I began my fitness journey in July 2011. After a three month trip to India I had gained a hefty 20 lbs and was topping the scale at 140 lbs+. I wanted to stop bunny hopping in and out of my jeans so I decided to lose weight. I teamed up with my girl friend and decided to start hiking regularly. My regular hiking spot was Mission Peak in Fremont, CA.
http://www.ebparks.org/parks/mission
One day as I was hiking on Mission Peak my skin started burning. It was a hot day and I was not sweating. Ever since I was a child I was never able to sweat enough. My friends would always saw I look so fresh and radiant even in the blistering Chennai weather. But only I knew the truth. I would not sweat but my skin would burn in the heat and the sweat would not ooze out. As a result my eczema would flare up. Hearing me complain about my burning skin irritation during the hike, my friend who is a doctor suggested that I use a steam sauna to open up my pores. She suggested I try out the local 24 hour fitness facility. I was very iffy. I never liked gyms and with great trepidation I entered the gym. It was stinky and awful. Ewwwww....I entered the steam sauna. It was filled with big, burly men with tattoos all over their body. In the steamy haze I got terrified and I fled the sauna. I was not interested in the cardio machines. I found them mindlessly boring. So what do I do with my membership !!
The receptionist suggested I try out the Less Mills Body pump program. What's that !!! Check out
http://w3.lesmills.com/sweden/en/classes/bodypump/about-bodypump/
He said I could burn 600+ calories in one session. I was skeptical. The next day I came for the class. The instructor walked in. She was a lean, toned American with a cocky attitude. Gingerly I started following her moves in the class. For the next 60 minutes she made us excercise every muscle in the body systemically. The music was fantastic and it was just inspirational watching her exercise and talk non stop to motivate us to keep going. I was floored. Oh boy...she made sure I became aware of every muscle in my body. I was so sore and I did not realize that my intense soreness was because of the workout. I thought something was wrong with my mattress and ended up sleeping on a sleeping bag for the next few weeks. The next few days my metabolic rate zoomed through the roof. I would be hungry all the time. I would go often to my local favorite restaurant Anjappar and have a big bowl of chicken biryani, fried fish, ghee dosa and still wonder what next to eat. In spite of such a heavy meal I would wake up hungry in the night. I even suspected I was having a thyroid problem and went to the doctor to have my thyroid checked. Right during the physical examination my tummy growled in hunger. Believe it or not despite my crazy eating habits I dropped down 20+ lbs !!!! But hang on this was definitely not sustainable !!
Gradually my body got accustomed to the routine and before I knew it the pounds slowly came rolling back over a period of two years. I would keep telling myself that I would lose it by hitting the gym again. I would bike 6 miles to the gym, do the less mills body pump class, run for 2 miles on the treadmill and head straight to Anjappar to eat a big bowl of chicken biryani and finish it off with gulab jamun. After a few months I joined back the workforce. Oh what a nice company I joined....so much free food. I left the company 15 lbs heavier !! After my morning meal of steel cut oats, almonds and blueberries I would be hungry again at 10:30 AM. The kitchen was stocked with free snacks of every kind and variety. So between my trips to the kitchen and my favorite restaurants I gradually became more and more rotund. I would step on the weighing scale and convince myself that the weight gain was because of the muscle I was gaining. During the holiday season and on business trips I would generously eat cake and sweets. No holds barred. I would always tell myself that I would burn it off. Finally I topped the scales at 150 lbs. My primary care physian showed me a chart of my weight gain over the past 2 years. From 140 lbs to 125 lbs and back to 150 lbs..Yikes !!!! But my cholesterol readings still looked good.
So this time I decided to get a personal trainer. I was obsessed about losing the extra fat. My old routines were not working anymore because my body had become accustomed to the moves. Plus as I lifted more and more weights during squats my lower back started aching. I realized my form might not be right. So I hired a personal trainer. My personal trainer guided me on clean nutrition and I learned how important healthy nutrition and meal planning is. She has also been guiding me on the right form and teaching me multi functional exercise routines so I can exercise multiple muscle groups at the same time. Yes, sometimes I feel guilty about the money I spend on personal training. But I look at it as an investment in my health. Many people waste money on alcohol, cigarettes and shopping. I am spending it on improving my fitness. I have completely stopped my restaurant trips and slowly though I have not lost a lot of lbs I see that I am losing inches !! I am yet to completely conquer my sweet tooth craving but I am getting there. My overall fitness has improved compared to before.
Here are some tips that I have learned on my fitness journey:
http://www.ebparks.org/parks/mission
One day as I was hiking on Mission Peak my skin started burning. It was a hot day and I was not sweating. Ever since I was a child I was never able to sweat enough. My friends would always saw I look so fresh and radiant even in the blistering Chennai weather. But only I knew the truth. I would not sweat but my skin would burn in the heat and the sweat would not ooze out. As a result my eczema would flare up. Hearing me complain about my burning skin irritation during the hike, my friend who is a doctor suggested that I use a steam sauna to open up my pores. She suggested I try out the local 24 hour fitness facility. I was very iffy. I never liked gyms and with great trepidation I entered the gym. It was stinky and awful. Ewwwww....I entered the steam sauna. It was filled with big, burly men with tattoos all over their body. In the steamy haze I got terrified and I fled the sauna. I was not interested in the cardio machines. I found them mindlessly boring. So what do I do with my membership !!
The receptionist suggested I try out the Less Mills Body pump program. What's that !!! Check out
http://w3.lesmills.com/sweden/en/classes/bodypump/about-bodypump/
He said I could burn 600+ calories in one session. I was skeptical. The next day I came for the class. The instructor walked in. She was a lean, toned American with a cocky attitude. Gingerly I started following her moves in the class. For the next 60 minutes she made us excercise every muscle in the body systemically. The music was fantastic and it was just inspirational watching her exercise and talk non stop to motivate us to keep going. I was floored. Oh boy...she made sure I became aware of every muscle in my body. I was so sore and I did not realize that my intense soreness was because of the workout. I thought something was wrong with my mattress and ended up sleeping on a sleeping bag for the next few weeks. The next few days my metabolic rate zoomed through the roof. I would be hungry all the time. I would go often to my local favorite restaurant Anjappar and have a big bowl of chicken biryani, fried fish, ghee dosa and still wonder what next to eat. In spite of such a heavy meal I would wake up hungry in the night. I even suspected I was having a thyroid problem and went to the doctor to have my thyroid checked. Right during the physical examination my tummy growled in hunger. Believe it or not despite my crazy eating habits I dropped down 20+ lbs !!!! But hang on this was definitely not sustainable !!
Gradually my body got accustomed to the routine and before I knew it the pounds slowly came rolling back over a period of two years. I would keep telling myself that I would lose it by hitting the gym again. I would bike 6 miles to the gym, do the less mills body pump class, run for 2 miles on the treadmill and head straight to Anjappar to eat a big bowl of chicken biryani and finish it off with gulab jamun. After a few months I joined back the workforce. Oh what a nice company I joined....so much free food. I left the company 15 lbs heavier !! After my morning meal of steel cut oats, almonds and blueberries I would be hungry again at 10:30 AM. The kitchen was stocked with free snacks of every kind and variety. So between my trips to the kitchen and my favorite restaurants I gradually became more and more rotund. I would step on the weighing scale and convince myself that the weight gain was because of the muscle I was gaining. During the holiday season and on business trips I would generously eat cake and sweets. No holds barred. I would always tell myself that I would burn it off. Finally I topped the scales at 150 lbs. My primary care physian showed me a chart of my weight gain over the past 2 years. From 140 lbs to 125 lbs and back to 150 lbs..Yikes !!!! But my cholesterol readings still looked good.
So this time I decided to get a personal trainer. I was obsessed about losing the extra fat. My old routines were not working anymore because my body had become accustomed to the moves. Plus as I lifted more and more weights during squats my lower back started aching. I realized my form might not be right. So I hired a personal trainer. My personal trainer guided me on clean nutrition and I learned how important healthy nutrition and meal planning is. She has also been guiding me on the right form and teaching me multi functional exercise routines so I can exercise multiple muscle groups at the same time. Yes, sometimes I feel guilty about the money I spend on personal training. But I look at it as an investment in my health. Many people waste money on alcohol, cigarettes and shopping. I am spending it on improving my fitness. I have completely stopped my restaurant trips and slowly though I have not lost a lot of lbs I see that I am losing inches !! I am yet to completely conquer my sweet tooth craving but I am getting there. My overall fitness has improved compared to before.
Here are some tips that I have learned on my fitness journey:
- Start the day with protein. This will keep you more full. I would eat 1/2 cup steel cut oats with blueberries, walnuts/almonds and 1 tbsp of honey for breakfast. But I would be hungry in 2 hours. Once I switched to eggs I started feeling less hungry. Eggs are very filling and nutritious. It is okay to have one full egg per day as long as your cholesterol numbers are within range.
- Plan your meals. When you are hungry you want to grab whatever can fill your stomach. So plan in advance. Keep a protein bar handy.
- Do not underestimate the importance of good nutrition. When it comes to maintaining good weight loss nutrition plays a more important role than exercise. I ruined all the gains I made by my intensive workout routines by making poor nutritional choices.
- Cardio is good but strength training boosts your resting metabolic rate. During cardio you burn calories only during the cardio session. But when you do strength training you continue burning calories even after you finish working out. Aim to do strength training for 2-3 times per week at least.
- Do something you enjoy. Like take a zumba class or go hiking with your friends. I love all the Less Mills program. They have great music, great routines and great choreography. The teachers are very inspiring.
- If you want to get leaner, stronger and fitter routine is your enemy. Don't have a fixed exercise routine. Keep changing your workout routines every week. Try a new class, form a group to go hiking.
- Don't hesitate to invest in good fitness gear. At a bare minimum you should have a good shoe. I did my first half marathon in my favorite hiking cum walking shoes. I was too cheap to invest in a good pair of running shoes. Midway I ended up getting foot blisters and by the time I completed the race they had even removed the finish line :-( My poor hubby could not even get a picture of me finishing the race.
- Find like minded friends who are interested in fitness and good nutrition. The group synergy will motivate you to keep going.
Having kids is not an excuse not to exercise. I have a 7 year old boy myself and I can understand the challenges. But here are some tips:
- Carry your kid piggy back and try to do squats. It is strength training. I do it with my son. He is a good 50 lbs. It is a nice way to bond with your child too. If you have two kids even better !! Use the older one for squats and the younger one for bicep curls. The kids will love it !!
- I love to go hiking with my son. He rides on my back and goes on rambling on.
- Play tag with your kids. It is interval training right there.
- Try to do leap frog races with your kids. Excellent for the thighs !!
- Try super man with your kids. Very good for your core workout.
- The best part I love about working out with kids is they run away after sometime. No strength training class will offer you this benefit..lol.
No comments:
Post a Comment