Fitness log and my OBSESSION with Christine Salus

Hi Fluffiesss, Its been 2 weeks?? 

The days flew by so quickly, halloween came and went, its November now! Mugging period is coming and I'm totally dreading it. For now, I'm just gonna bask in the few happenings in my life, juggle school and work at the same time. Quickly after my last post, I fell sick. It started off as a sore throat which soon manifested into a full on fever. I couldn't do much but I felt really really restless so I did an easy workout to loosen my limbs. Oh, I recently got my mom to start exercising with me! It's not the most fun thing in the world to be exercising with your mother but it sure as hell is funny trying to help her figure out how to keep her form! Perhaps I can try to get some pictures next time....Anyways, here's what I had to start my workout week with. An easy beginner's pilates workout. Really really manageable, even for someone who was done with a cold. 

BEST BEGINNERS PILATES WORKOUT - Slimmer, Stronger Body with this 45 min fitness routine

Extreme Total Body Fat Burning Workout | Level 3- BeFit in 30 Extreme

I supplemented my regular pilates workouts as usual with some additional cardio routines just so to up my metabolism. As soon as I felt fine, this was the first workout that I attempted. 

Power Yoga with Bryan Jones - 1 Hour

I can't exactly remember why I chosed to do a power yoga sequence in place of a cardio routine but it will most likely be because I needed a bloody good stretch and didn't feel like stomping on my floor at 11pm KD. Anyway, I don't recommend anyone with zero background in Yoga to do this because well, it is very likely that you may lose your balance and fall face first on the ground.

Extreme apologies in advance. 

Brace yourself...

Christine Salus HIIT workouts swarming in

So.. I think I've developed an obsession with Christine Salus' HIIT workouts. Let me just say... Her 20min HIITs kills me more than my usual full hour and more workouts. Yup. I've begin substituting her HIITs for Blogilates' cardio workouts because they are much more effective for me at the moment. There are so many workouts out there that tell you 'BRUTAL', 'KILLER', 'EPIC' etc but her workouts are probably all of them combined into one. 

Brutal Bodyweight HIIT | Burn 300 calories in 21 min

Fat Blasting HIIT workout - Sweat, Strengthen & Tone! (Time challenge II)

On my first attempt, I managed to complete this in like.... 30 plus mins I think? I paused the video several times because I was just so tired. My second try was better. I came in at about 25mins. 

How to Increase Your Metabolism - Brutal 30 min HIIT workout

700 Calorie Burn HIIT Home Workout

After all that working out, its time for some regular human activities. I visited a quaint coffee place called 'The Provision Shop' in Duxton area. It is such a lovely place I can't wait to be back again just to soak up the atmosphere.

 I must say tho.. The food was pretty average :/ Not the best cafe food that I've had.

A little walk through the charming old streets of Singapore. If I ever have to leave Singapore, this would be one of the things I would miss most.

In the spirit of Halloween, my friends and I went on a TRIPLE DATE to USS for Halloween Horror Nights! The queueing was insane for the last attraction but it was well worth the wait. I was extremely exhausted by the time we reached the last attraction but I was probably the one that screamed the loudest and even scratched my boyfriend at some point. The Lab, was so well done and I just couldn't handle the size of the aliens towering over me. All I wanted to do was run. 

Along the streets of 'New York', ghouls, gargoyles, zombies roam. I didn't manage to take alot of photos but the set was really really well done. 

And I took some time to come up with my first ever halloween baked goodie for my friends and I: 

Paleo witch fingers!

And as for the weekend after Halloween, I kick started it with a gym session at Energyone with my classmates. 

Our workout session routine (Weight recorded is for my sets):

1. Running on treadmill: 1.2km
2. Lateral arm pulls: 4 sets of 12 reps, 18 to 25kg progressively
3. Tricep push ups on some arm machine: 4 sets of 12 reps, 22 kg support I think? 
4. Regular Squats: 4 sets of 8 reps, 20kg barbell with 15 to 20kg progressively each side
5. Sumo Squats: 4 sets of 8 reps, 20kg barbell with 15 to 20kg progressively each side
6. Walking Lunges: 4 sets, 20kg barbell with 10kg weight
7. Quad extensions: 4 sets of 8 reps, 25kg
8. Hamstring extensions: 4 sets of 8 reps, 25kg

I did an additional round of arm workout because I wanted to work my upper body a little more and build more strength.

I think we couldn't be any crazier by going for a round of creepy mind boggling fun at the Escape room after our workout. We did the resident evil's challenge and it was hard! We weren't allowed to bring in anything, not even our phones, a pen or paper so there was no way for us to cheat. But hey, someone in our group managed to cheat after all. LOL thief in the making.

And finally, the day I've been waiting all week for..
Pak Tor day with my boyfriend! We went to creamier and had our favourite waffles (Altho they didn't taste as good as usual) and ice cream!!! Ice cream days are probably my favourite days lol..

While waitingggggg and waittingggggggggggggg

It came! After almost 30mins of waiting. We probably finished it within like... 15mins or less lol

That marked the end of October. Is it just me or the excitement in the air.. Can you smell Christmas like I do already? 

Happy November guys.. Approximately 2 more months to the 2015. 2 more months to fulfil whatever your goals this year :)

Little India, Yolo food and workouts

Hi Fluffies!

This week, I tried 5 new workout videos! Haven't been this adventurous in a while so it was a pretty tiring week.. Physically and mentally straining. However, it was fun trying new workouts! In fact, one of the things that relaxes me most is actually a good workout. Somehow time always pass so quickly whenever I do my workouts.

Fat Burning and Abs Workout Level 1 | BeFit in 30 Extreme

Total Body Weight Loss Workout Level 1 (Calisthenics) | BeFit in 30 Extreme

I did this workout right after fat burning and abs workout. I wasn't expecting that from the trainer because he looks too pretty to be serious. But, alas do not judge a book by its cover. I can say this workout's a keeper.

500 Calorie Total Body HIIT workout (NO equipment needed) PLUS Bonus 8 minute AB CHALLENGE!

and then, there's THIS ONE. IT WAS SUPER HARD. For me at least. By the end of the workout session, I literally died on my mat because I was that tired. I do not know if its really a full 500 calories burnt but i felt as if my life was sucked out of me. This really isn't your everyday workout so I'd probably only want to do it once or twice a week if I have no other workouts to turn to.

Quick Ab Workout!

Quick abs by blogilates, nothing too crazy, just the usual sisterly pilates workout :)

Sexy Outer Thighs and Butt Lift Workout!

I tried this for a change. Not very effective compared to the other workouts that I've been doing. In fact, its pretty strange that the trainer seemed to be so tired while doing her own workouts when it didn't really tire my mom and I out. 

'YOLO' food of the week

This week, I made something pretty yolo for my mom and I.

3 EGG WHITES and 1 YOLK FRENCH TOASTS~! With strawberry and dark chocolate stuffings and a dash of sherry wine. ^^ I've always loved baguettes more than regular white bread so for this recipe I used baguettes! IMO, I really think that baguettes make better french toasts. 

I'll be making it again when strawberries are on sale again haha

My boyfriend and I had another YOLO and adventure day to Little India since Deepavali is coming really soon. As usual, the lights were really pretty and we had alot of fun shopping at Mustafa. ITS A SHOPPING PLAYGROUND hahaha. Everything is sooo cheap!!

As for YOLO food, well, I had 3 vege vadais, deep fried fritters of sorts. Was it worth my calories? Hell no. But, come dinner time at Komalas? Oh yes. 

We got tanned after a recent swimming session lol

This is what I'm talking about. KOMALAS. I love komalas, its like sin but vegan style. I don't know if I am the only one but the idea of it being vegetarian used to make me feel better just because there's no meat. But now that I know more about my food, they are really just plates of carbs, carbs, carbs and more carbs.

BUT, I cannot give this childhood sweetheart a miss and honestly, I felt alot more guilty about my 3 tiny vadais than polishing off most of the food on my plate. ( I left the rice out) These are calories well spent okay! I'd gladly come back any day for my Indian food fix. 

Oh did I mention, the plate of south indian set costs SGD$6.20. lol so cheap omgz. My boyfriend had the uhm... I can't remember the name of it but it's that triangle giant tortilla lookalike. That was about SGD$5.80? Super affordable. Super NAISE.

Anywaysssss, Happy Hari Raya Haji to everyone!

Gluten & Grain free cupcakes with honey-ed lavender & strawberry cashew cream

This week's new workouts that I tried :)

Train Insane HIIT Workout!

For some reason, I can't seem to embed blogilates' new video here. But it's ok, there's the link and judging from the title, you should know what it is. It is a HIIT workout. Not the toughest from her that I've done, but worked me up a sweat in no time.

And then there was:

Brazilian Booty Burn Workout: Burn to the Beat- Keaira LaShae

To feed my obessesion with building a bigger butt. It felt more like a regular dance cardio workout and I am thankful that I do most of my exercises in the comfort of my home because no one would want to watch me try to keep up with this lady and her dance moves. I'm terrible at keeping with dance cardios. This is one of the easiest ones that I've done. Although I love the idea of dance cardio, but my body just CANNOT COORDINATE FAST ENOUGH. 

The next cardio workout I tried was:

30 Day Fat Burn: Cardio Crush Workout by BeFit

I still prefer doing a set by set, rep by rep kind of workout. This one was pretty good. It was easy to follow, simple enough moves, worked me up a good sweat too. I'll probably fit this into days where I just have to work one part of my body. A little cardio to supplement spot toning!

I got these bright coloured cupcake liners recently. They make me want to bake all the time! I've always been a little skeptical about plastic products and heat but these babies can withstand up to 200deg celsius. Pretty cool huh? 

Spinach, tuna and cheese frittata that i made the other day, so prettyyy

Compared to regular paper liners, removing these plastic liners is like dream. It came off so easily my jaw dropped. So if you hate the annoying problem of food sticking to cupcake liners, this is a great option.

I was experimenting again and want to try to make some kidney bean cupcakes with lavender & strawberry cashew cream cheese. This time tweaking the recipe a little but replacing cocoa powder with 'coconut flour' (grinded from dessicated coconut). 

Little kidney bean cupcake babies in-the-baking.

These cashew nuts are gonna be soaked overnight, blended honey, lavender, and 4 microwaved strawberries to make lavender strawberry cashew cream .

Finally, the cupcake is born! 

The addition of 'coconut flour' did help to fluff up the batter a little so its starting to taste more like a regular cake, without all the nasties :)

Cheers to healthy cupcakes :D

Metabolic booster workout and legs

Hello Fluffies, 

I haven't been updating much because it's been pretty much blogilates videos everyday. I didn't have time to think about what I really want to do to 'up' my workouts so I just did whatever's on the calendar. 

But for today, I decided to add 2 more workouts to my calendar routine. These are new and I've never done them before.

1. 30 Day Fat Burn: Metabolic Booster Workout:

This one was tiring.. Not as tiring as a full on kick boxing cardio or HIIT workout but still tiring nonetheless. 

2. 30 Day Fat Burn: Legs and Butt Shaper Workout:

This one was... okay? Compared to most blogilates booty workouts, I'd say this is pretty mild. So doable, I can't really feel the burn.

I didn't try the whole 30 day thing. In fact I've never followed any specific diet and exercise plans. I just can't bring myself to cut off all that ice cream and chocolates. My vices.. but they're good for my soul. That's why I've never had the motivation to follow through those 30 day plans, bikini body in 4 weeks kinda thing. I'd much rather take it slow and have no time limit. It's a lifestyle right? Yes. I said yes for you. You have to agree with me lol.

Maybe I'll update again soon after my literature review submission. Until then.. its blogilates videos alll the wayyyy as I drown in school work and my part time job :/

Monday Workout log

Hi Ya'll fluffies,

It was a loooong day. But definitely a happy one :) My boyfriend and I went up to our secret hideout again and it was as beautiful as ever. We can't wait for our trip to start really. Can't wait for wednesday to come!

Morning was a trip to the market with my mother and these chrysanthemums just look too pretty! I had to take a picture.

Today, I'd like to show you my lunchbox. If you knew me personally, you would know that I am a serial lunch box packer. It saves me money from eating out and is a greater excuse for me to eat clean. It seems that I've rubbed off this habit onto my boyfriend and he packs his meals too to eat with me. That is really nice of him because I don't feel as awkward and lonely, eating my lunchbox meals.:) I know how it feels to be the only weirdo amongst your peers, eating your own lunchbox meals. I was really self concious at first but eventually I just thought, screw what they think. I care more about what I can do for my body than how they think of me because how they think of me, is not going to change my body and who I am.

Brussels sprouts, peas, carrots, corn, brown rice, 2 egg whites, chicken shreds and mustard!
Btw, isn't that Spork cute?? It's pink! lol

I know it would be difficult for me to workout while on vacation so I'm actually trying to cram in as much as I can before Wednesday's afternoon flight. Hopefully I would get to sweat during some of our adventure activities. 

So here's today's workout dear fluffies :)

1. Fat-Burning Cardio Workout: Befit in 90:

2. POP Pilates Inner thigh Insanity:

3. Bikini Blaster Sexy legs workout Part 1:

4. The Push plank challenge for sexy arms and hard core:

5. Back on fire POP Pilates:

6. Victoria Secret Angel Arm workout:

Friday 'Rest' day

Hey ya'll fluffies,

Today was pretty tiring and I felt really cranky the whole day. Let's just say it was an utter shit morning. But it got better as the day went by because MY BOYFRIEND IS FINALLY BACK FROM FINLAND YAYYYY. Can't wait to see him tomorrow, I'm really really excited!!

I was contemplating if I should workout today but in the end, I did. 
I guess it's more of a habit now.. I have to sweat everyday.. I have to sweat before I shower.

So here's today's impromptu workout!

1. Total Ab workout: No more muffintop

2. POP Pilates Pick me up Quickie workout

3. Tracey Mallett Firm Butt Workout

4. Slim Waist Pop Pilates

By the way, I HATE this workout. It is soooo difficult I never fail to cuss whenever I'm doing this one. :/

Also I wish I could show you this HUGE plate of chicken Parmigiano I had for lunch. I think I probably ate a whole chicken worth of chicken breast meat. It was HUGE. I had to give half of it to my teacher. 

I should be resting now, Goodbye! :*

CARDIO thursday

Hi Fluffies,

Here is my very weak attempt at trying to do food styling. Obviously it is a disaster. My snow white and little dwarf couldn't save the day :(


However, I would like to talk about this jar of goodness here. It is Pu-er Tea with lemon slices and okay, theres a chunk right there.  The Pu-er tea is a type of dark tea that is produced in Yunan province, China.


"The soothing properties, aid digestion and are perfect after heavy or greasy meals. More recent studies indicate powerful cholesterol lowering effects, blood cleansing properties and aid significantly in weight loss efforts. Many published studies have been done showing the enormous health benefits of this wonderful tea."

Although dark Pu'erh tastes much like black tea, it is not black or oolong tea, but falls into a category of its own. Pu'erh is processed much like black tea with the exception of a couple steps. The tea is picked, processed and partially fired allowing the leaves to retain moisture. The slightly moist tea is then piled. The natural bacterium on the leaves creates a reaction similar to that of a compost pile. The tea is then aged, in special underground rooms or caves, adding to its unique character. One of the most significant distinctions of this tea is that it gets better over time. These aged teas are prized and can be found in vintages, like wine, some dating back 40 to 50 to 100 years.

I've been drinking Pu-erh tea for a long time and I find that it always helps to cleanse my stomach after a meal and I just love how it tastes with lemon. It tastes a little bit like SOD tea although I like this better. 

If you are looking to lose weight, drink tea to give a little extra boost to your weight loss plan :) And even if you are not, it wouldn't hurt to give your body a little cleanse every now and then :)

So today on Cassey's July calendar, it is CARDIO day. I didn't really like what was listed today so I decided to plan my own list of workouts instead for higher intensity. 

Today's workout will consist of cardio workouts from XHIT Daily and a butt workout from Be.Fit. Not a great variety of youtube channels here but its a change XD

So here's today's workouts in sequence!

1. Fat Burning Full body workout

2. Best Exercises For Burning Calories

3. Best Cardio Workout: Kickboxing

This was tough. Really tough. If you are like me, someone with a bad sense of balance, you would find it very difficult to hold ur core in place to prevent yourself from shifting while throwing those punches.
Due to space constraints, I replaced the skipping rope by holding on to 2 dumb bells 4 pounds each, and just swing it the way I would with a skipping rope. It was KILLAH

4. 8-Minute Boot Camp Workout

5. Navy Seal Workout

One of my all time favourites because it gets me sweating in no time.

6. Tracey Mallett | Firm Butt Workout: Phase 1- Lose The Belly Flab

And of course, the finally workout, the toning workout, done with resistance tubes. If you noticed, I like doing butt work. I'm on a quest to build a butt XD 

That's it for today's workout!