Blogging and Decluttering

I never thought I'd be writing a 645th post -- but here I am. I'm so glad I've stuck to blogging even though there have been periods of silence. I know that blogging daily isn't 'necessary', but I do feel it helps me work on untangling some of my thought processes. Plus remembering that I'm writing a health and fitness blog helps keep me in check with my actions in terms of exercise and food!

This morning I sat down and looked at my blog reading list. I noticed that there were several (I'm talking around 30) bloggers who hadn't posted in over six months; some hadn't posted in over a year. There were also some bloggers that I had in my bookmarks list but not in my blog roll. I didn't even know I had that discrepancy. I was so happy to read quite a few success stories and several that were still working hard to stay on track and keep moving forward. At the same time, out of the bookmarked blogs (I think there were around 150!), about 70 hadn't posted in over six months. It just goes to show how time-consuming blogging can be. So, I've cleaned up my blog roll - deleted the ones that haven't posted in ages, added a few new ones, and incorporated those that I thought were already on my list.

I try to be regular in my reading and commenting, but that also takes time. However, I am working on it!

I don't always get around to replying to comments bloggers leave after my posts, but I really, really, really appreciate the comments and encouragement. It's what keeps me moving forward. I'm going to try to get better at doing that too.

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I've talked about de-cluttering many times. I feel like getting rid of my 'stuff' - the actual stuff around me - has been both a cathartic process as well as a symbolic one. Before I used to hide behind my things (especially my shoes). I found satisfaction in shopping (in excess) and building comfort around me by surrounding myself with things I loved, or at least things that I thought I loved (and needed).

As I've been dropping weight, I've also had an easier time dropping the excess stuff. I feel like I've been de-cluttering for months (and I have). Each time I've been getting more ruthless - no, I don't need that. No, I won't wear that. No, that just doesn't have a place in my life anymore.

It's felt great. I'm still continuing. This summer was a huge success. I took 4 suitcases full of clothes for charity. I also got rid of 60 pairs of shoes and 40 handbags. It felt great. I was holding on to so many of these things ... for what purpose, I don't know. Now I'm finding it much easier to let go.

I feel bad that I wasted money on buying so much. It's the same way that I feel bad when I think about how much time I wasted not exercising or eating right. I'm not dwelling on it, but I'm using those feelings to remind myself of where I want to go ... and how I don't want to be anymore.

It's been a rewarding process.

The goal is - keep things (including people) that are useful and positive in your life & drop what isn't useful or helping you reach your goals.

Phase 2 of 2013

Week in Review (Jan. 13 - 19)

As part of the 13 in 13 challenge, I wrote out goals for both the year and the month. In order to help me focus on what needed to be done, I typed up and printed out a very simple, basic checklist. I've spent many hours planning, organizing, making lists, and doing it over and over again until it looked right/looked appealing ... it got to the point where I spent too much bloody time planning and not nearly enough time doing! So this time I kept it simple:

I'm definitely behind which is really annoying, but it is what it is. I just gotta try and fill up as many more blanks as I can. At the end of the month I'll reevaluate the plan and modify as necessary.

I started off the year by writing down my workouts and what I ate at the end of my blog post. I need to get back to doing that. It'll help me keep track of what I'm doing and also how it is having an impact on my progress. Plus I know that tracking my food always helps me stick to my plan.

My week in review: 

Workout sessions: 3 cardio; 2 weight training; 5 martial arts; 1 body balance

Daily stretching: 7 days

Burpee count: 300 {challenge total: 440/20,130}

Plan for the upcoming week

I had such big plans for my 3 week vacation but it didn't go as well as I had hoped. I did get a few things done and I think I did the best I could in terms of exercise given my bronchitis. I'm actually kind of relieved that I'll be getting back into a more structured routine. I definitely think having the time off and being home for so much time (coz' of the illness) led to me eating more than I should have.

I start my new semester tomorrow. I spent about four hours today getting organized for the week.
What I got done:

• this week's menu [breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks] + grocery list
• filled in my planner with the week's errands and appointments
• organized my lessons
• tried on and selected my work outfits for the week
• wrote out my workouts

In addition to this I got some general house prep done - laundry, organizing, etc. This upcoming week will still be a bit off plan since D's parents are still here. However, I've worked that into my schedule as well. I'm hoping that I'll be able to stick to it, but I've got a few contingency plans set aside as well. Saturday mornings will definitely be put aside as my organization day. I feel much calmer and in control now that the plan has been written out. I'll be really happy if I'm able to implement it. We'll see how it goes.

Something new in my schedule that I started today was going to a Saturday session of kickboxing at ClubFit. We had a great class today. It totally got me revved up for the upcoming week.

Let's get Phase 2 of 2013 started!

The Dress and The Shoes

A few posts ago I mentioned that one of my best friends is getting married in October. What I didn't mention is that I already have a dress for it. I actually bought the dress a few months ago in London. I loved it as soon as I saw it - I looked at the dress, found my size, and tried it on. Hmmmm it didn't quite fit, but I did a big fashion no-no and bought it anyway with the hope that one day I'll fit into it right.

The dress is made of silk, and if you know silk, you know that there is absolutely no give to the material and it shows everything. So even though technically the dress is in my size (I actually have a few dresses a size smaller than this one), it doesn't fit me the way I'd like it to - y'know, the way that doesn't require you to stay standing with your gut completely sucked in for the entire night. 

This dress is my goal dress for the October wedding. I tried it on this morning to serve as a reminder of how much further I have to go. It's a good thing I did. It's the motivation that I needed to really get my focus back. 

Due to some paperwork error, my parents did not leave Kuwait today. However, all their stuff has already been shipped off and they have to give up their apartment {such drama, I can't even explain the stress we're all under right now} - anyway, this means that my parents will be staying with us for the next 5-7 days. It all depends on when they get their final paperwork and nobody really knows when that's going to happen! So, this throws another spanner in the works. I was hoping to be back into my regular routine by Saturday, but now I'll have to make some more adjustments. I now need to plan a menu and cook for 4 people instead of just me and D. I'm really stressing out about it. My parents will also be car-less, so that means that either I'll be running them around or they'll be stuck at home. I want them to feel comfortable and I want to give them attention too, but I also need to get to the gym. I have several, several workout hours to catch up on. I'm trying to stay positive and not let the derailment stress me out too much ... as a person who craves/needs routine, this is not exactly easy, but I'm going to make it work. 

I've spent the past hour planning our menu for the week. I've decided to stick to foods that I would normally cook. I am, however, worried about portion sizes. D & I have been very good and we've gotten used to smaller portions. I don't want my parents to think I'm starving them. At the same time, I don't want to cook too much and have extra food around the house.

I also don't want them to cook. My dad (a diabetic who doesn't take care of his diet at all - aarrrgghh!) loves to cook - but he also likes to use lots of oil, salt, cheese, etc. I'm terrified that he'll want to cook to take the pressure off of me.

I'm trying to handle this in 2 ways - 1st, I've written the menu for the week on the whiteboard in my kitchen. This way they can see that I've planned out the week's food. I've also printed out my own personal menu so that they realize that I don't want a sandwich with some chips for lunch but that I'd rather take the time to make a salad. My 2nd strategy is to limit the types of food in the house. We'll be well stocked with veggies and protein but I'll avoid most things unhealthy and fatty so the temptation won't be there. At the same time, I do want to have a few treats for my parents so that they can relax and enjoy themselves. I'm thinking of maybe having a fruit platter in the fridge for them to graze on during the day. We'll see.

Having to deal with the move has been great motivation to de-clutter the apartment and this week I started with my shoes. I'm a shoe addict (as I've mentioned before) and I really, really love my shoes. It breaks my heart to think of getting rid of any of them ... and that's why I've started with them first. If I can get rid of some of my shoes, then getting rid of other stuff should be much easier. 

Yesterday I selected 30 pairs of shoes to give away ... 

Today I added another 10!
I will probably take another look at my shoe closets and see if there are anymore that I'm willing to part with. Until then, I'm quite pleased with this start.

Awesome Day

I woke up at 8 a.m. today.
I got a total of 8 hours of sleep!
As someone who suffers from chronic insomnia (average of 4 hours of sleep a night, 5 if I'm lucky), 8 hours is phenomenal. Even D said he was shocked at how deeply I was sleeping this morning.

I got up and made scrambled egg whites with a bit of tomato salsa and 2 slices of wholewheat toast.

I had a few errands to run today, but then I decided, the hell with it. I'm staying home.

So I stayed home, put on Private Practice, and continued going through the mountains of papers in my office. As more and more papers were put into the recycling bin, the better I felt. It was so cathartic.

For lunch I had some quinoa with red bell peppers and grilled sweet potato.

At 4 p.m. I left the house and headed to the CrossFit training center.

Yup. Today was my first proper CrossFit training day.

I had no idea what to expect.

I got to the building and went down to the basement.

The floor had been covered in the foam mats that are normally found in the weight-lifting section of gyms and there were all sorts of equipment around the room. It was such a stark contrast from my regular gym, which is all shiny, clean, and organized. This was rustic and gritty. I loved it.

So, here are the details of the workout (skip if you're not interested in the details):

Warm-ups involved jump rope, walking lunges, and jumping on one foot through a ladder type rope that was placed on the floor.

We then moved on chest presses (I pushed 40 kg (about 80 lbs) for the last 3 sets of 3 reps) and pull ups with a resistance band -- talk about new experience!! It was a bit scary to be honest - step on the resistance band with one leg, cross the other leg over, and then jump up to the bar and hope that the band helps enough to help you do the pull ups. I don't think I did very well, but I tried and completed all the sets.

After doing that I understood why I've read in some CrossFit sites - My warm-up is your workout. We were already working up a sweat but we hadn't even started the WOD (workout of the day).

Today's WOD - 15 minutes, as many rounds as possible - 15 high intensity push ups, 15 burpees (ugh), 15 some form of ab crunches (I forgot the proper name), and 10 jump squats. We completed almost 3 rounds of all the exercises.

The 'After Party' was 3 minutes of box jumps.

It was great. I loved it. I struggled with quite a few things, particularly the burpees. I definitely wasn't as  fast as I would have liked to have been. Still, I'm trying not to get frustrated and just remind myself that today was the first day and I'm going to keep working at it to see the improvements that I want.

I only had an hour before heading over to KD's (my body pump instructor) house for dinner. I was looking forward to some time to just chill and have fun - plus eat! I was starving by the time I got there.

The last thing I expected when I walked through the door was a massive banner and balloons everywhere that even had my name printed on it ... all saying congratulations. I was moved beyond belief. Everyone had their glasses raised and were congratulating me ... I was speechless and so touched. It was perfect.

All my life I've done things for others, arranged surprise parties, looked for ways to make them feel special, etc. I've done it. I've enjoyed doing it.

This is foreign territory to me - having someone put so much care and thought into arranging something so special for me. All I could think was - What have I done to deserve this?

I felt really, really loved ... and so very content.