Sunday, 12th August

The Fitness Team and Dubai Sports World has kick started my healthy eating and fitness plan much better than I had imagined. I enjoy exercising and have made it a priority to keep it up after the programme is over. The support from Corey, Candice and Osman from the Original Fitness Company has played a major part as has Lovely from Healthtrendz in re-educating me about portion control and food combinations.
 
The sports facilities at DWTC are brilliant and it would be wonderful if they could be made permanent as part of a community programme centre. It was easy for me to leave work in Port Saeed, hop on the City Centre Metro nearby and the sports facilities were just a 4 minute walk from DWTC Metro so I had no excuse not to go. Thank you Dubai Eye for launching the campaign and a special thank you to Suzanne for choosing me and for getting this project off the ground.   
 
I have taken inches off and even had to go down two notches on my leather watch strap which was a surprise. I am determined to keep my fitness up and continue to reach my next fitness goal by the end of the year.

Saturday, 11th August

Just coming to the end of week 4 and feeling good. I noticed clothes are looser and I am also using one notch down on my leather watch strap. So far I’m 5 kilos down.

Last week I injured my knee so couldn’t do too much apart from walking. Having rested my knee, this week I was able to do 2 spinning classes which felt great, also had a few go’s on the treadmill and my usual 20 minute daily walk where I live.  Having not done any cardio work last week, I definitely found the 1 hour spinning classes much harder and for a while I ached so much after them. 

I will be away for 5 days this coming week for a short vacation, however, there is a gym in the hotel where we are staying plus swimming pools and the ocean so I won’t have any excuse not to keep up my exercise. The food might be a different matter, I will do my best where I can but I will be celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary and my birthday within 2 days of each other so I’m not going to skimp on having two fine celebratory dinners. I guess I will just have to make sure I hit that treadmill the following morning. I intend to have the official ‘weigh in’ a day before I leave and work at maintaining the same weight over the week or else Corey from OFC won’t be a happy bunny!  

To save Corey’s blood pressure I did say I won’t send him a daily report while I’m away; don’t want to give the poor man apoplexy.

Saturday, 28th July

Again I have had a few enquiries this week about where my blog for the past week is so under serious pressure, I am now writing it. I wasn’t going to do one this week as I thought it wasn’t as exciting as the previous weeks. I even had an enquiry about my blog from Oman which baffled me. Before I start I must say when I’m working at the PC, I am a radio girl, and yes Dubai Eye is my favorite radio station however, I also like to listen to radio stations in Ireland online too. I come from a town called Monahan and among many radio stations in the country, we have Northern Sound. Because it is a fairly agricultural and rural society, the radio adverts can be amazing and being Irish and a practical nation, we like to get our monies worth and fact over fiction will always win out. Take an advert this evening. “Always keep silage 20 meters away from any drain”. Who knew...?

Can you imagine if that advert was played in Dubai? I wonder does the average person even know what silage is? Anyway, I digress. 

Started the week all geared up about the exercise plan and decided to do a double stint on Sunday evening. I had forgotten the times had moved forward by one hour so after one class of Wonder Woman which almost killed me, I went straight into a spinning class that just about finished me off. I got home at 10pm, showered and went straight to bed. The following day, my body felt it had been run over by a bus. It must be the best cure for insomnia around. 

I had a couple of evenings doing 12 swimming pool lengths and then hit Dubai Sports World again on Thursday evening. I passed Simon in the corridor and he was on his way home and looked like he needed oxygen and an early night. He assured me he was really enjoying it and his recovery time was getting less. That’s what we all need; you and l have a fit physique at the end of it. 

Tomorrow is Sunday evening, I start the week with a double stint of 2 hours. Will do Wonder Woman and a spinning class with Candice. She is wonderful and I love her classes but I know it will kill me the day after. 

I wonder what my recovery time will be this time?

Friday, 20th July

Wishing everyone a blessed Ramadan Kareem.

End of week two. Delighted to say I lost another 2 kilos. I was really surprised as I hadn’t exercised as hard as last week. This wasn’t due to not wanting to but I caught a nasty cold that just took all the energy out of me. I tried one day and was perspiring and feeling so ill after 2 minutes, I just knew it was the wrong thing to do. I carried on eating healthily although I have to say some days I just didn’t have any appetite so stayed at home a few days and kept my germs to myself. 

Cameron from the Fighting Fit team and I were invited by Alix and George to the Dubai Eye show on Thursday morning to discuss how we had been getting on. It was interesting to hear Cameron’s story and his reasons for wanting to get fitter which wasn’t dissimilar to my own. First time on radio and it was a great experience and I learned so much more listening to the various contributions from the experts.

One thing I did notice during the week is one day I felt really angry and couldn’t figure out what was causing it. I’m a relatively naturally happy person and this was scary. I realized it was also a day I was dying to have some complex carbs - I could have killed for a potato, pasta or rice. When I spoke to Corey from OFC, he said he went through something similar years ago and it was just my body detoxing from an overdose of those carbs. Who knew the little critters could do such a thing!

He suggested I have a sweet potato now and again, yum yum. 

This coming week I will be back to my daily exercise routine and one hour of cardiovascular 3 times a week down at DWTC with Original Fitness Co. I bought my first proper gym shoes and some kit and had a great guy Mohammed Khan from a well known sports shop at Deira City Centre help me out. He was very knowledgeable and had the patience of a saint.

I’m really looking forward to my 3rd week and getting closer to my goal. Some of the guys at work are joining me in getting fitter although it will be much harder for them as 3 of them are fasting during the holy month of Ramadan. 

Dubai Sports World at the World Trade Centre will be open 24 hours during Ramadan and OFC has a special program for people to exercise even if they are fasting. I believe they do a gentle warm up first, break their fast with dates and water and then exercise before they have their main Iftar meal.

I might even tackle Combat Fitness and Yogi Fitness this week...

Friday, 13th July

It’s the end of the first week and I‘m delighted to say I have lost 2 KILOS. Having the food delivered really helped and as well as two spinning classes at Dubai Sports World, I made sure I did some exercise every day. When I first met Corey, he said I just had to get moving so I took him at his word.

Some days I did 20 minutes of walking, other days I did half an hour gentle yoga from a DVD I have at home. The yoga is great for limbering me up and I can take it at my own pace. I also put on my walking shoes and took the metro a few times to meetings when they were late afternoon or very early morning ones. It’s a 15 minute walk to my nearest metro station and back again and it all adds up. Had some really interesting conversations with people too on it. Dubai Sports World should be paying me commission for spreading the word.

I went to a spinning class last night after work and because I had done some exercise every day during the week, I found it easier this time so pushed myself a little harder on the resistance. I certainly felt it afterwards and boy did I ache all over but it was a good achey feeling. I’m effectively carrying another person around the same weight as me and having gone from very little exercise to this, I know I need to be sensible but it’s amazing how ‘little and often’ really does work. 

Next week I’m hoping to be brave enough to try Combat Fitness along with more spinning classes and Wonder Woman Fitness; it’s just getting over the fear barrier that I won’t injure myself.

I’m on my own with the food now so have to take what I have learned from Healthtrendz about portion size and healthy menus.

I need to buy smaller plates...

Monday, 9th July

Had my first spinning class on Sunday after work. Had no idea what was in store. Before we started I met Suzanne from Dubai Eye and Gillian to chat how it was all going. I’m really enjoying it. Have had a lot of aches and pains afterwards, I found muscles I didn’t even know existed. It was comforting to hear Suzanne say that when she first started running, she had aches and pains all over and it’s just the body reconditioning itself. I need to hear this information to keep me going and to know I’m not injuring myself.

I felt really good after the spinning class. I took it at my own pace and was delighted I managed to stay on it to the end. When I first sat on the saddle I thought mine was missing the padding but apparently that’s normal. I wouldn’t say these are the most comfortable apparatus around but I guess there’s a reason for that. Note to manufacturer, put a bit more padding on it please.  

Took it easier on Monday and did 10 minutes walking up and down 10 corridor steps in my building. A South African lady who is also looking to get fit said this is what she is doing every day and it works too. I’m keeping on track with the food and I have to say it's bliss to have meals delivered and not have to think about what I’m going to cook. I cooked two big casseroles at the weekend for my husband and he just has to alternate between each one for the rest of the week. Anything for an easy life after a long hard day’s work. We work together in our own company and sometimes I feel like the dancer Ginger Rodgers when she said people congratulated her on keeping up with the famous Fred Astaire with her dancing technique. 

“Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, but she did it backwards and in high heels."

Friday, 6th July

Had my fitness assessment with Corey Oliver from Original Fitness Co. early Friday morning. This was the bit I was most worried about so didn’t get the 6-8 hours’ sleep Corey was adamant we needed. 

After checking the hall and set up, we did a bit of stretching which was fine - then I was asked to run a mile. Now in the particular part of Ireland where I come from when some says “I ran a mile” it usually means ‘I got out of there fast ’ but today it actually meant to physically run around the track two and half times. For people who regularly run miles on a treadmill that is probably nothing but I have never run a mile in my life, anywhere. 

I thought perhaps we could horse trade a bit and since it was my first mile I could walk it instead but no, Corey said I had to run, then walk, run, then walk and in the end I did it just under 15 minutes. My given goal was 15 minutes so I was delighted I was just under and I can proudly say I did my first mile.   

After that it was on to sit ups, which I managed a few, push-ups, managed a few very badly and as for the plank, forget about it. I wasn’t even sure what it meant until I saw a demonstration. I’ve heard planking is a hip thing to do among a certain set but I’d prefer to run a mile.

Husband of course thought it was hilarious and had a coughing fit laughing when I told him how I got on - this from a man who used to play rugby and cycle a few decades ago and hasn’t done any exercise in eons. Pot calling kettle black springs to mind.

Food arrived to kick start healthy eating for tomorrow. I was surprised there was quite a lot of it and as I was opening the little mysteries I heard some appreciates comments behind me. Comments such as ‘you’ll never eat all that’, which means any for me. There is now a demarcation line down the fridge, reminds me of my single days when I shared ‘digs’ and woe betide if someone ate anyone’s else’s food in the fridge.

Tomorrow I have my first exercise training.

Thursday, 5th July

First blog ever and here I am sharing with Dubai my weight and lack of fitness problem. To be honest when I first sent my SMS to the Dubai Eye fitness competition, I so wanted to be chosen but I didn’t really believe I would be successful and when I put the telephone down after speaking to Suzanne early last week, I initially thought what have I done, this is now SERIOUS stuff.

I had the exact same feeling as I did 6 months into the first year of my now 25 year marriage when I thought I shouldn’t be here, this is grown up stuff.  Another reason for wanting to get fit is I celebrate my 25th wedding anniversary on August 15th and my 52nd birthday on August 17th so two big milestones and I want to be around to do the things on my bucket list with my husband in the years to come.

I signed up to this program because I know I need to become more active, get fitter and lose the excess weight I first came to Dubai with plus the Dubai stone that has attached itself to the other excess kilos I’m carrying. What’s it they say, misery always finds its own and that’s what my excess kilos have done. 

I’m really looking forward to the program but also terrified for various reasons. The words boot and camp are hard for me to say let alone willingly invite into my life but needs must and I feel that is what I’m in for. Today I received an email from Corey Oliver of the Original Fitness Co. about the program and he doesn’t pull any punches. Tomorrow I have my fitness assessment with him which should be interesting!  

I had my body analysis assessment with nutritionist Lovley Ranganath at DWTC last Thursday afternoon. We discussed my diet and I told her my downfall is carbohydrates, not sweets. I love pasta and rich sauces, potatoes, fresh bread with butter and rice. Lovely explained that HealthTrendz will deliver for one week my meals for the day which is an added bonus I didn’t know of. Not sure what the husband will do for food, he will have to go foraging on his own next week. I also had to stand on a machine and hold the sensors which took my weight and body composition. I knew what my weight would be and BMI which is far too high for my height. Exercise and me are going to have to become BBF (best buddy forever) and very quickly. 

I better go and buy a pair of trainers...

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