THE JOURNEY TO A HEALTHIER LIFESTYLE CONTINUES..........

For the last seven weeks I have been hitting the gym for not less than one hour every five days of the week and I am happy to report that changes are noticeable. Not that the journey has been easy but I pride in the fact that I have the commitment to achieve my desired goal (to be under 90kgs) by the end of the year. My work out plan has mainly focused on aerobics sessions which comprise of body toning routines, abs workouts, step exercises, zhumba dancing, tae bo among other routines. Upon completion of the one hour aerobics session, I spend another thirty or so minutes doing some weights reps.

On this journey, I have encountered some challenges which may have hampered my desire to loose more weight on a weekly basis but that notwithstanding I am happy of the progress made. One of the challenges I have faced is the temptation to indulge in some not so healthy cuisine. Like I pointed out in my earlier post, my appetite goes on the overdrive when a nicely prepared meal is set in front of me and the result is that I tend to eat a bigger portion than is desirable. I am also a lover of pizza and more so with a sizable topping of cheese and as you all know this is not a healthy meal. I have however restrained from visiting any fast food joints during this period and most of my meals are now home cooked. I have also tried as much as possible to control the portions of my food intake on any of my meals in the day with my lunch consisting mainly of fruits.

Another challenge has been on certain days I have had the temptation to skip workout sessions. My plan has been to attend five sessions in a week, however on certain days the body is usually not willing especially Mondays but I always remind myself of the Health Effects of Overweight and Obesity which has been my greatest motivation to loose the excessive weight. Another setback that I suffered during this period was a company retreat that I attended in one of the "five star" hotels at the South Coast. For someone who desires to loose weight, finding yourself holed-up in a hotel for three nights is not so good. The breakfasts, the lunches and the dinners had an array of appetizing dishes which according to my judgement I may have had more than the needed calories to push me through the weekend. However on my return home, I had a punishing week in the gym and I hope much of these calories were scorched.

You may wonder why five star is in quotes in the above paragraph. Due to my experience in the hotel industry, I have a perception on what a five star service and decor entails and the experience I had there was nowhere near a five star experience. During one of the dinner events a waiter had the audacity to tell me that if I needed more drinks I had to go to a bar to collect them myself. Another minus to this expansive beach Resort and Golf Club was the gardening. The resort has overgrown bushes right from the entrance and all round the hotel such that one could hardly get any site to take a scenic photo. The service is the crappiest I have ever experienced in a long while and one has to literary drag the waiters from their service stations for you to get even a cup of coffee over breakfast. I however give them a thumps up for their mouthwatering, finger licking lamb chops.

Let me end the story here lest I digress from my weight loss journey and leave you with this quote from Vince Lombardi ~ “Most people fail, not because of lack of desire, but, because of lack of commitment.”