Weight loss after eating more than usual

For breakfast, I had a sardine bun.
For lunch, I had tofu and 3 varieties of vegetables.
For dinner, I had 2 chicken pies AND because I was greedy, a small packet of nasi lemak (coconut flavoured rice).
I weighed myself, grumbled at the reading and plopped down on the bed.
I wanted to kick myself because after eating so much, I felt sleepy.
I asked hubs to walk the dog.
I fell asleep.
I woke up at 11.30pm and wondered if I should exercise or just rest.
I weighed myself and discovered I had lost more than a kg (2.2lbs) during the nap!
I took a bath and tossed and turned but finally fell asleep again.
Woke up, weighed myself and found that it hadn't been a dream after all.
I did loose weight while sleeping!

My guess is by eating more, I let my body know that I wasn't in starvation mode and by resting, my body had time to heal. To be honest, I have been feeling very uncomfortable with not exercising. It's like I expect to wake up to find the little weight that took so much effort to lose over a few months, would find its way back to my body again. But I've realised that it's an unfounded fear. I may put on after eating in excess of my 'usual' but it's unlikely to shoot back to ground zero unless I totally go back to my old ways of not watching my diet and not exercising.

My flabbiness is back with a vengeance. Ever since I stopped carrying the wrist weights, I realised that I am not looking as toned as before. Even my cheeks and jawbone area have turned chubbier. Anyway, no side tracking. I am still aiming to lose at least another 5 kilos (11 pounds) before I start carrying the wrist weights again. My stomach has flattened more this week so that is a good thing. It's okay with me if I don't look so toned....yet. I will be once I have lost some more weight and start to tone up. Meanwhile, I'll just continue to do what I do. 

Chubby cheeks again (End Oct 2015)

Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015

 

It's Friday peeps and I'm always in a good mood on Fridays! I'll probably get back into my exercise groove this weekend AND I'm unlikely to be going on a food binge. I want to hit a 7 kilo weight loss by the end of next week and I need to remind myself that only I can do this for myself!

I love myself enough to say that I want to be healthier and one way to be healthier is to be less overweight so that I put less stress on my heart and other parts of my body. I cannot guarantee that by changing my eating and exercise habits, that I WILL get healthier but at the very least, I know that I tried to do something about it. It's taken me so many years to wake up. I hope that you will see the light sooner than I did. I only pray that God will be merciful and give me enough time to make positive changes to my body (and my heart)! My father suffered his first stroke in his late 50s. No warning. He was seldom sick and always looked healthy. That day when I sat in the doctor's office at the Polyclinic and Dr T had asked if he should start me on High Blood Pressure meds, I told him to give me 3 months. I promised him I would try my best to bring my BP down. It's not phenomenal but I think I have succeeded in lowering it a bit. From my post on my recent blood and urine tests, the results have proven that my new lifestyle is showing positive outcomes. Hooray! Hurray! Hoorah! Yay!

I have a long journey ahead of me but as I always tell hubs, better to be struggling with the exercise while we are still able to, rather than after a stroke hits. That moment when it strikes, you will be filled with regrets and definitely be kicking yourself for not doing something earlier to avoid it. But it will be too late then.

It's not easy, peeps. You need willpower and heaps of motivation. The best motivation is the image you see reflected in the mirror. The flab, the fats, the thunder thighs and jiggly butt! I'm all for loving myself, come what may and in whatever state of size or health but look deep within your heart and ask if that is what you really want? I know I tried to deceive myself into believing it. I had the love of my husband who loves me whatever size I am. He's full of praise of my determination and stronger arm muscles (yes, cos he asks me to pull him up from the bed. hehe) but I doubt he loves me more now that I am slightly less fat. Also, would I really want a man who loves me more just because I became thinner? Nah! So though it helps to have people support you despite your heaviness, the question to ask is how much do YOU love yourself?

Make a change and have a good weekend, peeps!
 

Weight - very slow progress

It's the end of October 2015 and so I thought I'd post some pics:

Looking like crap without foundation make up

End October 2015

Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015

 

I've been trying to give my skin some reprieve by going foundation free the past week. I think people around my office building must think I am sick or something. I suddenly have 'no coverage'! No moisturiser, no sunblock, no foundation. The only thing I have done is line my eyes and lips (all using eye and lip liners). I didn't like seeing those funny comedones popping or rather squirming out from my pores so I am trying to let my skin breathe. Well, actually without a job and turning into a stay-at-home-mum, I should be able to go make up free very soon!

 

Yes, I need a hair cut and a dye job. I have strands of white popping out at my fringe area of all places. Not so much anywhere else. Urgh! The thing is, with hair this long (past my bra strap now), I am just too lazy to dye my own hair. Okay, I might do it tonight. It cannot be that difficult. I'm also contemplating if I should go for a shorter hairstyle. Hubs suggested I go for more layers. He wonders why I am keeping my hair so heavy. He thinks I'll feel better with layered hair. Okay, I might just go for that although I know I always regret after the cut.

End October 2015

Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015

 

This is a dress which I had bought in Bangkok, Thailand. BTW, I love polka dots (especially after seeing THE brown Pretty Woman dress all those moons ago)! I could wear this dress before I had lost weight but I was bulging in all the wrong places. I looked really fat in it. I loved it so much that I kept it and refused to give it away. On one or two occasions, I had let my kid wear it. It was a bit too loose for her. She is probably a UK 8 (or maybe 6). When I slipped this on, I was surprised that there were no terrible looking bulges and the wrap around skirt didn't fall obscenely around the thighs.

 

End October 2015

Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015

 

End October 2015

Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015

 

I'm not expecting the loss of a few kilos to mean I am going to look thin and waif-like but at the very least, I should be looking less rotund in my old clothes! I easily have another 10 kgs to lose but at the moment, tight fitting clothes don't look as bad as they used to on me. For that, I am grateful.

 

I didn't expect to reach a weight loss plateau so fast. Not just at 6 kgs (13.2 lbs) down! No, please! Aaaarrrrggggh!

 

I am seeing no new magic number. Have not seen one since about a week back! Sigh. Is it easy keeping to a new lifestyle change? Well, for the meals, it hasn't been so difficult. I like veg and soup anyway. I'm just cutting down on rice, noodles and bread.  I still eat my chicken, pork and beef but perhaps not as much as before. I cut out sugary stuff including cakes and it hasn't been that difficult because I do not crave for sugary foods or cake much anyway. I did sneak in chocolate Glico Poky last night! Two packets' worth! But, oh heck. One has got to live. To answer the question, it's not easy but it hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be.

 

As for the exercise, I took 2 days' worth of rest so far this week. Why? I am retaining water. I know my body. The reason I am hitting a weight loss plateau is probably because I had been exercising every single day the previous week and I had been keeping to a lean diet for the most part. My muscles need to rest and repair and I need to kickstart my metabolism again. Even on my rest days, I was able to see a slight drop on the scale so I don't feel so bad. It's just that today, I'm 500gr above my last magic number. Now, why is that? With the lean eating (okay, excluding the Glico Poky) and the daily exercise, I should be hitting another weight loss magic number by now. Why am I not?

 

Drats! It just occurred to me while I am typing this! The only thing I have done different is I have upped the number of push-ups I do! I mentioned before that I have been doing push-ups every day. By the way, I keep my knees bent so I am still not a push-up pro but it is enough to give me a good work out! I have been pushing myself to do 50 each time and I now do 25, stopping for about 5 seconds before continuing the rest of the 25. I have also been stepping on my old Twist N Turn machine for about 100 steps. I still rebound and I have kept my rebounding regime to 20 minutes because any longer than that, I think realistically, I won't be able to maintain on a daily basis. Not because I cannot 'tahan' (tolerate) one hour on it but because I don't think I have the time to spare on a daily basis. Besides, doing a short high intensity work out is just as effective or if not more than dragging one for hours.

 

So, back to what I was saying. The reason I have not been losing as much weight this past week is perhaps due to the fact that I have been strengthening my body and as such, stressing it. That could account for why my body needs to hold on to the additional water! Drats. Really, never thought I'd hit this Eureka moment while blogging. LOL.

What do I want to be when I grow up?

I am being retrenched. The end of December will see the end of the job I have worked at for the last 16 years.

So, how am I?

I have never felt healthier in my life, am in good form and am in high spirits. A part of me is excited that the old door is shutting. I am looking forward to God opening the new door for me. I am waiting upon Him. Yes, there is anxiety but I have just spoken to some Christ-loving women over lunch and they, have reminded me to cast my anxiety aside and trust in Him. We all need good people like them in our lives and I am grateful for them, although our paths may never cross again once I leave my workplace. I thank God that however fleeting, He has allowed me to meet such good people. This is a good example of how we can be Christians in our every day lives.

It is probably a strange reaction but I thank God that He has allowed me reach this point in my life. I am feeling peaceful. At peace, probably not so much and not yet but definitely feeling peaceful. Why? One of the ladies I had spoken to hit the nail on the head when she said that it's because I am tired and I need a break and I am looking forward to the break! So true and so accurate!

Beautiful park at Nanyang Technological University

Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015

What do I want to be when I grow up?

Yes, this question is probably 40 years too late but the truth is, I have only just realised it.

Weekend Carb Refill

It's no wonder I look bloated today.
The weekend started with me frying Mee Goreng for breakfast:

Home Fried Mee Goreng

Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015

I didn't eat that much. I had cheekily placed it on the brown paper and tray like how some hawker stalls serve fried noodles and served it to my son who was rushing off for a school event. I used a tiny plate and had some.

Then after a whole morning and afternoon of cleaning house, I went and did my exercise:

Feeling Bloated (Saturday afternoon)

Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015

 

I hadn't put on much weight that day (since the day before, LOL yes, I am pathetic) but I could definitely feel my face, shoulders and arms feeling puffier. Also, I wasn't peeing as much (of course you can tell, lah). So I was definitely retaining water. I had just finished my erm, monthly cycle so I wonder if it was just part of the 'cycle'.

 

Sunday morning before church, I had prepared some vegetables and boiled some pasta. Upon returning home from Mass, I put together my version of a minestrone soup:

 

Minestrone Soup

Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015

 

Family seemed to like it (they said it was nice) and daughter told me to cook it every weekend. Haha. I'll have to be creative with the ingredients so that they won't get tired of eating the same thing. Seems like soup is a big thing with the family and I've been scouring my soup cookbooks for ideas. For this minestrone, I had put in onions, tomatoes celery, carrots, garbanzo beans, red kidney beans, zucchini and pasta. I found it really easy to make although I had fried the veg first before creating the soup (and of course you have to cook the pasta separately).

 

That evening, we headed to our new favourite hangout; Kallang Wave for some look-see, some buy-here-buy-there and dinner.

 



Sunday Dinner

Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015

 

This is exactly what I meant when I had told my doctor 'don't worry, I eat alot'! I wish he could have seen how much I had eaten yesterday. But the pasta at the restaurant was quite disappointing for me. When I give up my 'diet' for sub-standard food, it's sad!

 

So, that brings us to Monday and I'm looking a tad too chubby for my liking. It's back to diet mode again for breakfast and lunch today because I'm going to be having a makan (eating) session tonight with friends and I'm intending to give my body a rest day today from exercise. I haven't had an exercise rest day in more than a week. My body retaining water is telling me something and so I'll have to give myself a rest day to recover even if I don't feel like it.

 

Just in case you're wondering, I had put on 1kg from the whole weekend's carb refill. It's depressing when I step on the scale but then again, I was eating with family and really, who wants to have a wet blanket dieter eating with them? I also like enjoying my food and I think as long as I balance this crazy binge eating on the weekends with conservative eating on the weekdays, I should still be on track with my weight loss goals. I am also aware that the 1kg increase is only temporary as the body adjusts.

 

By the way, I was not kidding when I said that I had lost my weight after giving birth to my younger kid (son is the younger one). Here's a comparison pic of the time when my kids were tiny and well, it's been more than 10 years and 10 kgs with the up-to-date pic!

 

 Younger/Lighter and Older/Heavier

Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015

 

Hopefully, I'll have another pic some time soon which will show me older but lighter again!



Tested positive for Ketones!

It's a happy day for me so let me start by showing you the delicious lunch I had today :

Yummy Lunch

Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015

Yes, the shop served it in paper on a mini tray to me. Now that I look at the pic, I think back and realise that others were eating off plates! OK, I over ate because there was a cause for celebration. I had gone to the doctor's yesterday for the results of my blood and urine tests done a week ago.

Practically every reading has gone

DOWN!!!

 

I say 'practically' because although the doctor didn't think it was alarming enough to point it out to me, I noticed that my potassium level has gone up. I should try to look into this and see what is causing it. As a typical quack-internet-doctor-wannabe, I googled it and saw the word 'kidney'. OMG.

 

Also, the thing that my doctor DID point out to me (and he was genuinely concerned to ask me what I was up to) is my KETONE level. I registered a positive 2 reading (+2). He said that in itself is not cause for concern but he asked me how long I had fasted the night before my blood and urine tests. The tests were done in the morning and all I did was have dinner and not snack any more until the tests were over the next morning. He pointed out that it was usually an indication that I was dehydrated. Actually, when he had pointed to the word 'KETONE', I was jumping for joy inside. I'll explain why but let me finish with the doctor first. I explained to him that I was eating 'normally' and he insisted I tell him examples of what I was eating. When I mentioned that I sometimes had salads, he wanted to know what else I was eating. I thought of the first word that came to my mind and said, 'Chicken'. LOL.

 

I think he was concerned enough to find out if I was starving myself. So I blurted out that I was trying to lose weight and I was exercising and limiting my carbohydrate intake. He sort of relaxed then and took a look at my records in his computer. He did a quick calculation and was surprised that I had lost 5 kgs since my last visit (ok, 5 and not 6kg because although my 'magic number' had hit a new low, meaning I have lost 6kgs it is still in the 'fluctuating' mode and has not settled completely in the low number! That process should take 2 weeks). The doctor said that was very good because it was no mean feat to achieve that. I told him that I was very happy that my BP Diastolic reading was in the 80s that day. I said I'd been trying to bring it down from the 90s. So I was happy.

 

Generally, I left the office feeling very, very happy. Ok, let me explain about why I was happy to see a positive reading on my Ketone level. In simple layman terms, my body should be burning carbohydrates to draw energy. However, because I have been restricting my carb (my usual rice) intake, my body is drawing on fats for energy. So, for the moment, I am well-pleased. Hehe. I know it sounds crazy to have a 'bad' reading from the doctor's point of view but if you're on a journey to lose weight, you will know, it's not such a bad thing after all. I know for a fact that I'm not registering a positive 2 (+2) Ketone reading because of any other disease. I did not register a positive on the Ketone reading in my previous blood and urine test done 3 months ago. So it coincides with my new eating and exercise habits.

 

On the other hand, my potassium level has gone up. It was already high at my last test before I had actually started to exercise seriously and now, it has gone up a bit. If it goes up again, then I will be over the threshold and that should be a cause for concern. I don't know why the doctor hadn't pointed that out. Could be because it was still within the desirable range.

 

Apart from the 2 readings mentioned above, my blood and urine analysis say the readings are in the optimal range. Not just satisfactory but in the optimal range. Yay! Good job, me!

 

My cholesterol was already in the desirable range (4.69 mmol/L) and it was lowered yet again (4.13). My triglycerides were lowered considerably! (from 1.51 to 0.96). Then a bunch of medical jargon I have not bothered to figure out but HDL-C (1.23 lowered to 1.22), LDL-C (lowered from 2.80 to 2.50). Chol: HDL Ratio (lowered from 3.83 to 3.39). Glucose fasting went from 6.1 to 5.3.

 

Ok, so there. It makes it all worthwhile, the very many nights of exercising when all I wanted to do was pig-out. I took all this information home to share the joy with hubs and I could see that it did affect him (a little). His dad was in hospital a few days ago and hubs said that a young lady (who looked like she was in her 20s) was crying in her bed the whole night. She had suffered a stroke. I felt really sorry to hear that. Hubs said the young lady was obese. We all think the same way don't we? That the obesity probably caused her to have choked arteries or choked something and lead the way to the stroke. The thing is, my father (and now my father-in-law too), had suffered not one but two strokes. There is no turning back the minute it happens. You can improve the situation with a steely determination and therapy but you can never get back to the state of health prior to it. There is no reversal. So if you think I am trying to lose weight because I want to look nice, well yes. That is true but it was not the reason that I felt compelled to start my weight loss journey. It's because I worry about bleeding internally too. It's not that a less fat person will not suffer a stroke but all that I can do is make myself healthier and try to prevent one. The rest, I leave it to God.

 

Have a good weekend, peeps!

 



Magic Number again! (Weightloss / Inchloss Journey)

It's a new week and I've managed to hit a new 'magic number' on the weighing scale. So now, as a total, it's

6 kilos (13.2lbs) down!
 

Yippee! I haven't been starving but instead of eating balanced meals, I've been balancing my meals, if that makes sense. In a nutshell, eat a little more here, eat a little less there. Eat a little less here, eat a little more there. By the way, I've had to delete MyFitnessPal app from my phone because my phone has limited space left. I may reinstall it on my tablet but I think I now can more or less gauge my daily food or caloric intake without actually counting my calories. It's all about moderation. You don't want to starve or stuff your sick. Complement that eating habit with an exercise regime and it should shed some pounds.

My lunch at work last Friday:

Friday lunch (16 Oct 2015)

Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015

 

I didn't take any more pics of my meals for the rest of the weekend except for Sunday evening where I definitely over ate. Even snuck in a Coke Float!

 

Sunday Dinner (18 Oct 2015)

Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015

 

As usual, my daughter couldn't finish her meal and I acted as her human vacuum cleaner. Bad, bad mummy! It had been a tiring day and I couldn't even make myself exercise that night. Still, the food intake over the weekend must have been what my body had been waiting for because I managed to weigh in a new low (what I call magic) number when the new week started!

 

Excited that I'm only a few hundred grams away from my first mini-weight-goal, I was determined to really up my game this whole week. That is until I ended up in one of NTU's canteen slurping the delicious bak kut teh (pork rib herbal soup) and a whole plate of vegetables! I know I could have told the Uncle, 'no rice' but come on! What's bak kut teh with no rice? Okay, I was sooooo tempted to whip out my camera to take a pic of the claypot bak kut teh but really, the canteen was filled with hip undergrads. This out of place Aunty really didn't need to look even further out of place taking food pics! Thus, I resisted the urge. However, my kid was late meeting me so I took a stroll to another canteen and since it was quieter, I snuck out my camera to take a pic of my indulgence:

 

Honey Sea Coconut!

Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015

 

It wasn't too sweet and was quite refreshing. Only the pathetic, wrinkly, yellowing lime sort of spoilt the experience for me! So anyway, as an example of how I eat nowadays, since I had indulged in a very heavy lunch, I had a simple salad for dinner. Just rocket leaves and a sweet Korean apple cut up in chunks. It kept me full until midnight when my stomach started growling. I must say, I really, really, wanted to have chocolate last night but managed to just drink water and go to sleep. I told myself, I could cave and eat the chocolate and then regret it the next morning or I could just close my eyes and imagine eating the chocolate. I was a good girl and did just that.

 

I'm so excited with the way the weight is slowly dropping off. I'm rebounding 20 minutes, doing about 50 push-ups and then doing a short routine on my old twist-n-turn stepper (yes, I dusted out the cobwebs). You could say I have a mini-circuit going on at home now! I kind of wish I had a treadmill too but it would be just too bulky to squeeze into my mini-gym!

 

Meanwhile, my kids and hubs are making fun of me, saying I photoshopped my October photo (refer to my previous post). Bah! I told them I barely know how to insert pics into those frames, much less photoshop my face! I know they are only teasing me. They did say in all seriousness that they could see I have lost weight! Well, it's about time!



Comparison Pics (July, Aug, Sept, Oct 2015)

They say, a picture paints a thousand words.

Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015

Exercise Update - Mid-October 2015 (pics)

Taking my 47th Birthday in mid-July as the start date of my new lifestyle change, it is now 3 whole months (mid-July to mid-Oct) that I have been monitoring my food intake and my exercise regime.

Mid-October 2015

Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015

 

I wake up in the morning and I feel so good! I go to bed at night and I feel so good! Generally, this new lifestyle has made me healthier and happier. To be honest, happiest of all when I see myself shrinking day by day. I hold my own waist or touch my own chin and can tell just by touch that my body has changed for the better!

 

Generally, I am down another inch or less here and there. I don't think I made a great leap in terms of weight. I am down 5kgs (11pounds)  from where I started in mid-July. My 'magic number' (read about it in my other posts) has been hovering at about the same place for the past week. I hope that by this weekend or next week, I can bring it down to another 'magic number'!

 

 

To someone who has been slim all their life, I may still look grossly overweight but really, what you think of me doesn't bother me because I am monitoring my own progress and I know the effort I have been putting in and the results I am seeing!

 

 



Side view. Mid-October 2015

Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015

 

My tummy is shrinking. Slowly, yes but definitely shrinking! Yippee! Yay! This is taken the day after I had a rest day from exercising and a day of noodles and rice! I am definitely not starving! I had my favourite hawker fried noodles in black, sweet sauce, topped with a generous portion of cabbage and long beans.

Yellow noodles fried in dark sweet sauce

Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015

Then for dinner, I had a yummilicious Malay dish of curry mutton, spicy french beans and tofu! I even ate up hubby's fried rice because it was too much for him (apparently not too much for me! Hehe).

 

 

Mid-October 2015

Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015

 

My BMI readings according to the polyclinic says that I am still above 15kgs overweight. The computer printout was very 'kind' and advised me that I should aim to lose another 5kgs by April of 2016 first. Well, duh! It's a good gauge, these readings but I'm not really bothered by it. I feel encouraged by the weight and inch loss and will definitely be striving to improve my eating and exercise habits even more. And actually, I hope to lose MORE than 5 kgs by the time April 2015 pops around!

 

By the way, the cranky digital weighing machine hubs had bought for me was really quite accurate compared to the polyclinic's! It was only off by 0.1kg and I can't say for sure which machine has been more accurately calibrated! The only thing about hub's scale is it sometimes registers the previous weight and unless you step on it a few times, you will keep seeing the previous weight. But it's okay, I don't really need another new weighing scale to clutter up the house so I'll keep it and use it (because I already have another old Ikea manual weighing scale lying at home gathering cobwebs).

 

I really didn't realise that it's my 3rd month 'anniversary' and so I measured myself. I'll just say that I was pleasantly surprised to find that I had again recorded inch loss but not so much. Remember I said I was not going to carry the weights again until I had reduced my weight a tad more? I am sticking to that and I found that my body has turned slightly flabbier. I'm not concerned about it because I've decided I want to be much lighter before I start to tone my body parts. Meanwhile, I've stashed away my simple weights until I've lost a few more kilos! Some people may disagree and think it wiser to tone your body while you are trying to lose weight through lower caloric intake. I don't think I would prefer that. I tried it and it was a struggle to bring the weight down. It can demoralise a person and I know it did me. For me personally, when I see the weight coming down, I feel re-charged and re-energised to continue to move in the right direction. If the reading of the scale remains stagnant, I feel down and demoralised and feel like nothing's working even though I am exercising my butt off. So there. This works for me and I will keep doing this.

 

What I am doing is reducing my caloric intake on week days. My lunch often times looks like this:

 

Lunch 

Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015

 

The canteen stall lady obviously disapproves of my food choice. Without fail, she will try to ask me to have at least two spoons of rice with my meal or some meat. She's not much older than I am or she could even be younger but she's very motherly and does this out of kindness. I caved on a few occasions and had my rice. I have now come to tell her gently that I have not totally gone off rice and that I do have rice in the evenings when I cook for the family. Here's an interesting thing. When I did have the meat or the rice she was trying to push me to include, I did feel hungry later, more so than on days when I just solely chose to eat the veg dishes. Interesting huh?

 

Have a good weekend, peeps! Cheers!



 

 

 

 



Changes

I showed hubs what I had bought for lunch yesterday and his reply was, "That looks really bad".

No Meat Lunch 12 Oct 2015

Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015

 

I burst out laughing and said, "Bad is good! That means it is good!". If you're on a diet, you will know what I mean. I don't know how my taste buds changed from eating mainly meat, 

 



Yakitori

Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015

 

to eating mainly veg. When I turned up at the dinner table with my huge plate of veg last night, hubs asked if I was having 'Lo Hei' (a Chinese New Year good luck / tossed salad) for dinner! Don't really blame him cos my mix of cabbage, carrots and rocket leaves sure looked like Lo Hei!

 

The thing that surprises me is that that awful looking pack of lunch (1st pic) actually kept me full from noon till a little before dinner time. I did not go searching for any fruit to snack in between. Then for dinner, I only managed to reach half the plate before I felt extremely full. Best thing is, I had weighed the same that morning and that night, which meant that my day's activities had negated my caloric intake! I did my usual rebounding and had a good night's rest and woke up 2 kgs lighter than after dinner. Yay!

 

We all need a little encouragement and heck, every time the scale goes down a bit, I am encouraged! So I had veg for lunch again! Let's see if I can keep it up and eat 'grass' for dinner too! I have not become vegetarian. I am just desperate to lose some weight quick and so I am trying to eat mainly veg on weekdays and then be able to eat 'normally' on weekends with my family. All this, while still exercising for a bit every other day.

 

I wanted to talk about change. It's not just my taste in food and my waistline which have changed. I am suddenly thinking about what I really want to do with my life at this stage in my life. I told hubs that I may not jump into another permanent job just yet. I may want to do something different, like be a cook! He agreed totally and told me to make sure it was a western restaurant I understudied! Hahaha...I have this plan to go work as a chef so that I can pick up cooking skills and finally be able to cook well! Hehe.

 

On the other hand, I feel compelled to help the underprivileged. My most memorable memories of my teaching days are of when I had actually spent time with individuals and helped a few underprivileged kids on a personal basis. I don't remember so much the nicer occasions. I remember more the sad situations and the conversations I had with some kids. There is something about the underprivileged that tugs at my heartstrings. I have this yearning inside of me to HELP. Help who? I don't know. I think I will ask God and let Him open the doors for me. I know that if it is what He is pleased with, it is what will happen! Until then, I am happy to embrace changes in my life!

 

 



Caught myself in the mirror

On Saturday, I had a lovely, blissful time eating Roti Prata all by myself in Serangoon Road at about 7.30am. I then thoroughly enjoyed my alone-time browsing/shopping at Mustafa Shopping Centre (open 24 hours every single day) until about noon! I was at the perfume and healthcare section and managed to pick up some tea tree oil (it was under SGD5 per bottle!), a lovely purple eyeliner, a couple of tubes of herbal ointment, facial scrub and a lightweight abdominal binder (I'll talk about the abdominal binder another time).

There was this in-house detective who was so obviously tailing me. Every time I turned around, he would pretend to look at an item on the shelves. I'm not sure what he thought I would be stealing. I only had a small LV pochette (with long strap attached) slung crossbody. My little pochette is so small that it can barely contain money and my phone. In one hand, I was carrying a basket (see through so you can see exactly what I had put inside it) and I was wearing clothes with no pockets so why he was following me, I have no idea! I think it was because there was no one else to tail.

Hubs had called me several times the whole morning to tease me (like OMG was I still shopping etc) I finally managed to convince hubs to swing by Mustafa for a while to look at some white T-shirts I had intended to buy for him. I wasn't sure if they'd fit as I wasn't allowed to open the packaging and the sales man had scolded me for trying to open it despite my telling him that he didn't have any size samples available.  Anyway, we walked together for a bit and then we left. If he hadn't met up with me, I would have continued browsing/shopping! I really enjoyed walking the usually congested Mustafa Shopping Centre so early in the morning because there was no crowd. Just when we left at about noon, I realised the maddening crowd had begun to thicken. Yikes! Mustafa during peak periods is an absolute no-no!

Anyhoo, before I reached home, I hopped across to the mall across our place to do some grocery shopping. Had to make a pee stop at the public loo first and that's when I caught myself in the full length mirror. I was pleasantly surprised to see that I could see a drastic difference in the shape of my whole body. My shirt and tights clung to my body and I wasn't opposed to the curves being emphasized. I wish I had taken a picture of what I looked like but I didn't want to come across as being crazy; taking a selfie in the public restroom! So, I took another pic yesterday (Sunday) in a changing room! Not exactly in the same outfit as Saturday's but close enough:

 Narcissistic Selfie 11 Oct 2015

Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015

 

Ok, still looking not-thin but it's the first time I can wear tights without a blouse that's long enough to cover my crotch area. Usually, I'd have to wear a long blouse otherwise the crotch area would look well, unsightly. My daughter said that the change in my body shape was evident (but not so in my face). I am not even close to having a lean body. But, the current body shape is not too shabby, even if I do say so myself.

 

 

It's easier for me to stick to healthy eating and my exercise regime on weekdays rather than on weekends. Should be the reverse, right? If I stay at home during the weekends, I should be able to control what I put in my mouth and my exercise schedule, right? Wrong. Weekends are for family and housework. Because I have to cook for the family, I also tend to eat what they are eating. But I'll play diet catch up now that it's Monday. I have bought a lot of salad for the next few nights and that's what I hope to be eating this whole week!

 

Pants falling off - Oct - More pics

Should I be complaining? I have to give away quite a few of my existing pairs of jeans! It's not an excuse to buy any more because before I had seriously embarked on this new lifestyle, I had already bought a mountain of new clothes! I'll just have to dig up some older but tighter pairs of pants!

Pants falling off! - Oct 2015

Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015

It's Friday and I am wearing my jeans to work but it's falling off my hips. I thought my regular belt would help but with the belt buckled tight the pants may not be falling off but it is still ill fitting. It looks terribly baggy. Seems I've lost quite a lot of my butt (yay!)

Pants falling off! - Oct 2015

Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015

 

See, even with the belt, it's obvious my thunder thighs have now become less thundery!

 

Pants falling off! - Oct 2015

Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015

 

I ate at my regular Malay rice stall today and the usually grumpy aunty there commented that I had lost weight. She actually stared at my tummy and smiled before using her hands to gesture that I had shrunk. Here's what I ate. Doesn't look like a dish someone trying to lose weight would eat, right? Hehe.

 

 

Yummy lunch - Oct 2015

Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015

 

Eat healthily, lah. There's no reason why someone who's trying to lose weight needs to survive solely on grass. I find that if I don't keep myself full at mealtimes, I will attempt to snack when my stomach growls an hour or two later. It's not wrong to snack but most times, we end up eating something totally unhealthy as a snack and that totally defeats the purpose of eating so lean during proper meal times. That works for me; keeping myself full at meal times. It may or may not work for you. You may find eating small portions every few hours may work better for your metabolism.

 

I would recommend anyone who is trying to lose weight, to take pictures of themselves, especially the face. It's difficult taking quick selfies of one's whole body (who wants to set up photographic equipment right?) but relatively simple to take a selfie of at least the face (because many people who can surf the net and read this blog, do own a phone with camera capabilities).

 

Here's what I discovered when I did a comparison. OH MY GOODNESS!!!

 

Inch loss - July to September 2015 comparison pics

Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015

 

Same dress. Same spectacles. Same hair (no wig, no extensions, same makeup brands).

Subtle difference......NOT! You can see the fats from the face have lessened. The face looks more 'chiselled' / angular. Not much weight lost but definitely the exercises and healthier eating habits have amounted to something.

 

Even just from September to October 2015, I can see a difference. Okay, this one is a subtler difference but when we're losing inches or weight at snail's pace, any iota of difference makes a world of difference!!!

 

Inch loss - September to October 2015 comparison pics

Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015

 

I'm pretty sure after that big lunch today, that my weight would have shot up by now. I'll really have to watch what I eat tonight because I know I can nail this!

 

Cheers! Much love, peeps!







Weightloss 'Magic Number' - Update with pics

Wow! I must be doing something right! When I weighed myself just before I went to bed last night, I knew that when I woke up, the weight would be lower than my previous 'Magic Number' and I wasn't disappointed! I woke up this morning and lo and behold! Another 'Magic Number'!

So, this being a great day (and not only because of my weight but because the sky's showing some blue today), it calls for some photos!

Do I get a prize for taking the most awkward looking selfies? I'm new at this so please gimme a break : )

Awkward Selfie - 8 Oct 2015

Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015

 

Awkward Selfie - 8 Oct 2015

Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015

 

Awkward Selfie - 8 Oct 2015

Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015

 

Can you see in the above pic that the skirt actually isn't clinging on to my thunder thighs? It's bunched up because it's too loose! I'm actually hunching over if you cannot tell. So I ain't sucking in my tummy.

 

Awkward Selfie - 8 Oct 2015

Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015

 

The fake 'baby bump' isn't as apparent in the above pic as it used to be when hidden under my clothes. However, when I undress, you can see (from the below pic) that my tummy still has a long way to go before it becomes taut (which is my goal!). Also, one tip; as you can see from the above pic, despite not being slim, wearing a skirt one size too big isn't flattering. It actually makes me look bigger than I am. So it doesn't mean that being big means you have to hide under big clothes. Sometimes, the reverse is true. Emphasize those curves, babe!

 



Awkward Selfie - 8 Oct 2015

Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015

 

Tummy's bloated from the breakfast bun I have just eaten. I know now that bread and rice make me bloat. Chinese noodles, Bee Hoon (rice vermicelli) and pasta also do but probably not as much. When I say bloat, I do really mean bloat. Like a balloon. It will deflate by the next morning but right after a meal, I will usually look 5 months preggo.

I still managed to bring my weight down a bit despite eating healthily and not following any fad diet. In fact, I had a Ramly Burger last night, in addition to my chicken salad, courtesy of my most 'unsupportive' husband! I say unsupportive in a loving way. What else do you call someone who tells you to eat the burger because it is delicious? What else do you call someone who brings in ice-cream to you after you have just ended your exercise routine and offers you some? Sabo-king, he is. (A person who likes to sabotage!).

But we did have a talk last night about how elephant-gigantic-hippopotamic he was becoming. In a word, he has become lethargic. I explained to him that the first step was always the hardest. I asked him if he remembered that until I started exercising, my most favourite thing to do when I had finished dinner and had done some housework was to plonk into the bed and laze on it? I had called it resting after a hard day at work! I had always felt so tired. Too tired to even get up to bring the dog for a walk. Now, I really don't mind. I finish my dinner, clean up a bit and then proceed to happily walk the doggy. Exercise and watching what I eat, has made all the difference in the world for me.

I am about 5 kgs down now and that may not be a lot of progress but given that it's been a healthy and very slow process since around mid-July (not yet 3 months), I hope that by posting pictures and blogging about it, I will be of some motivation to someone else who is actually Googling online for help. I'm not posting pictures for the sake of showing off. Why would I show off my fats? Also, I'm in a dilemma. What if I go back to work for the Government Service? Would it mean I'd have to delete all my pics baring skin or posts spoken in truth? Sigh. So, enjoy me while I am still able to do this. Meanwhile, this morning's Magic Number is enough impetus for me to keep it going for the rest of the week!!! I can't wait to share this weight loss with my favourite polyclinic doctor when I next see him! I also can't wait to see if in another 3 months down the road, I would have lost at least 10kgs!

Cheers!

Still the same weight

I woke up this morning and was happy to see that the scale still showed yesterday's 'magic number'! So I did still weigh my lowest-weight-in-a-long-while! However, I must say that last night, it wasn't quite so. As I have said before, registering the magic number doesn't mean anything. Weight can yo-yo upwards 300g just by putting on your clothes. Put on a pair of heavy jeans and you will pretty much see your weight shoot up. But just like the My Fitness Pal App, I use it as a gauge to see if I'm eating and exercising as I should to bring my weight down. My weight did go up by more than a kg by the end of yesterday. This was my dinner:

Dinner 7 Oct 2015

Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015

I said I'd have a salad with no dressing but I couldn't. I had just bought a new bottle of Nando's extra hot chilli sauce and just had to have some with my chicken pieces! It was so spicy and yummy! In the pic, you can see the lemon water I am still drinking on a daily basis. My meal was thrown together with whatever I had at home. Rocket leaves, Chinese Spinach, black olives, pomelo, pineapple and of course, my chicken pieces. I didn't have to worry about anyone else's dinner because no one else was home. Happy as a lark, I enjoyed my dinner leisurely than hurried to give the doggy her walk. Thank goodness it was drizzling. The dog decided to do her big business in quick time. However, I had to give her a warm bath because she'd gotten wet and sandy.

I then proceeded to s-t-r-i-p (haha, this doesn't sound bad, does it?) and hopped on the rebounder for about an hour. The hour just passed by quite quickly because I had no one to disturb me and I was enjoying myself jumping about and doing crazy actions.

Right after my bath, hubs came home and I had to stop him because he was asking me to go have supper with him!!! I refused and told him I had just spent an hour exercising and I wasn't going to let that hour go to waste! UH-UH!!! NAH!!! NO WAY!!! So I went to sleep instead. Poor him. But too bad. I'm happy with the self-control I displayed yesterday night. I had even purchased a whole bag of mini-toblerones for him because he'd complained that I haven't bought him chocolates in a long time! I must say that I did think of squeezing in just one teeny tiny piece of toblerone. Just one can't do me harm, right? But I put it aside instead. I know myself. One piece and it'll be so delicious, I'll just want to have another and another and we all know how this goes down. Not a good ending. The thing is, when I wanted to join hubs for supper and when I wanted the mini-toblerone, I wasn't even feeling hungry! I was being greedy. In fact, I was so full from the whole day of eating non-stop (in between my lunch and dinner, I had eaten a slice of papaya and a slice of pineapple). So now, I know myself. I can snack but provided it's a healthy snack and there are healthy meals I can have which won't make me starve!

My lunch today was from the same Malay stall and so it is pretty similar to yesterday's lunch. One chicken, the sambal goreng and a fried egg. Salads and eggs have become my new friends because of their 'low' calories. I realised I can have so much more of them and keep myself full and yet stay on track with this weight loss goal. I had every intention of just eating veg for lunch today, however, by the time I got to the canteen, the stalls had pretty much run out of food.

I am still 2 KGS away from my first weight loss mini-goal. Yes, I have set a more reachable goal first so that the task isn't so daunting. It's taking me forever to reach it. I hope that somewhere along the way, my body will understand that it is fats it needs to burn and just speed up the process. Like maybe, they'll wake up and go, Ahh....she wants to burn her fats, so let's just not be confused and do it, man! Meanwhile, I am still chugging along.

You may have been following me and wondering why I have not even listed my actual weight. Yah lah, paiseh (feeling shy). I'll maybe do the big reveal one day AFTER I have become successful. Meanwhile, I am still struggling in my weight loss journey.

By the way, something has been at the back of my mind. I wanted to say that I am still waiting for the Lord to show me the way. He has told me to serve. It was made very clear to me. I am trying to figure out where He wants me to serve. I am curious, apprehensive and most of all, excited with the new door He will be opening for me! Am I afraid I will be out of a job by year's end? No. Not when the Holy Spirit is with me. I may have been but I am not anymore. I trust in God.

Lowest weigh in (after a long while) once again

So, I don't know how I did it again but I weighed in at my lowest weight record (in a long while) yet again today! This is after I started to take in one or two rest days from my exercise routine and ate in moderation (or maybe not if you see the following pics).

Started with a decadent Sara Lee cheesecake on Friday night (and some ice-cream!!!)

Cheesecake treat, Friday 2 Oct 2015

Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015

 

Can't recall what I had for Saturday lunch but I think it was something unhealthy like nuggets (but warmed up in the Philips Air Fryer). That evening, I cooked fried beehoon (rice vermicelli) and it was yaaaaahhhh.....meeeeeee.......yummy! Haha, I know, self-praise. I think I outdid myself this time with the taste. My daughter is my biggest bee hoon critic and she said it was delicious.

 

 My fried beehoon 3 Oct 2015

Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015

Again, I can't recall what I ate but I know I was having bites of home-scooped tub ice-cream here and there (and so was my dog)! Oh come on, don't go ape-shi*t over me feeding my dog ice-cream. She's more than a decade old and if she loves it, I'll give her a little once in a while as a treat! In fact, we didn't even realise she liked ice-cream until last week!

We went out for lunch and I had a whole Hainanese Chicken rice set and some deep fried chicken wings and wait for this....sago pudding with gula melaka (brown sugar) and a dollop of vanilla ice-cream! I think we over ate for lunch and for dinner that night, all that the kids wanted was instant noodles! I didn't really eat a whole packet, I just finished the scraps which both kids couldn't eat (because I was still feeling stuffed).

I did make myself rebound on Sunday evening for about 20 minutes because I couldn't get over the guilt of having eaten so much sugary stuff and ice-cream! Mmmm...the gula melaka was so sweet but just what I needed!

I was on leave from work on Monday morning and so had time to squeeze in an alone-time breakfast at a hawker centre. My favourite black fried noodles from the Nasi Lemak stall. Added in cabbage and brinjal too (rather than ordering a slice of luncheon meat or chicken wing etc)

Fried hawker noodles 5 Oct 2015

Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015

 

 

Lunch was a pathetic fish soup dish ordered at the same hawker centre at which I had eaten the black noodles. I had paid more to have Red Garoupa and guess what? There were like 5 pathetic small pieces of sliced fish in the soup. I controlled myself and didn't snack even though I was hungry again within 2 hours of finishing the sliced fish soup.

 

For dinner, I made burgers with some meat sausages but for myself, I only ate one bun and piled my plate high with veg and a bit of stir-fried mushrooms (please note, mushrooms and eggs = yucks). Hubs and I had had a long day (I was on leave to run some errands) and we slept very early. I decided to give my exercise a miss because I hade been walking the whole day and was spent!

 

Thus, to say that after the whole weekend of eating regular portions, that I was not surprised when I weighed myself this morning, is a lie. I was pleasantly shocked, in fact. The magic number was lower than my previous record low. LOL. I shall call this my magic number from now on. It is the 'low weight' which I see registered once every blue moon. Too long I say but heck, once every two weeks is better than not seeing the magic number at all!

 

What is this magic number I am referring to? Let's say you weigh 50 kgs (hypothetically, lah). Then for the next 14 days, you exercise, you watch your diet, you cheat, then you fast, whatever etc....then suddenly, it all averages itself out and suddenly, you see this 'low' weight (for example 47 kgs) which you won't see again for another 14 days. So for the rest of the days, it's a yo-yo weight recorded (if you like me would like to check every day) and you may fluctuate between 48-49.5kgs. Then one day about 2 weeks later, you see that you're weighing in at 46 kgs! Yep! This magic number is what I am looking forward to and it's what motivates me, whatever any one else may say. You may say that inch loss is better. Yes, I know, why not right? You look leaner with inch loss but I must be honest and say, it is the weight loss I am looking forward to!

 

I know that if I so desire, I can see the magic number and then eat veg for the rest of the day or week for that matter and I know that my weight will fall drastically but....I...will...not. Because I love food too much! Instead, I thought about what I was going to have for dinner tonight and I knew I was just going to be eating a huge salad with no dressing and just some chicken pieces. So for lunch, I had about 4 spoons of rice to go with the rest of my delicious Malay food:

 



Malay dish 6 Oct 2015

Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015

 

It looks like a lot of rice but if you look carefully under the chicken gravy, there isn't much rice. It's maybe 4 spoons worth of rice. The dish is made up of a chicken in gravy, sambal goreng, french beans, quail eggs and chilli.

I'm not afraid of going over my 1500 calorie guide because like I said, I'll be having veg and a bit of chicken tonight. I'll also be exercising tonight just because I feel up to it today. Seeing my record low MAGIC NUMBER) really cheers me up! Yay! 

Flabby stomach

For record purposes, I snapped a pic of myself. This is just so that I can look back and compare from my face size, if I show any progress in my weight loss journey. This is me smiling so that I can see how far my cheeks will expand when I smile!

Early October 2015

Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015

 



If you compare to early April 2015, I think the difference is apparent (especially the cheeks!):

Early April 2015

Copyright Fiona C Yeo @ Cartoon Lagoon 2015

 

Sorry, if my regular readers keep seeing the same April photo. I'll try to dig up other pics from around the earlier part of 2015.

 

Very slow progress weight wise. To be honest, it is terribly depressing. Depressing because I exercise daily, leh. Alamak! It's not easy to lose weight while eating 'normally' and exercising. I think this type of combination is more suited for someone 'maintaining' rather than trying to lose weight. But, since I can see inch loss clearly, something is working in my favour and I really should not give up!

 

I look at my flabby stomach and wish I could magically make this whole chunk disappear and in its place, a svelte, taut tummy would appear. Instead, I see this whole flab hanging near the panty line. I could blame it on having had 2 C-section deliveries but I do not recall being this fat even after the birth of my second child (the boy). In fact, I managed to lose nearly all the pregnancy weight and kept it there for some years. But over the years, I found that I was adding 1 kg per year and it did not seem like much back then but as you can see in the early April pic, it added up to a mountain of kilos. I did get diagnosed with PCOS only way after having 2 kids (I did have difficulty conceiving the first child - it took 3 years and my child was conceived naturally). It doesn't meant I didn't have PCOS before the kids. I had all the symptoms but just had not been diagnosed with it until later. So having PCOS could explain why the weight was piling on when I wasn't snacking, eating very much or despite the fact that I remained quite active back then.

 

I look back and wonder whey I hadn't taken the bull by the horns and started seriously changing my diet and lifestyle back then! Now, I am apparently left with about 15 kgs (33lbs) to lose!!! (my estimated ideal weight).

 

I do realise that after the birth of my second child, I didn't carry very heavy items because the womb needed to recover from the second C-section. My obstetrician and gynaecologist had said my womb and the stitching were in good shape and that I could afford to have several more C-sections, but I felt that the 2 C-sections had really weakened my womb so the thought of going to the gym (although I have had a gym membership all this time) was never on my mind. I say my womb is still frail because I can't even have a stomach massage (when I go for massages) without feeling weird at the tummy and near the operated line. Just to explain, when you see the horizontal cut wound after a C-Section, it doesn't mean your insides weren't cut vertically, hor! So I basically have a T-shaped wound. The vertical cut is invisible and only the horizontal cut is visible (and it's not that big. Quite short actually). The C-sections could be the reason I have such a lax womb now and my tummy overhangs at the panty line but you know what, I refuse to give up! I won't let the PCOS diagnosis or the fact that I've had 2 C-sections deter me from losing the tummy fats. These are all just excuses, excuses, excuses. I will over come them...eventually!!! 

 

I told hubs about the few miserable kilos I had lost over the 2 months and he was very encouraging. He said it wasn't too bad to him. But he did warn me to check if I was exercising correctly. He was concerned that I was exercising wrongly and that it would cause me to increase my weight instead. I told him that need not be a concern because I was losing inches and that should be a clear indication that something good was taking place. Also, I feel very good health wise. It could be that I have started to really THINK about what I put into my mouth these days. Not that I am on any fad diet or anything. I am still eating everything but I put some thought into balancing a binge-eating day with a more conservative eating day. The most significant differences I have made to my life is I am eating a lot less rice these days and I exercise nearly every day.

 

Well, the weight loss this week had been depressing. I feel I have lost some water / bloat from my face and arms this week, as compared to last week but something's up with my tummy. It's still bloated. I'm going to see if my rice or noodle intake has been too much for it to take.

 

I will continue to exercise not because I am forcing myself but because I feel good after the exercise. I've still not put any rules to the routines I do on the rebounder. I put on any music I want and I do any routines I feel like doing. I do about 20-30 minutes each day, depending on the intensity of the routines. Maybe looking at the clock is one rule. So okay; one rule. So far, it's become a part of me and nowadays, when my kids come barging into the room while I am on the rebounder, they don't bat an eyelid seeing their underwear clad mum prancing on the rebounder!

 

Have a good weekend!