Today we’d like to introduce you to Luz Maria Valdez.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
As a young girl growing up in a Mexican American household, I was never taught portion control within day-to-day meals or any foods or how to maintain a balanced diet. Because at that time I didn’t know any better, I was accustomed to a poor diet high in carbs, saturated fats, sugars, sodium & etc, such as chips, candy, soda,tortillas & rice on almost a daily basis. As a result in my teen years I was very overweight, I struggled with a negative body image, depression & anxiety & unfortunately this lead me to a path of developing eating disorders. The struggle continued into my adulthood where my weight fluctuated, especially more so after I gave birth to my first daughter; my highest weight was 220 lbs at 18 years old.
Forwarding to a few years later, after I gave birth to my second daughter, I was battling depression & relapsed into my eating disorder which I in recent years I had been able to control. I felt like my life was spiraling out of control & I had no one to turn to. At this point, it was imperative that I make a life-changing decision, I need to get healthy, both mentally & physically & that was only going to happen when I learned how to properly nourish my body. Had I not done so I would have pushed my body to damage itself with my poor eating habits & the negative effects that eating disorders can cause to a body internally. I had my two daughters who depended on me as a mother & a role model so I chose to drastically change my lifestyle all of our futures -to ensure we would have one together.
My journey began as I experimented with diet gimmicks & quick weight-loss products, there is a mass market of so many pills & shakes that promise a quick fix that I was even quicker drawn to. I was being influenced by people who offered me these products & fast diets, that it just seemed that the easy way was the right way. With trial I soon I realized that these methods were just not working & definitely not what my body needed! I was feeling restricted & deprived, it was more than anything triggering my eating disorders. I then decided to educate myself in nutrition & personal training to learn more about how my body worked & how nutritional intake affects us. I received my certification in personal training & Fitness Nutrition Specialist through the NFPT.
I soon started personal training & boot camp classes out of a small gym in Pleasant Grove, TX. A small group of ladies & I decided to start a weight loss challenge; they asked me to help them learn how to cook healthy meals & assist with meal-prep so we got together each week & I helped prepare their meals. After a few weeks, people started noticing the results our small group was achieving, they reached out to me asking if I could provide a meal prepping service for them. Due to many people’s busy lifestyle, they don’t have the time to cook for themselves & didn’t know how to create the proper portions for each meal. That’s how I began meal prepping for busy & everyday people who want to eat healthy but don’t know how or where to begin & want to feel better with the choices that they make. I have now been doing this for almost four years & I love it! Throughout these years I’ve learned so much, I learn each day & still believe I have so much more to learn as I continue to grow with my business.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
If I didn’t have any of the personal struggles I’ve had to face I wouldn’t be where I am today. At the time I made the decision to change my lifestyle, I was dealing with my partner’s infidelity. I felt I was at the lowest point in my life as a woman, a wife, mentally, emotionally & ultimately physically as well. Pulling myself out of that dark place was very difficult, but I had to for my daughters & for my own well-being. I wanted my daughters to know that they could overcome anything no matter the circumstances & be strong & independent women overall. When I ended my relationship, living in a city where I had no family as I uprooted from Florida with the father of my daughters to TX, I had no support & had not yet establishing my business fully; I took a big leap of faith to pursue this business full-time. Having then to take on the role of a single mother, the obstacles I had to face were great, I didn’t have anyone to count on for my daughters other than myself, their father was not involved; I had to bring them along when I instructed my classes & as I cooked & deliver meals, it was very difficult. Despite the struggles, I was able to keep myself in a positive mindset & block out the pain, this was my way of coping & hiding from the negativity. I had the choice to give up & fall back into a dark place full of sadness, defeat & self-pity, but I focused on working on myself mentally, physically & pushed towards what my daughters deserved & the success of which I knew I was capable of as a businesswoman & a mother.
Please tell us about Healthy 365 Meals.
Let’s start with the name “Healthy 365 Meals” it has a meaning, my older sister actually helped me come up with it. We were knew that choosing to eat healthy was not a fad, it needed to be a lifestyle change, so that means it needed to be done every day of the year = eat healthy 365 days. That is the core message I want to emit to my clients so that they live a healthier life each & every day. I offer delicious healthy portion controlled meals that are made fresh each week. My menu consists of 5 different meals & it changes weekly, I also cater to unique diet structures & specialty requests. I also understand the struggle of meal prepping & getting bored mid-week with the same meals & no longer enjoying the meal; I don’t want my clients to get off track because of this & make poor choices due to lack of flavorful options. I aim & love being able to create meal plans that help my clients enjoy & look forward to eating each meal & not feel like choosing to live a healthy lifestyle means that meals have to be bland & boring!
I also coach client to make better food choices when they are not eating my meals as they can be faced with not having a meal prep on hand at times & still stay focused at a fast food place, while having dinner with family at a restaurant, or just with everyday foods & snacks. Let’s face it if you’re not prepared & knowledgeable in what a healthy choice in food is, you’re not going to do it well & regress to unhealthy habits. Having the knowledge of the options you have will make you feel confident in what you put into your body & not feel as if you’re restricting yourself or missing out on living because your trying to “live a healthier life”. It is a very important thing to me that my clients gain the knowledge & confidence to not feel this is a burden & punishment. I think that one thing that sets me apart from others is t that my goal is to teach my clients to be independent & responsible with the foods they consume daily to enable them to live a better lifestyle & not have to depend on my meals or some weight-loss product.
I love prepping my meals, it’s not an easy task, but hearing the feedback from my clients is what I am most proud of & it makes it worth all the struggles & scarifies. It makes me truly happy when my client’s tell me how excited they are that they are eating better on their own & tell me about times they’ve made better choices with big smile on their face & how it wasn’t as bad as they thought. When they comprehend that it’s a lifestyle & that it takes time to make alter some habits & make the changes. You will stumble along the way, but having the dedication to try again & not give up is essential because it’s your life & it depends on the choices that you make. I believe in the old saying, “Old habits die hard”, but I also promise the new ones you’ll learn are well worth it!
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I can honestly say I would not do anything differently, if I didn’t make mistakes & learned from the bad moments, I would not have grown into the woman I am now, strong, confident, healthy & motivated. I am a strong believer in that what is meant to be will be & what is not, simply won’t. I am excited to continue to grow & learn from the lessons to come. “To everything there is a season, & a time to every purpose under heaven.” Ecclesiastes 3:1
Pricing:
- Meals $7.50-9.00
Contact Info:
- Phone: (469)630-4284
- Instagram: healthy_365_meals
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