How I Avoided My Winter Depression

I just dont know what it is about winter that makes me want to not do anything. I remember when I was little, just the mere thought of

Christmas used to bring an amazing feeling of hope and excitement.

It got to a point where I was embarrassed and unhealthy. to not think about it.

This past year I took a physical challenge with my buddy, who is a fitness freak. He challenged me to doing P90x, Insanity, AND Asylum!

All in all, we did it. The mere factor that I was able to have someone help me get motivated and stay on top of my goals is what happens.

Without a doubt, I truly believe now that in order to make change, you have to break destroy NUKE the pattern.

• My pattern after Holidays:
• Stop working out
• Stop hanging out with friends
• Get unmotivated by environment.

This past year was incredibly different because I had someone who could HOLD me accountable for my goals!

I man if you are serious about making any changes to your life, starting with the body is a great place to practice control, perseverance, and immediate results.

For people who like lists,

• Get active
• Have accountability – work out partner, or trainer
• Set small goals every 30 days
• Measure your progress
• Follow Through!

From Real Estate Wholesaling to Internet Marketing

Last year around 2011 I went to see one of my favorite motivational speakers, Tony Robbins. Now, regardless of what you think of him or the personal development industry, his stuff is powerful! I went through a very intense and deep survey of who I am and my goals in life.

Not surprisingly, I discovered that although real estate was fun, I was always creating copy, videos, and websites. Only reason I never pursued it was because I never thought I could make much of it, aka fear.

So, what really happened? Was it the market? Was it the people? What caused me to take this leap into a completely new direction?

The answer is passion. Yes passion. I know if you listen to Larry Winget, another great speaker, the guy clearly hates passion. Why? because the very definition of passion is an uncontrollable emotion!

The last thing we need to do is make decisions based on uncontrolled emotions, right? Well sorta…

When I refer to passion, I am not talking about having fun or laying in the beach type passion. I refer to that feeling I kept getting when I would explain to people how to fin an audience online, or how to spread their message across multiple channels Three years before the decision to break into the industry I spent over $2,000 trying to learn how to create a brand and website online. Within a few months I made that money back.

Before moving on, don’t get me wrong here either. I love real estate, especially the investing side of it. There is no other game I would rather play at a high level, but for now I need to go with what I know can provide me with the life and career I want.

Quick Reference Point:

I went to college for Spanish, Communications, and Entrepreneur Science. I naturally gravitate towards being creative and being a risk taker. Real Estate, at the time I found it, became a great manifestation of my interests. There is a lot to be said about going from one industry to another, and yes it was not easy, but I cant help myself.

While this journey has not been as fun as my previous work, I know that eventually it is going to pay off.

• Online Marketing is A Growing Industry – No matter how you look at it, this is the one industry that is growing and in high demand. It’s sorta like being in the rail road industry back in the early 1900s, there is opportunity for everyone.
• Every Business Needs Online Marketing – Seriously, look around you! Everyone that has something to sell or promote needs people like me to help them. I produced a newsletter with over 1,000 subscribers about wholesaling real estate in Chicago, I am pretty sure I can do that for your knitted socks. = )
• Constant Creativity and Entrepreneurial Thinking – As a lefty, my brain is wired to being creative. Once I am no longer creating or building something, I get bored. Fortunately there are enough moving parts and evolving rules that you are always reading, implementing and learning. As you can see, I love to learn.
• Work from Laptop – This probably wont happen right away, but eventually I could see myself working from my laptop making full time income either on my own or with a reputable company. It’s not about working on a beach, but it is cool knowing you can do your work anywhere in the world. That is power!

My Weight Issue – Pre-P90X

My Story: Why I started P90x

I have always considered myself a very healthy person and health conscious. Ever since I can remember I have either been swimming, running, playing water polo, or competing in a sport. You would figure that by my mid and late 20’s I would be either a personal trainer or still be involved in sports. Yet this is far from the truth and I have to admit: I have a weight issue.

My entire life I was super active and because of this, my body required large amount of calories to keep up with the work load. I got used to eating a TON of food! It is one thing to eat a lot because you are burning 6,000 calories a day, it’s another to want to a large pizza so you can feel full.

Let me also state that I was not a skinny kid either. I was a typical fat kid! I used sport to take control of the weight and it worked! I thought I had defeated this fat kid but I know now that I will always be that fat kid.

Childhood and Background:

Not many know this but I was not born in Chicago. I was born in Mexico City to a wonderful and loving family. My Father was a promising attorney and my mom a loving school teacher. The family moved to Chicago in the mid 80’s. I dont recall much but I am sure it was a progressive change from Mexican culture to an American one. As the culture changed, so did our eating habits. Simply put, we went from eating natural foods from local markets to eating processed junk at the local Mexican fast food place and McDonalds.

My Pre-Chicago days:

Growing up in a hispanic household, we never talked about health or give much thought about what we ate. Due to our lack of understanding and general laziness, my diet consisted mostly of processed meat, white rice, fried foods, cheese, and my favorite: burritos! It was no surprise that by the age of 9, I was a fat kid. I’m talking PLUMP!

Look at me! Plenty of heartache came because of this lil guy:

Nom Nom Nom - Pozole!

The Turning Point

As if it was bad enough sucking at swimming and being a fat kid, I would soon come face-to-face with the end result of what an unhealthy lifestyle can lead to. Probably the toughest part of my life…

My father, pictured below, died of a massive heart attack March 2oth, 1997. He was 41 years old, I was 12. I realize now that my father was somewhat depressed and used over-eating as a way to cope with the culture as well as his home-sickness. This experience still weights heavy on my mind and effects my body image to this day.

My Dad

Swimming to the Rescue!

Soon after my father passed, I turned to the one thing I had: Swimming! This sport was my life changer. I seriously owe everything to this sport; my work ethic, best friends, favorite memories, my confidence and  competitive attitude. By my early teens I became obsessed with the sport and vowed to lose the fat kid image.

Guess what? By my early teens I had lost the fat kid! Well technically… You see, I was still that same fat kid at heart because I realized I could eat anything I wanted because I would just head to practice and burn it off. The perfect storm! I could eat anything I wanted and use swimming as a way to cover it up!

My College Years

High School was a blast! I did water polo as well and by 15 I was basically training year round. As a result, I started getting noticed by a few local colleges and by 2002, I headed to Carthage College a D3 program that trains like a D1. I’m talking 400 abs a day, 4 hours of swimming, and weight training 6 days a week. The Fat Kid is dead… right? I mean, just look at me.

Seriously, I am not kidding, LOOK..

Sexy RJ Circa 2005

As you can imagine, I could care less about what I ate. I mean I was downing about 4,000 calories a day and looked like a damn Ken Doll! Take THAT fat kid! And trust me, I took full advantage of looking this good = )

Fast Forward: Post Graduation

Soon after my last race as a college swimmer, I would quickly realize that I could no longer sustain the high calorie diet that I was used to. I mean, I still ordered large pizza’s and drank like a fish, after all I was a skinny kid, right? WRONG… Fat Kid came back from hibernation and found a spot on the couch… ugh…

Over the last few years, I have basically done everything I could to return to form. I did Body-4-Life and had amazing results, however, I would slingshot to my heaviest I have ever been in my life. The pattern goes a bit like this: April-November work out hard, eat right, and look great. Then late November-February I gain it all back. This has happened every year since graduating back in 2006.

This is my standard look around Winter:

Fatty Xmas 2010

Now here is me only a few months later:

April 2011

Not bad eh? By April I had lost about 15 pounds since that dreadful pic of me during Christmas. This past year was different. I ate completely different, even did the vegan thing for a while, and by October/November, I believed I would skip winter depression and stick to the regimen!

Buuuuuuuut, wouldn’t you know, soon after Thanksgiving, BOOM winter hits and its Yo-Yo and Fat Kid all over again. Shitty.

Today

Here is me again, this time in April of 2012, almost 15 pounds over from a year ago:

Pre-P90x

I believe I am closer than ever with coming to grips with my childhood obesity and my fathers. I have come to terms that I will always love to eat. Yet instead of reaching for something salty and fried, I have LEARNED to love veggies and raw foods more than burritos, burgers, and pizza. While I still have my moments of weakness, I do not let them get out of hand.

Why P90x?

As any other athlete can attest, it’s not easy doing anything by yourself. Luckily i have a training partner and the workouts are scheduled and structured for you. The challenge is not the work itself, it’s mostly sticking to the process. I actually love doing challenging workouts, always have, and this is no exception.

My problem is not the physical activity as much as it is my relationship with food. p90x, just like any other workout you do for 12 weeks, will have a positive effect on my appearance. However, more than ever I am truly committed to changing my mind as well as my body.

I hope that by sharing this I can help and inspire you to do the same. The road has not been easy, but I know what I am dealing with and what I must do to find a positive rhythm.

Stay tunned as I will post weekly updates on this blog regarding everything I eat and do to stay healthy!

Welcome to my world! I am Roberto Jorda-Cid, lets chat!

Where do I begin? Oh That’s Right, I’m Awesome.

I have been attempting to find my path for the last few years. needless to say, College did not prepare me for real world. I mean, let’s look at the facts, I have a standard degree, which I incurred 30K in student loans and the only real work out there are sales jobs.

At this point I have started 3 different businesses, 4 websites, and I have had a number of sales positions at reputable companies around the City.However, I am still where i started 5 years ago… Unhappy and unfulfilled. So what do i do about it? Well, what I have always done, suck it up and keep trucking! I mean, I have been told so many times over the years how successful I will be, and how smart I am, and how great everything I do is, but not one of them told me “lets work together” or “lets get you paid”. So is all of it b.s? Maybe it is my perception of reality. Am I great? I know I am, but I want to show the world I am.

Most recently and what looks to be my future, I am doing internet marketing simply because it comes natural to me and I absolutely love it. My problem at this point is not learning, its making it my life! How do I go from here to there in under 1 year?

That is where this blog comes in handy. I read the book, “The Education of Millionaires” by Michael Eisberg and I decided to start this blog. I will be showing you what I am about, what I believe in and how I get things done.