Tuesday, May 26, 2015

New Chapter

Yesterday I celebrated my 1 year anniversary of moving to England. I have to say, it's been quite a year. From packing up my belongings and saying good-bye to the country I got used to calling home to settling down in a new country -- so much has happened. The biggest change has definitely been shifting from teaching in a university to teaching Jiu-Jitsu. As I continued to get more involved in Jiu-Jitsu training it was definitely something I wanted to do, but it wasn't something I saw becoming a reality so quickly.


celebrating my 1 year anniversary - I thought it would be fitting to wear a traditional Kuwaiti dress as a reminisced about Kuwait and planned for my future in London

The move and my adjustment to this new life has been good. I've taken it all in stride and I'm happy with where things are headed. That being said, I don't really feel like I've been myself over the past few months. I was kind of moving from one day to the next without really feeling fully focused. I'm hoping that now that I've moved into the new house and things are finally starting to fall into place that all that is about to change.

Today was the perfect day to start that change.

My 2nd year in England started with a renewed commitment to myself. I've spent a LOT of time trying to get the house sorted, doing tons of cooking, and running errands. While that aspect of my life will not change, what I want to do is reorganize how I'm handling everything. I found too many days to just pass by without me taking the time I need to get my own things done (studying, lesson planning, blogging, etc.). I also spend so much time prepping food for D and the household that I don't often take time to prepare proper meals for myself. I need that to stop. I am committed to eating 3 proper healthy meals a day. No more snacking as meals, even if it is on healthy foods. I need to eat properly.

In addition to all that, I joined a new gym! I actually went and signed up last week but today was my first day there. It felt good to be back to weight training.

The new gym is close to my house so that's quite convenient. It's fairly large - huge cardio section, a spin studio, an aerobics studio, several resistance machines and an ok size free weight area. They've got a lap pool as well as an indoor basketball court. It definitely has all the basics for a good workout. I think what it's lacking is a bit of character and atmosphere, but I'm going there to get in my workouts so I guess that doesn't matter too much. I'm also not too keen on the fact that I have to wear a wristband while I'm at the gym -- but that's a minor inconvenience too.



 a glimpse of part of the cardio section
I didn't want to take too many photos on my 1st day. 



 the wristband - is it really necessary?


I started off with a basic workout today -
dynamic stretching
warm-up on the treadmill
45 minutes weight training
cool down on the treadmill
cool down stretching



decided to wear a new pair of trainers to my new gym

It felt good to be back in the gym.

I'm hoping that this renewed focus and commitment to myself will help me reach my next set of goals.




9 comments:

  1. Wait, WHY do you have to wear a wristband? I'm glad things are coming together, and I completely understand everything you were saying. I fear I'm headed into that myself, without actually switching countries, just states in the US. But with things here being in transition, I often have days where I feel like I'm just going through the motions trying to survive until the next one, but not actually participating in my own life. So, I totally get it! Good for you moving forward!

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    Replies
    1. I have no idea about the wristband -- maybe it's because I'm new so the trainers know that I've paid to be there??
      Moving is tough - whether it's in the same town, state, country, or elsewhere! Good luck with your transition.

      Delete
  2. LOVE the trainers! The colour is fantastic!

    Sounds like a great time to recommit to you. I can't believe it's been a year already!

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  3. Your dress is so pretty! Congrats on the new gym - the wristband thing is odd. I hate those when they get sweaty!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Lisa!
      The wristband is a pain for sure!

      Delete
  4. So lovely to read your post, and I love your photo.

    Have to agree - a bit odd about the wrist band !

    Keep Well and Take Care

    All the best Jan

    ReplyDelete
  5. So lovely to read your post, and I love your photo.

    Have to agree - a bit odd about the wrist band !

    Keep Well and Take Care

    All the best Jan

    ReplyDelete

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