LIFEBOD

Blog

  • When Your Legs Are Called Elephant Trunks


    Remember that story I told you about the boy who drew me in the form of a pig? It was really to accentuate how big my legs were. So I went looking for that picture in the photo albums, but couldn’t find it.

    Instead I saw these beautiful pictures of my mother’s legs (right)… phewwit!

    Famed for her pair of hot legs, my late mother was (as she used to say) Miss Peter Stuyvesant… one of those models who wore mini skirts and served you a tray of cigarettes in the 1960s.

    Well, I wasn’t born with her legs.

    At least that’s not what it looked like ever since I was a little girl and as you can see on the left, I can’t even bring myself to show you the full picture of what I looked like a year ago.

    Mine weren’t even in the leg category. They were called elephant trunks, pythons that swallowed footballs, and pork trotters.

    But today those dreadful elephant trunks started to show signs of being lovely lady legs.

    And actually (no disrespect to my mother’s famous legs), they’re looking like they are on their way to being some strong sexy legs with all the squats, skipping, and dancing I’ve been doing.

    I can’t wait to see what they look like a month from now.

    Maybe then, I can start to pretend to walk like a sexy-legs girl.

  • Excuses I Used To Avoid Exercising

    Funny how there are a thousand excuses if you really want to back out of something.

    One of them could be that you’re too busy or too poor to afford gym membership. Another one is that it’s raining outside, the sun is too darn hot, and you didn’t get enough sleep the night before.

    Well I regularly used ALL those excuses and more, until my boyfriend took me hiking at Tun Fuad Park over 4 hours smack in the middle of noon. I initially thought it was only going to be a 1 hour lap-run and when we went as far as the trail took us uphill, I felt like I wanted to kill him or die, whichever came first.

    Okay maybe not that bad, but it FELT that bad! I was so upset about my fitness level I cried. I felt like a cross between Humpty Dumpty and the Incredible Sulk… clumsy, heavy, and whiny.

    When I went to Korea in July this year, things began to make more sense why the boyfriend was by default so insanely fit. The majority of Koreans do not pay for gym membership, but they’re all sleek and slim. That’s partly because they have these outdoor gyms provided by the government by the Han River, but mostly because of their attitude toward health and wellness regardless of how poor or old they were.

    At 10pm, there are families walking and jogging around the parks. Young kids and old grandmas, they’re out there getting their heart working. That’s right around the time most of us kick back and eat a tub of ice cream or go for supper.

    One day, my boyfriend took two empty 2 liter mineral water bottles, filled them up with water and showed me how to use them as free weights. I thought it was cheap, but it removed yet another excuse I have yet to use. It worked fine! They were 2kg weights each and great for grip and toning.

    Then one evening in Seoul, I saw this T.V. program featuring a fulltime housewife and new mother, who showed the cameras how she knocked off all the baby weight with nothing else but a rice cooker, feeding bottles, stockings, and some wiping cloth. Some day I’ll tell you all about it (if I can find the woman’s name and story). TRULY INSPIRING!

    It was so inspiring it shifted my paradigm, and I began to think of the excuses people made to escape exercising.

    Today, no matter how busy I get, I whip out my RM25 skipping rope and do about 30 minutes of intensive cardio rain or shine. Why? Because I can do it right in my bedroom, living room, garage, anywhere that has 4mx4m space.

    I also take all the stuff I learn about Crossfit from the gym and do the ones that require no equipment.

    You don’t need to fork out RM100 to do squats, situps, and pushups do you?

    So there. If you have a reason why you’re not putting in the work, I’d like to challenge you to stop making excuses, and really just face the truth. Most of the time it’s not that you’re too poor, tired, hot and afraid of getting the flu that makes you remain on your seat.

    You’re mostly likely being lazy, scared, and just plain don’t want it bad enough.

    Because if you did, you’d assemble a home gym with RM200 (see above), and go out for that run that you’ve been making excuses for not doing RIGHT NOW.

    So the first step to losing weight is BEING HONEST with yourself. Once you realize what you’re doing to yourself, you can begin to start saying things that help you reach your goals.

    I’m going to go for my 8:30am dance class this morning. What are you going to do today for your body?

  • How to Eat at a Chinese Wedding Banquet (Without Gaining Weight)

    Last evening I went to the most epic wedding banquet ever, so epic that they brought us back to 1920s Shanghai.

    It was magical… the music, ticket booth, train installation, men and ladies all dressed up in that era! Felt so throwback. It was so awesome they even had lobster in the starter!

    But what I’m going to share with you this afternoon is how I go to weddings with a lot of good food and leave without gaining weight.

    Typically, Malaysian-Chinese weddings will serve a 8-10 course meal, something that usually does no favors to your waistline. So how do I prevent gaining weight?

    I don’t eat all the courses that get served and I choose what I put in my body!

    The first cold dish course is always the hardest to resist, mainly because everyone’s hungry. They’re also usually the dish with the less bulk, so just eat what is socially appropriate if you’re starving. Just remember to scrape away the mayonnaise.

    The second dish is usually a soup. If it’s shark’s fin I don’t touch it both for moral and health reasons. Sharks are known to have mercury levels that exceed safe levels for human consumption that the FDA advises people (especially pregnant women) to avoid it. Many other sources have concurred and so I figure I don’t love it enough to pack on the mercury into my precious temple.

    The third dish, typically a steamed grouper is served. I don’t eat that because according to the Chinese elders, grouper is inflammatory and exacerbates asthma in people who have it. I personally have experienced the ill-effects of fish from the grouper family. So yummy but wheeze wheeze wheeze… no thanks 🙂

    The fourth dish is usually some chicken. They either come steamed, fried, or roasted. I eat no more than two pieces, but usually just one big one.

    The fifth dish, usually beef or lamb. I eat whatever clean protein there is, but as a delicacy and not a stomach-filler as it’s usually drenched in starchy sauces with a lot of chemicals in them.

    The sixth dish, usually some tiger prawns. I eat what I want as long as it’s not covered in batter. If it is, I peel and throw the batter away and eat just the prawns.

    The seventh dish, typically vegetables containing mushrooms and greens. I eat a lot of this!

    The eighth dish, the fried rice. Half a small bowl if I’m still hungry. Otherwise, I just have a quarter bowl of it. Treat this as special as caviar. If you don’t see it as such, just don’t eat it!

    Dessert – If the desserts are rich, I take a bite and throw the rest away. If it’s light and comes in a bowl, it really depends on how sweet it is. If it is light, I take everything. If it’s heavy, I take two spoonfuls and abandon the rest.

    So I usually just eat 6 out of 8 dishes, and the only thing I eat for bulk is the vege dish.

    That’s my little secret on how to survive the 8-course Chinese Wedding banquet. And oh… stay away from the fizzy drinks and opt for tea or water.

    One or two glasses of alcohol is standard for toasting and socializing, as long as it’s not drowned in syrup. So go for the whisky or wine, not the beer and vodka-orange. Hope you’ve been enlightened! 🙂

  • 10 Reasons Why I Drink Raw Juices

    Every time I tell people I juice, they flinch or make faces because they think it’s a lot of hard work to do that in the morning.


    What they don’t know is that, it’s one of the fastest and easiest breakfast to make and it’s usually done within 5-10 minutes.

    After all, all one needs to do is to identify several types of fruits and vegetables that go well together, wash, cut, and feed it through the juicer. 3 steps, no cooking, it doesn’t get any easier than that!

    But the convenience isn’t the only reason I’m a juice junky. I do it for the raw living cells in the fresh fruit and vegetables, and I ingest all of that goodness on an empty stomach to get my immune boosters like vitamin C, K, A, E, iron, and potassium just to name a few.

    To me, vitamins in pill form should only be used as a substitute when and where real, live nutritious food is lacking. So since I live in Borneo where it’s relatively affordable to eat fresh whole foods, I’ve opted to go for the real deal. Here’s just ten reasons why I juice. Hopefully you’ll be inspired to do the same.

    1. High in Antioxidants
    Raw food has enzymes and living cells that are high in cancer-preventing antioxidants.
    2. Great for the Skin
    Raw stuff makes my skin glow better than any beauty product
    3. Vitamins and Minerals
    Juices are really high in vitamins and are mineral rich. Usually I get all or more of my daily required intake in one glass.
    4. High Alkalinity
    It’s a known fact that acidic diets causes gout, cancer, among other painful ailments. Raw juices are highly alkaline, thus helping prevent some of diseases I’d like to avoid.
    5. Taste & Flavor
    It’s yummy! Why go for chemical cocktails when you can create amazing concoctions that are purely natural and good for you?
    6. Energy Boost
    I get an energy boost that starts me off and keeps me going for a good portion of the day.
    7. Detox Effect
    It neutralizes all the crap I ingested the day before by flushing it through my system. Literally!
    8. Bio-Availability
    Food is the most bio-available form of nutrition. It is also the most flexible. Vitamin C aids in iron absorption, which is why I always spritz some lime or lemon on my beet and spinach-based juices.
    9. Increases Metabolism
    Yea, I also do it to lose weight. Just saying, if you’re interested in that kind of thing 😀
    10. Controls Blood Sugar
    The trick is to use more vegetables than fruit. The sugary produce is really there to give it a sweet taste so that it’s not too hard to chug it down. I use vegetables like bittergourd, celery, and lettuce alongside the sweeter fruits to keep my sugar levels steady.

    I’m sure I can find another few, but there you have it… the 10 reasons I juice! Shouldn’t they be yours too?

    If you want to get started, here are two recipes from kkmoi.com. Just remember that the best time to drink it is on an empty stomach so that you can absorb all the nutrients. Let 30 minutes pass before eating anything. Enjoy!
    Greenie-Carotene Juice with Apple and Lime
    5-Green Vegetable Super Juice From Hong Kong

  • How I Lost My First 6 KGs

    To be honest, weight loss for big girls is a bit of an emotional affair.

    For me, it was the worst thing ever when one of my boyfriend’s friends (after having had too much to drink), made a remark about the fact that I should lose weight to make him happy IN FRONT OF A TABLE OF MEN WITH SLIM WIVES. Yes, what a schmuck.

    But I had to face the fact. Regardless of what I thought of Mr. Schmuck, I was a 5’7″ Asian woman in my early thirties, and I was 84kgs. That’s the heaviest I have ever been in my life. Here’s the proof!

    I had to do something about the fact that I was unhealthy. If I wasn’t careful, I’d get diabetes because mom was a Type 2 diabetic.

    So began a journey of denial, self-loathing, self loving, but mostly I educated myself on every imaginable weight loss program out there.

    From the Paleo diet to Atkins, to glycemic index diets, you name it. I read more than 100 books on health, wellness and weight loss.

    Then I made one decision from the sum of my research.

    I eliminated refined carbs, gluten and cane sugar from my daily diet.

    Sure, I walked a little, skipped some rope like an elephant on protest, but mostly the 6 kgs weight went because I stopped eating bread and noodles made from wheat flour – and no sugar.

    Tomorrow I’ll share some other things with you. Don’t give up! You can do it!

     

  • Welcome to Lifebod.com!

    Hello friends! My name is Jackie. Most people who have landed here would be my friend, but if you came here by chance, it’s really nice to meet you.

    I’ve just had this crazy battle with my weight for a very very long time, and because of a myriad of reasons medical and otherwise, it was almost impossible for me to lose weight. Until now.

    I lost 33 lbs of stubborn genetic fat in 6 months naturally. No diet pills, no crazy teas, and definitely no slimming centers that wrap and pinch the hell out of you. I’m 34 years old.

    It’s crazy how supportive you have been to me. I posted my BEFORE/AFTER picture two days ago and have about 90 likes on Facebook now. This picture!

    [wide][/wide]

    So why have I decided to start another website when so I have so many other things to do?

    Simple. I want to keep a journal of what I do to reach my goals and motivate myself. If what I share will help you in your own journey, then I’d be most happy that I am helping you live a fuller, happier, richer life. I don’t mean that you’d have to be skinny to do that, but you definitely have to be healthy.

    A while back, I wrote down all the things that mattered to me on a huge piece of paper. Then I circled them. There were probably 30 things on that paper, but I had to choose the 6 most important things to me, and rank them.

    Through this process, I discovered that more than anything, HEALTH was the most important thing for me.

    You can have love, but if you’re all sick and dying, it’s pointless if you can’t breathe long enough to say I love you.

    Likewise if you have all the money in the world and bad health, you can’t really go anywhere and would likely spend all the dosh on medical and hospital bills.

    So HEALTH is my No. 1 priority.

    If I have good health, I can help other people. So this is what this blog is about. How to maintain your health with a smile on your face.

    Of course, the advantage of having good health is that naturally, your body shows it. I can’t guarantee that I’ll never fall victim to genetic diseases, but I know whatever I am doing is helping slow it down.

    And my attitude of gratitude is what matters.

    I want to be clear that I’m not a healthcare professional, and what I do may or may not work for your individual case. I’m simply sharing what works for me – and what hasn’t. Please consult your own healthcare professional before starting any program.

    So stick around, say hello, and let me know what you’d like to read from me. 🙂