HANZKY

If I'm not mistaken, I have about 8 kilos of fat I need to get rid of. If that means I have to lose 8 kilos from my current weight, I will weight about 45kg! Scary, right? And even if I lose the 8 kilos, there's no guarantee that it's all fat that I lose, it could be muscle too (even scarier!), unless I eat and exercise according to my goal.

The goal is to lose fat and GAIN muscle, which means my weight will probably stay the same or maybe even heavier. Which is fine because muscle is denser than fat so even if the weight is the same, the size would be different.

Now I don't care at all what the scale tells me. Like the coach said, don't focus on the number of your body going down but focus on the number of weights your dumbbells and barbell going up.

I've written about a glimpse of my Fit N Fab journey in my previous post. Now, let's talk about the progress :). When I started the journey, my weight was within the ideal BMI..but guess what, my body fat percentage is at a staggering 33%. That means according to the table above...I'm on the obese range. That means (I weighted 56 kg), I have 18.5 kg of fat in my body..and that's TOO MUCH!. A higher body fat percentage will link to heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke and other illness.

So yes even if your body is within the ideal range, it doesn't mean you are healthy.

A year has passed since I have discovered my body fat percentage. Numerous exercises have been attempted and moderation in eating as well as consuming healthier food has been implemented. But unfortunately, the number didn't move. Not even for a little bit.

I haven't written anything about my quest for living a healthier life in here, except for my birthday blog last year. The reason being is simply because it's hard to squeeze in some time to compose a blog post. I'm writing this at one in the morning cause I had a cup of coffee at 8pm that makes it hard to sleep. And too tired to do anything work related :-).

Anyway, my #FitNFab journey is rather long. Of course it has to be long. In fact, it shouldn't have an expiration date because that's how we should live, right?. It's not always smooth sailing of course. There were times when I failed and gave in to the hot and spicy bowl of Indomie and homemade tahu isi. There were also times when I didn't exercise for two weeks straight. But at least I'm proud to say that since October 2011,  I have somehow living a healthier lifestyle, introducing things bit by bit, trying out new things and making it a part of me. I even worked out during traveling to Bandung, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong.

So it started with running. I've run a little bit here and there but never enjoyed it. Then I realized I didn't wear proper shoes to at least save my feet from injury. The shoes were a pair of Diesel sneakers I got a few years back :p. So I went to Sports Station and got me Reebok Realflex that made all the difference. I still didn't like running but I knew it was something I had to do as I didn't have choice and didn't understand much about exercise. I would run once or twice a week and when I mean by run is probably 10 minutes on the treadmill. I couldn't run for 1k non stop, maybe not even half of it. In addition to steady run, I also did HIIT run and I thought I liked it better. But I was still intrigued with the steady run cause I felt that it something I've never liked and good at so it was just challenging.

In the beginning of 2012, Wulan started to get serious in #FitNFab and even committed to doing some very intensive home workout that lasted for weeks. And boy did it change her body! Of course I was inspired to take my exercise level up a notch. Coincidentally, not long after that..I got home from eating Mie Yamin Bakmie GM and that night I felt so bloated. I was feeling so full and couldn't stand the after taste that I threw up and swore that I would take better control of what goes on through my mouth. And the next day, I had my first red rice at Warung Tekko for lunch and starting to bring my own lunch, replaced the white rice with complex carbs, eat more vegetables and cut down snacks.

Then in April I decided to join Celebrity Fitness next to my office. I even hired a personal trainer because I knew I would be clueless in the gym. My personal trainer was good as he was the top trainer in the branch. I still maintained my diet although I did have occasional KFC and didn't understand much about nutrition either. Then I started to see a difference, I dropped 3 kilos, my clothes were looser, my energy level soared and I felt stronger. But then Ramadhan came so I stopped workout altogether. Once Ramadhan was over, I went for a family vacation to Melbourne and Sydney and didn't think much about what I ate. So that was like almost 2 months out of the program.

And then the most annoying thing was Celebrity Fitness moved further down the road in Kemang Raya. I couldn't walk there anymore, I couldn't just went there after lunch to do a quick workout then came back to the office. I either had to do it early in the morning before work or after. But my trainer didn't have slot before 10AM so it was impossible to find a time that match both of our schedule.

In October, I decided to switch personal trainer. One that was available in the morning. I trained with him for a few times although I had to admit I liked the first one better as he pushed me more. But well, I didn't have choice. I haven't finished the 12 session but then worked started to get even more crazier so the time between session was getting longer and longer until I didn't bother to contact the trainer anymore.

In January, WRP and Female Daily collaborated on a diet program where we were asked to drink only WRP Nutrition Drink for breakfast and dinner for six weeks. When I learned more about it, I knew it was something I wouldn't follow religiously as it just didn't sound sustainable to me, but it was a quick fix. I also loved the fact that they send us a body combat & Shbam instructor once a week. To top it off, we also collaborated with Master Bootcamp where they trained us twice a week in the office. That is something I couldn't resist :).

So in 6 weeks, I dropped 2 kilos, lost a bit of body fat and gained 2 kilos of muscle. Of course I was happy but I wasn't satisfied! I wanted to gain more muscles and not in the level of 'obese' in terms of body fat percentage. Once the program was over, I was even more strict to my food intake and studied more about clean eating and how to lose body fat. Around that time, I met Tiara, the fittest woman I know, who was about to introduce her Eat, Love, Lift program to the world. Three weeks ago, I decided to become her client and I'm now enjoying the journey so much. I'll continue with the story next time. All I can say is I live waayyy even more healthier now.

Anyway, during the past year, I still run pretty regularly and surprisingly began to like it. Turned out, I hated running on the treadmill as it bores the hell out of me. A morning run in GOR Saparua Bandung changed my perspective. I enjoyed the experience so much that I hit my first 5k with best personal record. Now it still surprises me that I can run 6k non-stop! And this is coming from a girl who couldn't run for 5 minutes straight a year ago. Now I run almost every week in Senayan area with Oki and the kids. But I know running has its negatives too and it won't take me to reach my goal so I won't be too crazy with it.

The past year, I have noticed what exercise and clean eating can do for me. First, I feel more healthy. I rarely get sick, I think I've only had 2 flu last year. I feel more energetic and rarely get tired. Of course, I feel stronger too and pretty proud of my fitness level. The session with the private trainer was really an investment to learn about the basic technique. I began to LOVE exercise that I tried everything from yoga, pilates, zumba, shbam, TRX, masterbootcamp, body combat, body pump, rpm, kick boxing. I enjoyed kick boxing A LOT and will sign up for a regular session next time. I learned a lot of new things too, both in exercise and nutrition department.

So far, it's been an interesting journey and it's time to crank it up to another level. Wish me luck.

At least it is for me.

Writing has always been a big part of my life. Ya, sejak jaman SD suka nulis-nulis diary gitu deh. Dan waktu SMP sampai SMA, selain nulis diary juga suka surat-suratan sama teman se-gank :D. Ada yang surat-suratan sama satu orang, ada yang satu buku diisi curhatan anak-anak se-gank. Hihi, seru!

Lanjut waktu kuliah sih porsi menulis di kertas memang agak berkurang, kan ceritanya udah kenalan sama email dan blog. Tapi agenda tetep dong pake. I LOVED going to the stationery sections. Pilih-pilih insert, tempel-tempel sticker dan foto box. Foto-foto agenda pernah dipajang di forum Female Daily sini nih...http://femaledaily.com/showpost.php?p=29889&postcount=15

Terakhir-terakhir, memang berusaha untuk mengurangi ketergantungan sama agenda, sih. Setengah tahun terakhir di 2012, agendanya udah nggak dipakai lagi. Bergantung sama iPad dan iPhone, sekalian untuk mengurangi isi tas dan pemakaian kertas. Tapi, kayanya ada yang hilang, yah. There's just something about writing on a pen and paper that can't be replaced. I enjoyed pouring what's inside my head into my own handwriting, no matter how ugly it gets these days. I loved crossing my to-do list or my goal after I have accomplished them. Writing allows me to keep my sanity as I can empty my mind without worrying that I will forget about its content.

So now I have 4 agenda that I write almost on daily basis. The first one is the picture above. It's basically just to-do list notes, for the things I have to do every day. I write all the little things I need to do, things I cannot do at that very moment. Some times it freaks me out knowing that the list is just going to get bigger but at least it keeps me on track.

The blue one below is the Kate Spade small agenda that I've started using since the beginning of 2013. This agenda goes with me everywhere, it's always in my bag. Meetings, appointments, events are all written in there. It's nice to see a month worth calendar all in one page. Also short story about my days and other notes, for examples notes to track down the maids and driver salary, etc. Penting banget, kan? :p.

As I have written in Mommies Daily, one of my parenting resolutions is to spend more time in the kitchen. So that what I did last Sunday. I made fruit kabobs in the morning, followed with Banana Bread. Later on in the afternoon, I made Mac N Cheese cup using this recipe , with the help from Jehan. Then, Oki made himself Philly Cheese Steak while I stir-fried some veggies to bring to work for the next following days. 

Jehan is currently into reading. As in learning to read. Well, she has actually shown interest for quite a while but I have never invested my time in showing her how to read :(.



As far as I remember, she always loves book and has huge interest in language. Her Bahasa Indonesia is impressive for her age, "Daripada, Mommy..bukan dari" when I wrongly use the word dari to compare one thing to another. One time I said ban sepeda and then she asked me, "roda sepeda, maksudnya?". She picked up English really well too and always eager to learn more. There's not a day gone by without her asking me a vocab question. Last time, she stunned me with question, "Yang bener goody bag atau goody bags sih, mommy?".

Last night, Oki was telling Jib that Mommy might have to go to KL next week.

And then Jib asked me..
Jib: What for, Mommy?
Me: I'm invited to see a fashion show.
Jib: Do you have to go there?
Me: Yes, it would be good if I come
Jib: Do you NEED to?
Me: Yes....(not a firm OF COURSE as I'm thinking that maybe I can be replaced)
Jib: Do you WANT to?
Me: yes...*I couldn't help but laugh...I really didn't see that coming! My son is trying to help me set my priorities straight :D*
JIb: It's either you need to or you want to
Me: Well Jib, I guess I'm lucky that everything that I need to do is something that I want to do too...:)

Terharu anakku sudah besar. Kalo Jehan komentarnya.."TOLONG ya Mommy nanti di sana beliin aku scooter" :-)

This was what I found yesterday when I reorganized a small book case in my mom's house :)

A newspaper clipping of my dad's writing. Dated all the way back to 1980s.

My dad owned an Intellectual Property law firm. He handled all things related to copyright, patent, trademarks and other things I don't understand :-). Discovering these clippings kind of put a big slap on my face. They remind me again to never touch my hands on the pirated dvds ever again!

At first, I limited myself to buy only foreign movies, but then I was being good and stopped buying altogether when I realized there were so many unopened dvds lying around in the house.Trying to #livewithless.

• Solutions should never come at the expense of your reputation
• Being demanding of yourself is a must. Focusing on the quality, on the speed, on the clarity of whatever tasks you're asked to do. 
• A can do attitude doesn't mean you don't see there's an obstacle. It's about realizing there are obstacles to getting things accomplished but figuring out how to overcome them as opposed to saying "here is a wall I cannot climb over"
• Effective leaders often exhibit high expectations, strong resilience and perseverance and an affirmative attitude.
• You should intentionally spend time with people who are different from you
• The most important perspective in life is to have the long-range view over the short term expediency.
• If you're hiring, you should take your time to recruit. You must get the best possible person for the job, even if it take longer than you'd ideally like.
• You should always question your first choice for the role. Are you taking her on because it is the easy option or because she is the perfect person for the job?
• By making time to purse your interests, you broaden the range of future opportunities. This way you can optimize every opportunity in your current role. 
• Successful leaders envision where they want to go, and map out the process for getting there.

We went to Waterbom last Saturday. It was a fun day. A day at a waterpark will always be fun. It was especially special to me because Jehan could swim by herself with her little life saver jacket :).




  At first, she was too scared and would hang on to my life for dear life when we were at the deep side of the pool. I've kept reassuring her that she wouldn't be drown because the life safer would help her float. She still didn't believe me so I had no choice but to step away from her :D. She looked scared for a second but then I convinced her that she can do it. She just needed to be calm and keep on stroking her hand. Then she smiled and looked amazed. After that, she didn't want me to hold her anymore as long as I was within reach. But then she went farther and farther until she told me she was going to the other side of the pool by herself. She didn't want me to follow her and instructed me to stay where I was :D. So I just sit there by the pool looking proud of my little girl.

The one part from Life of Pi that leaves a deeper meaning for me is the part when Pi said Richard Parker actually kept him alive. Because of Richard Parker, Pi had to find away to feed him so he didn't become Richard Parker's dinner. He needed to think and try hard to fish. He needed to make sure the Bengal Tiger was always full. The whole ordeal stimulated him.

Being busy taking care of Richard Parker kept him from thinking too much about his family and the tragic incidents. Tending to his needs kept him going because he didn't want Richard Parker to die. He needed him, he needed the companionship, the thing that kept him alive.

It reminds me again on how helping others, putting others first and thinking less of ourselves help us find meaning and purpose in life. I'm sure every one of us have our own version of Richard Parker in our life.

Today, while waiting for all kind of handymen to come to the office, Nopai and I was somehow engaged in a discussion about religion. I forgot how it ended up there but it did. Long story short, we came to a conclusion that whatever your religion is, it guides you on many fundamental things in life. It shapes your perspective. It builds your character. It gives you pointer on how to navigate things. It helps you through many stages of life. 

From my own experience, I can see how mine forces me to learn about self-discipline and time management through the five mandatory prayers. I learn about the power of delay gratification through the fasting moments. I discover the beauty of sharing through the obligatory zakat. I developed self control through avoiding things that are not allowed. And of course, acknowledging there's the master up there who help brought me and designed my existence led me to a state of true humility.

And those are just some of the general ideas. There are also things that I learn not through religion but in the end realized that it's been suggested all along, such as the importance of reading, the beauty of being modest, the benefit of being grateful and so many other things. If you look further, the teaching also goes into a very detailed suggestions from raising kids to managing money.

Of course, there are times when I fail, but it's nice to have something to bounce back to. True that we can learn all of those from other factors too; family, friends, books, movie, anything. Some have figured it all out effortlessly. Some took quite a while to grasp the idea. Some learned about it the hard way. And some unfortunately are still clueless.