April 2014 Fitness Check

Last year, God knows how I ate trashy and experienced YOLO hence, I gained a lot; I lost track of hardwork I did trying to show 8 lines along my abdomen. By the time I came back from my Christmas vacation, I already knew that I needed to get back on track. This time, I know what to do, the diet and exercise with some modification because I introduced BCAAs into my supplements apart from the usual protein blend and OEP on the side when needed.

In less than two month, I am going back to the Philippines for a short vacation straight to the white beaches of Boracay and yes, I need to prepare for this. With the time given, I don’t think I can achieve the body I am rooting for. Nevertheless, I’ll look decent, at least in my opinion.

What do you think?

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Losing Your Holiday Pounds

As the holiday season passes thankfully so does the urge to eat all the delicious food on offer. But the turkey, the pies, the candy and the treats all take their toll and before you know it you are letting your belt out to the next notch. The New Year is prime dieting time as we all look to shed these gained pounds but it is often hard for people to stick to their diet plan if they have not thought thoroughly about it in advance. Here are four tips to help you plan and maintain a diet, start losing the pounds and get fit both physically and mentally…

Good nutrition is the basis of any diet

It is tempting when dieting to strip your food intact down to almost nothing in order to see results fast but this is one of the worst mistakes you can make when dieting. Don’t try and skimp on the essentials. You always need the correct amount of vitamins and minerals to keep your body healthy. And yes, you also need the correct amounts of carbohydrates and fats to keep your body functioning normally. Most people forget that restricting the nutrients the body needs can have as drastic effect on the mind as it can on the body. If you don’t get the correct vitamins, minerals, good fats and complex carbohydrates you can become prone to irritability, anxiety and depression – all problems that will ultimately lead you back to the fridge. Keep eating good food and you’ll find dieting easier and the pounds will naturally fall off. If you do find yourself having trouble shedding the pounds it is reasonable to look at weight loss supplements as long as you thoroughly research the effects of these beforehand and talk to your dietitian about using such options.

Vitamins Supplement

Following fads

People often start diets after they read of the latest celebrity craze in newspapers, magazines or online. It’s OK to find diets like this as that initially rush of excitement can help you overcome the first few days of dietary hunger. But beware, only start a particular diet after you have researched it thoroughly, finding both the pros and the cons of the diet and determining whether it is based on sound scientific advice or just anecdote. A recent addition to the diet canon that is based on science is the 5:2 diet. This plan suggests eating normally for five days of the week and then restricting your calorie intake on the other two. They say eating approximately 500 calories for women and 600 calories for men on these two diet days only is enough to lose 1-2 pounds per week, along with reducing biochemical markers for heart disease and diabetes. As long as you are eating well on the other five days this plan will let you lose weight steadily and safely.

Adding exercise

Your ultimate goal should be a healthy body. Therefore you should start to incorporate some exercise into you regime as soon as you feel possible. It doesn’t have to be big. Studies have shown that just a 30 minute walk after eating can aid digestion and help the body metabolize fats and carbohydrates for energy instead of storing them. Once you feel comfortable you can always increase the speed or the distance or start going to the gym. But take baby steps, don’t try too much too quickly particularly if you are not that used to physical exercise. Just get used to a bit more physical exertion with each outing and even if you change your lifestyle slightly to just fit in a few walks each week you are already streets ahead of most dieters.

 

Running Test on a Treadmill

 

Cheating is good

The main reason people give up on dieting is cravings and the wish for a burger, or some chocolate or chips. They have a bad day, come home and gorge on comfort food and then feel bad and that they have wasted their diet. But they haven’t. Almost all dietary advice suggests having a day off once every one or two weeks. Then, even if the diet is hard, you have something to look forward to at the end of the week.

Hopefully, using this advice, you can look for a modest one or two pound loss per week and, even better than that, start to feel better in both body and mind as you become healthy and fitter.

Project: Bitch Body as of Nov 4

It has been a very long while since I last wrote something sensible here. The schedule has been very hectic ever since I came back from my short vacation from Cebu and Manila; and here I am again, going back to my home country in a few days with my backlog of blog posts still pending.

Anyway, last November 4, I noticed that the third line on my abdominal area is starting to contour. This progress was a bit delayed because I fell sick with a nasty flu last weekend bloating myself with sugar overloaded fruit juices to replenish myself with liquid. I couldn’t take just the plain water. Besides, the only flavor I can taste until now is sour.

One of the reasons you would want to gain more muscles after fat loss is because you would not want to invest more money buying new clothes because you don’t fit in them anymore. Besides, you need more caloric expenditure through muscle gain. A few more fat loss and muscle gain, I can show you the third fine line there

I have not measured my body fat percentage yet. Hopefully I am below 15% when I step onto the scale before I leave for Manila. A lot of people have mentioned that  I actually look better with the Aug 28 picture – why? Because I was fuller, yes with fats. Not to worry because I have modified my exercise program and diet. The aerobics and circuit exercises are less 20% and I am eating more complex carbohydrates.

Blue and White

The picture above was taken yesterday. Obviously, you can see the difference from the November 4 picture that I am fuller. Not too sure if it was because of the fruit juice intake or the diet and exercise change. If you have more inputs, please let me know. I am very eager to achieve 8-10% body fat at 70 kilos by April 2013.

Quick Stress Relief Techniques

Every body is a victim of stress; at the same time every body has to tackle his or her stress issues, in order to reduce the effect of stress on the mind and body.  So, how to get relief from stress? It is an art to be mastered.  One of the first and foremost steps while seeking relief from stress is to identify the cause.  One of the first physical manifestations of stress is irregular breath.  This would generally be accompanied with tightening of muscles and at the end of it all you feel drained off all your energy.  This is when you need to push the panic button.  Identify the cause for your stress and also study how your body reacts to it.  This will help you better to solve the problem.

There are a number of ways to stress relief.   The simplest and most effective one is Yoga and meditation.  It does not need to necessarily include difficult postures or any religious activities.  It just requires you to listen to your body and focus your thoughts in one direction.  Throw away unwanted thoughts that disturb you.  It just requires a few minutes of your time to rejuvenate your mind.  Another way of relaxing your mind and body is to follow your senses.  Use your sense organs of sight, sound, taste, smell and touch to help you overcome stress.  It really works wonders.  How does this help?  When you are stressed you can choose one of your senses to give you the much-needed distraction from the troubling thoughts.  You could just look at the flowers on the table, or just gaze at a picture on the wall.  If you feel sound can help you, choose from listening to music of your choice or just focus on the different sounds around you.  The same effect is with smell as well.  Light a scented candle or just smell the outside air to change your mood.  Holding an object close to your heart or even eating something that’s a favorite will help.  These are simple ways of focusing away from the disturbing thoughts and focusing on positive things that bring joy to your mind.  Playing a sport, or just strolling in the park will help.

Take out precious few minutes out of your time for your own self.  Switch off your phone and shut down your computer during these few minutes, to give your mind and body the much-needed rest.  The outcome of these simple techniques is for all to see.  It really works wonders.