MY7THLIFE.NET

What I did

Tina — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 13:44:31 +0000

I am a very happy bunny today. I really am. At first I was nervous: today was my appointment with my KBS doctor. I was really nervous about what the weighing scale was going to say, and what my blood results from two weeks ago were going to show.

I was thinking that if I postponed breakfast until after I was done with the appointment, I would be lighter. Not much, but it will be something. I ended up having my usual breakfast, Honeycombs cereal, washed down with a mug of tea. Left the house, and ended up being 15 minutes early to my 8AM appointment.

Before the doctor came in, I had to weigh myself. My weight is still undisclosed to people I’m not close to, but I lost 7kgs in the span of 10 weeks. If I remember correctly, in the paper, for the quick-fix, slimming things that cost a bomb, will let you lose about the same amount in those 10 weeks. Luckily for me, I didn’t get to pay a thing, and I feel lots better having to have lost the weight naturally.

I’m not posting this just to gloat or brag about what I have achieved, but I am really happy about it, that is why I shared. Like, if I ever become a millionaire one day, I will share it, because I’d be happy about it. And in this instance, I am. :P

Anyway, I’ve been asked what my secret was. Here’s my secret: There is none. If you want to give it a try, I’ll share a thing or two with you.

I have been told by the resident dietitian at KBS that for normal grown-ups, calorie intake is 2000. If you want to lose weight, you need to reduce it to 1500 (give or take 100). Now.. As for food proportions, refer to the food pyramid. The good ‘ol Wiki is best for this, but if you’d like you can grab the nearest Jacob’s Crackers tin.

To start off, in no particular order: Carbohydrates. This is as important as any other food category. Forget Atkins Nutritional Approach (a.k.a. the Atkins diet), because you need a lot of this for your energy. Minimum of six servings per day. What I did with my meals is that with six servings, here is how I break it down; Two servings for breakfast, two for lunch, and two for dinner. Simple. Servings, for example, would be;

Two slices of wholemeal bread, or
A slice of white bread, or
Two serving spoons of rice (not heaped), or
Two potatoes each the size of your fist, or
Half a cup of noodles (including glass noodles) or pasta, or
A cup of cereal.

Next food category I’d like to touch on is Protein. My most favourite food in the food pyramid. Only have two to three servings of protein per day. It is important that you ensure you consume only ONE type of protein PER MEAL. For example, if you are having chicken, you cannot have meat, fish, or tofu. An example of one serving of protein would be;

One chicken drumstick, or
Half chicken breast, or
One serving spoon of meat (not heaped), or
A portion of fish that fits from your wrist to the top of your middle finger.

So far it’s easy to take in, right? ;)

The next one I’d like to touch on are Fruits and Vegetables. You have to have two to three servings of fruits and vegetables. That means, two servings of fruits, and two servings of vegetables, and not two servings of fruits and vegetables. Comprende? ;) For your fruit intake, it is enough to have one banana or an orange per meal, because they contain natural sugars. As for vegetables, per meal, if you’re having cooked vegetables, you’ll need half a cup. If you’re eating raw, then you’ll need a cup. Personally, I eat a cup of stir-fried vegetables per meal.

The most important food group that most Bruneians tend to forget about is Dairy. Like protein, fruits, and vegetables, you will need two to three servings of dairy products per day. It is quite easy to fit in dairy, however. An example of one serving of dairy food would be;

A pot of low- or non-fat yoghurt, or
A glass of low- or non-fat milk, or
A slice of low-fat cheese.

How I incorporate these products to my meals, is simple. Milk for my breakfast cereal, cheese to be eaten with my mashed potato, and yoghurt for dessert. There are, of course, other ways to incorporate dairy produce in your food if you don’t know how to drink milk or yoghurt. You can put low-fat milk in your curry dish. If you’re lactose-intolerant, I was told that soy milk is good.

What else have I missed? OK. Fat. You eat this SPARINGLY. Any kinds of oil is 100% fat, so avoid frying your food, even if it tastes better than any other cooking on this planet. I was informed by the dietitian that a teaspoon of oil is actually enough for four people. Best way is to stir-fry your food, actually. Personally, my maximum number of times per week that I eat fried food is one. If, for some reason, I’ve had two servings of fried food per week, I will try not to eat fried food the next week.

There is a lot more that I can share with you, but this is getting to be a long post, and I am very sure that I might have it wrong in here somewhere, but this is what I have been practising for the past ten weeks or so.

For some sort of guide, below is a sample of what I eat in a day.

BREAKFAST

Half cup of Honeycombs cereal
Half cup of low-fat milk
Tea (with less to no sugar)

MORNING SNACK

One bottle of typical mineral water (600ml)

LUNCH

A cup of stir-fry mixed vegetables (celery, carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, etc.) with glass noodles
One piece of chicken drumstick (grilled, curried, roasted, etc.)
One pot of non-fat strawberry yoghurt
One Dole banana
Three glasses of water

AFTERNOON SNACK

A glass of water

DINNER

A cup of stir-fry mixed vegetables (as above)
A serving spoon of meat dish
One boiled/steamed potato with one slice of low-fat cheddar cheese
One Sunkist orange
Three glasses of water

There you have it. My ‘diet’ plan. I don’t personally call it a diet, because this is what we’re supposed to be eating anyway. I’ll share in the next post with regards to exercise. Yes? :)

Oh, I forgot to mention that it is OK to reward yourself once every week. You can go out with friends for sushi, or ambuyat, or sweet, sinful desserts.. It’s OK to order a box of Sasbrownies with vanilla ice cream on top (but don’t finish a box on your own in one sitting!), and it’s OK to eat fried food. However, limit and control yourself to once a week. Just think of it as a reward for job well done.

Keep in mind that weight loss does not come without a lifestyle change, and the will to scarifice. Happy trying! :D

P.S.: To dietitians out there, please correct anything that is wrong in this post. Only positive feedback and constructive criticism is welcomed here. Any negative comments will not be tolerated, and will be deleted without question. Thank you!

New Moon trailer

Tina — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 02:53:53 +0000

Personally hated this book out of the four, but the movie looks promising!

I might even convert to Team Jacob! LOL.

A new me

Tina — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 13:42:23 +0000

As The Program draws nearer to a close this weekend, I am feeling rather sad. I have gone a long way from when I first started, even though it was just ten weeks ago.

Before, I wasn’t very much aware of calories, exercise intensity, food categories, and food proportions! Even though you might laugh at me for that, but if you joined The Program, you would be surprised. The food pyramid they jammed into our heads when we were younger? That should be the guideline you follow forever.

Most of those who joined The Program were either referred to by their doctors, or they needed to lose weight because if they don’t, they won’t get their bonuses this year, or they wanted a better, healthier lifestyle. I had to be honest with myself, my peers, and the MOH officers there: I joined because I wanted to lose weight and look good. Plus, having your doctors drone on and on about your BMI and how fat you are are getting a bit too much. Got too boring, really.

But as I go through the program, I was in for more than just losing weight. I was in for a lifestyle change. A major shift in the food area, which was a bit difficult because, trust me when I say, I love my food. However, after a few lectures, you start to find out how many teaspoons per day should you have your food in oil, you kind of learn fast. And after all that was taught, we practiced it, and not only did I lose weight, I felt really good about myself. I rarely get headaches, which I often get after work, and I just feel like I am living right.

All this goes down to our dietitian, psychologist, and ‘trainer’. Hahaha.

The dietitian, Nura, has been very good. She doesn’t take your excuses, no sir. There is no reason for you to skip your three main meals of the day, and no reason for your lack of calcium intake. There is no such thing as, “Inda pandai minum susu.” And with her plan, she’s got the food diary going on, which enables you to monitor what you’ve been eating! Personally, this is great practice, because you will realize just how much you have consumed for the day.

Mun, the psychologist, has been great as well, teaching us to focus, now that we have achieved full awareness of living healthy, and to maintain that lifestyle. She taught us how to stop listening to other people’s taunts, like, “Eh, jangantah dulu exercise atu. Makan tahhh. Enjoy!” Which is great, because mentality is the key to maintain this lifestyle. She also taught us that we have to have belief in ourselves in order to be successful.

Bryan is also very good to us, prodding us slowly with his workout plan, which is, to start slow. If you are not fit, don’t push yourself. Go slow at first, then if you can do better, go to the next stage, then the next. I didn’t have much problem in this area, but with The Program’s exercise regime, I have a newfound favourite pastime: Hiking! :D (Even though I don’t get excited when it rains. :P )

The rest of the officers at the Health Promotion Center has also been very, very supportive. I will miss them loads when Saturday comes and goes, even though we are still welcomed to use their gym and swimming pool. The latter, in which, I have found great fun! ;)

If you are interested in a healthier lifestyle for yourself, find out at the Ministry of Health’s KBS at the Health Promotion Center, over at Commonwealth Drive, nearby the Ministry of Finance. The gray building with the colourful squares. Those who have a lower BMI than 30 might not be able to join, though. But I think you can work something out with them at KBS.

The Program is KBS, by the by, and it stands for Klinik Badan Sihat. :)

Come one, come all!

Tina — Sat, 23 May 2009 01:02:41 +0000

Wardrobes Inc. is having a Mayhem Clearance Sale at their store from the 20th to the 26th of May only!

They’re offering 10 to 20% off of their accessories, and even their new arrivals are 10% off! The best bit, the others are shedding 40 to 50% off their original price! Bargain!

Drop by their offline store now!

LOL of The Day: Lisa Is Blonde

Tina — Thu, 21 May 2009 00:29:50 +0000

Via Fail Blog.

I say!

Tina — Fri, 15 May 2009 02:53:00 +0000

Thanks to my mom, my best birthday present this year is here!!

I have yet to have that skill of photo-taking, but I am loving this camera! (I just realized both my cameras are gifts, the first one was a graduation gift, hehe.) Here are my favourites pictures I took so far! :D

A birthday gift from my good friend, Zawanah. Thank you!

My little sister.

The ice cream that never melts, courtesy of friend Rina. :D

While waiting at Giant parking lot last night.

My mom was in the paper!

My sister’s favourites. Blech.

I’m now off to rest for a bit. Going to get my hair cut this afternoon! :D

A year to a quarter

Tina — Sat, 09 May 2009 01:45:04 +0000

Today’s my first day at being 24 years old.

I hope I am wiser, healthier, and happier than my previous years.

I like today. People are really nice to me today.

I’m getting what I want for my birthday, but it doesn’t arrive until 7-10 days’ time. :(

Will update you when it’s here in my arms. Haha.

Until then, let me just inform you that QQeStore has just lost a customer. Of course, this is until they can somehow come up with something to console me. But really, they have lost me as one of their customers.

Good Sunday so far

Tina — Sun, 03 May 2009 09:35:16 +0000

My family and I went to the Special Olympics Carnival at Stadium Negara Hassanal Bolkiah this morning, just to pass the time while, at the same time, donating!

Besides getting the recipe book, my family and I got our caricatures done! Superb work done by the artists, but mine doesn’t look like mine. It’s OK, if I tell you it’s mine, you’ll think it’s me. Hahahaha. It just looks like someone else entirely. View all three here, and hover over the thumbnails for description.

Here’s another link I want to share: Hot Guys In Flu Masks. Note: Not all are hot. Haha. :) Search for the unmasked one, he’s kinda cute. You know who else is cute? The guy who plays Gambit in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. ;)

New favourite person

Tina — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 07:14:34 +0000

A very good video on metabolism, by Jillian Michaels, The Biggest Loser trainer, interviewed on her book, Master Your Metabolism.

This is what they’re teaching us in The Program (I’m so original :P ), but this video has more in-depth explanations as to why we shouldn’t skip meals, and avoid processed food as much as you can.

Things like these are my motivation to live a healthier lifestyle and reduce my BMI to my ideal BMI. Hopefully by the end of The Program, I will be at least halfway there.

Oh, Jillian Michaels is now one of my favourite people, thanks to the boyfriend who asked me to watch The Biggest Loser and YouTube videos with Jillian in it. I’m even rooting for her and the black team. Last night, I was very excited (with loud cheers and everything) on black team’s achievement on the weigh-in. LOL.

What’s been happening?

Tina — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 14:03:46 +0000

I think the number of readers following this blog has dwindled. Actually, I kind of know. My statistics told me, and the crickets are chirping way too loudly for my liking. (I’m being lame, I know.)

Anyway. Did anyone catch American Idol’s second week of their top seven? Let me just get this out of the way: Kris Allen’s performance was AMAZING! I fell in love with his acoustic rendition of Donna Summer’s She Works Hard For The Money, and I loved it more than Adam Lambert’s performance this week!

I have a sneaking feeling that the bottom three this week will be the same as last week.

Sebenarnya, atu pulang saja kan ku update, but since I’m here.. Why not further enlighten my readers on what’s been happening lately, right?

Where should I start? Let’s start with my campaign to practice a healthier lifestyle. I’ve enrolled myself in a program, one that Shasha had mentioned in one of her posts, and it’s been really, really great for me. I feel so good that I’ve finally broken myself from that rule that I’ll never exercise outdoors.

I now visit Tasek Lama every so often, and it was surprising that I haven’t been bitten by any mosquitoes or bugs. I have had the misfortune of being ‘attacked’ by a magpie, though. The first time I was attacked, I was walking on my own. This was right after watching the culprit flew by the head of a man who was walking twenty steps ahead of me, with a loud snapping sound, which I suspect the sound of its beak. The second time it happened, someone was walking with me and confirmed that it was a magpie.

I was so sure I didn’t have any shiny objects with me, except for my key’s strap, which is a rhinestone-encrusted letter ‘N’. Even so, I had it covered firmly with my hand. Last Tuesday, however, I don’t know how I could have missed this, but I realized I had my ring on! So, I took it off, walked past the place where the magpie always attacked. And et voila, no more attacks! And with this, I am very glad, as I can walk in peace.

Also in the program, is how to eat healthily. Let’s just say.. I’m not on a diet. I’m just eating healthily. It’s proven to be really good as I lost a considerable amount of weight and kept it off. The latter of which has always been a tough job for me.

So, with this program, I am adjusting to this (healthier) lifestyle, and thus still can’t find time to go out with my friends! Grr. I need to come up with a slot, or I’ll go crazy. I miss my friends!!