Valen’s Vanity Square

My body weight keeps fluctuating between 57 and 59. Gosh, it’s so hard to go lower than 57!

Hubby told me to better start exercising regularly and watch my weight. He said he doesn’t want me to become so heavy that he can’t carry me anymore. So, honey, when it comes to the day that you can’t carry me, are you going to use a car lift to lift me up from the bed? Haha!

My physical activity has actually increased. I walk a lot these days, but may be not as rigorous as it should be to be qualified as a cardiovascular activity.

While my physical activity increases, my number of meals has also increased! May be that’s the reason why my body weight forever remains the same. Can’t help, my brain needs fuel to keep working and coping with the current workload. I practically eat 4-5 times a day now, including tea breaks.

Oh well, may be I will start off by doing some stretching exercise… on the bed!

Hubby bought a digital body weighing scale that can calculate and show our body mass index (BMI), percentage of fat and percentage of water in the body. That’s cool, huh?

And after weighing ourselves and jotting down the figures shown, we compared the numbers with the reference points stated in the manual.

Based on men standard, hubby’s BMI exceeds the normal range slightly, his percentage of body fat is higher than normal, and the percentage of water in the body is lower than normal. The conclusion to his results, according to the manual - he is not healthy and should modify his diet. Haha!

For me, everything falls in the normal range, and I am 100% a healthy person.

This is difficult to believe, as hubby seems to be the fitter one between two of us. But I will accept what the manual says and continue to eat decently and do light but regular exercise to maintain my healthy status. At least I know I won’t have to visit buyphenphedrine.com to look up for weight loss pill yet, hehe.

Hubby now becomes so conscious about the type and volume of food he eats, and insists to work out three times a week, whether at home or in the outdoors. And he will monitor both our status every fortnightly. (Hubby has turned into Mr Doctor!)

Me have enough exercise already just from the daily walking to and fro the train station and office, that I have actually started to feel that my waist is not as bulging as before, haha!

Have started my new job for a week - working from home! The new office is not fully set up yet, so I handled my work using my little netbook and the internet connection at home.

I thought I would have quite some ‘exercise’ to do by walking to and fro the train station to the office every day, and would be able to lose a bit of weight once I started working. But I think I had got the least amount of exercise in the past week coz food, water, toilet were all just a few steps away from my working desk. Haha!

Well, at least I tried to control what I ate. No mid-morning or mid-afternoon snacks, just three main meals, with a big bowl of cereals in the morning, and limited myself to only one cup of coffee each day. Quite healthy I would say. Haha!

I do understand that losing weight actually needs a combined strategy to modify the different areas in our lifestyles. I try to work on both areas as much as I can, albeit in a balanced way. No dieting, just eat on time, eat moderately, and know what to eat.

The body’s metabolism rate counts a lot, too. When your metabolism is sluggish, be it due to lack of exercise or eating the wrong types of food, whatever goes into your body stays there, get turned into unwanted fat. But if you have a high metabolism rate, the food you eat will be efficiently turned into energy to keep you on the go for the whole day. Eating a healthy, wholesome breakfast is one of the ways to kickstart ones metabolism early in the day.

If you want to know more on how to achieve that, this FREE “1 Week Kickstart to Your Metabolism” short e-book written by Isabel De Los Rios should give you some good guidance. If you are planning to lose weight, it could be something to help you jumpstart your weight loss endeavor.

In this free ebook, Isabel talks about 3 very important tips to follow for anybody who wants to lose weight or maintain their ideal weight. She actually gives examples of meal plan that one can follow quite easily. And there are also two very scrumptious looking but definitely healthy recipes. Isabel always believe that one can eat delicious food and still lose weight. Apart from that, Isabel also provides links to some of her videos on weight loss tips in the book.

Feel free to check out her ebook “1 Week Kickstart to Your Metabolism“, and you can save a copy of the book and pass it around to anybody who wants to eat healthy and lose weight.

I will definitely will try that almond crusted chicken recipe next weekend!

* You can right click here and choose ‘Save the link as” to download the ebook to your computer.

I suppose one of the reasons why people who wanted to lose weight healthily through exercise don’t persist, but just give up halfway, is that it takes at least one week of daily exercise to notice the weight loss effect.

That’s why most people who are thinking of rapid weight loss will resort to other methods to lose weight. Some people just drastically cut down on their food consumption or skip meals.

This could be dangerous to your health because it is as if you are cutting off your supply of energy and nutrients that power your body to function normally.

A better alternative is to slowly reduce the portion you eat, and when you eat, concentrate on eating healthy food only. It is very important that you eat to keep your metabolism going.

Taking weight loss products is also another popular means of shedding extra fats. Not that weight loss pills are bad products, there are some good and safe ones. Just that you have to be watchful about the products you take. If you are considering about lipozene, you certainly want to know if the lipozene scam is true or otherwise. So do proper amount of research first.

But rapid weight loss can be dangerous. It’s better to stick with slow but consistent weight loss by combining right diet and lots of exercise!

Went to my sister’s house and copied some movies and series, and thought that “Here it goes again, I’m gonna be a couch potato this weekend and become fat next week.” Haha!

But I think I might have just found one thing that motivates me to get up on the elliptical machine often. One of the video files I copied is the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show series, hehe.

Yes, looking at those fat-less models on runway in the skimpiest of clothes - bra, undies and bikinis - may be just what I need to get motivated to work out more frequently.

I won’t be able to slim down to that kind of frame, of course, and I don’t think I want to be that skinny. I just want to be confident about my body shape. I don’t mind to be ‘meaty’, but at least I want a flat tummy, and well toned arms and legs.  ;P

So it is. This weekend I’m gonna watch Victoria’s Secret Fashion show AND exercising on the machine at the same time. Haha!

I have been subscribing to a number of health and weight loss newsletter. Today I received one about whether drinking tea can actually help to lose weight faster. The newsletter came from Isabel, the author of a very popular healthy weight loss program - The Diet Solution program.

Below are some extracts from the newsletter for those who are interested in the health benefits of tea drinking.

When it comes to Black tea, here’s what Isabel says…

“One of black teas greatest benefits is its high number of antioxidants, including quercetin, a substance found to combat inflammation and support healthy immune function. This is probably the best health benefit of drinking black tea…its ability to keep the immune system healthy and strong.

I enjoy a cup of hot black tea most mornings with a bit of squeezed lemon and stevia. It helps me start off my day energized and alert without giving me any of the jittery feelings I would sometimes get with drinking too much coffee…”

What about green tea? What is it about this tea in helping to lose weight?

“Many doctors and scientific studies have confirmed the incredible power of green tea when it comes to weight loss. Dr. Nicholas Perricone, world renowned doctor and author of 3 bestselling books stated, “…you’d lose up to 10 pounds in 4-6 weeks doing nothing but taking green tea. Green tea increases your daily fat burning rate by 43%”… The catechins in green tea have been found to force the body into thermogenesis, driving your body to burn fat as its energy source. Green tea has also been shown to cause carbohydrates to be released slowly, preventing rises in blood-insulin levels and keeping the body at an ideal blood sugar balance for fat burning.”

However, Isabel explains that drinking green tea to lose weight does not necessarily work for every one. We all differ from each other, and there many other factors in our diet and exercise program that can greatly affect the results of weight loss.

But I didn’t know until I read in this newsletter that another type of tea popular among Chinese - Oolong tea - has been shown to burn 220% more fat than green tea!

Weight loss aside, these long-consumed Asian teas benefit our health in one or other ways. They make a healthy addition to ones daily diet. But you just have to be very mindful of how your body reacts to the effects of the caffeine and adjust the amount used accordingly.

If you want to receive more interesting and informative newsletter on healthy weight loss from The Diet Solution program, you can always check out Isabel’s website.

Check out how great and fit Isabel looks, even after giving birth to a baby!

What to wear? That’s the last question I asked myself before I went to sleep last night. And the first question I had this morning.

To me, I will try to wear something more formal on the first two working days of the week. I thought I want to wear the new blouse I bought last month, which is a fake two-piece top that appears to have a collar shirt underneath a cardigan. It is quite body hugging, but looks okay above the waist.

However, the part around my tummy is no good at all, so obviously bulging. Doesn’t look nice with pants or skirt… I think it must be the PMS, I feel a bit bloated today. Or is it the creamy vanilla millecrepe I had yesterday?

Okay, no excuse. It’s not going to be about dieting, or taking diet pills that work. It simply means that I have to get on the elliptical machine once again. Tonight. 30 minutes. Must do.

A new week - a new weight loss plan. Haha!

Actually, I didn’t weigh myself to see if I’ve gained weight tremendously, but from the ‘tightness’ of my skirts and pants, I think I have! Made me so conscious about my bulging tummy whenever I stand, sit, walk, bend down, etc. I have to constantly remind myself - stand straight, head hold up high, tuck in the tummy - so mentally exhausted!

My plan, of course, will not involve any rigorous exercise regime (I’m just not an exercise person) or Over the counter diet pill. I saw a TV commercial on this K brand cereal, that replacing two meals in a day with their cornflakes for 14 days will help in shedding of some weight.

If following the simple plan given on the cereal box, it says that to eat the cereal with skim milk at breakfast, eat lunch as normal, and eat cereal again at dinner. And whenever I eat the cereal, I should also eat some fruits and vegetables.

Am I going to follow the plan 100%? Well, no, hahaha!

I will eat breakfast as usual, which comprises of half a cup of oatmeal and 2-3 slices of bread with peanut butter or ham. I will eat a well-balanced lunch (carbs + protein + veggie). It’s only for dinner that I will cut down significantly, perhaps a bowl of cereal with low-fat milk plus a very small portion of meat or clear veggie soup. I know this combination sounds weird, but will just try and see!

Hopefully 2 weeks later I could at least ‘feel’ some difference when I wear my jeans. Haha!

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!