Review Archives - Page 4 of 13

Achieving Slimmer Thighs with CoolSculpting at Halley Medical Aesthetics

Since my first born, I have piled up 10kg over the 12 years! There was a period of time, where my weight increased steadily till I hit my highest of 14kg above my pre-pregnancy weight and it did not seem to be stopping.

In fact, my BMI had been tipping to the unhealthy range and it worried me greatly. As a result, I tried to exercise more regularly by jogging 2 to 3 times a week, mixed with brisk walking, but the result was disappointing. My weight increased slightly and I learnt that perhaps some are fats converted to muscle weight. It seems that exercising also maintains my weight unless I run excessively which will be bad for my already aching knees.

Not only that, I find that I cannot fit into my pants which I bought 3 years ago and hooking up shorts require a deep breath in prior. So, is there really no way to go back to pre-pregnancy state without poking needles and swallowing pills?

That’s when I come across Halley Medical Aesthetics to start my slimming journey with CoolSculpting, a non-invasive way of achieving a slimmer silhouette.

My First Consultation Visit

Hally Medica Aesthetics

On my first visit to Halley Medical Aesthetics, I was a little nervous. After all, I have never walked into any clinics for slimming purpose. I was not too sure what to expect on the first consultation visit. The clinic is located at Level 3 of Orchard Gateway, which is very accessible by train with the nearest station at Somerset MRT. The moment I pushed through the tall glass door of the clinic, I was greeted by the friendly receptionists. The atmosphere was well, definitely not like a General Practitioner Clinic, but more of a spa setting with warm lights and lush armchairs.

Shortly, I was greeted by the nutritionist, Jean Tong. She brought me to a room to take my weight and measurements. Her pleasant demeanour certainly helped to soothe my anxiety. After that, we proceeded to see Dr. Terence Tan, who is the medical director of Halley Medical Aesthetics. As I knew that I was not going to some sleazy beauty spas with non-certified machines to do my treatment, seeing an experienced doctor certainly made first-time customers like me feel at ease.

Dr Terence Tan

Dr. Terence Tan was all smiles when we exchanged greetings. Well, I certainly needed a friendly and good-humoured doctor like him to feel relaxed. He asked about my concerned areas. I told him my wish to slim my thighs down as I love to wear short skirts and dresses. My tummy area is flabby but it does not bother me more than my fat thighs.

Consultation

After he took a look at my weight and BMI measurements, he suggested that I needed to work on my weight along with CoolSculpting. For best results, it would be ideal to bring down my weight fast and follow by maintenance with good diet along with the amazing effects of CoolSculpting.

What is CoolSculpting?

CoolSculpting machines

Dr. Terence Tan went on to explain how CoolSculpting works. The CoolSculpting system by Zeltiq is designed to reduce stubborn fat bulges in specific areas that do not respond to diet or spot exercise. It requires no surgery and no downtime. The CoolSculpting procedure freezes and eliminates stubborn Fat by delivering precisely controlled cooling to gently and effectively target the fat cells underneath the skin. These treated fat cells are crystallised (frozen), and then die.

Over time, your body naturally processes the dead fat cells and eliminates these dead cells, leaving a more sculpted silhouette. Further, the sub-zero freezing does not damage the skin or surrounding tissue. The CoolSculpting effects are long term as the treated fat cells are gone for good. The number of fat cells reduced by CoolSculpting in treated areas is approximately 20 to 25%.

We Stop Producing Fat Cells After Age of 5

Love Your Body

Everyone stops producing fat cells when they hit the age of 5. If you have children under 5, please do not overfeed them to prevent their body from producing excessive number of fat cells. After the age of 5, any increase in weight and overflowing muffin top can be due to the growing size of the fixed number of fat cells within our body. If we overeat or take in too much unhealthy foods, the fat cells INCREASE and if we keep to a good diet, the fat cells DECREASE in size. Thus, CoolSculpting helps here as there are lesser fat cells in our body to grow fat.

Sounds good right?

It puts my mind at ease that CoolSculpting is the only FDA-cleared non-surgical fat-reduction treatment. One thing to clarify is that Fat Reduction is different from Weight Loss. CoolSculpting DOES NOT reduce weight, it reduces the number of fat cells. Hence, a good diet and exercising are still important for overall good health and maintenance of a slim silhouette after a CoolSculpting procedure.

Dr. Terence Tan and Jean also emphasised on keeping a good diet and lifestyle changes that go hand in hand with CoolSculpting treatment. In fact, most people will be motivated to change to a good lifestyle and careful with food options after they have finally achieved the slim silhouette they longed for! No one would want to go back to the previous unflattering body shape after much slimming efforts. I am pretty sure I will be sticking religiously to a good diet plan and exercising to keep a good health in check.

Deciding Which Target Areas For Treatment

After the consultation, I was ushered into another room that Halley Medical Aesthetics has dedicated to CoolSculpting. Jean drew several outlines of the unflattering areas of my thighs and tummy. Doctor then came in shortly after to discuss with me on which areas to target for my treatment and that set the decision on the actual treatment for the next visit.

Measurement

Halley Medical Aesthetics’ weight loss programmes usually comes with 3 prescribed weight loss medications but I wasn’t comfortable with that. So Dr. Terence Tan, who was totally understanding about my decision, customised another slimming alternative for me which involved nutrition counseling with Jean. Yes, the no-medication way. Stay tune for the next post on the actual CoolSculpting treatment and, my experience and thoughts on it!

Halley Medical Aesthetics
248 River Valley Road #01-01
Singapore 238302
Tel: 6737 8233
www.halley.com.sg
facebook.com/halleymedicalaesthetics
instagram.com/halleymedicalaesthetics
blog.halleymedicalaesthetics.com

Cold Storage Kids Run 2017 – 10th Year Running!

Cold Storage Kids Run 2017 is celebrating their 10th Anniversary this year! It has become one of our must-go run every year. Now, for every run, there is a goal or cause to it (Please don’t just run for the sake of the goodie bag!). For Cold Storage Kids Run, it is aimed at promoting the goals of healthy eating, active living and spending quality family time through running together. This is so in line with what our family does, especially in bonding together!

Poster Mummy and Boy! That’s Us!

Do you spot who are on the advertising poster this year? It is amazing to see ourselves on it! Many readers told me that they “see” me everywhere! Friends and relatives saw the poster splashing across The Straits Times and message me to ask if that mummy was me! So, yes, the mummy and toddler in hand are ME and my Master 5! This picture was taken on our first Cold Storage Kids Run in 2015. I can still remember the cameraman flashed his camera at us non-stop the moment we crossed the starting line! We are so honoured to be chosen as the Poster Mummy and Boy very much to our surprise!

2 Adults can join family run!

Cold Storage Kids Run remains to be our favourite kids run event. Why is that so? You can read it all here in this post! Best of all, the organisers hear participants’ feedback and this year they allow 2 Adults to join their kid in the family fun run! In previous years, only 1 Adult can join the child and it was only me running with my youngest and I would have love for the Daddy to join as well! I am so glad that this year they made this change!

This year is also the last year that my Missy 12 can participate with us as she will not be qualified as a “child” next year. So, this run is really very special to us to be able to participate together as a family. It is also the first time that all 5 of us will get a Cold Storage Kids Run running tee each! The categories that we sign up for are Speedy Orange, Sporty Apple and AIA Vitality Family Fun Run.

Where’s the venue?

If you do not already know from the poster, this run is held at Palawan Green, Sentosa on 28 May 2017, which is a fresh change from the usual venue of Gardens by the Bay. Expect to breathe the sea air, and enjoy the sun and sand (hopefully not too hot!). Flag time has also been pushed back slightly to 715am to minimise rush and congestion for a better run experience.

What are the Categories?

Here are the Categories available in Cold Storage Kids Run 2017:

Runner Entitlements (child):

Limited Edition Cold Storage Kids Run 10th Anniversary Running Tee
Limited Edition Cold Storage Kids Run Bag
Exclusive Cold Storage Kids Run Finisher’s Medal
Limited Edition Cold Storage Kids Run Fan
Limited Edition Cold Storage Kids Run Water Bottle
Finisher Race Certificate*
Fantastic Sentosa Offers and Vouchers
Free Admission Into Sentosa

For more information and to look at the pictures of what is in the goodie bag, click here.

Discount Code!!

Do use our discount code in the poster above OR below to register and you will get 10% off! This code is valid from now till 10 April 2017.

KRSREF17

Race Day Details
Date: 28 May 2017 (Sunday)
Location: Palawan Green, Sentosa Island (next to Beach Station)
Time: 715am – 12pm
Registration period: Now – 10 April 2017 at www.kidsrun.com.sg
Activities include a family carnival, and lots of fun activities (to be updated)!
Don’t forget to check out their facebook page for updates once you have registered.

Hope to see you there! 🙂

The Goodness of Foam Rollers with Primero Fitness

If you are a regular fitness person, chances are that you already know what are FOAM ROLLERS and how they can help to complement your fitness regime. In fact, some swear by it to reduce cellulite if you use it regularly to massage those cellulite areas. Well, let’s see how we use the Primero Fitness Foam Rollers to relieve muscle aches, back aches and my knee pain.

The PaperClip Foam Roller

HoneyComb Trigger Matrix stimulates blood flow and recovery
Great for making yoga, pilates, and home workouts more challenging
Gentle on injured and vulnerable areas
Does not flake, chip or deform – even under heavy use
Waterproof & easy-to-clean
Passed EU’s stringent limits for carcinogens, formamide, and other harmful agents

The Centenarian Foam Roller

Firm enough to manipulate moderately tight tissue without extreme pain
Flexible enough to provide shear forces crucial to myofascial release during foam rolling
Does not flake, chip or deform – even under heavy use
Waterproof & easy-to-clean
Passed EU’s stringent limits for carcinogens, formamide, and other harmful agents
3 different intensities relieves chronic pain in any muscle group
Indestructible Core
Additional 100-Year Juggernaut Warranty

For Knee Pain and Relief of Muscle Aches

I have been having knee pain recently when I jog for more than 2 km. On one fitness article that I read, using a foam roller to massage my quadriceps will help to loosen the tight muscles above my knees and prevent knee pain. Hence, ever since I have the PaperClip Foam Roller, I have been able to jog for longer distance without knee pain. And using it after my workout is like having a masseur to massage my aching muscles, especially after my weekly Pilates session. Since then, I have introduced to my kids who have intensive volleyball training and they love that the “massaging” effect of the foam rollers on their overworked muscles.

Working on the Quadriceps

Working on the Calves

For Neck Aches or Shoulder Pain

If you do not have a good night’s sleep, and have aching shoulders and aching neck, try massaging your neck and shoulders using the foam rollers too!

You can also use the Centenarian for massaging any muscle group. I like it that it has different grooves for fingers, palms and knuckles. My kids use it for massaging soles!

There are simply too many ways to use the Foam Rollers! It is amazing that the Centenarian Foam Roller is designed to last a lifetime! It has a 100 Year Warranty!

Here are 2 useful INFOGRAPHICS on how to use the Foam Rollers:

Choosing The Right Yoga Mats

Since we are on the topic of fitness, let’s have a look at the 2 Yoga Mats that we are using and how to choose a Yoga Mat.

You may have noticed that in the above photos, we are using 2 Yoga Mats. The olive green one is called the Natural Rubber Mat and the light green one is called the TPE Mat.

We usually spend an hour or more on the Yoga Mat on one workout session and it is important to find one that does not skid as you workout or one that sheds rubber after some time. It is good to invest on a lasting Yoga Mat.

The NatTone Natural Rubber Mat

The Natural Rubber Mat is a very comfortable mat and has a cool feel to it. It is made with premium all-natural eco-friendly materials and the natural rubber is tapped from renewable rubber trees. This is the only skin-health mat with no unnatural toxins and chemicals used during the production process. In fact, this fitness mat is the best of its class. It is also suited for the hot weather in Singapore as its open-cell rubber absorbs oils, odors and perspiration. It is heavier than those PVC Yoga Mats. It has a thickness of 5.2mm and has a very good grip. Your feet will certainly not skid when you do Yoga or Pilates pose. I also like that it comes with a sleek bag for storage.

The TPE Mat

The TPE Mat is a combination of synthetic rubber and non-toxic material, making it safer and stronger than PVC. It comes with a Body Alignment System with the alignment lines to help users to concentrate while adjusting hands and feet to precise position. This keeps your body in proper alignment for effective yoga. The double layer structure design of thickness 6mm, provides optimal grip, excellent cushioning and double-sided non-slip texture, best suited for many forms of Yoga. This mat is lightweight, non-slip and contains no latex, PVC or any harmful chemicals.

Here is another easy guide to choosing a yoga mat:

So now you know how to choose a good Yoga Mat, do remember to head over here to check them out!

Primero Fitness is also launching a Good Posture Campaign: Family, Sit Right!

We find ourselves compromising body postures and sitting long hours in the office, and all these cause body pain here and there. Here is a good and easy way to relief aches in shoulders, back and upper body. Everyone can do it! It is good to do this for a set of 4-8 times daily for 10 seconds to 1 minute.

My kids surely learn fast!

For more information, check these links:

Foam Rollers – The PaperClip, The Centenarian

Yoga Mats – NatTone Natural Rubber Mat, TPE Mat

More on Primero Fitness – Primero Fitness

Disclaimer: We received the foam rollers and yoga mats for the purpose of this review. Hope I can play a part to help reach out to more people with good fitness tips and help relieve body aches with the sharing of this post! Stay fit and healthy!

5 Ways of Safe Cleaning with Dapple

What are the common products that mothers have for cleaning when it comes to babies and young children?
For sure, every mother will need wet wipes for messy times, bottle and breastpump cleaner, toy and highchair cleaner, surface cleaners and laundry detergent that are safe for delicate skin.

{Product Review}

1. Wet Wipes

Well, my kids have grown to be big kids now, but Master 5 still makes quite a mess when it comes to meal times. We still carry wet wipes with us wherever we go. It is useful for me to wipe their hands, and even my own hands. We use it to wipe high chair and hawker centre tables too. These wipes are also useful in the car and when we go to the beach or family outings. We cannot leave the house without wet wipes!

2. Bottle Cleaner

As for bottle cleaner, well, don’t judge, but I let my kids drink from the milk bottle till early primary! Yes! Simply because they enjoy drinking from milk bottle plus, I do not want them to give up drinking milk early. Once they transition to cup, they will give up drinking formula milk or drink lesser of fresh milk. Hence, we are using the bottle cleaner for Master 5’s milk bottles as well as for the kids’ water bottles.

I find that pumping a squirt of bottle cleaner into NEW water bottles and filling water to the brim and soak for 2 hours help to remove the new factory odour too. The Dapple ‘PURE AND CLEAN’ Bottles and Dishes cleaner will be super useful. In fact, it targets milk residue and uses baking soda to combat odour. It is made with Plant-based ingredients and free of all the harmful chemicals like phthalates, parabens, SLS, SLES and dyes. I like that it has a mild Apple-Pear fragrance. They come in Lavendar, Apricot, Mango-Lemon and Fragrance Free too. The travel size bottle will be perfect for holidays and staycations!

3. Toys and High Chair Cleaner

What do I use to clean for toys and high chair at home? Depending on the kind of toys, if they are good for soaking, I will dilute Dettol into a pail of water to disinfect and thorough cleaning. These are usually non-battery operated plastic toys like LEGO blocks. And if they are not suitable to be soaked in water, I will spray with Dapple Toy and High Chair Cleaner on a piece of damp cloth and wipe them. I like that this is a spray bottle and easy to spray on chairs at home and wipe clean with a damp cloth. Even my Master 5 can do this house chore! Just like the Bottle and Dishes cleaner, the Dapple Toy and High Chair Cleaner is free of the same harmful chemicals too.

4. Nursery Cleaner

Interestingly, Dapple products include the Dapple Nursery Cleaner too. I love this one to bits. Why? Because it can be sprayed onto any surface and remove grime, sticky finger prints, and even doodles on walls! It is a fast way to clean up kids’ tables, chairs and residue on the floors or shelves. Just spray and wipe off. You will have a peace of mind that this is free of harmful chemicals again!

5. Laundry Detergent

Lastly, the choice of Laundry detergent for young children’s clothes need special attention. This is certainly so for sensitive baby skin and eczema condition. Master 10 has eczema and using the right laundry detergent is very important to not trigger flare ups. Many of those laundry detergents that come with fragrance could potentially be a problem when it comes to sensitive skin. Dapple Laundry Detergent is hypoallergenic and fragrance free, in fact it is made without SLS, SLES, artificial fragrances, dyes, parabens, phthalates, 1,4-dioxane, chlorine, formaldehyde, optical brighteners, and alcohol. Hence, I have reserved this safe laundry detergent for Master 10 and Master 5’s clothes while the rest of the family use normal laundry detergent.

You will be happy to know that all the Dapple bottles are BPA-free too!

If you are wondering what are SLS, SLES, and why are formaldehyde a no-no ingredient in your choices of liquid cleaners or even shampoos, bath, check out this informative chemical list.

Discount Code Alert!

dapple15christy

Use the above discount code to enjoy 15% discount off all Dapple products on Dearbaby webstore and Dearbaby @ Jem (#04-45). Note that this code is valid until 28 February 2017. Do take note that the webstore requires a minimum $20 order for processing.

Happy Cleaning!

PSLE Student English Workshop by Marshall Cavendish Education

I think by now most of you know that I am exploring ways to teach my own P6 girl since she does not have tuition. In fact, I am looking at whether there are tuition centres for parents like me. Mummy Ed knows me well for sure, and introduce me to the series of Parent Workshops by Marshall Cavendish Education (hey, I am sure you have heard of MCONLINE!). It has all levels from P1 to P6 Coaching Workshops meant for parents to attend. I am definitely most interested in PSLE Parent Workshops!

But before I attend the PSLE Parent Workshops, I realized that they have PSLE Student Workshops too! Hence, I decided to coax my girl into skipping her art classes to attend the English Workshop since the dates worked out well for us. Each of the Student and Parent Workshops consists of a 2-part series, meaning that you have to attend 2 Saturdays for each subject upon sign up, usually from 9am to 3pm or 430pm depending on which subject it is.

In the English Student Workshop over 2 Saturdays which my girl and her friend had attended, they learnt the following:

The 5 Deadly Character Flaws – crafting a story from the inside-out!
- At the heart of every good story lies a flawed character who wants to/learns how to change.
- The 5 Flaws: Greed, Laziness, Anger, Envy, Pride
Unexpected (yet logical) plot twists!
- Identity shifts, unexpected consequences, defying the reader’s expectations
The 1-2 Punch Method of Combining Sentences
- Strategy for Synthesis & Transformation
The importance of asking the right questions (at the right time) – what is “right” anyway?
- Tenacity in asking questions – even if it means stinging your ego
- Situation Awareness – Jump out of your inner world sometimes!
- Classical Cases of People Asking the Right Questions who changed the world!

When I picked up the girls after the first session, I was anxious to know if skipping her usual art class for this workshop was a right decision. To my delight, both the girls gave their thumbs up! They enjoyed the workshop tremendously mainly because of one reason: the teacher (Teacher Joel) was a very humorous guy who cracks them up for the entire 6 hours. To enjoy the workshop is really the key to absorbing what has been taught. For this, the workshop is already a success with the right teacher!

The first part of this workshop is teaching them on writing a composition using the 5 character flaws, interesting plot twists, and ending with a funny Coda strategy: MFHD. Guess what it is?! It means:

M:My – Memories
F:Friend – Feelings
H:Has – Hopes
D:Diarrhoea – Decisions

The first two are for REFLECTING ON THE PAST, and the next two are for REFLECTING ON THE FUTURE. This is used for the last concluding paragraph.

IMG-20170204-WA0001 — Photo with courtesy from MCE

IMG-20170204-WA0003 — Photo with courtesy from MCE

During the class, Teacher Joel asked them to act out the character flaws. It really helped them to remember clearly on each point covered in class. And when the students handed up their composition homework the next Saturday, Teacher Joel made a funny remark about my girl’s starting words of “One day,…” which made her laugh hard, and you bet she will probably never use that start line again!

On the second Saturday, the girls returned to the second part of the workshop learning how to work on Synthesis and Transformation questions using the 1-2 Punch Method. Basically, it is about the order of action just like in boxing punch of rapid succession of 2 blows. Well, what a way to describe the method to imprint on the students’ minds. Even I had a deep impression reading about this 1-2 Punch Method. Seriously I was wondering if the handouts were prepared by Teacher Joel too, since the contents are kind of humorous! And there is a TOP SECRET handout that says “For your eyes only” which has a formula table for all kinds of conjunctions.

When I picked up the girls after the end of the second class, they couldn’t stop talking about the class titbits. It is certainly worth skipping two art classes to attend such an interesting workshop and learning these extra tips on English.

Today, my girl had her English Paper 1 CA test. She came back and told me she had used a plot twist and MFHD in her composition. Wow! I thought how timely this workshop is! And the bubbly girl went on to recall what the workshop teacher had taught them and shared the jokes again and again. It made me and Master 10 laugh out loud too! You must know that my girl is a natural when it comes to acting out a scene. I can practically see Teacher Joel’s funny acts through her!

And guess what? She asked to attend another workshop!!

This PSLE Student English Workshop was held over the previous 2 Saturdays and the next upcoming student workshop will be PSLE Student Chinese Workshop on coming 2 Saturdays and Math and Science in March. Here is a summary of the dates, one on Student Workshops and the other on Parent Workshops.

For more information, do check this out and sign up from the 2 links below to enjoy 20% discounted rate. This is bundle of 3 workshops in special rates!

PSLE Student Workshop sign up link: click here.

PSLE Parent Workshop sign up link: click here.

I have attended the PSLE Parent Workshop for English. Click here for my review!

Disclaimer: I was invited to the PSLE workshops for the purpose of this review. As I am writing a PSLE series this year, these PSLE workshops will be a good resource to share with all parents preparing for the big national exam! Stay tune for more!