Run Kath Run!

"It does not matter how slowly you go so as long as you do not stop." These were the wise words of Confucious which caught Kath's eye while she was one day in the MRT station in Singapore mentally preparing herself for her first run in the Kota Kinabalu marathon.

[Photo Insert: Kel, Kath's sister holding the poster as motivation for the marathon]

Kath openly admitted she did not train as much as she could for her first upcoming marathon in which she decided to attempt 21km! And even with not as much training, Kath still completed her 21km in 3 hours 50+ minutes! Kath had said that she missed the qualifying time of 3 hours and 30 minutes but the point really is, she completed 21km! Would you be able to complete 21km right now?

There are several lessons to learn from Kath as she pursues her career as a marathon runner:

1. You do not need a slim body to run a marathon. All you need is the right mental attitude and the belief and the determination that you CAN!

2. This is not a race against others. This is a test to see your OWN CAPABILITY!

3. Even if you finish last or find difficulty in finishing, the point is you DID NOT GIVE UP and you still FINISHED what you started!

4. Now that you have had your first experience, you will take steps to make each opportunity an EVEN BETTER experience than the one before. For Kath, now that she has had her first taste of the half-marathon, she is out to do MORE! She has signed up for the Penang Bridge marathon and is anxiously waiting for the registration of the SCB marathon to open. And on top of that, Kath has embarked on a more serious training programme that the effect will be to help her pursue her goal of improving her time as she runs her next marathon.

I am really proud of Kath - her positive attitude and willingness is what makes her succeed in not just marathon running but in all aspects of her life. And I can so relate that to weight loss. It all starts from what's up there in our heads - if we believe that we CAN, we truly CAN DO IT!

Run Kath Run!

You are an inspiration to me and I know you will be an inspiration to others.

I love you my dear friend. You are the BEST!

 

 

Accepting Imperfection

I bought this book - The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie and reading the entry for 25 February it says:

" "Why do I always do this to myself?" asked a women who wanted to lose weight. "I went to my support group feeling so guilty and ashamed because I ate half a cookie that wasn't on the diet. I found out that everyone cheats a little, and some people cheat a lot. I felt so ashamed before I come to the group, as though I were the only one not doing my diet perfectly. Now I know that I'm dieting as well as most, and better than some."

Why do we do this to ourselves? I'm not talking strictly about dieting; I'm talking about life. Why do we punish ourselves by thinking that we're inferior while believing that others are perfect - whether in relationships, recovery or a specific task?

Whether we are judging ourselves or others, it's two sides of the same coin: perfection. Neither expectation is valid. 

It is far more accurate and beneficial to tell ourselves that who we are is okay and we are doing is good enough. That doesn't mean we won't make mistakes that need correcting; doesn't mean we won't get off track from time to time; doesn't mean we can't improve. It means with all our mistakes and wandering, we're basically on course. Encouraging and approving of ourselves is how we help ourselves stay on track.

Today I will love and encourage myself. I will tell myself that what I'm doing is good enough, and I'll let myself enjoy that feeling. "

Key Lessons for this Adventure:

1. It's ok that sometimes you slip from your food plan - just pick it up again and be proud of yourself for choosing to stay on track

2. Don't compare yourself to others of the results they are making versus your's. You can use other adventurers as sources of inspiration but never allow yourself to feel less than anyone. We are all different and responding to our individual food plans differently.

3. Surround yourself with people who believe in you more than you believe in yourself. They will give you the encouragement you need and help you boost your spirits to keep on going!

4. Accept what IS and accept and appreciate yourself for being the great being of light that you are. At the end of the day, it's up to you to make it happen. Your presence makes a difference to people's lives and you will be an inspiration to others!

5. You will reap the rewards... just be patient!

Creating Debate

Tazio shared with me a quote last night:

No food tastes as good as keeping slim

And so I shared this quote on my Facebook page and there are mixed responses. I think it just goes to show, people will always need a context to work with so I felt like I needed to explain myself. Although perhaps that might not have been necessary? I am the one accountable to myself. Not to anyone else.

So back to last night...

We were talking about keeping focused because I am honestly faltering slightly. I've been on this adventure for coming 5 months and that's even longer than being on any exercise or fitness programme! So I feel like, I can "reward" myself. This relates to one of my previous entries about eating when stressed. So I'm eating the things I can eat but the quantity has increased a little bit. No wonder then the weight loss may not be as fast as before. And this is coupled with people telling me all I have to do is just lose another 1-2kg more to go because I already look good which truthfully I still have 21.4kg left to go. I am fighting with myself and my urges because on the one hand I think, why should I now try so hard because I already look good when on the other side of it, I still have some way to go and this in the long run is good for me.

So all these voices in my head, it is affecting me. And it's a good thing I had a chat with Tazio yesterday to keep me focused. He reminded me that it's all going to be worth it and that I should not sabotage myself because I've done so well. But believe me, I was drooling over Cath's home baked banana cake with icing and her yummy looking chocolate cake and Brian was serving it with ice cream!  I actually just wanted to have a taste, so it took A LOT of willpower not to pick up even the crumbs!

In the words of Yoda, "Persist, you must."

It's Weird

It's weird. I lose weight and I first worry about the attention I'm going to get from members of the opposite sex and so then guess what happens? I don't get any attention at all! Be careful what you wish for! 

But lately, I think it's because I feel more comfortable with my physical being that I am contemplating on venturing into the dating world again. I almost used Facebook as a mechanism to "seek potentials" by posting something on my status but decided against it! It will happen when I least expect it.

The Biggest Loser

I heard a lot about The Biggest Loser Asia and I managed to catch one episode the other week which was the first episode where they were choosing the 16 contestants out of 30. As the group of 30 went through the physical challenge which involved 3 minutes of a variety of exercises, I could feel the level of emotion that was surging through the TV screen. I could FEEL with them, the pain they were going through, how hard their hearts were beating, the sweat pouring down their faces, how they were aching from the sudden surge of physical activity... When I saw the contestants cry, I wanted to cry too. I KNOW what it is like. I've been there.

This thought has been going through my mind, about when people ask me HOW do I lose weight. Actually everyone has a pretty good awareness about what they need to do to lose weight. They understand it's a combination of watching what you eat plus exercise. In the hopes of asking this question though, I become aware that they could be looking for a MIRACLE. How can it be done painlessly and quickly? Of course the obvious answer is that there's no such thing and everything is a matter of perspective. If you think it's painful, then it's painful. How do you define the word "fast"? It's all relative.

I went to check The Biggest Loser website - http://biggestloserclub.asia and you sign up for a monthly membership. It's similar to the Adventures in Weight Loss (http://www.adventuresinweightloss.com) I'm on and requires a one time payment. The Biggest Loser looks at a combination of food and exercise together. Adventures in Weight Loss looks at a customized food plan based on your blood profile and encourages exercise too. The tools they use (food diary, menu plan, exercise plans) are almost the same except it's all online which I like because I am becoming an online girl.

However, the key to making anything work and perhaps I have stressed this before is really about commitment and discipline. With commitment and discipline, whatever you do can go a LONG way! It does not matter what weight loss program you sign up for so long as you have commitment and discipline. One reminder is, don't sign up for something that will hurt you in the long run. It is meant to help you, not deter you for living a great life. Figure out what will work best for you in terms of money, time and the level of effort based on the time that you have and the complexity of the program. So starving yourself is not going to help. Exercising until you hurt a body part is not going to help you. Be sensible about this. It took you so long to put on the weight, so shedding it is going to take some time too. Have patience. I tell myself that everyday... (right now fighting off many cravings!)

The miracle will be discovering that deep down inside, you have that commitment and discipline! You can do it! If the contestants on The Biggest Loser can do it and show their will and determination to millions of viewers and at the same time reminding us they are still human, so can YOU!

A Hungry Man is an Angry Man

I went to the Brunei Speakers' Club today and I was called upon to do an impromptu speech. This week the Table Topics Master had decided that his theme was "Proverbs" and he chose some which were popular and some which were not that familiar to me. He asked us to deliver a speech and after our 2 minutes, he will give the definition to see how close we were to the actual meaning of the proverb.

It was amusing that I got this proverb "A hungry man is an angry man." It was weird, I didn't know what it meant because all I could do was take it literally! How I interpreted it was that not being able to eat the foods that your body was once used to, you will start to feel withdrawal symptoms just like when you choose to quit smoking, and then these withdrawal symptoms can cause you to become emotional. Now day 9 into this programme, I do feel the level of irritation and frustration and I am seriously doing my best not to let it out on anyone. Maybe I should go punch the punching bag in the gym or something or scream into my pillow!

I found out later though that the proverb presented to me actually means "A person who does not get what he wants or needs is a frustrated person and will be easily provoked to rage." Maybe I can still relate this to food. The fact I am not able to eat what I want to eat makes me frustrated and I feel some level of anger within me. Not being able to eat what I feel like eating, on the outset, I don't think people are able to tell because it seems I'm handling this quite well. I don't really talk about it so much. I don't complain so much. But it's reflected in my feelings and as the famous line goes "And this too shall pass..."

At the same time this is all about focus. What am I focusing my energy on? And that I am reminded to be grateful of all the gifts from God. I really like this saying, "Happiness is not when you get what you want but happiness is when you want what you have." I have it all. 

The human mind is so complex, I really know this situation is temporary. Just hang in there!