The Frustration

Often, when one goes on a new exercise program or diet, one expects to lose weight fast. But even though I did in the past lose a lot of weight, I never got to a happy place. My weight loss efforts have yielded slow results. Even after Chittu I lost 25 kg over more than 3 years. This time I have lost about 10 kgs, since my highest post partum weight with the Princess. But I feel I have been on the weight loss mission ever since the day I delivered the Princess. As a result of my weight loss efforts I often get injured -my knees and hips bearing the brunt of the pain. Also I did fracture my little toe once and left me off exercise for about 4 weeks. But that apart, I feel like I have watched my food and eaten healthy for a long time now. As a family we don't eat junk food like chips and fries and aerated drinks and limit our intake of processed carbs. We do lead a healthy lifestyle. And while this has not exactly translated into stellar weight loss over the last 2 years, I think that choosing to be healthy is an achievement in itself.

Be that as it may, still seeing the same number on the scale frustrates me. I get frantic, often ill tempered and irritable. There are days I cry. I go through old pictures to see if I look any better or wear old clothes to see if they fit better, often with no luck. Then I think I should crash diet or go back to the gym. While going back to the gym is a necessity, crash dieting is not an option. I need to soon figure out how I can spare one and a half hours in the morning at the gym, without affecting my other deliverable such as packing Chittu's lunch or getting him a wholesome breakfast. A cook will not work for me. But yes I need to figure it out.

In the meanwhile, I will still be tracking my food and try to get a bit more strict with Kayla's BBG program. Its a 12 week program and I am on week 7 already, with visible improvement in strength but no change in my body stats. I love her workout and her way of eating is also totally doable. So despite my not so impressive results so far, I am going to get back at this weight loss business seriously. Re-dedicate yourself to it and get it done. I really wish I could be one of those who lose 30 kg in a year and stuff. My body has never co-operated that way till date. But a girl can always wish right?

I will write again. Till then, any suggestions to speed up my weight loss?

Anyone there?

I have been dilly dallying from writing this post. I know I need to get this off my chest, but have been grappling with many things. Being a mom to 2 is not just 1*2. Its infinitely more difficult and even though I have a lot of help and even fairly well mannered children, sometimes it becomes way more than what I can deal with. Add to this the misery of being stuck at the same weight even though I think I'm giving weight loss my everything. And then the comparison. 2 years after Chittu was born I brought my weight into the sub 80s. Now after the princess, even though I did not go upto where I was when I started the whole weight loss thing, I still have not been able to reach the 70s.I feel ashamed and frustrated. Most times I feel that having the Princess was the worst logistical decision I've ever made. I feel like everything is going downhill.

Anyway this blog has seen my journey once and I'm fairly determined to get rid of this weight. So I came back to where I started - this blog of mine. My old posts inspire me. So I'm going to get back journalling my weight loss efforts here. Follow along (if anyone is reading this, that is) and together we'll see if is really possible to lose weight by cutting calories and working out.

Right now this is how I exercise:

• I follow Kayla Istines BBG workout and am on week 5.These are 3 strength training workouts per week, and I work out at home.
• I run once a week (usually Sundays) and my last Sunday run distance was 8.5 k. I am progressively increasing the distance.
• On the other 3 days of the week, I do walk at home videos by either Leslie Sansone or Jessica Smith that last about 40-45 minutes. 
• I exercise every day for atleast 30 minutes.

This is how I eat:

I try to eat as much veggies and vegetarian protein as possible and watch my intake of refined carbs and sugar. I have started journalling my food beginning yesterday. However I do eat rice, though in limited quantities.

Also this time around very time I try to eliminate rice, I end up with severe gas and bloating issues that leave me writhing in a unbearable stomach pain. When I over exercise or push some limits, I get severe pain around my c-sec incision. When I stop stretching after exercise, I get a crippling pain in my hip joint, that leaves me unable to sleep on my sides. All in all I'm on a tightrope and the balance is too delicate.


My weight is roughly 83 kg and I may have lost about 10 kg from my highest post partum weight after the Princess. But my efforts have intensified since February and have not yielded results in the manner that I expected. As I said in the beginning of this post I am feeling very frustrated. Sometimes I want to scream, sometimes I want to just breakdown and weep but those things are not going to help me get to goal.

I will keep this space updated, and for any readers who are left I am also journalling this on Instagram one picture at a time. I'm #nivkrish21 just in case.Any  old readers? Let me know how far along you've got?

A Thinking post!

Warning: This is a brutally honest post.

Over the last few days my weight has crept up and is showing close to 77 once again!!

 

I have been working out fairly consistently (5-6 days a week), going on my long runs and watching my food too! Its moments like these that I want to break down and really weep my heart out.

 

Weight loss is hard. Like stupendoudly hard. It takes - persistence, persevereance and patience. Or do they all mean the same? While I do recognise that the weight rise could be because my body is holding on the some excess fluids (because of hormonal reasons), because my bowels are not exactly contributing to weight loss, because of muscle gain/ muscle pain for picking up rigourous exercise again! which all may not exactly result in the size gain still, the difference between 74.5 and 76.8 is so hard for me to accept. I keep thinking its becasue of that roti I'm eating or that meal/(s) we ate out, that bite of dessert, that cup of bournvita or whatever - none of them are sinful foods per se - but seem like villians to my weight loss effort!

 

At 74.5 I thought another 4.5 kgs and I'm almost there in the 60s. It was that close. 77 is just emotionally hard number for me! I think I will react badly to that number any day I see it! Its threatening close to 80. Its depressing.

 

Having been at this weight loss thing for almost 3 years now, I also know the method of weightloss my body best responds to. All I need to do is cut the carbs - even complex carbs from wheat, millets and fruits, and stick to a protein based diet and tada - my body is shooting down numbers. The side effect of that is that - my stomach and intestines really bear the brunt of all my eating experiments. Stomach ulcer and acidity is something I've always had to grapple with. But lately I realised there must be some internal bleeding as well - cos ummm... there was blood when I went to the toilet!!!

 

Some self medication later, I guess I am better, but it makes me think whether clamping down upon my eating is all that necessary. The ultimate goal is health right? And I wonder whether I'm paying too high a price for weight loss.

 

I know solutions exist within my constrains - like to drink lots of buttermilk, tender coconut water, pomogranate, methi seeds and other remedies, but then I wish I had someone, standing beside me and giving me what to eat in hand! With the toddler, husband, a job and so many other things scrambling for my time, I find I treat myself badly at times - like I delay my own dinner until everybody has eaten. By then I lose appetite and dislike the food. And then many complications such as the ones above arise.

 

Sometimes I feeling I'm walking a tightrope. One wrong move and I pay a heavy price -only recently I had recovered from the hip pains I got from road running/ over exercising!! Now its this. Achieving weight loss through this myraid of tiny explosives is a challenge I have been at! I know I'm mostly through it. this final leg is going to be the most challenging and demanding. I am stepping up exercise. I'm going to back to journalling to, just in case. I really want to be done with this!

 

Forgetting April and moving on!

Phew!!! Am I glad April is over?

 

Even before April started, I knew that it could bring on a whole lot of crap. Though I wished that only good news will come, thre was a fear churning at the back of my head. April is the month promotions at work are announced and I did not make it! I have long been due for a upgrade, but missed it for one or other reason attributed by my management. Don't get me wrong, I do not work in an environment where reward and quality of work are directly propotional. Often its only a matter of number of years of service and some times really bad luck like a change of policy. To put it in a nut shell, I have time and again lost my promotion thanks to being on leave a whole year after Chittu was born. No I am not blaming him. Neither am I saying it was a bad decision cos only I know that I was so tattered (both physically & mentally) after Chittu's birth, that I really did need a long time and the joy of a baby to reallign me to the real world!

 

The whole thing was badly timed, maybe and as a result I missed a whole assessment year that I am paying for even now!Looking at the bright side, I can sure say that I was lucky to still have a secure job waiting for me after a whole year's break! But I was so angry this time around that I retreated into this shell, where I blamed my poor judgement for taking this kind of a job and not take up professional practise with my skill set, especially! I also blamed my lack of planning. Then I was so mad at the fact that living in an office owned apartment tied me down from resigning my job immeditaely, and the fact that I will have to wait a while before we can move out of this house into another one!

 

On the weight loss front, I thought the anxiety I was going through will help me lose some weight! But no! I developed pains in my hip joints, my knees, had shin splits, terrible stomach ulcer problems and just wanted to hibernate. I was annoyed at having Maami in the house ALL the time, Chittu being attached to her as if she were his mother, not being able to run the way I used to, Chittu being so possessive about his friend- our neighbour that he would not let that kid go home after after play in the evening- the pressure of having a second baby is staring down at me and not losing ANY weight and staying stuck at 77.5 just simply annoys me like crazy.

 

I still am stuck by the way.I think I have been stuck for the last year almost!!! There's little I can do in that regard except what I am already doing and I guess I will have to leave it at that! I have left that month behind me and am basically clueless about what I ought be doing. Its not that I am unhappy. I am just extremely stressed out personally and professionally. I promise I'm working on it. So things should be ok again. I am going to continue eating well and exercising (because thats second nature to me:) dare I say) and you dear reader, will definitely see more updates on that!!!

 

I'll see in you guys in a soon happier post :)

 

Friday post - have done vs have to do and my lunch plate pictured

I have been stuck in the 77-79 rut for a long time now ( Since last July, almost) I keep losing and gaining the same 2-3 kgs over and over again. And anything I try to do to get my weight to touch 75 or under - i.e calorie restriction or stepping up work outs is not working.

 

Obviously I needed to change up some things. Here is what I have done/have to do :

 

1. (have done)Rev up metabolism by changing the exercise - splitting my exercise sessions in two. I have been trying to sneak in the Jillian Michael -30 day shred level 2 in the evenings after work. So far, I am enjoying it. Lets see  if the scale actually will move.

 

2. (have to do)Run What started with a severe pain in my right upper thigh had now resulted in sharp pains in my left knee. Obviously I was stressing my left leg because the right was in pain. I have not run all of this week, except Tuesday and decided to miss both my pump sessions. I instead did yoga yesterday and gave my body a stretch and the 30DS work out in the evening!I will still try to get an intense session in the morning.

 

3. (have done) Grain  - and that is where I think I need more change. I have gone off rice. Well almost. I guess I can never fully. Instead I eat whole wheat rotis and pasta, broken wheat - dalia , oats and millet flours. I could replace that with a lentil & soup for dinner, and a fruit later at night if I am hungry. Always easier to say and very difficult to do!

 

4. (have to do) Banish the sugarAlthough I do stay away from sweets - I take sugar in my coffee and tea, a bit of jaggery here and there, hidden sugars like in my yogurt, some craisins or dates at times. I am sure I will do better if I can totally cut out these sweetening additives. Honestly instead of cutting out more food, i'd rather exercise a bit more!

 

5. (have done& have to do) Up the veggies. I don't love raw veggies.I am however trying to make up salads and raitas to bulk up my meal. Still I could probably work on that as well!

 

Anyway, while I work on getting closer to goal weight, I'll share a picture of my lunch plate with you:

thats Chinese style whole wheat fusili pasta with red and yellow peppers, baby corn and soya nuggets with a yogurt

 

Usually the yogurt would be my snack, but I'm PMSing and sugar craving, so I was just being nice to myself! Lemme know if anyone really wants the recipe, I will be glad to share!

 

the grey zone

I must admit I have been in the grey zone lately. Somedays, I wake up,do my stuff and feel good about where I have reached after all this hard work. Some days, I have moments of great self doubt, wonder whether the scale is moving at all and if ever I will lose all this extra baggage I am carrying. I think of crash dieting sometimes. But I know I cannot do it! Really, I cannot. Somedays I look at the round on my shoulders after all the body pump hours I've put in. Somedays, I cannot help but notice that my butt is far bigger than I'd like it to be. Some days, I pride in the halasana or the push up that I have become able to do. Some days, I am so embarassed that I have been on this final weight loss jounrey for over two years now and have not yet reached where I want to! I know I need some more discipline to shake the final kilos off. Half assing isn't working. I guess I need to get down to the real hard work!

 

I have only recently been able to stay off rice, considerably! I am starting to run again. There are quite a few running events I have lined up. That's the only way I'll actually run without feeling complacent. And this is my action plan, running apart:

 

• watch the rice, watch the rice, watch the rice!
• improve core strength - some planks please?
• journal (i have recently got back to journalling in a note book)
• first get under the 75 mark! smaller goals at a time?

I am planning a beach holiday in the last week of March! So do you think I'll be a lighter person by then? I really want to break out of this badly!

 

 

Speaking my mind

Last night, after eating my dinner, I was on the verge of tears. This weight loss thing has been getting to me. I have been holding around 79.5 for a LONG time now, atleast two months, since I got back from the US. I did touch the 78s early on in October. But I have come back to the 79s again. Yes I admit I went through a phase of mid-night mysore pak eating. But that lasted a week or so and I have been working out pretty hard. I dont even expect to lose a pound a week. But I was hoping that I'be back to my pre-US weight (around 77) in atleast two months.

 

I fished out my old tracking diary and saw that I am around the same weight I was in June. Four months later, I am in the same stage (ofcourse I gained 4 and lost 2) and I feel so so bad about myself.  I had a personal trainer in June, stuck to around 1500 calories per day and did see the scale move down. I might be doing a similar thing this month too, and even though I vowed to do go back to Phase 1 SBD, I figured that at 1 meal in a day is not exactly SBD compliant. My main fear is that I would not want to faint or pass out during the 12.5 k on Sunday. The other reason is that I continue to eat healthy though I take about half a cup of white rice at my meal or a couple of idlis or broken wheat and such stuff. I don't think that is bad per se. And sparkpeople shows me a lower car consumption than before. I guess I will just have to be consistent and see if there is any progress.

 

The Scientist alsosuggested that I get my thyroid checked to ensure that there is no other obstacle that is making it hard for me. I will do that soon too. Meanwhile, I want to just close my eyes and be 12 kgs lighter when I open them.

 

I know I have to swallow the pill of patience and just keep at what I am doing. Ofcourse, I continue to marvel at my body's ability to run even at this weight. I'm terribly sorry about the ranty post. I just had to tell you guys two things. Firstly that my SBD attempt is only partial and Second that I am so so surprised by how difficult it has actually become to get rid of this weight!

 

Going back to how I began - Phase I, SBD!

I think I might just be done with staying around this weight. I know what works best for me and I am going to do the South Beach Diet - Phase 1 for the next two weeks. I know my timing may be a bit off because Diwali falls within that bracket, but I will deal with it then. I am done with weighing in at 79 kg! JUST SO DONE.

So I'm going to stock up on lentil supplies, veggies, mushrooms, tofu, low fat dairy and all. I begin from this evening meal. I am ready to get rid of the next 5 kilos!!!

Wish me luck! Anyone wants to join? I will keep this space updated!

Working out while being a mother, slow weight loss and other thoughts!

This morning, I was all set to go for my run! Even though I stayed up late last night finishing up some personal work, I was up by 5.30 this morning and ready to hit the road. By the time I brushed my teeth I came back to find Chittu woken up, wailing and wanting to sleep on my lap!

Yes there are the unbeatable joys of parenting. But sometimes its hard to decide to leave a crying child and head out. I find it difficult to fit in my gym sessions/ runs/ walks with the Scientist being away. It tugs my heart to leave my child at home with Maami, protesting at my leaving the house. He very clearly expresses his dismay at my leaving the house by saying: "Amma gymikku poga vendam" (meaning amma should not go to the gym) the moment I get dressed in track pants.

Despite his protests, I made it to body combat class yesterday. And on some mornings I sneak out of bed for an early run! With my improving fitness levels, I find that I need to exercise twice a day to keep up weight loss. Also with my recent ulcer development, I have increased my calorie intake to about 1600-1700 calories a day. Carbohydrate intake has also increased, and therefore I must exercise if i want to lose weight. Already I hardly find my weight changing, and am a bit concerned, even though I fit into smaller clothes!

Sometimes, I really get bogged down with the amount of time and hard work that its taking me to melt the fat. Somedays I pat myself on the back for taking control of my body and doing so many good things with it! Who would have ever thought I run 6 kilometres just because I'm fit and I can do it?

 But honestly today is one of those days I feel like whining and weeping because its so so hard to actually lose weight! I am trying my level best despite my constraints of being a mother, a wife and a professional. I am certainly not going to reach goal weight of 67 kilos by August 21, 2012. I have lost 23 kilos in 22 months. May be it is going to take me 10 more months to lose the next 10 kilos? But I'm going to keep at this!

The winds of change & just for laughs!

Yesterday, as I walked into my home from work, the Scientist exclaimed that I looked like a College Girl! Yes the Scientist, is a complete sweetheart that way, and if not for his support, I wonder how far along I would have come on this journey.

Yes, I have decided to be patient, and shut up and not rant about the number on the scale. I am going to be the quite, diligent worker, who goes about my business, and leave the rest to happen as best as it should. I must click a picture of myself. May be there will be a halo?

As I have said, Maami’s absence leaves me with a home full of work to be done, and then there’s the job and the gym and generally life which also demands my time. On the professional front, I am in a bit if turbulent weather and am listening to the winds of change. Foodwise, I have stopped journaling, because I am a superwoman, and when I close my eyes at night, the number of calories I have consumed in a day does a thank-you ballet in front of my eyes. But seriously, I have been eating a cookie here and there, some ice cream from the freezer, some sweets from the promotion party at work place and the such. I don’t think I’m losing weight, but also hope I’m not gaining. The gym continues to be my early morning temple of routine and my only source of endorphins. Will you be offended if I say I have begun to find great joy in doing 10 unassisted machine pull ups? Or running a 5k on the treadmill? Please don’t be. I am, but a mortal whose only goal of life, right now, is to get thin!

Sorry, that was my attempt at humour. I cannot tolerate the other serious things that are going on in life right now. So some laughs? Anyone?

Fighting the funk and other updates!

I'm back! I was fighting the funk, and was in a completely crappy mood, weight loss wise. Yesterday, i.e. Sunday was so bad that after my weekly rice based meal promise, I wanted to dig into an endless tub of chocolate icecream. The scale was not helping and did not reward me one bit for the exceptional temptation control and solid workouts I gave myself last week!

Hence, I totally did not feel like a whirwind week post or a weekly work out update & recipe promise post, though my kitchen has churned some fantastic healthful food. In addition extended family was here over the long weekend, and I'm proud to say my eating did not go overboard, by any measure. At lunch I stuck to my order of soup and dal, nibbling off the Scientists plate. I was able to counter tempting offers cajoling me to eat the oily  restaurant food with snug replies, that sent the message loud and clear!

My low spirits were lifted this morning only after a killer work out that my personal trainer put together for me. My personal training sessions are going very well, and I feel strong and agile after every session. The magic of exercise, I tell you!

The promotion season in office began today, with the first round of celebratory sweets being sent around. I must admit I gave in to sugar temptation! I have planned out how to resist in the future, however. So thats it. The jouney continues. I have roighly another 12 kgs to goal, and this seems to be taking forever!

When will I get ahead? -Thoughts on the plateau that I am in

I have admitted that weight loss is an obsession. Its important to be conscious of what I eat, drink and do every waking minute. Like for example, keep my water bottle near me, and remember take frequent sips. I plan ahead what I am going to eat. I think about what I can cook as I am veggie shopping. I remember to soak the beans. I also remember to take the steps. Its now easy for me to refuse juice. I know I don’t need that sugar. I consciously walk past he pav bhaji wallah. I don’t buy biscuits from the bakery. And cream biscuits. I have totally forgotten about them too. I don’t go to the sweet shop any more. Even to buy stuff for friends/ relatives. I instead go to the store where I buy the best fruits. Albeit expensive. So it has been a long and painstaking journey to the loss of all my pregnancy weight. I’m now left with all the adipose that were a part of my body since very, very long. And believe me when I say, it is becoming very difficult to lose that weight. Sometimes, like last night, I want to cry. I am working very hard on this. I know I need to and I certainly want to complete this journey once and for all. This time, just for myself.

These are my thoughts :

·         I am very happy about how far I have come – physically and mentally. It’s almost discouraging to know to know that I have almost an equal distance to go.

·         What should I do to get out of this plateau and go back to moving downward?

·         After reading, I thought weight training was the answer. But that does not seem to be working.

·         Should I add an evening workout? Something as small as walk after dinner? Or taking Chittu to the park? Some days I am totally out of steam by the time I go home from work. And then I also need to figure out dinner. Or may be its possible? It’s all in the head, no?

·         Am I eating more? Possibly. Once I joined the gym, my work outs became more rigorous. My energy levels dipped when I did not eat. I could not wake up in the mornings. So I added back fruit and white rice, some times brown bread even. May be the white rice is my enemy?

·         My calorie intake still ranges between 1200-1500. My work outs are intense. Then should I not be losing weight?

·         Oh!!! The stomach ulcers that were acting up. May be that lead  me to eating more?

·         Am I using too much oil in my cooking? I don’t think so. My cooking usually does not have oil floating on it or leave me with greasy fingers.  I still wonder!

·         I am working on more water consumption. I heard that fat comes out of the body as pee.

·         How much longer is this going to take me? My goal was to reach 67 kgs in August this year.

·         There are some people who lost 40 kgs in year! What did they do/eat?

These are my thoughts. Transparent. I want to cry. But more than that, I want to get ahead.

Updates from an exhausting day!!!

I returned from work, wanting to tuck into bed today. I felt exhausted. I still made myself a cucumber sandwich with a wedge of low fat laughing cow cheese, a glass of cold milk with sugar free hersheys and a yummy snack made of dates and nuts, which I promise to review soon. I headed back downstairs to join Chittu's play and returned home within 15 minutes as the husband returned from work.

For dinner I made some of my awesome broccoli-cauliflower soup and served it over pasta for the Scientist. My heavy evening snack thankfully gave me a smaller appetite.

Then came Chittu's feeding time and then our dinner. Chittu loved the soup too :)

I have been feeling very low over the last few days, as my weight still hovers in the 79-80 range. But I know I must keep at this, and I should make improvement over time!! I just hope I don't stay stuck forever.

I'm going to sign off, before I begin to snore over the key board. Gym clothes are laid out as usual. Let's remember, I never EVER regret a good workout!!!

March Musings - Goals and two links

This morning was a typical Friday. Thanks to a wailing toddler last night, for seemingly no reason at all, we could not go to bed till 11 p.m. My alarm when off at 5.10 in the morning. I set it that way because it does not feel like I wake up at 5 a.m, which I think is too early. Anyway so I turned off the alarm and went back to sleep. I woke up half hour later, worried that I had over slept. Even though my gym clothes were laid out, I momentarily wondered if I should just skip the gym. However, I hauled myself out of bed, and fought that trace of laziness. By 6.15 I was on the elliptical. Today was cardio day. Also, there was a board outside the gym that said that gym would be closed tomorrow. Thank goodness I made it today. But guess who is sad about missing dance aerobics group class tomorrow?

As is routine I weighed myself to see 79.8. My weight loss has really slowed down after joining the gym in January. Over the last few days I have been feeling overly exhausted. On the food front, I think I have been having enough protein and carbohydrates. But why the exhaustion?

I give to you two links highlighting the importance of water and sleep in weight loss.

This

& This

While I do drink about 2 litres of water in a day, it is possible that it is not sufficient for my body, given that I do pretty intense work outs, and also that summer seems to have arrived on full volume in Bangalore. Also while I could be a complete sleepy joe, I have been cutting back sleep to about 6 -6 1/2 hours every day. That’s the only way I manage to fit in baby time, cooking time, family time, gym time & blogging time. I should possibly cut myself a little slack, and organize time a little better perhaps?

So, here are my March goals:

1.    Increase water/fluid intake ; include buttermilk, tender coconut water and plenty of plain simple H2O.

2.    Structured work outs restricted to 5 days a week – include yoga and/ or pilates in addition to dance aerobics & continue strength training so that I will enough sleep on days I don't work out.

3.    Maintain food, weight, water & exercise journal. I have begun to enjoy this actually.

4.    Not gain weight during the family vacation planned during the third week of March. Yes we are going on vacation. Remember I had made it a 2012 goal?

So that’s it. Lets get to work!!!!

Stop the whining!

Yes. Let's stop the whining and get on with life.

So many things have improved. Remember the trek last week, and the jeans you wore? You could not have done it some months ago. And running on the treadmill? Remember the time you were immobile after the dual fracture and  were huge? Like a mammoth? Things are far far better now.

Oh! And how about being able to have so much better control over the sweets? Yesterday was a proud moment, wasn't it? When you passed the puris and sweets at the wedding banquet?

So life is better, and the scale will show you love soon. Don't fret! Move on!

Change in plans and a call for help!

Ofcourse you know I’ve been stalling with my weight loss attempt. As per plan, I expected to be safely out of sight from the 80’s by now, hovering at 77-78. But nope. No luck there. All of January and until now, I have been so regular with my exercise schedule getting about 40 mins of intense cardio a day, 5-6 days a week. I have also been tracking food and I think I’ve been doing pretty alright on that front too. I have been hovering between 80-81 for a month and a half now!

WHY won’t the scale budge?

I observed that now my weight goes down only if I ate only veggies through a day. (I weigh in everyday btw)However those days, I felt I was nearly dying by the end of working hours at office and would go home very, very fatigued. Given that I burned approx 400 cals during my workout, obviously eating only veggies is NOT sustainable. So I have added back rice to my diet. My eating looks like this:

Breakfast contains rice lentils and veggies.

Lunch is a fruit, lentils, veggies and low fat curd

Dinner is similar to lunch sans the fruit

2 snacks

1 cup of coffee

1 cup of tea

A large cup of double skimmed milk after dinner

Right now, I DON’T want to alter my eating plan. I think I’m doing alright. And I’m tracking.

So this morning at the gym, I headed to the weights section. I think part of the fat in my body is being stubborn and holding on to me with too much love. May be weight training will help me to burn that stubborn fat? Do you think? Any suggestions? I’d really appreciate help.

Can you hear a puppy whine? That me, just in case :P

Why is getting back to routine so difficult after a measly two day vacation?

Getting back to routine after even a two day holiday seems so hard. While I am watching calories and exercising control, I am still waiting to hit below 80. Weighing scale showed exactly 80 sometime last week. But no luck of the seventies. It is getting a bit annoying especially after how regular I have been with my workouts. I should get back to tracking, since I have not tracked since last friday!

As planned I hit the gym this morning and did a good 45 mins of cardio - 30 on the elliptical and ten on the treadmill. I continue to be wary on the treadmill, and do not run/ slow down at the first hint of any kind of pain. I do not want to consciously end up in an injury.

Well, that's that. I have nothing else to say. Gym clothes are laid out and refrigerator is well stocked. I shall persist with trying to achieve my goal.

I'm heading to bed early tonight :) 

February Goals & Hopes

One thing that all those who have lost a considerable amount of weight say is to keep going irrespective of the number on the scale. From my own experience, losing close to 20 kilos, I have learnt that it is very very difficult to do that. Day after day of sensible eating and exercising, I hope that the weighing scale reads a few hundred grams lesser every morning. Sadly that is not how things work and I must admit that my journey so far has been slow and painstaking.

I have been for a month now, trying to reach below the 80 mark. Last few days have been holding up at 81.1. However I have been working out at the gym almost all of January, and I think I can say I have better tone.

Also throughout January, although I was well within calorie range (1300-1500), I know from my food journal that I did eat grains in the form of Rice/Chappatis/Oats/Broken Wheat more than once a day. I also ate fruit (including bananas) in addition to grains. That simply does not work for me. I will do a post on bananas and how they affect me soon.

My goals this month are these:

·         To do phase 1 SBD for two weeks (today is day 3), but with a maximum of two servings fruits in a day (no bananas for me though!)

·         To reach 78 kilos by the end of this month. (I have a birthday, goal, remember?) (when I made the goal I estimated to lose atleast 2 kilos every month)

·         To get in a bit of structure to my workouts. The scientist pointed out this morning that I have not yet planned my gym work outs.

·         Last month’s unaccomplished goal of posting a recipe and a picture every week spills into this month as well!

·         Continue to do the food & weight journal

So on a positive note, here’s to February’s hopes & goals!

Cheers!

Whirlwind weekend? Not really!

I’m late, I know. But the kid was miserably ill over the week end. We went from a cold to a cough to severe wheezing. The wheezing subsided only after a couple of doses with the nebulizer. So quick weekend update:

I worked out both Saturday & Sunday. Saturday, I did the group dance aerobics class at the gym. It was awesome once again. We are planning a pilgrimage this coming weekend and I expect to miss 3 gym days. So, I compensated by doing a fantastic cardio session on Sunday. Like I read on someone’s blog – You never regret a workout. EVER.  Another thing I read on someone else’s blog (Roni’s weigh?) - the hardest part about going to the gym is getting your butt out of the door. So true, for me!

Food wise – honestly, I’ve been alright. Counting calories to about 1300 per day. But I’ve been eating all foods in moderation, including white rice.

Weight wise – I don’t know what to say. Yesterday, scale read 80.8. I was happy. But today, I recorded 81.5. One thing I know for sure is that white rice really stands in the way of weight loss. I lose beautifully, when I totally skip it. But then there come times when I wake up feeling exhausted. That’s not good! I will watch till the end of this month, and go back to phase I, South Beach Diet if I still hover around the same numbers. I need to check up on the measurements also. The new gym routine might have a little role in the weigh-in results.May be better tone? What say?

Also I used the weekend for shopping. I restocked on Weight Watchers jam, Oatmeal and Granola Bars from Godrej – world food store, fruits and veggies from the local market and have whole masoor dal dosa (lentil crepes) batter ready in the fridge. 

As I said we are going to be travelling this weekend. And, I wonder when I will ever graduate to the 70’s. I really need some encouragement now. After being good and resisting the mint oreo cookies the Scientist bought. 

A Whirlwind weekend and a very disjoint post!

It was the festive weekend of pongal/Sankaranthi, the harvest season. Salutations are offered to the Sun God who regulates the rains and ensures a good harvest. Festival means good food, or high calorie food. Yes I did indulge. But strangely I don’t feel much remorse or guilt.

Saturday morning, I hit the gym at 7 a.m. for a physio session, that assessed my current level of fitness. I was told that I had great flexibility, decent endurance, but poor muscle strength, because I did could not do even one push up. I was also told that I needed to lose another 20 kg. Yes, I know that. But I’m thankful that I have already lost about almost 20 kilos. To hear I need to lose 40, will have been much worse. The weighing scale at the gym, with work out clothes and socks on showed 84 point something. I don’t remember clearly. I have not lost any weight since Jan 1 2012, on which day I weighed around 81.5 kgs. My weigh in this morning is seen on the side bar.

The whole thing got distressing, and I took the weekend off indulged in all the festive goodies, had dinner at Papa John’s Pizza with cheese sticks AND pepsi, and completely enjoyed it. We brought home the leftovers – 3 slices, of which I had one for breakfast, and the Scientist finished off the remaining two. I just ate some digestives and a banana at work, cos the one slice of pizza was not enough breakfast. Speaking of banana, Chittu now says ba-na-na, slow and deliberate, albeit adorable. That’s three fruits now. He also says papaya and apple.

My mind feels very cloudy, and it’s the beautiful play of the female hormones. My gym week will start tomorrow. After the physio test, I did an hour of dance aerobics, which was totally AWESOME. I simply loved it. Though, ever since Saturday morning, my legs feel like lead. I now know what I will do every Saturday morning.  

After the awesome workout, we headed to my Aunt’s for the Pongal festival, for what’s a festival without relatives? Saturday evening, we headed to the beautiful Rajarajeshwari temple, for darshan, but not before we maneuvered through a wrong route of choice and terrible traffic. Sunday was the day of the main festival. Being at my own aunt’s place, I get the advantage of lounging around, without being expected to offer too much help. In contrast, at my in-laws’ my helping hand is expected. So we finished up puja, then ate, and I curled up next to Chittu and dozed through his two hour afternoon siesta. We returned home to an empty Sunday evening, got to know that Maami will return on Monday morning, and used the opportunity to head for pizza, after shopping for veggies at Namdharis. I think this Sankaranthi has brought a good harvest of Bok-Choy cos I saw PLENTY of it in the store. I purchased a small bunch, and am yet to decide how exactly I am going to cook it.

So, if you have survived my long disjoint post, tell me dear reader, how has your week end been? And what you like/dislike about my blog posts.