Monthly Archives: April 2010

Riding the Elliptical

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Elliptical

The husband got me one last weekend as I am dead set on losing weight more than ever. I am averaging one hour on usual days, paced 25 minutes three times a day. Four days into using it, I cannot feel my legs anymore. Seriously! :) A friend told me pain is a good thing, it means it is working. Now to get through the pain so I can increase my time. Maybe next week. In the meantime, I’m due for a facial – time to get rid of blackheads!

The low impact nature of these machines greatly reduces stress on the joints of the lower body (ankles, knees, and hips).

Since it is a weight-bearing exercise, elliptical training promotes cell growth in the bones of the lower body and spine thus helping ward off the debilitating effects of osteoporosis. This is a distinct advantage that elliptical trainers have over other exercise devices that are not weight-bearing such as rowing machines and stationary bikes.

The other great advantage that elliptical trainers have over other exercise machines is that most models work the muscles of both the upper and lower body. This results in a cardiovascular efficiency that produces an equivalent training effect as other forms of exercise, but over a shorter period of time.

Chicken Curry

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All my calorie counting flew out the window today because of this yummy dish:

Chicken Curry

One serving of this delicious meal is a whopping 614 calories!!! Look at the oil, which is the main culprit why it is so delicious in the first place! Good thing I do not have oily skin, I’d need a natural acne cleanser for this!

Ingredients :

  • 2-3 tbsp. oil
  • 3 potatoes, peeled, quartered and fried
  • 1 lb. chicken, cut into serving pieces
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 large onion, quartered
  • 1 tbsp. patis (fish sauce)
  • 3 tbsp. curry powder
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 red bell pepper, cut into big squares
  • 1 green bell pepper, cut into big squares
  • 3 celery stalks, cut into 1-1/2” long
  • 1 cup coconut milk or evaporated milk

Cooking Procedures :

  1. Pan fry potatoes. Set aside.
  2. In the same pan, fry chicken pieces and brown a little.
  3. Add garlic and onion. Sauté for a few minutes until soft.
  4. Pour in patis and season with curry powder, salt and pepper. Stir for 2 minutes.
  5. Add water. Cover and bring to a boil. Lower the heat; add celery, bell peppers and fried potatoes. Simmer for 3 minutes or until half done.
  6. Add milk and stir occasionally. Cook for another 7 minutes (or lesser when using evaporated milk because the liquids will curled).
  7. Remove from heat. Serve hot.

Vanity is a Good Thing

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Self-love is essential.

I saw this post from a friend and that made me realize a little vanity (or self-love) would not hurt. It means you love yourself to take care of yourself FIRST. Make time for your needs FIRST so you can take care of other better. This is something I have realized in the last few weeks. It is easier said than done, because as a mother, there is a tendency to stop thinking about one’s self. Your heart is outside your body, it’s with your kids. But you need to have your individuality intact. You still need to grow, so your kids can look up to you better.

I am thinking of attending a cosmetology school in Tennessee when the kids are older. I have always loved dressing up and prettifying myself before, it would not hurt if I start now, ten years late :)

Planning a Family

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Planning a family, or when babies will come into a marriage, is an important matter. While getting married is a serious decision that needs a lot of thinking and soul-searching, with a lot of self-maturity, planning a family involves two individuals taking more responsibility by bringing children into this world. That is why many couple forego having kids until they can really say they are ready and willing to sacrifice everything for their kids. Mothers are usually left with the big decision to leave their careers and stay at home to take care of the baby, as baby sitters and day care cost a lot.

Families today have so many personal differences and intricacies that they are complicated as a custom house plan. And it should be noted that no two families are the same, no matter how strong their similarities are.  There are so many things to take into account when deciding if you want a family and how large of a family you can support. The cost of a child is amazingly high during this time in history. It is quite ironic that there are couples who badly want and are capable of having kids but cannot have one. Couple go to fertility doctors, husbands try levitra, they risk and invest in intrauterine pregnancies but are unlucky. Yet there are couples, as young as teenagers still in high school, having babies left and right, and they consider abortion. It breaks my heart to hear stories like that. While I believe that family planning should be pro-choice, I feel strongly against taking one’s life. One should accept the consequences of one’s actions, and even if there would be complications, I am sure there is still more options than to terminate a life that is innocent in the first place. Adoption is one thing.

Counting Calories

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I have never thought I would do this but here I am counting calories for two weeks now. Two weeks of counting calories aka DIETING and I am down to 8 lbs! Not bad, right? I have been trying to eat under my daily required calorie intake AND burning them off through exercise. My metabolism has been sluggish, owing to genetics, crash diets when I was younger and plain laziness (couch potato I am!). I need to jumpstart it once again hence I try to do some cardio activity three times a day. I need to add some core and strength training by next week to help me build some muscles so I can lose more fat, but I am taking it easy. If I keep this up, I will be at my ideal weight on December 31, 2010 (with a 2lb weight loss a week – do the math and you will know that’s how much weight I need to lose!). The husband has already agreed to take me to the beach (not a Branson vacation) by the time I reach 30 and that would be my only chance to see myself in an acceptable swimsuit :)

Wish me luck! I want to succeed on this! This is one aspect of my life I need to prove I can be successful too :D

Dealing with Diabetes

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We have a history of diabetes in the family. My paternal grandmother has it and now my father has it, even if he is still in denial that he has diabetes. He refuses to have his monthly blood work-up and the medical supplies we bought for him sits untouched. Now a friend of mine, at the young age of 30, has been diagnosed to have diabetes. And it came as a shock for me and an eye-opener for me to start staying away from sweets and lose weight or else I might be diagnosed with one too. She told me that those with more abdominal fat (visceral fat) are more prone to have diabetes, and my tummy has always looked like it is 9 months pregnant.

Better late than never! I am trying to really lose weight permanently this time!

Food Custom Printed Labels

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Do you read food labels? I recommend you start reading them, even if you are not really conscious of what you eat or not counting calories. You NEED to know what you eat.

 

The Food and Drug Administration requires that all processed foods be labeled according to a set of guidelines. A label must list values for a 2000-calorie diet as well as limits for both a 2000 and a 2500-calorie diet. Serving sizes have been standardized based on how much of a food people eat. If manufacturers list an ingredient, they must also list the amount of that ingredient and what proportion of the recommended intake it represents.

 

 

Food manufacturers should also note when their products expire, and when it was manufactured. There are some who use stamps (heat stamped by machine) on their boxes but Custom Printed Labels last longer and are noticed more. And that’s what consumers need – they need to notice the label so that they will read it.

 

That is why Custom Labels are so in demand. Most companies start with needing a logo custom-made and then when it is approved, they are now made into different labels for attaching to their packaging to brand their products even more. Data Graphics Inc. has been in the industry for 25 years and have been making all kinds of labels, specifically Custom Label, for manufacturers and consumers.

Bread Wraps

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Bread WrapsThis is what I have been eating for about a week now. I have been trying to live a healthier lifestyle and lose weight but have been unable to give up on carbs just yet. I compensate by moving a lot. I try to get up and do jumping jacks or dance every hour for five to ten minutes,  just to spark my metabolism. My goal is to be able to fit into my clothes before my two kids before I turn 30 10 months from now. If you think about it, if I am just consistent, that would be 10lbs a month – a 100lb loss! (That’s too much though, I might fit into baby clothes already – just kidding :D)

Anyway, back to the bread wraps, the wrap itself is still high in calories, but it leaves me fuller faster. Rice just makes me crave more.

These are the nutritional values for a whole wheat pita bread:

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