Sensitive skin – Taking Care

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Most of us may deal with some or the other skin problems. It could be sensitive skin, itchy skin or scaly skin. We know that we have a sensitive skin when we get a tingling sensation on the skin after a facial or deep cleansing. Severe cases of sensitive skin leave the skin with red blotches and flushes.

Sometimes, our sensitive skin problems are caused due to our own follies. In our desire to look younger, we often go for chemical peels, microdermabrasion and retinoid. What actually happens during these treatments is that the outermost protective barrier of skin is removed. And sometimes after these treatments, we have to deal with the sensitive skin underneath.

Those with easily irritated and sensitive skin should be very cautious about what they use on their skin. There are many moisturizing products and other products for the skin, such as alcohol, retinoids and hydroxy acids that can lead to allergic reactions. Retin-A, also can cause excessive peeling and extremely red skin. If your skin is too sensitive to the product, you should avoid using creams and lotions containing Retin-A. If you want to find out if you are allergic to any product, you can rub the product on your forearm and if there is no itching or redness, then that means your skin is not sensitive to the product. But if your skin turns red, or blistering or any itching, than avoid using that product.

To take care of your sensitive skin, you should use sensitive skin moisturizers that will keep your skin well hydrated and moisturized. Dry skin and sensitive skin go hand in hand. The more the skin dries, the more sensitive it gets due to lack of moisture and the skin becomes more porous. This means that pollutants and irritants can enter your skin. Our skin gets drier throughout the years. Hence, we need to take good care of our dry skin and keep it well moisturized if we want to keep away any sensitive skin problems.

In case you have sensitive skin, avoid excessive exposure to water and hot water bath. Always pat yourself dry. Use a good quality sensitive skin moisturizer right after your shower. Don’t touch your skin too often. Use oils like extra virgin olive oil and grapeseed oil with castor for your skin. Just take all the precautions and you will be able to deal with all your sensitive skin problems with ease.

Need to Diet and Exercise

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I’m in a rut. I’ve been slacking again with my diet and exercise regimen. I try to blame it with a lot of things but mainly on my current workload in the office. Sure I am doing twice or more than my share since a colleague resigned. It’s been a month now and even if we hire someone at this very instant s/he still need to render another month’s notice. I’m dead tired by the end of my shift. I’m blabbing about my work but I also know that whenever I try to exercise I get more energy not the other way around.

Okay, so I am always full of excuses. I feel heavy without dieting and exercise. I want to start again with a detox cleansing diet. My previous one was effective some months back but when I tried it again it didn’t work on me. Maybe I need to look for a new one, or maybe I am doing something wrong this time. It’s really frustrating to check the balance everyday and not see any improvements and to top it all someone asked if I am pregnant! I may really look round and pregnant so I need go on a detox diet as soon as possible. Do you have any suggestions? 

Fit Foods: Mixed Dried Fruits and Nuts

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Perfect for snacks or you just want to nibble something.

I bought a pack of Mixed dried fruits and nuts. For the dried fruits it's just raisins and for the nuts it's a mix of almonds, cashews and pistachios.

Surprisingly I enjoyed snacking on those and a healthier option than junk foods.

Fitness First: GX Burjuman July-Aug 2012 Schedule

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Fitness First: GX DCC July-Aug 2012 Schedule

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To Shave or Not to Shave...

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Being a ‘modern’ woman takes time, money and a lot of effort.  From having the right hair style to the hottest clothes, it takes a lot of work to stay on top.  One of the most time consuming and tedious areas of womanhood is removing unwanted hair. The market has hundreds of different products available which promise to be pain free and good for your skin but which type of hair removal is best?  Before embarking on hair removal, do skin tests for any new products and make sure your skin is in good condition. Using a good body lotion will help soften the skin and keep it looking healthy.

The most common type of hair removal is shaving.  This can be done manually with razors or with electric shavers; usually lasting between 1-3 days and fairly inexpensive.  But watch out for razor burn, bumps, nicks, cuts and ingrown hairs as these are some of the side effects of shaving.

Plucking is using tweezers to pull out hairs by the root.  It usually lasts 3-6 weeks but can be very time consuming so is normally used in small areas like eye brows.  Make sure you sterilise your tweezers or other plucking devices before and after use to reduce the chance of infection.

If you want to go to a professional to help then try waxing.  A sticky wax is spread on the area of skin where the unwanted hair is growing.  A cloth/paper strip is applied over the wax and quickly pulled off, taking the hair root with it. The wax can be warmed or may be applied cold.  It is possible to wax at home if you’re feeling confident enough and can last between 3-6 weeks.

If you’re feeling really adventurous, then you can try threading.  Trained staff use a thin, twisted cotton thread which is rolled over the unwanted hair, plucking the hair at the root level.  Unlike plucking, where single hairs are pulled out one at a time, threading can remove entire rows of hair, resulting in a straighter line. Because a large area of hair is removed at once, it could be painful, but if it is being done by a professional it can be quick and painless.

Whichever technique you go for, be careful.  Never leave wax pots plugged in or razors where children can reach.  If you’re still unsure which to go for then have a chat with a qualified beautician who will be happy to help you make an informed choice. 

Green Apple Breakfast Porridge

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I am never a morning person, I'm like a zombie especially before coffee. I also am not fond of eating breakfast, I usually just have coffee and more coffee. 

We all know or we ought to know that breakfast is important to kick start the day and boost your metabolism.

Found this video and the porridge recipe is so easy! I thought porridge is all about rice, I guess I'm so wrong.

Ingredients:
Apple
Almonds (raw soaked overnight)
Ginger (finely diced)
Figs or Dates
Lemon Juice
Flax Seeds (ground)

Happy eating!

Fitness First: GX DCC June 2012 Schedule

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Fitness First: GX Burjuman June 2012 Schedule

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100 Pounds Lighter, A Few More to Go

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Not me! Read Davesnay’s success story here.

I hope it was me though, I love to read success stories. Especially now that I am not getting any results from last month. Although I still try to hit the gym 3x a week, my dieting plan is down the drain.

Lesson’s from Davesnay

• Log EVERYTHING you eat.
• Stay focused.
• Exercise is addictive once you start doing it routinely.
• Surround yourself with people who will support you.
• Be creative in your food planning.

If she can do it, I can too! And I just need to lose 10kg or 22 pounds compared to her 130 pounds!

Group Exercise: RPM

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One of my fave GX or group exercise is RPM, it is an indoor cycling work-out. Not just your typical cycling, which I usually got bored within less than 5 minutes. Here the instructor guides (or make) you cycle in different difficulties and intensities accompanied by the rhythm of a powerful music (thus the name RPM but could also indicate rate per minute). Usually takes 45 minutes (except for the Extreme classes which are 1 hour) and about 8 tracks (music), you can burn as much as 600 calories!

After my first time, the legs and butt were real sore. But as I progress, I notice my endurance building up and see small changes here and there (it should be big changes if only I could stick to my diet ). 

BENEFITS OF RPM:

*Increase your cardiovascular fitness
*Burn fat
*Tone and shape your legs, hips, and butt
*Increase leg strength and muscular endurance without building bulk
*Burn up to 600 calories

Hump Day $50 Giveaway 05/30

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Join, join, join!

Thanks to the 26 wonderful bloggers listed below, it's time for Hump Day Giveaway where you'll get a chance to win $50! This week's task is for Facebook Page likes which is super easy to do. Feel free to visit all the wonderful blogs below once you're done entering the giveaway. You can log on to Rafflecopter via your Facebook account, or your name and email (just make sure you're Facebook is opened so you can easily like the pages).

Once you've liked ALL the pages (page to be opened through the Rafflecopter form), leave your Facebook Profile Name (not a Business/Blog Page) on the space provided for Extra Info after doing the task so we can verify your entry. It would be best if you enable us to see the pages that you liked in your info tab so we can announce the winner ASAP.

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Workout Playlists

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I'm having LSS (last song syndrome) on Domino of Jessie J associating it with a bicep exercise. Quite weird right?

source

And it doesn't end there, the lists also includes Eye of the Tiger for upper arms, Born this way for shoulder presses and more!

I am enjoying my work outs because of the choice of songs and of couse the variety of exercises. I must commend my GX (group exercise) instructors, this is quite a feat because I easily get bored and give up on my exercise resolution.

These are some great workout songs that should be on your playlist

Domino - Jessie J
Moves like Jagger - Maroon 5 & Christina Aguilera
Born This Way - Lady Gaga
Firework - Katy Perry
Sexy and I know it - LMFAO
Rolling in the Deep - Adele
Give me everything (tonight) - Pitbull

Fitness First: GX Burjuman May 2012 Schedule

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Fitness First: GX DCC May 2012 Schedule

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Fit Foods: Chia Seeds

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Just read about this new wonder food, Chia Seeds and like me you’ll want to incorporate this to your foods immediately.  There are lots of nutritional benefits of chia seeds, among which are high protein content, contains large amounts of omega 3 fatty acids, vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants, regulates blood sugar and lose weight.  

This sounds too good to be true but it is. Since chia seeds are high in protein, whole grain and organic it will make you feel full for a longer amount of time thus resulting to weight loss. I need this badly as I gained weight from my recently concluded vacation. I hate that I gained back half of what I already lost. Blame it to my mom’s great cooking skills.

Anyway I can always start anew with my dieting and exercising program. And I’ll start incorporating whole grains such as chia seeds on my diet. Then start exercising again, I need to attend more classes for the next couple of weeks. I love the cycling class which is called RPM and the Body Pump class wherein we do cardiovascular and weights at the same time. I just hope my body gets accustomed to exercising again after a month of bumming.  

Rice Coffee aka Kapeng Bigas

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I love coffee, cannot imagine a day without having one. When I arrived back home, my mom asked me if I want kapeng bigas or instant coffee. I said i'll try kapeng bigas and it tastes almost the same as black coffee with less bitter taste. You can drink it with no or little sugar, I haven't tried with milk or creamer yet.

How to make kapeng bigas:

1. Roast (until black) grains of rice. It is better to roast 1 kilo of rice so as to save time, energy (heat) and effort.

2. Put 1 cup of roasted rice in a kettle and add enough water. The ratio would depend how concentrated you want your coffee so it is safer to add 5 cups of water and adjust later.

3. Let it boil for some time, 5-10 mins.

4. Enjoy your rice coffee!

I have yet to search for the health benefits but I'm sure it has lots.

Best served with daing, itlog at kamatis (dried fish, eggs and tomato)!

Fit Food: Chocolates

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Yeah, you’ve read it right! Horray for my sweet tooth!

But there’s a limit of course, one ounce or 18 grams per day and if possible dark chocolates.

Recently I’ve been into dark chocolates, mostly for health reasons and lower calories. Before I tend to eat an entire bar or two of chocolate in one sitting, now with the darker and bitter version I can only eat one or two small square. It already satisfied my sweet cravings, and when I eat milk or other type of chocolate I find it too sweet already. I eat the 60% cocoa but it is recommended to eat the 85%, the darker the better. Well maybe later I’ll try that one and see if I can handle it.

Chocolate's benefits are rooted in antioxidant polyphenols which can improve blood pressure, and also help lower cholesterol levels and blood sugar.

Other studies have even linked chocolate to a lower risk of death by heart attack.

Endurance Training

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I'm pretty proud of myself lately and particularly today. I've been keeping my 3 to 4x a week gym workout for about 2 months now, yey! And people are starting to notice changes in me. I don't want to divulge my weight loss numbers, it's not that big but more than the numbers I am actually enjoying my gym time.

Before I used to reason out my lack of time or being tired from work for not exercising but those are just plain excuses. Now even if I do an hour or two GX sessions, I still have energy to do my daily routine. Of course on the first weeks, my muscles were all sore (even until now) because if it doesn't it means your workout is not effective and you're just wasting your time. 

Endurance wasn't build in a day.  

Today, I finished 2 sets of RPM class. RPM is a high intensity cycling class, the instructor led us to a 45-minute workout of varying speed, difficulty, etc. When I first done a RPM, the 45-minute was like a hell and after the class I can barely walk. That means my endurance is slowly picking up.

I'm glad I started with this gym thing and hope I can keep this enthusiasm until the end. 

Fitness First: GX DCC Mar 2012 Schedule

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Fitness First: GX Burjuman Mar 2012 Schedule

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Fit Food: Kiwi Fruit

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Kiwi fruit is one of the most nutritional food out there. It is rich in Vitamin C, twice of oranges in fact. You only need to eat one kiwi a day to meet the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of 90 mg for adult male or 75 mg for adult female per day. Also good source of Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Folic Acid, Potassium, Antioxidants and more!

 Nutrition Facts from my blog's Calorie Counter (on the sidebar)

Healthy Living

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How to live healthy? That is the question. It doesn’t need a drastic change but a little change here and there can be good enough.

Stop Smoking. I don’t smoke but even if I don’t I still inhale second hand smoke which is more toxic. I have friends who smoke and I respect their choices but I always remind them to stop or at least lessen the quantity of sticks they consumed per day. There are other options like chewing gum, electronic cigarette, candy and others. They say if you really want there are a lot of ways, there are a lot of available data like ecig tips on the internet.

Stop Alcohol Intake. It can take years off your lifespan I tell you, so with smoking. If you must drink, do it moderately.

Monitor your health. Until recently I dreaded going for check-ups, but I met a great doctor and we were just like friends chatting during our sessions. Now I drink my medicines regularly because he made me convince it’s best for me (and he is willing to compromise those meds and foods I hate).

Eat Right. Don’t over indulge, just eat enough. Incorporate more fruits and veggies in your daily diet. Avoid too much salt, sweet, spicy, fatty, etc as they say everything excess is bad.

Regular Exercise. Get your butt off that couch.

I am still new with these healthy living and I made blunders more often than I can count. But as long as we are aware of what is good and what is bad, I think we are on the right path.

Calorie Counter

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I installed a Calorie Counter on my sidebar just in case someone (or I) need to know the amount of calories in a particular food or foods. I don't really list my daily calorie intake, but it is really recommended for dieters. I tried to do so but forgot after several days. 

Still a Calorie Counter is helpful from time to time. Also make a habit of checking food labels on supermarkets and decide to buy the one with the lowest calories. In the long run a cut of a few calories here and there would pile up and make a big difference in the future. 

But be careful in reading labels, the tricky part is the per serving size and the actual size of the product. Usually they will list down the calories per 100 grams, but if you ate a bag of chips of 500 grams that means you need to multiply the calories by 5!

Fit Foods

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Fit Foods

be healthier…

be fit…

I am starting an internal meme here at Fit N Fab, but you are most welcome to join anytime. This will be Fit Foods where I’ll feature foods that are healthy and nutritious.

So if we develop this healthy eating habit, eventually it will result a more fit and sexier you (and me!).

---

I am no guru on healthy eating as a matter of fact I fail on my dieting more than I can count of. I usually go for the fad diets and stop after a few days, that’s why I ended up gaining weight instead of losing those stubborn pounds. I suck big time.

And now I am trying again with “healthy eating” mindset and not just dieting. Coupled with exercise I might be able to reach my goals this time.

I blog these so I’ll be motivated and ashamed if I fall into temptation (which I always do). So I try to eat as much healthy foods while I can (weekdays) and still binge from time to time (like weekends).

FF: Celebrate Life with a Dance

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Got an email invite for a Fitness First dance spectacular featuring Body Jam, Hip Hop, Retro Grove and Zumba. 

This will be a great event for sure and members can bring their family and friends. So this Friday Feb 24, 2012 head to Diera City Center and let's dance!

It's been a month?!...

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It's been a month?

It's been a month!

It's been a month...

I have 3 emotions for my month-long gym experience.

First, a disbelief because I have actually kept my schedule of 3 to 4x a week work out sessions. I easily get bored and downright lazy so for me to religously do it is something new.

Second, a celebratory mood, yey I've done something to be proud of. I've lost a few pounds and felt my clothes loosen a bit (or is it just my imagination?)

Third, a doubt, am I doing the right thing? is it worth it (my time, energy and membership dues)?

Now, I still intend to continue my newly found pastime (no choice since I signed up for a year) and wait for more visible results. 

Hump Day $50 Giveaway 02/15

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Thanks to the 27 wonderful bloggers listed below, it's time for Hump Day $50 Giveaway once again. This week's task is for Facebook Page likes which is super easy to do. Feel free to visit all the wonderful blogs below once you're done entering the giveaway. You can log on to Rafflecopter via your Facebook account, or your name and email (just make sure you're Facebook is opened so you can easily like the pages).

Once you've liked the page (Like button turns gray), leave your Facebook Profile Name (not a Business/Blog Page) on the space provided for Extra Info after doing the task so we can verify your entry. It would be best if you enable us to see the pages that you liked in your info tab so we can announce the winner ASAP.

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Fitness First: GX DCC Feb 2012 Schedule

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Fitness First: GX Burjuman Feb 2012 Schedule

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Yoga Classes at FF

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I never knew there are a lot of different styles of Yoga. I always wanted to try Yoga so when I saw that there are Yoga classes at FF, I have to try those. From the list of GX offered in FF (Burjuman Center) I saw Hatha, Power and Flow Yoga classes.

From my research, there are actually more styles of Yoga than those three. Then each style has different methods. Source About.com Yoga

Traditional Styles
These styles of yoga all originated in India. Though now popular worldwide, each of these styles follows a method developed by an Indian guru.

Ashtanga
Integral
Iyengar
Kripalu
Kundalini
Sivananda
Viniyoga

Contemporary Styles
These yoga styles all originated in the United States, although they are all based on traditional methods.

Anusara
Forrest
Hot Yoga/Bikram
Jivamukti
Moksha Yoga
Power Yoga
Restorative Yoga
Yin Yoga
Yoga Nidra

Vinyasa/Flow
These styles all use a flowing style of practice, in which you move from one pose to another in sequence while focusing on the breath.

Vinyasa/Flow
Anusara
Ashtanga
Forrest
Jivamukti
Power Yoga

Alignment Oriented
These styles devote special attention to the precise way the body should be positioned in each yoga pose in order to obtain the maximum benefit from the pose and avoid injury.

Anusara
Iyengar
Viniyoga

Power Yoga
Fast-paced, sweaty yoga styles. These will get your heart pumping and are the most effective yoga styles for weight loss.

Power Yoga
Ashtanga

Prenatal and Family Yoga
Learn how to safely practice yoga during pregnancy and how to introduce yoga to your family.

Introduction to Prenatal Yoga
Postpartum Yoga
Mom and Baby Yoga
Kids Yoga
Yoga Advice for Men
Yoga for Seniors
Yoga for the Whole Family

Adaptive Styles
These styles adapt yoga to fit the needs of specialized populations.

Viniyoga
Chair Yoga
Yoga for Seniors
Plus-Size Yoga
Christian Yoga
Laughter Yoga
Nude Yoga

Yoga Off The Mat
The newest trends in yoga take you off the mat for aerial and aquatic adventures.

AcroYoga
Stand-Up Paddle Yoga
AntiGravity Yoga

I guess I don't need to know all of these, for now I'll concentrate on Hatha, Power and Flow Yoga which I have access to.

Almost Injured

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They say that too much of anything is bad and so is too little.

I had a sedentary lifestyle 2 weeks before, most of the time in the office I am in front of the PC then at home I’m still in front of PC or TV or both. My only exercise back then was going to malls.

I guess I got carried away and wanted to achieve significant results in little time. I was almost injured or maybe a little injured already from last Saturday’s gym sessions. I had my 1 hr free Personal Trainer session from 8-9am (mostly cardio workout), had a 15 minute ball group exercise (stretching) and another hour of Body Combat (similar to Taebo) from 9:30-10:30am. I was not feeling anything bad during those time, except after sauna and shower. I felt pain on my right foot sole (talampakan). Still I walked for another hour or so on the mall (FF is inside Diera City Center).

The pain increased during my mall tour and the way home. I remembered that you have to roll it on a bottle, and I did. Until evening I had difficulty in walking so I decided to take medicine (Alaxan for body pains) and not to come to work the next day (yey! valid reason). The next day it was bearable but I opted not to do any vigorous movements. I already signed up for 2 hours dance sessions (Zumba and Body Jam) with a non-FF friend (like an open house) but had to cancel.

Lesson learned: Do not rush up things, I want to lose weight badly but if it will kill me then it’s no use.

On the brighter side, I blamed my almost injury to my old rubber shoes so now I’ve decided to buy a new one. I’m thinking of Sketchers Shape-Up series, particularly this one

GX, PT, TP at FF

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New acronyms on my fit n fab vocabulary

GX - Group eXercise
PT - Personal Trainer
TP - Triple Pack
FF - Fitness First

As mentioned on my last post, I'm regularly hitting the gym now (trying my hardest at 3x a week). Upon paying the membership dues I was given a free Triple Pack.

Pack 1: Assessment and Goals

The PT assigned for my TP called for an appointment. I met with him and discussed what are my goals (why i joined FF) or target areas (what I want to eliminate). I was asked to stand in a machine which measures my weight, height, BMI, body water, muscle mass, fat mass, etc. From the data gathered, we sit and discussed the results, set up a realistic goal for 2 months. I was asked to return for my second session in a few days.

Pack 2: Personalized Program

Mr. PT gave me a run down on the exercises I need to do to achieve my goals set up on Pack 1. I have to do this at least thrice a week or in combination with GX.

Pack 3: 1 hour PT session

I have yet to do this. For Pack 3, I have an option whether to have an hour PT session or GX sampler. I choose the first one because I can always attend GX anytime I want. After this, PT sessions will no longer be free, how much? that I still have to ask.

New Year, New Me

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This is my second time in the gym this week, this month, this year. 

Yup, I'm starting the year right with healthy living. I'll try to go to the gym thrice a week, less pig outs, less junk foods, less soft drinks, more fruits, more veggies, more lean meat, less rice, less sweets. The list goes on. But I haven't eaten junk foods and drank soft drinks for almost 2 weeks. That's a feat, I tell you. Every time I go to the grocery, my fave junk food Cheetos Extra Spicy kept making eye contact with me. I almost gave in to the temptation but I remember my first gym class and how my muscles ache just to shed some calories. 

My journey to being fit starts here. And I hope it doesn't just end here (with this blog post).