Get ready to be shredded

 The first time I watched the Biggest Loser I was instantly hooked. It is so intense, physically and emotionally that a soppy gal like me can't help but shed a few tears every episode. Sad but true. Sebelum tu masa tak pernah tengok, buat tak heran je. Yeah, yeah, what ever...Samalah kot dengan apa2 cerita popular, Glee ke Adamaya ke, tak kenal maka tak cinta. I mean come on people, if 400 pound people can lose more than half their body weight by exercise and eating healthy, I think there is hope for the average Jane to lose a few pounds!


And then of course there was Jillian.

To say she kicks butt is an understatement. She is fierce and yet so caring towards her team. Their physical and emotional well-being is her first priority. Ok, ok, no need to get excited, its just a bloody show...Anyway I was absolutely fascinated with her style of training. Can you imagine what would happen if she was your personal trainer?! So when I stumbled upon her exercise video ~The 30 Day Shred, I jumped at the opportunity. And at RM19.90? You must be kidding me! After what I had spent at SlimWorld and Premium Beautiful? Bargain was an understatement.

I was blown away ok, exaggerating with the whole experience. Exercise as I had known it in the early millennium masa young and single mingle dulu had been revolutionised. Zaman dulu2 memang I rajin workout especially aerobics and yoga. Strength training was integrated into cardio workouts in such a way to create an effective 20 min workout that kicked butt! Ok lah, aku jakun, sebab masa tu dah lama meninggalkan exercise. All I knew was sesi ganyang di SlimWorld...

" I get results because I push you till you realize your potential and realize your capabilities. And when you see how strong you are physically, it is going to trancend into every other facet of your life" ~ Jillian Michaels

So ada berani? Lets get shredded!

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Sneak peak at what I eat

OK, malam ni kita selitkan satu entry pasal food. Cepat,cepat, sebelum lights out.

Below are examples of food that are filling yet low in calories.

9.30am ~ Breakfast

Mushroom omelette with boiled asparagus tips and tomato.

Ni tak yah bagi resipi la, senang gila.

1.30pm ~ Lunch
Chicken breast strips on bed of salad.
Ni pun senang gila.

Chicken breast
Marinate the chicken breast strips in Nando's Peri2 sauce for 5 mins and grill on non-stick pan. No extra salt or pepper needed.

Salad
Handful of red and green coral salad and rocket leaves.
Dash of salad dressing.

Tips:
1. Eat half a grapefruit before every meal. Nanti kita sembang pasal grapefruit in future entry.

2. Wash every thing down with a mug of Jasmine Green Tea.

 

Snacks:

1. Low fat yogurt. Ada nano calcium lagi konon.

2. Corn thins. A couple of these does the trick untuk alas perut. And they taste good as well!

 

3. Fruit and Nut mix. Calorie dense but healthy in low doses.

Eating a healthy diet, my stomach is full the whole day long. This keeps the metabolism high compared to eating once a day with an empty stomach for most of the day.

What's for lunch?

Hari ni seperti biasa multitasking since morning. It is 1.40pm. Ni baru dapat rehat kejap, nak makan lunch. Sambil2 tu menaip sat, hehehe. Have you guys had lunch? Did you have breakfast?  What do you usually eat at the office? Do you skip meals at all?

Saya bukanlah pandai sangat bab2 food, nutrition, diet, cuma sekadar berkongsi pengalaman sahaja. Pengalaman mengatakan bahawa, biasanya susah nak cari healthy food if I eat out. The choices in the faculty canteen pun tak banyak. Of course lah the choices are catered for kita orang Malaysia. Sarapan pagi biasanya nasi goreng, mee goreng, nasi lemak, roti canai. Tengahari, nasi dan lauk-lauk yang kebanyakannya semua berminyak dan bergoreng. Minum petang kuih muih, karipap, pisang goreng dan sebagainya. Itu tak termasuk lagi air2 popular seperti teh tarik, milo ais, teh ais, sirap limau dan sebagainya.

Pengalaman membuktikan bahawa kalau saya makan makanan melayu kita, berat badan akan bertambah. Memang lah bukan bertambah dan-dan tu juga, tapi secara kumulatif. Itu sebab walaupun dah pergi slimming centre, kalau tidak pandai memilih makanan berkhasiat, the weight will return.  Mungkin ini adalah genetic saya. Orang lain makan banyak mana pun tetap maintain. Setelah hilang 10 kg di SlimWorld, saya naik balik 4 kg over the course of two years. Not bad juga saya rasa. Tapi kalau tak ada intervention, ia akan bertambah lagi 2 kilo setiap tahun. Ada orang pakai Premium Beautiful, boleh makan apa sahaja. Tapi saya tidak, nak jaga berat badan, portion kena jaga, jenis makanan pun kena jaga.

Oleh kerana tiada banyak pilihan makanan berkhasiat di tempat kerja mahupun di kawasan persekitaran yang sewaktu dengannya, saya terpaksalah membawa bekal sendiri dari rumah untuk breakfast, lunch and snacks. Ini sahaja lah salah satu cara yang boleh saya lakukan untuk gaya hidup sihat. We have to be responsible with what we eat. Saya menulis ini juga sebagai peringatan kepada diri sendiri. Dengan berkongsi bersama blogosphere, saya seolah-olah telah meletakkan komitment kepada diri saya supaya terus berusaha untuk menjaga kesihatan.

*My faithful lunch bag. Sangat suka these small Harrods bags because they are lightweight, durable and easy to keep clean.

*I bring small meals for breakfast, lunch and snacks. And also a small tub of grapefruit, the secret weapon!

Oleh kerana masa tidak mengizinkan, this entry is to be continued and the juggling act continues...

Apa? Gorilla?

After the birth of my first child in 2005 I had gained 8kg and was feeling very frumpy. Note that my anak dara weight was 48kg and pre-pregnancy weight was 51kg ;P. After the 2 months confinement, di tempat kerja ramai yang komen bahawa saya sudah gemoks. Owh sungguh tak best. It didn't help at all that through out roughly one year of breastfeeding I was quite top heavy. My nephew (anak cousin) yg berumur 3/4(?) tahun pada masa tu juga telah komen, "eee..macam gorilla la". Owh sungguh sadis!



I knew that the reason I had put on weight was because of a very poor diet and lack of exercise. Mana taknya, sepanjang pantang, snek kegemaranku adalah biskut kering Hup Seng cicah Milo. Bukan sekeping dua, dalam 5 keping sekali makan. Bukan makan sehari sekali, malah 3 atau empat kali sehari apabila perut terasa lapar dan takkan nak makan nasik lagi? Another favourite snack was toast (gardenia white bread) sapu nutella. Easy-strider yang dibeli kononnya kerana nak low impact exercise telah menjadi gajah putih dan tempat buat sangkut baju lagi menyemak.

There were times when I felt quite down because the centre of my other half's universe was no longer on me, but now on his little precious daughter. When once his eyes would sparkle at the sight of me, he would then come home from work and make a bee line for the baby. With a quick peck on the cheek for me, his eyes never left the baby. And I didn't blame him of course, I knew that it was natural and that in order for me to feel good about myself I had to get back in shape and look good.

Since most of the extra weight was gained during pregnancy and post-pregnancy, maka kerana itu saya telah berazam untuk memastikan bahawa saya menjaga makan dan kesihatan sepenuhnya apabila mengandung kali kedua. And that was what I did...