Fast is not always good!

Since the pregnancy, c-section and the first year in my new role as Mum (I can't wait for my daughter to call me so) is almost over I decided to get back in the game and signed up for yoga lessons. The first day of my lesson and I was struggling a little with some basic stretches. Its been a long time. The first class I hurt my back. Second class I hurt my neck. Third class I was still struggling with the pain.

Whilst trying to achieve the right posture I tell him, “Sir, if I can tone this tummy down I may be able to bend further and get it right.”

He replies, “Tulsiji, when you are free tonight just google GM Diet. You will lose a lot of weight and very fast too!”

O-M-G! I know where this is headed.

I don’t know why everyone believes they know the perfect diet for weight loss. They will readily offer their advice, tips and stories of how xyx lost so many kilos following so and so diet.

There was havoc in my mind. I thought, “he’s referring to the General Motors Diet!”

“He’s a Yoga teacher. Shouldn’t his approach to health and fitness be more holistic? “

After having spent so many years listening to people and their tips, even trying most of them and not finding any lasting results I have become immune to this kind of bullshit.

That’s because I discovered Rujuta Diwekar and her book “Don’t Lose Your Mind, Lose your Weight!” 

More than a weight loss book its a celebration of our food, eating habits, customs and practices.

I instantly fell in love with the book because it made sense. It didn’t talk about depriving oneself of anything. Not even fried stuff! And you can’t even say she’s full of shit because her results are visible to all in the form of her celebrity clients.

So getting back to the point.

I tell my teacher that I’m not going to google GM diet. Instead I tell him the name of the book and ask him to read it. I also suggest that he refrain from giving unrealistic solutions to his clients or may lose credibility with his yoga too.

I realise very well that I can’t preach weight loss tips when I’m carrying so much weight around myself. So I’ve taken a tip from the book and have set myself a 30 day challenge. I will not start my day with coffee. Instead I will have a fruit first thing in the morning. And enjoy my coffee later in the morning.

If I want to wake up to eat that fruit I need to sleep now. So long, farewell!

And not just like that... I'm back :)

A lot has happened since I was last here…. maybe I’ll fill you in on those changes and experiences later but right now I should probably tell you all what brought me back.

I’m currently visiting my parents with our little daughter (I told you…a lot has changed!) 

My husband's back home and since its been a while we've been away when he called this morning I expected the whole “I miss you, can’t wait to see you, love you, what’s baby up to and hear about what he’s been up to in our absence. Instead our conversation took an unexpected turn which left me furious for the rest of the day.

Somehow our conversation steered towards what I wanted to achieve for myself. In particular he reminded me about this blog. About how excited I used to be with regards to my fitness and writing.

I stopped writing because something or the other always took priority. He asked me a few times why I stopped. Teased me that I was writing to impress him (We didn't even know each other then) and I used to tell myself I’ll write later and that obviously never happened. Procrastination's a BEEP.

I realised I had stopped doing quite a few things that made me really happy. Writing, pushing new boundaries with my fitness, focussing on my career goals or at least trying to figure out where I wanted to be... On the other hand I had taken my interest in baking a step further and started taking orders for birthday cakes (Not completely lost track, perhaps)

It was never a conscious decision to stop these things because “I am married now and have more responsibilities” or "I'm a new mom and my life has turned upside down" or anything of that sort but things got left behind.

I told you at the start how I spent the day being mad at my husband, remember?

So when my mum sensed how upset I was she asked me what happened. I narrated the story and her reply was, “What’s wrong with what he said?”

I don’t know about yours but I can always rely on my mum for the blunt truth. She has a knack for it or rather an inability to sugarcoat facts even if its her own daughter. Good or bad, we’ll discuss another time.

Then my sister called and happened to ask me about how my husband was doing. Of course I told her how upset I was and she asked, “What’s wrong with what he said?”

Seriously, both can’t be on his side!

Of course by now I've realised how one day of procrastination easily ended up in almost 2 years without even noticing it and feel grateful to have a husband who is reminding me of my goals and encouraging me to pursue them again.

Just need to have a discussion on sugarcoating facts in the future ;)

Oh dear God!

Look what I found lying in the drafts - dated 2/8/13.. Not adjusting it now.. Don't you just love reading something you'd written a while back... reminds you of your state of mind at some point..almost like finding that $10 note in your jeans after its come from the wash :)

Oh dear God! It's been over a year and I have felt so guilty about not being regular. At first I made a commitment to write everyday... Lost track of that and became every week and who knows when that changed to never!

From being on holidays to prepping for our wedding to getting married and being married, I was so occupied that I always thought I'd write a little later and it never happened. Similar to my weight loss journey that had started off with full steam sort of died down about half way in between.

You see, I had hit a plateau. Nothing was working. I knew it was going to happen and when it did i would have to alter something in my diet and exercise routine. I wonder what happened to that. I started telling myself its ok to plateau and the weight will start falling again, soon.

Except, I just realised its been over a year! Who am I kidding? I haven't plateaued. I just lost track.
I kept procrastinating about my weight loss just like I did about writing and the thing about procrastination is that it doesn't let you achieve any of your goals. Either set a goal and focus your energy towards it. Feel in control of your life or just let it move on auto pilot.

I can't let that happen 'cause stories worth re-telling and a life worth remembering was never one that didn't have any goals and adventures. Also, I read recently that successful people are those who never stop trying. Coming back to both my goals I hope is proof that I'm still willing to try and so hopefully success is not far behind :)