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When I first embarked on my portion control diet, I was vigilant about my weekly weigh ins. Every week on the same day, I would get on the digital scale at the gym before eating or drinking anything at the start of the day.

digital bathroom scale

I lost about 9kg over the vigilant weeks.

Then I took it easy. Stopped the weigh ins and was more liberal with my diet, thinking the added exercise from dance classes and runs will make up for it.

Boy was I wrong.

After about a month or two, I got on the scale. To my horror, I had gained 3kg of the hard lost weight.

By not weighing myself weekly, I failed to notice the weight creeping back. Got complacent. Undid the good from the disciplined weeks.

I should have gotten a bathroom scale and weighed myself weekly, to keep track of my weight all the time, so I wouldn’t have ended up gaining so much.

Wish me luck :p

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I am on a hill top having a picnic breakfast with my family.

Hill climbing popular family activity. The winding path from the base of the hill is wide and paved. Parents bring preschool kids up the path for some exercise.

The walk up the hill early in the morning was lovely. The sun’s rays filtered through the trees, bouncing off the fine mist in a spray of golden droplets.

The first time we climbed the hill, it was challenging. The summit was perpetually out of reach. My sons keep going.. Are we there yet?

It gets easier with practice. We sweat buckets climbing up, burn calories and tone our legs.

Getting to the summit gives us a sense of satisfaction. We made it !

The air at the top of the hill is cool and fresh. Gentle breeze. Beautiful scenery. Being close to nature.

Bliss.

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Had my first bollywood dance class and learnt how to really shake my booty.

bollywood dancing

It was fun actually. The large part of the session was in learning the hand, shoulder and arm movements,which were confusing at first but fun and elegant once we caught on.

This is also where we learn to really shake our booties, jutting out our hips to the max.

Bollywood dancing is like Hollywood golden age musicals where every now and then, the cast break into dance and song. Except in our class it us just the dance, kicks, booty shaking and arm acrobatics to catchy music.

We had lots of laughs along the way.

Good work out for toning the arms, belly and legs without being too strenuous. Worked out a light sweat.

A great form of low impact toning exercise.

For girls and guys too.

This one’s hilarious!

Here’s a bollywood dance work out you shake your stuff too. Have fun!

Want to get started on belly dancing? Check out these Belly dancing techniques

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Seriously need to sweat it out. To go for the burn.

Dance is a fun way to do it.

My Bellydance friends recommend zumba to shed those kilos. I did sign up for classes but because of my crazy work schedule, I only made it to 2 classes in the entire course.

It was fun! One can get a high from the catchy music. The moves aren’t too hard to catch and the instructor really made us sweat it out and laugh a lot.

Dance in any form is still dance. Belly dance in comparison focus more on the core muscles. A choreographed dance doesn’t burn anywhere near a Zumba session but focusing on the techniques, the shimmies and the more advanced hip movements really target muscles you may not even know exist. 5 minutes practicing techniques can leave you dripping with sweat.

It is a very sensual dance though and excellent for loosening stiff joints.

Here’s bellydancer Sadie in action.

Enjoy!

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One reason why I prefer running outdoors is the scenery. Running along the canal offers unexpected sightings of wild life.

While I don’t particularly look forward to encountering the occasional snake, squirrels and bird are a welcome sight. I have yet to photograph the squirrels or the blue birds in action but today, I caught the majestic crane, albeit from quite a distance, on my iPhone.

Years ago, wild cranes used to visit the canal. They have since disappeared. This lone crane is a welcome sight.

Running the same route can get monotonous but the excitement upon seeing that crane took the boredom away and made me forget about my tired aching body.

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Want to lose weight the fun way?

Belly dance!

Just look at the amazing shape Shakira is in. Belly dancing enhances a woman’s curves.

My belly dancing instructor lost 8 kg in 8 months when she learnt belly dancing.

Some of the moves really shape the waist.

Some girls noticed their waists curving in more as they practiced certain hip movements.

• Lift the right hip
• thrust outwards to the right
• lower the hip
• bring it back in to standing position
• Lift the left hip
• Thrust outwards to the left
• lower the hip
• bring back to standing position.

Here’s another video of Shakira belly dancing.

Here are the basic belly dance techniques

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I woke up soon after sunrise. The weather was great. Cool, after a slight drizzle. Perfect for a morning run.

I once lost weight and got in great shape by running. Exercise alone let me really pig out, yet stay toned and really fit. Then again, in those days, I’d run 10k every morning.

I closed my home business and got a proper job with regular hours. That meant, I didn’t have the luxury of hours for long runs and swims daily. Hence I ballooned out.

Dieting helps. A lot.

Couple that with regular exercise, I’m pretty sure I can get in marathon shape again.

I went down to the park. The nearby canal is busy in the morning with joggers, cyclists and people walking their dogs. The scenery is beautiful. Somehow early in the morning, the sun’s golden rays make that place.. magical.

Running by the canal early in the morning

Running outdoors is very different from running on the treadmill. I find an outdoor run great for mental health.

Admiring the scenery as I run, the peaceful greenery, that path flanked by a forest of trees and a canal is a great time to reflect. To take a step back from my busy life and re-evaluate. A place to meditate. Or to destress… even as I run.

Running up and down that path, taking photos along the way, admiring the nature, made more beautiful in the golden morning light.. I ran longer and further than I’d initially intended. I didn’t feel tired and could have run some more. It’s a stark contrast from treadmill running where time seems to drag and it seems ages to complete each km.

I ran 4km in all. It’s a great way to start the exercise leg of my weight loss journey.

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Once upon a time, most Singaporeans lived in kampongs. Kids were rarely fat as play was synonymous with physical activity.

Soccer, playing catch and running around the kampong visiting friends in the area was the norm.

Everyone knew everyone else in the kampong. Neighbours were neighbourly.

Now, most Singaporeans live in HDB flats. Doors are closed most of the time and lifts that bring you right to your floor reduces the need for exercise.

Kids spend most of their time sitting in front of the computer – their main source of entertainment.

This sedentary lifestyle leads to an increase in obesity.

That need not be the norm. You can treat the building as a vertical kampong. Instead or running to and fro between houses, use the stairs.

On rainy days or when I wake up too late to run, I climb up and down the stairs continually for an hour.

I bring my kids with me at times, admiring how our neighbours above and below us decorate their homes with plants. We treat our climbs as tours around the neighbourhood, the greenery being potted plants of all sorts.

Some grow ferns, others orchids, some even grow vegetables ourside their flats which they then harvest for their meals.

With a little imagination, stair climbing can be fun.

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Working out alone can get boring. Why not rope in your family. All can get in shape together.

Where I live, there aren’t any mountains to climb. Our tallest hill, Bukit Timah hill is the highest peak available to scale.

It’s more a tourist attraction with a gravelled road that spirals up the hill, the top of which has a wooden shelter and a nice plain of grass where families have their picnics, or gatherings.

A place where one can commune with nature.

There are many ways to burn those calories. Hiking up a hill is one of them. Stopping to watch the squirrels, laughing at the antics of the monkeys, observing majestic trees, shy butterflies and interesting flowers makes the journey fun. Before you know it, you’ve reached the top. How many calories did you burn without realizing it?

More fun than the treadmill IMHO.

The path isn’t lighted up so do your hiking up and down the hill during the day. It is, after all, a tropical rainforest, with all its wildlife. Not somewhere you’d want to spend the night. Bring along a bottle of water and some light snacks and a mat and you can enjoy a picnic when you reach the peak.

Then make your way down the path.

You could go through the sandy trails and climb the steeper paths if you are more adventurous. As I always go with my kids we take the familiar paved route.

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I didn’t run today. Overslept. The sun was fierce when I finally rolled out of bed at 10 am.

Ok. Excuses.
Then I remembered this blog.
Accountability.

Said I’d do it, so I will.
Exercise, that is.

Living in a 14 storey building has its advantages.

Who needs a stairclimber or whatever you call it exercise machine in a gym, when you’ve got the real deal. Flights of stairs that let you get a great cardio workout from the convenience of your home?

We HDB dwellers in the heartlands have got it all.

Got up. Laced my running shoes. Then hit the stairs.

Going up and down 14 flight of stairs continuously can ge boring, so I just lose myself in my thoughts. Reflecting on the past week, thinking about the things on my endlessly long to do list, praying or talking (silently cos i don’t want people to think I’m stark raving mad) as I climb.. and you know what? 50 minutes had passed and I forgot to feel tired.

It’s all in the mind. Really.

When the lift is spoilt and I have to climb 7 flights of stairs, it seems so tiring. When I count how many times up and down 14 flights I’d done and how many flights to go.. it seems like I’d never make it.

Yet when I forget about counting and take the climb as time for reflection, an hour goes by quickly, I work up a good sweat and don’t feel like I’m gonna collapse.

You know what? If you find it inconvenient to run, try the stairs. You’d burn calories just the same.

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