I'm writing this post not to show off my body to the world ~ but I hope I could inspire other mommies who are currently struggling with weight related issue. I also hope my little sharing on exercise and eating could really motivate someone out there! If I have inspired someone, I have achieved more than what you have seen here! We inspire each other! And we are all strong mommies to do that!
Before I discuss further my routine and stuff like that, as you know I often share my life (kids, foods, activities, diet, fitness, etc) on social media such as Instagram or Facebook. A group of people with insecurities thought I was showing off my "amazing life" (although I thought there was nothing wrong sharing my what they called "amazing life" thank you! in a POSITIVE manner as possible on social media). Social media like Facebook or Instagram is there to create and to keep beautiful moments you could look into again in the future, so was there anything wrong with sharing beautiful/positive things? Rather than using words like "show off" I would prefer using positive words like "motivate" or "inspire" Anyway, it doesn't matter to me what people think of me, what if they talk behind my back, what if I receive bad comments from people whom I know but a group of backstabbers. It has always been a crazy life we are living in, you know?
Anyway, it really doesn't matter ~ I'm gonna keep posting whatever positive posts/thoughts on my social media that can bring me happiness and I hope to bring positive vibes to other mommies too. If I could inspire 999 people and there's 1 who doesn't like me, it doesn't matter to me at all right? Because I know, I have inspired the rest of 999 people! That matters more than anything! more than any haters!
I'm not a famous blogger and I don't need to be one to write this! Anybody could be an inspiration. It could be the coffee shop auntie you meet every day when you buy your breakfast, it could be that uncle security at your housing area. Anyone you feel giving you that positive thought and motivation could be your inspiration :) I have a few inspirational figures myself but the only one who motivates me the most is MYSELF! Yes! Simply because I love to look good & I love to feel good! This is already enough motivation for me to take fitness classes to tone up my body after giving birth and working hard for my kids & to feel beautiful inside out! :)
So yeah, people with insecurities & jealousy issue will keep bringing you down but it's UP TO you whether you want to be dragged inside their insecurities or not! Sourness remains sour and haters are always out there, that's the fact we can't change but we gotta move on! We gotta think positively and don't let any negative elements effecting our life!
FITNESS
So now, back to my fitness post! :) as you all read in my previous post on how I lost my baby weight. Here's the blog post I wrote earlier on. Time flew by so fast, It has been 3 months since I'm back to my pre pregnancy weight minus 2 kg and I have been maintaining my pre pregnancy weight very well. I'm currently 56 kg, from the previous 70 kg when I started my weight loss journey and I lost about 14 kg. I have never felt so good with my body shape before and it's absolutely boosting my confidence level as a mommy of 2 toddlers below 3 years old. It's also proven that exercise is working well in toning up my body. Not only I feel fitter, I feel more positive towards life too. I'm not just a mum, I'm a wife and I'm myself too and that's giving me enough reason to take care & enjoy myself through fitness and having my personal time :)
I'm a mom of 2 and often I can't travel far to go for fitness classes or gym (no gym or fitness centre in the place I stay) but it's NOT an EXCUSE not to get fit! Instead of going for expensive & far-away fitness center, I'm going for the classes conducted by my Community Centre nearby my house. It's pretty cheap comparing to other commercial fitness centre. For example: I paid about $90 for 8 sessions of Zumba classes and $100 for 8 sessions of the latest piloxing classes. And yes of course, I can see my result even though I don't workout from a famous place. It really doesn't matter! Besides, I also go for free classes conducted by women/mommy club in my area. Another good thing is I exercise together with other mommies and it motivates me to be stronger inside out! Working out together is proven to be a fun activity! One hour session just flies crazily fast! I met new people too and my social life has never been better than this!
I'm a lazy mom, I'm lazy to workout when I'm alone but I'm rather feeling motivated to workout when I'm together with other mommies. This kind of "workout together" kinda working on me. So find what works for you! If you find working out alone in the gym or at home works for you, go ahead! Just keep telling yourself "no excuse" and there's always a way to lose all your baby weight and to get fit! Self motivation and determination is all what you need!
As I have 2 kids, the best time for me to go for my fitness classes is in the morning. Anytime between 9am-10.30am is the perfect timing for me. That's the time EJ goes to his nursery class and while waiting for him to dismiss from his class, I go for my fitness classes nearby his nursery and I pick him up straight away after I'm done with my exercise routine. Oh yes, I was often asked "did you go for yoga?" by other mommies (I brought yoga mat along while picking EJ up from his nursery & often people assume "yoga mat is only for yoga related workout but in fact almost every fitness classes I go requires me to bring yoga mat haha..) I recently noticed a few mommies at the nursery started to exercise too (see them wearing sport shoes) :p it's a good thing if I could silently motivate someone to work out, I'm truly glad! :)
So here's my workout schedule: I workout 4-5 times a week, each session is about 1 hour.
Monday: Break
Tuesday: Body Sculpt & Tone. If I have extra energy, I will go for free kickboxing or HIIT class in the evening. Normally I don't have extra energy to attend 2 classes, to be honest here haha
Wednesday: Break
Thursday: Zumba (I love dancing although I'm not good in dancing)
Friday: Yoga (oh yes I love yoga class, I feel more relax after the class, I can sleep better, I feel more positive and most importantly, it's good for stretching my tired muscles)
Saturday: normally break but once or twice a month, I will go for free K-pop fitness conducted by the community centre. My favorite fitness class is of course K-pop fitness, not only it's fun dancing to loud K-pop music but I swear I sweat a lot by just dancing & jumping, thus I believe it's a good way of detoxing my body by sweating as much as I can as well as burning extra fats in my body. The fun level is absolutely 10 out of 10!
Sunday: Piloxing! Piloxing is the latest hit in fitness. It's the combination of boxing, Pilate and dancing and it's also one of the high intensity workouts that keeps your heart rate going up fast. A work out to burn seriously lots of calories as well as improving stamina, balance and strength.
It doesn't matter what kind of workout you do, as long as you move a lot and stay active with the right eating pattern, you will lose weight, maintain that weight and stay fit & healthy :)
A good thing about having regular exercise is not only I feel stronger physically but I feel like my immune system is better too ~ instead of catching cold almost every month like last time ~ the regular exercise I do is keeping doctor away! Yay!!
I have a few fitness tips I want to share with you and I hope it's helpful :)
1) BREATHE IN and BREATHE OUT
One of the most important tips I can tell you is to breathe in and breathe out when you exercise and especially if it's high intensity workout!
I used to wonder if I wasn't very strong or my stamina was bad or what. I remember I got very dizzy and my view was turning blackish after 45 minutes of Zumba fitness with a lot of super intense dancing moves and jumping. I remember I felt like I couldn't catch my breath, I felt like puking from my dizziness. And also, why did I need so many water breaks during my Piloxing class, why did I feel so tired?
And apparently the answer was only one! I didn't breathe in and breathe out enough & properly!
I learned my lesson and I started to breathe in and breathe out as much as possible & kept repeating as much as I can and you guess what?
Hey, I didn't even need my water break during my high intensity work out because I felt less tired, I could catch my breath more easily and I could last longer than before! So please breathe in and breathe out to avoid dizziness!
2) Light meal with low carbo before working out
Light meal with low carbo is very important before working out. I remember feeling blacked out during my kickboxing session last time and apparently it was due to my high carbo food I consumed 1 hour before my punching, kicking & jumping class. So carbo is seriously a killer food before working out ~ it could cause dizziness & nausea! Instead of eating carbo like bread, I would prefer a banana, a bunch of heathy nuts or an energy bar with a glass of water.
But hey, don't forget to drink plenty of water to prevent dehydration after sweating it all out!
3. Take a baby step at a time! Don't give up!
When I started fitness class, I couldn't even hold plank for 5 counts, seriously! It was that bad! and now I can hold plank for 1 minute and more! I remember my balancing was really bad at the beginning and after months of training, I felt so much better with coordination, balancing & flexibility & more confident doing something I felt I didn't do so well last time! My stamina has improved as well :)
In terms of fitness, nobody is born talented with good balancing, strength, flexibility and stamina. It's all coming from taking baby step at a time. Our body can be trained and our body CAN get better with routine training and exercising!
If you feel like you are not good in doing something, be it yoga or Zumba or kickboxing or whatever! My advise is don't give up! Keep doing it! Don't bother what others might think of you! And give your body some time to train! Have faith in yourself! If your brains keep picturing yes you can do it, yes you will improve and get better as time goes by! Trust me, you really will! It's just the matter of time, you will feel stronger, your stamina & strength improved and your body becoming more flexible as well :)
Keep challenging yourself to the next level because you are more capable than what you thought you were!
This pic was taken at day 5 after I started again my exercise routine after taking break from CNY holiday and indulging on CNY food.
Never felt this good before after giving birth to 2 kiddos!
My thighs feel firmer too!
Bye-Bye flabby arms! My arms feel leaner!
Day 23 after exercising again from CNY break! my tummy is firmer although I still have extra skin from my 2 pregnancies hanging around my tummy. Hey, after all, I'm a mum! I gave birth to 2 wonderful kids and I embrace my loose skin! :P Nothing I can do about it! :p
I can still improve and be better than this! :) There's always a room for improvement in fitness!
EATING
I don't believe in eating clean 7 days a week! Seriously? Come on, I can't just live on eating vegetables and white chicken breast! I need my real food!
But I strongly believe in one thing: LISTEN TO YOUR BODY & CRAVING!
Yes my body will crave for chicken burger with fries, I listen to it and I will go ahead eating it without feeling guilty. I believe when my body is craving of something, it means my body is lacking of something and that's the way my body tells me I need certain nutrient I lack of! Not only fulfilling your craving without guilt is good for your body but it's also good to avoid unnecessary bingeing in the future. It's like your body telling your brains "hey I have gotten enough, let's eat as per normal again.."
It's okay to eat what I crave for...
Listen to your body also means following your HUNGER! Don't force yourself in eating!
For example: I had big lunch with big portion of rice in the afternoon and I felt so full for dinner. So, I didn't want to force myself to eat what should be eaten for my dinner. Instead of eating full dinner, I could just go for chicken soup or oatmeal.
Another example: I had a fitness class in the morning and I felt super hungry. So instead of going against my own body and eating small healthy meal, I would eat big fulfilling meal with full carbo & fats to fulfill what my body needs!
As result of following what my body needs, I have been maintaining my pre pregnancy weight very well without feeling hungry and I have more energy to do activities with my kids too :)
Of course eating in moderation must apply as well. You can eat your normal food, you can fulfill your craving and maintain your weight by being active (and/or exercising) and giving in to your body what it needs and what it doesn't!
That's the end of my post and I really hope my sharing could be helpful for mommies trying to lose weight or struggling to maintain pre pregnancy weight. Keep growing positive thoughts and eventually you will harvest positive results! All the best!
P/S: The nursing picture at group gathering on the left was taken last year, 3 months plus after I gave birth to Calysta.. I was struggling to lose pregnancy weight I gained so much during pregnancy (17 kg) but when I got pregnant with Calysta, I was still stuck with 5 kg baby weight from having EJ and those weight kept accumulating, as result I gained so much & I looked so gigantic. A year later, with exercise & eating healthy, I lost all my baby weight minus 2 kg and it's amazing how human body can change with the right determination! pic on the right was taken early this year!
hiya, don't care about the haters, net! jiayou!
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