Input = Output

We all know that our body needs energy as in food (glorious food) to function. From breathing to thinking to jogging to getting mad to laughing to sleeping to repairing worn-out tissues to digestion to texting to blogging ... name the activity - we need energy to do it. All this energy comes from the food we eat. To have a real healthy and ideal weight you need to balance your energy intake (food, glorious food) with your energy output (physical activities).

Note: any energy that you don't use is stored as fat. Ergo, if you consistently take in more food that your body can burn, the excess energy will create more fat which will ultimately, without a doubt, result in you becoming overweight.

Is there a way for you to know how much energy you need to consume to maintain an ideal weight? Sure! I will discuss that and more in my future posts.

Tips to Keep Fit

Summer has come and gone, and still, I'm not slim enough to look good in a swimsuit. Since I missed my target weight last summer, I'll set my hope of finally losing the last 8 lbs before Christmas. Okay now. Walk with me. Here are some tips that you and I need to follow in order to lose weight.

First do not deprive yourself of 7-8 hours of sleep. Sleeping releases serotonin and dopamine, the two feel-good brain chemicals. If you are sleep-deprived your body will crave for the feel-good chemicals and there's an easy way to do that. NO! not drugs, sweets! Notice how you feel like stuffing yourself with sugary food once you lack sleep.

Next, do something. I do not mean run the block or go up and down the stairs for the sake of moving. I mean keep your brain and hands occupied. Surfing the net or blogging or playing computer games is actually better than you watching TV. If you do cross-stitch or you knit, hey these are two more ways to keep brain and hands busy. Next time you feel like opening the fridge, turn on the computer instead.

Avoid too much food choices. Too much choices mean too much eating. Decreasing choices decreases temptation. If you have to eat grilled chicken and salad every lunch, so be it.


RealAge

Exercise for 50+ ( or not )

Exercise program for people over 50

Begin by standing on a comfortable surface where you have plenty of room at each side.

With a 5-lb. potato sack in each hand, extend your arms straight out from your sides, and hold them there as long as you can. Try to reach a full minute, and then relax.

Each day you'll find that you c an hold this position for just a bit longer.

After a couple weeks, move up to 10-lb. potato sacks. Then try 50-lb. potato sacks. Then eventually try to get to where you can lift a 100-lb. potato sack in each hand, and hold your arms straight for more than a full minute. (I'm at this level!)

Once you feel confident at that level, put a potato in each sack.

Shop to Death Online

I love to browse online looking for great stuff to buy from books to Halloween costumes. There are just so much stuff available online that it's mind boggling. You don't even need to get out of your house to do your shopping. About a year ago, daughter #4 asked for a laptop. There were so many generic brands available locally but the quality was highly questionable. Branded laptops cost just too much. My only option was to buy one online, from the USA. I found a branded laptop for a real good price. The only thorn was, the company will not ship to my country. I had to ask my brother to buy the laptop for me, had it delivered to his home in New Jersey then shipped here. Double shipping. Double expense. Double the time.

It's good that now there's MyUS.com website to answer to this dilemma and more. Some US retailers cannot or would not ship internationally. MyUS.com will ship to 225 countries at competitive rates. They will receive packages from retailers for you then have all the items shipped to you. Some US retailers only accept US credit cards. MyUS.com can buy the items for you with their Personal Shopper service. They also accept major credit cards from international banks and accepts wire transfer. How convenient is MyUS.com? Very! Hope to the site and get your own MyUS.com address in America.

Why am I Fat?

As you look at yourself in the mirror, you just can't figure out how you added pound after pound after pound. From a size 4, you ballooned to a size 14! You might rationalize that the "fat" genes run in the family. True, you might have inherited the medium and large frame from the gene pool but really, you cannot inherit the "fat" genes. It is more likely that you inherited the bad eating habits of your family.

My maternal side has the worst eating habits ever. That side of my family eats as if there's no tomorrow. You guessed right! I was overweight until my mid teens. I was not aware of calories and stuff. There were no gyms for me to workout nor pills to pop. What I did to lose weight was - eat less. We all know that teens are constantly on the move and has a totally high metabolic rate that I need not exercise then. In two months I lost 23 lbs. I felt fine and wonderful and not bursting in my clothes.

Going back to the question - how did I get to be so fat? Dear, the answer is plain and simple. You just ate too much!