My Fitness Progress 2

So it’s been awhile since my last fitness progress in December 2014 (read here) and while it may seem like I have fallen off the wagon (again!), I have actually been persevering and pushing hard and watching my body change as the weeks go by. All this is not without hard work and aches but as we enter Phase 3 of my pursuit of a better lifestyle, here are some of the things that are changing as we start this most intense yet strangely satisfying phase.

Before I start with the details, I just have to share this progress photo! My lovely sister even went as far as to exclaim in all honesty, “Wow Ness, I never realised how fat you were before!” Hmm, thanks I guess.  

Top row taken 24 May 2015
Bottom row taken 10 May 2015

1)  My Diet

After months and months of not touching my diet and allowing me to indulge, my trainer has finally put her foot down and said somethings got to give…and that is my diet! I have to say that she is been fairly lenient (but don’t tell her I said that!) in allocating my carbohydrate and fat intake as well as my daily calories. When I first heard about the allocations, I had to check if I heard right because it was a damn lot more than I needed.

My Fitness Pal (the app) has been key in helping me to monitor my intake and I am really enjoying the use of the updated version! It makes things so easy to use and I am able to monitor my progress on the go. One of the main things I realized is that in a normal day, I am sometimes able to come in under my caloric requirements but the calories I was consuming consisted of mainly fats and carbs! Being Asian, this is something that I am trying to deal with every day! When one is surrounded by awesome rice and noodle dishes, the protein portions of it just don’t measure up!

Need to change the totals to actually match the goals.

I also think the chicken rice guy at Lau Pa Sat thinks I am a little bit kooky when my order sounds something like “Uncle, less rice and white rice not chicken rice, can you also add one more portion of chicken and one egg please?” My packet of chicken rice which would normally cost $5 now costs $11! Wth…the price to pay for vanity! Plus, the chicken rice uncle thinks I am a greedy little pig when what I am trying to achieve is quite the opposite.

Anyways, daily challenges- how to get more natural proteins into my diet without the fat and carbs that come along. With each passing week, my daily calorie allocation gets lower and lower and the challenge is to try get all the requirements in without going overboard in calories.

2) The damn scales!!!

I truly have a love hate relationship with my scales. First, despite the physical changes, the scales seem to be stuck. I hate that it always looks like 7X.Xkgs…yes, I am over 70kgs. How I yearn to be Asian size petite sometimes but I shall console myself by remembering that despite being on the way to hosting Changi Terminal 4 runway in the front, I am all bootylicious in the back!

Gymming 25 May 2015

I am starting to fit better into most of my clothes and I feel more confident but the problems I have are now different…my long sleeved shirts are tighter and I can’t lean forward and slouch too much for risk of tearing my sleeves off the dress/shirt/etc. Well, I traded in my pouch for a bigger upper body.

Well, I guess if I am going to work so hard for my guns then I should just jolly well show them off. Also, thanks to Iban genetics, I have chunky warrior legs which my trainer says is a good thing but I would give anything to have chopstick legs and be able to buy off the rack just once. Grass is always greener on the other side. I’ll just work with what I have.

3) Tough love means tougher routines

No joke, when my trainer said this phase was going to be intense, I felt it in every aching bone and muscles in my body. Every Saturday I am happy enough to have to endure or do a series of exercises which within minutes makes me sweat like a cow. It targets 3 main parts of the body- core, arms and legs, is a series of 5 exercises, 15 reps each and done continuously with rest only between the 5x15reps. Now for those of you heroes out there who have been doing this- good for you! For people like me who lack coordination and energy- HELP! Having said this, I think I am a secret sadist because I like pushing my boundaries and feeling all those new muscles waking up to say hi the next morning.

I guess nothing good ever came out of sitting around and waiting for things to happen. While I have enjoyed being a sloth these past years, it’s time to move this booty and get that metabolism going!

PS: At the point of writing, I am seriously struggling to get enough protein in my diet, I used to love eggs and now if I have to see another egg I think I may barf. I also drag mealtimes because it always seems like my options are to go either caveman (all meat) of vege out…all of which requires a crazy amount of chewing and I reckon I am also building muscles in my mouth. I wish I could just drink my meals and be done with. Can someone please make a char kueh tiaw flavoured protein shake please?

Fitness freaks fans out there, please…any tips on how to increase my protein daily would be much appreciated! Comments below!

What I've been up to!

So this is just another one of those random posts where I talk about everything and nothing in general. Some stuff about me which friends and family may find amusing and strangers are entitled to their own opinion- but thanks for reading! 

My blog posts have been so sporadic the last two months and my archives are full of half written posts either needing to be finished or requiring pictures before they get posted. In the meantime, the experiences (food, travels, beauty secrets, etc) I want to share are piling up and if they don't get shared by May, I am a lost cause because I wouldn't know where to start nor end. This whole blogging stuff is really quite a bit of work. It's one thing to think in blog posts, it's another thing to get the posts done, pictures edited and post an entry. I now remember why so many people "fall off the wagon", myself included! Well, I'm going to persevere and as long as I make one person laugh and my mum is happy to read about my life because I don't call so often anymore so it has served it's purpose. 

L Top to Bottom: Sunset in Krabi, Sunday Tea in Perth, Cycling around our Maldivian Island
R: New Years Eve in Hong Kong

How does that equation measure up? Well since September 2014, I have been to Phuket, Krabi, the Maldives, Kuching, Perth, Hong Kong for New Year, Bangkok, Kuching again for Chinese New Year, Krabi again, Ho Chi Minh, Kuala Lumpur, Rome, Israel and last but not least Krabi again because I can. 

L Top to Bottom: Lunching with Grandma and cousin in Kuching, Surprise birthday in KL
R Top to Bottom: Meeting my sister and cousins in Bangkok, Krabi with Winnie, Having a cocktail in Ho Chi Minh

Now before any of you green eyed monsters out there start to question- yes I do have a job and yes these are all self sponsored. Some were work trips and some were long weekends, others were just an excuse to get away. Apparently, I left the airlines but my body and soul didn't quite get the memo! Hopefully I'll catch up on my sharing soon enough. 

L Top to Bottom: Card games in Krabi with La Familia, Israel
R: Italy with the (Italian) hubby

Speaking of the airlines, recently an ex-crew posted her Dayre (read here) to commemorate her one year post flying career. She shared her mostly miserable flying career and described (it seemed to me) mostly worst case scenario passengers. It was a long and lengthy post for whoever cared to read (I gave up half way and had to reread it again after receiving sooooo many questions about how bad my own flying career was). Readers responded with sympathy, some empathy and the writer received a fare bit of flack as well- one article even going as far as suggesting that in order to make flying careers less traumatizing passengers should just self serve and DIY. Reading it, I felt that the writer was a bit conflicted because after every bad point, she tried to reiterate that it wasn't so bad because there were good bits too. She even went as far to finish her post by encouraging those who were interested in flying to give it a shot for 2 years and then leave...umm if I had read that and was considering flying as an option, I would hightail and shelve the idea. 

To be absolutely honest with everyone, I had a tough first year of flying. It was old school of thoughts vs Generation Y when I first started and someone like me had a hard time with JUST ACCEPTING authority. I needed logic to get things done, give me a valid reason and I will do as you wish. Also, having a face that screamed insubordination(!) did not sit well with many of my seniors. My self confidence took a beating after many disparaging remarks that highlighted that I wasn't as smart as I thought I was but looking back, I realize I became the person I am today because of those experiences. 

After my first year, flying was a breeze! I had loads of fun, enjoyed the layovers no matter how short, made lots of friends- passengers and crew alike and have seen most of the world, more than I ever imagine! Now I can fund myself and strike whatever else I haven't seen off my bucket list. Once I started to feel a bit under whelmed by the job, I knew it was my time to go. And I left almost as quickly as I could find something to move on too. 

Because of flying I am much more worldly, I have learned to control my temper, I have learnt the art of choosing my words carefully. I have also learnt to think outside the box, be creative in problem solving and use all the resources you have at all times. I believe that I have grown to be a better person on the whole. 

Admittedly, I do believe that the aviation industry for cabin crew was undergoing a cultural change at the point when I left 3 years ago and recently having flown on many a flights with the airline of which I was previously employed at, I really noticed the differences. The job seemed much more intense then when I had been a part of it, the fact that traveling is so affordable now and travelers are much more savvy makes passenger handling a challenge if not an art. While every job has its pros and cons, being cabin crew is definitely not for the weak and faint-hearted. I used to joke that the sarong kebaya is long so it hides all our bruises badges of honor! Whatever the case, flights were always a good workout and I would like to think that the cabin crew life is comparable to National Service for ladies- it builds character!

My last flight in which my husband so kindly graced me with surprise Business Class tickets was a really humbling experience. It made me realize how far I had come in a few short years. To think that I could have been the one serving yet here I was lucky enough to be on the receiving end of the wonderful service. Counting my blessings every single day!

In any case, I believe that everyone who joins the airlines has a different experience and no two are alike. A lot of it depends on a persons' upbringing, tolerance for correction, the people they meet and luck in general. At the end of the day, we all at some point are on the receiving end of a service, be it transportation, food and beverage and other things- as customers let us try to be as pleasant as possible. I always remind myself to never mess with the people serving me my food! Don't want any extras...

Ending on a zen note...