GreySneakers Diaries

Many friends asked what keeps me sticking to my gym routine and the fact that many of my friends have terminated their gym membership made some people wonder why I haven't give up yet. Although I slacked a few times and thinking about it I think I'd slack at least twice a year. Once during puasa/raya and then once again during year end period (Nov-Dec). It's a recognizable pattern now so hopefully next year I'll have a Plan to ensure I don't slack. I don't have many tips on motivating myself to work out. So, in this entry I'll share with you some of the things that really helped especially when I was down and lost interested to exercise. Good music I researched, borrowed, bought, copied songs that can be used for my cardio sessions. Now that I'm more into running, I Google suitable playlists. Sometimes, I go through the old CDs I keep in some forgotten boxes in the house. With iTunes Genius, now it's easier to group songs and create playlists. M...

Syawal is not completely over yet in this country but I've declared end of celebration (for me) after the 5th of Syawal. I still visit friends and relatives but I kept on reminding myself that festive mood has been turned off, just to discourage me from eating too much at those houses. 'Open house' is a term used widely in Malaysia for the usually small feast organized by families/corporate organization/school/departments/ministries so that their friends/relatives/work colleagues/customers/vendors would come and celebrate Syawal. Since eating is the favorite past time in this country, Open Houses are very popular and people will try their best to attend each invitation. This year I decided to only attend a few Open Houses: my mom's, my customers' and my vendors'. It's a tough thing to do as I had to apologize profusely to those who invited me. Well, that's one of the sacrifices I had to do to make sure I don't spoil my calorie intake plan. If I...

.. and I don't have the energy to work out at the gym during Ramadhan. Fasting in this hot weather is very challenging for me. Although working in a fully air conditioned office, once I hit the road to travel to/from work the sun really drained my energy. The children's and my lips cracked and bleed yesterday. On some days, Shawqi looked rather dehydrated but continued fasting. He broke his fast at 6pm last week because he couldn't stand it. I'm not going to force him to complete his fast if his body cannot take it. He's only 8. However, something is quite different this Ramadhan. I managed to control my hunger. At a certain hour of the day I could still feel the pang of hunger but it's manageable. Usually, my lips would turn really pale at 5pm and I'd start suffering from gastritis after the 4th day. I think I have to thank BLA for this improvement. I never practiced portion control or monitored calorie intake before. Now that I've learned the tricks,...

Muslims are blessed with a very clear guideline on living a good and healthy life. Every year we have one month to give the digestion system a good rest during the day time. It’s the fasting month – our Ramadhan. Usually I didn’t go to gym during Ramadhan, I always made a point to go to the front desk and requested for my membership to be frozen for the whole month. However, this year I totally forgotten about it. So, in order to avoid feeling guilty for paying the gym for nothing this month, I’m going to try doing some light workout in the morning. This might sound quite ambitious, but I think I will have the energy in the morning to at least do brisk walking on the treadmill and then some cycling. One of my colleagues plans to workout right before the break fast time, so that she could replenish everything soon after. I might do that too if I don’t have to go back early and prepare (or buy) meals for break fast. The biggest culprit during Ramadhan is the bazaar. They can be found eve...

I should be feeling very guilty right now for I have been slacking in my diet and exercise program for the past 10 days. It started with a 4 days training where the organizer served us deliciously sinful food 5 times a days between 8.30am to 5.30pm. And then at night, I still cooked and had dinner with my family. I tried not to eat much during the day but with 5 meals during day time, I got too tired to count the calories so I just had whatever looked delicious enough. During the 4 days, I didn't go to gym as the training was held in KL. Driving back from KL was challenging enough so going to FF IOI Mall was out of question. By the time I reached home, I was too tired to move a muscle and it was drizzling most of the days. So, couldn't take the baby out for a stroll. I just had a short nap and woke up for bath, prayers and prepared dinner. I always felt exhausted during trainings. The same thing happened during my Uni days. I was always too tired, perhaps it was mental tire...

I received this from Srikandi egroup and loved it so much. This is good for all women's mental health. Girlie Wisdom!    1. A friend of mine confused her Valium with her birth control pills... she has 14 kids but she doesn't really care..    2. One of life's mysteries is how a 2-pound box of chocolates can make a woman gain 5 lbs.   3. My mind not only wanders, it sometimes leaves completely.   4 . The best way to forget your troubles is to wear tight shoes.    5. The nice part about living in a small town is that when you don't know what you are doing, someone else does.    6. The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight, because by then your body and your fat are really good friends..   7. Just when I was getting used to yesterday, along came today...    8. Sometimes I think I understand everything, and then I regain consciousness.   9. I gave up jogging for my health when my thighs kept rubbing together an...

I've sort of given up using the Biggest Loser club website as the access has been very poor for the last few months. Usually it took me about 10 minutes just to update what I've eaten for a day. I don't know why the website performance dropped so suddenly. Perhaps it's being hosted elsewhere, and the network infrastructure there sucks, well  I don't know. However, now that I've purchased the Nike + Sportband, I'm fully utilizing Nikeplus website to track my running. Although I'm not able to track the rest of the cardio and resistance training I' doing, I think this is good enough. I chose one program from the Nikeplus coach and try to follow as close as I can. Actually I haven't ran much. I tried my best to run at least twice a week, depending on my work schedule. Lately I've been having many late afternoon meetings that usually dragged until 6 or 6.30pm. So, there goes my workout time slot. I have to admit that I do envy people who can...

What does the instructor always tells you? Push your limit. Prevent injury. Those two are the often heard whenever you attend Group Classes (or if you watch too many Biggest Loser  episodes..) These days I try to push my limits. From running at 7.0 speed to 8.0 to 8.5 and sometimes 9.0. I also increased the weight for resistance training. For abdominal crunches I have also increased from 20 to 25kg. Everything was going okay. My body could keep up with the challenge. Although sometimes, more muscles became sore. Well these are the (muscles) that have turned into MUSCLES, I guess. Then suddenly on Tuesday, I decided it's about time to increase to 30kg (for abdominal crunches). I set the weight, set my position right. Towel checked. iPod checked. Favorite rock song checked. I was so ready, took a normal breath and pulled. Then I felt something snapped in my tummy. The left side of my C-sect incision. I exhaled, returned to sitting position and tried to relax. After a minute I tr...

Yup, I am dead serious about this. I am planning to become a runner by the end of the year. Might not be a marathon runner. But quite a serious runner. I want to explore country roads, hills, valleys, riverbanks and not forgetting the treadmill and tracks. I want to run more often and I want to run further and faster. I am seriously serious, I am tracking my run. As a start, here's some statistics: I am not that disciplined yet, but someday I know I'll be there. I wish myself a lot of luck and health and energy.

It has been a yo-yo diet and not much work out since mid March 2010. That was after I fired the maid and my baby had a serious case of diarrhea. I took a few days off work to take care of him at the hospital. It took more than 9 days for things to return to normal. After that, I tried going to the gym according to my program but too bad, the new contra flow lane opened at LDP was causing a whole new mess - it took me 50 minutes to drive from SJ to IOI. The nearest U-turn has been closed and I have to take the third U-turn which cost me an additional 20 minutes. I've been missing the 5.45pm classes and resorted to doing cardio/weight/resistance on my own. There are days when I could join the 5.45pm classes at FF WC (now have moved to Empire) but I always prefer IOI for its space and it would only take me roughly 10 minutes to reach home from there. So I've been slacking. Have only been working out once or twice a week. Usually the total calories burned was around 200 - 300, ...

When I started going to the gym almost 5 years ago I couldn't run. I climbed the stairs to my office lobby with great difficulty and couldn't run at all. My right knee was giving me problems beside having to carry such a heavy body weight. I could do the crosstrainer, stationary bikes, elliptical and stepper at the gym but I couldn't even jog on the treadmill. When I joined GX classes, the instructor always reminded me to do the 'options'. I.e no jumping, no hopping and no quick lunges. After about 6 months of regular exercise I tried running but my joints were still not good enough. I started using guards to protect them. I could jog for a few minutes after about a year or so. My joints got stronger but I started to feel breathless after 3 minutes of slow jog. I knew I was still not fit enough to run. The fact is I was never a runner. Back in high school, I participated in the 100m and 400m races because they were compulsory. I also participated in the annual ...

.... one size!!! Hooray!!!!!! Aaaah..... I went to collect my renewed Ms Read card last week and while the sales assistant was searching for my card, I picked up a few skirts and blouses. When I handed the clothes over to another sales assistant for her to take them off the hangers she told me, 'I don't think you wear this size.' I checked the size of each cloth again, 'Yes, this is my size....' I was so sure because I have been wearing size X for like 4 years now. In 2005 I was still wearing size X+1. I managed to drop 1 dress size after one year of exercising (although not that regularly) at the gym. The sales assistant disappeared for awhile and came back with the same designs of clothes which I took earlier but all of them were size X-1. She insisted that I tried them on. I was rather excited and entered the changing room with 4 blouses and 4 skirts. Usually we are only allowed to try out 3 pieces of clothes at one go, right? But at Ms Read they're...

On Thursday, two male work colleagues told me that I looked like I've lost some weight. Guy #1 asked what I've done. I simply told him that I've been taking lighter breakfast and eat home-cooked food for dinner. He didn't believe me. Guy #2 asked whether I've been seriously working out. Well, it's a widely known fact that I used to be a 'moody' gym-goer. I only worked out when I was really in the mood. I told him the same thing about the breakfast. It's true, I have been having cereal with milk for breakfast. I bought one packet everyweek. The cereal I chose was a mix of nut, fruit, seed and oat and it's low in sugar content. Usually I took half a cup every morning and it made me feel full until about 11 a.m. Then it's already time for my morning snack. These days I stock up some healthy biscuits in my drawer as I've sworn to myself that I won't have those oily, salty chips for snacking anymore. Lunch time is the only time when I c...

I started losing hair when the baby was 2 months old. Usually it only happened on the 4th or 5th months but this time it was earlier. It's probably caused by some hormones prescribed by the gynae. After a month my hair was getting really thin, I looked like someone who just had a few rounds of chemo. I was afraid to comb my hair let alone going for a wash at my usual hair salon. The bedroom floor was littered with my hair, my eldest son was afraid to come near my bed. Every morning, when I woke up I could feel strands of hair sliding and gliding on my back and arms. I just stared at them with mixed emotions. Luckily I had a maid then, so I didn't have to spend a lot of time in the kitchen to prepare food. At the rate my hair was falling, I couldn't even guarantee I could prepare tea for the family. Nobody would want to touch the food if I were to prepare dinner, I think. When my baby was 6 months old I noticed my hair has grown back, replacing those I lost earlier. It ca...

I get angry easily. Even the smallest thing irritates me. I have been blowing horns while driving without second thoughts especially when I have to deal with ignorant drivers. A few colleagues have been receiving nasty emails from me. I even removed a few people from my Facebook friends list. This is not PMS, this is the unstable emotional condition of a woman after childbirth. My baby turns 6 months this week but I must say that my hormone levels have not stabilized yet. The sudden drop of some hormones after childbirth can cause noticeable changes on a woman's body. The skin becomes dry, massive hair fall on the third month (and we'll continue to lose a lot more hair for the next 6 months or so), unexplainable mood swing (e.g suddenly crying - even when we're not watching Hindi movie/Sinetron/Cerekarama). Having to provide undivided attention to the baby is the main factor ( when combined with the unstable hormone level) that can cause serious post-partum depression. A...

The coolest tool cum strongest weapon in The Biggest Loser Club has got to be the Diary. It's where I have to write down (or in this case, search-scroll down-choose) everything I eat, drink and the exercises I do on that particular day. It's kinda user friendly although quite tedious at times, especially when the food I took was not listed in the system. Based on the entry, the system will calculate the total of calorie intake and how much we managed to burn (plus metabolism). My calorie plan for a day is 1700. So, I have to be wise to plan my daily menu. At the beginning of the week I'll get my weekly menu plan as well as the shopping list. Previously I thought I was already quite good at eating plan e.g this afternoon I'll have Sakae sushi, tonight I'll have KFC. But now, I have to plan way ahead - about 7 days in advanced actually. I also have to be wise at getting substitute especially when I have to eat out instead of having my meals homecooked. The target ...

...and the sacrifices I have to make in order to live healthier (and have that hot bod): less makan-makan session with the gossip girls that translates to lesser gossip sessions...*sigh* no more baking at home. No more choc chip muffin. No more cashew nut cookies. Because if I bake, I will eat... and when I start to eat it will not be just a few pieces... shouldn't stock coconut milk in the pantry. I used to have at least 12 boxes kept in the kitchen cabinet but now limiting to 3. should't stock instant noodles at home. Argh... no more late night maggi session with the boys. So far they're not complaining but I'm sure in a week's time I'll be maggi deprived. eat vege. I hate them, but now I have to learn on how to love them. But still..... *yucky!!* avoid mamak. Oh god, my social calendar is suffering. avoid Pakcik Nasik Lemak. Well, it's been 4 weeks since I last bought nasik lemak and kuih from this pakcik. I hope he understands that I've been ...

One of the things I have to do after each weigh-in session is to take my body measurement. Particularly the waist, hip, breast, thigh and arms. The frightening statistics are keyed-in so that the BiggestLoserClub website could provide me with the progress report consisting of bar-chart, line graph and the latest Waist Hip Ratio and BMI. This week I weighed in on Wednesday and later found out that my waist was 1cm smaller. So were my arms and my hip. It's quite amazing to lose those inches only after 2 weeks of following the program. But I've done a lot, too. So, it's not really a surprise. I'd be more surprised if there was no change at all. However, I do expect some disappointment on some weeks because it's a known fact that when we participate in this kind of program it's always 2 steps forward and 1 step back. Whenever there's a back step i.e not losing any weight/inches after working your ass off the whole week, just remember that you've probably g...

Well, yeay !!!!! During my weigh-in on last Wednesday morning the (I hope) the scale was not lying when it showed I've gone down by 1kg.... well that's one Blob out of my body. Hooorayyy!!! This week my exercise plan gets more challenging as I'm going to attend a session of Body Step. Yikes. Not my favorite at all. Still haven't decided which day will be most suitable for me to go. This quarter the timetable has changed a bit and some classes I frequented are not in my preferred time slots anymore. It's going to be quite a challenge to attend classes at Menara Axis and Summit but I'll do the best I can. Anyway, I went to BodyVive class last Thursday and my oh my I was not prepared for the surprises they had for me in Release 13. Gone are the days when people thought that BodyVive was only for Makcik-makcik. This release demands a lot from me. Track 1 would remind you of BodyAttack class. A few tracks would make you feel like attending BodyPump and there...

On 6th Jan 2010 I joined BiggestLoserClub Asia. I've checked their charges a few weeks back and thought it was rather expensive. But when I found out that FF members get cheaper rates, I signed up without second thoughts. Today is my fourth day into the program and I already lost almost 1kg. Wait, don't cheer yet. The program designed for me was for gym goers and it's quite tough. The recommended exercises made me go back to the cardio machines, no matter how much I hate them. I did the cardio machines on the first day but the next day I joined the group exercise class - it was BodyPump. On the third day I also joined another group exercise class, Easy Step. It's been more than 2 years since I did Step. Couldn't remember why I hated it so much but that day my mind became clear again. During Step classes, I really need to work my big muscles and it involve a lot of body weight lifting. For a heavy woman like me, that's difficult enough. Today, my big muscles a...