An Update on how The “Sweet” Life is Moving Along

A nifty little gadget that makes exercising fun, easy to incorporate into a busy day and shows results...? Yes, please!

When last I left you here at The “Sweet” Life, I was about to embark on a journey towards a more balanced, healthy, active life as opposed to a life where I resemble a whale, elephant or any other large mammal you can imagine. My approach to achieving this goal involves more exercise and consuming the bare minimum of unhealthy food. Incorporating exercise into my life three days a week seemed like an easy enough task and it worked out pretty well for the first week. I’ve been making a solid effort to limit the amount of unhealthy food I consume and I haven’t done too badly on that front with the exception of one Steers incident and a reception for a baptism I attended with The Greek over the weekend. The baptism reception was a huge party with great Greek music, good company and plenty of amazing food, served buffet-style of course. Even though the Greeks organised a great party with so much delicious food, I made sure to dish up plenty of veggies and had fruit salad for dessert. I sincerely hope you’re proud of me, dear reader!

I’m sure you’re thinking: “This is all good and well but what was that you mentioned about your gym plans only working out for the first week?” Well, I’m here to confess that I did lack some motivation after the first week. It’s easy to hit the gym when your trusty companion, in my case – Sarah, is with you but when you have to go on your own it doesn’t seem like as much fun. Sarah had to skip a day or two of gym that second week, and I was proud of myself for going on my own but I didn’t feel quite as excited about heading off to fight the battle of the bulge all on my lonesome.

Then, at the beginning of last week I decided that I would head back to my former nest to spend a few days with my folks. While this was great for bonding and catching up, it would mean that I would miss two days of gym because my contract limits which gyms I can visit and I wouldn’t be able to go to gym while I was in Kempton. Luckily for me, Daddy dearest invested in a wonderful gadget called the Nintendo™ Wii Fit_™ Plus not too long ago and he assured me that I would be able to supplement my gym routine with this for a few days.

I didn’t think that I would feel the same effects using the Wii as what I usually felt after a gym workout, but let me tell you, the Wii is NOT a joke! This clever little gadget has changed the way I look at exercise. It measures your weight, Body Mass Index, balance and mental skills before each workout and keeps a record of these so that you can monitor your progress along the road to a healthier, more active you. The Wii uses a combination of the following exercises to assist you in a total body workout each time you train:

• Training exercises – these are cardio exercises like jogging and cycling.
• Aerobic exercises – these include stepping workouts much the same as those you would do in an aerobics class at the gym.
• Yoga routines – there are several poses that can be practiced, each focusing on toning a specific area of the body.
• Muscle training – these exercises are much the same as those you would do on the circuit at the gym, only instead of using weights, you use your own body weight or other objects to do these exercises.
• Balance training – these exercises are designed to help improve your balance and agility and are mostly fun exercises, not really used for serious training.

Each time you select an activity the Wii explains how to do the exercises and provides regular tips to help you improve. Your progress is measured with every exercise you do as well as the time spent on that particular exercise. This is very useful for monitoring your progress and keeping track of how much time you spend working out each day. The Wii allows you to choose how many activities you want to do in each of the training categories mentioned above, which allows you to focus your training on specific areas of your body. I found this feature really helpful because I often feel that some of the problem areas of my body don’t get enough attention when I work out at the gym. Being able to repeat the same exercise a few times in one workout makes me feel like I’ve made a solid effort to really tackle the areas of my body that I feel need more work.

For the three days that I used the Wii as opposed to going to gym, I followed the following routine:

• I started every workout by measuring my weight, BMI, balance and mental skills.
• I then moved on to cardio training by jogging.
• I then moved on to stepping and “kung-fu” poses for some aerobics training.
• I spent a great deal of my workout time on Yoga training, focusing on poses that would improve my posture and strengthen my core. I found that the poses I chose helped to strengthen my abdominal muscles, stretch my waist and strengthen the muscles in my arms and legs. Anyone who says that Yoga is easy should go fly a kite! I definitely felt the effects of practicing these poses!
• After Yoga, I moved on to muscle training. I chose to focus on toning my arms, waist and abdominal muscles. These exercises seem really harmless while you’re doing them but I could feel that my muscles had had a solid workout the next day. I was really impressed that I could feel the effects of these exercises, which are similar to those I do at the gym three days a week, without having to use heavy weights to achieve results.
• The balance training exercises were a fun way to end off my workouts, I did more laughing with these than actual training, but I suppose that worked my abdominal muscles, right?

After following this routine for three days and feeling the results of these exercises, I got to thinking. My gym contract expires in May, I could renew it and pay a hefty price every month for another year – knowing that I may not always go to gym as often as I should in order to get my money’s worth. Or I could save my pennies and purchase a Wii. The latter option certainly has benefits that make it seem better than renewing my gym contract!

While the initial purchase of the Wii is pricy, I would get much more use out of the product than if I paid for gym every month and didn’t go as regularly as I should. I can exercise in the comfort of my own home, without having to make time to drive to the gym and back each time I want to work out. This will save me some money on petrol as well! Exercising at home gives me the opportunity to work as hard as I want to without worrying about my appearance and how other gym members look at me and, more importantly, I can repeat the same exercises as many times as I want to without holding up a queue of people who want to do the same exercise – something that often happens at the gym. Being able to focus on areas of my body that I feel need special attention will most probably help me to achieve better results and the fact that my progress will be monitored every time I work out is a very useful way to help me improve. A great aspect of using a Wii as opposed to going to gym is that I can do it on my own without feeling lonely because the “trainers” on-screen constantly talk and give tips on how to improve your workout, making you feel as if they are really there.

After listing all of the pros and cons of having a gym contract versus using a Wii for workouts, I have decided to start saving up in order to purchase a Wii (donations welcome!) after my contract expires in May. But until then I will still be working towards my health and wellness goals and will visit the gym as regularly as I can.

Stay tuned for more updates on my journey to a thinner, happier, healthier and “sweeter” life!

A “Sweet” Life versus A “Sweat” life?

It’s time to face facts; the “sweet” life may be a little too sweet in terms of health and wellness.

I’ve always had issues with my weight and health and wellness in general. I was an average-sized toddler but when I reached primary school, I ballooned to an alarming size. I endured name-calling and ridicule for most of my primary school years, “The Leg of Ham” was a popular nickname for me back in those days. Sure, I laugh about it now, but it’s actually shocking to think that I weighed more at the age of 13 than I do now, at almost 23! As soon as I started high school, I somehow lost all that weight. I’m not sure how I did it because I definitely didn’t diet or start a strict exercise routine, but I managed to keep the weight off until my matric year when I picked up a few kilo’s due to exam-stress.

My early varsity years had me on a kind of see-saw in terms of my weight. I tried to go to gym, but socials and studying were the number 1 priorities in my life which meant that I ended up spending very little time in the gym. By the time I had moved out of Nerina and into the flat, decided to take my studies seriously and put the “party-animal” years behind me, I was about 11 kilo’s heavier than my BMI index suggested was healthy for me. This was when I made a decision that would change my life.

Club Healthpointe, a complete health and wellness programme incorporating a healthy eating plan, plenty of movement and exercise and the introduction of good-quality vitamins and minerals into the body, was the first ever health and wellness plan that actually brought about positive and lasting results for me in terms of weight-loss. The process was not an easy one, but having a personal health coach at my side, every step of the way, helped me tremendously. My goal was to lose 14 kilo’s in total and I managed to lose 11 kilo’s over a period of about 15 weeks. I had never experienced results like that before!

In my opinion, the Club Healthpointe programme is a great example of what a healthy lifestyle should be. And this is how I used it:

• I consumed plenty of healthy, purified water every day – this is a must for a healthy body. It flushes out the system and aids in the absorption of vitamins and minerals.
• I adopted a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet. Plenty of lean meats such as chicken and fish, salads with every meal, protein snacks such as biltong or protein bars throughout the day and minimal carbs such as half-slices of low GI seed bread encapsulated my diet. A low-carb intake forces the body to feed off of its abundance of fat reserves for energy and ensures that very few extra carbs can be stored as fat by the body.
• Vitamins and minerals are essential for a healthy body and mind. I consumed Omega, Vitamin B, Vitamin C and a good Daily vitamin, among others. These alone, make an incredible difference when it comes to energy and alertness.
• No health and wellness plan is complete without some form of exercise. Since plenty of movement is essential, I increased the amount of walking I did every day. I would take the stairs instead of lifts, walk the long-way round to classes and walk to the shops and back instead of driving. Not only did this help me to save on petrol, it definitely helped me see weight-loss results too! Since it’s important to record the number of steps taken each day, I quickly became best friends with my pedometer.

You’re probably doubting me at this point, thinking: “So you never cheated huh? You never fell off the wagon?” Of course I did! I’m only human after all. Plenty of birthday parties, sugar-cravings, cravings for pasta and mash potatoes and all the delicious foods that are so bad for health and wellness (but so good for making you feel guilty the next day when you climb on the scale) influenced my weight-loss journey. But I persevered and by following the steps, I managed to lose a great deal of the weight that I had picked up over the years.

I felt pretty proud of myself until the incident with the Lodger. The Lodger was my live-in boyfriend at the time. When I decided that “the sun had set on our time in the sun”, if you will, I broke things off with him and he eventually moved out. It was around October last year that the incident with the Lodger, exam stress and general loneliness convinced me to jump off the wagon as opposed to falling off slowly. So, I drowned my sorrows in food; mainly plain baked cheesecake and condensed milk. Shocking, I know. Along with these sweet evils, I also consumed copious amounts of McDonald’s on a regular basis. I allowed myself to engage in this disgusting behaviour until I met the Greek in early December. However, it was already too late, I had gained about 4 kilo’s and I could see the negative effect they were having on my body. The December holidays and the start of my honors year have been unkind to me as I continued to eat poorly (though not as poorly as I did in October) and my laziness has prevented me from going to gym.

Last week I made a very important decision. I can no longer stand back and watch myself turn into the elephantine version of myself that I loathe, not when I have a Greek to impress and a wedding to attend in less than 2 months! So, I decided to change my eating habits and revert back to the Healthpointe way. But the transformation doesn’t stop there; I cannot let lack of exercise hinder my progress which is why Sarah and I have teamed up in the battle against fat! We joined a gym together and have promised each other that we will force ourselves to go to gym 3 times a week, every week. I find that having someone to go to gym with makes the experience so much more entertaining, and the support of that person provides more encouragement than most people realise.

We started our weight-loss journey on Tuesday, and let me tell you, it was a very bumpy start! We eased ourselves into a routine by starting off with cardio exercises on the bicycle and treadmill. I thought I was dying at this point, and could not believe how disgustingly unfit I have become! When we returned to the gym yesterday, we kicked our routine up a notch by adding in some weight-training after our cardio warm-up. We definitely worked our abs with all the laughing we did while trying to figure out how to use the equipment! Today we will return to the gym with stiff muscles and pained expressions on our faces but I refuse to surrender, I cannot and will not stop fighting the good fight!

 

It can be difficult to opt for healthy choices instead of unhealthy choices that may taste better or seem more decadent. But by respecting my body through the consumption of healthy, nutritious foods, exercising regularly and making these healthy lifestyle choices, I can ensure a long and happy life without devastating medical complications in the future. If that means taking a little bit of the sweetness out of the “sweet” life and putting in a little extra “sweat” to reach my health and wellness goals, I am willing to make that sacrifice. After all, this body is the only one I get and I have to live in harmony with it for the rest of what I hope will be a long and happy life. So, I dare say that my body and I have to pull ourselves together.

The race towards a healthy lifestyle starts now! 3...2...1... GO!

Does Age = Best Before Date?

The bitter taste of reality hits the “sweet” life.

This year I find myself forced to swallow a very bitter pill. Throughout my life, I have always been one of the younger people in most social situations. My birthday is later in the year which means that most of my friends were always a few months older than I was. I am the youngest of two siblings. Staying in Nerina, there were always girls who were older than I was. Where am I going with this? It’s not particularly easy for me to say, or even type. But here I go, count me down: 1... 2... 3...! This year I‘m officially the oldest person living in my flat. I’m cringing at the very thought of admitting this to myself, yet again, and now to you.

You may be reading this, thinking: “You’re not even 23 yet, how can this be such an issue for you?!” But the truth is, when we get older we have to take on more responsibilities. For some reason I find myself clutching onto the idea of my student years. I’m terrified of having to enter the professional world and, dare I say it, become a grown-up. Grown-ups pay taxes and have to fill out uncountable forms for medical aid, insurance, unemployment insurance and Heaven only knows what else! Growing up is inevitable, it’s something we must all do, but if I could just put it off for a little while longer...

 No. This is not an option. I realised this last week Thursday. But to explain how I came to this harsh realisation, I must start at the beginning.

My new flat-mates are lovely girls. Joan’s 2 years younger than I am and works at a law firm while she studies part-time. Sarah’s 4 years younger than I am; she’s just finished high school and started studying full-time. It was near the end of last year that the harsh realisation that I would be the oldest person in my flat set in. But thanks to the December holidays and plenty of distraction from The Greek, I managed to push this evil thought to the back of my mind. I began the year telling myself that I would not play “policeman” with these girls just because I’m older than they are. “They are not your responsibility!” I told myself, “They have mothers who can fuss over them!”

Of course, when the girls moved in and we actually started living together the evil thought crept back into the front of my mind. Seeing how Sarah seemed to be struggling to adjust to varsity life and watching her cook her first few meals on her own (struggling a bit as she went), made me realise how much of an age-gap 4 years really is! I had been just like that, only it seemed like decades ago to me. And I found myself resisting a strange urge to help her out more than was necessary.

Last week Thursday I was playing Cinderella - doing laundry, washing dishes and cleaning the flat in general, when Sarah returned home from class and was violently ill. At first I repeated my mantra “They are not your responsibility! They have mothers who can fuss over them!” But then I realised that Sarah’s mother was over an hour away, which reminded me of one particularly horrid day I had experienced when I was living in Nerina. I was violently ill with some or other stomach flu and since I didn’t have a car or a license at the time, I had to walk to the doctor. He gave me an injection, and only informed me afterwards that I would need someone to drive me home as I would feel very drowsy. Having no other options, I lied and said that my friend would pick me up – and I regretted that all the way 

home when I nearly fainted several times!

My soft chocolate centre broke through my hard candy-coating and I went to check on Sarah. She was rather tough herself, and refused to let me take her to a doctor or buy her some medication for the nausea. I left her to sleep and eventually she went out on her own to get medication. Later that night while Joan and I were eating dinner, my soft chocolate centre oozed out again by asking Sarah if she had eaten anything at all that day and when she said that she hadn’t, I pretty much ordered her to make herself a piece of toast - at the very least - and eat dinner with Joan and I. What happened next was something that shocked me to my very core. Sarah asked me why she should do what I said and, without even thinking about the words flying out of my mouth, I replied: “Because I‘m the oldest in this flat!” Shocking as this was, Joan’s quip straight after was the cherry on-top. Joan’s usually such a sweet and quiet little thing but she quickly piped up: “The oldest, but not the wisest!”

Needless to say, the three of us sat there in stitches. I could not believe the fact that I had used my age as a means of invoking a sense of authority and we all couldn’t believe how sharp and witty Joan’s comment had been. Sarah eventually had a piece of toast and we all went about our evening plans.

Later that night when I reflected on the day, I came to the conclusion that I must accept that I am growing up and that I’ll be faced with responsibilities far more important than worrying about my young flat-mates. But I dare say that the responsibility of worrying about the girls is a good place to start. After all, they aren’t just my flat-mates - they’re my friends. And perhaps Joan’s quip was a funny way of helping me realise that I still have a great deal to learn about myself before I can consider myself “old”. In the end, swallowing the bitter pill made the “sweet” life a little bit sweeter.

I want Candy!

Dear Reader,

Welcome to my life!

Hmmm... No, that doesn’t sound quite right. But given the fact that I have never written a blog post introducing myself to possible readers, I wouldn’t know the first place to start! However, I dare say that Julie Andrews had the right idea in The Sound of Music when she made the very logical suggestion: “Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start”!

So, I am Candy - which would explain the various references to sweets that you will encounter on my blog. The “Sweet” Life, my life, started some 23 years ago in a sad little place called Kempton Park. This is where I lived out my cheerful primary school years and suffered through the nightmare that was my high school years. During this time I developed a love for classic movies (note my Julie Andrews reference) as well as modern movies and reading. And when the time came for me to spread my wings and soar off to varsity, I soared all of 45 minutes away from my nest, to Pretoria.

My 3 years in Tukkies Residence, Nerina, were some of the best of my young life and I was sad to leave my “home from home”. But my final undergraduate year would be anything but boring as I moved into a flat with two dear friends and a “Lodger” – who will be discussed in further detail at some point (hang on to your knickers for that one!). This was the year that I became an aunt to the most precious little angel God ever made. And I also began working part-time as an editor, a job that is not without its challenges but which I have come to enjoy.

I now find myself doing my honours and living in the same flat only with different friends and a very different routine! For instance, I find myself engaging in my own version of “The Great Trek” every second weekend when I travel to Johannesburg to visit my boyfriend, “The Greek”. But I cannot complain because this man brings a great deal of sweetness to my life and when it comes to that aspect of the “sweet” life, the juice is definitely worth the squeeze!

 

The “sweet” life is not without its difficulties though. From time-to-time my rants will point these out. But mostly, I intend to make you smile and chuckle as I share the funny little experiences from my everyday life with you, while giving you a sneak-peek into the “sweet”, and sometimes “not-so-sweet”, life of the average student!