Christmas Season is round the corner & I'm sure many of you are planning for parties, including myself.

As much as the fact that similar to previous year, i'll be slogging my life out serving guests through the whole christmas and new year season, this year's plan between colleagues is to head out for a christmas buffet dinner, slightly earlier than the actual day itself. We had a christmas dinner in the function room of one of my colleagues last year.

I was actually planning to just head out to feast during my off day, even deciding the place. But now i'm still considering about joining the christmas buffet dinner. It's not going to be cheap, cause all the choices given are at least $50+. Two or three rounds will burnt a huge hole in my pocket, not forgetting all the gifts.

Okok, i know i'm getting kind of carried off about the parties. The main focus of this entry is about preparing for the parties itself. You know, feast & feast & how we will all end up after the whole feasting season?? That's when I saw about this article, from xinmsn of course! Haha, one of my usual site while at work. You know, not able to surf net at work is horrible!

If you all are trying out any of the tips, let me know if it's effective ok =P 

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1. The weekend is the best time for some outdoor exercise. Explore the Treetop Walk at MacRitchie Reservoir, jog along the beach with your four-legged friend, or even sign up for paintball to burn calories without realising it.
2. If you cook right, you'll eat right. Start planning your workday diet a week ahead and load up on healthier choices; choose wholemeal bread, brown rice, tuna, nuts, vegetables and low-fat salad dressings. If you have these items in your fridge, it'll be easier to pack lunches to work every other day or so.
3. Build up cardiovascular fitness. Michael Teo, a freelance personal trainer (www.michaelteofitness.com), suggests adding in full-body exercises at regular intervals, to make your routine more productive. Try running for five to 10 minutes and then doing 10 push-ups, followed by another 10 minutes of running and 10 burpees and so on, until you've reached your target cardio time.
4. Want JLo's trim tummy? Teo tells us, "Abs thrive on consistent and frequent workouts. Work your way up to doing crunches every day." And doing a million crunches is not the way. Teo says, "It's not the quantity that counts, but the quality. Do your repetitions in a slow and controlled manner, keeping the tension in the abs at all times."
5. If you have to indulge in chocolate, go for a healthier option. Teo recommends ditching milk chocolate in favour of 70 per cent (or more) dark chocolate. And instead of snacking on candy bars or ice cream, try a healthier option like Nature Valley Oats'n Dark Chocolate Granola Bar, $6.30 for six bars.
6. Need to cut calories in the lead-up to the party season so you can look svelte in dresses? Teo recommends having a few zero-carb dinners this week. "Eat all the vegetables you can and match them with a good source of lean protein like fish, chicken or lean beef."
7. The best way to tone your butt? Teo suggests doing squats with a wide stance to work the inner thighs and butt muscles. "The lower you go, the more you activate your butt muscles. The lowest you should go is down to when your thighs are parallel to the ground. Hold the lowest position for 10 seconds. Aim for at least five sets of 10 to 15 reps."
8. Need to reduce belly bloat? Try ELLE's favourite "flat belly water". To make this brew, mix one teaspoon of grated ginger, a medium lemon, a medium cucumber, and 12 spearmint leaves. Mix the ingredients into a large pitcher of water and leave it in your fridge overnight. Drink as many cups of this "magic water" as you can each day.
9. If you want to avoid pre-party bloating, stay away from these foods: Chewing gum, salt, alcohol, fried and spicy foods, caffeine -- and, of course, excess carbs.

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That's about it. The next one I'm going to upload is going to be even more interesting! I was laughing like mad at the counter until my stomach hurt so badly

Wait for my next entry! In the meanwhile, I'm going back to counting my off days and salary

~+::RiN::+~

From xinmsn:

The ultimate A-list body

We take a look at the best bodies in celeb-land and show you how to get them.

You've all had that conversation with your friends about which celebrity body part you wish you had. Have you always wanted rock hard abs like Nicole Scherzinger or toned thighs like Heidi Klum?

We take a look at the best body parts from the A-list and show you how you can get them with top fitness tips.

Cameron Diaz's arms

Cameron keeps her arms toned and defined with a variety of exercises, such as press-ups, tricep dips and bicep-curls, as well as some pretty intense martial arts. She was recently photographed with quite muscular arms, which shows she has been lifting heavy weights over a sustained period of time. Fitness expert Gavin Walsh (www.thebootcamp.co.uk) warns that lifting heavy and often will help you achieve a more muscular look, but just be careful not to over-do it! Aim for 12 to 15 repetitions with a weight that allows you to do no more.

Nicole Scherzinger's abs

If you want abs like Nicole then the first thing you have to do is remove the excess fat around the stomach. Boot Camp trainer Gavin Walsh recommends a mixture of high-intensity cardio and full body resistance training which will accelerate fat loss, and then you can focus on your abs. Try these moves to target the ab muscles:

1. Russian twists - start by sitting on the floor with your knees bent and your feet together, flat on the floor. Hold your arms straight out in front of your chest with your palms facing down. Lean back so that your torso is at a 45 degree angle to the floor. Twist your upper body to the left as far as you can, pause, then reverse the movement and twist all the way back to the right as far as you can. As you get stronger, hold a light weight in your hands as you do this.

2. Bicycles - lie on the floor and lace your fingers behind your head, bring the knees in towards the chest and lift the shoulder blades off the floor without pulling on the neck. Straighten the left leg out while simultaneously turning the upper body to the right, taking the left elbow towards the right knee. Switch sides, bringing the right elbow towards the left knee.

3. Leg raises - lie on your back and raise your legs up to a vertical position then lower again. Do not touch the floor with your heels. You can add resistance with ankle weights or by holding a medicine ball between your feet if it's too easy.

Pippa Middleton's bum

Pippa Middleton is a fan of Pilates. But while it is a great way to tone it doesn't get the heart rate going. Justin Way, of Pure Gym Edinburgh (www.puregym.com) suggests to team it with regular cardio workouts like jogging and tennis. "Tennis is great because of the short, sharp movements where you're firing your glutes," says Justin. "You want exercise that works the glutes more intensively, not lots of cardio."

And one intensive move that's perfect is bum raises using a Swiss ball, he adds. Lie on the floor, with your lower back on the ground, your knees bent and feet flat on top of the ball. Lift your bum up towards the ceiling until you're making a line through your knees, hips and shoulders. Contract your bum hard at the top and lower slowly down towards the floor. Before you touch the floor, repeat the move until you've done 8 to 12 repetitions. Do two to three sets.

Heidi Klum's legs

Back in 2008, supermodel Heidi Klum insured her legs for an enormous £1.1 million. And what a pair of pins she has! But while we can't all be blessed with the lovely long legs, there are exercises you can do to define and tone them like Heidi.

Squats using dumbbells is a great way to tone the front thighs. Hold a pair of light dumbbells in each hand, keeping your arms by your sides and stand with feet shoulder-width apart. Lower your body into a squat position, keeping your back straight and chin up. Slowly straighten your legs and return to the start position. Perform the standard squat for 15 to 20 reps for three sets.

For killer calf muscles why not grab a skipping rope. Skipping forces you to stay on your toes and whenever you use your toes you use your calves.

Katy's Perry's décolletage

If it's a fab décolletage and a pert chest your after, like lovely Katy Perry, Gavin Walsh suggests you focus on press-ups and flys. He says "you can do press-ups on your knees if necessary, but a better way is to put your hands on the coffee table and your feet on the floor. This makes the exercise slightly easier, while teaching you the correct technique." He adds, "flys are also a good way of enhancing your cleavage: lie on your back and hold a dumbbell in each hand or something similar that weighs a reasonable amount. Keep your hands level with your shoulders and then take them away from your body in a semi circle pattern so that they almost touch the floor and back to the middle. Repeat for 15 to 20 repetitions."

Kate Hudson's back

Kate Hudson knows how to rock a backless dress! And while most of us are worried about getting perfectly toned abs, Kate is all too aware that keeping your back in tip-top shape isn't just about sculpting, it can help with posture and strengthening your core.

Floor raises are great at targeting the muscles of your upper back and shoulders. Simply lie facedown on the floor with your hands above your head in a Y shape. You can also vary this creating a T shape with your hands out to the side or an I shape with your hands straight above your head. Do 12 repetitions each, without resting between movements. Rest two minutes and repeat again.

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~+::RiN::+~