Monday, June 17, 2013

Day 11 - Muesli and Pilates

Monday like today is all about running around coz of tight schedule. Today dietary and exercise was all compact, simple - easy to accomplish!

BREAKFAST


I started off the day at 6:30AM with my favorite smoothie. I stick with blueberry for another week. I used regular no-fat plain yogurt this week to save some bucks. It's still so yummy. Nothing can beat my Organic soy milk! Right after a glass of blueberry smoothie, I had a cup of muesli*, sliced half a banana with half a cup of my soy milk.


*Muesli is a popular breakfast meal based on uncooked rolled oats, fruit and nuts. 


LUNCH


I had to buy lunch. It wasn't easy to find good quick meal out there. My friends wanted trays of pizzas. I'm not a big fan of pizza. Luckily, the place has really good looking Italian salad. That salad turned out to be the best salad I'd ever had! Served with 2 pieces of crispy rosemary baked dough. Really good!



DINNER


I needed to do a 30 min exercise session around 6PM-7PM. So around 5:30AM, I grabbed 6 pieces of Tyson Buffalo Chicken Popcorn from my freezer (my boyfriend's favorite snack. He gets a bag every week from Target). Six pieces ave me just enough energy for the upcoming pilates stretching session.


30 Mins PILATES MAT EXERCISE SESSION

- Spine Stretch
- Saw
- Mermaid Side Stretch
- Swimming
- Wall Roll Down

I did 2 minutes each of the above. Then repeat the whole thing 2 times.

TIP OF THE DAY

Also try a cellulite reducing cream products - if you are already eating right and doing some exercise everyday!


Monday, June 10, 2013

Day 4 - Blueberries

Ok... Day 2 and 3 didn't work quite well due to dental care issue with a dentist. Alright, this is it! Day 4 must be a lot easier.

Anyway, here we go, my DAY FOUR!

BREAKFAST :

7:00AM --- TS Coffee*
8:00AM --- Blueberry Yogurt with Soy Milk Smoothie! Yummy!


And that was it. This glass of smoothie was so filling. Made me so full I wasn't hungry again until around noon. I can share here what was in that glass. :)
+ 1/2 cup of frozen blueberry
+ 1/2 cup of Chobani Plain Greek Yogurt (Greek yogurt is known for greater quantity of protein per serving than regular)
+ a packet of PureVia Sweetener - zero calorie!
+ And my superstar 1/2 cup Silk Unsweetened Organic Soy Milk!


Let's talk a lil' bit about blueberry goodness. 
Only 80 calories per cup and virtually no fat. Blueberries have a diverse range of micronutrients, with moderate levels (relative to respective Dietary Reference Intakes) of the essential dietary mineral manganese, vitamin C, vitamin K and dietary fiber (table). One serving provides a relatively low glycemic load score of 4 out of 100 per day. Blueberries contain anthocyanins, other pigments and various phytochemicals, which are under preliminary research for their potential role in reducing risks of diseases such as inflammation and cancer. Similar to red grape, blueberries may contain resveratrol. Most studies have been conducted using the highbush cultivar of blueberries, while content of polyphenols and anthocyanins in lowbush (wild) blueberries exceeds values found in highbush cultivars. In preliminary research, feeding blueberries to rats reduced brain damage in experimental stroke and may cause increased production of vascular nitric oxide that influences blood pressure regulation. Additional research showed that blueberry consumption in rats altered glycosaminoglycans that are vascular cell components affecting control of blood pressure. Other animal studies found blueberry consumption lowered cholesterol and total blood lipid levels, possibly affecting symptoms of heart disease. Supplementation of diets with wild blueberry juice may affect memory and learning in older adults, while possibly reducing blood sugar and symptoms of depression. (Information from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blueberry).

30 MINS EXERCISE SESSION :

Plan is ... doing four different workouts at 5 minutes each. I kept it simple. Since there is a plan, I just focused on completing it. Here's that simple plan that made me stretched and sweat. :)

+ 5 minute jumping jacks*
+ 5 minute line hops**
+ 5 minute tipsy bridge and lift***
+ 5 minute line fast feet****

* Jump to a position with the legs spread wide and the hands touching overhead, sometimes in a clap, and then return to a position with the feet together and the arms at the sides.

**Step or hop sideways over a line or jump rope.

***Lie on back, feet hip-width apart, flexed left foot on a block like telephone book, right foot on the floor. Keeping shoulders and head neutral and abs tight, lift hips so your body forms a straight line from shoulders to knees. Lower down, then lift right foot, bringing knee in toward chest. Return foot to floor.

****Step quickly forward and backward over the same line or jump rope.

DINNER :

Thai food is known for less calorie, lean and delicious! This dish I made for Day Four dinner is called "Yam Wun Sen Kung" or Spicy & Sour Shrimp salad with cellophane noodle.


+ cooked cellophane noodle, cooked extra large (26/30 size) shrimp, shallots, cilantro, fresh Thai chili both green and red, tomato, lime juice, dried shrimp, brown sugar, celery stalk, fish sauce.


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TRICK OF THE DAY
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Friday, June 7, 2013

Day 1

I have to say I picked such perfect day to start this diet plan. It's Friday and some family members and I are out of town to enjoy this weekend camping and fishing up north. We left the city at around noon and arrived at the cabin around 1:30 (a little late but it's lunch time!).

Anyway, here we go, my DAY ONE!

BREAKFAST :

6:30AM --- TS Coffee*
7:00AM --- Egg Noodle and fish balls + 5 pieces of steamed pork & veggie dumplings
8:30AM --- Prune juice on the rock

I never had to chuck in this much food in morning time before. I am up early but usually a cup of coffee hold me up good enough to skip breakfast. I'm gonna get used to it, I guess.

* TS Coffee is a Trend Sniffer's signature homemade coffee. I'm not a fan of spending $3 - $6 cup of coffee at coffee shops. I get my own good cup in the morning and it's good for a whole day! When I get back form the trip, I will provide a link to its recipe.

LUNCH :

Since I'm on a trip. We had regular bon-fire lunch, brats and buns. I usually would take 2 brats a meal but this time I took just 1 beef brat, half a brat bread and a banana. I gave the other half of the bread to some hungry little fish by the fishing dock. :)



30 Mins EXERCISE :

Since I've been moving around a whole bunch today, I guess that should do for the exercise session. Around 6PM though I did 10 mins of stretching (Pilates) outdoor on endless greeny grassy pad.


Wells, it feels so nice to have spent time outside my apartment away from busy city, traffic and dashing from A to B people. My "day one" is so special. I will always remember it!

Thursday, June 6, 2013

How it all started

I'm an ELLE magazine reader. On Elle June 13 No.334 Karry Washington, page 183, "The Biggest Losers*" under "Elle Beauty Body." The Pil-Sook Diet** stating losing EIGHT pounds in TWO weeks caught my eyes.



Eat breakfast  like a queen, lunch like a commoner, dinner like a pauper!?! Hey, that doesn't sound bad at all. No liquid after 7PM, mandatory daily 30 mins exercise session!? I have never followed any Korean pop trend or watched any K-dramas. But after scanning this article, hey, I GOT THIS!

*If you want to read more about how 8 editors, each on a different diet plan, lost the most without losing their mind, the online article is here.




** A fad in South Korea, The Pil-Sook Plan comes from hit K-drama, Dream High.

I'm an Asian female, 34 yrs old, 5 feet 3, 149 lbs. I have been eating right all my life. Growing up in a family that eats healthy, vegetable every meal, no candies, no bakeries, lots of milk and protein from soy bean, fish and iodine from seafood. But I have never exercised on daily basis. Using BMI (Body Mass Index) calculator today, it indicates that I'm "overweight". Last visit to my family doctor, I had a little too high cholesterol in blood. I should lose 35 pounds for better health, to be honest to myself. BMI calculator is also available as an app. Check it out.



Am I gonna be able to lose 30 pounds? I think 'yes'? How soon though, I do not know. But I think doing something about it is better than letting your health goes downward day by day. Eating right and daily exercise is the only key to healthiness no matter you are currently underweight, normal weight or overweight.


Here we go, my Pil-Sook plan starting Friday, 6/7/2013. I have a day to come up with the next day meal plan, exercise plan (Pil-Sook did 30 mins jump-roping session, I'm gonna try a variety of 30 mins workouts). And I will share "everything" publicly here. Please feel free to leave comments. If you are on diet too, any plans, and have a tips or two to share, come on in!