How to get a beach-ready body in 28-days (Week 4)

This blog post is a follow up from:
1) How to get a beach-ready body in 28-days (Intro) 
2) How to get a beach-ready body in 28-days (Week 1)
3) How to get a beach-ready body in 28-days (Week 2), and
4) How to get a beach-ready body in 28-days (Week 3)

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So over the last 4 weeks, you’ve discovered that:

1. I don’t know how to swim 
2. I’m aquaphobic (and now you know why. Lol)
3. I’m not a big fan of the sun, sand and sea.
4. I’ve never been disciplined enough to stay on a diet program. Ever
5. The fundamentals of owning a beach-ready body in 28-days lies in the simple THEF formula
6. Consistency is the best policy for this lil’ mission of ours ;-)
7. Super-cikgu made all the difference with #2 above.

You probably also know now, that I’m currently enjoying the luxury of having a “plus one day” within the GMT-10 time zone (18 hours behind Malaysia, 23 hours behind Auckland); at the very birthplace of President Barack Obama. *grin*

Named “The Sandwich Islands” in 1778 by James Cook, Hawaii is the only state in US that is composed entirely of islands. Right now, I’m writing this blog post from the capital of Hawaii – Honolulu. *big-grin*

I’ll share more about this trip to Hawaii in my next blog post, but for now and in conclusion to my 4-week series on “How to get a beach-ready body in 28-days”, I thought I’d share my journey of overcoming item #2 above – my very apparent phobia of water (I know it’s really silly, but even big bathtubs and shallow pools scare me). 

http://www.newyorkinjurycasesblog.com/

Nevertheless, before we get into all that, here’s an update on my progress with the 4-week program:

In terms of measurements, I managed to cut off 2.5cm of my waist, 0.8cm off my arms and 1.8cm off my thighs; need I mention that I feel firmer, not to mention more toned now? Hehe. I know it may not sound like much but it’s between a 3% to 4% difference within the month with:

1. No crash dieting, and
2. No crazy exercise routines (well, at least nothing I can't maintain for the next 1 year at least)

In fact, the 15 to 25-minute workout that I commit to isn’t even dependent on any exercise equipment, which is perfect amidst the travelling; so I must say that I’m quite pleased with the progress. Happy-happy Panda~ *pat-on-the-back*

Of course I have Super-cikgu as well as my ever-so-supportive #babybaby and encouraging family to thank. #blessed.

In keeping up with the current momentum, I’m even thinking of continuing my swimming lessons with Super-cikgu when I get back to Malaysia. For one, it’s great exercise; but above all, I am determined to get over my phobia of water. Completely.

Sure, I had 3 lessons last month before leaving Kuala Lumpur, but that's definitely not enough to help me overcome my fears. Nevertheless, despite the lack of time for more swimming lessons in KL, this maiden trip to Hawaii has given me an opportunity to embrace my fear of the water by: 

1. Swimming in the sea (I have never dared to do this by choice. Ever.)
2. Swimming in a 30-feet deep pond to get under the very chilly Waimea Falls (I could never imagine myself doing something as crazy as this. Lol)

If you asked me, I’d probably describe the Hawaiian sea as beautiful and ummm… very blue. That, to me, also means that it’s very deep.  Most people would add the word “inviting” to that list of adjectives, but for an aquaphobic like me, it just stops at those first two.

So in my first attempt to overcome my fear of water, I took the plunge with my very supportive family this trip…

1) The sea

Although I’m not a big fan of the sun, sand and sea (as mentioned in item #3 above), I am more than happy to opt for that as opposed to actually stepping IN to the water, let alone submerging my entire body in the sea (at my own will, mind you). This trip, I did all 3. Yeah. As I stepped onto the sand, my heart was beating so fast; and when I entered the salty sea-water water, I almost died. Lol

Thankfully because the water was so clear, I could see the bottom of the sandy sea. So, that was comforting, and it definitely made all the difference.

However, as much as I tried to keep my mouth closed throughout the whole process, I did somehow manage to catch some sea water on my tongue and without thinking, I accidentally said something REALLY stupid out loud,

“It’s so salty”

only to realize that I wasn't alone. OMG. So embarrassing. Lol. My brain must’ve shutdown the minute I stepped into the water. *laugh*

Anyway, to cut the long story short, I basically survived the sea. So the next challenge was...

2) The waterfall 

To be honest, I never considered going in. I thought – ok, just dip my feet in, take some pictures and enjoy the view – how bad could it be right? Well, to begin with, the water was really chilly, so THAT didn’t help. 

Secondly, the water in the pond looked really dark. I mean how would you know what’s in that pond to start off with????!!! There could be some really creepy, slimy, scaly creatures lurking beneath those dark waters. Or maybe some pretty nasty fishes with sharp teeth too. Gosh, I didn't even want to think about it. So freaky!!!!

Seriously.

However, for some strange reason, when I was asked for the second time if I wanted to go in, I said okay; and the rest is history. Looking back, I reckon I may have just mentally blacked-out in pure shock at that time. 

I must say that the walk towards to the border of the pond was one of the most nerve-wrecking moments of my life. The lifeguard on duty offered me a life jacket and kickboard, so that really helped; but if I’m at all honest, with every step into the cold chilly waters of the pond, I wanted to just turn back and say

“maybe not this time”.

My heart was pounding so fast and every part of me just wanted to retreat to safety soooo badly. PLUS, the fact that I had no clue where the 30 feet drop was, didn't help one bit(that suspense almost killed me before the water did lol~). I was shivering (can’t decide whether it was because it was so cold or because I was just plain scared) and as it got to waist deep, I told my chicken self

“DON’T THINK, JUST SWIM TOWARDS THE WATERFALL AND SWIM BACK ASAP. GO!”

 

So that’s what happened. I think for the next 3 minutes or so, my brain must’ve just blacked out. Before I knew it, I was back at waist-level-deep waters and slowly made my way back to the comfort of my towel. I did it.

I don’t think I’ll ever do it again, but I grateful that I can eventually conclude this trip to Hawaii with no regrets.

I can’t say that I’m not aquaphobic anymore, but I’m glad I took the first step; and I’ll keep trying until I overcome it, so God help me. Lol

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How to get a beach-ready body in 28-days (Week 2)

This blog post is a follow up from:
1) "How to get a beach-ready body in 28-days (Intro)", and 
2) How to get a beach-ready body in 28-days (Week 1)

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So how did Week 1 go for you? *big-grin*

I have to admit, not the best week for me, but I managed to lose 1.1% of body fat and gain 0.2kg on lean mass. Yay! And I have proof!!! Mwahaha~

Okay, I know what you’re thinking. That’s not much of a difference, right? But hey, it’s only been 1 week on the program, give me some credit la. I keep telling myself – consistency, consistency; focus on consistency.

Oh and guess what?! 

If you remember, in my first post of this series – How to get a beach-ready body in 28-days (Intro) – I mentioned a few things that you probably didn’t know about me…

Point #1 in that post – I don’t know how to swim. 

Well, I decided to take Adib’s advice and take up swimming lessons... and I start this week! :-D

Not sure how this will go (my phobia of water is still very apparent), but it will be worth the try. Please pray for me ya! Haha.

So back to our to-do list for a beach-ready body (tick if you've done accordingly this week) – THEF:

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1) Tracking

• Keep track of weight/inches, food and water intake (if you’re tracking your sleep too that’s great!)
• Keep bikini in sight to stay motivated

2)Habit

• 1 litre of water in the morning, before breakfast
• Another 1 to 2 litres of water during the rest of the day (depending on how much you need. Learn how to calculate here)
• No skipping breakfast
• Sufficient sleep
• Consistent morning routine

3) Exercise

• 11-minute cardio (see cardio program here) followed by…
•  Top-to-toe stretching and..
• Toning exercise 10 reps each, with a 30-second rest interval between each exercise  

4) Food

• Balanced diet, eat more protein and no skipping meals (our body burns more calories digesting proteins than it does digesting carbohydrates, so technically, we’ll be burning fat while eating proteins)
• Daily supplement (learn how to choose one that’s right for you here)
• Weight loss snacks 

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This week, we are going to turn it up a notch:

1) Beef up our cardio from 11 minutes to 14 minutes.

Oh I soooo feel like eating a piece of steak now.  Focus, Panda, focus. Okay, back to beefing up our cardio. We’re going to add on an additional 3 minutes of the following to our existing plan (cardio plan here):

• 2 minutes – Exertion/Intensity level 5
• 1 minute – Recovery/Intensity level 1

Don’t undermine this additional 3 minutes. If you’ve been doing last week’s suggested cardio workout, you’ll know it’s not as easy as it looks.  

2) Keep doing the same toning exercises; except that we’re going to spend 15 minutes doing this every day this week (instead of alternate days).

I’d suggest doing it in the mornings before you hop into the shower – get it out of the way, at the start of the day.

Simple? :-D

Consistency, consistency; focus on consistency.

Have fun working out this week ladies. Meantime, here’s a little motivation to keep you going. 

www.dailymail.co.uk

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How to get a beach-ready body in 28-days (Week 1)

This blog post is a follow up from "How to get a beach-ready body in 28-days (Intro)"

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Okay, so we’ve done our shopping. Let’s recap on the list of things we have at hand:

1)    A new bikini/swimsuit-of-sorts

2)    Tape measure, weighing scale

3)    1-litre water bottle

4)    Exercise mat

5)    Your staple breakfast for this week: yoghurt, muesli/muesli bar, milk, eggs, fruits

Brilliant! Let’s move on.

I decided to break down our to-do list into 4 key things - THEF:

1. Tracking
2. Habits
3. Exercise
4. Foo

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1) Tracking

www.writingforward.com

Objective: Set goals and track our progress over the next 28-days to make sure we’re on target

What we’ll need: Measuring tape, weighing scale, our smartphones.

• For me, the goal of this specific program is to get a beach-ready body in 28-days. Because I’m toning up and may gain some pounds in the process (since muscles weigh more than fat), I’m going to focus my progress tracking on measurements rather than weight. Keep track of your process by logging your food intake/exercise on a notepad or a mobile app on your smartphone. I choose to use my smartphone because I have it on me most of the time; but if you like, you can also opt to use the traditional pen and paper. ;-) 

If you’re going on a weight-based goal, please do not weigh yourself everyday. This will drive you crazy. Trust me.

• If you’re using your smartphone, you should be able to find some free mobile apps to assist your tracking process. 

• Take a “before” and “after” picture for our reference. At this point, we’ll be taking our “before” picture first. If it’s convenient for you, do it now.

health.woman4woman.us

• Hang our new bikini/swimsuit-of-sorts at a place that we’ll see every day when we get up in the morning and before we head to bed. Trust me, it will make a difference. If at any point in the next 28 days we feel like giving up, we’ll wear it bikini and stand in front of the mirror for a renewed sense of motivation. Deal? 

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2) Habit

orangutanphotos.blogspot.com

Objective: Create a new positive daily routine

What we’ll need: 1-litre water bottle, a strong commitment and total mental preparation to have the toilet as our new best friend.

• Habits are routines of behavior that are repeated regularly and tend to occur subconsciously. [Wikipedia]
• Some good habits I practice that could also potentially make all the difference for you in the next 28 days include:

a) Drinking 1 litre of water upon waking up in the morning (I do this after I have taken my liquid supplement).

This helps to cleanse our system and most importantly, our colon. It may be a bit difficult at the start, but your body will eventually get used to it. You don’t have to gulp down the entire 1 litre in one go. Drink a few sips, wait for a few minutes then take another few sips and keep going until you finish. If you’re going to implement this new habit, wait for at least 30-minutes before having your breakfast.

http://undergroundhealthreporter.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/fb-uhr-infographics-morningwater.jpg 

b) Making sure I finish another 1.5 to 2 litres of water by the end of the day (total = 3 litres/day)

If you’re not sure how much water you need, take your weight (in pounds), multiply by 2, and then divide that by 3.

For example:

If you weigh 100 pounds, then the amount of water you should be consuming (in ounces)

= (100 x 2)/3

= 66.67 ounces (~ 2 litres)

Add 12 ounces of water to your daily total for every 30 minutes that you work out. So if you work out for 45 minutes daily, you would add 18 ounces of water to your daily intake. [http://www.slenderkitchen.com/how-to-calculate-how-much-water-you-should-drink-a-day/#]

If you’re not the biggest fan of plain water (like myself), you can always add in your favourite liquid supplement. I infuse my water with 2 ounces of yummy liquid supplement (which tastes a bit like grape juice minus the sugar and preservatives) together with a shot of slow release natural energy booster for each 1 litre of water I drink. That way, finishing 3 litres of water each day seems less dreadful for me. 

Also, since thirst is sometimes mistaken for hunger; if you feel hungry at any point in the day, drink a few mouthfuls of water and wait for 10 minutes before deciding to eat.

c) Getting least 8 hours of sleep a day – be in bed by 10pm – 11pm (depending on what time you need to be up in the morning).

It takes a whole lot of discipline, but did you know that sleep is a key component of weight loss? ;-) [http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/fitness/weight-loss/why-sleep-is-key-for-weight-loss.html#b]

d) Never skip breakfast.

Or any meals, for that matter. In fact, it does help to spread out your food intake into 5 to 6 times a day instead of 3 main meals. We’ll talk more about what to eat later in this post.

"People skip breakfast thinking they're cutting calories, but by mid-morning and lunch, that person is starved," says Milton Stokes, RD, MPH, chief dietitian for St. Barnabas Hospital in New York City. "Breakfast skippers replace calories during the day with mindless nibbling, bingeing at lunch and dinner. They set themselves up for failure."

e) No alcohol, no cigarettes.

If your blood type so happens to be “A” for alcohol and you’re a smoker, this may be a bit of a challenge but I’ll leave it up to you. Remember, you’re too sexy for weakness. ;-)

• Pick and chose the habits you want to implement in your life and make it part of your daily routine
• If you already have a positive daily routine that is giving you the results you desire, stick to it. Otherwise, don’t worry. You can always create a new one now. ;-)
• If you’re creating a new positive daily routine, think long term; so try not to be too ambitious with this. For example, my typical morning routine consists of the following (after which, I proceed with the rest of my day):

• Take the next few minutes to decide on your new positive daily routine. :-)

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3) Exercise

Objective: Strengthen our core (and get a sexy belly), tone up our arms, legs and… *clears-throat* bootie.

What we’ll need: Exercise mat (and some adrenalin pumping music if you like). An elliptical trainer will be a bonus.

a) CARDIO

Cardio-intensive exercises will help you burn calories, speed up your metabolism, and improve your cardiovascular health. [http://www.wikihow.com/Get-the-Perfect-Beach-Body]

If you’re already doing some form of cardio workout, stick to it and just work on increasing the intensity/duration. Otherwise, you can always start by doing 10 to 11 minutes a day (for the first week), and increasing it by 3 to 6 minutes each week.

I prefer to use the elliptical trainer since it has a lower impact on our joints and allows us to stride in reverse motion (which can help activate different muscle groups) for a varied workout. If you don’t have access to an elliptical trainer, don’t worry. You can always run on the spot – it’s fuss free and…free. 

My cardio routine for this first week (11 minutes in total, alternate days) will consist of:

• 2 minutes – warm up/Intensity level 1
• 2 minutes – Exertion/Intensity level 2
• 1 minute – Recovery/Intensity level 1
• 2 minutes – Exertion/Intensity level 3
• 1 minute – Recovery/Intensity level 1
• 2 minutes – Exertion/Intensity level 4
• 1 minute – Recovery/Intensity level 1

This will not only burn us some calories, but also help strengthen our heart and lungs while at it. I’d recommend doing this 3-4 times this week (1 rest day in-between cardio days).

b) STRETCH

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stretching/SM00043

Stretching is probably one of the most important components of a workout.

“Aesthetically, well-stretched and limber muscles appear leaner than shortened, constantly contracted muscles.” [http://www.prevention.com/fitness/strength-training/stretching-101-moves-longer-leaner-body]

If you’re not sure how to stretch, you can check out this site for the basic stretches you should do immediately after your cardio.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stretching/SM00043

Don't compromise on a good stretch. Otherwise, you’ll ache like nobody’s business the next day. Believe me, that won’t be much fun.

c) TONE

For this week, our homework is to do the following exercises – 10 reps each, with a 30-second rest interval between each exercise:

Planking: Hold position for 1 minute

http://www.liveluvcreate.com/image/dance_like_theres_nobody_watching_xx-206287.html

Dance

During your cardio off-days, just put on your favourite upbeat music, close the doors and dance for a good 10 to 15 minutes like no one’s watching. If you’re not sweating and panting after that, that just means you haven’t danced enough. Hehe.

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4) Food

www.ceredigion.gov.uk

Objective: Regulate our metabolic rate with a balanced diet, nutrition and spaced out eating times (5 to 6 times a day, if you can).

What we’ll need: Health supplement, a balanced and realistic diet plan for the next 28 days

• Even with all the healthy eating options available, we are still missing 75% of our body’s nutritional requirements. [Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease, 11th Edition]

“When it comes to obtaining the micronutrients your body needs, your best possible source is food, especially fruits and vegetables. But circumstances may prevent you from eating optimally every day. The main reason I take nutritional supplements is for insurance against gaps in my diet.” –Dr. Andrew Weil

Find a natural liquid health supplement that is suitable for you. Why I specifically say “liquid” health supplement is because our body is like a sponge. If you were to put 2 sponges side by side, pour liquid on one and put a pill/capsule on the other, which would likely be absorbed faster and more efficiently?

www.ceredigion.gov.uk

Did you know - our body absorbs only 10% - 20% of the vitamins and minerals in a pill form, compared to 98% in a liquid format? [http://www.pdr.net]

That means, for every RM100 we spend on pills, we’re literally flushing about RM80 – RM90 down the toilet.

www.rona.ca 

Anyway, if you’re looking for a good health supplement, here are some criteria that may be able to help you decide on which to choose:

http://www.30daychallenge.asia/Articles.asp?ID=250

If you’re peeing neon, that just means that your body is not absorbing the supplements you’re currently taking, so time to change.

• Balanced diet – remember to start your day with a healthy hi-fibre breakfast. If you’re on a mission to shed some pounds, don’t skip any meals. In fact, skipping meals leads to a slowed metabolism and…jeng-jeng-jeng… weight gain. Yup.

When we skip a meal our body goes into “reserve” mode and stores up the food we eat.

Each meal should consist of lean proteins, whole grains, vegetables and healthy fats; but let’s face it – it’s impossible to have the words “healthy”, “affordable” and “convenient” in 1 typical Malaysian meal. So if you can afford to have a champion’s balanced meal, broken down into 6 makan times a day, then great. If you can’t don’t worry, you’re not going to hell for that. Just make sure you start your day right, with a healthy breakfast since that is something you can control.

I usually have yoghurt, fruits and cereal for breakfast; with the occasional soft boiled egg on my cardio workout days (protein is crucial for muscle recovery). 

www.hamiam.com

For your in-between meals/snack a few suggestions would be to chew on nuts (roasted edamame, almonds, etc), turkey ham, cheese (limit to 1 portion), figs and beef jerky. Our body burns more calories digesting proteins than it does digesting carbohydrates, so technically, we’ll be burning fat while eating proteins. Now that, I like! Mwahaha~

• Eat slowly. It takes your body about 20 minutes to signal to your brain that you are full. Don’t forget to chew your food properly while at it. :-p
• In reference to item #1 above - TRACKING - keep track of what you’re eating and drinking.
• Don’t go on a diet you can’t maintain for the rest of your life. Self-explanatory. Just avoid crash diets or taking meal replacement shakes for all 3 daily meals.

“This calorie-deprivation/binge eating weight-loss method encourages your body to hang on to more and more fat until your metabolism is critically damaged.” [http://healthscamsexposed.com/2013/07/stop-drinking-meal-replacement-shakes/]

http://theberry.com/2013/02/08/daily-motivation-25-photos-26/da-mo-24-17/

That’s it for week 1 of this 28-day challenge. I didn’t realize there was so much to cover in just this 1 post, but I hope I’ve shared enough to help get you started. Sorry for not being able to include every single detail in this 1 post. I included some reference links so that you can do your own further research (if necessary), but if you have any questions, feel free to post them in the “comments” section below.

Till next Monday (11 November), enjoy the first week of your challenge!! Big Panda hugs to a great start. Mwah!

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