7 more days to my Big 37!

Haha! Please tell me you don't believe I am turning 37 in a week's time! At least I don't! :P

Well, time flies.. really flies... another year has passed and so many things had happened in this one year. But I am glad all that had happened are good things. My life had finally changed for the better. I believe many more good things will come along in the next one year! 

正能量，来吧！

As usual, I always like to do a recap before my next birthday. So as to remind myself to treasure what I had achieved that did not come easy, and continue to work hard to retain what I have...

Still Slim and Pretty!

I always use my photo which I took in 2013 to "scare" myself and to remind myself what I had been through back then. I am glad I am still slim and pretty.

For those who forgot what I had been through may read about my "iVain: Obasan to Hot Mama Journal"

http://jolene428.blogspot.sg/search?updated-min=2013-01-01T00:00:00%2B08:00&updated-max=2014-01-01T00:00:00%2B08:00&max-results=50&m=0

Before Slimming (64kg)

After Slimming (48kg)

Don't be shy if you wish to find out more about the TCM Slimming Programme I went through in year 2013 to slim 16kg in 3 months. It is definitely achievable for everyone who sets his/her mind to slim down. 

Email me your queries at jolene428@gmail.com and I will reply within 24 hours. ^^

Let It Go

I still remember how unwilling I was to say Goodbye last year to the workplace I was so attached to, but yet also the workplace that had tormented me emotionally since 2011...

But I knew I had to leave because it was not doing good to my self-esteem and self-worth. It took me a few months and lots of tears to finally let it go.

I now learnt that we should only work hard for bosses who are worthy of us, who can make us feel proud of ourselves and who knows how to unleash our potential and polish us into gems.

I also accepted that Life was not all that unfair to me afterall. I did suffer injustice for 3.5 years but Life was kind to me towards the end of my career in that workplace. Life had introduced me good colleagues, good bosses and new good friends...:)

Life gave me the chance to leave my unhappy career with happy new memories...

A New Beginning

Ending of an unhappy career usually means a new beginning in my work and life...

This new beginning did not come easy. But it makes me realized that, by keeping my options open, opportunities will come along. 

I am happy and thankful in my new career. Work is busy but I really love the busyness, because I am working for someone who appreciates what I can contribute to the organisation.

My new career is definitely not perfect. There are office politics and there are 小人 too. But at least I know that my new bosses have "eyes". I know I can trust that they are unbiased and with good characters. I also know that the majority of my close working colleagues are kind and want the best for the organisation. 

Missing My Travelling Sprees

Suffering withdrawal symdrome from my travelling sprees last year. 

I definitely can feel the itch for not being able to travel this year, as much as I did last year. But I know I have an empty piggy bank to fill up again before I can plan for my next long trip.

I am thankful for the opportunities "to see the world" last year. I enjoyed the visits to BKK and KL to catch up with my long-lost friends, and I had fun spending a good 10 days in Taiwan with Qiuling.

My trip to Taiwan was especially fruitful. Not only, we covered the north-west part of Taiwan, bought tonnes of food and beauty products, I also make a new Taiwan friend. It was also addictive to experience travelling alone. 

Pinky and Me on plane alone

I don't mind sharing that I do have plans to travel alone again by end of this year. And I am determined to make more friends around the world, so that I have more opportunities to travel alone to visit them :P

But I also do not mind travelling with new travelmates too, because I always believe travelling with different people helps to make me a more accommodative, understanding and considerate person.

Jamie goes to Primary School

Time flies and my baby girl is already in Primary 1 now. She is still not reading well but at least I see progress. 

Jamie's K2 Graduation

Jamie 6yrs old birthday party

I was thrilled to hear and see her reading the books brought from the LSP.

We still believe she can catch up with her peers when she is ready to hit her milestone for her reading skills.

Jiayou Jamie! One day, you too can write your own blog! ^^

James Can Talk

In fact, these days we felt that James talks too much. Hahaha... But we are glad that the siblings can finally communicate with each other. 

James' first concert performance

James' big 3 birthday

Goodbye to a Long-term friend 

Ace was like an old friend to us because we had been through so much together with him. Laogong and I had our fair share of scares too during the last few months of Ace's life. We were grateful that Ace survived till his COE expired.

Thank you Ace, you had been a good friend! 

Goodbye for a Better Future

We could not bear to rent out our first love nest but it is not economical to leave it empty. Yet it is not big enough to fit 4 adults and 2 children comfortably. 

Hence, we will be renting it out for a better future for our children. 

Addicted to Staycations

We are busy filling up our empty piggy banks, hence unable to go for long trips. However, it does not stop us to become addicted to staycations (be it couple trips or family trips), especially staycations across the borders. 

Enjoying good currency exchange rate for the past one year had given us opprtunities to try other JB hotels other than KSL and Hotel Jen @ Puteri Harbour. We especially loves DoubleTree Hilton now for the good rates and friendly staff. But we really do not mind trying out more JB hotels to compare their service quality. 

I even thought of going on roadtrips with Laogong to different parts of Malaysia by public transport, like those "good old days" again when we were young and "poor" but adventurous.

Panda Supermum Reporting

This April happens to be the once every two years "supermum peak period". Once again, I am challenged and stretched to my max to test my endurance and time management. 

Lucky for me this round, because my new boss is extremely understanding. 将心比心, I will give her my best within my means even when I am tied up at home. 

I always treasure this opportunity to bond with my children and to train them to be more independent. I know we had been blessed so far with a good helper, but sometimes we really never know if she may change her mind suddenly. 

I also treasure the opportunity to cook for the family. Many people may have forgotten that I actually can cook. Maybe I cannot cook as well as my helper but I believe I can cook well enough for my children to finish up the food I prepared for them. 

However, having to spend more time for my children's routine work eg bathing, eating and putting them to sleep etc, also means sacrificing my Me and Sleep Time. Hence, I totally look like Panda Supermum now! Hahaha! 

Looking forward to be a Princessy Supermum once again :P

My Scheduled Belated Birthday Celebrations

Previous years, I would meet up my friends before my actual birthday to have a meal or/and some activities.

But this year, due to my helper's home visit leave, I could not agree to any birthday meetup before my actual birthday. Instead, I had to pack all my birthday celebrations on the long weekends from 28 Apr to 2 May 2016. 

28 Apr 2016 - I will be on Birthday Leave so I will be having a joint birthday celebration with my nephew, Keith, again! This year, we are trying out the newly opened Punggol Safra Indoor Water Playground! Look out for my review about it! 

29 April 2016 - Birthday High Tea with Uni Friends at Vintage High Tea @ Dempsey. Will do a Food Review! 

1 May 2016 - Helper will be arrived in Sg in the afternoon, hence Night Time should be going out with Laogong

2 May 2016 - Lunch Buffet @ Swissotel and KTV at Teo Heng, Suntec with 好姐妹. Will do a Food Review! 

7 May 2015 - Mothers' Day Lunch/Dinner with my mother

8 May 2015 - Mothers' Day Buffet Lunch @ Carousel with mother-inlaw.

21-22 May 2016 - Joint Birthday Staycation with Yvonne @ M Hotel

Who else want to chope me in May? Hahaha! 

Obasan to Hot Mama #8 (My Slimming Journey - Losing 16kg in 3 months) - The New Journey Begins

Yesterday marked the end of the first week of a new journey for me.

The 3 months of strict diet plan had finally ended. But this doesn't mean I can immediately plunge into the sea of delicacies! I need to go through two months of monitoring before I can totally end this slimming programme. 

The last week was the first test to see how my body reacts to taking in carbo in my diet again. We started with whole meal bread which is also a healthier carbo. To my surprise, I not only did not gain any weight, I lost another 200-600gram!!! 

I felt as if I scored 101 marks in an exam paper which max score is 100. 

My therapist told me this means I can advance in the intensity and degree of my food challenge. I can now eat as per normal, and only need to skip carbo during dinner! 

Omg! I am so nervous! Thousands and one 'what if' emerged in my brain. I guess it's good that I have a fear that I may rebounce in weight even if I know I was guaranteed no rebounce for the next 3 years. 

It's always fear that keep us on our toes... It's fear that makes us wary and take precautions... And only with fear, we will never be complacent. For friends who once asked how did I manage to go through this slimming programme... It's the fear that keeps me going. So for friends who had embarked on this prog too, start to fear and you can make through the programme too!!! Jiayou!!!

I fear to be fat and ugly again. I worked so hard till I know I may not have the courage to go through it again. So I cannot fail. 

And I am happy with the way I am now. Not only I am slimmer now, I also feel lighter and stronger in strength. I used to pant if I need to carry Jamie and walked a distance, but now I can do it quite easily. I used to feel lazy to need to take mrt or bus coz both requires me to walk, so I end up spending a lot on cab. But now I don't mind walking a bit more :) 

The slimming programme is really miraculous and you only need 3 months (on condition you follow all the instructions and diet plan closely), to get back your original weight. It's the easiest and least time consuming method for mummies to regain your once slender bodies! As we all know, mummies have no time after work to exercise becoz the very little time left has to involve our little previous and our lovey hubbies. That's the reason why I will highly recommend this programme to mummies who are looking for a remedy -> no matter it's to regain your lost confidence or to rebuilt your lost health and regime or you simply just want to look the same as you were before you were pregnant. 

I have some friends who had joined or will be joining my journey and I look forward to cheering them on to achieve the same, if not even better results than me! If you want to consider joining our journey, don't be shy and just leave me a comment or SMS/Whatsapp/Facebook me and I can share more with you :) 

For friends who never saw me at 43-48lg before, will probably be shocked to see the following photos... 

I took some time to collate my 'far past', 'near past' and current photos so that you all can go wow wow woohoo...

Enjoy the photos... And witness my transformation!!!

I was only 43-46kg in year 2000-2007. See my sharp boney faces. Lg look young and slim as ever though ;) 

In year 2008, in preparation for my wedding, I was about 48kg. See my boney collar bone and slim arms!!!

I started to put on weight after I had Jamie in year 2009. But the weight gain went haywire due to work stress and good food & great company to share my food at work. I was then 55-58kg.

In year 2013, after I delivered James, my weight gain was almost impossible to lose. I dieted, ate slimming pills and did slimming massage during my 3 mths maternity leave. But I only dropped from 67kg to 64kg. It was devastating...

I started to hate the mirror and hate going out with friends. I hate it when people said I looked 'different' and some tactless ones said they cannot recognized me from the back. I knew I had it! I need to do something about it and fast! I was 63.4kg just before my slimming programme. See my round round face and huge body!!! 

I saw immediate results in just 8 sessions (1+ mths), I lost minimum 600-800g a week. On good weeks, I lost 1-2kg!!! See the difference in just 8 sessions! I lost about 8kg and was 55kg! 

I persevered and continued to lose weight... In 3 months, I lost 15kg!!! 

Not only I am slimmer, I am more energetic and radiant! See the difference?!! I was back at 48kg when I attended Jamie's graduation concert (bottom photo)

And that's not all! I continued to loose weight and at my last session, I was only 47.1kg! 

See this... My change from Feb to Nov 2013. We love Sentosa so much, we will visit it every 2 months. Now with my slimmer arms and legs, I no longer need to hide in a corner to swim!!!

Amazing?!! U can do it too as long as you believe you can and as long as you really want to slim down!!!

Join me and look great with your children and hubby now!!! They will be proud of you too!!!

You can be a princess too!!! 

Obasan to Hot Mama #7 (My Slimming Journey - Losing 16kg in 3 months) - The Last Lap

Finally!

It's the last Lap now! 

But I have to confess, as time passes the temptation grows too. It seems that my body is struggling madly with its desire to eat other food.. Haha so it's really about how strong your determination and will power are. 

Please give me some applauses for staying firm so far! Hahaha... 

Losing 12kg in 2 months is no longer a myth! It is not impossible as I had made it happened! On 12/07/2013, I was 63.4kg and now I am 51.3kg! 

I have friends giving me their blessings and feeling happy for my weight loss. But I also have friends and family members telling me 'you are very thin already, can stop this diet already'.

No offence k, if I had sounded defensive or rude by retaliating that 'I was even slimmer before.' I know you all care for me but rest assured that I am losing weight the healthy way. I am not starving myself, but just eating healthily and not overeating. So don't worry! Just cheer me on k? 

Lately there are friends enquiring about this slimming programme but unsure if they can follow through. Having browsed my menu, you may feel it's impossible to sustain, but actually it is not that tough at all. 

But first of all, you must be have a strong reason why you want to embark on this slimming programme. It can be any of these valid reasons:

1. I am upset with what I see in the mirror

2. I want to be healthier

3. I want to improve my fertility

4. I want to feel less lethargic and more energetic 

Yes, since acupuncture is a traditional way of improving blood circulation, removing body toxins and regulating your body system to maximize it's functionality, this slimming programme actually helps to make you healthier and increase in your energy level. 

I also understand from my therapist that being overweight sometimes affect fertility too. She shares many successful stories of those infertile clients after undergoing this regime to slim down, they conceive very easily. So if u have fertility issue, it's a option to consider too. Last but not least, if u hate what you see in the mirror, then it's time to shred off those 'extras' and become a more pretty and confident you :) 

Menu Time again! So what had I ate these few weeks? Well, I am quite sick of what I had last few weeks so I started to play cheat a bit ^^ 

Ehhh but you have to assess your slimming pace before you decide to play cheat hor! Every individual slim at different pace and every body react differently with different food. So you have to keep trying out the different food in the same category before you decide which customized menu works best for you. 

Actually you are still able to enjoy what you like to eat. Just try to make slight adjustments and choose the varieties that are non-saucy or less oily. 

Home-made sashimi 

Lava Rock Ribeye Steak at Hougang 

Home-made omelet 

Home-made soft boiled eggs

Meatballs from Pizza Hut 

(No whipped potato and no sauce)

Salmon salad at Ichiban Boshi

Meatless minestrone at Soup Spoon

(Remove the pasta)

Casear Salad at Soup Spoon

Yong Tau Fu (from workplace canteen)

Home-made chicken wings

(Remove skin)

Home-made boiled prawns

Home-made stir fry crab and prawns

I had also tried out new fruits for my yoghurt breakfast ;) Yummy!

Non-Fat (Sugarless) Yoghurt with Strawberry

Non-Fat (Sugarless) Yoghurt with Dragonfruit 

See? My menu is getting more interesting right? Kekeke... So I am really not starving myself, while I slim down! 

But of coz, most of the time I still eat simple food like these at home for dinner:

1. Broccoli

2. Dried bean curd

3. Long bean

4. Mushroom

5. Carrot

People had been asking me, so when are you going to stop this diet plan? Seriously I hope it will just be another month but the last 3kg is really too stubborn to lose. I had been staring at the weighing machine everyday and my weight seemed stagnant or simply 'stuck'. Therapist said that usually her other clients had this problem at the earlier stage when there was a short drop in weight and the body started to 'panick' thinking that the owner is sick. However once the body realized the owner is not unwell, it will continue to lose weight. 

But  I am also guilty of not been sleeping well and not sleeping much. Sleep and Water are two big factors that determine the speed of weight loss too. 

So... I have to work hard to sleep earlier :( 

This is my biggest challenge in the programme. So jiayou jiayou jiayou to myself! 

Anyone who wishes to find out more about my slimming programme is welcome to tag along for my next sessions to have a look at how it works ^^

Simply drop me an email, FB msg or whatsapp me if you have my number ;)

Good night!!!