Bun Weight loss

Overweight = Live longer?

2009-07-02T03:55:00.000-07:00

New research in Canada has shown that overweight people(not obese) outlives underweight and even normal weight people. The risk of death for underweight people is 1.73, 1.36 for obese and 0.83 for overweight people - this is calculated against to the risk of death for normal weight people defaulted as 1. There was also another similar study done in the United States a few years back.

This news is quite jaw dropping for me. I always knew that underweight people has higher mortality rate while they're older but I didn't expect overweight people to out live normal weight people.

This is not an encouragement to gain weight but rather a change of mindsets and believe. I always believe that science is ever changing and new research will gradually knock the old ones out. But right now, my thoughts is that normal weight people will have a better quality of living than any other group, at least up till our 50's or 60's.

Let's just wait for new research to come out before jumping the 'let's be overweight' wagon. It was only recent that research show the benefits of increased lifespan with the use of caloric deficit diet. Few years down the road, new discovery has led us pondering again.

Canadians who are slightly overweight live longer than people of normal weight, according to a new study that confirms similar findings from the U.S.

The study of body mass index followed 11,326 people age 25 or older over a 12-year period. The results appear online in the journal Obesity.

"It may be that a few extra pounds actually protect older people as their health declines, but that doesn't mean that people in the normal weight range should try to put on a few pounds," Mark Kaplan, a co-author of the study and a professor of Community Health at Portland State University, said in a release Tuesday.

As expected, people who were extremely underweight had the highest risk of dying, followed by the extremely obese.

During the study period, from 1994/1995 through 2006/2007, underweight and extremely obese people were more likely to die than people of normal weight. People who were overweight were less likely to die than those of normal weight.

A BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 is considered a normal weight.

Specifically, the increased risk of mortality over the 12 years of followup was 1.73 times higher for underweight Canadians compared to those with normal weight.

The risk was 1.36 times higher for obese people with a BMI over 35, compared to people of normal weight.

In contrast, people who were slightly overweight (BMI 25 to less than 30) had 0.83 times lower risk of death compared with normal weight people.

The fact that most deaths are among the elderly could explain why a small amount of extra weight may reduce one's risk, said study co-author David Feeny of the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research.

"Being overweight may be protective as your health declines, as you have health shocks and you're less likely, as you lose a little weight with illness, to end up being really frail — because you had more to start with," Feeny said.

Data from Statistics Canada

Kaplan acknowledged that the study looked at mortality only, not quality of life. But people who choose a healthy lifestyle such as eating nutritiously and exercising regularly also tend to enjoy better health, he noted.

The researchers controlled for factors such as age, sex, physical activity and smoking.

The team used data from the National Population Health Survey conducted by Statistics Canada every two years.

A study conducted in the U.S. and published in 2005 in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed similar results.

The latest study was funded by the U.S. National Institute on Aging, the U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C.

Taken from: cbc.ca

Vitamin B1 Could Reverse Proteinuria

2009-06-18T02:07:00.000-07:00

This is an abstract of the article, I don't have the full article. Basically I was researching on proteinuria because I have this condition. I really don't want my kidneys to fail. I have tried superdosing B1 but I don't know if it works because I didn't get to do my 24hrs microalbumin test.

Researchers at the University of Warwick have discovered high doses of thiamine – vitamin B1 – can reverse the onset of early diabetic kidney disease.

Kidney disease, or diabetic nephropathy, develops progressively in patients with type 2 diabetes. Early development of kidney disease is assessed by a high excretion rate of the protein albumin from the body in the urine, known as microalbuminuria.
The research is led by Dr Naila Rabbani and Professor Paul J Thornalley at Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, in collaboration with researchers at the University of Punjab and Sheik Zaid Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan.
The team has discovered taking high oral doses of thiamine can dramatically decrease the excretion of albumin and reverse early stage kidney disease in type 2 diabetes patients.

In a paper published online in the journal Diabetologia, the team show 300 mg of thiamine taken orally each day for three months reduced the rate of albumin excretion in type 2 diabetes patients. The albumin excretion rate was decreased by 41% from the value at the start of the study. The results also showed 35% of patients with microalbuminuria saw a return to normal urinary albumin excretion after being treated with thiamine.

Forty patients with type 2 diabetes aged between 35 and 65 years old took part in the trial. They were randomly assigned a placebo or 3 x 100mg tablets of thiamine a day for three months.

The Warwick research group has already conclusively proven that type 2 diabetes patients have a thiamine deficiency. In an earlier study led by Professor Paul Thornalley at Warwick Medical School, the research team showed that thiamine deficiency could be key to a range of vascular problems for diabetes patients.

Dr Rabbani said: “This study once again highlights the importance of Vitamin B1 and we need to increase awareness. Professor Thornalley and I are planning a foundation at the University of Warwick to further education and research in thiamine deficiency.”

Okay, I've done quite alot of research before I embarked trying to superdose Vit B1. I know that vitamin B1 is a water soluble vitamin, which means that it passes out of your body easily. Although 300mg a day is easily a few thousand % of ones daily need of Vitamin B1. It poses no significant harm. I cannot find the exact toxic dose but it was a few thousand mg/day the last time I saw it.

I know there are people insisting on taking Bentofiamine which is an oil soluble form of Vitamin B1, which means it would be better absorbed by the body(not flushed out). But this article points to Vitamin B1 and not Bentofiamine, so I'm not taking chances here. Besides, Bentofiamine is also much harder to find in my local pharmacy.

Permanent Weight Loss - More than just a Diet Thing

2009-06-16T20:39:00.000-07:00

Posted this on my buddyslim blog, it's a good summary to my views on permanent weight loss.

What is Weight Loss to you?

Do you see it as a project kind of thing? I used to see it this way, 10 weeks and that’s it. After 10 weeks I’ll be a free and less heavier man. But I soon come to realize that reality does not smell as good as it should. After 10 weeks, it’s a struggle to maintain all that lost weight.

Rethink Weight Loss

Everyone can lose weight, in fact, weight loss is easy but weight maintenance is extremely hard. For those of you out there who is struggling with trying to lose weight Permanently. Here’s my advise. Rethink about what is really going wrong.

It is really more of a lifestyle issue rather than a diet issue that’s messing things up here. Why is it that many others do not have such weight issues and yet we’re battling it constantly? No, they’re not on a weight loss diet!!

If you could just find a way to eat the right foods at the correct amount of servings, all your issues are solved. It’s the thinking that has to change, instead of the diet. I used to place food as my priority, I think about it all the time. It is above everything else, I enjoyed it more than playing computer games because it’s just orgasmic to eat.

Few years down, food is replaced with health as my priority. I didn’t lose interest in food, I still enjoyed eating. But I’ve learnt how to juggle my appetite, cravings and what I should really eat. In other words, I’m more sensible when making choices about food.

I gotta admit, it’s a constant struggle and an endless battle that we’re fighting. I’ve maintained my lost weight for about 4 years now. But you know what, it’s actually pretty simple when you’re going through what I’m going through now.I don’t count my calories, I don’t have any specific diet, I don’t time my meals but I eat healthy food(not special food).

I know I might be making it sound really simple but it really is not difficult at all. Let me just briefly explain the habits that one should cultivate for permanent weight loss.

Habits for Permenant Weight Loss

1. Food is not your priority.

2. Know what you should eat

Read up, read up and read up, health education is precious. These are good for a start

Whole foods

Difference between healthy and unhealthy fats

Glycemic index

Good carbohydrates

3. Know how much to eat

Know what is the correct portion to eat for that particular food. I based mine on trial and error, but of course I do estimate my calories

4. Take food that you crave(most likely unhealthy food) as a reward rather than a snack/meal

5. Get moving

Move it! Get exercising. You won’t think of macdonald’s while running, swimming or doing anything that makes you move.

Think - Is it worth it?

2009-06-15T10:43:00.000-07:00

Before you pop it into your mouth, THINK! Is it worth it?? Many a times we're eating without thinking. A condition I love to refer to as Food Hypnosis. Munching down stuff and only realising soon after that you've eaten tons of it!

The smell and sight of the food just overwhelms everything in your mind. This often leads to binging and all the unnecessary eating.

The next time you're suddenly surrounded by these hypnotic food, please remember to think. Think with your mind and not your mouth.Think of how much time you'll need to burn off all that extra calories. All the hours of work that you need to do just to pay off what you enjoyed in a few minutes.

You can probably distract yourself first to make sure you think better. Take a sip of water, look else where, talk to someone, have a mint, chew on a piece of lemon, anything! Just don't set your eyes on the great hypnotists!

Fatty Foods Linked to Increased Hunger Hormone

2009-06-15T05:23:00.000-07:00

Taken from ScienceDaily

New research have shown that consumption of dietary fats is linked to an increase levels of the hormone, Ghrelin in the bloodstream (1). Ghrelin is known as the 'hunger' hormone, having more of it in your blood stream will mean having an increased appetite.

This news definately gave me something to ponder about. Because if we're just looking at the satiety index itself, fats actually gives the most satiety. My diet is moderately high in fat but I will not change my diet just because of this article. I'll be keeping my eyes open on new research though!

Reference
1. University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center. "Fatty Foods -- Not Empty Stomach -- Fire Up Hunger Hormone." ScienceDaily 8 June 2009. 15 June 2009 /releases/2009/06/090605151351.htm>.

Diabetes Type II

2009-06-14T10:38:00.000-07:00

Type 2 diabetes otherwise known as insulin resistance, is a common complication among the Obese. I have been a diabetic for 7 years now and I'm glad to say I've manage to control it well. My blood glucose ranges used to be quite bad even when I was on metformin, I can't remember how much because I didn't bother about it at that time.

My lancet. This is good! Virtually pain free!

However I was told that if I were to continue with such results, I would have to be put on insulin jabs. Okay, that didn't work for me as well! I actually didn't bother about my diabetes until I lost some weight and my HBA1c improved. That was when I started to think about my health and my diabetes.

Today, I'm free of medication and my HBA1c stands at 5.3% as of 29th May. My only two weapons are my diet and exercises. Stay tuned, I will definitely post more information about diabetes in the future.

The Proper Way to Lose Weight

2009-06-12T08:44:00.000-07:00

Forget Fad diets, they will not long term. The reason why many people are drawn to fad diets is probably because of the strict rules that are set. Only eat certain foods, only eat certain amount of foods etc. They told you what you should be eating instead of what you should not be eating. Being humans, most would go back to what they should not be eating in the first place.

Being overweight is actually a much simpler situation then it's portrayed to be. Someone who is overweight is someone who has been eating wrongly or not moving around enough. That's it! The only problem is to figure out how to adjust back to a normal diet.

If you could just practice most of these rules that I've stated, there will not be any problems to weight loss. I'll discuss more on these in the future

5 Golden Rules
1. Eliminate or cut out all junk food and beverages

2. Include more fruits and vegetables in your diet

3. Have at least 6 meals per day*(but learn how much to eat for each meal)

4. Include more lean protein and healthy fats into your meals

5. Drink plenty of water and Green Tea

Weighing too often

2009-06-11T23:40:00.000-07:00

As long as you have weighing scale at home, you're guilty of this! I know it too well. I know people who does it every 30 mins or so. That's too much, even daily weighing is too much. There are too many changes that is going on in your body that will never be justified if you're measuring your weight daily. A weekly weigh in should be the best.

Focus on your plans and diet rather than your weight, these are the stuff that really affect how much you weigh.

The best time to weigh yourself? In the morning, right after you get up from bed.

Overcoming Your Weight Loss Plateau

2009-06-10T10:15:00.000-07:00

What's a weight loss Plateau
Reaching a Plateau is common in a weight loss scenario, it's a stage where your weight loss starts to slow down and eventually halts.(Note: It's not a plateau if you're gaining weight because you are starting to eat more!) Please do not give up on your plans just because of a plateau, read on and I'll discuss several ways we can deal with a plateau

Causes of plateau

Lower metabolism
One of the main reasons for this phenomenon is that our body has adapted to the amount of food we have been feeding it. Our body lowers our metabolism to conserve as much energy as possible to cope with the sudden shortage of food(1).

Loss of Muscle
No matter how you try, you will inevitably lose muscle mass during a calorie restricted diet program. A kilogram of muscle burns you an extra 120 calories per day. So you effectively burn 120 calories less per day for every kilogram of muscle mass lost. For more information about this, read my article here

Unrealistic weight goals
Let's not forget about setting unrealistic weight goals. You should aim for your ideal weight for your height or somewhere that you like. But do not overdo it, do not aim for a 'skinny' body. Your body will not like it and therefore again, alter it's metabolism to ensure it's survival.

Skinny people are naturally skinny, they don't have to do anything to achieve that. But people such as me and you, we're built differently, there is no way that we can remain skinny without losing our sanity. The psychological stress you'll face would be tremendous enough to knock you off being skinny.

Ways to overcome a Plateau

Increase Physical Activity - You could increase it in frequency or the intensity of the exercises. For example, instead of cycling 2 times week, try increasing it to 3 times a week. Or instead of cycling at 10km/hr speed, try increasing it to 15km/hr while keeping the duration similar.You can also try other ways to increase your physical activity like climbing the stairs instead of taking the lift. Taking a walk instead of driving to somewhere near. There are many possiblities to this. Everyone has varied pattern of routine, therefore, I would not be able to suggest what works best for you.

Prevent Loss of muscle - Go for some weight training! While you're losing weight, you are losing alot of muscle mass as well. Doing some weight training will ensure that these precious muscle mass will be preserved as much as possible. Keeping these precious mass will ensure a steady stream of calorie burning!

Reduce calorie intake - Warning! This should be monitored very closely and should not be practiced by those who are already consuming low calories. Since we know that our body has already decreased calorie output, it's quite logical to lower our calorie intake as well. Start off by reducing just a minute amount, maybe 50 calories a day. Take note of your weight and weigh yourself in a week's time.

Most people should see changes but some will not, if that happens, follow what the 'take a short break' plan below.

Take a short break - Follow my fall out plan, take some time off your diet and let your body 'reset' itself. Basically just let yourself off your diet for a few days to kind of let your body rest and let it adjust the hormones and anything that is left unbalanced that is causing the plateau.

Reference
1 Saltzman E, Roberts SB. The role of energy expenditure in energy regulation: Findings from a decade of research. Nutr Rev. 1995. 53:209-220.

How Does Aging Affect your Weight Loss Plan?

2009-06-09T22:24:00.000-07:00

Our body, decreases our metabolism rate as much as 5% per decade. At what age does this drop starts was never mentioned, but I suspect it starts after the peak period of puberty. Which is probably around 16~18 years old for a girl and 18~20 year old for a boy.

Is 5% that significant?
If you're 20 years old and burning about 2000 calories per day, you'll burn 100 less calories per day when you reach 30 years old. That's 1900 calories per day, all thanks to aging! And what's worse, this 5% does not come as a once every 10 years dose, it's built up on a daily basis. So we're effectively burning lesser calories each day.

What can you do?
I highly recommend anyone who wants to overcome the effect of aging to do two significant task.

1. Build muscles - 1kilograms of muscles equate to 120 more calories burn per day, it sure sounds like a perfect weapon to combat the effect of aging! It dosen't take very long to put on 1kilograms of muscle. Head to the gym to pile some muscles up and you can easily overcome this drop of metabolism.

One thing about muscle though, if you don't use them, you lose them. So it requires some maintenance to really get this going.

2. Drink Green Tea daily - Studies have shown that green tea can raise one's body metabolism as much as 4%. The research was conducted using green tea extract but normal drinking green tea works fine. Just take a couple of cups and you'll do good! (1)

Reference
1. Efficacy of a green tea extract rich in catechin polyphenols and caffeine in increasing 24-h energy expenditure and fat oxidation in humans http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/70/6/1040 [retrieved 11/6/09]

Avoiding Sinful Foods at Home

2009-06-09T13:04:00.000-07:00

Home Sweet Home, the place where you're most comfortable. Which also puts you in a higher risk to indulge in food you shouldn't even have thought of. How many of you here faces the problem of 'accidentally' eating a bag of chips or cookies or any other prohibited food items? Bet there are many out there that is facing this situation

There is only one solution to this problem. And that is to keep off these prohibited food out of your house.The law of snacking goes like this, if snacks are lying around your house, you'll eat it up someday.

If you're the one doing the grocery, perfect! Things you shouldn't eat, don't even think of buying it. If you're not the one doing the grocery, kindly approach your grocerorist(hahaha I coined this term up) to negotiate with them. Of course, all negotiation may not go smoothly(like mine), sometimes I wake up to find my fridge stocked full of ice creams. When that happens, you have no choice but to avoid looking at those food. Or you can tell your grocerorist to hide them somewhere you don't know, prefebly with a lock so you won't have a chance to play treasure hunt.

Just stay away from these food, don't even look at them. Many of them are wrapped in packaging that hypnosises you to buy them home and eat them. Do not let them be within your reach, smell, sight and touch.

I hope my little tip helps you in your big journey!

Fall out Plan

2009-06-09T08:08:00.000-07:00

Everyone faces falling out of their diet. This comes especially after eating something sinful or after an accidental binge. Some only experience it once because they're completely off their diet after falling out. No doubt, I personally experience this every so often, especially with my current diet plan that I have been using for so long.

Do not be one of the fall out boys!

This applies to all kinds of diet and usually sets in within the 6~8 week after the period of weight loss thrill. One of the possible reasons for this could be the 'survival' mechanism that your body has turned on. That is, to store as much energy as possible because of the sudden shortage of food. This is our body, it does not recognize our diet program as positive. How would it know that we're having such abundance of food?

This mechanism eventually leads us to give in to cravings. And once the cravings set in, you're more than likely to have a 2nd helping. It sure wouldn't hurt for a 3rd, 4th, 5th as well. And very soon, you'll find yourself getting back into your old ways.

Thinking very negatively, you tell yourself dieting sucks, it's too hard for me. And then you wrap yourself with all sorts of negativity and guilt. Which would eventually lead you to giving up. It's true that what you've eaten cannot be uneaten(save for bulimia).

Feeling guilty what you have wrongly eaten is normal, everyone feels the same way. But do not ever think of giving up just because of one mistake you've made, think long term. Your body does not change just because of a meal/snack. It's your lifestyle that shapes your body. So as long as you do not revert back to your previous diet, nothing will be affected. Just do not be overly paranoid.

Getting Back On Track

Step 1 - Think positive.
Do not delve into the thoughts of giving up and negativity. Discard all that 'i'm too fat, this cake is delicious' thoughts away.

Step 2 - Have a short break,
Eat what you like, but don't binge! Meanwhile, forget all the sinful stuff you have eaten. Don't even try to count the calories!! It's not a debt.

Step 3 - Set a Specific Date(Important!)
Preferably in a few days, no more than a week, to get back onto your diet or exercise routine

Step 4 -Do it
Get back on when that specific day come. Do not procrastinate.

Exercise Suppresses Appetite

2009-06-09T05:57:00.000-07:00

Why exercise? Not only does exercise burn calories, research has also show that exercise helps suppresses appetite. Aerobic exercises such as jogging, swimming or cycling does better in suppressing appetite than anaerobic exercises such as weightlifting or sprinting.

Exercise affects certain hormones in our body, two of which are significant, the peptide YY and Ghrelin hormone. Different exercises affects the activity of these two hormones. But we still do not know which one gives the most impact to the appetite. I read that jogging and exercises that produces more 'heat' and sweat suppresses our appetite better as compared to swimming. These are personal accounts that people posted on the net, whether it's true or not, you have to find out by yourself!

1. American Physiological Society. "Exercise Suppresses Appetite By Affecting Appetite Hormones." ScienceDaily 19 December 2008. 9 June 2009

Getting out of your Comfort Zone?

2009-06-07T02:32:00.000-07:00

For people who have problems with weight, the real issue here is not about losing weight. It's about how to maintain your weight after you've manage to lose it.

I know many people love to try new diets, eating foods that they have never eaten in their life(grapefruit, cabbage) or even try to play with nutrient composition [low carbs, low fat, low (you name it)]. I'd admit that these diets really spice up your life a little, making your diet a little more exciting. When people go, 'hey, why are you eating all these nasty stuff?!', you reply proudly 'I'm on low carb!'.

But very often than not, these diets requires you to get out of your comfort zone, you're simply not comfortable doing it. Maintaining your weight is a lifelong issue, can you sustain eating these foods for the rest of your life? The first time I've tried extra virgin olive oil, I puked. The whole bottle was eventually neglected.

Have you ever failed in your diet, only to realise you've gone back to your old dietary habits? The ones you are more comforatable with? Well, here's the issue. You are trying to change too much, trying to adapt too much.

What I suggest is to really change your diet without affecting much of your comfort zone. Analyze what you're eating and see what's wrong. Cut down or replace these food with ones that you like but are much healthier.

The Thrill of Losing Weight

2009-06-06T05:56:00.000-07:00

For many of us here, weight loss will probably give us a special thrill. Whenever you found out that you lost some weight, there's a sense of excitement and somewhat satisfaction that things are going in the right track.

Losing inches and wearing clothes that you once could no longer fit into? Priceless feeling! These are part of the thrills of weight loss. And is also probably one of the few motivation factor that keeps dieters going. If you're feeling it, ride on this thrill! Chances are, you'll stay more focused on your diet because of the satisfaction that comes with it. Positive thinking!

Do not be dishearten when you do not lose as much weight as expected, everyone experiences that feeling. Instead, stay focus and look at where is going wrong. It could be a plateau or just a body adaptation issue.

Do not be addicted to this thrill either! It's not difficult to see that anorexics and bulimics are somewhat addicted to this thrill of weight loss.

Preparing For a Weight Loss Program

2009-06-05T22:50:00.000-07:00

Always get your mind, food and routine prepared before starting on a diet. Plan what kind of diet your are going to stick with for this while. These tasks cannot be missed if you want a smooth sailing weight loss journey.

Are you prepared?

1. Stock up your food and equipments
It doesn't matter which diet you are on, each has its own food requirements. In most cases, they require you to try new foods and really change the way you eat. And I should also probably say that many diets require you to prepare your own meals. What you can do is to stock your home full of these foods that are within your diet. This way, you will surround yourself and not 'accidentally' eat prohibited foods. It's also easier to prepare meals when you have ingredients ready.

New equipments are other stuff that isn't food but things you'll need in your weight loss program. It could be anything, from skipping ropes, dumb bells, yoga mats to even supplements.

If you have no choice but to eat out, take a look at the menus of the store that you regularly visit, decide which foods best fit the diet that you're on. Know what kind of food to avoid and what to eat. Make a mental note about these food.

2. Prepare your menu ahead
Always remember to plan ahead, especially your meals. Take a look at your daily routine. What time do you wake up, how much breaks you have in between work or school, what time you sleep? All these minor events determines your menu of the day.

I used to be on 6 meals diet, it was really not easy packing the meals into my schedule. But I plan ahead, woke up early to prepare my meals, squeeze in some meals into my tiny breaks. Managed to keep up with my diet for a few months until my schedule changed.

For some people who have no choice but to eat out, this should be taken into account as well.

3. Planning your physical activities
For those who have never moved for awhile, this plan will be a very daunting task indeed. Cannot find the time to exercise? Very often, it's not about time but more of the motivation issue. The only time where an everyday person can exercise would be before work and after work.

It's good to know that physical activity does not only mean exercises. It's the total energy that you spent daily doing physical stuff. Eg. Walking, climbing stairs, household chores. All these requires energy and are part of your daily physical activity. Take a bus, instead of driving and you'll find yourself walking and burning some calories while reducing CO2 emission at the same time. Walking is a great exercise that does not place too much stress on the knees, I highly recommend all of you to incorporate more walking into your daily routine.

4. Think positive
A positive mind is the first step to weight loss. Do not despair at how much weight you lose, focus more on following the program. Afterall, your weight is just a numerical figure but your health is what other sees. If you're doing things right, everything will go in your way like clockwork.

5. Take a before pic! (optional)
This is really fun! trust me. Comparing old pictures to the new you is the most amusing experience ever

Late Night Cravings? Try this

2009-06-05T22:28:00.000-07:00

No matter how you do it, as long as you're human, you'll fall for the late night cravings. Research have shown that women tend to crave sweets, like chocolate, cookies and ice cream at night while men tend to crave food like steak, mashed potatoes, burgers, pasta and pizza.

There are many possible reasons why we crave for food at night. It could be because of the stress or exhaustion from the day's work and night is the only time when you can relax(and eat). It may also be due to hormonal imbalances which occurs at night. These hormones affect the cravings that we have and the type of food that we crave for.

Here are some of the steps that I took to combat Late night Cravings.

1. Have a healthy dinner that is high in fibre and pref ably low in glycemic index
This will help keep your body satisfied and stop it from calling out to food.

2. Brush your teeth early.
This works for me simply because I do not enjoy brushing my teeth twice. I most probably will not eat after brushing my teeth.

3. Drink a warm cup of water/tea
If you're not too sensitive to caffeine, tea works well to fight against the cravings. If not, warm water will do just fine. No sweet drinks! you're back to step (2) if you do!

4. Keep yourself busy
Busy here does not mean more work or watching television. Its good to keep yourself busy with some family time or hobbies and pastimes.

5. Stay away from anything that stimulates appetite
Late night cravings are actually just appetites working up. Keep off the smells and sight of any food, including televisions! Do not stock up your home with junk food because your late night cravings will lead you to them like a remote control.

Stretch Mark Creams

2009-06-05T10:17:00.000-07:00

Your savior to unsightly stretch mark, but only if you use it before losing weight! More of a preventive measure than a treatment.

I do have stretch marks, around my tummy and shoulder areas, I'll post some pictures when I snap them. I got them because I didn't know what were stretch marks at that point of time. When your skin is exposed to sudden changes in the volume beneath it (eg. sudden weight loss or sudden weight/muscle gain or pregnancy), stretch marks appear.

This is due to the skin cells not being able to adapt quick enough to the changes, thus causing tiny tears. Applying stretch mark cream will help by stimulating the skin to repair these tiny tears.

For new stretch marks, Tretenoin or commonly known as the brand Retin-A can still be applied to help reduce the stretch marks. This however, does not work for older stretch marks that are more than a few months old (like mine!)

Some people do not get stretch mark even if they lost significant weight. Losing your weight gradually and slowly does help in preventing stretch marks. However, it's better to be safe than sorry, especially marks that won't heal. Stretch mark creams are available at phamacies and they're not too expensive. Just apply them daily after a shower.

1kg of muscle burns 120 extra calories per day

2009-06-05T01:32:00.000-07:00

That's right, 120 calories! It's not that difficult to put on muscles either. Muscles are the real key to fat loss. Not only do they make you look healthier by firming your shape up, they also allow you to burn extra calories round the clock.

You should be more concerned about fat loss than weight loss. It should make sense because there are people out there who lost weight but nobody can tell! There are also people out there who gained weight but others thought they look healthier. This is all due to the work of muscles.

Permanent Weight Loss

2009-06-04T22:31:00.000-07:00

Many of us, we forgot to look ahead. Only aiming for a certain weight, only guided by the weighing scale.

When I first started losing weight 7 years ago, I only aimed for the weight that I wanted, that's about all. Sure, I've got to the weight I wanted, from 100kg to 68kg in just 2 months with crash dieting. But I couldnt sustain this weight, couldn't sustain the diet that I was eating either. Very soon, I ballooned back close to my previous weight of 100kg.

Permanent weight loss is not about achieving but about sustaining. Forget the weight loss pills, weight loss program, weight loss cabbage, weight loss grapefruit and magical exercises. The real key to permanent weight loss is a lifestyle change.

I have been maintaining my current weight of 70kg for about 3 years now. But of course, like everyone else, there would be fluctuations from day to day. I'm confident of maintaining my current weight for a long time to come. Read on further and I'll show you how I plan to do it and how you can also achieve permanent weight loss.

There are only two factors.
1. Your Diet
Choose a diet that you are comfortable with. The main point is to find a diet that you can eat everyday without feeling that it's a chore and yet does not cause you to gain weight. It's not easy but it's not impossible!

2. Your Physical activity
Do something you like(that requires you to move). If you don't know what you like, try something new. Even shopping is a physical activity if you manage to not eat while you shop!

Weight loss through Appetite Control

2009-06-04T06:37:00.000-07:00

Permanent weight loss is not easy, infact 95% of people who lost weight eventually gained them back. I'm proud to say I'm one of the 5% group, it's been 4 years and counting. Want to know my secret? Read on!

Appetite is not the same as hunger, it's a psychological process that demands more food. And more often that not, your body does not need this extra food.

One of the single and most effective means of weight loss is through manipulating your appetite, or rather suppressing it down. Just think about it, the last time you felt very sad, did you ate much? Chances are you didn't, you were hungry but you didn't feel like eating, that was when you have defeated your appetite, temporarily.

Imagine if you can control your appetite daily, knowing when to stop eating, wouldn't that be great? The good news is you are able to achieve that! Without having to feel sad everyday. Appetite can be controlled by some simple changes, many of these changes should be practiced together in order to be effective.

Methods to Suppress Appetite

Satiety index
The satiety index is a gauge to measure how much and how long a particular food makes a person feel full, in other words satisfied from the food. The higher the food is in the satiety index, the more and the longer a person will feel full after eating the food.

The major food nutrients affects this index
Fats - Highest satiety
Protein - Medium satiety
Carbohydrate - Low satiety

Higher fibre content will also increase the satiety index.

I'm not advocating on a low carbohydrate diet, although many advocates love to use this index as basis of their argument. The satiety index is not an excuse to eat high fats and high protein food while avoiding carbohydrates.

As I've mentioned, Fibre affects the satiety index as well, and fibre are found mainly in Carbohydate foods.

This is the plan

1. Avoid low-fat diets

2. Eat Carbohydrate foods that are high in fibre - eg. Wholemeal pasta, fruits, vegetables, oats, barley

3. Eat moderate amount of protein, there's no reason to avoid protein unless your kidneys are not functioning well

4. Always include healthy oils in your diet. Oils derived from nuts, olives, avocados, fish are all good sources of oil.

Nutrition data has recently launch a new method of measuring satiety, which is known as the Fullness factor. This is better gauge because it take notes of both the calorie contribution and satiety factor at the same time. Visit the link to read up on it.

Exercise
Did you know that exercise affects your appetite as well? Exercise regulates some of the hormones in your body that suppresses appetite. Two of which are Ghrelin and Peptide YY.

But which kind of exercise? Studies have shown that Aerobic exercises(jogging, cycling, walking) are more effective in suppressing appetite than Anaerobic exercises(weight lifting, sprinting).
There, another point to pick up your shoe and start exercising.

Habits
Keep nice food out of sight - Hide them, avoid them, give them away. Nice foods and smells are known to stimulate appetite. Even the sight or smell alone can be strong enough to evoke such senses!

Keep an eye on yourself during Celebrations - A very likely situation, you'll lose track of yourself from all the joy and merry making. This is also the time where many people binge and where many diets fail. Don't notice the food, don't anticipate about what you should eat next! Socialise and shift your focus elsewhere.

Avoid buffet or all you can eat events - Self-explainatory. If you're on a diet but you persists on going to such events, please pray before you do. That's all you can do because even I fall victim to this.

Dish food out on a plate - If you're having a humongous plate or bowl of something, dish it out into a smaller plate or bowl. You'll eat less than you are going to, this is physchological doing but it really does helps.

Hot Tea
This is my personal experience. I've realised that my appetite is much easier to control after some cup of green tea. I have no idea why, but i'll look up for it soon.

Reference
1. Broom et al. The influence of resistance and aerobic exercise on hunger, circulating levels of acylated ghrelin and peptide YY in healthy males. AJP Regulatory Integrative and Comparative Physiology, 2008; DOI: 10.1152/ajpregu.90706.2008

FAQ

2009-05-04T10:15:00.000-07:00

Q1: What's the difference between weight loss and fat loss?

A1: Most people would refer fat loss to weight loss. But we all know that it's really fats that we want to lose and not weight. But I will use this term weight loss instead of fat loss. Until the day everyone can stop relying on weighing machines to guage themselves!

Q2: What kind of diet are you on?

A2: I'm currently not on any diet, I eat according to my body, I listen to my body but not give in to it. Basically I eat more than 5 meals a day, I don't have a fix diet but I can estimate that 30~40% of my calories are from fruits and vegetables. The rest comes from healthy foods that are low in glycemic index and rich in good fats.

Q3: Why does it seem impossible to lose weight?

A3:It's not impossible to lose weight at all. Sure, many of us may have slower metabolism than others but that's not even a hurdle to weight loss. Unless someone has leptin deficiency or any other genetic traits, which are rare, it's pretty simply to lose weight.

Q4: What's the purpose of this blog?

A4: I have no idea. I want to help people lose weight and regain their confidence before any form of illness strikes. There was no one to guide me along, all I did was trial and error to weight loss which cause me to make several mistakes. I really hope I can help people achieve their dream of losing weight. One of the benefit I will probably receive is the improvement of my writing skills which I find really boring and mundane at times.(too much lab reports!)

Q5: What's your dream?

A5: I have a dream. That is to help obese children lose weight before any obesity related condition can strike them. That's what happened to me and I don't want any other people to suffer from it. If I could, I would set up a non-profit foundation to introduce programs and camps to really save these children from drowning in the pool of obesity.

I would also love to write a book in the near future. With my poor grasp of vocab, I could probably get a ghost writer but I'd much prefer writing my own book. Maybe an e-book would be more practical for now.

To be continued