Gym, steam bath, the whole works

At least twice a year, I get to stay in a nice hotel whether locally or abroad. Thanks to my job, of course.

Whenever I’m at a hotel with a gym facility, I will make a special effort to wake up early to spend maybe 20 minutes on the treadmill and another 20 on the elliptical machine. When I get to do this, I’m usually pretty pleased with myself and contented just to head back to my room to shower.

I don’t know why but it never occurred to me before to spend a little more time at the steam room, sauna or even the jacuzzi — although these facilities are provided at most 4-star hotels and above.

But this morning after I hopped off the elliptical to grab a glass of water [I was staying at KLIA Pan Pacific], I chatted with head judge of the competition I covered yesterday and he said that he was going to the sauna room later.

That gave me an idea. After gym, I got a locker key, stuffed my sweaty clothes and shoes in there and head to the steam room, partly because some teachers had dominated the jacuzzi and I didn’t know how to work the sauna room.

The steam room had steam coming from this funnel and all I had to do was close the glass door to trap the steam. I stayed in there for some 15 minutes, until I was sure that every pore on my body was properly open LOL.

When I got back to my room, I felt like I didn’t need a shower. But of course I did. I had to wash my hair after all.

I don’t know how many calories I melted off but I thought it didn’t matter. What mattered was that I gave my heart and body a good workout and felt great afterward.

The treadmill in the hotel gym has a preset 12-minute walk/jog interval option. I chose Level 3 and it turned out to be just the right level for me. I was walking at 4.x (which felt more like a 5.5 back at the office gym), and running at 6.x (akin to a 7.0 jog at the office gym).

Since I didn’t have my iPod with me, I had to rely on other methods to keep me moving, especially when I was jogging. So I chanted positive messages like “I’m healthy, I’m confident, I’m beautiful, I’m sexy, I’m strong, I’m dependable, etc”. It sounds cheesy but it worked. I think it worked even better than singing a favourite tune. The 12 minutes went by effortlessly.

So I was thinking of getting the office gym instructor to teach me how to programme such a interval walk/jog programme on the treadmill. Intervals or short circuits were the secret to my rapid weight loss programme last year.

My Nov horoscope says that I should pay close attention to my health and well-being this month onwards because I’ll be so in demand that it’s easy to put off exercise, eating right, basically valuable “me” time just to strike things off my to-do list.

I don’t know if I’ll go to the gym all that often but I’ll definitely make an effort to slot in more exercise DVD time at home, especially before getting ready for work. I’ve already included exercise in my to-do list. I just need to give it the same importance as I do other things on that list.

Which reminds me, I have to check my notebook to-do list. I can’t function without it these days!

 

Motivation… where art thou?

I was hoping that the fasting month in September 09 would help me lose some weight. After all, fasting means eating only twice a day and eating very little at that.

I did eat very little but the scale still refused to budge from 65kg.

But then I got sick with chicken pox and within days, I lose about 4kgs. So for about 2 weeks now the scale has been showing me 60.5kg. I checked to see whether the scale was broken but it’s not. So, I guess I have lost weight.

I can see it from my face; the way my cheeks are less puffy and my skin is clearer. Ironic really because I hardly bathed when I was in my quarantine period and didn’t wash my face with any cleanser, safe for water and a wash cloth.

But I guess it had to do more with my diet at the time, I didn’t eat much because there wasn’t a lot of things that I could eat – because of the food restriction. I didn’t really have an appetite then. I only ate about once a day – lunch.

Now, I’m back at work and my appetite is back with a vengeance. But I’m not panicking. I just make sure that I eat more vegetables and less rice. Oh, I also make sure that I drink more plain water. Just to flush out the toxins from my body.

What I haven’t got round to doing, though, is exercising. I keep putting it off. I’m getting quite good at procrastinating, I have to tell you. I hardly feel guilty about it.

I have to say that my problem with concentrating and functioning on auto-pilot back in August (see previous entry) hasn’t gone away. I think I have to go back to doing lists. Because that’s the only way for me to wake up from the ignorant bliss that I don’t have a to-do list to tend to. Having a list gives me a reality check that “hey, I have to use my precious time more meaningfully”.

Well, I’m off to penning down my list of to-dos. Wish me luck!

Time to take charge

I cringe to read that the last entry I wrote was in April 09 (about four months ago). That only means that I have been busy (I have) and I have not been exercising (I haven’t).

I can assure you that I have gained weight since I last wrote in here.

For some reason, I haven’t been in much control of my life and schedule this year. Sure, I got a lot of work done but I can’t say the same about my personal life.

No troubles in paradise but I can’t say for sure that I have been doing many things that I would be proud of and remember this year.

So I think I need to get my act together again. One way of doing that is doing something good for my health.

I read that people who exercise have better control of their lives. They manage their time better probably because they are more focused and alert. I, on the other hand, have pretty much been functioning on auto pilot, day in and day out.

I need to an exercise regime that is so easy and mindless that I don’t even have to think about it. Short of going for a run — actually having to step out of the front door — I decided to bring my workout home.

And what could be more fun, exhilarating and heart-pumping than skipping rope?

I don’t even have to do 10 jumps before I get red in the face and panting like I’m about to pass out. But that’s the beauty in it. If I skip slow, the rope will snag. But if I skip fast, I’m literally “floating” and getting a really good cardiovascular workout.

I bought a rope with a counter so that I can keep track of how jumps  I have made. For the time being, I try to jump 300 times within 15 minutes. I find that skipping to a kiddish tune sung in my head helps take my mind of how close I am to keeling over

My goal is to do it twice a day — before I start and end the day. That means, I do 600 skips and get a good workout for my heart and stamina.

I hope that this little daily dose of exercise will help trim the fats around my waist and stomach as well as reduce the jiggle from my arms and thighs in the long-run.

Well, that’s it for now. My calves are killing me from skipping but that’s just a reminder that at least some muscles in my body are getting a good shaping.

Totally doing it again tomorrow before showering. What a great way to start the day, huh?

Sleep, it’s good for you

Nothing much has changed in terms of my super-busy schedule in the last few days. I’m still busy and unable to spare even an hour to have a run at the gym. At work, I’m basically going from one task to another.

However, I have been able to sneak a little “gym” time at home. For two days straight, I was able to follow at least 20 minutes of an exercise DVD. Sure these are more of sculpting classes rather than cardio sessions but as the saying goes, beggars can’t be choosers. So, right now something is better than nothing.

So, I am back to doing my Denise Austin Hit The Spot Pilates and 10-minute Solution Yoga (with instructor Lara Hudson) two days in a row. I’m so rusty that the Pilates video left me wiped out. I actually fell asleep at 10pm after doing the video. Doing yoga again feels really good for my entire body. As I slowly ease into my exercise regime again, I really don’t feel like lifting weights (not even free weights -like dumbells), so doing yoga poses like the cobra and the plank has been very good for my arms, which really needs some toning up.

I haven’t done any “proper” exercises yet today but cleaning up the room for a total of 5 hours left me drenched in sweat. It must have been the heat but I think I also exerted myself a little and burnt some calories in the process. But yoga “class” before bed sounds like a good idea to me.

Sleeping of sleep, after reading this interesting article in Glamour UK May 09 issue (Katie Holmes on the cover), I was very motivated to get my 8 hours of sleep. Apparently, getting that much sleep has helped a group of women in the UK lose up to 15lbs — without even adding an exercise regime or going on a low-fat diet.

It seems that getting enough sleep gives the body enough energy that it stops it from craving the wrong food (for energy). In fact, it energises the body enough for it to WANT to eat healthily, get moving and do something with the newfound energy.

I don’t know if this is a hoax or for real but I figured that I won’t lose anything trying this “revolutionary idea”. If I get enough sleep, I may not be able to tune in to my favourite shows or have to limit my Internet surfing time. But you know what? We don’t really need those things.

Which would you choose? A clear mind and an abundance of energy to tackle everyday problems because we’ve had enough sleep or watch late night tv and wish we had the actress’ body?

I think I’ll chose the pillow and bed, thank you very much!

And if I do lose weight from the sleep then I don’t have to wish I had another person’s fit body. I would HAVE that fit body. I think that’s a good enough reason to get that 8 hours of sleep, don’t you?

My week so far

Due to my super-busy schedule, I missed a couple of day’s of exercise. But that’s okay because I’m keeping myself active and eating better as well as drinking more plain water.

I also started implementing the eating healthy tip I read in Self magazine. Most people take a lot of carb and small servings of vegetables and/or protein. But Self advises carb-lovers to simply reverse the portion. More vegetables and less carb.

What I’ve done so far is pile on vegetables (two servings), take rice the size of a small cup  and have a piece of whatever protein-source that I want – like chicken, meat or fish. I find that by doing this, I feel full but not bloated or stuffed.

The tricky part is implementing this at every meal. I should have fiber for breakfast but the cafeteria does not serve cereals. Neither does it serve vegetables or fruits for breakfast. So far, I have only succeeded in keeping to my “diet” at lunch time buffet. But at least I try and that’s what matters.

Here’s to a more structured week next week and more opportunities for me to take time out to exercise! I have a good feeling about next week already!!

En route to a happier me

After feeling tired of feeling sorry for myself and frustrated with how the pudgier me looked, I decided that enough was enough and that it was time for a change.

Today, after literally six months of being sedentary and not really caring for exercise and what I ate, I decided to make time for the gym again.

I made sure I had a big enough breakfast to last me until lunch. By lunch time, I went for a 20-minute walk/jog interval on the treadmill. My plan was to take it easy. In fact, I didn’t plan to sweat at all. I didn’t want to have to shower at the office.  But I wasn’t satisfied with brisk walking. I needed to pick up speed and start jogging. So I did even though it made me sweat and I had to shower.

But I’m glad I went to the gym today. The 20-minute session left me feeling energised throughout the day. In fact, I didn’t feel hungry at all. But at 4pm, I forced myself to have some food so that I won’t provoke my gastro-intestinal issue.

But I wasn’t really hungry for dinner, so I decided to skip it tonight. But tomorrow, I have to have a good breakfast because I know I will wake up famished.

Anyway, I weighed myself and was surprised to see that I’m only 60kg. It’s amazing how heavy I feel — even at a mere 60kg — with all the excess fat that I carry with me.  So it’s true that feeling good really has little to do with  what the number on the scale shows. I felt like crap even at 60kg (130+ lbs) because I have all these folds (excess fat) as a result of poor eating habits and lack of exercise.

Right now, I’m just happy that I have the time to go for a quick run. I don’ t want to be a gym rat/slave to the gym BUT by since I have only 20 minutes to spare for exercise at a given time, I have to keep it regular. I suppose 20 minutes a day at the gym is alright considering that I can fit it into my lunch hour.

I hope that by the time I get my clothes from Cososo in mid-May, I wouldn’t have to worry about whether or not they will fit me. By then, I hope that my stomach will be less bloated, my arms more defined and my thighs more sculpted. I have plenty of time from now until mid-May.

Anyway, I’m glad my mood is better already. I have deadlines to meet but I know that the short workout will do me good — at least, in terms of handling the stress. I don’t want my life to be just about work and more work. I want to keep it balanced.

After my exercise routine, I want to work on my spiritual side and start praying regularly. I’ll take it one step at a time. One step at a time.

Here we go again!

After feeling totally crap about myself last night and then falling asleep at 9pm, I naturally woke up early this morning. I had a looong look at all my fitness magazines and decided to get off my butt and do something.

So, I followed the so-called easy 10-minute exercise I found on Fitness magazine but only managed to do half of the recommended exercise before needing to go to the toilet and feeling like I was going to throw up. My heart raced so fast that I knew I needed to lie down immediately or risk passing out in the toilet.

OMG.. I was THAT unfit and out of shape!

But who can blame me? I had seen the signs — I get out of breath just taking a few flights of stairs and I had not been regularly exercising since October 08. This is already April 09 and that means I have been sedentary for SIX months. No wonder I’m so out of shape!

But after my short bout of exercise and nap, I feel energised and not so crappy about myself.

It hurts to see recent pictures of myself looking exactly like I did in mid 07. I was tubby then. All you could see of me then was my double chin. Sedih ok!

But it’s okay. I had gained weight in the past six month thanks to a sedentary lifestyle. But I can change all that, even if it takes another six months. If I do half an hour of exercise every day and control my food portion, I know I can slim down before I even realise it.

I know I’m busier these days at work. So busy that the day passes by without my realising it. But I have to make time. I just have to. If not during the weekend, I have to steal some time on week days.

I have to say that I actually feel like I could resume the second half of the exercise that I did earlier. Maybe I will. Right after this.

Struggle

My stamina is really bad these days.

Running a 10-minute mile is such a struggle and my feet hurts when I brisk walk. That forces me to walk slower. How am I going to make any improvements lah like this?

I was in pain for the most part but I forced myself to run two full songs. At least I managed to burn 280 calories and reach 2.8 miles. That’s better than nothing. Hope I’ll do better next week.

Low reps, heavy free weights

Second day at the gym, I only did 30 minutes of cardio. I managed to do about 3 miles and burned 340 calories. I ran two full songs. I think that’s quite good.

Plus, I did some strength training. Three sets of squats (12 reps), low reps-heavy free weights for my shoulders and 3 sets (10 reps) of crunches on an exercise ball. Oklah tu.

It’s late. I better shower and sembahyang before bed. Later!

And the journey begins

As promised, here is my new blog. This is where I will chronicle my weight-loss (and more importantly weight-management) journey. But no promises that it will be a highly exciting one.

For starters, I don’t have THAT much to lose. I mean, I’m not obese. I didn’t lose half of my former self.

Some people may be very outraged, or worse, offended if I were to say I’m fat (although often times I do ‘feel’ fat) because I’m not. I’m Just chubby. For a five footer and weighing 58kg, I’m not fat. But I’m not thin either. Some would say that my figure is “just nice”. Well, according to my BMI, I am “just nice”.

But my body could be firmer and leaner. I would love to see more of my neck instead of my double chin when I look at the mirror. And I should strive for a healthier heart and better bone density. Which is why I have been regularly going to the gym at work since the past year (August 07).

My goal is to keep my weight at (ideally) 55kg. I’ve been there before (it was about four months or so ago) and it felt rather good. My stomach looked flat, the fat roll was smaller and my clothes somehow fit me better. But I have since gained weight, thanks to mindless munching and drinking soft drinks during puasa and the first week of Syawal. Instead of losing weight, I gained some. I didn’t have to stand on a weighing machine to know that.

But nothing can prepare me for what the scale was showing me when I went to a family friend’s house and used their scale on Sunday. I nearly fell of the thing when I saw that the needle was pointing too closely to 60kg.

“Tak boleh jadi ni,” (this can’t be happening) I thought to myself.

So I duly went to the gym yesterday. I knew better than to push myself too fast too soon. So, I mostly brisk-walked to the sounds of NKOTB (new and old songs). Occasionally I sneaked in a jog. I wished my heart rate had gone to 170 but I only managed 150. Never mind. Not too much too soon.

But I’m sure the next time I do jog more, it will be managable. Thanks to my new Nike Air Pegasus, that is. I was surprised that I felt light on my feet wearing those running shoes.  I actually tried jogging on speed 8 and still felt alright. So that’s good news.

I didn’t manage to do any strength training because my husband had already called and said that he wanted to head home. But that’s okay because I managed to do 4+ miles and burn 340+ calories. Not bad for a run/walk after more than a four-week hiatus

Today, I decided to stay away from the gym and just take it easy. I’ll start again tomorrow.

Aside from resuming gym, I need to go back to my pre-puasa habits: drink more water, take more fruits and veggies and control portions. I have been taking too much carbohydrate since puasa. Carbs is good but I need more protein for energy. So that means more fish, chicken and beef for me.

I promised myself that I’ll “hit the ground running” in all aspects of my life the day I came back to work. I don’t think I have been very focused at work these two days (darn you FB!). Ah well…I’ll start again tomorrow.