Back to Life

I must say, I had quite a weekend! It was probably the most self-indulgent weekend I've ever had, but I enjoyed it thoroughly and I do believe I worked for it!!

I flew to Dubai with some girlfriends and had only 2 goals for this trip: See Jennifer Lopez in concert and SHOP! Dropping 10 kg over the past 8 weeks has left me in great need for new clothing. Pulling your pants up, tucking your skirts into your tights to keep them in place, and having your shirt hang off your shoulders is so not cool --

I'm happy to say I achieved both those goals!

A few pix of the J Lo concert (Dance Again Tour 2012, Dubai - Dubai Media City Amphitheater)

I could not believe how close we were! It was a fantastic concert! She was terrific, and her dancers were amazing (drool! lol)

I went on 2 major shopping sprees.

My first priority - new gym gear!!

I feel like I bought out both Reebok and Nike! I can't wait to hit the gym and try them all out. It was thrilling going from an XL to a Medium ... wow. I got quite emotional at times.

Day 2 of shopping was more causal/fun wear -- I was so happy I brought a 2nd empty suitcase! I needed it!

If you read this blog regularly you know that I'm a total shoe addict. So, Dubai Mall's Shoe Level (the biggest shoe store in the WORLD) was a mandatory stop.

I was in absolute heaven ... and those red fabulous heels on my feet are now comfortably settling in in their new home - my shoe closet in Kuwait :)

A stunning work of art - designed by Julian Hakes of London. I am so in love with them!

As soon as I landed, I weighed in -- nothing gained, which is a relief because although I was careful, I wasn't completely on plan. Still, I know my safe options - lots of grilled fish/meats and veggies. I didn't go to the gym and just hoped the hours of walking around the malls and dancing at the concert helped burn a few calories.

Now, it's back to reality and my regularly scheduled life. So after unpacking - it's straight to boxing class!

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving/weekend. Will be catching up on blogs soon :)

Cravings, Dust, and Hot Pink Shoes

Last night I went out with a few girlfriends. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous, and last night was the perfect evening to sit outdoors, chat, laugh, and enjoy some iced tea (unsweetened, of course).

I got home at around half past eleven and I had crazy cravings. I wanted to eat something - I wasn't sure what, all I knew was I wanted it to be yummy. Mmmm what I would have given to have some chips and salsa! Fortunately (unfortunately) there was absolutely NOTHING in the house to snack on. The closest thing to junk food in the house is a box of After Eight mints (40 calories a piece by the way). As delicious as After Eight's are, they're really don't work when it comes to satisfying a craving. *sigh* I'm glad that I don't keep junk food in the house - it's for days like this, which I'm happy to say don't happen often.

I know my will power hasn't changed as much as I would have liked it to ... I know that had there been some tostitos in the cupboard, I would have polished them off. I've definitely taken the right step by not having any munchies in the house. So, I drank some water, brushed my teeth, and eventually made it to bed.

I had mentioned in yesterday's blog post that I was thinking about going for my first swim of the season today ... You should have seen me walking out the door this morning. I had a long day ahead of me ... workout in the morning, work, errands, Zumba at night. I had my beach bag for my swim, my morning workout bag, my clothes for work, and another workout bag with my Zumba shoes and another set of workout clothes. I looked like I was going away for a long weekend! Anyway.

When I had looked out the window, it looked foggy outside ... but as soon as I stepped out I was greeted by dust. Yuck. Definitely one of the pitfalls of living in a desert country. This is a snapshot on the drive to the gym -- visibility was less than 100 m, really nasty (though do you like my boxing glove ornament on my rearview mirror?) :)

So, the swim was out of the question.

I went on to complete my NROL4W Workout A3. While my negative chin ups are still crazy difficult (I cannot lower myself down slowly) -- I can, however, hold on longer and even raise my knees higher, and today I even managed to bend my elbows a bit to lift myself up (just a tiny, tiny bit). I was so thrilled!

I was also so happy to have completed 4 sets (of only 2 reps each) of underhand lateral pulls at 55 kgs (that's 12 lbs)! I did my split squats with 40 kgs (88 lbs), and I know I'm ready to go for a higher weight. I am really pleased with my progress!

I left the house a bit earlier than usual this morning because I wanted the extra time in case I could have fit in that swim ... but since I didn't, I finished my weights workout a bit early ... and since DB (my favorite trainer) was doing an RPM class that morning I decided to join in for the first 35 minutes (would have done the whole class if I didn't have to shower, change, and get to work!). He had warned me that it would be tough after the squats I did ... and OMG - it was tough! My legs felt hmmmm what's the word? Something between 'solid' and 'heavy' - in any case, it was good to get in a bit of tough cardio in the morning.

Work went well. Errands were successfully completed -- including the purchase of my new running shoes!! Finally! I ended up buying the new Reebok zigtech shoes. We'll see how they turn out ...

Today seemed to be the day for hot pink shoes because this is what I wore to work today:

... and these are the new trainers that I bought :)

Talk about a pop of color! I do love pink, but I had not intended to buy these shoes in hot pink ... they just didn't have any others in my size. Oh well. I'm not complaining!

Ok, to wrap things up.

I did go back to the gym in the afternoon.

I did 5 km on the cross-trainer ... and then, I saw that the Abs Blast class that's held just before Zumba was still in session. Since I didn't do any abs in the morning (coz' of the RPM class) I decided to join them for the last 15 minutes.

I really wish I hadn't. I mean, I'm 'glad' I did, but from the 1st minute it was pure torture! Bicycle crunches -- my absolute nightmare!! Just when I thought it couldn't get worse, he was doing variations on bicycle crunches!!! WTF? We were laughing in class just because we were too sore to cry lol -- hmmmm should I give the class another try? The 15 minutes I did was SO painful!

I ended the evening with Zumba -- I love Zumba!! :) Although I was quite tired, I did put my all into the class and left drenched in sweat but really happy ... that is until I showered and changed and realized that I had to put my hot pink heels on again ... I do love my heels, but after such a long day and 2 hours of exercise, I just wanted my Havaianas!!

I think I'll sleep well tonight!