What inspires you?

This posting is much different from my usual postings.  As I continue to get healthy/get fit (ha!) I have realised that this will ultimately lead to my overall self improvement.  Self improvement encompasses not only becoming fit and healthy but improving one's self mentally, financially, economically, spiritually (all the -allys really).  There are several situations that you will find yourself contemplating such thoughts.
 
I had these thoughts at a funeral I recently attended.  You find yourself thinking all manners of things - choices made in terms of being wrong or right, actions taken, the life you have led thus far, the list seems endless.   These thoughts flowed across my mind while I sat in congregation of a thanksgiving service for a family friend, Patrick Kiplyn Williams.  As I listened to his life story I couldn't help but wonder about my life story (thus far).  The words stoic, witty, astute, gentle giant, confidante were used to describe my family friend.  Numerous tributes from his family, friends and peers were given.  This showed me that despite his short years he indeed made his mark.  I couldn't help my tears as I heard such positivity of one's life and ending of it all.  I sat and thought that the crosses people dem live forever and the good ones go so early. Hmmmmm sigh..................
 
The pastor for the service also spoke highly of Patrick.  He continued with his spoken word and sought to remind us all of having an "appointment" with death.  Even with this "appointment" looming he encouraged us to live our lives.  I thought about this so much and linked it to my get fit/get healthy journey and realise how much emphasis is placed on what others think or say about us (me).  We (me included) get caught up with worry and wonder about what people's perception of our lives, our actions, our decisions.  It is not possible to "live" your life if you spend your precious time considering the thoughts of others.

I started to really wonder about my decision to get fit & healthy a permanent lifestyle.  Was I doing this for me? Or was I hung up on how persons viewed my appearance and/or my weight (gain)? Was I doing this for vain and shallow reasons?   I realised that my initial times at trying to get healthy, be fit and look fit & fab were based on other people’s opinion and I think I gained  and lost weight time after time as I wasn’t doing what I needed to do for the right reasons.   This time I am!  I am doing this journey for me.  I am not on anyone’s timetable but my own.  I wonder now about who I will inspire to go on a similar journey - a journey of self discovery.  Live your life in a manner which inspire others to be or rather become their better selves.
 

One of the tributes given alluded to the time spent between one’s life (the date of your birth) and death (the date of your “appointment”) as a dash.  The dash in between the two dates is the sum total of our lives – let us make that dash count.

 

D – Dare to be different; take a stand for injustices; walk in integrity

A – Answer the call both to God and humanity. Do all you can while you can for all you can

S – Support each other – drop in on a neighbour or a friend; visit the sick or shut in

H – Have a sense of humour. Laugh at yourself and with others more often. Don’t take life so serious.

Patrick, walk good......

 


Thanks for your words, Marci!  Cheers……

 

Update to "My 30 Day Shred" exercise regime

I have been working on this post for quite some time now.  Been somewhat afraid to share my thoughts and lack of progress on my "Shredding" experience.  I contemplated lying about my progress but then I thought to myself "why lie" cause the scale, measure tape, pictures and clothes don't lie.

I would be lying to my readers, fellow "shredders", my friends, my family and especially to myself. There is no need to lie.  This is my journey and I need to be honest along the way. I need to hold myself accountable for any decisions I make along this journey.

I started off the Shredding proud and shining. I was super motivated by the reviews and testimonials offered by a myriad of persons online.  I was determined to become one of them.

I initially planned on doing 4 days of shredding  and two days of cardio. So I took my pictures, measured varying body parts and noted my weight on the scale. Sigh......

I started off well but was interrupted by lack of motivation, familial obligations, flu and eczema flare ups.  Furthermore I had no plan to do the shredding programme everyday as recommended (by various online reviewers). This I think may have compounded my lack of progress. 

So I started. Hmmm.  The very first day I felt like I was expiring lol.  It was manageable but damn if I didn't have to push it. I can't even remember when Day 2 happened but it did. The positive about Day one - I wasn't sore Yay!!!  I had been exercising before so it wasn't like I had been sitting around doing nothing when I opted to start the shredding programme.

I became demotivated primarily because of my lack of progress. I was eating properly (for the most part). I will be honest and said that I did cheat on my diet but not at a lot.  I had to be careful.  I wasn't trying to undo any progress made thus for.

So I mixed in my Zumba with the Shredding which pushed me behind schedule.
I sincerely hoped to be done by the end of August but this wasn't the case.   September is almost at its end and I'm at Level 2. Honestly though this level feels more manageable than Level 1.

My demotivated state remained as I prodded along my fitness journey. It is hard to keep in mind the goal at hand which is not to lose weight but to make healthy eating and fitness a permanent part of my lifestyle.

I must admit that there have been some positives along my journey.  These positives mostly impact my dietary habits.  They include:

1.  I drink more water now - Water has become a staple in my diet.  I love juice and I would have it at every turn.  These days I don't drink juice as much.  Sometimes I miss it.  Sometimes I don't.  There are times when I crave it and I just gotta have it.  And still I drink more water which is becoming surprisingly tasty :).  Readily satisfying my craving for juice is not easy to do as I no longer purchase it for my household.  I still think water is so blah but I drink it anyway. I know I can jazz it up and I do so with lime.  Now I'm considering orange slices as well. 

2. Slightly sweetened teas - I drink mostly green tea for breakfast and usually take packets with me to drink tea at work.  I still drink coffee, Swiss Miss and other teas  with very little sweetening.  Sometimes I use sugar or honey. I'd like to use honey more but at $800 or more for a bottle (J Wray & Nephew midsize bottle) it's not an easy feat.  I still use condensed milk as well but on a much reduced scale (at least for me).  I try to use less as time goes by as my ultimate goal is to eliminate at least 90% of the sugar in my diet.  Wondering if 90% too much or too little.  We'll see I guess.

3.  I cook more - Before this get fit, get healthy journey I would cook sporadically or whenever I felt like it (this was extremely rare).  Now I'm in my kitchen on a regular basis.  I still have ways to go but I do experiment from time to time. I experiment in an effort to my favourite foods healthier - so far I've done this with pizza. I use whole wheat bread instead of pizza dough, I added pasta sauce, veggies and a small amount of cheese. Yummy!  I have bought a toaster oven to help reduce the fried foods I would eat.  So now I bake my "fried" plantains, toast my breadfruit slices, bake chicken breast strips (to help make my wraps).  There are couple recipes I want to try - baked carrot chips, sweet potato chips apple chips, etc.  Will provide an update on these sometime next week (providing I get the required food items).

4.  I eat more veggies - I used to avoid veggies like crazy.  Veggies used to represent less than 10% of my plate.  These days I've made an almost 180° in my consumption.  Veggies are now equivalent to or more than the amount of carbs on my plate.  Over time I hope to have more veggies than carbs on my plate.  I'm still not a fan of veggies but I've gotten to love lettuce.  I try to have salad at least 3 - 4 times per week.  I go to the market twice a month and get my veggies so I can create my own salads.  Much cheaper to make than buy.  To make my salad tasty I do use salad dressing (not too much).  I intend to try making my own as I think that would be less fattening than store bought
versions.

5.  I am becoming open to eating/trying different/new foods.  I am a picky eater.  I'll eat something on and off for 3o days and on the 31st day I would stop eating it cold turkey. I'd claim that I'm tired of it or I don't like it anymore.  It happened with tuna but now I'm eating it again.  Lol!  Now I try not to be so picky.  I eat yogurt, okra, boiled breadfruit and sweet potato now.  Widening my palate I think is key on this journey.  I hope to add more foods that I previously disliked or wouldn't try to my diet.

After reviewing my positives I feel motivated once again. Ha! Who knew. Lol. 
I intend to finish my shredding and improve my eating habits.  I am thankful for the progress I've made thus far and I am taking it one day at a time.  I will not give up!