The NEW Me...2 months after leading a healthy lifestyle...

Yes...This is my second month (well, almost into my third month) of leading a healthy lifestyle. My routine hasn't changed. Improvements for this month:
1. I'm still doing my daily 30 minutes of cardio workout (without fail), plus the thirty minutes a week of weight training.
2. My dietary intake has now become automatic. I only eat rice once a day with a healthy serving of lean protein and greens.
3. I still have my snacks in between meals which would normally consist of fruits and a handful of nuts (like almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, etc). It really does help keep sugar at a normal level and prevents me from feeling hungry all the time.
4. I'm still drinking up to 2 litres of water every day (sometimes more if the workout was extra intense).
5. My weight is now reduced to 52 kgs (a reduction of 2 more kgs).
6. Had a fever and a bout of the sniffles and coughs but they have alleviated only after a week. It normally takes me 2 weeks and sometimes more to recover from this.
7. I even tried working out when I was fasting and the result was spectacular! Yes I do feel extra tired compared to normal days but now I know that fasting is not a good excuse for not exercising. Just reduce the intensity of the workout but keep it at a normal training time. For example, if on normal days I would run, on fasting days I would reduce it to a brisk walk but still maintain it at 30 minutes per session. And do it an hour before breaking fast.

And here, I would like to thank Doctor Oz and Doctor Roizen for creating such a good eye-opener on the importance of healthy eating and healthy living.

Before I started on this personal quest of healthy living, I read Doctor Oz's book, You On a Diet and it really opened my eyes on how the body actually treat the food that we consume everyday and how much food our body really need. Never have I felt a high level of love and respect towards my body before! It really is an excellent source of information and also a good book to get a laugh or two. The words in the book are as wacky as Bart Simpson on a high of Corntoz!

For those on a mission to slim down or just want to have a change of lifestyle from being unhealthy to being fit, I would suggest that you read this book before you start on your journey. Yeah, yeah....I know this book was published quite some time ago, but there's a revised edition with lots of new information in it.

Go ahead. You'll get a good read from it...

Rendang oh rendang...

My journey to weight loss was brought to a temporary halt last Tuesday.

I was fasting that Tuesday and after my daily 30-minutes jog at the gym, I decided to indulge myself in rendang pucuk ubi that I bought from kak Dib that morning. You know, as a treat for berbuka since I have been working hard working out at the gym that afternoon.

So, I cooked some rice for my kids and I. Set aside my portion and fried the rest for Anis and Muaz. It was a smart idea setting aside my portion first because when it was time to break fast, my oh my! Did I indulge! The rendang tasted so good with the piping hot rice that I was tempted to have more. If I didn't set my portions straight, God knows how many servings of rice I would have let myself eat.

Anyway, compliments to the chef, Kak Dib for creating a masterpiece. To those who are interested to order rendang minang of any sort, do leave a comment...

DEALING WITH NERVOUSNESS

We've all heard that the fear of death is second only to the fear of public speaking.
- Also known as stage fright, anxiety, “butterflies in your stomach”
- It is normal to feel nervous before doing something important in public.
- 76% of experienced speakers have stage fright before taking the floor.

“The difference between the professionals and the novices is that the professionals have trained the butterflies to fly in a straight line”

- Edwin Newman


WHY DO YOU FEEL NERVOUS?

 Your body is responding as it would to any stressful situation – by producing adrenaline.

Your body responds to stressful events (e.g., speeches, interviews, first dates, arguments with your spouse) in the same way it responds to physical danger. Your body springs into action preparing you for fight or for flight.




SYMPTOMS OF NERVOUSNESS

- heartbeat increases
- hands shaking
- sweaty palms
- sweating
- shaky voice
- dry throat
- dizziness
- muscle tension
- flushed skin
- constipated


There are three ways to deal with nervousness:

- Expect it
- Accept it
- Manage it


MANAGE NERVOUSNESS

1. Acquire speaking experience
2. Prepare, prepare, prepare
3. Remember that you will not die of public speaking. No one ever has!
4. Use the power of visualization
5. Realize that 90% of nervousness doesn't even show
6. Don’t expect perfection
7. Concentrate on communicating with your audience.
8. Be at your best physically and mentally
9. Use visual aids
10. Take a couple of slow, deep breaths before you start to speak.

THE SPEECH COMMUNICATION PROCESS

In order to give a better speech, you need to understand what goes on during the process of communication.

There are seven elements that we need to consider –

1. Sender (Speaker)
2. Message
3. Channel
4. Receiver (Listener)
5. Feedback
6. Interference
7. Environment (Situation)


SENDER

The sender is the speaker. A sender starts with what message he or she wishes to express and then must encode that idea into symbols (words) and signs (facial expressions, tone of voice, etc). Your success as a public speaker depends on:
• Knowledge of the subject
• Your personal credibility
• Your preparation
• Your manner of speaking
• Your sensitivity to the audience and environment
• ENTHUSIASM


MESSAGE

The message is whatever a sender (speaker) communicates to someone else (receiver).
• Your goal - to have your intended message be the message that is actually communicated.
• This depends on what you say (verbally) and how you say it (body language)
• Body language involves tone of voice, appearance, gestures, facial expression and eye contact.
• Make sure your body language does not distract from your verbal message.
• All messages are carried by a channel.


CHANNEL

• The channel is the means by which a message is communicated.

• For example the telephone, face-to-face, radio, television, email, etc.

• Public speakers may use one or more of several channels, each of which will affect the message received by the audience.

Consider the following situation:
A speech is given to the members of the Parliament by the Prime Minister of Malaysia. The speech is carried to the nation by the channels of radio and television.
Explain how the speech is affected through the channels of the radio, television, face-to-face (direct channel).


RECEIVER

• The receiver is the listener. The receiver receives the communicated message through the channel.

• Everything a speaker says is filtered through a listener’s frame of reference.


- A frame of reference is the total of a person’s knowledge, experience, goals, values and attitudes. No two people can have exactly the same of reference, so the meaning of a message will be never be the same to a listener as to a speaker.

• A speaker must be audience-centered.


FEEDBACK

• Feedback is the signs the receivers projects while the sender is sending a message.

• Feedback allows the sender to know how his or her message is being received.

• Feedback is affected by one’s frame of reference.

Can you give examples of some kinds of verbal and nonverbal feedback that people in the audience usually give to a speaker?




INTERFERENCE

• Anything that impedes the communication of a message.

• It can be external or internal.

• External interference – traffic from outside the building, the clatter of the air-conditioner, students talking in the corridors, etc.

• Internal interference – a bite from a mosquito, worrying about a test coming up in the next period, a stomachache, etc.

• As a speaker, you must try to hold on to your listener’s attention despite these interferences.



ENVIRONMENT

• The environment is the time, place and emotional context the communication takes place in.

• Environments can place expectation and constraints on communication.

• Public speakers must be alert to the situation and occasion. Certain ceremonies need special speeches.

• Physical setting is also important – indoor, outdoor, in a small classroom, in a gymnasium, etc.

The New ME...A month after my change of lifestyle...

I have never felt better in my whole entire life!!! What finally made me turn over a new life, you might wonder? What was the wake up call that I got?

Well, I went to my scheduled doctor's appointment at Hospital Tuanku Mizan in Setiawangsa. My turn came for the usual BP test and weight measurement. I had the shock of my life when I tipped the scale at 58kgs! Never have I ever weighed so heavy! (being pregnant doesn't count though) Driving back home, I started having this mixed feelings about this new weight of mine. How could I let myself lose it? Have I been eating too much? Don't I lead an active lifestyle? Time for a lifestyle check...

I started reflecting about how I lived my life so far. I realized that my daily breakfast of Nasi Lemak with Chicken Curry wasn't doing my waist any good. Drinking Coke every once in a while (up to 3 cans a week actually), was only piling up my daily calorie intake. Plus, I don't really exercise the minimum 3 times a week. Actually, it was more like watching OTHER people exercise on The Biggest Loser on my couch in my living room. I started having asthma attacks without knowing why. And sluggishness was a daily feeling that I have...

So, now, to my husband's suprise, I stopped eating rice and bread and almost every form of carbohydrates and ate more fruits and vegetables. I drank almost 2 litres of water a day (plain drinking water that is), drank 2 servings of apple cider vinegar tonic (which does wonders in increasing my energy level), and religiously go to the gym and do zumba every other day for 1 hour. And boy, the effects of these new changes?

1. My skin now glows naturally and my skin tone evens out nicely.
2. My asthma attacks are now gone and I breathe perfectly.
3. I've lost 4 kgs from 58kgs, and I'm now down to 54kgs.
4. I'm starting to have great muscle definition on my arms and legs.
5. I can now fit into my jeans comfortably without any tight feelings (which I used to have and have been denying all this while)
6. My nose is not runny anymore - no more allergic rhinitis!
7. I've been receiving compliments from people around me and people are starting to pay attention to me more now!
8. My husband just loves the way I look now more than he ever did.

54kgs is great, but my real goal is to cut down to 50kgs. Don't wanna lose too much weight though. I wanna be slim but not skinny. Still needs my feminine curves to make me feel more womanly hehehe...I'll update you on my progress in my future posts. So, doesn't it make you wonder, if you do the same things that I do, you would enjoy the same effects like I do now?

Go ahead and test yourself. You'll love the results!

Ingrown toenails...what a nightmare!!!

Had a case of ingrown toenails a week ago. My big toenail and the toenail on the toe beside it on my right foot surgically removed under local anaesthetics at a local clinic. How did this painful episode of my life happen?

It all started a few months ago. Had a netball tournament with the girls at my college. Being the enthusiastic person that I am (am I???), I reluctantly agreed to fill in the void of lecturers' participation. So, I submitted my name and went to the field as promised. And being the enthusiastic me, I was the first lecturer there. And so the tournament started and as predicted, the lecturers' team was defeated. What made it even more painful was that my big toenail on my right foot was trampled over (and I mean TRAMPLED over) 3 times by the girls. And even though it was painful, being the strong me (I wish!), I ignored the pain, not realizing that that same big toenail was slowing dying, together with the toenail next to it.

And so, the story goes, the toenails were no longer sticking to the flesh but it was no longer painful. So, the toenails were eventually forgotten by my ever so busy days. Then, I started changing the way I live, opting to stick to a low-calorie diet and an active, gym-oriented lifestyle. I went to the newly opened gym (near TESCO Semenyih) and religiously devoted my life to the treadmills there. And I realized another thing; either my gym shoes have shrunken, or my feet has grown one size bigger! The Malay elders have this saying that, with every baby that a woman delivers, her feet grows half a size bigger. Come to think of it, it makes sense to me because I grew from a size 5 to a size 6 after having 2 babies! Amazing huh?

Well, with every run that I had, my big toenail seems to hurt even more. But still I ignored it. Until 1 day, after indulging in a McD's Big Breakfast with my hubby and kids (and yes, I do feel guilty after having it), I just couldn't take it any more. So we went to the local clinic, and the doctor said that I had ingrown toenails and it was getting heavily infected. The solution? Pull it out! Yes people...I was put on strong antibiotics and a strong painkiller for almost a week now. The swelling had reduced and the pain slowly subsiding. Thank God!

What lesson(s) have I learnt from this? Let me list them out for you:

1. Be brave to admit that your feet have grown.
2. Do not think twice about changing your shoes if your feet have grown.
3. Do not ignore what ever your body is telling you. If there's pain, there's a reason why it is painful. Find the cause.
4. Don't blame your active lifestyle for what's happening to your toenails.
5. And lastly, go and see the doctor. Don't wait until it gets infected.

I wouldn't mind at all posting a photo or two of my toes without the toenails, but I'd better not. You might lose your appetite til the rest of the week...wouldn't you agree?