A new me on holiday

 Hi all ,

this is the new me on holiday .

I have a new wardrobe now , my hair has grown longer , I've found a great new lipstick and eyebrow brand even though I still hate using foundation or powder .

Setbacks are minor , just look at the bigger picture

The one thing I look forward to nowadays is the day I can finally stop hiding my torso under a shirt .

Still have a lot to work on as you can see .

" Are you trying to look like wrestler ? " he asked me .

Of course not . But wow I take that as a compliment . It shows how fit and fab I'm getting .

If you showed me , me today

I hope that these 2 pictures are proof enough to you that it's possible to reverse whatever you have neglected to maintain .....

in my case 20 years , because I always placed my kids before myself first .

I dressed them first , rather than me , and up to 2 years ago , was that same T shirt and jeans person , so I think that it's ok for me to finally indulge in myself before my youth is snuffed out by gravity , right ?

Changed priorities

One of the first few fitness places I went to had an instructor who was kinda well , how do I say .....pretty cruel .

She used to take guerilla candid shots of all the attendees in her class , at their worst in the world angles , showing the whole world their most horrifying assets which should not even see the daylight , 

like the widest buttocks and the largest stomach , the most cringeworthy downright embarassing bra shot , might I add , most time s without permission , while she on the other hand , took lovely , sweet smiling selfies of herself in Beauty Shot or soft tone .

Just boil the okra

Quick boiled till just cooked and still green  this is how most Chinese and Thais living in the northern states of Malaysia like their okra . The act of not slicing it open during the process of cooking , not only keeps the slime in , the instant you bite in , your tastebuds will experience both the natural water soaked sweetness from the outer pod to a slight dry rubbery bitterness where the seeds lay .

An acquired taste , once you get the hang of it , you will definitely be hooked with no turning back !

Most folks will add a portion of fiery spicy sambal on the side which of course takes it from bland to kaboom . 

Now , when the sambal makes its appearance side by side with the boiled okra , it attains a status that makes it esteemed enough to be placed on top of offering tables during the annual Hungry Ghost Festival , and a delicious enough treat for a guardian spirit housed in outdoor floor level shrines called the Datuk .

Teochew salted pork - indulgence for an improved metabollism

As it is , my weight has reduced by yet another 2 and a half kilos over a period of time . And it has stabilised at that for now . I'm not stepping on the scales as often because I know that whatever I am doing now is setting me on the right path towards being more svelte .

Both my metabollism and appetite has improved at the same time . I can now polish off a whole heap of rice and not worry about how much carbs are gonna sit in and destroy all that I've worked for .

I still try to keep off supper but I do let myself indulge every now and then although I do admit to worrying if  the scales will go back to square one after that . 

So far so good , so here we go .

Let's have some good old salted Teochew style roasted pork tripe tonight for supper .

Ruyi 2018 by Voir - cheongsam galore !

For the longest time , I could not shop for clothes in this store as the largest size that they carry is up to XL , thus when the nice Malay saleslady told me that some customers kept requesting for XXL but she had to tell them they had none ,I totally understand how frustrating that is . That's why I used to have to travel overseas just to buy me some nice and up to date clothes last time.  

Anyway , if you so happen to work in  Voir and are reading this , you might want to address this segment of ladies who would love to wear your clothes like I did once upon a time ( but now I can since I have gone down so much over one year )

Back to the subject at hand . Yeah , I was so excited that I could finally fit into this most unforgiving outfit . Thus I ended up picking out 2 cheongsams from Voir today .

When the plateau is broken

Over the New Year , I've finally broken the plateau and shed another  kilo give and take .

All thanks to those 2 back to back marathon sessions .

I've learnt a few things from all this .

1. The weight that goes off CAN stay off , I'll just have to ensure my input is not waaaaayyy more than my output from then onwards

2 . I'll feel cold more easily

3. My energy level will dip midway through an hour long fitness routine . Take it as a readjustment window .

4. Dizziness could set in , so I've got to take things easy 

5. Nourish , nourish , nourish my tummy . Do less carbs ,yes to proteins ,fats , juices and even sugars .

6. My pant size could drop hence I popped into H&M and found that yes indeed , I've dropped a whopping 4 pant sizes since last year !

Time to go get more shorts to celebrate the moment .

False alarm - easily fixed

" Why are you so concerned over your weight " he asked me .

My reply was because I'd already put in so much effort and I'm seeing the results so I don't want to have to start all over again .

Following yesterday's post , I stepped on the scales this morning with half an eye open and was so relieved to see that it was back to normal .

Yes it was a false alarm folks , but last night , that was enough to launch some action on my part especially since I let myself go and pigged out , really pigged out . Can't do that anymore now that I am ageing .

How did I get it fixed overnight ?

I did the following steps .

Self torturing weekend

After a 2 day break from the handheld digital therapy machine ( you're only supposed to use it 5 times a week max ) , I used it one more time before switching to , two other weight loss methods .

First method .

Got myself a tube of Hot Chili Firming Cream , which is actually a wine coloured clear gel , with a light rose fragrance . 

Some say it burns , some say it doesn't , others say it works , and then there is another group who will tell you not to waste your money .

For me , combined with the 2nd method below , it managed to reduce my weight by another 500 g or so overnight , so , for MYR 12 , I  certainly am not complaining . As a matter of fact , I'm really pleased with the outcome . Totally unexpected as I thought it was just some gimmick .

How you can still eat instant noodles and loose weight at the same time

Guys and gurls , my weight has continued its descent * , I'm down another 500g or so , because apart from the handheld digital health therapy device , I've added on something to my diet .

No , it's not the egg. I've been adding an egg and sometimes vegies from my teenage years . Scroll down , I'll show you what it is .

First , let me show you what I usually eat . For breakfast or brunch these days .

Yeah , instant noodles have been my staple food for the past 31 years already but after so many years of consumption , I won't take them for supper anymore . I'll still have them daily for breakfast or brunch though .I mean I used to sup on them but not anymore as I've found that my weight piles on overnight thus wasting all my effort exercising my nuts off ! 

Right where was I ?

When I want something soupy , I either go spicy ( Maggi Asam Laksa ) or non spicy ( it used to be Cintan or Maggi Ayam but now I've switched to Baa..gus Ayam Bawang ).

I boil the noodles , till it is just cooked and still springy , then I throw away the murky water , add back new hot water and boil with the flavouring sachet this time . If I'm adding on vegies , most times I will first cook them till they soften then use back the vegie water to cook the drained noodles . My choice ?  Between the round cabbage or long Chinese cabbage , other times ... sawi .

Last step , I remove the noodles from the pot , retain the soup and add one egg till the yolk is cooked .

Weight maintenance with a handheld digital therapy device

Does it work ? Will it work ? 

Should I buy the more expensive product or the cheapest possible ?

Yeah , these were the questions that went through my head before I went ahead and bought this from a local retailer .

Let's start with the price first . The reason why I prefer hunting in brick and mortar shops rather than online. It's because I can get a better deal and also test the product PLUS get an assurance on their return policy if anything goes wrong .

After one year

Last year finally propelled me into action because due to ageing , my weight started ballooning upwards at an accelerated speed . An extra plate of pasta made my pants feel like bursting open the next day. The weight gain was that fast !

First I tried walking it off . That did not work . Then I tried hill climbing but just as easily put back the weight again while my knees hurt like hell .

It's been one year since I embarked on a fitness schedule and I now have to grapple with a sugar craving .

Donuts , kuih , teh tarik ( no , do NOT order kurang manis for me ) , cake , swiss roll , cookies , chocolate chips oooooohhh !!!!

Bizzy Body - 1st session , 1 over kilo gone and dropping

After today's treatment , I'm down another kilo and over folks. Yes really . That stubborn neglected fat in my body, has melted away or so it seems .

Whether it is just water loss or not , is yet to be seen over the next few days but I can tell you that I had a good experience with positive weight loss* shown on MY own weighing scale , frozen upper arm problem gone , flab under my arms visibly reduced . All that after undergoing 2 treatments within a span of 2 over hours .

* Bear in mind that I now lead an active lifestyle and am also beginning to cut out supper from my diet now .

1 took so long

Here's how threatening and low the rain clouds looked today in Penang , however for me , I was in a rather upbeat mood .

Down sized

How long has it been since I have been able to squeeze into one of these let alone purchase them off the rack ?

Four the 3 lost

Yes ! 

After having lost another 3 kilos , I can finally fit nicely into these .

Now , I just had to get these 4 colours .

Koochi moochi can't believe I'm posting this up but oh I am .

Loose 11 , gain 3

I consider myself very lucky to be living on Penang island . The beach is a stone's throw away , the air is fresh , the street art scene is exciting and the food omg , how could I ever go back to boring again ?

No , I'm not talking about those insipid coffee , cake and tart outlets which attract out of state visitors .

I'm talking about real Penang food which we locals wolf down .

11 shed

First began my exercise regiment ( which includes twerking ) in earnest somewhere in December last year .

Been keeping to a ( by now ) 4 times a week schedule ( give and take ).