Day 1 Slim Down Challenge: 30 Relatively Small Diet and Lifestyle Changes for Big Weight Loss Benefit

If I tell people I'm 6 month pregnant, anyone would surely buy it. No, I'm not pregnant. This is just fat.

I got asked by friends countless time about my "pregnancy", they refused to believe when I denied. Getting asked this too frequent, even I sometimes would get confused myself, 'could I be pregnant without me realizing about it?' That's enough to give you a slight idea how terribly out of shape I am. Haha~ Well it's not like I never tried to lose weight. If you read my older post, you'll understand my struggle with weight loss. I usually made it well the first 3 days but the motivation to lose weight just faded after few days and I'll finally abandoned it. My bad!

The Diet

Today is 1st April, a brand new day and I decided to restart my weight loss journey today. I have been putting off way too long now. 3 months passed by already and seriously I could have accomplished something but sadly I didn't.

The 30 Day Weight Loss Plan
I plan to do a no carb, no sugar diet for 30 days. And to give myself an extra push, I'm following this #SHAPESlimDown mini daily challenge and I promise to keep up with it for 30 days.

30 Day Slim Down Challenge

Day 1 - Put the blame
Day 2 - Set S.M.A.R.T. goals
Day 3 - Ditched added sugar
Day 4 - Avoid refined carbs
Day 5 - Put down the drink
Day 6 - Plan 1 splurge
Day 7 - Allow spontaneous indulgence
Day 8 - Keep grains in check
Day 9 - Eat only when hungry
Day 10 - Go for a walk
Day 11 - Never skip breakfast
Day 12 - Say NO to junkfood
Day 13 - Nix processed foods
Day 14 - Shop for whole foods
Day 15 - Meal prep
Day 16 - Reorganize your fridge
Day 17 - Keep a food journal
Day 18 - Ramp up protein intake
Day 19 - Veggies / fruit on every plate
Day 20 - Know your healthy fats
Day 21 - Keep portions in check
Day 22 - Track total calories
Day 23 - Eat at the table
Day 24 - Eliminate distraction
Day 25 - Slow down
Day 26 - Downsize dinnerware
Day 27 - Bust out the scale
Day 28 - Reduce sodium
Day 29 - Sleep 7+ hours
Day 30 - Cut 100 calories

Tell ya, this is not easy. Never. I've being in a very comfortable zone for quiet some time. Making a change of routine is going to be a challenge but I'll keep posting about my progress to keep me accountable with the weight loss plan. How's that?

I got this. 

Now I'd like to hear from you. Do you know any other small changes I can follow to lose weight? Share your ideas in the comments.

Read more

Losing Weight: Why It's So Hard To Get Started?

It has been a long time since my last post.

Yes, it's March and I AM STILL FAT. Statistic shows that 80% people already gave up their weight loss or fitness resolution by the second week of February. And as for me I haven't clicked into gear yet. You know, getting started is always the hardest part of anything. That's the reason I haven't post a while because I have nothing of worth to share. Well now it's time for some self-reflection.

Why is it so difficult to get started?

First, change is uncomfortable. For example, sleep is enjoyable and it's a temptation of many to hit the snooze button to gain extra 10 or 20 minutes of sleep every morning. But choosing to wake up early every morning to exercise require us to go out of our comfort zone. Comfort zone is a space or any type of behavior that we feel safe, in control and at ease. Trying new things, tweak off our diet, or motivate ourselves into exercise routine means pushing past our comfort zone, and it's not always easy because we have to adjust ourselves with new situation.

Second, fear of failing, fear of what people might think. Getting started means we're taking risk of attempting something we might fail, something worst can happen that we decided not to try it at all. Past failure makes us afraid to take the first step, when we know we're going to make a wrong end. Or maybe the roadblock is our friends or family that we know will make fun of us trying to lose weight.

Third, poor habit. That's it. You're lazing around just procrastinating day in day out. Remember? Just one more episode, but at the end get hooked on a TV show and binge watch all the episode in one day. When we fall into the pattern of poor time management, feeling weak and unmotivated, it's easy to get stuck because an object at rest tends to remain at rest.

How Do You Get Started, Anytime?
This is what I'm telling myself today, just do it! Easier said than done of course. But I believe it's possible. Even when our thought or feeling trying to hold us back, developing a 'just do it' attitude will help you break the bad pattern off and get started right away. There's a room for a foggy thoughts about what could happen but sometimes we just need to stop listening to them and take action.

Have you ever had a hard time of getting started with something? Tell me about your breakthrough in the comments below.

Read more

The Art of Loving Yourself: How Loving Yourself Can Lead to Weight Loss?

I'm a few days late but Happy Valentine's Day for all those celebrating!

Valentine's Day is celebrated every year on the February 14th for people to express their love to their significant other. People celebrating it by buying greeting cards, flowers, chocolates, or jewelry. But Valentine's Day is not just for couples who can have all the fun. This day is a very good excuse to be lovely to yourself all day, don't you think so? Whether you are single or in a relationship this Valentine's Day, remember to love yourself.

In honor of the month of love, I am doing recap of my old post about loving the most important being in your life: YOU! Loving yourself in this context doesn't mean you're being narcissist. Self-love is not selfish or shallow, it's totally opposite of narcissism.

What Does It Actually Mean To Love Yourself? How Loving Yourself Lead to Losing Weight?

1 - Loving yourself mean you appreciate yourself
Stand in front of the mirror and name things you like about you. It could be your nice long curly hair, or your unique monolid eyes. It could be your sweet smile or your lean arms. It doesn't necessarily your physical appearance that you could love about yourself. It could be other qualities like your positive attitude and your sense of humor.

When you appreciate yourself, you will not resort to any dangerous diet that could harm your health. When you love yourself, you will not let negative thought control and intimidate you.

2 - Loving yourself mean you take fully responsible on your body
No one is responsible for your body and your health, only you are responsible for it. We all know that we need to make new, healthy lifestyle changes to lose weight but sometime we tend to blame our busy schedule to skip workout or use boredom or feelings of emptiness as an excuse to eat crap.

Loving yourself mean you take responsibility for your own choices. Take a moment to make a list of your choices each day. What, when and how much you eat, whether you exercise or not. When you take responsible on your body, you will watch closely what you put in your mouth. You will eat only healthy foods. You will make effort to find at least 10 minutes each day for a quick workout.

3 - Loving yourself mean you embrace your uniqueness
I remember watching this famous Korean talk show called Happy Together where Hwang Shinhye was one of the guest. Hwang Shihye is a popular actress and the host of "Let Me In", a famous plastic surgery show in Korea. One of the topic discussed was about plastic surgery. The host of the show asked Hwang Shinhye whether her model daughter ever mention about getting a plastic surgery. Shinhye did suggest her daughter once that she might need to fix her eyes or nose but Jin Yi, her model daughter refused the idea. She is very confident and wants to keep her unique look.  

 Gorgeous celebrity mother-daughter:
Actress Hwang Shin Hye with her daughter Lee Jin Yi for SURE, October 20th issue.

What I'm trying to say is this - many people these days are trying to fit themselves into the image of what other people's standard of beauty or ideal personality. Maybe you want to sound sensuous and gloriously breathy like Marilyn Monroe when you speak. Or you want to have Gwen Stefani's flat abs. But the thing is you can't copy and paste the perfect body together from parts into a whole. You can't live yourself being someone you're not. This 'unhealthy habit' could damage your confidence and self-esteem. There's nothing wrong with being yourself.

When you love yourself, you will try to find the beauty inside of you and learn to be kind to yourself. When you love yourself, you will want to focus on your uniqueness and positive qualities instead of your flaws and failures. Instead of feeling sorry for yourself, loving yourself gives you the opportunity to start fresh and discover your strength, what you're capable of which will further help you accomplish your goals.

Let's discuss about this: What have you done to foster self-love? Please share your experiences in the comments below.

Read more

Fitspiration Friday: Kajol's Weight Loss Secrets Revealed!

Today I choose Kajol for Fitspiration Friday.

Kajol

I first watched her on Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998) and became an avid a fan ever since. I became super excited when I heard Kajol is making a comeback for Dilwale (2015) with Shah Rukh Khan. Aside from looking very fair and lovely compare to her dusky skin in prior years, her appearance hasn't changed much. I'm impressed! How does she stays in great shape, especially after having two kids?

Kajol's Diet Plan
- keeping her mouth zipped
- eating from home before going out
- having 4-5 meals a day to 3 heavy meals.
- consume enough amount of water and have a diet rich in protein. She eats fish, eggs and chicken in good quantity.
- not have any kind of junk food.
- keeps discussing her diet plan with the dietician as and when required and coordinates it with her schedule.

On Screen Romance:
Kajol and Shah Rukh Khan in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai 1998 (Left) and Dilwale 2015 (Right)

Kajol's Fitness Plan
- she weight training. She lifts weights and can handle 150 pounds and more in what is known as the ‘dead lift’
- high intensity and calorie burning workout
- Kajol also does endurance training, yoga, lifts and squats as part of her fitness regimen.
- makes sure to workout for around 90 minutes daily.

And when you start working out, you realise you’re calmer, you’re nicer. People are reacting to you differently. Not because you’ve lost weight but because you’re calmer, your perspective has changed. All the angst we have, the stress we have can be controlled, if not completely eradicated, just by working out.

- Kajol

Kajol's motivation to stay in shape
Kajol shares to iDiva that every decision made in life matters, "Some people say — have that beer or have the French fries, nothing will happen with one French fry, eat that cheese popcorn, it doesn’t matter. But it does matter. Each decision you make in life matters, each meal matters. That’s the kind of thinking you should have where work is concerned, where a relationship is concerned. That applies to everything in your life." 

She adds: "Whether it’s your husband, your next meal or your work. If the small things don’t matter then you miss out on the big picture. Make that extra effort for every relationship. Whether it’s with your parents, your children, your husband or your friends. It makes a difference to them."

"I try to give my kids alot of solo time where I play with them, talk to them, listen to them. Similarly, you give time for your workout. You slot a time for it, no matter what."

Kajol's word of wisdom to people who want to lose weight
You have to take charge of your life. If you want to lose weight, you have to be obsessed with it. You can’t depend upon your dietician, your trainer or various health aids that you have. You have to be organised. And believe me it isn’t that difficult.

The first 10 days are terrible because you have to break the lifelong habits that you have made. Also, when you go out with friends you have to order from the menu.

Now I want to hear from you: What is your opinion on celebrity weight loss? Is their diet and weight loss tips make sense to you?

Read more

Weight Loss Resolutions for the New Year: The Top Three Critical Reasons Why It Fail

It's been over a week since we celebrated New Year. So how's everyone is going with the New Year's resolution? Do you still keep up with it, or have you given up already?

It's a trend that every New Year people will make a New Year's resolution. The irony is perhaps the thought of 'starting out a fresh page, the past is officially the past,' give people a comfort of starting fresh all over again. But it's also not a surprise that a week into the new year, just 77 percent of resolution makers are still on track, and after six months, only about 40 percent.

When I had my second child almost 6 years ago, I resolve to lose all the baby weight but after 6 years repeating the same resolutions, I'm ashamed to say that I'm still stuck at the same old circle.**sad face**

The Fat Trap: 5 years battle and still not losing weight :(

Losing weight are the most popular New Year's resolutions. But how exactly some people stick with a goal for long enough and succeed, and why people like me can't seem to follow through and stay focused for very long? I have read some useful tips on how to stick to your weight loss resolutions. So, these are the top three critical reasons Why New Year's Resolutions Fail and how to keep it from happening this year.

Reason 1: Lack of purpose
Most people fail to achieve their goals year-round because they're just thinking about their goals. They're not committed to them. I'd like to share a quote from Steve Maraboli, a speaker and bestselling author, "If you have a goal, write it down. If you do not write it down, you do not have a goal - you have a wish." It is encouraged that we write down any potential goal that pops into your head.

Why? Because making a list will help you keep that initial excitement and push you forward to reach your goal.
What to write? Every possible benefit that you will experience upon completion of the goal. Make a list why you want to make this change and answer it honestly. Keep this list handy and read the list at least once a week to remind yourself why you've started at the first place.

Reason 2: Time Management
Too busy to eat healthy, too busy for fitness. That is the most common excuse we heard (and I heard it from myself). Do you feel like you're too busy to lose weight? We all have the same 24 hours every single day. But why some are busier than others, and then there are some people seem to make the most of it than others? It is actually depends on how you use those 24 hours more effectively.

First off, stop procrastinating and get things done. Make a priority list. Instead of trying to accomplish your goal all in one day, break it up into smaller task that seem more possible to get done. For example, using the stairs every day instead of the elevator at the office.

Reason 3: Giving up Too Soon
Don't despair when you happen to get "off track" with either your diet or fitness goal. Don't pity yourself. Diet relapses happen to the best of us. Start over again! Recommit yourself for 24 hours.

Use the power of positive reinforcement to keep your momentum going. For example, treat yourself a day trip to somewhere you wanted to visit, if you work hard this week. Or reward yourself with a spa day if you quit soda in 24 hours. Before you know it, you will be back on track.

The power of positive thinking is vital for success

Your turn:

• What are your 2016 goals? 
•  How do you plan to tackle obstacles and achieve your goals this year? 

Share them in the comments section below, and let's have a talk about it!

Read more