The workout schedule

This intense varied schedule should smack me around and get me into tip-top shape for events to come. I thought I would share, to make me more accountable and just in case you'd like to try and keep up with the young wipper snapper (yea right!).

Monday
6-7 am - Swim workout @ YMCA
6:30-9:00 pm - Tennis @ Rancho Cienega Tennis Courts

Tuesday

6 am Santa Monica Stairs workout/run
7-10 pm - Tennis in Bellflower

Wednesday
6-7 am - Swim workout @ YMCA
Gym (or outdoor) workout (5K-10K run/weights) (24 hour fitness)

Thursday
6 am - Long Beach beach run

Gym - lite cardio/weights (24 hour fitness)

Friday
9-10 am - Turbo Kickboxing (24 hour fitness, slauson) <--kick butt class

6:30-9:00 pm - Tennis @ Rancho Cienega Tennis Courts

Saturday
Tennis (LA)

Bike ride/Hike

Sunday

Santa Monica Stairs Workout/Gym Workout

Adventures of a Chronic Dieter...

After a couple of great weeks of getting back into shape and eating well, I faltered. How? you ask. Those damn yogurt covered pretzels from Trader Joe's. I know you are supposed to treat yourself once in a while, so you're not too far off on deep end dieting, but I felt like I lost control. I didn't actually eat that many overall, maybe like 12. But still, I felt the lack of control, as to everything else, I have been thinking through and controlling pretty well (as far as eating goes). Especially, since I've been working out so hard, it feels like a set back.

My body is beyond sore and if I drink any more water I'm probably going to have to move my things into the bathroom. I hate being this sore, it makes me realize how out of shape that I have actually gotten. I've been working out on top of the soreness, but after I finish, I can barely move again. Getting up in the morning is tough, because my body wants that extra rest and I feel crippled when getting out of bed, crawling to the coffee pot.

Today, I took an afternoon nap (and a walk with Chaka) of about 30 minutes, amazing what a nap can do for your mind and body! Hopefully, I will be off to play tennis shortly (like in the next hour), otherwise I have to go to the gym to run, which I'd rather not do today.

Next week...it's swim time. Monday will be my first master swim class at the YMCA. I'll ride my bike to swim at 6:00 am. That's some dedication there huh? It's my first time since beng a kid, but I think the water will help me get in shape and it's only twice a week. I'm hoping it will help melt away that nastiness that has gelled around my legs.

Back to drinking my water now. Stay tuned! I will feel fantastic soon, I just know it.

I'm going green...well more like baby blue!

I'm so excited, I have finally become totally fuel efficient. The same fuel that keeps my body running will be fueling my....wait for it....my new Schwinn Clairmont beach cruiser. LOL.

And yes, there is a basket on my bike for quick trips to Trader Joe's or Ralphs and afternoons at Starbucks or downtown. Not to mention my bike riding that will commence in Santa Monica on the weekends.

If you're in Long Beach, you may just see me riding down the street in my neato Schwinn with Chaka in a basket on the back. I look forward to riding the bike to the YMCA in the mornings for my new swim class. YAY!

Who are you?

There are times in your life where you have to make life decisions. That's what I have done. After such a long time of not really feeling the 'right' feeling, I believe I have finally figured out what is 'right' for me.

Immediately after I made the most recent decision about my life, despite a little nervousness, I felt happy and realized that good decisions always feel...well...good! There are people that follow or believe in other people's paths and there are others that create a world of their own. I have never been a kid to follow what others were doing, sometimes by force. My mother always wanted to be different, do different things and set a tone to be an example and was NEVER someone that followed others; I think I get it from her.

With my parents being fathoms opposite; my mother totally out there, creative and whimsical and my dad, precise, on-schedule and conservative; I think I turned out to be an interesting and smart combination of the both of them. (Is it ok to call yourself smart, without sounding totally vein?)

So although, I'm being really vague right now and can't reveal more at the moment, announcements will come (no, I'm not pregnant). This new chapter of my life, I can feel, will be the best one by far. With the wedding, work, life as I know it is about to change and I have a great feeling!

#YouKnowYou'reAnIndianChildWhen

A friend of mine on Twitter started a hashtag today. It was basically just her an I, but I thought it was so funny. There are specific things that you experience when you're a kid who has parents that immigrated from India.

Since I'm sure they differ slightly for different types of Indians, I will only generalize from California Bengali's, so you all can understand us just a little bit better.

You Know You're a Southern Californian Bengali Child If:

• Your dad is an engineer, doctor or works for Microsoft.
• Your weekends are booked with 'family get-togethers'.
• You are studying for the S.A.T.'s at the age of 10.
• Your dad smells of tobacco and scotch.
• You have never been to a summer sleep away camp.
• Your mother doesn't or shouldn't be driving on the freeway.
• Everyone is your dada, didi, auntie or uncle.
• Your in math class instead of enjoying summer.
• You are 14 in community college calculus.
• Your school teachers don't even try to pronounce your last name...and you don't need them to.
• You live with your parents to 'save money' at the age of 25.
• Rice is on the menu (every night) with Fish or Chicken curry.
• Your parent's drive a Honda, Toyota or Mercedes.
• You start applying to UCLA, UCSD and UCI as soon as you enter high school.
• You are a computer science, engineering major or pre-med.
• Your parents tell you repeatedly about how Rabindranath Tagore won the Nobel prize for literature.
• You don't play outside or swim until 4 pm because your mother is worried you're getting too dark from the sun...
• Your parents use adjectives as nouns, ex: "Don't be a stupid".
• The cashiers at 7-11 look at you intently before asking "Are you Indian?" with absolutely no follow-up.
• Kids at school ask where your red dot is (that's all Indians).
• You either check 'other' or 'Asian' on all official documents.
• You know that Salt Lake refers to a neighborhood in Calcutta and not Utah.
• People don't believe you when you say you're Asian.
• 6 hour flights seem like a picnic compared to the 16 hours it takes to get to India.
• Kids at school mistake you for Mexican.

There's tons that I think of in 'the moment', but these are just a few. Ah, life :)

Sally Hansen's new idea for nail polish.

Yes, at time, I do write about things other than weight loss and fitness....sometimes. I am also obsessed with shoes and painting my nails. In this case, it's the nails. For some reason it has become a therapeutic obsession for me and removing, cleaning, shaping then painting my nails makes me feel somewhat new. A little self-pampering sometimes goes a long way.

Well..yesterday while I was pampering myself with a cupcake (yes not on the diet list, however it was celebratory), behind the counter on the cashier I saw these nails.

So different and cute. When I asked her where she got them she said they were Sally Hansen Salon Effects and that you can only find them at CVS. Well, obviously that was going to be on my list of stops for the day. Sally Hansen has GREAT nail care products. I try and stick with Sally Hansen, Essie and Opi most of the time.

So, after work I head over to CVS (I had to go to two of them to get the right design) to pick up these little nail polish wallpapers. I had read some reviews of people that didn't like them and why, but I think now that they were doing it wrong.

Here's what I got: Sally Hansen Salon effects "Cut it out".

Here are a few tricks to make this work properly. It takes a little bit of

practice.

- Warm up your hands and the nail polish strips for maximum stickiness.

- Make sure that your nails are clean and very dry.

- Do NOT use the nail file they provide, use the little cuticle stick to push back your cuticle, stick on the strip, push it down with your finger and use the cuticle stick to tap it down around the top of your nail and cut the extra part off.

- You can generally use 1 piece for two nails if you do this right.

- Be sure to put on a top coat, it does crackle a bit otherwise.

It turns out pretty cool and is different from just regular nail polish. Perfect if you're not an artist and can't make crazy designs in your nails with q-tips and toothpicks. They also have metallics.

Return of the Chronic Dieter....Part...let's just stop counting.

Hahaha... I can only start this blog by laughing at how many times I've attempted diets. Ahemm..But let's get serious now. Women's tennis season is beginning and summer is approaching in about 2 months. I have no time to waste or eat carbs and loads of sugar.

Protein and vegetables are the name of the game here people. So...During detox I finally set a nice workout pace and I have been slowly guiding myself back into workout mode. It's much harder than it used to be now that I have outside factors

to worry about (i.e. the fiance, the dog, my social life), it confuses my mind and makes it even harder.

It's all good though, tennis is firing up, however I have a rotator cuff injury. For those of you who know my tennis style, I'm a monster server, so this rotator cuff business is all bad for my game. I am not pleased about this, but there is also nothing much I can do about it.

I was finally inspired to go back to my extreme diet, when talking to a colleague of mine. She doesn't eat carbs or dairy. I did that once and I felt great. Her explanation for why was because she didn't like the way it made her feel or look. Well damn, is that all you need? I wish my will power allowed those reasons to be enough for me too. I will make it enough...Thank you colleague, you have inspired me to really be in top notch shape. I was in such great athletic prowess about two summers ago. Just because I'm aging rapidly and my 20's are behind me doesn't mean I have to lug this extra 20 pounds around.

So all in all here are some daily goals I will be adhering to for at least the next 45 days:

1) drink lots of water

2) lay off the carbs and dairy (and juices, soda and alcohol)

3) stretch

everyday

( styrafoam rollers are great for this)

4) workout everyday (gym or tennis)

Got me some new running shoes for this bad boy!

Brooks Green Silence

5) eat healthy, no fast food

And by the end of all this, I will look like this:

Without the head cut out of course...and maybe a few inches shorter. Watch out gentlemen! LOL

The 'Spark'...

What makes someone want to be better than they already are? Is that something hereditary? Is it something you're taught when growing up, that you should be the best you should be?

Why is it that some people have it and others don't? Sometimes I think I'm too ambitious, and its true that I often put too many things on my plate of to-do's, which means only half of it gets done (Which is truly more than the average Joe anyhow).

Sometimes I really think I should have take some type of sociology or philosophy major that would have kept me in school for 20 years of my life getting masters' and phd's, but then I can spend my time thinking freely about inane ideologies that no one will ever really have the answers to.

I'm looking for the right 'spark' right now, the one that makes everything else make sense. It may just be adding something to my life that wasn't there, getting into a good routine or eliminating something completely. Who knows? Sometimes I think I may just need a little more Vitamin D intake and then all my energy would be well cooked and 'out there'...whatever that means.

See you when I see you!