know what you think :)

3 day Shakeology Cleanse Completed!

Well, yesterday was my 3rd day following the Shakeology cleanse, and I am glad I did it! I feel refreshed and with an added energy.  I was feeling sluggish and had hit a weight loss plateau.  After the cleanse I was able to pass this hurdle, and I am now ready to hit my fitness routines with vengeance :)  I will continue with good eating habits as well.  I am glad I was exposed to Shakeology it is the healthiest meal of the day! and I feel it.  I am going to continue to substitute it for my GNC protein shake in the AM.  If you want more info on Shakeology ask me!

So now I am going to start with Turbo Jam, and will do some add on workouts such as Jillian and Debbie's Slim Express.    My husband insists that I post pictures, so that you can get a visual sense than just numbers...I am hesitant.  I've lost 33 lbs so far! but I am still not a very pretty sight...unless you compare me to last year, but I didn't take pictures last year so you are just going to take my word for it :).

Lets talk numbers, as of of today (Thursday April 15, 2010) I weigh 146 pounds, chest is 38", waist 32", Hip 38.50", Leg 20", Arm 12".  Here are the pictures....the numbers are more impressive (I used to weigh 180 pounds!) but visually I still have a long ways to go. I can't wait to be able to wear tank tops in public! my arms are huge, I look like a football player LOL - but I will change that!  Here are the before pics, I will post after picture in 6 weeks!

3 day Shakeology Cleanse

I am getting ready to start my 3 day Shakeology Cleanse that I am doing with other facebook friends!  I am excited.  This cleanse is NOT the master cleanse.  Its basically a cleanse to give your body as much nutrients to help promote flush the junk from your system and regulating hydration levels.  Like I said is not the master cleanse, its performance-orientated.   Its calorically restricted, but the aim is for 1500 so I am not nervous about that aspect.  I'll be taking 3 shakeology shakes a day, PLUS will have a salad full of veggies, 4oz of protein, and good fats which I'll adding flaxseed or avocado, and I will be having fruits as snack, I really doubt I'll be feeling any hunger at all.  However, I will be taking it easy with my workouts.  I'll just be rebounding and doing leslie's sansome in-home walking programs, I'll also throw in some Rodney Yee Yoga for good measure.   This will be an awesome way to jump-start my next fitness phase since I just finished Slim Series, and instead of doing another rotation I'll be switching to Turbo Jam, Power Half Hour, and Jillian's Master Your Metabolism DVD.  My aim is for one hour in the AM and one hour in PM, which shouldn't be too dificult, since I am already doing on hour in the PM and about 30min in the AM.

Wish me luck with my cleanse!  I'll be posting tomorrow night and I'll let you know how I am feeling.

For more information on Shakeology, contact me or go to:

http://myshakeology.com/esuite/home/carroyo

It really is more than you GNC protein shake powder, its filled with whole-food healthy ingredients.

by the way, I am down to 148 pounds!  I am really pumped to start my next fitness phase!  My next fitness goal, is that as I am down to 140 pounds I want to conquer P90X, I hope that if you are thinking of taking that challenge yourself, that you will allow me to be your beachbody coach, and we can do this together!

Saturday Night

It's Saturday Night.  I had a long day today.  I was mentally preparing myself to finish up my Slim Series - Slimming rotation with Tone it Up (it will be 5 weeks) and thinking about my upcoming 3 day shakelogy cleanse (I'll post more about later) when I realized all three of my babies are sleep!  My two oldest sons are doing their thing...Omar is reading his book Diary of a Wimpy Kid (the 4th one) William is watching that 70's show.  While browsing in facebook I happened to turn to my husband, and just looked at each other, we have not had not really spend time with just each other ;)  Every time we "escape" and run into our bedroom no more than 10min go by when one or two, sometimes ALL Five are knocking on the door asking/complaining/requesting etc. SO I am going to push Tone it Up for tomorrow in the AM and I'll be sending my husband a come wither smile, I am pretty sure I won't be denied!  My suggestion to you is to spend time with your partner and don't get too caught up with life!

Shakeology, it really does work!

So not a tech person!

Okay, I've been trying to improve my blog!  As you know I've become a beachbody coach, so I am trying to add links so that just in case you are interesting in getting fit and healthy you can allow me to be your coach!  So I've been trying to add a link to my teambeachbody web page...I am still working on it :)

Anyway, I got my shakeology yesterday! I am super excited.  I am doing a shakeology 3 day cleanse with my peeps! I am excited because I have a feeling that its going to help my body get rid of toxins, which in turn have made fatty deposits (specifically under my arm pits) which do not want to budge! I know, I know I can't spot train, but I keep wondering, when my body will decide to burn that fat! its not very pretty!

I've always struggled with my weight

I've always been fit and healthy impaired. I was that 80's kid that her parents didn't know any better, and was fed McDonalds at least 3 x a week. When I didn't have McD's I purchased cheeseburgers from the AM/PM store. Needlees to say I was also the chubby kid. During my teen's I was able to loose my "baby fat" I was young and looked good, but I wasn't fit or healthy at all!

After my first baby I ballooned to 205 pounds (ouch! I am only 5'1) I was able to get down to 150 and then number 2 came a long. After 3 years I was at 135 pounds, I was "soggy" but hey, I was 135 pounds! I may not have looked good in a two piece bathing suite, but I was just happy that I looked okay with regurlar clothes on.

I saw a Slim n 6 commercial in late 2004, bought it and had awesome results! After that experience kid #3 came along, a year after that kid #4, and a year after that we had kid#5. After my last child, my post-partum weight was 180. In September of 2008, I decided to re-start my exercise program. In February of 2009 I was only down to 175, very dissapointing. In that month, my child #2 had a physical, and it resulted that he had very high cholesterol levels...he was only 11. It finally dawned on me! Nutrition is a big part of the equation! Its not just about looking good, but being healthy and teaching my family the same thing!

A year later, I am down to 150 pounds, my son has better cholesterol numbers, he is more active and is making healthier food choices, I couldn't be more proud of him. This new journey, has been an enlightenment for my whole my family. Its not about being on a diet, its about a life style change. Its about choosing a homemade turkey burger over a fast food burger and not really missing the fries. Its been hard on all of us, but its getting to a point where its becoming second nature, and there are no more moans and groans when I serve fish for dinner.

My oldest son is actually joining me everytime I push play. Being on the path of fitness and eating healthier is now who we are as a family, and its a wonderful feeling. We can't go organic because we just can't afford it, but I am paying more attention to the labels!

I hope I can help you and motivate you to become healthy! Looking good will be a bonus as a result of the healthy new you!

I've decided to become a beachbody coach! am I scared? a little...am I excited? SUPER EXCITED! my excitment outweighs the scary part of becoming a coach. Becoming a coach is not so much about the income(although its a nice perk) but actually helping, encouraging and inspiring people to feel good about themselves, be fit and be healthy! When you reach your health and fitness goals, looking good will come naturally...you'll even look sexier because the confidence will be there. At least that is what I keep telling myself :)

The reason why I would like to help people reach their fitness and health goals, is because I am going through the same thing. I won't bore you with the details, but I was the chubby kid, being "skinny" does not come naturally to me. I have to work hard. But what really inspired me is my son. February of last year, he had very high cholesterol levels, it dawned on me...its not about me looking good, but its about me and my family to be healthy. I want my kids to be healthy. I want them to want to keep active and exercise. I want them to go for the healthy snack, rather than the doritos. Its been a year now since my son's physical, and he is doing such a great job! Eating healthy now is becoming second nature to our family. Just last evening Omar asked if we could have Pollo Loco for dinner...last year he would of asked for MacDonalds. I said no, but it was a great feeling to hear him voice a healthier option.

I have 5 kids, so me and my husband have to feed 7 of us. There is no way I can afford going organic. I buy my veggies at a regular supermarket, but hey! I am actually buying fresh veggies every week and they don't go rotten! that is a major accomplishment for my house.

So here I go...I've started my healthy/weighloss journey over a year a go, now I am ready to use beachbody to continue to guide me along the way, wish me luck!