At 140 pounds

Today's weight : 140 pounds.

Wow... After moving my bowels, I am at 140 pounds. Talking about heavy load...LOL

Overall body measurement has gone down a little since 15th of Dec.

As if you didn't know yet, since 19th til 22th of Dec, it has been raining nonstop in Singapore. Severe flooding in Thomson area causes damage to florists and horticulturists. And the rain certainly blotched my exercising plans. It is just impossible to go out at all. Climbing stairs in my block is just too stuffy.

Now that weather is back to normal, it is time to fall back to my exercise routine to kill off my belly fats!

Recommended amount of vegetables in singapore's school cateen food

Today's weight : 142 pounds.

Heh.. My weight is fluctuating. But not going down :(

Here's something interesting that I just read from the my country's ministry of education's website. It is regarding school food:

Provide the recommended amounts of vegetables in noodles and rice dishes.

• For mixed rice dishes, provide at least 2 dessertspoons of vegetables
  
  
  
  
• For noodles, provide at least 1 dessertspoons of vegetables
  
  

I think dessertspoons size servings are miserable.

Sale's here

Today's weight : 143 pounds.

Oh no.. Sales are here.. I have not reach my target. 10 more kgs to go still.
Assuming Mango's Up to 70% sales is one month away. (The Up to 50% starts today), I will only have one month less to work off 10 kg. Zara's sales are after Mango's Oh no.. Will I be able to drop one dress size? I am itching to get some nice dresses for formal events.

Reading: Tofi

Today's weight : 143 pounds.

Oops.. increased by 1 pound... Where did that pound come from?

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1968749,00.html

"Constant dieting may interfere with the way the body lays down fat, and there is evidence that this will increase visceral fat."

I do have a round belly. That would means that I am accumulating fats around my stomach and around my vital organs. I suppose doing a lot more cardio exercise will help to reduce my fat cells.

Do diet or not to diet?

The proper approach would be to never let your body feel hungry but at the same time watch the calories intake and make sure that it balance with energy needs. Fruits for snack.

Recapture of my Weight Loss Plan

After 2 months of exercises, my body is more tone up. My physical health is better. But there is still a long way to go. Over the course of 2 months, I have pick up more information on

• how body type plays a part in weight loss
• body sculpturing for the different body shapes (apple, pear, tube, hourglass)
• diets/food products that improve metabolism
• when to eat my meals for maximum effect
• detox diets/lifestyles to drop pounds without exercising

Understanding how all the above factors play a part in transforming my body and lifestyle helps me to establish a weight loss plan.

I am a Endomorphs-Mesomorphs body type person, meaning that I have big bones, tendency to put on weight around my stomach, butt and thighs and low metabolism. But I can also get huge muscles if I do enough weight train. Huge muscles are not part of my goals. Weight training to loss weight shouldn't be what I am aiming for.

Also, I am a Pear shaped person. I need to pump up my upper body to have a better balanced body. I need to keep my lower body lean as well.

Despite doing cardio and PHA exercises for 2 months, I didn't experience a drastic change in my body weight. I feel that the key to help me loss weight fast would be increasing my cardio workouts and also do something about my diet.

First thing I try is to limit my calorie-intake. Oh my! That is not easy initially. I still have chocolate cravings. I love chocolates. Especially dark chocolate. Chocolate chip cookies is another of my favorite. I can finish one packet of Pepperidge Chocolate Chip Cookies in a day, all eight pieces.

I went down to 1500 calories initially, taking in less carbohydrates, increasing the amount of vegetables, fruits and meat. Going down to that amount to get me worried that I am slowing down my metabolism. But seeing that there is no weight loss from my 1500 calories diet, I went down to 1200 calories per day. But my muscles are getting a little soft after just 2 weeks of 1200 calories. I suspect that my muscles are broken down into proteins for my body. My metabolism would have gone down a little. I definitely need to adjust my diet again. Need to take in more protein from now on.

My dietary goal is to take in more proteins but at 1300 calories. I should have equal amount of carbohydrates and proteins. And also small amount of healthy fats. Because for the body to build muscles, it needs fats as well. Healthy fats: cold pressed olive oil, oily fish, avocado. Personally I don't like avocados. Maybe I will try to incorporate that into my diet. :)

So far despite eating less carbohydrates, I am still unable to take in equal portion of carbohydrates and protein. I am still consuming too much fats. These fats come mainly from cooking oil. I need to learn new ways of cooking without using much cooking oil.

I am also trying to eat more thermogenic food. Thermogenic food are those that requires more calories to digest it than it supplies. Broccoli, grapefruits are reputed to be thermogenic. All protein are also thermogenic because the body needs more energy to convert the proteins into amino acids in order for it to be used by the body.

Currently, I am on a detox diet. My breakfast consist of fruits, lunch is carbohydrates and vegetables or cereals, dinner is lean protein and vegetables. I am losing approximately 2 pounds a week so far.

I am also constantly reminding myself that what I eat now will be my fuel for the next 3 hours. So no more eating 3 hours before bedtime. I am trying to make it a habit to exercise before dinner so that dinner's lean protein will be used to mend my body cells damaged during the workout.

My exercise goals are to increase the amount of aerobic workouts since aerobic workouts burns stored fats versus anaerobic workouts which burns carbohydrates. I need to continue training my major muscles to boost my metabolism. Spot-training is also required for my calf, tummy and arms and back.

The end results that I want from this plan would be to keep all the weight I have lose away. Have a trim, proportional figure. A lifestyle to maintain the muscles that I have developed during this period of time.

Being happy

I was in a state of euphoric earlier over my china trip and various other plans. Now things are quieter and I am bored with life. That doesn't sound life a happy life. From Monday onwards, I will plan more events into my life, making everyday more fulfilling.

First of all, I will plan a timetable for my daily life, work, exercise, learning and of course writing; a grocery list of staple food that I need for my diet.

A road map for my short term goals (non weight loss ones) is needed. There are a number of things that I would like to do.

1. Sell healthy cookies (if possible, tea as well) online
2. Write constructive weight loss articles on this blog
3. Write a book on weight loss and related subjects
4. Start my own Web Consultancy company
   
5. Start my own web assignments exchange website
6. Rent out the Apartment
7. Figure out stock investment and start my own portfolio
   
8. Put more effort in my music
   

Cooking with less oil

Today's weight : 142 pounds.

It is possible to stir fried vegetables with just one teaspoon of olive oil instead of using enough oil to cover the garlic (for saute purpose). You just have to add more water to sooner before the garlic are charred.

I did the same with chicken breast but because chicken breast is marinated with sesame oil so it does not stick to the wok. I guess a good non-stick pan will be nice. Then again, I feel that a flat stainless steel would be better cos charred marks that require scrubbing will be noticed right away. Also any amount of scrubbing will not damage the pan. ;)

Fats in cooking oil

http://www.healthgoods.com/education/health_information/Healthy_Beat_Program/fat_and_cardiovascular_system.htm

It is recommended that a diet of 1200 calories should consists of not more than 40 grams of fat(13 gram of saturated fat). I am taking in at 60grams a day on average. The main source of fat comes from cooking oil. Time to figure out way to reduce the amount of oil I used for cooking and maybe buy a new non-stick wok for frying. A sad thing about non-stick coating on the wok is that it is cancer creating when ingested. Well well well... what do we do when one change or another will create a negative effect on our health?

Just how many types of cooking oils are there? I should do a detail read up on cooking oil, healthy and unhealthy ones.

Are there any guidelines on estimating how much cooking oil to use for stir fried vegetables? How much fats in a snack is too much?

Sadly, processed food and resturant food are just too high in fats. I guess it is either food sticking to the pan or faster turnout of meals.

Dividing the meals

Today's weight : 144 pounds.

3 small meals and 2 snacks a day.

For breakfast, I have a pear or apple or both, the big varieties, not the small ones. Then if I get hungry before lunch, I will have another fruit, a papaya or melon.

For lunch, I have cereal and milk, if no one is cooking. Or just rice with lots of vegetables. For the afternoon snack, I have a glass of diluted fruit juice. Or some nuts.

At dinner, it is lean protein and lots of vegetables again.

I have 3 servings of vegetables per meal. The carbo or protein portion only make up 1/4 of my meal.

I fill up my plate with vegetables first, leaving only a small space for my carbo or protein. In doing so, I am reducing the amount of carbo in my meal. It was in my initial plan to take more protein than carbo. But I can't fit the additional protein with my daily calories intake range. Rather, I am aiming for equal portion of carbo and protein in my present diet.

Cardio Training

Today's weight : 146 pounds.

Another thing to take note when losing weight is to keep your body guessing. I alternate between interval training and endurance training to keep to my body guessing.

Although working out on an empty stomach will burn stored fats instead of glucose but the body does not have fuel to carry out the workout. I find that I am doing my morning half hearted. Perhaps I am not used to it. I shall put in more effort in my workout. Maybe eating a little food like fruit, dates before my workout will do the trick.

One more pound off

Today's weight : 147 pounds.

After clearing my bowels...

I have finally learn how to eat when you are hungry, not when there is food. I used to eat when it is the time to eat, or when I am too hungry. Doing so, I end up eating more food than I needed. In long term, the body is used to eating the larger than needed amount of food. Therefore my body continued to take in that amount and store the excessive as fats on my belly!

It is really useful to have healthy snacks in individual tiny packets around. Not bite-sized Orea or Lay's chips. Blanched or roasted nuts would be a healthier alternative. They provide the body with nutrients. But bear in mind that nuts are calorie-dense food. 20 grams of walnuts (about 3-4 halves) produces about 100 calories. I snack on cereals as well. Plain ones, not sweeten.

Reading : NONSENSE DIETS

http://www.second-opinions.co.uk/nonsense_diets.html
This is a very interesting article on diet myths and why modern diet fails. I need to measure the amount of fat that I take in everyday. But it is hard to measure how much fat are there in all the food that we eat.

According to http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0675/is_n3_v15/ai_19408662:
About 45 to 65 grams (oil) a day for active women, and 50 to 70 grams a day for active men. That sounds like a lot.

So far, my diet is still high in carbohydrates despite eating not eating rice. My main source of carbohydrates are sugar in fruits. hmm I don't intend to reduce my fruit intake. Should I increase my protein and fat intake?

Looking at this http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0813/is_n1_v16/ai_7378307/pg_1,
"But when Yost gave fat to the formerly-obese women, their LPL soared far above already-high starting levels.(7) "If you present fat calories to a formerly-obese body, the first thing that happens is that the fat is packed into cells for storage," she explains. "These bodies are preferentially pulling fat calories out for storage.""

This means that the fat that I take in will be stored in my fat cells rather than being used to dissolve oil-soluble vitamins? In this case, does it means that obese people does not absorb oil-soluble vitamins like Vit A etc well?

Second week into the detox program

Today's weight : 148.5 pounds.

Hmmm.. I have no idea why it is only .5 pounds this week. I gotta work hard. Eating Special K and beef for my meals today. Definitely feeling better than the week before last. Maybe because my Birthday and Christmas is creeping along. ;)

Did a 20 minutes interval training this morning. Will be doing a 20 minutes PHA exercise today. Follow by Pilates.

My legs have become too muscular but there are still stubborn fats on my hips and thighs. I need to come up with a PHA training routine that targets my upper body and inner thighs. The routine below:

1) Box-up Push ups 25
2) Gym Ball Squat 1 min
3) Box-up Push ups 25
4) Inner Thigh Lifts 25
5) On the Spot Jog 1 min
6) Shoulder Press 18
7) Gym Ball Squat 1 min

Reading threads posted at forum on weight losing methods, make me realise that people do not understand the mechanism of their body. They are merely following advices and tips wrote by other people without knowing why. Worst of all, they do not understand the fundamental of weight loss. Crash diet do not guaranteed permanent weight loss. The weight loosed will be gained back when you go back to your old eating habits. Weight losing is about eating correctly. It is about eating the right amount of nutritious calories for your body to function healthy, not just counting calories.

Need to exercise

Today's weight : 149 pounds.

I missed my sleep last night to finish a proposal. Due to tiredness, I decided to eat mee suan(sort of like rice noodles) for breakfast. And I had 2 servings. That is 205 calories excluding slices of meat and egg that comes with it.

Total Calories Intake for Breakfast: 361

I had one snack too many after my afternoon nap. 100 calories wasted.

Instead of just counting the calories that I have taken, I should also improve on the calories. What do I mean? 100 calories worth of egg, flour, oil, sugar is junk! I should choose a healthier alternative like cereals, nuts, wholemeal bread. At least I am replenishing my iron store.

Iron intake is only 3mg. I am determined to eat cereal snacks to boost my iron level. I need energy!

Today's news: toddlers are getting hooked on junk food. 25% of their diet consist of junk and processed food. Dietitians suggest to lower that amount to less than 20%. I wonder how much does 5% less helps?