Exercise Lite - Weekend 3

Day 11 - was sick

Day 12 - not the usual routine since the niece came over. we played nerf in the street. :)

Day 13 - still, no.

Saturday - yeah, I'm not counting weekends. Hmm. errands included laundry, grocery, washed the cars -- I wanted to play with water. yeah.

Sunday - uh no. lazy day.

But, in fairness, this weekend has not been a diet fail.

I lost about 2mm around the tummy. But that could just be bloat. uhuh.

I can do this!!!

I wanted to

fall in love, so I did.

Exercise Lite - Day 10

A.M. -- fail...hmm, maybe I should remove this?

P.M.

35 jumping jacks
40 crunches
plank pose - 1 minute yey!
10 minutes on the elliptical
plank pose - another 1 minute yey!

Haay! I'm always trying to negotiate my workout! But, I'm still happy that I am, at least, managing to do some of it!

Btw, HunterXHunter started on Animax today. It's a different anime from the one previously aired some years ago. So, yeah, that's going to eat into my blogging time. (Take note: blogging not workout time. Hahaha!)

Exercise Lite - Day 9

Yesterday was a complete diet fail. I think I ate half a gallon of ice cream. 2 slices of cake. Lechon. Pancit and lumpia. Rellenong bangus and green mango salad. And that was just for lunch.

Anyway, this morning I didn't do any of my scheduled routines because I woke up late. To make up for it, my P.M. routine was:

crunches -- 2 sets of 20. Yey!

35 jumping jacks
10 minutes on the elliptical -- with 1 minute at full tilt and 5 minutes on moderate...less time for cooldown but it was okay.
Plank pose -- full one minute! Yey again!

So, I'd already completed 2 weeks (ok, so it's not 14 days but since I appear to be averaging 4 days a week, it'll do for now) and I measured around my tummy again. No improvement yet (like, I should expect anything after the diet failure of the past two weekends).

3 inches to go!

Water photos

Taken randomly on various ferry rides from Circular Quay.


I don't know what this outcropping is.

Water level indicator?

Yachts.

With fluffy clouds

To show water level? Mini-lighthouse?

I want one too.

Exercise Lite - Weekend 2

So I skipped (skipped, not missed) yesterday's workout. I was feeling lazy and sick.

Today I got a full-blown runny nose with face-contorting sneezes. :) So I didn't do any planned workout today, either.

But I think all the cleaning I did counts. We're having guests over tomorrow for my mom's extended birthday celebration. And some of the guests have been out of the country for a long time and will probably want a tour of the house. Hence, the cleaning and rearranging. Geez.

Plus, it's so hot today!!!

Exercise Lite - Day 8

A.M.

20 crunches
Plank pose - 40 seconds only

P.M.

35 jumping jacks
Plank pose - 30 seconds... must've been tired

1 hour on pedals - while watching the first half of American Idol

I was feeling a bit inspired so I did another 20 crunches. :)

Relax, dude!

I'm not going to go all "The Rules" on you.

There's a distinction

My brother was watching one of those sniper features on History channel, and I liked this statement (or something to this effect):

"Training doesn't ensure that nothing will go wrong. Something will go wrong. Training helps you react faster and better."

Exercise Lite - Day 7

A.M.

20 crunches
40-second plank pose (ugh) -- this is harder than I thought

P.M.

35 jumping jacks
10-minutes on elliptical -- still 1 minute all out, but I've extended the moderate pace to 4 minutes and lessened the cool-down portion to 2 minutes
40-second plank pose -- yep, still harder than I thought

So, I had my resting metabolic rate (RMR) computed (just google it, there are available RMR calculators on the net, and it's free!). It's only about 1,166 which translates to a daily calorie requirement of about 1,600-1,700. Nyarks!

I'm probably averaging 2,000-2,500. But I can lessen that if I stop eating my Mom's baking experiments. If I diet, I'd have to really think about what I'm cutting back on.

Because ice cream is essential to my sanity.:)

Exercise Lite - Day 6

A.M.

20 crunches
ok I forgot about the plank pose

P.M.

35 jumping  jacks
10 minutes on the elliptical -- I still get tired out alright
Plank pose - 40 seconds. Yey!

Clean Slate

So, I'm reading through The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs. I'm loving it. I can relate to some and though some passages are completely unfamiliar to me, I like how the author has presented it. I still have about 20% to go, but I want to start to apply this one.

 1 Corinthians 13:4–8a  (New International Version)
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

So yeah, to my dear friends, let's start with a clean slate...well, except for those rants and drama already here. I will delete my ignore list. :))

E, does this run counter to our "stop being a doormat!" campaign?

Exercise Lite Routine - updated

After the failure of my attempt at push-ups, here's my tweaked Exercise Lite :)

A.M.

Crunches
Plank Pose - hold the pose for 1 minute, try to repeat 5 times (this will be a long-term goal since I can't hold it for a minute yet)

P.M.

Jumping Jacks
Elliptical for cardio/aero -- I know most say that 30 minutes is ideal but I'm sticking with my 10 minutes
Pedals - for those nights I'm watching something on tv -- this one is for however long that tv program is.
Plank Pose

Optional
Lunges
Squats (eew)

Exercise Lite - Day 5

A.M. - 20 crunches

P.M.

25 jumping jacks
10 minutes on the elliptical -- used this fantastic interval timer function in my phone...so I was able to shift from warm-up, moderate, full-tilt, to cool down..I don't trust the display on my elliptical anymore.

So after some research and taking into consideration the limits of my patience and uh, determination, I think instead of push-ups, I'll do the Plank Pose. It's a yoga (or yoga-inspired pose) which is like the push-up position. Instead of moving up and down, I'm going to hold the plank pose for a minute. It's supposed to tone the whole body.

So I did the plank pose...couldn't hold it for the full minute. By the 20-second mark, my shoulders and back and backs of my thighs (what's that muscle group called?) were trembling. *shrug*

So I think I'll add the plank pose to my morning and evening routine.

Family meddling

An aunt and uncle from Hawaii called this afternoon. After the niceties, uncle asked me if I have a boyfriend. Of course I replied that I didn't because you know I don't have one now.

He said:

 "It's about time you started thinking about it. You're not getting any younger."

LOL!

I just said I didn't have any prospects where I am right now. I really don't. *sigh*

Exercise Lite - Weekend 1

Saturday and Sunday = 20 crunches each

Totally forgot about weekends so can I just have free weekends? Hahaha.

Well, it's my Mom's birthday weekend so I had lots to eat. I'd have to figure out something for weekends if my weekday exercise would have any effect at all...

Random flower photos

Seen in various places in and around Sydney...

a riot

Photo courtesy of E

 I think these purple ones are actually leaves

Small blue violet or periwinkle ones

This photo is now my favicon :)

Exercise Lite - Day 4

A.M.

20 crunches
still no substitute...ok ok, I will do the standing wall push-ups

P.M.

25 jumping jacks
10 minutes on the elliptical -- did better today, was able to sustain the moderate pace for the most time. did only about 1.5 minutes of full tilt.

Anyway, here's the portable pedals I used yesterday. Just plunk it down in front of your chair and pedal away...

It's not very cardio-intensive since you really can't go all out with it, but at least it keeps you moving while you're seated.

Thank you!

Thank you for helping me get over you.

You're still a jerk.

Exercise Lite - Day 3

A.M.

20 crunches

I'm still thinking of what to do instead of push-ups. Nuninu.

P.M.

So I forgot about my t.v. watching schedule for the coming months plus all the reading I want to do plus gardening in Gardens of Time. So, for today, instead of my jumping jacks and elliptical routine, I borrowed my mom's pedal thing (ok, I'll take a photo and upload tomorrow), and pedaled for an hour while watching American Idol.

Exercise Lite - Day 2 P.M.

25 jumping jacks
10 minutes on elliptical

but i couldn't do the 2 minutes full tilt pace, I did 1 minute and about 20 seconds again before I had to stop. After stopping for a minute, I continued at a slightly moderate pace to complete the 10 minutes. Because you know, quitters never lose that extra kilo.

I've decided that if I'm going to do this, then I should at least know what my goals are. So I made two:

1. Lose 2 or 3 inches around my tummy.
2. Lose 2.5 kilos -- but this is really just my estimate about the tummy fat. Because when you look at me, I have the fat tummy and thighs but thin arms. That would make me a pear right?

Exercise Lite - Day 2 A.M.

20 crunches
3 pushups - what a joke

I know I said I was thinking about adding jumping jacks to my morning routine, but I realized this morning that it would take too much effort to put on a sports bra for a few jumping jacks. So, scrap that idea.

And I'd better do something about these push-ups, I don't think I can deal with this kind of frustration in the morning.

Grocery line girl - no this is not funny

Overheard at the grocery line:

"Sabi nya sa kin, baka hindi na maganda mag-nursing dahil andami ng nurse. Mag-accounting na lang daw ako. Eh bakit ako makikinig sa kanya eh wala nga syang kotse."
(He told me it may not be a good idea to take up nursing since there are already a lot of nurses. He said I should take up accounting. Why would I listen to him when he doesn't even have a car?)

This was said by a girl to a couple of her friends. I find a lot of things wrong with this statement I don't know where to start. I will muddle on though:

• I pity that poor guy who doesn't have a car. I wonder if he knows that this girl he was kind enough to give advice to (I don't know if this was solicited or not, but still, right?) has made a value judgment (what does this mean?) based on the fact that he does not have a car.
• Isn't it a tragedy that good advice is taken based on whether a person has a car? Okay maybe I'm jumping to a poor generalization based on the few statements (and tone) of grocery line girl, but let's face it, in today's world, worth (in the abstract sense) does seem to be measured in terms of visible wealth.
• For that matter, is owning a car a good measure of whether advice is sound or not?
• Is owning a car a measure of a person's success? I mean, sure, owning a car is a quantifiable and tangible evidence of economic success but it certainly isn't THE measure of success. Or am I missing something again?
• I mean I consider myself successful -- I have a career I enjoy. I earn. I have free time. I have spending money. Granted I don't have a car of my own (when I do drive, I drive my parents' car okay), I don't have a house. But I feel pretty successful. Unfortunately, by grocery line girl's standard, I'm probably not someone you should take advice from.
• Consider this, a guy who drives a car bought by his parents, barely graduated from college, if at all and has no job -- what would he be? Good enough for advice, grocery line girl?

Maybe, I'm taking this out of context but it's kinda hard.

Anyway, I've always wanted to use this line though I've forgotten where I got it from:

"It's a tragic commentary on our times."

Grocery line girl, I wish you the best of luck.

Exercise Lite - Day 1 P.M.

As far as first days of a new project goes, this Day 1 was pretty good.

Unfortunately, short as the plan was, I was out of breath by the time I was on the elliptical. It was good I did my jumping jacks first. Actually, I like the jumping jacks and I'm thinking of adding 25 to my morning routine. Specially since my push-ups are a joke. (I'm working on it alright.)

Anyway, back to the elliptical, once I got to the 3 minute mark, I was already panting and I could feel the pain in my thighs and calves. And this was only on the moderate pace. This just shows how out of shape I really am. I couldn't last through the entire 10 minutes. I only did about 1 minute and 20 seconds of the full-tilt pace and I really had to stop. My body was unused to the lactic acid buildup (Right. Like I know what I'm talking about) and I was in pain.

Also, I was thinking I couldn't keep adding up to my repetitions, so I thought I'd cap it at 300 crunches? Once, I settle down to this new routine, I'd cut back to maybe daily entries instead of doing this twice a day log.

Exercise Lite - Day 1 A.M.

Great! I did the 20 crunches no problem. The 10 push-ups, erm, well, lots of problems. One, I started from the raised positions and unfortunately, I found out that I can only bring my body down a third of the way. And I only did 7 repetitions.

Maybe I should follow my brother's suggestion and do the standing push-ups first and gradually work my way down.

Road to Hotness (RTH)

After the 5-day holiday, I gained 3 pounds. Well, only 3 pounds registered, who knows if I'm still processing unburned calories into fat. eeeh.

Or, I could hope that all the cleaning increased my muscle tone equivalent to 3 pounds of weight. Meh. I seriously doubt it.

I would like to go back to dancing but I can't fit into my dance clothes and I'm on a frugality plan too so I can travel. Hahaha.

So, I'm thinking I should get back on the elliptical. And do additional crunches too. Since I'm not really that much of an exercise junkie, I've devised this exercise plan, which I should (SHOULD!) do everyday.

Doodie's Exercise Lite

Morning - Wake up 15 minutes earlier than usual time.

Stretch
20 crunches
10 push-ups (I hate push-ups but I need to tone my arms and shoulders and the what-else muscles)

After a week, make it 25 crunches and 15 push ups, and so on.

You're probably asking why I'd need 15 minutes if I'm only going to do those, well, I need to psych myself first. Otherwise, I'd never get out of bed.

Evening

Stretch
25 jumping jacks (after a week, increase to 35 and so on)
10 minutes on the elliptical (2 minutes warm-up pace, 2 minutes moderate, 2 minutes full tilt, 4 minutes cool down)

Good luck to me! L, I, R, better late than never right?

Hotness here I come.

Sydney's St. Mary's Cathedral and Archibald Fountain

During our vacation, E, M and I decided to hear Mass at St. Mary's Cathedral. It was a rainy day so I wasn't able to get a lot of pictures of Hyde Park and the surrounding area. I did ditch my umbrella a couple of times to take some pictures of the Cathedral and the Archibald Fountain.

Mass was really different from the one we hold in the Philippines. For one thing, dress code was non-existent. It was really solemn with I think it was a bishop presiding. Or maybe because it just so happened that the Mass we attended also had the ceremony for ordaining new priests. *shrug*

There was also none of the joyous singing so common to Philippine mass. I think that was what I missed the most. Though, there "peace be with you" involved handshakes even among strangers -- certainly not something we do here in the Philippines.

We got off at the St. James Station, so we approached from the Archibald Fountain.

Archibald Fountain

Archibald Fountain

Then, from the path, this bursts upon your eyes:

St. Mary's Cathedral and grounds

The tree-lined avenues were actually really gorgeous, but I didn't think to take pictures of it.

Anyway, put the Cathedral and the Fountain together and what do you get? Bippity-boppity-boo!

St. Mary's Cathedral with Archibald Fountain

 We walked around to the the front(?) for this picture:

St. Mary's Cathedral

A couple of shots I got inside the cathedral before I was informed that no picture-taking allowed inside:

Happy Easter Monday! and commemorate Araw ng Kagitingan.

What does it mean when you dream about someone?

It's weird because I've dreamt about B5 for the past three nights. Not just once in a night, sometimes 3 or 4 different dream "settings". Some of them are reminiscent of real places we've been too. But mostly it's just the the two of us and I feel effing happy!

This could just be my subconscious regurgitating my memories to make room for more? Hey, maybe I'm completely and totally over him? Or, God forbid, this isn't a sign that  we'll get back together, is it? Because that would be a mess.

Admittedly, it's taken me a couple of years to actually get a semblance of balance back in my life after him. It didn't help that it wasn't a clean break. Our social lives and common friends didn't allow it.

Come to think of it, I don't even remember what we broke up for...I think it was because I thought it was what he wanted...

Maybe it also didn't help that I never found someone after him. And he continued to be single too.

Anyway, so I've been dreaming about him and I have better things I should be doing but instead I'm doing this. There are lots of sites on the internet about dream interpretation, I'm just gonna take my pick of what this one means. Nyahahaha!

Flash Mob

Something new in my To-Do List:

Participate in a flash mob. 

Somewhere within Manila, QC, Makati.

Earth Hour

Is it just me who finds it ironic that for earth hour, some participants lighted candles? Hello, that produces carbon dioxide!