Tag: exercise

Exercise, Fitness

it’s done..

by SymoneFLeave a Comment on it’s done..

Today I had my final session with my personal trainer.. it was bittersweet and I gave it my all. I am a bit weary of doing my own workout now but with the changes that I’ve seen, I have confidence in myself that I can do it. I don’t think i’ll be totally alone though. My husband may be joining my gym and after joining me in my last session, I think we’ll become workout partners and we have good gym chemistry lol.

Now to the part to help you! One point my trainer made is the necessity to change up the workout to keep all of the muscles active and also to not get bored!! There are two ways to approach this – the free way and the not so free way :D. If you like buying magazines, SELF magazine offers workout cards that you can tear out and keep with you and TAKE to the gym if you do not exercise at home. You will benefit from the magazine on the whole if you paid for a subscription but the workouts are also available online. The have an app too! I would suggest getting the subscription if anything because this is an excellent magazine – the name alone tells you you’ll be doing a favor to yourSELF *hehe*. The link to Self’s fitness page is: http://www.self.com/fitness.

Another magazine/website is Shape (http://www.shape.com/). They offer a virtual trainer on their website (I haven’t tried this so I can’t say if it’s good or not but i’ll imagine it is) if you like the stay-at-home exercise routine — I personally HATE to exercise at home. I have NO motivation whatsoever and as much as I say I’ll do something, I’ll find other things to do to get out of it. That’s why there are gyms :D.

Personal trainers aren’t the cheapest but they’re worth it. I made a personal effort not to track my weight over the 5 weeks but to take note of how my body was changing; sometimes that’s more important as the scale could be quite depressing misleading. It’s better to pay attention to how your clothes are now fitting and if your body is changing in a way that YOU want it to. So what I’ve done (as advised by my personal trainer) is glue the cards from the magazine to index cards, then I’ll shuffle and choose 5 exercises to do when I go to the gym. Hopefully with my “new” personal trainer I can keep up what’s been started and continue to look the way I want and feel great about myself.

A year doesn’t have to start from January 1st, your year for change can start the day you decide you want it to happen.

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Hooray for Ginger!

by SymoneF2 Comments on Hooray for Ginger!

A few weeks ago, my dad sent me a power point presentation on ginger and it’s properties. When I was younger he’d often push for me to drink ginger tea when I wasn’t feeling well but it was always so strong that I didn’t want to go near it. But after reading this presentation and being “older and wiser” I decided to give ginger a shot in the best way I knew I could take it – my food. On a trip to Whole Foods market for some other stuff (*see side note) I bought some ginger and it sat in the fridge a few days before I actually used it. I decided to try it with some chicken first. I cut a small piece, probably, 1 inch in diameter and a half inch in thickness. I grated this, added soy sauce, garlic and black pepper to the chicken and let it marinate for an hour. When I was ready to cook it, I heated 1 tbsp of butter and 1 tbsp of sugar, put in the chicken and browned it. Added a few seasonings, a little more sugar and let it get sticky. BEST CHICKEN EVARRRR!! I was quite surprised that the ginger wasn’t overwhelming but there was just a hint of it there; not overpowering. This has encouraged me to try it in other meals but also to know to start with a little, and as I become more comfortable with it, to know if to add more or less to a meal to get a desired taste. When trying something new, start with a small portion and familiarize yourself with the product.

*As my personal training sessions were all about weight training, I tried to focus more on meat for my breakfast as I didn’t want to get full on bread, and egg and I aren’t friends more than 2 days a week. So on the advice of my trainer, I went to Whole Foods to purchase some fresh sausage (less sodium and preservatives) from the deli there to spice up my breakfast, and while I was there I remembered GINGER!!

 

Here are a few pointers from the presentation. I hope you start using ginger as well and appreciate it’s properties.

  • Ginger contains anti-viral, anti-toxic, and anti-fungal properties, and is used for the prevention of and treatment against the common cold. The warming effects make it a natural decongestant as well as an antihistamine, making it the perfect remedy for colds.
  • Ginger acts as an antihistamine and aids in the treatment of allergies.
  • Ginger contains special enzymes responsible for catalyzing the proteins in your food, thus aiding in digestion and the prevention of cramps.
  • Good for those with constipation!
  • The ancient Greeks used to eat ginger after a large meal, in order to ease the digestion process.
  • Chewing on fresh ginger, can help freshen the breath.
  • Being a warming herb, ginger can help knock out a fever. This property also makes it effective in stimulating circulation of the blood.
  • It can also help relax muscles around the blood vessels and is said to help prevent blood clots from forming.
  • Some studies show that it can even help inhibit the replication of the herpes simplex virus.
  • To discover the health benefits of ginger for yourself, simply make a tea by steeping about 5 slices of ginger in hot water.
  • Ginger doesn’t only spice up your food it can also help to put some extra spice in your intimate life too. It improves blood flow to your sexual organs, and contains Vitamin C, zinc and magnesium.

There are plenty of other great qualities in ginger, and it’s not limited to being used as tea or in food. So go out and educate yourself more on this wonderful root/herb and find the best way you’d like to incorporate it into your daily diet.

 

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Progress!

by SymoneFLeave a Comment on Progress!

Tomorrow will end my first week back at the gym. I’m planning to go to a yoga class tomorrow as I didn’t go today, but I’m pleased to say I’ve been 3 times for the week so far. After Monday’s session with the personal trainer, I thought it would be rather hard to continue; but I was determined not to give up. The stairs outside of my apartment have been the devil to me, but I found running up is easier than taking my time going up. I’m proud of myself for continuing, and that alone is enough motivation to keep at it. I went to a Yoga Core Training class yesterday (just to see if it was for me, and it wasn’t) and my upper body is now feeling the pain. I think I need to go to Yoga Basics for a while to build up my upper body strength again. All in all, it’s been a week full of pain but I kept at it. Normally after that first day I’d take the rest of the week off but plenty of water and other bits of exercising later, I feel better and I know that this is the only way to achieve my goals. After all Spring is around the corner, and I have plenty shorts, dresses and sleeveless tops to wear and I want to show my toned body. What more inspiration do I need?!?

Don’t worry, I won’t be posting a review every week of my gym progress but more so what it’s doing for me. I’m not as big as the people on Biggest Loser, nor do I need to lose that much weight (if any at all), but it’s a common process – there’s no gain without pain. My diet has fallen a bit but I plan to work on that next week or as soon as I get to the supermarket. I’ve got diabetes, heart disease, cancer, hypertension and high cholesterol in my family and I love sweets and salt. I’ve learned moderation is key, but at the end of the day exercise and a balanced diet help us to continue to enjoy the things we love without having to totally cut them from our diet.

It’s the LOVE weekend, so:

Love like it’s the end of the world,

Open yourself to the one you love,

Value the love of your significant other,

Express your unconditional love.

It’s also baby making time so just make sure you do want the kid before you get to lovin’. Every life is precious even after the 1st day of conception.

XOXO 😉