Shoes that fit my feet

My badminton shoes have been bruising and torturing my feet and I decided it was about time I went out and got a pair that didn't hurt. This is what my old pair looks like:

Old badminton shoes, a size too big

 I got these shoes around 2005 during my college years (they actually don't look quite that old since badminton shoes are for indoors only), and it wasn't until today that I realized they were actually not my size. I usually wear 24.5cm, and these were 25.5cm. DUH. No wonder I've been getting blisters and bruises. I thought these shoes must have been getting way too loose for me.

Let's see how I do with the new pair.

Shiny and new!

 Badminton shoes have thinner soles than those of running or basketball shoes, and the bottoms are especially designed to have more traction/grip to adjust for sudden movement and direction changes required on court.
Eh I'm no shoe expert though.

Buh-bye old shoes (left)

I'll be playing badminton for two hours tonight so hopefully my new shoes fit well!

Post Chinese New Year update and January check-in

Just got back from a 9-day holiday break over this past week and I think I did pretty decent for a long break! Not to mention it was the biggest holiday in Taiwan and a week-long food fest too.

I had a friend visiting from Japan who stayed with me for 6 days, and thanks to her small appetite I didn't gain any weight. Although I encouraged her to 'try' everything, I tried to eat only when I was hungry. Plus we ate dinner quite early and tried to refrain from late-night snacking. We also did a lot of walking and I recall spending most of the week in my sneakers. All in all I did alright I think :)



Slow but steady loss

Weight as of 1/31/2012: 68.70kg

I plan to participate in an amateur badminton competition taking place mid-April this year and I just began training this past Saturday. I've been playing badminton since middle school, but I've always played on and off and was never quite in the right shape for it. Hopefully this time it'll be a good start for long-lasting good habits hehe.

I'll be playing badminton 2-3 times a week and working out 2-3 times on top of that. This is what my workout/training schedule will look like, or at least, what it looks like this week (1/29~2/4):

Sunday: Badminton lesson 2.5 hrs ***
Monday: Light cardio 0.5 hr *
Tuesday: Cardio and conditioning 2 hrs ***
Wednesday: Badminton games 2 hrs **
Thursday: (rest)
Friday: Light cardio 1 hr *
Saturday: Badminton 2hrs * / Training 2 hrs ***

(* for intensity)

It sounds like a lot of exercise (and is probably more exercise than what I did in the month of December all together), but the overall intensity is not that high, yet. I plan to add more stuff as I get closer to April. Especially since I'll be playing singles, I need to be able to run/sprint 10-15 minutes for a match and not pass out on court, which will be a long ways from the physical shape that I am in right now. But hey, starting NOW or just starting ANYtime is a good start yea.

Byebye late-night snacking

Been doing grrrreat these past two weeks and seeing a steady loss on the scale. I feel and look better, my clothes feel a tad bit loser, even my face is a little less bloated than it has been around Christmas and new years. All that FOOD! I'm so relieved that I've gained back my exercise routine and healthy eating habits. I eat 3 meals a day, and I snack a lot less in the afternoon and I've cut back on late-night snacks altogether. In the afternoon now I usually have hot ginger tea, hot chocolate, and/or some raisins. And I try to eat only when I'm hungry. Sounds simple but it works!!

Plus I'm blogging more regularly now, that definitely helps keep me in-check. I've rejoined the Healthy You Challenge @ Scale Junkie's so there's a lot of support there :) Even just knowing that there are many others with me along the way helps.

Chinese New Year is coming up this Sunday and we're off this whole next week on vacay. Nine days to be exact, including two weekends. I have a girlfriend who's visiting from Japan and she'll be staying over at my place. I'll try to bring her places (without so much food) and hopefully it'll be an active week and maybe a few more pounds/kilos lost by the end of this month.

Bruised my toe playing badminton

My weight as of 1/18/2012: 69.05 kg

I have a tiny bruise on my big right toe from too much running in badminton LOL. It's gonna be there for months until my nails grow out completely.

Well at least you know those are my feet heh.

New bag for new adventures (Another new thing!)

I got myself a new shoulder bag today! The color is ‘mocha’ and it’s made by a relatively new French designer. I like it ‘cause I can wear it two ways, on my shoulder or across my body, and it’s a dark enough color so I can use it when I’m out n about, or in the rain, etc. I am going many new places with it this year J (Like Europe in August!)

I’ve been eating a lot healthier in the past few days and I am SO relieved that my weight has gone down a little. 

I'm the type of person that needs VOLUME to get and stay full. I CANNOT eat like a bird and convince myself that I'm not hungry when I really AM. So I try to eat a lot of healthy stuff and in a ‘healthy’ order, which means I have the filling and less fattening stuff first and the calorie-loaded and more fattening stuff last.

If a regular meal for me consisted of rice, veggies, soup, and meat, I would eat it in this order:
soup -> veggies -> rice -> meat.
And it'd help me get fuller without the guilt, and on good days, I'd leave behind a few bites of the higher-calorie stuff, instead of the other way around.

I’m also exercising more, since my 2012 resolutions (also here) are to:

1. Workout at least 3 times a week, every week
2. Get to 58 kg and maintain a toned body shape
3. Blog at least once a week

I’m going to play badminton tonight, so that would be my 2^nd workout so far this week. Not bad for a Wednesday eh?


Down 2.6 kg since last week!

 Weight as of 1/11/2012: 70.10 kg

New scale, new beginning! (Happy 2012!)

I've been putting off weighing myself for the past few weeks, and this morning when I finally did weigh myself, things got a little ugly. I gained 5 kg in the past two weeks just from eating out with friends who were back in Taipei for Christmas/new years. Ohhhh NO.

My girl G suggested that I put a scale in the house, and after thinking it through I finally got one during my lunch break today. Voila.


Its packaging



It's so tiny! and pink

It's called Body Scale Petit, and I got it in pink hoping it would cheer me up a little every time I have to face the grim reality of my body weight.

(Hopefully the number will become less 'grim' though).

I've decided to start weighing myself regularly again, but I haven't figured out how often yet. Any ideas?

So this is what I weigh as of today, after lunch.
Weight as of 1/3/2012: 72.70 kg

Gaaaaaa!

I did, however, make it to the gym today. I did a 10-min warmup and a 50-min latin dance class that wasn't as intense a workout as I had hoped. Maybe I'll stick to the treadmill or Elliptical on most days, we'll see.

It's always hard to start again. Because it feels like I've done so much and then I'm back in square one. But I guess I won't give myself too much of a hard time and just GET WITH IT. Here's to a great new year and lots of happy things!!

HERE GOES!