Zumba® B2 Training Complete!

There's me.  Top middle.  Sweaty, disheveled, and sore after dancing from 9am-6pm yesterday.  It definitely makes you give some respect for those that do those reality competition dancing shows. While the basic step 1 training was only the 4 basic rhythms, this class focused on six more rhythms: belly dance, flamenco, tango, samba, plus two new high-intensity rhythms, soca and quebradita.  It was great in reinforcing the Zumba® formula and giving us ideas in class techniques and making it fun for new and old, and also touched on making us better, more professional instructors.  Abraham Hernandez is a great ZES (Zumba® Education Specialist) and was the same instructor I had for Basic Step 1 back in April, as he is the current ZES assigned to Idaho.

While I won't start my classes until September, after I'm done with my Bachelors, it's great that I was able to get this training in.  So much great info, and an awesome, fun time working out as usual!  LOVED every minute of it!

Mini Goal

Short post....

For the first time in over 2 years I'm finally under 170.  Sure it's 169.8 lbs, but hey.. it's still UNDER!

Hope you all are having a great week!!

<3

Getting Close, Yet Falling Behind

It's been over half a year since I've blogged about anything to do with my progress, whether personal, professional or otherwise.  It basically comes down to having the time to do so.  As a wife, mom, student, volunteer and small business owner, things can get out of control - and FAST!  I know a lot of you out there that go through the same struggles.  Trying to manage your time with all that needs to get done, and I'm falling into the same patterns that have plagued me my whole life.  Putting others ahead of myself.

Don't get me wrong, I love helping others, getting involved, making people smile and knowing I had a part in making their lives just a tad easier.  The problem I have is being on the receiving end of that help.  It's a hard habit to break.  You smile and act tough, turning down much appreciated gestures of kindness, but you think to yourself, "I got this", or in a lot of cases you feel that you don't want to push your burdens and responsibilities on others.  This is the life I choose and it's on me to keep it going.  Especially now, with the husband deployed, there is that internal want and need to express strength and determination, the picture of keeping it all together, when the truth is, things are falling behind and quite frankly, apart.

You get moments to yourself and you end up falling asleep from pure exhaustion instead of hitting up that "to do list" that you've been ignoring.  Things come up that take you away from the routine that you set for yourself.  It's hard, but you keep on keeping on, because... that's what you do, right?

So here are some updates for those that may not be on my personal FB feed:

• Weight loss has been at a stand still.  Although I was certified as a Zumba instructor and going for my basic 2 training at the end of this month, I fell off the workout grid since April when I took on more classes at school and the husband deployed.  I need to reassess myself and make some S.M.A.R.T. goals for myself.  I have been stuck at 170lbs for months and I would like to drop at the minimum, 20 lbs.
• I will be graduating in August with my Bachelors in Nutrition Science.  It's been 4 years of hard work and determination, and I can finally say that I finished something I started.  I will most likely go for my Masters in Health Education once I get a job and my youngest starts school.  It's been too hard to wrap up my current degree with a crazy toddler running around driving mommy insane.
• One goal that I am making for myself is getting my ACE certification for group fitness.  I am also looking to get AFAA certified with a kickboxing certification as well.  These certifications will be more about having the extra money to get certified, because I've already had most of the education in my last 4 years at Kaplan.

My youngest is now 3 and my oldest is 16, so it's quite the age difference to plan things the whole family enjoys, but I'm trying to do my best this summer to keep them both active and outside as much as possible.  I really need to get back on track and start loving and doing for myself again.

I came upon this quote this evening, which inspired me to blog, and it truly says it all.

"Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world." - Lucille Ball

Depression and Craving a Healthy Lifestyle

Life isn't always sunshine and roses.  I think we can all agree on that.  How we view ourselves and how we approach those obstacles in life can be the hardest things to overcome in making positive choices.  Depression is something that I have struggled with, and although it is considered a low grade depression, it's an ongoing depression that has in a lot of ways crippled me.

The one area it has crippled me the most is taking care of myself.  The self-loathing, self-doubt and lack of self-worth from that depression has kept me from achieving the healthy goals I have set for myself.  From diet to exercise, to managing my diabetes and other health issues, it's an tug of war with myself that completely drains me of any physical and emotional actions.

One thing that I haven't done however, is given up.  I have my good days, and my bad days, but I still try my hardest to "keep my eyes on the prize".  Things that trigger my depression can be dealing with upsetting family or financial issues, seeing my weight on the scale, not being able to button that pair of jeans I just bought a month ago or most recently, losing people I love, either through their passing or moving away.  I guess on the plus side, I recognize the triggers.  The downside, I've yet to figure out how to not let them consume me in sadness.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that having goals is definitely positive.  I can stumble and fall, but I can get back up and try each and every day to try to do something towards those goals.  I know my depression affects those around me, as they don't know how to react or talk to me about it.  It's easy to tell someone, "just do it"!  Problem is, when you have chronic depression, it's not always in your control.  That's not an excuse, that is a medical, physical and chemical fact.  All I can do is keep seeking resources and courses of action to combat it.

What I am thankful for, however, is that I have people in my community and friends that are always so positive and pumped when it comes to making healthy choices and incorporating exercise and fitness into their daily and weekly routine.  They are inspiring me and helping me more than they know.  I can't list all of them, but collaboratively, they are a huge influence on my life.  So for that, I thank them.

Hope y'all had a happy hump day!  Peace out :)

Taking Care of Me for a Change

It's the scenario we hear all the time.  Moms taking care of everyone else and not herself.  I admit that I'm definitely one of those.  Not only my family, but others in my community.  Doing for others, and not for myself.  I recently backed off from a lot of the volunteer commitments I had made and have been trying to focus on myself for a change.  As you may or may not know, I'm a type 2 diabetic.  It's been a struggle for me since I was 24 years old when I first was diagnosed with gestational diabetes while pregnant with my oldest.  Health psychology and my inability to adhere to medical advice has been a definite struggle as well, and I'm trying my best to tackle them with a more positive outlook.

For instance, I was recently diagnosed with dysthymia.  It's a low grade chronic depression, and it's suspected I've had it since I was a teen.  I can definitely look back over the years and agree with that.  I've never been diagnosed or treated for depression, although I have suspected it.  Not only does it affect my mood, but it affects the way I care for myself.  This is something that I need to start being proactive about because it's affecting my attitude toward my diabetes.  I have to push the "don't give a crap" attitude and start taking care of myself and staying on top of my meds and exercise.

Secondly, there is the fact that while getting my body back on track, the Metformin messes with me, and I have almost all the side effects, minus the headaches:

• Diarrhea -- occurring in up to 53.2 percent of people
• Nausea or vomiting -- in up to 25.5 percent
• Gas -- in up to 12.1 percent
• Weakness -- in up to 9.2 percent
• Indigestion -- in up to 7.1 percent
• Abdominal discomfort (or stomach discomfort) -- in up to 6.4 percent
• Headache -- in up to 5.7 percent.
• 
  

This is not fun, and ironically, I had my Health Psychology class last semester, and it made me recognize one of the reasons I don't adhere to my medication is that my mind and body would rather deal with the long term unseen effects of diabetes than deal with the very real symptoms and side effects from my medication.  True that over time, these side effects will slowly fade away, but I just had the week from hell while my body adjusted, and I missed out on some good times with friends and family this weekend.  I need to start dealing with the immediate and get past my own self so that I can live a healthier lifestyle and prolong my life here on earth for my boys.  

I just reached 40 years in August, and I would love to have 40 more.  I won't be able to do that on the path I've been choosing.  There are so many people out there that inspire me.  Recently my friend Carrie, as I've seen her on her journey on a return to health and happiness, and I realized that no matter how much I may fail at my attempts to get back on my own track of those things, I need to keep getting back up and not let it keep me down.  

It's a struggle, but I can't let it get the best of me.  I have to rise up and overcome.  I have to start focusing on me for a change.  I have to start saying "no" so that I can say "yes" to life and longevity.