Reinvention of Me

It took a good fall to get me here.

My objective was to get in shape after having my third sweet baby. I got that accomplished. Then I fell in love with Running. I had the dream of running a marathon for many years. I could no longer wait, it was time to run long.

5 marathons later, I was 30 pounds heavier than when I first started.

It took me a good fall to get me here and now it is time to get up.

I could list all my excuses but they wouldn’t help me get up. Even if they were really good. I could list all my shame, guilt and remorse. The fact is that those feelings are heavy and they only weigh heavy on me.

It took me a good fall to get here but I’m getting up stronger.

Practice habits that will get me to my goal.  

Once I got up, I decided to practice the habits that are getting me to my goal.

It was extremely difficult at first. The worse part was to hear about all the blessed people who get results way quicker than I did. I had to stop comparing myself and really stick with the daily habits. What habits are these?

Exercising has never been a problem for me. Eating the appropriate amounts of food, yes. That was truly my greatest frustration. I decided to solve my greatest frustration by keeping a food journal.

The goal was to write in my food journal every day. Everything I ate went there. It was that simple.

I also realized that without motivation, I would not be able to stick with the habits that would get me to my goal. I found some positive voices that would encourage me to stay the course. I found podcasts that helped me remain motivated to achieve my goal. Motivation really is like taking a bath: we can all use at least one once a day.

The habits will get me there. It’s simple yet, I still needed to reinvent myself.

Reinvention through Reshaping tastes and habits

The most surprising part of life is that every few years I get to reinvent myself. Losing weight as a teen was not that difficult. Losing weight in school was a bit more challenging. Motherhood was a game changer and somehow, I managed to lose everything I gained 3 times.

You’d think I learned my lesson. It took a good fall for me to get here but I am up again, practicing the habits that will get me to my goal.

Reinvention requires humility. I say things because what worked for teenager Cintia does not work for 37-year-old Cintia. What worked for Cintia, mother of two, two and under does not work now. So I humble myself and I reshape my tastes and habits. Which tastes? I tell myself most desserts are not worth having. I reshape the habit of eating after dinner. It takes a while to stick but I persevere because you can’t argue with results. I reshape my taste of accepting caulirice instead of rice. Results come. Slow but very steady. All I need is the courage to stick with the reinvention of me.

A reinvention that worked well was of how I deal with stress. I used to eat to deal with stress. 2 years ago I convinced myself that sleeping well at night was my way of managing stress. It worked and it sticked. Dealing with stress is not perfect science but I can smile when my reinvention is helping me become healthier as I navigate through life.

I wish I could show you a very impressive before and after photo. I can show you a bruised knee that’s healing because it took me a good fall to get here. Good thing I got up.