Great Eastern 10KM run

Indee signed me, my colleague Helen & her sister, Sri, up for the Great Eastern 10KM run. I've done 10Km before, in 2008, during the Terry Fox run - Run for Hope. It wasn't as easy as I thought it was. My timing last year was about 1 hr 30 mins.

As I arrived at City Hall MRT at 6.30am, there were many people wearing the red GE Tee gathering around... and Indee and myself walked up to the starting line, I bumped into my friend, Esther! She brought me to CCC (Central Christian Church) back when I was 17 years old.. what a small world! I haven't seen her since ages ago, prob even 8 years! I'm glad God allowed us to meet each other. And I'm forever thankful that she brought me to Christ.

We started the run late, because we had to deposit our baggage at the counter & by the time, I think half the crowd starting running already. So I don't know exactly what time I started running. But at the finishing line, the timing showed 1 hr 18 mins!!!! Which is a great improvement of my usual timing of 1 hr 30 mins! I did not stop jogging throughout & I felt steady while running. No dizziness or wanting to stop. The weather was really good as well. I have to wait for the exact timing of my run to be posted on the website, but I have a feeling it's around 1 hr 10 mins. I immediately messaged my trainer, Hayati, to inform her of the good news! I'm really elated that my physical health has improved so much after training.

As of today, 2nd Nov 2009, my weight is now 64.0kg and fat percentage 36.9%. It still a long way, but I want to celebrate my little success! And I look better in photos, even if it's not a huge difference, but I feel GOOD! I'm patting myself on the back for doing so well this 1.5mths.

What I think I done right is to evaluate my diet very closely, and to have balance & moderation. 80% of the time, you have to eat the right foods. Foods with more fibre, less oil, salt, sugar, fat. And don't eat just before sleeping. And important also to have enough sleep! To help your muscle to rebuild itself. Research has shown that people gain weight easier with less sleep!

Also, CONSISTENCY is key. I have been hitting the gym at least 4-6 times a week. If you get bored, try variety. Classes are fun to keep you motivated, and take yr exercise out to the open. I ran last week at East Coast Park, it's soothing to look at the sea & listen to music & just run!

Allow yourself some small treats but work it off later at the gym. You got to compensate for the extra calories through exercise. If you have to eat the certain food, take 1 bite and stop at that.

Having a personal trainer definitely helps as well!!

Ups & Downs

I haven't blogged for more than 2 weeks! In that two weeks, I got good results to share! Now I am weighed in at 64.2KG & I can say that the momentum has kicked in. I am not struggling as much to choose healthier options & to eat lesser. I must say, you have to form the habit of eating healthy. And once you have experienced the benefits, you will be more inclined to stick with healthier choices. I have felt my clothes feeling loose, especially my dress, my pants. And when I went to buy bras, I'm down 1 size. It's a good thing, although women prefers to keep their bosom and lose the fat everywhere else! I'm Ok though, seriously, I don't mind having smaller bosom, it wouldn't be so troublesome to choose my shirts. :)

I ran a 10km route with my friend last Sunday, and it was totally tiring!!! actually I ran about 12 km in total. But still! I have a 42 km to run in about 5 weeks!!!!!! goodness. I really pray that I can finish the race in one piece.

little update

Last Week was quite a good week, I ate clean foods, fruits, wholemeal bread with grilled chicken and no dressing.... week before last was like.. uh oh. so kinda lost the excess of the 1 kg I put on the week before. So i'm back to 65.8kg, previous week was like 66.7kg (!!!). overall weight loss since I've started weight training is approximately 2 kgs.

And! My father has started to go to the gym with me : - ) ! hope that this will help him lower his cholestrol levels & improve his overall health. He needs to get healthy! I convinced him, that at 58, he still has another 40 - 50 years ahead of him, he can live it well.

I noticed my eating patterns are related to stress & once I 'trip' I kinda trip all the way. and I cannot have snack foods around me at all, otherwise, it's being 'flushed' down my mouth.. yeah, at least for now, I cannot have snacks placed around me at all. And, no watching tv & munching chips at the same time!!! that's my weakness. I think the trick is, that to keep on eating small portions of fruit/ healthy snacks so you don't get hungry & guffaw too much food at one go.

my friend told me to have a bad image to associate with fatty foods / bad food (unhealthy foods). So i've decided to link the image of me fitting into my pair of jeans that's too tight for me to like for example chips or chocolate cake. ..... going to keep my hands off them!!

and meantime! i'm looking to finish this marathon in 7 mths.. by March 2010, I hope I will be a new me!

Stats! Numbers tell all.

My Personal Stats: (as taken on 24th September 2009)

- Waist 98.5cm ie 38.7inches (!!!!!)
- Right Inner Thigh 57cm ie 22 inches
- Left Inner Thigh 58cm ie 22.8 inches
- Left Arm 31 cm ie 12 inches
- Right Arm 31.5cm 12.4 inches
- Chest 99cm ie 38.9inches

My Maximum Heart rate is 220 minus your age.. my age is 27 so that equals to 193. To burn fat, you got to work out at lower intensities. between 115 to 164 beats per minute. Work between 65% - 85% of your maximum heart rate (http://www.weightlossforall.com/target%20heart%20rate%20zone.htm). To burn more fat, work between the lower intensity of the bracket.

Training on the upper body

http://www.netfit.co.uk/upper-body-web.htm

I went for a PT session today, and my trainer says my upper body strength is very weak as I cannot do some basic push ups without my entire body trembling. She encouraged me to train the upper body by doing strengthening exercises. I searched the net for some work outs that might help you too!

I did some weights today to train on my obliques, and my back. I also rowed on the machine 500 m x 2 on a speed of 35m/s and above. It's tough, it got me breathless! Also, I did a 'V' shape abdominal exercise by grabbing a fitball between my legs and transferring them to my arms. Gosh, my legs also giving way.

I went to buy a K-Swiss jogging shoe today at Running Lab. The assistant, Jordan, was very helpful. I went to the Novena Square branch. Running lab had a treadmill at the store. Jordan observed my footwork when I walked & jogged. He recommended a shoe that support on my lower arch. Moderate Stability or something to that effect. I can't really recall. Gosh!! Anyhow, he convinced me to buy a white coloured jogging shoe... hmm.. he's a really good sales person! haha. Anyhow, here's the shoe stats: http://www.kswiss.com/item/24.14/92171-623/Women/Footwear_Running/K-Ona/Vrstyred_Slvr_Wht_Lcrce.html

I also bought some socks that had mostly nylon/polyester material as I used to get blisters on my last toe when I run and also, I bought toe socks for better running comfort.

Went to Fila and bought some sports apparel & to another shop at Novena Square to buy some exercise pants. Wanted to buy a foot pod from Nike but the shop didn't sell it. Aiming to close my next business deal so I can invest in a GPS polar watch... more on that tomorrow..

My weight loss diary

I decided to create a blog for my weight loss journey, as I hope my journey will inspire people around who are trying to do the same. I have been struggling to lose weight since God knows when. It's a vicious cycle - you try, you falter, you sink into 'depression' and you get bigger, then you try again & the cycle continues. I decided I had enough.

I have just signed up with a personal trainer last week.

My current weight stands at 67kgs and I am 1.57m. The statistics that my trainer tells me is that I have 40% fat. The ideal female body fat percentage (healthy range) is between 18% - 23%. (http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/bodyfatpercentage.html)

I need to lose at least 15 kgs.

My target weight would be 48-52kgs, depending how I look when I get there.

Please support me on this journey!