Indiscipline

This has happened many times with me and it will happen again too. Start a program, stick to it for a month, two months, continue diligently and in a totally focused manner, and then with some circumstances, laziness, finger pointing, blaming someone else - start making excuses to get off the grid.
A nightmare for a workout person, the curse of a fat person, the worst word in the world for someone who has an agenda is - TOMORROW.
I don't know what came between me and my goal. It doesn't matter. What matters is i let go.
Today, is one hundred days to go for end of 2011. I had set a target for myself to achieve by end of this year. In the next 100 days, i have to lose 15 kilos. I don't know how many kilos of fat i will melt, but i do know i have to stick to the plan. No matter how i wasted the momentum and last month, i have to give myself that chance. There is no one to redeem but myself.
The snoring has gotten really bad. Laziness reeks out of my existence. I am eating guilt free though.
Have got a few ideas on getting back to the work out, and will share them with you guys along the way, as and when i get results. I also need to do my annual heart and sugar check up done. Its a charade really, cos i dont seem to be doing anything about the weight.
The weight loss and health, go hand in hand for me. With 100 days to go and 13 weeks of my favourite season, i have to commit myself - to not skip a single day, to remain focused, to make sacrifices.
Toughness, is a quality of the mind. The way a person treats himself and his life, is a great reflection of how he treats everything around himself... Who am i ? We are soon going to find out. Cos its now or never...

It has been 13 days that i have religiously been hitting the gym and doing my back exercises separately at home. Of course, its too short a period to see any change and effects. What i can endorse however, is better circulation, bounce in my step and some expected, muscle ache. There is a renewed hope in my health and a peaceful calm in my sleep.
The good thing abt this slow start is that i aint killing myself. I am still contemplating breaking up the week with limb specific work out. Presently, i am following the old school regime.

• walk on the treadmill for 15mins @ 6 speed - break in to a sweat.
• basic top to bottom warm up and stretches.
• 100 jumping jacks (50x2).
• 50 squats (25x2).

After which i hit the machines where again i follow top to bottom and inside out work out. To avoid confusion, i do 2 sets of 15 rotates each for all the exercises. I started with 5kgs dumb bells and have now moved to 7kgs. Hope to start September with the 10kgs set.

• lateral pull down - front.
• lateral pull down - neck.
• shoulder press with dumb bells - sitting on the bench, with the dumb bells under my chin, wrist facing inside and curl as i raise the dumb bell above my head.
• flat bench press with dumb bells.
• inclined bench press with dumb bells.
• flat surface fly's on the bench.
• flat surface tricep extension with knees folded up, followed with a crunch.
• bicep curl.
• forearm curls.
• standing up both hands tricep pull up.
• leg extension - both push and pull.
• calves extension on the aerobic step.

On two days of the week, i focus largely on my back, which involves

• dead lifts with the bar and weights.
• bend over lifts with semi squat.

I make a point to finish the work out with another 15 minutes of cardio of walking on the treadmill at 4% incline and speed of 5.5 speed setting OR cycling at resistance of 5 for 15 minutes

Progressively, i would like to increase the weights so that there is a substantial increase in the muscle mass - which will continue the burn calories. Also i want to increase the intensity of the cardio and involve some jogging or circuit work out where i will walk for 2 mins and run for 2 mins, so the heart rate stays high for a longer period.

Since i am only going to the society gym, i aint making excuses of driving, parking, locker room space etc. Also, cos i am a morning person, its time spend productively, till rest of the world comes around. I have sore muscles right now. But its not causing any trouble with my day to day functioning.

In terms of food, my friend Andu was in town and gave an interesting perspective. Its quite simple to measure, if your stomach isnt giving you signals that its full. The amount of food that you eat in one meal, should fit in the cup of your palms. Yup! Thats all your stomach can fit in anyway.

I have included dry fruits that Shiril has got, fruits, veggies, dal, sprouts in my food habit. Since i had over done the booze since the end of May this year, i am totally off the juice since 28 July. Giving a break to my body, i also am staying off meat for a month to begin with. lets see where that one leads...

Back to Beginning

Yes!! I have made the first move. Now my body has to react and show results. Of course, its just the beginning and i am very greedy to expect instant results :) Every morning, i give 45mins to myself. No thoughts of anything or anyone else. Esp nothing abt work n co-workers.
I did a little self evaluation. The back is weak - portion betwn my shoulder blades is stiff and the lower back from the arch to the tail bone has constant pain. Me thinks, largely due to the paunch it is supporting. Legs are holding up, but knees feel the grind and ankles are sore due to inaction. Flexibility is at an all time low, cause its almost impossible to tie my shoelaces as it makes me breathless and my wings hurt as i try to reach my feet. Stamina is in poor state as earlier i could climb three floors to work with relative ease, but the same effort puts me out of breath now.
So to put the crisis at hand in points : lack of stamina, flexibility, weak back. the obvious highlight is the weight, but thats something i am going to tackle along the way.
What have i started? Well, in the first week, i did what can be called purging. I can normally drink abt a litre of water at one go. So, for 7 days i woke up boiled 2 litres of water, let it cool a bit, added salt, squated on the floor with my left knee on the floor and right knee folded to my chest and drank the salty warm water at one go - as much as i could finish.
From week two, i have started to focus on the back. its in isolation right now, but the nagging pain got to me. There is a series of back exercises i do and i am feeling pretty good. The soreness is going away and the pain is substantially lesser.
** THESE EXERCISES WORK FOR ME AS I HAVE DONE THEM EARLIER. DON'T FOLLOW IF YOU HAVE REAL HARDCORE BACK ISSUES **
I do these exercises in relaxed manner, without any jerks and jolts. Should you choose to do them, remember two things: (a) Back is what keeps you up. Dont mess with it; and (b) Stretch betwn exercises, either by holding your knees to your chest (left, right and together) or by pulling your arms and legs in opposite direction while lying down.
1. Lie on the floor with knees folded and soles as close to the ass as possible. Hands on the sides. Then i push the arch of the back downward so its flat against the floor. Hold it for 10 counts and back to normal. I repeat this for 10 times.
2. Continuing to lie down in same position, i raise my pelvis. Effectively, i am resting on my shoulder and feet. The end goal is to be able to do "dhanush-aasan" where i will have to contort my body like a bow (like bow n arrow). Every day i try to lift my back higher. Again, i hold it for 10 counts.
3. Lying on my back in same position with legs folded up, i rest my hands perpendicular to my body - like i am flying. Then i let both my knees fall to right side, as i look to the left from my neck. again holding for 10 counts, i do the same for opposite side.
4. Facing the floor, i get on my fours. Hands are below the shoulder and knees together. Arching my back up, i look down in towards my legs. Hold this for 10 counts and then i arch my back downwards, i look up ahead and hold for 10 counts. Before i get into either position, i breathe out and suck in my stomach. This is popularly called as "the cat and the camel".
5. Getting in the normal on fours, i then raise my left leg and right hand and keep them parallel to the floor. Its a balancing act of sorts when you do it for the first time. Repeat same for opposite hand and leg. Again, its important for me to hold it for 10 counts so i can feel the strain.
6. After this, i do the popular "donkey kick backs" where continuing on all fours, i now rest my elbows down and cradle my head in my palms. Staying in this position, i straighten and raise my left leg as high as possible. Hold it for 10 counts and then repeat with the other leg. Its important to feel the pressure on your legs and lower back.
7. Then lying on my stomach with hands near my body, i raise my right leg and hold it for 10 counts. The idea is to keep it straight and again feel the tension in the thigh and lower back. Do the same with left leg.
8. Now, with my hands stretched out in front and full body in straight line. I raise alternate limb - left leg and right right hand / right leg and left hand - and hold it for 10 counts. You should feel the stretch in the middle of your back.
9. The next one is my favorite, where lying on my stomach i keep my hands next to my shoulders. Then i raise my upper body, till abt my navel, in a "cobra" like pose. I can actually feel the stress vanish from my back as i hold it.
10. Folding my ankles under me, i sit straight with hands on my thighs. Breathing out, i hold my hands together and raise my arms up and stretch as much as possible. Hold it for 10 counts and then TURN ahead, not bend. Keeping my back straight is a challenge right now as my stomach obstructs the pose.

These exercises sum up my back exercise regime and i am sure it will help me in the long run. its simple, convenient and something i can do even when i travel. What is important is to breathe out before the pose is assumed, and continue breathing, and to begin with what your body is comfortable doing - abt 5 repeats for almost all of these exercises is a decent number to start.

Shall continue to document my journey to a newer me along the way and not promote this blog.

Storing

The human mind and body are complex. Few months back i met a client and typical of most ppl in their 30s the discussion veered to bulging waistlines and sagging energy levels. He gave an interesting perspective - we dont put on weight cos we eat; we are fat cos we dont burn what we eat. Its no rocket science, and everyone has been saying the same. All the eating and drinking had to catch up sometime. We are all lifestyle victims. We continue to eat like our parents but dont do even an iota of physical labour that they put in their day to day lives or over a period of time. Most chores dont exist anymore, are redundant or we have found technological substitutes, or have been outsourced. Clearly, the input is far more than the output.
There are those who watch their inputs and just cant seem to break the weight barrier downward. We have been taught, we eat, digest, assimilate, excrete. Is this process only true for food? Does it work for emotions also? Have we ever pondered abt why do we eat / overeat the way we do? Is there some emotional need that spurs random eating? I met an interesting person couple of days back, who gave an interesting insight to our eating habit. Apparently, our eating habits are a net result of who we are. Deep down. I immediately remember reading something abt Elvis. His childhood years were spent in absolute poverty, where food was scarce and scarred him for life. With stardom came wealth, that could buy any food he wanted, but did nothing for the scars. Towards the mid-70s, he was consuming over 4000 calories per week with days starting early evening and going till early morning, with king size milkshakes, giant cheeseburgers and soda. The childhood insecurity of not knowing where the next meal is gonna come from, ate him from inside i guess, and eventually, he reportedly died of over eating.
The point is, we are what we are. The sum total of all experiences and emotions. Presently i am getting help recognising emotions behind my storing layers of adipose. Is it fear? Or some insecurity? Or some worry or stress? Or something i have been carrying unknowingly? Once that emotion is isolated and dealt with, the efforts i am putting in, should show results.
As of now, i know i am too critical and harsh on myself. Let me discover what i have been fighting!!

Acceptance

any journey must begin with self awareness and acceptance of reality. no frills. no gyaan. just the basic knowledge of what the eyes see, the ears hear, the body feels and mind understands. as i undertake this mission, i stand at 101kgs with over 25kgs of excess weight - with severe lower back pain, stiff upper back between shoulder blades, hurting knees and ridiculously hanging stomach. the mission, is to get back in shape. lose the weight, build stamina and get stronger along the way.
this is the first blog and tomo i will come clean with the measurements.