Author: veronicarivera2018rbl

Did I really say I missed the gym?

Hello brothers and sisters, so last weekend I went to Georgia to visit some friends. One was having a bridal shower and the other a birthday party. I had an amazing time which was much needed. You know what I realized though? I missed the gym. I missed my routine. By the time I went back to work on Monday I was just in a very grumpy mood. I didn’t know what was wrong. Then I hit the gym with my cousin and I felt all my stress go away. It’s so weird to be one of those people who actually misses the gym because I always thought those people were lying, but they are not. Lifting weights is so therapeutic because you have to prepare mentally before you ever lift the weight. If you tell yourself you can do something you would be surprised how much you can actually do. With cardio its like I’m competing against myself. Can I better my time? Which I am down to a 8minute 45second mile on the elliptical. I was at over 10minutes so thats exciting. I am so proud of everything my body has accomplished in these months. I am down 4inches in my waist, 2inches in my arms, and 1inch in my thighs. I can’t wait to see how much I am down a year from now!

Until next time!

P.S.- You can also follow my instagram account positively_less_vero where I will be posting pictures and videos. You can also message me and let me know if there is any specific content you want for the blog.

New wardrobe from old clothes

Good afternoon brothers and sisters. I have begun trying on all my old clothes that didn’t fit. There are now two shirts and a pair of pants that fit me again. I love trying clothes on now.lol But I do have a pair of jeans that don’t fit that are my new motivation. I think the things I’m struggling most with right now is the eating healthy. I was doing so amazing but I had one cheat day that turned into a cheat week. The problem with me is I don’t eat that much so if I eat something unhealthy I know my body stores it because that is all I will eat all day. So I’m trying to get back into my routine one step at a time.  I’ve gotten into the groove of working out so that is now a habit. I love going and seeing how much easier certain exercises are. Speaking of that, yesterday I had planks with leg raises. Normally when I do that I am falling all over the place, but this time I got through my set and decided to do an extra 20 seconds of straight planks. Boy am I feeling that today.lol I can’t believe we are already this far along in this journey. I am so excited to do the 5k in the end and see my progress!

Until next time!

P.S.- You can also follow my instagram account positively_less_vero where I will be posting pictures and videos. You can also message me and let me know if there is any specific content you want for the blog.

Tough Week

Good morning my brothers and sisters. Last week was not a good week at all. My grandma’s birthday was the day of my radio interview and I did a good job pushing it to the back of my head while on air. When I checked my facebook I saw the pictures of the year before and it was too much to handle. I felt really sick after that and pretty much took the week off. It took a lot to get back into the gym on Saturday. I’m happy to say I’m back on track but that slip up cost me. Not only did I not lose but I gained two pounds. Ugh, my goal is ten pounds a month and with that setback I won’t reach that this month. However, this is a lifestyle change so I’m going to learn from my mistake and move on. My grandma had this saying in spanish, “La belleza cuesta.” Which means beauty costs. I keep saying that in my head and hopefully that will help me stay on track for the rest on the program. My goal is to lose weight in order to live the healthy life she dreamed of for me.

Until tomorrow.

Radio interview

Good morning my brothers and sisters. This morning I had my skype interview with the HisRadio crew. That was the most nervous I have ever been to do anything.lol But it was really nice to be able to share a part of my story with you guys. I wanted to talk about one specific question I was asked and that was about the time right before I moved back to Greenville. I was living at Georgia at the time. I lived there for about three years but honestly it felt like an eternity. It was the first time I was on my own without my family. My primary focus was work and school which doesn’t sound bad but I left no time for God. I let a lot of things of this world consume me to the point I didn’t feel like a person anymore. When I describe it to people I say I felt like a zombie. To the world I looked like I was just another 23 year old girl. My friends and family couldn’t even comprehend the amount of sadness I was going through because I couldn’t. I was working as a receptionist at a dentist office making great money. I was living with one of my best friends. I could come and go as I pleased. I was dating someone who I thought was the one. The checklist I made in my head was being checked off but I still felt empty. I was so desperate one day that I went to my back porch because I felt like I couldn’t breathe inside. I was watching the leaves move because of the wind. I can’t tell you the exact date but I can tell you the exact moment everything changed. It felt like the Elevation Worship song. The atmosphere started to change. I didn’t feel alone but I felt comforted to the point I started to cry. It felt like everything stopped and I just remembered something my grandma use to tell me when I was little. “If God takes care of the plants and makes sure they have sunlight and rain why don’t you think he will take care of you.” Then it was like the Holy Spirit started to pray for me. I started to pray for doors to close. And I was thinking wait I want doors to open. Then I started to pray for God to remove people from my life who were being tripping stones. Then all of a sudden I was smacked with the reality that the things that were giving me a false sense of security were actually anchors dragging me down. I was no longer questioning my prayer but praying more desperately. I knew my life depended on it. After the prayer was over I felt like a new person. Nothing had changed but I knew they would and I just needed to wait on God’s timing. Within a month of doing that prayer I was back in Greenville. The road back wasn’t easy. I had to lose friends, the person I was dating, my good paying job and at times when people around me were doubting what God was doing I just thought of the story of Job. And let me tell you when God takes something out of your life he replaces it with something that isn’t only better but the best. I now have a career at a christian company that I absolutely love. I’m surrounded by loving brothers and sisters. Also, God had a plan for all that heartache and pain I went through. I use that as testimonies to teach my kids the importance of having a relationship with God. Don’t get me wrong my life isn’t perfect. Last July my grandmother passed away after being in and out of the hospital for two months, my uncle is in the last stages of Alzheimer’s without any sign of a cure, and there are days I just feel like everything I am in is too much to handle. The amazing thing is God never said it would be easy. He did say that through him all things are possible. He will go before us and clear a path. Well I thank you for reading this extremely long post but it was something in my heart I needed to share with you.

Until tomorrow my brothers and sisters.

P.S.- You can also follow my instagram account positively_less_vero where I will be posting pictures and videos. You can also message me and let me know if there is any specific content you want for the blog.

Did you miss me?

Hello my brothers and sisters, it’s been almost a week since my last post. Things got really busy last week. My Youth Group was preparing for a our big Valentine’s Day dinner. That took a lot of my attention and most of my free time. Thank God my amazing Aunt pretty much took care of everything. She did an amazing job. Let me tell you how difficult it is to be going through a lifestyle change and be around all that food. There was puerto rican rice, potato salad, pasta salad, chicken, ham, bread, and every kind of cake you could dream of. I meant to stop and get a salad before I got there, but of course I did not. I ended up having three small slices of ham with a slice of bread for lunch and two pieces of the chicken and a piece of bread for dinner. I was a little upset with myself because of the bread BUT the kids upstairs had pizza. Guess who was with the kids…….me. And guess whose favorite food is pizza…………also me. Plus chocolate is basically my diet kryptonite and I stayed faaaaaaaar away from the brownies that were trying to call my name. Can you say will power?lol Well more like God power because I was praying the entire time not to get tempted. Other then that my workouts have been going great. I feel like I’ve gotten a good system. I do need to add my cardio so I am taking a dance class today. My current frustration is whenever I weigh myself at the gym the number doesn’t go down but at my home scale it does. I’m trying to stay calm because we are only in week two, but my goal is two pounds a week. I think I’ll bring it up on Thursday to my trainer and see what he says. That’s all I have for today!

Until tomorrow my brothers and sisters.

P.S.- You can also follow my instagram account positively_less_vero where I will be posting pictures and videos. You can also message me and let me know if there is any specific content you want for the blog.

Little Wins = Big Motivation

Hello my brothers and sisters, story time! In November my cousin bought me a shirt for my birthday. This shirt is a really pretty striped black and white shirt. I looked at the size and at first thought it was going to fit big because it was a 2x. I normally like big shirts so I was happy and put it away till Christmas, which is when I decided to finally wear it. I was already running late for Christmas dinner so I was expecting to just throw my clothes on and go. So I go to put the shirt on and it doesn’t fit. I don’t mean it fit tight. I mean couldn’t fit both arms and my head in it. There are no words to express how I felt. My time was up for getting ready. With no other options, I ended up wearing the same sweater I had worn the year before. Everyone was asking why I didn’t dress up like I had said I was going to. It was so embarrassing to admit the shirt I thought was to big didn’t fit. I’m sure many of you have had similar experiences. Well now for the happy ending. Today while getting dressed for work I decided to try on that shirt that didn’t fit a little over a month ago. I heard little voices mocking me for even trying since I’m to big to wear it. However, I quickly hushed those voices, held my breath, and tried the shirt on. IT FIT! The funny thing is yesterday I was looking in the mirror and got discouraged because I wasn’t seeing a difference. I went to sleep with that in my heart and this morning God gave me this amazing surprise. So even if you feel like you aren’t seeing results keep going. I encourage you to find your own striped shirt. Hang it somewhere you can see and wait about a month to try it back on. If you’ve done the work it WILL show. I can’t wait for the day that the striped shirt stops fitting again so I can get a smaller striped shirt……….or maybe a striped maxi dress this time.lol

Until tomorrow my brothers and sisters.

P.S.- Follow my Instagram account positively_less_vero to see the striped shirt!

I never knew I could love an app so much!

Hello my brothers and sisters, I finally used ActiveTrax for the first time yesterday. For the first time ever, I walked into the gym and knew exactly what exercises I was going to do. I chose the strength training for yesterday because I have a hard time knowing which machines to use. The machines were a good mix of upper body, lower body, and then I ended with some ab exercises. ActiveTrax let’s me know how much weight I should be using, what to adjust the seat settings to, and even how many reps to do. All the machines are numbered in the gym and on the app so it’s easier to locate the right machine. Once you locate the machine if you are unsure how to use it there are “how to” videos on the app. Seriously, bravo for whoever created it! Now that I’m done gushing about the app let me tell you how my exercise went. When I first started I was thinking that it was to easy for me so I raised the weight. I will admit I got a little overconfident in my abilities. After the fourth machine I realized how tired I was. I still had more machines and the ab workout. I know pacing myself is something I need to work on. When I started to notice my form starting to go I had to have a talk with myself. I said, “there is no way we got home after working all day, changed into workout clothes when all I wanted was pajamas, drove to the gym in this cold, and did those other workouts so well just to start slacking now.” I’ve found that if I focus on my goals sometimes it becomes overwhelming. I have over 100 pounds (overtime not just these 12 weeks) I want to lose just to be healthier. That number knocks the air out of me. So I choose to focus on the little things like all I gave up to be at the gym. If I am giving up my comforts then I need to make it worth it! I was able to get through my workout after that, but tonight I plan on pacing myself. To see pictures and videos from last night’s workout go checkout my instagram page.

Until tomorrow my brothers and sisters.

P.S.- Follow my Instagram account positively_less_vero

*This post is not sponsored. I just REALLY love this app.lol

MIA

Hello my brothers and sisters, I’m going to warn you this post is a little long and I do apologize but I did owe you 3 blog posts. I’m pretty sure you all were ready to send the canine unit to look for me because I was suppose to return Friday and I did not. My sincerest apologies. If you’ve read my previous posts then you know my life is pretty busy. I’m just going to jump right in and update you on what has been going on since our last blog. Thursday I had my first team meeting, GO EASTSIDE! That meeting was a lot of fun. We did a devotional, we went over our point system, and we did an exercise with weights. I don’t remember the names of the exercises we did (you would have remembered if you wrote it down the next day lol) but they were mostly arm exercises, squats, and 60 seconds of high knees to finish. We did 15 reps and 3 rounds of these exercises with a minute of resting in between. Now the first round I was thinking this workout was too light, but by the end of the second I could feel it. After the team meeting I had a meeting with my Pastor about my ministry. That was a great way to end that night. My wellness checkup wasn’t until 6:30am but I woke up at 5:30am to pray because I was fasting. My youth ministry decided to fast the first Friday of every month for the activities of that month. Now when David heard I was fasting he was a little worried. This is why I love the fact that the YMCA is a Christian organization, he suggested I do a liquid fast so I wouldn’t get sick. Normally, I am very strict on myself the way I do my fasts because that is the way God has always put it in my heart. So I did my wellness check and I actually did good. Since the beginning of January, which was when I had weighed myself last, I lost 9 pounds! David gave me a lot of tips for when I workout and I scheduled our next sit down for this Wednesday. When I left he told me I did a really good job. I got so emotional because when I woke up early to pray I had asked God to help me do good and he helped me through it. So I prayed and decided to take David’s advice to do the liquid fast. I had a protein slim fast shake. I was able to go to work and go to my youth service without feeling sick. I even resisted eating pizza (my favorite) that one of the parents brought to eat after we ended our fast. That was all God! Saturday I decided to spend time with my mom because my busy week hadn’t allowed much one on one time with her and I prepared my Sunday lesson. Sunday, I went to church, then spent some time with my family. Overall my weekend was very relaxing. It was exactly what I needed to recharge. Today we get back to work! I’m going to be working on the exercises that were set up for me in my ActiveTrax. I’ll be sure to post pictures on my instagram page.

Until tomorrow my brothers and sisters.

P.S.- You can also follow my instagram account positively_less_vero where I will be posting pictures and videos. You can also message me and let me know if there is any specific content you want for the blog.

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can

Hello brothers and sisters, so I made it through leg day! My workout was a little cardio/legs. I did 20ish minutes on the treadmill (by the way I wasn’t as tired as I was yesterday when I finished those 20ish minutes), 20ish minutes on the elliptical (I almost fainted twice but I’m still alive), and 15 minutes on this bike machine (I wanted to cry but I had already sweat out all the moisture in my body. Overall it was a great workout! I found something out about myself last night while I was on the elliptical that I was excited to share with you. The first seven minutes on the elliptical are pure torture! Please don’t disable my blog.lol Seriously though if you have ever worked out on an elliptical then you know I am telling the truth. There were so many times that I wanted to give up. BUT I know you noticed that I did 20ish minutes. That is because I found out that if I could just push through those seven horrible minutes then my body got use to the workout and it didn’t hurt as bad. I am being completely honest with you. Now I don’t know why my magic number is seven, yours might be five , but the point is just keep going. The pain starts to decrease and you see this side of your body you’ve never seen before. I was so impressed with myself! Also, I have been listening to worship music while I exercise and it is so peaceful. If you listen to the words of most worship songs you will see that they are thanking God, but at the same time you can hear what the worshiper was delivered from. It reminds you that the same God that delivered them will deliver you. The thought that God can help push me through my workout plus knowing that there is a secret number that I know if I can get to I’ll be able to workout longer made me feel like Super Woman! I even made a boomerang to share with you which I will link below. Today is going to be a rest day because Thursday and Friday are jam packed with fun stuff. Tomorrow I have my group workout so I will let you know how that goes.

Until next time my brothers and sisters.

P.S.- You can also follow my instagram account positively_less_vero where I will be posting pictures and videos. You can also message me and let me know if there is any specific content you want for the blog.

 

First Workout Yesterday!!

Hello my brothers and sisters, I hope you are having a lovely day. As you can tell from the title I FINALLY had my first workout (cheering). Let me start off by telling you how beautiful the YMCA in East Side is. That gym was so clean it looked like no one had used it all day! The staff are incredibly nice. I wasn’t sure where to go and one of the receptionist gave me a tour. She walked me into the gym and went over some of the machines. Now let me tell you about these machines!  The machines are NEW machines. I loved the treadmill! The handles were comfortable and the display screen had a TV in it. These are smart treadmills.lol I did about 20 minutes on the treadmill, 10 minutes on 25, 10 minutes on 30, and 2 minutes on 15 (cool down). I completed one mile! After, that I decided to make it an arm day. Now I don’t know much about the different muscle groups so I stuck to the little group that seemed to be working out the arms. Don’t worry I plan on asking a lot of questions on Friday during my wellness check so I’ll be more prepared. In total I did 5 different arm machines. I’m pretty sure I did something because I woke up this morning pretty sore. I was actually debating whether or not to type because I didn’t want to move my arms, but I said I would let you know how it went and I had to keep my word. Well, today I am going to focus on legs. There are some really cool machines I want to try. I’ll take pictures for you to see. Let’s hope I can walk to my computer after tonight’s workout.lol

Until tomorrow my brothers and sisters.

P.S.- You can also follow my instagram account positively_less_vero where I will be posting pictures and videos. You can also message me and let me know if there is any specific content you want for the blog.