But going to Prague changed my outlook on salads completely. The food there was cheap, delicious, but it was mostly meat. In all honesty, I LOVE MEAT. I can never go vegan for a reason and this is it. Bacon. Pork. Chicken. Mmm. We did not actively seek vegetables, and ate whatever salad accompanied our meals. At the end of my holidays, I was desperate for vegetables. I missed eating green and leafy produce, and I was craving for salads!

I ultimately realized that I would love salads if I made them myself. It was a bit of a duh! moment for me because, well, duh! if I put in ingredients I liked, obviously I’d like the salad too! So I did a massive Sainsbury’s shop (the market was closed when I got back) and got the following:

• Brocolli
• Watercress (my favourite!)
• Chinese Cabbage
• Baby Spinach
• Spring Onions
• Shallots
• Tomatoes
• Chicken
• Pork

Amounting to about £15 in total. It does look expensive, but I got 1kg of chicken and 1kg of pork for a total of £10. I also bought frozen stuff like sweetcorn and ice-cream, a treat I would never give up on.

I also have a bottle of Pizza Express’ Lemon & Garlic Vinaigrette because I can’t be bothered to make my own, but it’s definitely delicious and I do like the taste. I made the following salad with baby spinach, watercress, carrots, tomatoes, Chinese cabbage, steamed chicken

So yay! I do love salads now and have replaced rice with salads. I do still have rice from time to time, but I no longer stock up on white rice. I have replaced it with brown, red and wild rice. It’s more filling than white rice and tastes just the same. And I mostly eat rice in the form of congee, which to me is very filling!

Also, unlike my previous timetable where I had lectures in mornings and afternoons everyday, I only need to bother with packing lunches on Fridays, and I plan to pack salads. It’s easier, I don’t have to wake up at 5am to cook and get ready for a 9am lecture, and I can prepare my salads overnight and just bring it to uni the next day! And I can eat it cold and avoid the microwave queues!

And although I haven’t lost any weight, but everyone around me has definitely said that I look more toned than before and that my chin is more prominent, which to me is just as great as well I can finally fit into size L clothes at Apricot and have already bought two dresses My bust is still too big for some cuts, but the arm area is no longer too tight, so yay!

I’m so excited to continue this weight loss journey. Little changes DO make a huge difference in the long run

Do you hear the people sing? Singing a song of angry men?
It is the music of a people who will not be slaves again!
When the beating of your heart echoes the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start when tomorrow comes!

- Les Miserables

Now, I’ve watched Les Miserables and I LOVE IT. It is such a brilliant film. Anne Hathaway’s “I Dreamed a Dream” brought me to tears during the film, and every time I hear her version on Spotify, I tear up. I can’t wait to watch Phantom of the Opera in theatres next week. It’s going to be my third musical after Wicked and Lion King (if you don’t count Evita, because I was in the performance).

I’ve one more exam before my holidays, and two more after the holidays. Ridiculous as it sounds, snow has affected me greatly. Two of my exams got postponed and I am still the only person in the house who hasn’t sat for a single exam yet, while the rest have already done at least 3. And this is just a picture of me with my snow bear

Myself and my little snow bear

Now the scariest thought occurred to me the other day while I was watching an episode from Dr. Phil. What would it be like if I were to be anorexic? Now I’ve always been hoping to lose the weight, but at that point in time, I imagined what would happen if I were to do obsessively do 6000 crunches daily, limit my intake, etc.

But not to worry, logic soon took over and I know that that is one of the most horrible thing I could ever do to myself. I will never be anorexic. I want to lose weight the right way, the healthy and fit way, and starvation and things like that are more likely to lead to death. Those who know me would understand how terrified I am of dying – that’s why I don’t do crazy things like skiing or bungee jumping.

BUT – there are things that I would do, like embark on a trip to Prague in this crazy weather. I’m hoping for all the best, for the weather to be OK and for flights to not be cancelled. It’s going to be really cold there, but not to worry, I’m bringing my winter coat, a thick cardigan, a fleece jacket and many many vests. The only thing I’m concerned at this point is gloves… and footwear, but I’ve set aside some money to buy new booties. I do have a pair of boots that I absolutely love (which actually is in the picture above!), but it being 3″ high, I don’t think my feet would survive.

It’s going to be an epic week ahead and I can’t wait for tomorrow’s exam to be over!

Okay, weight loss hasn’t been that good. I haven’t actively gone to the gym as I had initially hoped, but then a lot of things got in the way and I was very demotivated and lazy. It’s a shame really But once exams are out of the way I’m going to make a timetable for next semester, and I will hold myself accountable for everything.

But for now, this is my rough meal plan for the rest of this week:

Breakfast: Baked beans, Sandwich (1 slice bread with 1 boiled egg, butter and pepper)
Lunch: Chicken breast, potato, broccoli, carrot.
Dinner: Chicken breast, broccoli, sweetcorn.
Snacks: Bananas, oranges or Sharon fruit.

Substituting Chicken Breast with some form of protein, e.g. Tofu, Pork or Fish, as long as they’re < 200 calories. In total I aim to between 1200 and 1400 calories. I’ve ensured that I gave leeway to things like sauces and stuff, because those calories count too.

Other things: I have completely eliminated junk food from my diet. I haven’t had a bag of crisps for weeks and it’s working out. I’m also getting rid of empty calories, so bye-bye soda. Tea unfortunately, also is empty calories because I keep adding sugar, but instead of eliminating it, I’ve decided to replace my black tea with Jasmine green tea.
I’ve also ordered a digital kitchen scale and I’m most certain that I’d become one of those crazy calorie counters. But I’m hoping to lose 55lbs by the end of this year. There is no room for failure. If I have time to shop, I have time to run, so rather than wasting money, I should hit the gym instead. When I catch up with TV series, I’ll be doing pushups and situps.

I’m hoping these tiny lifestyle changes will help me in the long run. I’m looking through some workout and diet plans, and so far I’m liking the look of the Jamie Eason’s LiveFit Trainer Program and will fully explore it before I proceed because I don’t like jumping into things without knowing what’s going to happen.

Wish me luck!

GOOD JOB GIRL.

Celebrated my birthday – That went really well. We had lots of extras because we made way too much food. Relatives gave me close to $1000 in total and all that money has been put to our house’s renovations. I’m somewhat glad that my money is going towards the house and to our chicken coops! Celebrated my mom’s birthday, and this time we had just the right amount of food, and even served our own home-made mango ice-cream

I ran ~6km in September for a Charity event and I even tracked my path too. I didn’t push myself to my limit, but it was definitely a feel good factor because this was the first time I completed a run within an hour and also the fastest I’ve gone. A few years ago I always ‘ran’ 3 km in one hour, and looking back, I honestly think that the me back then was somewhat pathetic.

I’ve gone back to UK now, and I’ve happily settled in, aside from the fact that Virgin Media’s internet is the biggest bullshit I’ve ever encountered. Even my mobile internet provides speeds faster than what Virgin can offer me. I pay for a 60 mbps connection and all I get is about 10mbps only at night. During the day it’s almost impossible to get a good connection. I’ve tried searching online to help resolve the problem, but the only solution VM always provides me is to restart the Super Hub. But it never resolves the problem for me.

Honestly speaking, I miss good university internet. I can’t even make a decent Skype call home and it’s been ages since I’ve talked to my family. Oh and not to mention that I can’t access the Super Hub GUI almost all the time from my laptop. It’s really frustrating.

I’ve also joined Latin and Ballroom Dancing… and it’s crazy how I still remember steps from when I did ballroom dancing in Lower Sixth. So far we’ve done waltz, Cha-Cha, jive and rhythm foxtrot. It’s all the basic steps so far, and I’m starting to get bored, but I’ve been reassured that cooler stuff would come along soon. I’m hoping to enroll in competitions too!

I’m also directing a play for this December, and so far so good! People have been generally really helpful and it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside even with all this rain!

I’m really enjoying my second year of university despite having less time to myself. So I’ll probably disappear again, since, well, I don’t really appear much here anyways xD

Now I have no issues about celebrating my birthday, but then again it comes with planning and making sure I don’t miss anyone out (insert unspoken family political reasons). I felt it was somewhat unfair because my sister did not get to celebrate her 21st birthday at home since she was studying abroad and my brother wouldn’t be there to celebrate my birthday with me.

Apparently if you’re celebrating someone’s birthday in the same house (Mom’s) when they’re 60, yours shouldn’t be in the same month or else it would clash. I know it sounds weird, but it’s a Chinese taboo kinda thing. Of course, prioritizing mom’s birthday over mine (I had no intentions of celebrating mine) I said it’s okay to move mine to August, a few days shy of my actual birthday.

So now I’m busy thinking up easy meals to prepare for about 50 people. It’s going to be my biggest cooking challenge, although everything would be prepared by myself, my mother and my sister. So far we’ve thought of 5 dishes, I’m hoping that whatever it is, it is palatable and manageable. Fingers crossed I can feed everyone… I have no idea how much people eat anymore!

How did I start? Well, initially my cousin just said, “Hey, want to jog with me at the park every weekend?” As usual, I’m hesitant to go out in public to exercise, but we decided to go at 6am every morning. Yep, no sun, no people, just us and the park. Sounds like a brilliant idea to me!

I only went once with her, but after that my sister and I continued to go every other day. It’s good to have someone to motivate you. I’m not kidding. Without my sister, I would probably not go because I lack that drive. Now if I don’t go jogging I do feel a bit restless.

I did fall ill a few days ago and had that long day of purging everything out, and though I lost a lot of weight from it, I also gained it back when I ate normally again. I expected it anyways, simply because this was the pattern for people who malnourished  themselves for extended periods of time and then go back to normal routines.

I also gained a bit of weight from eating out. I ate out in at least 4 occasions. The last time I ate out, it was an all you can eat buffet. For the first time in my life, I did not eat my money’s worth. I ate until I didn’t feel hungry and I stopped. I finally saw no point in over-stuffing myself with the same food just for the sake of money. I’ve 2 meal appointments with friends in the next two weeks, I’m hoping to not gain too much weight from it.

Also, I have not changed much of my diet. I eat like usual and even have cakes and biscuits along the way. I don’t believe in restricting myself and by doing this, I probably won’t have a weight relapse.

So, I did a weigh in today since it’s a new month, and I hit my goal. Though not exactly – but it’s always a good start. I weigh 80.9 kgs. Not just by diet, but also exercise. Basically I’m at the weight in the summer of 2010 and 2011, but this time it’s different. I actually want to go to the park and actually boost my health again. I want to be fit enough to actually run a marathon. My BMI still says I’m obese, but overall I feel so much better. I’m also not so paranoid about possibly having some obesity related diseases when I’m feeling unwell. All in all this weight loss has been doing me good!

Now, my goals for August

• Continue on with my exercise routine / strength training
• Lose another 3 kgs
• Replace 7 Up Revive with water.
• Portion control
• Work out at home. Push ups, sit ups, stretches

This past week has been an eventful one. Last week I volunteered in a teaching class for Autistic children, and it was very interesting. I was assigned to an adorable little boy, R. I’ve always listened to talks about children with disabilities, particularly Autism, but I’ve never had a hands-on experience with anyone.

R looked like any normal child. He entered the playroom with his younger brother who was not autistic, but was there to give R the support he needed. Throughout the session, R constantly made sure that his brother was still there, and after seeing his brother he would then continue on with the activities.

It was difficult to get him to do any activities. I felt hopeless because I couldn’t get him to do what was asked, but eventually I realized he was a very quick learner. He was very talented in mathematics and had an active interest with transportation. So it made me feel very happy seeing that even though he seemed like he did not pay attention, he still got something out of the session.

Health

I’ve been making trips to the Jubilee Park in the center of town every other day. My routine was as follows. I’d wake up at 5am, have a very light breakfast (usually consisting of a biscuit and a cup of soybean milk), and then I’d drive to the park. I ran and jogged for 30 minutes without stopping and strength trained for 15 before cooling down with stretches. After that I’d sit on the swing and just have fun.

A few days ago, I was struck with a weird bug or disease or somewhat and basically my body was flushing out everything. I ate very little and made frequent trips to the bathroom. I lost 3kgs just from it, but to be honest, I’d rather work the fats out than to feel so uncomfortable.

Etcetera

I’m 35% done with my play and admittedly it’s going to be a huge rush so I need to make sure that I don’t have to work with too many actors and that the script is memorable. Fingers crossed that it would all work out. I’ve also been working on two website projects, my own and one for a University society I’ve joined.

I’m also learning to cook with my mom’s expensive but awesome machine, the Vorwerk Thermomix. It speeds up cooking by loads but at the same time, I’m terrified of spoiling it! We’ve been making biscuits, cakes, steamed buns, etc. You can just check my Instagr.am, cy391 for pictures

So now that I’m back in Brunei, I’ve done a weigh-in. As of today, I weigh 83.2kgs. I’ve dropped 0.8kgs but at least that’s a start.

Mom has been pretty helpful with my weight loss and exercise. She allows me to drive to the park (Yes, the irony, I know, but to walk from home to the park is ridiculous) and has started to cook healthy food. We rarely eat fried foods now, everything comes straight out of the oven or are soups.

Budget

I’ve ended up with an overdraft of £150, and owing my parents and sister some money. Initially I’ve had my budgeting going along well and unforeseen circumstances like having to pay a whole year’s rent in advance destroyed it. Nonetheless, over the past few months when I was living by myself:

• I spent only £100 on groceries monthly
• I spent £50 monthly on eating out
• I did not buy anything I didn’t need (clothes, shoes, etc)

Most of my money was spent on my brother and when I was on holiday. Personal splurges included:

• 3 pairs of shoes (Nike trainers €16, Converse flats £40 and Rudy brogues €30)
• Dorothy Perkins dress £18 (worn on my sister’s graduation)
• New Look Trousers £9.99 (I had previously ripped my La Redoute ones)
• Warehouse handbag £25 (My cousin paid for it as a birthday gift)
• Chanel Rouge Coco Shine Lipstick in Deauville €29.90
• Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette €43
•  Bioderma Crealine (Sensibio) H2O Micelle Solution €18
• and lots of souvenirs

Studies & Career

I’ve decided to try for placements in USA and so I’m in the midst of researching things about it. Though it was a bit difficult at first to explain to my family why I wanted it badly, they approved of it. Of course, failing to secure a job there, I’ll continue to live and work in UK for my placement year.

I’m once again motivated to work hard for my next academic year. Apparently my bank account in Brunei states that if I get a first class, I will be awarded about BND500, which isn’t much if you count it in pounds, but is more than enough to survive on for weeks here. The last time I got money from the bank was for my A Level results

Beauty

I’ve been experimenting with various facial washes over the past few months, and currently the only one that works is Neutrogena’s Pink Grapefruit Cream wash and Bioderma. I cannot use the other Neutrogena facial washes as it causes me to break out.

Laneige’s Sunblock, also breaks me out, so now I don’t use sunblock on my face. Hello summer tan which I always always try to avoid.

As for hair, since no shampoo works for my oily hair, my friend suggested just washing it with water for two weeks. I haven’t had time to properly experiment because I’d feel all icky if I didn’t wash it for a day. Perhaps if I feel adventurous and decide that hygiene is not for me, I might just go for it.

I’ve also finally decided to do something about the hard corns on my feet. I’ve had them since I was in pre-school and I used to think that it was perfectly normal. My cousin had spare corn caps, so now I’m on day 7 of using them (it contains Salicylic acid) and the skin around the area has softened. I have no idea what to do after this, and all I’m hoping is that all would go well and I’d have somewhat normal looking feet for once.

Summer Plans

I have nothing. I’m still waiting for work attachment responses, and if I don’t have anything, I’ll just stay at home and help mom with the housework. Of course, once I complete the script for the play I’m directing!

That’s an overall summary of what’s been going on in my life. I hope you readers are doing well – I know I am

It’s been a long time since I’ve blogged. A lot of things have happened in the past month and a bit. First and foremost, I’m done with all my exams and managed to score a 2:i, which to me was a bit disappointing, but at the same time reassuring because I had initially thought that I would fail a particular module but I passed everything in the end

After my exams, I embarked on a hectic 1 month journey around Europe / UK. The itinerary was as follows:

• Cambridge, UK
• Munich, Germany (stopping by Neuschwanstein)
• Salzburg, Austria (and visited Hellbrun)
• Vienna, Austria
• Zurich, Switzerland (stopping by Lichwanstein and Heidiland)
• Paris, France
• London, UK
• Reading, UK
• Newbury, UK
• and then back to Cambridge

So you can imagine how tired I was at the end of all my holidays. Not to mention my crazy Newbury-Bristol-Cambridge journey to send my bicycle to a storage company (I have my scars to prove that my journey was not the smoothest…) But anyhow I’m glad to be back in Brunei, where the weather is hot but rainy, food is good and where I can say my house is a home