Health & Fitness Talk - 5 quick tips to lose belly fats

Okay, so I've been getting too many emails enquiring about how to lose belly/tummy fats. I used to dislike answering this question, even for my clients, because I personally do not believe in spot reduction. But, I'm gonna summarize and share 5 quick tips to expedite your 'getting abs' goals a little!  So here goes!
1. Increase your Protein intake
I have to admit, I get really annoyed when people (especially female) start asking me questions like, "Wah, I don't dare to eat too much protein for fear that I will grow muscles too big!" Because, protein is the most important macronutrient when it comes to losing weight! Protein also aids in building and repairing tissues, and is an important building block of bones, muscles, cartilage, skin, and blood.

In the first place, females will not be able to bulk up like a man because of the meagre amount of testosterones in our bodies. 

Secondly, our bodies (male and female alike) are not able to absorb the full amount of protein in every high protein food that we consume. Moreover, studies have shown that the amount and quality of protein consumed was inversely related to fat in the belly and that people who eat more and better quality protein actually have less belly fats.  So what are some examples of the high protein foods?

Eggs (unprocessed)

Prawns and fish

Salmon

Chicken Breast

Tofu (for vegetarians)

Of course, there is protein in other meat, poultry and seafood, nuts and seeds and vegetables like asparagus, spinach, broccoli, etc. Go ahead and do a quick google and I'm sure you will be able to find some of your favorites that you can eat enjoyably! :D
2. Avoid Processed food, go WHOLE

This, is something I highly emphasises especially on my clients.

If you cannot see the read deal, avoid it!

If you cannot even see the fibre of chicken, or fish or vegetables of any sort, chances are, the food has been processed (unless you homemake the food from scratch). OR, if you cannot figure out how the food is made, avoid it! Healthy food should be simply made and prepared. I’m not asking you to cut them out totally (because there are some that we cannot even avoid), but just reducing your intake on these foods. :D

Here are some examples of processed foods:

Donuts, chocolates, waffles, sweets, carbonated drinks, sweetened drinks, pizza, puffs, etc.

Processed carbs

If you are willing to take up the challenge (and have the budget to do so), go whole grains as much as you can. Well, eating healthy unfortunately, seems to be really high maintenance in Singapore because healthy food are generally more expensive. However, do not fret, Singapore is swiftly and steadily catching up to the trends of US and Australia and very soon and hopefully, we will be able to have more access to healthy food at more affordable prices! *fingers crossed so do not lose hope!
3. Go easy on the Sugar

I had a personal experience while I was preparing for the Yahoo! shoot with Cheryl Tay. I had less than a week to prep and I cut down sugar totally, not even sweet fruits like banana, papaya, watermelon, etc. I could see a huge difference in the belly area and I loved it! However, even for me, sugar is a must in my daily diet, I quickly went back to having sugar right after the shoot! :P But what I made a point doing, is that I cut down my sugar intake drastically, especially to just as early in the day as possible.
If you need to eat something sinful, do it as early in the day as possible!
I love to advise my clients this way because I'm human too, and I love to eat what I love too! :D When you do that, you usually have the next half of the day to burn it, even if it means just walking around and not working out. But, if you can, start getting used to making little changes to your daily life by ordering your drinks with less sugar, cutting down on sweetened drinks, especially carbonated ones (makes your belly bloat) and slowly cut these sweetened drinks out from your life completely. Go for green tea and drink ALOT of distilled/filtered water (less sodium). Its not that difficult, actually. All you need is the right mindset!
4. HIIT often
High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a form of training, alternating periods of short, intense anaerobic exercise with less-intense recovery periods. HIIT is a form of cardiovascular (cardio) training and if done correctly, can achieve improved athletic capacity and condition (for athletes), improved glucose metabolism and improved fat burning. Then I have clients who are looking to build mass (even females) and they are afraid to lose muscle mass and look skinny when I make them do short HIIT. Well, cardio exercises/training done at a higher intensity for a shorter period of time will not only help you maintain your muscle, but may actually help you build muscle mass (building up on the fast-twitch muscle fibers). Studies have also shown that when HIIT is done correctly, your body gets into an 'afterburn' effect which is known as Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC), which simply put, is a process where your body burns more fats to fuel the restorative process (of hormone balances, phosphagen stores, carry out cellular repair and oxidize built-up lactic acid) even up to 38 hours after you finished the HIIT. 
This form of training doesn't have to be long, but to be done correctly, they have to be really INTENSE.

5. Tighten your Core
It is already a good news that you are starting to workout and doing HIIT but to maximize your workouts and trainings, I always emphasize and nag non-stop about tightening your core when I train my clients and of course, this in-built nagging is constantly in my mind during my own workouts and in my daily standing, walking and sitting down too.
This would mean, tightening your core when you are standing still, walking and sitting down (which will naturally also keep your back straightened and chest upright). 
Try it! And when it comes to working out, yoga-ing, running, jumping, dancing (whatever form of exercise you do), also try to tighten your core to make your workouts more effective! I actually found this instructions on livestrong.com and I thought it could serve as a simple guide if you do not know how to tighten your core (while working out and not). (Credits: http://www.livestrong.com/article/424203-how-to-contract-your-abs-when-exercising/)
Step 1:  Locate your transverse abdominis -- a deep abdominal muscle that helps keep the abdomen flat -- by placing your hands on your hip bones at the front of your pelvis. Once you've located the bony portion, move your fingers in toward the center one inch and down toward the pubic bone one inch. 
Step 2:  Inhale deeply, getting your diaphragm at the bottom of your belly into the action. 
Step 3:  Exhale and pull in the muscles under your fingers, thereby tightening that transverse abdominis. If it helps, visualize drawing your navel in toward your spine. When you're contracting the muscle it should feel tight and not bulge out. 
Step 4:  Practice a few deep inhalations and exhalations while keeping your hands in that same position, so you'll get used to the feeling of tightening in that transverse abdominis. When that muscle is tight, all other muscles of the abdomen should be contracted as well, since the core muscles all contract together as one unit. 
Step 5:  Begin your workout warm-up, practicing deep breathing techniques throughout, so you'll get used to breathing deeply from the diaphragm as you work out. 
Step 6:  Return your thoughts to your abdominal muscles any time you think of it. Straighten your spine, pull your shoulders back and down, and pull the abdomen in to about 30 percent of maximum tightness, aiming to maintain that tightness throughout the workout; you don't need them to be fully contracted. Place your hands back on the transverse abdominis if you're not sure whether you're contracting enough. If you use a smartphone during your workout, you might try setting an alert every two to five minutes, reminding you to contract your abdominals.
SO, I hope you can learn something new from my sharing and feel free to contact me if you need help to kickstart your fitness journey or achieve your fitness goals! :D
Always remember though,

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!