Yoga - A way to re-discover yourself

To commit myself into yoga is probably one of the best choice I made in my life...

Like many, I started off with just an intention to do some exercise, to sweat a little. As I move on, I begin to take yoga as a challenge, to see how far I can go... but 1 year into yoga, I realize alot of things. I did mistake like many others. Mistake as in not those physical mistake but mental mistakes.

Mental mistakes

To sweat it OUT
Especially when hot yoga becoming a trend, everyone's thinking is I go HOT yoga because I want to SWEAT, its a form of detox. Its not entirely wrong but hot yoga isn't just about sweating, its not trying to get the mat under the hot air ventilation grille and make yourself dehydrate like sunbathing salted fish. Firstly, excessive sweating isn't a good thing, it might cause dehydration instead of detox. Many people force sweat by going for hot yoga. But the amount of sweat basically depend on many factors, like metabolism, how much water you are drinking, diet habit, etc. If you don't have a habit of drinking water and yet you are squeezing sweat out, is it a good thing? To me, instead of going to the hottest spot, why not focus on the muscle engagement, the contraction of the muscle when you doing asana, that is a part of muscle building which more muscle boost up metabolism. Doing yoga in a hot does more than just make you feel hot, it actually improve your blood circulation and flexibility but too much of a good thing can be bad.

I can do it BETTER than you
Often we will start comparing ourselves with others, it happen in yoga as well. Some of them have the "I can do it better than you" mentality. Even me, at times I tend to compare, but gradually I begin to realize that its not about doing better than anyone, Its about improving myself. Its more than just comparing but to realize your weakness. Its not about you can do it so I can as well. For me, I have a tiff back and hips. My forward bending is improving well but my back bend is horrible. By doing yoga, I know my limitation, and I will always work towards my limit and further extend it. Instead of focusing on whether you can do it, why not focus on whether I do it nicely and do it correctly. Like the pose, triangle, it seem so easy, but the challenge of this beginner pose is to align and square your hips. Its sometime upsetting that many people are focusing on the fanciful poses rather than the fundamental pose like warriors, triangle, downward facing dog, cobra. For me, I just need to consciously remind myself to build my foundation well, without a good foundation, I can't move on to a advance pose. Form over ego. Its probably time to go back to basic, to learn the basic poses, to open out the tight areas, to work on my weakness, my flexibility.

Always do some reflection after each yoga session, recognize your improvement, address your weakness. To be humble, I believe its one of the most difficult thing to do. But I'll consciously remind myself, form over ego. Its not circus stunts, its yoga wellness. Probably this is what that is keeping my fire burning...
Namaste...

Adjusting to low carbs Diet

A week plus into my low carbs diet... my "carbo" cold turkey is gone, no longer have the dizziness, fatigue, dumbness. However, whether am into ketosis, I seriously have no clue to it.. Getting my keto sticks soon and got my ketone measuring device but I got no test strip nor lancer.. Gosh.. Trying to test ketones level in this asian country is so difficult, 1st, I can't get a ketostix from the pharmacy, and the only urine test kit I found multistix (from Guardian Plus), but its damn expensive. Got myself a blood ketone testing device, Optium Exceed but no test strip!

Anyway, apart from my adjustment in diet, I did alot of reading up on low carb diet. Came across this book "Living Low Carb" by Jonny Bowden, Its not so much on how to go about with the diet but talking more on the finding and theory behind it. I'll say 1st time in my life, I seriously READ BOOKs! Thanks to the dreams to pursue fitness!

I have yet to see much result from this diet but because of my workout regime, which involve mostly fast flow yoga, pilates, weight training and swimming, with the aids of sport supplement, I do see a firmer body. Anyway, I went on taking Amino Acid, glutamine, Casein Protein and Whey protein. I didn't get any lighter either, I do feel heavier but not feeling fat kind. Experience thirst every now and then, keep reminding myself on the water intake. Tomorrow will be my 1st cheat day, which is Chinese new year eve when we will have our reunion dinner feast, gonna strike in Carbo and back to low carbs the next day.

Diet Change - LCHF

Finally after much research and advise, I decide to do a change of diet again after my 1 year with meal replacement.

I have chosen to start a Low Carb High Fat (LCHF) diet, probably there will be a mixture of comments, good and bad, saying about how not true is it that Carb is the culprit to all health issues, saying the fear of high fat intake. However, to my research I found that going really low in Carbs and high in fats will put the body into ketosis, which turn the body into a fat burning machine.

In lay-man terms, basically, our body is so used to getting carbo as our main source of energy fuel, when our carbo intake is low, our body sense about the low energy source, it will adjust to take fuel from other source, which is our stored fats. By switching to stored fat as energy resource, the body will feel less tired, more energy and reduce the body fats.

When we are on a normal (higher) carbs diet, we tend to get hungry because once the carbo energy source is low, it will send hungry message to our brain, which end up we eat more and the remaining excess carbo which are not utilize, will be convert into fats and stored in the body. The next morning when u wake up, the whole "hungry" cycle come again because the body will never turn to stored fats as energy source, they will look for their preferred choice - Carbo.
A simple analogy, imagine you are going to 20th level, you will definitely choose to take the elevator (which in terms is your carbo intake), unless the elevator break down, you may no choice but to take the stairs (which is your fat intake - 2nd choice to achieve your goal).

Of course, everything don't start easy and smooth, the transition period is the most horrifying time, which u have to experience thru' and over it.
Currently am on my 6th day of LCHF, initially I don't feel much impact, probably due to the carbs remains in my body and I do have higher intake of carbs in the beginning. Gradually, as I went really low in carbs and high in fat, I begin to feel the "low carb cold turkey". I feel extremely fatigue even with enough of 7 to 9 hours of sleep, I feel dizzy at times, not really hungry but crave for sugar, low in energy. Its terrible but in a way, I feel happy as I had made it, my body is transiting. Just pray hard that it will take only a week and my body will switch completely and start to take effect.

Am an Easy Target just because am BIG

As usual, I was going through my facebook news feed and  I came across this post which says something like:
"My mother was watching this variety show and she comment that the contestant is so fat, fortunately, am born skinny..."

At that moment when I saw this post, I was speechless... She might unintentionally say this, but the words is hurting to some people. Sad to say, human practice discrimination even before our times. And in this modern world, the trend is all about being slim, being skinny. Many times, people don't mean YOU but indirectly it hits YOU when they mock at plus size people. I myself been through this stage, I have my every right to say everything. We get so sensitive because of only one reason, we ourselves know that we aren't looking that great, we know people discriminate us, make fun of us, judge us because of our size. We avoid the outer world, avoid seeing ourselves in the mirror, feeling upset and angry with people's comments, but we can't deny our own feeling. As I always said, you may say that you can't be bothered about other's comments, love yourself, and enjoy being your size, confident about who you are but there will always be this moment where u can't hide and simply been tear into pieces. Its the moment when u enter a half-full elevator and the "overload" button ring, everyone stare at you like as if you kill someone. No matter how confident you are, that's it, it kill every part of you. We are said we are happy being plus size, in denial of our unhappiness because we do not want to feel defeated.


Maybe they don't know how to do, what to do, don't want to do or simply just think that they can't. However, the thing that is really upsetting is that many still choose their "so-called" life enjoyment over their health, indulge in chocolate, sweet drinks, tibits, fast food, etc. They choose to do nothing to their health and yet blames others, blame the society, blame their "family genes", blame the tasty unhealthy food for making them obese. Ask yourself: Is this really the "enjoyment" that u want? 
Enjoy that 1 hr of indulging and suffer from the after-effect, not only the outer appearance but also the internal health. Again it voice down to how much you want it...

To many, they think we are out here to "con" money, but if you have your own method to achieve health, I sincerely wish u all the best. If u really need help, please be open out, because its your health not mine. It's either me or other commercial company (slimming center, doctor, slimming pill seller) or the hospital will take your money.
Seriously, I have my day job, my earning is decent, this extra income is just a bonus, and not to mention about the time and effort spend to follow up on the progress, we don't charge for it. But afterall it's your health that matters.

PS: Just as my this post is sitting in the oven, baking in progress.. I saw this new article on Facebook "French ‘Curvy Women’ Group Files Complaint Against Chanel Designer Karl Lagerfeld"

Shortcut Methods & Magic Pills

Weight have always been an issue to all people, especially to Woman who wan to stay SLIM and Beautiful...
We are all born in a realistic world, should be a blessing that am born in a sophisticated country, Singapore, where our standard of living is high. With the limited resources around, everyone is fighting for a space to live happily. Climbing up the corporate ladder, earning more money, stereotyping, looking for a good life partner, etc. Because of all this, the world around us is realistic, we went for interviews (to get better jobs), we went to social apps to find promising love, every of this little action involve people judging us by our outlook and outfit. Like I always say, when you are walking along the street, u won't lay your eyes on a plus size opposite sex and say I believe he have a great inner beauty and I want to get to know him. We judge, even you and me, we practice judgement. Soon, achieving a great body had become a norm for us.

Want to be beautiful

As a typical lady, me too want to be a beautiful girl.. overweight had always been bothering me since young, when everyone is happy with the new mini skirt they bought, am still stuck with my XL jeans and T-shirts. When am young, the only thing I hate is am one of the heaviest among my group of girl friends, even among my cousins. Hate the moment when am been labelled as "the over-weights". Never am I in the limelight, am always stay unnoticed. As a girl grow older, they start to get influence by the social circle, by the media, trying to stay in the fashion and look good. This is the point when I decided to do something about myself.

 This is me when am at my 18 years old

Impatient and laziness - We want shortcuts 

My 1st attempt is to go on starvation, whenever I feel hungry I take milk, packet corns and can tuna. I feel weak, I fell sick once a month. I lost 5kg, from 72kg to 65kg. And my weight got stagnant, without much progress and with my craving start building up, am back to my usual diet habit. I begin to also try on those "on-the-shelf" slimming pills, not much effect. So as introduce by my friend, I went to the doctor for medication, am prescript with this drug call "Reductil". It help to suppress your craving, side effects is fast heartbeat and migraine. Probably a few more KG off, to around 62KG. The drugs wasn't cheap, I think I spent around $100 over for a 1 month supply.

When 1 was 21 year old, clash diet with medications (commercial & doctor's)

I was than only 21 years old, the medication is too costly for me in long run and my body weight stay stagnant again. I was told that if you took the medication for a year, your body will begin to get immune to it, and no further effect will take place. Since there isn't much effect, I rather save the money. So I stop the medication, the yo-yo effect start to take place. From there on, I gain weight and went to 68KG.

 My Yo-Yo effect when am 22 years old

Again, my slimming regime kicks in, I begin to take the medication again and watch my diet. It went to 63KG and gradually, I felt that the medication is not working, I don't have that craving suppression anymore.

 Back to slimming at 23 years old

I was 24 that time, as a change of job, I can't afford the medication anymore, so my weight went up to 70KG.

My weight went to 70KG

 When I was 25, I was introduce to this acupuncture slimming program with the help of meal replacement. And yes, I invested close to $4000 for the whole package. With the help of the meal replacement, and a strict diet of only fish soup and yong tau foo soup, in around 4 months time, my weight went to 59KG, it was at my lowest.

However, the beautiful dream don't last. There was once when my craving is at my peak and I was told that we have a 3 days Chinese New Year diet break, go eat whatever you want, everything, Bak Kwa, whatever. After the 3 days, back to replacement meal for strict 2 weeks, 3 meals of replacement meal and no other food, for detox purpose. So ya, I went for my 3 days break, but it became a permanent break, am indulge with all the good tasty food so much that the thoughts of going back to the 3 days replacement meal seems so torturous to me. I can't stop enjoy the food, my craving was so strong, and I didn't go back for my review anymore. Being really lazy, all my above method had never involve exercise, never. I went up to more than 75KG, probably to a great 77 or 78KG in 2 years.

Taken on 29 April 2012

A turning point for me - Changes that am so grateful about

Was 27 years old then, just last year end, weighing as much as 77kg or more, I don't dare to meet up with friends, when I saw familiar faces in public, I tried to avoid, I hate the moment when friends say to me: "OH MY GOD! what have you done to yourself, You gain so much weight!" I hate it! I once been admire for my effort to down my weight to 60KG and now am back to square 1. For months I did not spend much on clothing, except for working attire, because no point spending money buying beautiful clothes that don't make me look beautiful. Was in a 3 years relationship then, I hide myself up, avoiding the public, even photos taking had been reduced, because it simply look too ugly. I spend all my time with my then boyfriend, until one fine day, we broke up in last year December. True enough, it was heartbreaking, other than the heartbreak, in my mind was like "gosh, am in this terrible state now who else will ever want me, am so fat and old". Thanks god. I build it back and even better. I start my new diet with herbalife, with the right way of product usage, I went to 67KG in Feb this year.

In end Feb 2013

Feeling much energized, I begin with some light workouts, doing some gymball exercise and swimming, continue my diet. This diet do not restrict your food intake, just keep snacks away, you still can indulge in your craving, just keep it moderate. And to me, its a lifestyle change. In March, I took up hot yoga, and in May, I fell in love with yoga, I went pretty intensive with it. I went from 67KG to 60KG in August. With the help of exercise and diet incorporation, I look fitter and stronger then I was before.

Life is about Dare to DREAM. Dare to ACHIEVE.

I always dream to have a an athletic body, nice abs, even 6 packs, tone arms, nice glute. I have never thought that I can actually work my way towards it. Though I have yet to reach my ultimate goals, but am confident that I'll do it. And yes, it is not just a diet nor just a slimming process. Its a transformation to me, I gain confident, confident to face people and confident that with effort, I'll be able to achieve what I want. I begin to love myself even more. The amount of clothes I bought in 1 month now is more than the amount I bought in 1 year when I was fat. Same as anyone, my initial goal was just to lose some weight, gradually my goal grow bigger. Coming 10 months into this lifestyle change, am grateful and still loving my herbalife shake now, never had I find it yucky and torturous. Now I wish to share this transformation with everyone, helping everyone to gain back confident and able to stand on their own again. I used to start off this diet secretly and humbly, now I felt that I should just share my secret and reach out to people who need my help. Because I been through it, I know how it feels and I don't think anyone deserve to feel so low about themselves.Be beautiful, be healthy. Do something for yourself!

 Before photo taken in Oct 2012, After photo taken on 21 Sep 2013

Killing abnominal Fats

One of the biggest questions I get is "how do I lose my belly fat? I've tried several things but nothing worked". When I ask what you tried I hear 100 daily sit-ups, cutting calories drastically, excess cardio, fat burners, etc.
If you can't lose your belly fat, you're using the wrong approach. You don't need endless sit-ups, supplements, starving yourself or worse surgery. Here are the 10 best ways to lose your belly fat - quickly and naturally.

1. Stop Doing Crunches. Crunches will strengthen your stomach muscles, but won't burn the belly fat that covers your abs. Spot reduction is a myth. You're wasting time & effort doing 200 daily crunches.
Crunches can also cause lower back pain, slouching shoulders & forward head posture. The Reverse Crunch doesn't cause these problems, but again: spot reduction is a myth. To lose your belly fat, you need more. Keep reading.

2. Get Stronger. Strength training builds muscle mass, prevents muscle loss and helps fat loss. The Squat & Deadlift work best to build strength.

• Your lower back keeps you upright from the back. Your abs from the front. Both muscles will work hard during heavy Squats & Deadlifts at keeping you from collapsing under the weight.
• Squats & Deadlifts allow you to stress your body with heavy weights, working all your muscles from head to toe. This helps getting stronger quickly and building muscle fast, including ab muscles.

Spot reduction still doesn't exist, so Squats & Deadlifts won't burn your belly fat directly. However they'll strengthen your abs and lower your waist size. If you never did both exercises, check StrongLifts 5x5. Only takes 3x45mins/week.

3. Eat Healthy. As the saying goes “abs are built in the kitchen”. You can train hard & build muscular abs, but if you eat junk food all day, you won't lose your belly fat. Stop eating processed food. Eat whole, unprocessed foods.

• Proteins. Meat, poultry, fish, whey, eggs, cottage cheese, …
• Veggies. Spinach, broccoli, salad, kale, cabbage, …
• Fruits. Banana, orange, apple, pineapple, peers, ...
• Fats. Olive oil, fish oil, real butter, nuts, flax seeds, …
• Carbs. Brown rice, oats, whole grain pasta, quinoa, …

No need to be perfect. Eating junk food actually helps fat loss by keeping your hormones sharp. Don't overdo it though. Eat junk food 10% of the time max. That's 4 junk meals/week if you eat 6 meals/day.

4. Limit Alcohol Consumption. To lose your belly fat, what you drink is as important as what you eat. Alcohol from time to time is OK. But forget about losing your belly fat if you drink beer & sweet alcohols daily.
Beer drinkers always have a peer shape: belly fat & man boobs - especially as they get older. Alcohol also stresses your liver which has to overwork to clear the toxins. This can get in the way of building muscles.
Drink alcohol 10% of the time. Example Friday & Saturday night. Normal alcohol consumption, not the get drunk. Rest of the time: water, water with squeezed lemon, green tea, etc. Either that or forget about losing your belly fat.

5. Eat Less Carbs. You need carbs for energy. Problem is that most people eat way more carbs than they need. Your body will stock the carbs it doesn't need as fat. And this is often how you get belly fat.
Unless you're a skinny guy who needs to gain weight, lower your carb intake. Keep eating fruits & veggies with each meal. But cut back on potatoes, pasta, rice, breads, ... Eat these post workout only.

6. Eat More. Eating tons of healthy foods won't make you fat. Especially not if you exercise 2-3x/week. Starving yourself is the number 1 nutritional mistakes. Healthy nutrition is important for 3 reasons:

• Energy. Food is energy. Your body uses food for weight lifting, working, digestion, etc. Lack of food means lack of energy, in all areas of life.
• Fat Loss. Eating the right foods helps fat loss: protein has the highest thermic effect and satiates, healthy fats promote fat loss, ...
• Maintain Muscle. If you starve yourself, your body will burn muscle for energy - NOT fat. You'll become skinny + fat.

Hunger means you're not eating enough. Don't worry about calories. Just eat breakfast and eat every 3 hours from there on, including post workout. Eat healthy foods 90% of the time to lose your belly fat fast.

7. Eat More Protein. Protein has a higher thermic effect than other foods: your body burns more energy processing proteins than it does processing carbs and fat. That's why high protein diets work great at burning your belly fat.
How much protein do you need daily? Do like I do: eat whole protein with each meal without worrying about the numbers. Check the 10 cheapest sources of protein to keep it budget-friendly.

8. Eat More Fat. Fat doesn't make you fat. Bad nutrition and lack of exercise do. Eating fat actually helps fat loss. Your body won't stock fat as easily if your give it a constant intake of healthy fats.
Fish oil is the best source of fat to lose your belly fat. Fish oil naturally increases testosterone levels and increases fat loss. 6g omega-3 per day is a good start. Check Carlson Fish Oil: 1600mg omega-3 per tbsp.
Stay away from trans-fatty fats present in products like margarine. Trans-fatty fats are bad for your health. Eat whole unprocessed foods 90% of the time as I recommend in point 3 and you'll avoid trans-fatty fats easily.

9. Lower Your Body Fat. As a man, your belly is the last place where you'll get rid of fat. If you have man boobs and a double chin, you'll have to lower your body fat to lose your belly fat. Here's how:

• Get Stronger. Strength training builds & maintains muscle, increases fat loss, helps sticking to diet, ... Check StrongLifts 5x5 if you don't know where to start: it only takes 3x45mins/week.
• Eat Healthier. Apply the 8 nutrition rules. Eat breakfast. Eat every 3 hours. Proteins, veggies & fruits with each meal. Carbs post workout only. 2 cups of water with each meal. Whole foods 90% of the time.
• Add Cardio. 15mins post workout, build up to 3x45mins/week. If you have less than 15% body fat, just get stronger and eat healthier. That will lower your body fat and make you lose your belly fat.

Check the fat loss guide for more info about how to lower your body fat.

10. Stay Motivated. Looking at your belly or in the mirror gives you inaccurate feedback. What you see is influenced by food intake, water retention, light and your own perception. Self-image issues can make the last one tricky.

• Measure Body Fat. Every 2 weeks using a fat caliper. It doesn't need to be accurate. What matters is that the trend goes down.
• Measure Your Waist. Also every 2 weeks. If you get stronger and eat healthy, your waist will go down fast. Your pants will start to feel loose.
• Take Pictures. Shoot pictures of yourself every 2 weeks: front, back & side. The side pictures will show the most change.

Success breeds success. Track progress accurately so you know where you are and stay motivated to keep working at losing your belly fat. Don't just read this post and go back to what you were doing. Take action. Lose your belly fat.

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Above article extract from http://stronglifts.com

Troublesome to make your own healthy meals, email me for hassle-free and tasty alternative!