Zumba B2 training - Celebrity Fitness Setia Walk, Puchong

I always think twice before purchasing a new handbag or make up or perfume or that nice floral blouse or a pair of sexy heels. But I never think twice when it comes to education, and this includes dancing. 

The thing about Zumba is that it is a fitness program. Just like any other group exercise that you might have tried before. It's a workout in disguise. People think they are dancing, but the true fact is that they are working out. 

Hence, the need for every Zumba instructor to get continues education on the program. 

I have read many complaints on illegal zumba instructors in this country. There are irresponsible fitness instructors who are not licensed, yet they call their fitness dance classes as Zumba classes. The biggest problem is they are not getting the material from Zumba. They might be using choreography that is not in line with Zumba program. Worst case, they're giving the wrong impression of zumba to the participants. 

So, I attended Zumba Basic 2 training last weekend to learn 6 more rythms and get myself updated. Getting the license and updating Zumba skills is not that difficult (if I were to compare with IT). I don't understand why many unlicensed Zumba instructors decided not to get them. It's also cheaper than some other fitness programs. 

With trainer, David in yellow shirt.

Ok, enough of blabbering. This time I also trained with David Velez. He's from Columbia but has been staying in Malaysia for some time, so he really understands Asians and Malaysians especially. My friends who had danced with other ZESs claimed that David is their favorite as he's funny, natural and very 'selamba'. I enjoyed David's choreography as he always keep things basic and simple. He gave me a lot of ideas on how to chorey on the spot, especially when you suddenly go blank on stage. 

Yes, no matter how experienced you are, there will be times when you stand in front of 40 people and suddenly all the steps you've memorized decided to disappear from your head.

Smiley, happy people - We Are ZINs!

This time we had participants from Johor, Melaka, Sabah, Sarawak, Bali, US and Canada. Yes, Zumba is that big that people from all over the world come together to dance.

Have been seeing their pictures in social media. Got to meet face to face during this training. ;)

The thing about dancing classes (especially Zumba), you'll make new friends in no time. The instructors will always tell you to smile while dancing. So, the smile will stuck on your face long after the classes. When people see you smiling, they will naturally smile back, right? And some are courageous enough to say hello. I have strangers smiling at me, saying hello and asking how my day was just because of my smile. 

Some adults are just too pre-occupied with work stress that they forget to smile. For instance, there's this 'kesian uncle' my friends met at Empire. Well, we have to take shared lift (with SOHO tenants) to go to the gym there. This uncle got angry with my friends (the zumba makciks) because they took their time to enter and leave the lift. I didn't hear his exact words but basically he was telling my friends, "can you please hurry up, other people has things to do. Unlike you all, who don't have to go to work." That uncle really need to chill a bit-lah, I think. Or better, he can join our zumba classes. ;)

New friends from JB. Very sporting and happening.

OK, back to the zumba training. Basic 2 was quite different than Basic 1. More time was spent dancing (i.e kena drill dengan David). My legs hurt real bad this time. When I did Basic 1 training, I could still go to Body Jam and Sh'bam classes the next day, but this time I had to rest for 2 days before I could dance again. I even lost 1.5kg that day (but managed to regain 1kg after 3 days. Hehe.)

Basic 2 rhythms are more interesting (flamenco, tango, samba etc) but I don't see many instructors doing them in class. I think it's mainly because the steps are not easy to master and teach. Take tango for instance - it needs some attitude. The steps are quite simple, but you need the soul and attitude to present it to audience, otherwise you'll just look like some retired army marching in the backyard.

Best time - makan time!

So, I had a good meal, made many news friends and learned a lot of new things during the training. Now I'm contemplating - should I attend the Pro Skills training next month? Hmmm..... sounds interesting. 

Soccer mom yang berkobar-kobar pergi Zumba training

Assalamualaikum korang! How do you do? Apa kabor? 

Dah berbulan kan aku tak update blog ni. Memang dah dasar pemalas, nak buat macam mana. Lagipun, ada 8 Whatsapp group yang active nak mampus yang aku kena go through hari-hari. Kalau tak, kang aku ketinggalan gossip penting pulak. 

Maka pada 8 dan 9 November aritu aku telah menghadirkan diri ke Zumba Basic 1 training kat Zwings Fitness di Bandar Puteri, Puchong. Okay, training ni ialah the very first fitness training yang aku attend, maka aku telah jakun gila. Selama ni aku dok attend technical and leadership training aje, kan? Kalau aku tahu fitness training lagi fun, dah lama aku attend. 

So, kisahnya aku memang attend training ni for fun aje pun. Kau ingat aku larat ke nak jadi Zumba instructor? Nak follow instructor dalam kelas pun semput, inikan pulak aku yang nak mengajar orang. So, pada asalnya memang aku tak berniatlah nak serius jadi tenaga pengajar. Kalau mengajar pun setakat suka-suka untuk family and friends, gitu. 

Bila dah register tu, akupun berkenal-kenalanlah dengan peserta dari serata pelusuk negeri ni ha. Memang happening, I tell you. Semua sporting, fun dan asyik gelak tak ingat dunia. Kebanyakannya aku rasa muda-muda. Tapi yang dah berusia pun ramai juga. Paling respect, diorang ni semua very energetic. Akupun tumpang jugalah energy diorang dan melompat macam tak ingat hari esok dah. 

Ini dua orang awek yang sangat meriah yang aku sempat kenal masa training. Yang tengah-tengah tu dah biasa ajar Zumba kat Kerteh. Dia datang untuk dapatkan lesen. Yang kiri sekali tu sama macam akulah, pergi training sebab nak have fun. 

Inipun geng yang sangat friendly dan meriah. That guy yang hitam manis tu aku selalu dance sebelah dia kat gym. Tak sangka pulak dia join sekali training ni. Kalau kat gym tu segala dance class dia masuk. Pendek kata, memang berbakatlah. Jauh berbeza dengan aku ni ha. Hehehehe.

Ini trainer kitorang. Orang Columbia yang dah lama jugak duduk di Malaysia. David namanya. Kitorang suka betulkan English dia. Hehe. Grammar Nazi ada di mana-mana, kan? Aku kena drill teruk gak dengan dia ni. Mungkin dia dah target kot, makcik-makcik yang muka macam tak serious ni (contohnya, aku) kena ajar betul-betul supaya kami cepat sedar langit tu tinggi ke rendah. 

Anyway, dia mengajar memang awesome-lah. Kalau lecturer aku kat uni dulu mengajar bersemangat macam David ni, kan bagus. Barulah nampak passionate. Itulah, kekadang aku terfikir jugak lecturers kat uni tu passionate ke tidak dalam bidang yang diorang ngajar tu? Ataupun apa yang diorang buat tu paksa rela semuanya? Okay, dah melalut dah pulak. Back to Zumba Basic 1 training......

Maka, setelah tamat 2 hari kena drill dengan David, akupun dapat dah lesen untuk mengajar Zumba. Kengkawan pun dah pakat panggil aku ZIN Noor Aziza. Chewah! Kalau korang tak tau, ZIN tu maksudnya Zumba Instructor le. Kalau David tu pulak, gelaran dia ZES - Zumba Education Specialist. Ha.... ambik kau! Dulu yang aku tahu IT Solution Specialist je. Sekarang ni kena biasakan diri dengan Fitness Specialist pulak. 

Tapi kan, kalau korang nak tau, getting involved dengan dunia fitness ni memang seronok. Sebab apa, tau? Sebab orang yang kita jumpa kat gym atau kat dalam group exercise classes tu, semuanya datang dengan rela hati dan penuh bersemangat. Jadi, diorang semua very happening dan ceria sokmo. Secara tak langsung, kita pun gembira tengok diorang. Maka tekanan perasaan dalam hidup kita pun bolehlah berkurangan sikit. Alhamdulillah.

Dengan itu, kalau korang rasa-rasa nak try Zumba dan ada studio berdekatan yang boleh disewa, bolehlah korang roger-roger aku, ya? Aku sudi menjadi instructor (walaupun aku tak boleh lompat tinggi-tinggi).  Lagipun aku punya charges adalah berpatutan. 

Official website aku kat Zumba ialah noorazizasulaiman8.zumba.com. Segala announcement berkaitan aktiviti kelas zumba akan ku update di sana, ya? 

Have a nice day, uols!

I pun dah masuk marathon leeee....

Sejak tahun 2008 dah berangan nak masuk marathon kononnya. Kalau tak silap, masa tu siap invest beli running shoes Nike yang mahal semata-mata nak training for marathon. Tapi, as usual, hangat-hangat taik ayam je... Mulanya memang rajinlah lari kat gym. Pastu, tetiba, awal tahun 2009 pregnant la pulak. Maka, berkuburlah hasrat nak train for marathon. Usahkan nak masuk yang 20KM, yang 5KM pun tak sempat join. Nak kata kecewa, takde lah kecewa sangat sebab sejak sekolah rendah pun, aku bukannya suka berlari. Lebih rela main tengteng kat koridor sekolah daripada kena pusing padang hoki 5 kali. 

L-R: Me, Kak Liza, Kak Rosni and Linda

Tapi, tahun ni aku berjaya juga akhirnya join and completed a marathon, cuma bukan marathon lari-lari lah. Aku join dance marathon. Hehe. Joget-joget straight 3 jam. Lepas 3 jam tu memang rasa macam nak tercabut pinggang. Tapi, syoklah. 

Walaupun tahun ni tak buat apa-apa azam (sebab malas nak fikir), at least ada jugaklah benda yang aku berjaya buat dan boleh dikenang pada hari-hari mendatang. Chewah!

Kegilaan berjoget ni muncul sejak Chinese New Year haritu, kot. Masa tu aku mula pergi zumba kat Empire. Selalunya, work out kat IOI Mall je dan join kelas sempoi-sempoi kat situ. Body Vive la, Body Pump la. Itupun seminggu sekali je kot. 

Tahun lepas memang susah nak pergi gym sebab Zarif taknak duduk kat taska. Mentang-mentang mak dia hari-hari ada kat rumah, dia pun nak lepak kat rumah, layan kartun. 

Oleh kerana tahun ni dia dah start sekolah kat Smart Reader, maka dapatlah mak dia pergi gym waktu pagi. Tapi, still limited to classes yang start after 9.30 dan abih around 11 ajelah. Tengah hari akak dah nak kena balik masak dan jemput bebudak ni balik sekolah, dek non! Tak boleh nak melepak kat gym lebih-lebih.

Geng-geng achik zumba kat Empire ni semua sporting dan full of life. Akupun terikut-ikut samalah. Ramai juga yang dah above 50 tapi semangat masih macam anak muda, gitu. (Anak-anak muda yang tak ada arah tujuan hidup tu patut contohi acik-acik ni ha.)

Maka, nak dijadikan cerita, sejak join zumba ni aku pun rajin juga timbang berat (ha.. gelaklah... gelak...!) Sebelum ni aku timbang seminggu sekali dan resultnya memanglah selalu mengecewakan. Hahaha. Tapi, sejak aku mula zumba (dan guna dacing digital), nampaknya berat aku turun between 300-500g seminggu. Rasa macam magic lah pulak, kan? Rasa-rasanya aku takde diet ataupun makan pil buang lemak. 

Kalau ikut catatan aku kat dalam henfon ni, sejak CNY aritu aku dah berjaya turunkan lebih kurang 6kg. Bila aku cerita kat geng acik-acik zumba, diorang kata, 'Walaweyh! That's a lot. More than 10 pounds oredi!' Ya, diorang tak guna sistem metrik, dik. Obvious sangat generasi mana ni, kan? Hehe.

Bermula dari situ, acik-acik ni pun dok story kat kengkawan diorang pulak aku hilang more than 10 pounds sejak join zumba. Maka, bila aku gi gym, ada ajelah orang tanya aku nak verify the news. Letih jugaklah aku nak menjawab. Diorang tanya aku amalkan diet apa. Heh. Bila masa pulak aku diet. Hari-hari masak nasik, hari-hari makan nasiklah jawabnya. Kalau tak masak kari, masak gulai lemak, kalau tak pun, asam pedas. Memang confirmlah tak dapat nak diet. 

Lepas tu, akupun rajin-rajinlah research kat internet. Memang ramai rupanya orang yang dapat lose weight dengan mengamalkan zumba. At least 3 kali seminggu. So, akupun follow ajelah nasihat diorang ni. Kalau tak dapat join zumba, aku join dancing class yang lain macam Sh'bam ataupun Body Jam. Janji joget. Kelas lain aku malas sebab nampak macam tak fun je. Hehe.

Okey, melencong sikit. Kelas Body Jam tu dulu kegilaan aku jugak kira-kira 8 tahun yang lampau. Masa tu aku sanggup dari Subang Jaya, drive pergi The Curve meredah jam petang-petang untuk join Body Jam. Zaman tu aku belum sakit lutut lagi. Bila aku join semula Body Jam baru-baru ni, terasa jugalah lutut macam tak berapa boleh support. Terpaksa buat dia punya 'options' lah. Especially steps yang ada stomping ataupun lunges (Body Attack memang confirm aku takkan buat sebab banyak sangat lunges.)

Bila hampir semua dance class aku dah join semula sekarang, maka dengan confidentnya aku join lah 3 hour dance class weekend aritu. Sungguh mengejutkan sebab aku boleh tahan sampai 3 jam. Ingatkan nak pengsan after 90 minutes, tapi makin lama rasa macam makin steady je. Ni yang orang panggil fueled by adrenaline tu kot. 

Selepas berjoget sakan semalam, maka hari ni aku sakit badan dan dok lepak kat rumah je. That's why lah sempat update blog ni. Kalau tak, entah aku dah pergi berjoget kat mana dah time-time macam ni. 

The losing big program starts (again) today...

I was having a serious discussion about losing all the fat accumulated during puasa and Raya with my colleague this afternoon .... in front of two large plates of pasta at Italiannies. It was either the conversation or the bread we had before the main course that we didn't manage to finish our pasta, so had to pack them. I'll be having those healthy pasta for dinner tonight. Besides the cheese, I consider pasta a healthy choice for lunch and dinner (and sometimes breakfast.. hehe).

We were discussing the best places for running. My colleague preferred the Kiara Park at TTDI while I had to be happy with running on the treadmills. My neighbourhood is not so safe for jogging and there's no recreational park in Puchong. The nearest is in Bukit Jalil.

Then we went on and on and on about the sinful foods we had during raya. My colleague was complaining that she became tired easily now and could feel her fitness level had gone down a few notches. While I could feel the extra fat building up around my mid section and thighs. I didn't dare taking my own measurement since Ramadhan, I knew I've gained whatever that's lost back in June 2010. However, the funny thing is, my weight maintains. I suspect I've also lost some of the muscles I built a few months back in all those BodyCombat and BodyPump classes. How sad...

So, now it's time to start working out and eating right again. Starting again is just as difficult as starting to be health conscious the first time. We have to take the same route but might not start at the same point. There's renewed commitment to ourselves and closer monitoring this time.

And, as if it was a sign from God, when we were walking towards the AutoPay station, I saw one of Biggest Loser Asia's participants from the first season (I think he's one of the finalists) walking with his family. I was quite sure it was him because he has this really sweet smile which was easy to recognize. However, I was surprised looking at his body. I remembered he managed to lose quite a lot of weight during the final weigh-in. Looking at him this afternoon, I thought he's gained about half of whatever he's lost back then. My colleague didn't notice him when I asked whether she saw the guy. So, I was left wondering all by myself. The BLA Season 1 ended less than a year ago... what has happened to this guy? If I slack, am I going to be just like him? Oh noooo... all the hardwork would go down the drain.... Yikes!

With that worry and realization, I committed to myself that I AM going to the gym this afternoon, right after work. Good thing is, my boss isn't here to call me up for late meetings that might take my gym time. Hooray!!!

Jom la pegi gym uols...!!!!

New club, new equipment, new infinity pool, more parking spaces, easier access, more excitement ...

buuuuut..... before you reach the gym, you'll have to pass by so many mouth watering eating places. It's very near to my office, but it's going to be one hell of a challenge to brave the walk from the parking to the gym's door. Need to blindfold my eyes and stuck cotton in my nostrils. Anyways, let's go to Empire Gallery, Subang starting 17th May to check out the new Platinum FF Club. Good news to old members, we're paying almost half of what the new members have to fork out monthly. Yippeeee!!! I told you loyalty pays.

4.5 kg and 16 cm

I'm not yet a big loser, only managed to lose 4.5 kg and 16cm so far. That's my achievement after 7 weeks into the program. I consider myself quite a disciplined woman these days; I am watching what I eat, I work out at least 3 times a week, I take the stairs, I park really far away from the office lobby (usually it's due to parking spot unavailability... hehe), I avoid fast food and carbonated drinks (though I still have my usual dosage of coffee), I make sure I get 6 hours of sleep every night and I am now reducing my carb intake (which is the hardest thing to do).

It's quite a huge achievement to lose those kg and cm. However, I still think that my biggest achievement so far was joining the gym and didn't gain weight since 2005. Once upon a time I was so frustrated and afraid that my weight will keep on increasing and I would have to buy bigger clothes every year. It took me years to find the answer and solution to that problem.

Nobody forced me to start working out. It just happened naturally. One evening, about 6 years ago I went for a walk with my ex-colleague at TTDI park. We brisk-walked for about 5 minutes, I was breathing hard. Then she started jogging. I tried to keep up with her but I found my legs refusing to listen to my commands. I couldn't even jog or walk faster, I was panting and not able to talk. That was when I realized how unfit I was and I had to do something really fast. That was the moment that I finally raised my flag, admitted that I was obese, unfit and unhealthy. After that I went brisk walking more often, played futsal and finally signed up with FF in June 2005.

I was already 31 when I signed up. It was really hard and demoralizing whenever I joined the group exercises. There were many younger and fitter people in those classes. They could run, jump and dance effortlessly. I thought I could never be like that. There was a BodyStep class that I attended with another ex-colleague. We gave up after the 2nd track. I never attempted that class again until January 2010. Well, these days it's a totally different story. I can complete the 60 minutes BodyStep without any complain or breathlessness. For me that's another big achievement.

Another motivation to keep me going to the gym regularly was knowing 2 makciks who patronized FF Wisma Consplant. One is a 60ish lady who runs her own business and comes to the gym every evening without fail. She does RPM, free weight and all the GX classes. You'd be surprise to see her in her workout pants and sports bra which reveals her mid section. She has a nicely defined abdomen, I tell you. Although her facial skin looks pretty sagged but her abdomen makes many look in envy.

The other makcik is an Indian lady who looked like in her mid 50s when I first met her. She worked nearby. I've written about her once, a few years ago (yeah, she's the makcik with the flying bra... hahaha). She's also at the gym every evening. I haven't seen her for awhile as I was pregnant last year and decided to go to IOI most of the times this year. It was a really nice surprise when I saw her a few weeks ago. She looked like as if she lost 10 years of her age. Seriously, she looked 40. Although I never got to know her real age, she must have managed to turn back the clock and look a lot younger these days.

These makciks are working out regularly. Not sure whether they're taking any supplement but they surely look healthy and happy. That's exactly what I want to be when I'm in my 60s, insyaallah. Working out, eating healthy and the other physical maintenance are not just meant for losing weight and looking good. They're a way of life and Alhamdulillah... I think I'm on the right track. So, let's sweat at least 3 times a week, people.

The Result : You be the judge

I didn't go to the audition for Biggest Loser Asia. But the whole blogosphere knows that I've been struggling to keep fit and lose some weight ever since like..... forever. Well at least you all knew about it ever since I started this blog. When I quit my previous job, one of the things that appeared in my to-do list was to start exercising regularly and I've been doing it ever since.

I haven't lost much weight as I've had my yo-yo pattern days/weeks/months too. However I managed to lose many inches and gained a lot more self confidence. My fitness level might not be back to how it was during my pre-uni days but at least I can climb 5 flights of stairs without difficulty these days.

Before I start listing my 2010 resolutions, let's have a look with some minor achievement (health,fitness and body image category... hehehe).

So here's the before-after images for you to decide. (I know I didn't turn into a supermodel after a few years of gymming but I'm a lot happier.)

This picture was taken back in April 2005. I was 31 and had a serious fitness and health issue. Not to mention being obese and unhappy with my body image. I didn't even smile for the camera. I just hated being photographed and the thought of having to look at myself in photos was just unbearable. I didn't really care what I was wearing as none of the clothes (not even fat clothes!!) looked good on me.

This photo was taken in July 2006. After exercising regularly I managed to bring myself to smile happily for the camera, dressed a bit better and loved myself a lot more. Well, besides exercising, the regular outings and bitching sessions contributed a lot too. Hehehe.

This was taken in October 2009, 2 months after giving birth to Zarif. I didn't gain much during the pregnancy. I also managed to get back on the treadmill about 6 weeks after the C-sect. If it's not determination it was the pre-pregnancy state of health that helped me. Again, regular exercise made it possible (and don't forget those regular bitching sessions as well.)

Note: Alien appeared in 2 of these photos semata-mata nak bagitau dia, wey bila nak pegi gym semula ni?

More focused

This has been long overdue. I've been planning to have a blog dedicated to health, fitness and women issues since 2006. That was when a few of my friends (including me) started becoming more health conscious after a friend was diagnosed with cancer.

I put if off many times as I didn't really have a lot of material to publish.

Now that I'm struggling (again) with weight and body image, I decided it's about time to make it happen.

So, last night, as I was cuddling the baby to sleep I started a new blog (see, I told you I'm a good multitasker...!)
Here's the URL: http://greysneakersdiaries.blogspot.com

I haven't really finalized what should or should not go there but basically it's going to feature a lot of food (hahahaha).... healthy food lah, recipes, gym stories, health issues, women issues (not including janda gossips) or perhaps exercise equipment.

It should also become my online documentation on my own health condition and my endless struggle to lose weight. I think it's going to benefit a lot of readers.

So, don't forget to bookmark my health and fitness blog yeah? Have a wonderful weekend people!

Back to office - update 1

The doctor said I could get physically active after the 6th week so yesterday off I went to the gym. My last gym session was at FF The Curve in January 2009, that was a few weeks before I discovered I was pregnant. Now as part of the transition of re-entering working life, I have to get fit in order to become Super-working-mom (again!).



Yesterday, I went to none other than FF The Curve and got to know that they're upgrading to Platinum soon. Seems like I'll need to upgrade my membership as well as FF The Curve is my favorite club. Although I could only go there perhaps once a month, I still think I need to upgrade to Premium simply because they're having an infinity pool there! Yeay!

Error: Just got my facts right. It's actually FF Empire Gallery that will have the infinity-edge pool. Most of the big FF clubs will be upgraded to Platinum so I might as well upgrade my membership. However, I'll need to pay more because my corporate membership must be converted to Passport.


I imagine the infinity pool would look something like this!

Back to reality, I don't think I'll be able to patronize FF The Curve as often and end up going to FF Consplant and IOI mall most of the days because they are nearer. *Sigh* After work traffic at the LDP can cause migraine so I better not go to FF The Curve on weekdays. (But the infinity pool sounds so inviting I might consider taking half day off on some days - especially when things are not going really well in the office).



So, how was the gym session yesterday? Hahaha.... I was actually laughing at myself. I managed to burn about 350 kCal during that 1.5 hour cardio session. My ex-colleague, Mrs. M was right when she told me that once you got pregnant, you'll have to start from zero again in order to get to the same fitness level you used to have prior to the pregnancy.

I did the stationary bike and my left knee hurt a bit, perhaps I should have applied some lubrication before working out. I did some stretching on the stretching station and almost fell off. Just remembered that some Yoga pants are made of really fine fabric, they're slippery. After that I did some rowing and felt like both my arms were falling off. Later, my right thigh failed me when I was on the last cardio machine. I decided not to go on the treadmill, stepper, elliptical and wave machine fearing I might vomit or pass out. Not only my muscle and joints were failing me, I also felt like I haven't been taking any sugar. You know, the low sugar condition when sometimes you feel the earth was slowly spinning. 4 glasses of lemon tea did help somehow. Post work-out, I gulped down a few more glasses of 100+ just to ensure I'd be able to walk to my car.

Obviously I have been neglecting sugar intake during my 44 days of confinement. Should have eaten more fruit and kuih raya... hehehe.

It's some kind of torture, I know, but I'm going again today! Yeay! As the writing they put on the wall says: Motivation is what gets you started; habit gets you going.

Cannot watch CSI NY, so I blog

My ASTRO decoder has gone out of order (although they rhyme, this is not a poem!) and I can’t watch CSI NY tonight. *Sigh*. Thank god I have a laptop and Streamyx at home. I’ve been spending my quality time browsing the pictures Spena uploaded to Facebook. The pictures are 17 years old, mostly taken during our final year in STF. 17 years ago and in the absence of 20kg of body weight, I almost couldn’t recognize my own face in the photos.

Can somebody tell me to start thanking god for whatever I have now before I started wanting to look younger and thinner? As a typical (read: normal) girl, I was not happy with my body back then. I always thought my legs were not slender enough, my hair was not smooth enough and my waistline was not small enough. Now, 17 years later when I look at those photos, I start to think why was I not happy to be looking like that? Living in that body? I know I was just being human but sometimes I just wish that there’s a magic mirror in the bedroom that will flash an image of what I’d become in 20 years’ time so that I will always celebrate whatever I am now.

I’ve been told by friends many times to just be happy and enjoy life. Stop worrying about things that are beyond my control (hello! Body weight and fitness level can be controlled, lah!) Anyway, they’re right. Whenever I think back of the things that kept me awake at night some 10 years ago, I just laugh at myself. They seemed so silly. Why was I worried sick about the shape of my thighs and spent a lot of my money buying slimming creams? If I spent that money at karaoke joints, life would have been much happier. If you’re curious, the slimming creams didn’t work; they left a temporary burning sensation and then became oily after 2 hours.

Better still, I should have spent the money to buy a swimming suit and hire an instructor 10 years ago. If I were to start swimming back then, I must have been able to lose the 20kg. Furthermore, there was an Olympic size swimming pool at the apartment I was staying. As Ah Beng’s saying goes, ‘Talk oso no use one…..’

It’s not really regret. It’s just one of those moments when you have so many ‘What-ifs’ in your head.

I haven’t really thought about this until recently when I started learning how to swim from my hubby and friends at the office. Remember my appointment with the gynae in early May? She asked me to lose about 4kg. After swimming twice a week for about a month, I have actually lost that 4kg! Oh man, this is much better than working out at the gym. I lost those kilos without even changing my eating pattern. If I did my Maths correctly, I could shed 24kg in a year. Wow! No wonder the ‘What-ifs’ are flooding my head.

Okay, now for some inspirational pictures. I am going to set my mind to focus on changing from this:

Back to this:

Having said that, I'm still thankful and grateful for what I have now; it's just that the voices in my head are playing a lot of tricks on me these days.

Ikat Perut Mode

I’ve been pigging out like nobody’s business at the open houses and at KT last weekend. This morning I woke up with a new resolution. Ikat perut to the max. You can take that literally. If I could find a c-sect scar friendly traditional girdle, I’ll be tying my abs for the next month or so. Heh, all women wants to look pretty in the mirror, prettier than their friends and the prettiest girl in the husband’s eyes, right?

So, when the pants suddenly felt tighter than usual and the bathroom scale is telling that you’ve gain some unneeded pounds, the only thing that comes to mind is ‘God, I’m getting fatter!’ When I rummaged through my lingerie drawer this morning, I was so frustrated to realize that I’ve thrown away my old girdle I used to wear to office after giving birth to Shawqi.

Argh, had to resort to plan B: Do some cardio exercise during lunch hour.

Sometimes I’m amazed at my level of intelligence (perasan alert! Please don’t puke). Other than burning an extra 1,500KCalories (if I do it every work day), it will also prevent me from my usual impulse buying and those expensive lunches. However now I have to come up with a plan on how to sustain the energy level from 9 a.m until the time I complete my workout. It seemed like I’ll either have to start cooking in early morning or ‘tapau’ something from the breakfast stalls.

Another strong reason for all this ‘ikat perut’ thingy is that my car road tax and insurance are expiring this month and I forgot to set aside enough money for this. Hehehehe. Iyelah, apasallah mati time after raya, memanglah makcik pokai. To make matters worse, Wazif will start his Primary One next year. I’m really lazy and afraid to do the math but I guess I’ll be in ‘ikat perut’ mode for the next 3 months. Itulah pasal, time shopping tak ingat dunia. Bila nak kena pakai banyak duit, baru nak insaf.

Maybe I should start a Cause in Facebook. It is going to be called ‘Help save the shopaholic moms during year end’. You can join, invite friends or donate. Hehehe. It’s a really good cause. You see, shopaholic moms are really generous people. You donate to me, I’ll belanja you later (when I have enough money to spend, spend and spend again).

That just reminded me that I need to buy that gorgeous cotton top at Ms Read. This is based on ‘need to’ basis okay, not the ‘have to’ basis. In case you’re confused, ‘need to’ means I really need it, like the plants that need water and the ‘kumbang’ that needs ‘bunga’. If I don’t have enough money to buy it, I will ‘pujuk sedaya mungkin’ my other half to buy it for me. Hihihihi.

‘Have to’ means something that I’ve gotta have because of some influencing factors like, there’s a long pants that will surely match with that blouse and the ensemble will make my waist looks 9 inches smaller or the girl at 5th floor told me once that I’ll look like a goddess if start wearing such cuts. Guys, please take note, okay. Woman is a mysterious creature. You have to know how to read between the lines (or between the comma, apostrophe and exclamation mark).

So, I actually went to the gym this afternoon for my cardio session and managed to burn off a total off 320 KCalories. Yeay, what an achievement! I walked out of the gym door wearing a very proud smile and headed to the nearest stall to buy some fruit juice. I was surprised to find an old Ah Pek operating the stall and he’s selling all kinds of Western and Chinese food. I looked around for the usual ‘brader’ but he’s not there. It occurred to me that he’s sold the business. Haiyya…. Too bad for me. Since my tummy was growling and it was already 2pm, I made a beeline to the ice-cream box and grabbed a Drumstick. Yeah, I know what you have in mind. There goes the 320 KCalories! Heh, I’m Dayang. I’m not good at doing simple Maths. That explains why I get along so well with bimbos. Hahaha.

Tomorrow I cuti, so today I blog.

This week is one of those missionless ones that I had to endure in order to get to the next week, that is hopefully going to be more rosy and full of excitements (at work I mean). When things are so dull at work, gym time is the only highlight of the day. Not that I enjoy working out among the gays there, it’s just that sometimes, listening (or is it eavesdropping?) to these Mat Lembuts is quite entertaining. Some of them are straight but metrosexual, some are obviously gays. By the way, I did the ‘How gay are you?’ test at Gayometer (http://www.channel4.com/life/microsites/G/gayometer/gayometer.html) and the result was, I’m 66% gay. Damn! I never realized that. Should I tell my mom? Hmmm… maybe not. She’s too conservative. Hahahaha…
What else is interesting at the gym? The changing room… of course. Did I ever tell you about the Makcik and her magic flying bra? That Makcik is a regular there; looks cool and very friendly. She’s so comfortable with the other regulars that she’d always change her cloth in front of everybody. One fine afternoon, she was in a rush to catch the next group class. When she was changing into her sports bra, she pulled out her bra over her head in a hurry; as a result, the black lacy thing flew across the room and landed on the bench I was sitting on. I kept a straight face and said to myself, ‘I’m not going to pick that up, ok!’ So, the Makcik was stunned for a while and her eyes went wild searching for her undergarment that has flown away. Then she saw it. ‘Oh ho… there’s my bra!’ She approached my bench and picked her bra up, so naturally! It was my turn to be stunned. She hasn’t had her sports bra on yet, then. Argh… I leave the rest to your imagination.
Oh, there was another snapped bra incident where everybody in the changing room just kept silent and pretended not watching or listening to the poor lady. She was cursing with multilingual 4 letter words when she couldn’t find a safety pin or brooch as temporary replacement to her broken bra hooks. I could imagine her frustration then. She just came out of shower and took out her party blouse and pants (shocking pink, glittering, shining and all). When the bra snapped, I thought she’s going to cry. After a few minutes, she decided to wear her sports bra (yang dah busuk dah basah dengan peluh tu), then put on her party attire. Kesian jugak, but what to do. I couldn’t possibly lend her mine. I wear 38E, okay… and she’s the petite lady who probably wears a 34B.
Well, I have many changing room stories, but it’s 5pm already. Time to hit the gym! Hope everything goes well in the changing room today! Hehehehehe.

The Day I lost My Yogirnity

When I received my copy of HatiYoga after the long holidays, and started reading it, I made a point to attend at least one Yoga class at the gym in May. By the time I finished watching the complimentary VCD, it was already 5pm. Without further ado, and almost naturally, I packed my laptop and other stuffs, went to my car and drove straight to the gym. And you guessed it right; I entered the 5.45pm Yoga class!

Call me spontaneous, because I was and will always be. That is my main characteristic that sometimes landed me in difficult situations. Hehehe. But, no regrets so far. I always felt that it's either now, or never. Sometimes I did silly things that later on caused me some trouble, but I always managed to turn the situations around, and still benefit from them. Putar alam boleh tahan jugak Makcik ni.



However, in this case it was far from silly (although I did look silly in the mirror while doing the poses). I really enjoyed the class. How difficult it was? Well I was sure it was not for beginners, but the instructor was very considerate towards first timers. We got to do all the optional poses (bengkok-tak-berapa-nak-sampai poses).
After three poses, I realized how people managed to slim down by doing Yoga. Holding a pose seemed simple enough in the pictures and TV, but actually doing it is a totally different story. Believe it or not, during each pose, I was profusely sweating as if I just completed a power track in BodyAttack class. I surely cannot compare BodyJam classes to this one. I wouldn’t even sweat like that after running on the treadmill for 15 minutes.

Before I entered the class I assumed I would be the most ‘jegang’ one (jegang=not flexible at all, a.k.a kejang). It turned out there was this Mat Salleh, about 6 ft tall and have big bones who couldn’t even do a half lotus sitting position. Bersila pun tak boleh rapat, I tell you. Waaa…. okay jugaklah, after all I’m not that bad, lah kan… although my pigeon pose looked more like a tiang talipon senget je. Funny thing is, after that Yoga class, I kept on bumping into this Mat Salleh in BodyAttack and BodyJam classes la pulak. I think dia nak jadik flexible macam I kot, or trying to find the formula on how to become ‘elastic’ like any other Asian. He should watch Mawi dances, tak nye flexible lah mamat tu. Heheheh (sempat lagi ngutuk Mawi tu, bila nak mintak maaf ntah).
What do I think of the Yoga class? Hmmmm…. Very refreshing and that was the first time I really felt I worked out my entire body: head, neck, shoulder, arms, palms, fingers, chest, back, abdomen, legs and heels. I like! I also heart Yoga, lah.



Note: All the girls in the pictures featured here are not me, or the Kejang Mat Salleh (Mat Salleh is a guy, by the way....ahem!)

Melompat lebih tinggi

I've been following Body Combat classes for more than a month now (I can flex my biceps and triceps.... waaaaweeeee!) This week there's not much kicking in the class, we're having a lot of jumping repeaters (this is when you pretend that you're smashing your opponents head with your knee... cool!) and jumping elbows (this is when you need to defeat a taller opponent - aim for the eyes!) Hehehe, brutal it may sound but the class is actually not meant to teach us martial arts, but doing a lot of cardiovascular activities. We should be burning about 900 KCal throughout the 1 hour session; and that's a looooot of calories.

So, I have been jumping; higher and higher each week. The instructor will always bring the punching pad (I don't know what it's called actually). During the routines, he will hold the pad in front of us and tell us to hit it. When it comes to jumping elbows, he held it really high; I had to collect all the strength I had to make sure my elbow could hit the pad, and must hit it real hard so that the class could hear the thud.

With my weight, my big frame, all the access body fat collected throughout the 'malas-exercise-but-kuat-makan' years, jumping is really difficult. Landing part becomes quite challenging, too. Everytime, I have to plan and control my body posture so that I land the proper way - smooth as the kitty when you drop it on the ground. Salah teknik sikit, gerenti injured punya!

So, that's the story from gym. Today I come to the office with aching muscle and walking like supermodel wearing platform shoes with different heights. Argh, hideous!

Some updates on work. It's been almost a year I've been requesting for a lab. My team is doing enterprise server and storage implementation and support, yet we don't even have a single test machine (not even the chokia low spec one). Sungguh pathetic, kan? I've also raised the request again from the new manager, and the answer was not really encouraging. So, frustrated (as I've always been with the management here) I dengan selambanya requested from principal to use a remote system in US via their virtual l0aner program, dapat pulak tu.... hehehe. Now I'm so happy, bangga tak ingat dunia because finally I have a test environment, tak kisahlah jauh beribu batu pun takpe lah, as long as I can get hold of a working system. Otherwise, I'd be demoralized forever behind this boring cubicle, kan?