Being a foodie

What is the most challenging thing in my fitness journey?

I think being Malaysian, you have to agree with me on this when I say it’s hard, so damn hard to resist that cup of teh tarik and good `ol roti canai, or the char koey teow and nasi lemak bungkus..Oh, I can go on and on about food here alright. Tsk :-\

Challenge #1  – Food.

I’m used to the lifestyle of eating, really digging into the food I love. Now that I started working, I sometimes skip meals due to the workload and ended up eating late at night or sometimes not at all. Not only I’m packing on extra calories, fat at night but I invited gastric into my life. Oh dear, the pain is excruciating.

I was very active back in my school days up till my foundation years. Knee injury hinders my movement. Hence, my physical activities are limited. Metabolism is not as good as it was anymore and I gained weight as years went by.

I experience weight loss starting last year when I started gym and boot camps. Of course, ignoring the knee injury. I need to lose weight to avoid the surgery. This is the deal I have with my doctor. Lose weight or knee surgery. The former one all the wayyyy!

The knee is not being fitness-friendly of course. I had to cut down some of my favorite cardio workouts (running uphill, jump ropes) , leg workouts (leg press, squat jumps)  to avoid pressure to the knee.

To substitute those workout, I have to alter my diet. A total change of lifestyle. Processed food, carbs, refined sugars, carbonated drinks..oh well, of course including all those roti canai, nasi lemak etc. Packing on lots of protein, fiber, fruits and veges.

Do I like it? Well at first, it sucks to avoid and say “No” to all the awesome food but then again, when I stick to my diet, I started to feel change in my body. Body’s much lighter now, I workout with more energy, I sleep better. I save a lot too!

I’m a lazy eater. I eat on the go to save time. I find time to eat between my schedule after work, before the gym, after the gym, laundry etc. So this is another factor that contribute to my change of lifestyle. Food like salad, fruits, or just fish/chicken is quick and simple enough for me to prepare.

I am so far loving the result that I’m seeing and feeling now. Of course, I have devils around me that will whisper once in a while when I passed by my favorite char koey teow stall, and mamak but then again, everything has got to be in moderation. Don’t cut down right there and then. Gradual progress is progress too.

And another important factor is support and motivation. I think this helps a lot. My colleagues are understanding enough to not force me or persuade me to stray from my diet . So supportive! I don’t know what’s your motivation but mine is a person. My boyfriend is  always there to comfort me when I was whining on how badly I need to get back to the gym and work my ass off like old days.I am not being hard on myself but this is how I was trained and brought up. I am my own motivation but there are days when I was being too hard on myself and he came in handy. Thank you, baby :)

In the end, it’s your body and you know best. To me, if you want it bad enough, you’ll shove away all the excuses, yes? :)

I

I posted this on my Instagram recently and it serves as a reminder to myself every time my mind is playing tricks on me 

So..what I had for breakfast this morning? Soft boiled eggs FTW! :D

Executing the plan

Stumbled upon this on Mufti Menk’s FB page.

A reminder on how important it is to remain steadfast in whatever I do and in this case, trying my best to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Achieving a healthy weight and of course toning the body and gaining the stamina are some of my aims. And Mufti Menk was spot on – executing the plan is the essence. 

What’s most important is that we know our capabilities and be consistent in whatever we are doing. Take small steps, slowly but surely.

You’ll get there.

As for now, I’m still doing my usual run, yoga and also circuit training. I cheated few times too due to the workload and all but I felt so guilty afterwards that I ended up yoga-ing in my bedroom before I sleep.

I guess it’s about what you set your heart for and what your mind tells you. And you have to be sure that it tells you to keep going and never give up. Don’t lah follow if it tells you to whack nasi lemak in the middle of the night okay. Once in a while of cheat days, sure can. As a treat for a job well done :)

 

With that being said, good luck in being healthy, everybody!

Yours truly,

Lia