Refresher course (3)

Here are two more refreshed posts for you:

1. Spin-a-yarn: Click on the title to go to the post. The original one was titled Story Behind a Picture and has been kept as it is below the new version.

2. From fat to slim (4): exercising: Click on the title to go to the post. Unlike my other posts where content was inadequate, here it was in plenty and so I decided to modify it.

What are you here for?

These days I am playing a role like Garfield's instead of following Jon's footsteps. :p

Round two

I have after a long break joined the gym all over again. January however I did not do it seriously. I went to the gym only 4 days. There were two reasons for this: (a) Since I go in the morning slot waking up at 6 am is a pain. At that time I am having my best sleep and I hate it when the alarm rings. To make getting up more difficult its pitch dark outside as if it is the middle of night. (b) My niece arrived and I got a happy vacation of a week.

Not wanting to waste my money any more I have begun to go to the gym properly from Monday onwards. I am now going to a new gym aptly named Endurance which I find is better than the previous one I went to. It is way more spacious, has good equipment and its membership is very reasonable. The best thing about it is that they have many instructors whom they have divided around the floor depending upon what kind of exercise you want to do. So you always have help whether you are working out your upper body, lower body, abs or doing stretching. They even have specially designed batches where you can actually have fun while exercising which you can freely join.

A counselor drew up my chart of exercises to carry out. I have been told to note down every time what weights I use, how many repetitions I perform and how many km do I cover during cardio. After a month the counselor will review it and based on the progress may change my chart setting a higher level of workout.

I was reminded that I must maintain my diet something which I haven't done in the last 2 months. Luckily I have not put on too much weight which people had scared me that I will do instantaneously the moment I stop going to the gym. The good news is that some of my friends have been telling me that they think that I have lost more weight even though thats not the case. It feels great to hear such remarks but I am not satisfied. So I have begun to follow my earlier diet chart again.

For the end results wait for my blog entry a month from now.

Ten on ten

Today I completed my 4 month transform package at the gym!! Yipee!!

Summarizing, the first 3 months I was very regular going 6 days a week to Solaris. But after that I got tired. I lost steam. I bunked many times and the days I did force myself to go I didn't follow my weight training and exercise seriously. But I kept on with my dieting and didn't resort to binging on unhealthy foods. The result is that I have succeed in achieving my target of reducing my weight by 10 kgs!!

I am now taking a break from the gym for a month. But I am going to keep up with the disciplined lifestyle that was introduced to me on 6th June, 2007. I am not going to sit idle. I am going to play serious badminton with a friend every morning starting Monday. This will be a welcome change.

I have however decided to join Solaris all over again after this brief period. When I do that I plan to take up a personal trainer who will motivate me when I start slacking. The target will remain the same as the first time... to score another ten on ten.

New quotes

Fear is in the eye of the beholder.

Yesterday I saw this quote written on the back of someone's t-shirt in the gym and I liked it very much.

A new attitude will always lead to a new result.

Two years ago Daddy had gifted me a "motivational calendar" as a birthday gift. But surprisingly I never noticed this quote until yesterday.

The first line reminds me of the days when I used to fear going to the gym. Everything looked to sophisticated. Everyone seemed to know everything. I couldn't imagine myself fitting in. My very first day there one trainer made me stand practically in the centre of the gym to do warm exercises. I'd felt really funny as if all eyes were peeringat me. As I looked around it wasn't so. Later I realised there were more people like me who didn't know much about the machines in the gym. Within a day my fear was gone. All it had needed was me taking that one step inside the gym.

The second quotation puts into words what I have been feeling since I started going to the gym two months back. The new result is not just the kilograms of weight lost. I am happier than before. I am more confident than before. I want to learn new things. I am willing to go for morning walks with Daddy on Sundays. And I am thoroughly enjoying all the attention that I am getting now.

So, do not let fear hold you back from bringing about a new change in your life, whether its personal or professional.

From fat to slim (6): how to keep going??

I have now been going to the gym for 1 month and 3 weeks. Occasionally I feel these urges of having a pastry or eating a burger. Its finally becoming boring including salads during and fruits after the meals. Someone recently asked me "isn't it frustrating?" Thankfully I haven't reached that stage yet.

Ofcourse there have been days when I've woken up at six in the morning grumbling "mujhe gym nahi jaana!". I then remind myself of the oodles of weight I've lost, the stamina that I've gained and the compliments that are still pouring in. And finally nothing beats the happiness on being able to fit into my old college jeans!! That's what has been keeping me going.

My trainer had told me that 25% of the weight loss is a result of exercises and 75% of it comes from dieting. As I have been constantly reminding my elder sister, this does not mean that I have been starving myself. I am just eating healthier. My lifestyle has become more disciplined. I know things can only get better from here.

I read in a magazine where one woman said that she sticks her latest slim and trim photo on her fridge. So whenever she opens it she always picks up an apple instead of a pastry or a chocolate. For another lady putting pictures of her old fat self on the fridge did the trick. :p

There is a fun way too of making oneself stick to the regime. Treat yourself at the end of every month that you followed the diet and exercise drill. Like I bought two nice tops for myself some weeks ago. I am already being told by friends to buy new jeans next for myself! You can decide to get yourself pampered by going for a massage as a prize. :D

I do eat a small packet of Lays once during a week. Since I can't do without cheese in my sandwiches I have switched to low fat cow's cheese. As I hadn't eaten junk food in all this while I didn't mind indulging myself when I attended my friend's wedding reception last week. I ate sandesh, barfi and a slice of cake. I even ate chicken and fish avoiding the heavy curries and only taking the chunks while doing so. When I hit the gym again after a three day break I put in an extra 20 minutes of cardio in addition to the regular half an hour of treadmilling and crosstraining.

I have been told to enjoy this new routine. Well... sweating out is no fun. But its not too bad either. Neither is it too difficult.

My small bit of advice: Be serious about your targets but don't take it too seriously. There's nothing wrong in wanting to look your best as long as you don't get consumed by it.

Gym's peppy songs

Here are the lyrics of the some of the songs that are played in gym and which I happen to love coz they are very foot-tapping and even to some extent motivating. :)

Movie: Lakshya

Haan yehi rasta hai tera

Tune ab jaana hai

Haan yehi sapna hai tera

Tune pehchaana hai

Tujhe ab ye dikhaana hai

Roke tujhko aandhiyaan

Ya zameen aur aasmaan

Paayega jo lakshya hai tera

Lakshya toh har haal mein paana hai

Mushkil koyi aa jaaye toh

Parbat koyi takraaye toh

Taaqat koyi dikhlaaye toh

Toofaan koyi mandlaaye toh

Mushkil koyi aa jaaye toh
Parbat koyi takraaye toh

Barse chaahe ambar se aag

Lipte chaahe pairon se naag

Paayega jo lakshya hai tera

Lakshya toh har haal mein paana hai...

Himmat se jo koyi chale

Dharti hile kadmon tale

Kya dooriyaan kya faasle

Manzil lage aake gale

Himmat se jo koyi chale

Dharti hile kadmon tale

Tu chal yunhi ab subaho-shaam

Rukna jhukna nahin tera kaam

Paayega jo lakshya hai tera

Lakshya toh har haal mein paana hai...

Haan yehi rasta hai tera

Tune ab jaana hai

Haan yehi sapna hai tera

Tune pehchaana hai

Tujhe ab ye dikhaana hai

Lakshya toh har haal mein paana hai

Movie: Fight Club

Joshilay jawan ho

Khud pe gar gumaan ho

Aate hain yahan pe

Hone ko fanaa woh

Go go go go Fight Club

You got to go Fight Club

Go Go Go Go Fight Club

Yeh samaa yeh mastiyaan

Yeh diljawan aa rahe hain

Hum dilon pe mehfilon pe

Ek nasha laa rahe hain

Door se majboor se

Kuch yoon dilon ko thaame

Aa rahe ho dekhne ko tum naye hungame

Milke raho fight club

You got to go Fight Club
Go go go go Fight Club

Door hai shor hai

Hum aankhon mein hai sharaare

Dil jo chahe khibch laaye

Hum zameen pe sitaare

Yaar bhi dildaar bhi

Rang bhi raag bhi hai

Pyar bhi takraar bhi

Aur jeet bhi haar bhi hai

You got to go Fight Club

Go go go go Fight Club

Joshilay jawan ho...

Movie: Metro

In dino dil mera

Mujhse hai keh raha

Tu khwaab saja

Tu ji le zara

Hai tujhe bhi ijaazat

Karle tu bhi mohabbat

Hai tujhe..

In dino...

Berang si hai badi zindagi

Kuch rang to bharoon

Main apni tanhaayi ke vaaste

Ab kuch toh karoon

Berang...

Jab mile thodi fursat

Mujhse karle mohabbat

Hai tujhe bhi ijaazat

Karle tu bhi mohabbat

Usko chupaakar main sabse kabhi

Le chaloon kahin door

Ankhon ke pyaalon se peeta rahoon

Uske chehre ka noor

Usko...

Is zamaane se chup kar

Poori karloon main hasrat

Hai tujhe bhi ijaazat

Karle tu bhi mohabbat

In dino...

Movie: Gangster

Ya ali reham ali

Ya ali yaar pe qurbaan hai sabhi

Ya ali madad ali

Ya ali yeh meri jaan yeh meri zindagi

Ishq pe haan mita doon luta doon

Main apni khudi

Yaar pe haan luta doon mita doon

Main yeh hasti

Ya ali...

Mujhe kuch pal de ghurbat ke

Fakiran teri chaahat ke

Rahe bechain dil kab tak

Mile kuch pal toh raahat ke

Chaahat pe ishq pe haan

Mita doon luta doon

Main apni khudi

Yaar pe haan luta doon mita doon

Main yeh hasti

Ya ali...

Bina tere na ek pal ho

Bina tere kabhi kal ho

Yeh dil ban jaaye ek pathhar

Na isme koi hulchul ho

Sanam pe haan

Ishq pe haan

Mita doon luta doon

Main apani khudi

Kasam se haan luta doon mita doon

Main yeh hastii

Ya ali...

From fat to slim (5): treadmill vs cycling

Just learnt something interesting today from my trainer. Apparantly while using the treadmill for 20 min you burn more fat than using the exercycle for the same time. The reason is that on the treadmill you use your whole body to walk and run. But on the exercycle you use only half of the body weigh and so we burn only 30-40% of the fat burnt !!

From fat to slim (4): exercising

Most of us who have a desk job and work for long hours lead a sedentary life. If one wants to remain healthy and burn the accumulating fat then one must exercise. Sadly there is no substitute for it!

People who start exercising after a long break must begin slowly. With time your stamina will increase.

Whether you are doing exercises at home or at the gym you should first do a warm up. You could do light exercises like moving your head, wrists, arms and toes in a clockwise and anticlockwise manner. One could also instead do a mild cardio on a treadmill or a cycle for 5-10 minutes.

Once you have warmed up you proceed to the next level which usually involves weight training. Normally the routine is to devote different days to different parts of your body to avoid straining and injuries and to alternate this with cardio. I am descrbing here a few of my favorites.

One of the exercises which are meant for the lower part of the body is squats. In this your feet are kept shoulder distance apart, hips are out with your back straight and your hands are kept forward. In this posture you first go down and then come up remembering that the knees should always fall out and not cave in. You can begin by doing one set of 20 repititions and later as the days go by increase it to two-three sets.

The exercises that everyone seems to be interested in are those that work your abs. The trenches and leg raises are two of the most useful exercises and also are easy to get a hang of.

When doing trenches you lie down flat on your back with a mat for cushioning. You then fold your hands under your head. Fold your legs up to a 90 degree angle and then lift your back up fast and come down slowly. You must remember to keep your chin up and your back straight during the up and down motion. For achieving this it is best to keep your eyes remain fixed at the ceiling.

For leg raises while lying down keep your hands under your hips. One leg is folded with the sole touching the ground. The second leg is kept straight and parallel to the floor. Next raise this leg up making a 90 degrees angle with the floor and then bring it down but allowing it to touch the floor.

As with the squats two-three sets of these exercises are done in repetitions of 20.

One must remember to take sufficient breaks in between each set to avoid straining yourself.

Once you are done with your weight training, cardio and abs exercising you must follow it up with stretching. A few examples catering to the upper part of the body are shown in the picture here. A reminder here that stretching must always be done when your body is warm. Hence you must never begin a workout with stretches.

From fat to slim (3): cheeni kam

The above title Cheeni Kam has nothing to do with the latest Amitabh Bachchan-Tabu starrer but with my reduced intake on sugar. Infact I have now started taking Sugar Free Gold in my tea. The back of the bottle reads "It is your healthier alternative to sugar as it is made from Aspartame- a protein derivative. One pellet of Sugar Free Gold is equivalent in sweetness to 1 teaspoon of sugar and gives only 0.4 calories (2%) as compared to 20 calories from 1 teaspoon of sugar."

A table on naturetherapy.com shows how by using Sugar Free Gold you can end up cutting down 480 calories per day! This is provided one has the habit of taking 6 cups of tea/coffee, 1 cup of cereals, 1 glass of milk, 1 glass of nimbupaani, and 1 sweet dish every 24 hours.

On wikipedia one can find details under the heading sugar substitute. Also take a look at the external link there to an article on artificial sweetners.

From fat to slim (2): take it easy policy

Today I completed a week of going to the gym!! The first few days when I was simply exercising were great fun. I was learning new things. It was exciting getting used to all the equipments. The treadmill for instance. It had an inbuilt sensor such that if you kept your hand on a particular spot on the bar then your heart rate would come on screen. On one instance it showed 120 beats per minute. What freaked me out more was a heart shaped symbol flashing a red light and I pressed the stop button! Then my trainer cooled me down by informing that I needn't worry as the flashing implies that the heart rate is being measured and 120 is a normal value. As I looked around I found people running on the treadmills at way higher speeds and then I felt relaxed.

On Fri I met my dietician at the gym who made a new routine for my food intake to be followed for the coming week. Basically she told me to include more of dals (lentils), fruits, salads and milk products and reduce my sugar, cheese and rice quantities. As I did this, after every lunch and dinner, I started suffering from acidity and for one hour I'd feel winds (a more refined phrase for having gas :P). I couldn't understand why this was happening. We all know that when we start doing exercises after a long gap then we feel pain. But what I was feeling was it normal too?

The answer is yes. After having raw salads or sprouts some people do feel winds. In that case its advised to eat them boiled.

The other reason for me to have acidity could be because of the change in my lifestyle not just in terms of food habits and level of activity but in terms of my hours of functioning. I consulted a doctor who said that my body hasn't still got over my old timings of getting up at 8am and going off to sleep after midnight. But everyone doesn't go through this. He told me in hindi tension nahi lene ka (don't take tension). So did my trainer. His advice to me was to remind myself that all the things that I am now doing like going to bed early, rising early, drinking lots of water, eating healthy food, coming to the gym... are all good habits. At the same time I shouldn't become too serious about it.

What I have realized is that the change in eating habits should be brought about slowly. One shouldn't just simply give up taking sugar and cheese. Neither should one over-exercise in a bid to loose weight. All of these should be done in small bits. The idea is to not to get worked up but follow a take it easy policy.

Or else you'll end up feeling like Garfield here :p

From fat to slim (1): facing facts

If you've read my few days old post Farewell Adipose then you'll know that I have for the first time in my life joined a gym! Its confirmed now that I am pretty overweight (:p) and need to reduce with a combination of excercises and diet control. As I set about to achieve this goal I've decided to write my experiences in this "new world" in the form of a series which I've titled From fat to slim.
Quoting Julie Andrews from The Sound of Music "lets start from the very beginning, shall we?"

For quite sometime now I'd known that I had put on weight speically since leaving IITB. But I always ignored the nagging in my mind. In the last one year it however became increasingly difficult to do so. I had the good fortune of having friends who brought me face to face with reality from time to time. Lots of suggestions were thrown my way. For example: I should not eat after 7 pm, that I should take sugar free tablets, that I should go for walks, that I should exercise, that I should join a gym and so on. Obviously all this did the needful though not immediately.

I first gave a thought to doing something about it around September last year. But the enthusiasm soon fizzled out. There was no gym close to home… I had a lot of work pending… I didn't want to get up early in the morning… I was also supposed to take one course work examination, attend two conferences and give an interview for Senior Research Fellowship. So I decided to postpone the idea until after New Year. Eventually even that came and went away and so did another 5 months!!

And then suddenly a few days back I was filled on my own (!!) with a strong urge to do something about my extra flab. I found that the gym was not too far away from NCL... my work pressure itself recently lessened... no conferences or interviews were in the pipeline... getting up 2 hours early didn't seem so huge any more.

I guess eventually it came to down to one thing and one thing alone. My finally facing the facts and following that up by taking action. A friend of mine had told me that no one else could make me do that. No amount of bribe, friendly banter or blackmail would work if your heart is completely against an idea. You have got to want to go for it yourself. This indeed was my first step in going from fat to slim.

Farewell adipose

No longer is my reaction going to be like Garfield's because:

My dear adipose
you have only left another day
Coming tomorrow
you'll start vainshing away
I've paid a lot of money
to join the gym
I am gonna tuck in my tummy
and become slim and trim
No more late nights
no more getting up at eight
Now it'll be daily work outs
very soon you'll see me losing weight
Fat, you have been there long enough
but now its time to go
The next 4 months are sure going to be tough
I will survive somehow
I have decided
I am determined
to say my farewell
A new life awaits me I know, I can tell.
:)