
Hace dos años aproximadamente me veía al espejo y pensaba que estaba bien, aunque solía sentirme cansada casi todos los días, era un cansancio más que todo mental, porque si salía a caminar o trotar podía hacerlo sin ningún problema, y superar casi todas las veces mis expectativas… Me di cuenta que luego de salir de casa y hacer alguna actividad física mi mente se refrescaba y sentía una energía nueva, supongo que por el efecto de salir simplemente a moverme.
En esa época hablaba con una persona que luego de tener confianza conmigo me dijo que estaba muy delgada, que debía tratar de buscar la manera de “engordar”, yo lo vi con los ojos muy abiertos y sorprendida y le dije ¿por qué? Si estoy bien así, me dijo que no. Entonces me estuve mirando al espejo y me di cuenta de que tenía razón, y que quizá esa era la respuesta a mi falta de energía.
Por supuesto, antes de tomar ninguna decisión y hacer algo al respecto estuve investigando. Leí mucho acerca de algo que ya yo sabía, en la vida actual que tiende a ser muy sedentaria, después de los treinta años se empieza a perder masa muscular si no hacemos nada al respecto. Recordé porque había dejado de correr…
Hace varios años mi deporte era salir a correr, corría unos cuarenta minutos diarios, y eso aunque me ayudo a aumentar mi bienestar psicológico me puso más delgada aun de lo que solía ser… Por más que tratara de comer más simplemente no podía compensar la pérdida de peso asi que poco a poco lo fui dejando y me quede con las caminatas entre semanas.
Fue investigando mucho que encontré que la respuesta a mi inquietud era hacer ejercicios de fuerza, y disminuir el ejercicio cardiovascular.
Ahora me resulta gracioso, pero en esa época cuando decía que debía mejorar mi composición corporal y aumentar la masa muscular la mayoría de mis amigas se reían de mí: “Estas loca, pero si estas bien.” Obviamente no les hice mucho caso, pero no volví a decirles nada acerca de ese tema.
Lo que hice fue tomar la decisión de ponerme a hacer ejercicios de fuerza, pero como estaba apenas empezando debía comenzar con mi propio peso. Esto debía acompañarlo con una dieta que tuviera un balance entre proteínas, carbohidratos y grasas buenas. Y por supuesto sin olvidar la recuperación y el descanso.
Lo que hice fue investigar qué podía comer, las proteínas de origen vegetal (los granos como lentejas y frijoles), y animal (como pescado, pollo y carne), cobraron mucho protagonismo, así como comer grasas buenas: semillas, aceite de oliva aguacate, etc.
Una de las reflexiones que vienen a mi mente es que en el pasado la mayoría de las veces trataba de comer sano, pero sin prestar demasiada atención a los horarios, porque me saltaba las comidas, ni le prestaba atención a las porciones, comía poco, ni me fijaba mucho en el valor nutricional de los alimentos…
Es increíble como uno puede hacerse daño sin darse cuenta, si proyectamos nuestra vida, en base a la calidad de vida que deseamos y podemos tener seriamos más cuidadosos con la alimentación porque, aunque parezca mentira a veces no es tanto un tema de economía, aunque obviamente influye, es más un tema de conocimiento. En la actualidad creo que la gente se cuida más en este sentido que antes.
Comer mejor no significa comer más, sino que lo que comamos tenga un aporte nutricional que nos ayude a estar y sentirnos mejor.
En realidad, no le prestaba atención a estas cosas y al principio tuve que reconocer que era demasiada información para mí y cosas por aprender e introyectar, sé que eso me llevaría tiempo, y que lo más importante para mí era perseverar hasta alcanzar incorporar buenos hábitos alimenticios, de ejercicio y descanso.
Yo no siento que tuviera algún problema con la comida, pero nunca he sido una persona que coma mucho ni con mucho apetito, así que trate de leer, investigar, escuchar videos de profesionales que me ayudaran en ese camino de aprender a alimentarme mejor.
Y por supuesto todo camino nuevo está lleno de recovecos y partes desconocidas que poco a poco se van abriendo e incorporándose con la experimentación.
Luego está el tema de la incorporación de los ejercicios de fuerza, eso también me llevo tiempo aprenderlo, así como el descanso.
Creo que cada aspecto se relaciona entre sí y a medida que he ido aprendiendo he podido ir afirmando algunas cosas, ajustando otras y sigo observando.
Una cosa que me encanta es que el camino a mejorar el estilo de vida y los habitos es muy seguido por mucha gente en la actualidad, hay muchos ejemplos de personas que podemos seguir. Pero lo mas importante es tomar decisiones y ser perseverantes, comprometidos y consistentes.
Me alegre mucho porque fui al servicio de nutrición de Locatel en mi ciudad (al que voy cada ciertos meses) y allí me atendieron, es un servicio gratuito al que voy para saber cómo va mi proceso y aunque muchas veces solo salía de allí decepcionada porque: o no lograba aumentar nada de peso, o aumentaba grasa y muy poca masa muscular… salía de allí triste pensando ¿Es tan difícil? Pero solo trataba de perseverar, así que algunas veces empecé a lograr el objetivo de disminuir la grasa corporal y aumentar la masa muscular… Esas pocas veces me he sentido feliz y realizada porque he visto que el proceso sí tiene resultados a la larga.
Esta experiencia me ha confirmado que el camino a lograr las metas no es lineal ni progresivo esta lleno de altos y bajos, avances y retrocesos, que hay que ir de la mano de los especialistas, de los que saben, que hay que llenarse de confianza en el proceso que aunque no vea resultados y parezca que todo va igual, los pequeños cambios diarios, el perseverar en las rutinas y hábitos va dando pequeñas victorias que a veces no se pueden medir en un aparato ni en una balanza, pero que puedo verlas por ejemplo cuando puedo subir una montaña sin cansarme, cuando puedo caminar y trotar sin perder el aliento, cuando ya sé que comer un poco más no es algo malo, que está bien estar cansada y triste un día porque al día siguiente puede ser el día en que vea que ha sido bueno tomar decisiones porque hay frutos, ciertamente.
Me gustaría poder compartir más de esto que hago, porque muchas veces hacemos mucho por los demás y nos dejamos de ultimo, pero hoy sé que si me preocupo por mejorar detalles en mí eso redundara en una mayor capacidad para ayudar y ser de bien y bendición para otros, pero hay cosas que solo podemos hacer nosotros por nosotros mismos.
Esas cosas que solo podemos hacer por nosotros son cosas como cuidarnos, es la manera en que podemos servir más y mejor a otros, es la manera de sentirnos bien con nosotros mismos.
Para concluir puedo decir que la vida es un camino de decisiones y cambios, que hay que ir girando el timón a la dirección que señala el corazón, que mantenerse en el proceso no va a ser algo sencillo, pero allí esta el detalle, los retos nos inspiran a visualizar el camino en el que queremos andar...
Muchas veces no vamos a poder transformar el entorno ni a los demás, pero podemos transformarnos a nosotros mismos.
Gracias por leer...
Muchas gracias por leer y comentar.
Las fotos son de mi autoría.
Ah, the challenge of trying to achieve a new fitness / muscle / weight goal. So incredibly complex, with an incredible amount of information - so often conflicting with other sources.
I've been interested in health and nutrition for a very long time. I used to do a lot of weight training when I was younger (not as seriously as some of my friends - one of which is now a body builder) and in my 20's got into distance running, frequently running half marathons and on one occasion a full marathon. Every objective is different - what and when you eat depends upon when and how you train - ensuring that protein in particular is consumed straight after a session to ensure muscle recovery. I'd always have a protein shake with me after the gym.
It's so complex. So much to consume and there must be an App on your phone which can accurately track your protein, carb, etc. requirement based upon your height, weight and type of training.
Everybody has their "happy weight" - the weight that their body tends to drift towards without specific training. After 40, I read that this slowly increases - probably more due to lifestyle changes than anything else.
It's an interesting topic - on which many books have been written and much research has been done. Most weight goals are 80% food, 20% exercise. The food industry has tried to convince us that it's the exercise that really matters - allowing them to produce any crap they like and package it up as a meal. But I'll save my food industry rant for another day 😆
Good luck with the weight training - build up steady. If you're serious, concentrate on specific muscle groups that compliment each other on any given day. And I'm sure you don't need to worry about this one - but get a strong core (stomach, abs, back). Most importantly, enjoy it!
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Oh yes, it's a complex topic because there are many variables to consider. Nutrition, training, and rest depend a lot on your goals. I don't think I could be a bodybuilder because it seems like a very rigorous path. I think I'd lose the fun if I had to weigh my food😅 . Or maybe I'd stray too far from my philosophy of taking everything slowly and smoothly.
By the way, you just gave me some really good information, like consuming protein right after training. I think the easiest way would be with shakes, which is also what my nutritionist recommended. And the app to log everything is very interesting, although I think that would drive me crazy, lol.🙈😅
I've seen this a lot about diet being the biggest factor. It's pointless to spend hours training if, for example, we consume many more calories than we need; the belly will never go away. There's also the issue that abs are made in the kitchen, and I think it's very true and not given the importance it deserves. It occurs to me, why haven't you talked about this on your blog? I love this topic. I'm not a big fan of following everything to the letter, but I do think it helps me a lot to know it to make good decisions when it comes to buying food and things like that.
Thanks for the recommendations. I've been working on this for a while, but it's always good to receive reinforcement to know that I'm doing well.🙂
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Ha ha! I went through a phase of weighing my food and I can't recall it making any difference! It just made me feel stupid and ask myself "Why am I weighing my food?"
Speaking of the belly, your comment reminded me of another important factor - stress. There's been research that suggests that stress is a cause of flabber around the waist. Even if people had a healthy diet, if they were stressed, it was visible in their waistline!
I'm certainly no expert! My knowledge is well over 10 years old and is probably terribly out of date now!
I had a carpenter in the house last week and he suggested an App called "Yuka" to me. I don't know if it's available outside the UK but it's amazing! You simply scan the barcode and it tells you how many cancerous additives are in whatever you've scanned. It then goes one step better and recommends a healthier alternative! And all for FREE! It's amazing. And a bit scary too. One brand of gravy (for example) scores 0/100 whereas a supermarket own brand will score 60+. I hope it's available where you are and you'll see what I mean!
You're welcome and I'm sure you'll achieve your goal 🏅
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I'll tell you that I've done a lot of research on this subject, and almost everything you say holds true. Perhaps the biggest change is the difference between men and women due to hormonal issues and the changes that occur at different stages of life. But even so, the general information applies to everyone.
The app you mention seems interesting. I looked around but couldn't find it; it's not available. However, there are similar apps.
As for what you're feeling, I understand. I know that in more industrialized countries, people tend to consume a lot of processed food. In my case, and perhaps in many homes in this country, food tends to be simpler, in the sense of less processed, perhaps also due to a lack of economic development. So the situation may be different in that case.🙂
In my case, I also deliberately try to avoid ultra-processed foods.
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It's available in Germany too. I'm going to try it out straight away. Thanks for the tip!
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What did you think of it?
I've found it interesting and sometimes a decision between a lower rated product without additives vs. a higher rated product with a large number of carcinogens is an interesting one.
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I had this blog opened in my tab since yesterday. For some funny reason, it kept translating back to Spanish while I was reading.
It spoke straight to my heart. I've always had a slim physique, even after two kids, without even trying. But hurting knees and weak muscles remind me that I'm in my thirties now and I need to do something about it. I can't keep a track of what and when I eat, although I usually take my meals on time and never skip any, it shouldn't be hard. But I don't want to take the fun out of it like you said. I just want to feel good.
I have a sedentary lifestyle about which I'm wide aware. I do strength training but when it's that time of the month, I stop and it takes me weeks to get started again. It's been 2 months that I haven't moved a muscle, again. I blame the suffocating weather too which makes me want to sit in front of the air-conditioner all day. 🥵
Having said that, I feel motivated today after reading this — going for a walk in an hour. Thank you. 😅
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You can be a thin person by build, but after you pass a certain age, that thinness doesn't exclude the damage a sedentary lifestyle can cause...
I'm glad it encouraged you to walk... By the way, I also suffered from PMS, and women don't have it so easy with the hormone issue. Lol... But even with this, exercise helps. Walking helped me a lot. I hope you can find enough motivation every day, or every two or three days; the important thing is to maintain a certain consistency.🙂
Thanks for stopping by, I really appreciate it. Blessings to you.🙏🤗
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"It was heartwarming to read your journey.
Every word felt like a conversation with myself.
You explained in such a profound way that change is not just about the body, but also about the soul - and it happens slowly, with time and patience.
Your article teaches us how important it is to stand up for ourselves, understand ourselves and believe in ourselves.
Very inspiring and true experience!
I appreciate every small step you took.
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I appreciate your comment, it just seems a little odd to me... And right now I can't show you what it would feel like if it were natural writing.
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"I really wrote it from my heart... it may have sounded a bit artificial or bookish, but believe me, it was true.
I am still learning to express myself better... maybe next time it will sound more natural.
Your post affected me deeply, so I couldn't stop myself from saying something."
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Mistake
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Hi @ruthjoe, I think you should review the comment you voted on and see what this user is doing... I know it's not easy, but it's not that difficult either.😐
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Thank you alot
Done
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"I really wrote it from my heart... it may have sounded a bit artificial or bookish, but believe me, it was true.
I am still learning to express myself better... maybe next time it will sound more natural.
Your post affected me deeply, so I couldn't stop myself from saying something."
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chriddi, moecki and/or the-gorilla
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Thank you very much for the support.🤗
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