Re-Awakening

A few weeks ago a wonderful young man passed away from cancer. We buried him on his 30^th birthday.

Adam was a remarkable young man; a true Mensch who would have changed the world had he only had the time. He always saw the best in people, and through him we saw the best that we could be, and we strived to be that better person. His enthusiasm and empathy for everyone and everything knew no bounds. He truly felt and truly loved.

It is only when we lose such a person that we remember how fleeting life is, how much we take it for granted and how meaninglessly we plod through it. And this is tragic considering this only life we are blessed to have.

I recently met two lovely people who stimulate me intellectually and emotionally (and I hope will continue to do), and through whom I (inadvertently) was able to get over my year-long writer’s block. Such people are precious, their friendships something to cultivate like a rare and precious flower. They will make you question your beliefs, your aspirations in life, and the path you are currently walking.

Between losing Batman, meeting the Buddhist and the Doctor, I’ve felt my soul re-open, my hope in mankind rekindled (this eternal optimist had lost herself somewhat). I’m appreciating each day, spending as much time with my loved ones, and being kind to myself. Through this I’ve found myself becoming calmer and more mindful, meditation has become easier, and I’m feeling so much more – especially from a tactile point of view. I’m rediscovering that infantile pleasure of touching surfaces and feeling the trill of textures; scents intoxicate me. It is as tough I have fallen in love. Fallen in love with me, with life, and with all the amazing people in it, all over again.

Love.

Carl Sagan wrote in Contact about the universe:

“For small creatures such as we, the vastness is bearable only trough love”

I love Me. You. Infinitesimally.

 

I'm back

It’s been a while. But I’m finally back. Special thanks to all the amazing people in my life in this past year. I love you all!

Taking Charge: The Challenges

Moving towards a healthier lifestyle has its challenges: there are days when I don’t feel like exercising, eating healthily, where I’m feeling demotivated… I can deal with these but I have found that my biggest challenge is eating enough protein.

I know, right? I can just see your looks of puzzlement and surprise. How can I, a self-confessed carnivore, have a problem eating enough protein? Well, it’s harder than you think. With my new eating plan I’ve had no problems reducing my carb intake, but eating protein has proven a challenge especially as I have high cholesterol. It has been out with fatty meats - not that I ever ate much because I prefer lean meat but I do miss bacon! Red meat is a rarity as I only like the good cuts (read pricey and out of my budget) and I’ve therefore been eating a lot of chicken and fish. And then I went of chicken (it just tastes weird).

So what options am I left with? Not much it turns out. Beans and pulses are not an option for me because they are very starchy. Tofu is revolting and belongs in the same category as brussel sprouts and beetroot. I don’t eat eggs and there is only so much cottage cheese or ricotta anyone can eat. When my dietician told me how much cottage cheese I should eat in a sitting I thought she must be mad: a quarter to half a tub!

I’m starting to think that my disinterest in meat may be due to the fact that I am tired of cooking. There is nothing more demotivating than cooking for one person. No wonder single people live off ready-made meals. Woolworths knows what it’s doing.

On a positive note though: I’ve reached an incredible achievement in that I do not actually beat myself up or feel guilty if I don’t stick 100% to my eating plan, or if I decide to not go to gym on a gym day. I think that not feeling guilty is not only good for the soul but it can help me achieve more because I do not view the slippages as failures any more. For someone with ingrain guilt complex, that’s major.

Now to get my taste buds back into gear.

Taking Charge: The Wellness Journey

Last month one of my decisions was to find a health and fitness buddy. Lucky for me, my friend Kerri told me that she also wanted to improve her health and fitness. We therefore decided to go on a Wellness Journey together. Part of this journey is to motivate each other on a daily basis and help each other through the tough cravings and the lack of motivation. We decided to call it a wellness journey because that’s the ultimate goal to be healthy and fit and to feel good in our own skins, physically as well as emotionally.

In order to not lose focus we’ve set ourselves a bunch of targets which we would like to achieve.   My aim is to become fit, have automatic healthy eating habits, reach my 70kg goal weight and drop from a 36 top to a 34 and from a 40 bottom to a 36. I will achieve this by:

·         Sticking to my eating plan. This means:

o   Preparing meals in advance.

o   Drinking 2 litres water / day.

o   Eating out as little as possible and then only having healthiest options on the menu.

o   Not exceeding my 2 cheats a week.

o   Logging everything I eat.

·         Hitting the gym 3 x week:

o   When running I will gradually increase running time intervals. Currently two 5 minute intervals in a 20 min treadmill session.

o   Get a strength training workout from the gym.

o   Alternate between classes and strength training.

·         Walking for at least 1 hour once a week to train towards the 702 Walk the Talk.

·         NO CALORIE COUNTING BECAUSE THAT’S GOING TO MESS WITH MY MIND.

So far I’m not doing too badly. I’m going more regularly to gym and one of the trainers has been very generous to show me exercise sets that I can do. Full body workouts that just kill me but I actually am starting to enjoy them and the feeling of accomplishment that comes with it.

 

This is me lifting 15kg (The trainer only told me afterwards how much it was.  Sneaky!)

Last night Kerri sent me an email asking if I would be keen to do the Tougher than Dirt Run in November. My first reaction was “You have got to be kidding! Are you mad?” and then I thought about it. This is the year where I’m setting myself new challenges. After all, I decided to do the 15km 702 Walk the Talk. I’ve even started to attempt running, and I’m not coughing my lungs out when I do. So I said yes. It hasn’t quite sunk in, but crickey, yes, I’m going to do this and finish it.

See you at the finish line!



Taking Charge : Part 2

My friend Kerri sent me a link to a very interesting website: coachcalorie. It’s full of good advice on healthy eating and exercise.  Here’s a list of things from one of their posts that should help me on my weight loss journey.

Control Portion Sizes

In our super-sized food culture, portion sizes have gotten out of control. Eating portions the size of your fist is a good start towards controlling your food intake. Also, don’t feel like you always need to finish off all the food on your plate. Leaving a couple bites will teach you self-control.

Be Consistent

No one is perfect. We are all going to make mistakes. However, successful people are consistently living a healthy lifestyle. Over a period of time, they are eating healthy 90% of the time, and they are exercising several times a week.  Make exercise and healthy eating part of your everyday routine and soon it will be as second nature as brushing your teeth.

Plan

A healthy lifestyle takes planning. Most mistakes occur from a lack of a plan. Plan your meals in advance so you know what to buy every week at the grocery store. Only buy what you plan on eating, and try to cook your meals ahead of time. The simple nature of reheat and eat makes it much more likely that you’ll stay on track.

Get Active

Nearly everyone who lost over 50 pounds added in some form of physical activity. Even if it was just a little bit, the fact that they were more active helped them lose the weight. The trick is to find an activity you enjoy. Not everyone likes the same exercise. Find an activity you love to do, and then push yourself out of your comfort zone. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Don’t Beat Yourself Up

You’re going to mess up. We all do. Successful people don’t beat themselves up over it. They get right back on track. They don’t wait until tomorrow to do so either. Their healthy lifestyle and weight loss continues to move forward and make progress because they allow themselves to make mistakes, learn from them, and then end up stronger as a result.

Surround Yourself With Positive People

We are highly influenced by the people close to us. Many successful people had to move forward with their lives and leave old friends and lifestyles behind. It was a hard decision to make, but they understood how important it was to surround themselves with people who believed in their dreams.

Stop Making Excuses

Successful people made the shift and realized that the reasons for why they weren’t reaching their weight loss goals were actually just excuses. It was a hard idea to accept, but once they were honest with themselves, they spent less time making excuses, and more time finding ways to accomplish their goals.

Stay Positive

Negative thoughts lead to negative results. You are the result of what you think. Keeping a positive outtake on your weight loss journey increases the odds of your success. You will learn a lot about yourself during your lifestyle transition. There will be many challenges and difficulties, but it’s important to understand that even though it might not be easy, it will be worth it.

Don’t Try to Be Perfect

If your goal is to be perfect, you’re already setting yourself up for failure. No one is perfect. Even the people who seem to have the most perfect bodies didn’t get there by being perfect. Perfection is something many strive for, but ultimately something they will never achieve. Do your best!

Never Give Up

Weight loss happens the moment you don’t give up. Many people don’t realize how close they were to achieving success. There comes a time when things just click, but that doesn’t happen until you’re ready to throw in the towel and call it quits. The longer you stick with it, the higher your odds of success. Keep moving forward, and don’t ever give up!