Suspend-It

Wohoo! I just finished watching the whole season 7 of 24. This series never fails to amaze me. I have been an avid fan since season one. Yeah, yeah I agree that it’s impossible for the events to happen real time, especially because we don’t even see the characters eat sleep. Anyhow, I had the chance to watch a documentary about how they made the series and it really was great. Their project planning and management is so well structured. Even more amazing is that on the whole series, the characters look the same: same clothes, hair, muscular built, etc. so when you watch the movie, it feels like it was shot real time. Oh, and I love the realistic stunts including the pimped F150’s with huge grill guards.

Anyhow, story wise, I guess it shows some truth about the government, although a little exaggerated. But really, in times of crisis, there are those to help others yet some take advantage. Oh well, I can’t wait for season 8!

One of my roommates in college, Malyn, invited me to her brother’s wedding yesterday. Since we haven’t seen each other in a year, and the venue is not that far from my office, plus it’s going to be a free savory buffet, I asked my friend Mark to accompany me to the wedding reception (I couldn’t make it in time for the wedding because of work).

I was really happy to see Malyn. She’s one of the closest roommates I’ve had when I was in the university and one of the smartest. She’s now a practicing civil engineer and has lots of road projects lined up.

As usual though, she was conscious about her weight and was even considering getting hcg injections austin . I told her there was no need for that. Proper diet and regular exercise is really the key to trimming down (well for me, I really have stress to thank for my still slim figure. Hehehe). She agreed with me of course and promised to do her best to stick to a proper diet and perhaps enroll in some fitness gym or sport.

Anyway, I really had a great time that night. The venue was picturesque and absolutely deserved its name – Oasis. I love the two people I was with. The food was excellent (I even get to horde of a bottle of a red wine) and the acoustic band was great. They even played my favorite song wonderfully. ^_^ To cap it off, I unexpectedly caught a long-stemmed-with-two-rose flower during the bouquet tossing at the wedding, which makes me the supposedly lucky-next-bride-to-be single lady at the occasion. Hehehe. After countless of weddings I’ve been in since I was a kid and after doing my best to avoid being “the bouquet catcher” I still cannot believe I “caught the bouquet”. I guess things really do happen when you least expect it. Who knows…

Yipes! My family just found out that I was planning to spend the weekend of my birthday on a beach with Twyla and Marcoe and demands that they join as well. Hmmm… might as well go for Myrtle beach vacation rentals. After all, it’s nearer and is considered a virtual paradise with lots of things to do (not to mention the over 2000 restaurants and exciting amusement parks within the area that we can go to).

*Sigh* that means more money to spend though. Then again, the more the merrier! It’s going to be a happy-relaxing birthday-weekend for me. ^_^

Who would have thought that a simple egg is one of the best foods you can eat when on a diet? A nutritionist friend of mine shared this idea with me when I was asking about the best diet pill.

Contradicting the usual belief, eggs are relatively low in fat when you consider the nutrients it contains. A single medium egg full of essential nutrients like carotenoids, vitamin A, B12, D, E, K, calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, folate, and panthothenic acid. It’s like a multivitamin in an eggshell!

So, which should I eat: the yolk or the egg white? The usual practice (by gym buffs) is to eat just the egg white, discarding the cholesterol rich egg yolk. But recent studies now prove that the egg yolk is much more nutritious than the egg white. There’s no debate in the high cholesterol content of the egg yolk, but taking the nutritional value into account, the levels are almost negligible.

Just a thought: Diet doesn’t have to be depressing.

Twyla, Marcoe, (my close college friends) and I have been working too damn hard for the past few months that we all decided last month that we will spend an overnight at Balai beach resort in the Philippines on the weekend near my birthday this October. After all, “work hard, party harder!” and, “you work to live, not live to work.”

I was so excited about that much deserved trip that I’m actually browsing over Eagle Creek luggage to check which bag one suits me and the overnight trip best. Then again, I just bought a nice sketchers backpack this September and I do want to be debt free soon… I guess I’ll pass up on buying THE bag first, well, not until I become debt free. Hehehe.

I just realized that the more I resolve to gain weight (I look malnourished at the moment), the more stressful my life gets. It’s like there’s this conspiracy against me gaining weight.

I’m beginning to think it’d be more easier if I had been vertically challenged since there are lots of weight loss pills available in the market to help me slim back. But pills on how to gain weight?! Not much, I say. Or perhaps I’m just not doing enough research on the topic.

Anyway, I’m seriously considering doing a de-worm procedure as suggested by my friend Mark. The last time I did that was when I was in elementary. And it’s been ages already. Might as well rule out the worm-housing in my stomach before doing something drastic like stuffing myself with meat and food supplements.

A healthy fat intake depends on your age and your lifestyle. The older and less active you are, the less fat you must eat. To lose weight, you must first have an idea on how much fat you take in, for this will be your basis on how much fat you need to lessen.

And now for the hardest part, before you think of using a weight loss product steer clear of your favorite pizza for a while. Burgers too are also very high in fat, from the buns, to the mayo, to the cheesy bacon mushroom melts. Choose healthy snacks like salads, fruit yogurts or corn chips. Choose white meat like chicken or turkey and remove the skin. For lean meat, it is better to grill it so that the fat will drip while cooking. Fish in olive oil is also great for loosing weight.

Always remember that low-fat food is may be low in fat, but if you eat too much, the effect is the same as eating fatty food of lesser volume. Try to dig in fruits and vegetables. These foods have no fat. So better have them in your diet.

The bad fat: Saturated fat

Foods high in this kind of fat include fatty meats, coconut oil, cakes, pastries, and our all time favorite burgers. These tend to raise cholesterol levels therefore must be reduced if not avoided. There is also the “trans fat” which is also Saturated fat, which can be found in dairy products and commercial frying oils.

The good fat: Unsaturated fats

Mono-unsaturated and Poly-unsaturated are basically the same in terms of benefits to the body. These particular types of fats are lower blood cholesterol and reduce the risk of blood clots, which is good. These fats come mostly from vegetable oils, peanut butter, and fish oils. The so famous Omega -3 fat is also unsaturated.

Big Fact:

Most people think that good fats don’t make them overweight. These people see these good fats as natural weight loss supplements. Wrong! Fats are still fats. Saturated or unsaturated, these fats will pile up in your body if not used. The body stores fat as energy reserves so if you don’t use your reserves, you’ll end up looking like a warehouse in no time.

When treadmills and static bikes do not seem to work anymore, it’s time to think about what you’re doing wrong. Yes, right. It’s your diet. Eating too much is the major cause of obesity. It doesn’t matter if you eat spam “lite” or “diet” coke, the small amount of fat you take into your body will pile up eventually.

Here are some brief facts about fats that you may not know about. There are three types of fats: saturated, poly-unsaturated, and mono-unsaturated fats. All fatty foods contain a mixture of these three fats, they only differ in the ratio. These three fats may raise or lower cholesterol levels, hence good and bad fats.

My sister Anne has been having a hard time controlling herself from stuffing food into her stomach whenever she sees appetizing dishes. Since she’s fond of night outs, she’s consequently constantly exposed to a lot of mouth-watering delicacies. Unfortunately, her night outs is starting to take its toll on her “voluptuous figure” as she puts it.

Normally, the easiest solution for this type of dilemma would be to take appetite suppressants. Then again, why pop those in when you can do yoga – Bikram Yoga to be exact? And I quote the following benefits from Bikram Yoga Grass Valley/Nevada City:

BENEFITS OF BIKRAM YOGA:

• Reshapes your body
• Restores flexibility
• Tones, strengthens, and lengthens your muscles
• Strengthens your spine
• Improves circulation
• Reduces risk of sports injury
• Achieves relief from pain
• Reduces your weight – lose pounds by balancing your metabolism
• Raises energy level
• Diminishes the effects of stress
• Increases balance, coordination, focus and discipline
• Clears your mind
• Calms your soul
• Ensures healthy and balanced functioning of the skeletal, muscular, circulatory, nervous, digestive, elimination, respiratory, endocrine, and mental systems of the body

BENEFITS OF THE HEAT:

• Warms the muscles for greater flexibility
• Helps achieve a deeper stretch
• Flushes toxins from the body
• Improves efficiency of the immune system
• Creates a cardiovascular workout
• Burns calories
• Builds endurance

So, next time you think of getting back your covetous figure, go Bikram! 0;)