Health, Fitness & Fashion Talk – Kickstarting your fitness journey

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Everybody (men & women) has different fitness goals and journey and through my years of training, I realized the first few issues that people question is “I don’t know where or how to start”. More than often, they sit on the issue, procrastinate, forget about it after awhile and then ended up becoming very unhealthy and gaining weight. Today, I will be doing a simple guide on how ladies (well, some points may appeal to men too) can kick start your fitness journey.

Before I start, I need everyone to understand that just by reading this won’t help you get started. You need to be able to convince yourself first that you need help, need to get healthier!

1. Set Realistic Goals

Forget about the SMART concept now (I will see if I can cover on this at a later date) and just close your eyes. Think about what kind of a person with what kind of physique do you think you can become. Considering these factors: hereditary bone structure and body frame. Write your goals down somewhere promiment, in your room door, wallet, on your room wall, wherever visible that you like. 

After which, find a photo/image of somebody’s physique that you will like to become. He/She can be anyone or anything. It can be in your phone wallpaper, chat wallpaper, or if you think you have more than one fitness inspiration, do up a fitness ‘moodboard’ and put it up on your bedroom wall!

 "Be POSITIVE, PATIENT and PERSISTENT!"  

2. Start a food log

If you don’t know where to start or how to start altering you diet, start a food log. Record every single food or water you put into your mouth. Be as specific as you can, stating the time and meal. I have provided a link here for you to download the spreadsheet if you want. You may edit and do up your personal one too. Get into a habit of recording and trust me, you will start to find out more about your body and its dietary needs and habits, what and how your body reacts to different food. It’s also a good idea to discover your allergies if you suspect you have any. Keep doing it and you will want to find out more and alter your diet accordingly to maintain health and keeping it lean.

"Failing to plan, is planning to FAIL!"

3. Get a personal trainer for help

You have started planning your goals and recording your diet for a month or so, but you cant seem to kickstart working out because you don’t know when, where or how to start. There you go, get help! It’s pretty trending to get personal trainers nowadays. I see the gym getting more and more crowded day by day, especially during the peak hours, with personal trainers and their clients.

Having train clients for a few years now, I can safely tell you that you do not need to rely on a personal trainer for life. All you need is to get help to set your basics right, after as long or short as you need; you are good to be on your own. This will help to ensure that you are doing everything correctly or as safely as you can to reduce risk of injury in and out of the gym. UNLESS, of course, you need a lifetime of motivation and push from your trainer, or that you have an old/receovered injury and you need a lifetime of guidance through your workouts, OR, unless you have too much money to spend.

"You wanna train smart, not just hard!" 

4. Get comfortable workout gear

Not so much of a guys’ thing but come on, who doesn’t want to look good all the time. Looking and feeling good in what you wear is important because it provides as an additional motivational and confidence boost when somebody tells you that you look good in what you wear. But of course, there is no need for you to get all the expensive workout gear just to prove that you are a ‘legit’ gym goer.

After having spent so much money on workout gear, Vivreactivewear.com approached me to do some advertorials and I subsequently became their model too. I would say the quality of the clothes have improved so much over the last few months and I’m proud to be the model! Even my clients buy from Vivreactivewear!

I’m in workout gear all day everyday because that is my work attire so I get super particular about the quality when it comes to buying them. I get so fussy its annoying sometimes! :P I never like them too tight (not the top), don’t like the material too thin, padding quality is important, need to be able to perspire in them, etc. Sylvia (founder of Vivre) constantly searches for better quality and designs to make sure that us ladies have good quality workout gear to workout/do yoga in!

Here are some of my favourite pieces which I really love very much!

I really love the fact that Vivre offers that more-affordable option for ladies, without compromising on the quality! On top of that, you get a 10% off minimum of $50 spent by quoting ‘Limaran’ at checkout.

"SUCCESS doesn’t happen overnight. Keep our eyes on the prize and don’t EVER look back!"  

Feel free to email me if you have any burning question or require personal training. Happy shopping at www.vivreactivewear.com and I hope this helps to clear some doubts in your head and get you started on your llifelong fitness journey!

Keep searching and learning, and never ever stop!

Beauty & Lifestyle Talk – NIVEA Extra white & Firm Q10 deodorent

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Underarm care has always been an important issue for me since young. I was born with more hair on my body so since I was in secondary school, being the conscious and very vain me, I resorted to shaving the underarms and unfortunately, plucking too. As I was growing up, I had tried waxing (which was painful) and finally found IPL, though I did not start the treatment until I started working because of the costs. Even then, after years of shaving and plucking, the skin at my underarm darkened and started to sag.

I started using anti-perspirant and deodorant ever since I experienced the first female body odour (of a stranger in the bus on my journey to TP) and vowed never to smell like that in my life. I have been changing brands until 4-5 years ago, I tried NIVEA and stopped switching brands (only switched range).

NIVEA (more than a 100 years of history) 

NIVEA, a German, trusted and credible brand, is one that focuses on skin care for face, body and underarms. NIVEA also believes in caring for the skin and that having healthy skin equates to having beautiful skin.

With the deodorant as the biggest category of the brand, NIVEA has been the number one deodorant in Singapore and expectedly, the whitening range is the best seller in the past 4 years. NIVEA is the first brand to launch the invisible range that leaves no stain on your clothes and has whitening variants to target darkened skin.



NIVEA Extra white & Firm Q10 deodorant launch






“Get fairer and firmer underarms with all day freshness.
 Now, you won’t be caught off-guard in any situations.” 








I was privileged to be able to attend the new product launch which was held at Food for thought on 31st January 2015, together with many other female bloggers. The venue was brightly and beautifully decorated in blue and white!

We were cleared of some common underarm myths and more information of this new NIVEA Extra white & firm Q10 deodorant. For the first time, this deodorant has a firming ingredient present in skincare: co-enzyme Q10 to help firm up saggy skin! Also, this new NIVEA deodorant contains licorice extract, which is a whitening ingredient (solves darkened skin). It also functions as an all-day anti-perspiration action to protect from sweat and odour and has long lasting protection (48 hours) against sagginess and darkening.

Mongchin and I were then invited to share about our usual underarm care routine and some underarm horror stories.

Shandy must have said something hilarious!

More photos while waiting for our food to be served!

With the gorgeous Valerie, Sheila and Mongchin!

WE ARE GETTING BRAVE!

NIVEA Extra white & Firm Q10 deodorant (50ml) is retailing at $4.90 and available at Watsons, Guardian, Super/hypermarkets and major retailer stores. Its not expensive to smell and feel good after all so no excuse right? :D

For more information, you may head to the facebook page as well: https://www.facebook.com/NIVEA.sg

Lifestyle Talk – Peugeot 308

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Who says a non-driver cannot talk about and show interest in cars? :P Not so much of a car-lover but I do have some preferences when it comes to selecting (contributing views) a car with J. I really love hatchback cars in general so I got really excited when we were invited to the launch of the new Peugeot 308 on the last weekend of January.

Well the Peugeot wasn’t really a new encounter for J and I because the car we rented when we were on our honeymoon to London was also a Peugeot, a Peugeot 208 to be exact. I couldn’t say how good the drive was since I’m not a driver but as a passenger, the ride was smooth throughout other than some glitches due to bad weather. It was a trusty ride that brought us to the most beautiful places with the most memorable memories!

Peugeot since 1858

A little about the rich history of the brand - Peugeot is a French car brand that started out in 1810 manufacturing coffee mills and bicycles, items that are still sold in Peugeot showrooms today.

The company moved in cars in 1858 and has gone on to become one of the biggest automotive brands in Europe. Its cars have also won multiple critics’ awards around the world and have an impressive history in motorsports.

Peugeot 308

Peugeot 308 (Year 2007)

In 2007, the Peugeot 308 was first unveiled and in late 2013, the latest 308 went on sale globally, featuring Peugeot’s new design style, and went on to win European ‘Car of the Year’ in 2014, beating the likes of the BMW i3. Its i-Cockpit interior was also awarded ‘Most Beautiful Interior’ in the UK.

The all-new Peugeot 308 (Year 2014)

Personally for me, I have no right to be picky about the cars that J is considering (when he is ready to buy a car), I just hope that the car he chooses will be affordable, fuel efficient, lower road tax costs and safe & stable to drive as he spends more time on the road than me. We both love how the new Peugeot 308 is hatchback and looks really sleek. Surprisingly, I specifically like how the new Peugeot 308 has Full LED headlights with LED daytime running lights! These are features that are usually only found on high-end luxury marques and these really give the new 308 a stunning profile and are much brighter than the usual halogen lamps. Of course, some of the other features that I like are the panoramic glass roof that stretches all the way to the back of the car and the fact that it shows excellent fuel consumption of up to 19.6km/litre on paper.

Peugeot 308 Official Open house – 24th & 25th January 2015

Sales Manager of Autofrance (Peugeot), Jimmy greeted us and briefed us on the main features of the car before we had some time to get refreshments and snap some photos before our test-drive. I went straight to the 2nd choice passenger seat to snap a quick one since the front was occupied.

Peugeot also made some really great changes to the cabin. Called the i-Cockpit Interior, the idea is to give it a minimalist feel yet really easy for the drive to navigate all its functions.

The steering wheel has also been sized down for intense dynamic sensations, a high- positioned ‘head up’ instrument panel to easily read the information without taking the driver’s eyes off the road ahead, an enhancing high centre console and a large 9.7” touch screen for intuitive driving.

Sidetracking a little, we were served some yummy cupcakes and juices while waiting for our test drive. J had the red velvet and myself some Milo Dino! YUMMS!

Jimmy then took us out for spin and the driver was J! HEHE. We went on the test drive shortly after and I was really impressed with the smooth yet powerful 1.2L PureTech turbo engine and 6-speed EAT6 gearbox which provides 129hp and 230Nm torque! Thumbs up!

Win a Staycation and a weekend with the new Peugeot 308!

Of course, how could I miss out the good news! You will stand a chance to win a staycation and a weekend with the Peugeot 308! All you have to do is to log on to <http://blog.nuffnang.com.sg/2015/02/06/peugeot308-blogging-contest/> and do a short blog post on your favourite feature of the new Peugeot 308 and why! I hope you win the staycation and most of all, a weekend with the new ride! Good luck! :D 

More information about the Peugeot 308 can be found here: 
http://www.peugeot.com.sg/news/the-new-peugeot-308puretech-is-in-town and promotional prices start from $113,900 and include 3 years free servicing (subject to change based on COE rates). Do feel free to pop by at the showroom and call the sales hotline if you would like to arrange for an appointment. 

Peugeot Showroom 
305 Alexandra Road 
Singapore 159942 

Sales Hotline – 6376 2288 
Fax – 6477 7373 
Website – www.peugeot.com.sg 
Facebook – www.facebook.com/peugeotsg 

Business hours: 
Monday to Saturday, 8am to 7pm. 
Sunday and Public Holidays, 10am to 7pm.