10 Snow Lessons

1. Be sure to have enough diapers and wipes. During the last snow fall I contemplated using cloth diapers just because we almost ran out. 

2. Be sure to have enough food for the family. My husband did a great job stoking up for everyone, baby included. Thank God he's at an age where he can eat what we eat but he is still very dependent on a milk coming from a bottle. 

3. Stock up on movies. I went to the public library and got some things everyone will enjoy. Of course, baby just needs our attention and love, that's entertaining enough :)

4. Have enough fuel. Very important to have enough fuel so we can be warm in our home.

5. Have bottled water and other emergency items. I bought some emergency things a while ago. If pipes freeze, we can still function for a while.

6. Park close to the street. Last time we had to dig our car from the back of our yard, it was dreadful to say the least. This time we were really close to the street. 

7. Try new things. This is a great time to try new recipes or pick up on projects that have been sitting and waiting for you. 

8. Reconnect with family. Some in town didn't have electricity. We did but it was nice to reconnect with family and spend quality time together. 

9. Spend time with God. We should do that daily and often but why not catch up on the most important relationship while snowed in?

10. Keep the peace. The worse thing that can happen is to have unresolved issues while being stuck. Work things out. As far as it's up to you, keep the peace and enjoy your family!

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Things I learned last week

1. Life does not stop because I’m losing weight. When sick, I have to stop and do what’s best for me.
2. Things from a can are not necessarily good for me. Fresh is always better for me.
3. I have few, good friends who keep in touch in a regular basis. They know who they are because most people didn’t know I was out of it for a couple of days.
4. Some medicines take away your hunger. What an interesting experience. Not being hungry for days made me really pay attention to eating for nourishment.
5. Walking makes me feel great. My wonderful husband and I went for a short walk and I felt so good by doing that. Movement really helps the overall body and mind!
6. God is my source. All my sources are from Him. He’s a very present help in times of need. He is a healer. He’s my everything and He’s love.
7. Television makes me tired. Watching television makes me tired. It gives me a numbing feeling really. I rest better when I turn it off.
8. Resting is important for recovery. Forget about chores, I need to recover first!
9. Being selfish is overrated. I thought about other people who were sick and prayed for them. The needs of others around me needed to met as well.
10. Food will be there waiting for me when I decide to eat it. This is a rich nation.

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Simple Simplifying

The world is really complex but your life doesn’t have to be. One of the reasons why I’ve failed on weight loss efforts is because things were more complicated than I thought they would be.

During one summer I was offered to take on the body shape diet. I had to read a book, take a test, watch a tape and do 50 jumping jacks before I actually started the diet. Okay, I exaggerated on the jumping jacks LOL. I didn’t get through the first page of the book. That summer (one of my 10 attempts to lose weight), I opted to simplify my meals and exercise twice a day (walking and biking). I lost at least 20 pounds that summer. I couldn’t keep that lifestyle in the fall because my schedule became more complex.

In my search for motivation to stick with my lifestyle change, simplicity has been a must. People can make simplicity complex. When I open a magazine about simple living, some of the tips are complicated. They take a lot of time to do. That proves me that I have to make things personal. I can’t rely on a magazine or a weekly show to tell me how to make my life simpler. I also understand that those tips might work for you.

These are some of the things that work for me if I want to simplify my life:

Sleep earlier. Getting quality sleep adds more to my life because I simply feel better. I have more energy to spend during the a day and I’ll be in a better mood.

Pack the night before. When I pack my gym clothes the night before, all I have to do is grab that bag on my way out to work. The same work for lunch. I’m less likely to eat crazy if I pack my lunch in advance. In grad school I used to cook for a whole week.

Use the same grocery list. My nutritionist gave me this brilliant idea. I have several busy weeks ahead. Because I’m the main shopper in my household, it makes it easier to buy the same things each week instead of coming up with new menus and items. When my schedule becomes more flexible, my list will surely change.

Simplify your eating. My nutritionist suggested that I simplified my eating plan and I refused it. I repented and today I started on a plan that’s called ‘simple choices.' I don’t have as many choices as in the food pyramid plan but I still get the same nutrition for the same number of calories.

Make God’s priorities your own. God cares about things I should care about. I’ve been meditating on Ephesians 5:15 which says I should live purposefully and accurately. The only way I can do that is if I know what God’s priorities are for me. The Bible is full of them: Building others up according to their needs (Ephesians 4:29) is one. I know others who are in this journey to lose weight. I purposefully build them up and I enjoy doing that. Each day we should seek God’s priorities for us as individuals. Someone needs you today. Feed the poor. Clothe the naked. Just find someone who has less than you do and bless them.

I can use simplifying in other areas of my life. For two years I was constantly frustrated because of unorganized paperwork at home. I’ve learned that if I work 10 minutes daily at it, I should see a huge difference after week 1.
I want to encourage you to simplify your life with God's help and therefore, enjoy it more!

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Motivação: Desafio e Realidade - Parte I

Eu tenho pensado muito sobre o segredo da motivação pra perder peso. Será que existe algo como motivação permante? A minha situação e essa, eu tenho trabalhado muito ultimamente. A vida não para só porque eu estou perdendo peso. Eu tenho que trabalhar, cuidar da casa, etc, etc. Eu gostaria de saber qual é o segredo de continuar motivada pra perder peso, não importa o quão ocupada eu esteja. A solução não foi tão simples como eu gostaria (rsrsrs). Eu tive que refletir nos meus motivos pra perder peso e decidir o que funcionou e o que não funcionou nessa jornada. Essas são as coisas que não me deram motivação pra perder peso:

Uma calça Jeans
Eu perdi bastante peso em 1996. Eu comprei uma calça jeans da Taco, tamanho 38. Eu entrei pra faculdade, engordei, emagreci e engordei de novo. Eu guardei aquela calça com a esperança de emagrecer de novo. Oito anos se passaram e eu descobri que guardar uma peça de roupas não me ajudou muito a perder peso. O processo de estar motivada pra perder peso não poderia ser tão simples assim.
Eu decidi doar não somente aquela calça mas outras roupas que comprei quando eu estava magrinha. Não foi fácil porque na minha mente eu insistia que eu ia caber naquelas roupas de novo. Ao mesmo tempo eu me sentia tão mal quando olhava para aquelas roupas.
A realidade e que eu tinha um guarda roupa cheio de roupas eu não podia usar. No livro ‘Viva a sua vida pela metade do preço’ Mary Hunt diz que “nós usamos 20% das roupas que nós temos e 80% estão no fundo do guarda-roupa.” Quando eu li esse livro eu também ganhei coragem pra me livrar das roupas que eu não usava. Eu doei algumas e vendi outras.
Eu encontrei liberdade quando me livrei daquelas roupas. Na verdade aquelas roupas eram lembranças de todas as vezes que meus atentados a perder peso falharam. Quando eu penso naquela calça, eu sei que ela era ótima pra mim em 1996. 12 anos depois eu sou uma nova pessoa, uma pessoa melhor por causa da graça de Deus. Eu não sou o que eu peso.
Meu tamanho vai ser 38 de novo mas uma calça jeans não vai me dar motivação pra continuar perdendo peso quando eu estiver muito ocupada. Talvez outras pessoas poderiam me ‘ajudar’ a perder peso.

Pessoas
Se vc foi gordinho/a desde criança outras crianças provavelmente te encarnaram. Isso aconteceu comigo quando eu era criança. Quando eu era adolescente eu não tive esse problema tanto quanto eu tive na infância. Uma das coisas que lembro sobre minha adolescência foi um garoto me chamando de “mais feia” quando eu fui a uma viagem missionária. O comentário maldoso nunca me deu motivação pra perder peso mas eu conheco outras pessoas que perderam peso por causa disso.
Na faculdade eu estudei com uma menina que perdeu muito peso depois que um namorado terminou o relacionamento com ela. Minha experiência foi diferente. Antes de eu casar com o meu marido maravilhoso eu namorei um rapaz que disse “olha pra suas pernas! Você está engordando!” Quando eu conheci o meu marido Zeke, peso nunca foi um problema. Eu agradeço a Deus por ter me livrado de um relacionamento que dava mais importância a pernas do que ao que estava no meu coração.
Eu já ouvi vários comentários maldosos na minha vida mas graças a Deus eu tenho aprendido como perdoar as pessoas. A situação mais difícil que tive recentemente foi na igreja. Eu era a líder de um estudo chamado “Você não é o que vc pesa” e uma irmã me olhou de cima pra baixo e disse “o que é que vcs estão fazendo naquela aula? Você não está perdendo peso nenhum.” Esse comentário foi muito maldoso mas eu sabia que era apenas um teste. Me levou bastante tempo mas eu finalmente consigo orar por essa irmã e pedir pra que as bençãos de Deus encham a vida dela. Já que outras pessoas não me dão motivação, quem sabe eu consiga ficar animada por causa de mim mesma?

Eu mesma
Eu acordava de manhã e dizia ‘este é um dia cheio de possibilidades e novas oportunidades.” Eu dependia completamente em mim pra poder seguir a dieta direitinho. Bem, eu falhava horrivelmente, toda vez. Um dia eu lanchei três vezes, um lanche atrás do outro. Eu gosto do Salmo 44:6 porque diz que meus recursos não me dão vitória. Sem Deus eu não sou nada. Sem Deus eu sempre falho.

Uma Dieta
Se vc tem lido esse blog por um bom tempo, vc sabe que eu não acredito em dietas. Dietas não funcionam porque elas são temporárias. Uma dieta na verdade e um pedaço de papel que não te responde quando vc faz perguntas. Uma dieta não vai te dizer o que você fez de errado e como você pode melhorar. Uma dieta não oferece motivação, ânimo pra continuar na jornada. A dieta não vai te dar misericórdia. Se você não segui-la perfeitamente, vc é uma pessoa muito má. Dá pra perceber o que estou tentando comunicar. Mas será que um evento, alguma coisa no futuro pode me ajudar com minha motivação???

Eventos

Festas. Todo sábado tem uma. Casamento, aniversário, 15 anos… Eu tentei ser inspirada pra perder peso por causa de eventos. Quando minha amiga casou aqui nos Estates, eu tive que comprar um vestido. Eu tentei perder peso pro casamento e com o vestido comprado, engordei. Uma costureira fez um milagre e gracas a Deus eu entrei no vestido (rsrs).
Eu tentei perder peso pro meu casamento. Eu perdi um pouquinho, mas umas duas semanas depois eu não cabia mais no vestido.

Qual será a solução pra continuar motivada pra perder peso já que todas essas coisas não funcionaram pra mim?

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Motivation: Challenge vs. Reality Part II

After many attempts to stay motivated to lose weight I could not find motivation in a pair of jeans, in myself, other people or a piece of paper (AKA diet). God has given me direction and showed me how to stay motivated in my journey.

God: His plan, His Now Word, His Goal for Me
I was at the bottom of a pit when God healed me and gave me His plan for a healthy, abundant life. I was depressed and feeling bad about myself while putting on a happy face at work and at church.
I received a word from God as an individual, which has guided me until today in my weight loss journey. As a human being in this journey, I get tired, weary and discouraged. Seeking what I call a ‘now’ word from God also motivates me to stay encouraged. God knows the end from the beginning, therefore He knows and He has the power to give you guidance to stay encouraged. I’m talking about specific things you can do in order to finish your weight loss journey well.
Another great thing I learned from Lisa Bevere’s book ‘You are not what you weigh” is that God, as your Creator, knows how much you are supposed to weigh. Fashion cannot and should not dictate how much you are to weigh. God can. Knowing that piece of information has been really encouraging. I often write and say that I can do all things through Christ. Through Him I can reach His goal for me. Talk about having a great assurance!

Planning
The Bible tells us to write the vision and make it plain. I notice that when faced with a busy week, I tend to write down when I am going to exercise. By doing that I am preparing my mind and therefore my body for action. Planning takes me from wishing I was doing something to actually having a concrete plan of doing it.
It’s unwise to start a company without a business plan. Because of the plan success is possible. Just ask Bill Gates or Donald Trump about that.
A simple illustration I heard further encouraged me to plan. I love cakes. I specially love wedding cakes because they are so beautiful. They only reason why my wedding cake was so beautiful on my wedding day, it was because someone followed a recipe. When I first started on my weight loss journey, I walked daily. I walked in the park, I used a pedometer… I walked. Recently I’ve been using a new recipe. I walk, run or work on another aerobic workout but I added a new ingredient: weight lifting. Ask God what is the recipe to get to the size He wants you to have. Make sure you follow the directions!

Prayer
I pray for a lot of people. I don’t pray for myself that much. As I was walking and reflecting on the subject of motivation, I realized it is okay to talk to the Lord about your weight loss journey. Pray that you will hear His voice. Present your plans to Lord and they will succeed (Proverbs 16:3). Include God in that area of your life. Jesus came to be Lord of all areas of our lives, our eating habits is an area we all tend to leave Him out (I know I did). Pray for yourself. I know you pray for others but start praying for yourself. This week I need to pray that God will give me the grace to exercise at least 3 times. God hears and answers our prayers. He cares about everything, your exercise habits too!

Seeking Peace
I’ve established that being busy can wreck your weight loss efforts. In my case, that busyness and the lack of exercise can lead to the lack of peace. You might feel anxious, afraid. You might get the shakes or whatever. Your stomach may hurt. When I’m anxious I have chest pains. These symptoms do not come from God. Jesus is the Prince of Peace. We are to pursue peace. We are to crave it, to seek hard after it.
Worrying and being anxious can mess up the most gorgeous of days. As I was walking in a day like that, I noticed how beautiful it was outside. I felt like I needed to enjoy that day. Psalm 118 says ‘This is the day that the Lord has made.” The other part of the verse is not ‘let us worry about our projects at work, scream at our family members because they’re not as organized as we are, feel condemned because we overate and be mad in it.” The psalmist encourages to rejoice and be glad in it.
Joy and gladness work with motivation, not against it. Do a joy check when you are feeling down.

Confession
A couple of weeks ago, during my search for motivation I dragged myself to the gym. I was really tired but I needed to be there. I was so tired I thought I couldn’t finish my aerobic exercise in one of the machines. My mind desperately started to seek for motivation. I found it while remembering God’s plan for me and confessing it. I opened my mouth and said: “I am not what I weight, I weight what God wants me to weigh and I can do it through Christ who strengthens me.” There’s power and strength in the Word of God. I want to encourage you to confess His word. Make it personal too!

We are all unique. God knows that. It was difficult for me to find motivation based of someone else’s experience. God has a plan for you, He knows just how to encourage you and He will lead you to people to help you. The key is to rely on Him as your all in all.

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Motivation: Challenge vs. Reality

I’ve been asking myself lately, what’s the secret to stay motivated when it comes to losing weight and maintaining the ideal weight. The word plateau comes to mind. There are lots of things written about motivation out there but I could not find anything that worked for me.
Here’s my situation: I’m working a lot lately. I realize life is not about following a weight loss plan only. I get up and have to work – a lot. I have to take care of the house, the bills, etc. Life just doesn’t stop because I am losing weight. What is the secret to stay motivated through life’s busy seasons?

The answer wasn’t as simplistic as I hoped for. I had to start by deciding what my personal motivations to lose weight were. I realize there are good and bad reasons to be motivated about a weight loss journey. Here are the reasons that did not work for me:

The Skinny Pair of Jeans
I lost a great amount of weight ages ago (1996). I bought a pair of jeans that was a size 4. Even when I started gaining the weight back, I looked HOT in those jeans. When I could no longer fit them, I kept my skinny jeans in the closet because I was going to wear them again. 8 years later I realized I wasn’t going to hold on to a piece of clothing with hopes to lose weight. The process could not be that simple.

I lost the skinny jeans but I held on to many, many other ‘skinny’ clothes. It was hard because in my mind I insisted I was going to fit in those clothes one day. At the same time I felt depressed when I looked at those clothes.

I faced reality when I couldn’t find the meaning of having a closet full of clothes I could not wear. In ‘Live your life for half the price” Mary Hunt says: “we wear 20 percent of the clothes we own while 80 percent are banished to the dark side of our closets.” Reading this book also encouraged me to face the truth and get rid of clothes I couldn’t wear.

I found freedom when I lost the skinny clothes. In a way, skinny clothes were a reminder of my many failures. When I think about that pair of skinny jeans, I realize it was good while I was a size 4. I am no longer where I was in 1996. I’m not what I weigh, I’m a better person, thank God.
I will be a size 4 again but fixing my eyes on a pair of skinny jeans just didn’t give me motivation enough to follow my new lifestyle in busy seasons. Maybe other people who would ‘encourage’ me could do the trick.

People
If you’ve been overweight since childhood, chances are you’ve been teased before. I was teased, mostly by siblings. In my early teenage years, I was teased a little less. One of the things that come to mind happened when I was 15. I don’t know why in the world I allowed a guy called me ‘the ugly one’ during a mission trip. I kept that on the inside for years. During that instance, I decided to be nice to him anyhow. I actually pretended it did not happen.

I never thought about losing weight because that guy teased me. When I was a child, I never thought about losing weight because other children teased me. I just couldn’t find a foundation strong one to support that quality decision.

I know a person who lost tons of weight after she was dumped by a boyfriend. Through a difficult life situation she found the motivation to start exercising and losing weight. That just didn’t happen to me.

Before I got married to my great, loving husband, I dated a guy who told me, ‘look at your tighs! You are gaining weight!’ When Zeke came into my life weight was never an issue. I thank God for delivering me from an evil relationship where I was judged not by the content of my heart but by the size of my thighs.

No matter how cruel people have been to me so far, I have find forgiveness and I have given forgiveness through Jesus. The most challenging situation I had recently, happened in the beginning of my lifestyle change while I was leading a Bible study called You are Not what you Weigh. I was approached by a person at church who gave me a disapproving look while telling me “what are yall doing in that class? You’re not losing any weight.” Those words hurt me a lot. Somehow I knew that was a test of my faith. It took me a while but I can finally pray God’s blessings over that person. Because people cannot encourage me to lose weight I started wondering if I could find that encouragement in myself.

Myself
I remember waking up after a not so perfect day on diet and saying: I have a brand new day full of opportunities to lead a perfect diet. Guess what? I didn’t. I had three snacks back to back. My self motivation led me no where. It seems like it works for a little while but it has no lasting results.

I love this verse: “I do not trust in my bow, my sword does not bring me victory;” Psalms 44:6. Without God I could do nothing. Without Him I always fail.

A Diet
If you’ve been a reader for a while you know I no longer believe in diets. I believe in changing your lifestyle with the help of God. I’ve followed diets before. At first, I followed one prescribed by a doctor. I thought that was taking too long so I prescribed my own. That’s when the yoyo began.

How could I expect that a piece of paper would keep me motivated? A diet will not talk back to you. It will not tell you what you’re doing right and what you need to improve. A diet offers no support, no encouragement. A diet offers no mercy. If you do not do what it tells you… you are a bad, bad person.

I guess you get my point by now. A piece of paper could not give me lasting motivation. What about something I could look forward to?

An Event
There’s always an event to attend. Milestones events always inspired me to lose weight. I wanted to reach my goal by my wedding for example. I lost a great deal of weight but I didn’t reach my goal. A week or so after the weekend I could no longer fit in the dress.

I bought a small bridesmaid dress with hopes of losing weight one time. I didn’t lose the weight so they had to work a miracle and add some fabric to the back of the dress. I should post that picture here…

I’ve been tempted twice to lose weight because of two weddings. If you’ve seen my before picture on the left of this blog, it was taken at one of those weddings.
There’s proof that events (milestones or not) did not help me to keep motivated on my weight loss journey.
Who could save me from this vicious cycle???

TO BE CONTINUED…

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O segredo

Segredo para peder peso:
Não há segredo nenhum. Perder peso na verdade é bem pratico, bem simples. Você tem que ter determinação, foco, tem que aceitar os seus erros e manter a sua alegria. Aqui vão 10 coisas que aprendi até agora. Elas não são um segredo porque eu estou compartilhando com você querido/a leitor/a. Estou comemorando 300 posts aqui no blog. Muito obrigada por ler o meu blog, Simply Cintia.

1. Encontre um programa que funcione pra você. A dieta dos pontos não funciona pra todo mundo. Atkins não funciona pra todos e nem South Beach. Ache um programa que funcione pra você e não a dieta que funcionou pra suas amigas. Lembre-se que às vezes você tem que tentar vários programas – eu tentei uns 10.

2. Faça várias perguntas. Quanto dinheiro vou ter que gastar? Eu preciso ir a aulas toda semana? Que tipo de comidas tenho que comer? Posso ir a restaurantes? Pergunte muito.

3. Exercícios. Exercícios são mandatórios. Lembre-se de que você vai ter encontrar o melhor exercício pra você. Quando eu comecei minha jornada eu fazia ‘exercícios de graca’. Você pode fazer caminhadas de graça todos os dias da sua vida. Eu não tinha dinheiro pra entrar na academia e assim mesmo caminhei e me senti muito bem.

4. Não procure por uma ciência exata. Me disseram que eu ia cometer erros quando comecei minha jornada e esse comentário me ajudou muito. Eu pensava que as pessoas que perdiam peso eram perfeitas. Recentemente eu aprendi que elas simplismente aprenderam a cometer menos erros.

5. Sua boca pode ser do contra. Preste atenção no que você fala. Deus me disse pra eu parar de me chamar de gorda quando comecei minha jornada. Se eu continuasse confessando que era gorda o resultado seria gordura. A Bíblia diz que nós temos o que nos confessamos com a nossa boca. Hoje eu confesso que eu peso o que Deus quer que eu peso e também confesso que eu faco exercísios sempre. Notou a diferença?

6. Mande no seu corpo. Eu tenho que continuar me desafiando. Caminhe pra mais longe. Queime mais 100 calorias. Mude o tipo de aeróbica. Aprenda receitas novas. A última coisa que você precisa é de ficar sem ânimo e chateada com a mesma coisa dia após dia.

7. Tenha compania. Eu ia a uma aula toda semana, agora eu me consulto todo mês com uma nutricionista. No inicio eu não achei um amigo pra poder ir nessa jornada comigo então eu paguei uma pessoa pra me acompanhar! As vezes o seus parentes e amigos não vão estar prontos pra te acompanhar. Não fique com raiva. E se você ficar, pare com isso o mais rápido possível. Encontre outra compania e lembre-se de que você é a única pessoa que é responsável pela sua saúde.

8. Continue aprendendo. Apesar de eu não ter feito faculdade de nutrição eu leio muito sobre esse tópico. Eu não tenho prazer em saber as calorias de todos os alimentos ou em ser uma enciclopédia ambulante. Eu gosto e de ler materias e livros interessantes. Por exemplo, eu leio sobre o relacionamento entre comida e o estress, a mente e a perda de peso, a imagem feminina na mídia e o valor da mulher. Recentemente eu comprei uma fita da Joyce Meyer chamada “as 12 razões pelas quais as pessoas comem demais.” Custou apenas $6 reais. Eu ouço essa fita quando estou dirigindo. Eu estou aprendendo muito!

9. Ajude alguém. Eu tento achar pessoas pra poder animar. Quando estou caminhando e vejo alguem se esforçando, eu digo ‘você está indo muito bem’ ou apenas aceno pra pessoa com um sorriso no rosto. Se você é tímido isso não deve funcionar pra você. Quando vou na academia eu digo pra alguém que está desanimado: ‘o importante é que você veio’. Eu tento animar os amigos que estão no início da jornada. Saiba que eu não minto pras pessoas. Há uma diferença entre você mentir pra pessoa só porque ela está de dieta e você usar a sinceridade. Vamos ser sinceros em tudo o que fazemos ou falamos.

10. Mantenha Deus no controle do que você faz. Deus é a razão principal da minha jornada. Eu pedi ajuda a Deus então Ele está no controle de tudo. Eu não posso esquecer de Deus porque Ele se importa comigo. Acredite ou não, o que é importante pra mim é importante pra Deus. Ele é quem me diz o que fazer e Ele tem me dado tantas oportunidades nessa jornada. Eu amo a Deus e Ele ganha o crédito por cada quilo perdido e por toda ida à academia as 6 da manhã.

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The secret

Here's to celebrate my 300 posts on this blog. As always, thanks for reading Simply Cintia.

Here’s the secret to losing weight:

There’s no secret. It’s really a practical, simple thing. It’s about determination, focus, accepting failures and keeping the enjoyment alive. Here are 10 things I learned so far. They’re not a secret cause I’m telling you, my beloved reader.

#1. Find Something that Works for You. Counting points doesn’t work for everyone. Atkins doesn’t work for everyone neither does South Beach. Find out what works for YOU, not what worked for your friends. Remember that it might take you a few tries – it took me 10.
#2. Find out what it Takes. How much money is it going to take? Do I need to attend classes? What foods am I allowed to eat? Can I eat out? Ask lots of questions.
#3. Exercise. Exercise is a must. Again, find out what works for you. I started with what I call ‘the free exercise plan.’ It doesn’t take money people! You can walk for free as much you’d like. I didn’t have a pedometer when I started either.
#4. Not an Exact Science. I was told I would mess up when I started my journey. That helped me so much! I used to look at people who lost weight as perfect people. I recently learned that you simply learn to make fewer mistakes.
#5 Your Mouth Might be Against You. Watch what you say. God told me to stop calling myself fat in the beginning of my journey. If I kept saying that, I would have whatsoever I confessed. I now confess that I exercise often and I weight what God wants me to weight.
#6. Tell your Body what to do. I have to keep challenging myself. Walk further. Burn 100 more calories. Change my aerobics workout. Add new recipes to my menu. The last thing you need is to get bored. Oh, sometimes you have to scream at your body. Telling it might not be enough sometimes (LOL)
#7. Have Accountability. I had accountability weekly through a class, now I have it monthly with a health educator. I couldn’t find anyone to go in the journey with me so guess what? I pay someone to go with me! Sometimes your significant other will not be ready to go on the journey with you. Don’t get mad at them. If you do, get over it as soon as you can. Take any support they will give you and remember, you alone are accountable for your health.
#8 Stay Educated. My degree is not in nutrition but I make sure to read about different health subjects. I find no pleasure in being a walking calorie counter or a walking encyclopedia. What I do enjoy is reading about things that interest me the most. E.g., the relationship between stress and food, the mind and weight loss, women’s image in the media and self esteem. I recently got a tape called “The 12 reasons why people overeat” for $3 and I listen to it when I’m driving. I’ve been learning a lot!
#9 Encourage Someone Else. I try to find people to encourage. I give thumbs up to people walking around the same trail as I – if you are an introvert, this might not work for you. I encourage people in the gym telling them they’ll feel better at the end of the workout. I encourage friends who are in the beginning of their journey. Please, know that I don’t lie to people. There’s a difference between being fake because you know someone is on a diet and sincerely being happy for them. Let’s be real here ;)
#10 Keep God as your Source. God is the reason why I’m on this journey. I asked Him for help so I keep Him in the center of this journey. I can’t forget God because He cares for me completely. Believe it or not, what’s important to me is important to Him. He’s the one who tells me what to do and has given me the great opportunities I’ve had in this journey. I love the Lord and He gets ALL the credit for every pound and every trip to the gym at 6 a.m.

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10 Lições sobre Nutrição

Em homenagem ao fim da minha aula de nutricao :( queria compartilhar essas dicas com todo mundo. Vivo falando da aula porque esta sendo otima e tem me ajudado a parar de fazer dieta (palavra feia) e viver uma vida bem melhor. Aprendi muito mais do que perder peso, tenho aprendido como aumentar a qualidade da minha vida atraves da alimentacao saudavel. Como todo mundo, quero perder mais peso mas desde que comecei essa jornada me sinto bem melhor. Minha energia aumentou, nao tenho tantas dores de cabeca e fatiga como tinha antes. Aproveitem eu TOP 10 e que Deus te abencoe na sua jornada!

10 Lições sobre Nutrição

1. A perda de peso e uma ‘ferramenta’ na jornada de um corpo mais saudavel. O objetivo e ter um corpo bem nutrido. O seu sucesso depende das mudancas de habito (exercisios, auto estima, quantidade correta de frutas e legumes, etc), que sao mais importantes do que um numero na balanca.
2. Faca exercisios diariamente. Quanto? Comece onde vc esta e comece a acumular mais tempo malhando.
3. O apoio (nutricionista, classe, familia, amigos, etc) e fundamental pra continuar o processo e manter o peso perdido.
4. O diario alimentar tambem e uma ferramenta otima nessa jornada. Seja especifico!
5. O que adianta controlar o que vc come na rua e perder o controle em casa? Controle o seu AMBIENTE (comece em casa: se o chocolate ficar no supermercado vc nao vai come-lo em casa. E facil nao comer o que nao esta na sua casa).
6. Nao suponha que vc vai conseguir ser bem nutrido comendo fora de casa. Quando vc for no supermercado compre bastante frutas, legumes e verduras. Olhe pro seu carrinho de compras e veja se vc tem toda a nutricao que vc precisa.
7. Quando tiver dificuldades, pergunte-se: o que eu estou fazendo esta me ajudando a alcancar os meus objetivos?
8. Tenha um objetivo pros seus exercisios: participar de uma maratona, competicao, etc.
9. Pense no valor da comida – habilidade de te dar energia durante o dia.
10. Lembre-se que a RA vai te lever nao somente aos seus objetivos mas a uma vida mais saudavel e feliz. Voce NAO e o que voce pesa!

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Lu Francesa

Today's blog is totally dedicated to my friend, Lu Francesa. O blog de hoje e totalmente dedicado a minha amiga Lu Francesa. She was featured in a big web portal and I wanted to do the same on my little portal. Ela foi entrevistada em um web site grande e eu queria fazer uma homenagem no meu pequeno blog :)

10 Lessons learned from Lu Francesa

10 Licoes aprendidas com a Lu Francesa

1. Be a good friend. This is the way to have good friends;
1. Seja uma boa amiga. Esta e a maneira de ter bons amigos;
2. It is possible to lose weight and keep it off while living in a foreign country;
2. E possivel perder peso e manter o seu novo peso morando no exterior;
3. Never give up your dreams and goals;
3. Nunca desista dos seus sonhos e objetivos;
4. Keep working towards your goal, no matter what people are saying (on or off line);
4. Continue trabalhando nos seus objetivos, nao importan o que as pessoas falem (na internet ou fora);
5. Have faith in God and in yourself;
5. Tenha fe em Deus e em vc mesma;
6. Celebrate life, always;
6. Comemore a vida, sempre;
7. Try new things and activities;
7. Experimente coisas e atividades novas;
8. Help someone else on the way to where you're going;
8. Ajude outras pessoas no caminho dos seus objetivos;
9. Remember that weight loss is a process, not an event;
9. Lembre-se que a RA e um processo e nao um evento;
10. Remember what's really important.
10. Lembre-se do que e realmente importante.

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