GreySneakers Diaries

Bouncing back!

2011-10-25T07:05:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I'm bouncing back to the gym. After more than 2 months of not exercising (yeah, not even brisk walking), I think I've gained enough fat so it's about time to re-start gymming. I was not motivated to exercise at all after fasting month and Syawal. Although I didn't attend many open houses, the pounds were piling like nobody's business.
My work schedule was also quite tight, so we ate out a lot for the past 2 and a half months. The worst thing about eating out is that I feel obliged to finish everything on the plate. Just imagine, the normal nasi beriyani serving at the mamak can come close to 1000 kCal (for those who are counting). So, nasi beriyani plus bandung soda plus papadom can simply total up to 1400 kCal!!
Ok, that's scary when we know how low our metabolic rate is. I should be taking about 1700 kCal perday and my body (with this age) burns about 2000 kCal (if I don't exercise).
If one meal is close to 1400 kCal, 3 meals must have been about 2500 kCal if not more. With that extra 500 kCal, it's not a surprise I gained a few kg within a few months' time.
That's seriously unhealthy.
So, starting from Wednesday, 12th Oct 2011, I started working out again. It was not easy as I had to start slow. I couldn't run as I used to a few months ago. My knees were getting weaker and I was out of breath after cycling for 5 minutes. That's how unfit I was.
Just imagine, 2.5 months of not exercising can do that to my fitness level. What if I stop working out for years? What would happen to my body?
I might get a Personal Trainer this time just so that I'm more motivated and consistent.

No update means not many activities

2011-05-15T21:30:00.000-07:00

Ok, I last updated in March 2011. Since then I've only been to the gym once a week. That's how not frequent and not consistent I was. March, April and May have been really hectic. I have three concurrent projects whereby I'm actively involved in the deployments. Having a Team Leader title is not an excuse to be a generalist. There are still a lot of technical stuffs that I have to have hands on skills. Otherwise, technical certifications won't be put in my appraisal plan, right?
In April, I discovered that my BP was slightly high. Well, let's just say that it was high that the Doctor looked worried after taking the third reading that week. I was actually really frustrated. Having lived a rather healthy life for the past 3 years and cooked at home more frequent than ever and yet the BP still shot up. Even my bad cholesterol level has gone down significantly.
So, I have been on medication since April. The meds made me feel like floating and I couldn't really focus on my work. I stopped taking them for almost a week. After that, I continued with the meds and it was better, no more floating. Because of that, I'd rather go home straight from work and took a short nap before Maghrib. I told myself that I needed extra rest and sleep. I've been neglecting those two for several months.
Early last week, I went for a follow up session with the doctor. My BP has gone down to almost normal level (normal for a 37 year old woman). Although my BP was better during my pregnancy, but the reading now is considered okay and not worrying.
I guess I will start running actively next week (procrastinate.... and procrastinate some more... hehehe)

Trying Outdoor

2011-03-01T22:03:00.000-08:00

I've been doing my little runs since June 2010. So far, I've done one outdoor brisk walking session last year and yesterday I decided to run along the roads near my house.

I brisk walked for about 200 meters before started running. Firstly, it was a totally different experience than running on the treadmill in a comfortable, air conditioned gym with encouraging music and TV screens showing ASTRO programmes. I noticed that there was more stress on both of my knees, perhaps whenever I run on the treadmill it helped to lower the impact. Running against the wind was also another challenge. Usually it was not too windy in my area but yesterday, when I ran I could feel that extra effort was needed to bring my body forward. Having these extra kg on my body was another big factor. Big body, bigger friction against the wind? Haha.

I also had to be extra careful on the grassy areas as I could see piles of dog poo left there by the dog owners. Too bad our Majlis Perbandaran never thought about enforcing these people to pick whatever gold their dogs produce. I'm not racist, but somehow this made me feel that the Muslim and Malay sensitivity is being ignored by some quarters.

My runs Sep 2010 - Feb 2011: Not as frequent as I wanted

Besides that, I also realized that there were way too many cars in the neighbourhood. There were also Mat Rempits and children riding bicycles to the nearest playground. These two categories of riders were quite dangerous as they treated the road like their own. They're young, immature (and stupid), yes I knew that. But why can't their parents spend some time educating them on road safety? They're even hazardous to some people who were trying to jog in this area (like me!).

So, it was not a really pleasant experience running in my neighbourhood. I decided to go back to the treadmills at the gym where there's no Mat Rempit and dog poo.

My 2010 runs

2011-01-28T20:58:00.000-08:00

How did I fare in my running in 2010? Well, here's some statistics. Since I only started running in the middle of 2010, so these data were for 6 months period.

I was so proud to see this. I haven't ran this far since I left school. Although I need to run more frequent than just once a week, I have to be happy to stick to brisk walking on weekends. Slotting in running sessions in my currently extra busy schedule is a real challenge now. A few adjustments need to be done this year if I were to improve on my running.

My best month was July and I think I know why. We went to the UK in June so being there alone was inspiring enough to start running more seriously. I saw so many people ran in the UK during summer. In fact there were people running as late as 10pm. In my housing area in Puchong many neighbors have started running in the morning and weekends too. So this year I hope I'll be continuously motivated to run.

Motivation

2010-10-25T08:17:00.000-07:00

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. My faithful iPod has served me for more than 3 years now, I love it so much although now I can't store all of my songs there anymore. So I rotate the playlists to be synced with it.

Good clothes
I invested a lot in gym attire. It started with just 2 Adidas workout pants, 1 Nike Sportsbra and 1 Nike workout top. Whenever I felt that I was about to slack, I'd go to the nearest shopping mall and visited either Al Ikhsan, Nike, Adidas or departmental stores (sportswear section). After about 5 years joining the gym, now I have at least 5 sets of gym attire (complete with headgear). The most important pieces are the sportsbra and headgear. They made me feel comfortable and complete.

Good shoes (oh, what's new... hehe)
I've used 5 pairs of trainers so far. Different trainers for different purpose. When I used to go to group exercise classes, I invested in indoor trainers - suitable for that sometimes slippery studio floor. Lately, I've been investing in good running shoes from Nike (complete with Nike sportsband - for tracking).

Tools and gadgets
Besides the iPod, the Nike sportsband has helped a lot in motivating me to run further, faster and more often. It keeps all my running records and upload them to Nikeplus website. I can monitor my progress and target to become a better runner. I can also track how many calories I've burned since I started running.

New clothes (clothes again... hehe)
I tricked myself into believing that I have a better body by buying clothes that complement my figure. Know what's best for you and it'll make you feel good when you have them on. Most of the times, it's really frustrating when we're not losing any weight even after all those gym session and healthy eating. In order not to feel beaten, I'd shop for new clothes that I know would make me look and feel good. Once I hear three friends give their compliments, that's enough to get me excited to work out again. And harder than before.

Good friends
They're my best advisors/critics. I listen to them. None of them ever told me that they don't see any difference after all those hard work I've done. Perhaps there were results, or perhaps there were none but they always there to tell me to continue whatever I've been doing - work my ass off at the gym.

Post Syawal

2010-09-28T09:23:00.000-07:00

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 attend the Open Houses, I will surely eat. It's impossible to just stare at food while chatting with my friends. If I manage to avoid eating, I'd surely drink the sweet juices or have some desserts.

I did some rough calculations this afternoon. At one Open House serving briyani, curry mee, rendang, lemang, ketupat, satay, roasted lamb, desserts and sweet drinks, the total calories can come close to 1500 calories. Imagine, going to 5 Open Houses in one weekend. That's 7500 in just two days. Based on my weight and age, I only need 1600 calories A DAY. Imagine how much I have to burn if I decide to attend all the Open Houses I'm invited to.

Talking about briyani, I was having lunch with a few foreigners a few months ago. One of them was originally from Amsterdam and has been staying in Singapore for a few years. He told us how his cholesterol level shot up after just 12 months staying there just because he was addicted to briyani. When I checked in BLA website, a full plate of briyani complete with the kurma daging, ayam masak briyani, dalca and acar, the total calories is around 1200 calories! Well, that's almost equivalent to eating 2.5 of Mac Donald's Big Mac!! I can't imagine myself having almost 8 Big Mac in a week (if I choose to have briyani three times a week, that is)....

Only after joining the BLA club that I realized how important it is to count our calorie intake. Before this I just whacked whatever's served on the dining table without even a pinch of guilt. I would only feel sorry once I got on the scale and saw that I've gained 3 kg (usually that's what happened to me during Syawal!).

Oh, by the way... post Syawal I've been to the gym twice.... two days in a row. Hooray! Congrats to me!

14 days

2010-08-23T23:37:00.000-07:00

.. 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, I'm consuming less food during iftar and lesser food during sahur. Drinking chilled fresh milk is a must after each meal. The dates are providing me instant energy after iftar, so I'm drinking less sweet juices. I don't take condensed milk at all this Ramadhan and so far I've only had a cup of Nescaffe and a tall iced caramel Macchiato.

The only disappointing fact is that my weight is still at that plateau. Perhaps if I fast and workout one hour at the gym, it will slowly go down. But I don't have the energy to workout in this weather, I couldn't even do Yoga or stretching. So now I have to wait after Syawal to re-start my regime. I know it's going to be tough after 1 month of not working out, but I'll make sure I'd go to the gym everyday and exercise for 1 hour. Let's pray that I won't be having late afternoon meetings. They could really ruin my life.

Ramadhan

2010-08-10T01:35:00.003-07:00

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 everywhere. It’s quite a challenge not to go to at least one during the fasting month. Last year, we had 3 Ramadhan bazaars in my neighbourhood. Choices of food were aplenty; I could spend 40 minutes there just to decide on what to have for break fast.

My biggest challenge during Ramadhan is sticking to the 1700 calorie intake. When we don’t eat/drink during day time, it’s easy to slack during breaking of fast. Dinner will be followed by heavy supper, with teh tarik and what not. Although I don’t usually eat a lot during ‘sahur’, the total calories consumed during dinner alone might be around 1000 calories. Yikes! I know, there’s just too much temptation on the dining table. When 6 people go to Ramadhan bazaar, you’ll have at least 6 types of kuih-muih. If you are familiar with Malay or Nyonya kuih, well they’re all sugar, oil and coconut cream laden. Not good… not good… at all.

So, my strategy this year is to break fast with 7 dates, followed by some plain water and then straight to the main menu. No appetizer, less kuih and less calories… hehe. Hope it’s a success! Yeay!

Slacking

2010-07-20T21:47:00.000-07:00

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 tiredness. I spent most of my afternoon sleeping during my Uni days. I also slepth a lot during the weekends. And I even slept a lot more during semester breaks.
During the first two semesters in Uni I played softball with the college team but it was too much for me. It's very difficult to commit my time to sports training sessions when I had to attend classes and labs in the morning. I was supertired most of the times that I decided not to participate in any co-curricular activities starting from the 3rd semester there.

Tired Puppy

Although I have been slacking for more than 10 days, when I weighed myself this morning I was still at a plateau. I was thankful I didn't gain like 3kg. Looking at the food served during the training, one can simply gain between 2-3kg after the 4 days. The food was seriously good and packed with calories, but it was of world class quality, so I didn't complain.

As usual, after I realized that I've slacked, it's time to bounce back. I re-started my regime yesterday. It started with having cereal for breakfast, light lunch and light dinner. Exercise regime was as usual - cardio plus resistance for 60 minutes. Dinner was homecooked, so I knew exactly how much oil and salt went into the wok. Well, at least that gave me some peace of mind.

The regime will be more strict for the next 3 weeks. Once Ramadhan start, there will be another regime. Usually during Ramadhan, we bought a lot of food from the bazaar. This year will be no exception, but we're trying to buy less. If I could go home earlier, let's say at around 4.30 pm instead of 5, perhaps I'll have the time and energy to cook for breaking of fast.

Exercise during Ramadhan is usually daily afternoon stroll at the bazaar... hahahaha....

Wisdom

2010-07-15T02:02:00.001-07:00

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 and setting fire to my panties.

10. Amazing! You hang something in your closet, for a while, and it shrinks 2 sizes!

11. Skinny people irritate me! Especially when they say things like...'You know sometimes I forget to eat!' .....Now, I've forgotten my address, my mother's maiden name, and my keys, but I have never forgotten to eat.. You have to be a special kind of stupid to forget to eat!

12.. The trouble with some women is that they get all excited about nothing -- and then they marry him.

13. I read this article that said the typical symptoms of stress are eating too much, impulse buying, and driving too fast. Are they kidding? That's my idea of a perfect day!

EMAIL THIS TO 5 EXTREMELY BRIGHT WOMEN YOU KNOW AND MAKE THEIR DAY!!!

LIVE SIMPLY...... ...LAUGH OFTEN....LOVE DEEPLY

This Running I'm Doing

2010-07-12T07:27:00.000-07:00

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 workout at their chosen time and nobody bothers what time they reach home. 5.30 -7pm is my only workout time slot during the weekdays. I can't afford to leave the baby at home during weekends, so no time slot to workout at the gym on Saturday and Sundays. The best I can do is to push the baby in his pram and walk in the neighbourhood for 20 minutes or so.

Besides brisk walking and running, I am also doing a lot of leg curls and step exercise lately. The GX classes don't suit my time anymore, so I have to make full use of my 1.5 hours at the gym twice weekly to work my big muscles in order to burn more calories.

After the 'stomach snapping' incident a few weeks back, I have been sticking to 25kg for abdominal crunches. I only dared to increase it to 30kg last Friday and managed to complete 2 sets.

A work colleague recently went to jog at the lake next to our office. I've always been skeptical about the jogging track there as not many people were using it and it looked like a mosquito's favorite dwelling. It turned out I was wrong. My colleague confirmed that it's safe and comfortable for jogging. For her there's not much challenge there as it's just flat ground. She prefers hilly tracks like the one in TTDI park.

I might try out that track some day. Meanwhile, I checked out the most suitable running shoes for me in Nikeplus website and the result that came out was the trainer I bought. Hooray! (Well, it was actually an impulse buy so when it suits me so well, I'm extremely happy. Should do more impulse buying. Hahaha!)

So, I will continue on following this running program and hope to progress to the next level before the end of October. By now I should be targeting which running challenge I want to participate in, but looking at my record (11 minutes 36 seconds per KM), well... maybe better not yet. Let's procrastinate for a few more months. Hehe. Hope it won't turn into a year or two. ;)

Injury

2010-07-04T20:43:00.000-07:00

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 tried to attempt another crunch, my tummy could not do it. No crunch possible. I took a few more deep breath, stood up and walked slowly towards the bar.

There was no pain, but since I didn't know what actually snapped, I decided to rest for awhile. After a few drinks, I walked about. Still no pain. Then I decided to run for another 15 minutes. Jumped onto the nearest available treadmill and started with 5.7Km/h.

Everything seemed ok. When I went home, that night I still didn't feel any pain.

Until today, no pain.

So, what was that (that snapped)? Hmmmm... need to see the gynae to really find out, I guess...

Seriously....

2010-06-02T19:33:00.000-07:00

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.

Slacking and the dreaded plateau

2010-05-17T07:43:00.000-07:00

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, which might be suitable if I were in maintenance mode. But I should be burning about 400 - 500 Kcalories at least 4 times a week in order to achieve my target weight. My mini target was to lose 9kg by 1st May 2010. Now that I've been slacking in my exercise regime, I only managed to lose 6kg and have been on a plateau since 15th April 2010. Argh... this is really bad.

Although I managed to do a little bit of workout, I couldn't stick to the diet suggested by the program. We've been eating out a lot when my baby was sick, as I didn't have the energy to cook. On top of that, due to sleep deprivation I was always craving for sweet things: chocolates, cakes, creme brulee, ice cream and sometimes carbonated drinks. I was lucky enough my weight stayed on the plateau. When I calculated back the total daily calorie intake for the past month, it was 40% more than what I should have. The biggest culprit has got to be Pelita Nasi Kandar. It's good that they opened a branch near IOI, but it's really bad for me.
So, this week in conjunction with the opening of FF Empire, I'm going back to my exercise regime and the diet program (that I think really worked). It's just that now I have to figure out how after my workout, I can reach my house around 7pm to prepare dinner for the family.

Running

2010-04-19T08:16:00.000-07:00

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 Cross Campus Run twice; the distance was about 1.5km. But I was left far behind by the rest of the runners. One of my English teachers asked me whether I was a long distance runner because she thought I had the legs for it. The whole class laughed in silent.

So, even when I've been regularly exercising I decided that I should just give up running. I thought I'll never be able to run like the other gym-goers. Perhaps I was too old, or too packed with fat that it's impossible for me to jog nor sprint.

After I delivered my third baby last August, I drank fresh milk every morning and took at least 4 servings of Anlene every week. It was mainly because I knew my teeth would start having problems after childbirth. So, the milk drinking was to replenish my calcium.

I was also doing a lot more abs crunches in order to strengthen my stomach muscles. My crunches started after the 4th month because I had C-section. Eventually I was doing like 250 crunches per week. I read in some gossip magazine that Britney Spears was doing 1000 crunches perday. Well, I don't intend to get Britney's abs, so I didn't go overboard with it.

At the office, recently I found myself drawn to a few colleagues who I realized were rather health conscious. They took up running. They're not gym-goers but rather spend their late afternoons jogging in the park than watching TV on the comfort of their sofas. So, last month I started challenging myself. I started with the Interval Training - walk-jog-walk. I completed the 15 minutes' session. Breathless but happy. After 2 weeks, I started an even more advanced Interval Training - walk-jog-run. I was rather amazed with myself. I could run. I could even sprint on the treadmill. And I could do it for more than 3 minutes!

Looking back, I thought there were 2 things that I've done right : the regular milk intake and the crunches. Now even my breathing has improved and knee pain nomore. Yeay! Run Lola Run!!!

Dropped....

2010-04-08T08:30:00.000-07:00

.... 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 always being extra nice.... because they really understaaaaaaand biiiiiiig womeeeeeeen....hehe...

I took my shirt off and started trying the first piece on. It fit nicely! When I looked at my face in the mirror, my mouth was making the big 'O' shape, and that's how amazed I was! The rest of the clothes fit well too. Argh... I was both happy and quite upset at the same time. It's good to know that I could fit into smaller clothes now. But when all 8 pieces looked good on you, how to decide which ones should be returned to the display (and not brought home????) ARGHH (again)!!!

After much deliberation, I decided to buy only 5 pieces. I shop here on a quarterly basis. So, I'll surely be back next quarter. No worries.

Meanwhile, let me just continue chanting to myself.... one size smaller.... one size smaller ... one size smaller....;) Need some distraction because the damage done that day was RM four four two... hehehe. Sounds like a football formation, huh?

Home-cooked

2010-04-02T07:24:00.000-07:00

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 can pig out a bit. However, having learned on portion control and practicing it, I couldn't even finish half a plate of pasta at Italiannies. I usually have Asian food for lunch; kway teow soup, fried rice, hawkers' food etc. Many people believe that Asian food are generally oily, spicy, creamy and salty. However, if we choose wisely many of them are quite healthy; even healthier than just torturing yourself by having salad.
Dinner is much simpler but satisfying these days. I cook at least 4 days a week. Bought pasar malam food on Tuesday and Friday while on the weekends we'd eat out at least twice. All these while I always tried to find excuses not to cook dinner. However, I have found a way to make it easier. The secret is to always plan ahead. Although it means there's a lot more work to be done, so far it's less stressful than before. When we used to eat out almost every night, I was always chased by guilt for I knew outside food is laden with MSG and whatnots.
The only sacrifice I have to make is leave the gym 30 minutes earlier, have a quick shower and start preparing dinner after Maghrib prayer. Since I've planned for the meals at least one day ahead, it took me only about 40 minutes to prepare a decent dinner. I stock up blended chilli in the fridge.
I've also bought a set of Tupperware's freezer-mate from my friend to keep the cleaned fish, chicken or other seafood. Frozen food is always thawed in the refrigerator since morning. By the time I prepare dinner I just need to take them out of the container. I don't use coconut cream in my cooking, so it's just a matter of peeling the onions and sometimes ginger. Easy peasy. If only I thought about this since 6 years ago.....!
It's not too late for everybody to start preparing home-cooked food. The key word is PLAN (and perhaps COMMIT).

Hair

2010-03-28T21:25:00.000-07:00

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 came as a surprise to me as when I had this post-natal hair fall problem in 2003 they were lost forever. I checked in the mirror at home as well as in the office (yeah, like suspecting mirror inconsistency somewhere... LOL). When I looked closer I had so many short hair protruding under my head scarf, and my oh my I also had lesser silver hair! I guess better quality hair were being produced. I could only think of my healthy eating campaign that I started since November 2009. Could this be one of the results? I hope so! I promised myself long ago that I would never ever dye my hair. It'll either be totally black or black with silver highlights.
This month, the baby is 7 months old and my hair doesn't fall as much as 4 months ago. It's normal to see some hair on the pillow after waking up in the morning and some on the shower floor. My plan for April would be to have a new haircut and have a scalp treatment. Yeay!

Hormones

2010-02-24T07:23:00.000-08:00

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 woman might not realize they're having PPD as she's too busy caring for the baby, the husband, the other children and the household.

Some might realize it when they're nearing the threshold. Some just suffer in silent and in the end it takes a toll on the marriage/family. There are cases of death due to PPD, yes... it's no laughing matter.

It is so serious that many support groups have been formed to assist these poor women (moi included) to handle PPD and take charge of their lives again.

In my case, my PPD usually started a few days after the baby is born. So far, Alhamdulillah I survived. However, after this third child birth my PPD seems to refuse to end. The situations at home and workplace are not really helping either. I am still not really myself. Perhaps this time I need to work harder to overcome this PPD.

For those who never experienced it, it feels like you totally lost control of your own life. Everything is dictated by other people and you really don't have any say on it. Yeah, it really sucks... I've cried many times. Banged my head on the bathroom door the other day although I didn't have any intention to hurt myself. There are moments when I feel like breaking all the glassware in the house, slam the door really hard and shoot the dog next door. Let's pray this thing pass quickly. Otherwise I might end up at the police station. Hehe.

The Diary

2010-02-07T07:20:00.000-08:00

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 is to consume less than the target calorie and to have negative energy balance everyday. Negative energy balance is Total Calories consumed minus Total Calories burned (including metabolism). For the first four weeks, I've recorded an average of -800 energy balance and lost 3.5kg.

So far I think this is the best weight losing program available as I'm not deprived of any of my favorite food. At the same time I feel healthy, happy and focused.

This is my fifth week. I'm going to increase my workout intensity and will surely update on latest development. This is going to be great!

By the way, I haven't drank carbonated drink for 3 weeks and I still live. See.... it's one of the unimportant things that we always thought we couldn't live without.

The Price...

2010-01-28T00:48:00.000-08:00

...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 helping his business to prosper but now I have other pressing matters that I should prioritize.

Well, that's quite a huge sacrifice I'm making. This program better work well and the people around me must give better support and be more understanding because I can just flip within seconds.... hehehe.... and won't look back in anger (or regret).

Measurement

2010-01-23T06:34:00.000-08:00

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 gain muscle. That explains no change in body mass.
After I weighed-in this week, I treated myself with mee goreng mamak. Hehehehe... That's 450 calories ++ you all.....!

Weigh-in

2010-01-17T02:40:00.000-08:00

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's one track that made me drenched in sweat, it felt like BodyCombat toned 2 degrees down.

BodyVive class in progress. They are all holding the Vive Balls which have really nice smell. The balls become our exercise partner during the class not just some dumb prop we need to hold.

Poster of Release 12 when there were still graceful and really low impact moves. I didn't really sweat when I started attending this class.

Poster of Release 13. This one made Release 12's difficulty level looks like 'kacang putih'. You wanna sweat? Build muscles? Tone your body? Burn more calories but need to be in a low impact class? BodyVive is the answer baby....

Loser

2010-01-09T05:19:00.000-08:00

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 are still sore from that Not-so-Easy Step class.
But I'm happy.... because now I have an online diary which is a good tool/weapon to ensure I stick to the program and remember my target. Oh, by the way my target is to lose 22Kg in 6 months' time.
Will update on the progress some time in March 2010. Until then, wish me luck...!

Tomatoes

2009-12-27T08:39:00.000-08:00

I was never a tomato fan. Whenever I found tomato in my food e.g Chicken Rice, I'd remove them or gave them to whoever's dining with me. I knew tomatoes contain anti-oxidant and what-nots but it was very difficult to get my taste bud accustomed to the sourish taste.
However, lately or was it after my confinement period I found myself not really in favor of having tamarind juice in my cooking. First, I replaced with Asam Keping but it didn't enhance the taste. Next, I tried adding slices of tomatoes in my sambal tumis and everybody loved it. Now I'm adding them in almost all of the dishes; curry, sambal udang, sambal ikan, gulai ikan, pasta sauce (of course! now I'm adding more). I'm sure I'll be improvising more recipes with tomatoes in the next few months.
After doing some readings, I also found out that tomatoes are good for the heart. For someone who used to have hypertension this is surely a good news.
So, my healthy eating progress this December: 1) Minimize meat in my dishes. 2) Eat more tomatoes.

Meat

2009-12-14T06:53:00.000-08:00

I've been trying not to take too much meat since I started suffering from gastritis. According to the doctor, it was caused by poor digestion. I remember I always chewed my food quickly and swallowed them. I was always in a hurry during those days but I couldn't remember why.
The doctor prescribed the usual gastritis medication and advised me to changed my eating habit. It was a strict diet and I lost about 8kg after about 4 months. It was a no oil and no chilli diet. I was only allowed to have fish, chicken and vege. Meat was my biggest enemy back then.
When my health improved, I tried eating meat once in a while but my system took longer time to digest. I felt uneasy and sleepy after the meal. Eating meat during festive season usually would take a toll on my system. It also affected my bowel movement pattern. Finally, a few years ago I decided that I'd only survive with fish, chicken, seafood, vege and fruit.
If it's Hari Raya or entertaining friends, I'd limit myself to only a slice of meat.
There were times when I did consider becoming a vegetarian but realized I was not fully prepared. It's a huge step and a lot of things and habits need to be changed and I was just too lazy for them. Perhaps I might do it slowly. The first step is by omitting meat from my diet. That shouldn't be too difficult....

Music

2009-11-30T20:25:00.000-08:00

Music can sooth the savage beast (unless you play them Metallica numbers from the late 80s...)

I've been experimenting with music since I was small. I'm no musician and when I say experimenting it's more towards testing how the genre fit to my own ears. And guess what, we should also test how they fit with the rhythm of our hearts too.

There are many health articles published which relate to genre of music and how each of them can affect your way of thinking and certain physical reactions. Take classical music for an instance. Studies found that it's best to play it at restaurants and while studying (I suppose it's more suitable for students who are trying to memorize facts). Classical music is known for its smooth and harmonious sound which helps us to eat slower and giving the body ample time for better digestion. Same goes for the students. They need to digest and memorize facts. Classical music's tempo tells the brain to take its time processing information and there's no need to rush anything.

Hard rock, dance tunes and heavy metal might not be suitable to be played for people who prefers fine dining but they're not bad sounds either. Fast tempo and loud noises somehow help to pump one's adrenaline to get onto their feet and do something. Hence the tracks selected for group exercises classes usually consist of the 3 genres of music. They signal the brain to get things moving - well at least your feet would start tapping. Having said that, it doesn't mean students can't listen to those music. I found Mathematical problems can be solved faster when I have these musics playing on my walkman (at least they were some 15 years ago).

During my uni times (when there's no iPod but life was pretty much simpler) I had to carry a huge bag to the library just to make sure I have all the necessary cassettes available. Just imagine, different music for different subject. Van Halen for calculus, Bryan Adams for High Speed Network, Rod Stewart for Microprocessor, Bon Jovi for Assembly Language etc etc...

These days I continue on experimenting with music even though I don't have to study much. Still I need different music for different situation. Nickelback for cardio sessions, Bee Gees when I do weight training, Beyonce when I need to write nasty emails, Pussycat Dolls when I need to focus on the road etc etc etc...

However, I don't need music to fall asleep. Looking after 3 kids is tiring enough to make me enter La La land easily.

Power

2009-11-19T20:09:00.000-08:00

The Power Of Love

Love has the power to break all chains

- Swim the deepest seas

- Endure the strongest pains

- Love is the glow in the darkest night leading you on until you have sight.

- Cristoto

*Images from fanpop.com

Cardio?

2009-11-14T07:31:00.000-08:00

I found this really interesting article on cardio exercise. I have to agree with the author (who happens to be a certified trainer with vast experience in helping people get fit, lose weight and achieve impossible dreams.... having a six-pack for example). Traditional cardio exercise is seriously boring. I admit I was torturing myself when I did cardio training on those machines. Lately I only spent 15 minutes on each trainer. There's no fun in doing cardio. You get to watch TV and listen to music but the quality of exercise is questionable.

I tend to give up easily when I do cardio especially when there's no personal trainer to push and motivate me. I was always like, well.... there's nothing to chase, I'm not in a hurry. So the exercise became a walk in the park and the result was disappointing.

I noticed that I started to lose some weight and getting a more toned body after I frequently joined BodyCombat and BodyPump classes. BodyCombat is a lot of fun. I get to kick, punch, shout, laugh and not to mention interact with many people in the class.

BodyPump is quite a challenge. It seems easy, but after the 6th track, you're lucky if you could still feel your legs and arms. After the class ends, I always find it quite difficult to lift my arms. But, as my friends told me, sore muscle after exercise is a good news. That means you managed to work them.

I love it anyway, as everytime I go to these classes I'll surely sleep soundly at night.

*Images from weheartit.com

Sleep

2009-11-13T07:35:00.000-08:00

For a better health and happier life, sleep more. Seriously.... it solves a lot of things while giving your body and mind the much needed rest.

When you decide to sleep on a certain matter, you'll get a better resolution the next day.

*Image from weheartit.com

Caramel

2009-11-10T21:19:00.000-08:00

It's a movie with quite an unusual backdrop : Beirut. When all I could think of was oppression and war, the movie gave me a totally different view on the women at that side of the world.

One woman was having an affair with a married man.

One woman was having trouble accepting the fact that she's growing old.

One woman found herself attracted to beautiful women.

One woman was a muslim, about to get married but kept a dark secret from her fiancee.

One selfless woman had to take care of her elder and senile sister.

The movie also showed the other sides of the story.

One woman, who's trying to please the husband without knowing that he's seeing another woman.

One man, who was admiring a woman he couldn't get from far.

One husband who neglected his wife and kids and went out openly with his girlfriend.

One senile woman who was just confused with her surrounding, but wanted to be cared for.

One old man who showed interest in an attractive old woman and tried his luck.

One woman took the risk to be liberal.

One woman had to let go of her daughter as she's getting married.

The story revealed many aspects of women that society tends to overlook. Dealing with day-to-day issues at times requires the women to make a lot of sacrifices. We can never understand why women make a fool of themselves when it comes to love; even when they know the relationship not heading anywhere. We can also never understand why some women decide to live in denial. Would a woman neglect her own flesh and blood in order to find the love of her life? Watch this movie, you'll get some answers.

* Images from weheartit.com and Googled.

Arithmetic Love Quote

2009-11-08T01:57:00.000-08:00

'In the arithmetic of love, one plus one equals everything, and two minus one equals nothing' - Mignon McLaughlin, The Second Neurotic's Notebook, 1966.

Copy pasted this from Ruby Ahmad's FB status.

I'd love to buy and read this book called The Second Neurotic's Notebooks.

Image from weheartit.com.

Tired

2009-11-05T06:07:00.000-08:00

Today I rushed to the gym at 5pm with the intention to join BodyVive class. I was watching the class in progress about two weeks ago and decided it's not high impact and perhaps I could try it out.
It took me 30 minutes to reach FF IOI. When I've changed into my gym gear the class have already started. I went in and headed straight to the front. Except for a geeky looking guy and the instructor, there were all ladies in the class.

After the first track, I noticed a really old Ah Soh in the line behind me. I thought she must be already in her 70s. She looked frail, her hair was all white, her face and hands were all wrinkly and her movement was very slow. But she followed the class anyway. The instructor was also very considerate. He showed the old lady the right moves and explained them clearly to her during every track. It turned out, BodyVive was a very low impact exercise. I only started to sweat during the 5th track. But it's a good starting point for newcomers.

After the class ended, I went to the bar for a few glasses of ice lemon tea. Then, I checked the timetable wondering what's the next class. The Ah Soh was standing near me and she asked what class will start soon. I told her it's Kick-Boxing Fusion. I totally have no idea what Kick-Boxing Fusion was all about. The Ah Soh asked me whether she could join. I got a feeling that it's a high impact class. I didn't know what to tell the Ah Soh. She looked really interested to sweat a little bit more. Perhaps she was quite bored with the BodyVive; perhaps she was looking for a more challenging exercises.

So, I told her that kick-boxing is a form of martial art, have some similarities with Kung Fu and Tae Kwon Do. She nodded and asked me again whether she could join. I felt really bad because I didn't want to encourage her to do something that might cause her injuries. So, I told her to go and talk to the instructor who was chatting happily with a few guys behind us.

She walked slowly towards the instructor but before she could open up her mouth to speak, the instructor rushed inside the class as it was about time to start Kick-Boxing Fusion. The Ah Soh then followed the instructor in and she was standing right in front of the stage, ready for some action. Encouraged by her passion and confidence, I followed her in and stood on her right.

When the class started, again I was surprised when the Ah Soh proved that she's a lot more than the frail looking old lady. She was doing really well with the boxing and kicking. Thank god she was not overdoing it and I was so happy watching her enjoying the exercise.

As for me, I only stayed until track 6 as it was already 7.15pm and I had to rush back, otherwise I might miss Maghrib prayer. Although I didn't manage to complete the class, I thought Kick-Boxing Fusion is not that high impact as BodyAttack. There's a lot of optional movements for older (or fatter) people. I'm tired now after the two classes but determined to do this again next Thursday.

* Image from weheartit.com

Love Me

2009-11-04T06:53:00.000-08:00

Dear men, all women wants to be loved and they deserve that. Full stop.

Dear women, all men wants to be loved in return. They need that.

Why the book 'Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus ' is a bestseller is understandable. All women thinks that men are so complicated and difficult to understand and vice versa.

Perhaps, it's about time to tell the world that we are not a complicated species. Don't let a book make you feel miserable. It's quite tough to fully understand men, especially those we truly love because women tend to over analyze things.

Men don't want to be analyzed, just let them be.

Women don't like to be criticized, just make us happy.

*Image taken from weheartit.com

Escapism

2009-11-02T07:03:00.000-08:00

You can't choose your family, but you can choose your friends. At times you'll feel trapped among strangers whereas they're your own flesh and blood. There will be times when you can't figure out a way out of the problems in the office or with the neighbor. Perhaps, some mornings you wake up and wish that you're someone else or living another life. Sometimes you even wish that everyone you dislike would disappear and replaced with nicer people. There are also moments when you wish you could trade with another woman's (or man's) shoes.

Sadly, we won't get to do those things. Life is not a fairytale or a badly written Hollywood spoof movie. However, it's still okay to escape once in a while. Even three hours a week should be sufficient.

Some people go as far as an island far far away from home, leaving everybody and everything behind for a few days. Some won't even have this luxury, but we can always spend a few hours at the movies with some close friends or alone, it doesn't really matter. As long as we can take our thought off of all those depressing things at home or office. I found talking silly with close friends helped a lot when I need to de-stress. Pampering ourselves is another good option to keep our sanity checked.

Escape doesn't mean running away. Escape is just a way of gathering thoughts or clearing the mind before evaluating problem solutions. Some problems don't have any solution, we just let some wounds heal through time. Escape could mean meeting new people with fresh or intriguing ideas (or easier on the eyes). When we get to know new friends, we'll go through a process to discover ourselves all over again and later we'll be able to look at things from a different perspective.

So, the next time you face a very challenging problem or stuck in a difficult situation it's okay to escape for a while. It's okay to tell the people around you that you need some time for yourself before you could come up with something solid. It's even okay to buy some time after someone apologizes. It's good to forgive but a deferred forgiveness works wonders on a relationship.

Dear women all over the world, escapism is an important word in our dictionary. Don't know where to start? Try reading chick-lit, watching chick-flicks or pay a visit to the national arts gallery.

Support

2009-10-30T22:35:00.000-07:00

Only 2 things are certain in life: everybody ages, everybody dies. Each passing day most of us try not to think of these two. Let's not blame ourselves, let's just go with the flow.

Signs of ageing can be seen even in our early twenties. The crow feet, the lines on our forehead and underneath the eyes are among the early ones that will surface and they're like a sudden knock on the front door, 'Knock! Knock! You're getting old and wrinkly.'

The other sign is joint and back pain.Blame it on calcium deficiency, unhealthy eating, cheap mattresses and even laziness. Still, they're signs that age is catching up.

I had a terrible lower back pain that started in the early 2nd trimester of my recent pregnancy. The doctor told me it could be the ligaments' problem. Our joints and ligaments become quite tender during the 9 months. Since I never had it before, I thought it must be the age. 35 is not a recommended age to get pregnant, by the way.

I bought this back support so that it kept me standing and sitting straight during daytime. I didn't wear it to sleep. Slouching will only make the pain worse and unbearable. Without the back support, I usually had to get up really slowly from my chair and walk in slow-mo heading towards the washroom. I walked like a 90 year old granny because it was impossible to straighten the body right away after getting up from the chair. It would feel like all your bones were falling apart.

This back support helped me a lot to get through my days at work. I was thinking of getting a very long MC if I had to walk around the office like an old granny.

After the C-sect (day02) I started putting on this tummy binder. It provided the much needed tummy support and I was able to breathe normally. Remember, the first exercise after your C-sect is doing the proper breathing. I practiced the Yoga style breathing which allows more air to enter you lungs. At the same time, it clears the mind and you'll feel refreshed after only 5 minutes of this breathing exercise.

Another good Yoga position you can do right away is the corpse. Just lie down, hands on the sides, legs apart, head turned to the side, close your eyes and relax. It's so easy; and if you're lazying at home in this position and your mom nags you, just tell her you're exercising. Life can be a bed of roses for some people who really know how to manipulate the people around them and get away with things easily. You agree with me? No? Don't worry, the choice is yours.

*Images taken from OPPO Medical.

Step One

2009-10-29T20:43:00.000-07:00

As advised by friends and colleagues, I consulted my gynae regarding the workout sessions that I'm planning to have for the next month or so.
Surprisingly, she told me that I should only start joining the aerobics classes, BodyCombat, BodyAttack and other high impact exercises after 6 months. That means, I can only start those exercises in March 2010!! Awwww...!!!
In the mean time I can only do the low impact ones like the elliptical trainer, wave machine, rower, stationary bike and treadmill (no running though). I should also be wearing the tummy binder during my work out session. I have already started doing some resistance training but limited myself to the lightest weight possible.
This is going to be like starting from zero all over again. Taking baby steps for the next one month and later increase the resistance and speed gradually. By right everything should be back to normal by April 2010? Yes? No? Don't know yet.
My gynae also advised to defer hiring Personal Trainer; have to wait and see. If the incision area is strong enough by then, it's ok to hire a PT. Otherwise, go swimming la maybe...
It's not too bad I think. Yesterday I did 15 minutes on the wave machine and rowed 2000 meters and was drenched in sweat afterwards. Come to think about it, I need to sweat in order to detox. Slimming down is not the top priority right now. Will discuss this again in March 2010! Remind me, ok.

Whoami?

2009-10-29T08:07:00.000-07:00

I'm a thirty something mother of 3 who also happen to be slaving myself in the office from 9 to 5 daily.

Some background:

- I was born and raised in Bera, Pahang
- I went to a primary school in Pahang
- I went to the superfamous Sek Tun Fatimah from 1987-1991
- I did a diploma in UPM in Agricultural Engineering for 2 years
- I graduated from UPM in 1998 as a proud degree holder - Bach Of Engineering (Electronics and Computer)
- I have been working in the IT industry since 1998
- Up until today, I've been working for 2 IT companies

Useless facts:
- my wardrobe is color coordinated
- my right foot is slightly bigger than my left
- I hate satay perut
- my favorite food is cucur ikan bilis

Important facts:
- I have been struggling with my weight since 1988.
- Size 16 fits me nicely (sometimes)
- Size 18 fits me better (for certain designs)
- Size 20 comes in handy at times

Intro: Hello World!

2009-10-29T07:59:00.000-07:00

Hello dearests....

this blog focuses on health and fitness so you can expect a lot of stories about healthy food, struggle at the gym, diet programs, food supplementary and tips for a healthier lifestyle.

All the posts containing health products in this blog are not sponsored. I'll write reviews so that my readers can benefit from the product (if they're good and effective).

I advice my readers to consult their doctors prior to doing any of the exercise mentioned in this blog (that is if you've been a couch potato for the past 5 years or more).