12:12:12

Its that day of the century which wont happen again for a long long time, i didnt come here to mark it, but my intended title for this post was tired 24/7

its midweek already and when today ends, I hope I wont feel like the dead dog I have been feeling since the last 4-5days.

Admittedly, it has been hectic.... on Saturday, after a killer workout that set the pace for the day, which was hectic in its own way, around 7 p.m found me sitting alone on a wall of the makeshift parking lot of a graveyard. Not anyone, but the magnificent Quli Qutub Shahi Tombs. I admit, I am ashamed I have not been there before despite it being a major tourist draw in Hyderabad. I was there for a concert, the gifted singer Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan, the one who has sung many chartbusters was to perform and I was waiting for a friend to arrive because she had the entry passes. I waited impatiently for about 45 minutes before she came, we went in to find no seating and perched again on the parapet of a fountain. The concert was brilliant. I love the singer's voice and was not disappointed. My heart stopped beating at one point, because Shafqat walked through the crowds, and I had to vacate my spot so he could stand there and sing. I could hear the raspiness of his voice! yes, that close... i told you i have thrills now and then in my life!

I got home past 10.30, but managed to wind down that night only past midnight.

All my days begin at 5.30, sometimes with a 10 minute grace time from the resident pooch. Sunday I was hosting my in laws for lunch. They are very fussy about their food and it always makes me nervous to cook for them. there is no telling what they will like, also equally, what they will dislike. I cooked up quite a spread. Palak paneer, Aloo Mattar, Vegetable Ishtu (kerala style) and idiappam, pudina pulav and rotis to go with it. If all else fails, I had a big batch of curdrice ready. They ate. They arent a very vocal lot, they also do not belive in verbalising everything. So there is no telling if they enjoyed the food or not. I think they did, because we had very few leftovers.

Dessert was a huge hit I can tell you safely, because we had no leftovers there! I made a tropical sundae. Chooped fruit, layered with pineapple jelly, custard, two flavours of icecream - pista and strawberry and sprinkles. Served in tall juice glasses. Everyone had seconds and we finished two bricks of icecream.

I was quite dead by the time they left at 6. I needed a nap quite badly and got one only at 7 pm. Too late for a nap, but i couldnt function without it. We had a dinner engagement. My friend B was turning a year older and we had to be there.

HEaded out a little after 9.30 pm to what was supposed to be one of the most exclusive Asian restaurants in Hyderabad. The food was great, but the service sucked and it was as alive as a graveyeard. So after a round of drinks, we left to another place. The party wound up at 3 a.m and after walking the dog, I crashed into bed.

Monday is usually the day that I try and recover if we have had a tough weekend. But it was as busy as ever! I hardly got a chance to catch my breath. By 8 p.m i was ready to drop dead and i think by now, K is quite tired of me saying i am tired

Tuesday was a whirlwind of nothingness again. A cousin dropped by and proceeded to stay the whole day. I was so tired, I wanted to be a bitch and leave him to the tv and sleep. but i am not a bitch... i plodded on and sat and talked and made chai and took him to lunch and spoke some more! again ready to drop dead by 8 pm.

So today, I took the day off. Ably aided by the fact that the cook didnt turn up and now that K is taking his dabba to office, we have to be ready to go by 8.15 a.m. I skipped the gym. Mostly because of mental fatigue. Then I had a brilliant plan, I dug out some voucher's we had, called up my current favourite hotel and booked a massage for myself. I was feeling a bit selfish. What with being unemployed and feeling all ungrateful for the world and sorry for myself. Whats with a woman and guilt? is she pre programmed with unending supplies of it or what? Anyway. When I walked in to the spa, I decided I would make the most of it and i did. 60 minutes of someone gently rubbing warmed oil on your body. A few hot minutes in the steam room. a shower and some herbal tea later, I felt like a goddess with silky skin.

its amazing what a little down time can do to a person. I came home happy and refreshed. I even managed 30 minutes of badminton to compensate for skipping the gym!

Whats more, when K came home at the normal hour of 11.30 pm, i still had the energy to speak to him like a loving wife!

Fitness update!

A few months ago, I began what was to be my last ditch attempt (or first) to get some fitness routine going in my life. I enrolled for what is called 'bootcamp' its a mild version of circuit training. We worked out barefoot in a small but airy gym and under the eagle eye of a size zero 7% body fat trainer. I loved waking up and working out. the routine changed almost everyday and I was very happy. A few of my friends too joined in and then dropped out. I needed the company. I felt a little more confident when they were around. But surprisingly, even when they stopped coming, I kept at it. 

The first month was great, I lost considerable inches everywhere, I was feeling great and everyone said I was losing weight. I was happy. Then I overate. At every meal. And I was ravenous.... I hid under the umbrella that I walked the dog 5-6 times a day and that I was burning calories in the gym, and that was a licence to eat...didn't help that my mother was in residence and would cook and feed me all sorts of things. 

I actually began to put on weight and increase fat. I was depressed. I also developed a knee strain, ignored it a bit and went to the doctor when i could barely walk. The verdict of the doctor "no more jumping and knee impacting exercise, total rest till the knee healed, he couldn't find anything else that was wrong cos I didn't have the usual symptoms of knee injury and oh, i had to lose a lot of weight"

I was depressed and moping for 4 days exactly. I assume I was quite horrid to live with. But K does not do pity (that pisses me off... but that's another post).

So i spoke to my trainer and signed up for personal training. For the first month, we did nothing, just some less intense workouts and slow and steady was the word. I am impatient and hey, I had given this thing almost 5 months of my life. 

Everyone in my life had a mantra "the gym routine is not working - quit" the more i heard that or versions of it, the more adamant i became. I don't give up easy... no sir...

So, I set a deadline for me and the trainer, decided on a fitness goal, told him no matter what he made me do, i wont whine or complain. and started a tough diet. the diet is in direct contrast to what most people are used to eating. The first meal of the day is to be had 12-13 hrs after your last one.. which is ok... since i eat dinner at around 8, i can hold on till 10 a.m the next day, i do have coffee first thing in the morning tho.... lunch is moderate and dinner is the largest and heaviest meal of the day with a huge salad, protein element and a load of carbs. I freaked out when i saw the diet... just goes against the grain of regular meals. but I had nothing to lose... after a month of doing it, not very strictly tho, I have some success to show for it.

My metabolic rate has increased (which is what the diet does), fat has decreased, muscle mass has increased and I've had inch loss baby! yeah! all that hard work is finally paying off....

the thing is... when you build muscle and lose fat, weight actually increases....cos a pound of fat weighs less than a pound of muscle... so i know the weighing scale wont go down. 

however, it is the measuring tape and the other numbers that tell another picture. 

I had to have some clothes altered by an inch cos they were too loose. I wore a 7 yr old dress (why yes, I am a hoarder... how did you know?) and people are telling me that i look thinner... not the "oh my god what are you doing?" but "hey, you have really lost weight"

so, that's a good thing right? 

I'm going to be very strict and clean in my diet for the next 3 weeks. Because I cheated quite a bit this past month. Wish me luck

The thing is, I am happy I am doing this for myself... I used to pant like a dog to do 30 seconds of skipping, my endurance has increased so much now... I can skip, do push ups, squats and am super proud of the weights am lifting. So all is not measured on the weighing scales right? I thought so too....