Food, Fitness and Fun in the City: Fitness Goals

By Connor Bell

Well, a month down and many more to go. My fitness and food goals have slowly started to pay off and I’ve seen this droopy post-baby body drop two kilograms on the scale. It’s a start! Check out what I did this month amidst my extremely active, never-stop-working lifestyle.

What I Ate

I’m still giving the Keto diet a go, though I’m not as disciplined as I should be. This month I tried a few different low-carb meals but my favourite so far has to be the Loaded Chicken Salad recipe that has had me going back for more each time I make it.

It’s light, it’s fresh and served in a lettuce wrap, it totally makes me guilt-free when I have seconds. If you’re not looking to cut carbs, you can slather this chicken salad on half of a ciabatta and you might just hear my cries of envy throughout the city.

Loaded Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of shredded chicken breast
• ¼ cup mayonnaise (low fat if you’d like)
• ½ low fat sour cream
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped yellow onion
• 3 sliced green onions
• ½ cup crumbled bacon
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• Salt & pepper

What next?

1. Mix together the chicken, celery, onions, bacon and cheese in a large bowl.
2. Top with mayonnaise and sour cream then mix well until all ingredients are coated.
3. Season with salt & pepper.
4. Serve in a lettuce wrap with avocado or even crackers!

What I Did

This month I decided to start my gym-going experience with FitMonster. It’s an awesome little workout studio on Taixing Lu (right down the road from my eyelash extension salon – so, perfect) and run by Mekki – a fitness trainer from Turkey who really knows his stuff.

FitMonster runs a variety of classes during the week and they keep the class sizes to maximum five people which, in my mind, is wonderful if you don’t want to be sweaty and gross in front of a bunch of people. After talking with Mekki about the Strength, Strength & Conditioning, Kettlebell and H.I.I.T. classes, we decided my best introduction to exercising after giving birth would be his Kettlebell class so I decided to give it a whirl.

Kettlebell class is hard. That’s my two cents. I was in a class with one other gal who was a beast and did the class like it was a walk in the park while I drained myself of all bodily sweat within the first 10 minutes. We did a couple reps of kettlebell swings, deadlifts, farmer walks, mountain climbers and tire flips and I was a goner. It was a wonderful workout and Mekki was able to adjust the routine for each of us individually. He addressed my lower back pain that hasn’t seemed to subside since pregnancy and he offered up stretches and actions that could help alleviate the pain both while working out and at home. I loved the class and I will definitely be back.

Where I Went

I don’t wear makeup. Full stop. I own it, I waste my money on it, I even watch YouTube tutorials on how to do makeup properly once in a blue moon but I do not wear makeup. It’s not a stance I’ve taken or even an attempt to pull off ‘natural beauty’ – my aversion to makeup stems solely from my laziness. I don’t have the time and, even when I do, I know that there’s a million other things I could be doing other than contouring my chubby cheeks.

When I first found out about eyelash extensions, I passed it off as something young college girls were doing for the perfect selfie. I had no idea just how epic they were for achieving a makeup ‘look’ without having to do anything. Eyelash extensions add drama and flair to an otherwise natural face, bring in come colour for those who have blonde lashes like myself and to top it off, allow you to look like you’ve forever got mascara on. Win!

I searched around or some extensions and found the prices to be astronomical – until I found Cassie. Cassie has been waxing myself and my friends for quite a while now. She’s got a quaint little studio off Taixing lu near Tap House and Cassie does everything from waxing, massages and facials to nails and eyelash extensions.Without knowing the prices of the lashes, Cassie had me feel three different products. It was kind of like Goldie Locks and the Three Bears. One was too hard and felt like curled plastic, one was too thick and made me think I wouldn’t be able to open my eyes. The third was just right – soft, light and the perfect length.

As fate would have it, these perfect lashes were also the most expensive clocking in at ¥398. I was a bit weary of the price at the beginning but worked it out to a daily rate of just ¥13 – something I often do to justify expenses. It turns out that the extensions are less than my Family Mart coffee each day and would make me look far more attractive than the wake-up-wash-face-no-makeup thing I had going. Let’s do this.

I sat for close to two hours getting these lashes done. It doesn’t seem very long until you realize that your eyes need to be shut the whole time. No phones, no books, no nothing to occupy your time. I got a phone call half way though and thought I could open my eyes for a brief second to take the call and was nearly blinded by burning glue. It’s not hot glue but boy does it burn when it comes in contact with your eyeball. Ladies, word to the wise, keep your eyes shut.

When all was said and done, I absolutely love the lashes. They look so thick and full and really allow me to leave the house feeling like a rock star with no makeup on. Cassie said I could come back within 10 days to have a touch-up of any lashes that had fallen off. It’s been nine days now and I haven’t needed to go back. I love them and I am an eyelash extension aficionado now.