August - September updates

Hi all :)

Just realized I forgot to put measurements up for the last update! I didn't take any in August either *goldfish memory*. So F45 has been going well, I actually signed up for a membership since it's just 3 minutes from my house and super convenient. Ideally I would want to go 3-4 times a week but with work commitments and uni I've been just going twice a week the last two months, hopefully I sort out my time management skills and be able to go more this October! F45 does different exercises everyday and my body is still adjusting, I don't get sore anymore but I definitely can feel it the next day if I've gotten a good workout! My body has been really grumpy this month with breakouts and odd monthly cycles. My arms seem bigger but it's not muscles this time haha :c


September Measurements:

Weight 52.2 kg (-0.8 kg)
Stomach 28.5"
Butt 35.5" (+0.5")
Thigh 20"
Calf 11.5" (-0.5")
Arms 11.5" (+1.5")
Waist 26.5"
Bust 32"

June Measurements:

Weight 53 kg
Stomach 28.5"
Butt 35"
Thigh 20"
Calf 12"
Arms 10"
Waist 26.5"
Bust 32"

♥ Jess

July updates

This month has been a really fun trial month for me, I've been exploring groupon deals and did activities like rock climbing, roller blading and so on. I'm trying to find a fun hobby to have on the side that keeps me moving. I've recently purchased a kettle bell from kmart and planning to do short home work-outs for when I'm too busy to go out. Also joined the F45 craze that's been going on, I did the one week trial and went twice. It's a good workout with interval training. I must say I do like crossfit better but this is a fun work out class nonetheless!

♥ Jess

April - June update

Super prolonged post as uni just piled up recently! I unfortunately left crossfit at the end of April as it was getting too much to handle atm. May/June has been really stressful and I didn't get to really exercise these two months so I did lose some leg muscles and my upper abs that were beginning to show in April no longer exists haha. I did not realise how much muscle I lost until I measured myself, a bit disappointed in myself but I've started working out again so hopefully next month will be better! :)

March update

March measurements:

Weight 52.9 kg
Stomach 29.4"
Butt 37"
Thigh 22"
Calf 14.1"
Arms 10.5"
Waist 27"
Bust 31"

April Measurements:

Weight 53.1 kg (+0.2 kg)
Stomach 28.8" (+0.6")
Butt 36.5"(-0.5")
Thigh 21.6" (-0.4")
Calf 13.5" (-0.6")
Arms 11" (+0.5")
Waist 26.5" (-0.5")
Bust 31.2" (+0.2")

June Measurements:

Weight 53 kg (-0.1 kg)
Stomach 28.5" (-0.3")
Butt 35" (-1.5")
Thigh 20" (-1.6")
Calf 12" (-1.5")
Arms 10" (-1")
Waist 26.5"
Bust 32" (+0.8")

♥ Jess

March update

Hello there!

I can't believe it is April already! So, I did a crossfit challenge last month and ended up loving it soooo much that I decided to join a crossfit box near my place. I am starting to see results mainly in my calves and butt region (Thanks to the many squats and kettlebell swings). I dedicate three days a week to crossfit and I have been spending the other days this month trying MMA which is a lot of fun. I'm still exploring new things but I'm planning to just increase my days in crossfit starting next month. Oh, I know I said I wanted to progressively run to 5km but it is so COLD. I can't stand going out before 6 am for a jog when I know it is freezing out there and I'm not a threadmill kind-of-girl. Luckily, the crossfit sessions I go to do a lot of running so I can still build my stamina and achieve that goal when the cold months die down.


February updates

Old Measurements (03/03/2017):

Weight 53.1 kg
Stomach 30.1"
Butt 37"
Thigh 21"
Calf 14
Arms 11"
Waist 28"
Bust 31.5"

New Measurements (31/03/2017):

Weight 52.9 kg (-0.2 kg)
Stomach 29.4" (-0.7")
Butt 37"
Thigh 22" (+1")
Calf 14.1" (+0.1")
Arms 10.5" (+0.5")
Waist 27" (-1")
Bust 31" (-0.5")

Click here to read about my crossfit experience.

♥ Jess

I tried crossfit for a month!

Morning lovelies,

I'm at the stage where I'm just trying everything out to see what works for me and what I like so I decided to give crossfit a go. When I was searching it up there was a lot of mixed vibes towards this sort of exercise so I didn't exactly know how I was going to like it but gave it a go anyways.

So the first session I attended I was OVERWHELMED. It was a small session of about 12 people and in the particular crossfit gym I joined the maximum amount of people there could be in a class is 16. The moment I got there I was sent to do a 100m sprint followed by 5 burpees, and if that was not bad enough I had to do three sets of them. T.H.R.E.E. After the three "warm-up" sets I had sweat trickling off my face and could hear my heart beat rapidly (Yes, I was huffing and puffing in the warm up).

We then proceeded to pick up weights and do a series of 30 reps of arm/shoulder work outs followed by 10 push ups. This again was done in three sets. I cannot do push ups. Even through the guidance of the coach, I had extreme difficulties in performing a proper one. I was not able to complete the full three sets but that's alright because I gave it my best. :)

When we entered the gym area, I was so confused with all the cross fit lingo. There was Rx, WOD, etc. and I was super duper lost. However, the coaches were really helpful and guided me through the workout and ensured I had proper form and technique. The problem came in the days proceeding my first session... My whole body ached like it never ached before. I couldn't open doors, climb stairs or even cup of water without my arms shaking. I did not except that to happen. Yes, I knew I would be sore but my body was incapable of doing normal daily activities and it was so bad that I didn't go to any sessions the next few days.

After four days, my body still did not recover and I was telling myself how all the articles about crossfit being bad for your limbs were true! I was so scared that my body would break in the next session that I wanted to quit but my friend kept pushing me to go and I am so glad that she did! Crossfit was a life changer for me. Did it suck the first week? Hell yeah. Every inch of my body was crying! But I pushed through, I attended three crossfit sessions a week for five weeks and the results were amazing!

In the beginning, I had to use the 8kg barbell as I could not lift the normal 20kg one. The 8kg kettle bell swing was heavy as hell for me and I could only do lunges with 5kg MAX. It has been just over a month since I decided to do crossfit and now I can squat 25kgs. TWENTY FIVE. That is 17kgs heavier than what I first started with!

Crossfit has made me so much stronger and I feel really good about myself. Everyone who is thinking of trying it, go for it! I'm really addicted to crossfit right now and I can't wait to see how much stronger I can be soon.

If anyone is in Perth, I'd recommend forfitness in CanningVale. The coaches are awesome and they have free trials, challenges and a 14 day pass to try it out for 2 weeks for just $14 :)

♥ Jess

February update

Hey guys!

Now that I ended my vacation internship I had more free time and decided to start running before uni started. I'm absolutely horrible at running but I would really like to be able to jog 5 km without being out of breath.

This month I started doing cross fit as well. I joined a 28-day challenge that started on the 18th of February in Canningvale. The work outs are a killer and I almost gave up because it is so intense, but I stuck with it and I'm so glad that I did. I have ditched intermittent fasting since I wanted to follow the nutrition plan provided by the coach and will post before and after shots after the challenge is complete! :)

I've lost about 2 kgs because I stopped eating cake almost everyday but had extra inches when I measured which is probably due to water weight. I'm pretty happy with my progress and excited to continue to try new things!

January updates

Old Measurements (31/01/2017):

Weight 55.3 kg
Stomach 29.5"
Butt 38"
Thigh 21"
Calf 13"
Arms 11"
Waist 28"
Bust 31.5"

New Measurements (03/03/2017):

Weight 53.1 kg (-2.2 kg)
Stomach 30.1" (+0.6)
Butt 37" (-1)
Thigh 21"
Calf 14 (+1)
Arms 11"
Waist 28"
Bust 31.5"

Click here to read about my crossfit experience.

♥ Jess

January updates

Hey lovelies~

I've made a new year's resolution to get fit and I'll be updating on my progress every month. :)

I entered 2017 at 56 kgs and hope to drop down to 48 kgs (my weight in 2015!) while still eating out (Nope, can't give up this lifestyle just yet). This month I made myself move. I've been very busy this month with moving out, work, family, etc. that I decided to get into a proper routine starting February and focused this month on reaching 10,000 steps every day which I counted through my fitbit. I also decided to do intermittent fasting (Only eat in an 8 hour window gap) three times a week.

All my measurements pretty much stayed the same. I lost an inch off my stomach and 0.7 kg but I did do a one day fruit detox the day before I took my measurement so that is probably the reason for the slight decrease.

Old Measurements (11/01/2017):

Weight 56 kgs
Stomach 30.5”
Butt 38”
Thigh 21”
Calf 13”
Arms 11”
Waist 28"
Bust 31.5”

New Measurements (31/01/2017):

Weight 55.3 kg (-0.7 kg)
Stomach 29.5" (-1")
Butt 38"
Thigh 21"
Calf 13"
Arms 11"
Waist 28"
Bust 31.5"

♥ Jess

Fitbit charge HR review

So I've own my fitbit HR for a year, and I absolutely love it. For those who don't know, fitbit is a brand that sells a wearable motivating workout buddy. It helps you track your steps, heart rate, workout, calorie in and calorie out, how much water you consume, your sleep, weight and just so much more.

I admit I had my doubts of its worth initially and since at that time I had just quit my job and money was tight. Fortunately, I won an instagram competition and scored a $50 voucher to Harvey Norman. God must have been on my side that week because it also happened to be on sale so I got it for $126. Yay me! (Of course now with the new blaze and HR 2 fitbit the price have dropped to almost half of what I bought it for).

Design and Features
The fitbit charge HR is made out of a light-weight rubbery material that rests comfortably on my arm. Currently, you can get it in four colours (Black, Plum, Blue and Tangerine), the black one is the best selling one, because let's face it, black matches everything. It has a small LED strip that shows your features with the tap of a button. Alternatively, you can double tap anywhere on the strap and it should turn on. It automatically turns off in about 8 seconds to conserve battery.

Heart-rate monitor
So the charge monitors your heart-rate via green LED lights. I would say it's fairly accurate just like any other wrist heart-rate monitor. I think this is a neat feature as it lets you know your heart-rate while you are resting, working out, sleeping and basically any time you want. This helps to monitor your calorie count during the day more precisely. This feature for me is motivating especially when I'm jogging or biking I love to just quickly check my heart rate and it encourages me to put more effort if I think my heart's not pumping enough.

Battery life
The fitbit comes with a USB cable that you can connect to your laptop, the plug is a different one from the norm, which is a downside for me. I think that making it a universal plug-in would make it much better since if you lose it you have to buy a new one specifically for the fitbit (happened to me twice, so clumsy). It lasts up to 5 days, so it says. It only takes an hour or two tops to fully charge which is convenient. I usually charge it when I play dota, which is almost everyday so it never really died on me. Sometimes it likes to display cute messages when it is fully charged like "I like you" or "faster".

Tracking activity
The charge tracks daily steps, distance, stair flights and sleep activity. You can adjust the goals according to your lifestyle and it shows all your stats in the fitbit app. To track a workout, you simply just hold the button until the counter starts and it'll record the stats of that workout interval. The fitbit is quite accurate except when I workout. Tracking exercises like running is fine but once you do exercises that have a lot of hand movement like boxing or riding my bike I find it to be off... by quite a bit. This doesn't really bother me much since my usual form of exercise is jogging or strength workout that does not involve me to move my arms vigorously.

The sleep tracker is SO COOL. Like really, I'm so amazed that it can know when I'm sleeping. It tracks even my short naps automatically. This feature is rad, it also lets you know when you're restless or have woken up from your sleep. Another useful feature is its silent alarm, it sends vibrations to your wrist and it's rather hard to sleep through.

Challenges
This. Is. The. Best. Not only do you obtain badges that goes to your profile to show off to people but you get to challenge friends too. According to me, this is the most motivating thing about my fitbit! They have daily goal challenges, work week challenges, weekend challenges or a daily showdown. Every time I see someone above me in the leader board I pretty much walk to uni instead of taking a bus (I live 20 good minutes away from my campus) or go for a walk just to surpass them since I'm quite competitive when it comes to my steps. I love it. I love it. I love it.

Other features
There's other features that I don't really use which exist on the fitbit. You can monitor your weight and it will graph your progress, input your water consumption, see caller ID's from your phone and calorie intake. The food variety is well, not that broad and if you want to be counting calories you're better off downloading an app like MyFitnessPal.

Dislikes
There are a few downsides to the fitbit charge HR, for example it's not waterproof so you can't use it for tracking exercises like swimming. If you're clumsy like me, you will probably scratch the screen and it's so hard to get it replaced as hardly any electronic stores will fix a fitbit screen. Another thing I dislike is, the rubber material. It popped out when I played volleyball and now it looks deformed. I also have super sensitive skin so when the weather is very humid, my skin under the strap likes to form rashes due to the fitbit (usually I would just switch the fitbit to my other wrist if it gets bad).

Conclusion
I think the fitbit charge HR certainly made my life more active by ditching the bus and walking, climb stairs instead of using the lift and even just walking around the house to complete my daily goal. I'd recommend looking into the fitbit charge HR 2 since it has a bigger screen and the strap is interchangeable so if you deformed your strap like I did, you can easily fix it by getting a new strap.

Now that the fitbit HR 2 is out, many stores like office works and harvey norman stopped stocking up on the fitbit HR but JB Hi-Fi (Teal/Plum) has them listed at $98 for anyone interested in one.

♥ Jess

Quick Abs exercises

Every Sunday morning, I like to wake up and go straight into some abs exercise. Usually if I wake up late and need to be somewhere quick I'd do a minute of jumping oblique twists. Otherwise, I'd spend a good 10-15 minutes on 'em.

Here are a few of my favourite ones:

I don't run when I do this workout since Sunday is my running rest day~

♥  Jess