Category: goals

It all starts With a change of Mindset

For this post I would like to talk about mindset and choices, we are presented with choices everyday whether it is what we eat or how we decide to spend our free time. Usually we are so busy everyday that we always choose to sit around watching tv or play video games but it these same types of choices that have us wanting more or something different. We live in what seems to be an endless cycle of boring with nothing to look forward to but the weekend, even then we overextend ourselves by trying to make the “most” of our days off. At the ends of each weekend we go back to work just as or more tired than when we started. I too used to live with this type of mentality and I felt like it was draining me instead of helping me live better. This is where mindset comes in I decided to make a change and try to change the way my days went I started to plan something that I looked forward to doing everyday and eventually I started adding more things.
The key to changing the way I lived making my days more enjoyable, was to add one thing at a time I didn’t try to make any drastic changes it was slow change for bettering the way I lived my week.
Tips for a better week

  1. Make a list of things you like to do and help you relieve some stress.
    A.meditation’
    B. Exercise
    C. Reading
  2. Start one of the thing do not try to add all of these things to your day at once
  3. Once you have a routine you are comfortable with try to find something that will help you improve as a person and learn.

Bring back your energy

On my 100 day journey I have done some research on new meditation methods and I have found one that has been incredibly helpful it has helped me regain some of that positive energy from some of my happiest times. The best part of this method takes no longer than 2-5 minutes so it is the best one for when people are busy.

Step one- find a comfortable place to sit. sitting on the floor is my preference a pillow or cushion can be used or for a beginner, sitting in a chair is perfect as long as proper posture is preserved (no slouching)

Step two- make sure you control your breathing, close your eyes and think of the time when you felt that you were the most at peace and happy with your life, make sure you focused what routines or what you did that made you happy, now imaging that feeling is a big ball of energy floating above you.

Step three- accept that energy to come back into you as if you were in the shower but instead of water you feel the energy run down and through your body.

Step 4- take a deep breath and relax for 30 seconds.

This method of meditation has helped me keep a positive attitude and realize that happy times do not have to be something that comes and goes but something that we constantly work on and change just like our lives change.

You can do this everyday, once a week, once a month or whenever you feel like you are lacking a positive attitude.

I hope this is helpful for you

Enjoy! 😊

Reset button day 47 of 100

Have you every felt like there needs to be a reset button on our life? No I do not mean like start over from the birth, what I mean is maybe you feel like you have too much going on in your life and you are starting to feel burned out. With our very hectic and busy lifestyles now a days it is very easy to get burned out and become a sad tired person. I for sure have times when I am in desperate need of a mental vacation, or at least one hour to myself away from everything that makes me so busy. As I have mentioned in my last posts I have started a 100 day journey to create better habits and I have focused on trying to find some type of routines that will help me improve in more than one aspect of my life.

Aspects such as:

🌞 Positivity
✏️ Creativity
🏋🏽‍♂️ Exercise
📖 knowledge
🛏 Relaxation
These are a must:
☀️ Sunlight
💧hydration

In this journey I have found that there are more than one way to do something, I already knew that there were different methods to meditation and exercise but that is it. I have truly realized that there are more than one method to vacation, be creative, learn and stay positive and yes I understand that there are some of these that are obvious. Won’t go into all of them but I will go into the vacationing method that has really helped me and that is taking time off of work and staying home (Staycation) although there were some boring days i really enjoyed staying home and doing nothing. I didn’t have to worry about breaking the budget by having to spend on a bunch of activities or following a schedule to get these activities done I just worked on myself.

My staycation went like this:

  • Exercised twice a day
  • Watched tv
  • Worked on trying new vegetarian recipes
  • And my favorite spend time talking, reconnecting and spending time with my wife
  • And obviously play with my puppies

This was my biggest reset button that I have ever experienced at the end of my time off I was recharged and ready to go back to my busy life.

Don’t let the pressure of having to go out to have a “fun time” prevent you from enjoying the ability to do nothing and just truly relax.

100 days to better habits

Today is the 34th day of my journey to a better me, where I challenged myself to improve by creating better habits. The reason for me challenging myself is because I would like to become a better person in the sense of productivity and the efficiency, I have learned that the only way that I my happiness lies in the type of habits I practice. Which means better me equals happier me, I am not saying that once I accomplish my goal I am done there is not even a end goal this is something that I am going to have to work on everyday progress means moving forward.

“If you’re not learning you’re dying”- Albert Einstein

this is a quote I strongly believe in because there is only one way to become wise is by learning.

Now on to my update like I mentioned at the beginning of this post today marks the 25th day of my challenge I must say that it has been challenging trying to get rid of some old self destructive habits such as procrastinating and overthinking which apparently according to my wife I seem to be an expert at.

I have worked on having a positive mentality every day, the way that I have been working on this is by starting off my day by thinking of something that I am thankful for such as being lucky enough to have my wonderful wife in my life, waking up, my puppies, my house anything to start off my day in a positive way.

in my 100 day journey I have realized that there is something else to add to my list and that is positivity I am sure that the more I get into my 100 days I will find something else that can help me become a better me.

🌞 Positivity

✏️ Creativity

🏋🏽‍♂️ Exercise

📖 knowledge

🛏 Relaxation

These are a must:

☀️ Sunlight

💧hydration

High protein veggies 🌶🥒🥔🍠🥦🌽

Today makes it 64 days since I began a vegetarian lifestyle and at first it was difficult to find foods that would provide the right amount of nutrition and at the same time be filling at. I decided to start with trying to find some foods that would help me with my protein intake did some research and found some foods high in protein.

1. Broccoli- 2.26 grams per medium stalk

2. Mushrooms- 2.97grams

3. Jackfruit- 2.8 grams of protein per cup

4. Lentils-18 grams per cup

5. Green peas- 8.5grams per cup

6. Brussel sprouts- 3 grams per cup

7. Artichokes- 4 grams per artichoke

8. Yellow corn- 4.68 grams per ear (large)

9. Potatoes- 5 grams per 1 medium potato with the skin

10. Edamame- 18 grams per cup

11. Asparagus- 2.9 grams per cup

12. Avocado- 2.67 grams per medium avocado

13. Cauliflower- 2.05 grams per cup chopped

14. Arugula- 2.57 grams per 100 grams

15. Mung beans- 12 grams per ¼ cup dry

16. Lima beans- 6.84 grams per 100 grams

17. Spinach- 2.9 grams per 100 grams

18. Pumpkin seeds- 12 grams per cup

19. Zucchini-2.4 gram per medium zucchini (196 grams)

Some of these are in grams and I love weighing my food because it is the most effective way to accurately measure calories from your meals.

There is a certain amount of protein that a person is supposed to be having and there is a formula.

*body weight(lbs)x0.8-1*

So for me it would look like this

226×0.8-1= between 180grams-226grams of protein

100 days of improvement

I enjoy improving myself whether it is living healthier, learning something new or finding a new way to relax and unwind. I cannot say that I am the most consistent person when it comes to reading a book every week or working out everyday but I do enjoy the times I get to dedicate on bettering myself. One of my goals is to become more self reliant and be able to trust that I can dedicate more time of the week to improving myself this has led me to challenge myself to a 100 days to a better me, I plan on working on creating better habits in order to make myself a better person whether it is knowledge, physical or emotional. My goal is to everyday at least do two things that help me improve myself using my personal good day checklist

My 100 days started on January 6 and will end on April 15

✏️ Creativity

🏋🏽‍♂️ Exercise

📖 knowledge

🛏 Relaxation

These are a must:

☀️ Sunlight

💧hydration

This is to help me creat better habits and I will work my hardest to journal every other day and I will keep posting on my instagram @alejandro.gets.fit @blankstare_blog

Happy new year (2020)

Happy New Year’s Day hopefully everyone had fun and safe holidays, now it is time to start working on our goals for the year. Not only are we are welcoming a new year but also a new decade, as I sat down to work on my 2020 vision board I cannot help but to think about everything that I have learned and how much I have grown in the last decade . Before I start working on my goals I would like to list everything that this last decade has taught me.

I have learned to be a much more grateful person and look at my accomplishments whether I view them as big or small. I want to start with one accomplishment that I am the most proud of which, getting to know and marrying my best friend.

I lost 120 pounds (even though I gained them in the same decade 😂😒) 350 lbs to 230 lbs this one a been my favorite learning experiences it has taught me so much more than just about fitness.

I learned about working on myself found life long hobbies such as Jiu-jitsu

I have learned that reading and the search for self-improvement is just as important as resting and eating right.

Now let us bring in this new decade with strong goals not just for the year

The way that I like writing out my goals is by creating a vision board, I like adding pictures or things that make it more pleasing to look at rather than just a board on the wall with a bunch of writing.

Tips on how to create a vision board:

1. clear goals- I prefer it to be in my own hand writing but it is completely up to you.

Instead of lose weight put lose 14lbs

Make more money- work harder

Travel-specific destination and date

Be a better person-volunteer, listen to family members.

2. Categorize your goals

For example financial, travel, physical, growth

3. If I don’t meet a goal for the last year I added onto the new vision board until in meet it.

4. Just enjoy the process

Make sure you treat them as promises to yourself and keep yourself accountable.

Make sure to follow me on instagram @alejandro.gets.fit and Twitter @blankstare_blog

The change (vegetarian)

In my last post I talked about cutting meat out of my diet and living a vegetarian lifestyle, I would like to continue on this subject because I feel like there is so much information that I would like to share. The information I am about to share is strictly based on personal experience.

When somebody tells us that they are vegetarian we right away assume that they live healthy and should be skinny I feel like that is a huge misconception. A vegetarian lifestyle does not mean we are always eating healthy, just like all eating lifestyles it is easy to over consume an excessive amount of calories, let me inform you that a diet made up of chips and soda still counts as vegetarian. For me it is really important to keep track of my calories (although I truly haven’t lately because I have decided to allow the holiday food spirit completely take over)

Even though a vegetarian diet sounds healthier it is important to keep track of what you eat and make sure it is based off of your personal goals.

Going vegetarian 🌱

A few posts ago I wrote about my wife going on a no meat kick, I proceeded to list a few veggies that are great sources of protein. She still does not eat meat and well after asking me to join her, I finally caved and dropped meat from my diet on November 11, 2019 I joined what seems to be a vegetation cult (L.O.L.) and my experience has been so far amazing I feel like I have more energy I have noticed I don’t get that sluggish feeling anymore. You might be wondering about thanksgiving day and trust me I struggled so much on that day for the simple fact that all year I look forward to having a huge plate of food which includes turkey and ham. Don’t get me wrong I still stuffed my face like it was my last meal but the menu did not include turkey or ham and honestly even though my mind and soul were ugly crying in their absence my stomach did not miss them. The amount of days I was able to stick with this vegetarian diet was 35 consecutive days, on the 36th I caved and had a turkey leg. I do not see this as a failure because I just picked up where I left off with this vegetarian lifestyle and started my count once again.

At this point you might be questioning as to why I decided to join my wife in this lifestyle and well here are some of the reasons:

1. Reduce the possibility of diseases- such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer.

2. Weight loss- the amount of fat that is put into our bodies is reduced therefore burning body fat.

3. You cut out the added antibiotics or hormones that are added to the animal’s diet.

4. Reduce the possibility of chronic illnesses

There are some cons to cutting out meat from your diet and they include:

1. Not getting enough nutrients

2. Not getting enough vitamins such as B12

3. Not getting enough calcium

These cons can be fixed by taking supplements or finding the right grains and vegetables to eat.

Now I cannot say that I am truly sold on this vegetarian lifestyle but I do make it a goal to finish out each day without consuming any meat some days will be harder than others but I am determined

who knows maybe one day I could possibly go full vegan

It’s the small wins that get me motivated to continue but only if I take it day by day.

Personal Good day checklist

If you are like me I you strive to have a good day everyday, instead we start our day with the dreaded to do list that hold us back from truly doing what we want to on our days off. Unlike my everyday checklists this checklist is made to help improve my day and allow me to get a short break from everyday chores and keep me healthy.

Checklist:

  • Creativity-
    • I enjoy doodling or painting, basically anything that involve the creation of something from a creative standpoint
  • Exercise
    • One of my favorites forms of relaxation is exercise
  • Relaxation-
    • Aside from exercise one of my two favorite forms of relaxation are reading and play video games
  • Sunlight –
    • I try to make sure I get some type of exposure to sunlight it makes my mood throughout the day more pleasant
      • I take my puppy to the dog park or even just for a walk
      • Summer time is when I get the most sunlight making it my favorite season because I spend so much time outside my mood is always a pleasant and happy one.
      • Winter, even though there is not much visible sunlight during the winter, outside exposure seems to help improve my mood.
  • Hydration-
    • HYDRATE!! The normal amount of water a person is supposed to drink per day is (1 oz water per 1 lbs) I weigh 230 lbs so I must drink 230oz one gallon of water is equal to 128 oz, but let’s face it I’m not going to drink almost two gallons of water everyday but I do make it a goal to drink one gallon per day

It’s almost 2020 but there is still time to work hard

With only 23 days left of the year I find it very helpful to recap the goals you have accomplished this year. I believe that a win comes from meeting goals and being able to cross them off, even if it seems like it’s a small goal. The way I see it, a house is built brick by brick until you have a finished structure, creating a better lifestyle with more desirable habits is very similar to that because it is done step by step. I know you might be thinking well I only met one of my big goals this year, it was not very successful but you have to also look at the small things you accomplished. Maybe you found a better job or lost 5 lbs this year every little step counts. I take this goal recap as a time to reflect on what I have accomplished and also to see what more I would like to accomplish in these next 23 days which trust me is more than enough time to still work hard and meet a goal.

As you decide what goals you would like to accomplish by the end of the year make sure to document it

1. Write down your goals

2. Make monthly goals that way you feel like you’re making progress

3. Cross them off as you go

4. Take pictures when you accomplish one in order to track progress

5. Have fun it’s your own list and only base it off of what you want to do not what you think others expect of you. monthly goals that way you feel like you’re making progress