The one where I'm raising the bar!

Total steps 21,712.

Yes, that's right! Today I had an exceptionally good day at the gym. Worked on my butt, core and over all metabolism with my trainer for an hour. Did one hour of a step class. And in the afternoon I went back to the gym for 1.15min of cardio. As much as I tried to look away from the elliptical, it was calling out my name, so I said, what the hell. Let me indulge it one last time. Like just before you dump someone. The one last indulgence before the bomb drops. Did one hour of interval training on it, and 15 min on the arc trainer. This is going to be the very last time I'm going to spend an hour on the elliptical. My trainer was mortified to find out I did one hour on ONE machine. I have been instructed, no more than 25min on one machine.
And new development, my knees are so out of whack, that I've been banned from the treadmill and stair climber. That leaves elliptical, arc trainer and the bike. I'm thinking about my couch to 5k. Was all ready to start week 2. Have to check if I can run in the open.

I had a package in the mail for me. One of the books I ordered came in. Not Jillians. But this one's called - confessions of a serial dieter - Kalli Puri. She lost 40 kgs(88 pounds). The book has come highly recommended. Looks juicy as well. Will keep you updated.

The 100 day challenge is keeping me going. Weigh in on Feb 8th. A week to go. Chris is doing a fantastic job with it. The questions, emails - are all so encouraging. She's brilliant. Way to go Chris!

I've been thinking my blog is pretty boring. Just the kind of blog that Jack says is one dimensional... I'm going to put in more effort to get it going. Not just for the people who are reading it, but also for me. After all I am worth it! :)

One point at a time..

The one in which I'm regrouping

So after yesterday's drama, it was time to regroup. Even though the scale was messed up, I feel so much healthier. More energy, and my clothes are fitting better. So it's only a matter of time when the digits on the blasted scale will change. Actually let me change that.. when the digits on the lovely scale - I'm not going to be negative about the scale. Sending it positive energy.. universe is working..tick tock tick tock..

Today I did my own cardio mix - 10 min on the arc trainer(my first time), 20 min on the treadmill, 10 min on bike 10 min on the stair climber (first time again). Going to mix it up. My body is getting used to the elliptical - might have to put an end to my love affair with it, will see it sometimes, but not an everyday addiction.

I'm just not happy with the way I'm eating. Nope! not that I'm eating too much..Just the opposite. I feel I'm not eating enough. Bought eggs tonight. Going to start with egg whites tomorrow. I read in someone's blog - you know you have water retention when your socks leave an imprint. And today my feet had imprints. Checked online - apart from drinking more water, apparently a low cal diet also leads to water retention. Another reason to eat better. It's all a full circle. Everything adds up, and weight loss, exercise, water, food, sleep, good EQ - all follow the 6 degrees of separation. All connected, and all contribute to making our lives thin and healthy!

I placed an order for "how to lead an exceptional life" Jillian Michaels. Read again on someone's blog, that this helped a lot. I've been reading so many blogs, at times I get the people all mixed up. But my favourites are Jack, Chris, Dawn and Lucy(who started it for me!).

Total steps today - 12,242.

One point at a time,

The one with my first roadblock.

Shit day today - realized that I had been weighing myself on a faulty scale all along.. Only to be told by the trainer.. and now, wait for it.. I weigh 81 Kilos (178pounds).. So pissed and demotivated..had to pick myself up(with a little help from my friends), and snap out of it..like Rafa, I'm going to fight to the end.. Tomorrow is a new day, and I start again, will weigh myself a fresh tomorrow AM, and post weight and start tracking it. Have to let http://chrislivessimple.blogspot.com/ know. Tomorrow. After weighing in. Bloody hell.
And Rafa lost an epic final. But in my head he still one. What a fighter. A true champion. Djoker - just don't like him - too in your face aggression.. takes the spirit of the game away.
Day 1 of my personal training. Did circuits. Will be good for me! I'm positive and I'm a believer of sending out the right message into the universe. And the entire universe will conspire to make it come true.
Went back to the gym in the afternoon to do cardio. Finished week 1 of couch to 5k today :). and did half hour of the elliptical.
total steps 12,020.
Water - 3.5 liters
Food - 8 (on a scale of 1-10, how I did. 10 of course being the best)

The Australian Open comes to an end. Will continue to track the regular ATP tournaments.

One point at a time

The one in which I have my heart broken...AGAIN

Roger Federer lost his match. Nadal won in 4. What a heartbreaker. Every time they play each other, it's HIGH stress levels for me! This time was no different. 3 sets into the match, I decided, that's it. I'm going for a walk. And I'm glad I did. Went to a lake near home, and was treated to the most beautiful sunset ever. It was sublime. Stopped to watch ducks meander around. Peaceful actually.  Pictures below.

Today the gym was closed for Republic Day..but I had http://chrislivessimple.blogspot.com/ 100 day challenge and had to do my walk. Bright and early, went for a walk, did some jogging.. and clocked 7000 odd steps in 1 hr of waking up!! I ate under 1500, trying trying.. didn't do great on water either. Not going to the gym just disrupts my schedule!! And bloody hell, they are closed on Saturday as well - the monthly maintenance day!!

I've been reading so many blogs, articles for 2-3 months now - I've come across some interesting/soul searching truths. One that stuck on was how fat people are basically addicts. And not lazy and stupid. We're addicted to food and it's a health hazard. Exactly like alcoholics and drug addicts. But we're mocked, finger pointed - and right to our faces. But we never make a joke about a druggi to his face. His becomes a serious concern. Anyone can explain why the difference in treatment? Fat people have health issues - life threatening ones, they are dealing with demons in their head. So why the difference. Reading all that I have, I still have not found the answer. More than a penny for anyone's thoughts.

(Interesting that I vacillate between "we fat people" to "they fat people") Anyhoo..

Total steps for the day - 17483

One point at a time...

The one in which I'm challenged!!

The 100 day challenge started today!! Chris is a complete rockstar for the effort she's taking to make this happen for all of us! That's got to be God's work. I'm a believer.
Need to up my eating. Eating less than what is needed. Will start eating better from tomorrow.
Killed myself in the gym. A total of about 13 kilometers (8 miles).
Total steps - 19314 :)
Loving it!!

My gym is closed tomorrow. So going for a long walk at the park with a friend.

Aus Update : Mahesh and Sania have made it to the semi finals. Fingers crossed. Big day tomorrow for Fed. This has got to be his year. Until tomorrow.

One point at a time.

The one where I'm "Personally Trained"

So yesterday I had the personal trainer kill me. This was a trial session and it was bloody good. The best part of it were the stretches.. My hamstrings, butt and calves were in sweet pain.. I'm going to work with him for one month. My knees need some help, and he's promised to get them better. Helps he's easy on the eye as well!
Did a step work out class as well yesterday. Was sweating bullets. And my cheeks were all flushed. How I love that feeling!
I'm signing up for Christine's 100 day challenge. (http://chrislivessimple.blogspot.com) Though calorie counting in India is a bit of a challenge, but I know what my daily food should be (as advised by the doc) So I'm using that. It's exciting. To have a group working on this. Thanks much Christine for this!!
Yesterday didn't clock kilometers as it was 2 classes.
Steps - 12126 for the day.
My gym has their own radio station, and they keep saying this over the radio "Motivation gets you started, habit keeps you going". True story.

Aus Open Update: Fed and Nadal meeting again (27 time). Semifinals. Thursday. Fingers crossed. Hope Fed comes through.

One point at a time.

The one in which I'm loving Mondays!

Weigh in Monday! yay!! lost 1.5 kgs(3.3pounds) in one week. Like a reward for all the work I put in these 7 days. It does pay off!
Today was Day 2, Week 1 of Couch to 5k. Ran better today. More confidently. Started off as a jog, and 10 minutes later, I was running. Running like I meant it. I'm sure there was a lot of fat jiggling, and there were people around(thin women, and fit men), but I didn't stop to think.
Total steps - 16, 400
Walked/couch to 5k - 11.5 kilometers(7 miles). My trainer killed me a bit on the elliptical. Moved up resistance to 8. It's all going to pay off! :)
Target for the week - 1kg loss(2.2 pounds). Looking forward to next Monday.
Fedex progressing at the Australian Open. In yesterdays post match interview, he did reiterate, he played one point at a time. Was focused, and didn't even remember the game that was the turning point.
I'm reading everyone's blog, learning/getting inspired/and keep telling myself...

One point at time..

The one where I'm chugging along. One kilometer at a time.

Friday was my day off. Didn't work out at all. But ate right. So that's okay I guess.
Saturday I more than made up for it.
Total steps for Saturday - 21,693
Did a total of 12.5 kilometers (7.7 miles).
And bigger news: I started my couch to 5k. I had imagined it to be so difficult, but I did it, and it was easier than it was in my head. But that's just Day 1, Week 1. I have about 9 weeks to go. But I'm going for it.
Ate very healthy. Salad, south indian food and oats. Flaxseeds are now a part of my daily breakfast. As is 3.5 - 4 liters of water a day. :)

One point at a time.

The one with the peeping tom

The day before, I met 2 people who I have not met in a while, and both didn't immediately say "wow, you've lost weight".. was disappointed to say the very least. But I did get, "you're looking relaxed, your face looks thinner, and your skin is looking good"..but this came much later.. so don't know if it was for real..
So yesterday took a sneak speak into the scale.. yes.. I'm headed the right direction. I know I'm supposed to weigh in only on Monday, but just needed to do it for reassurance.
Yesterday's steps - 11,873.
Did 1 hour on elliptical and clocked 8.1 kilometers (5 miles) at a resistance of 4.
Next week I'm going to try something new. Every alternate day I'm going to up the resistance by 1. So alternate day I'm building muscle, and the other days I'm doing hard core cardio.
I had a fitness assessment at my gym yesterday. My knees are not the greatest, and because of my core being weak, my lower back is not 100%. They are developing a program for me, and I get to do it with the personal trainer on Sunday morning as a trial. They asked me what my fitness goal was. So again, very surely, I put it out there in the universe.
To lose 20kilograms (44 pounds) in 6 months. Get my core fit and back 100%. And knees in A OK condition.
To break it down further, I will lose 1kg (2.2 pounds) a week. Workout 6 days a week. Swim every alternate day. And do a minimum of 5 aerobic/dance classes a week.
Eat normal food, that I can continue even after the weight loss is done. Something that I can sustain life long. But portion control. Eat them vegetables. Eat them fruits. And no carbs after 3pm(new rule). Drink 3-4 liters of water a day.
I'm following what I learnt in business school. Keep It Simple Stupid (KISS). Work week by week. Don't look 6 months down the line, or one month down the line. Focus on Monday - Monday. Measure my vital stats every Sunday. Weight every Monday. And I should be home. Like the tennis players play the game. One point at a time. If you look at the 5 sets even before finishing game 1, you're in trouble. As they say - one by one.
Follow this to the T, and I'll be the Roger Federer of weight loss :) :) who btw is in the 3rd round of aussi open!  My picks are all doing well this year. Hopefully we'll have a good week and a half at the first grandslam of the year.

The one where I'm talking to myself

Everyday I seem to have so many conversations with myself about losing weight, that if people could hear the voices in my head, they would be like wow.. we have a chatterbox in the house..
I'm constantly telling myself, one kilo at a time. Not to expect overnight miracles. It took me 34 years to put this much weight on, I should be able to give myself SOME time to lose it! Simple right. NOT in my head though!! I'm my personal shrink :) and I do a pretty damn good job of it :)
Anyway.. I had a decent day yesterday.
Total steps - 10,758
Elliptical - 7kms(4.3miles) in 1.05min with a resistance of 4
Didn't do too much yesterday. But I'm good. Going forward I'm won't put up what I'm going to work out the next day. I'll take it as it comes. But the one hr on the elliptical is non negotiable. 

The one in which I'm seeing double!!

Never thought seeing double would make me this happy!!!! The count on my pedometer for yesterday was an insane 19759. My target each day is 10,000. But doubling it, is just sweeeet. Parts of my body is of course in pain. But then again, no pain - no gain. 

I ate right yesterday. Did an hour on the elliptical and clocked a distance of 6.3km(4.9 miles), did an hour of step work out and 1 hour of super fun zumba. I don't go by the calories burned - I don't think they are an accurate indicator of how much was burnt. I just going to be consistent. Go to the gym 6 days a week. Eat right. And I'm positive it will all work. Counting calories of what I eat is very very difficult in India. We don't get the nutritional value of food we eat. It's not as simple as 1 cup veg, 1 cup lentils. It's how it's made. So I'm not even going to go down that road. But I know what I'm supposed to eat and how much. Portion control is the big one. So this is what I eat: 

Before gym at 6am - A fruit (a banana or an orange), 3-4 almonds soaked over night

During gym - atleast 2 liters of water 

Breakfast - 4 tbs of oats cooked in water. very little milk added after it's cooked. Add honey and flaxseed powder. One whole pomegranate. A glass of tea with no sugar.   

Snack - Green Tea and a fruit

Lunch - 2 spinach roti's(tortillas the indian way. very healthy) with flaxseed, 2 veg, 1 cup salad

Snack - Fruit 

During my second session at the gym - 1 liter of water

Evening tea without sugar

Dinner - cooked vegetables and lentils. 1 cup yogurt. 

I'm guessing all this should not be more than 1300-1500 cal a day. So I'm okay with it. 

Yesterday was a day of victories: On the elliptical, I was struggling at 40 minutes. Wanted to get off. Kept talking to myself and pushed to finish it off and last evening, after zumba, I was so tempted to eat street food. But just drove on. 2 instances where I could've caved in, but didn't. All these battles won, will win me the war eventually. 

What I plan to do today: 1 hour of elliptical, and introducing128 crunches(count of 16 and 8 sets, of different variations) an hour of swimming, an hour of power yoga and an hour of zumba.

The one in which I magically reappear!!!

Back home after my long 6 weeks vacation in not so sunny California! Miss it, but it's very good to be back home. I've started my exercise routine, and it's a lot of challenging stuff - i'm making it fun!
I'm going to start clocking my exercise routine here and I have a separate food journal - apparently it's 80 %  what you eat and 20 % how much you work out. So the food journal is very indepth.

Yesterday I had a very good workout.
Did 5 kilometers(3.1 miles) of walking on treadmill and elliptical,45 minutes of aerobics, and 1 hour of swimming where I did 10 laps of the breast stroke. My breast stroke is not the greatest, but it's still an exercise. I'm going to start taking freestyle classes from tomorrow.
Total steps - a whopping 13590.

Looking forward to today's workout. I plan to do 1 hour on the elliptical, 1 hour step workout and 1 hour of zumba. This is going to be my first zumba class ever. Very excited!! I'm going to aim to do a pilates class as well.

Over the weekend I did some intensive yoga classes and I nearly died!!! That was a sloooow and painful death! but loved it.

Weekly weigh in for me is Monday. Yesterday the digits looked good. I've lost some weight while on vacation.I'm now at 78 kg,( 171.6 pounds). Hope to lose 2 kgs this week. My target weight is 57. Have a long distance to go, but will get there!!

In other news, I'm still jetlagging. I wake up everyday between 3-4am (like right now!), and leave for the gym at 5.30am. By 8pm I'm so tired, yesterday I slept at 7.40!! technically I got my 8 hours of sleep.
Oprah came to India!!! and I didnt get to meet her!!!!
Anyone following the Australian Open? I'm rooting for Fed and Clijesters.