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!

Travels - Guangzhou Part 2

Sorry for the hiatus! I'm back to continue with the Guangzhou trip!

Many have asked me how to keep fit and not go too overboard with the diet when I travel. Well, it really depends on your priorities. When I travel with Jason, we always look for a gym to go to, after the flights have been confirmed. So we either look for a local gym to go to (which we would always prefer) or we settle for a hotel that comes with a gym. This is one of the many reasons why I love traveling with Jason, because we have the same priorities and we know it.

Day 3 started with breakfast, followed by a quick gym session before we started walking down the streets again. Ashley joined us too!

Washed up and left the hotel for some street near Guangzhou Municipal Government Hospital, recommended by the staff at the hotel. Apparently she mentioned that we will be able to find some cheap sportswear there.

OOTD in Love, Bonito's dress, coat and shoes!

When we found that there isn't much sportswear to purchase, we started roaming around the residential and very local areas around the area. Such an eye-opener to see how these people are able to survive in such living conditions in the cold weather. They live on the streets, carrying their blankets around with them when they go about their daily businesses, and sleep on the stone-cold streets at night.

Chanced upon this local cafe where they sell their famous local 'Chang fen'.

Had some porridge. But we did not really fancy the 油條, Singapore seems to sell better ones!

Walked around so much that day I clocked 15,000 steps on my Nikefuelband! Us at Fashion Street just outside our hotel

This was SOOOOO good we went back on the last night but couldn't get to eat it for the last time. 花生糊!!
We will definitely have this again the next time we go over!

 Day 4 started with another quick workout session before we headed back to the town for a last meal.

The awesome Szechuan cuisine home cooked by Songjie! SUPER YUMMY!

We decided to have our portraits drawn on the last night!

I DONT KNOW WHY my head is drawn so much bigger than Jason's. zzzz

I have no idea what this is but we tasted yogurt and fruits. Substitute for the 花生糊 we couldn't get! Doesn't taste too bad.

So basically, this sums up our Guangzhou trip! I'll make sure I have my DSLR with me on my next trip! :X

Do check out www.hapa-fitness.com for tips and articles on health, fitness and beauty! I'll be covering on our website on the next post! Till then!

Have a great week ahead everyone! 

Health & Food - Apple Crumble Pie (Not)

Here goes the recipe of the Apple Crumble Pie that I made last Saturday evening. I got the recipe of Jamie Oliver's website (http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/fruit-recipes/apple-crumble) but I tweaked the recipe to make my apple crumble into a pie, which failed terribly even though the taste is still yummy! If you think this is super healthy, then I suggest you don't try my recipe because it's not super healthy (LOL), it contains unsalted butter and fine brown sugar!

Apple Crumble Pie (Not)

For the crumble (I made 4 servings of the crumble to complement the 4 apples used)
35g rolled oats
35g all-purpose flour
20g fine brown sugar
25g unsalted butter
2 cubes of Laughing cow low-fat cheese

For the filling
4 apples cored and chopped (I used medium-sized, quite similar to fuji but cheaper)
25g fine brown sugar
1 tablespoon water

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 175deg.
2. Prepare the apples first, cut and chop the apples into thin slices.
3. Put all the apples in a pan and put sugar and water. Cook over low heat for 5 minutes.
4. Mix flour, oats, sugar, butter and cheese into a bowl and mix them either with your hands or a whisk. Make sure you mix until the mixture turns crumble-like.
5. In an oven dish (I used a glass one), spread half of the crumble mixture until you have covered every spot on the dish. Lay the cooked apples for the second layer, after which put the remaining crumble mixture and try to cover the apples completely.
6. Put the dish into the oven and bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until you see that the crumble turns golden/brown.

**Note that this is not a real pie so you won't be able to cut a slice nicely, this will be rather messy to eat. I'll be attempting the real pie versions for my Christmas potluck parties and will update the recipe again I promise! 

Before it went into the oven

TADAH! My apple crumble

Do give this recipe a shot if you like and let me know how I can improve on this! I realized I did not cook the apples long enough but loved them crunchy because of that.

Updates on what I've been up to!

Always remember to stretch after warmup and after workout ALL the time! This is one of my favorite stretches!

I have been increasing my caloric intake and watching my body getting rounder is not exactly the most wonderful feeling (LOL). Muscles are fuller though, hoping to see some interesting changes slowly in the next weeks!

Outfit of last Sunday for Day of Recollection in Church

Today in full Lovebonito, love the Thalassa top (though I had to purchase size M) and the Maven midi which I got from the restock special! So flattering!

Love, Bonito has launched some of the new pieces from the collaboration with Julien Fournie so do check it out! I love the  Opera Skirt!

It's Friday tomorrow so hang in there everyone! Till the next!

Fitness & Nutrition: How important nutrition is

I took a long time to prepare this post because I have been contemplating posting this as it'll be a societal shock to our modern lifestyle and diet, and to many of you out there. The other reason for the delay was to carefully put all the technical terms into a simpler version so it'll be easier for everyone to understand.

Do bear with me on this post as I'll be stressing a lot on the most challenging part of your fitness journey AGAIN. I need to keep emphasising on the fact that nutrition should be the root and the foundation to your journey to perfecting health and fitness, well, not just that, but going slightly ahead, especially if you are a competitive athlete or sportsperson.

There is an apparent reason, to me, why the sports industry is not blooming and moving forward in Singapore. Yes, as you can guess right now, the reason is NUTRITION.

As you can see from the triangle above, this is the Crossfit Dietary Prescription (CDP). I guess some of you may have seen this, may have understood this, and some of you may think this is irrelevant because you don't crossfit. But hey, take a minute (or few) to read what I have to say because if you are disciplined enough to give it a try and spread the good news, maybe the sports industry, and even the SAF (Singapore Armed Force) in Singapore will see the enlightenment and improve the current sports and fitness education.

Today, I'll be attempting to simplify this prescription so this can apply to everyone and instill into your lifestyle.

Ever heard of 'You are what you eat!'? This is the summary of CDP. Your nutrition is the foundation and will break or make you in your fitness journey. A good and well-balanced diet will ensure increment in health, energy and sense of well-being; it is also the deciding factor  of whether your body is reducing fats, building quality muscles and optimising performance in and out of the gym.

Sport - performance

Strength training (aka weight-lifting) - control of external weight

Gymnastics - control of our body in space

Metabolic conditioning - cardio/respiratory

Nutrition - solid molecular foundation

I do not even have to elaborate and tell you more about the other 4 factors if you don't know how to keep your nutrition in check. SO here goes:

Macronutrients - what I have been referring to as macros, are your protein, carbohydrates and fats. Micronutrients, as you may guess, are then vitamins and minerals. Carbohydrates affects the production of hormone insulin, that derives energy from your bloodstream in your cells to be used as fuel. Though it is an essential in the body, too much of carbohydrates in your body will result in diabetes type II, coronary heart disease, depression, obesity, etc. Protein, goes the same way as carbs, will result in fat storage if consumed in excess, however if in deficiency, will break down muscles to make up for the necessary protein requirement. Fats are then your optimal energy source and it contains almost twice the amount of carbs and protein. Of course I'm referring to good fats such as nuts, seeds, fish and avocado.

So where am I deriving at exactly? 

I'm trying to encourage and promote a diet that is a combination of 2 individual popular diets and one that you can keep and instill into a lifestyle, that will ultimately increase your performance in your sport, in the army, or even, in your pursuit of health and fitness for life.

Diet 1: Paleo Diet

Paleolithic diet is all about meat, seeds, nuts, vegetables, very minimal starch and NO sugar. YES, you read me right, NO SUGAR! Alot of crossfit athletes don't consume sugar AT ALL, which means they even avoid fruits that are high in sugar. It's really up to you though, I personally feel that as long as you don't go overboard with the grapes, bananas, mangoes and cherries, a little won't kill but hey, #YOLO! You know what your body needs and wants.

Diet 2: Zone Diet

The Zone diet emphasises on both the quality and quantity of your macros - calorie counting, which everyone irks. 

To optimise performance, you will need a mixture of both diets (sounds complicated and difficult uh?).

Bottomline - your diet should consist of more lean meats, vegetables, seeds, nuts, some fruits, little starch and NO SUGAR. Also, you need to keep the intake of your macros to support your workout, not your body fat. WHICH MEANS, you don't eat less because you want to lose weight, you cut on what you eat for a purpose to maximise your performance in the gym, sport or even in the armed forces. The CDP recommends 30% of your diet to consist of lean protein, 40% low-glycemic carbs (low GI foods) and 30% of good/monosaturated fats.

So then, how do you know much much to eat for each meal? Remember I mentioned before, that your different body type will determine how you should be eating? There you go..

The CDP has defined that:

1 block of protein = 7 grams of protein (cooked)

1 block of carbs = 9 grams of carbs

1 block of fats = 1.5 grams of fats

Now look at the table below and you will be able to find out how many blocks are recommended for you on the different meals. 

Give it a try if you are game for it, and have the plans to optimize your performance in the gym, as a professional athlete or sportsperson. I hope I managed to deliver my message well. Do come back to me if you have burning questions about CDP. Start cutting out SUAGRS from your diet everyone!

To those who have emailed me and waiting for my reply, kindly be patient with me, I'll definitely get back to you ASAP! Keep those emails coming in! (=

One of the nights while I was marinating my food for easy cooking - used cajun & ginger ground

Yay, finally got a photo taken with Zheng ge ping!

Saturdays with LOVE

Have a great week ahead everyone! I'll be back with the recipe I promised to share! (=

Health & Nutrition - The reality of food

I hate to break this news but since I started calorie-counting and looking up what I really eat and their nutritional value, I was appalled with the facts about the foods that I have been feeding myself and how ignorant we have all been regarding the foods we have been eating.

Here are some very good examples which I wanna share. I have always thought that eggs are good because of the protein content and that everyone else who are building muscles and eating clean are adding a lot of eggs in their diets. So as I was doing the math and finding out more about eggs, I found that eggs have very high fat content. While you can get a good 6g of protein from eggs and it tastes yummy (at least to me and my gym buddies), there is actually about 4-4.5g of fats in each egg you consume. It all comes from the yolk, of course but having said that, you will be getting only half the amount of protein if you were to remove the yolk. SAD TRUTH I know.

Credits to nutritiondata.self.com

Another fact that I will wanna share is about Avocados. Avocados are highly beneficial in boosting good cholesterol in your body, they provide all 18 essential amino acids necessary for the body to form a complete protein, help prevent or mitigate against both osteo- and rheumatoid arthritis, offer powerful anti-inflammatory benefits and lower risks of getting heart diseases. BUT, the matter of fact is that it is still high in fat and carb content. I was shocked after I made my morning avocado juice with a whole avocado because I exceeded my daily fat content in just one meal and it was the first meal of the day! Solution: eat 1/4 to 1/2 for breakfast ONLY - try to have foods that are high in fats and carbs as early in the day as possible.

Credits to nutritiondata.self.com

These are just 2 of the examples that I have found and I'll be updating if I find out more. Also, I'm doing this because I'm doing a caloric deficit to my diet right now so I need to know exactly what I put into my body. I'm not trying to encourage anybody to avoid taking eggs and/or avocados because they are very beneficial to your body. What I'm trying to emphases here is that, you will have to take every food in moderation, no matter how beneficial the food is to our body. This could be the reason why I don't see results having altered my diet so much previously, I was eating too much of the "good" food. Bottomline is, don't just take advises from people and take them for real, if you are really serious and passionate about something, go research and find out more yourself. Personally I do give a lot of advises, telling people I know to eat clean and healthy, etc. But PLEASE do not take my word for it. I'm still learning and exploring, though I love to share. (:

So, here's what I have been up to, in pictures. 

Rowed 45 mins, completed 6.234km on Friday

Having watermelon juice on my way home after training

Jason says this is the greatest fruit God created, I agreed!

Blueberries & banana smoothie for breakfast

Of course, not forgetting milk, plain yogurt and 1 scoop of protein

My current state - Week 0

What I do on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, honing my skills for the love of Netball

Today - having lunch after mass in the freaking weather

Mandatory ootd shot while waiting for the car engine to warm up

Well, my dinner has become more exotic - these are fruits that I never liked, besides the apple

What I took home after today's homily by Fr Derrick - very powerful, hitting me right at the spot. Love the part he talks about likening our lives to silver-refining.  There is a reason why God throws us in the fire and there are obstacles in our lives, it is like putting the silver in and out of the furnace countlessly, to get rid of the impurities. God will know when he takes the silver (us) out of the furnace and sees His own reflection in us, only then we will be perfect and flawless, rid of impurities. Such a beautiful homily!

Have a blessed week ahead everyone! Good night!