Inspired by The Iron Lady

I went to see The Iron Lady last night, it was a little different to what I expected, but there were lots of awesome quotes and they strikes a core in me. Sharing the most memorable for me personally as i do think they are a very close reflection of what i try to do everyday of my life

"Watch your thoughts for they become words. Watch your words for they become actions. Watch your actions for they become... habits. Watch your habits, for they become your character. And watch your character, for it becomes your destiny! What we think we become."

 Margaret Thatcher

Here is another scene when Marget Thatcher was talking about the war with Alexander Haig

A: Let's face it. The Falkland islands are thousands of miles away; not many of your people there; of no social or economic importance... 
M: Like Hawaii, you mean?

This scene was special to me, as it reminded me how we are surrounded by people who makes you feels that what you cares about is "insignificant" and makes you feel that you are "making something out of nothing". In fact, what really matters is how important this issue is to YOU. not to them. The same goes to our personal journey in life and fitness. Do not let others tells you what they think it's right. Be your own boss.

Have a good day, signing off for now.
Cuppypowers!
xxx

How to NOT eat food you know you should not be.

I got inspired by Geosomin' s blog about her date with Mr. Beer and Ms. Popped corn.

Eating yummylious food  for as much as i want and not get sick/ fat will probably be one of my 3 wishes if i have a genie that will grant me the wishes.

If you have been reading, you will know that I am a low carber. It has become clear to me, diary and wheat/ grains makes my stomach and skin flare up. It is not what my body wants. However. I was hooked on all that yummylicious process stuff that my body didn't like. I figure out if i "ate" milk (aka ice-cream) even if it was just 1 scoop, it messes with my stomach for a week. If it was wheat/ grains I will have a break out which will take me approx. 2 months to get over it. Clearly not what i need and want.

At the end of Jan, i decided that I have been on and off low carb for long enough to do it flat out, and simply, i had enough of this madness of putting food in my mouth and expect the discomfort to kick in within hours of enjoying the food.

Here is what i did to put it in a picture for myself. It's kind of like kinder garden "good job" stickers. The Red bunnies chops are the days i feed my body in the way that it needs. The Blue piglet chop are the days that; well, i was being a pig. I aim to have a sea of bunnies until my birthday 15Aug.

This is very simply, but i have found it very motivating and empowering to be able to SEE if i am doing the right thing!

Keep up the good work, take one day at a time!!!

WE ARE ALL A WORK IN PROGRESS!

Singing off for now

Cuppypowers

xxx

True shortcut to 6 packs - REALLY!

Take a look at this. This is not my amazing photoshop effect it is the freaky result of £6,000.

My dear readers this is a lesson on “Know what you want, and how you want it” I discover this gentleman- Darryn Lyons today at work and I have to say, I was shocked with what I saw. I digger deeper about this guy and found out that he is from the UK reality show Big Brother. So what is the point you are asking

I understands that everyone is searching to look good the fastest way possible and that we are being brain washed to accept that a 6 pack is the ultimate sexy hot look. Sure thing if you have the money to give you a little bit of help in fixing thing that you cannot deal with, I am all for it! BUT look at this dude!

Does he not realize that you didn’t need to get surgery to get you a 6 pack abs so that you can look like the monster super heor

everyone has a set of them, he simply had the money and wanted a quick way out without putting in the hard work.  This is the wrong shortcut which has turned this guy into the biggest joke around!

Don’t get me wrong. I am not against plastic surgery at all, in fact I am all for it and has plan to undergo some work for myself. However, I want to point out that want I want to get done is something that I cannot achieve via workout/ watching my nutrition. It’s is really, my genes. AKA. I am Asian and therefore I have no boobies….

I am fed up with man (and female) leaving comments on fitness models vlogs/ workout demonstration on YouTube saying that “FAKE”, “I am put off by the fake boobs”  I wonder if they realize why so many fitness models out there has implants. Just in case they didn’t let me explain why. It is because in order to see a 6 pack, your body fat must be in the region of less than 12% and pro competitors body fat % will be even lower. Since Boobies are made out of fatty tissue, if you never had much before will mean that you will end up with NONE!

I want to have strong lines, that means I have to build up my muscle, that means I need to be very lean and I am getting there since my abs are beginning to show, BUT I also want to feel feminine. I feel incomplete and uncomfortable in my own skin that I do not have the “top” to match the rest of the curves I have on my body, to what I think is pleasing to my own eye. That is why I want to have surgery done on me when the time is right. Not because what other people brain wash me into what is desirable, or that it is a short cut to look “prefect”.

Lift weights like a man, think like a lady I say!
A little tune i was listening when i was lifting weights today at the gym!

Have a good day everyone!

Signing off for now

Cuppypowers

xoxoxoxox

One less "i can not work out because ....." oh yeah!

This piece of news (that's not so new any more) made my day!

Yes, i know i am jumping the gun here, since i have no ring on my finger yet, but I know that i want to be a mum and the thought of losing my figure (which i worked so hard for) because the lack of activity whilst bearing a little monster in my tummy just totally destroys me. You know all the talk about "you are not giving the baby enough oxygen when you work out" " Hormones that are being produced after exercise can harm your baby"

I have actually been researching for a while for exercises that you can do BEFORE you are pregnant specifically cater for faster rebound after child birth and/or assist with a more comfortable pregnancy. But the information is almost none existed! It's all about things that you can do DURING your pregnancy. That is too late, I want to be in the best form ready to receive little monsters!!!! Any ideas or good recommendation of sites i can look at?!

Stay strong and signing off for now
Cuppypowers
xxx

Opus!!!! Muscle burns less calories then what we have been lead to believe

Ok Guys, I think we all need to make time to read this article. Which I suspected was the case along time ago. The myth of ripped muscles and calorie burns

For thoses of you who has been reading my blog for a while will know that i do not just "believe" what i read or just "follow" advices that has worked for other people. I opt for working it out for myself.

I always has thought to myself. If i have gained so much muscle, and i have pretty much kept the same diet, the fat should have just melt off my body and cardio will not be required. Guess what. When i was doing INSANITY, i find that I had a much leaner look (without changing my diet) and now that i am on my weight lifting program, which in theory should provide me more muscle and helps me to burn more fat, is actually give me a more "wobbly" look.

So, please take some time to take a look at the link, if what it said is true, that will mean relearning everything we knows about working out and fitness. It sucks i know but it is important that we remains open minded and do what is the most effective! Life is too short to be wasted!

Signing off for now
Cuppypowers
xxx

What did you do for your birthday this year?

  

Me in AUG 2011



Today is the day i have been waiting for. It's my birthday and I am officially 30 year young and I have promised myself when i turned 29 that this year (30) I am going to be in the best shape of my life! I have been dying to say this and sharehow my body has changed. Ladies, you want to know what kind of shape diet alone will give you, please look at the picture of me back in 2007. I was very thin "slim " back in those days. My figure back than was not achieve via working out. It was achieve by means of watching what i eat.

Not sure about you, but who said turning 30 can not be fabulous? I think i prefer the way i look today than I did when I was younger. Oh, and a thank you to my man for catching me off gard again when he is taking a photo of me.

For me personally pushing weights is the way to go if you want the curves that is pleasing to they eye (at least in my own eyes)! Anyway, i have another photo comparison coming up in Oct. The fat picture and the "now" keep an eye out for it, because i want to show you how much you can achieve in a year if you are committed to what you really want. Sorry that this post is all about memememememe. please forgive me, it is my birthday!!!!



Me in AUG 2007



 Have a good day everyone !!! Have a piece of cake and push even harder today, because you can!!!!

Love you all

Signing off for now.

Cuppypowers!

xxxxx

P.S. i have not done any photo shop on these pictures.... and i was still a little "bloated" from that evil milk when this photo was taken when my bf and i went on weak boarding!



Milk is Evil!!!!

Hello everyone!

Hope you all had a awesomemo weekend.

I am really sorry that I have not taken the INSANITY after photos and post as I promised. I have stupidly  convinced myself that it was ok for me to drink milk again (250ml per pop of low fat high calcium of the white stuff) as part of my natural supplementation to my  new work out for the next 12 weeks. The results were that I have been bloated for the pass 4 days and it gave me a wobble wobbly stomach. I just felt that it would not be fair to me nor to the INSANITY program if I took the after pictures and post it here. So I promise, I will take those after photos after my stomach has settled down. From my pass experience, this takes anything from 3 days to 2 weeks. Since I drank milk for the 2 days i was weight training... I have an awful feeling that it is going to take at least 10 days for it to pass through my system.

Grumble grumble!!! What made it worst was that a fellow gym rat said to me on Friday's bodycombat class "you are going backwards with your progress! what are you going to do about it!!!"

I sware, it was the milk. I have been pushing hard!!!!

I hope you had a better week than i did!

Signing off for now. Keep on pushing people!

Cuppypowers!

xxx

12Weeks workout Program to build Strong muscles and Sexy Curves

Decision made.

I have been finding it hard to decide which program I want to do for the next 12 weeks and I finally settled for a program that promise by doing 30-45 mins of intense weight lifting (with reasonable eating habits), it will give me Sexy Muscle and Curves

I am going to use myself as human Ginny pig and see if it delivers. For those who has been following my journey will know that I take my workouts very seriously. I am either IN or OUT, I don’t do “I will try”. The only quirk about me is my diet. I do not follow conventional/ body building diet recommendations, it does not work for me.

What I hope to achieve in this experiment/ program is to show the ladies who are reading,

·         what kind of results you can expect from lifting heavy, without the help of supplementation at all, but eating a large quantity of meat

·         I hope I will gain shape on my shoulders, arms, and better defined abs. I am pretty happy with my legs and bottom, I am hoping they will not gain too much bulk.

·         I plan to stick in 1 INSANITY and 1 BODYCOMBAT class a week as my cardio workout that would be all

·         I will take before and after picture to let you all see how I am getting on

That’s the plan, but I am thinking about switching things up for the cardio in week 5 and week 9 as the weight lifting gets intense.

What do you think? Have I missed out anything that I need to consider?

Singing off for now

Cuppypowers

Xxx

P.S. I hope you will enjoy looking at the BodyBuilding.com website, I have found a lot of helpful videos and tips on there. Also I want to share with you that I am not a beachbody coach member, so I do not benefit from your shopping at the link I have provided for INSANITY.

How to avoid holdiay weight gain!

Hello hello!! This is actually the second attempt in today's blog. The last one was lost when i tried to upload photos..

Anyway, hope you guys are sticking to your workouts and is having a good day. I am because I am on holiday!!!! This is the end of my first day and just wanted to write a note on here to share with you how I am declaring war to gaining weight on this holiday!!!

I cuppypower will be held accountable for NOT gaining weight on this holiday by doing the following:

• sticking to 1hr carb loading in 1 seating a day
• staying active (and that is why i am going snorkeling tomorrow!!! well... not really the only reason)
• working out at the gym. yes, that is right i plan to work out everyday

I shall hold myself accountable by taking pictures of my workouts on the next 4 days as evidence that i am doing it!!!!

So as promise here is some of the photos from my workouts (added on 4th July 2011)

lol. my D.C was too slow to capture a good photo. A big thank you goes out to my man for taking the shots for me every time we hit to the gym!!
Signing off for now
Cuppypower
xxx
P.S Incase you are wondering.... i was doing P90X for a few days when i was away. NOT insanity, i needed a holiday from ShanT. Now I am starting week 6 of INSANITY again as of 4th July 2011 :)

YumYucky People!

If you a fitness crazy, cake thirsty, cardio & weight room junkie or just somebody who likes to check out interesting blogs. You should might have came across one of my fav. fitness blog, Josie and her greedy little monster's (seriously i am not being mean but that is how she calls themselves. GREEDY) second home is a very motivational place that i go to when i needed to put a smile back onto my face.

Anyway, i recently submitted a photo in participation of her YumYucky army blog and guess what! I am on the page!!!! Seriously, check her website out, it's is one darn cool place!

DISCLAIMER: A word of caution, some of the food related images might be too much for some to handle.... it might just trigger a craving reaction.... readers are at their own risk!

Please inspire me!

Hello there! Hope you are having a good day so far.

I am hoping you will be able to help me. Would you share with me where do you get your fashion tips? Where do you go and snoop on fashion/ holiday outfit ideas? I have been to the generic website you know, glamour.com,  youtube, Shape.com I have not find any really inspiring ideas yet. Pretty please help!

Confused cuppypower signing off for now
xxxx

The truth always hurts!

Hey everyone, I have been away digging deep and working hard on my final couple of weeks on my P90X. I was snooping on the tube and saw this and there is alot of truth in what is being said in this video.

I hope it trigger you to think about if you are blindly following what you are told in life, health, nutrition and other areas of life. Just because the "experts" tells you doesn't mean it is the right thing for YOU. Be your own boss, Be your own judge and figure out what works for YOU!!!!

Singing off for now.

Cuppypowers

xxx

I will show you mines, will you show me yours?

I have failed!!!! Not only do i feel i have failed myself, i actually feel like i failed you, the people who has been keeping an eye on this space, esp. i feel like i failed Mel and my boyfriend.....

What did i fail? I just done my day 60 InBody Body Composition Analysis, the report suggest I have actually gained Body fat in the pass 30days.

Honestly, i have been kicking my own ass at the gym, with every session, i would either up my weight or up my rep. I feel stronger, but I don't feel slimmer. here are my stats....

	Day 0 (3 Jan 2011)		Day 30 (16 Feb 2011)		Day 60 (22 Mar 2011)
Weight	56.7kg		55.9kg -0.8kg		57.3kg +1.1kg
Soft Lean Mass	37kg		38.6kg +1.6kg		39.1kg +0.5kg
Body Fat Mass	17kg		14.5kg -2.5kg		15.5kg -0.5kg
Percentage Body Fat	30%		25.9% -4.1%		27 % +1.1%
Intracellular Fluid	19.4L	29.2L	20.6L	30.5L	20.7L	30.8L
Extracellular Water	9.8L		9.9L		10.1L
Protein Mass	37kg		38.6kg +1.6kg		39.1kg +0.4kg
Lean Body Mass	39.7kg		41.4kg +1.7kg		41.9kg +0.5kg

the American Council on Exercise has categorized ranges of body fats into four types, namely athletes (6-13% for men, 16-20% for women); fitness (14-17% for men, 21-24% for women); acceptable (18-25% for men, 25-31% for women) and obese (25%+ for men, 32%+ for women).

I am not saying i want to be at 5% body fat, but frankly even 24 % just doesn't cut it for me anymore.... I want to be at 20% body fat! Right..... my thinking hat is on, let's help my body to figure out what is not working!!!!

Grumble grumble grumbling cuppypowers signing off for now.
xxx
P.S. I will take some photos this Saturday or Sunday. and show you.

Tipping point

May be you have been wondering what has helped me to stick with my fitness program, or a even better question would be: what made this little (at a healthy weight) Chinese girl turn into a gym rat?

I will be honest with you, it was not for health reason, it was not for personal growth, it was because my boyfriend said something to me and pushed me over that tipping point.

I used to grumble about my weight and my wobbling bits (and still do) to my boyfriend. Sometime back in Oct 2010, as i do, grumbling to my boyfriend again and he said to me, with out turning to look at me "there is no point complaining about it, you know exactly what you need to do"

As soon as my brain computed what was said to me, it was as if i heard a huge snap in my head. That was it, that was the tipping point for me. I NEEDED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!!!

Don't get me wrong, to me, that was very cruel thing to hear, but that was what i needed to kick my lazy ass. AND i thank him for doing it and being honest with me and not gloss over the ugly truth. In my case, he was being cruel to be kind and i love him for that!

Have you reached your tipping point, or more importantly, do you know where to find it?
Tell me what was your worst tipping point so far in your life!
Good luck to you all!

Signing off for now.
Cuppypowers
xxx

Surrounded by people but feeling all alone

Have you ever had one of those??? I am having one of those days. Actually I have been feeling as if I am all alone for quite a few days now. Not sure why that is, maybe it is lack of sleep, I hope it is. May be I just need a break from everyone. Everything. At least that way i do not have to put a positive front to all my actions and words.....

Disconnected

Hello everyone,

Happy new year! I have been disconnected to my blog over the past few days! Apologies for those of you who came back to keep an eye on me!

I am sad to report that i have been eating unhealthily over the past few days. It was Chinese new year and i let myself loose a little.... but i did do my P90X workouts. I am now on day 16 of my P90X, I have been eating well most of the time and definitely pressing “play and brining it” but I just don’t seems to be getting the results I was hoping for…. And on Sunday, I almost let this downward spiral get the better of me and gave up on the work out.

I hope in my day weight on the 20^th I will be able to re-motivate myself that my dedication is paying off and that my body is changing for the better….

In need for some positive energy here.

Signing off for now.

Cuppypowers

xxx