Growing up in a Mexican household eating healthy was not talked about. Steamed asparagus?...Grilled chicken?..Baked fish?... Que es eso??("What's that" for those of you who don't speak Spanish). Greasy tamales..Why yes of course!! Enchiladas... HELL YES PLEASE!! Fajita Tacos... Can I get 4 of those?? So that's a little glimpse of what it was like for me growing up. I was chubby, yet active. I can't say I experienced the "bullying" in school for being chubby but none the less, I was chubby. The weight finally fell off for me when I got into middle school. Puberty happened and I was a size 0... THANK YOU JESUS!!! All through high school I was active. I was involved in dance and soccer so fitness is no stranger in my life. I remained pretty fit after graduating high school. I didn't gain the freshman 20 but that was probably because I wanted to remain cute for the boys..lol
When I went back to college the second time around; I was working and going to school full time. Now it was all about convenience. What can I pick up on the way to class and on the way home? Fast food now was a thing of the present and no longer a thing of the past. I slowly began to gain weight and next thing I knew I went from a size 4 to a size 12. Naturally I felt insecure. As I look back at pictures, I notice that I'm hiding behind someone to avoid showing my body. I would hear about others who would feel insecure about their weight, but I never thought I would experience that emotion. Regardless of the weight gain, I tried to get some sort of exercise when I could. I went from being involved with dance, boxing and jiu jitsu to almost NO EXERCISE. Strangely after graduating college, my body began to lose weight on it's own. It was almost as though my body was saying "thank you for not putting any more poison in me!" I started to slowly get back into my regular routine but now the stress of job searching was on my plate. I'm not the type to turn to food when I'm under stress but I am one to not eat which being overweight and not eating don't go hand and hand.
In 2010, my aunt decided to open a gym. Because of my dance and fitness background, she asked if I would be interested in becoming a Zumba Instructor. I immediately said NO! I'd seen the classes at the gym and they were so cheesy. After much convincing, I agreed to become certified in 2010. I didn’t know what to expect, I wasn’t in the best shape myself. I started my first class with about 8 people and then our class grew so big we couldn’t move. From an instructors stand point, it’s a great feeling. From a student’s stand point, it was annoying not to be able to move. I knew that I had to set an example. No one wants an instructor who is out of shape so I started to watch what I ate. I started to educate myself on proper eating, portion control and exercising. It’s all common sense but it has to come from within to really want to change. I started to see progress and I LOVED IT!! I loved it so much that I added on my bucket list “bikini competition” by the age of 35.In 2014, I reviewed my list and realized that 35 was around the corner. I made the conscious decision to start training and instead of competing once, I now want to compete multiple times. So in 2015, I plan to at least compete in three different shows. It's not going to be easy but I'm ready for the challenge.
I didn’t know what all was involved in getting “competition” ready. Of course I’d seen plenty of youtube videos, isn’t that what we all do when we want to learn about something?? Or wait, is that google? Either way, it wasn't enough information to do it on my own. I officially have a prep coach and to my surprise he said my body type is not “bikini”. Which is and isn’t a compliment. My legs are too muscular and my back is too wide so I've been moved up to the next level of competition which is figure. Don't worry guys, I'm not gonna get manly but I'm definitely going to be LEAN and CUT! Competition day is July 25th, I officially started my meal/workout plan as of 2/9. I have 164 days to go and I'm only on day 3!! The goal is to get to 112-115 pounds of lean muscle. THE STRUGGLE IS REAL... HERE I GO!!!
