Tag Archives: weight

Struggling.

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I’ve hit an all time low again. My weight loss progress isn’t working out all too well, I’m now 84kgs, and I guess I’m not okay.

Problem: Every time I think about my weight, I grab the nearest snack and eat it all. Worse still, it’s usually a bag of crisps or biscuits.
Solution: Don’t buy them. Don’t eat them.

It sounds so easy, but it is not for me. I keep giving myself excuses, like “Oh, but it’s exam time and so you need more food to concentrate”. And then I buy all that bad stuff and the cycle goes on and on again.

Problem: I drink too much Coca-Cola
Solution: Home blended fruit juice
Problem with solution: Massive sugar intake ( ~500g in less than a month )

No idea what to do with that.

I had a dilemma a few weeks ago of whether to go back or not during summer because going back would be pointless since I’d just lie down in bed for more than 16 hours a day… which is completely opposite of what I should do! I’ve discussed it with my sister and I’ve decided to go back and:

  • Get a work internship for at least 2 weeks
  • Get a teaching internship for another 2.
  • Get a part time job at a tuition school (if my parents allow me)
  • Sign up for the gym, get a personal trainer and work out at least 3 times a week or join those fitness classes
  • Go for a jog at least once a week at Tasek
  • Keep to this plan

I’m feeling so uncertain at the moment, it’s crazy. Well, on the bright side, my visa is ready and I can’t wait to go to Morocco next week!

Chicken Congee Recipe

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Congee keeps you full despite being mainly water based. As you can see from the recipe, only 1 cup of rice is used. 1 cup of rice is 2 meals, but by making it into congee, it’s for up to 5 meals. The taste is far better than rice, and if you’re a student like me, you buy Sainsbury’s basics Long Grain rice, which tastes absolutely horrible on its own. I usually add chicken stock to add flavour to it, but this is another alternative way of cooking rice.

It saves you both time and money. After cooking the congee, if you have extras, just pop it in the fridge and consume it within 4 days. Just heat the amount you need for your meal and you’re done!

During my trip to Singapore, I was on a plain congee diet because I could not eat proteins (I had a horrible case of urticaria). I roughly know what tastes are in the porridge, and this recipe is based on my experiments. It serves about 5 people, feel free to try it.

Ingredients

  • 1 (rice cooker) cup uncooked long grain rice
  • 400g Chicken Breast, cut into slices
  • Ginger, cut finely into strips
  • 4 cups water
  • 1 Scallion, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon pre-fried Shallots
  • 1 teaspoon pre-fried garlic
  • ½ Salt
  • 1 ½ teaspoon Light Soya Sauce
  • ½ teaspoon Dark Soya Sauce
  • 1 teaspoon Ground White Pepper
  • 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine (optional)

Method

  1. Add the chicken breast, 2 cups of water and ginger and bring to boil.
  2. Once the chicken is cooked, add in the rice and remaining water.
  3. Turn to low heat to simmer for about 30 minutes with the lid on (or longer, depending on how watery you’d like it to be).
  4. Add the garlic, light and dark soya sauce, pepper and salt.
  5. Simmer for another 30 minutes.
  6. Stir in sesame oil( and shaoxing wine).
  7. Garnish with scallion and shallots and serve.

Oh and this is the most optional step. If you want to add an egg, do that before step 5. Don’t beat or stir it, just leave it to boil.

Enjoy your congee :D

Student Budgeting

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After my first week of uni and realizing how badly I managed my finances, I gathered some tips and tricks from others to assist me. Here goes!

1. Set aside money for the whole month.

I estimated around £4 a day for all my meals, and so for a week, I set aside £25. A month has around 4 weeks, so I set aside a total of £100 a month for food. This includes snacks and everything. But if you have one nice lump sum there, you’ll probably be like me and think, hey, I have 100 pounds. I should buy, this this that and that. No.

Whenever you go out for that week, take only £20 . This is £5 less than the amount you set aside for the whole week for other things (friends coming over, laundry, etc). Whatever you have left, keep it aside. Do not add this to the 100 pounds fund. After the month is over, use all that remaining money to either shop for something you’ve wanted all month or just carry it over to the next week.

Oh and, ignore your debit card.

2. Always go discounts / cheaper alternatives / coupons

I try to buy everything I need on discount. I always buy 3 packs of chicken for £10 instead of buying one when I need them. To make sure they last, I just pop them in the freezer and defrost when needed. I tend to buy supermarket brand items (e.g tomato sauce, eggs, etc) instead of other brands e.g Heinz. You will save a lot of money in the long run. Coupons are also very useful since if you can get the same item for less, it’s pretty much worth the effort.

3. Eat with a friend (or friends)

It’s cheaper to cook for 2 people than for 1. I had a massive roast party the other day with my flatmates and with £50 for 20 people (that comes to £2.50 per person) we had:

  • 6 whole chickens
  • Broccoli
  • Carrots
  • Cauliflower
  • Cheese Sauce
  • Gravy
  • Stuffing
  • Yorkshire pudding
  • 4 Vienetta ice-cream
  • Apple Crumble
  • Custard Sauce

Was it worth it? Hell yeah. I eat most meals with my friend, and each time the meal comes up to about 1.50 a person. On days I eat alone I cook two portions, one for lunch and another for dinner so it works up to about that amount as well.

4. Wants vs Needs

I want a bottle of soft drinks. I need a bag of rice. If you have money to spare at the end of the month, then by all means, go on and buy the drink. If not, just remove it from your shopping list completely and go on your merry way! You consume less unnecessary calories and saved money!

5. Staying in / doing a sport

I have not gone out for drinks / clubs at all. I did go for the Fresher’s Week events, but that was to socialize and meet new people. I chose to do sports like badminton where I paid a one off fee of £20 for the whole year and they host it twice a week. That comes up to around 30p per session. I chose to pay for sports instead of a gym membership because I’m not the type to go crazy over gyms and a sports session gives me more exercise than I’d ever do back in Brunei. Drinking nights are also expensive. It’s £2 for a shot, and the effects kick in after an hour and you’re pretty much drunk for only the night. It’s not worth it since you’re consuming pointless calories and people d silly things when they get drunk. You don’t need alcohol to have fun.

That’s what I’ve been doing so far, but how do you budget your money while at university?