Last night I saw on TV Season 4 of "The Biggest Loser: Marathon". It was a 3-hour long session of watching contestants ditching their old lifestyles of unhealthy eating habits and finding in them the courage to shed all they could in hopes of regaining their lives back. I am not a follower of the show but do watch it when I happen to see it on TV.
The contestants had to be at camp to undergo military training and be away from their families and friends for at least 3 months. By joining the show, some have taken the first step (for others, many steps) to be committed to their goal of losing weight. From the short amount of time spent at the camp, you could see the positive changes it had on the contestants. It seemed like they'd taken a confidence booster pill because everyone was there for the same reason; to lose weight and they want to stick to it. Most were grateful for the support from their family and life partners.
As the show progressed, I found myself sucked into the emotions of the contestants and cheered for them to carry on because they are, after all, doing a good deed for their bodies. The prize for the biggest loser was $100,000 and I'm sure most can find many ways to spend the money in times like these when the economy has yet to stabilize. But seeing the outcome of the contestants losing all the weight is good enough, even if they do not win. They have succeeded in making changes in their lives and lives of their families, in many ways no amount of money can buy. The contest has saved their lives, if they have not yet realized.
There were many jaw-dropping moments when the contestants revealed themselves, with the before and after image on screen. What a major transformation it was when the biggest loser had lost over 180 lbs! A truly outstanding feat considering what each of them weighed at the start of the season.
Naturally my mind drifted back to myself and said, "If they can do it, so can I!" An often overused saying that still rings true when we start believing in ourselves. Losing over 100 lbs is tough. My goal of losing 40 lbs is a piece of cake, right? It should be and I strive to do just that after I consult with my physician the safe methods to go about it with regular exercise and healthy eating. Wish me luck!
Cheers.
Image via own collection.
I planned to go to the gym this morning, hoping to burn off the calories I've accumulated over the weekend. Last weekend was Mother's Day and I brought my mom out for afternoon tea at a hotel around town. The variety of food was not much but it was fresh and it was good. Most importantly, they had scones. That's motivating enough for me. Tea time would not be the same without scones ;-)
Anyway, I was up early but lied in bed for a little longer after hitting the snooze button on my cell. This happened a few times until I finally said to myself, "get your ass out of bed or you'll never go today...". Ya da ya da ya da... I can find lots of excuses to skip gym when I am feeling unmotivated. But when my mind is set on gym or something else, nothing can stop me.
One of my gym outlet is located on the second floor of an office building. Most people entering the building to other floors would normally take the elevator from the parking lot. I arrived in the building only to find that the elevator was closed and being serviced. So this resulted in me taking the stairs to the main building before climbing more stairs to reach the gym. Needless to say, I was a little exhausted from my surprise warm-up today. I only wondered about the exhaustion others had when going to higher floors. Is that motivation enough?
I immediately started working out after placing my bags in the locker. I started with the treadmill and proceeded to the stepper/"stair climber". Twenty minutes of each machine was a breeze thanks to 'The Ellen Show' that was on cable then. After the 'stepping' session ended, I saw my boyfriend was already midway through his session on the treadmill. I teased him for being late and went away to work on my abs, not wanting to disturb him further.
But I just couldn't help myself. I know how badly he needs to workout to lose the fat and lower all health risks that are associated with being overweight. I understand because I have also been overweight during my college years and I refuse to be overweight again. I have maintained a healthy weight for some years after college and have slipped sometimes due to stress and boredom. I want to be in the healthy weight range again and I too, need to lose all the fat that I have gained from the culinary adventures during our outings together.
By the time he was done with the treadmill and came over to chat (I was midway of my rowing workout), I saw he was sweating profusely. I was singing Carrie's music from my iPod and I yelled for him to join me because I knew he was vulnerable and needed motivation. He comes over and to my disappointment, other rowing machines were out of order! So he ended up working out on other machines while I finished.
Then we both proceeded to the elliptical machine (my favorite at the gym) and worked out together and I continued singing Ms. Underwood's music ;-) We completed the workout according to the set time. Maybe my singing disturbed him and made him concentrate on his workout or maybe he was trying to get it over with quickly so that he wouldn't have to hear me sing any longer! Either way, I said to him, "I'm glad you've left your iPod at home, else you wouldn't hear me sing for you" (a smirk on my face for that big motivation!). It was a great feeling working out together and seeing him work out hard ended up motivating me in return. Thanks babe.
Cheers.
And so I am back from my holidays in Langkawi, Kedah, Malaysia. It turned out to be one of the nicest vacations, thanks to the low traffic and crowd on the island. Even though it was the Labor Day weekend, driving around the island and town was a breeze. That is always a priority for me. A holiday would not be a holiday if time is wasted in traffic and worse if I have to shove my way around crowds just to catch a glimpse of whatever was interesting at tourist attractions.
My boyfriend and I had a couple of arguments along the way. It was not at all pleasant. All arguments are never pleasant. It was over some menial issues that would not have occurred if our "egos" had not surfaced. Ask me now and I am unable to remember what we argued over. Besides, who needs reminding. Let bygones be bygones.
We toured the island with a rented car for the duration of our short holiday there. Most attractions were easily located with numerous signs along the road. The only drawback is the coastal roads which were mostly one-lane. If one missed a turn and wanted to turn back, one had to take a detour into someone's front porch or gravel road on the side. My advice: Stay at 60 kph and you will not miss your turn. Plus you also won't run risk of hitting animals which decide to cross the road at odd times.
One of the attractions that stood out was the Langkawi Sky-bridge that stands atop a mountain. It was built in 2005 and offers views of the Andaman Sea and islands surrounding Langkawi. The bridge can be reached by taking a cable car. At the final stop of the cable car station (also the peak), one needs to climb some steep steps to reach the bridge. All the hard work and sweat will be rewarded with breathtaking views around the mountain and sea.
Another attraction that was a nice surprise was the Langkawi Underwater World. Even though most around the world have more species of marine life, this one offers a trip to habitats of the marine, tropical rainforests, freshwater aquaria, coral and even some pond sections. It even has an antartic section which displays penguins bred in Malaysia. Penguins! Who would have thought penguins were available and bred in this country.
We visited many attractions on this trip and bought lots of chocolates coming back. It was after all, duty-free purchases. We will return again for island visits next time and do some boating, snorkeling and diving. There are as many as 100 islands surrounding Langkawi and while most are uninhabited, some have been designated as tourists spots and we hope to have the opportunity to see the beauty the islands have to offer.
Cheers.
Images via own collection.
