Sunday, June 22, 2008

Operation code name ; bust the flab

I have decided to dedicate myself to a pupose, a mission.

I want to bust the flab.

When I started work in KL, I have had a lot of stress thrown at me. The stress contributes to my now very unhealthy eating style. I have been eating double servings of carbs and my lunch had been the typical Malaysian lunch.

Rice, meat, vegies and more rice.

... and oh by the way, not to forget, my teh ais.

Together with the smoking and the alcohol drinks, my body (bum, in particular!) expanded.

Needless to say, when I found out that I had to struggle to get into my favorite pair of pants and the buttons failing me when I tried on my ELLE jacket, I freaked, big time.

So now I am going back to my cardio work out, although I had to do those in odd times because of my irregular shift hours now. And my resistance exercise, that’s another story. I have failed to do my usual 300 crunches and due to my abandoning it, I could only do less than 50 now.

Yeah... I know, it is bad.

So my Nike running shoes are out from the box.

That’s the thing about women. We would usually be concerned about our appearances but once stressed, we forget everything and then we made the discovery and it goes on the cartwheel and it spins yet again towards that direction.

Lose it, gain it, lose it and yes... gain it.

And we go out shopping to buy new exercise outfits. Nike women are absolutely adorable. Pricey but adorable.

But now, my situation is that of beggars can’t choose. I have downgraded myself to tracks, tank tops and sport bras from Schwarzenbach and other sports brands that won’t break my bank. I still wear Nikes for my foot though.

For men, this might sound ridiculous, some could even see this as a sign of women’s inability to stay focused.

As for myself, I am a multitasker, I could surf the web in the office while participating in a tele conference with our US trainers and making jokes with my colleagues while actively taking part in the first two things.

So using myself as a case study, women CAN multitask, we CAN focus, we just get a bit too obsessed with work that we tend to uhmm... do other things.

So I neglect myself for the past three months. But it was only because I was busy with training (yeah... excuses, excuses... hahahaha!).

But hey, I am on a mission now, and that mission is to bust that flab... and believe me, no one else is more capable of busting these self inflicted flabs then me!

Kenapa? Tak percaya eh?





The last bikini shot. How nice if all the fat goes to my boobs ay?



(note; there will be regular updates on the status of the project. I will never achieve the supermodel bod, but, what I crave is not to be an anorexic, I just want to be in my healthy weight, that is all... my young padawan... hahahaha!)

Anyways, I was in JB for the weekend for a family gathering. The youngest member of our family, Najlah is having her quif cut today by a bunch of ‘Makcik Marhabans’. This is actually a ritual to welcome a new born into the society and it’s called a ‘Potong Jambul’ ceremony. Something like a debutante ball, without the fancy dresses, without teenagers; just a baby, lots of middle aged women in tudungs and identical ‘Marhaban’ baju kurungs reciting Quran verses together, a tray full of stuffs and children following where the tray goes because each and everytime the baby’s quif gets the snip, a shower of coins together with a few sweets would be thrown by the person initiating the cut.

Najlah; 'Makcik, makcik nak buat apa tu?'






"potong jambul' needs a tray of stuff, a bowl of rice mixed with a bit of turmeric, cut young coconut mixed with lime powder, a scissor (duh!) and a trayful of sweets with sylings.


The beginning of the ceremony; my auntie,Najlah's mum parading introducing her to the makciks-makciks marhaban.


Najlah's first (eh second...) jambul cut


Najlah; But Nenek... I still want my jambul...


I remembered when I was small, this used to be one of my favorite things to do. The money is generous, to a kid that is. With that small fortune, I could treat myself to ice creams, sodas and junk food. Not to mention the adrenaline rush of squeezing into tight spaces with the rest of my cousins.


This time though, there were only a handful of kids present at the event, and a few ‘adults’ took part. I was in it mainly for the shots, although I forgot to bring my point and shoot cam. My phone cam came to the rescue...

And you know what, my 2 MPX phone camera didn’t do too bad. Check out the pics.

Fun? You bet. And I stayed true to my mission code by not eating rice but tried out all of the dishes they made on that day. It was hot, but it was really good to meet everyone after so long.


The food... huhuhu...

Welcome to the world Najlah, I am around if you have questions on growing up... heh!


12 comments:

  1. Whats the baby ceremony supposed to represent?

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  2. i always pass whatever clothes yg tak muat lagi to my sisters. last weekend, they all datang and my sis was wearing one of my old office pants. i was shocked okay. i use to fit into THAT? FOR REAL? hahah!

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  3. Izso;

    well... what i was told by my grandma is that it actually signifies a new beginning, and plus it also means that the baby is now a part of the society...

    that kind of thing.

    you want me to find out more?

    Inn,

    yeah i know exactly what you mean... it is scary... hahaha.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sarc : It's ok. I get the general idea. Chinese have the "full moon" celebration, same thing me thinks

    ReplyDelete
  5. Girl ... have fruit only in the mornings, and then the rest of day makan dengan seimbang ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. iZSO;
    Yeah... it's the same thing.i think my mum also distributed the red eggs when i was born... :)

    Ome;
    my diet is more fibres and protein, no carbs, by right, but i am afraid that i will not have energy.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sarcy,
    can also go swimming in the public pools. In KL/Selangor it's quite cheap. Only RM2 or RM3 per entry.
    I think swimming is more fun and can prevent injuries.

    ReplyDelete
  8. DNAS;

    here comes the embarassing part; i do not know how to swim properly...

    heh!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Sarc : Are you a member of any gym? Increase the cardio exercises and don't skimp on food. Just eat less. That way it'll be more of a lifestyle change rather than a temporary diet fad. Cutting out a particular set of food will help you lose fast, but the problem is once you lose it, you'll start eating normal again and it'll all come back.

    So my suggestion is :

    1. Eat half of whatever you're eating now.

    2. Skip the sweets and junk food. Junk food = anything that gives calories but no protiens or vits. Like french fries, cakes, etc.

    3. Increase workout routine by 30 minutes. Do more cardio (running, jogging, rowing, cycling) and lift weights to tighten those muscles

    4. Start with 10 situps / 10 pushups a day. Following week increase it by 5. Then another 5 the next week.

    That way at least it'll be a lifestyle modification and not just a temporary loss in weight. Slower but long term better.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Izso,

    waaa... you must be a health freak eh... you know i actually followed your guide on how to save petrol, the one you blogged about a long time ago and now i am going to follow this one...

    Thanks dude... i owe you a Starbucks!

    ReplyDelete
  11. WAh.. *gush* I hope the petrol tips worked for you!

    Btw, do more on the cardio (anything that gets your heart pumping.. other than swooning at hunks. Hehe). Regarding the weights, lift light weights and do more repetitions, don't lift too heavy. We want a slim sarcy, not a muscular sarcy. :D

    - More cardio
    - Lighter weights more repititions
    - Half your normal intake of food (don't skip)

    Oh oh.. one more
    - drink plenty of water. You'll probably go to the loo a lot, but better than not going at all.

    ReplyDelete
  12. ihihi.. dont la gush gush...

    the petrol tips did work. my friends wonder how come i know so much, i told them i googled it and a fellow blogger happened to like know things.

    they were fascinated to know that blogging ada jugak faedahnya.

    oh.. as far as liquid is concerned, thats like my number one thing... have a really cool Starbucks flask tooo...

    ReplyDelete