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 :)

I'm beautiful and I know it... :)

There's a thought that's been chewing my brain for some time now and I thought its unfair that my brain suffers alone. So here's some for your brain too... :P

Having an accurate estimation of yourself is a good thing, right? Its basically knowing your positives as well as your negatives. This allows you to change, improve and grow into the person you want to be. Why then is it so difficult for people to accept positives about themselves and just as easy to accept the negatives?

Ever noticed how when you tell someone something negative about themselves more often than not they will accept it and even confirm it. I guess they too see it as a negative in themselves. They do it easily and there's no fuss or arguing trying to prove that it is indeed a negative. Don't believe me? Try telling someone they've put on weight. See what you get. Don't be shy to share the responses you get. I'll be happy if I'm wrong.

Now, try complimenting someone about something you believe to be really great about them. Most likely that person is going to reject that compliment or just shrug it off with a thanks or say something like "now you're just being nice, etc." There's no real acceptance or confirmation like with the negative.

Did you try it for yourself?

Why is it so damn hard for people to confirm their positive attributes or achievements when complimented about the same?

Can you imagine someone telling Roger Federer that he's the greatest tennis player ever and him replying with two simple words, "I know." I have never heard him say that.

You know it. I know it. His opponents know it. His achievements speak for themselves. Why then have I never heard him accept that? Its not like he's over exaggerating his achievements. Just an accurate estimation of himself, I'd say.

Or for that matter if someone told me I'm beautiful and for me to reply with the same, "I know." Beauty, after all is very subjective so my estimation is the right estimation. If I said, "I know" I'd probably make eyes roll. Actually, let me correct that. I have said that and made eyes roll. I've been told things like, "that's very humble of you" or "how modest!" etc. The people who matter know that I still have my feet firmly planted on the ground. 

It pains me when I compliment someone and they try to play down their achievements. When they are not confident in themselves. Why are we so obsessed with trying to act modest? If there's something extraordinary about you why are you still expected to act in moderation? I don't get it. I say screw it. Everyone appreciates confidence. Be confident in yourself. If you believe you're the most beautiful person on this planet, you are...!!!

Always remember, the people who are trying to bring you down are already beneath you.

Waist, wallet or.......?

What a deal breaker..! I thought I'd have 10 hours of shopping exercise again. Turns out the shops didn't care as much about the moolah as they did about celebrating and so they shut early. Oh well, I still got a good enough dose of exercise for the day.

Shamefully got to admit that I missed the parade today. Didn't know the street or time (downside of being new to the city) and so by the time I reached the show was over.. :(

As far as food and diet is concerned I still have to practice sharing or ordering kids meals. Got sucked into ordering a separate meal only because I'm a sucker for variety. But I managed breakfast and dinner with a home-cooked meal. That by my standards is an excellent effort considering I'm on holidays. That deserves a celebration and in anticipation of this good effort I already bought myself a new pair of shoes... ;)

See what I've done there? I've steered away from rewarding myself with food and wine and moved to greener pastures like retail therapy. I reckon better on the credit card than on the waist. There's only one little problem though. I'll have hatch a scheme that ensures constant flow of funds..... God..! So much to do and only one lifetime to do it all...!!!!

While I try to accomplish so many things bit by bit I'd really like to know what are some of the things you reward yourself with when you cross over little self-placed hurdles. Hopefully they'll help maintain my waistline and be easy on the wallet too.

Happy 4th of July everyone......:)

Lifelong commitment!

Falling off and getting back on track to my weight loss goals is become a regular thing now. I'm not really proud about getting off track and so this time I'm not going to talk about how good it feels getting back on track. I'll wait till a considerable amount of time passes staying on track and then maybe explore that topic.

I will however mention that I slept determined to wake up early and go for my morning walk and I did just that. Most pleasant walk I've enjoyed in quite some time. So quiet. Absolutely no traffic. No Noise. That's two types of pollutants I didn't have to worry about. The sun was just the right amount warm and it was just perfect. While walking I had many thoughts running through my mind. My travel plans while I'm here. Shopping list. Gifts for my family I'm going to buy. My weight loss goals. The buck stopped there. I started to come up with strategies on how I intend to achieve that.

Just while my mind was busy doing that I saw a few people come towards me. They came closer and I saw a little girl on her bike, her older brother and their mum were jogging along side her. They both had their earphones plugged in listening to their favourite tracks. They passed me and we greeted each other and continued along our ways.

As we crossed each other I found myself thinking about what kind of life I'd like to have when I have a family of my own. I realised that all this focus on fitness doesn't stop at me achieving my weight loss goals. It is a lifelong thing. If I want to enjoy an active lifestyle when I have kids, run around with them playing games and teaching them the importance of staying fit for a healthier life I'll have to live it everyday. Yes, I've heard the part about making fitness a lifelong decision before and apparently when you accept that you stop thinking about being "on track" and "off track." You automatically are always on track (Hope I haven't lost you) 

I guess that concept just hit me with exceptional clarity today. So here I am ready to raise a toast to new depths of understanding and hope to make fitness a part of life. Now if you excuse me its bed time and I want to be up early 'cause another 10 hours of cardio await me tomorrow. What? didn't get it? Its the 4th of July tomorrow which means a mega sale here in the USA..... So... Good night...... I need all the rest I can get tonight.

Lost count on what day it is ..... :P

I think the last three weeks have been nothing short of a roller coaster for me. In between introducing my boyfriend to my family...(which involved a lot of feasting as typical to any Indian family) packing for my holidays and actually traveling I honestly had no time to track my food intake and definitely no time to check in here.

Today, marks a week since my holiday began here in the USA. After a lot of contemplating, I finally decided to face my fear and get on the scales. I had to. Having had some experience in this area before I know that the more I delay it the worst it gets so I just got on. Almost had a mini heart attack but quickly recovered when I realised the scales measured in pounds and not kilograms. Pleasantly surprised. No weight gain. Yay...!

I guess my vacation couldn't have come at a worst time. Here I am, trying to lose weight for an upcoming wedding and given my current environment I'm beginning to feel that maintaining my weight will be a task in itself. During this week I've noticed how everything here is super-sized. A regular coke is served in a jumbo glass. A serve of spaghetti bolognese is enough for four. It even comes with a salad which is a meal by itself. A single serve of ice cream is enough for two. I won't even start with the price difference between a small bag of chips and a family sized one which obviously tempts the buyer to get the bigger one at a cheaper price. With these recent experiences I've decided from now on I'm just going to order a kids meal or share with whoever I'm eating out with. Honestly struggled to finish the meals by myself and ended up getting them doggy-bag'd.

All my favourite foods are easily available. They are cheap and in large quantities. Now I understand why everyone warned me about taking a holiday at this time and the inevitable weight gain that would follow. I'm no less. I've taken it as a personal challenge to not only maintain my weight but also to shed a few kilos before I head back.

The only thing left is to hatch a genius plan on how I'm going to achieve that. I've started with 4-5 hour long walks around different shops every evening. That way I include cardio and weight training when I walk around lifting shopping bags... ;)

If you want to know how that's going, well, you're just going to have to continue reading. I am not going to promise this time about being regular but I will definitely try.

See you tomorrow.