Singapore Personal Trainer|The Fitness Truth

The Basics of Atkins Diet

Thousands of people have found themselves shedding off those extra pesky pounds by using the tools outlined in the book, The Atkins Diet.  Written by Dr. Robert C. Atkins, The Atkins diet has touched millions and has provided new hope to dieters everywhere.  The basic principle of this particular diet is to encourage weight-loss by limiting the carbohydrates consumed rather than constantly monitoring the daily fat intake. 
The Atkins diet isn’t about counting calories, instead, it is is more about saying good-bye to junky and processed foods as well as eating fewer carbohydrates.  This diet emphasizes replacing the above mentioned types of food with healthier alternatives such as foods that are high in protein. This simple statement is in actuality the main staple which drives the Atkins diet process.
Behind any rewarding diet plan there must be a scientific reason for its success.  Dr. Robert C. Atkins employed the characteristics and processes of ketosis to ensure his diet can scientifically help you lose weight.  During the ketosis process, your body will burn stored fat for the fuel it needs rather than burning the foods in your daily diet.  As your body progresses into this process, ketosis will also reduce insulin production which in turn, prevents additional fat from being stored.  In order to begin the ketosis process, the Atkins dieter will begin a four stage, outlined program. 

The four stages of the Atkins diet are induction, ongoing weight-loss, pre-maintenance, and maintenance. 

1. During the induction process, which occurs during the first two weeks of the diet, carbohydrate intake is reduced to 20 grams per day.  The carbohydrates that are allowed during this process can be found in low-carb vegetables such as spinach and celery. 
2. During the second stage known as the ongoing weight-loss stage, carbohydrate consumption increases by 5 grams which will bring your total allowable daily carbs to 25 grams.  
3. Pre-maintenance, the third stage of the diet, is when dieters are able to add more carbs to their diet to correctly adjust just how many carbs per day they can consume without gaining weight. 
4. The fourth and final step of the Atkins diet is the maintenance stage.  Maintenance refers to all of the knowledge acquired during the previous three stages to maintain a healthy weight for your body type. 

The Atkins diet encourages the dieter to find out exactly what works best for each individual.   By allowing dieters to choose which carbs are best for them while still promoting weight loss, is exactly why this particular diet is so successful.  With both scientific proof and an easy to understand plan under it’s belt, The Atkins Diet can (but not necessarily) be a great way to shed those extra pounds as well as promote healthier eating habits. Especially for those who have high blood sugar levels. 

I rested today. My throat hurts so bad and the right side of my tongue is feeling so numb. I hope I am NOT going to get fever. Oh Gosh!

Anyway some people asked me today - “Di, so what do you eat for breakfast? How can you stomach eating breakfast? I can’t seem to eat breakfast…”

My Answer

My breakfast meal is usually typical each morning.

It has to be 1/2 cup of Rolled Oats, Flaxmeal and Biotest Low Carb Metabolic Drive protein shake. Personally I feel that my breakfast is convenient, fast to prepare (less than 5 minuites?) and YUMMY! I can never get bored of it. Or maybe perhaps it’s breakfast and all of us are still in semi-zombie mode thus we do not really care what goes into our mouth as long as it is something. HAHA!

That comes to the question…”How can you stomach eating breakfast? I can’t seem to eat breakfast…”

Well, I CAN because there are so many benefits eating breakfast!

A quick note: To get the highest metabolism possible for your body, your breakfast needs to be the biggest meal for the day. (For more nutrition tips, click here.)

A lot of people tend to over analyse when it comes to nutrition, and bother about what to eat, how much to eat and when to eat. If they don’t even consume breakfast, then they are not seeing the forest for the trees.

How important is breakfast? If it means having a plate of leftover meatball spaghetti or a slice of pizza from yesterday’s dinner, go ahead!. Yes it’s that crucial as opposed to starting the day with an empty stomach.

But of course, don’t ‘plan’ to have junk for breakfast everyday just because I said so! Naughty naughty! Everything needs planning and preparation.

So with that, why don’t you share with me what have you been having for breakfast and what are the challenges faced when trying to prepare a healthy one.

And also, if you have any questions or comments just leave it at the form below.

Happy eating!

I trained Knut Estensen today and we were having converasation about self-image. With his new found weight loss and new muscles growing nicely at distributed parts of his body, my dear client has been spending time at Shopping malls!

He had bought new clothes from Dolce and Gabbana and Ed Hardy and looked easily 20 years younger than his age! He is turning 50 years old soon and hardly looks the least bit like 50 years old. Now with his new choices of trendy, fashionably unforgivable taste of clothes, Knut Estensen would defintely look ASTONISHING than he already is.

I would ask his permission to take pictures with his new style and post it on this blog. I’ll try alright! I hope he would be a motivation to all of you. See what a 50 year old can do with his life!

I can bet you with my life that Knut has found a new air of self-confidence and boosted self-esteem he never really had before. He can now perform Diamond push-ups which many half his age cannot even do!

Anyway after training Knut, I ran some errands and decided to do my usual observations. 2 days ago, I visited Fullerton Hotel and Singapore Art Cafe located at Esplanade but today I had no place in mind. I decided to put my car at home and safe petrol. I hate driving endlessly, wasting petrol and get nowhere. The Bus is a perfect cost effective tool for me. Thus I took bus number 65 and let it bring me to where ever it may go. It finally brought me to Vivocity and Harbourfront Centre!

I visited PageOne which is a replica of Borders and Kinokuniya bookstore. I wanted to go straight to the business section (My favourite reads)…

BUT I second glanced the Interior design section and saw this book! I stayed put at this section for quite some time. Interesting!

“Luxury Houses” book! Fantabulous houses by the seaside with articulate details of interior design! I was like “Oh My! Oh My! Oh My! Soooo NICE…”

Flipping throught the pages…

Something you should know about me is that I am quite different from the average female population. I am a little weird. I love shopping at the supermarket, my romantic idea of a date is walking at say District 9, 10 and 11 to look at HUGE houses. I love visualizing and love observing how the ambitious get to where they are. Whenever I take a walk to places with big landed properties, I would often asked myself “How did they do it?” “How can I achieve great things in life?” “What do I want in life?”.

Every single time I take a Walk of Visualization, it gives me an amplified boost of motivation all over again from my self-motivated self. Thus after the walk, I would be SUPER motivated!!!

More Books On Interior Designs Of Luxury Houses…

The reason I am sharing this with you is because this has helped me in losing weight. When I first started on my weight loss journey, I was TERRIBLE! I never thought I could ever lose weight. Everytime I said that I would exercise and eat right, I just never got to it and I gained more weight.

This walk of visualization has helped me find a concrete reason to be disciplined and committed to do anything that I want. The walk of visualization has given me hope to get my life straightened out and lose weight.

I kept telling myself that I wanted to lead not a luxurious life rich in materials but instead a life rich in good health. I strongly believe when you have health as your top priorities, you will naturally do well in other aspects of your life such as scoring good grades and making money.

Follow me here? Now, think about your walk of visualization and play it in your mind. Share with me on what makes you the most motivated. Find a reason, a concrete reason to reach out to your goals.

Share with me on Why Do You Want To Lose Weight…

————————————————————————————

I love passing my time at the supermarket simply because I want the best for you and my clients. I am always reading food labels and discovering better food choices for you and my clients. For example the Fat-Burning Noodles I recommended to you on my last few posts on Shirataki Noodles has helped many people I know in sustaining and maintaining on their weight loss program.

I am now researching and working on alternatives to the asian staple rice and also vegetarian recipes for Shirataki Noodles as requested by some readers. Stay tuned to that blog post.

I just love the supermarket! It is colourful! It is my interest to observe people’s grocery buying habits and find a reason to blog about it and share better ways to improve your nutrition.

With that, I walked to Harbourfront Centre and noticed that there was…

YES! A Chocolate And Candy Fair at the 1st floor of Harbourfront Centre! No!!!

More Chocolate And Candy…

I trained a client at Namly Place last few days and was checking on her nutrition and advised her to make certain food choices. She’s seeing definitions on her tummy and it is getting flatter by the day. The results has made her motivated as ever to invest and dedicate her time to exercise and make better food choices.

However she shared that she is willing to do ANYTHING but chocolate is her GREATEST enemy! So I asked her next; “How often do you eat it?” She said “Nibs and pieces throughout the day…” My face was crumbling but I maintained my cool. Then she was quick to suggest that she’ll totally take chocolate out of her diet.

I STRONGLY protested! I told her not to do that.

I said; “You can have your chocolate. However have your chocolate only after training. Alternatively, eat “clean” (A fitness term I use with my clients on nutrition. It means eating good food choices.) 5 to 6 days out of 7 days and every weekend, induldge on your favourite food. In your case, it’ll be chocolate.”

You should see the smile on her face! I hate depriving anyone. As much as I know many professionals would disagree with me but to me what matters most is that my clients and you get RESULTS and look in your greatest shape ever and still having a life.

A life that allows you to make exceptions to indulge in sinful food every now and then.

I believe my method, will help you and has helped my clients to be more motivated to exercise and eat right. I have been using this method for 3 years as a fitness professional and it has shown marvelous results for Physique Makeover clients. All Physique Makeover clients aged between 30 years old to 60 years old has stayed with me for at least 1 year and the most is 2 years now and a few has booked Physique Makeover for the next 2 years of their lives.

I believe that if my clients can be motivated to look after their health, YOU CAN TOO!

I love this profession! I love it when people are more confident of themselves and develope healthier self-esteem.

This is the epitome of a fulfilling life - Helping others the best that I Can.

First Of all, a big THANK YOU to my dearest friends, clients and faithful blog readers for all your kind words and encouragements with regards with yesterday’s post. It had certainly boost my morales and ignite more fire in me to acheive my goals. Here’s an action-taking affirmation - I CAN DO IT!

Alright, anyway I have been rolling up my sleeves these 3 days brainstorming on TWO new bootcamps for Physique Makeover clients. One of which would be the first of its kind in Singapore and (hopefully) spread the word of the importance of Power Image.

I truly believe FIRST impression lasts and therefore you must not only feel good about yourself but LOOK good too! This is especially so for professionals and corporate executives who meets clients/customers/consumers all the time and even to those who socialise or are in the dating scene. In fact I believe that with Power Image, you will increase your chances of say securing that sales deal, business venture and who knows, a great lover.
Health is indeed Wealth.

Anyway, I am still not finished with the Bootcamps so I would not talk much about it. Trust me, in a few days time you’ll hear me talking about it again.

At 2PM just now, I decided to take a short break from my laptop and exercised. I performed the time-saving 4 Minute Fat-Burning Workout. Woo! Feels good working out.

I truly recommend the 4 Minute Fat-Burning Workout to EVERYONE even if you’re at the office. What’s 4 Minutes right!!!? It does not only make you feel good but also helps you burn the fat and keep toned. This should motivate you to invest 4 minutes of your time.

As for nutrition, I had beef and eggs with tiny potatoes. The beef and eggs are good food choices. However not the potatoes as potatoes are high in starch. However I won’t sweat it because it is such a puny amount and it is not as if I eat potatoes all the time. Everything in moderation. It is still way better than chips and oily food! I’ll just have to be selective with my food next time.

Lesson for the day: Take it one step at a time and you’ll progressively get better.

I have people from Singapore where I am residing now emailing me on where to get Shirataki Noodles locally.

You can find the noodles at selected NTUC(s). I know of one at Bukit Timah Plaza. One of my clients bought them from that place and cooked tom yam soup with it!

You can also get Shirataki noodles at the Supermarket at Isetan Orchard which is Japanese in Nature.

Other alternatives are Marketplace at Tanglin mall, Paragon or Raffles link and Cold storage at Takashimaya.

If all else fails, you can get it from me. However try the supermarket first.

Good luck and feedback to me on how you cook it!

I’ve been consistent with making good food choices and exercising regularly. I’ve been very stressed up lately though. Juggling clients, moving the business forward, networking and looking after myself…I have been rather edgy.

Often a time the general public have this perception that people who are in the Health, Fitness and Wellness industry are very physically, emotionally and mentally fit individuals. True, we are more conscious of our well-beings but that does not discount us from our fair share of bad hair days, mood-swings and occasional eccentric moments.

We are humans afterall!

Irregardless of the above, I believe that we have the ability to control our moods and make better choices. For example, I am an emotional eater eversince I learnt the consequences of scoring lesser than an A. (A earful and a damaged self-esteem.)

I developed a habit where I would have the “urge” of eating highly sweet and oily foods which would obviously make me pile the pounds. I told my mind that after I eat these array of TERRIBLE foods, I will be feeling GAZILLIONS times better. NOT.

However as I grew older and began exploring the Health, Fitness, Wellness and Motivational industry, I began to realised that it was just because I let “Stress” get to me and CHOSE to snack away. I bet a lot of you have the same problem and could relate to me.

Like I’ve shared above of being stressed these few days, I could have done what I did 3 years back - SNACK WHEN I’M STRESSED. Instead today, I chose to do more positive activities like take a short 1 hour walk at the park, listen to my mp3 and SMILE when there’s a passer-by.

YES! S.M.I.L.E. I feel that when you smile, you are actually releasing positive energies and attracting back positive energies around you. You smile, make others happy and when they return your smile, you would feel on top of the world too. Law Of Attraction?After taking a short walk today, I went back to the office feeing liberated and I did not allow myself to put on the pounds!

So what was my exercise for today? Recovery Short 1-Hour Walks from the 2 days of Weights-Training. Phew!

Lesson For The Day: Take short 1-Hour walks when you’re stressed and craving for junk.

Had dinner with Han Ayden at Omar Shariff at Sixth Avenue Centre. Apart from good food, the ambience was very Majestic as evident in the pictures above. The food was lovely and healthy too. One of their certificates boasted; ” The Healthier Choice” Logo for healthy food certificated by Health Promotion Board. Those of you in Singapore, if you want to try out healthier North Indian food, I would recommend Omar Shariff. They do serve alcohol drinks too with super blends. Thus good for those who dines for business meetings and get social.

Click here to view map
6th Avenue Centre

After the hearty meal, I took a walk to Guthrie House, Sixth Avenue and patronised Cold Storage supermarket.

Observed the “healthy” food section and found that Singapore’s definition of “healthy” is so UNDER-RATED. For example, brand X proclaimed that it is “low in fat”. However when I read the food label, it shows that brand X is HIGH IN SUGAR! My client had a bad experience about deceiving claims on healthier products at the supermarket that she finally decided to listen to me as I taught her how to read food labels.

You know what happened to her? She put on few inches around her waist because milk of brand X claims that it was “low in FAT” when it was not! The worst thing she could have done was drank milk of brand X 3 to 4 times a day for the next 2 weeks. Imagine the sugar in her body!

Anyway, in my next few posts I will be guiding you on reading food labels so that you would be able to make wiser food choices.

Lesson For The Day: READ FOOD LABELS OR GROW FATTER!

12.30pm to United World College, Dover road. My first Meal of the day was 3 boiled eggs cooked in chilli and some random meat. VERY NICE. I ate them at the staircase at UWC’s sports hall.

I was quite dressy today with 3 inches killer heels. Yet, me being sporty and all tom-boyish still chose to sit on the staircase.

*Sorry bad pixelated picture. Promise I’ll get a better camera.

Went back to the office for awhile and drank my low carb banana protein shake with flaxseeds. Taste like ice-cream! The brand of the low carb protein shake is Biotest Metabolic Drive. I get my supply of flaxseeds at Phoon Huat near Holland Village or sometimes at Simei.

Click on the picture below to locate Phoon Huat’s other locations here in Singapore.

Now more about my training program. I lifted weights today in a moderate intensity fashion.

3 sets by 12 reps
A1) Squats Ass to Grass

A2) Push - Ups

B1) Sumo Deadlifts

B2) Bent Over rows

C1) Prone Jacknive

C2) Hip-thigh extension

I believe in training smart rather than training to failure all the time. On the record, perspiring is not a measure of how “hard” you train. Some clients told me that they felt they have worked out hard but they do not perspire much and wondered whether training was efficient.

Well, I replied - ” Do you see results? You can fit in your clothes better now right? You’re seeing definitions which you thought you would never see before.” They always answer a resounding YES! So there you go. Perspiring much or not is NEVER an indicator of whether you have worked out hard enough neither is feeling achy all the time.

After training, I packed up and went back home. Drank my last protein shake of the day with one serving of Omega 3 Fish oil.

Lesson for the day: Train Smart.

That’s my journal of Day 2. I promise more pictures and videos pretty soon alright!

Comments are truly appreciated.

As promised in Part 1, today I would be guiding you on the preparation of this Zero calorie noodle also known as Shirataki Noodle also known as Miracle Noodle and share two easy-to-prepare recipes.

Before I discuss this any further, watch this short 2 minute YouTube clip on the Health benefits of the Miracle Noodle.

I am sure this would certainly would help dieters around the world. Now you are able to lose weight with the joy of eating your “carbs”! Another plus point is that you do not have to cook it! This is especially convenient and a time saver for busy and lazy people out there. Go give it an honest try!

So how do you prepare the Miracle Noodle?

This Zero Calorie noodle are instantly ready. All you need to do is to drain the pack and rinse in a strainer or collander for a couple of minutes. In addition, you can be add this noodles to cooking dishes to absorb the flavor all the while retaining its consistency.

This is great and comforting news to everyone! Eating right does not have to be bland anymore. Shirataki Noodle is defintely an alternative with pasta in recipes.

So, What do you need to prepare the Miracle Noodle?

1. A strainer

2. Water to rinse.

3 A good family pasta recipe.

4. Family and friends to enjoy your new found health discovery!

Here are two cooking videos on youtube which guides you thoroughly on whipping a quick and tasty meal.

Mixed Vegatables Stir-Fry With Shirataki Noodles

Thai Chicken Stir-Fry with Shirataki Noodles

Above are just the minimal of recipes which you can add the zero calorie noodle. I have personally substituted my rice and noodles with this zero calorie noodle into my curry, chilli-based dishes, tom yam soup, sweet and sour chicken and also my all time favourite pasta lasagne.

I included this zero calorie noodle in all my 3 meals apart from my low-carb protein shake and I lost inches off my waist in less than 10 days. But of course you need to incorporate with at least 1hr of weight training exercise regime at least 3 times a week.

I strongly recommend the Shirataki Noodle.

It has changed lives and it has changed mine too. It’s YOUR turn now.

Click on the banner on the right hand corner of this page which has a picture of two chefs and start purchasing your shirataki noodles.

Otherwise, click here.

All comments are appreciated. Good luck on your weight loss!

Hi my friends,

Sorry for the 1 week hiatus. I was suffering from some sort of verbal diarrhoea and ate Macdonalds all week. *Sulks*

Bad news. I know. I swear I could see my well-defined tummy disappearing one morning and I freaked out! I bet many of you have this problem whereby due to stress, work or whatever mentally drained activity you may have, you eat and eat and EAT to your hearts content.

Eating to your hearts content is PERFECTLY fine. However whenever we eat to our hearts content due to mentally and emotionally drained reasons, we tend to eat CARBS! BAD CARBS!

Your over-portioned rice, noodles, chips, Ben N Jerry’s, fried chicken and more sinful carb-fat laden foods are the cause of your slowly-disappearing flat tummy or sooner EXTRA FLAB, FAT around your waist. Yikes!

So, being so agitated with my defination slowly disappearing, I decided to google on low carbs, low carb noodles, low carb pastas and other substitute of carbs. Since I’m living in Singapore a country in Asia, it was all the more necessary for me to find alternatives which would replace the Asian staple of rice and noodles.

I wanted my definitions back and like you, I still want to have my noodles, pastas, rice and all the carbs in the world!

Often a time, it worries me to see my clients being so reluctant to part away with carbs in their diet. I had to literally scream at them to STOP indulging. Yes eating sinful carbs like abovementioned are all INDULGENCE. They are not necessary for weight loss - fat loss.

Anyway, since I finally could understand how my clients feel, I went on a strike!

I googled, brainstormed, made some calls and THEN…

I discovered a MIRACLE!!!

THE ANSWER TO YOUR LOW-CARB HEADACHES.

THE ANSWER TO YOUR LOW-CARB TORTURE.

YOU CAN FINALLY EAT ALL THE CARBS YOU WANT AND…

STILL LOSE WEIGHT.

PRESENTING TO YOU THE…

SHIRATAKI NOODLES!!!

Alright. I will cut my drama queen persona. But really, those of you who are on a diet will understand my excitement. Those of you who are seeing flabs-fats forming around your waist would also pardon my drama queen-ness.

Nutrition Information

Protein: 0 grams

Fat: 0 grams

Carbs: 3 grams (of which all 3 grams are soluble fiber)

In essence you are actually taking ZERO calories as soluble fiber gets passed out of your body anyway!

So how do you get Shirataki Noodles?

Well, I’ll tell you in the next blog post alongwith some lustful recipes. In the mean time, be prepared to do some grocery shopping, cook some new recipes and LOSE WEIGHT!

Till the next time.