On my way!!

I'm on my way for a holiday!! Hurray!!

I was really good and even did a kickboxing session this morning.

I hope the walking and touristy things we do in Thailand will offset the food. I've been told the food there is awesome. For the time that I am away I've uploaded some nice pictues of my family, including one or two from the wedding. Hope you like it!

See you all next week!

Exciting Weekend!

This weekend past has been so emotional, so exciting and so very positive. I went down to Goa with my parents and brother to meet a consultant who is going to help us with refurbishing our plants there.

The plants were built in 1983 and 1993 when our family business was doing really well and they have been shut down for the past three years or so. It was so difficult to walk through the rooms that my father designed himself and see them full of machinery, but so still. After seeing this place I really got an idea of how my parents must have felt over the past three years and how devasted they must have been to have to close down the plants.

The last three years have been particularly traumatic for my family - first the business sufferred because of embezzlement, then my dad had a second bypass operation, then my brother had a life threatening accident from which he took ages to recover, then my sister and I got married and moved away. I've been able to go through these years relatively whole, but seeing the husk of the beautiful factory in Goa really brought forth a lot of emotions I hadn't dealt with yet.

My sister couldn't join us, but the whole family sat down and spoke about our actions going  forward. We've laid down plans, we've thought out strategies and we are going to get the business going again!! My brother and I are so positive about this and i really feel like I am committing to a really major change that is going to completely reshape my life. I feel like something momentous has occured.

I can barely wait to finish serving my notice period at my current job and get on with my life. I really feel like things are going to turn all the way around.

But, before that, G and I are off to a much deserved holiday Bangkok and Phuket. We leave on the 14th and go straight to Phuket where we will celebrate my 30th Birthday (on the 16th) and the beginning of a new me.

(In the meanwhile, while in Goa, I didn't eat too well, but didn't eat any bebinca, and though I didn't exercise, I spent two whole days at the plant walking around for 5-6 hours continuously. Hopefully that will be ok)

All of 1.1lbs

I wasn't sure whether I should be thrilled or annoyed when I stepped on the scale this morning. First of all, my scale does not love me and doesn't give the results when I work for them and second, I'm not even sure the scale is accurate. I know it's about right because I checked my weight on the fancy schmancy scale they have at the club and it's in the general vicinity of my home scale.

Anyway, it turns out I was a whole 1/2 kg down. Thrilling...  Annoying... whatever - at least it's a loss.

I was really hoping that a bit of hard work this week would make me not so guilty when I go off to Goa tomorrow morning for work (but who can resist the food there??! or the bebinca!!) and to Thailand next week.

I'm also in a really strange place at work. I'm leaving and my work load is decreasing but I'm going through some pretty strong emotions. I've spent so long here that I am not even sure how well I will perform under different cicumstances. I'm also a bit depressed - but I totally attribute that to PMS.

So my dear friends, you probably won't hear from me this weekend, but I will be back Monday with an update. :-) Hope it's going well for everyone!

PS: Does this new site look and feel a bit odd? I'm not sure I like all these thin beautiful chicks on the top of the page.

Getting into the swing

I've been having some trouble getting back into the swing of working out. Last week was pretty pathetic - I only managed to work out every other day and those days required some serious effort.

As I sit in front of the computer, I wonder why I haven't pushed myself to exercise when I really love it. When did I start telling myself that it was a chore? I thought I'd left that attitude behind years ago! It was really hard to wake up in the morning last week too. It's amazing how lethargic you can get when you have a break in your routine.

On Friday I tried out a power yoga / pilates class in one of the gyms here - I thought my legs were strong from kickboxing, but this class seriously tested my staying power. I'm STILL sore and it's Monday! I wanted to enroll for the class, but it turns out that the gym is shutting down and shifting and no one knows where it will be going. I think I had better stick to the club gym until I'm sure.

I've also found this salsa class and today I am going to call them and ask them for a demo class. I love to dance! G sucks at it, but he's willing to learn. I'm quite excited about this. My brother, Tj, has been learning salsa for a year and a half and he loves it - he's taken up all kinds of ballroom dancing now (personally, I think he uses it to meet girls  but it's incredible how much his coordination has improved and stiffness has gone down since he started) .

Tj is religious about everything in his life. He is a goof, but when it comes to work and exercise and nutrition, he's bang on. I am going to be working with him soon and am going to have to hear a lot of lectures on weight control and nutrition (he's also a certified nutritionist) and I really hope I will have the grace to listen to his advice not to hit him on the head with the closest heavy instrument. Who listens to their kid brothers anyway??

 The workload at my current job has gotten lighter - I just stopped getting stressed out and Dad has already sent me proposals to read up and comment on! This Friday I am off to Goa for work (no bumming around for me) and the next week we are on our way to Bangkok and Phuket!! Wooohoo!! I am so in need of a holiday!!

It's going to be Happy New Year!

This week has not been too brilliant in terms of eating - but I have got so much accomplished in terms of getting my life back in order.

I voted in the local elections today and then went to directly to my Dad and brother's office. I'm returning to the family fold.  Dad needs my help and I'm really sick and tired of working for someone else. I want to see the fruits of my own hard work and I am ready to take the risk! Plus, I owe it to the family to return  to the biz and use my qualifications to it's best benefits. This business must survive my generation as it has the past two.

We've been going through a bad time, and there is so much to do, but I'm feeling upbeat and optimistic. I feel so happy and so thrilled to be starting on this exciting new venture! This year is going to be such an immense transformation!  I know there's going to be lots of obstacles and lots of diplomacy needed as well, but I'm up to the challenge - I hope.

Workout wise I haven't been doing so well - been just so busy and by the time I get home it's 10 P.M. and I am knackered. But my kickboxing instructor has returned from a week away and I am so very happy because kickboxing is a GREAT way to start my day. I feel so good and then I feel inspired to work out in the evenings as well.

I can't wait till my notice period is up. In the meanwhile, G is planning a fab vacation for us for my 30th birthday in Bangkok and Phuket. It sounds pretty exciting! I am almost 30 and I am determined for this to be MY year!!

Last Event

Last night was the last event in this social season - thank the lord. It went pretty well for me food wise as well because I ate a healthy dinner before I left for the show and didn't snack there (though I did have a very nice cranberry cocktail).

The only thing was - this last event  was one of these big time fashion shows with the latest designers exhibiting their way overpriced and under-interesting designs for the next wedding season. I have discovered that there is absolutely nothing like a fashion show to make you feel inadequate and miserable when you are already feeling fat from a weekend of indulgence (see last blog).

So these super-super-thin, super tall women were strutting around in super over embroidered and super expensive (though not particularly imaginative) clothes. Flash bulbs were going off everywhere, pseudo-celebs were giving various channels sound bites and scenes of the party (and the revelers) were being beamed all over India.

Great! Just what I absolutely needed. Now can you blame me for the cranberry cocktail??

We went house hunting this morning and couldn't find a single nice apartment that fit into our budget (and I thought our budget was substantial). I did see some really fabulous "inspirational" apartments though - six bedrooms with en suite bathrooms, office, staff quarters, security, trendy address.. wow! Sigh... one day when my body is slimmer but my pocket is a lot fatter...

I've enquired about the pilates/power yoga class at a gym I used to use. It looks interesting and I am going for a demo class tomorrow. I really hope I like it - I'm really going to need it to push myself some more.

I've also found out that I have to travel for about a week in the second week of February. Part of that is for work, but part of that is because G and I want to go to Malaysia for a week or so for my birthday. I'm quite excited and I really hope it works out!

Tonight I plan to work out and then sleep by 10. I really need to get caught up on sleep. I am so very sleepy at work.

Feeling like a naughty schoolgirl

*And hanging my head*

I actually haven't blogged here in over a week! The last week was dreadful for me in terms of self control and I really missed everyone here! In fact, I have been dreading getting back onto EP because I have been so very bad.

My lovely sister visited home from Dubai all of last week and we have had a really fantastic time. We've been at weddings and events almost all of last week, but the whole family took time out to have dinner at my house and at my parents' house too. It's been so much fun, but realy bad in terms of exercise (only ONE day in the past week), food (all those dinners  - I totally lost control) and work (I took the whole week off to spend with Kobi and we had a long weekend here anyway).

I didn't record food, I didn't monitor alcohol - I pretty much did nothing right. But do you know what? Other than the time I really enjoyed spending with Kobi, I felt bloated and lethargic the whole time. I think I am coming to realize that my body doesn't feel much good unless I've used it right. But I need to make that push to use it right on an everyday basis. This is one battle I've got to fight no matter what...

I've got to reacquire my drive from the end of last year. The good thing is that G is really into it as well now (thanks to all the weight he's put on) and that will really help.

The real inspiration for me should be my sister. When she came back from college she weighed something like 90 kgs - she weighed more than I did. She controlled her diet and exercise so well, she lost about 30 kgs and has maintained it for 5 years now. To see the change it wrought in her is incredible and I want that for myself as well. Today, even though she does not obsess endlessly about food and exercise, she has a definite understanding of what is too much and I know she is going to be working her butt off to lose the kilos she's put on this past week.

So I'm starting anew today. Please send all kinds of weight loss energies my way!!! I know I can do this - I just need a push!

Hey Everyone!

I haven't disappeared - really. I'm just going nuts with work - turns out when you resign they don't cut down the level of work immediately (how did I not know that??). That and the internet at work has been acting really funny and would not straighten up and become serious when I asked nicely. It JUST got restarted.

Also been going out a little too much for my own good. Tomorrow my sister comes in to visit from Dubai for a whole week and I am so excited! I've always miss her terribly when she is away - why the heck did she have to get herself a man from there?

Yesterday I broke my own own glass ceiling - I ran for 2 km (only 1 km of which was continuous) and walked briskly for 6!! I am quite proud of myself! I even did kickboxing this morning. However, there has been no visible effect on the scale. Oh well... I guess this month it is important for me to just manage my weight rather than work actively on reducing it. Wait till I come back with a bang a week or so from now!

It also turns out that the expensive shoes I bought for running aren't suiting me at all. I should have picked up a larger size. So now I have to get a new pair and I don't know what to buy. Any suggestions, people?

Tomorrow I promise to catch up with all my EP friends!!

Today is the day!

I am at work and even though I'm in the  middle of widespread panic right now, I am feeling pretty good! Today is the day I'm going to resign from this company - today they are going to let me leave. After this I will serve a month's notice and then I will be gone. Woohoo!!

This weekend has been TERRIBLE in terms of eating choices AND exercise. I haven't managed to do anything - not even record the food intake! We've just been running the whole time. From dinner on Friday, two wedding functions on Saturday night to the spring festival on Sunday, it's been non-stop.

Since I'm a "newly wed" I had to make a very traditional dessert on Sunday and it came out so well! Ok, I had two small pieces, but it was even better than the stuff made at my mom's this year! (Of course it was also her recipe and I was kind of blundering through but it worked!).

Even though it hasn't been the best weekend food-wise, G insists I've lost weight - and you know what - I can feel it too because suddenly my neck looks a little longer and slimmer. I also looked better in my sari and my blouse fit better too! The scale hasn't moved an inch though I really wonder why. It's a bit discouraging, I tell you.

I found out about a power yoga / pilates class at a gym not too far away. I'm going to start there in the beginning of February and I am really looking forward to it. In the meanwhile, my mil and I are planning to go for more traditional yoga at 6:30 A.M. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I figure I'd never do it if I were going there by myself, but if she's going, I'm sure to make an effort to get my lazy butt out of bed. 

Happy week everyone!

My last day!

I am so thrilled that today is my last day as a permanent employee here. I can't wait to hand in resignation on Monday. Already I feel lighter - like a burden has been lifted off me. Despite the fact that I have been running around like a headless chicken all day today and have had more aggravations than I can count, I feel peaceful.

I've already told my former boss of my intentions and he gave me some really good advice. He has been in the industry - that too with just one company - his whole working life. He has such a solid reputation and you can easily tell why. He came to this company on contract when he retired. When he was the helm of Engineering, we had vision and direction, we used strategy, we understood critical paths and the importance of diplomacy. Unfortunately, he had to leave because his high stress lifestyle gave him heart disease and he had to have a very complicated bypass. He's been my mentor, my advisor, my confidante and even my shoulder to cry on.

Ever since he's been gone, the idiots that sit in his office can't hold a candle to him. No wonder all of us are frustrated! It's difficult to work for someone who muddles through when you have seen a perfectionist at work.

All of a sudden I've become really teary eyed. I've spent almost 5 years here and it's going to be as difficult to leave this place that I've helped build as it would be to break up with someone. However, I've got to do it for my own mental peace, my health and my career.

To top it all, I'm still stuck in yet another negotiation while G has gone off to Pune for the launch of a new whiskey. Fully paid trip etc. and I have to work late on this of all Fridays. He's just called me and told me what a great time he's having (that cad!). In other news, my cell phone has suddenly gone on the blink and I am faced with the prospect of losing over 300 phone numbers! I don't have a back up! (why why why??!)

I haven't made the best food choices yesterday and today. I don't really know why either. I just got a sudden craving and even though I knew I didn't really want the stuff, I ended up eating it. Emotional eating, I'm guessing. I've got to stop this. I did compensate a little bit though by running 2 km (yes TWO! though not at one go) and brisk walking about 3 km. Not bad! I did skip kick boxing today though, so I really have a lot to compensate for tomorrow.

Will check in tomorrow again all! Have a fabulous weekend!