Week three started off last Monday with me in the gym feeling like my internal combustible engine could not burn out no matter how hard I tried but alas I pressed on. Tuesday bum rushed me with two cakes and wines to celebrate my aunts birthday but I dodged the bullet with a few glasses of water and a staring contest with two cakes that both contained rum. How does a cake be made from rum and butter and still taste good? I wonder if I can make a butter rum drink to complement the cake? Wednesday sideswiped me with mental and physical fatigue but I drop kicked Thursday by starting the day in the gym breaking a sweat and watching the sunrise.
With 15 more days to go for my challenge I feel like I am doing my body a favor from being over indulgent in the past where my sweet tooth is concerned. I might have encountered a technicality of the weekend with some banana bread but if you ask me its bread and not cake after all the name says it all.
For those of you out there hoping to get in shape for the summer, I say good luck and Godspeed. Start small and build momentum and you’ll be on your way before you know it.
P.S. for those of you who have tried the ab wheel and fell on your face/stomach don't feel bad, i too have suffered the same fate on a few occasions.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Week One - Diary of a Fat Kid
Life is a funny thing, end of quote. For some strange un-explainable reason there is a phenomenon that takes place every time you make a decision to refrain from a certain behavior. It is as if the world was waiting for you to say your quitting to open the flood gates and pour out more than you can handle. Such was the case last week after I decided to lay off cake and alcohol for a month in aid of defining my mid section. First off my aunt made home grown sugar cakes with peanuts. This was just my first day and already the odds were stacking up against me. Adding insult to injury was finding bread pudding in the fridge on day three. Then the flood gates really opened on the weekend with the father’s day celebrations. First it was my niece baking a cake for no other reason than she could. Then it was my brothers butter rum cake that he got as a Father’s day present. My will power was further tested with three cakes that happened to be in my aunt’s fridge as well as two others that were at my father’s house as well. After all it was Father’s Day so I should have expected such grand expressions of love and sweetness. Avoiding the booze was easier than expected although I consumed one soda too many but alas the struggle continues.
Week two started off with a night a leg routine in the gym that left me with sea legs and an abs circuit that left me afraid to laugh and unable to stretch too far. With three more weeks to go I can see some sort of shape taking place and will continue to push the envelope.
Live Healthy, Live Long.
Week two started off with a night a leg routine in the gym that left me with sea legs and an abs circuit that left me afraid to laugh and unable to stretch too far. With three more weeks to go I can see some sort of shape taking place and will continue to push the envelope.
Live Healthy, Live Long.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
The 30 day challenge. Beating the inner fat kid.
A friendly conversation with a good friend of mine turned inito what is now a 30 day challenge with the hoped for result of being a more defined mid section (i.e. "abs"). My friend Kheli mentioned in passing that I should lay off cake and alcohol in order to increase my chances of getting some much needed definition in the mid section area. To the normal person this appears to be quite easy but for me it is a challenge for two reasons. Firstly i am a cake feind. I will eat cake at any time of day for any occasion and in any quantity. Just writing about it is making me feel queasy about not being able to eat cake,the withdrawal symptoms are already beginning to kick in. But alas the wheels of progress have begun to turn. The second reason is simply embodied by two words "its summer".
The Back Story
I was born into a family that embraces the culinary arts and appreciates the bliss that is a home cooked meal. With a mother who was a cook and a father who had an appetite that rivals that of a Lion in the jungle I was predisposed to a gigantic appetite and a waist line to suit. By age 12 I was wearing size 40 and had two of the rosiest cheeks you could find in my village. To add food to the plate I lived near to a Grandmother and a Great-grandmother who were never bashful at offering a second dinner plate or other snacks. A trip to town by mother or grand or great grand mother would most often result in KFC or patties and meatballs or bun and cheese or a Roti or some other treat. Needless to say that even if I was under punishment for not completing a chore these delicacies would be consumed at a later time.
Being the fat kid meant that you were the last to be picked for any sport being played in the village and at times I lacked the enthusiasm to even try. But alas at age 15 I discovered a magical place called "the gym". I went hard for about six months before the rigors of trying to finish secondary school set in and I had to quit. But my journey did not end there. I took to jogging, biking, and even assembled a home gym with weights with all manner of household items. I joined an aerobic class where I was the lone male who was remarkably more flexible than some of my female counterparts. Throughout University I was on and off of the gym depending on course load and finances. Now add in weekend hikes than range from an hour to two to sometimes three. Couple that with a renewed gym membership and now my thirty day challenge to build a better body.
Whoever said progress was a slow process was probably talking about me. For a fat kid who has been trying to get a six pack for almost 10 years now, the time has come. Its do or die and no turning back. The timing is perfect as summer is just about to begin and every one is going to be hitting the beach for a BBQ, party or just to lime. Tis the season to be shirtless.
The Challenge
Between now and July 15th I will refrain from alcohol and cake/pastries in an effort to boost my chances at the all illusive "pack". Add a morning routine that includes crunches and stretches and a 4/5 day gym week and I'll hopefully have a winning combination.
The challenge will not be an easy one as the summer parties have begun and the sporadic beach outings have begun to take place with much fanfare and excitement.
M expectations however are realistic. I do not expect to have a wash board stomach but simply more definition. I hope with the cutting back on sweets and booze that this will reduce the amount of empty calories that I will be consuming and boost my chances considerably. My weekend hikes should add the cardio to move that extra stubborn inch or two while my ab routines at the gym should do the trick with sculpting.
So cheers to a healthier happier me. Do I want to be the guy who walks in the room in his 10 year old nephews shirt, no I simply want to be the guy who is comfortable with taking his shirt off at any given time of day in front of a crowd.
Look out for a biweekly/weekly update to see how much progress I've made and feel free to add your two cents as you see fit.
The Back Story
I was born into a family that embraces the culinary arts and appreciates the bliss that is a home cooked meal. With a mother who was a cook and a father who had an appetite that rivals that of a Lion in the jungle I was predisposed to a gigantic appetite and a waist line to suit. By age 12 I was wearing size 40 and had two of the rosiest cheeks you could find in my village. To add food to the plate I lived near to a Grandmother and a Great-grandmother who were never bashful at offering a second dinner plate or other snacks. A trip to town by mother or grand or great grand mother would most often result in KFC or patties and meatballs or bun and cheese or a Roti or some other treat. Needless to say that even if I was under punishment for not completing a chore these delicacies would be consumed at a later time.
Being the fat kid meant that you were the last to be picked for any sport being played in the village and at times I lacked the enthusiasm to even try. But alas at age 15 I discovered a magical place called "the gym". I went hard for about six months before the rigors of trying to finish secondary school set in and I had to quit. But my journey did not end there. I took to jogging, biking, and even assembled a home gym with weights with all manner of household items. I joined an aerobic class where I was the lone male who was remarkably more flexible than some of my female counterparts. Throughout University I was on and off of the gym depending on course load and finances. Now add in weekend hikes than range from an hour to two to sometimes three. Couple that with a renewed gym membership and now my thirty day challenge to build a better body.
Whoever said progress was a slow process was probably talking about me. For a fat kid who has been trying to get a six pack for almost 10 years now, the time has come. Its do or die and no turning back. The timing is perfect as summer is just about to begin and every one is going to be hitting the beach for a BBQ, party or just to lime. Tis the season to be shirtless.
The Challenge
Between now and July 15th I will refrain from alcohol and cake/pastries in an effort to boost my chances at the all illusive "pack". Add a morning routine that includes crunches and stretches and a 4/5 day gym week and I'll hopefully have a winning combination.
The challenge will not be an easy one as the summer parties have begun and the sporadic beach outings have begun to take place with much fanfare and excitement.
M expectations however are realistic. I do not expect to have a wash board stomach but simply more definition. I hope with the cutting back on sweets and booze that this will reduce the amount of empty calories that I will be consuming and boost my chances considerably. My weekend hikes should add the cardio to move that extra stubborn inch or two while my ab routines at the gym should do the trick with sculpting.
So cheers to a healthier happier me. Do I want to be the guy who walks in the room in his 10 year old nephews shirt, no I simply want to be the guy who is comfortable with taking his shirt off at any given time of day in front of a crowd.
Look out for a biweekly/weekly update to see how much progress I've made and feel free to add your two cents as you see fit.
Monday, June 6, 2011
What I've learned from the NBA Playoffs.
We all enjoy cheering for our team. Whether it be be football, basketball, cricket, baseball, american football or even dominoes, there's nothing we love more than shouting from the stands or coaching our players from the living room or bed room. Some of us may never making to the locker room of our favorite teams but that doesn't stop us from being glued to the tele while they're on and calling out plays or substitutions as we see fit. We know the players more than they appear to know themselves. We recall with much ease the score from the last ten games they would have won/lost and the unfair calls the referee called against us. Despite our unbridled passion there are a few things we can learn from our teams. For instance the NBA Playoffs started off with great fanfare and excitement. Everyone had their teams lined up to collect the Championship trophy. But we all know how that famous scientific law goes "whatsoever can go wrong, will go wrong" and that appears to be the case for some teams that have "gone fishing".
Ten things I learned:
1. The better team does not always win.
2. The underdog does not always lose.
3. The true strength of a team is in its weakest player.
4. The person who calls the shots is not the one who makes the shots.
5. 48 minutes of play can equal to two hours in real time
6. The team with the most points always win.
7. Results come via preparation, perseverance, luck and chance.
8. No one likes to lose but those who have appreciate winning that much more when they finally
do.
9. No matter how hard I shout at my television, they will never hear me.
10. Losing brings a certain perspective and reflection that gets lost in the excitement of winning.
All in all we would like to always be the winers in everything we do but as the old adage says : you win some and you lose some".
P.S. I'm backing Miami Heat.
Ten things I learned:
1. The better team does not always win.
2. The underdog does not always lose.
3. The true strength of a team is in its weakest player.
4. The person who calls the shots is not the one who makes the shots.
5. 48 minutes of play can equal to two hours in real time
6. The team with the most points always win.
7. Results come via preparation, perseverance, luck and chance.
8. No one likes to lose but those who have appreciate winning that much more when they finally
do.
9. No matter how hard I shout at my television, they will never hear me.
10. Losing brings a certain perspective and reflection that gets lost in the excitement of winning.
All in all we would like to always be the winers in everything we do but as the old adage says : you win some and you lose some".
P.S. I'm backing Miami Heat.
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