healthful living, Life Lessons Learned, my life Natasha Chiam healthful living, Life Lessons Learned, my life Natasha Chiam

Week 6: the status quo revolution

More lessons learned on my path to being Lean for Life with @Infinitefit. 

The status quo. The existing condition or state of affairs.

In layman’s terms, the status quo in everything is what we like to call our “comfort zone”. It’s the place of good enough, not rocking the boat, keeping the peace, and the happy medium.

And a lot of people are very happy with the status quo.

I spent last weekend in a room full of do-gooders from my city looking for ways to challenge the status quo, to move people out of their comfort zones that privilege or race or gender has granted them. And this was one of the biggest challenges we all faced in our projects, our endeavors and our desires to do-good for our communities.

The status quo.

These feelings of “everything is just fine; this is just the way things are; you just have to accept the world we live in” are hard to eschew. They make up all the stories we tell ourselves to make us feel good about our lives. That we are not bad people, we aren’t hurting anyone, we pay our taxes, we eat relatively well, we “exercise” enough. In essence, we keep telling ourselves that we are A-OK.

But are we?

Head over here to keep reading... 

Thanks,

Natasha~

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90 Days.

I am on a 90 day journey.

Yes, it is a fitness journey. And a food journey. And a self-esteem journey.

And it is going well so far.

My original goal when I started this journey was to 'fix' my body after the injury and then surgery that I had earlier in the year. To get my strength back and start to feel normal and not in pain every day. And to be able to walk up stairs like a grown-up as opposed to a two-year old. I went for physiotherapy and started a gentle workout regime and slowly started to heal and build up my strength.

I believe I have reasonably accomplished my first goal, but one can always be stronger!

My second goal when I committed in earnest and started working with a personal trainer, the amazing Jessica Zapata of Infinite Fitness, was to be able to fit into THIS bridesmaid's dress for my sister-in-law's wedding in October.

Tonight we had all of Natural Urban Dads siblings over for a BBQ and my SIL brought over the dress (we bought them in Calgary at a lovely little shop called Frocks, check it out if you are there). After everyone left, I tried it dress, fully expecting it to be WAY too tight for me to even do up the zipper.

And....

THE DRESS FITS! 

So what does this mean? Is the journey over? Goal accomplished?

Um, NO.

This 90 Day Challenge is a journey of self-discovery amongst other things. Discovering just how far I can push myself (with the help of someone who does not see the limits I self-impose) and discovering what it means to live, eat and breath a healthy lifestyle.

I am doing things that I did not think possible with my body and my arthritis and my fake, metal hips and my crunchy knees. And maintaining a pretty clean, sugar-booze-pasta-bread-free diet too (with the help of the totally awesome Visalus Vi-Shakes). What kind of things you ask?

Well for one, (and trust me it may not seem like it to most people, but to me this is huge) I can JUMP! And there are some who even think that I can run too. Now I may not be the prettiest site you've ever seen doing these things, but I am moving and my body is moving in ways that it has not in many, many years.

And my body is changing too.

See....the numbers don't lie!

So to sum up...

Goal Number One-get stronger and heal from injuries. CHECK

Goal Number Two-Fit into the dress. CHECK

Now onto Goals 3 and 4...

I have three parts of my body that I really don't like. Underneath my arms (the waving part), my mommy-tummy (I call it the 5-pound breastfeeding burden) and my chubby knees! Goal number three involves the toning and tightening of all three of these areas along with all the rest of me too. Jessica tells me every time we work out that there is no such thing as spot reduction, and so I will continue to plug away and eat clean, workout and keep moving forward! And I know that these results will come with just a little bit more effort on my part.

And for Goal Number 4. I really want this goal to be something BIG. Something beyond fitting into those skinny jeans that have been hiding in the back of my closet for 4 years. I want it to be a challenge. A PHYSICAL challenge. And so far I can't think of what it should be. I am open to suggestions...

I'll let you know when I decide about Goal #4 and keep you updated on the progress I am making. Hopefully not too much or I'll be paying an arm and a leg for alterations! Oh, whatever, it will be SOOO worth it!!

In the mean time. Check me out in THE dress!!

 

Natasha~

P.S. Officially my 90 Day Challenge finishes on October 31. The journey however is one that I am committing to for a lifetime!

~~~~~~~~~~

Summer Blog Challenge posts for August 26, 2011

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10 years later... and It's True!

I did something today that I have not done in about 10 years. And the fact that I have not done this thing is ten years, kind of makes me lame.

But hey, life happens, you move on, you forget your past....

...and then one day it happens.

You are sitting at the dinner table with your family and your precocious 4 and a half year old (the 1/2 is very important to him right now) comes up with what he thinks is a brilliant idea.

"Mommy, we should all go for a bike ride after dinner."

And really, it is quite a good idea.

Ever since Mommy started to work out on a more regular basis and eat better and talk about how we can all keep our bodies healthy, Little C has really has taken to this. He talks about how he is exercising (Sportball) and eating all his food and getting a good night's sleep so that he can grow and be strong too.

So going for a bike ride after dinner fits right in with our family's healthy living commitment, except for one thing....

....Mommy and Daddy do not own bikes!

At least not until today!

And after a little bit of a shaky start (10 years people!), and a few different test rides, Mama found herself a new baby!!

Ain't she a beaut!? I have yet to name her (because I name all my modes of transportation), but she is an Electra Townie and practically perfect for me! I am not going to be doing a whole heck of a lot of hard-core trail riding and the likes (way too jarring on my joints even if I had some wicked suspension), and I am in LOVE with the look and feel of a cruiser bike!

Natural Urban Dad picked up a nice Specialized Crosstrail bike for himself and then we went to Toys R' Us and got Little C his first pedal bike too. C has been cruising along on a running bike this past year and has great balance so he just needs to work on the pedaling aspect now! His running bike will be passed on to Princess L so that she can get the hang of the balance part as well.

So we have the bikes and now we just have to get ourselves all ready for our first family bike ride...

I am thinking tomorrow!

Natasha~

Life is like riding a bicycle - in order to keep your balance, you must keep moving.  ~Albert Einstein

 

 

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Natasha's Pick of the Week: Infinite Fitness

So remember a few months ago when I was all "I'm having a pity party cause I dislocated my hip and then had knee surgery and now I am all bloated and lopsided and I need a personal trainer"? Well, I found one. A REALLY GOOD ONE!

Her name is Jessica Zapata and she is co-owner of Infinite Fitness Personal Training.

And she is KICKING my butt!

I have been working out with her and doing my homework workouts at home and also trying to maintain a pretty strict diet that she has put together for me for the last 4 weeks and I am very happy to report that it is all working!

I have lost 4 pounds and am feeling so much stronger already.

It also helps that Jessica and I have a whole lot of fun while she is kicking my butt too. I am sure my abs are getting an extra bit of a workout because of how much I am laughing when we have our sessions together.

Take last week for example. We were in the middle of a workout and I casually mentioned that I can not jump. And to prove it, I then demonstrated my lack of jumping skills. (This is when you picture me trying to jump, but I look more like a two-year old, lifting my heels off the ground and not quite getting ANY AIR).

Jessica said to do it again and so I tried, again. I squeezed my knees together (cause I am afraid for my poor arthritic knee babies), scrunched up my face in DEEP concentration and jumped what was likely a quarter of an inch off the ground. And her response was, "Why are you squeezing your legs together like that, you look like you are taking a poop?"

So now on the agenda for our next session is "Jump Training".

Because here is what I have learned in the short while that I have been with Jessica. There is no such thing as CAN'T, there are only modifications. So, essentially I don't get to weasel my way out of doing ANYTHING. Burpees, yes, there is a modification for that. Push-ups, yup, those too. And now, even jumping!

And for even more of a test of my will power and resolve, I am going to do the "Body by Vi" 90 Day Challenge as well. I am really looking forward to this and will keep you updated as to my progress. I have a lofty goal of losing ~15 pounds by the beginning of September.

My good friend and fellow blogger, the awesome Jennifer Banks is also on a similar quest. Together we are going to keep each other in check and blog and tweet about our respective weight loss and habit changing journeys. Come along if you like and see what happens, maybe you might be inspired to join us too!

As for me, I had better get to sleep now. Tomorrow is workout with Jessica day and I feel like I may be in for a world of hurt...the good kind that is!!

Feel the burn peeps,

Natasha~

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