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!

How I Beat Sleepiness While Driving

Sometimes when I drive and get stuck in a traffic jam, I get really sleepy. And that's very bad since you can't simply take a nap in the middle of the road, right, so I figured out some ways to beat sleepiness. 

1. I SING. 

I sing like I am on American Idol, One in a Million, Akademi Fantasia, The Voice, or whatever singing show you have on TV these days. Surprisingly, singing high notes of Agnes Monica songs keeps me awake. 

I butcher the songs too, of course. I wouldn't even be called for the next round of audition. I would be eliminated right there and then in the middle of Federal Highway. 

But takpelah, at least I'm awake. 

2. I SNACK.

This is awesome. Sometimes when I do Option #1, my voice cracks and my throat becomes sore, so on days when I don't feel like massacring Agnes's songs, I choose to munch instead. I have a balang of roasted almonds sitting in my car right now. But you need to make good choices when it comes to snacking!

Which brings me to the actual point of this post ---- 

This is my snack of the day! 

almonds, dried organic goji berries, dried apricots

It's my first time trying goji berries after reading its benefits. Some call it a superfruit because of that. I have to admit, I don't particularly like how it tastes when I first tried it, but I believe I can train my tastebud for anything, especially if it's for the good stuff. It tastes better when I eat it with plain yogurt. 

It's slowly growing on me though. 

The Fellowship of the Travelling Dumbbells

When you have a fitness freak as a friend, this is what he sends you after he checks into his hotel.

(He's away in Alor Setar for the elections by the way)

So I sent him this...

TAK NAK KALAH. 

FOOD: Avocado and tomato sandwich.

I saw this snack suggestion online and thought it looks so easy to make.

Three main ingredients are:

Avocado
Tomato 
Wholemeal bread

I use butter and pan grilled the bread. Butter makes a whole lot of difference! And pan grilling it is definitely better than toasting it.

Just sliced the avocado and tomato, and stack them between the two bread slices.

This is my new favourite snack and I eat it for breakfast or whenever I feel hungry. Avocado can cost up to RM5 so it's quite an expensive snack - but I rather have this for breakfast than a RM3 plate of mee goreng. Plus, I found a shop that sells three avocados for RM12!

This snack truly does not disappoint.

Ashley

Ashley Greene after a work out session. 

Even celebrities work out. If you want to look good and feel good you work out. You don't give me crap like 'but I want to lose weight' and still sit on the couch, okay? It pisses me off.