A gymbunny, I will be

Between June and August, I have

• drunk at least 60 cups of Starbucks short cappuccino with half a packet of raw sugar
• drunk at least 40 cans of Coca Cola or an equally sinful soft drink
• been admitted to the hospital once
• reverted to eating simple carbs. DAILY!
• have had severe food poisoning once and it was not related to the hospital incident
• been to tennis lessons with J & K three times
• and been to Muay Thai naught times.

Oh and I am about 99% sure I've lost significant muscle mass and, regained at least 2-3kg of pure fat due to the change in diet and lack of activity.

I could come up with a million excuses but I won't. It is all me. I chose the life I want and for three months, it was to revert to the lifestyle that got me all lethargic and obese to begin with.

So, here is the plan. Less excuses, more action. MT lessons begin again on Monday, this weekend I will be having tennis with J and, I want to start my C25K from scratch. And the omission of all soft drinks and simple carbs.

Wish me luck!

Saturday (12 June) (more…)

Monday

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I am shy.

Or rather, it takes me awhile to warm up. I hover in the background, go for classes that I'd be able to be least noticed at, stand at the back. This morning, I went into an AM Muay Thai class after a long break – vacation,illness, excuse, excuse etc. All males – lithe, toned, muscular even. And me, dwaddling in. Sigh. I paced myself this time and did not want to faint once. That said, it was definitely less than 100% but, I rather that than faint unglamourously, not that there's a glamourous way to do it.

The AM class is perfect for me. Truth be told, it's a pricey membership to own so I better be there more often. I can barely tell my left and right jabs from each other. Need to get better. Last weekend was the 2nd tennis lesson and I can feel myself getting better. Next week is the third and, we get an extra hour to practice after. Awesome.

This week looks really good, activity wise. AMs on Monday, Wednesday, Friday – Muay Thai. AM Saturday, I signed up for cycling with the cycling group I wanted to try. I need more road confidence, PM Saturday, 2 hours of tennis.

One of the first things that struck me about Evolve MMA is their family spirit. Everyone who trains there treats their trainer with the utmost respect. Fight hard, play hard mentality. Moving from Genesis is tough, it felt that I was leaving the nest. A nest responsible for my weight loss progress thus far which is no mean feat. More than that, I built friendships with people whom I adore – K, J, E, A, (yes, my gym friends have a second career as scrabble tiles)

I feared going to a cold gym where no one really cared but I know that I absolutely need a kick up the behind right now. I have stagnated for all eternity and, if I don't pick myself up and get on with it, I will revert to Jabba The Hut. I had been delaying my first class for the last two weeks – It was a myraid of excuses: back ache, the time of the month, the sale of my home, the purchase of a new home, J's wedding et al.

This morning, I made plans to go. SM was sick of my whinging and told me to *just* go so he would not have to hear me talk about it again. Pfft! So, I went. Barely made it through class, legs and hands all over the shop, had to stop TWICE otherwise I would have fainted on the floor. The teacher, N was very patient with me. At some point when I had executed a proper kick, he stopped and clapped. I swear! He wasn't even insulting me, he was truly happy. *smacks forehead*

The AM Muay Thai class is tiny and, it was very easy for him to go 1 on 1 with me. Even the other two students helped me out tremendously. They told me to breathe in and walk around when I felt faint. Summary?

I loved it. I can't wait till I actually complete a class and not feel like I want to hurl out my left and right lung. That's my goal right now. Like M says, it isn't the kicking and punching that gets you, the ALL the other stuff.

Steamed Spicy Salsa Fish

Ingredients

• 1 portion of white fish (for this recipe, I used frozen Sutchi fish which costs SGD$5.20 for 5 fillets)
• 2 tbsps of Tositos Salsa (hot!)
• pinch of salt
• liberal pinches of oregano or any herb that you like
• pinch of pepper
• 3 tbsps of water (just don't pat the fish completely dry since it'll be defrosted)
• microwave-able container

Method:

1. Pat fish dry and season with salt,pepper and herbs into microwave-able container.

2. Place in microwave on medium-high for 5-6mins

3. Remove from microwave and dollop 2 tbsps of salsa

4. ENJOY!

Trying something new this week. Going to try and have weekly goals to achieve. A single step in the right direction is all I need. A lot of small steps for the journey that I want to look back on in pride.

1. Sign up for new gym

Officially have left and I need to sign up with the new place I want to train with. Exciteddddd!

2. Continue with W3 of C25K

I am certainly taking longer than 9 weeks to do this! Acks!

3. Be sober for one month

With my illness, it is tough to drink and deal with the repercussions the next day. That and it impends my weight loss. Those glasses of alcohol are chock filled with empty calories and studies have shown that there's a halt to weight loss up to 3 days after drinking alcohol.

One of the pure joys of weight loss is not a downward change in scale weight but the elation that comes with fitting into that grungy old pair of denims you used to wear as an angsty teenager. While cleaning out a cupboard, I found clothes I last wore when I was 19. A gorgeous lush red kebaya top had me itching for a try so, I try I did. Um. Expectedly, it did not quite fit which brings me to this new goal – fitting into my kebaya top without busting out of it.

"Before" Picture

Status: B A D. I had to suck in whatever I could suck in to take this picture. The out-takes have me bursting the middle button, the third button and the last button refused to button at all. Major oink.

thegymbunny.com's First Weight Loss Challenge Contest

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Since starting my weight loss journey in March 2009, I have lost 14-16kg (without/with carb water retention). Working out with EJ brought me great success, E was genuinely concerned with my meal plan and weight loss progress, it felt real, his motivation each time a kg was lost kept me going. The programme was fun, the people (K, A, the two Js, the three Cs) all kept me motivated and raring to go. There was an anticipation each time I went for to the gym, people gave a damn. Somewhere along the way, I lost my footing and was sidelined by bad eating habits, not enough consistence with my workout routine which well, became routine. E left and was replaced by C and to be honest, it just is not the same. The sense of camaraderie is lost by no fault of C and coupled by my general boredom with the programme, things have not changed. No one is interested anymore with what or how I do which loses an accountability and mostly, I no longer am motivated by my work out routine. Also, I am more interested in things that I could not do before – hiking, climbing, cycling, running etc. Yes, all steady state cardio which conflicts what I do in my regular workout but, serves as a good distraction.

Made a difficult call to E to ask him for his valued opinion because I fear leaving a routine that has brought me so much success. I related my concerns to him because I truly care what he feels and feels as he was instrumental in my weight loss. Even now, he was so helpful and addressed the concerns that I had. Now, I will look to sit or attend another session at the potential new place and make my choice before the month is out.

Image courtesy of Google Images and remains right of image owner.

Monday (more…)