NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS 2014

2013 has been quite a monotonous year for me. It seems to me that it is the saddest year that I have went through so far. Although there are definitely good and fun things that happen, I can only remember the negative ones.  So, for 2014, I must make it happier and more eventful. I have never did a new year resolutions before but I will do one this year so as to make myself feel that I have done something good this year. 

NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS 2014

1) Complete a half-marathon.

         ONGOING. Manage to run 15 km recently. Will definitely join a half-marathon next year. Probably Sundown marathon. 

2) 10 km timing to be under 60 min.

         ONGOING. Recently my pace is up to 6.20 min per hour. 

3) Reduce weight to less than 55 kg and lose the stomach and inner thighs. Also, fat percentage to be less than 20% because I want abs!! And be more flexible. 

          ONGOING. Refer to my previous posts.

4) Increase my social circle. 

         ONGOING. Went to a touch rugby meetup and will be going for another meetup this Saturday and next Friday. 

5) Backpacking/diving/hiking overseas.

6) Family holiday to HK or beach country (eg. Boracay, Phuket, Koh Samui, Bali, Langkawi)

7) Beautify skin especially on my face. 

           ONGOING. Since very long ago. 

8) Have job satisfaction.

Just saw a video by the Fung Brothers from Youtube with regards to New Year Resolutions where they said it sucked (how ironic). True that we nowadays have a lot of distractions around us that will bring us away from our goals so we have to be more mindful and keep our goals always in sight. Eg. we can print a copy out and read it every night or just tattoo it on yourself (just kidding k?). 

Anyways, the video is linked below for those who are interested. HAPPY 2014 TO ALL!

|ser|

Emotional/mindless Eating + Update

Hello! It has been about a week since I started my CNY weight loss plan. Since then I manage to do 3 out of 5 rules that I have set for myself. I am doing exercise everyday like running, yoga and touch rugby. I have always been bringing my own lunch to work so there is no problem for me to healthy-fy my lunch. I am able to massage every other day and drinking loads of water everyday. However, there are 2 rules that I need to improve and change. 

No starch for dinner is really difficult to fulfill if you are an Asian and your mom cooks at home. It is just not possible for me to eat the vegetables and meat without form of starch plus my mom will force me to eat at least a bit of rice. Therefore, I will just reduce the amount of rice by half or eat no rice whenever possible. 

Out of these 6 days that I have started on this plan, I actually snacked for 3 of the days and worse of all, I snacked at night after my dinner. I "blamed" this to emotional/mindless eating. I used to not have this habit of eating after dinner and I like the feeling of being hungry. However, once I started work and I have free time in the evening, this is when I started to snack regularly at night. Furthermore, the things I snack on are usually high-caloric and sweet food items which is obviously not good as these food will be stored as fats since they could not be used up by the body. 

Therefore, to counter this problem that I have, I will change the rules and prize for this CNY weight loss plan. The prize for this weight loss plan is a toy that I have always wanted from Stay Real, a brand that 五月天 阿信, had made which cost $40. If I snack for one day, I can only buy the toy 1 week later after 29 January 2013. Since now I have snack for 3 days, I can only buy the toy 3 weeks later. Hopefully, this is a huge enough incentive for me to work on. Gambatte!!!

|ser|

Stats of current situation:

Height: 168cm

Weight at start: 60.5kg

Weight 6 days later: 60kg

BMI: 21.4

Expected results: 56kg

Preferred results: 52kg

NOOOOO!!! Too heavy!

OMG! I saw a dreaded number on my weighing machine yesterday. I can't believe how much I have gained since 2012 after my graduation. I think that my jobs and my state of mind results in this absurd weight gain. Therefore, I decided to amp up my weight loss regime to get ready for Chinese New Year (CNY) which can act as my short term goal. 

My following plans goes like this:

1) EXERCISE EVERYDAY

           I will try to do about 30min to 1hr of exercise during the weekdays and possibly up to 2hrs during the weekends. Even if I have no time (which is not an excuse), I will definitely try to do some deep stretches or some pushups/situps before I go to sleep. 

2) NO RICE/NOODLES/STARCH FOR DINNER

         This is just to reduce my calorie intake as it is stated that to lose 1kg per week, about 3500 calories have to be loss via exercise or diet. That means we have to have a net deficit of 500 calories per day which cannot be attained by a 1hr exercise. Since a bowl of rice is about 100 calories, this can help to increase my net deficit of the day. Furthermore, refined carbs causes a spike in sugar level which will be stored as fats storage if it is not used up during the night where our activity is low. 

3) FRUITS & VEGETABLES FOR LUNCH AT WORK

         I have been bringing lunch to work since I started work. Usually I will bring a sandwich or a wrap or a pasta but since I need to bring up my calories deficit, I decided to just eat fruits & vegetables without any dressing. Vegetables have loads of fiber and vitamins which are essential to our body. However, the amount of calories it contains per cup is too little (excludes starchy vegetables) therefore I added fruits to the lunch. For fruits, although it contains loads of fiber and vitamins as well, some of the fruits contains too much sugar which may be stored as fats since my job is rather sedentary. My choice of fruits for lunch should not contain grapes, cherries, mangoes and bananas.

4) NO SNACKS/SWEETS/FRIED FOOD/CANNED DRINKS

         Need me to say more about this? I guess this is self-explanatory. 

5) MASSAGE EVERY OTHER DAY & DRINK 3L OF WATER PER DAY

         Self-massage every other day with firming cream, lotion or oil to get rid of water retention in the body. For ladies, it is easier for us to retain water in our body which may cause us to gain extra weight and also look more swollen. Water retention can be caused by having too much salt in the body. Salt will retain any water that is close to them which will take time to excrete out. One other way to counter water retention is to drink more water. By drinking more water, it will make our body think that we have enough water in the environment so our body do not need to store water for later use. Also, water allows us to flush out the toxins which are bad to our body. In conclusion, water is good.

These are the 5 things that I will concentrate on from today, Christmas Eve, to 29 January 2014 (as 30 January is CNY Eve, which screams steamboat!). The prize that I will give myself is $100 to buy yoga clothes as I have just started on doing yoga and I do not have yoga tights to wear to class. Every time I did not do one of these 5 things, I will deduct 1 dollar off my prize. 

At the end of this plan, I hope to achieve a better body in terms of the physical and aesthetics of it. So I will try update every week with the things that I have done and if I manage to complete all 5 tasks. Good luck to me!!

|ser|

Stats of current situation:

Height: 168cm

Weight: 60.5kg

BMI: 21.4

Expected results: 56kg

Preferred results: 52kg

Self-control

Lately, I realized that I am lacking in self-control over myself. I think I have already stop controlling myself since last year after graduation. I do not control things that I put into my body. I do not control things that I have in my mind. I do not control how I am living my life in general. I need to get my self-control back and I shall start now. Who says that New Year Resolution have to start on 1st January? It can happen anywhere anytime. 

First, controlling things that I put into my body. I have been binge eating on and off since mid last year like I will eat peanut butter out of the container at 9pm while watching dramas on my computer even though I know I am already full and too much sweet things causes me to have gas. So to bring back my self-control and also my weight (I did increase quite a substantial amount since last year), I am going to eat 3 meals a day with no snacks in between. I am going to start out slow since is the Christmas season now and the next month is Chinese New Year. There are bound to be some gatherings that I cannot skip. Also, I need to drink more water to flush out the toxins in my body and to boost my hydration level. I believe the first week may be tough as this habit to snack may take a toll on my mental mind but I will complete it!!

Second, exercise. I just recently bought over a yoga membership from a friend and I will aim to go for yoga three times a week, together with Puma run and a long distance once a week and hopefully zumba too. Therefore, in total, I will be working out 6 out of 7 days which should be manageable for me as I am already hitting about 3 days a week now. On days that I cannot manage to workout, be it because of weather, work or gatherings, I will do squats and planks at home. Hopefully, this training can help me increase my endurance and stamina for my goal to do a half-marathon next year. 

Third, I need to start planning for things that I want to complete. I want to go hiking for the longest time and I have not started on doing. I want to go for backpacking solo trip. I want to learn diving. I need to get notice in my job. I want to do things that are important in my job which currently I am feeling rather useless now. 

Ok, I have finished ranting now. I will definitely start on the first two right away and I shall see if there is any results in one week time. JIAYOU!

|ser|

Should I or Should I Not, Fitness Trainer

I have been thinking if I should be a fitness trainer since I am enjoying sports and I love to read up on nutrition as well. Although my current physique is still up to standard, I can continue to work hard to increase my muscle mass, endurance, stamina and overall fitness. But I find that it is rather difficult to become a fitness instructor in Singapore. There are hardly any classes or courses to teach you how to become one. I recently found this Basic Sports Science Course and Fitness Instructor Certification under Singapore Sports Council  (SSC) but I am not sure what I will benefit from this. 

I have always been enjoying doing sports and studying them. I think I need something that I enjoy doing now instead of just doing some meaningless work and wasting my time. Is like how I went for a jog yesterday to loosen my sore muscles. I ended up following a guy wearing a neon green shirt so as to pace myself faster then my normal speed. I went from 7min/km to about 6.3min/km which is AWESOME! My muscle ache is still around but I think I feel better after that. I shall go workout after work today too. 

Just researched the courses offered by SSC. Apparently, you will have to have the knowledge of a sport before taking this course. Although I have knowledge of a couple of sports (Netball, Touch Rugby), I do not have very good skill with those and thus will not have any confidence in teaching them. I have a done a basic course in coaching of Netball so that is why I do know that I will not be a good Netball coach. 

Thus, now I am looking for Zumba classes to attend to first before I think I would want to join as an instructor. Wish me luck!

One thing that I am happy today:

GOING TO WORKOUT TODAY!

|ser|

猪杂面线 at Zion Riverside Food Centre

I had a session of yoga today at Affinity Yoga at the branch at River Valley. Awesome place to do yoga but as usual, I am struggling with a lot of the poses due to my inflexibility. But I believe that I am getting more and more flexible as time passes. Yoga really helps to improve my flexibility, strengthen and lengthen your muscles. For girls that love the look of long legs, go try yoga. 

After yoga, I went to Zion Riverside Food Centre for my lunch. I was very surprised that the food centre is not full as there are a lot of good food in this place. 

 

This particular store #13 that sells pig organs soup caught my eye because I have not found another stall that can compete with the one in Ghim Moh Food Centre so I tried their Pig Organ Mee Sua. 

The broth is good but I think is loaded with a tad bit too much of MSG. The pig liver is very nicely cook. Usually, I do not like the taste of pig liver but this pig liver is cooked so well such that is not too powdery or not too rubbery. The rest of the ingredients are very good as well but I find that the mee sua is cooked for a bit too long. 

All in all, I still think the pig organ soup in Ghim Moh Food Centre is better but I will definitely come to Zion Riverside Food Centre to try the other stalls like the chicken rice store and the char kuay teow. 

One thing I am happy today:

YOGA!

lserl

Day 16: Walking

Do you like walking? I love to walk a lot. I usually like to walk to my nearest MRT station which is about 15min away by foot and I used to walk to school  too. My friends always refer me to as "siao" when they know that I am walking again. Walking is actually a very good form of exercise too especially for people who do not have a lot of muscle or are overweight. 

Try walking about 30min everyday and I bet you will find a difference in how you feel.

Bye!

|ser|

Day 12: Food Diary

Source

Do you have a food diary? I just started mine about a few days ago and have been very religious in updating it. The point of having a food diary is to keep track of what you have been eating daily so that you will not overeat and have a well-balanced diet. I used to have a food diary but once I stopped using it, I started to eat without thinking and this is why I am going back to having a new food diary at My Fitness Pal. Make sure your food diary shows you the amount of calories, carbohydrates, sugars, protein, fats, salt and calcium that you have consumed. These few parameters are the basic requirements that your body needs. Other requirements such as vitamins and minerals should be provided for if your meals are rich in vegetables and fruits. 

Some points to take note to have a good food diary:

1. Be religious to your food diary.
   Make sure to update it EVERYDAY. In that way, you will be able to keep track of your meals and make sure you do not step over the allowed intake everyday.
2. Be truthful to your food diary.
   What purpose is the food diary if you are not truthful to it? Do not lie to your food diary and if you have eaten something sinful, write it in so that you will take note of it and not eat so much of it in the future. 
3. It is okay to exceed the required amount.
   Lets' say that you have exceeded the calorie amount for today. It is okay for you to do that. Do not fret too much about it. Read into your food diary and find out the reason and work on it. It may be because the day require too much of your own physical energy and therefore you consume more food. Do not stress too much when you exceeded your calorie intake. 
4. Do not starve yourself for one day and think it will be okay for you to indulge the next day.
   If you starve yourself, your body goes into the starvation mode in which the metabolism slows down. When food comes into the body, the body will store these food as fats so as to prepare the body for another starvation period. 
5. Find a buddy to do this together with you.
   By finding somebody to track your diet together with you, you will have someone who keep you on schedule and to nag you regarding your diet. It will of course be more fun to have someone to go through the diet journey with you. 

Go and create your own food diary. Enjoy!

Bye!

|ser|

Day 10: Motivation

What motivates you? There are 2 types of motivation. One is the positive motivation which is the one I like to use. This type of motivation, as the name suggests, is to have an incentive after the completion of a goal. The other type is the negative motivation. Negative motivation is where you punish yourself when you broke a rule or when you did not do what was expected. Is like reducing spending money after eating something sinful for example. 

I myself find positive motivation more useful than the negative one because the positive one makes you feel good and gives you "energy" to move on. Whereas for the negative motivation, it may backfire on you because it does not make sense to torture yourself further when dieting/exercising is difficult to your mind. 

Why do people not exercise even if they do know that it is good for them? Technically, the health benefits that people get out from exercising should outweigh the time and energy required to do these exercises. However, people think of short term benefits rather than the long term ones. These people do not think that exercise will make them happy and feel good in the short term because is tiring, is a waste of time. They would rather do something that they think will make them happier or have more benefits to them (eg. working). This is the economics of motivation. 

To get people motivated, government or health authorities have make sure to educate people about the health benefits of exercise. However, there are still people who does not listen. Then, they proceed on to scare tactics (negative motivation) where they post gory pictures and statistics to force them to live a healthier lifestyle. To many people, these scare tactics does not work at all because of the overwhelming advertisements of the many unhealthy food to encourage people to eat. These lead to having some governors to lobby for Soda Tax. 

We are smart but we are eating to die unlike the animals who eat to live. Why are we, the smart animals, doing this to ourselves? This is what many people should actually question themselves. 

Till next time! Bye!

|ser|

Day 7: 1 WEEK DOWN!

Is already one week after I have started my 99 Days Plan. And I am suddenly down with sore throat today. Spam water and green tea like crazy for the whole of today. Luckily for me, I am much better now although I am rather lifeless during work today. 

Exercise

My aim of doing 3 hours of exercise per week seems to much for me to handle currently. I am only doing about 1.5 hours this week with 1 session of jogging and 2 sessions of toning exercises. Maybe that is why I am sick now because of lack of exercise. I have not done any interval training but will be aiming to do that tomorrow (if I am well) and perhaps I would share my interval training schedule tomorrow. 

I think I would need to be more motivated and make it a habit to exercise during my free time instead of just lazing around and watching shows which is not productive at all. I am very impressed with people that manage to get their butt out of their house to go exercise after going back from work in the evening. I need to find ways to motivate myself to exercise!

Food

I have not had any fried food and have been drinking green tea every weekday during work. But I did consumed sweets =( I try to reduce my guilt by choosing sugar-free options as I still require a small amount of sweets to keep my hunger pangs at bay during work especially from 3pm onwards. This is because I do not want to get any other things to eat as I want to reduce my calorie intake. I will limit myself to only 1 piece of sweet but I still feel a little guilty of that. I should look out for more healthy but convenient snacks to relieve myself of hunger pangs and to keep my metabolism kicking. 

One thing that I am very happy about is that I manage to cut back eating at night. I started to eat at night after about 9pm on most nights after starting work. This is when I feel that I am starting to get fats accumulating around the tummy. Now that I manage to stop any food intake after 9pm, I actually feel lighter physcially even though my weight did not change. Hopefully, this good habit can last throughout my life.

Bye!
|ser|