Valen’s Vanity Square

My friend’s wedding dinner falls on this Saturday, and I have no dress to wear to the dinner!

Hubby asked why I can’t just wear one of my not-so-old dresses. Well, my waistline has expanded, that’s why! I don’t want to wear something that is going to make people mistaken me as pregnant. Duh!

Planned to go to Robinson tomorrow, but hubby just found out that he has to go to PD for meeting tomorrow. I have no problem going to the shopping mall myself after work, but getting back home is a problem. I think I can only do a last minute shopping this Friday. Double-duh!

That makes me realize how important it is to maintain my waistline - so that I don’t have to keep getting new clothes after every few months. Oh well, I suppose that is better than compromising my health by relying on weight loss products that are not suitable for me.

But don’t ever think that only girls take supplements for the sake of looking good, some guys who want to enhance their sexual desire and ability (and to show their manliness) would also opt to use male enhancement supplements. Again, guys or girls, so long you are taking supplements, natural or synthetic, beware of safety issues. Even if you have heard how good Extenze is, you need to first realize any present side effects of extenze before you start using it.

But I have no guts to try supplements other than the usual vitamins and minerals, so I would rather stick to an exercise routine to shed the extra pounds around my belly. Okay, it’s now time for my workout session. Elliptical machine, here I come!

Had a lunch appointment today. Initially planned to wear my gray-colored 3-quarter pants, but sadly, I had to change into another pair of jeans, as the waist of the pants has become so tight!

Jeez, I just bought that pair of pants 4 months ago. Time flies, and how body changes.

I thought I have cut down of the amount of carbo and fat I consumed in the past few days. But it looks like my body is super efficient in absorbing just about anything that goes into my body. Short workouts didn’t help. Looks like I need to use the elliptical machine to the max!

No wonder many people who wanted to lose weight succumbed to the use of diet pills. It makes losing weight easier. But I’m not tempted to take diet pills myself. If you are opt to use weight loss pills to assist in your weight losing endeavor, do make sure you are taking fda approved diet pills, and not just anything that claims to be effective.

So, for tonight’s dinner, I’m going to eat rice in half my usual amount, eat early, and then work out on the machine for at least 30 minutes. Thanks to my 3-quarter pants, for reminding me again that I need to watch my figure. Ha!

Do you have trouble sleeping at night? Are you worried that you might be suffering from insomnia?

Well, before you get overly worried unnecessarily, you can either go and see your doctor or take a look at your lifestyle.

If you are not able to sleep because of stress, then your doctor probably will give you a prescription of sleeping pills. However, you’ll find that most of the times you can improve the condition with some lifestyle changes.

If you ask me, I would say that some of the ‘natural’ best sleeping pills are exercise, relaxation and complete what you plan to do for the day.

One of the reasons why one find it difficult to fall asleep is, not because of caffeine, but because he/she may not be physically tired enough, or he/she is mentally too stressed, or he/she has something on the mind, some important task that should have done but haven’t done.

So, if you have trouble falling into dreamland at night, try do some exercise in the evening, but not before bedtime! When near to bedtime, try listening to soothing music, or reading some boring magazines. That will surely put you into a sleeping mode. But most importantly, make sure there’s nothing bothering your mind, like an unresolved argument with your loved one. Live life like there’s no tomorrow, you’ll go to bed without regrets, and finally get a good night sleep.

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*