Why I Have Not Been Doing My Ramadhan Log

Hello there,

Perhaps you have noticed that I am no longer doing a Ramadhan log since a few days ago. This is because I have not been able to fast due to health reasons. I came down with gastritis starting from Day 6 when I did not manage to have Sahur before fasting. I started to feel discomfort but managed to push for 2 more days of fasting before I had to stop because the pain got worse with each passing day. Then since yesterday I started having a bit of a sore throat. Ada2 saja ni. Sigh...

Believe me, I am not taking a free pass. Far from it, I am anxious because one, I am not able to take advantage of gaining Pahala. Two, I am worried about not being able to 'ganti' my fast in the future. Tau la, ajal ni bila2 boleh datang. Thirdly, tidak best la puasa bukan di bulan Ramadhan. Orang lain makan, kita menahan air liur. Bagus lagi puasa ramai2. Senang sikit. Yes, superficial I know but undeniable.

So, yeah, just wanted to put it out there in case anyone is wondering. See you in the next post. Cheers!

Love,
Phy

Ramadhan Food And Workout Log Day 3

Hello there...

This morning I experienced what us locals would call 'perut masuk angin', meaning I felt gassy. I think it is because I haven't been eating a lot since Ramadhan started. I also had tummy ache, kinda like the one I experience each time I get food-induced gastric.

I increased my food intake for both Sahur and Iftar as you will see in my food log. I also did a cardio and resistance training this morning and I swear my abs died an agonizing death when I did the Plank pose.

Anyways, here is my 3rd log for the month:

Sahur
1 mug Red Guara
3 dates
4 glasses of water
Fried noodles with chicken slices
1 small slice of chicken pie.
*All eaten well spread out within an hour

Iftar
1 large slice of chicken pie
150ml Tropicana Twister Orange Juice (watered down)
2.5 slices of home-grown pineapple
150ml homemade pineapple juice
1 slice chocolate cake

Supper
1 slice chocolate cake


Workout
30 minutes cardio, walking at low to medium intensity.

30 minutes resistance training, high intensity including Plank pose if 10, 25 and 25 seconds.


Water
3 Litres



One thing I will say though, I regret following a magazine's instructions of doing 3 sets of 8 repetitions for every resistance move. I followed it because it says that it is an appropriate starting point for beginners. To be honest, I still feel that it was too much. I fear that I might have overworked my muscles and will probably not be able to do resistance training again for the next few days. We'll see.

This is all for now. I wish you a great weekend and thank you so much for taking time out of your day to read this post. I hope to see you in the next one. Cheers!


Love,
Phy

Ramadhan Food And Workout Log Day 2

Hello there,

Here is my log for day 2 of Ramadhan.

Sahur
3 kurma
2 glasses of water
1 medium slice of chicken pie

Breaking of Fast
3 kurma
2 glasses of water

Dinner
1 portion of fried noodles with slices of chicken
1 bowl of ABC

Supper
200ml Milo with a pinch of cinammon powder


Workout
None


Water Intake
2.5 Litres


Thanks for reading this post. Any suggestions for a healthy, simple Sahur/Sungkai meal or effective exercise moves are welcome. See you in the next post. Cheers!


Love,
Phy

Ramadhan Food And Workout Log Day 1

Hello there..

Ramadhan is a great time to lose weight and I am not about to let this opportunity to lose a few kilos pass me by just like that. Hence, I decided that it would be good for me to record my food consumption as well as the exercises that I do. This is so that I can pinpoint areas where I can improve.

I also personally find that keeping track of both kind of helps me to be more concious of what I eat and motivates me to move. There is just something satisfying about seeing good choices being put down in writing.

Without further ado, here is my log for the first day of Ramadhan.

Sahur
2 slices of white bread
Tuna mayo spread
3 dates
2 glasses of water

Breaking Of Fast
3 dates
1 glass of water
1 mug punk Dragon Fruit protein drink

Dinner
1 serving if long beans sauteed with slices if sausage
1 small slice of homemade chicken pie

Supper
175ml Milo with a pinch of cinnamon


Workout
Plank pose 20, 25 and 25 seconds.


Water Intake
2 Litres

Thank you for reading this post. See you in the next one. Cheers!

Love,
Phy

Lifestyle Change: How To Cook Convenience Foods In A Healthier Way

Hello there,

I am a firm believer that foods prepared from scratch are almost always more healthier than frozen, ready-made foods. However, I understand that with today's hectic life schedule we always tend to prioritize convenience over anything else. For example, it is easier to just throw store bought chicken nuggets into the fryer rather than washing and dicing fresh ingredients to cook a meal.

So are we doomed to be unhealthy by eating these foods? Not necessarily. Today, I will be sharing with you my way of cooking not-so-healthy convenience foods such as chicken drummets, nuggets, etc. in a healthier way which is by baking it. Among the benefits are:

1. You use much less oil compared to frying.

2. Drummets/nuggets cook evenly right through the center. *When frying, if the oil temperature is not right, your nuggets/drummets would either become soggy from absorbing too much oil or they burn on the outside but under cook on the inside*

3. No need to wait and keep an eagle eye on the frying food item while trying (unsuccessfully) to avoid lethal oil spatters. During the baking process, you can use the waiting time to do other things such as take a shower, load the laundry, etc.

4. No scars from unavoidable oil splatters.


Okay, okay. I could go on and on about the advantages of baking because I love this method so much. So, are you ready? Let's jump right into it!


Items needed
Oven *Duh*
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
Baking tray
Kitchen brush
Chicken drummets/nuggets

 The best chicken drummets I've tried so far.

Items needed.

Method
Step 1: Pre-heat the oven at 250 degrees Celsius for 5 minutes.

Step 2: While oven is pre-heating, brush some oil all over the base of the baking tray. Arrange the drummets/nuggets on the oiled tray and brush some oil on them.

A health freak's nightmare. Lol.

Step 3:  Set the timer at 5 minutes at the same pre-heating temperature and put the tray into the oven. After the 5 minutes is over, reduce the temperature to 170 degrees Celsius and set the timer at 20 minutes.

Viola! Ready to serve.

So there you have it. Easy peasy right? Keep in mind though that freshly prepared food is always best for your health (as long as you don't douse your food in butter and salt that is) so try to minimize your consumption of convenience foods okay? 

Thanks for reading this post. Until the next one, cheers!

Love,

Phy

Lifestyle Change Day 8: One And A Half

Hello there,

After my increase in running distance on day 7 I felt pain in my right knee and on the lower front part of both my legs. It is starting to feel a bit better so I really hope that it would not interfere with my next jogging session.

Also, I am thinking of starting to do.strenght training. I'll be honest I am a bit nervous because I haven't done it for a long, long while so I am not sure how it will turn out.

Here is my entry for day 8.


Food

10.30am: 2 slices of white bread toast + peanut butter + light drizzle of honey, 1 mug Anlene milk.

1.00pm: 1 1/2 portion of fried rice, 1 apple.

3.10pm: 1 1/2 slice of Cheddar cheese.

6.00pm: 3 pcs of cream crackers.

8.10pm: 1 buritto (made from 1 pratha + 1/2 portion of fried rice + 1 cut of chicken + homemade pickled onions), 1/2 pratha.


Water intake: 3 litres.


Exercise

30 minutes of walking (20 minutes while carrying Sophia, approx. between 8kg-9 kg)

Until the next entry. Cheers!

Love,
Phoebe

Weight Loss Update (As At 13th July 2011)

Hi there!
I totally forgot to update you guys on my weight loss journey and my experience with Herbalife. Yes, I am continuously taking Herbalife. I can't seem to go by without drinking it at least once a day now. Anyway, lets get to the weigh-in results first before anything else:

7th July 2011

Weight: 71.5KGs

% of fat: 39.9 

% of water: 44.0

Muscle mass: 40.3KGs

Physical Level: 3 

Metabolism: 1367

Biological age: 50 

Bone mass: 2.6KG

Visceral fat: 7

My weight didn't budge compared to the weigh-in previous to that. My percentage of fat increased by 0.5%, percentage of water decreased by 0.4%, my muscle mass decreased by 0.4KG, my metabolic rate decreased by 10 and my bone mass decreased by 0.2KG. Crappy numbers, I know. The only great thing was that my visceral fat decreased from an 8 to a 7.

After my 7-day Herbalife program I decided to do the 10-day program which ended today. So my health coach decided to weigh me before starting my 30-day program tomorrow (which program you choose is up to you.You can keep doing the the 10-day or 7-day program for as long as you like. I just decided to take the 30-day one as it's more cost-effective in the long run). So here are my most recent results:

13th July 2011

Weight: 70.1KGs

% of fat: 38.5 

% of water: 45.0

Muscle mass: 40.5KGs

Physical Level: 3 

Metabolism: 1364

Biological age: 48 

Bone mass: 2.6KG

Visceral fat: 7

I lost 1.4KG, lost 1.4% of fat, increased the water content in my body by 1% (it took hard work, dedication and tons of trips to the loo to achieve this I tell you!) and increased my muscle mass by 0.2KG. Best part of all, I decreased my biological age by 2 years! Yay!!! My metabolic rate decreased by 3 and my visceral fat didn't change. I'm not going to let that get me down though. 

Here's what I noticed that I did differently as compared to the 7th July 2011 weigh-in that maybe helped me in some way to lose the weigh:

1. I started drinking the aloe vera and lemon hibiscus tea mix twice a day instead of once a day.

2. I regulated my eating pattern by taking lunch with lots of veggies, a bit of rice and a source of protein just like the picture of the plate in my previous post. (During the time that I lost my initial 1.2 KG, I hadn't started taking Herbalife yet but I was taking regular meals with lunch as the above).

3. I try as much as possible to reinforce 'treat day' every other day to limit yet still get my 'naughty food' fix. 

Just a reminder, Herbalife is not a magic product that enables you to eat whatever junk you like, be a couch potato and still make you lose weight. If such product exist believe me, Oprah Winfrey would have found out about it and made it one of her favorite things to give away to her audience during Christmas eons ago.

So, yeah. That's my weigh loss update so far and I am really excited. Am really hoping to get down to the 60KG range by my next weigh-in. Chaiyo!