Why is health and fitness such a struggle for some of us? Ugh!
Numbers Don’t Lie
For me, it’s been a roller coaster and I’m not alone. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1/3 of all Americans are obese with 42.5 percent being Hispanic and 76 percent like me, are Latina.
Did you get that? One. Third. Of. Americans.
And I will take a guess that the 76 percent of Latinas are on some sort of diet or thinking of a diet 100% of the time especially right now that we are still kind of fresh into the new year and those resolutions. Yes, I said new year in mid-February because that’s the kind of stuff we tell ourselves.
Mind Games
When we are not thinking of a diet, we are thinking of when we can start that diet. We think things like “March is the start of a new month or Monday, I’ll start Monday. Heck it’s the Lunar New Year! I can be Chinese. Oh, and Lent! No carbs for Lent!” Lately, the little voice in my head sounds just like that. It’s almost a joke how poorly we manage our health. But our wellness or lack there of, is no laughing matter. Trust me, I know.
When I was expecting my baby last year I found myself in unknown territory. I was overweight and could not diet due to the pregnancy. I managed to maintain a healthy weight gain and I exercised, but unfortunately, it was not enough. I encountered some complications that landed me in the hospital including gestational diabetes and hypertension. It was hard and alarming.
Tracking my Glucose Levels Was NOT the Highlight of my Pregnancy
Making the best of my hospital stay with my Ellipsis tablet and Verizon network
Life Adjustments
In addition, as much as I tried not to, I lost my fitness rhythm because everything is different when you’re pregnant. Now because of my ethnicity and family history, I am even more likely to develop these diseases long term. Fortunately, for me, keeping my weight down helps fight the risk. But it’s been difficult.
For the last year and a half, I’ve had a huge lifestyle shift. So, switching gears mentally (in terms food planning and dieting) has also been a new process. Before, it was certainly not fun or easy to create a health goal and reach it, but I would get it done. Now, it’s taken me six months to even start thinking of my new plan to stay healthy. Geez.
So what’s the new plan? To keep moving.
Moving Forward Mentally
I won’t give up. To continue to support and push myself with the knowledge I have gained about diet and exercise over the years and to also forgive myself when my faith is a little down.
Moving Forward Physically
First Day Back in the Gym!
I started using the Garmin VivoFit fitness band. Here is what I like about this device:
- It recommends and assigns a movement or step goal based on my lifestyle and goals and that assigned goal gets adjusted automatically. It’s great for assessing.
- It is waterproof. I haven’t taken it off since I started wearing it.
- The battery life is one year.
- I can sync it to my phone and to MyFitnessPal, a calorie tracking app.
- It tracks your sleep
I’m excited to add this tech accessory to my lifestyle. It has already made me more aware of my movement and somehow also serves as a reminder to do other things like drink more water and make better dietary decisions. Every step toward my goal is a step away from being another disease statistic and a tool like VivoFit helps take some of the guesswork out of it all.
I got to try out a VivoFit fitness band as part of being a Verizon VZWBuzz Ambassador. All opinions are my own.
