On Instagram after a workout, I may post an after workout post to share. The 20% of self care I discuss is the physical part, my workouts. But I call it 20, 40, 40 self-care, 20% physical, 40% mind, 40% food. I have developed a healthy relationship with the gym and workouts and still my workouts are evolving. I find myself that working out has been my escape to sadness as well as motivation to move forward in life. This weight loss journey has been the most consistent journey I’ve done. I’ve lost the most weight I’ve ever lost and there’s more to go. But I gained confidence, self awareness and self respect. My previous weight loss journey’s have not been consistent at all, I also did it for the wrong reasons.

I use to work out back in college because we had a gym that was part of the tuition. Back then my metabolism was super fast so my workouts were three days a week and I just did it to look good not to feel good. I started running when I was 19 and back then my runs were half way. I would never do a complete run because Ill get tired pretty quick because of my anemia but also I didn’t understand what running really is and what my body can really do. After college, I stopped working out, stopped the running and it lasted for 4 years I believe. In those four years, I was working in my industry and building my skills, network and resume. My work became my 100% focused and everything else felt into place. Yea Ill read and try to do mental self care but I didn’t get it till my break down a few years later. So no working out, eating a lot of junk and healthy food combined, I started gaining weight and didn’t even noticed it.

My first “serious” weight loss journey ill say I did was beach body workouts. There was a point that there was a craze for beach body because the workouts they really work. A family friend lost a lot of weight with beach body and she had a team that was also doing beach body and we will post on our private facebook group our progress. I did that for about 7 months and lost 21 pounds with it. In that weight loss I also did the vegan diet. This is when I realized that working out is only 20% of your journey because what you put in your body really effects your look. I was in that journey for 7 months and lost 21 pounds and was a vegan. Thou I was working out, I was still placing bad food in my body. Then work got in the way and I started being inconsistent with my workouts and then I stopped doing it. What I also learned about that experience is that you train your mind first before you train food or body. If you set your mind first that you want to loose weight, you can do it.

I did Herbalife, vegan ,the juice cleanse everything and still I wasn’t happy. When I started this journey two years ago, I wanted to start with my mind because I just experience one of the worst anxiety attacks back to back and I was too traumatize and just wanted to train my mind to get right. I did Herbalife and lost 30 pounds, then I stopped and gained everything back plus more. During that time I got hired at a big Italian company and once again took more than half of my time away and I began eating away. I Then saw a picture of myself that I did not like and was like “is time to loose weight” but honestly I gained so much that I didn’t know where to began. I also went to the doctor and the nurse old me my cholesterol was a little high. I was scare because my mother has it and I see her experience. I do not want to live like she lives, when you have multiple health issues, medication dominates your life.

After the doctors visit, I began to just take brisk walks just to start somewhere, this was in may 2017. The walks turn into runs now what was different about this run is that I was running for more than 15 minutes and over 1 1/2 mile and that’s when I started to see changes in myself. I was trying to figure out if my anemia was just getting better( around this time my anemia was gone) or I just trained my mind that I can do it. My walks turn into runs, I was running three days a week. I was a member at New York Sports club Gym, but it didn’t feel right for some reason. My home and outdoor workouts were so much better.

In June 2017, the day after my last day at Eataly, I really started my health journey. I signed up with beach body again, just to do that workouts. I had the insanity max 30 workouts form the previous time I did beach body and just started doing it. Now remember when I said that exercising is only 20% of it, well that was the case, I had to train my mind first I call it 40% and then apply food 40% . I was loosing weight slowly, I actually didn’t see results till late September. People think you at the gym for two hours you eat right and within a week you lost 20 pounds. Nope your body does not work like that, it has its own plan and I had to listen to it. Mindset is really what got me to where I am and the feeling of living longer, feeling good.

Till this date I’ve lost a lil over 30 pounds, the most I’ve ever lost and I feel great. I say that my weight loss was just 20% of this journey. I discovered my strengths, I developed a new sense of confidence that it could be seen in all areas in my life, I discovered what self care really is. I also discovered what confidence really is and the scale does no define your self esteem, you define it. Everyday I’m learning something new about myself and my body. I take it one step at a time and I go at my own pace. I started doing strength training in February 2018 and that’s something I’ve always been scare to do because of my anemia but I’m doing it and so happy. I’m not a health expert, health freak. I do like taking care of my mind, spirit and body because I feel good about it and you should feel good. I’ve said this before is my journey I went at my own pace and I had good reasons to do it that’s why I feel it worked out this time around.