Tag healthy

We are all guilty of not making healthier decisions or choices and it is totally fine. We aren’t perfect! But in the long run, all these little healthy choices will be very beneficial as you get older. However, you must take into account your genes as well as certain food or exercise may not be good for you. How to know? Take a DNA test Malaysia to find out which workout and food are suitable for you and your genes. Here are just some simple easy tips that worked for me, and I’m sure you’ll benefit from them too!

1. Eat more unprocessed food

One of the things that I found most helpful is eating more whole, unprocessed foods.

Unprocessed foods will tend to make you feel more full compared to processed.

Processed foods are packed with sodium, salt, preservatives and all the unnecessary extra calories which you don’t need.

Here are some examples of unprocessed and processed food:

Processed (food you should avoid!)
– most of the microwavable foods
– deli meat
– fast food
– potato chips

Unprocessed (food you should eat!)
– fresh fruits & vegetables
– eggs
– lean meat (eg. free range chicken, grass fed beef, wild fish)
– nuts & seeds (almonds, pecans, macadamia nuts, flax seeds, chia seeds)

If you want to find out more about processed vs unprocessed food, you can check out this link.

2. Snack healthier

We are all guilty of snacking foods like potato chips, chocolate, instant noodles and so on. If you’re the type that loves to snack a lot, try snacking on healthier options such as nuts, whole oatmeal, rice cakes, and greek yogurt.

You can also check out THENATIVEFOODCOMPANY, they provide the best healthy and protein snacks from all around the world! If you use my code ‘MICHK’ upon check out, you get to save some $$!

A few snack ideas (which I personally love):
– greek yogurt with honey
– rice cakes topped with peanut butter
– full boiled eggs with mayonnaise

p/s: If you love bread, try rice cakes – a great low-calorie alternative. You can find them at any grocery store. You can eat them with what you usually eat with your bread. But don’t eat them too often as some say that they have a certain amount of sodium in them.

3. Be careful of what you drink

A can of coke is roughly 140 calories. Most of the sodas contain roughly ~200 calories plus and minus. You may think that all these drinks won’t cost you – but it does. Even alcohol contains calories! Did you also know if you have HIV, alcohol could worsen the symthoms? If you have sexual intercourse regularly and you don’t get yourself checked for HIV or STD, you could potentially harm yourself. Those who are sexually active should take a HIV test kit Malaysia to ensure you’re safe from this harmful disease.

Always opt for better options such as drinking water, green tea, iced tea.
Most of the time especially when I’m out, I usually order water. Even at home, I rarely drink unnecessarily unless I have a lot of calories left.

Read more: Why I Started This Healthy Lifestyle

4. Always be on the move

Whenever you can, always try to burn the extra calories by walking more, or taking the stairs if the floor is just a few floors above (or if you are not feeling lazy, then opt for the stairs all the time even when it’s 6 floors above!).

Exercise whenever you can, even simple exercises at home makes a difference!

Try searching up ‘HIIT’ exercises on youtube, there are tons of them! HIIT is one of the best ways to burn a lot of calories in a short amount of time.
Click here for the HIIT exercises.

You don’t need to exercise for an hour or more. It only takes 30 minutes out of 24 hours a day. You can even try yoga as well! Just find the right yoga class in KL that is the nearest to you! 

I hope you found these tips helpful! Try to consider incorporating them into your daily lives, I assure you that it’ll make a huge difference 🙂

Remember to always be patient. Changes don’t occur within a few weeks, it takes alot of time, consistency and effort.

Don’t give up so easily when you don’t see any differences within a few weeks – give it time. Months, years. You’ll get there.
x chelle

Instagram is one of the best social media platforms for people to find motivation and pursue their fitness goals or lifestyle.
There are countless female fitness accounts all over Instagram.  Aside from the fitness communities in other countries such as the United States or United Kingdom, in Malaysia there is also a fitness community that is getting larger day by day!
These women all aim to promote a healthy lifestyle as well as to encourage women (and men!) to be fit and healthy.
Not only are there new work outs to try out but their posts also encourage you to achieve your fitness goals in terms of nutrition and physique wise!
Below is a list of female fitness accounts that I personally follow (you should too!) for motivation & inspiration:
(Note: The accounts are not in order, it is numbered randomly.)

1. Maggie Wong
   https://www.instagram.com/p/BWcabYGhk55/?taken-by=maggiewong0114
   Maggie started her bodybuilding journey in 2015 and has participated in various bodybuilding competitions. Despite having hyperthyroidism, that does not stop her from being the best she can be! Her Instagram consists of workout exercises, her gorgeous body and her very own healthy meals.
   Instagram Account: @maggiewong0114
2. Andrea Ong
   https://www.instagram.com/p/BY0Ma9HgctH/?taken-by=andrea_ong
   She is not only a fitness model but also a personal trainer as well as one of the top 15 Fitness Influencers! She enjoys hiking during her free time as it can be seen from her Instastory updates. Aside from that she also posts her gorgeous pictures from her photoshoots (she is a model after all!) and workout videos.
   Instagram Account: @andrea_ong
3. Nana Al Haleq
   https://www.instagram.com/p/BaOGxeZAlrl/?taken-by=nanaalhaleq
   It is no surprise to any Malaysian that Nana is one of the top fitness model & motivator. She is also an athlete for PharmaFreak, BeFitMalaysia, Under Armour MY and Australian Strength Performance. On top of that, she is also a Fitness TV Host! She loves rock climbing during her free time. Her job is to motivate and inspire people to live a healthy and active lifestyle, which can be seen through her Instagram.
   Instagram Account: @nanaalhaleq
4. Joanna Soh
   https://www.instagram.com/p/BZD7DGSDdlD/?taken-by=joannasohofficial
   Who has not heard of this cute Fitness Youtuber!? Her youtube account has close to 1 million subscribers! Aside from her youtube, she also posts her nutrition and workout tips on Instagram as well. You will definitely fall in love with her in general as well as implementing her helpful fitness tips into your lifestyle.
   Instagram Account: @joannasohofficial
5. Ain Ramli
   https://www.instagram.com/p/BZ7r2qsjUrI/?taken-by=ainramli
   She is not only a certified personal trainer but she was also a national athlete for rowing! Her parents were both active in sports, which inspired her especially her father who was a national rugby player. Her Instagram also consists of workout videos, her sculpted body and various other posts.
   Instagram Account: @ainramli
6. Elina Gives
   https://www.instagram.com/p/Bak9147jtRX/?taken-by=elinagives
   Representing all the vegans out there, she is not only a vegan but also a powerlifter! YES, you don’t need meat to get them gainz! She shares tips on being a vegan in Malaysia, and she does a good job at it too! So for those of you who are vegan (or want to be a vegan), her Instagram (and youtube) consists of various vegan meals to eat and locations of restaurants that has vegan food. Besides that, she also posts her workout videos (here’s proof right there that you can lift heavy even without meat!).
   Instagram Account: @elinagives
7. Winnie Yip
   https://www.instagram.com/p/BVWvXM8FMVs/?taken-by=winniesexyyip
   Previously a WFF Asia Pro Ms Bikini U24 Champion, she is also a Freelance model and Fitness Enthusiast! Her Instagram consists of workout videos as well as her bikini model worthy pictures which will definitely motivate you to be as fit as her!
   Instagram Account: @winniesexyyip

There are way more than 7 Female Fitness Instagram accounts in Malaysia. These are just a few of them.
Sometimes motivating yourself to reach your fitness goals is hard, going to the gym is even harder. But don’t put yourself down, if you want that body, go get it!
You only need that tiny bit of hope as a first step to achieve it 🙂
Do whatever it takes to get the body that you’ve always dreamed of.
It is NEVER too late to start living a healthy lifestyle (and maybe even live longer)!
Hopefully these Instagram accounts will help motivate you (if you haven’t followed them yet)! 🙂
x chelle

Picture taken in July 2017, with a genuine laughter (thanks to my adorable bestfriends)

This is just something random that has been lingering in my mind for awhile. The struggle to stay positive, to be happy and have a healthy mind even when life knocks you down. I guess because I came to realize that this is a daily struggle for not only myself but many people as well.
What really is a healthy mind? 
There was a period of time when my mind was not healthy at all. In short, I was not happy. Smiling and laughing took a lot of effort, it all felt fake. For a few years, everyday felt like a struggle to even wake up every morning. It was like I was physically there, but I’m not really there. It took me sometime to get out of that ‘comfort zone’ that I was in. It was a comfort zone to me at that time because I choose to stay in that zone. I keep going back to it, no matter what.
Some of you may or may not have these kind of thoughts before. What am I living for? Is there a reason to live, what IS my reason to live? No one really cares. Why am I not smart enough, or good enough? I’m not capable of doing this and that. I’m below average, or just average. I won’t be able to cope or handle with this and that.
A healthy mind is when you don’t have all these thoughts.
I think we all tend to look down on ourselves at times and compare ourselves with others. We view ourselves as something so small and we lack confidence in ourselves. I believe that everyone has those moments. Sometimes it just comes unexpectedly, especially when something bad happens that impacts you greatly. Maybe it’s the way you were brought up, the environment that you were in that sometimes cause you to feel or think these thoughts. Or it could be because of some bad events that happened before.
One thing’s for sure though, is that everyone has their own purpose in life, and it’s all in your hands. YOU get to choose what you want to live for. YOU have the choice to create your own path in life. Everybody has their own choice on how you want to live your life. Choose the ones that makes you happy, the ones that helps you to become a better person and cause a positive impact in your life.
On a side note, having positive people by your side also influences your life choices and decisions. If you surround yourself with people that help lift you up, you will one day manage to lift yourself up as well.
I used to think that I can’t control what I’m feeling. That it just comes and goes. To an extent, this is true. But you can definitely choose how do you respond to these feelings or thoughts. When it comes, you can choose to either respond negatively… or seek for help from others. It is all about mindset and your willingness to change or control it.
There will be good and bad times in life, but one day eventually you will learn to see the positive sides of even the bad ones. You will be able to believe in yourself and start seeing yourself as a valuable person. You are definitely not alone in this world. I can guarantee you have AT LEAST 1 person (definitely more than 1 though) that cares about you. Sure there will be times when you fall down, so get yo ass back up just like the saying ‘Fall 7 times, get up 8’.
Your life is like a book. There are a few chapters, some chapters are bad and good. One chapter does not define the whole book.
Be the author of your own book.
x chelle