3 Hours A Week – All It Takes

"A smart workout three times a week is better than mindlessly going through motions on the elliptical every day."

"Hey Fay! It's so good to see you again. You have lost some weight, haven't you?" an old school mate of mine, Peter, said to me last night after we bumped into each other after FEMALE Magazine's 50 Most Gorgeous People show at Zouk.

I must admit, all that running & working out pays off when you receive such a compliment. While working out/running, sometimes all I can think of is "Why am I making myself do this? Oh god, I just want to stop, give it up, surrender to the couch and try again harder tomorrow." I procrastinated on working out alot and sometimes I'd just eat 2 burgers and tell myself that I'll just work it out tomorrow. The next day, I'd drag myself out of bed and like "oh-no", literally, I would have a last minute appointment/casting and would have no time to work out. I try, for the longest time, I kept telling myself I was trying. But I was doing too little yet expecting too much.

A YEAR AGO, I was growing a little out of shape. I went from 100pounds to 125pounds faster than you can say Big Mac. I had just graduated from school and I had put on a little bit of weight from all the late night snacks, going to bed late (sometimes not having any sleep for more than 24 hours at all), eating fast food and not working out AT ALL. Any art student could probably relate to the outrageous deadlines and mountainous workload that continuously piled up day by day. I was already procrastinating with schoolwork that I don't even remember even thinking about working out. It started to show. Friends in school started pointing out that I was beginning to put on a bit of chub. I joined a bikini competition and even a pageant but lost all confidence when I saw how I looked like in a bikini. After graduating, I flew over to Florida to live with my aunt and do a bit of modeling.

I would say that that was probably the first big turning point in my life. My aunt, Martini, sat me down for a serious talk about what I wanted to do with my life. I was too shy to say it at first because I was so insecure... so I told her I wanted to do graphic/web design because it was related to what I did in school. She read me like a book and firmly asked me again what I really wanted to do, or be. I finally told her I really wanted to be a model.

"What's holding you back?"

"My weight."

I looked back at my photos two years ago and I realized how much I had neglected my body. I wanted to lose weight so badly I became anorexic. I'd refuse to eat, but when I did, I'd binge. I hated looking at myself in the mirror, I'd shower with the lights off and go out with wearing a sweater even if it was 30degrees Celcius outside. Anorexia didn't work for me. It doesn't work at all. So I started to change my diet and started eating more fruits and greens and less sweets and treats. I didn't start running in the beginning because I had little (or no) stamina so I started out with in-line skating. I learnt in-line skating since when I was probably 8 and enjoyed doing it. Then I tried out jogging, and gradually started running. I also got into kickboxing and did ab workout videos. However, I still wasn't seeing any results.

I felt extremely low about myself and almost wanted to give up. I didn't take up a number of modeling jobs because I realized I was out of shape and barely looked anything like my modeling photos. After 3 months, I moved to California and started going to the gym. I'd run on the treadmill for about 30 minutes and do some light weight lifting to tone up. I also discovered a new favorite toy - the workout ball. There's just so many things you can do with the workout ball, especially if you're aiming for that fab abs. More on that coming soon...

When I weighed myself early March this year, I was about 120pounds (I had lost about 5pounds) and in the next month I was about 118. I returned to Singapore mid-April to surprise my mother for her birthday and realized there were actually a few things I could do here. So I started working the 9 - 5pm and did some web designing, then doing retail. Since I started working, I haven't had much time to work out but I realized I was still losing weight. I didn't own a weighing scale, believe it or not, but I realized that I could wear my sister's clothes. She wears a size 0 and I was a size 4. And I haven't ran in a month.

I was guilty, but glad it was still working out. Maybe because I stayed active by working office hours and still made sure I went to bed by midnight. But I wasn't about to let myself go. I wanted to get back on track again. On my days off, I'd run for half an hour and jog for another half and do some ab workout on the workout ball. I tried to make sure I did this at LEAST twice a week, as compared to what I did before - every single day. I realized I fit into clothes better and that I didn't really have to workout everyday to feel better or lose weight. After giving my body its much needed rest/break, I actually started to notice the difference in how I look when I wear my old clothes.

So, if you're planning to start losing weight, you have to find a sport that you like doing. Something simple like perhaps swimming, jogging/running, tennis, basketball or in-line skating. Mix that with light weight training, and a balanced diet. Go easy, start by doing it three or two times a week. It is important that you do a sport that you like so you always look forward to it. If you suddenly feel like running is too boring, switch to in-line skating, like what I do, or swimming. An hour a day, 3 times a week. That's 3 hours a week. All it takes.

You can do it too.