Healthy Muslimah Session II
Last Wednesday 10th Feb 2015 was our 2nd session of Healthy Muslimah. The attendance decreased substantially. It was replaced by a few new participants, and then our Coach asked, Who, in all honesty did the exercises as told? It was hard even for me to put up my hand, though I did, because I admit that it was not an easy feat. Non of the others did. This road is so NOT going to be easy, hence we need every bit of moral support we can get from one another, InshaAllah.
We started off the session by reassessing our motivations/intentions for wanting this. Was our reasons strong enough? Were were motivated enough? Coach (as we all call Kak Salina affectionately now) then told us to use the power of visualisation. We closed our eyes for several seconds and were told to visualise ourselves in one year - successful out of the program, in that dress that we want to wear. It was a quick one and some of us found ourselves "changing" clothes in our mind! It was pretty hilarious, but it was just a sign that our "vision" was not strong enough. This kind of psychological technique is indeed not new. In fact, this was one of the techniques used in Sichida methods of learning as mentioned by Coach. I remembered watching Oprah in an episode about changing yourselves - and implanting changes within you through the power of the mind. What does your mind says? Can it influence your body and ultimately the results? Yes DEFINITELY. Didn't we learn that it all starts with "Intention"? So ladies, I can't find my perfect dress yet, but I sure have found the perfect body that I would like to see myself in - in real life with hejab lah of course! (This is Eva Mende's in case you're wondering!)
Back to the program. The knowledge bit.
5 days Healthy Eating.
Coach Salina explained to us the 5 days Healthy Eating Program. Why 5 days? Well the weekdays are when we mostly cook at home - and the best food and the most nutritious food is the food you prepare yourself! So during these 5 days, we should be wary of what we serve and be willing to ADD new things to the table. For e.g if you are going to have rice and dishes, add a plate of fruits and a bowl of salad to it. This way there will be more choices for the family to dig into so that the portion of carbohydrates can be controlled. The other 2 days, is your break day/cheat day/go out and eat day. You are allowed your steaks and burgers on these days, so that you don't need to feel that you're on diet or depriving yourself of good food. The good news is that, if the 5 day plan is executed well and regularly, you will find yourself making good decisions even when you're eating outside :)
We are all familiar with the food pyramid system, yes? Well, that is no longer valid and nowadays, nutritionist follow the plating system to help with portion control.
The plate system looks like this : (you can look it up on the following links given below)
From the visual, you can see that half the plate is filled with your vegetables and fruits whereas one quarter is dedicated for your grains, and the other quarter for your protein like meat, egg, chicken, etc. It will be good if you can have at least one meal a day which represent this plate. As mentioned earlier, if you find it difficult to change your usual diet, don't change it (drastically) but add new things to the table and lessen the portions of grains and protein.
Some of the sites you can learn about Nutrition
- Harvard School of Public Health
- USDA Center for Nutrition
- Policy & Promotion
- choosemyplate.gov
For example, for breakfast, you can have
1. Banana
2. Tomatoes (or more fruits)
3. Bread (Grain)
4. Eggs (recommended 2 only on alternate days)
Aside from eating well, exercises is also an essential part of the routine. Good news for us is that the exercises that we were introduced to are really easy and not too rigorous.
We learnt 3 new exercise movements (add on to the earlier ones)-
P. S: The pictures are NOT an exact representation - please read notes for further explanation)
1. Swing up (Abdominal Crunches)
As suggested in the pic and in the title, simply lie down with knees up. Place your hands straight over your head and come up by swinging it forward and feel the crunge. Do this 8 times.
2. Squats
Stand in position A and when you squat on Position B, simply stretch your arms SIDEWARDS instead of what's shown here. 8x
3. Up & Down Tuck
I don't know how to call this, but you basically start from standing position, then come down by tucking one feet then the other. and stand up from that position. 8x
When you're done with these steps, it's time to cool down with some simple stretches -
1. Lunging each side for a few seconds.
3. Don't forget to breathe! :D Take deep breaths and let go. Do few times.
Done!
I hope this note helps! Happy trying and don't forget to visualise yourself in your dress!
We started off the session by reassessing our motivations/intentions for wanting this. Was our reasons strong enough? Were were motivated enough? Coach (as we all call Kak Salina affectionately now) then told us to use the power of visualisation. We closed our eyes for several seconds and were told to visualise ourselves in one year - successful out of the program, in that dress that we want to wear. It was a quick one and some of us found ourselves "changing" clothes in our mind! It was pretty hilarious, but it was just a sign that our "vision" was not strong enough. This kind of psychological technique is indeed not new. In fact, this was one of the techniques used in Sichida methods of learning as mentioned by Coach. I remembered watching Oprah in an episode about changing yourselves - and implanting changes within you through the power of the mind. What does your mind says? Can it influence your body and ultimately the results? Yes DEFINITELY. Didn't we learn that it all starts with "Intention"? So ladies, I can't find my perfect dress yet, but I sure have found the perfect body that I would like to see myself in - in real life with hejab lah of course! (This is Eva Mende's in case you're wondering!)
Back to the program. The knowledge bit.
5 days Healthy Eating.
We are all familiar with the food pyramid system, yes? Well, that is no longer valid and nowadays, nutritionist follow the plating system to help with portion control.
The plate system looks like this : (you can look it up on the following links given below)
From the visual, you can see that half the plate is filled with your vegetables and fruits whereas one quarter is dedicated for your grains, and the other quarter for your protein like meat, egg, chicken, etc. It will be good if you can have at least one meal a day which represent this plate. As mentioned earlier, if you find it difficult to change your usual diet, don't change it (drastically) but add new things to the table and lessen the portions of grains and protein.
Some of the sites you can learn about Nutrition
- Harvard School of Public Health
- USDA Center for Nutrition
- Policy & Promotion
- choosemyplate.gov
For example, for breakfast, you can have
1. Banana
2. Tomatoes (or more fruits)
3. Bread (Grain)
4. Eggs (recommended 2 only on alternate days)
Aside from eating well, exercises is also an essential part of the routine. Good news for us is that the exercises that we were introduced to are really easy and not too rigorous.
We learnt 3 new exercise movements (add on to the earlier ones)-
P. S: The pictures are NOT an exact representation - please read notes for further explanation)
1. Swing up (Abdominal Crunches)
As suggested in the pic and in the title, simply lie down with knees up. Place your hands straight over your head and come up by swinging it forward and feel the crunge. Do this 8 times.
Stand in position A and when you squat on Position B, simply stretch your arms SIDEWARDS instead of what's shown here. 8x
3. Up & Down Tuck
I don't know how to call this, but you basically start from standing position, then come down by tucking one feet then the other. and stand up from that position. 8x
When you're done with these steps, it's time to cool down with some simple stretches -
1. Lunging each side for a few seconds.
2. Arms stretches one side once. Do any of these exercises or both.
3. Don't forget to breathe! :D Take deep breaths and let go. Do few times.
Done!
I hope this note helps! Happy trying and don't forget to visualise yourself in your dress!
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