Honesty is the Best Policy

Someone from work whom I have not seen for a long time commented on my weight.

"Kurus ye you sekarang." 

I smiled.

"You pakai H******** eh?"

You guys have NO IDEA how many times someone asked me that question. Most people think there MUST be something special that I use to lose weight, i.e. slimming programs, shakes, fad diets, corsets etc etc.

I said nonchalantly -- "No lah, mana ada pakai apa-apa. I takde duit nak beli."

"So apa you buat? You jaga makan dengan exercise je?"

"Ha'ah."

There you have it ladies and gents. That is my honesty to you who are reading this.

Delicious Digestives

I found this at Marks & Spencer.

The M&S digestives are sold at RM12.50 for two, probably because it was nearing its expiry date but hey, I didn't mind. I was sure that I could finish it before the deadline.

The dark chocolate is about 38% cocoa, which is lesser than what I usually take, I usually choose at least 50% of cocoa for dark chocolates, but man, this digestives really wins.

One biscuit is about 85 calories (I checked online) so I would still suggest  to control your portion. Takkan la makan sampai lapan keping in one sitting pulak kan, baik makan nasi.

Water for Weight Loss

Drink 8 glasses of water every day. 

I am not the first to tell you that nor will I be the last. But this is one advice that everyone should listen to.

Water does aid weight loss. Water itself is like a miracle to mankind. I have consciously incorporated drinking water into my lifestyle that I can't bear going through a day without water! But somehow, fasting during Ramadhan is a different story altogether - I suppose when you fast, you have niat, and niat is drilled into your mindset so not drinking water only during Ramadhan is tolerable by me. 

So anyways, back to water. The star of my show, the highlight of this story. I know someone who tries to lose weight but isn't losing much and I notice that she doesn't like drinking water. I suspect her lack of hydration is a hindrance in her weight-loss mission. I tried telling her though, that water is super important if you want to maintain good overall health.

From my reading, water helps oil your machine, that is your body. When your machine, or body, is properly oiled, it should be functioning well, right? It helps flush out the toxins from your system and in my experience, drinking lemon water helps with regular bowel movement. 

Some don't like the taste of plain water. I can understand that, I mean, we just drink boiled tap water, not the pristine spring water from the French Alps. 

So how can you make your water a bit more sexy?

I jazz it up with these!

I freeze raspberries and mint. I use small slices of lemons for this too.

You just save these ice cubes in your freezer and pop them in your glass of water whenever you feel like it. My personal favourite has got to be the raspberry ice cubes. The tinge is just delicious.

Banana Chocolate

I had a RM10 Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf voucher to use.

I don't like crumpled papers (or vouchers) so I brilliantly kept it somewhere where it will remain un-crumpled and crisp and pretty.

Until I forgot where I placed the voucher.

I've been searching for it since last week because I remember well that it will expire some time in September. Just as I thought I lost the voucher, I found it this morning! It was safely tucked in between the pages of a book I'm reading.

And it was about to expire today.

Here at CBTL, I opted for coffee-free ice blended drink (because I don't drink coffee).

I asked the girl at the counter to recommend me a drink - she recommended Banana Chocolate. 

"Do you want whipped cream on top?"

"NO." 

Remember to always say no to whipped cream, okay guys?

She asked me for the beverage size and I chose regular. 

They have small, regular and large. 

I had a sip and it was delicious. I wouldn't have this every day, definitely. Don't drink your calories, eat them. 

Now that I had some time to think, I realised I made some mistakes with this order. 

I did not....

Ask whether it was dairy-based. 

If the answer was dairy, I could have asked for a dairy substitute, like soy. 

I should have....

Asked for a small size rather than regular (lesser calories due to smaller portion and cheaper by about a buck or two)

So the next time I order my drink, I will try not to forget my own rules! 

Post Syawal Mission

Syawal has ended.

That also means the end of the two consecutive months in a year where I cut myself some slack and enjoy food however way I want it.

I stopped running entirely during Ramadhan and only picked up running probably three times at most during Syawal. I especially love lemang and rendang (how can it be raya if you don't have these two?!) so I did not make any restrictions in enjoying them.

But alas, all good things must come to an end. Too much of good food, and now I have some flab around my waist.

While my weight remains more or less the same, I feel bloated and I noticed my tummy isn't as flat as before. Only solution to this problem, as I have tried and tested, is less carb, more fibre, more water and portion control.

I've started my post Syawal mission - to get my flat tummy back. Wish me luck!