72 to 59!

Yes the title of this article says it all! That's really where I stand today!

Zoya and me in 2008!

I was asked  lot of questions by my cousin yesterday...how did I loose all this weight, what were the roadblocks, was it easy?

I sent her the link for my previous blog XL to M! and thought I had covered it all there...but last night I actually thought of all that she asked and realized, that maybe I haven't covered it all... the start, the challenges and how I really got here!

For those of you who haven't known me for more than the last 10 years, let me tell you that I have never weighed this light in my entire life..not even when I got married! So it was never something that crept into my mind after I had my 2nd child (Ira), that I need to go back to an 'original' weight...I had a husband who was a great example of getting back into shape, but even that never pushed me...

So what really pushed me? I think to start with, it gave me an opportunity to have some 'me' time. After having left work, it was a perfect space for me to be by myself! That hour spent at the gym, was my time. And I had someone who was helping me do the 'right' things.

I also feel when I started this whole exercise, I never set a goal nor a time for myself. None of us knew how committed I would be to this, and if I would be able to sustain it. I think that helped in the initial stages. Whatever weight I start losing, it only pushed me further.Now when I think back, I can clearly see 3 stages that I went through:

1. The Start 
The actual start was me walking on the treadmill (mind you holding it), and hallucinating that I am doing a great job at working out. The real start was when I started training professionally. After my first session, I had Smita asking me if I had any 'aches and pains' and she was thrilled to hear I did, as it meant that the session was effective! 

I dedicated two days of the week to train under my trainer and another two days to attempt to do it by myself. She pushed me to stop walking and start running. I had this mind block, that because I was asthmatic, I could never run. I think that was the first myth broken.

I still recollect starting to run at the speed of 7.0 on the treadmill and feeling breathless within 5 minutes. It only made me feel even more unfit and my will power stronger, that I needed to get over this challenge.

I felt maybe its easier to run out than in the gym, so maybe I should start with that. That helped. But the early morning wake ups (with my elder ones school routine, husband's run routine) were a bit stressful. But I scrapped it through. Now when I look back, those early morning runs, really helped. I started feeling less 'aches and pains' at my training sessions and could sustain more comfortably.

2. The Challenges-
- Diet-- Now that I had set a pattern for myself,  I still felt there were hindrances. I myself felt, that since I am working so hard on the gym and the running side, maybe I should see if any compromise on the eating side would just help. I decided on the below things but on a sporadic manner (and not under any pressure):
- Drink only on weekends
- Frequently go off rice during dinner
- Small portions of dessert if eating at night

And how well it complimented my weight loss programme! My clothes started fitting me better! The results were faster and for all to see. And I feel when you are investing so much of your time and energy, a bit of sacrifice from your end only compliments this whole effort. Once the goals are achieved, one can sit back and relax.

- Exercising- This was a dedicated and sustain routine I followed with my fitness trainer. She made sure that it got tougher as we went along and that truly was the way! A combination of cardio, weights, and other exercises to strengthen your core... And each time she would surprise me with new ones! 

Zoya and me in 2014!

I must admit that through this journey it was not always good news! There was a stage, when I had got static for a couple of weeks despite being regular with my gym and weekly running. And that was disappointing. But I guess, that was my body buying time to adjust itself! But I never gave up! And then again suddenly, I would see results.

- Running- I think this must have been my biggest challenge that I got over. I think sustaining and pushing myself is what helped me here. It was probably the toughest part as only I could push myself to do this. Of course having my Salveo Mantra  running buddies helped, but running just that 1 Sunday a month was not sufficient. I had to push myself to wake up early mornings (even weekends), go by myself (which is the toughest) and ensure that you run the distance you have thought of for that day (of course it helps to keep increasing that distance gradually)! It's very easy to stop and just start walking!

3. The End - Is it really the end or the beginning? For me its the start of a new phase of my life! Me feeling so much lighter, more energetic and more positive. I need too run twice a week and hit the gym twice a week now or I start missing my little chit chats at the gym!

 Exactly 12 months after I started my fitness training, I weigh 59kgs, I ran my first 10km and I feel super! I am glad I never set any goals for myself, I am glad this happened the right way, I am glad I know that I will hold onto this for life now!

and what a RUN it was!

And this was an extraordinary weekend for some of us!  It was the culmination of many weeks of hard work and determination. For me personally, it felt like it was the end or maybe the start of a new phase in my life!

(L to R: Smita Govil, Mohan Srinivasan, Badrinath Veeraghanta,

Neeti Raina, Anu Gupta & Aditya Gupta)

All of us (in the pix) ran  The Straits Times Run 2014. I took the plunge and ran my 1st 10 km marathon and all the others ran the 21km (half-marathon).

So what's the big deal? So many people run marathons! Yes that's true, but in this case, it's the closest I have come to seeing life change and it stands true for me too!

For some of us who ran yesterday, this was our personal best and for others it was another race to the list! I was amazed to see the sheer excitement that all of us had in common! The excitement of seeing weeks of hardwork paying off I guess is a great feeling!

L to R: Smita & Neeti

Let's start with Smita & Neeti who I think have come a long way!  Just two years ago, they were both home-loving mothers , very content with their roles. 

Smita managed to go a step ahead and convert her passion into her profession. Today, she has transformed a lot of us around her. She has been able to infuse some of her passion into a few of us as well! Her venture Salveo Mantra is proof to that!

Neeti of course, is by default the expert adviser in our gym. You can often see people asking her for advice on training/ exercises or how the machines work!

Both of them ran the Shape Run 2013 (5km marathon), just a year ago and at the ST Run they ran their first half-marathon! I know preparing for this wasn't easy. It involved early morning wake-ups for runs (sometimes even weekends), strength training at the gym , and more importantly a lot of mental strength.

Now let's talk about Adi. In 2007, Adi used to weigh close to 90kgs. When he ran his 1st full marathon (42.195kms) Standard Chartered Marathon 2013, it shocked us! Life has come a full circle for him. Today he can proudly claim to have run 2-half marathons and 1 full! 

Badri & Mohan can be called 'veterans' in the marathon scene amongst all of us here. They are 'serious' runners with several half and full marathons  on their side. Mohan too has run 2-half marathons and 1 full. 

Badri is always on a roll! After running about 10 half marathons including the ST Run and 1 full marathon, he is now preparing to run his 2nd full marathon!

At the end of it, it was lovely to see each one of us as excited for one another. Guess we all understand that each race brings with it its own share of dedication, perseverance and hard core training!

My 10-km run seemed meager in front of these guys! Though it surely wasn't meager for me in anyway!

I think the thrill of crossing any finish line is the same whether its your first or your umpteenth race and that was evident on all our faces! And for my fellow ST runners, I salute each one of you and only one word stands true for you all- RESPECT!

an unsung hero I met today!

my chain project

One of the things I am grateful to Singapore is that it has helped me improve my DIY skills (of course apart from a lot of other lovely things this country has to offer)! So I decided to take upon myself to complete this half-installed project at home...These lights (as pictured right) were purchased during my summer trip to India. Once installed, we felt that they were a tad bit high and they need to come down a bit lower.

And so my search for those (identical looking) chains started. My search got me to Geylang, an area infested with lighting and hardware stores. Being clueless I decided to get off my taxi and just walk randomly into stores and look for my chain!

After walking out of several highly recommended lighting stores (obviously disappointed), I chanced upon this 'hole in the wall' hardware store (as pictured below). Hoping to meet an old Singaporean 'uncle', I was pleasantly surprised to see this very smart pretty girl (Sue) manning the store. Sue also looked equally perplexed to see me (maybe an unlikely candidate to buy a chain)!

The hardware store @ Geylang

And so we got talking while Sue looked for my chain all over the store. In the 5-minutes she spoke to me, I was touched and choked.

Sue elaborated that the store is close to 30 years old (as old as her) and belongs to her dad. I obviously had a lot of questions on my face (what was she doing at the store, does she sit here every day or is she substituting for her dad, do they really have enough sales for her to spend her whole day here).

For whatever strange reason, Sue gladly spoke to me. She had spent her last few years in Korea (in the financial sector). She returned back home to Singapore a year ago, when her father got terminally ill. And she decided to run his store for him, as it was always his wish that the store must not shut down.

I think the above is easier said than done. Sue said "I feel a bit lost at times in the store, don't even know the utility of half the items but I have spent my childhood here and want to do this for my dad and I don't know how long I will continue running this store!" WOW!

That's all we spoke. And I was touched to hear and see what I witnessed today. Though I never got my chain at her store, I think my walking into her store and spending those 5-minutes was only to hear the above! I salute you Sue, you truly were my hero today!

my day off!

That's a term most of us in Singapore are familiar with! and that's what got me ticking this weekend!

I often think when was the last time I did something 'just' for myself' and not be in rush to either get some home errand done, or some errands for the kids...when was the last time I met some girlfriends for lunch, went to a library and read in peace, had a meaningful conversation with my friends and for a change it's not about some playground issue, school issue, bus issue! and truly it has been a while...

Why does all this take a backseat? The break I took from work three years ago, was so that I could find time to do all this for myself and be there for the home without a constant struggle! But alas, other things have taken priority and in all that rush, I forgot some of my own agenda!

And so this weekend, I decided to take a stop! Stop thinking about the home (atleast for a while), about what to cook for the next meal and it helped! I managed to get some thoughts in my mind...and felt a lot LIGHTER!

Have told myself that I must do atleast one activity a week that will be just MINE! Be it a movie, a lunch with my friends or my husband, an agenda-less/ errand less shopping trip, a trip to the library, cook something out of the menu for the day! And it was easy! That's all it took to get myself back on the 'original' track!

from XL to M!

...and that's exactly what I am today! and surely it's easier said than done! it all started exactly a year ago (with me weighing 72kgs)...thankfully I went in with the lowest of expectation (probably none), since I hadn't spent any time researching on where this journey could take me or how long it would take or what it would entail.

It's interesting because all through my life I was always the 'tomboy' of the house, never been sub-60 weight since I can remember and never had 'being fit' on my agenda! I had a husband who had dropped from 90kgs to 67kgs in 3 years but still it never pushed me! Guess , it's right when they say 'there is a right time for everything'.

And so what did I do in the last 1 year....spend many hours in the gym? cut down on all my food? not enjoy my alcohol? well not really...I would say a bit of all.. twice a week of intense training with my 'fitness guru' @ salveo mantra https://www.facebook.com/pages/Salveo-Mantra/1411404579080426, the build up of a running routine (which probably was the best thing that came out of this whole project), a bit of cautiousness on the food end and stick to only weekend drinks! and was it tough? Yes and No!

Yes because it required a lot of dedication, constant pep-up, sustained effort and a quite few early morning wake ups!

No because it all seems worth it now once I have achieved the results. I think the best take-away from this project has been a 'mindset change' for me, I can push my 7-year old to do tougher things now (as I can also do it and probably better), I feel a 'new' me -for the first time I am in my 50's, and all it took was 1-year of my life to get me to my fittest best at 38 years!!! Guess better late than never!

and we got running!

Some months ago, a bunch of us met for the 1st time under the 'now famous' bridge behind our condo. For those not known, this bridge leads us to the Garden by the Bay (running/walking path) from our condo. So what were these bunch of women doing at that bridge at 6:30am on a Sunday morning?

That was a the start of 'Salveo Mantras' running club! What's that? Well all the women there 

knew Salveo Mantra https://www.facebook.com/pages/Salveo-Mantra/1411404579080426?ref=ts&fref=ts really well but the running club was a bit blur! And for those who don't know Salveo Mantra, that is the firm owned by our gym trainer (the common reason why were all under that bridge that morning)!

So why were we there? Most of us were on our weight loss programmes, and for others, they just wanted to get into a running routine. For me, I had no idea, what I was doing there that morning and where it would land me a few months later!

So to go back to day 1- each one set their own targets. I remember mine was 1.5kms and I felt thrilled when I ran that in a loop! It felt good..and I decided I am going to do this more often. Little did I realise, that this was building into something else (atleast for me)..

So we would meet every 1 Sunday a month, and most of us were running more than what we had started with! Through this journey, most of us had overcome a lot of issues we had (for me my weight issue, for some joint pains, for some waking up issues!!)...

The club has come a 'really' long way today..not just in terms of members, but what it has helped achieve for each member. Now we run 2 days in a month, and all of us run way beyond the distance we started running!

For me personally, it's got me to a level, where I get uneasy if  I don't do my weekly runs, I ran my 1st 5km marathon ever, soon my 1st 10km and more than anything, made a 'lifestyle change' for me...I look forward to my running Sundays, meeting those running buddies and it completely justifies the 'indulging weekends' I decide to have!

diwali with a difference!

Its that time of the year when one starts shopping for goodies (be it clothes, new furniture, re-doing your home, etc). Having been out of India for more than a decade now, Diwali is more about spending that day with close friends probably ending it with a dinner together. I have always wanted more for my kids. For them to know how important this festival is. It's more than just wearing new clothes and wishing each other. Have always wished that they see the other side of life 'how lucky they are and how fortunate they are' to be able to celebrate every festival in a grand manner. When you live out of India you are seeing life very differently. Had we been in India, kids are exposed to a lot more realities (which are sometimes harsh). Every holiday when we head to Bangalore, I try and show my now 7-year old that disparity (which unfortunately) she doesn't see in her day-to-day life!

The other day, I was pleasantly surprised to see a post from Protsahan India http://www.protsahan.co.in/home a renowned NGO working towards educating street kids in India. They were organising a Diwali mela and along with that workshop for kids (art & craft related). 

It's very rare to see such activities come up and I congratulate the Protsahan Singapore team for organising this in Singapore! https://www.facebook.com/ProtsahanSingapore?fref=ts

I felt for a change, I was spending that money on something fruitful and and I also knew where it was going! I had the opportunity to explain it to my daughter, on why attending this workshop was different from probably the art class she goes to every week! I hope not only during Diwali, but at any point of time, more such events happen here and more people get involved. And also that it gets bigger and better every year!