7th Oct 2013

It's been a busy month, with all the birthdays celebrations and stuff. One more birthday to go, this Thursday, then I'm gonna start on my gluten free/dairy diet. Or rather gluten/dairy avoidance diet.

I had been monitoring how my stomach feels when I eat certain food. Like pasta(>90% wheat), my stomach tends to churn... I had been eating alot of bread recently, which is full of wheat, and my breakout went crazy(I've always been breaking out, but never like this...) stuff like soya sauce, also tend to make my stomach unsettled. I don't get the runs from eating all these food with wheat, just my stomach feels indigestion / churning / unsettled.

Milk on the other hand, gives me really bad stomach churns, and definitely the runs. Definitely lactose intolerant... But not all milk. The milk I had in Japan on my last trip was fine.... And tasted good too. The condense milk in the milk tea I drink, doesnt affect me as well... I really duno why...

Read about gluten and wheat, its really bad for ur digestion. Since Im not really a fan of bread, and pasta is not my staple food, I can definitely avoid them since they do not agree with me. Fried food is normally full of wheat/gluten too. But I rarely eat them, so its fine. Soya sauce, on the other hand is quite commonly used in the food i normally eat, and hard to avoid. But I guess the impact should be minimal.

In Singapore, this diet is not that hard to keep to.. Since I'm not strictly gluten free... The only problem I will face, is when I travel.... Definitely face more problem than a vegetarian... Ha...

Got myself addicted to reading again.. Haha... Started on the first book of the series in September, I think. Finally finished reading the 7th book in the StarDoc series. Another 3 more to go, can't wait to get my hands on them!

The love Duncan has for Cherijo in StarDoc, reminds me of the love Jack has for Rose in Titanic. They both do everything in their power, to save the love of their life. In every way a person can be saved. I wonder if I will ever meet someone like them.

29th September 2013 Sunday

Today marks the 10th yr in my current job. And another yr older since yesterday... Also, mid way through my yearly break in Sept/Oct...

The goal is to spend a day, relaxing. Its been many yrs since Im in Orchard on a Sunday. Firstly, because 90% of the time, im working on a Sunday... And the rest, Im simply overseas or slacking at home :P

I realised, I still dislike weekends in general... Crowded train, slow intervals. Crowded everywhere Else. I don't feel peaceful or relaxed outside.. at all. Given a choice, I would rather work weekends, n have more weekdays off.

Pretty sure, not many Ppl would say this, but.. I really wished for Sunday to end, and Monday to come! :D 

4th August 2013

Its been an eventful month for me. Somehow. Been actively working out, and tweaking my workouts to fit my life.
I really think that there are no reasons for not exercising. Unless it's health related, where you can't exercise. Anything else is just an excuse, seriously.

If you want to do something, u will find time. If you are just not that keen or you don't think it's important enough, you find excuses... Thats just human nature... ;)

In order to fit my exercise routine in my life, I've been waking up real early. Shifted my waking time to 6am-6.30am. Sometimes even before 6... And sleeping before 11pm if possible, Else latest 11.30pm.

I could never wake up early previously. Due to having to wake up real early for a Batam trip last month, I realised it can actually be done... I guess I was always afraid of not getting enough sleep if I wake too early. Imagine trying to get through 12hrs of work when sleep deprived! Nightmare!

Now all's good. Even on Offdays I wake up around the same time.

Next thing in progress, healthy diet. Still a trial and error. Trying pescetarian for this month... Then tweak from there... Cut diary too. Not sure if I'm imagining things, I'm feeling Alot better after cutting meat n diary... Hmm. Not sure if it's the diet, or the exercise.

28th July 2013 Sunday

Strangely, no travel plans for upcoming Sept / Oct, and I don't feel the least bit restless. Think the last trip made me so tired.. probably killed all enthusiasm of travelling or photo taking for awhile -.-: I'm still not touching those photos from my last trip. The thought of going through them.. Is simply tiring -_-: 

Been more than a month since I started my exercise routine in an attempt to become healthier and have more energy in general. Pilates and Yoga, each 2-3 times a week, weight lifting once a week and cardio... which is still pretty inconsistent. About 1-2x a week. There is only so much time, and the only way I could fit in cardio, is by waking up at 6am to do it before work. And that didn't turn out so well. Not to mention the muscle ache I get from from time to time, rendering me really too achy to exercise on some days...

Made a decision to go pescetarian for a month. Started two days ago. Trying to see if cutting meat will give me more energy... We shall see... The biggest challenge is getting enough calories and iron from good food in a day... quinoa will be featuring alot on my meal plans, when I could find time to cook...

Time.. Thats the one thing I could never have enough of >_<

16th June 2013

Went for my trial at Pure Yoga last week, and I love that place~ I wished they offer Pilates....

My goal currently, with regards to my exercise routine / health, is to squeeze in 30min cardio, yoga, pilates, 3-4x a week.

Options open to me now:  

1. Fitness first membership, $125/mth for gym, yoga, pilates classes. 24Mths commitment. This was my first option. Having everything under one roof, sounded really gd to me,not to mention cost saving. I could go for pilates, yoga, and then 30min on the machine for my cardio. Location was gd too. Islandwide 13 outlets currently , the next one at Jurong east opening Dec 2013.

But I'm really not impressed by the classes I tried.

Facilities also lacking. Had trouble getting hold of a hair dryer. Alot of lockers, but not enough shower rooms, not enuff dressing tables, mirrors... In short, everything lacking  -_- Classes were also too packed for my liking. 

For yoga, it could be dangerous if done incorrectly. If classes are too packed, n instructors had no time to go around correcting u, you could be doing it wrongly and injure yourself....

And I tot Fitness first was one of the more premium fitness center in Singapore... Hmm. 

2. Sadhana Sanctuary, $95/mth - $116/mth for yoga and pilates classes. 12-24Mths commitment. Facilities also lacking. Had to q for showers during peak hours... But at least classes are good. Instructors went around correcting us when needed. Will just have to go for classes during offpeak hours, which I normally do anyway... 

But need to pay for separate gym membership to get my cardio. Of course there are always the free cardio options. Hmm. 

3. Pure Yoga, $156/mth for 18mths commitment. Very good facilities, good class size, good location. Loved everything abt it~ They even provide tea for members to enjoy, and newspaper too... Plenty of couches, with comfy cushions for you to sit n enjoy the hot tea after yoga... I had Ginger tea after my Yin yoga session when I went for my trial ...

Problem, it's a huge premium to pay for just yoga alone.... If they had Pilates, I would already have signed up~ Sure, it's the most expensive among all options, but it's really nice n peaceful there. That's what yoga should be all about~

But they dun... so need to pay for separate Pilates n gym membership -_-

After much considerations, decided to take up Sadhana, they offer yoga and pilates. I really like the Pilates lesson there.. Sadhana was the place where I discovered Pilates and fell in love with it ~ Going down on Tues to sign up. 

Was researching on my Cardio options, and came across this activity called, Aqua spinning or Aqua bking. Its like a regular spin class, except done in water. Sounds like fun to me, classes start at a rate of 40-50 / session. Haha. Even more expensive than my Pilates reformer classes... 

So many activities I really wanna try. When will I finally get to do them all... 

9th June 2013 Sunday

Finally attempted to organise the wardrobe again the other day. Been doing bits of it over the past few mths... Just too much to go thru. Haha. Did a count, 70 dresses fill up half of my wardrobe, the other half of my wardrobe filled to the brim by tops and about 10 skirts.. Thankfully I own a large corner wardrobe unit... And still I managed to fill it all up -.- Not a good thing, I guess. Haha.

Went for a trial with Fitness First.. Hmm. The gym is pretty nice.. The classes are only so so, in my opinion.. 
In the other Pilates and Yoga classes I attended, the instructors will go around and correct us if needed. Not much of that was done for the classes I attended. 

I tried out a Pilates class and a Body Balance class. Pilates was alright. The instructor did try to go around and correct us if needed, though not as much as Im used to. And the instructions were not as clear as the other classes I attended. 

Body Balance, Im simply not impressed and unlikely to try another class. Its supposed to be a fusion of yoga, pilates and whatever, but it doesnt feel like any one of those -_-" Feels messy to me -_- But thats just me... 

I guess if I want to do Pilates and Yoga properly, a gym membership is not going to suffice... 

I wished there was a place that offers quality Pilates and Yoga classes.. along with classes that offers a cardio workout. Is there such a place? 

2nd June 2013

In an attempt to reset my sleep cycle, been trying to wake up as early as I could. By waking up earlier, hopefully it will make my body tired enough to go to bed earlier... Will sleep and wake at the same time everyday so as to somehow reset my body clock. Somehow. Still trying it out, already mostly waking up earlier. Mostly. 

The last few days was crazy, saw this dress that I really really really love... Well, actually 2 dresses. And they were out of stock/size! Did a whole lot of searching online, using image search, different descriptive words to search.. Was so fed up, everywhere that I can find those dresses, are out of stock / colour that I want... was about to give up, and today finally found them :D Well, and came upon another few really nice dresses too.. So.. total of.. a few more dresses to add to my wardrobe. I love dresses ~

Maybe I should add pants to my wardrobe. I own only two pairs of pants. Thermal and windproof pants for crazi cold weather. And a pair of yoga pants -.- not sure about the jeans I own, since I haven wore any of them this yr. 

The thing about gals and their clothes.. I totally agree with having an entire wardrobe full of clothes, and I seem to keep wearing the few same pieces? My wardrobe is about to burst, and yet I cont to buy. Not a good sign. Definitely more than 50 outfits in there. Should be less than a 100 outfits... I thk... I know I could definitely go for a long time without repeating any outfit -_-" Going to do a count next week...