Getting Back into Track

So I haven't been working out at all, until yesterday. It's sad that I let my body go (again) and gained everything I lost when I stopped doing Turbo Jam. But at least now, I started working out with my sister, so working out is more fun. We decided to try Turbo Fire coupled with Leslie Sansone's 2 mile walk. I feel like such a pro yesterday, because even though I weigh 40 pounds more than my sister, she couldn't finish doing Turbo Fire (also, I could more or less follow all the steps. I'm happy to know that doing Turbo Jam has affected me in a way). I am actually looking forward to working out today.

Blasting the fat off way faster

I came across another article at Yahoo (I love reading the top stories/news. Apart from the funny comments, I do come across some interesting articles now and then). It gives tips on how to blast off fat (way) faster. Some of the tips are actually pretty new to me. Like how it is more ideal to workout in a cool environment (so you'll be able to work out harder and longer). Whenever I work out I try to sweat as much as possible, so I close all doors and windows and turn off the cooling. No wonder I feel like passing out halfway. Will definitely turn on the cooling system next time. Also another very interesting point in the article was the mind and body connection actually affects weight loss. How's that for more motivation?

Read the article here: Blast off fat (way) faster

I Used To Be Fat (MTV: 2010-2011)

I had just finished watching all the episodes of the reality show 'I Used To Be Fat' (you can catch all the episodes, as well as other exclusive online clips on MTV's site).

It was aired last December and ended February this year, but I haven't really heard of the show till last month (stopped watching MTV about 9 years ago). The show is about 9 overweight (and some probably obese) teens that aim to lose weight over the summer with the help of a personal trainer. I enjoyed watching most of the episodes and I felt that I could relate to their woes. It's nice to know that I'm not the only one in this, though most of the time I feel like I'm the only fat person around. After finishing the entire series, I actually quite excited to work out :]

Anyway, just a quick comment on each episode:

Episode 1: Gabriella
Overall it was a light and enjoyable episode. Gabriella has such a sunny personality, it wasn't hard to root for her.

Episode 2: Marci
Marci was very whiny throughout the episode, but it was ok. From what I've seen from watching, all her life she used to have it her way, and I expect people who grew up like that to be a bit.. whiny. She was one of the teens who lost the most weight, I think (90 pounds).

Episode 3: Dominick
What I liked most about this episode was how it didn't only lead to Dominick's weight loss, it also helped Dominick's mother to shed some of the pounds off too.

Episode 4: Makenzie
I keep thinking about Julia Stiles everytime I see Makenzie. Julia Stiles is one of my favorites so it works for me. It was also really fun seeing the whole family participating in Makenzie's workouts.

Episode 5: Jordan
Boom! Jordan was probably one of my favorites. I really liked his trainer too (a really cool person, that guy). He did even better than his goal, cheers to Jordan!

Episode 6: Daria
It was really hard watching some of the parts in this one, especially when Daria was 'cheating' on eating stuff that she shouldn't. But it's completely understandable, I'm not exactly sticking with the good stuff myself. Daria is a really good dancer though, and I'm amazed when she first stepped into the dance class. She didn't moved like she haven't danced for a while.

Episode 7: Kirsten
I was really amazed when Kirsten did a 5k. I couldn't even run for 5 minutes straight! It must have been really cool to finish.

Episode 8: Tanner
I was a bit disappointed with this episode, but he lost 36 pounds (which isn't a joke) but I can't help but think he could do better. I just hope Tanner will get back on track soon. 

Episode 9: Kelly
One thing I noticed about Kelly was she was a bit more... 'quiet' than the others. Despite being (I think) the teen that weighs the least (featured in this show), I felt that her problem really is pretty much her self confidence and the way she deals with her feelings, and the excess weight just secondary. So amazed to see her complete a 5k too!

Episode 10: Past to Present
It was nice seeing them all together. Apparently, some of them became really good friends. I just hoped all the trainers were present and the episode should have lasted more than usual.

Unhappy Trip

So, I'm going on a little 10 day trip today. I really don't want to, but someone else is paying for the tickets, and I can't really turn down that person. The only thing that I actually am looking forward to is the plane ride, because I love planes :]  


I'm not planning on bringing any exercise equipment, and although I did rip my Turbo Jam and Hip Hop Abs dvd's so I can transfer some of the workouts on my phone, I'm not really sure if I'll do any exercising at all. But it's just 10 days right? As long as I don't gorge myself with food I probably won't gain the 8 inches back on my waist. Plus, I'd be doing a little swimming and mountain hiking on the trip (though not everyday). Ah, I wish ten days would pass by quickly.

I have just joined this site, Calorie Count while I was searching for calorie counters yesterday (I plan on counting my calories now). It was probably an off time to start (since I'll be away from the computer for ten days, and I don't want to access the internet from my mobile because the rates are horrible *plus, I'm not sure if the network coverage is good where I'm going*) logging my calories there, but it was really helpful. Yesterday, I ate a total of 2,655 calories worth of food and drink, and burned 2,707 calories (? I'm not so sure about that, on my activity log all the activities I placed just add up to 900+ calories *I didn't really exercised yesterday*, so probably the other 1000+ calories on the log is the calories burned by my body for it to function? I'm not sure). I ate more than I usually do yesterday (I ate extra potato chips and hotdog buns), but I even ate more than that the day before yesterday. Also, I haven't been exercising lately. I need to get back on track


If I had known about Calorie Count when I bought my phone months ago, I would have chosen an android phone instead (it would probably cost more than my phone though). They have a calorie counter app for android (also for blackberry and iPhone) phones that can be either used online or offline. It would have been the perfect app, I can log my calories while I'm on my trip (offline), then when I get back, I could connect to the internet from my phone just one time so my Calorie Count account would be updated. How cool is that?

Anyway, that's all for now. Will tell a little about my trip when I get back (with pictures! but don't expect much because I'll just be using my crappy camera phone)

Muscles and Fats

My weighing scale broke down eons ago, and because of my recent pursuit in weight loss I was contemplating on buying one. I was having second thoughts because I don't have the money to spare (and I'm saving money because I'm going on a trip next month!!! ), and it's also a bit depressing to know your actual weight. When my waistline was 40", I remember my weight was yoyo-ing between 97-100 kilos. Now that my waist is over 40"...
Honestly I don't want to know how much past the 100 kilo mark my weight is. But I've read various fitness articles over the net that having a scale helps you in losing weight since you can monitor your weight better. If you slip a bit, you'll know and you'll get motivated to back on track. Then, after reading a few more articles and after googling various stuffs, I saw this picture

A side by side comparison: 5lb of fat vs 5lb of muscle

I'm not sure how accurate that representation is. I've 'googled' muscles vs fat earlier and from all the sites that I looked into that put up pictures of muscle and fat replica, none of them explained how they came across this picture and how accurate it is. If this is representation is accurate, this is something that's good to know. A lot of people use BMI to determine how much weight they need to be for their height. While knowing your BMI and the ideal BMI for your height can give you a good idea on what is a healthy weight, one should also measure their Body Fat Percentage. You can find a lot of body fat percentage calculators online (I used the one found in the Healthstatus.com site), but it's probably better to have a physician measure it for you. But here are my results:

I used the calculator and it said that my body fat percentage is 61.27% when using the U.S. Navy body fat formula, and 47.42% using the formula developed by the YMCA. Yikes for both results (note: I just gave a fair estimate of my weight on the calculator since I don't know my actual weight.). It also says that the average body fat percentage for U.S. females is 32% (the ideal for non athlete females between ages 20-40 is 19%-26%). I'm doing strength training, but I only do it once a week. After knowing my body fat percentage, I will to more strength training now

I recommend reading these articles to know more:

Muscle does not weigh more than fat (five pounds is five pounds), but it is much nicer to look at
Build muscle to lose fat - Fat vs Muscle diagram
Muscle vs Fat

Turbo Jam: How I punched, kicked and jammed my way into losing inches

I first saw an infomercial of Turbo Jam back when I was in high school and I've always wanted to try it, but never did (until this year). I know, I know, a lot of people who tried Turbo Jam have moved on to other workouts, and I don't really need to make another review but I really loved it so I will make a review anyway. (Note: I'm not affiliated to Beachbody in any way)

Turbo Jam is a cardio workout that incorporates kickboxing and dance which makes it so fun! At first, I find the setting and the feel too "80's", but once you get past that, it's pretty enjoyable. Chalene can be a bit goofy at times, but goofy is fun, and I actually smile/laugh at times while working out. The steps are pretty easy to follow(and I don't really dance), and by the 2nd-3rd time of doing a certain workout I know all the moves down the pat. The only thing I disliked was the ab floor exercises in Ab Jam (though, you can skip that part and do the standing ab workout instead). Overall, it's a nice workout program to start with, especially for a beginner like me.

Sitting can be dangerous

I was checking my other email when I came across this article that says sitting all day can be dangerous to your health. You'd probably laugh at me and tell me that's common knowledge already, but what's surprising is the article says that even if you are 'fit' (you eat well and you exercise regularly) and you have a job that requires you to sit most of the day, you're still at risk
One of the strategies to lower your health risk found in the article is taking two breaks (to walk) every hour. The minute I finished reading the article, I had the sudden urge to take a break from the computer, lol. To read more about it, you can click on the link above, but here's the link to the full article found on the Men's Health site: Is your office chair killing you?