Forgive me if you see some repeat pictures. It's because in the past, I did not really have many pictures of myself. I am trying to take more pictures so that I can showcase my progress at trying to trim the fats.
So here I am in mid-September 2015:
(above) Mid-September 2015
Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015
This is me in mid-August 2015:
(above) Mid-August 2015
Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015
And this is me in mid July 2015, wearing the same dress as mid-September. This dress is now loose at the waist for me (yay!):
(above) Mid-July 2015
Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015
Early July. My epiphany moment. When I finally woke up and decided to really get started on changing my lifestyle by incorporating exercising and healthy eating. I'll explain about that later:
(above) Early-July 2015
Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015
The scales have not been kind. Since early July, I have only budged downwards, a couple of kilos. But as Dr Oz advised, measuring your waist is a better indicator of if your exercise or diet regime is working for you. My waist did reduce a couple of inches.
I feel that comparing the July and September photos, I can see that my face has lost a bit of 'fat' and is more angular and I am pleased with the progress, albeit crawling at snail's pace!
Yesterday evening, when I returned from work, I was trying to catch a glimpse of any jogger at the park but to no avail. It seemed like everyone was hiding from the haze. When I'd finished dinner and was walking my dog, a lone jogger panted past me on the pavement. That did it for me! I rushed upstairs, washed the doggy's bum and changed into my 'running' outfit. Out the door I went before I could change my mind!
So, I was like the lone jogger on the park trail (although there were boys playing at the football court). By the time I was doing my second round, I found a few more had started jogging. Then more and more! I wondered if all these joggers were like me, waiting for a fellow jogger to start the ball rolling. Who would be crazy enough to go jogging in the haze? Haha. Me.
My breathing was definitely affected either by the haze or by my long 'rest' from jogging on a hard surface (as opposed to the rebounder). I was panting by my first 400 metres. I decided to lift up this jog to the Lord and ask Him to help me to not feel tired. Indeed, my breathing became regular and I didn't feel tired. The only thing I realised I was feeling at the end of 30 minutes was the ache in my thighs. I decided 30 minutes was enough and ran home. I then did short work outs on the 2 public exercise equipment just below my apartment. One was for the legs and one was for the arms. Perfect.
I was elated to reach home drenched in sweat! It's a lot of hard work, this change in lifestyle habits. I have persistently been working out about 5 days a week for the past 2 to 3 months. I'm also more conscious of what I eat for lunch and dinner. For breakfast, I don't really have a choice. It's more about convenience because I may just grab a store-bought bun. What we do is we'll buy several buns at the same time for the whole family to have for breakfast. I'd rather sleep a little longer than wake up to prepare a detailed breakfast. But for lunch, I can make a discerned choice to buy healthier food options and for dinner, I no longer have an adult telling me to finish what's on my plate! (Ok, I exaggerate. I DO still finish what's on my plate because I'm all for zero-wastage but I mean I am not a kid any more and I can decide how much or how little I want to put on my plate in the first place).
Before I end this post, I just wanted to touch on the 'epiphany moment' I mentioned earlier. Hubs had taken a few pics of me. We were on a cruise. I realised when I wanted to post a picture that I had to search through the pics he had taken of me because several were unflattering. Either my face was too chubby or my arms were too flabby. That WAS a deciding moment for me. I hated the way I was looking and I decided I had to do something about it. I didn't know what it was but I knew I had a rebounder sitting at home waiting for me to use it and so I did. From there, little by little, I started to improve my exercise stamina; from panting after 2 minutes to doing above an hour. From the rebounder, I have started to jog. I still have a lot to learn and I am keen to keep learning. Please remember that I have gone from a sedentary lifestyle to one which incorporates exercise. I could never run 50 metres without feeling like I was dying. So if I can do it today, so can you.
I'm really happy with the little progress I have made and I hope that if you're reading for motivation, that you too will stay on track and not give up. We've a long way to go, you and I! God bless you!
(By the way, please feel free to contact me or leave comments. I do sometimes wonder who is reading my blog!).
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