The world is replete with stories of human endurance and resilience. Man has done extraordinary things by being positive during adverse times and turning challenges into opportunities.
The novel coronavirus pandemic has not only brought social isolation but also economic woes and health concerns. All around the world, an overwhelming majority of people are sitting at home– many without jobs or business prospects. There are, however, very few who are turning quarantine time into a viable opportunity by exploring activities that may have been difficult to follow through under normal circumstances.
Swedish expatriate Ann Jangsell was quick to recover from the trauma of job loss and social distancing. She thought it was time for her to take care of her mental and physical health, instead of staying idle at home surrounded by negative thoughts and fears about the future.
Ann, a strong woman, has taken up different challenges from reducing her weight to completing the Mount Everest challenge at home. With regular exercise and positive state of mind, she is all set to climb up and down the number of stair-steps equal to the height of the tallest mountain of the world in one month. It is set to be the first achievement of its kind in Qatar.
“I am president of the Swedish Association of Qatar, a social networking group for about 600 expatriates from Sweden. I am also founder of the business networking group – Happy People Doha. I have been in Qatar for about three years. I have expertise and experience in business development, sales, marketing, and media management,” Ann said while talking to Community recently.
The expatriate felt down soon after losing her job but convinced herself to get out of the depressed mood. “I was let go from my job in April due to the pandemic. I was in shock and sadness for a couple of days. Then I thought no, I needed to get out of the depressed feeling. So, I started to do early morning power walks for one hour every day. I started to feel better and happier as I got my mind off from my problems and fears related to the pandemic.”
Ann started losing weight as she became regular in her exercise and diet control. “I had put on weight due to the lifestyle of not doing so much physically, hardly any exercise and sitting still at work. I was the director of business development for a film production company here and also the co-host of some podcast shows besides being a food reviewer. There used to be amazing dinners.
“While staying at home, I got a chance to have a healthier lifestyle. I started to work on myself for myself. Exercise and the new way of living have helped me to cope with Covid-19 pandemic. I got something else to focus on instead of using social media and watching TV.”
After a couple of weeks with power walks, Ann got in contact with Julie Caradec, her former transformation coach. “She wanted me to start the ultimate thriving experience. Her programme was to get for me sustainable and observable results in order to achieve successful mental peak state and physical results through her online transformation coaching. I have made it a fun to lose my weight with photos and videos of my workout and progress. I have lost 15 kilos since mid-April.”
The Swede uses stairs in the building where she lives for walk. Walking up and down 10 steps flights over and over again led her to take on the month-long challenge –Mount Everest Challenge. “To complete the challenge by the end of June, I do 200 flights [each flight is equal to 10 stair-steps] up and down every day. In 30 days, I will have climbed up and down 6,000 flights. It will be like climbing to the Mount Everest peak and then climbing down. The tallest mountain of the world stands 8,848 metre high. I think no one has done this challenge in Qatar so far.”
Ann did not find it easy to start the hard exercise in the beginning. “I had in my training programme, from the beginning, a part where I was doing the butterfly sit-ups. I could not do it and I needed to do the normal ones. It was only last week I managed to do the sit-ups perfectly. I also had to change my diet. I am now doing KETO meals – no carbs, no bread, no pasta or rice, no potato, and of course, no sugar. I fell happier, healthier, and stronger both physically and mentally than ever before.”
Instagram @annpluto
u201cI was let go from my job in April due to the pandemic. I was in shock and sadness for a couple of days. Then I thought no, I needed to get out of the depressed feeling. So, I started to do early morning power walks for one hour every day. I started to feel better and happier as I got my mind off from my problems and fears related to the pandemicu201d u2014 Ann Jangsell
