:: Day 13 - Summary ::

Wow, it's been almost 2 weeks. So far so good in terms of eating right. In terms of personal goals, I think i'm attaining an average 3 lbs per week, which is good. But in order to win the contest, I need to lose alot more... sigh.

Workout:
46 min kb - double swings, swingle swings, transfers, snatches, progressive swings
507 cal, HRa 159 HRm 177
So looks like I'm recovering alot faster now, i really need to up the intensity and stop being a wuss about the 26lb bell. Argh.

Pre-workout:
1/4 cup smoothie 40 cal

Breakfast: 290 cal
2 softboiled eggs with yolks 164
2 flaxseed toasts 100 cal
1 tsp bovril 10 cal
8 grapes 16 cal


Lunch: 335 cal
small slice of wild salmon pan-fried with pam 100 cal
2 small slices of chicken breast 50 cal
Greens with garlic 20 cal
Mother-in-law's healthy recipe of steamed eggplant 100 cal
1 large strawberry 5 cal


Dinner: = CHEAT MEAL OF THE WEEK =
In the spirit of the true "cheat meal", I didn't count the calories and ate to my heart's content. I dont think I ate as much as I normally would've and with a 765 calorie deficit for dinner+dessert, I think I did just fine. :)

Total calorie intake: 680 + unknown dinner
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:: sponsorship! ::

So the prize isn't just at $1000 for me. My mum (who's always wanted me to trim down) is also up for additional sponsorship! Thanks Ma!!! My husband told me yesterday that he's going to sponsor me an ENTIRE new wardrobe and I was thrilled! However, that money is going to come from us, so technically it's not a real sponsorship but at least I wont have to get approval from him and I can go CRAZY at the mall! teehehe

Despite having so much incentive to win, I still feel like it's going to be hard to win because of the competition I am up against. I occasionally feel demoralized because I feel I've done _so much_ and I'm not even in the running u know? I dont know what else I _can_ do to get up there. There's still 7 more weeks so I'm going to keep working as hard as I can so that when I lose, I'll know that I already did my best.

Does anyone else want to sponsor me? The odds are against me but I'll take anything! Dinner, carwash, frozen yogurt, foot massage, carpool, gascard, quality time, vegetables, lemons, etc
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:: Day 12 - Summary ::

Status report: Weight loss seems to be at a standstill - but all other systems are go. Could be gaining muscle. The next thing I need to purchase is a tape measure, which is another good tool to measure progress.

Activities:
- 6am: 1 hr bootcamp circuit weight training burning 686 cal, HRm 177, HRa 153

Pre-workout:
1/4 cup smoothie 40 cal

Breakfast: 340 cal
2 slice of flaxseed bread 100 cal
2 egg whites 110 cal
1/3 cup of cooked oatmeal with bovril 130 cal


Mid-morning snack: 1 banana 110 cal

Lunch: 285 cal
5 almonds 35 cal
Shirtaki noodle soup with fish cakes and napa


Mid-afternoon snack: 1 kashi chewy bar 120 cal

Dinner: 450 cal
Salmon cakes cooked in nonstick 220 cal (New low cal find from trader joe's!)
Flaxseed bread 100 cal
Ketchup 20 cal
Vegetables cooked in non-stick 20 cal
Sugar-free chocolate pudding 90 cal



Total calorie intake= 1345 cal
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:: Day 11 - Summary ::

Activities:
- 6am:
30 min run:351 cal, HRm 168, HRa 161
20 min kb : 251 cal, HRm 175, HRa 168 (slightly more efficient)
Baseline kb exercise: 16lb double swings, 30s work, 30s rest
Total calories burnt: 602 cal :D :D :D
I have yet to do an apples-to-apples comparison of same duration, same time of day and same level of starting fatigue. I was pretty gone after the 30 min run I could only manage 20 mins of kb. On Sat, i will do a test of just 30 mins of kb alone. Loving the new hrm though! :)

- 4pm: 60mins learning more about kb with Joe Sarti. [updated] I learnt quite a few new kb variations from Joe today. He also tightened up the bolts on my swings and even taught me the snatch! I can't wait to start snatching proper - I seem to do ok in it! :) Confidence is growing!

Pre-workout:
1/2 cup smoothie 80 cal

Breakfast: 285 cal (oops forgot to take a pic, but Mikee is my witness!)
1/4 cup smoothie 40 cal
2 slice of flaxseed bread 100 cal
2 egg whites 110 cal
1/2 slice of turkey breast 25 cal

Mid-morning snack: 1 banana 110 cal

Lunch: 350 cal
Veges + Tofu casserole


Mid-afternoon snack: 1 kashi chewy bar 120 cal

Dinner: 385 cal
1 unsweetened Jasmine Green Tea 0 cal
5 Khong Guan sultana crackers (incidentally invented by my grand dad) 135 cal
1 Liam's delicious chicken meatballs estimated 100 cal
Mini shirataki noodle soup with fish cakes and napa 150 cal




Total calorie intake: 1330 cal
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:: listen to my body ::

Now i'll have an idea of how many calories I am burning! So happy! :) Thanks to my hubby, Mikee, for being sooo supportive!

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:: celebrities training with kettlebell ::

Taken from here.

Last night while watching E News I learned about the latest celebrity workout trend; Kettlebells. The iron weighted balls are allegedly responsible for Geri Halliwell's recent physical transformation. The routine not only slimmed her down, but also gave her an amazing six pack.


Many other fit celebrities including Jessica Biel, Jennifer Lopez and Matthew Mcconaughey also use kettlebells with their workouts. It's no wonder why this activity is popular among the busy stars, you can burn up to 1,500 calories in just one hour of vigorous kettlebell training. The workouts include many squats and swinging the ball above the head and side to side.

Women shouldn't use over 9-18 pound balls with this intense practice. Kettlebells are pricey ranging from $60-$400! I'd recommend visiting your local sporting good stores to look for the best price.

Note: I cant wait to get a HRM to see my calorie burning and I got my kbs for $35 from Play it again sports!
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:: hunger reflections ::

I've only had a hunger pang once so far - that was last Friday when I ate a little bit less in preparation for dinner with Jen/Michael at Gochi. I was starving by 5pm so I drank a 10 calorie drink called Coconut MCT, which was supposed to curb hunger. It did - I survived till 7pm.

Asides from that one episode, I'm happy to announce that i havent had any problems with the diet yet. :)
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:: Day 10 - Summary ::

Activities:
6am bootcamp (circuit training)
20 min kb tbd.

Pre-workout:
1/2 cup of smoothie 80 cal


Breakfast: 371 cal
2 slice of flaxseed bread 100 cal
2 egg whites 110 cal
1/2 slice of turkey breast 25 cal
1 angelcot and a few blueberries 70 cal
1/2 cup of soy milk 66 cal


Mid-morning snack:
1 banana 110 cal

Lunch: 405 cal
Veges + Tofu casserole + 2tbsp brownrice


Mid-afternoon snack:
1 kashi chewy bar 120 cal

Dinner: 435 cal
Steamed tofu egg casserole with minced chicken 275 cal
side of stir fry green beans 100 cal
2 tbsp rice 60 cal


Total calorie intake: 1521 Eiks overate, work hard tmrw!!!
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:: 2-in-1 workouts ::

Dang, I've been moving alot today! there was the lunch break mini kb session and the formal evening kb session and then a nice evening walk with the husband, Mikee. That was the best one in it's own way - we walked and talked for an hour or so. Definitely a great 2-in-1 workout. Not calorie intensive, but definitely heartfelt-intensive. :)
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:: becoming competitive... ::

i am not in the lead!!! In fact, i'm not even in the top 4!!! ARGHHHH I'm kicking it up a couple of notches! (I did officially only start a week after everyone)

That being said, I did lose 5 lbs in the first week! Personal best :) Off to do more kb.
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:: Day 9 - Summary ::

Activities:
- 20 min kb at work
2-hand swings with 18lb, 45s work, 45s rest
- 40 min kb at home:
2-hand swings with 18lb, 60s work, 60s rest = 16 mins
1-hand swings with 18lb, 30s work. 30s rest = 20 mins
bottoms-down kb squat, 30s work, 30s rest = 5 mins
- 50 min walk with the husband

Breakfast: 356 cal
2 slice of flaxseed bread 100 cal
2 egg whites 110 cal
1/2 slice of turkey breast 25 cal
1/2 banana 55 cal
1/2 cup of soy milk 66 cal


Mid-morning snack 102 cal
1/2 banana 55 cal
1 angelcot (white peach) 47 cal

Lunch: 405 cal
Egg and tofu casserole with fish paste 275 cal
Boiled vegetables 30 cal
2 tbsp white rice 100 cal


Afternoon snack:
1 granola bar 140 cal

Dinner: 350 cal
Shrimp and fish cake shirataki noodles in shrimp broth 300 cal
Boiled gailan with oyster sauce 50 cal



Post-walk treat:
1/2 skinny cow 70 cal



Total calorie intake: 1423 cal
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:: Day 8 - Summary ::

Workout: I didnt end up makign it to bootcamp today. My left ankle felt totally destroyed when I woke up and I couldnt even walk properly. I think Day 8 is a good day to give my body a break from the beating it's been getting. Looking forward to swinging the bell tmrw though..

Breakfast:
1/4 cup oatmeal in organic chicken broth w/ egg white n bovril 200 cal
1 slice of flaxseed bread with 3 strawberries and smear of ovalmaltine 70 cal
2 egg whites 90 cal

Mid-morning snack
1 banana 110 cal
1 angelcot (white peach) 47 cal



Lunch:
Egg and tofu casserole with fish paste 250 cal
Boiled vegetables 20 cal



Afternoon snack:
1/2 granola bar 140 cal

Dinner:
Egg and tofu casserole with fish paste 250 cal
Shrimp broth with shirataki and nappa 150 cal (2 cups)
Night snack, flaxseed bread with smear of spread 80 cal

Total calorie intake: 1414 cal
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:: pants off! ::

Today, I took of my pants... without having to unzip! :) Another tell-tale sign that the body's working!
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:: Losing weight ... to win ::

The winner is defined as the one who has the largest decrease in % weight (of original weight). Because my starting weight was at 200 (slight obese), I am at a disadvantage to some of my coworkers who are clearly lighter than me. So the recommended amount of weight to lose is 1-2 lbs per week. If I aim for that target, I will likely NOT win. In order to be in the running, I really need to be losing at least 3-4lbs. I personally dont think its "unsafe" to do that since its easier for heavier people to lose weight.

Tracy Reifkind (starting at 250 lbs) did it, losing 5 lbs per week at first because she was also in a biggest loser contest - she's my inspiration and the reason I started to consider kettlebells! Read about her story here.

After the 8 weeks is over, I'll kick it back to a more healthy level of weight loss. You gotta do what you gotta do... in order to win.
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:: Day 7 - Summary ::

Workout: 6pm hike to mission peak. 5.6 miles roundtrip with 2200 elevation gain. Rated as strenuous.


Breakfast:
1/2 cup oatmeal in organic chicken broth w/ egg white n bovril 200 cal
2 egg whites 90 cal
1 angelcot (white peach) 47 cal


Mid-morning snack:
1 angelcot (white peach) 47 cal
1/4 cup odwalla smoothie diluted with water and ice 60 cal


Lunch: ===CHALLENGE===
Family lunch at ABC, gotta seriously watch it. [update] Eh, I think I ate ok but it would've been around 500 calories at least.

Afternoon snack:
pb & jelly flaxseed bread + angelcot 107 cal

Dinner:
steamed pomfret 200 cal
Miscellaneous 100 cal
Skinny Cow 140 cal
Swig of Smoothie 40 cal



Total calorie intake: 1531
Calorie needed for extreme weight loss: 1440
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