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WAYS OF STYLE

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Progress – January 2019

in Lifestyle on 02/13/19

Hey loves! Welcome to my January progress post. If you haven’t checked my December post, make sure to read it here.

I know it’s mid February already, but I took these photos on Feb 2nd, as well as my weight and measurements. I’m behind schedule because of other projects (that I’m excited to share with you soon!), and I just haven’t had the time to sit down and write about my January journey and my goals for the next 8 weeks.

So, I started January with one extra pound I gained over the Holidays, which is not much but I was still a little bit upset because I never stopped working out in December but whatever. I’m over it (sort of). I went to the gym 5-6 times a week, I ate around 1800 calories a day and  kept myself active as much as possible. I had a couple cheat meals a week, which is not ideal… Overall, I don’t think my January results were great. I did lose that extra pound, but I feel like I want to see results faster. I’m eating for maintenance and I love it, I honestly do, but I still want to see some changes in my body. My overall goal is to reach 15% body fat and I feel like I don’t want to wait until the end of the year to make that happen. Right now I’m at 19%.

I’ve been reading a lot and you all know how much I love Sascha Fitness, and she was saying last week that once you reach your weight but want to push yourself a little harder and lower that fat %, you have to be uncomfortable, really control your calories, type of food you eat and macros, the time of the day you eat carbs (because of your circadian cycle or rhythm? not sure how it’s called in English), and you have to sacrifice yourself. Honestly, I’m not sacrificing myself that much these days LOL. I feel comfortable with my daily calories and comfortable with my workouts, so I do need to step up my game a little bit.

I’m eating good food, but my calories are a little high for what I’m burning daily. Winter is very rough. I order stuff for delivery instead of walking, I use Uber, Lyft or Via instead of taking public transportation or walking, and going to the gym is not enough. I do workout 6 times a week (except during the polar vortex), but being active during the day is what makes all the difference. My calories are all over the place. Most days I eat 1800, but then some other days I’ll eat 2200. So I need to get it together with that.

Changes I made this month: (compared to December 2018)

* I also kept doing all the things I changed last month. Read them here.

  • I started taking BCAA’s during my workouts (I use the Sascha Fitness brand). I like them, they do give you a lot of energy, but it’s just another expense that I’m still not sure is worth it. Will keep using them for February & March though… not so sure after that.
  • I’m trying to burn 100 EXTRA calories at the gym. (I did this 50% of the time, not for every workout).
  • Started eating 1800 calories a day.
  • I set up a new goal for daily calorie burn of 2300. According to my Fitbit my daily average is 2100. I could only reach the goal 7 days this month, so I really need to step up my game with this.
  • I increased the weight on most of my workouts.
  • I pushed harder during cardio time. Same time, but more intensity. I’m not going to lie and say I did this every single time, but I did get better at it. Some days I just don’t even feel like going to the gym at all. (but I still go!)
  • I did a little bit of cardio or planks in between reps to keep my heart rate up the whole time while I’m doing weights.

Sounds like a did a lot right? I think so too. I did a lot to only lose 1 freaking pound. I feel a little desperate now that I’m closer to my goal, so I’m going to try something different for the next 7 weeks. Why 7 weeks? Well, because I leave for Florida on March 26th and that’s exactly 7 week from now. I started last week and it was terrible by the way. I had cravings and didn’t feel like working out at all. But, this week I’m doing a lot better.

I took this photo on December 20th 2018. I want it to be my ‘before’ photo by March 26th. Let’s see if I can do it:

I understand that what I want to achieve with the way I look this year is 100% vanity. I have a healthy weight now and have lost over 20 pounds since I started this journey a year ago, but I want to look a little bit leaner, that’s all. That’s why I have to work extra hard these next few weeks. This is not for everyone and it depends on what you like and for me that thing is to have more definition. There’s nothing wrong with the way I look now, but I’m curious to see how I will look with 15% body fat. I just wanted to make that clear 😉

Things I failed at in January:

  • I had so much anxiety so I snacked a lot! Chips, fruits and little bites here and there do add up and will keep you from reaching your goals. This doesn’t really affect me when I’m in maintenance mode, but right now that I have such a specific goal, it does.
  • Not burning 2300 calories every day, which I needed to do because I was eating 1800 calories. BUT, I’m changing my approach on this. Just keep reading 🙂

Macros and calories for January: 

Daily calories: 1800 (2 cheat meals a week)

Macro distribution:

45% carbs

25% protein

30% fat

New macros and calories for February: 

Daily calories: 1600-1700 (1 cheat meal a week – except this week LOL)

Macro distribution:

45% carbs

30% protein

25% fat

Weight, fat percentage and measurements: (I’m 5 ft 4 for reference)

January 7th:

124.5 lbs – 19.5% body fat

Chest:  83 cm – Waist:  66 cm – Hips:  93 cm

February 1st:

123.4 lbs – 19.3% body fat

Chest:  82 cm – Waist:  64.5 cm – Hips:  92.5 cm

Photos:

January 7th (left) – February 1st (right)







As I mentioned before, I am a little bit desperate to see the results I want, but I will not take any extreme measurements. My health comes first. I need to be patient. I’m not going to lie though, I hate and it’s a little embarrassing to post these photos that look pretty much the same.

I hate these photos yes, but these monthly posts keep me grounded and aware of what I’m doing wrong and they motivate me to work harder to see the changes I want to see.

Hopefully, I’ll see better results in the next 7 weeks. I honestly hate posting this and show you guys basically no progress, but at the same time, please learn with me. This doesn’t mean I’m going to give up, it just motivates me to work harder to reach my goals and take action and ownership of the things I’m failing at.

I want to see better results, so here are the things I will change in the next 7 weeks: (My next “progress post” will be at the end of March)

  • Move more during the day. Make it a point to have a daily deficit of 500 calories. On a day that I workout and are moderately active I burn around 2100 calories, so this means I’ll be eating around 1600 on most days. Which brings me to my next point.
  • I will lower my calories to 1600 and adjust my macros to 45% carbs, 30% protein and 25% fat. I was really hoping 1800 calories were good enough to reach my goal, but it seems like that number is more for maintenance.
  • I will try to eat my carbs during the day and not so much during dinner. This is extremely hard for me, but I will try it for at least 3 days a week and see how I feel about it.
  • No snacking!! It’s so hard when you have anxiety and crazy cravings, but I will try to rely more on chewing gum or drinking a sparkling water when I feel like eating for no reason in the afternoons.
  • Only one cheat meal a week, if I feel like I really need it. To be honest, most times I’m ok without it. But, these cheat meals usually happen when we go out with friends and stuff, so I go ALL IN hahaha
  • My workouts will remain the same. I’ll go to the gym 6 times a week and do my weights and intense cardio for 25-30 mins. The changes I’ll see (hopefully) during these next 7 weeks will come thanks to my calorie intake.

You can read more about how and why I started here.

So, I know this post might not be super useful, but it is my journey and I’m still learning. What I’d like you to take from this is that you shouldn’t give up when you are not seeing the results you want. You should sit down and evaluate what you are doing wrong and what you are failing at and keep trying. If you fail, please don’t go back to old habits, just get up and try again. Hopefully I’ll have better news to share in 7 weeks, so wish me luck!

Thanks so much for stopping by! Let me know your thoughts in the comment below.

XO,
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Comments

  1. Alicia M says

    February 20, 2019 at 12:25 pm

    You sexy mamacita!!!

    Reply
  2. Anna S. says

    February 18, 2019 at 1:34 pm

    Hot stuff ????

    Reply
  3. Natasha says

    February 13, 2019 at 7:03 pm

    You look great and I do see a difference. Honeslty I find this post very inspiring and thoughtful and brave. I know you will reach your goal in 7 weeks and I can’t wait to see it and celebrate for you.
    You are beautiful and such an inspiring human!

    Reply

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OH, HI THERE!

Hi guys! My name is Aimara and I’m the voice behind Ways of Style.

I created this Blog as a space to express my thoughts and life experiences while wearing cute outfits of course! At the same time I want to encourage you to always be yourself, without caring what the world thinks about it.

I believe that we all have a specific purpose in life, but you can only find it by being 100% you and following your heart & intuition. In May 2014 I came to this country with a dream and with all my belongings in a suitcase, with nothing but determination to make it happen.

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A black t-shirt 🖤 Styled with a maxi skirt, @sp A black t-shirt 🖤
Styled with a maxi skirt, @spanx leggings and black skinny jeans 😊
Another basic piece you should definitely have in your closet because you can wear it with basically any bottom or layer it in any way you want!

I’ve been living out of a suitcase for the past 3 months and even though my wardrobe is not super exciting, I’ve managed to have fun with what I have. I basically have 7-8 different bottoms, 6 basic neutral t-shirts, a couple of sweaters and a button down shirt. That’s it!

It’s been ok too because I haven’t been anywhere, so I really have no reason to dress up 😂
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One of my happiest moments of 2020 by far! I freak One of my happiest moments of 2020 by far! I freaking did it! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

I don’t often take the time to be proud of myself but today I’m doing just that ❤️
We’ve been talking about getting certified for scuba diving since forever, but this past December we decided to finally go for it. 

Why?
Because this was one thing we were going to do on our trip around the world and since the trip has been postponed until God knows when, we felt like we needed to do something to cheer ourselves up.

I didn’t think it was going to be this hard. I’m not used to face my fears like this or to push through when I feel like quitting, but this time I was determined. I think the @hellofears book made a huge impact in me. Now I promise myself to keep learning new tricks and to push myself outside of my comfort zone as often as I can. Enough of talking about doing things and let time pass by and not do anything at all. Enough of that!

What’s next? Well right now, we are in Chicago until January 30th, but we’ll spend February and March in Boca & Tampa (and then back to the Midwest!), so we already signed up for freediving & windsurf! Both extremely challenging, mentally and physically, but what the hell, we are going for it anyways!

I encourage you to think about some of the things (big & small), you’ve been talking about doing forever and somehow life got in the way and you kept postponing them. Write them down and challenge yourself to do it. Make yourself proud. There’s no better feeling! Just do it for you!

Even though I’m not writing resolutions this year (I always have, but I felt like the universe betrayed all of us in 2020 💔)I’m making a permanent change in my life: push myself, be brave and open the door for new feelings and emotions to arrive. I’ve been living way too comfortable for way too long!

Special thanks to Eric (@globaldiverscuba) for being so kind and patient and of course @diveforcee for being the best scuba store in south Florida. We found them on Google and they were amazing! Can’t recommend them enough!! 💙
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Counting the days to see my girls!! Hi 👋🏻 W Counting the days to see my girls!!

Hi 👋🏻 We are currently quarantining in Chicago! We ran into a few very unpleasant issues with our new Airbnb (surprise surprise!), but we got over pretty quickly! Proud of us for doing that 😉

Yesterday I tried to sit down to write down goals for 2021 and honestly, after the crappiest year of all I felt like it was pointless. There’s so little I can control and the only thing I have the power to change is my mindset. 

How do you guys feel about 2021? Hopeful? I’m really trying to have no expectations because this past year has been so devastating that I don’t want all my hopes and dreams to be crushed again 💔 2020 is not exactly ending on the happy note we hoped for as a family, so I’m really hoping all this bad energy to be washed away tonight! #bye2020

Who knows what awaits... so for the first time ever I won’t write any resolutions, just trying to stay positive and faithful to the one who knows better 🙏🏻 How about you?

I wish you the best for 2021 though! It’ll be a party of 2 for us, eating some Venezuelan food and some wine 🍷
Happy New Year’s Eve! ❤️
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Location: @thehappygarage in Ravenswood ☺️
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Hi guys 🖤 Sorry I’ve been MIA, but I usually Hi guys 🖤
Sorry I’ve been MIA, but I usually take this time of the year to disconnect from social media and allow myself to dream and think about new year goals without being influenced by everyone’s highlight reels.

It’s been an unusual year for sure and even though I can’t wait for it to be over, I’m also forcing myself to take the time to appreciate the lessons I learned. I received a lot of bad news this year, but this last month it’s been good. So good, that it almost made me forget about the past 11 where I felt I was living in an emotional roller coaster. I’m very happy to be here in Florida and challenging myself to learn new things. I feel so brave and that’s a feeling I never want to deprive myself of. Ever again.

I’ll share more later, but today I’m mostly posting to wish you a safe Christmas this year. In whichever way you decide to celebrate, I hope you find joy in the little things ✨

I didn’t do any of my treasured Venezuelan traditions this year, but I did have hallacas yesterday (they are the best, and you have to order them with enough time to @meencanta.21), tonight we are having Indian food and tomorrow, we’ll do dinner at G’s sister. We leave to Chicago on Sunday, so we are making sure to spend a lot of time outside in the next few days ❤️

Anyways, take care beautiful people. Can’t wait to catch up soon! Merry Christmas to all who celebrate 🎄
...
#waysofstyle #merrychristmas #december #floridavibes #beachbum #lifestyleblogger #beachvibes #goodvibes #bestwishes #besafe #brave #happiness #instafashion #mystyle #resortlooks #vacationmode #summersalt #savethefishies #gosummersalt #christmaseve
1 white t-shirt - 6 looks 🤍 (Technically 3 diff 1 white t-shirt - 6 looks 🤍
(Technically 3 different white t-shirts, but you get the point 😉) 👉🏻 swipe to see.
I cannot live without my white t-shirts and I think this should be one of the first pieces you incorporate into your #capsulewardrobe

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If you scroll down my feed, you can see the latest looks I’ve posted with the same pieces and hopefully get some ideas for you to recreate at home ☺️

Let me know what you think or if you need help styling anything just send me a DM 😘
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#waysofstyle #whitetshirt #spanx #spanxleggings #thisisann #meijerstyle #meijerfinds #easylook #classicstyle #whitesneakers #howtostyle
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From no pants and no shoes to double pants and dou From no pants and no shoes to double pants and double masks BUT still smiling 😆
Disclaimer: I’m not wearing a mask at the beach because it was basically just us, so be cool.

I’m so happy it’s been in the 30’s, because this is the coldest we can handle 😂 Thank you Chicago 🙏🏻❤️

Hope everyone’s having a nice week so far! We got our test results back negative so I can finally see my family ❤️ It’s a good day today 🙏🏻
...
#waysofstyle #chiberia #chicagoblogger #chicagowinter #grateful #chicagoinfluencer #winterstyle #winterlook #puffercoat #smallvictories
A black t-shirt 🖤 Styled with a maxi skirt, @sp A black t-shirt 🖤
Styled with a maxi skirt, @spanx leggings and black skinny jeans 😊
Another basic piece you should definitely have in your closet because you can wear it with basically any bottom or layer it in any way you want!

I’ve been living out of a suitcase for the past 3 months and even though my wardrobe is not super exciting, I’ve managed to have fun with what I have. I basically have 7-8 different bottoms, 6 basic neutral t-shirts, a couple of sweaters and a button down shirt. That’s it!

It’s been ok too because I haven’t been anywhere, so I really have no reason to dress up 😂
...
#waysofstyle #capsulewardrobe #fashionblogger #howtostyle #whattowear #basiclook #classicstyle #maxiskirt #blacktshirt #chambrayshirt #whitesneakers #blackskinnyjeans #chicagoblogger #chicagoinfluencer #midwestblogger #meijerfinds #meijerstyle
One of my happiest moments of 2020 by far! I freak One of my happiest moments of 2020 by far! I freaking did it! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

I don’t often take the time to be proud of myself but today I’m doing just that ❤️
We’ve been talking about getting certified for scuba diving since forever, but this past December we decided to finally go for it. 

Why?
Because this was one thing we were going to do on our trip around the world and since the trip has been postponed until God knows when, we felt like we needed to do something to cheer ourselves up.

I didn’t think it was going to be this hard. I’m not used to face my fears like this or to push through when I feel like quitting, but this time I was determined. I think the @hellofears book made a huge impact in me. Now I promise myself to keep learning new tricks and to push myself outside of my comfort zone as often as I can. Enough of talking about doing things and let time pass by and not do anything at all. Enough of that!

What’s next? Well right now, we are in Chicago until January 30th, but we’ll spend February and March in Boca & Tampa (and then back to the Midwest!), so we already signed up for freediving & windsurf! Both extremely challenging, mentally and physically, but what the hell, we are going for it anyways!

I encourage you to think about some of the things (big & small), you’ve been talking about doing forever and somehow life got in the way and you kept postponing them. Write them down and challenge yourself to do it. Make yourself proud. There’s no better feeling! Just do it for you!

Even though I’m not writing resolutions this year (I always have, but I felt like the universe betrayed all of us in 2020 💔)I’m making a permanent change in my life: push myself, be brave and open the door for new feelings and emotions to arrive. I’ve been living way too comfortable for way too long!

Special thanks to Eric (@globaldiverscuba) for being so kind and patient and of course @diveforcee for being the best scuba store in south Florida. We found them on Google and they were amazing! Can’t recommend them enough!! 💙
...
#waysofstyle #divers #scubadivers #floridadiving #lifestyleblogger #wedidit #proud #pushyourself #chicagoblogger #chicagoinfluencer #hellofears
Counting the days to see my girls!! Hi 👋🏻 W Counting the days to see my girls!!

Hi 👋🏻 We are currently quarantining in Chicago! We ran into a few very unpleasant issues with our new Airbnb (surprise surprise!), but we got over pretty quickly! Proud of us for doing that 😉

Yesterday I tried to sit down to write down goals for 2021 and honestly, after the crappiest year of all I felt like it was pointless. There’s so little I can control and the only thing I have the power to change is my mindset. 

How do you guys feel about 2021? Hopeful? I’m really trying to have no expectations because this past year has been so devastating that I don’t want all my hopes and dreams to be crushed again 💔 2020 is not exactly ending on the happy note we hoped for as a family, so I’m really hoping all this bad energy to be washed away tonight! #bye2020

Who knows what awaits... so for the first time ever I won’t write any resolutions, just trying to stay positive and faithful to the one who knows better 🙏🏻 How about you?

I wish you the best for 2021 though! It’ll be a party of 2 for us, eating some Venezuelan food and some wine 🍷
Happy New Year’s Eve! ❤️
...
Location: @thehappygarage in Ravenswood ☺️
#waysofstyle #proudauntie #newyearseve #noresolutions #bye2020 #chicagoblogger #chicagophotographer #chicagoinfluencer #mygirls #myeverything #hope #faith #love #hopeful
Hi guys 🖤 Sorry I’ve been MIA, but I usually Hi guys 🖤
Sorry I’ve been MIA, but I usually take this time of the year to disconnect from social media and allow myself to dream and think about new year goals without being influenced by everyone’s highlight reels.

It’s been an unusual year for sure and even though I can’t wait for it to be over, I’m also forcing myself to take the time to appreciate the lessons I learned. I received a lot of bad news this year, but this last month it’s been good. So good, that it almost made me forget about the past 11 where I felt I was living in an emotional roller coaster. I’m very happy to be here in Florida and challenging myself to learn new things. I feel so brave and that’s a feeling I never want to deprive myself of. Ever again.

I’ll share more later, but today I’m mostly posting to wish you a safe Christmas this year. In whichever way you decide to celebrate, I hope you find joy in the little things ✨

I didn’t do any of my treasured Venezuelan traditions this year, but I did have hallacas yesterday (they are the best, and you have to order them with enough time to @meencanta.21), tonight we are having Indian food and tomorrow, we’ll do dinner at G’s sister. We leave to Chicago on Sunday, so we are making sure to spend a lot of time outside in the next few days ❤️

Anyways, take care beautiful people. Can’t wait to catch up soon! Merry Christmas to all who celebrate 🎄
...
#waysofstyle #merrychristmas #december #floridavibes #beachbum #lifestyleblogger #beachvibes #goodvibes #bestwishes #besafe #brave #happiness #instafashion #mystyle #resortlooks #vacationmode #summersalt #savethefishies #gosummersalt #christmaseve
1 white t-shirt - 6 looks 🤍 (Technically 3 diff 1 white t-shirt - 6 looks 🤍
(Technically 3 different white t-shirts, but you get the point 😉) 👉🏻 swipe to see.
I cannot live without my white t-shirts and I think this should be one of the first pieces you incorporate into your #capsulewardrobe

Also, in these photos, I’m wearing all the “bottoms” I packed in my suitcase for Dallas. I think I’m only leaving out a maxi skirt that I only wore once and I’ll share the look next week. I pretty much packed 6-8 bottoms, a couple of sweaters for layering, a few t-shirts, 2 chambray shirts and 2 pair of shoes. And I survived!

If you scroll down my feed, you can see the latest looks I’ve posted with the same pieces and hopefully get some ideas for you to recreate at home ☺️

Let me know what you think or if you need help styling anything just send me a DM 😘
...
#waysofstyle #whitetshirt #spanx #spanxleggings #thisisann #meijerstyle #meijerfinds #easylook #classicstyle #whitesneakers #howtostyle
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