Random + Workout Boost

Hey All,

It is a great Monday and I am so excited for many reasons. Well 2 reasons:

1. I spiced up my routine

2. I joined the Smartest loser competition at work which involves having a workout buddy and competing together to lose the most weight in November. Winners go home with a new Samsung s4 phone. I know I need that phone in my life. I hope we win.

Now back to reason 1. I get bored easily and I feel like my body resists certain workout routines after a few weeks so I always look for ways to switch things up. After losing almost 15kg with Cardio-focused workouts, I hit a plateau. My friend _Sirius_ advised me to mix things up with Strength training. I am a big fan of strength training so I jumped at her suggestion. I decided to infuse my usual workout routine with 3 days of strength-focused training by using Shaun T's T25 Beta Phase (Rip't circuit and Upper Body are weights-based) and also Les Mills Body Pump dvd. It has been 4 weeks and I see a lot of difference. I feel toned and sexier...haha. I am starting to see definitions plus I am losing inches, although the scale is not really moving. It doesn't matter, as long as my clothes are getting loose.

I am bored again so today I decided to dump Shaun T and Les Mills for Jillian Michaels' Shred it with weights DVD. I enjoyed it today. Let's see how the next 4 weeks go. This is in addition to my evening workout classes at The Shrinkers.

In other news, did you know that different body types have different workout types and plan? I am sure you do. If you didn't, then start researching the best workout plans for your body type.

What are your favourite workout DVDs? especially strength-focused ones or how do you spice up your workouts?

One year Hiatus- Mental Readiness and Confessions.

It has been exactly ONE year since I last blogged on this site and I feel so ashamed of myself. Interestingly, this centers around my post for today.

I have been on this weight loss journey for a while now and I remember when I got together with my other 2 friends who started this blog with me, I was extremely motivated to lose weight, and I did. I lost 9.8kg. Remember this post where I mentioned how much weight I lost? Good! I had just got off Cambridge diet (post for another day) and I was slowly working out hence the weight loss. Guess what? I put it all on back. It was not sustainable. After that, I kept yo-yo'ing between losing and gaining and sadly, I gained back 8kg.

Fast Forward to mid-July this year, I had an epiphany.I wanted to not only look good in my clothes, I WANTED TO BE HEALTHY. I realized I didn't always want to always hear my doctor complain about my cholesterol level or my blood pressure. I hated that I always wished I was at least one size smaller, or wished I could wear certain clothes. Above all, I really wanted to be a runner. See I have a soft spot for runners. I admire them and I often wished I could experience that 'runner's high'. On 26th July, there was a deal on dealdey that offered a one month membership to Club Shrinkers- A fitness club with all the perks. I was very skeptical because I am a veteran on weight-loss and I know what to do. I called a friend up and said yo! buy me this deal. Invest in making me healthier. I got the deal, (thank you my dear friend) and I joined the health club. It was the usual eat right and work out routine but ONE thing was different. I WAS READY! and that brings me to the point of this post.

You have to be ready to lose weight. I don't mean the usual, oh I need to lose weight banter. I am referring to your mental and emotional readiness. You have to understand that no matter what, you CAN NOT QUIT before you reach your goal weight. You must not give up. I realized that all these years, even though I wanted to lose weight, I was not emotionally and mentally ready. I wanted a quick fix and easy way out. I was not willing to put in the effort. I had excuses for everything. It was until I decided mentally that I had no choice but to lose weight, that I took the first step towards a sustainable health and fitness lifestyle. So far, I have lost 12kg which is about 25lbs and I have 15kg to go. The difference this time is that I did it the right way. Clean eating, working out, resting well and I know it is a sustainable process. No gimmicks. I am making a complete lifestyle change.

I am back to blogging and as we go along, I will be sharing what has worked for me, what is working for me, and what I hope will work for me. This is a personal journey and so what works for me, may not be applicable to you, but the foundation still remains the same- Eat right and Exercise well. I am back to Fitness Rebirth and I hope you all join me on this current journey.