My Date with Mio Ting

Mio Ting was in Brunei a few months ago in July to pay a visit and I took the opportunity to have a date with her. Apparently after 4 years of knowing each other, we never have had our personal time together where it's just the two of us! I really enjoyed our very long lunch together where it just so happened all my afternoon music classes got cancelled!

I shared with her how I would like to go on to phase 2 but at the same time I was feeling guilty that I was not doing so well on phase 1 of the programme. I think in some sense, now on hindsight, I was beating myself up for the fact that I was not as disciplined as before. I was judging myself because I was afraid other people would judge me that I was once their source of inspiration and because I have faltered, does that mean I would be more a disappointment than an inspiration?

Even though those thoughts during those few hours were not verbalised, I really appreciated Mio Ting's input on helping me understand the importance of following the food plan that has been set and how it is there to really help me provided I would want to help myself. I looked back at my notebook and these are some of the things she shared with me:

If I love myself, I would not feed myself with something that would hurt me. Very often we think that this is the way we love ourselves, by "indulging" in the things that hurt us. It will take 48 hours for the poison in our body to subside. This poison is how we react to the food and the reaction is a result of our body trying to protect our organs. For me, how it shows up is sudden sleepiness, feeling bloated and of course, no weight loss.

And this line, really got me the most...

It's not that you can't do it (i.e. not that I can't lose another 10, 15 or 20kg), it's whether I want to do it or not.

As Linda Chandler had said before, "If you can't, you won't and if you can, you will."

So I am grateful I had that time with her and how the message is coming back to me now this very day. I am making certain resolutions. And I know I've said it before, but the resolve is coming back and I'm really meaning it this time. I'm going to go that extra mile and I know I CAN do it because I CHOOSE to do it!

Here's a "before" and "after" photo of Mio Ting and I. Please take note in the "before" photo, Mio Ting had already started her adventure and at that point in time I had not yet. I recall that time in Cambodia where I signed the application form and now look at me in the "after" photo after we had our date! I am just so amazed with myself and how my life has changed thanks to me making the choice to embark on this adventure!

Mio Ting & Zana - Cambodia, July 2009

Mio Ting & Zana - Brunei, July 2010
(one year later!)

Some Things Don't Change

It's nice to know some things don't change! A perfect example is every night, I have to figure out what to wear to work the next day. And especially if I am heading off to the gym in the morning and going straight to work from there, I really have to think about what to pack in my bag. At least if I was at home, I could try on a couple of outfits and finally settle on the one that works for me that day. 

Conclusion: No matter what size you are, beautiful dresses or comfortable outfits or fashionable attire, you still have to figure out what to wear! And that part has not changed for me at all. LoL!

The Biggest Loser

I heard a lot about The Biggest Loser Asia and I managed to catch one episode the other week which was the first episode where they were choosing the 16 contestants out of 30. As the group of 30 went through the physical challenge which involved 3 minutes of a variety of exercises, I could feel the level of emotion that was surging through the TV screen. I could FEEL with them, the pain they were going through, how hard their hearts were beating, the sweat pouring down their faces, how they were aching from the sudden surge of physical activity... When I saw the contestants cry, I wanted to cry too. I KNOW what it is like. I've been there.

This thought has been going through my mind, about when people ask me HOW do I lose weight. Actually everyone has a pretty good awareness about what they need to do to lose weight. They understand it's a combination of watching what you eat plus exercise. In the hopes of asking this question though, I become aware that they could be looking for a MIRACLE. How can it be done painlessly and quickly? Of course the obvious answer is that there's no such thing and everything is a matter of perspective. If you think it's painful, then it's painful. How do you define the word "fast"? It's all relative.

I went to check The Biggest Loser website - http://biggestloserclub.asia and you sign up for a monthly membership. It's similar to the Adventures in Weight Loss (http://www.adventuresinweightloss.com) I'm on and requires a one time payment. The Biggest Loser looks at a combination of food and exercise together. Adventures in Weight Loss looks at a customized food plan based on your blood profile and encourages exercise too. The tools they use (food diary, menu plan, exercise plans) are almost the same except it's all online which I like because I am becoming an online girl.

However, the key to making anything work and perhaps I have stressed this before is really about commitment and discipline. With commitment and discipline, whatever you do can go a LONG way! It does not matter what weight loss program you sign up for so long as you have commitment and discipline. One reminder is, don't sign up for something that will hurt you in the long run. It is meant to help you, not deter you for living a great life. Figure out what will work best for you in terms of money, time and the level of effort based on the time that you have and the complexity of the program. So starving yourself is not going to help. Exercising until you hurt a body part is not going to help you. Be sensible about this. It took you so long to put on the weight, so shedding it is going to take some time too. Have patience. I tell myself that everyday... (right now fighting off many cravings!)

The miracle will be discovering that deep down inside, you have that commitment and discipline! You can do it! If the contestants on The Biggest Loser can do it and show their will and determination to millions of viewers and at the same time reminding us they are still human, so can YOU!

Dedicated to Caryn

Caryn calls me "Bunny" in the office because she sees me as an Energizer Bunny!

Thank you Caryn for making it a self-fulfilling prophecy!

As I have heard somewhere before, words have the power to create or to destroy. Everyone be mindful of what you have to say! And who you say it to including yourself!

On this adventure, always choose to say "I AM beautiful, slim and healthy!" And it will all come true...

*hoppity hop*hoppity hop*hoppity hop*hop*hop*

The Journey With No Destination

I had actually wanted to save this cartoon until the day I reached my target weight but now my perspective has changed. Read on...

Today Ley Hian pointed out that I am on a journey with no destination. And in fact, we are all on some journey without a destination. You might think this seems odd... but I understand her perspective.

When I started this adventure, all I ever focused on was losing that 40-50-60kg because all I ever cared about was seeing results and see the numbers on the scale moving down. But Ley Hian asked me, "After you reach your target weight, then what?" To which I replied, "Well I move on to phase 2." 

And then what happens after phase 2? There's phase 3. Then what happens after phase 3? There's the rest of your life.

So come to think of it, even though you have this target weight to achieve, you still have to keep on going no matter what - to continue to eat healthily and to live a healthy life and that your physical temple that houses your soul and spirit i.e. your body is healthy too.

It dawned upon me that there's actually no "end" in sight. And that's when the concept of "goals" is short lived. You achieve one goal and then what? You go ahead make another goal and achieve that one. And then what? Well, here comes another goal and then achieve towards it. You never stop!

What life then do you lead if your goals are never ending? An exciting one I would say! There's nothing wrong with goals but we must remember that there is a HIGHER intention why we do what we do. And this is a great reminder for me, over and over again the underlying reason I embarked on this adventure. My intention is to be healthy - my body, my heart, my mind and my soul. In this process of fulfilling this intention, I set small goals to be achieved, milestones to make sure I am on the right track. But now I know that I do not have a destination. Some people may view this negatively if I have not been able to express this clearly but my perspective is that, even though there is no destination, it's up to me to make the journey an exciting one because this is the life I deserve to lead.

The First Meal

It was an interesting experience having to go shopping for the food you can eat. Actually the food you can eat is all there but it's just that we tend to go for convenience and eat the food in another form whereby you have no idea what they have put in it. Armed with my shopping list, I scoured the aisles of Supasave Gadong searching for the food that will fuel my body. It was no surprise that the place I hung out the most was the vegetables, fruits and fresh meat section. I made a brief stint to the oils section looking for olive oil, the biscuits section looking for rice cakes and lastly to the soft drinks section. According to my eating plan, I can drink a can of diet coke! Seeing that I love sugar, I took the opportunity to make sure I had some. You never know what will happen! The other ingredients were already found in my kitchen and a quick survey before shopping allowed me to gauge what I needed and what I didn't need.

At night, I had the most fun task of actually weighing my food and I don't mean that sarcastically either. But before that, a quick stop to Hua Ho Yayasan to buy that digital weighing scale. Luckily with the festive season there was 15% off my purchase and I paid $25.41 for the scale.

So there I was weighing out my chicken breasts and beef slices to make sure I meet the requirements. Packaged them separately according to weight and stored them in the freezer so the next time I know I will have the right amount ready to be cooked. 

After all that was done, I got down to preparing my first meal. A quick look at a recipe book and lemon chicken seemed pretty easy and straight forward plus the recipe allowed me to use the ingredients I was allowed to eat. I chose to use lime instead since there was an abundance of it in the fridge. I stir fried some vegetables to go with it (after weighing it out of course) and I made my first meal.

Now at first I was concerned with the portions because I never in my life have had to weigh my food so I thought that the portions would be small but once I had it all on my plate, it was definitely enough.

Lime Chicken and Stir Fried Vegetables with Balsamic Vinegar

How did it taste? At 4am, not too bad if you like food that is slightly sour to your palette. It certainly filled me up with two rice cakes and some mango to top it all off.

Here's the recipe if you would like to try this at home:

Lime or Lemon Chicken (depending which you prefer)

1. Mix the chicken breast with cracked black pepper and sprinkle some salt

2. Coat the chicken with some olive oil

3. Squeeze a few limes (or limau kasturi) until you think you have enough juice.

4. Heat the non-stick pan with a little bit of olive oil. Cook the chicken.

5. Once cooked, pour in the lime juice.

And you're done!

Make Your Own Kind of Music ( Mama Cass Elliott )

My CEO has found me 'my song'! I've been feeling a bit blue over certain things lately and when she played me this song today in her office, it totally gave me a new perspective - when those days are tough, choose to keep on going and make your own kind of music even if nobody else sings along because you know that you are contributing to the greatest of intentions and for the good of all!

Nobody can tell ya;
There's only one song worth singin'.
They may try and sell ya,
'cause it hangs them up
to see somone like you.

But you've gotta make your own kind of music
sing your own special song,
make your own kind of music even if nobody
else sing along.

So if you cannot take my hand,
and if you must be goin',
I will understand.

You're gonna be knowing
the loneliest kind of lonely.
It may be rough goin',
just to do your thing's
the hardest thing to do.

But you've gotta make your own kind of music
sing your own special song,
make your own kind of music even if nobody
else sings along.

So if you cannot take my hand,
and if you must be goin',
I will understand.

You gotta make your own kind of music
sing your own special song,
make your own kind of music even if nobody
else sings along.