Project Me water aerobics

Posts Tagged With 'water aerobics'

The many faces of water – project body week 8

Posted by jodene August 07, 2011 2 Comments »

I can’t believe it’s been 8 weeks and I’m sure by now most people will have stories of having lost a good fortune of weight but I don’t feel as though I’ve lost any. I can only imagine that there are going to be times when I am going to be mighty frustrated and pissed off with myself, so that’s going to be an interesting journey if I don’t start doing something different.

I feels as though I want to blame a thing or two for not keeping myself on the straight and narrow, but the truth is I started ‘project body’ because I knew that if I wasn’t accountable to something or someone, I just wouldn’t do it.

How’s the water aerobics? Well, it’s happening in spurts. I’m trying to get myself more focused on getting to gym and the combination of icy cold mornings, having to leave Mr Unexpected (that’s only one morning a week but it feels like hell) and making sure my diary is organised to not schedule something in the way of my gym time.
Greggie reminded me of a very important Lifeology and therefore ‘project me/body’ lesson … if it’s not fun then something’s not right? I’m now on the journey of finding the ‘hook’ that keeps me having fun during the water aerobics because I really do hate training that much. I never wanted to be this person who had to force myself to do anything … but it’s me and it’s real and if I can’t find water aerobics fun (because everyone said I would be hooked ages ago) then I might be in trouble.

How’s eating going? Well, I could be healthier! I’m still hanging onto the gratitude that I have for the SlimLab tablets that keep my appetite under control. At least I’m not eating a horse at each sitting, but that counting calories thing needs attention. I can’t believe I’ve been single for well over a decade and now that I’m trying to focus on just feeding me, I have to worry about feeding Mr Unexpected too. I don’t know how to change my diet without controlling what he eats. Yes, we both need to be healthier and Greggie keeps reminding me that I managed to make dietary changes that were so subtle yet so healthy. Of course I would attract a man who also does the comfort food eating thing … so this journey is still a very interesting one.

Water?
Well that all depends on what kind of water you are talking about. Does tea count? Does green tea count? How much flavoured water are we talking? I’m a little better in summer but I hate it during winter … it’s the combination of drinking cold water when I’m cold and then needing to pull down my pants and sit on a cold toilet seat that takes all the fun out of being healthy.

Mr Unexpected has highlighted my own body issues because I’m concerned that he never drinks plain water, yet I can’t say the same for myself. Why do people make unhealthy things in the first place? Why take something as natural and perfectly healthy for us and then ruin it with loads of sugar, sodium and a whole lot of crap that hurts our bodies? (That’s me taking out my frustrations … )

I don’t know the upcoming week holds and if I will be sitting here this time next week saying the same old thing … or maybe I will have gone to my 3 classes of water aerobics this week. I will have drank my 2 liters or water per day. I will have cooked a healthy meal of steamed veggies and grilled chicken … and water will be helping me be friend with my body, one precious drop at a time.

With courage, consciousness & a sense of humour

Not without my Patrick – project body week 2

Posted by jodene June 26, 2011 4 Comments »

For a girl who hides behind food as the comfort too when things change, it’s been one hell of a week. There have been so many changes and umpteen reasons to eat.

Then there are the reasons not to and most of them come in the form of someone else. The someones like my mother and Greggie who have had to deal with the first few insecure dinners. Then there are my friends who just cheer me on with so much love. My Twitter family, especially Dezy D who I don’t know how to thank for the cheerleading and awesome messages. Slowly I will thank all my sponsors and introduce new ones, because they have been so incredible too.

There is something about taking on your greatest fears with the world watching and cheering on. I have tried to tackle this weight issue for as long as I can remember, but all of a sudden there’s something very different about the space I’m in and there is one fundamental person that I am blessed to have by my side.

I was cleared for gym months ago … like February already, and told that water aerobics would be best for me. I was super brave and got the number of the trainer and called him almost immediately. On the other end of the phone was a friendly voice that I felt I hand know for years and he told me that he was waiting for me to set up a complimentary private session to help me and show me that I would be just fine in the water. I put down the phone and never called back … until I had finally announced ‘project body’ and knew where the one downfall would be.

As the phone rang, I prepared myself for that conversation that began with, ‘you won’t remember me …’, but I never go the chance because Patrick Tendani had been waiting for my call. The enthusiasm with which he jumped at supporting me as a partner of ‘project body’ should have been my first warning sigh.

Holy moly … I had images of a few water aerobics classes that looked a little more like synchronised swimming than what I ended up diving into (almost literally). I challenge anyone to take on water aerobics! It’s tough dude and I keep on telling Patrick that I’m gonna drown (or die) but I keep fighting on. I know that if it weren’t for his support, special messages that get me to gym and praise me once I’ve gotten home after an hour of tough stuff and cheering me on from the sidelines, that I would be in a pile of tears and hating the idea of ‘project body’ already.

I know my lazy ass attitude about getting up in the morning and most of it is because I sleep far too late, but when the wake up call is 5:20 am and it’s in the pool at 6am … trust me, this butt has been in bed early. Once again, thanks to those ‘waky waky’ messages that I receive before the birds are chirping and the, ‘you can do it! cheers, I have had an incredible first week of ‘project body’.

Patrick’s support when I stood on that scale and measured that fat was beyond supportive that by the time I had to show the numbers to the world, I didn’t feel as though I was going to slit my wrists. But it was his cheers and applause when I lost 1. 4 kilograms in this week that makes me feel like the most supported girl in the world.

Food hasn’t been as tough as I thought, but that’s because of all the cheering and asking ‘how’s the food Jo?’ …
I made it through a lavish Yule dinner and learned a special lesson. I watched my day and kept the majority of my calories for the evening. Then, I had much smaller helpings and no one even really noticed. I savoured everything but didn’t indulge in anything … and the next day I was in the pool again.

My body is loving the journey, despite finding gym 100 times tougher than I ever would have imagined. My theory stands true though … all you need is one person to believe in you … and I have Patrick!

With courage, consciousness & a sense of humour

Weigh-in and water aerobics – Project Body Week 1

Posted by jodene June 19, 2011 3 Comments »

I’m sure the excitement will begin to seep through as this blog continues, but considering it’s nearly 8pm and I’ve been anticipating this all day I’m going to get the ‘big’ stuff over with first.

Project Body has been long anticipated for me and all of a sudden it’s here. I was doing swimmingly well and coping with everything until I realised that the time had come to post the weight, body mass and measurements for the world to see.

I have to unbelievably supportive partners for this journey. The first is Patrick Tendani, my personal trainer and the second is Niel from Slimlab. On the day they met each other, Niel told Patrick not to let me get away with anything and trust me I’ve tried, but we will get to that. Right now it’s about the support that both Niel and Patrick have given me during the whole standing on the scale and whipping out the tape measure thing. Yes, the numbers are big but a part of me knew that they would be and both of these incredible men keep reminding me that the numbers are a science and are needed to test the formulas. I was fine with all the numbers as they slowly started to be written down but now that I have to type them it’s very rough but a huge part of ‘project me’ is telling myself the truth and in turn telling telling the world so that I hold no shame. So here’s step 1 …

My height is obviously relative to the numbers so that’s 166cm

Weight: 105.5 kg
Body fat: 43.4%
Lean body: 59.7%

Goal weight: 79 KG

Blood pressure: 122/70

Measurements:
Chest: 111cm
Waist: 100cm
Hips: 134cm
Thighs: 78cm
Arms: 41cm

Well that’s done and it’s officially the bravest thing I have ever done on Project me.

A big thank you goes to Patrick’s brother Samson who was involved in the body analysis process and who was just as incredibly kind and tolerant of my fears and anxiety about the process.

So I finally went to my first water aerobics class and was as nervous as I thought I would be. I can’t thank Patrick enough for the constant encouragement, sms’s and pep talks that have guided me every step of the way, into a swimming costume at the gym and into the water. I was obviously the youngest person there by like 30 years and thought that would allow me to get away with taking it easy, but Patrick had other plans. He also had other plans about the hour of our gym sessions. I had visions of swooping in at about 8am. I think that’s reasonable for a girl who doesn’t do morning … 6am!!! Can you believe it … I will be there at 6am for 2 private sessions this week and then another 3 classes with very old ladies.

The whole point of needing the support around me is because I slowly began to realise that I didn’t know myself well enough to trust what was good for me. No exercise of eating plan ever worked because someone else would tell me to do it differently and then I would be back to square one. Well, that’s already happened in the short week that I have been doing Project Body and it took a whole lot of trust in the process to settle into an eating program that actually allows me to have carbs at night. Slimlab is a science and so is the eating plan … on that I trust, but might not necessarily trust my body on it just yet. I hope that makes sense to some of you.

The article for Curvy SA was written today and those numbers are there too. I did a grocery shop yesterday and got all the necessities I need and I had my first ostrich hamburger today. Around me, my friends at chocolates and chips and my family had pizza and somehow I managed to get by without anyone making any fuss about my different choices in food at all. Maybe a few things were an excuse to begin with …

With courage, consciousness & a sense of humour

Little Dragonfae and Big Storms – project me day 405

Posted by jodene February 09, 2011 6 Comments »

What happens when it’s that sink or swim moment? What do you do with it? I usually buckle down and force on more work, but it seems Miss Universe helped with a little intervention and turned my unconscious pattern of survival into an adventurous day that just might have had more impact than even I realise.

I’m into the swing of things at gym even though I’m a little frustrated that I can’t run on the treadmill like everyone else. My next step is to psych myself up to take the brave step and go to a water aerobics calls. There are two reasons … 1. I’m worried I will hurt my back again! 2. I’m not super great at doing anything new. We all have our vices and that is one of mine, but at least I got the schedule and I’m convincing myself that it’s happening after the wedding.

Yep, it’s this Sunday. Little sis is getting married and as all weddings go, there are so many mixed emotions in the air that it’s hard to breathe sometimes. Despite some bright spark of a builder chopping through the city power lines, I managed to do most of toast to little sis and her future hubby. I know I’m good at standing up in front of a crowd and making magic, but I thought this might be the place to prep a little something. Imagine my sister’s horror if I were to stand up and announce … “I have nothing prepared, so here goes!” … Tee hee … I might just say that anyway.

So after the power had all run out and I had to choose the next thing to do, I was faced with yet another two options. Go to Greggie and do some work for fear of missing one moment of productivity, or go shopping with a voluptuous gift voucher to House of Isis (Thanks to Madam and B for my birthday voucher from last year). I have been waiting for the perfect time to use this voucher and the moment felt just right. It was a hefty amount for a gift and it gave me the freedom to get something I otherwise would have thought twice about. I went after Christmas but everything was sold out. Well, not everything, just the thing that I wanted.

Dragonfae are very dear to my heart. They are part of the fairy realm and each fairy has her (or his) dragon to work dragon magic along with them. They are a powerful and very beautiful partnership. It was awesome to walk into a fully stocked shop and it took me less than half a minute to find them … the most beautiful fairy and her dragon sitting on a glass ball. In these financially uncertain times of mine I would never have been able to walk in and say “I want that one!” but I imagined that it was my daily ability and I called the shop assistant over. With a few extra penny’s to spare I strolled through the shop only to be followed by the assistant. Then out of the blue she asked me if I was Wiccan. I’m not great at labeling myself with ‘spiritual’ terms, but at some point I do have to look at my beliefs and make it easier by just agreeing. What’s in a name anyway and the truth is that, as labels go, I am pretty close to Wiccan/Pagan. How she knew that I’m still not sure. It’s not like I bought a wand or asked for a book of spells. I took the compliment and we chatted about our beliefs and practices. I could see she was keeping me there for a little while with all her questions and once my beautiful Dragonfea was ready to come home with me she finally asked if she could take me for coffee and ask me all she could about Wiccan and Magick! I agreed, but did tell her that I don’t conform to the norm at all but she didn’t seem to mind. If anything, it made her more curious.

Firstly, to share this with you is huge. I have NEVER said Magick in this blog and that did stir up one hell of a storm within me. It still does. I remember that years ago I went to a medium for a reading and she told me that I would always have two separate lives. That which the public knew and the other that was very private to me. My belief has always been that anyone who reads you is merely tapping into your energy at that present moment and at that time I was much more fearful of people’s perceptions. Now I know that if I don’t dump this feeling of needing to hide, I will never get to that point of self worth.

The big storm part is real. A massive storm that started in the afternoon and saw the final fall of an old tree in Greggie’s garden that has been fighting to survive for a long time. The tree hugger in me was sad, but you can see that he (the tree) is very tired now.
The storm went of for hours. City power worked until just after midnight to get us power (I know because the TV wake me on full volume). Now wide awake, I lay in bed for maybe 2 hours listening to one of the most raging storms that have passed though in a while. It set car alarms off and pelted against the window with a fierce reminder of just how powerful mother nature is.

I lay there thinking about that power and then it struck … the realisation that we are all that very essence of mother nature. We are all that powerful!

With courage, consciousness & a sense of humour

Beauty Worx sponsors project me – project me day 324

Posted by jodene November 24, 2010 No Comments »

I don’t think I’ve ever shared my mother’s dry sense of humour with you. She has this extremely quick whit and says thing that would usually mortify or completely offend someone, yet everyone rolls around in stitches. Needless to say, when the team from Regim A asked how I was doing my mother informed them that everything was cracking up except my skin. She then keeled over in fits of laughter and sent me on my way to have my very first Regim A skin peel at my newest sponsor, Beauty Worx. Read More