Slipping Through My Fingers

*Sigh*. Having 'too much' time on your hands could be disastrous. Especially when you know that those are only borrowed time. That is exactly what is going on with me now. I am on the 4 weeks of medical leave that I, at first, welcomed. The welcome wears out after barely a week. Each time I curl up on the settee with a good book, comes the nagging feeling that I am neglecting my work. And yet I can't bring myself to start working from home. Instead, I spend time reading through favourite blogs.

Stumbled upon Gunaqz's today. Her title, 'slipping through my fingers' brings back old memories of sending up the kids to school for the first time and feeling like a seasoned mom. It also evokes a feeling of how everything seems to be slipping through my fingers of late. Especially my good health. Post tumor-removal operation, I had a bad gastric that I thought was due to the medicine. But a check-up at the doctor revealed that the culprit was a gall-bladder stone. I realized on that day that I'd forever be having this problem, and only by watching my diet I'd feel normal again. Hmm...I've been trying to watch my diet in the past two years, quite unsuccessfully perhaps, but I tried my best. But when I was told that it's either watch my diet or have the constant pain, I felt like screaming "unfair"! Why don't I have a choice? Now that I am calmer, I know that I just have to accept and bear this with a big smile on my face. My good health might be slipping through my fingers, but it shouldn't stop me from enjoying life in ways I can, shouldn't it?

The eye operation

I had a squint since I was young, but it wasn't prominent until a few years ago. Blame it on all the reading and studying :-) But seriously it was causing me a problem. One eye is short-sighted, and the other, long-sighted. My Dr say ideally that shouldn't be a problem, but since I had a squint, it became a problem. It caused my eyes to be unable to focus most of the times. Well sometimes they seem focused, but most of the times, I couldn't make them so. And my eyes got tired fast, making reading so not fun.


So my Dr suggested a corrective eye surgery for me months ago. She said she would fix the muscles to make them lax, since the problem was that the muscles were so tight. I thought about if for a long time- with mixed feelings. Scared, a little bit. Excited, also a little bit. I decided to give it a go during the kids' school holidays, and the semester holidays at the uni so I could have a good recovery period.


'D day' was yesterday. I admitted myself to the hospital at 10.30am. Thank goodness I brought my laptop so I could work while waiting for 2pm, the operation time. I hated it when the nurses pushed me on the trolley, even hated it when I entered the super cold operation theatre. When Dr Dayang, my nice Dr said hi to me, I told her I was feeling like doing a 100m sprint to get away from the miserable room. But of course I couldn't have done that anyway. So on I went with the operation, enduring the scary jab and was sent to dreamland in seconds.


When I woke up, Dr Dayang had fixed my eye. Oh thank goodnesss it was only an eye. I really need my other eye to do my work. She did a test this morning and told me happily it was a success. She has reduced the squint degree from 45% to 5%. Well I have a red and gritty eye now but surprisingly it wasn't as painful as I expected. Even the post-operation headache lasted only about 2 hours. I hope my eye would recover soon and I won't get tired too fast when working anymore. I do feel good actually. Thank God.

No padicure/manicure on Tuesday and Friday?

I have my padicure/manicure once in every three weeks for the simple reason that my nails are very soft and unhealthy They break easily and are very difficult to take care of. The lady that does my nails is a Filipino who is very friendly and never runs out of topics. Since the four months that she's been coming to my house to do my nails, I find that I always learn something new from her. In my mind, I call her 'Informative Bea'- there's a lot of lessons to be learnt from her anyway. The best thing is she doesn't even know that she's very informative.

Bea talks about everything under the sun, from horoscope to business management to health. And I always find that the things she says are things that you can only get from good sources, or experiences. Some of the things are unbeliaveable but somehow still make sense. Coincidence perhaps, but still good to know. Like this morning as she was doing my nails, she reminded me that the last time she did them was on a Friday. Puzzled I asked her what's wrong with Fridays? And she pointed the condition of my nails that were worst than ever before. Even the cuticles were thicker, the skin peeling and they hurt quite a bit. She said from her 15 years of experience doing people's nails, she found that nails done on Tuesday and Friday always end up having this problem. "You must be kidding Bea," I said. She said she's serious. She has no explanation for that except that it's something like when it is full moon, people tend to become depresed. Wow...speechless. Could it be true? No matter what she reminds me not to call her for my next padicure/manicure on those days again...

Obesity

While taking five and browsing through yahoo earlier, I came across this thought provoking blog:

http://www.sheerbalance.com/brettsblog/2008/02/17/children-obesitywhos-to-blame/

The writer basically wrote about children obesity problem and invited readers to give their comments. Many blame the parents for the problem, although some say obesity is due to a combination of factors too such as genetic, unhealthy school-snacks, TV commercial and of course. ignorance of nutritions.

Being an overweight parent myself, as well as having an overweight 11 year old, I started seriously thinking about this. I realized that I can almost blame myself 100% for this problem, mostly for having been ignorant about nutritions. It's true that in school you learn all about balanced diets, about the food pyramid and the importance of taking from each group. But as far as I can remember, no one ever taught me the importance of counting calories. Coming from a food-loving society, no one bothers about controlled portion etc. Well I've heard that processed food contain way too much unsuitable ingredients like chemical, salt and sugar, but it never occured to me that a 25gm piece of snack can actually have about 200 calories. So it's not only the ingredients, but also the calories that can lead to obesity.

And I remained ignorant until recently. Slowly I am being awakened. I consider it a good start that I now know a person's consumption of food shouldn't exceed the body mass requirement, that is the energy needed to make one's body function. It is not about the size of a portion, its about how much calories the portion has. If one takes more calories than one should, the only way to avoid putting on weight is to exercise enough to burn the calories. I still have to aid myself with a calorie counter book in order to know the calorie intake of everyone in the family, as I'm still getting used to this 'new' knowledge.

For example, my 11 year old's BMR requirement is 1370 cal per day. I have to wisely divide the cals to 5 meals, concentrating on breakfast and lunch. It would roughly be something like this:

Breakfast
a glass of homemade juice 110 cal
two pancakes 186 cal
(296 cal)

Recess
a snack bar 129 cal

Lunch
2 ham sandiches 394 cal
a fruit 55 cal
(449)

Tea/Dinner
a cup of rice 127 cal
a cup of vegies 50 cal
a piece of meat/chicken/fish 150 cal


Supper
biscuit fruit etc that's about 170 cal
= 1371 cal

Of course that's ideal. I'm still striving to achieve that. Often the girl sneaks to eat a cookie or helps herself to a second helping. As someone who once was growing up and constantly feels hungry (you know how it is to be a kid), I understand that. Sometimes I become stern and tell her off but I wonder if I should be more tolerant, let her take a 100 cal extra and make her exercise more instead.

Of course, this is all easier said than done, but one just has to try harder...

The 10 laws of better health

As I was reading articles on health today, I found this and thought it's worth sharing:

The Ten Laws of Better Health

1. Better health is a result of life affirming habits that are repeated on a daily basis. The key to a healthy life is having healthy habits rather than unhealthy ones.

2. Our mind and emotions have a direct affect on our health. Therefore what we focus on and what we think about and how we deal with emotions are all important considerations when creating a healthy lifestyle.

3. Diet plays a key role in our overall health and our response to disease and infection. Therefore cultivating a sound diet is an important step to a healthy life.

4. Daily exercise, even in small amounts can make a profound positive effect on our health. Therefore cultivating some kind of exercise habit is important for long term well being.

5. Stress is a leading cause of disease and poor health. Developing a routine for handling stress and reducing it is an intregal part of better health.

6. Vitamins are a key component of positive health care and you should take some form of dietary supplement on a daily basis.

7. Healthy relationships create a healthy life. Cultivating, positive life enriching relationships are a key to physical and emotional well being.

8. Getting adequate and restful sleep on a nightly basis is a very important contributor to overall health. Therefore, cultivating good sleep habits is an important characteristic of longevitity.

9. A spiritual practice of some kind is conducive to health and longetivity.

10. The environment we live in plays a key role in determing our health and HAPPINESS.
(http://www.free-online-health.com/ten-laws-better-health.htm)

Wonder how long will I last...

Karate anyone? Never in my life I ever thought that one day I'd be a karate kid, or rather karate-mom. But today is D day. Following one of my impulses has landed me this. It was a mixed feeling before I started the class. My practical side said that I have to go on with it, since my two kids are doing it as well. That way I could be their motivating factor. Plus a family package of 3 people entitles us to a 20% discount each session. On the other hand, my emotional side kept discouraging me.

At the very last minute I had cold feet. I felt sort of embarrassed, thinking "what if I were the only adult there..." or "what if I couldn't follow the movements...". But the karate instructor solved the problem for me. He put me in the next session that's mainly composed of adults. I didn't even have the time to reconsider. Upon finishing their training, I sent the kids home and barely made it back to my session. I wouldn't have had the time to cancel even if I intended to.

So, on I went, this one clumsy mom. And before I knew it, I was enjoying myself like I never did before! True that I might have been a bit clumsy, blame it on my age, but the exercise was so smoothly conducted that I felt like I was doing every movement right. I even thought for a while that it was just like dancing, all rhythm and beat, only a bit tougher...

One thing for sure, I let the child in me out. It was a wonderful feeling to be able to punch and kick the instructor :) I should have done this years and years ago, when the body was still ten times swifter and more agile. But then again, some people are just late bloomers, I supposed.

I do wonder how long will I last...

Why do I feel VERY hungry?

I was beginning to wonder whether I was counting the calories right or whether I was doing something wrong. Last night towards midnight I felt extremely hungry although according to my calculation I've consumed enough food to make up the needed 1400 cal requirement of my body. I had 2 glasses of fresh apple-carrot juice and half a mug of oat for breakfast, 1 mug of white tea for morning tea, 2 bowls of clear chicken soup with a small portion of chicken, a large bowl of salad and half a cup of white rice for lunch, plenty of water and a hot cross bun for afternoon snack, and a large bowl of soup with fresh greens and 2 slices of watermelon for dinner.

I thought I might have even taken more than I should have. But strangely enough hunger pangs started at around 10pm and got worse. It was so bad to the extent that I couldn't concentrate on the journal article I was trying to read. At 11.30pm I completely lost my willpower and had a mug of watery milo and three small crackers. And I was still hungry that I ate a banana. Needless to say, it put me in a sour mood.

Trying hard to justify my failure to stick to the healthy diet regime, I tried to blame it on PMS. Yet it didn't make me feel any better.

Today I had to do a bit of digging on the facts about hunger. I realized that many people who are trying to lose weight experience the same thing. Some people suggest that it is due to the lack of sugar level in the blood. Some say that it is due to not taking enough from all the food groups. Yet another says the body could be in shock, esp for those who just started changing their diets. And I also stumbled on a fact that emotions can also trigger hunger pangs.

I still don't know what caused my hunger last night. I guess it's a combination of various factors. Today I try to increase fruit intake a little bit, to see whether it's all due to low sugar level. 2 cups of fresh fruit juice and a few apples or bananas. I might even allow myself a small choc egg later, that is if I can find the time to increase my exercise time... (How I miss my comfort snacks).

Calories oh calories

Not sure whether I ever bothered about the term 'calorie' before. Well I knew it's something to do with food energy. Now that it has become an all important word to me, I've taken the initiative to find out a bit more about it:

"To lose weight, all you need to do is create a calorie deficit. This can be achieved either, by reducing your calorie-intake below your maintenance level; or by keeping your calorie-intake static and increasing the number of calories you burn."

"Our calorie needs - meaning the number of daily calories we require to maintain our weight - depend on a number of factors.
Our age, gender, weight, height and exercise routine are the main variables in assessing calorie-needs.
But body composition is important, too. Because lean tissue (muscle) is more metabolically active than fat, the higher our body fat percentage, the fewer calories we require."

"Calorie Intake and Age
The principle reason for this age related weight gain is a decline in lean muscle mass due to inactivity and the aging process. This loss of lean muscle causes a slow down in our metabolic rate - the rate at which we burn calories. For example, between the ages of 30 and 70 muscle mass typically decreases by an average of about 30 per cent in most people."

"Age-Related Weight Gain
The above reduction in muscle mass typically leads to a weight gain of about 5 pounds per decade (men) or 3.5 pounds per decade (women). "

In short:
1. As we get older, the more difficult it is to lose weight, hence the need to not gain.
2. The two ways in losing weight are: a) reduce or maintain calorie-intake or, burn more calories by exercising.

I'll have to stick to my 1481 cals requirement daily or less. It helps to have found these informative websites:
http://www.calorie-counter.net/
http://www.michellebridges.com/

The Goodness of Black Tea

I still can't quite stomach black tea but after reading this article (excerpt), I am seriously considering it:

"NEW YORK , April 9 /PRNewswire/ -- A new study conducted at the University of L'Aquila in Italy and supported by the Lipton Institute of Tea, is the first to show that black tea consumption - depending on dose - simultaneously increased blood vessel reactivity and reduced both blood pressure and arterial stiffness, suggesting a cardiovascular health profile that is consistent with maintaining heart health.
Using a cohort of 19 healthy men (mean age 33), the researchers assigned participants to one of five prescribed intakes of black tea over five periods lasting one week each. The caffeine level of each dose was standardized but the dose of tea flavonoids was controlled at levels of 0 (the control dose), 100, 200, 400 and 800 mg of tea flavonoids per day. A standard cup of black tea contains approximately 100-200 mg of flavonoids, depending on the individual preference of tea making. During the duration of the study, participants avoided naturally flavonoid-rich food and beverages such as red wine and chocolate to ensure that the results were a true reflection of flavonoid-rich black tea consumption only.
"In our study, black tea affected vascular function in normal individuals. We observed that vascular function improvement exerted by black tea started with one cup per day and further improved by increasing the number of daily cups of tea," explained Professor Claudio Ferri , the principle investigator of the study and one of the lead researchers in this field. " (http://money.aol.com/article/new-research-suggests-drinking-as-little/421528?icid=sphere_newsaol_inpage)

My transition from coffee to tea began about 11 months ago, when I realized that the caffeine from coffee was the culprit that triggered my chronic migraine. It was a gradual transition from 3-4 mugs of coffee daily, to 3-4 mugs of white, sugared tea daily, to the current 2 mugs white tea without sugar. I found that not only I don't suffer migraine anymore (except for the rare occurence of about once in a few months, often temperature-triggered), I don't quite miss coffee as I thought I would. (Mind you, I still love the aroma of coffee though). I guess another transition is due, from white tea to black tea...anything for health, since I am not getting any younger anymore.

Fresh homemade juice now

I've always wanted to have a real juicer. More so since I started having health awareness for the family. I want fresh juice for us every morning, without added sugar and preservatives, and most of all produced in a short time efficiently without me having to go through the annoying process of blendering and squeezing the fruits to get the juice, often in meagre amount. My wish came true yesterday. Hubby bought me one, which was promptly put to use this morning.

True to its promise, my brand new Breville juicer works efficiently. I was able to make a jug of carrot-apple juice within 5 mins, all fresh and yummy. Even the little one who used to refuse home made juice was convinced to have a glass.

I know this is only a little thing. But little things are big in a busy mom's life. And I look forward to trying out various fruit combinations for juice. Another plus in my lifestyle makeover work...

It's a struggle...

I had a very long rest yesterday...10 hours. Now that is something. For some reason I was so tired yesterday. Hardly surprising. It was a full day for me. Meeting with the supervisor, peer pressure with the postgrads, grocery shopping, picking up kids from school, a play in the park for the pre-primary kids and that meant socializing with the moms and grandmoms, and my 30 mins exercise with the kids to cap the day.

By dinnertime, I was sooo hungry I wanted to just forget about the diet plan and consume a large plate of yummy calorie packed dinner. Thank God I resisted even with my thinning willpower. Had a plate of greens topped with some tuna and a serving of rice instead. And I was still hungry after that. Drank a few glasses of water, then decided that I should have a good rest to make me feel better. I'm glad I did. I woke up fresh in the morning, ready to face another day of temptation resisting and kg reducing...

At times my selfish self cries "unfair". Why do I, someone who loves cooking and food so much, have to have a weak DNA structure that I easily become overweight and yet am unable to shed weight as easily? Oh yes, I envy people who do not have the problem. But I guess I have no choice but to accept myself and strive to maintain a good balance in life. If you ask me whether I'd forget about yummy food forever, I'd quickly answer "no". I'd shed the unnecessary weight, then continue enjoying food moderately. But before I can do that, here I am, faced with the daunting task of shedding and shedding kgs first. I wonder how long will it take...it seems forever.

Lifestyle makeover day 1

Phew, day one has to be the hardest. Calorie counting, constant reminding of no more than such amount of this, and most of all real physical exercise. My last gym visit was sometime last year. My first and last almost real exercise this year was badminton almost a month ago, during which I tore a tendon on my right elbow. That was when I swore to be off-badminton forever (maybe).

Went jogging with the kids today. The target is half an hour moderate exercise 6 day week. That would aid to the goal of reducing 1 - 1.5 kg per month. (I'd be happy with even 0.5kg). My body protested violently- I was itchy all over. My vision blurred at one point and I had to stop to take a long breathe. (Showed how I have forgotten all about warming up and stuffs).

Did 10 rounds of 400m at the park. Then let the kids led me with their fun activities- star jump, police game, musical bob. At least something fun. The thought of 'just running' was extremely boring it almost made me cry.

Achieved the stipulated 30 minutes today. Looking forward to tomorrow with more fun activities from the kids...

Long Overdue Diet Plan

As usual, it was 'living in denial' for me. I know I am 15kg overweight and I should have taken measures to overcome the problem years ago. Except that I gave excuses like I'm a mom of three, what do I expect? Or I am too busy now, I'll do it when my current project is done. Etc etc.

Today reality hit home. My dietician cousin E casually asked whether I was overweight...err...yup, I am. Then we talked about health risks that run in the family, and how we should try to avoid them at all cost. And the dear girl offered to plan my diet based on my BMI. For which I am grateful.

I received my diet plan and am quite excited to start on it! (I hope this time it is not one of those typical lukewarm attempts like I did every time after giving birth). E said that reducing 1-1.5kg per month is achievable...and so we target a loss of 7kg by October this year. (Would be good to have a makeover by my 36th birthday).

I'm going to really give this a go. No lame excuses. No excuses allowed. Here we go, mom. Stick to the diet plan. On your mark, get set, go...