A few months ago I was approached by a friend about blogging for health to which I thought, “Sure, why not, that’s gotta be simple.” And in my head I started making all these plans about the things I would do to try to encourage myself and encourage others. But this is what I’m finding; it’s not easy to stay motivated. I believe that it might be simpler when two or more are supporting each other. So, let me start by telling you who I am and why I am here.
¡HOLA! I’m new here.
My name is Jennise Rodriguez. I have a beautiful family of a husband of 16 years, a tween daughter, a tween son, and a six-month old baby. Yes, you read correctly, a baby. Indianapolis has been our home for the past 10 years. Oh, in case you haven’t noticed my opening word and last name, I am Latina.
I know how important it is to live an active life, but guess what, I don’t always do what I know is right. So, I’m counting on you to keep me accountable. I have a passion for cooking and trying new and different foods, but I wish I had more time to experiment around. I work full time and am a minister’s wife. I also lead a Hispanic Christian women’s organization in Indiana. I do like to public speak, but it’s been a while.
My daughter is a cheerleader, although she’s taking this year off to improve some techniques, and my son is a Power Soccer athlete. Don’t know what Power Soccer is? Is a highly competitive sport for people on power chairs, but I’ll let you do your homework by visiting www.powersoccerusa.net. Someday I’ll talk to you more about that. The baby, well, he’s just, um, a baby. He knows exactly how to keep mama busy.
That’s me in a nutshell. As you can see I’m just another normal very busy mom. I KNOW, first hand, it’s easy to become a slave to my responsibilities and put aside an important aspect of my life, and my loved ones’, which is remaining active. It’s not only important to me, but I also need to remember that everything I do is being monitored by three little ones, and will someday become their Health Legacy. I personally wouldn’t want my children to think of me in the future as “Mom was always busy” or “Mom never had time for us” or “Mom was not fun.” I am sure they will never think of me as “Mom was a SuperMom”
So, why am I here? First of all to tell you that I understand you. I know you’re busy, and I know it’s not easy to add just one more thing to your plate (I’m getting hungry here). But I think what I would like for both you and I is to gradually change our mind microchip and instead of looking at this as “just another thing” I would like to think of this as my new and improved lifestyle. I will also be sharing my cultural background (you know, habits, food, etc.) so that you can understand me a little bit better (good luck at that one! My husband is still trying to figure me out). With every blog I hope to throw a challenge at us and I would love to hear how you’re going about attaining it.
So, the challenge for the next two weeks will be this. What activity – physical, eating habits, etc. – can you “add” to your daily routine, that will account into your Health Legacy? (Yes, I’m serious.)
If you have already started one, good for you, please share with us. If you have not started, please think of something and share it with us. We’ll hold each other accountable.
Nice to meet you and I’ll “see” you soon.
Tags: healthy living, Moms helping Moms, Power Soccer Indianapolis
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I’ve been making soem serious changes for the past 2 months and hadn’t really thought of the idea of the “health legacy” that I’m leaving for my kids. I’m thinking about my mom and what I saw of her and her healthy lifestyle- which wasn’t much. She didn’t exercise but she did work hard to focus on healthy eating as much as possible (we were very financially limited). I did witness my mom focus on physical activity with my brothers (who are 15 and 18 years younger than me) and healthy eating, too. So I know I get some of my knowledge and experience from her.
Nice to meet you and I’m eager to see what you bring to the table next!
Estoy tan orgullosa de ti! Te deseo exito en este proyecto y lo seguire de cerca. Asi que no lo dejes. Y claro q eres una SuperMom!!!! Quien dijo lo contrario? Te quiero mucho amiga! Dios los bendiga.
Welcome, Jennise. Wow, your post hits home. I think my kids would say I’m too busy and not always fun. I am a great cheerleader for them, but I need too “get in the game” more too. I will think about the health legacy I want to leave for my kids. Thanks for your post.
I’m afraid the picture of me in my children’s memory will be like Mr. Wilson on “Home Improvement,” except instead of the top of my head appearing from behind the fence it will be coming from behind the laptop. I’m trying to be more mindful of keeping my screen time for after bedtime.
Welcome to Fit City!
Hola,
What a great idea to have people to think about the health legacy they want to leave. Several years ago I began a weight loss journey and lost a significant amount of weight. I’m still on the journey. Along the way I have learned how to make healthy food choices. I’ve learned that tracking what I eat is a tremendous help in keeping myself accountable. I’ve learned that physical activity is important. I’ve learned that it is not helpful to think of what I am doing as a ‘diet’, but as a way of life and living. It is the only way to sustain weight loss and good health. I’m not always perfect, but I think I am a good example.
The activity that I need to re-incorporate is tracking what I eat so that I can be accountable.
Thanks for the encouragement to take some time and think about this.
Welcome Jennise! I look forward to your future posts and learning more about you and your family. Could you tell me more about the Hispanic Christian women’s organization you lead?
Hi all,
Thanks for your comments. Keep on building your Legacies!
Just wanted to let you all know that this Saturday there will be a hands-on gardening activity for kids sponsored by Land’s End (I’m not sponsoring any brands, just the activity). It will be at the Castleton Mall for those on this side on town (or those who feel like taking a field trip) from 1pm to 3pm. I am planning to be there. It should be fun.
Also wanted to share what my chiropractor advised me. Instead of taking away the things that you currently do that are not positive (and you all know what they are…) try working on incorporating a positive thing to your routine. This might eventually aid you in removing the not so positive. For instance, add a fruit (not a fruit snack or drink) to your menu before a meal as opposed to deciding to not eat that piece of apple pie. The decision to not eating that apple pie piece will send your system a signal, and it will not be a good one. In return your system will respond with resistance and you will end up not doing it. NOT GOOD. Instead, if you resolve adding a fruit or vegetable to your menu, you will fill up sooner and perhaps will be too full before you eat that apple pie. I like this kind of challenge, ya’ know.
So, this what I intended to do with this post’s challenge. I want you to share that positive thing that you will “add” to your routine. A-ha!
I personally am working on adding that fruit or veggie before my meals, but I will have more quantifiable results next month when I blog again.
Best health wishes!
Awesome event for kids to get geared up for summer activities!
I work for a wellness center that uses chiropractic care to improve health and wellness and we talk about those same principles at our free wellness workshops that we do in the office and for community groups (we were at two Lawrence Township elementary schools this month! woohoo!).
It may not be easy to get healthy but it is definitely simple. It’s as simple as adding fruit to your meals or even adding more veggies to your plate (it’s always good to have more color on your plate instead all browns).
The same is true for physical activity. Start small. Add a few minutes of activity and build on that. Don’t think you’re going to run 10 miles on your first day of running when it’s been a while, you’ll hate running.
Awesome event for kids to get geared up for summer yard work activities!
I work for a wellness center that uses chiropractic care to improve health and wellness and we talk about those same principles at our free wellness workshops that we do in the office and for community groups (we were at two Lawrence Township elementary schools this month! woohoo!).
It may not be easy to get healthy but it is definitely simple. It’s as simple as adding fruit to your meals or even adding more veggies to your plate (it’s always good to have more color on your plate instead all browns).
The same is true for physical activity. Start small. Add a few minutes of activity and build on that. Don’t think you’re going to run 10 miles on your first day of running when it’s been a while, you’ll hate running.
Meisha,
You can find more info about the organization on Facebook under Union Femenil de Indiana.