Feeling the urge to dine out yet you still want to be able to eat healthy? This is part 1 of what some athletes and fit people have in common when they still want to be able to enjoy food while dining out.Contrary to what you may believe, you don't always have to sacrifice flavor for nutritions. If you are not following them on Instagram do click on their user name and throw in a heart or two on their page.

"I would usually go for their chicken breast fillet wrap with lemon &herb dressing, it enhances the taste of the chicken, making it softer and juicier.It is also below 600 calories.”

 “ When I feel like eating semi clean when I have no food packed, I’ll get the butterfly chicken breast. It comes in a generous portion and hey I  get to track my macros too!” 

Mr Prata at Tampines st 44 also serve my favorite chicken fajita wrap which is also at the top of my list.

”Double up chicken for me and i would pick a different sides to suit different dieting phase. They serve fries/corn/steam vegetable etc"

"Anything from The Daily Cut and restaurant that serves Salmon sashimi."

"Beast sized meal, which is simply 2 portions turkey and 1 portion steak on brown rice, Taste fantastic even without any condiments.'

"This food joint offer variety of base/deli/vegetables that you could choose from and customize your own salad, i would eat anything with smoke salmon in it!"

Singapore is a city of food, with just $2 I’m sure you could get a decent meal, don’t expect healthy because healthy food cost a lot over here. When I stumble upon something moderately healthy I would have it almost every other day if I am to lazy to pack home cook food. I would pay for my protein (meat, fish, etc) and the bulk of my expenditure is basically food, but hey I am making sure in the long run I do not have to invest in healthcare due to years of unhealthy food and clog arteries.

Here are some of my current favorite eateries to visit! 

Believe it because I relied on  goggled when I first did a research on where to buy a pomeranian, and I probably got scammed for the price I paid but 2 years down the road I think Simba is worth more than just that.

 After doing a handful of research about Pomeranians, basically they are small and fragile,very yappy,attentive and full of life but could be difficult to train and handle. I would say that is all true but like every pet or child, it takes time and effort to nature them in whatever behaviour you deem as appropriate.

 
So I recalled on the 22nd of september 2012 I fixed an appointment with the breeder, who’s a local breeder, he claimed to have breed at home, I was too fascinated to owning a dog I didn’t care if he was telling the truth or not and that was the first time I laid my eyes on this big eye furball who could barely walk and stumbling all over! so I told him that I would get back to him, man it was a lot of money and I had to think about it! But being compulsive I bought him the same evening on that day since I couldn’t find a dog to adopt, if i stayed in a bigger house and the situation i was in allowed me to own a bigger dog i would have but Simba was love at first sight at that moment.


The joy of having a dog is wonderful but only if you have the time and would put in the effort in looking after them. I m not a great pet owner but I always make sure Simba is happy and healthy, get his walks, treats and lots of cuddles and neck rubs, to me a happy dog is a healthy dog, I never really disciplined Simba, which I regret because when I reprimand him he thinks I’m playing and every morning before we leave for work he would try to run out from the house with us, I can only imagine his excitement but at times I feel bad closing the door on him because he doesn’t understands. Since young, Simba got the chance to be exposed to many different people therefore he doesn’t bark at all, he just would rub his head for you to pet him, his quirk happens to be quite cute yet annoying at times but he throw me sets of beady eyes that  I cant say no on most occasions. I admit that i treat Simba like a dog i don't carry him like baby every single time or spoil him with human food, because in the long run, it is not healthy for the dog and imagine having dinner and your dog grabs your food because he thinks that what he eats, you may disagree with me but to me a dog is a dog and should be treated well as a dog and not spoiling it with fancy clothes or toys all the time rather spending more time with him doing activities together.


Before you would want to purchase a dog or make home for a new pet, do visit this website and see if you could offer this beloved animals a shelter, Simba and I make a point to donate every 3 months to ensure this shelter could afford to feed the dogs. 


Animal adoption organisations in Singapore

 (taken from www.expatliving.sg)

Save Our Street Dogs (SOSD)
Run entirely by responsible and dedicated volunteers (they were recently granted full charity status), all of SOSD's dogs and puppies go through a full rehabilitation programme before being put up for fostering or adoption to the public. Check their Facebook page for updates on their next adoption drive.

SPCA - Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals 
With the development of HDB flats and apartment sizes shrinking, dogs and other animals have been continuously abandoned, which the SPCA have been working to combat. Today, they take in stray dogs, cats and rabbits into their care, and all of them are available for adoption and fostering.

Action For Dogs Singapore
This 14 year old organisation's sole mission is to improve the life of stray dogs in Singapore and find as many as possible a loving home. All dogs within their care receive equal love and attention, as well as medical and health care.

Cause for Animals Singapore (CAS) 
Founded by five experienced and dedicated shelter volunteers, this animal welfare charity’s committed to saving the lives of Singapore’s homeless cats and dogs through its successful rescue and adoption program. Additionally, CAS aims to create a sustainable model of effective stray management and animal health through its vaccination and sterilisation programs.

HRSS
This non-profit organisation is dedicated exclusively to re-homing abandoned bunnies of all shapes, breeds and sizes. They also run a successful fostering program and regular education events.

Lost Paws
An online network and portal for multiple animal welfare groups and organisations, Lost Paws is a one-stop adoption and missing pets portal. These guys have adoption advertisements and lost-and-found pet notices gathered from across the networks in Singapore.

Three Legs Good
This non-profit's mission is to give injured and disabled dogs a second chance at life. They also work towards raising awareness about the joys of adopting a mongrel, who can be very intelligent and perfect companions.

Voices For Animals Singapore
Though they don't belong to any registered organisation, Voices For Animals are actively involved in animal rescuing stray and retired breeding mill dogs.

Hope Dog Rescue
A group of animal lovers who strongly feel that all animals should be treated with love and respect, Hope Dog Rescue help animals who have been abused, neglected and abandoned.

 

Men and women have different concepts on fitness, most women would prefer jogging, attending yoga or doing the latest dance craze exercise which you would find most men do the exact opposite of lifting weights, competing in sport and getting dirty flipping tires and carrying logs. Men basically would prefer doing the more ‘macho’ activities even if yoga would benefit them more at times and women are reserved and wouldn’t want to make a fool of themselves at the weight area, i know because i use to hide in the exercise room and do abs for 1hour after which i would jog around the track rather than lift weights, then again,there was no social media to show me what women would look like when they started engaging in resistance training.

In just a couple of years back, many women have taken the pluck to start lifting weight and engaging in fitness side by side with their fellow men and this had lead to many other women to be more open minded to weight lifting, we now chug protein shake and ensure that we are working our muscles close to exhaustion, and we know that Monday is chest day, therefore we do legs without having to wait for the squat rack hurhur and we even know how to flex!

So I asked a bunch of men what are some of the pros and cons of dating someone who lift and this is what they have to say .

This two power couple, recently have competed in Singapore National Body Building competition, they supported one another throughout the entire event Aijud feels that he don’t have to worry about running out of supplements, Amanda will make sure he goes to the gym! She also understands that he need time on his own to train and they workout together so they could spend time. Sharing knowledge as both have common interest and that makes everything simpler, Amanda do not require a fancy date even a post gym workout meal means the world to her. She is also supportive Aijud goals .
 Cons: Making effort to go on a real date requires some time and planning because usually after working out, Aijud is already drained and being a gentlemen Aijud would drive Amanda to her doorstep and sometimes this would be tiring for the fact she live quite a distance,  but hey he still pull himself together and get it done! 

Warren and Stephanie never fail to amaze me when I watch how Stephanie help spot Warren when he’s lifting and how he’s always engaging her in lifting weights together they are also getting married soon! Congratulation to both of you.

Warren mentioned that they both get to enjoy each other's company, doing what the love most. They eat clean, so there isn't a lot of unwanted temptation on the bright side the look good together! They push and encourage each other to work harder every single time. Warren is glad that both of them are able inspire their friends, in leading a healthier lifestyle. Training together also means that they have to compromise their routine in the gym, he said that” Sometimes, we both have to compromise to each other's wants. Like how I want a thicker chest, so I hit dumbbell presses alot. While she wants to get stronger on the bench. So we have alternate weeks where we hit dumbbells for most body parts and barbells the following week. So at the same time, we get to alternate our workouts and constantly shock our muscles and mind with different regimes.”

 
As for cons, Warren and Stephanie are able to work around them and make them into a plus point. Ultimately he said" lifting with your best friend, the one you love, your fiancée and future wife, has reaped a ton of benefits for their relationship." Instead of leaving her for the gym, she's now able to join him and they both feel more included in each other's lives.
Warren would like to share to all the couples out there, he highly recommend working out with your parts ,because you will both get stronger physically, mentally, sexually & wisely (as you start to read up more on bodybuilding, powerlifting, weighifting, crossfit, whatever it is you guys decide to do together.)

Adrian and Devina, two of my longest friends and strongest! yes that chick snatch her body weight and deadlift a baby elephant  and she bend like a pretzels during her yoga regime. Well everyone knows Adrian Tan, Singapore Top bodybuilder and recently garnering a Pro card for MuscleMania, this two have so much heart and determination when it comes to training even thought they live in a different county as of now they make effort to meet one another half way and guess where is their first pit stop? the gym! 

For Adrian gym time is also dating time and that if he requires an extra half an hour to finish his cardio session, Devina have no complains in fact she would accompany him until he is done! When traveling together they both know the first requirement of a hotel is a gym or a training facility nearby and having the same type of healthy lifestyle they look forward for their cheat meals. They are so driven for performance than if they do not perform well during a certain lift they will try lifting each other mood, believe It or not Adrian has no con on dating a girl who lift in fact they are getting married next year. Now make some strong babies already you two!

Cheryl and Kelvin competes in various fitness event in Singapore, The Lion Dash,running marathons, strength and conditioning classes,you name it, they probably have done it all together, I’m a big fan of Cheryl and she would go all out getting her stories for her website and this girl knows more about sport cars than any dude I know.


Kelvin is happy to share the fact that He is able to workout or partake in sporting activities together with Cheryl, knowing that she is confident and genuine although she doesn't dolls herself up and yet still look beautiful in her sporty clothes.

 The cons  are the fact that Kelvin have to deal with the attention she gets from other male counterparts and also it's hard to go on a movie date as Cheryl’s workout and gym sessions come first, but he totally understands.( I can so relate to this, I use to date someone who do not workout and I cancelled our dates just to ensure I get my workout done, I believe that women should look after themselves before anyone else) 

Johnson and Donna are both two hot to handle. Johnson use to train Donna and guess like all other couple they found more things in common, they recently got engaged. Donna figure is to die for and believe it or not John use to be a professional basketball player in his early days when I knew him.

Johnson pros are simple yet it keeps him happy knowing the fact that Donna would make him protein shakes and order his supplements on a regular basis and also running his own gym, Donna is very supportive of him and never question the fact that he spends 7 days a week in the gym. Donna is such a sweet heart than John have nothing negative to say, well with a body like Donna, any man is lucky!

Ray and Jia, this two look so much alike and they are always seen training, training, training, stuffing pau in their mouth, making hilarious videos of each other or flaunting their 6 packs .They both have 6 packs, I barely know them but watching their videos, there isn’t a dull moment with the both of them. Recently both have competed in different competition, they are each others pillar of support.

Ray is glad that he found someone who shares the same passion and they take turn to train and cook together, Jia is also a pastry chef, I cant imagine the amount of healthy goodies she makes for Ray! They love to compete and enjoy each others company while living such lifestyle.

Georgina and Joshua are so young yet they are inspiration to many, they are never lacking in ideas when it comes to training together and boy they are strong, Georgina would ace the national service with her standards of pull ups! 

Joshua is pleased that she can lift together with him and Georgina is independent since lifting help boost her confidence. She's also health conscious which  is good because they share the same passion. Joshua said that she looks really good in anything even workout attire!

Some of the cons that he face is the fact she looks good and do not like the average girl on the street, she gets loads attentions which he find annoying at time, but hey she’s all mine!

I'm sure many of you can relate to some of the positive points that was shared, and if you partner ask you to teach her a thing or two in the gym, give her all the support you got, women main goal is always for weight loss, but there are abundance of  benefits to exercising than just fitting in a little black dress, it can improve your sex life, decrease your cancer risk, give you better skin, prevent muscle loss and reduce stress, i am sure google would have a better list! 
good night!

Like you, I eat aimlessly  when I’m on vacations, ice cream of every flavor, pastries ,second serving of everything and desserts that  I can barely pronounce its names but I know if I never eat it now, I’m never going to get the chance when I  am back, and if like something I would basically eat it everyday for the entire trip, I remember Japan, I ate red bean cake every 2 hours, in Paris I had a tart in all sort of flavor in every bistro I stepped into, Geneva’s chocolates, don’t even get me started. Thailand, it was street food, I felt bad for the vendor so I bought what they sold, in Las Vegas all I wanted was tacos , and the list goes on.  

There is no secret in weight gain like how there is no secret in weight loss, firstly my main advise is not to be to extreme and cut out everything and go into a strict-diet mode, there is no need to be ashamed if you still enjoy a piece of chocolate or 2 during your tea break or if you decide to share an ice cream with your other half. I know a lot of women out there, they come back from their holidays and the first thing they do is go on a juice cleanse, trust me its not a very smart move, from a scientific point of view on how your body would react. There are better time to do a cleanse, but not right after a holiday. Imagine if you have not train for a marathon and decide to do a marathon tomorrow, how would your body react? 

those bars was the size of a bread loaf!

So here are 5 tips on how to get you on track!

Drink Water.
Being on a plane, a different time zone and another country, we forget to hydrate ourselves. Water also helps us to sustain our hunger since our body can't differentiate between thirst and hunger, aim for 8 oz of glasses per day, if you have not read the benefit of water, if you don't like water, click here for tips to make it taste better.

Bring Lunch to work.
Obviously if you bring food to work, you would know what you're eating, for a matter of fact you would save money and nothing is healthier than home cook food, unless of course your bringing chili crab to work, replacing 1 meal with home cook food could help you cut down calories.

Track your Activity.
Did you know our phone are so smart this days! Not only does it allow you to make phone calls and video call your mates half way across the globe, it allows you to tract your steps! since all of you own a phone, I am sure, even my niece who's 7 carries an iPhone. Download specific apps to help with your progress  and no you don't need any fancy gadget, your phone does it all!
here are some Apps that are pretty fancy!
Runtastic Pedometer Step Counter & Walking Tracker for apple users or click here for Android users.
There are so many out there, feel free to Google. 

Add some Resistance Training.
If gym is not your thing, use your body! add squats, push up, jumps, lunges, dips for 10-20 minutes before engaging in your usual cardio session.  The more muscle you have, the better your body is capable of burning fats and increase its capacity of calories expenditure throughout the day, that is why I lift weights.

Do not skip meals.
Especially breakfast, skipping meals throw your blood sugar level all over the place. At the end of the day you would eat a bigger lunch or dinner, trust me on this, happens to me all the time when i skip breakfast, man i eat dinner for 3, I could relate to this meme.

Lastly, always be positive and  give credit to small improvement! lets get it straight you are going to have to work just as hard when you took to lose that 5 pound but hey you know what, at least you have a goal, you know what you want and with the right set of mind, you would be able to overcome anything , your weight is just a minute detail of your life, so if today went bad after lunch, make sure dinner is better, i believe in you.

first girl on the left, Wany.the chin up! Notice that her palms are facing towards her during the pull. the underhand grip uses the biceps more. The latissimus dorsi muscle (lats) that forms a V shape of your back, especially the lower part gets more engagement in this variation,do not be fooled this movement may be the easier from all the other variation but focusing on pulling with the back rather that rounder the shoulder forward requires some practice.

The Wide grip pull ups or the regular pull up engages  the entire lats, if you want a bigger lats this my friend is the exercise that you should be doing, the wider the grip the more engagement of of the lats as compared to a closer grip. For women do not fear a bigger lats, it does make your waistline look smaller.

The  parallel pull up uses more biceps and arm because the arm are so close to each other, you are isolating the muscle, this neutral grip may seem easier for someone who have done a ton of bicep curl, i kid you not, it takes a while to be able to engage the back, therefore starting with the arm is easier. 

sorry to burst your bubble , still do not have the capacity to perform this, therefore stole this photo from a crossfit website, the muscle up or the bar muscle up are by far the most difficult of them all, not only that you got to have your upper body over the bar, you need to straighten your arms at the end of the position , i can't explain how to do this since I've yet to mastering this, i don't believe in telling you in what i do not know, but go to Crossfit Singapore Website and email coach Kevin on how he can help you or join a Box(Crossfit Gym)

 
You can get fancy and perform the towel pull up, single hand pull up, clapping pull up,weighted pull up,yes they all exist, but firstly get your pull ups before adding all this variations, unless you have walked before crawling, being one of the most functional exercise, the pull ups don't get much credit, if you have missed on my recent post on how to get a pull up click here for your progression drills.

Its been awhile and i do wish i could blog more, do drop me comment on what you fancy on reading, ill try my best to post stuff up as soon as i can which is after work-house work and walking Simba my fur ball till there keep pulling up and share with me your progress on Instagram, just tag me and i am more than happy to check on your form!

In every gym I've been to, a swiss ball is always presence. Of course u could do more than just sitting down on it. While performing any exercise on a swiss ball, its best to keep your mid section tight therefore you do not feel any pressure on your lower back. 
This two exercise is a little tough but challenging nonetheless, try it at the end of your workout, 3 sets of 10 slow and controlled repetition.bam

Creating a habit of regular exercise doesn’t require special gadgets or even equipments. Walking instead of taking the bus and climbing the stairs could be good enough for most folks. But if you’re bored and want to be on your toe with your results or enjoy using technology to enhance ordinary tasks, there is so many electronic exercise gadgets and digital devices available for everyone!

As someone who likes to keep active every day and workout regularly, I have been searching for a fitness band for some time as I have always wanted to monitor and track all my fitness and lifestyle related metrics such as distance walked, distance ran, number of hours slept, and calorie consumption, i do it not to lose weight but just to know my body better.

So my search began and I found out that there are many fitness bands available out in the market today such as the Garmin Vivofit, Basis, Nike+ Fuelband SE, Withings Pulse, Jawbone UP24 and Misfit Shine, among others. They all have different features and each one of them is styled differently. The one that recently caught my eye though is the Fitbit Flex. 

Although there are many other Fitbit style of fitness bands, the Fitbit Flex in my opinion is the best one of the lot as it offers a long list of features making it the most complete product of its kind and the best fitness tracker you can buy. It is also one of the best and most competitively priced trackers available, offering many more features than its competitors, and is priced much cheaper than similar products such as the Nike + FuelBand and Jawbone UP. Alot of my clients are seen with the Fitbit Flex.

Some of its features include the ability to track the number of steps you have taken, your sleep quality, the amount of calories you have consumed, and a silent wake alarm that gently vibrates to wake you at your desired time. The Fitbit Flex also automatically syncs all the data collected wirelessly to either your PC, Mac, iOS device, and select Andorid phones, providing the user with real-time access to all the stats on the Fitbit dashboard at any time of the day. 

As I scoured the net in search of the best price for the Fitbit Flex, I noticed that today was the launch of the LAZADA 100 SALE on http://www.lazada.sg/lazada100/. It turns out that Lazada Singapore are celebrating 100 days since the launch of their website in Singapore and they are having a sale featuring their TOP 100 Best Selling Items at prices of up to 90% off!

Imagine my delight when I found that they are offering the Fitbit Flex at the unbeatable price of only $109.00! Not only that, 3 lucky shoppers who take part in this sale will stand to $100 shopping vouchers!

The sale starts on the 28 August 2014 and will end on 10 September 2014. So don’t forget to check it out where they have many other products besides the Fitbit Flex ranging from mobiles, tablets, cameras, and consumer electronics to toys, fashion, health and beauty products.

Check out the sale here! à http://www.lazada.sg/lazada100/

And grab the Fitbit Flex here http://www.lazada.sg/fitbit-flex-fitness-tracker-lime-98897.html

Don’t forget to like the Lazada SG Facebook for more promotions! https://www.facebook.com/LazadaSingapore

In order for you to get your chin over the bar, i always prefer chest over the bar because i am able to engage my back even more,  there are of course some prerequisites for you to have just for safety sake before moving on to some progression.  I'm not saying don't take risk I'm saying that getting injured is a pain so here are 3 most important ones.

No injuries:
If you do have shoulder pain, back pain or any joint problem especially the elbow its best for you to address the pain! Never my friend let pain decrease your performance as a human being.

Healthy weight and slightly lean:
If you have excess fat, I suggest you focus on a different goals first because trust me pull up is already hard for moderately strong people, having excess weight means you have to work extra harder, its science. I’m not bursting your bubble, you can attempt to get a pull up but its not going to get easy without a certain degree of leanness also extra weight means extra pressure on your joints.

Willing to work for it:
Your not going to get it in one day, therefore keep going until you do if its your goal. 


So here are some progression.

its not a reverse pull up, you should do lat pulldown for a while to develop a basic level of strength in your lats and biceps that will help you with pull-ups down, if your overweight, its best to begin with this for safety , also it teaches you to engage the posterior muscle.

So want to try something more challenging? grab a box and jump up on a pull up bar and slowly lowering yourself down, best to count down to 5 second, do as many as you can until you cannot control your movement because its very demanding,you do want to look after your joints . This was the bulk of pull up practice i did everyday because i couldn't afford bands and there's not many fancy gadgets then!

Today I bump with my very first gym instructor in my gym that I came across when I was 16, back in the days when I got curious about exercises and what others was doing, I kept all my question to my gym instructor, though most of his answers was very straightforward that I thought I already know, I guess I just wanted to hear a magic exercise or a magic repetition to get a certain result.

 I always wanted to do pull ups! I would see all the massive dragonboaters performing them in the gym and I wanted to do just 1! Basically I just wanted to be the first girl in the gym to do a pull up, I’m competitive like that.

Its all hard work that is also why you don’t see many people using the pull up bar but just isolating their upper body to appear more cut or whatever they call it and many of this ripped guys, not all but many cant string 10 proper pull up.

One of the best back exercise along side with heavy deadlifts and row the pull ups are said to be the foundation of a solid back program and hey your bicep would get some work too while pulling yourself up!

According to fat loss expert, let me just quote him :

“Josh Hillis notes that a woman who can do three pull-ups and three dips almost always has her bodyfat issues locked down. Strength in this movement seems to have an odd correlation with a woman being “rockstar fit”, as Josh says.”

 
So will you lose fat while doing pull ups? Most definitely, they are so physically demanding that it requires the effort of the entire body, your core and even your butt is engage when pulling yourself up!

Will you get strongers? If you can bench a decent amount of weight but you cant crank 1 pull up, then you need to readjust your programing unless of course if you are a power lifter. Balancing the amount of pulling and pushing exercise is essential to prevent any injury of the shoulder.

The best thing I love about pull ups, it take so little time to hit so many major muscle of the upper body plus a girl who could do pull up in the gym is always a badass and guys it’s a requirement in the army need I say more.

 

So stay up for part 2 and tips on getting your very first pull up!


photo credit :DS SAY / LEE (FITBODYASIA)