Get fit or Die Trying

“Get fit or Die Trying”
March 23rd, 2012
By: Gina Yoryet Román


I’ve been a bit too distracted but more so, discouraged as of lately as I’ve come across a few unexpected and disturbing encounters.

Many things have not been going the way I’d planned them, so that’s when I have to face the ugly truth and force myself to snap out of it and plan and strategize according to my skills.

This pain on my throat has been dragging for the last week or so which has got me feeling light headed, delirious and weak. At this moment all I want is to get it all out for once and for all so I can go back to my “normal” and hyped up self.

The only “good” thing about this is that at last I lost the last two stubborn kilos I’d gained, lost and gained right back since the holidays. So now I am back at my ideal off competition weight – 50 kilos - 110 pounds.

I am not too keen on the idea of losing weight when I am ill but it definitely helps my mental state, especially because I’ve been skipping my workouts most of this week because I haven’t felt strong enough to even go for a brisk walk.

Therefore, in the midst of my delirium the thought of giving life to my writing (and because I’ve now been posting since early 2009) surged so April is the perfect time to do so. And while sorting my posts I came across one of the best health and fitness interviews I had in May of 2009 which I really needed to boost me up.

1. SOS: What do you love most about helping women get into shape?
GINA: There are many reasons but the most important one is that I feel motivated, that is my drive especially when I start seeing the results, the changes, the reaction and satisfaction in women’s eyes. The simple fact of being a woman and knowing that I have a compromise with other women, seeing someone happy with their body, makes me happy. It is very self-fulfilling to help people but in general it boosts my self-esteem because I feel useful especially when I’m feeling down. And also because YOUR BODY IS YOUR MOST VALUABLE ASSET, YOUR PRESENTATION, THE FACE YOU SHOW TO THE WORLD, IF YOU DON’T TAKE CARE OF IT, IT MEANS YOU DON’T LOVE YOURSELF. THEREFORE IF YOU DON’T LOVE “YOU,” YOU DON’T LOVE OTHERS.


2. SOS: What do you have to say about the excuse of being too busy to exercise?
GINA: The bottom line is that people will always have an excuse; “something will always come up, there will be obstacles and there will be many moments when we take two steps forward but then we take three or four steps back.”

So it is not a matter of “NOT having time” it is a matter of making time to exercise. For example me, I am not superwoman or anything but my work agenda is very unstable, I don’t have an 8-5 job and that has to come first so I have to juggle my time between being a writer, editor, a translator, interpreter and sometimes a demo girl and health and fitness advisor but I still make time to exercise especially because I spend a lot of time sitting down.

We know that when lounge around too long the weight creeps up before we even know it so we have to have consistency.
After doing hard core long distance competition for over 9 years I have amazing discipline so it is not hard in the least anymore.
When it comes to your own standards “YOU” are the first one setting your boundaries and standards. Is it hard? Certainly!
Can you make it happen? Absolutely! What if it doesn’t happen? It means that you don’t want it with all your heart, soul and mind.

Is it impossible? NO! So I encourage you to hop out of the couch and get moving! Do whatever it takes to reach your goal. Buy a log to help you record your workouts and meals. Even if you work out for 20 minutes it’s ok, just get started!

3. SOS: What are some of the mistakes women make when they first start exercising?
GINA: They overdo it and they don’t watch their diet. They want immediate results and they get into these extreme diet and work out for a while and when suddenly their bodies can’t take it anymore, they stop, they start eating even MORE than before and that is the biggest mistake!!

That’s why I have never believed in diets, I’ve NEVER dieted a single day of my life! One thing that most people are not aware of is that dieting can be very counterproductive. Why? your stomach gets smaller when we diet and when we can’t handle it anymore, we tend to eat two or three times as much which leads to two or three times the added weight.

That’s what happens to a large number of people. I’m sure you are well informed about health and fitness but you see this happening over and over and over again that’s why they keep coming up with all these diets, the Atkins diet, and so and so. I don’t believe in any of them. As far as eating I have my own rules and discipline. I’m not saying follow my advice, I do follow experts advice but to a certain extent because first and foremost I am the one who knows my body more than anyone else and I know what my limits are. At the end of the day, I know my temple more than anyone else so I will nurture it with whatever it takes to reflect the healthy woman I am.


Something else I’d like to point out to the ladies is, wearing make up when working out! OMG! That is a BIG NO, Ladies, STOP wearing makeup when you workout! Let your skin breathe, don’t be afraid to show the real you when you’re kicking butt! Leave the hooking up, jewelry, and texting sessions for later. There’s always time to be a lady but be willing to get down and dirty and break a sweat when it’s necessary.

Also when they say,
“My metabolism is slow and I accept it, you are naturally thin and gifted because you are very energized. NOOOOH! Those are obstructing thoughts before we even get started. You can speed up your metabolism with a healthy diet and working out constantly.
And last but not least, women (I’m saying women because we are always the ones with this weight issue LOL!) have to differentiate the meaning of skinny and thin, there’s a huge abyss between these two adjectives if you reflect upon it. I won’t get much into that because we are running out of time, perhaps next time.

4. SOS: Are there any weight loss myths you'd like to debunk?
GINA: “Take this pill and you will see overnight results! You will have the body you’ve always wanted!” That is one of the biggest lies and people are easy targets to deceive when they are in undergoing a desperate inner battle.
So we have to be realistic that everybody is structured differently so if you see someone’s body and they guarantee that you will look like that, that is NOT going to happen. I told you before that you have to make the best out of what you have. Play with your workouts and with your diet, pretend you’re dressing to kill. Eat and exercise to give you a killer body! YOUR body, not someone else’s.


5. SOS: Is there any final advice you’d like to share with us?
GINA: Ladies, STOP wearing makeup when you workout! Let your skin breathe, don’t be afraid to show the real you when you’re kicking butt! Leave the hooking up, jewelry, and texting sessions for later. There’s always time to be a lady but be willing to get down and dirty and break a sweat when it’s necessary.
Also stop emotional, compulsive, unnecessary, mindless and exaggerated eating.
Spice up your workouts, make them fun! Combine them, stick to each one for let’s say 6 weeks, see which one gives you better results. Combining work outs is like combining/mixing outfits, it can really fun so make the best out of it.
Ladies, stop nonsense jealousy just because you don’t look like the woman next to you. Age gracefully, dress according to your age, be a lady, stay away from anything in excess; alcohol, smoking, drugs, etc.

For further advice, look for me in the health and fitness forum of SOS!
and don’t forget that we are in this together every single step of the way.

God bless!


http://thatskinnybitchh.tumblr.com/

Food is an important part of a balanced diet

Do NOT reward yourself with food, you are NOT a dog!

Replace, “I am fat,” with “I have fat and I am getting rid of it!”

Because you will NOT achieve the body you want until you LOVE the body you have

Doctors treat the patient not the illness

There is NOT a single diet that will do what eating healthy does.

SKIP the diet, just eat healthy