Health Blog by YinTeing

Breakfast:
- Fried egg with ginger in it.
- A small sweet potato.

Lunch
- A cup of Nescafe Breakfast 3-in-1 (absolutely adore the drink)
- Yong tau foo stuff in bitter gourd (yes, I love bitter gourd)
- Some kind of taugeh (but it is green colour and I love it too)
- 2 pcs of Gardenia Breakthrough bread with light spread of “No added sugar” peanut butter.

Afternoon
took a small sip of 100 plus

Dinner
- Yong tau foo stuff in bitter gourd
- Small plate of the green taugeh again, this time stir fried
- A sprinkle of dried apricots, pumpkin seeds and raisins.
- Another cup of Nescafe Breakfast 3-in-1
- A slice of Gardenia Breakthrough bread, heated in the owen with a slice of cheese.
- An orange to close it off.

And not forgetting, lots of H2O.
That’s what I had for today

We have no idea how the food we eat affects us. Absolutely no idea at all.
Is your life going to be happy? Felt you could do more but your stamina sets you back? Or the lack of energy robs you of a zest in life?
All those years, I have read and heard advice from people, who changed their lifelong bad eating habits after a disease such as cancer, diabetes strike them or their loved ones. It took a life threathening situation for them to do something about it. It never occurred to me what a huge impact it could be until something dawned on me today..

As I mentioned in my previous posts, I had suffer from chronic fatigue all my life. I could not get things done coz I felt tired and drained most of the time. Even when I started seriously exercising, it will bring my energy back for a few hours, and later I will still feel tired. I become an avid gym goer- I have that inner motivation because exercising (which I cannot skip coz I pay lots of money for the membership fees) cured my tiredness, even temporarily. My metabolism was still a bit sluggish.

Then when I start to cut down refined/table sugar and starch from my diet, I started noticing these changes:

• My stamina increases- I have more energy during exercising
• I am losing weight
• My metabolism increased- previously I could to go Body Step class and workout but only sweat a few drops (while I see others literally being drenched). Now a while in the cardio machine made me sweat a lot.
• Even if I miss my visits to my gym, I do not feel that lethargic feeling.

Bear in mind those changes above was not obvious prior to my change in diet- just a change in diet and it gives me results that my one year of intensive gym going did not give.

Therefore, COMBINING EXERCISE & PROPER DIET ARE VERY IMPORTANT. Try your best not to do one without the other.

I want to share on the difference of how the diets taken by my mom and dad affected them:
My Mom

• Unlike many people, she does not eat food because they are delicious but because they are nutritious for her. She eats oats and Ensure almost everyday and instinctively look after her nutrition.
• She came from a very poor family and suffered constant hunger throughout her childhood- when hungry, she climbed up rambutan or jambu trees to eat the fruits.
• I always referred to some of her food choices as GBP (not Great British pounds) but Gross Body Parts. This is the kind of food that is nutritious such as liver, feet, stomach of some animals (till today I still refused to take those food).
• She has high metabolic rate- rise up at the crack of dawn and work all day.
• Sleep early, rise early.

My dad:

• I must have taken after him- both of us basically eat what we liked.
• My dad naturally does not like home cooked food. He had preferred more MSG flavoured food like mamak food, Cantonese and Hokkien fried. So he ate out a lot- and he tended to choose those type of food- no nutrient, deep fried, sugar and carbo.
• He had always felt tired so spent lots of free time sleeping and developed a beer belly (even though he hardly takes alcohol. Does not like to move around.
• Developed high blood pressure in his forties. Then a second stroke attack led to his early demise at the age of 55

Me:

• Do not like to ‘real’ food either. Preferred processed and fast food anytime.
• Since young, my sweet tooth dictated my food intake- Twisties, Cheerios, Cottage Fries, carbonated drinks, sweets & chocolates. Spent all my ang pau money within 2 months to buy those food.
• As I grow into a teenager, my sweet tooth cause me constant fatigue and led to my eventual addiction to caffeine, namely teh ais, nescafe- and later when I was working- expensive coffee such as latte, cappuccino (people spend their money on clothes or other stuff but I spend as much on coffee). The more coffee doses I put in, the more tired I feel later when the effects of coffee goes off.
• I can drink a Starbucks espresso and latte at night and still sleep.
• When I quit sugar and starch, my coffee addiction drastically reduced.

So especially if you have kids, make sure they do not eat processed or take out food most of the time. Things like cornflakes, cereals and white bread are actually not good for health. Give them ‘real’ nutritious food instead.

So today, I have a very important message:

Watch what you eat, REALLY,

If you are not eating well, you robbed yourself of a life of inner quality & happiness,

You may think “what’s the point of living if I cannot eat what I love”,

But as long as you put junk into your body, you will suffer a host of health problems,

Not to mention not being able to fit into clothes that you love

Or achieve your dreams, due to the limitation that you put on yourself, and NOT what life or circumstances put on you,

Remember, REAL PEOPLE EAT REAL FOOD.

Do you feel demotivated and demoralised because:

• you feel your life is slipping out of your control coz your weight is going out of control.
• your sweet tooth is driving you nuts and causing you weight gain every month.
• even after you ate a rich and sinful lunch, you still crave for an ice blended cholocate mocca?
• if you deny your body’s desire to snack, you are unable to concentrate on anything else- it will bug and bug you till you give in to it.
• tried lots of diet (including starvation) and in the end, put on more weight than ever?
• people always think that you are lazy or lack will power- but you really had tried very hard to diet but they just don’t work.
• you feel more lethargic and tired than ever- it gets worst as time goes by.

Then, I strongly recommend this book “The Carbohydrate Addict’s Life Span Diet” by Dr Richard F Heller & Dr Rachael F Heller. This book will help you to:

• understand that you are overweight not because you are lazy or have lack of will power. Your problem is purely biological (detailed explanation is provided)
• the authors themselves had tried so many fad diets and methods and still put on weight. They had suffered years of prejustice from society till they discovered how their bodies reacted to sugar and starches. Dr Rachael herself lost 186 pounds and does not suffer from food craving or deprivation. She kept the weight off for more than 10yrs.
• the author introduces reward meals- so if you really must have that candy bar, you may have it once- at night. For some people, the night candy bar may start off another eating binge.
• by eating food that stabilises your blood sugar instead of driving it haywire, you will lose weight and what’s more, it is a eating lifestyle that you can follow for life.

Before I even read this book, I had the suspicion that my sweet tooth could be the culprit of my tireness and being overweight. In April 07, then I was lucky to have found the book “Win the Sugar War” by Holly McCord. The book feature 100 real life stories of people whose life were changed when they cut off sugar. I felt so cheated by my sweet tooth that I started this blog to document my journey. he scientist in me did some research and testing- observing for my ownself how taking refined sugar and starch affects my body (increased tiredness, irritability, mood swings), I realised that my body reacts negatively with high sugar intake.

That’s why by the time I am reading this book, I knew what is mentioned in the book is very true for carbo addicts. It is not just another fad but it is something that you can stick to for life. (update 2008: now take sugar as I was able to regularise my condition through exercise. But I still believe during the initial stage, it’s best to minimize refined carbs from your diet unless you are physically very active.).

So far, my weight only dropped only about 1.5kg (since May). The drop in weight was not significant but I am starting to be able to fit into clothings that previously were just too tight for me. The regular exercise and resistance training helped- muscle makes you weight heavier.

Now I seldom suffer from food craving. Also feel more energetic. I am no longer addicted to teh tarik or coffee from restaurants and mamak- the fatigue that I know I will feel after that is just not worth it. Pyschologically, I am also changing- I no longer want to be disorganised. I enjoy tidying and decluttering my home and office desk- bit by bit. I feel much more in control of my life now.

If you are like me, I sincerely urge you to make a change in your food intake. What you take in really have a profound effect, much more than you expect it to be. If you don’t believe me, try for just 2 weeks- cut down/minimize:

• processed sugar (or any food with added sugar- mainly processed food)
• fruit juice
• sweet drinks & sodas.
• noodles, rice, white bread, pasta, pita bread- anything made from wheat.

Take more fruits and vegetable, best raw. No dressing, please.

Use fruits (oranges, grapes), dried apricots, other raw vege as snacks- learn to pack your own snacks. If you don’t know, most ready cut fruits that you buy from outside are dipped into saccharin/sugar water to make it taste sweet- so it will drive your cravings if you eat them.

Trust me, if you try it, YOUR LIFE WILL REALLY CHANGE FOR THE BETTER.
Take the first step- rise to the challenge.

Yesterday, I spent a lot of time pouring through the book called “The Glucose Revolution”. Basically the book promotes taking food which is low in G.I or Glycemic index. Originally GI is developed as a tool for diabetics to control the blood sugar and insulin in their blood, its popularity spread through the entire world.

How GI is derived: from how taking certain food affected the blood sugar level on real humans. Then, every 15 min, the volunteer’s blood sugar are tested to determine how much of blood sugar is in the system. The average is then taken as the GI. From there, G.I are developed for single as well as combined food.

According to the authors, the key to successful permanent weight loss lies in choosing the right type of food to eat. The diet should not leave you feeling deprived or starved. You can eat more as long as it is not energy densed food (like a crossant or cheesecake). By choosing food low in GI, you tend to be satiated and do not suffer from hunger pangs due to flunctuation of your blood sugar level. Examples:

Food that you must avoid (because high in GI):
white rice, Jasmine rice, watermelon, dates, cornflakes, pretzels, sodas, bagels.

Food you can take moderately (medium in GI):
table sugar (surprisingly), noodles, pasta, raisins, Mars bar (another surprise).

Food low in GI (good to take):
Many types of beans & vegetable.

The book also recommends that by careful food combination, you can take low and high GI food in single meal -if the overall GI factor is low, then your blood sugar will not flunctuate rapidly.

My experience
The GI concept does not fully work with me. Reason being is that my body is sensitive to sugar intake. If you suffer from the following signs:

• continous craving for sugar and starchy food (not to be mistaken with hunger). You only specifically wants something starchy or sweet, even after a meal.
• tendency to gain weight easily or easily regain lost weight
• always feel very bloated, sluggish, no energy, lethargic after a processed carbo meal.
• always feel hungry or tired in mid afternoon
• have the following signs: headaches, irritability, mood swings, dizziness, disorentation, lack of concentration, lack of motivation.

Then we are on the same boat…. sensitive to sugar. The best is to combine both the low carb diet but take a bit of idea from the GI:

• avoid fruits in high GI such as watermelon.
• If you want to take food that is high in GI, then you must combine some low GI food to lower the effect on your blood sugar.

Read more on the next topic: Are you a Carbohydrate Addict?

Just watched the Marilu Henner’s Shape Up show in discovery H&H (Home & Living). I love her show coz:

• she covers many aspects of health & fitness, from the inside out.
• she also show how home makeover works- inspiring for clutters like me.
• features talks by health specialist to talk about common health issues we face such as back problems, allergies, gastrics.

According to Marilu, there are 6 types of eaters. It’s likely we are guilty of more than one type of eater, depending on our lifestyles and what we are going thru:

1. The Robot

• Mindlessly and automatically eat without paying attention to what you put in your mouths.
• Most of the time, could be distracted by something while eating, ie watching TV, on the phone, reading newspaper or talking to someone.
• Come World Cup, folks at the mamak store or people watching from home (with a big bag of chips and lots of sodas)

2. The Eater

• Absolutely love the taste of food. Cannot stop eating.

3. The Bargainer

• Apply some kind of eating strategy that sometimes may not be healthy. Always say, “OK, I will do this in order to have this.”
• For instance, fast for a few days so that will feel less guilty to binge later on.
• No natural relationship with eating.

4. The Zealic

• Calorie counting- very careful eater.
• Reads the latest diet books and try to follow.
• Never listen to the body’s signals but eat according to strict rules

5. The Mommy

• Eat leftovers- hate to see any food go to waste.
• If the kids don’t want to eat certain food, will finish the food up and as the result, weight gain.

6. The Crybaby.

• Emotion eater who tends to overeat- puts feeling into eating.
• Feeling sad? Will go and gobble down a tube of ice cream or lots of cookies.

HOW CAN YOU BECOME A CHAMPION EATER:

• The Robot- put down whatever you’re doing and concentrate on your food. Keep distraction away when you are eating. Sit down and learn to enjoy your food. And lose that big bag of chips.
• The Eater- Plan when and what to eat. Then eat according to plan. Place a timer to program your mind not to eat after the stipulated timeframe.
• The Bargainer- No more picking. Eat moderately. “If you don’t feast, you don’t have to fast”.
• The Zealic- stop counting and measuring calories! Stop counting for a week and really learn to listen and eat according to what your body need. Eat nutricious food.
• The Mommy- do not eat the leftovers (give it to a stray?). Have your own food to enjoy instead. You’re worth it.
• The Crybaby- replace emotional eating with movement. Put on your MP3, running shoes and go exercising the next time you feel a great urge to eat. Exercise gives you 3 benefits- get you away from the food, burn calories and keep your emotion stable.

Well, I have tried to copy as much as I can because I really find her advise very useful. Instead of writing all over the place, I write on my blog so that I can retrieve and read it in future.

According to her also,

• …. eating is not about counting calories
• …. eat real food coz you are a REAL person.
• …. once you nurish your body gets the nutrients that it needs, it will tell you when to stop.

It has been true for me. I have been adapting this new eating habit for weeks now. These few days, I get full by eating much less. And when I want to eat, I want to eat real food. I have suffered the effects of bad eating habits for so long that I appreciate the well being that nutrition and proper diet provides. I don’t really crave for junk much anymore like what I have always been used to.

Whenever I feel like taking a piece of sugary savory, I will think of the tiring and lethargic feelings that I will experience later. It always put me off.

Since increasing intake of natural food, minimizing sugar and processed carbs, and combining with my usual exerice regime, I have seen the following changes in myself:

• Feel so much more energized and less tired.
• Knee problems had dissapeared. Even though I have done yoga based exerised for a quite, I still had knee pains till I cut off sugar. Then the problem was gone. I can do a full lotus posture now.
• Better control of my temper.
• Run up a flight of stairs and not tired.
• Less hungry (hee hee, coz I am still snacking on healthy food).
• Addiction to caffeine is much reduced.
• No monthly PMS blues- not that mine is bad. But I don’t feel the bloatedness and tiredness that come with it.
• Most processed stuff starts to taste far too sweet for my liking.

But, shed only very little weight- about 1kg off at most (coz I had slagged and just came back on board about 2 weeks ago). Still, the well being I experienced really give me an inner motivation.

And journalling it also makes me want to keep up- after all, this is posted in my blog. Can’t really afford to slack too often, rite?

If you set up to achieve a particular goal, journally it is a good idea, be it via an online blog or in a book. Months or years from now, you can start studying the progress, whats make it work or otherwise.

I’m glad to have a few colleagues who friends who share the same aspiration that I have. When I met any of the gym kakis when I happen to eat at the pantry, we will talk bout classes, what to do, eat, etc. I am still a novice while they are already well experienced. Feel a bit bad when others non so crazy about exercise are around and have to bear with the talk.

Yesterday, spoke to a collaegue of mine who successfully lost 10kg since Raya (last Oct). He had advised me to cut down on my fruits portion- I was taking too much of it even though I have almost eliminated refined carbs from my diet.

He shared on some ways of how he did it:

• Literally cut down on refined sugar and processed carbs
• Take fruits- but smaller portions.
• Exercise a lot- easily burn 800 calories, sometimes till 1000 cal.
• Uses the treadmill- can be slow at speed (no. 6) but steep include- turn to max 15
• Weight training 3 times a week and alternate between muscle.

I am keeping a list of useful resources. Once in a blog, easy to retrieve

1. Glycemic Index- useful tool to gauge how fast the food you are taking is being converted to blood sugar:

2. Johhny Bowden – nutritionist life coach from Diet section in Ivillage website. I really like reading his articles coz there’s a pinch of humor in them.
Some interesting articles:

• The world’s 10 worst snack food- very true
• Benefits of cardio workout
• Why Women Need Muscle- if u dun use them, you’ll lose them.

3. Roni’s Weight Watchen- you can read how this lady lose weight- before and after.

4. Different low carbo diets.- gives an overview about the kind of popular low carbs diet such as Atkins, Sugar Busters, South Beach diet, etc.

5. Benefits of Resistance (Weight) Training.
Weight training is useful coz it makes your muscle burn fat while you are resting.