Fitness-Friendly... Sunday, May 20

Today was probably just as schedule-packed as yesterday was but when I returned home and saw a message one of my boxercise gals had left on my Facebook it totally made me smile.  Here's what she wrote:

Thank you SO much Amy & Snickers for everything you do for the Cheonan foreign girls...we are truly blessed to have you! You take us on midnight hikes, cook us delicious (and healthy) stir fry, open our eyes to the world of fresh fruit and veggies...not enough room to name everything you do! You are truly appreciated... :)

Of course I love getting messages like this, who wouldn't, but they really refresh me and remind me to stay focused and keep doing what I'm doing.  My fun, fierce Flipside Fitness girls are really great.  They're really, really great and often I find myself kind of feeling sorry for those who haven't come out to our events or don't train with us.  Whether it's just one or a solid group, my boxercise girls always bring such positive energy to training and to our special events -- it's so contagious.  And even though I try to push those at boxercise and ever so often punch them in the ring to push them more, they really give a lot at training and what they're giving is more than just effort and sweat.  I'm definitely happy to note just how awesome of an atmosphere we've created at boxercise.  My ladies come in all shapes, sizes and colours but they're all equally sweet and they all train hard.  They're just all great girls.  One of the main reasons why I made my boxercise classes girls-only was to create a positive environment for women to really get down to training without any kind of drama or distractions that come with having both guys and girls together.  I really want them to focus hard, train intensely, and feel comfortable and encouraged while doing so.  I think I have definitely succeeded so I'm quite happy with them.  

Having said this though, I still fight the typical temptations and whatnot pulling at foreigners when it comes to planning special events.  Drinking is as big to the foreign scene here as is it to the Korean scene and that's the honest truth.  Someone once docked my comment about foreigners gaining weight when they first arrive but it's true, they do.  The reason why they do so is actually many reasons.  The diet here is different, they're away from the familiar in terms of food, exercise and daily routine, wanting to meet new people so expat bars are quite popular, and so on.  I've been here for almost 8 solid years to know this is true.  I too experienced it and I see it all the time.  Having said that though, I definitely don't look down upon them for it -- it's kind of an expected norm -- but via Flipside Fitness I am certainly trying to help make Korea, well Cheonan at least, more fitness-friendly.  I'm trying hard to provide healthy, fun alternatives to things like hitting the bar every week and wanting to meet new people.  

Currently my Flipside Fitness Facebook page has 73 members, most of which are foreign females here in Korea.  I do have a number of Korean females but I also have a number of females that aren't in Korea and one male -- a close male friend of mine from my hometown who is going through his own inspirational fitness journey.

Today on my Flipside Fitness Facebook page I decided to launch an idea of mine, it's called "The Weekly Flab to Fab Challenge".  I've chosen to post one challenge to start it off and every week I'll be posting a challenge for those on my company Facebook page.  Challenges will focus either on clean eating, training or other issues connected to health and fitness.  Getting control of your health and fitness doesn't have to be this huge complicated thing, dishing out mad cash for gym memberships or cooking up a storm in the kitchen, so the point of my weekly challenges is to help make daily lifestyle changes, to help people see that even a little change can have a rippling effect.  Getting healthy isn't about jumping in with both feet but instead could simply involve baby steps -- steps that build upon each other to make a big difference in the long run.

THIS WEEK'S FLAB TO FAB CHALLENGE: 

Drink 1 glass of water before you eat.

Your [those on my Flipside Fitness Facebook page] challenge this week is to drink one glass of water every time you go to eat a meal or snack. Many times we think we are hungry when in fact we are just dehydrated, so if you think you’re hungry, drink a glass of water and think again. Drink a full glass before meals, it’ll help you feel fuller and it’ll surely help you eat less. Make water your new best friend… seriously! Drink 6-8 glasses of water a day!!! As silly as it may sound, if you’re not sure whether or not you’re drinking enough water check the colour of your pee. You want it to be colourless.