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!

 

 

Why?

Photo Insert: The entrance to the gym at JPMC.

Sometimes I wonder why do I pay someone to torture me?

I decided to go back to work out at the gym but since it has been awhile and I wondered about my level of motivation, I contacted the personal trainer whom I had trained with back in 2003 but I stopped because I fell down half a flight of stairs and the recovery took quite a while that I had lost my motivation to return to the gym.

It was still the same gym but the gym has improved tremendously with all the equipment available, the flooring, the new ladies section etc. And it's still reasonably priced!

I have only had 3 sessions so far. Only being able to fit gym in on Sunday mornings since my evenings during the week is filled with dancing.

The first session I was in so much pain because a few days before I had attended cross fit and my muscles were only beginning to wake up. We did lunges, squats with weights and focused on my back and triceps. Wearing the fitted T-shirt gave Tony the idea what to work on. It hurt like hell.

The second session, we focused on my upper body - chest, shoulders and biceps. I quickly came to realize, all the upper body strength I had has quickly dissolved. I struggled with the push ups, the chest press and the bicep curls. I thought to myself that once I regain my upper body strength, I will not take it for granted!

The third session we went back to legs, back and triceps. It was not as bad but my back muscles need a lot of work as I once again struggled.

In all of the sessions we fit in cardio of at least 30 minutes and tummy exercises.

I have renewed my gym membership with JPMC now and I will do my best to fit in some lunch time work outs. I still dream of a bikini body and I am taking one step at a time! This time, I will not take for granted how my body shapes up and just appreciate that I did it and that I can do it! All my 3 sessions would have been even more challenging if I was at my original weight of 120kg! I am truly blessed that I can do much more now!

With Honours!

I am still actively dancing. I kind of went over the top last year and part of early this year trying to fit in four teachers! Now I have settled with 3 teachers and quite content in learning from each of them.

On 8th March 2011, I sat for the United Kingdom Alliance Dance Exams for Latin and Standard. I find it amusing how the many hours of classes translates to 1 minute and 30 seconds in front of Mr. Examiner. It just goes to show there is no limit to the achievement of perfection.

For both Latin and Standard I took Bronze. There are a few levels of which Bronze is the lowest. With bronze, I had to learn 2 dances according to the syllabus stated. There is a minimum required of the basic figures/steps to show during the exam. With Latin, my teacher developed a routine for Rumba and Cha Cha Cha. For Standard, my other teacher developed a routine for Waltz and Tango.

It was quite stressful in some sense to "study" for this exam. I not only had to worry about my feet, there was my hands, my posture, my expression and so on and so forth. On the day of the exam, I was slightly nervous but since I was not dancing by myself, it was not so bad. My teachers were my dance partners and I placed my total trust in them to lead me without me becoming dependent on them.

The results came out on 1st May 2011. At one point I had a dream I scored distinctions! But alas, it was not meant to be. I received Honours which I will translate it to next best to a distinction! Mr. Examiner gave some really good comments which I am sure my teachers and I will be taking away with. In fact, one of my teachers is already starting to prepare me for next year's exam.

Will I be taking next year's exam for Silver? That's 3 dances and extra steps to learn from the syllabus. The decision will come eventually but in the mean time, I will carry on dancing!

A BIG THANK YOU to my teachers for being patient with me!

With Jun for Latin

With Alain for Standard

Graduated with Honours for Bronze and Mummy supporting me all the way!

Burp... eeeee!

Photo Insert: With Kath - she helped me face the unknown.

I decided to face the unknown. But when in doubt, call upon a friend to go through it with you and also make sure the person who introduced it to you also shows up just for added motivation. I wanted to make sure I was not alone but I knew that even if I was I would still be alright. Yet comfort comes in many forms.

Thursday, 31st March 2011 @ RBRC: Melissa had been talking about cross fit for awhile. It sounded painful but she somehow painted this picture that it would be lots of fun because, I quote "we just have a good laugh" and it's free! I thought, it can't possibly be that bad. And hearing that Din and Fawwaz had also gone made me feel that if they could do it then so could I. So I made sure that Kath came along so that I wouldn't back out from making that choice to go.

When I arrived at the venue I was greeted by the sight of members who were attempting the March challenge. That's 50 burpees, 800m, flutter kicks of I'm not sure how many, 800m, 20 squat jumps and lastly another 400m. It looked really hard and I could not imagine me going through all that. I admired their enthusiasm, strength and stamina while I controlled my urge to run away. They were all doing their best to complete the challenge and also clock in their best times.

At 6pm the actual session started. Since Kath and I were new, one of the trainers took us to one side. There was 6 of us new that day. It was explained what we were about to engage in a high intensity exercise where it purposely pushes your heart rate, working the major parts of the body which is more effective for weight loss. The trainer showed us how to squat, we did push ups and finally we learned how to do a burpee which is a combination of a few moves. We only did a few. I cannot imagine how on earth someone could do 50 burpees! We did some sprinting and we ran around the track.

I could not gauge how fast I could or should run but I was proud of myself that I could complete that 400m track. Albeit slow, I would have not been able to have done that in the past! *pat on back*

We joined the whole group at the end. The non-beginners had to go through circuit training which did not look pleasant nor easy but the group did not say much and did what they had to do while the trainers gave them orders.

At the end, we had to do bear crawls around 4 corners and at each corner give 3 push ups. The trainer made it look so simple but when I did it, I think I was not a bear crawling. I was more like a monkey with my bum in the air and my feet and hands crawling on the ground. I finished it but I wanted to already faint.

Then the final part was several squats in 20 second periods. I decided the objective was not race against anyone, it was more of what I could do and to keep on reminding myself how far I have come with the weight loss. Sometimes the thoughts do not come easily...

Kath and I spoke how we felt about the whole session and whether we would come back. For me, I had said I wanted to come back but I will be realistic with my available time, it doesn't look likely at this stage. Overall I am thankful I had the chance to participate and experience the unknown!

The Human Guinea Pig

guinea pig

n.

1. Any of various small, short-eared domesticated rodents of the genus Cavia, having variously colored hair and no visible tail. They are widely kept as pets and often used as experimental animals.

2. Informal A person who is used as a subject for experimentation or research.

 

The first thought that came to my mind after I discovered the possible reason why my legs have been so darn itchy! Ever since I came back from US, my legs have just been incredibly itchy. I scratch to the point where I draw blood. And it just doesn't itch once but sometimes over and over again in the same place. I had wondered if it was either dry skin, insect bites or an allergy to food. I was going to get it checked out eventually by I don't like seeing doctors unless my life depended on it. So I showed Elaine and Elaine says it would be best to check my blood sugar. She shared that markings like that on my legs and it being so itchy could be my blood sugar being on a high and she sees it in a family member of her's whom is diabetic. She suggests I cut back on the sugar.

 

When she told me to cut back on the sugar, my thought was, re-commit to the food plan 110%. No make that 120%. It brought me back to the time when I sat in the doctor's office and him telling me that he would put me on medication for high blood pressure and being overweight certainly didn't help. In my head, I heard myself say, "See I told you so. Why were you even experimenting with food? Why couldn't you just have stuck with the food plan and save yourself all this misery?" So again, it took some sort of scare for me to do something with myself.

 

I felt upset and angry with myself but there is nothing much I could do except make the choice to just get with the programme and go back to doing my best.

 

Photos of my legs - that's enough for me!

 

The Vicious Cycle

Photo: One of my meals while I was on holiday in US last year. Those tacos, I ate EVERYTHING and I helped my friends finish off their food too.

Today, I tried to going back on my phase 1 food plan - strictly. I was doing well so far until I hit lunch time. I had carried my lunch with me to the restaurant where my colleagues were having lunch and there was a basket of bread rolls. I started out by eating only the skin of the bread roll and then I progressed to the soft centre of the bread. I managed not to spread any butter. Then, some minutes later, deep in conversation, I saw there was one bread roll left, I picked it up, ate the skin and then progressed to the soft centre of the bread. By the time I was eating the second bread roll, I had started to feel guilty but I still ate it when I could I have stopped. I guess you could say I chose to eat it.

Then in the afternoon, I bought a packet of salted tapioca chips and ate the whole packet. It was not a very large packet but it's not part of the food plan either. It was really salty and I was questionning myself whether I should continue eating it because it was so salty but that part in my brain where it tells me stop somehow seems to have its wires loose today and for a couple of days, weeks and months now. So I ate the whole packet and felt guilty afterwards.

Truth be told, right now, it seems REALLY HARD to get back on to the food plan! Yes, I am human after all. I have noticed some eating habits which probably existed pre-food plan days. When I eat something, I MUST finish it. The bread roll and the tapioca chips are good examples and I can name you some more situations where this has occurred. I am not sure where this eating habit comes from but this seriously takes a lot of effort to not do it. Only with awareness can it be overcome.

So when you think you have conquered something which for me happens to be a 30+ kg weight loss, that's only half the battle. There is still something deeply embedded inside of me that makes me eat and how I eat it. Until I resolve this and understand where it comes from, I will continue to live in a vicious cycle.

Life in 2011

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Time seriously flies! It is now the 4th day of February of the year 2011. On the last day of January, I had decided to measure myself and referred to my file where I kept all my measurements. It turned out the last time I had measured myself was on 22 February 2010. I felt motivated to use my new measuring tape which I had bough on Amazon. [I will share that with you in my next post. It might be a useful tool if you lived alone or not wanting to rely on anyone to help you with measuring yourself.]

I must say, after a year plus now, my weight has been hovering or yo-yoing around 85, 86, 87 and now recently 88kg. Yes, I have been eating the wrong things. No, I have not been following my food plan strictly when I said I would. [More on that next time round...]

At least though, "something" has gone down even though it's not my weight!

Measurements

22 February 2010 vs 31 January 2011

Weight: 89.4kg vs 88.4kg (loss 1kg)

Hips: 108cm vs 104.1cm (loss 3.9cm)

Thigh: 67cm vs 67cm

Waist: 84cm vs 84cm

Chest: 105.8cm vs 98.2cm (loss 7.6cm)

Arms: 34cm vs 33cm (loss 1cm)

I would say, I have maintained my weight and that I have taken steps to tone my body. It must be all those hip movements in dance! It also goes to show that it's sometimes not just the weight, there are other indicators to show you are progressing to a more healthy body.

I still am not done with this. More to be done! Who is embarking with me on this adventure for 2011?