Having "Me" Time

Now the year has started and the holiday festivities are slowing losing momentum (at least until the Chinese New Year) let's all start the year out being fit and healthy!    A lot of people start the year with a resolution to lose some weight and be healthy.  It often works for a couple months and then somehow the goal gets lost amidst all the work and whatever life brings us and we end the year having gained weight rather than having lost weight. That was me for probably more than a decade or so. No more.  It still feels surreal having lost 15kg (32 lbs).  This time last year, I was still working on my last few kgs. Wow. This year, for the first time, my goal is to just maintain my weight and I tell you it feels WONDERFUL. It's amazingly less stress and I don't have to start the year with a guilty feeling knowing I didn't make it happen last year and so I have to do it again this year.  I can move on with my l...

It's a day after the run, and although I only did 5K somehow my legs are still sore.  It must have been the way I "tiptoe" run or perhaps I'm just not used to so much running.  Funny though, even with sore legs,  the exhiliration from the run still lingers on.  I'm still very much stress free and happy.   I ran not for someone else but rather for myself.  It's something one does to challenge oneself.  When I signed up for 5K, I knew it wasn't much at all if you talk to a "real" runner, but for me who a year ago was still 15kgs (32lbs) heavier it was quite something.  I had started running to lose weight.  Prior to that, the last time I remember running was during my childhood days.   I had forgotten how it was to run and be "active."  So used was I to sitting in my office chair for 10 hours on end staring at the computer screen.  I had derived comfort from sitting, eating, and websurfing....

And so the weekend is over. Just like that its done and over before you know it. Just like that and your life will have passed you by.  Just like that you'd have gone through that experience you feared, undergone that operation or crossed that terribly high bridge.  Whatever happened, it didn't kill you and it was over.  Over just like that. It's the same thing with exercise and weightloss.   Many people still ask me how I did it. (Even a year after)  The answer is simple.  You just take a deep breath, decide to do it and DO IT.  Don't hesitate, don't waste another minute of your precious life wondering when is a "good" time to do it, when is a "good time" to start that project. If you just do it, before you know it , you'd have reached your goal and be done with it forever and ever.  There is never a "good" time to do it as when the "good" time arrives,  you'd undoubtedly find another reason why some later time in...

One thing we all do when we are on a weight loss program is to reward oneself after a hard workout or when we have reached our milestones.  I celebrated with a buffet lunch after every 5 kgs and it felt great.  It motivated me to quickly reach my goal so that I could stuff myself with all the food I love.  Realizing it would be detrimental to my diet,  I made sure I ran extra both BEFORE and AFTER so that my weight won't go up.  I also made sure it was a lunch buffet so that I would have the whole afternoon to walk it off.  Most importantly, I  ran extra the following day.... Okay so rewarding oneself at each milestone is great. It motivates us and makes our experience more enjoyable.   I love food too much to deprive myself of eating.   What we have to becareful though is of rewarding ourself too much.   By this I mean,  becareful of how much you reward yourself even after you had a hard workout, sweated like crazy and ran more than you thought possible.    If you want to lose wei...

With so many choices awaiting our decisions each day, sometimes we end up making choices because its something others want us to do. A suggestion or advice given with the best of intentions because others "think" it is best for us. Long-term sustainable weight loss from my experience is something you have to do, not because you are told to do it,but because YOU truly want to do it , because you think its BEST FOR YOU . A lot of times you might see yourself relative to another person and wonder why others can eat more than you and not gain weight? How do they remain so skinny? For me, a large part to my success was that it was a personal goal . I lost weight for myself, because it made me feel good, and I felt good doing it. You should want to feel good about weight loss, and you should! DO IT FOR YOURSELF. (Might sound a little selfish, but hey its your health! You aren't bothering anyone else with it) Some may say: "I've tried all sorts of diets, but the...

Its March 16, 2010 and after having spent most of my roughly 30 years of existence dreaming about projects that for some reason never materialize.. This year, I promise myself that things will be different. Why? Because I KNOW that I can do it. Last year, I lost 14kgs over a period of roughly 6 months and it is a feat I am very proud of. It was NOT easy, but with the loving support of Alex (my boyfriend) who also acted as my coach, I DID it. Throughout my life, I had always been considered "Chubby" and at one point I was more than "Chubby," I was large. Luckily for me, things never got quite out of control but I had been carrying extra weight all my life and could never fit into clothes I liked at stores, hence the "conservative" me. Shirts and pants were the norm.. in various colors.... Here's a bit of what I learnt along the way: 1) To think you can do something, is not the same as actually doing it 2) Nothing is ever as hard as it first seems to b...