Easing into It

I don't understand how being away in a country that is only 1 hour behind Kuwait has still resulted in some form of jet lag. I always feel it when I return from London too (2 hrs behind Kuwait). Perhaps it's not so much the time difference as it is the travel.

On my last day in Italy I only slept for 2 hours the night before, had a 1.5 hr journey to the airport, the flight from Ancona to Rome (45 min), 5 hour layover, Rome to London, 3.5 hour layover, then the flight from London to Kuwait (5.5 hrs). I managed to sleep a little on the plane, but definitely not enough.

This morning, I did not want to get out of bed. Although I really had no reason to get up - no work to go to, no major errands to run - I knew that I'd feel better if I got back into some sort of routine.

My main task of the day was to fix up my menu for the week and buy groceries.

My mind didn't seem to want to function though. I couldn't decide what I wanted to get, and I just couldn't figure out my menu. Still, I made a few notes and headed off to buy lots of veggies and some fish (plus poultry/meat for D). I felt better once the fridge was stocked!

I normally wait 3-4 days before getting back into my exercise routine. My body needs time to adjust to being back plus there is always so much that needs to be done around the house.

Today, however, I asked D if he wanted to go for a walk. I knew that if we stayed home we would only end up napping (he's getting over jet lag from being in Chile for the past 2 weeks) and throwing off our sleep schedule even more. So, despite it being 45 degrees outside (113 F) and not being able to drink water outside because it is the Islamic month of Ramadan (more on that in another post) - he agreed and we headed out for a short 2 km walk. It wasn't much, but we both felt better for being outside. I'm definitely craving fresh air after being spoilt with it in Ancona!

Dinner - grilled salmon + salad. Yum! It feels good to be back in the kitchen again though strange not to have any pasta for dinner, haha :)

Back from Italy

I'm finally back from one of the best holiday's I've had in a LONG time. It was definitely different because I didn't travel with D. I've also never traveled on my own to a new country (I'm not counting places in the US or UK because I feel quite at home there). Still, I found it very therapeutic, and being surrounded by so much history and beautiful scenery and architecture ... didn't have a problem at all! Plus I found the Italians to be so friendly, and the charm of the city seemed to rub off on all the people around, tourists and locals, which kept everyone smiling and laughing.

The one thing I found with Rome was that I was so enchanted and overwhelmed with the history of the city that I felt no photos could really do it justice. Still, I did take lots of photos - here are a few:

Il Colosseo -- The Colosseum was truly colossal!!

Fontana di Trevi - The Trevi Fountain was really spectacular. The only drawback was that there were SO many tourists around blocking the steps down to the fountain. Still, I fought my way down and made a wish!

The buildings, alleyways, and arches of the city were lovely!

My hotel was at the top of the Spanish Steps -- a place that was always buzzing with activity!

I spent a whole day in Vatican City - absolutely loved it!

Standing in the middle of the piazza, walking into St. Peter's Basilica, and then climbing to the top [hundreds of steep stairs -- OMG, it was tough!] - still, the view was so worth it!! You can read about it more here. I'm glad I'm not claustrophobic, but the narrowness of the stairway was overwhelming. I think there should have been a warning, especially as there was no way to get out of it once you started your climb to the top.

Waiting in line to get into St. Peter's Basilica:

On the roof - but not at the top yet! 

The view from the top of Cupola - magnificent!: 

I'm glad I had allocated an entire day for Vatican City, because the Vatican Museums themselves needed hours. With all my studying and the general frantic-ness of my life, I had forgotten my love for history, literature, and art ... it was all revived as I walked through the halls of the museum - surrounded by the works of Raphael and Michelangelo -- who wouldn't be inspired? I was really emotional as I walked through those halls.

Of course, the ultimate goal was to get to the Sistine Chapel. They didn't allow photos to be taken, and although many people were sneaking out their cameras and taking photos, I couldn't do it - besides, how can a photo on an iPhone really capture the greatness of Michelangelo's masterpieces?

I spent 45 minutes sitting in the Sistine Chapel. I had a book that discussed the artwork of the chapel, so I read the pages as I admired the work. I couldn't believe I was there - standing under the Creation of Adam ... It was my favorite memory of Rome.

After 4 days in Rome, I flew to Ancona.

My trip to Le Marche (in Ancona) was at a very different pace - and totally new scenery for me. I had never been so 'isolated' before. I was surrounded by rolling hills, endless greenery, and lots of fresh air - all things I sorely miss when I'm in Kuwait.

One of my favorite days was a visit to an antique fair held in Fermo. The vibe was fantastic. Music playing, people laughing ... everyone just so relaxed. The setting was so beautiful.

Me and KD in Fermo:

I didn't stop smiling during my entire stay in Le Marche. It was fabulous!


So, what about my health?

Upon returning, I have to say I felt a bit bloated. I definitely think it's from all the carbs from the pizza and pasta - and it truly was either pizza or pasta every single night! I also had a gellato every single day. One major difference to this holiday was that I didn't munch during the day. I didn't have any crisps; I only had 6-7 fries on one night; I didn't eat between meals ...

Also, in terms of exercise, it was a fail in terms of getting structured exercise in - I didn't go to the gym in the hotel nor did I do any outdoor runs like I had planned.

I did, however, walk A LOT. I walked for at least 5-6 hours each day in Rome.

In Ancona, I either swam (it was so serene):

Or I went for walks along the water's edge in the sand (did that 3 times, for a total of 2 hours walking each time; one time in knee deep water - very challenging and great for my legs!). Walking in the water/sun has made me 50 shades of darker brown ;)

KD is our body pump instructor and she had the latest release with her. She gave me the choreography notes to learn and music to listen to -- we did some body pump together at her house one day, and I taught a track. It was so much fun! I've got the notes and music with me here so my goal is to have it all learned by the time she gets back so I can actually lead the whole session.

Another major difference to my life in Kuwait is that I was able to fully relax. I caught up on my sleep. I felt absolutely no stress. For a whole week I had no Internet; I didn't watch any TV. I read a lot - for fun for a change!! There was no city pollution or even stale air from air conditioning - only fresh air, fresh, locally grown/produced food, and pure nature around me ... I think it really, really helped. I honestly feel like it was the first time I relaxed in years.

A sample of the scenery:

So, there were pool swims, beach walks, a bit of body pump, lots of relaxation ...

... and of course tons of shopping (hey, it counts as a workout)! :) [Only 4 new pairs of shoes ;)]

I was very, very pleased to have stepped on the scale and seen a 6 lb. loss! :) There were times when I was worried about all the food and lack of structured exercise, but I think all the other activity and rest helped balance it all out!

I also had one other major achievement - but I'll save that for my next post.

I'm looking forward to catching up with everyone else's blogs!

Ciao!!

An Important Day

August 2 marks the anniversary of the 1990 invasion of Kuwait by Iraq -- a day tat changed my life in so many ways.

Here's a link to the post I wrote last year - http://www.unveiledangel.blogspot.it/2011/08/august-2-1990.html

Much time has passed, but the memories of this day remain as strong as ever.

Update from Italy

I've been offline for over a week now, and is been great just relaxing, enjoying the magnificent scenery, and soaking in all the fresh air.

Rome was fabulous. I spent hours and hours walking and just soaking in the history of the city.

After four days in Rome I flew to Ancona/Le Marche. I've been staying at a frend's house - my body pump instructor - and have been here ever since. Her house is in the middle of nowhere - just hills and fields of trees and sunflowers - it is breathtaking. I have sept like I've never slept before - 7-10 hours a night, can you believe it? I've been walking and swimming. Yesterday she gave me some Body Pump choreography to learn and I'm supposed to 'teach' it today. It's been fun to kinda get behind the scenes and learn how to read the choreography notes and put it to music.

Anyway - just wanted to check in and say that all is well. I should be back to regular posting in a week or so. Hope everyone is doing well :)

SSSD Update & Week 8

Crazy busy day today -- lots and lots of errands. The good news, mom's paperwork is FINALLY ALL DONE! I managed to finish the last bit of paperwork that we had been waiting for. I'm so relieved - and so is she! Now this chapter is officially closed and we can all get on with other things.

This week was a good one for me in terms of food and exercise. However, it totally sucked in the sleep department! In the past week I got a total of 18 hours of sleep. That's averages out to slightly over 2.5 hours of sleep a night. I'm hurtin' real bad today but I've just had to push through coz' there's so much that needed to be done.

So, a quick recap of this past week -
1. Got all my errands done except for one.
2. Have started my workout plan for my holiday - but it'll have to be completed on the plane
3. Met my targets of working out for 5 hours & completing week 3 of C25K. I worked out for a total of 7 hours!
4. I'm definitely feeling more positive and determined than last week. I hope the attitude continues.

The challenge goal was to sign up for a 5K -- I've signed up for a 10K this coming November - fingers crossed I'm ready by then!

This week - Week 8: Embrace a Fitness Fear
I've actually already kinda started to work on embracing my fitness fears. However, there's still a lot more work to be done in this area. Embracing my fear will come in a two different forms this week:-

Fear 1: I'll be starting Week 4 of the C25K program, which will involve runs at stretches of 4 minutes and 6 minutes. If that's not facing a fear then I don't know what is! I'm also going to try and do one of these sessions outdoors. That'll be something new for me.

Fear 2: Burpees - For me, burpees are the worst part of CrossFit, but they're also one of the best exercises. I'm definitely improving, but I absolutely dread them. Each time I head to the Box I think - I hope there are no burpees today. During one of the sessions I missed I found out that they had done 100 burpees. *Gulp* To be honest, I was kinda relieved that I had missed that session ... and then I started to feel guilty. What's benefit will I get from hiding from this exercise? So I told myself there are two burpee challenges I want to put for myself - 1) complete 100 burpees and see how long it takes for me to finish; 2) see how many burpees I can complete within 7 minutes.

Both the run and the burpee challenge terrify me. Hopefully I'll be able to face my fears successfully.

I'm off to Rome in a few hours. I'll try to blog/comment as often as possible while I'm away.

Hope everyone has a great week :)

Time to Celebrate

Warning: In this blog post, there will be cake.

I've made it a point never to write about cake, desserts, and all that 'good' stuff that all of us trying to lose weight and get healthy are trying to avoid ... but today is an exception. Today, we had a very good reason to celebrate.

When I met Fatma at my gym several months ago, I had no idea what kind of impact she was going to have on my life. For some time, she was just another member at the gym - someone who came regularly, worked hard, and then went about her life. That's how it usually happens, right? People at the gym are just people at the gym - rarely do we get to know more about them and find out what their story is ... we just continue to go our own way. I'm so glad that didn't happen with Fatma.

When she first asked me if I would be interested in joining a group of women to try out a new form of exercise, I said yes - I'm always up for an adventure! At that time I hadn't heard about CrossFit so I had no idea what I was getting myself in to! However, before we even go to try out the workout, I got to know more about her. I wrote a bit about our conversation back in April (about half way through this post). It was during this interaction that I learned more about what her story was - where she's come from and how she got to where she is now.

You usually see athletes and super-fit people at the gym and think - Well, it's easy for them because they've always been that way. (At least that's usually my first impression.) This wasn't the case with her. When she told me that she used to be very overweight, I didn't believe her. I mean, could the person sitting next to me really have lost that much weight (about 45 kg/100 lbs) in 5 months? Was she for real?

Yes. Very real.

There are a lot of us out there who struggle to lose weight. Often the main obstacle is a mental one -- coming up with the decision, drive, and dedication to just go for your goal without any hesitation.

She overcame that obstacle. She decided she was going to change her life -- and she did.

Now, she follows a healthy lifestyle. She is now Coach Fatma - the trainer of the women's CrossFit team of CrossFit Q8. She is a role model for all of us. She has shown us that you can go from a situation where you feel like there is no hope, that the task is just way too big, to one where you are in control of your life ... and you are happy.

Before writing this post, I asked her how much she has changed in the past year - and she said 100%.

100%

Can you imagine saying that about your life? Has your life changed 100% in the past year? Wouldn't you like to see your life change 100% one year from now? (Even if it's just 100% in one aspect of your life.)

Coach Fatma pushes us at the CrossFit Box. She pushes us to give just a little bit more - do one more rep, lift one more kilo, do one more (bloody) burpee. I know for myself, when I was introduced to CrossFit three months ago and properly started training at the Box almost exactly two months ago, I had no idea how much I would have progressed in such a short period of time. I still have a long way to go, but I know that I can get there. Through Coach Fatma and the other amazing women on our team, I have learned about taking chances, about not being afraid to try harder, about having the strength to believe in yourself - which will then give you the strength to push those weights. Starting to change my mentality has helped me in so many ways - and in various areas of my life, not just fitness.

So as I said, today we had reason to celebrate. Today was Coach Fatma's birthday, and we were all super-excited to be part of her day.

What do you think of this cake? Isn't it adorable?

Coach Fatma is the first female CrossFitter in Kuwait -- She's our First Lady :)

Kettlebell swings - piece of cake ;)

Our women's CrossFit Q8 Team:

Happy Birthday Coach Fatma! 

We wish you many, many more!

Practicing my Exercises

I'm so glad I enjoy going to the gym. In the beginning I was really obsessed with burning calories - and I mean really obsessed. At the end of each workout, my elation or frustrated depended entirely on the number of calories burned (and you know those machines aren't accurate anyway!). I didn't get any satisfaction from the exercises; it was just about the number. Taking it to that level ended up being a form of psychological torture for me, though it took me a long time to figure that out.

In my obsession with the numbers, I never really took the time to enjoy what I was doing and notice any progress. I did lose weight, but I didn't notice whether or not I had become faster or stronger.

Now, it's entirely different. I do wear a heart-rate monitor to give me a general idea of how many calories I burned, but I don't use it to measure the success or failure of a workout. I also don't use the number of calories to try to negotiate my food intake. I don't exercise so that I can eat more. I do, however, eat slightly differently depending on my workout of the day - intense/mild/none. I still have work to do on eating right, but my perspective on that is continuing to improve on a daily basis. It's my outlook and approach to exercise, however, that has changed dramatically, particularly after completing the New Rules of Lifting for Women weights program and now with CrossFit.

Completing the New Rules of Lifting for Women program was one of the best gym experiences I've had. I bought the book and completed the 7-stage program. I trusted the program. I did the best I could, and I got amazing results. I am so much stronger now that I ever was before. My body shape has changed a lot. Most of all, I am so much more confident in the gym (and in my regular life as well). I'm no longer afraid to pick up heavier weights or at least try an exercise that looked intimidating before. I remember that I would refuse to do burpees properly at the gym. I was too afraid of failing at them, so I would modify the exercise and just be 'satisfied' with that. One day, at home, I told myself - Right. Stop being ridiculous. Try a proper one right now. There's nobody here to judge you, criticize you, mock you. Just do it. I did.

That one little action really changed my attitude.

There are still many exercises that I find intimidating, but I don't shy away from them. I give them a go. If my body is not ready for it, then that's fine - but I'll give it a go.

This attitude has brought me to my newest phase -- not just exercising, but practicing as well.

CrossFit has opened up a whole new range of challenges for me. It's pushed me to a level that I never thought I could go to before. I struggle during each session, but I keep trying ... and I can't wait to successfully conquer all the exercises ... but the only way that's going to happen is to practice.

So now, I workout at the CrossFit box and I do my workouts at the gym, mainly boxing and C25K, but I also practice.

Running Practice: I categorize my whole C25K attempt as my practice for running since it gradually helps you build up your endurance.

Boxing Practice: My right arm is strong so I love throwing punches with my right arm ... but I've scaled back a bit and am focusing more on my left arm. I also practice my upper cuts - both right and left - because right now I look so ridiculous doing them that if I was ever going to attack someone with my upper cut they'd just burst out laughing (potential defense strategy!) ;)

CrossFit Practice: Box jumps; pull ups; double unders; burpees -- there are other moves that I need to practice, but these are the 4 exercises that I'm working on right now. I struggle with all of them, but as I even with a few days of practice I notice improvement already. Bit by bit they're getting better.

Although I want to be successful right now in all these moves, I'm finally taking the time to enjoy the process of practicing my exercises and seeing myself improve.

It's no longer about the number. It really is about working to reach my potential. What more of a confidence booster could you ask for?