What’s for breakfast?

I'm sure we all know...that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But how many of us really ensure we take a good breakfast each day? Lack of time, wake up late etc...are all reasons for skipping breakfast or delaying breakfast. This can lead to subsequent health problems, small or big. Hence, as a start to good health, it is important to make that small change...to have breakfast everyday. This applies to children too. It is a good practice to teach our little ones.

Another important point, is to have our breakfast, within the first 30 min of waking up. Our previous meal (I'm assuming we don't take any supper the night before) before breakfast, would have been hours ago. That empty stomach must be all super-ready to process new foods in the morning, to give us our energy for the day. Our bodies would start to burn off muscles if there is no food for it to burn into fuel. Burn muscles...why would we want that, right? We would rather burn fat than muscles. Afterall, it is quite difficult to build that muscle in the first place. :)

So, breakfast is important. And to have it as soon as we wake up.

Some have asked me, how do I add the 1-portion of vegetable into my breakfast?

Carbs is easy - carbs are every where! bread, chee cheong fun, bao, bee hoon etc...

Protein is less easy - and I'm talking about good, rich sources of protein like fish and chicken.

Vegetables - for breakfast? how?

Fruits is easy.

I’ve been meaning to list this down, but never got to doing it. Hehs. So finally, here it is...

This is what I typically have for breakfast  – during and post-TRA. Up till today. I prepare my own (and the kids') breakfast, so sometimes, I prep the food the night before.

Note: It is “typically”. Meaning, I occasionally do take foods like fried bee hoon (add veggie) from Golden Shoe Market, porridge for breakfast too.

Most mornings: (at about 7.30am)

·         Oatmeal + cranberries / raisins + 7 to 8 almonds + some sunflower seeds + 1 large tomato

·         Tuna sandwich (home made) – canned tuna flakes in water (not in oil) with 2 slices of wholemeal bread (no butter) + 1 large tomato

Some mornings: (usually this would be at around 8:30am when I don’t eat at 7.30am, but I would always have half a slice to 1 slice of wholemeal bread.)

·         Subway sandwich or wrap – Roasted Chicken Breast + with veggies + some Honey Mustard sauce.

·         Yong Tau Foo, with no noodles. Just the ingredients – mostly vegetables, tou fu. Sometimes, a sausage.

·         Kaya toast with 2 half-boiled eggs and a teh-o siu dai (tea with less sugar, no milk) – the Yakun or Coffee & Toast types

·         Sweet corn kernels (the pre-packed and frozen types, just microwave 1 scoop) + hard boiled egg (yes, I eat the yolk as well) + 1 large tomato (eat it just like that)

·         Ham sandwich (ham with 2 slices of bread, no butter) + 1 large tomato

·         Scrambled eggs with mushroom + sausage + 1 large tomato

When I have morning meetings at venues that provide scrumptious breakfasts, I usually pick the healthy breakfast set. My favourite is the set that has: egg white omelette (the size is equivalent to 2 large eggs), roasted tomato, salad, granola in yoghurt, fruits + fruit juice. A hearty breakfast. I try to replicate this over weekends.

At about 10:30am or 11am, I would eat my fruits. I would either bring cut apples or guava from home, or if I don’t have the time in the mornings, I would just buy guava from the fruit stall downstairs. It is usually apple or guava (with the powder…hehs).

Lunch would follow, at about 12.30pm. J

Is TRA for busy people?

Along the way, as I shared with others about TRA, the question that pops up often is: “I have a busy lifestyle, what with kids, housework and office work. Will I be able to keep to it?”

Admittedly, when I started TRA, it did seem like a tough challenge. I have lunch meetings (work-related), meetings with friends, dinner with the kids (who sometimes, don’t finish up their food and the "mommy-dustbin" will move into action. We don’t want to waste food right?). There’s this “saying”, that if you have spent that amount of money, you would want to make it work. Well, not me. I’m the sort who, will only spend that money, if I know it will work.

I was sure it would work (the extent of which, I wasn’t sure, but, it will work) as there have been many successful stories (varying degrees of success, but, success nonetheless). And, it was probably the easiest programme to implement (based on what I have read and heard from others). The only thing I had to do was, tweak my habits (cook less so I don't have to be "mummy-dustbin" so often). The benefits of TRA actually flows down to the kids too. As I plan healthier meals of the right proportions, the kids also end up eating right.

So, my answer to that would be: Yes, it is for busy people too. :) 

After a family vacation

I joined my family for a vacation in Australia for 1 week. It is now winter over there, so the weather can get a bit cold. The only health supplement I brought along with me (as in, for myself) is 1-week’s supply of LifePak. I thought, with fresh air, no stress and lots of fresh vege and fruits…my body should be able to absorb LifePak nutrients at the optimal rate… J

With the cool (or cold) weather there, I found myself drinking hot chocolate at least twice a day, EVERYDAY. Oops! Ate lots of chocolates there too…and cheese…Since we stayed in a farm and in an apartment, we bought our own groceries and cooked our own meals. Sure, I made sure we had vegetables and fruits in our meals (though I did not strictly eat the fruits 1 hour before meals)…but there was also a lot of meat, especially beef, in our daily meals. In fact, most times, lunch was ham and cheese wraps (easier to eat on the go when driving around). Dinner was either risotto or ravioli or macaroni with steak, broccoli, carrots and whatever greens we felt like buying. In between, if hungry, it would be slices (or cubes) of cheese. Breakfast was steak, lamb or more wraps. Hahaha.

Doesn’t sound quite healthy, does it?

So, after coming back from the vacation, I wanted to see how my weight has been. Did I put on more fats (especially with such a diet)? I went down to NuSkin to weigh myself (my office is not too far off).

Good news! Not only did my weight stay the same (no change!), my percentage of body fats actually went down! (I’m thinking, it must be all that walking around, exploring the places…hahaha). Skeletal muscle percentage increased (see, must be the walking). But what I find to be the best news is…my visceral fats actually reduced (albeit by 0.5 – but hey, it’s not easy to lower visceral fats in the first place). As a result, my body is now 2 years younger than my actual age. Yay! (I should calculate, the absolute weight of fats lost...hmmm)

And…I fall ill less frequently now.

TRA works…no rebound, and I’m still losing weight (probably because I still have excess fats to lose) even though I’ve completed the course of TRA. This is unlike other weight loss or health management programmes, where one must continually do the programme or efforts would be down the drain. TRA just needs 3 months (provided done properly), and body is in auto mode towards better health, naturally.

8 months since I started TRA

A few days back, I was at the Nuskin office with a friend, as she had wanted to get some stuff. Since I was there, I decided to take my own measurements. Having just gone through a busy earnings season (the very busy period), and not really watching what I ate (I was feeling a bit stressed, so I ate lots of comfort / junk food - Garrett popcorn, chocolates...and not to mention, results briefing lunches), I was wondering what my weight would be. Did I put on weight? Or rather, did I put on more fat...I did not go to the gym for about a month already. Would I have lost muscle mass? Hmmm....

Well, one thing was, I continued to eat lots of veggies whenever possible.

I usually try to take the measurements at the same time, each time (before I eat my lunch, around 12.30pm). This are my readings:

top left: weight; top right: body fat %; middle left: body age; middle right: muscle mass %; bottom: visceral fats level

All in, I have lost some muscle mass and put on more fat (in terms of absolute weight). But the good news is, my body age is now younger than my actual age! That is an improvement. In other words, the internal is younger (hence, healthier?)

My ideal weight is 50kg (for my height). I'm actually quite happy with the current weight. I don't want to be too light either. For me, what I like about TRA is, it also helps to shape up...not just to lose weight and regain good health. And if done properly (keeping to the TRA lifestyle properly), one is not likely to lose more weight than one should.

7 months since I started TRA - A better lifestyle

Just sharing my experience to (hopefully) inspire others

I had to pick up my monthly supply of LifePak.

So, since I was at the NuSkin office, I decided to weigh myself.

Now, I do not strictly follow 3-3-3-3 everyday. I'm a mother of two young kids, who demand my time, each time I'm around them. Plus, mothers, as most of us would know, are pretty much like the "rubbish bin" when it comes to meal times. We tend to eat up what's leftover in our children's plates. Since that is the case at my home, I cook less rice since I started on TRA. Such that, if I need to eat their leftovers, I would not end up "over-eating" on my carbs.

Most of the times that I get to eat 1 portion of carbo, protien, vege and fruits, is during lunch time.

Hence, during lunch, I would cut back on the carb, eat more protein and load up on the vege. Fruits is only guava, at 4pm (even the fruit seller recognises me now. Hahaha. She sees me walking up, she will take a pack of pre-cut guava and prepare for me, before I even reach her counter).

More of how I manage my meals in another post. :)

Anyway, I measured myself and found that I lost a further 0.4kg. Wooooo..... I always measure myself at around the same time - before I go for lunch. NuSkin's office is not too far from mine, so I would head there first before buying lunch.

My weight is now: 53kg. (yay!) Fats % could be better...it is 27.4% (but hey, when I started TRA, it was 29.1%. It even went up to 30% at one time when I didn't watch what I ate). 7 months to reduce the percentage by 2%, I'm happy with that.

A better lifestyle. Indeed. I still do catch a cold once in a while, but now, I recover much faster (it used to take me a whole week to recover).

Some months after TRA

Once more...this is a delayed post (a post that I have created, but took a while to publish). hahaha...

I have not been updating this blog in a while….since I officially completed the 3-month TRA programme.

Apologies.

A quick update of how things have been, post-TRA.

Since I completed TRA in early December 2012, I have had a wedding dinner (that of an immediate family member), Christmas parties, New Year parties and Chinese New Year.

Thanks to TRA, I received a number of compliments, that I looked much better, from relatives at the wedding dinner. *Phew!* Efforts paid off! No more “Are you expecting #3??”

Then came Christmas and New Year. Ok, I indulged. What with all that parties, ham, cheese, potato, sweets…. But I still kept to the 3333 lifestyle, with a bit of exercise – lots of walking (well, maybe not 100%, but I would think I kept to 70% – 80% of the 3333 lifestyle). Thankfully, I did not put on weight. Still managed to maintain. Yay!

The worst was Chinese New Year (CNY). Oh my…pineapple tarts, chocolates (Roche, to be exact), cookies, bak kwa, a few Lo Hei CNY luncheons (due to work)….oh my goodness. During the two weeks of CNY, I actually put on……….2 kg! 2 Kg in 14 days! It was like, back to square one. The difference is, I did not much of a tummy, despite the increase in weight. I think it could be due to the once-a-week exercise at the gym.

After CNY, I wanted to lose that 2kg. So I went back to the 3333 lifestyle…and this time, I made sure I followed 80% – 90% of the rule.

Guaranteed No Rebound

Sure, it took a bit of effort. But, with a bit more focus, I lost that 2kg. I think TRA had helped, in the sense that it had helped to build up my muscle mass to a certain level during those three months (I was still below the ideal 28% muscle mass for me), such that it was easier to pick up from where I left off and kick start it once more, without having to go back to the three month programme and supplements.

I guess that is what they mean by "Guaranteed No Rebound".

My weight did go back up, due to my own lack of focus/laziness/indulgence, but, with a bit more focus, I was able to lose off what I had gained. My weight was back to 53.7kg. And it stayed that way for a while. The only thing I did consistently, was the exercise. I did some push ups at home, when I did the housework, I deployed more muscles, used more of the core muscles etc. Also walked a bit more (alighted one stop ahead and walked back home, took the stairs instead of the escalators at the MRT station)...…

In fact, today (09 April 2013), I weighed myself again. I have lost a further 1kg (so says the scale). My weight today is 52.6kg. Hmmm….I am more motivated to stick to 3333. It is a lifestyle choice. The only supplement I am currently taking is Lifepak.

Time to schedule that health screening to check on the other aspects.

Any recommendations for health screening?

The TRA Products

A friend asked me to show her what are the products in the TRA package. I had forgotten to take a picture of my own stash....so this is what I got from their website.

It consists of:

• 6 cans of Trimshake
• 3 bottles of TRA Complex (270 capsules each)
• 6 bottles of Doulean (90 capsules each)
• 6 bottles of Diene-O-Lean (90 soft gels each)
• 3 boxes of Lifepak (60 individually wrapped packs per box)
• 3 tubes of ageLOC Dermatic Effects (to moisturise and firm up any lose skin as a result of losing weight)
• 3 TRA Food Diaries (to keep track of the food we eat daily - this helps to identify the "problem areas". My problem was not eating sufficient amounts of veggies.)
• 1 Pill Box
• 1 TRA Measuring Tape
• 1 TRA Blender Cup (to mix the Trimshake)
• 4 BioPhotonic Scan Certificate (to measure the skin carotenoid score before starting, and at the end of each month)

All of the above is meant to last for 3 months. Thereafter, one is supposed to have understood the benefits of eating right, and learnt how to eat right...so there is no need for any supplements anymore. Of course, there are also those who still consume Trimshake (not daily), just for maintenance or when they are really busy to have a proper balanced meal.

That said, my opinion is Trimshake is not to be taken alone. There is still the need to take the very important VEGETABLES and FRUITS with each meal (Trimshake or not). No matter how busy we are, we should still have sufficient vegetables and fruits with every meal.