Friday, June 15, 2012

Wiggles: I Workout! And Other Updates

This week, I went to the gym 4 times (Mo0nday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday). Would love to go tomorrow, but I will be on a bus to the next JJD location - Taiping. JJD is Jelajah Janji Ditepati - a series of ground events held nationwide to promote 1Malaysia products.

There are lots of things you can do there - pay your summonses, renew your license, open/check your Tabung Haji account, get a free health checkup, and get information about and from 1MDB, PTPTN, Projek Perumahan 1Malaysia (PR1MA), etc, etc.

Some of these things are good, like Yayasan 1MDB, which does a lot of charity work - improving the lives of fishing communities, sending poor uztads to Mecca, give vitamins to schoolkids, and so on. For more info, please visit www.jelajahjanjiditepati.com.

This week also saw the launch of www.dosomething.gd of the Do Something Good project. Do Something Good is basically a hub for any and all volunteer activities. Yayasan Chow Kit's effort, as championed by old friend Daphne Iking, is doing something for Chow Kit high-risk kids who are poor, may have come from drug addict parents or just lost.

If I had RM2 million, I would quit everything and just go do charity work, focusing on the extreme poor in Kuantan (or possibly Kuching. Hehehe).

RM2 million would be enough for me to support my basic needs for the rest of my life, unless I catch some horrible disease like cancer, sarcoidosis, Legionnaire's Disease, MS, MG or whatever.

If I had the money, or didn't have to worry about it, Do Something Good is exactly what I would do. Turns out, I don't need RM2 million. I'm signing up. I think everyone who can, should.

Just be careful.

Charity is not about you. It's not about how great you are or how it makes you feel. In fact, fuck you. Fuck your face, fuck your ass, fuck your stupid racist bullshit. Fuck your car, fuck your wife, fuck your shades that you wear indoors. Fuck your political opinions, fuck your daughter, fuck your dog. FUCK YOU.

Charity is about helping other people - those who are in need. The focus, the spotlight, is on them. So, please join Do Something Good and do something good. For other people.

Once I get something that fits my schedule, I'll post it here so you can see how it works.

Meanwhile, at the Hall of Justice, my gym sessions are getting more intense. I upped the resistance on the machines to seven times my base level, and as my heart-rate gets lower, it is harder to get it up to my aerobic zone of 150-165. My base heart rate is now below 120, which is good.

I usually go a full 60 minutes on the cross-trainer. The distance I cover used to be 3km. For the past two days, it is 6km. I just need to maintain my strokes per minute to 120 spm and voila - 6km. By next week, I aim to add another kilometre within the 1 hour duration.

I now do 70 crunches per session and 70 reps of chest whatever every alternate day. 70 reps on the thighs, etc.

I only lost 2kg this week, but I guess it's a good average to maintain.

As for food, I am sticking to a high fiber diet rich in oats, vegetables and fruits. I eat rice once a day, but at half the portion I was accustomed to. I love rice, and I don't believe in starving myself to get to my ideal whatever.

Eckhart Tolle wrote about dieting - to be present for each morsel of food. I have a bad habit - I eat fast because I am afraid the other animals would come and steal my food. Eating with presence means I slow down and really enjoy each mouthful. I also do that because my rice ration is now quite low and I want to savour every time I have those things in my mouth.

Sweet drinks and sweets are gone. I do take fruit juice, but of the fresh variety. No more Minute Maid or Coke. I don't even take Pokka anymore, except the oolong or Jasmine tea, and that also on rare occasions.

I find that all this has no negative effect on my energy. In fact, I do feel more energetic and limber.

I am also tightening my belt - literally. Two more notches, and I would have to either poke more holes or buy a new, normal-sized belt. I can now fit into old clothes.

My stomach has decreased around half its size. I can also do some weak pec pops.

I do understand that it might be a slow journey to get where I want in all this, but I don't give a shit.

One day, a picture of me wearing a brightly-coloured, shiny spandex will be plastered on a billboard somewhere with the words, "Now, who wants to fuck?" on a word balloon.