I Want that Kettlebell !

I have not been frequenting a gym for a long time now. I just can't seem to squeeze in an extra 2-3 hours to my daily load for a gym workout. What I usually do now is jog a minimum of 3 kilometers at least 3 times a week. For my weight training, I use my dumbbells. I sometimes find it taxing to hold two-callus-causing dumbbells. If I want callus-free palms, then I have to wear my workout gloves. Isn't there any other option? Seems like there is. I found this cool Kettlebell that you could use for weight training. It's so cool I want to place my order now. You can use it for spot-training, while you do aerobics, while you are on the treadmill or out jogging. They come in different colors and weights. I think I'd order one workout package with a free kettlebell.

Frazzled!

It is July already and in less than three weeks, the much-awaited, much-labored-for grand birthday celebration of my mother-in-law will smack me right in the face. I am so frazzled by all the preparations for I am the dupe coordinating the event. I was not planning to lift a finger to help the in-laws. I was just too tired and not really cart-wheeling happy to help. When one is tired and unhappy, the creative juices will not flow. So, why did I eventually take the responsibility? One of my sis-in-law called and asked to "please, pretty please help us". I finally said okay and now I am just drowning with work. I am actually losing weight (and sleep) without actually taking my dietpills regularly. The "losing weight" part is one perk for all the work I am doing. I guess you are all wondering what kind of party I am coordintating for me to lose weight and sleep. Now. Now. You just have to be patient for I will definitely tell you and show you when the time is right. Meantime, if you're not happy with the extra love handle you see each day as you look at yourself in the mirror, try exercising. If you care to take dietpills to hasten up the slimming process, ask your doctor first if you are taking any medications.

Painless Lipo Laser

Who does not want to look beautiful? Who does not want to look firm and buff after birthing a bunch of kids, toiling night and day for years of stressful motherhood with the added strain of being a wife, a tutor, a driver, a cook, a counselor, a bread-winner, an event organize, a gardener, a care-taker, etc, etc. You're one big fat liar if you say you don't care how you look once you hit the 40s! Life has changed as it no longer begins at 40. It has transformed to "life begins at whatever age you want it to begin!"

Okay. So I'm having a hard time getting back into the shape and size I was back when the price of gas was 15 PHP per liter. The stubborn extra weight won't come off! Short of getting a knife and cutting off the woobly-jiggly thingy that is my tummy, I researched on a non-surgical way to get rid of the offending err..ahh... fat. Sure, liposuction has been around for years and years now but I don't want that since the procedure is still pretty invasive for me. Zerona might be the answer to my problem. The lipo laser quickly and painlessly breaks down the fat cells of the areas being treated as it stimulates the body to rid itself of the excess fat. A typical treatment course runs for a period of a 40-minute tri weekly sessions for three weeks. How does it work?

The Zerona laser liposuction is a cold laser beam penetrates fat cells making them empty out the fatty cells into the body for normal secretion out of the lymphatic and digestive systems. Great! This is best if one is in a hurry to look ones best for that special occasion in the offing. Count me in!

To Lose or Not to Lose... Weight

With my mother-in-law's 80th birthday celebration a few weeks ago, we are all in a hurry to lose some weight so we could all look nice in our Filipiniana costumes. The seamstress took the kids' and their cousins' measurements a week ago but I refused to have mine taken. I told my seamstress to give me until the first week of July before she measures me. By then, I hope I have lost the few stubborn and unyielding pounds that seem want to stay permanently wrapped around my waistline. The first week of June has come and gone and I'm still stuck with the unwanted fat! The second week has started and at the rate I'm being invited to parties, I'll never lose the extra weight. I have to think positively now. I will lose 10 pounds within a month. I will lose 10 pounds within month. While I chant positively, it might help if I look for the best diet pills in town and actually take them.

Doctor's Order

I just had my monthly check-up and suffice it to say that I was not contented with my doctor's consult. He barely did a physical examination! All he did was asked questions that were mostly rhetorical. He kept on fidgeting on his seat for he said the air conditioner was freezing. The ACU was centralized and there was no way for him to control the temperature. Heck! I was wearing short sleeves and I thought the cool air was fantastic. Anyway, I thought that my doctor would request for a complete laboratory and blood chemistry tests before he could decide whether to lower or up my medication dosage. Well, he did not and that troubles me. How can he decide to lower the dosage of my medication without even knowing my present blood chemistry results? So! I told daughter # 1 to get a request for a complete blood test and blood chem. I also told her to ask my doctor if I could take ephedra diet pill for a short time so I could lose some more weight fast. I have two very important events to attend and I definitely want to look my best.

Get Physical

Regular exercise keeps your weight down. It also relieves stress and makes you look and feel good. You can attribute the "feel good" sensation to the endorphins released during exercise. Make the effort to squeeze exercise time into your daily routine. Choose an exercise that you enjoy, one that you can share with a friend or with your family. Aerobic exercise is the best for it involves continuous movement and helps strengthen your heart and lungs. Here are some examples: brisk walking, jogging, aerobic dancing or step aerobic, hip-hop dancing, cycling, swimming, badminton, tennis, table tennis, football, basketball, hiking, kick boxing, and other. Note that for tennis and badminton to be aerobic, you have to run and retrieve/hit the ball instead of waiting for the ball to come to you. Pick your favorite ball game and go!

Easy Way to Lose 10 lbs.

Got this idea from Real Age. Food fact: you can lose 10 lbs a year by cutting 100 calories in a day. Genius! It's staring us right smack in our faces and we didn't have an inkling whatsoever. Or, we just don't know how much is 100 calories and how does it look like. Well, I know for a fact that 1 cup of rice is 150 calories and 1 slice of white loaf bread is 75 calories. Here's a list on how to save 100 calories per day and lose 10 lbs. in a year.

From Lisa Young, RD.
Eat only half a candy bar or energy bar (both pack a lot of calories).
Use 1 tablespoon of salad dressing instead of 2 (toss the salad really well and you won't even notice the difference).
Choose small 1-ounce pitas instead of the larger 2-ounce size.
Spread 1 tablespoon of peanut butter instead of 2 on bread or crackers

Leave the last few bites of pasta on your plate.
Use one pat of butter instead of three on a baked potato.
Order a tall cappuccino instead of a grande the next time you visit Starbucks.

More ideas from RealAge

Scramble one egg for yourself, not two.
Make all your sandwiches open-faced -- omit the top slice of bread.
Skip the last three bites of any main course.
Snack on one fist-sized bunch of grapes, not two.
Grab five Hershey's dark chocolate Kisses instead of ten.
Choose a white wine spritzer over a 5-ounce glass of wine.
Have a 6-inch Roast Beef sandwich at Subway instead of a 6-inch Classic Steak & Cheese.
Order a small cup at Dairy Queen instead of a small cone.

Can you think of your own o how to save 100 calories a day? I have one. Take diet pop instead of the regular soda. Another one is, scrape off the mayo in your sandwich. Eat plain popcorn instead of buttered. There are several ways to cut down 100 calories a day. Put them to use so you may look and feel slimmer.

Egg: for Weight Lost

I have associated egg with dieting. As a matter of fact, I eat eggs when I'm on a low-calorie weight loss diet. Why? Egg is a quite filling food low in calorie. A boiled or poached egg contains only about 75 calories. A recent study indicated that egg is a real "friendly" choice for those in a low-calorie diet. A study of people on a low-calorie weight loss plan who ate two eggs and unbuttered toast with jelly lost 65% more weight than dieters on bagels and cream cheese for breakfast. It's not hard to figure out why. Eggs are more filling and keeps you more satisfied longer than carbs do. You tend to eat less later too. Have your fill of eggs in the morning. However, make sure that you don't overdo it. Keep in mind that the study included a low-calorie diet meaning eating eggs for breakfast helps if you watch what and how much you eat for the rest of the day.

Easy Tips to Lose Weight

Losing weight is easy for some but hard on others. There is no one way to lose weight but here are some tips on how you can save calories on food that you eat.

1. Try mixing brown rice with polished rice 2-3 times a week.
2. Cook noodles in soup rather than frying them.
3. Trim all visible fat and remove skin from chicken and other poultry when cooking. As much as possible, do not eat internal organs.
4 Eat lentils, beancurd or dried beans as meat substitute.
5. Use skim milk and other low fat dairy like cheese and butter.
6. Fill up with vegetables to increase volume of food. Use oil-free or fat-free salad dressing.
7. Make consommes (clear soup) instead of creamy ones.
8. Use polyunsaturated and monounsaturated oils like cor, soya or sunflower. Use oil sparingly.
9. Use non-stick pans to cut down on the amount of oil that you use in cooking.
10. Cut down on alcoholic and soda drinks.
11. Chew your food slowly.
12. Take smaller servings when you start a meal.

Fat - Burning Foods 2

Fat-burning foods are food that burn more calories than the calorie content of the food itself. The book Fat-Burning Foods summarizes 10 basic Do's on how to lose weight by eating fat-burning foods. First, eat a much as you want of the 30 fat-burning foods. Eat complex carbohydrates like fruits, vegetables and grains fro these foods should provide 65% of your daily calories. You should eat from 30 to 40 grams fiber daily. Eat no more than 20% t 30% of your total daily calories as fat. If you can, avoid FAT! Up to 10% to 15% of your daily calories can be from animal protein, however, eat no more than 5 ounces of animal protein in a day. Too much red meat is not good for the body. To determine the percentage of calories from protein, multiply the grams of protein by 4, divide that number by the number of calories and multiply by 100. Here is a sample menu of fat-burning foods.

Breakfast:
1 cup orange juice
1 slice melon
1 ounce prepared cereal with 1/4 cup skim milk
1 oatmeal muffin

Lunch
1 pasta meal
1 sliced tomato
1 muffin

Dinner
curried chicken salad
brown bread
1 slice upside-down cake

Snack
1 cup air-popped popcorn

Quite yummy, actually. Now if only we could combine the eating man's diet and fat-burning foods diet, that would be pretty perfect.

Fat - Burning Foods 1

I took to tidying up my mini-library cum work area last night. I just realized how much books I have not counting the more than 2 big boxes of books that I just have to throw out because they got wet in a freak flood incident in my basement years ago. Wow! how's that for a running a sentence. Anyway, I found this book about Fat-Burning Foods by Judy Jameson. Umm...and I never even realized I have this book. The book says that food high in complex carbohydrates and low in fat are natural fat-burners. Why?

Scientist aren't really sure why but your body seems to handle complex carbohydrate differently than other types of food. Food high in complex carbohydrates seem to raise the metabolism of overweight people. Studies show that the body easily converts complex carbohydrates into energy while dietary fat are converted into, well, body fat. Aside from raising your metabolism complex carbohydrates also serves as your fuel or energy for they break down into glucose. So what are the food high in complex carbohydrates? Here is list of the 30- fat burning foods.

apples, corn, peas, bananas, cranberries, peppers, beans (all), grains and grain products pineapple, bread (plain), grapes, potatoes, broccoli, jam (sugar-free), root vegetables, cabbage ,leeks, spinach, cauliflower, lettuce, tomatoes, celery, melons, waffles and pancakes (lowfat), citrus fruits, mushrooms, pasta (Low-fat), zucchini.

There you go. Enjoy eating these fat-burning foods. Burn, baby, burn!

Eating Man's Diet

Back when Robert Redford was the hottest male star, I found a diet book on sale at National Bookstore. The book was titled Eating Man's Diet. Of course I bought it for I was intrigued by its title. Ever the perpetual dieter, the book held a lot of promise for me. Eat and Diet at the same time sounds really promising. The book was written by Thomas Sharkey. I Googled the name and found a Thomas Starkey who is a boxer, a biochemist, an artist, a sailor and one who has been missing since 1999. So there. I cannot say for sure the who and the what of the book's author. One thing, there is actually a used copy of Eating Man's Diet on sale at Amazon.com for $1.77. The book helped me to lose weight. How?

The basic principle of Sharkey's book is that you can eat anything, as in anything that you like to eat. There are no restrictions. Of course, knowing full well that fat and empty calories are not good, it is well if consumption of these food is limited. Anyway, Sharkey's diet plan goes like this. First you have to set a weight goal. Let's say a small framed 30 year old woman stands at 5'3" and weighs 150 lbs. Based on the the height and weight table for women her ideal weight is from 111-124 lbs. Let's say her target weight is 115 lbs - meaning she has to lose 35 lbs. The daily caloric requirement of a woman that age, frame and height is from 1,800 to 2,000 calories.

To lose a pound of weight you have to burn 3,000 calories. Here's the regimen. The woman has to eat 1,800 - 2,000 calories every other day: say Monday, Wednesday and Friday. On Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, her caloric intake must not exceed 900. On Sunday, she starts again with 1,800-2,000 calories and so on. On the low-calorie-intake days, the subject saves or burns 900-1100 calories or more. If she exercises on top of her dieting, then more calories would be saved. Losing a pound per week is attainable with this regimen. Work your eating days to coincide with parties or events so you would not feel cheated. If you fail in your non-eating days, cheer up! Start all over again. This diet works. I should know. It worked for me.

Green Tea Virtues

Can drinking green tea help one to lose weight? Hundreds, maybe thousands of articles has been written extolling the virtues of drinking green tea. Studies have shown that the caffeine and polyphenols in green tea increase thermogenesis - or the rate at which our body burns fat which translate to faster body metabolism. Using green tea can therefore increase the metabolic rate of the drinker which in turn will burn more fat that will eventually lead to weight lose. Studies also show that drinking green tea block conversion of energy into fat and help your body absorb less dietary fat.

Drinking green tea also suppresses appetite. However,for green tea to act as appetite suppressant, you would have to either drink green tea constantly or consume tea extract at higher levels than the market commodity. Now, you just can't eat all you want then take loads of vitamin c and gallons of green tea to lose weight. Sorry, it does not work that way. You still have to watch what you eat and still do some exercise to lose weight. Green tea will do increase your metabolic rate but only in terms of fractions. A study revealed that green tea increases metabolism by 2.9% and 4% and fat burning by 12% and 35% respectively. This would mean if you burn 1,500 calories a day this would mean a saving of 60 calories a day or 7 lbs a year. Not bad for 2-3 cups of green tea a day.

picture courtesy

Vitamin that Burns Fat

Vitamin C helps burn fat. You've got to be kidding me?! Nope! That's the truth. A study showed that our body needs sufficient amount of vitamin C to help burn fat - and we all know that burning fat is the key to losing weight. A comparative study of people who have low concentration of vitamin c and those who have adequate vitamin c was done. Those who were low on vitamin C burned 25% less calories in the treadmill than those who have adequate vitamin C in their systems. So, before you take that brisk walk, or before you hit the gym, pop some vitamin C to up your body's fat burning level.

Skip Breakfast?

Never, ever skip breakfast. Remember, when you wake up in the morning it's been around 10-12 hours since your last meal. Your body needs food now, more than at any other time. Eat a heavy breakfast or if you can't, at least drink milk or eat cereals or fruits. You will then be busy through the day, and the calories will get expended quickly. If you are trying to diet, eat a light dinner and please, lay low on fats and sweets.

Eat to Live

Life is short. Break the rules. Forgive quickly. Kiss slowly.
Love truly. Laugh uncontrollably,
and never regret anything that made you smile.

How's that for thoughts for the day? Life is really short so eat to live and not live to eat. Get my drift? Eating out is not bad but eating out often is. There are oils that are high in cholesterol, and oils that cause little harm and are better for your heart. However, no matter how light the oil is, it is never a good idea to eat too much of it. Oil is still, well.... oil.

Avoid fried foods. Yesterday we had lunch in a restaurant serving Filipino dishes. Our host ordered fried calamares, grilled pork belly, shrimp in butter, tuna panga sigang, grilled tuna, and deep fried alimango (king crab). Yup! I felt like a tub of lard. I had a hell of a headache an hour after lunch. The food has so much monosodium glutamate ( vetsin) and oil. I had to miss dinner yesterday. My tummy needed to rest.

Limit outdoor eating unless you know that you"re getting served light and healthy food.

Super-sized Meals

One Value Meal #3 please.

Would that be "go big"?

Yes. "Go Big" please.

Fast food restaurants are offering meals that are super-sized. Portions today are bigger than in the past translating to more calories for the consumer. More and more fast food restaurants are offering biggie meals for just a few cents more. Customers, logically, super size their order for the bargain. Super-sizing adds about 50 -150 calories per meal. What's the big deal? An additional stored 10 calories a day equals to a gain of a pound a year. An extra 100 calories a day equals to a gain of 10 lbs. a year. Ok. Now you know where the extra pounds are coming from.

A small serving of french fries packs 210 calories. Super size it and you'll have an extra 400 calories on fries alone. A 12 oz soda has 150 calories. Get the biggie and you'll add another 250 calories to your meal. A biggie hamburger meal would be equivalent to 1500 calories -and that is only one meal. People are now used to big servings. A research shows that consumers buy the large bag of just about anything. We have been conditioned to eat what is served us - no matter how big the portion is. The end result of eating big portions is overeating that leads to unwanted weight gain.

Next time you have the urge to "go big" on your meal, think of the extra calories you'll be consuming.

Empty Calories

According to the chart that I am now reading, based on my height, age and target weight, my daily calorie intake should be (must be?) 1,750 calories. Umm... let me count the calories that I've "eaten", so far, today. For breakfast I had 5 small pandesal, a slice of cheese and a cup of sugar-free coffee. For lunch, I took Ethan to Wendy's where I ate a serving of macaroni salad and a medium size cup of light Coke. When I got back home, I started to blog and in the process ate a cup of mixed nuts and (again) a full glass of light coke.

A piece of pandesal has 70 calories, a slice of cheese, 100 calories, a cup of sugar-free coffee, 20 calories. The macaroni salad has about 290 calories, light coke is 0 cal, and the cup of mixed nuts is equal to 300 calories. The total is 1,060 empty-carbo-loaded calories! I should have not eaten 5 pieces of pandesal as 3 would have been fine. I should have ordered the green salad instead of the macaroni. I should have not placed the 1.5 kg can of Planters mixed nuts conveniently near for me to reach out and take a handful while blog hopping. Nuts are actually good for the us, but a cup full? - that's uric acid to the max!

Daughter #4 is calling me now for dinner. It would only be her, Ethan and I at the dinner table tonight. Even if I want to I cannot skip dinner for the sake of appearances. Anyway, I can still eat 690 calorie-worth of food.Coming!!!

No Go to Fatty Food

I grew up in a family (my mother's side) that loves to eat. We eat when we're happy, sad, mad, lonely, afraid, bored and all other emotions. Occasions are celebrated lavishly... with food. It was no wonder I was chubby, if not real fat. My dear-departed Tiya Viring loves to cook food swimming in oil: adobong baboy (pork adobo), binagoongan baboy (pork stew in anchovies), pritong liempo (fried pork belly), chicharon (pork cracklings) and more. Thinking about these cholesterol-laden food makes my mouth water. The picture on your left was me at 10 years of age. This was the time that I started to gain weight due to over eating.

The high-fat diet of my relatives on my mother's side eventually took its toll. Diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, heart conditions and even cancer were contacted by some of my aunts, uncles and cousins. It is imperative that we moderate our fat intake. It is better to broil and grill than fry. It is better to go slow on salty and sweet foods too. Moderation is the key in food intake if you want to stay healthy.

How I lost Weight (eons ago)

In my 9th month of my 5th and last pregnancy, I tipped the scale at 160 lbs. My doctor was quite upset then because I started showing signs of pre-eclampsia. Anyway, I was able to deliver my baby boy safely but I had to have a double epidural since the first round did not take effect. This post is not about my pregnancy. This post is about the fat (and grime?) that my body readily accumulated during my child-bearing years.

I weighed 100 lbs. when I got married. I actually gained 4 lbs in the course of preparing for the wedding because my pre-engagement weight was 96 lbs. When I gave birth to my first child, I was 125 lbs. heavy. Not bad. I was able to shed off 20 lbs in no time at all. With each pregnancy I progressively added, then lost some weight. Two months after my last delivery, I weighed 145 lbs. I.WAS.FAT! My waistline was 35 inches! I had to do something. I have to lose weight!

Luckily, I have a lifetime membership at Slimmers World. I sought my doctors go signal then immersed myself into serious weight lost program. In 1990, SW was not a healthy place to be. Their diet program borders on starvation. I remember starting-off with a 7-day soup and water detox period, then veggies and fruits week, then progress to matchbox size meat serving, half cup rice or a slice of bread. No soda or alcohol. No sweets. No "patis" and "bagoong" -fish sauce and anchovy. No life! I don't know how I did it but I was such a good dieter that I lost 25 lbs. in two months. In six months of dieting and exercise, I trimmed down to 105 lbs which went down to 96 lbs then stabilized at 103 lbs. From 1990 up to 2003, I was a gym buff. My mornings were spent at the gym - working out: weights and cardio. At this point I was eating regular food but I seriously cut down on rice, fat and sweets.

What is the point of this post? The point I'm trying to make is that dieting and exercise go hand in hand if you want to lose weight. OK. That was meant for me.