The Cinnabon stares at me. I glare back at it. No pastry in the history of patisserie has ever been this scrutinised. I take an obligatory whiff and the cinnamony aroma packs a pretty punch. Not cool, person who bought this Cinnabon and innocently placed it in the fridge. Not cool.
It’s the end of week 2 on the programme and I’ve come to a startling realisation. It kicked in during lap number 4 around the track: I’m running. Consistently, continuously, with no major discomfort or strain. Barring my crunches-related anxiety in the first week, my body has thankfully adapted well to the gradual increase in exercise in all its gloriously sweaty forms: heart-pumping aerobics, frenzied cycle spinning, paced jogging and Rambo-esque stair climbing, complemented by measured doses of strength conditioning and dusted off with languid sets of stretches. By no means am I now harbouring wistful intentions of entering Ironman, oh no. I’m just pleased that I’m now willingly able to accomplish the aforementioned exercises that I would’ve dismissed as impossible a few short weeks ago. That said though, there’s still a way to go and from here on the ante can and will surely be upped (if my class instructor Jessica is reading this, please don’t be getting any ideas!).
As indicated by the Cinnabon standoff, my real obstacles thus far have been the other two components: nutrition and mental well-being. And this is where the Healthy Weight Programme has really come into its own. Because while it’s fantastic to be soaking up all this exercise, I’m not going to get much further than the next corner if my mind isn’t aligned with my physical efforts. During the introductory seminar we are initiated deeper into understanding the how’s and why’s of weight loss. A trove of information is disseminated by the psychologist, dietician and biokineticist and I come away with a huge sense of relief. ‘It’s going to be OK!’ shouts my sub-conscious. What I took away from the seminar is that being overweight or unhealthy is not the be all and end all. There are means and methods to achieving these goals BUT (and yes, this demands capitalization) it doesn’t come without a harmonious existence between all 3: mind, body and nutrition. So after much cartoonish dithering, I eventually did have that Cinnabon. But in applying what I’ve learnt, I didn’t let this momentary lapse drag me down. I acknowledged it for what it was and the next morning picked myself right up again with a healthy breakfast. Think of it as a mental realignment. I must be doing something right because I’m officially down half a kilogram in week 2 – yay!
We’re not a chatty group us, the Six Thirty PM Evening class, but where appropriate we deliver witty one-liners to rival an episode of Two & A Half Men. After Jessica explained a complex arrangement of exercise stations that would be the focus of our class that evening, my fellow classmate Sianne piped up with Savannah-dry concern, ‘Have you not had a good weekend?’
Bring on week 3!
