Hello hello! It's Sunday again & I'm feeling so energized!

All pumped up from today's gym session but my legs feel like complete jelly at the moment. 

I'm a work in progress. 

Well I guess that's whatchu get from insane, merciless core trainings & floor workouts of crunches burpees, front planks, leg-lifts, push-ups, lunges, sit-ups, squats yesterday and straight on to today's high-intensity Body Combat session as well as more crunches & planking. 

I think I over-exert myself sometimes 

Which is why I only drink Horley's Sculpt protein shakes to restore the protein I need from all those mad workouts

Today's choice of gym shoes: Adidas Adipure 360 for Body Combat & floor workouts! Thanks Adidas Malaysia 

I need a massage to relieve my tired muscles. Pronto! 

Oh and I think I've said this before, I eat like a pig but I train like a hunting dog.

I can never say no to mamak food. Oh the delicious curry, tandoori chicken, spices & thosai

We all gotta reward ourselves sometimes. Heh. heh. heh.

My treats include chocolate, milkshakes & cheese cakes. 

So if you're feeling kind or want to fatten me up with anything like how the 'Hansel & Gretel' witch tried to do to Hansel, you can make me a happy girl 

Which was exactly what the wonderful peeps at Pizza Hut Malaysia did last Tuesday.

I was invited to the Pizza Hut Cheesy 7 Red Carpet party!

They blindfolded me while I sampled the Cheesy 7 pizza – which was a much-speculated comeback.

(Full blogpost coming soon!)

What I wore for the night! 

After sinfully good food, I always I burn off what I eat – if not at least half of the consumed calories.

Let's kick some arse.

And the gym has always my second home since 2007 

Yes, I'm emphasizing the year I became a gym rat, because lately, I've had many people asking me "So what made you so into fitness & gym all of a sudden?"

  You asked the question five years too late, baby. 

My answer would be – NOTHING. Because I've always been into health & fitness.

Throughout all these years as a fitness junkie, I've never shared my routines nor workout photos before. (I think the most obvious is my constant tweeting and Foursquare check-ins into various gyms and parks).

So, I hope you guys don't ask me the same question anymore pretty please T__T

Here's a Thai restaurant I'd like to recommend – Restoran Aroma Thai @ Damansara Perdana

Tom Yam Seafood soup, Pineapple Rice, Thai-style Curry Beef, Pandan Chicken & Cashewnut Prawns

They all tasted authentic and each were reasonably priced around the range of RM8 – RM20

Attended the Topshop Members Day party on a Thursday night

Major love for polaroids! Always wanted a polaroid camera 

My Thursday was quite eventful. It was spent undergoing a very special procedure for my hair.

It is the Brazilian Keratin Treatment  This is only available at A Cut Above hair salons!

I daresay it was the best & most professionally done treatment for my recently-damaged hair

(Full blogpost coming soon!)

The gorgeous & talented Winnie Loo also gave my hair a magical touch with her expertise at haircuts

She gave me a very bold & edgy new asymmetrical hairstyle – just the way I like it

Can't wait to blog about the entire experience at A Cut Above!

I had so much fun with dearest Winnie experimenting new & unconventional looks for me.

Dinner Thursdate with boyfieKon at Chilis Bar & Grill @ Mid Valley Megamall right after

He had the Jalapeno Steak Quesadillas while I had the Chicken Club Tacos 

More healthy homemade goodness when I stormed my kitchen as usual.

Take a look!

Fresh garden salad & Thousand Island dressing

Fluffy omelette with Old El Paso salsa & lots of ground pepper!

Friday's breakfast!

Cornflakes with fat-free yoghurt & apple slices

It's Friday night! Off to shimmey down & usher in the weekend with some electronic music at Zouk Club KL!

Feeling a lil punkass tonight 

KLCC hey hey!

I don't know about my fellow Malaysians but even after living in this country all my life, I never fail to be amazed at our very own iconic KLCC Petronas Twin-Towers, which was once the world's tallest building! 

Partied my Friday night away at Sidney Samson LIVE in Malaysia at Mainroom, Zouk Club KL

RIVER! RIVER! RIVERSIDE… *bleeeeeep*!

Had so much fun with the buddies 

Sidney Samson dropped beats from Swedish House Mafia, Skrillex, David Guetta, Zedd, Steve Aoki apart from his very own original tracks. Heck, he even surprised us with several old skool, hip-hop/rap music!

On second thought, it's pretty obvious that he's a fan. He even had a Snoop Dogg T-Shirt on 

Oh did you know (or even bother to know) that every Saturday is NO PLASTIC BAG DAY at Tesco?

Well, now you do… and you better be prepared!

The last thing you'd wanna do is to lug all your groceries by hand, all the way to your car LOL. For the first time, I actually remembered and brought along two large non-woven environmental friendly bags with me 

Spent my Saturday night being Bob the Builder with bestiePam

Was busy fixing a new shoe rack for our my collection of shoes!

Hey, they need a nice pedestal to sit prettily too 

Let me introduce to you my (now) neatly displayed, happy family of 55 pairs of my favorite footwear!

High-heels, wedges, stilettos, flats, peep-toes, slingbacks, boots,

sneakers, high-tops, runners, gym shoes & flip-flops! 

Will be sharing a panorama photo of both mine and bestiePam's shoe collection soon!

I know, don't freak out.

Some girls collect handbags, make up, perfume, stuffed animals, soap bars… and the list goes on.

I told you I'm a caterpillar. I have too many feet & all of them want a pair of shoes to wear 

httpv://youtu.be/zXspm7k7juE

Song of the week that came just in time! That's some epic dubstep right there

BoyfieKon is blasting it in our living room right this very moment & totally got me hooked 

Another thing I did this week that I just have to share is…

HAHA! I TRAILED A SPEEDING AMBULANCE FOR THE FIRST TIME!!

You know how people follow/tailgate ambulances because every vehicle will make way for them?

Well, I've seen lotsa motorists do it, and since I've always wanted to take advantage of the ambulance's emergency lane, I did. It was cool how everyone gave way to me too  (It works. I arrived my destination in half the usual time)

That's all for this week. G'night, dearies. Dream of unicorns and rainbows tonight, aight? 

Make sure you're well-rested to tackle your next seven days with gusto!

Much love,

Jessicat

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The Sunday Times is a new once-a-week series; published every Sunday night to recap the highlights of my week, capture what piques my interest and to share recommendations for to-go places and to-eats throughout the week.

Check out the entire series here : The Sunday Times edition.

Some of the photos are posted instantly on my Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr & Facebook on the go.

So follow me to get instant updates and pretty photos of the sights & sounds all around!

In all my 6 years of consistant fitness routines, working out & busting it out at the gym, I'm glad (and very touched!) that many of you readers and Twitter followers have thanked me for influencing yall do the same as well. 

So proud of you guys!!

If you're on Twitter with me, you would know how often I hit the gym and how much I try to keep to my healthy diet. Well, of course I admit that I do indulge once in a while, but the key is always moderation.

My bowl of salad for breakfast

What should I cook today?

Steamed veggies for lunch!

Popping in my baked fish & pumpkins into the oven for dinner!

Last week, I was asked to share a brilliant article on my blog and without hesitation, I willingly agreed 🙂

Why? Good things – and useful information! – ought to be shared, especially with all of you!

Today, I'm going to be talking about losing fat & feeling better.

Imma share with you some important facts & how-tos which has become part of my daily life.

Then you're doing it wrong, sweetheart 🙂

Before waging a never-ending war on losing weight & cutting the fat, there are several things you need to understand:

Weight gain occurs when :

the amount of calories we consume IS MORE

than the amount of calories we burn. 

So burn more calories to lose weight!

If you eat more than what your body needs (overeating) and don't exercise it away, be prepared for weight-gain!

But remember, crash diets & useless weight-loss techniques won't do you any good because they disrupt the body metabolism in burning away your fat. So technically, you're not helping.

Bottom line is: 

EAT LESS (calories) or EXERCISE!

If so, those cookies you stole from the cookie jar wont make you fat.

Yes, Cookie Monster, you heard me 🙂

Things you need to know about fat loss 

You cannot 'spot reduce'

Exercise routines such as sit-ups, leg-raises or dumbbell raising only target the muscle underneath your layers of fat. Although these exercises help you burn calories, strengthen your body and tone up, it does not magically make you lose fat at a specific part of your body.

You can't lose fat in specific areas, fat-loss happens overall in all areas of your body!

Unlike my male gym buddies, I aim to tone up and train my lean muscle, not to build muscular mass

So I carry lighter weights, about 4KG ones and do more reps instead

This is a really old picture LOL

I hardly take any photos of myself while gyming but I found a rare few

So always remember, lose the fat first before your weight training!

If not, you'll only end up looking bigger and bulkier. Unless that's what you want 🙂

Lighter is NOT better.

This is what I always tell newbie-gym members or whoever I train.

The weighing scale isn't everything. You can be 70-80kg but that doesn't mean you're fat.

Did you know that muscle weighs 4 times more than fat? So does bone structures & bone densities.

When I started my intense workout of strength training, circuit training, core muscle training & weight-lifts religiously, I gained weight. 

See? The weight I gained was all attributed to muscle and mass gain, not fat 🙂

Carbohydrates do not make you fat

Consuming carbs doesn't make you fat, excess calories in sugar & fat does.

In fact, eating healthy carbs helps you stay in shape by filling you up & keeping you full for longer.

However, if you indulge too much in unhealthy, unrefined flour (white bread, pasta, cookies, cakes, white rice, potato chips, jelly) without exercising, then yes, it will not be burned off but instead stored as fat.

Pro-tip : Don't eat white bread or white rice. I swear by that!

My alternative is always wholemeal bread, brown rice & oatmeal

Start burning!

Increase your activity levels

If you're not a member at any gym, build your fitness with a 30minute walk or a jog everyday to burn calories & increase cardiovascular activity.

For me, I hit the gym every alternate day and part of my workout includes a 5KM run with a speed of 8km/h.

I go running/jogging often

Hiking & jungle trekking sessions!

For indoor activities, I DDR (dance dance revolution) a lot.

Helps you sweat it all out and it's an excellent cardio activity!

Reduce your calorie intake

Losing weight (fat) is all about losing the calories. Count calories if you may.

My targeted daily calorie intake is at 1200 calories, with exercise.

The recommended calorie intake for men is 2000 calories per day & 1500 calories per day for women

Take a look at this, to help you estimate :

And fellow Malaysians, you might wanna know this *giggles*

CRAZY AMOUNT OF CALORIES, EY? 😛

Avoid second helpings.

You're just greedy, not hungry. Your body doesn't need that extra junk 🙂

But if you insist, then double your vegetable intake and halve your meat intake.

Swap sweetened/carbonated/sugary drinks like cola, soda water, cordial and syrup to plain water

If you drink milk, like me, opt for low-fat milk.

Stop being sucha fatty dessert person. Cut the ice-cream, cakes, candies & sweets.

I'd love to have yummy desserts too, but I'd want a yummy body more 😉

Cut down on your alcohol intake.

You're not only doing your liver a favour but your body will thank you for not forcing down mad calories in it.

Haha! I love my alcohol, trust me. But then again, I love my body more so I try to ensure I drink no more than 3 glasses when I go to events or clubbing/partying.

Let me be the bad guy and show you how much calories you consume at a party:

Never skip meals

You might think it helps, but it doesn't. Your body goes into starvation mode & sugar levels drop.

Skipping meals disrupts your body's metabolism & you'll be tempted to snack/overeat later.

For me, I strictly eat every 4 hours. Don't ask me why, it's how I've trained my body calorie intake cycle.

All those I've said above are sure-ways to be healthier and trimmer.

Take my word. Give it a go (with determination & discipline!) and you can say hello to a healthier and fitter new you in no time! 

This article is brought to you by TheJessicat and Great Eastern life 🙂

For more information, visit Great Eastern Life's wellness 'Live Great' website here on how to live life healthier and better!