27 Aug 2010
by Ubiquityin Health, Reality bites Tags: food, updates
As of this morning I weigh at exactly 55kg. Now that’s a lot for me, but I’m not saying that I’m fat. I’m simply, overweight. My BMI is on the normal range but I don’t feel healthy. Lemme try to describe how my body feels now… Let’s see… Heavy, clumsy, fleshy, sometimes achy and chubby. Ever since I moved to Zürich, I’ve gained 5kg. That’s 5kg in 6 months! Staggering!
There are, of course, plenty of changes in my body that comes with it. For instance, my face is significantly rounded and my thighs are, well, they’re bigger than usual. My arms are meatier and there are the aftermath of binge eating around my tummy. Yes. A slight bulge. God! I was never like that! What happened to me? I don’t wanna become my worse fear; a woman who gets fat after they’re married. No no no!
Let’s just say now my jeans are perfect fit these days. At this point also, I am sick and tired of feeling full all the time. Yeah, call me a glutton if you wish, it’s okay. I am one. I’ve been eating so much till it’s leaving me feeling really disgusted. Second helpings, french fries, ice-creams, chips, chocolates, candies… You name it, I had it all without feeling a single ounce of guilt. But it’s coming back to me now.
Another thing I realize about my weight gain is my lack of concentration. It seems as though my brain is not functioning as well as it used to. I get ‘blocked’ all the time; blocked in writing, blocked in thinking… Hence, turning me into a lazy bum (and lack of blog entries).
So in conjunction with my upcoming trip to Bali (I wanna frolick on the beach in teenie-weenie bikini without feeling so conscious about my flabby body), I’ve finally decided to do something about it. I am going on a ‘fruit fast’ for 7 days and that means, I am going to eat ONLY fruits (and maybe some handfuls of almonds) for 3 meals a day. My aim is to detoxify and cleanse my body from all the nasty things I’ve eaten recently. And hopefully promote some weight loss.
Do you think I could do it? I’m already at day 1!
Breakfast: a quarter of melon
Snack: a handful of raisins
Lunch: 2 oranges
Snack: a handful of almonds and 1 carrot
Dinner: pineapple
Snack: a handful of raisins
And lots and lots of water!
06 Jul 2010
by Ubiquityin Health Tags: updates, yoga
Had my very first yoga lesson with Fred earlier and boy it was exhilarating! I never knew that yoga can be so tough. We went to an open class practising Dynamic (a cross between Hatha & Iyengar) Yoga supposedly for all levels. All levels indeed. Poor Fred was struggling through most of the flows. But I’m glad he found it enjoyable. I guess it’ll take some more practise for us before we can truly enjoy the whole session.
I don’t really care about the meditative aspects of yoga. I think I’m pretty relaxed. Besides, all the “Ommmmms…” sounds kinda goody to me. It’s my body that is in need of fixing. I’m just not as flexible as I used to be and my back is starting to give me some problems. Geez! I’m only 26!
Sad part about the yoga lesson earlier, it was conducted in Swiss-German. As much as our instructor tried to switch to English, it was hard for us to keep up. And being stuck at the back refrained us from seeing her positions. Note to self: Go right in front the next time around. Yes! There’ll be a next time. In fact, we’re coming back next week. For now though, I’ll just have to nurse my aches and pains. Hehe…
03 Jun 2010
by Ubiquityin Health, Reality bites, Recipe Vault Tags: smoothies, updates
Reality check, I have about 3 weeks to lose weight till the next vacation (my visa application is still processing but at the rate things are going, there are high chances that I’ll make this trip!). I’ve been on a snacking binge lately. Every single night, without fail, without even having the urge for a bite, I’d find myself raiding the pantry for a piece of chocolate or a cookie. Very very bad Anna. It’s no wonder I’m tipping the scale bit by bit every single day.
So with the vacation as my motivation, I shall lose weight. I MUST I MUST I MUST lose some weight. I’m nowhere near obese, mind you. Not even fat. I was just used to being leaner and healthier. Now? Let’s just say I have some ‘acceptably’ (ahem!) cuddly baby fats. Hehehe…
With that in mind, I’ve started on my dieting regime as of today. Won’t go into details about what I eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner but I will tell you what I’ve made for lunch. As a substitute of my usual sandwiches, I’ve opted for smoothies this time. But before I go on and share the simple but really delicious recipe with you, I’d like to share a little history on my previous obsession with smoothies.
When I was 16 I had a part-time job in a juice bar. This juice bar sells nothing but healthy fruit juices and smoothies. I had a fancy job title then, I was a ‘juice consultant’. That cracks me up till this day. A juice consultant! Hahaha! Anyway, as a juice consultant, I was responsible in preparing nutritional beverages. Once in a while, I would be asked for a recommendation by customers who do not know what they want. That was the best part of my job. I loved concocting new mixtures. So based on their preferences, like for instance; if the customer wants something thick and filling but they don’t want the usual banana and strawberries smoothie, I’d make something else for them. Like banana with oats and chocolate powder. Or banana with mango and orange. A year later after I quit that job I got myself a brand spanking new blender to satisfy my smoothie desires. Crazy me.
Moving on now, here’s the recipe of my strawberries and banana smoothie.
Serves 1
Fill ice cubes to the brim of the glass
Ingredients:
1 medium-sized glass (the quantity depends on the size of your glass, the larger your glass is the greater it amount it yields, but remember though, if your glass is big add in a couple more strawberries to increase the density of the smoothie, unless you like it watery)
6 strawberries, cut into small pieces
1 banana, cut into small pieces
ice cubes
2 tablespoon of oats
1 tablespoon of honey
soy milk
Directions:
Put the bananas and strawberries in a glass and pack some ice cubes on the fruits to the brim (about 5 or 6 ice cubes, don’t put too much otherwise the mixture will turn out like a badly blended Starbucks frappe). Fill half of the glass with soy milk (again, don’t put too much otherwise the mixture will turn out watery, unless you like it that way). Pop the glass’s contents in the blender and add in the oats and honey. Blend it for about 30 – 45 seconds and voila ! Serve immediately!
PS: If you want to make 2 glasses (or more), just double (adjust accordingly) each ingredients and put it in another cup for precise measurement.
Some nutritional facts:
Strawberries contain a range of nutrients, with vitamin C heading the group. They also contain significant levels of phytonutrients and antioxidants, which fight free radicals. These antioxidant properties are believed to be linked to what makes the strawberry bright red. Free radicals are elements that can damage cells, and they are thought to contribute to the formation of many kinds of cancer. In addition to vitamin C, strawberries also provide an excellent source of vitamin K and manganese, as well as folic acid, potassium, riboflavin, vitamin B5, vitamin B6, copper, magnesium, and omega-3 fatty acids.
Banana is one of nature’s best sources of potassium. Potassium is known to significantly lower the risk of high blood pressure and related diseases such as heart attacks and strokes. Bananas are believed to prevent dangerous low-density lipoprotein from oxidizing, which causes it to stick to the walls of the arteries. This accumulation can contribute hardening of the arteries, a major contributor to heart attack, stroke and high blood pressure. Even one serving of a potassium rich food,such as bananas can lower your risk of stroke by up to 40%.
11 Nov 2009
by Ubiquityin Health
Firstly, let me be honest and admit that my shopping list are full of high-fat ingredients. Fred and I, we both LOVE marmalades and peanut butter. Those two spreads are definitely NOT low in fat. And then we also love milk, to be specific, we love full-cream milk. Nothing low-fat about that either. We go nuts over chocolates; especially Toffifee, chips and ice cream! Apparently, there’s nothing low-fat about what I just mentioned either. We’re also guilty when it comes to cheeses.
So basically, I’m pretty sure I got everyone thinking that we are an unhealthy couple. Allow me to explain myself. You see, as much as we indulge on these cholesterol / fat / calorie loaded food, we ONLY indulge in them ONCE a week.
For instance; we would pick 1 weekend (Saturday or Sunday) to have a big breakfast spread. That means, we would have 3 slices of bread each with different choices of confitures. Unsalted butter, apricot marmalade, raspberry marmalade, honey, peanut butter and Nutella. Nevertheless, I would always try to include something healthy within the meal, like; freshly squeezed juice. My current obsession is grapefruit.
Grapefruit doesn’t only contain high amounts of vitamin C which is commonly known as to be protective against cold or flu. It also contains citric acid, natural sugars, essential oils like; limonene, pinene and citral. It also has smaller amounts of vitamin A, B complex, E and K.
Some health benefits of grapefruit;
- Common cold : A regular drink of grapefruit during a stressful period gives your immune system the boost needed to prevent it coming on.
- Cholesterol : A certain compound found in grapefruit helps reduce the excessive production of cholesterol from the liver.
- Digestive disorder : The juice helps to promote digestion by increasing the flow of gastric juices.
- Fatigue : At the end of a long and tiring day, drink a glass of grapefruit juice with lemon juice in equal parts with a little honey, to dispel all fatigue and tiredness.
- Fever : Besides drinking plenty of fluids, also drink grapefruit juice to reduce fever.
- Sore throat : Drinking freshly-squeezed grapefruit juice helps relieve sore throats and soothes coughs.
- Weight-loss (YAY!) : This fruit has a fat-burning enzyme and can help to absorb and reduce the starch and sugar in the body.
So grapefruits are definitely a part of my Low-Fat Food Shopping List.
The next essential item would be yogurt.
Not only is yogurt a quick, easy and nutritious snack that is available year-round, yogurt is also rich in calcium, which is essential for maintaining colon health and reducing the risk of colon cancer.
Moving along, here is the list of low-fat food that you can get;
- Whole grains & cereals : Wheat, barley, rice, oats and maize are very low in fat. Whole grains such as whole wheat, rolled oats and brown rice, in particular, have more fiber and will keep you full longer (eg; Kellogg’s Special K)
- Bread & dough : They are generally low in fat, with the exception of butter-enriched bread, cake doughs and croissants.
- Low-fat dairy : For dairy goodness, try low-fat milk, cheese, yogurt or yogurt drinks.
- Fruits & vegetables : Naturally fat-free, they are high in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants to boost your health and immune system.
- White meat : Go for fresh, lean meat such as chicken. Buy skinless meat of trim the visible fats before cooking.
- Healthier oils : Instead of saturated animal fat sources, make a healthier choice by using monounsaturated and polyunsaturated oils (eg; olive oil, sunflower oil, canola oil)
My choice of healthier oil
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