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WAYS OF STYLE

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Progress – November 2018

in Lifestyle on 12/14/18

Hey loves! Welcome to my first monthly progress post.

These are just pretty much for my control. Trust me, I did not want to share any of these photos, but at the same time I wanted to put my journey out there because if it will help anyone out there to live a healthier life, then to me, it’s worth it.

As I shared on my first ‘fitness post’, I’ve lost 20 pounds since January 2018. I don’t have ‘progress photos’ since the beginning because when I first started, I thought I was only going to do this for my wedding and that was going to be it. I didn’t really believe I could do it and you cannot imagine how proud I am of myself because I pushed myself to make little changes and decisions every day that have taken me closer to my goals.

At the end of October I decided I was going to start taking photos and keep track of my progress every month. I will continue to share these until I reach my goals, which I estimate will be by Summer 2019, but who knows? Maybe it will be sooner (or later). I’m still learning about food and workouts while figuring out what works for my body and what doesn’t.

My ultimate goal is to find a good and comfortable maintenance calorie intake and eat in a more intuitive way. Right now I keep track of everything thanks to My Fitness Pal but it’s a little bit annoying to log in every single thing I eat, but I’ve learned how and how much to eat because of it.If you have no idea about macros and quantities I highly recommend using My Fitness Pal for a while.

I’ve been reading a lot about intuitive eating and I think that’s where I want to go next and learn how to master. I encourage you to learn about it, but I also recommend keeping track of your food for a little while before you do this, so you can learn about quantities and macros before you dive in into this whole intuitive eating method.

Why do I want to move to intuitive eating? Well, I’m planning a trip around the world for 2 years for Summer 2020 and I won’t be able to keep track of everything I eat because I won’t be cooking all my meals. I can’t even begin to imagine how hard it will be to stay in shape during that time, so that’s why I want to get to know my body very good before we leave. Hopefully I’ll start eating intuitively by next Summer and that will give me a year to see what works and what doesn’t.

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

  • I made sure to drink 3 liters of water daily.
  • I made sure to go to the gym 6 times a week.
  • I included cardio after my weights. 45 mins on the treadmill with 15 inclination and 3.5 speed 4 days a week OR 25 mins high intensity intervals the other 2 days (which I hate and avoid to death, but I’m trying to get better).
  • I started paying attention to my sodium intake. I try to keep it under 2000 mg per day. Before I started keeping track of this, I’m pretty sure I was consuming over 5000 mg. I want to bring it even lower in the upcoming months because the changes I’ve seen in my body and cellulite have been pretty amazing!
  • I increased my daily calories from 1600 to 1750. Which sounds crazy if my goal is still to loose fat right? But I’ve also learned that the less fat you have, the more calories you burn during the day. I was intrigued about this when my girl Lesley from @lesleylifestylehabits talked about it on her Insta and it inspired me to learn more about it. After doing much research I decided to give a try and increased my calories… and guess what? I’m still losing weight!!

Things I failed at:

  • Too many cheat meals that included some alcohol. I never got drunk but I know alcohol can set you back and I kind of failed here. I think I drank once/twice a week and I was way off with my cheat meals. I did 2 per week pretty much.
  • I got sick. This wasn’t exactly my fault but it’s something that went wrong this month. I spent 4 days in bed pretty much and I didn’t work out. I did eat healthy those days though. Then, when I started to go back to the gym I still wasn’t feeling my best so my workouts weren’t as intense as they usually are. It took me a few days to finally feel good and go back to my normal routine.
  • I didn’t move during the day. This is so bad and I have zero excuses. It’s been really cold and I was just being lazy. I think I only did my 10,000 steps 3 times during the whole month! I used my phone to count them and I don’t always have it on me, but still most days were like 3000 steps in total. Still super super low. Moving during the day does make a huge difference.

Macros and calories: 

Daily calories: 1750

45% carbs

30% protein

25% fat

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

November 1st:

125.8 lbs – 19.7% body fat

Chest: 84 cm – Waist: 65 cm – Hips: 93 cm

November 30th:

123.7 lbs – 19.3% body fat

Chest: 83 cm – Waist: 64 cm – Hips: 91 cm

Photos:

November 1st (left) – November 30th (right)







As you can see these photos are not perfect, and trust me it was VERY HARD to post these for everyone to see. I don’t really see the difference between the before and after LOL, but I did loose some weight and measurements. My guess is that I’ll be able to see a difference when I compare photos that are 3 months apart.

November wasn’t great in terms of progress, but I still wanted to post this to show you how important it is to be on top of what you eat and drink. It doesn’t matter how hard you work out. You will not see major changes unless you eat good food! And I do, but then I could see that drinking and eating cheat meals twice a week is more for when you are in maintenance and I’m not there yet. It was a little bit of a set back compared to October. Last month I lost 2% body fat, a ton of measurements and 4 pounds. Sadly I only have the ‘after’ photos 🙁  I can’t recommend you enough to take photos every couple of weeks or at least once a month.

My biggest struggle are my arms and my hips. Reading a lot about hormones and how our bodies work, I’m pretty sure I have an excess of estrogen because of my birth control. You can tell a lot about how certain hormones are working based on where you accumulate fat.

Currently, I have the Nexplanon implant, but I’m going to take it out at the beginning of next year. This is a personal decision me and G made together this past week. Not at all because of the physical part, but because the Nexplanon releases hormones into my system, and I just don’t want that anymore. I want to be healthier in every aspect and there are other birth control methods that don’t involve the use of hormones.

My current workout routine (more or less because it varies by week, but I did go to the gym 6 times a week in November):

Mondays: Hamstrings & glutes + 25 minute intense cardio

Tuesdays: Triceps & shoulders + 45 minute cardio (hard but not super intense like the 25 min session)

Wednesdays: Back & abs + 25 min intense cardio

Thursdays: Quadriceps & hips + 25 min intense cardio

Fridays: Off (but it varies. I usually take off a weekday. I still go on the weekends, especially during winter because there’s not much to do LOL)

Saturdays: Biceps & abs + 45 minute cardio

Sundays: I repeat whatever I did on Monday or Tuesday. That’s why my workout days change every week.

Note: My favorite workouts right now are triceps and shoulders. I kind of like hamstrings a little bit too. The other ones are OK. Don’t love them but gotta do them!

I don’t spend more than 90 minutes at the gym. I usually do 5 series of each exercise and 12 reps. I love the 45 min cardio session and I’m getting kind of comfortable doing it and that’s when I knew I had to change it a little bit. Never let your body get used to anything! I know it sucks, but really, if it’s too easy then you won’t burn the same amount of fat. Make sure to always challenge yourself and try to get better and stronger.

Next month changes and challenges:

I will be in Florida for vacation from December 8th to the 28th. It will be a challenge, but I will still try to be good with food. I plan to work out every morning and I’m super happy because I’ll get to play tennis. I will still post my progress for December no matter how it looks like.

Here are the things I will add to my routine in December:

  • Make sure I do my 10,000 steps every day. I got a new Fitbit during black Friday.
  • I will do my cardio session early in the morning before breakfast. Not high intensity and no more than 45 mins. I’ve been reading about this and want to see if it works for me and how I feel.
  • Realistically, I’ll go to the gym 5 times a week instead of 6, but it’s fine because I know I’ll play tennis at least 3 times a week on top of my gym workout.

Looking forward to December and to challenge myself to be good even during vacation. I’m determined to make this a lifestyle and not just a ‘diet’ or a ‘phase’. That’s why I’ve been moving slow, but I’m ok with it because I know this time the changes I’m seeing will be permanent.

I started this journey little by little. I wasn’t overweight or anything, but I was not eating healthy and not working out regularly and I know I was going to pay for that in the long run. I’ve lost 20 pounds since January 2018 and decreased my body fat percentage by 7%.

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

Thanks so much for stopping by! Hope this post inspires you to live a healthier live and start making little changes here and there in order to be healthier. Let me know your thoughts in the comment below.

XO,
Signature
 

PS: Check out my Amazon Storefront to see some of the products I love, like my pre workout whey protein, digital scale that measures EVERYTHING, waffle & pancake mix, waffle maker for yummy breakfast recipes and more!

In January I will start posting daily posts of everything I eat in one day, so you guys can copy some of my recipes and get creative with your food so you don’t get bored.

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Comments

  1. Mia says

    December 17, 2018 at 8:15 am

    Thanks for posting about this! It’s so helpful.
    You sure eat a lot!! Taking note of a few things here, so thank you.
    Hope to run into you in Chicago one day ?
    Mia

    Reply
  2. Leah says

    December 17, 2018 at 8:10 am

    What a babe ?
    Thanks for this post. I can’t wait to see the next one!!

    Reply
  3. Katie says

    December 15, 2018 at 8:19 am

    Hottie!!!! Thanks for sharing girl. You look amazing and healthy. Love this.
    I feel so inspired to start. Little by little, one day a time, but to start!!
    I don’t see a huge difference in the photos but at least the numbers changed. And you seriously look so good!! ??

    Reply
  4. Maria G. says

    December 14, 2018 at 11:50 am

    Me encanta! Que inspiracion ❤️
    Quiero abs asi! Voy a estar super pendiente de tus proximos post. Amo estos fitness posts!!!! ??

    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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Hi 👋🏻 it’s been a while. After dealing wi Hi 👋🏻 it’s been a while.

After dealing with how the new year started, I really didn’t feel like posting, so I deleted IG for a little bit for mental health purposes. The last thing I posted was on Jan 6th and after confronting a ton of senseless haters defending what happened I was so exhausted. Emotionally drained actually. (I know it was my mistake to try to deal with crazy people, but I was upset and couldn’t help myself 🙈)

On top of that, my beautiful baby niece Elisa, was born on Dec 26th, but spent over 2 weeks in the NICU having good days and bad days. She is thankfully home & healthy now, but boy was that scary 🙈 

Anyways, that’s what’s up. I’m ok now. Feeling a lot better and trying to get back to things little by little. Hope you guys are doing ok too ❤️

Have an amazing weekend!! See you soon 😘😘
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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 🙏🏻
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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!! 💙
...
#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
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Have you been enjoying the snow? ❄️ We went sledding, ran like crazy in the snow and fell many times, tried to build a snowman (but failed 😂), had a snowball fight... I mean... SO FUN!! And the best part is that it wasn’t that cold!!! 🙌🏻
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#waysofstyle #chicagoblogger #snowstorm #chicagowinter #sledding #chicagoinfluencer #fun #funinthesnow #lifestyleblogger #nomakeup #reallife
Hi 👋🏻 it’s been a while. After dealing wi Hi 👋🏻 it’s been a while.

After dealing with how the new year started, I really didn’t feel like posting, so I deleted IG for a little bit for mental health purposes. The last thing I posted was on Jan 6th and after confronting a ton of senseless haters defending what happened I was so exhausted. Emotionally drained actually. (I know it was my mistake to try to deal with crazy people, but I was upset and couldn’t help myself 🙈)

On top of that, my beautiful baby niece Elisa, was born on Dec 26th, but spent over 2 weeks in the NICU having good days and bad days. She is thankfully home & healthy now, but boy was that scary 🙈 

Anyways, that’s what’s up. I’m ok now. Feeling a lot better and trying to get back to things little by little. Hope you guys are doing ok too ❤️

Have an amazing weekend!! See you soon 😘😘
...
#waysofstyle #lifeupdate #chicagoblogger #chicagoinfluencer #meijerstyle #leopardprint #lifestyleblogger #quarantinelife #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #beingreal #friyay #happyfriday #weekendvibes
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
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