Lost 0.5 kg of Fat!

Today I had my weigh in and my findings 2 days ago were confirmed. I've finally lost 0.5 kgs of Fat. Yes! I just have to keep on doing my diet. I only eat rice once a day and workout 3 times a week. I didn't have to go to the gym everyday. At least I have a balanced life right now. I'm so happy. =D

Finally broken the 64 kg mark!

After a month long of weight loss training with Roxy, my hard work finally paid off. I just weighed in this morning and I was surprised that I was only weighing 64.8kgs (142.9 lbs). I was so happy! I've been trying to break free from the 65 kgs mark but no amount of dieting was getting me anymore. So it really does help in fat loss process when I started building muscle to help me build up my metabolism and cutting my rice intake. At least everything is going smooth. Slow and steady that's best way to lose the fat permanently.

More reps and more weight

Today I've decided to add more weight than the usual weights that I've been using for the past couple of workouts and I also added 5 reps each exercise. The exercise that I did still made me sweat a lot and I feel more satisfied with the routines that I did. The plank for 1 minute is a lot easier for me than when I did it for the first time again in the past 2 weeks. I think I need to add challenge in doing this exercise. Probably I need to add a few more seconds.

For my diet, I'm going to try the 14 day challenge of Nestle Fitnesse. I'm going to replace my breakfast and dinner by eating this cereal for 14 days. I will eat rice only once a day. I will continue to avoid softdrinks and Iced tea. I'm still having 3 small cups of coffee in a day. However, in the coming weeks I need to replace 1 cup with all black coffee with sugar.

One step at a time. Tomorrow, I'm still thinking of working out or not. Good luck to me. Aja!

Good News: Increase Muscle Mass/ Bad News: Increase Body Fat

Just this morning I had my weight checked including the overall percentage of body fat and muscle mass. I increased my weight due to 2 factors:

Good News: Increased Muscle Mass by 0.1%

Bad News: Increased Body Fat by 0.3%

Now I have to work harder to change my eating lifestyle. It all boils down in changing the kind of food that I'm eating. I need to go to the gym for additional Cardio workouts. I tried the MWF workout instead of everyday because my back is killing me in carrying the heavy gym bag everyday. But now I found the best way to lighten the load. I may be able to that. Then I'll have to do a weekly weigh in. Before and after workout every Friday just to monitor my progress.

Good luck to me! =P

Waist, Hips and Legs Slim down

Yey! I just measured today all my vital stats today. I lost inches on my waist, hips and legs.

Last 06/30/2011 here is my vital stats:

- Arms: 13 inches

- Bust: 36 inches

- Waistline: 36 inches

- Hips: 40 inches

- Legs: 25 inches

My vital stats today here is:

- Arms: 13 inches

- Waistline: 36 inches

- Waistline: 34 inches (Lost 2 inches)

- Hips: 39 inches (Lost 1 inch)

- Legs: 24 inches (Lost 1 inch)

Now this is what I call progress. So little by little, I'm trying to lose fat and weight the healthy way.

Lately I haven't been craving to eat snacks. Well that's an improvement. In the evening I don't eat rice anymore.

Anyway, I'm feeling the effect of the exercise that I did yesterday. The muscles on my back are little bit sore. But I'm still happy. Tomorrow I'll do the same set of exercises again. Aja!

Push-up, Squat thrust

Grabe yung workout program na binigay ni Roxy today. I've been doing push-ups before and Squat thrust without any problems. Iba pala pag mixed push-up and squat thrust, mejo mahirap pala. Yung 2nd set ko na exercise were really hard. First time ko ginawa lahat yun. Kung push-up puro push-up lang until mag-end yung count. Kung squat thrust, puro squat thrust lang. But I loved the challenge. Sa friday uulitin ko lahat ung set na yun. Lord, sana magawa ko lang. Pero parang for weight and fat loss nga yung binigay niya sa kin bagong routine. Hopefully it would be that effective.

I'm 143 pounds now!

Yey! I've weighed in just this morning. I courageously checked my weight on the weighing scale. Voila! I'm only 65.1 kgs. When you convert this, it's 143.6. I'm so happy! So far, there was a little progress in my weight loss. I've did a few changes on my eating habits. Just yesterday I started with a no rice diet during dinners. I was inspired by what my officemate "Lester" because he indeed had lost a lot of weight and is looking more leaner. I have been successful in going to the gym everyday because of the exhaustion that I've been feeling lately due to lack of sleep. My gym schedule became MWF. If I'd be able to adjust my body clock to sleep a little earlier I'd be able to go to the gym everyday. Anyway, I'm still happy with my progress. =)

Today is the day I started to love myself again

It's been months since I've activated my Fitness First Membership. But I only get to go to the gym 2x or 3x a month. Yesterday, I went to the gym to have my membership canceled. But I didn't know what got into me. I called for my past trainor and asked her to become my trainor. I finally admitted that I really need help. This inspiration came when I saw the pictures of those that belonged to the final five of Biggest Loser Philippines. They where more leaner and healthier looking than a few months back when they started the program. I needed a lifestyle change. I tried the lean and fab but to no avail the results were not permanent. A lifestyle change is the only way that would make me healthier again. I knew if I hired a trainor, the fat loss target is possible. I've been trying ways on my own, but I wasn't successful. I just got bored doing it on my own.

Although in fairness, after my gall bladder removal operation I lost 3 kgs already (6 pounds). But I stopped losing as soon as I got busy with work. Good thing is that I don't gain weight. Meaning my eating habits are in place. I just needed a push to finally loose that fat. I've tried having a trainor before and I knew that this is a good way to start again with my goal. I need to be healthy. I'm doing this for myself. I needed to start loving myself again for it to work this time. I knew that God will give me the strength and motivation to achieve this goal.

8 Surefire Fat-Burning Tips (From EDiets)

I ran across this cool article. It's about weight loss. I'm posting this on my blog so that I won't forget the essentials in Weight Loss.

8 Surefire Fat-Burning Tips

Raphael Calzadilla, B.A., CPT, ACE
eDiets Contributor

Sometimes certain moments in our lives leave an unforgettable impression. About 5 years ago, I was up late on a weekend night and watching TV. An infomercial was promoting an exercise machine that could help you achieve your weight-loss goals in 6 minutes a day. Six minutes a day — yeah, right! That infomercial got me thinking about how many people buy into fat loss myths. On the part of the consumer, this has to do with a lack of knowledge and hope for the magical workout and the magical diet. Neither of which exist.

If you ever see a quick fix promise, always go back to the fundamentals. Fundamentals will never let you down, and they will never lie to you or mislead you.

There are eight points to consider when attempting to burn body fat.

1. Control Blood Sugar — Your goal should be to control blood sugar. Controlling blood sugar levels helps to shed fat. This is accomplished by taking in some protein, carbohydrates and good fats spread evenly through the day every two to three hours and by not over eating.

A sample meal schedule might look something like this:

6:30 Breakfast
9:30 Snack
12:30 Lunch
3:30 Snack
6:00 Dinner
9:00 Small Snack

This method will have a profound impact on fat loss. However, don’t forget that calories must still be slightly below maintenance.

2. Calories Count — Your goal is to eat as much as possible while still losing fat. For example, if I can get you to lose 1 to 2 pounds of fat per week on 1,400 calories per day, I’m on track. If I try to accelerate the process and lower your calories to 1,200, I sabotage your efforts. Anything more than a 2-pound loss per week will strip muscle tissue and give one a soft look.

A good example is the person who goes on a crash diet and ends up thin but still soft and flabby when they get to their goal weight. This takes place because they lost not only fat, but also valuable muscle. They lowered calories too much, lost at too fast of a rate and did not try to eat the optimal amount of calories for fat loss.

3. Eat Breakfast — A balanced breakfast comprised of carbohydrates, protein and a little fat is a critical start to the day. The point of consuming breakfast is that it breaks the fast from an overnight sleep. In addition, breakfast will rev the metabolism for the rest of the day. This is your first opportunity of the day to get blood sugar back to a balanced state after the all night fast and is critical for sustaining fat loss.

4. Ratios count! A calorie is not a calorie — Do you know those people who tell you to simply lower your calories to lose fat? The people who never mention protein, carbohydrates or fats? They’re wrong.

Protein, carb and fat ratios are important. The correct ratios (which can vary depending on an individual’s response to food) help to stabilize blood sugar levels, which helps to increase energy and fat loss. Generally, 40 percent to 50 percent of carbohydrates, 25 percent to 30 percent protein and 20 percent to 30 percent of healthy fats is the best starting place.

Carbs are necessary for energy and not the enemy everyone makes them out to be. The key is how much you consume. Protein is also critical to build and retain muscle tissue, which in turn helps to burn more fat.

Finally, good dietary fats are extremely important. They help to balance hormonal levels, increase strength and create satiety (fullness). If you’re looking for a plan that takes this into account I recommend eDiets Glycemic Impact Plan.

5. Weight Training — To affect muscle versus fat ratios you have to train with weights or perform some type of resistance training. An intense weight workout lasting no more than 60 minutes is the most efficient route to go. You don’t have to workout with a bodybuilding routine, but you do need to work the entire body approximately three alternate days per week.

6. Cardio — Cardio should be approached as a tool to lose fat. It should not be used as a never ending event in the hope that all body fat will magically burn off. Excessive cardio is counter productive and will burn not only fat, but also valuable muscle tissue.

If fat loss is not taking place, increase the intensity of your session, not the time. The key is to perform all that is necessary — and no more than that. This is accomplished by incorporating interval cardio training (integrating slower levels of intensity for several minutes with very high levels for several minutes). Intervals are great for boosting the metabolism and creating more of a post caloric burn (calories burned 24 hours after the workout.

7. Water Intake — From the standpoint of water intake and fat loss, you want to be in a position where the liver is converting stored fat to energy. The liver has other functions, but this is one of its main jobs. Unfortunately, another of the liver’s duties is to pick up the slack for the kidneys, which need plenty of water to work properly (more than most people realize).

If the kidneys are water-deprived, the liver has to do the work of the kidneys along with its own (lowering its total productivity in the process). The liver then can’t metabolize fat as quickly or efficiently. If you allow this to happen, you’re setting yourself up to store fat because you’ve made the liver less efficient at turning stored body fat to energy.

Usually if you multiply .55 times your weight, that should be enough in ounces of water to suffice. Water is the underrated fat-loss tool.

8. Discipline — This is the seldom used word in the fitness industry. As I mentioned earlier, you’ll read a lot about the new magic workout, the new magic diet, the machine that’s sure to burn fat off your butt, etc. It’s all a bunch of nonsense.

It’s about doing the right thing and the hard thing at times. One day of discipline leading to another day of discipline. You build your body and your mind simultaneously. Without this, every point I’ve made above is fruitless. The good thing is anyone can do it — if they choose to.

Day 4...Weight is a like a stock market

This morning I gained 0.4 kgs. But that's okay. =) I'm comparing my weight to a stock market. Sometimes it goes up and sometimes it goes down. But the main difference between the 2 is that the stock market is unpredictable and we have no control over its trend. But with the weight, I get to know what caused the raise in the kilograms. The key is balance and healthy choices. Lately I've been trying to eat less but I realized that due my poor choices of what I ate yesterday must have caused the raise.

Foods to avoid or to be replaced:

- Green Tea Frap (Go for hot tea instead)

- Beef steak (It's too salty, which might have caused the water retention)

Do's when it's workout day:

- Eat a full but light meal for dinner. Probably I was starving myself too much.

Looking at the bright side of things, I still lost 3 inches on my waist and that is really something. It's a good thing that I bought the digital weighing scale. It's more accurate. It's like my meter check. It's one best birthday presents that I've bought for myself.

Anyway, I didn't go to the gym today. I'm trying to do baby steps by trying make it a habit to exercise again. Tomorrow I'll fit in my cleaning schedule in the morning.

Here are the food that I ate for today:

A. Breakfast:

- 1 cap of Lean and Fab

- 2/3 cup Fried Rice

- 3 tbsp Pork and Beans

- 1 medium Banana

B. Snack:

- 1 small cup of cappuccino

- 1 small cup of cafe latte

C. Lunch:

- 1/2 cup Rice

- 2 small parts of Chicken Adobo

D. Snack:

- 3 Slices of shakeys Pizza

- 1 Fit n Right

E. Dinner:

- 1 Bagel

Day 3...lost 1.5 lbs

I have more good news! I lost another 1.5 pounds. Actually from 67 kgs now I weigh only 66.5 kgs. I'm so happy! I could feel my post pregnancy tummy is now shrinking. I call this post pregnancy tummy because I only got a bigger tummy after I got pregnant. So far I've lost 1.7 kgs or 3.5 lbs all in all. Yey! I have another good news. After measuring my tummy area, I lost 1 more inch. So far I've lost 3 inches in my tummy area! Hooray!

Anyway, it's my 22nd day in taking the Lean and Fab. My first two weeks I haven't lost much in weight. However, I did loose in inches on my major problem areas in the body. After my 10th day of using it. So far I've been trying different drinking patterns:

Day 1-10: Take 1 capsule in the morning and 1 in the evening

Day 11-20: Take 2 capsules in the morning and 2 capsules in the evening

Day 21: Take 2 capsules in the morning (I ran out of Lean and Fab at this time)

So starting today and for the next 30 days, I'll change my drinking pattern. I'll take it only once every morning. This is actually to test it's effectiveness. I wanted to find out for myself not just testimonies from other people. Anyway, I'm not in a hurry. The slower the losing process the more permanent the weight lose is. This is just based on my research.

Asides from this development, I've been trying to adapt new habits:

1. Eating dinner before I get home. Bread and no rice. So far I'm not too famished when I get home.

2. I went to the gym today. So I'm starting to exercise again. I'm trying to exercise at least 2x a week in the gym for 30 mins. I'll do house cleaning on Saturday so that it would count as my workout.

3. Drinking more than 8 glasses of water to cleanse my body. I need to include this habit during weekends.

Here is my food diary for this day:

A. Breakfast:

- 1 cap of Lean and Fab

- 1/2 cup Rice

- 1/2 pc of fried fish

- 1 cup of Low fat Milk

B. Snack:

- 1 small cup of Cappuccino

- 1 small cup of Cafe Latte

C. Lunch:

- 1/2 cup Rice

- 2 thin strips of Beef Steak

D. Snack:

- 2 Hopia

- Green Tea Frap (Non-fat and no whip)

E. Dinner:

- 1 Bagel with peanut butter spread

- 1 cup of low fat milk

- 1 bannana

Tomorrow, I'll have another update on my weight loss journey.

Day 2... Losing 2 pounds

Wow! This morning. I weighed in again and the weighing scale showed that I lost 2.2 lbs. Actually the weighing scale is in Kilograms. So from 68.2 kg now I'm 67 kg. I slept from 11pm-5am (Only 6 hrs sleep). I'll try to tuck my 2 kids in bed so by 10pm all of us are fast asleep. Now I didn't go to the gym. I just came to the office at around 8:30am so that I could go off at 5:30pm.

Here is my diary of food that I ate for today:

A. Breakfast

- 2 caps of Lean and Fab

- 2 small hotdogs

- 1/2 serving of Egg omelet

- 1/2 rice

- 1 tab of stresstabs

B. Snack

- 1 small cup of cappuccino

- 1 small cup of milo

- 2 pcs of Chocolate Chip Cookie Chips ahoy

C. Lunch

- 1/2 rice

- 3 small sticks of Lumpiang Shanghai.

D. Snack

- 1 small Goldilocks pulvoron

E. Dinner

- 1 Bagel

- Cheezwiz Spread

- White Chocolate mocha (tall)

Later I'll be getting another bottle of Lean and Fab. I'll try to take it only once a day. So far I've lost 2 inches on my tummy and waistline, 1 inch on my armhole area and 0.5 inch on my thighs.

Day 1: A new beginning...

The Picture on the left side was taken last August 2005. The picture below was taken last April 2011. My goal is to return back to my figure on the left.

As I write this blog, I am making a vow in returning back my weight to "110 lbs". I am now at a point where the procrastination has to stop. As you see, I currently am 150 lbs heavy and I don't care about it. That's the scary part, not caring at all. My main motivation why I wanted to do this is because I wanted to be healthy for my kids. I wanted to live a longer life.

I knew the secret in permanent weight loss is lifestyle change. What's my game plan for this week?

Game Plan #1: Remove 1 bad habit and replace it with a good habit. 1 Habit per week.

Game Plan #2: Start working out again every morning.

Game Plan #3: Try to sleep at 10pm.

My target is to take in 1200 calories per day. Burn 1700 calories per day. I need to have a 500 calories deficit.

My activities for the day:

- Walk to get a ride for the trike and bus. (Morning and afternoon)

- Walk going to and from the gym.

- Went to the gym. Did the stepper for 20 mins. Burned 300 calories

- Go around the mall for at least an hour.

My food for the day:

A. Breakfast:

- 3/4 cup rice

- 1 small pandesal

- 4 small sausages

- 1 thin slice spam

B. Snack:

- 1 small cup Cappuccino

- 1 small cup Cafe Latte

C. Lunch:

- 2 caps of Lean and Fab

- 1/2 cup Rice

- 3 tbsp Menudo

D. Snack:

- 1 whole bagel

- 1 tbsp cream cheese

E. Dinner:

- 2 caps of Lean and Fab

- 1 cup of Low fat milk

- 1/3 Krispy Creme Donut (Just to satisfy my craving of sweets)

- 1/2 cup of Rice

- 2 tbsp Veggies

- 1 small strip of fish