Happy New Year

It seems to be a trend that people reflect on their past year when a new year arrives. I think this is a very good practice and should be done more often. The more we reflect, the more we learn and advance. So here is me reflecting on my year 2013:

The year started beautifully in Vegas with my dear husband. We spent 9 days there and did so many fun things. We rang in 2013 on the strip with thousands and thousands of people from all over.

A few days after that, I started my current job and have loved every single day of it. I think I am good at my job and I have an amazing boss who never shies away from imparting knowledge from her brain that is so full of magnificent information. I've made many new friends in this place and call it my second home and we even got a new BBQ at work this year :D

I became a Canadian this year and am so proud of it. Many years of struggles went into achieving this. I still hold my Bangladeshi citizenship which I am also proud of. But I had to work to get this one. Makes it a different kind of a feeling.

We moved to our current home. We had to buy furniture for the whole house and we got to decorate and accessorize in any way we liked. I am so thankful for having such a beautiful place to call home.

I also graced the home of my in-laws for the first time this year...in Italy! God blessed us enough to be able to make such a wonderful trip to see my new parents, my new sister, and my niece. It was 2 weeks of fun and exploration. We went all over Rome, and even got to see my cousin and her family in Bolognia. We saw David's statue in Florence, and spent a night in Venice. I instantly fell in love with Venice and it is still my favourite spot in Italy.

Education and continuous learning is an extremely important part of my life. Therefore, starting my Masters was a huge thing for me. I've finished one semester so far and I've loved every single class. I look forward to finishing this stage of my life, no matter how hard it is to balance school, work, social, and domestic life.

Many special people in our lives got hitched this year. It was an incredible year full of weddings and engagements. Happy memories that I was so thankful to be able to partake in.

Being able to see friends who have moved away, or who I moved away from has also been a blessing this year. I've had friends come and visit from Whitehorse, Vancouver, Ottawa, and Arizona, and hopefully soon I will see a friend who lives in South Korea. I am thankful for such amazing friends and value their friendships.

Near the end of this year, my city got hot by the ice storm that left over a million people without power. It was an extremely difficult time but it brought people together. Friends and family gave shelter to those left without heat in their homes or the ability to cook. It helped me realize how reliant we are on things we don't really control. We can't even warm up or cook food without electricity. I am thankful that nothing too serious happened, despite such dangerous circumstances. It was also a beautiful time and admiring nature was easy.

So that's my reflection on 2013. It's been an eventful year. It hasn't been perfect, but I choose not to dwell on things that didn't work out like I wanted them to. Instead I am focusing on all the wonderful and happy memories I created with those I love and thanking God for making them possible.

Here is to wishing each and every one of you a very Happy New Year and hope you get all your wishes come true and get to keep all your resolutions. Think happy thoughts and rejoice in the moments that are given to us so that we can keep regret away.

Half way through the Challenge

I just finished Day 15 of my 30 day challenge. It's getting tough but it feels great that I've come this far. I know the next 15 days are going to be very difficult. But I am going to try my best to go on for as long as I can and hope I can finish. I watched this very inspirational video today that I hope you will find useful: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=189270451271770&set=vb.177839555748193&type=2&theater

Anyway, since eating well is such an important part of getting healthy, I wanted to talk about smoothies, a healthy and amazingly tasty addition to your daily meals. I am not going to talk about the nutritional benefits of each specific item but I have researched most of them and found them to be useful. Perhaps in another post I will add the benefits.

I am not an advanced juicer so I don't put a huge amount of veggies in my smoothies. I have smoothies for breakfast on weekdays so we can drink them on our way to work.They are simple, easy, filling, and yummy! Here is what I normally do:

Base: Milk or juice. If you prefer a milkshake flavour then milk is a better base. I interchange because I like the fruity sour taste and my husband like the milkshake taste. Also, variety is great. But milk gets frothy when blended, so keep that in mind.

Fruits: It's good to balance the flavours of the fruits so you don't get too much of one kind in there. Oranges, cranberries, pineapples, kiwis, and mangoes are all citrusy. Apples, bananas, pears are more mellow. Then there are strawberries, raspberries, blackberries which is kind of in the middle. A mixture of the different levels will give you a good flavour. I normally buy fresh strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and kiwis when they are on sale. I clean them and put them in little sandwich baggies for the amount i want in each blending session. Sometimes I only get a couple of them at a time and when I get other ones, I just add it in to what I have. The rest I buy fresh and keep in the fridge. I don't like freezing all the fruits because it gets to watery somehow once it's made. I cut up a few apples, pears, mangoes and keep them in a bowl and thrown them into the blender with my frozen stuff as the week goes by.

Veggies: I have added cucumbers and lettuce to the mix and you can't really tell they are there. I tried carrots but they don't blend as well unless you have a juicer, which I don't. So I gave up on that. But flavour wise, it's not bad at all. I tried celery but didn't like the earthy smell it left behind. Lettuce is definitely the safest choice, in my opinion, if you are just starting.

Additional stuff: Yoghurt: It gives a creamy texture that helps things go down smooth. Try sticking to unsweetened Greek yoghurt to keep artificial sugars to a minimum. Chia seeds: Just throw a spoonful of these and they tend to keep things flowing well internally. Awesome nutritional sources. 1 spoonful of Protein whey or Spirulina. A small amount of honey gives it a nice sweet touch without needing sugar. Raw sugar or cane sugar are also okay if you want.

Making the smoothie: First add frozen fruits of strawberries, blueberries etc., and 2 or 3 ice cubes. Then add the fresh fruits cut up into pieces. Then add yoghurt, chia seeds, and spirulina. Then top it off with milk or juice. It takes a few tries before you know how much to add for the consistency you like. Blend well, even after it looks like it's all done, unless you like it chunky.

And Walah! Smoothie!

Eat well folks!

Staying Motivated

I just finished Day 10 of my 30 day squat challenge. It was a 105 squats. After an entire day of pigging out, I have to admit, it was super tough. I had to break it up into 2 sessions. But I got through it. It got me thinking about staying motivated. It's not hard to start a work out regime. What's difficult is sticking to it. The 30 day challenge only takes a few minutes each day. And I am already struggling. It's so much more difficult to stick to the routine of going out to the gym and working out for an hour or so. Here I present some things that have been motivating me so far, and that I will continue to use to get through to the end:

1) Support network: I have been regularly informing my friends through this blog and facebook about my intentions of completing this 30 day challenge. I even got a few friends involved. It's public accountability. I try to keep my friends motivated, and in turn, they motivate me. Knowing someone managed to finish their squats helps me finish mine. Also, I never want to be in a situation when 2 months down the road, a friend asks me about my squat challenge and I have to say: "oh I gave that up after day 15".

2) Realistic goals and expectations: In my first blog about this challenge, I mentioned that I chose this plan because I knew I only had time for 1 month to commit to any exercise regime. Once my classes start, it becomes difficult. So, my goal was one month. There is always light at the end of the tunnel. Some may think that it's not realistic to go from no work out to a huge amount of squats in 30 days. But I believed it was possible. Besides, nothing happened at once. The increase was gradual enough for my body to adjust. After around day 4, the pain went away. It still hurts to do the squats, but it no longer hurts a day later. Also, I only went for one challenge instead of taking on a few...baby steps. As for my expectations, I knew I wouldn't see a huge change in just one month. But I knew that what I wanted was a change in belief. Belief that I could do it and prove to others that I could. That's my expectation, not some numbers on a scale. Having said that, I still took my weight and measurements before starting and will be taking them at the end of the month, but not during the work outs. Not seeing numbers change fast enough can be a deterrent to motivation.

3) Allow failure: It is sooo important to let yourself not be perfect. No matter how much you want to do something, sometimes you just can't. And that is okay. There was a day I totally forgot about doing the squats. That was 2 days ago. I remembered when I went to bed. But I no longer was going to. So instead of feeling guilty about it, I just considered that an extra rest day and continued on. I did 5 extra squats then I needed to the next day. So falling off the wagon is okay, as long as you are willing to get back on it. Failure is normal. Giving yourself permission to fail is a way to ensure you don't give up completely.

4) Constant reminder: I had my 30 day schedule printed and in front of me all the time. I recommend printing it and sticking it to the fridge and crossing out each day that you complete. That shows you how well you are progressing. There is no better motivation than seeing yourself succeed. It also keeps it fresh in your mind and reminds you what you are working towards.

5) Keep busy while squatting: Thinking about squatting while squatting is tough! I like to put on a show while I do mine because I am distracted by the show. I am still counting while I do them, but I am not thinking about the pain. Helps a lot when you are doing the last few squats.

Hope these tips help keep you motivated. Share your motivational tips here.

Happy Squatting!

Experiencing and dealing with Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS)

    So this is day 2 of my 30 day squat challenge. I did my 50 squats yesterday. Haven’t gotten around to doing today’s 55 yet. I will be doing these in the evening. But I am feeling like my legs are on fire today. What I am experiencing, and those of you who are doing this with me are feeling is called DOMS. DOMS is a normal physiological response to increased exertion, and/or introduction of new or unfamiliar physical activity. Contrary to what was previously though, this does not happen from a buildup of lactic acid in the muscles. It is thought to happen due to damage done to the muscle membrane, which sets off an inflammatory response resulting in pain, and sometimes swelling. The pain peaks at 24-48 hours and usually completely resolves in about 5 days.

   More important than what DOMS is, is how do we prevent it from happening and what do we do once we get it. Ironically, the answer is “more exercise”.  The injury initiates changes to the muscles that reduce further damage to those muscles. The more amount of exercise, the more damage preventing changes in the muscles.  

   Most important rule of preventing DOMS is warm up.  Even a 1 degree Celsius increase in muscle temperature before unfamiliar exercise dramatically reduces the severity and longevity of your DOMS. Cooling down after a workout is also useful.

   Another important point to remember is to maintain proper form during exercise in order to avoid injury.Injuries can come in the form of knee damage, lower back strains, herniated discs, and muscle tears. Keep your legs shoulder width apart and move down as you as you can go without your knees moving ahead of your toes. See image for clarification.

(http://voxxi.com/2013/06/07/30-day-squat-challenge-risks-benefits/)

   Try to avoid taking pain killer when you experience these pains, unless they are severe, in which case, you may have overdone your work out. Check back to your instructions and make sure you are not over-exerting.

   Some ideas for warm up include walking, stretching all your muscles, jumping jacks, push-ups, etc. Also, remember that doing any exercise with an increased heart rate will help you burn more calories and build more muscles.

Happy Squating!

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New Focus of blog

I know I haven't been very active in this blog lately. But I have a month between classes now and all I have to do is go to work, in that time frame.

So I took up a challenge. Here is why:

After my wedding, I decided to not worry about my weight for a while. I had a very stressful few years till then and I just wanted to enjoy my time at home, till I got  job. So for one year I enjoyed being a housewife, cooking meals for my husband and entertaining guests. Then I got a job, and soon after got accepted into a Master's program.

Around May/June, my husband and I did a few weeks of detox, where we only ate fresh fruits and veggies, and once in a while, bread and cheese. It was great while it lasted but it was unreasonable to stay on that diet for too long. So we sloely went back to our regular diet, but maintained one aspect of our detox. We started making fruit smoothies for our breakfast. We've maintained that so far and it's been amazing. The amount of energy I have throughout the day is incredible.

So since September 2013, I've been working full-time, doing 2 Master's courses, and not having time for fitness. The only redeeming thing we were doing were the smoothies. So, over the last 2 years, my body has seen a nice bit of increase in size and weight. And most of that was concentrated on my hips, thighs, and belly. I am not one of those people who thinks girls should be size zero to look beautiful. But, what I worried about was my health. I have a huge amount of heart disease in my family and it's a matter of time before it comes to me, unless I do something about it now.

I knew I didn't have time to go t the gym in between my work and classes and studying. A girl needs to sleep too you know! I am realistic. I refused to buy a gym membership. So I looked for something I could do while I didn't have classes. If I could develop a habit during that time that was maintainable, that would be the best. I knew I didn't want to do anything as significant as P90X. So I googled 30 day challenge. The one that caught my eye was the 30 Day squat challenge.



Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Lower your body as far as you can by pushing your hips back and bending your knees until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Pause, and slowly stand back up.

Read more: http://www.menshealth.com/mhlists/quick-full-body-workout/body-weight-squat.php#ixzz2nZ7mjYd3

So anyway, I am hoping that some of you can join me in this challenge. I will be keeping track of my weight and body measurements  and will be posting developments.

I will also be posting health tips and exercise tips from time to time.

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