Have I Told You About... Zumba?

For the past few months I've been breaking my head trying to think of how to get back to my pre-pregnancy body. I didn't have the budget to shop for clothes with bigger sizes but more than that, I wasn't willing to give up my wardrobe in sizes S and XS.

I had 3 boxes of weight loss coffee from a local chinese pharmacy which came highly recommended by friends "who've tried & tested it" but before I can consume them, I accidentally came across an article a facebook contact of mine re-posted about the ugly truth of how you really lose weight from these coffee. Honestly, I didn't finish the article but what I read was enough for me to immediately throw all the boxes away before I changed my mind. I ended up worried and I wasn't able to sleep for a few days after that  just thinking of my impending death.

Now in my teenage (not so long ago) years, I've tried a lot- Bangkok pills, Bioslim tea, to name a few. I'd like to think I'm smarter now because I don't even consider them as weight loss options for me. I don't even want to kno what the contents of Bp are because I already know that it has to be really bad for it to be banned. I still know of friends who take bp until now and the effects are undeniably impressive, but I also know that it has caused a number of known deaths as side effects, so it won't be worth it to look good but be inside a coffin.

After my second child, I've already established that there really is nothing quite like exercise if you want to lose weight. When I was in Zamboanga, I used to go jogging/brisk walking with [or without] my dad in a local sports complex near our house. Since I don't have that option here in Dubai, I had to find more creative ways of exercising. We have a fully equipped gym one floor above our flat but the thought of putting my kids in a stroller so they can watch as their mother works out for an hour everyday is both funny & silly.

My research led me to P90x and Zumba. I've tried both but P90x is a program of workout, diet, and nutrition supplement which for someone like me who loves to eat, is quite a challenge to follow. If you've got discipline (sadly, I don't), you should give this 90-day fitness program a try.

When I first downloaded Zumba a few months ago, I had no idea it was some kind of worldwide "fitness phenomenon". So I really didn't know what to expect of it. Amazingly, I enjoyed it! I am not a sweaty person but 15 minutes into the workout I was already breaking a sweat and trying to catch my breath!

I have been dancing on the kinect the past few months and it has been pretty effective, but I got bored soon after I hit the Max Rank. Although, I still play the Dance Central game every now and then.

Zumba is actually a very entertaining way to exercise, even for a non-dancer like me. I must say it wasn't so hard to find my groove with the Latin rhythms and I found it to be a great cardio exercise for me. I read about the Zumba game for the kinect although it doesn't have very favorable reviews, I'm still curious about owning one.

Is Zumba effective? I'd like to think it is for me. :) In fact, I have seen a difference in just a week of doing it, no exaggeration.

I've received a lot of comments that I am now back to my pre-pregnancy body (although I think not quite). I did lose weight last month while my son Carlos went with his daddy on a business trip because I religiously did 50 minutes of Zumba [almost] everyday for five weeks and successfully cut down [a bit] on my carbs intake. Thing is, now that my little pirate is back he gets upset when he sees me dancing. I must be really bad because he hugs my legs and begs me [in tears] to stop. So I haven't had much time to Zumba lately and I've gained a lot of weight since. :( *Sighhh*.

I keep promising myself that I will wake up early so I can dance while the kids are asleep but I haven't been very successful at it, so wish me luck! I miss my Zumba time! and yes, I highly recommend it for you too!