For one, I went shopping last weekend, and as I expected, I now fit into clothes that are size L, which is excellent! The weighing scale seems like it'll agree to 67 kgs this week, and though I'm travelling for the next 2 weekends, I've a feeling that I'll be able to keep it at 67. While this is still 7 kgs higher than my proper 'normal' weight, I'm no longer overweight, and most importantly - since January 20th 2011, I've lost 8 kgs!
The other specific updates are that I can now jog about 25 minutes. The pace isn't great, I expect it takes me 10 minutes per kilometer, and I can occasionally walk faster, but I'm certainly burning more calories and the muscles are getting a good work out! I'm also swimming 16 laps of the complex pool, which should be about 20 meters, so about 300m. Up from 12-14 laps 2 weeks ago. In mid-April, I may up this to 18 laps.
I'm swimming about twice a week, which is not amazing, but is good enough for me to notice a change in muscle tone of arms and shoulders. I'm certainly on my way to fitness!
April is a crazy month, I'm travelling 3 out of 5 weekends and all for fun. The main 'trauma travels' are the weekend of 2nd (2nd to 4th) as I'll be staying with relatives who do not understand fitness and portion control, so will probably insist that I eat more, and that I don't exercise at all, but let's see. I hope to walk at least one 1 of those days, and to eat as sensibly as I can.
The next weekend I'm with friends, who understand both. Though I'm going for a wedding, I'm sure I can find ways of walking/jogging for some time (8th to 10th). The third trip is to Singapore, staying with another friend who understands both and I should be able to swim on one or two, if not all 3 days (22nd to 24th).
I'll confess, I never thought this would happen to me, but my thinking about food has changed. I still love the same tastes/flavours but the amount I want to eat them has been affected by the exercise. I occasionally want to eat potato chips but I eat less than I would earlier, because I know that I'll have to exercise more, etc. Similarly with rice/wheat. It's an interesting shift, let's see how it works.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Two Months Update
We're just past 2 months and on a weight situation, I'm at 68 kgs. I have also lost some inches, though I'm not sure how much and from where. I do feel better and am continuing with about 6 days of exercise a week.
I'm actually posting now, because it's been 2 or 3 weeks since I've had a meal replacement shake, which has led to some confusion around dinner. I figured I should post a revised food path on here, to remind myself to eat enough, and eat well. Primarily because over the past week, I've made some bad choices every day. The main reason for the bad choices is because I didn't have healthy snacks at home, and we had unhealthy snacks :)
The new rules:
1. Breakfast - within 30-45 minutes of waking up. Preferably something like oats, if not 2 slices of bread with some veggies, or fruit, and milk.
2. Mid-morning snack/Lunch - sandwich/salad/cooked meal with simple carbs if required.
3. Mid-afternoon snack - sandwich/fruit smoothie. Fruit bowls may not be a great idea because of high sugar fruits.
4. Dinner - ideally only veggies, if it must involve a simple carb, it should be chappatis, brown rice or some such 'healthy' carb.
General Snacks - raisins, fruit, walnuts, almonds, carrots, fruit yoghurt. Buy each week!
The exercise part is still going well. The times I don't feel like exercising are when I'm hungry or tired, so a small snack before the exercise usually works well. I find that with the walk/jog, I have an inertia issue. If I jog and stop, I rarely feel like starting again. So I'm going to try jogging for extended periods of time (like 15-20 minutes) instead of breaking up the jog with walking. This week (on Monday 21st) I jogged for 2 five minute intervals in 30 minutes of walking and must confess that I couldn't start the 3rd interval. On the flip side, I had no knee pain at all after!
A general update would be? That it's going well with some slips here and there. I'm waiting for a while before I try on clothes, but I'm sure that it's going to be a fun experience soon! Maybe on or around 20th April :)
I'm actually posting now, because it's been 2 or 3 weeks since I've had a meal replacement shake, which has led to some confusion around dinner. I figured I should post a revised food path on here, to remind myself to eat enough, and eat well. Primarily because over the past week, I've made some bad choices every day. The main reason for the bad choices is because I didn't have healthy snacks at home, and we had unhealthy snacks :)
The new rules:
1. Breakfast - within 30-45 minutes of waking up. Preferably something like oats, if not 2 slices of bread with some veggies, or fruit, and milk.
2. Mid-morning snack/Lunch - sandwich/salad/cooked meal with simple carbs if required.
3. Mid-afternoon snack - sandwich/fruit smoothie. Fruit bowls may not be a great idea because of high sugar fruits.
4. Dinner - ideally only veggies, if it must involve a simple carb, it should be chappatis, brown rice or some such 'healthy' carb.
General Snacks - raisins, fruit, walnuts, almonds, carrots, fruit yoghurt. Buy each week!
The exercise part is still going well. The times I don't feel like exercising are when I'm hungry or tired, so a small snack before the exercise usually works well. I find that with the walk/jog, I have an inertia issue. If I jog and stop, I rarely feel like starting again. So I'm going to try jogging for extended periods of time (like 15-20 minutes) instead of breaking up the jog with walking. This week (on Monday 21st) I jogged for 2 five minute intervals in 30 minutes of walking and must confess that I couldn't start the 3rd interval. On the flip side, I had no knee pain at all after!
A general update would be? That it's going well with some slips here and there. I'm waiting for a while before I try on clothes, but I'm sure that it's going to be a fun experience soon! Maybe on or around 20th April :)
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Remember!
I sent a mail to myself at www.futureme.org, to remember some things about weight. I'm also putting some of it up here and on my other blog, so I'll have access to these reminders when I need them.
I've been eating healthier and exercising for nearly 8 weeks now. Exercise is some form of activity for at least 20 minutes a day, averaging about 30 minutes. I started with walking and then upped to walking/jogging. I alternated this with squash and have now (for about 2 weeks) added swimming since it's getting warm enough to swim. All if this has been possible due to the new home.
This morning, I got up and got dressed in a kurta that I've not worn in a while. I can see changes in the way I now look from the way I looked in it when I bought it, and all through the times I wore it. I know now that I'll have much more fun shopping as I'll get clothes in my size. I still have some way to go with the weight loss, but I'm now 69 kilos, and I've not been under 70 for aages!
In addition, I can now jog on the treadmill for 13-15 minutes at a stretch. I'm pretty certain I can swim 200-300 m unaided without dying or hanging on to a wall. In short, my stamina has improved and the muscles I would use to jog/run are more developed. The strain on the knee has reduced (though I forget to use muscles rather than joints sometimes).
The 'remember' part of this post, is to remind myself of what it's like to be overweight. In the past few years, I would start working out, lose a little weight, then stop and start gaining weight again. In these years, I usually bought clothes because I 'had' to. I was running out of clothes, they were old/torn/faded something and I would push myself to go buy something. I remember the depression each time I had to buy a size larger. Larger in undergarments, larger in clothes. The inability to buy western formals because I was size 2XL in most Indian brands and they didn't even carry that size! It was only size 14 UK I would tell myself, and try shopping at Marks and Spencers instead. Then I went up to a size 16 in M&S. They carry sizes 16, 18, 20 etc., but I couldn't face it. I couldn't find any clothes that I liked, that fitted me and looked nice! The size 16 upwards all started looking like sacks. I know that there will be times that I cannot keep this up, that I have to ease up on the food or exercise, but I'm writing all this, to remember it. So when I do take a break, I'm motivated to resume.
The reason that this is motivation, is that even at 75 kilos, I was not obese. I didn't have any health risks, though I was probably at a higher risk of diabetes, high blood pressure etc. in my 40s. But right now, the only health effect was PCOS, and given certain other issues, PCOS was not necessarily a problem. So I can see myself gaining weight again without thinking too much of it, from a medical 'health' point of view. From an emotional health point of view though, it's a huge difference. Which is what my motivation is all about.
Right now, I like looking in the mirror, and like the fact that my body listens to me, mainly because I'm listening to it :) And I enjoy listening to my body! There were times before when I would try to diet, and I'd fail because I was starving myself. So I'd feel hungry or not be able to function, or something. These past 2 months, I started with a meal replacement shake, but eat as many vegetables (raw or cooked) as I feel like, and in whatever quantity I feel like. So I'm able to avoid rice, wheat, potatoes etc., and still not starve myself. I also eat all the meat I want - which turns out to be not that much. Where I need to watch myself is snacking at home. We don't have many healthy snack options at home so I'd eat biscuits or something else. I'm now trying to keep walnuts and almonds at home, so I can eat those while preparing something better.
Today specifically, I feel very happy. I know I still have some way to go, but it's only been 2 months and I've made progress to a point where I'm happy. And I specifically want to remind myself that I'm doing this for me. In a few more months, when I'm even fitter, I don't want to suddenly buy fitting or revealing clothes by the truckload. I won't change the way I dress to work. I may have more sexy clothes to wear out, but professionally I'll look the same. I'll know, though, how hot I am :)
I've been eating healthier and exercising for nearly 8 weeks now. Exercise is some form of activity for at least 20 minutes a day, averaging about 30 minutes. I started with walking and then upped to walking/jogging. I alternated this with squash and have now (for about 2 weeks) added swimming since it's getting warm enough to swim. All if this has been possible due to the new home.
This morning, I got up and got dressed in a kurta that I've not worn in a while. I can see changes in the way I now look from the way I looked in it when I bought it, and all through the times I wore it. I know now that I'll have much more fun shopping as I'll get clothes in my size. I still have some way to go with the weight loss, but I'm now 69 kilos, and I've not been under 70 for aages!
In addition, I can now jog on the treadmill for 13-15 minutes at a stretch. I'm pretty certain I can swim 200-300 m unaided without dying or hanging on to a wall. In short, my stamina has improved and the muscles I would use to jog/run are more developed. The strain on the knee has reduced (though I forget to use muscles rather than joints sometimes).
The 'remember' part of this post, is to remind myself of what it's like to be overweight. In the past few years, I would start working out, lose a little weight, then stop and start gaining weight again. In these years, I usually bought clothes because I 'had' to. I was running out of clothes, they were old/torn/faded something and I would push myself to go buy something. I remember the depression each time I had to buy a size larger. Larger in undergarments, larger in clothes. The inability to buy western formals because I was size 2XL in most Indian brands and they didn't even carry that size! It was only size 14 UK I would tell myself, and try shopping at Marks and Spencers instead. Then I went up to a size 16 in M&S. They carry sizes 16, 18, 20 etc., but I couldn't face it. I couldn't find any clothes that I liked, that fitted me and looked nice! The size 16 upwards all started looking like sacks. I know that there will be times that I cannot keep this up, that I have to ease up on the food or exercise, but I'm writing all this, to remember it. So when I do take a break, I'm motivated to resume.
The reason that this is motivation, is that even at 75 kilos, I was not obese. I didn't have any health risks, though I was probably at a higher risk of diabetes, high blood pressure etc. in my 40s. But right now, the only health effect was PCOS, and given certain other issues, PCOS was not necessarily a problem. So I can see myself gaining weight again without thinking too much of it, from a medical 'health' point of view. From an emotional health point of view though, it's a huge difference. Which is what my motivation is all about.
Right now, I like looking in the mirror, and like the fact that my body listens to me, mainly because I'm listening to it :) And I enjoy listening to my body! There were times before when I would try to diet, and I'd fail because I was starving myself. So I'd feel hungry or not be able to function, or something. These past 2 months, I started with a meal replacement shake, but eat as many vegetables (raw or cooked) as I feel like, and in whatever quantity I feel like. So I'm able to avoid rice, wheat, potatoes etc., and still not starve myself. I also eat all the meat I want - which turns out to be not that much. Where I need to watch myself is snacking at home. We don't have many healthy snack options at home so I'd eat biscuits or something else. I'm now trying to keep walnuts and almonds at home, so I can eat those while preparing something better.
Today specifically, I feel very happy. I know I still have some way to go, but it's only been 2 months and I've made progress to a point where I'm happy. And I specifically want to remind myself that I'm doing this for me. In a few more months, when I'm even fitter, I don't want to suddenly buy fitting or revealing clothes by the truckload. I won't change the way I dress to work. I may have more sexy clothes to wear out, but professionally I'll look the same. I'll know, though, how hot I am :)
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