Crash Diet is Not the Solution

You've probably heard of a friend-or that friend of a friend who successfully lost weight by subsisting on a meager amount of canned tuna and crackers-or eating some other terrifyingly miniscule amount of food.

The motivation can vary. From wanting to fit into that dress in time for a wedding-to the desire to trim some of those love handles for that beach outing a month from now.

The intuitive course of action when wanting to lose weight is to reduce food intake. Thus, crash dieting is a path often resorted to by many weight-loss wannabes. However, crash diets-which for most part consist of seriously depriving the body of needed nutrients and energy sources-is not a good long-term weight loss strategy.

While starving yourself for days on end may result in immediate weight loss, the weight is sure to get back on with a vengeance once eating habits normalize. This is because when crash dieting, our bodies learn to adjust by burning fewer calories. Once you start eating normally, you will need lesser amounts of calories to gain weight. The end result is that weight gain comes easier. In a nutshell, crash-diets wreak havoc on our metabolism. Chances are we binge on unhealthy foods after a crash-diet and gain all the weight we lost in no time. It may take time for the body to recover and realign with its normal metabolic rate.

Furthermore, crash dieting or "yo-yo dieting" can affect our vital organs which may not properly function without the needed nutrients. Rapidly gaining and losing weight puts undue stress on our organs. Starving ourselves also depletes us of muscle mass as our bodies cannibalize the muscles for nutrients.
 
Extreme deprivation may also cause unusual food cravings, irritability and depression. On the extreme end, this may lead to eating disorders, the most well known of which are bulimia and anorexia.

So while crash dieting may make us lose those few extra pounds fast, be assured that they will return with a vengeance and give us nightmares where we star as the marshmallow man, or woman, as the case may be.

Now that you have been acquainted with some of the more basic reasons why you should avoid subsisting on three leaves of lettuce a day in the hope of shedding fat in the least amount of time, remember that over-used cliché-slowly but surely-holds true for any weight loss program.

Weight loss must be done in a reasonably sensible manner. One of the most effective strategies is to take in five small, healthy meals a day. That will consist of breakfast, lunch, dinner and a mid-morning and afternoon snack. The rationale here is that small meals every two to three hours keeps the body's metabolism working in over-drive. Along with this, try to increase physical activity. Start with walking or a slow-jog thrice a week. Aim for modest weight loss. The faster you lose weight, the higher the likelihood you will gain in it all back and more.    

Examples of a healthy eating plan would be having a bowl of oatmeal, a banana and a two egg-white omelet for breakfast. For mid-morning snack, a slice of whole wheat bread with a teaspoon of reduced fat peanut butter. Lunch will consist of grilled salmon steak (or a medium size whole tilapia or milkfish), half a cup of brown rice and a side of steamed vegetables (or a side salad of tomatoes, onions and grilled egg-plant). An afternoon snack would be a heaping table-spoon of cottage cheese with a slice of your favorite fruit. For dinner, grilled chicken breast with half a cup of brown rice and steamed vegetables. Go ahead, mix and match. There are endless culinary choices that will leave us satisfied while supporting a weight-loss program.

One of the keys to healthy, successful weight loss is to eat the right foods at the right time. Crash diets and starving yourself are certainly not the answer.  

Let Us Support Earth Hour 2009

Everyone is encouraged to participate in Earth Hour 2009. Turn all unnecessary lights off in your homes on Saturday, March 28, 2009, from 8:30pm to 9:30pm.

What does Earth Hour ask people to do?

At Home:

1. Switch off unused lights.
2. Switch unused appliances off
3. Reduce use of hot water.

At Work:

1. Replace light bulbs with energy efficient lights
2. Turn down the thermostat
3. Turn off lights and computers outside working hours

Participate now! Log on to www.earthhour.org and sign up!

Holy Week Is Fast Approaching

Life is good. I am blessed. Yet my spiritual rollercoaster is at its low point. I don’t want an incident to jerk me into reality. I don’t want a “test” to happen to remind me that I should always be grateful for what I have. I do know about the blessings that I receive on a daily basis… but do I act grateful at all? I don’t think so.

There have been so many times in my life when I thought that it is the end, I am now scraping the very bottom of the barrel, only to be lifted by my God and saved from utter disaster and / or depression. And yet when things are ok again, I forget and go back to my unrepenting ways.

Holy Week is fast approaching. It should be a time for reflection. This year I intend to really pray. I’ve been neglecting this Christian duty of mine for some time. There are just too many things to be thankful for.

 

Sunny Days and Mondays

A Monday is such a difficult day for me. Today is no different. And to think that it is such a sunny day out there! Ah… I got up and fell back to sleep. This was a cycle that happened at least twice this morning. I just couldn’t wake up! When I finally was able to get up, I took a bath, downed my oatmeal, wore my office clothes, and bid goodbye to my daughter… but deep inside I was still in deep slumber. Yep…. Sleep walking extraordinaire! I finally woke up in Makati. I had no choice, my hubby was about to eject me off my seat on to the curb. Hahaha… sleepily staggered to the nearest McDonald’s and ordered myself some breakfast. After two steaming cups of coffee, I was slightly awake.

I need to change! I should see Mondays as a new chance to greet the world. A new chance to do things I’ve never done before. I need to be more positive.

I need to be more grateful for my blessings. I am employed. I am healthy. I am loved. These are enough to be thankful for. I should be ashamed to ever feel depressed due to the lack of excitement in my life.

Thanks Lord, for keeping me alive!

 

Natasha Richardson Dies

It is a sad day for the entertainment world. Natasha Richardson, wife of Hollywood actor Liam Neeson (who recently starred in the blockbuster hit action thriller Taken) and daughter of well-respected actress Vanessa Redgrave, died after being transferred in a US Hospital from Montreal, Canada. Richardson was in Montreal with friends and family for a skiing trip when she got injured on the beginner’s slope of the ski resort. She was initially diagnosed to be in a critical condition when she incurred a massive brain injury and was taken to a nearby hospital before being transferred to a hospital nearer her home in the US.

Apparently, the injuries were too extensive, that her body succumbed after several hours.

My condolences to her family. She is survived by her husband and two kids.

our love story

Here I am, longingly gazing at you, at what you have to offer… I ‘m amazed…and impressed. Yep, there’s that familiar feeling at the pit of my stomach. I was expecting that. You stir up hunger in me that’s hard to describe, and difficult to suppress. A hunger that can only be satiated by you.

I can still remember the first time we met. Flashback to when I was still a little girl. I was with an aunt and you were introduced to me. I was shy at first. My aunt prodded me on.  I was timid in your presence. You smelled so good. After a while I started enjoying myself in your company. I cherished the time I spent with you. That memory is forever etched in my mind.

Fast forward to my college years. We met each other again. This time I was with friends. I was a naïve young lady. You were more experienced, more established. I felt intimidated. You have already captured the hearts of many, I can tell. Back then, young college girls of katipunan trooped to see you, some college guys too. That was how strong your appeal was.  You were a strong presence all throughout my college years. You were a staple part of our barkada. Graduation day came, we had to part…and then life happened.

Fast forward to present times, now I’m a wife and a mother. You’re still there. More well-known and recognized than ever. You still smell amazingly good. I still get to see you, sometimes with my family, often by my lonesome. Like today, here I am, gazing up at you…and at what you have to offer. You’ve definitely changed. You’re different, in a good way. You’ve adapted to my taste. You adjusted, not just for me, but for the Filipino People. you used to be so bland, now a single bite from your burger gives a welcome burst of flavor that sends my taste buds to nirvana.

I can still remember our song: two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun…

Hay Mcdo. who would ever thought that time will come when I will choose you over your competitor (which I thought would be my all time favorite)... hehehe =)

fiction is drawing me in, thanks to Butch Dalisay

Lately, the idea of fiction is intriguing me. I’ve been yaking about how I wanted to write but how I was not good at creative writing at all. I realized that I never really sat down to write a simple short story. As in never. So maybe my predicament is not because of lack of talent but because of lack of trying. I have this book by a noted writer. The title: The Knowing Is In The Writing by Jose Y. Dalisay Jr. or Butch Dalisay as he is known here in the Philippines. I’ve had this book for years yet it has remained unread. I bought it when I started considering seriously giving writing a shot. Now I’ve decided to read it and fulfill its destiny: to teach me to write. This book is about fiction. It is a book that teaches the basics about fiction that a beginner writer should know about. It is a very interesting read. Very simply presented, very informative.

It has made me realize the occupational hazards of being a writer. You really have to be observant in every single thing that goes on in your life, no matter how mundane. Although I know this already through the numerous books I’ve read, I never really internalized it. This book finally drove the hammered the idea all the way in my stubborn brain. Live life, observe, experience. This is going to be a challenge for me. In a way I have to play dumb, and experience everything with a child’s wonder and curiosity. 

I have always been pressuring myself into coming up with a unique plot for my story. But Mr. Dalisay went on to comfort me by saying that writing a story that no one has ever written about is one of the hardest things to do. Since most stories are based on real life, the chance that that story hasn’t been told yet is really slim. So it is ok to re-tell a story, just infuse your own flavor to come up with an entirely different taste to the same dish.

I am inspired. I will write. Or maybe I should finish the book first…to fulfill its destiny and all.

Alone But Far From Lonely

I am now sitting alone in a café, feeling sleepy. I’ve already dunked a whole mug of coffee paired with a big oatmeal raisin cookie. I love it here. I’m alone yet not lonely. I guess the guys from the café know that their customers prefer to be in their lonesome.

I love going to my favorite café. It’s not the usual popular to place to go for gourmet coffee, I just feel those places can get too crowded and noisy for my taste. My café, offers free wifi, good music and relaxing live and let live atmosphere. What makes the best in my book, they let me stay there, undisturbed, for the whole day. After I’m done with my food, they don’t hastily clean my table. They are careful not to let me feel pressured by my clean table into ordering again.

I love my coffee, and I love my café. Thank God for these little blessings from heaven, offering weary souls like mine some sort of refuge after battling it out in the war-torn path called life.