Valen’s Vanity Square

Having to work with a group of colleagues that share a common interest with you is a blessing. Errr, the common interest I’m talking about here is… food. Haha!

Okay, so we all (except one or two) enjoy eating and love to try new food. That’s good. What’s not good is the ’side effect’ - I have put on weight!

I don’t have to weigh myself. The feeling of increased tightness at the waist and the thighs when wearing my skinny jeans is good enough an indication that I have gained weight. What’s more it’s always around the tummy! Urgh!

My waistline is vanishing gradually over the years, so sad. Looks like I have to follow my sister’s footsteps. She is again on a healthy weight loss endeavor. She has ordered a treadmill, to be delivered to my mom’s house soon. She is eating wholemeal bread, drinking organic soy milk in the morning. She doesn’t skip dinner this time.

Me? I just had chicken chop for supper! Terrible me!

Took out a bunch of flyers and leaflets from my mom’s house mailbox. Food outlets, cleaning services, beauty salons and weight loss products, what else new can you get these days?

The flyer on the weight loss product caught my attention in particular, because it has before and after photos to show the results. Well, the woman really looked like she has lost a lot of weight and got back into shape; not slim, but so much better than her previous weight. I have not heard about the product, but perhaps I would be interested if I’m overweight.

Still, a word of caution to all those who want to lose weight by taking weight loss product, whether it’s diet pills, supplements or meal replacement diet. Always look up for as much information as you could to learn more about the product you wish to try. If you have heard a lot about the diet pill Apidexin, then the first thing you would want to do is to check out apidexin reviews.

Because there are so many options out there to choose from, one has to carefully compare products in terms of safety, efficacy, cost and whether the results can be sustained, before deciding which to use. One can’t be too careful when it comes to health. Better safe than sorry, right?

As soon as I entered my office building and walk up the stairs this morning, I smelled cigarette, all the way up to the second floor. Well, that’s from my boss. That’s where she puffs, her special corner.

Only until yesterday that I knew about the existence of a company staff conduct and office rules and guidelines kinda manual in the office. It’s printed out quite nicely in a booklet. One of the rules is very interesting. I can’t remember how the sentence goes exactly, but what it’s saying is that: the whole office building is a non-smoking premise, except for - the managing director’s room. Duh!

Weird things happen everyday, and odd rules are made to break rules. Haha!

Well, I’m sure my boss knows that smoking is not good for health, but old habits are hard to break, and nicotine is somehow addictive. May be I should tell her that there’s this thing called electronic cigarette, which can help people to quit smoking, or at least keep the harmless chemicals in cigarettes away while smoking.

But then, e-cigarettes are useless if the person doesn’t have the intention to quit, or doesn’t mind what nicotine is doing to his or her body and health.

Does this means that I actually don’t have the intention to lose weight, although I said I want to but my actions (not exercising regularly) tell the otherwise?

Oh dear, a colleague of mine who has been on medical leave for the past 3 days just messaged another colleague to inform us that she is diagnosed with H1N1!

Does that mean all of us have to be quarantined? I was in a same car with her last Thursday! I am still coughing a little bit, which started 2 weeks ago. But so far there are no other symptoms. There are a few people in the office fell sick in the past few days; one even has been coughing since last month.

Jeez, I think this is going to ring an alarm in the office. I wonder if my boss will ask us to take days off and quarantine ourselves at home?

I don’t know if my colleague is resting at home or admitted to the hospital. If she needs hospitalization, then having some form of medical insurance will be of great help.

Realizing the importance of having adequate protection in case of mishaps, I have recently got myself another insurance coverage. Well, actually persuaded by hubby to do so, as he said I need to raise my insurance coverage amount for the optimal benefit. In addition, it was a coverage that only company staffs and their spouse are entitled to.

Actually, I don’t quite know what type of insurance I’m getting, whether it’s a term life insurance or the normal one. But since it’s recommended by hubby, I think it should be good.

Meanwhile, I think I should sleep early and get 8 hours of sleep from now onwards. Having sufficient rest is important for a strong immune system, which in turn will protect me from H1N1.

Really wonder how my boss will react when she finds out about my colleague tomorrow. She was at the same meeting with her last Saturday.

Thank god it’s Friday! Going for facial tomorrow, plus some shopping to make myself happy.

But I feel so ‘fat’. I haven’t eaten a lot these few days, but somehow I’ve been feeling quite bloated. And passing air out a lot in the office. Shhhhh…. Haha!

I thought after I started working, I would ’slim’ down due to work stress and lack of sleep (and the climbing of stairs!). But when I checked my weight, it is still the same! And my butt and thighs seem to be getting bigger. Grrrr….

May be other gals would have been so tempted to use diet pills to lose weight, it never come across my mind to use weight loss pills. I don’t even take dietary supplements, just don’t have the habit of ‘popping’ tablets or pills or capsules. But for anyone who want to take weight loss pills, remember to do your research, including finding out if there any side effects of diet pills that you need to watch out.

Oh well, it’s Friday night, perhaps I should get onto the elliptical machine and get my butt moving for 20 minutes or so. If I can’t lose weight, at least I make sure I don’t gain weight either.

The ‘cracking’ sound that comes from my left knee when I walk up the stairs or make any movement that bends my knee, such as doing the cycling exercise lying on bed, is getting more louder these days.

I’m afraid that I might have to start seeking joint pain relief treatment few months down the road!

Imagine, I have to walk up three flights of stairs to my office every morning, then another three down and three up during lunch time, and last three when I leave the office in the evening. All together 12 flights of stairs! Good for losing weight, but not good for my knees.

I already have a problematic knee, now this supposedly good exercise is adding more burden to it! While the knee pain is just occasional and mild, I’m worried that my knee tissues will get worn and torn very fast.:(

May be I should start looking around for a chiropractitioner. A Chinese traditional medicine doctor once told me that my hips are ‘out of alignment’ (don’t know how to better describe that). It’s not a life-threatening condition, but it will cause problems like knee pain and back pain as I get older.

I used to get better after the doctor did some alignment type of massage for me (I think that’s what chiropractitioners do) - no cracking sound from the knee, no pain when I climbed the stairs. After a while, somehow, the problem came back again.

I think I have to solve the root to the problem - my hips, otherwise I won’t be able to get rid of my knee problem for good. *Sigh*

Did you know that today (29 May) is World Digestive Health Day? Don’t worry if you don’t know. It’s a relatively ‘young’ world health campaign. This global campaign has just been around for only 6 years. The first one initiated in 2004, by an organization called the World Gastroenterology Organisation.

The health campaign was initiated because there is a need to increase the awareness about the importance of our digestive health (ie the health from your mouth right to your anus).

If you think that it’s okay to feel nausea, bloated or suffer from constipation or diarrhoea all the time, you are so dead wrong. While these symptoms don’t usually cause any harm when they are mild and happen occasionally. But if they happen frequently, that means something in your body is not right. Your stomach, or perhaps your intestines are not working as they should.

To take care of our digestive system is not that difficult. It’s about adopting healthy practices when it comes to eating and the lifestyles we’re living. We all know pretty much everything about healthy eating and the importance of exercise, right? But how many of us really put good habits into practice?

I do understand why it is not so easy to practice in reality. Say we all know the benefits of eating organic foods, but locally such produce are much expensive than the normal produce. Somehow quality food products are always more expensive than the rest.

But then, we are talking about our health here. It’s not about buying the cheapest car insurance that will give us the minimal protection required, it’s about giving our health the maximum protection we can afford.

So, for the sake of our good health, start paying attention to your digestive system, and be prepared to spend for quality food?

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It has been two weeks since I last saw my now going to be 3-month old niece. I wonder if she now smiles more often or chuckles a bit. She has been such a grumpy-looking little baby girl, always frowning. Haha! (Better not let my sister know that I said this about her baby. :P)

I didn’t visit her during the weekend because I was not fully recovered from my flu yet (still am not!). Don’t want to spread the disease to a cute vulnerable creature, as her immune system is still not fully developed yet. But I believe she is quite strong since my sister breastfeeds her. She may have some mild skin rashes, but not the usual baby eczema I’ve seen before in other babies (usually on their face).

Eczema can be a sign that one is prone to develop allergy later in life. It can be a great discomfort to the baby (the itchiness) as well as the mother. Breastfeed is the best way to help a child lessen his or her risk of getting allergic diseases later. Mothers should try to breastfeed their baby exclusively for 6 months, meaning not even feeding her baby with plain water. Complementary food should only be started at 6 months. Introducing solid foods too early has been associated with increased allergy risk.

Wow, I’m not a mother yet, but I knew so much about breastfeeding already.

Hubby was away in the east coast yesterday, but came back by flight this morning. At least, we have the whole Saturday together. Married couples need to date on weekends, too!

We did what typical couples do - lunch, movie, tea, and now hubby is napping on the sofa. Haha! Me? Have to think what’s for dinner later.

Oh dear, my weekend seems to evolve around foods and drinks only. And I haven’t done the most ‘important’ thing of the day - my bowels….hehe. Well, I bet this is how most urban dwellers spend their weekends too. Poor eating habits and inactive lifestyle (nope, shopping on Saturdays is not considered regular physical exercise) have affected our bowel movements and are taking a toll on our intestinal health. it’s no wonder more and more people these days are going for detox programs or the best colon cleanse supplements.

I’m part of the affected lot myself. On weekdays, I tend to have upset stomach and sudden urges to pass. On weekends, I tend not to go because either I oversleep or there’s something else distracts me from paying attention to those bowel cues.

Weekdays - we get busy with work. Weekends - we get busy to make ourselves forget about work and indulge in entertainment and food. When will we get busy to make sure our health is at its best condition?