Having "Me" Time

Happy Friday! It's a long Labour Day weekend here in Bangkok as well as in other countries so its time to get out and relax! :) I'd like to borrow a quote from the movie "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," which I just saw for the first time and found hilarious. During the wedding reception, the father of the bride gives a speech in which he says, " We are all different, but in the end we are all fruits." I loved it. He was talking about how his family's last name meant orange as in "oranges," while the groom's family last name meant "apple." One family was a traditional US family which was somewhat "dry as toast" (as the father of the bride described them) while the bride's family was very Greek and very large. There were relatives everywhere and everyone was in everybody's way. They were opposites, coming from different cultures,values, and beliefs. It reminded me of us here in Bangkok with our "fruity w

Today I unintentionally did a very stupid thing.   I wore a shirt that I believed to be orange in colour, whilst others told me it was more red than orange.  (No, I do not sympathize with the reds.)  It proved to be a very interesting experience, but one I hope not to repeat anytime soon.  Here's my story.  This morning, I woke up at 5.30am so that I would be able to get to the fitness early, do my morning run and get to work in time.   I was sleepy and the room was dark.   I picked a skirt, grabbed a shirt, and a cardigan.  I looked at the ensemble quickly, and my mind went.."What colour is that?  Oh, its orange...okay, orange is fine.  Now you are running late, traffic might be bad, go and run!" I did my run, showered, and changed.  As I looked in the mirror, a terrifying thought flashed across my mind, "Oh my god! I'm wearing a bright red shirt!"  My cardigan was fitted and didn't cover my entire shirt.  I had nothing else to change into except my run

Here's a sad but true reality:   if constantly exposed to violence we grow accustomed to it.   News that previously shocked us no longer have the same impact.  It makes me wonder, are we humans really that insensitive? or is it a reflection of ourselves?  Perhaps we don't care enough about things and events outside of our lives?  Perhaps some of us are just too self-absorbed to care. This past afternoon, there was once again a clash between the authorities and the red shirts.  We watched the news on TV amidst an already hectic workday.  Interestingly, today most of us just stood and watched for a few minutes and as the news changed, we each went back to our seats and meetings and continued on working as if nothing happened.  As if all was fine.    Is that all the attention that was deserved for such an event?  I think not. Some of us, me included, have lessened the amount of time we spend listening to the news to reduce our stress levels.   I am too absorbed in politics, I can&

We are having a very "fruity" war in Bangkok with durians, watermelons and tomatoes.  For those of you who wonder what I'm talking about, here's a bit of background.   The anti-government protestors in Bangkok are "Red Shirts" as they all wore red to protest.  The soldiers are green on the outside but we have some who internally take sides, hence the "watermelon." They are those who sympathize with the reds.   The "durians" are those who sympathize with the yellow shirts.   The "yellow shirts" are protestors who came out against Thaksin (Red Shirt Leader) a few years ago and closed our Bangkok airport.  (What a disaster that was) Finally, we have the " Tomatoes ." (Yes, they are a fruit, and not a vegetable.)  "Tomatoes" are those who are completely red, both inside and outside!  Juicy red tomatoes. Isn't it so funny to be describing peoples' political views by fruits?  I wonder if this would happen e

In case you are wondering why I have two posts today, I have to admit that yesterday's one was due to a technical error on my part.  Got it fixed now :)  Anyways, I thought I'd post up some pictures for you to see me during my "peak" days. This is a picture of me with my beloved dog Dyzio during high school. He's now in doggie heaven and I miss him very much.  See how small my eyes are?  Chubby cheeks. The one on the right is from when I lived in Poland. I loved the potato dumplings there and ate so many of them I think I look like a potato myself!  Notice the arms and the way I had to stand to hide my tummy...ugh... poor me. :( Having cold weather for most of the year didn't help either. I remember it would go to -20 degrees celsius in winter and we would be living under sweaters and coats. It got dark at 3pm and you spent most of your life indoors.   Its a very easy way to gain weight!  Went ice-skating outdoors, but I guess that wasn't enough! I wasn

I was looking over some old photos today of Alex and I last year at a restaurant and was shocked at how big we were.   Even when I was "big" and knew that I was chubby, I wasn't really aware of HOW big I was.  Now I know..I was BIG!  (I'll post up some more pictures tomorrow when I have a computer) It used to annoy me to no end when people commented on my weight.  Some people, I thought, were so rude to comment on my "chubbiness" in the first few minutes of our encounter.   Overtime I learnt it was a "Thai" thing. Thais were worried about our welfare in terms of food, "have you eaten yet?" and also about appearances.  It was important to look good.  First impressions are everything. I used to think ..."people should like me for who I am, it's inner beauty that counts not how I look outside."  I still believe it, but I realize now that the way I thought about it before was my way of giving myself an excuse to stay big. I told

Have you ever got the feeling that sometimes your mind and your body don't really connect? That sometimes they feel like two entities rather than a unique one?   Strange but true, the most problem I've been experiencing since my weight loss is not about how to control my eating habits or to how to keep exercising, but it actually involves having my brain "catch up" with my new body.   Isn't that a delight to hear?  Food isn't the problem anymore! I never thought that "catching up" or "feeling whole" with my new body would be a problem for me.   I thought I'd just embrace my new body right away and enjoy all the perks that come with it. I suppose I had been oversized for too long.   When people comment on my "slim" body, I feel weird, as if something is wrong, as if the sentence is misplaced and out of context.   As if there must be a mistake.  When I run, my brain wants to stop, but my body feels like it can just keep going.  

As I'm writing this blog post, I'm watching the news on TV.  This past hour, innocent people in the heart of the business district in BKK were injured by M79 bombs.  A succession of 5 bombs were fired on the skytrain that is used for the daily commute to work and into the crowd of pro-government protestors.  One lady has already been reported dead.  I hope she isn't someone I know. Red shirt protestors (anti-government) say they are "Peaceful" and say that they will utilize "NON-Violent" means to achieving their goal.  Their demand is for the parliament to be dissolved but they won't accept a compromise.     I find it hard to believe that they really mean what they say.  If you don't practice what you preach, how can you have any credibility?  If you say you are peaceful, then why do you need to prepare weapons?  Why do you have all these bombs? Why injure those who disagree with you? People have a right to their own opinion.   On April 10, the a

The weather is hot in Bangkok, and emotions are even hotter.  It has been over a month since the anti-government Red Shirts have been protesting in BKK and people's patience are running low.  The main shopping and entertainment district where Bangkokians go to relieve their stress has been closed for weeks.   Stress levels are going up. This past week, pro-government protests have started popping up all over bangkok.  Its no longer time to just sit and watch.  If we want what's right four our country we can't just be sitting in front of the TV screen hoping others will do the dirty work for us.   Anyways, something I've noticed with myself and others is a lot of " Emotions ."  When discussing politics we hear people who normally wouldn't hurt a fly  say,  "Just use force and end this situation! ",  "Who do they think they are?  Why are they running around Bangkok without regard of the law?"     Even I,  catch myself shouting and sending

For everything we want to achieve in life, I think the most important factor to its successful achievement depends on our ability to control how we think and keep ourself motivated. When I first started out running, I was so unfit I could hardly run for 1 minute.  I gasped for breath and my face would turn completely red.  My stomach and chest would feel a pain and a little voice inside my head would start telling me to stop running and just walk!   The little voice would get louder and LOUDER the longer I ran.  It would tell me all sorts of things, such as "You've done enough running, you've done a great job, just stop and walk."    Sometimes it would say "Your chest hurts and your stomach is having stitches, something must be wrong.. therefore STOP!"   On other occasions it would tell me the time and say "You are running late today, cut your workout short.  You have a long day ahead, save your energy." At times, it would tell me, "I hate thi

One thing we all do when we are on a weight loss program is to reward oneself after a hard workout or when we have reached our milestones.  I celebrated with a buffet lunch after every 5 kgs and it felt great.  It motivated me to quickly reach my goal so that I could stuff myself with all the food I love.  Realizing it would be detrimental to my diet,  I made sure I ran extra both BEFORE and AFTER so that my weight won't go up.  I also made sure it was a lunch buffet so that I would have the whole afternoon to walk it off.  Most importantly, I  ran extra the following day.... Okay so rewarding oneself at each milestone is great. It motivates us and makes our experience more enjoyable.   I love food too much to deprive myself of eating.   What we have to becareful though is of rewarding ourself too much.   By this I mean,  becareful of how much you reward yourself even after you had a hard workout, sweated like crazy and ran more than you thought possible.    If you want to lose wei

I've just come back from another funeral this evening and funerals always remind me about the finality of death.  Once life is over, its gone and there's nothing you can do to get it back.   This year I've been going to too many funerals of close friends and family for my liking.   This evening's funeral was especially sad as it was for Colonel Romklao Thuwatham who was a high ranking official killed in last week's clashes with the red shirts.  He had a promising future and it is still a debate whether or not he was "accidentally" killed  or in revenge for last year's crackdown.   What saddens me more is that I know his wife and they had been married only a little over two years.  They both had just started living their lives together to be suddenly separated. Last year, a colleague of mine at age 29 died of cancer.   Just like that, within a couple of months after he found out, he was gone.  He had so much of life left to live. Well, all I wanted to s

Potatoes are considered starchy foods like bread and many people choose to avoid it fearing that it would make them gain weight. Well, I have good news for you, eat potatoes! Potatoes are nutritious and are a great source of vitamin C. The carbohydrate gives energy whilst they are only 70 calories per 100grams. So isn't this great news? Of course, they are great as long as you don't eat it with a huge dollop of butter and sour cream sprinkled with bacon bits. :p The best way to have them is baked, steamed or boiled. A great tip I learnt from Delia Smith is not to use too much water when boiling or to leave the potatoes soaked in water. It drains out the flavour. Enjoy the simple flavours of potatoes and stay healthy! :) Have a good weekend! -- Sent from my mobile device

We all know that fruits and therefore 100% fruit juice is healthy, filled with nutrients and fiber, but did we know that they are also high in sugar? I didn't know and thought that drinking lots of fruit juice was healthy and great for me. I mean, fruit juice is not soda and I made sure I got the 100% juice not the concentrated ones. I sometimes would have half a liter or several glasses of juice a day. That was, until I was told that it is extremely high in sugar and that I had to check my portions! This was one of the reasons why I was big. I ate healthy, but I ate excessive portions. The sugar in it, slowed down my metabolism. (Metabolism that was already slow from lack of activity.) According to the US Department of Agriculture's interactive website on the Food Pyramid , recommended daily amounts of fruits vary according to age group and sex. In my age group, I was only supposed to have only 2 cups of fruits a day! Now that's fruits, 1 cup of fruit juice equal

It's the last day of the Thai New Years today and the red shirts are still here. Tomorrow the financial markets reopen and it should be interesting to see what happens. Anyways, whatever happens in politics, we still have to take care of our health! Today I want to talk about SUGAR . A lot of friends I know consume a lot more sugar than they realize. Sugar can be found in all sorts of foods such as sodas, smoothies, ice cream, cakes, pastries, cereal, snack bars, cookies, jams, candy, sweets etc.. We even add sugar when we have coffee or tea! How is sugar bad for you? 1) consuming sugar is consuming empty calories since they don't have any nutrients. Therefore, sugar has no benefits for your body . 2) it gives your body "sugar highs" which gives you spikes in energy for a short period of time before the effect wears off. Once it wears off, you will find yourself suddenly fatique and exhausted. 3) It slows down your metabolism (which is extremely detrime

Today is the first day of the Thai New Years so I would like to wish all my readers a very Happy New Years!! :) May the upcoming year bring with it good health, happiness and all you wish for! It is summer in Bangkok and the weather is extremely hot! It is 29 degrees celsius outside at 22.22 hrs but the forecast says it feels like 32 degrees celsius. I agree. During the daytime, it goes up to 40 degrees celsius. With this weather, people sometimes suffer from "Heat Stroke" without realizing it. In older people, it can be dangerous. What is "Heat Stroke"? According to medicinet.com symptoms : vary depending on the cause. The dehydration associated with heat stroke can produce nausea, vomiting, headaches, and low blood pressure. This can lead to fainting or dizziness, especially if the person stands suddenly." This happened to me several times before already but I never realized it until I watched a documentary on health. I would suffer from severe head

It's funny, half a world a way stories of Bangkok protests occupy the front page of the NY Times (web edition). Bangkok protests are once again in the headlines of every major newspaper and channel. If it was a Thai winning the Nobel prize, we would all be proud of it. But it isn't. Anyways, I was discussing politics and whatnot with Alex and we got onto the conversation of how it is the "little decisions" we make each day that can affect the outcome of our lives and bring with it good or bad results. Here's a little story. On Saturday, the day that we had some unrest in Bangkok, I was at a merit making ceremony at a temple nearby to where the protestors were camped. Actually, we were right next to them. Little did we know, that it would be the same day the government would try to restore back some law and order. That morning, I wasn't sure if I would be able to attend in time. I called my parents and luckily found out that I was in time and that the

"Stress" is a word that we are all too familiar with. It can arise from work, family, or even external factors... It is defined as "physical, mental, or emotional strain or tension," according to Dictionary.com Interestingly, stress also means "importance or significance attached to a thing" or to place "emphasis" on something such as a syllable or a melody. What causes "Stress"? We say "I'm stressed at work", "I'm stress about the interview" , "I'm stressed about the political situation," but in my opinion, what we are really saying is that these things have been bothering us. They have been bothering us because we have been thinking a lot about them and "emphasizing" them and it bothers us that we don't have the answer, or know what the outcome will be. We are stressed about the interview because we have spent our nights preparing for them, reading and filling our heads

Today there were people killed on the streets of once peaceful Bangkok whose Thai name literally translates to the "City of Angels." Democracy is relatively new in Thailand and we are going through growing pains. There is much for us to learn how to live together democratically. When faced with images of unrest and violence it disturbs me to no end, but deep inside I knew it would one day come to this. If not sooner, later. There has to be an end, and negotiations clearly weren't working. Asked who is right or wrong? I say it is each and everyone of us who sit at home, watch the news, and use the computer , me included, whilst at the same time there are people struggling to survive day by day. We are so focused on our own lives, on making our own living, on caring about ourselves that we overlook our less fortunate fellow countrymen. And now they are demanding notice. Perhaps it is time we had an education system in Thailand that imbued the concept of "Social Res

Happy Friday! :) Today I want to share with you this great video of Jack LaLanne who was the "Godfather of Fitness" in the USA. He opened his first health spa in 1936 and has been promoting good health and fitness throughout his entire life. He is now 96 years old! A colleague of mind recommended him and I think he's great. A lot of the exercises he teaches are the sames ones we still use today. I love the way he teaches and the philosophy of good health which still very much applies to modern day life. Check out this video on "Tired" people. I think its great! We so often hear people complain they are "tired" and have no energy, so lets get healthy!! :D

I just came back from a friend's wedding this evening and it was a big Chinese dinner affair with the best of everything: suckling pig, duck, fish, shrimp, noodles, soup..etc.. There were so many dishes. How can one possibly eat all that food and remain healthy? Having become somewhat of a health fanatic, I had to tell myself that after all that weight loss, exercise and discipline, its alright to reward yourself and enjoy some not so healthy food once in awhile . :D What use is it to exercise and be healthy if one cannot enjoy some simple pleasures in life every now and then? However, don't trick yourself and treat yourself so often that it becomes a daily affair. If its daily, we don't consider it a "treat." Of course, this doesn't mean gorging yourself on all the food that is served but do eat what you want to eat. Make sure its in moderation and know that you will keep up your exercise routine. I had a taste of almost everything that was ser

An important thing to remember regarding good health is to "be consistent."   No, this doesn't only apply to relationships where we want our better half to be consistent and dependable, but it also applies to how we maintain our health.   Being consistent in this sense, means to systematically and regularly exercise. A colleague of mine complained that she had been exercising but to no avail. The weight stayed on.   So I asked her how often did she workout?   The answer was only roughly once every two weeks.   If you want to lose weight or maintain your health, this is not enough exercise.   I read in Runner's world magazine that if you stop your workout for just a few days, you already lose half of the benefits.   If you stop for a couple weeks, the benefits completely disappear. I only run around 2-3 times a week and give myself rest days in between.   This was especially important when I started out my weight loss plan as I didn't want to force myself to exerci

With politics as it is in Thailand, I can't help but wonder about where this will all end. We have anti-government protestors in red shirts demonstrating on the streets and refusing to back down. We have pro-government protestors in pink shirts and white shirts protesting against the red shirts' destructive behaviour on our economy. Then we have people like me, who don't like either side and try to continue on with our daily lives. How did we get here? We are in this dilemma because of Money . Wars have been fought over power and honour. They still are. Wars have just changed their battlefield. Those with money want power and those without want money. Having money alone now isn't enough. So one must fight to get power, power that will let one can make even more money. Its a vicious cycle. Is money and power the answer to everything? I don't think so. How much money do you need to have in your lifetime? When is enough enough? Once you achieve all

Happy Easter! Its Easter Monday today and eggs are in fashion. Okay, in Thailand we don't have the whole big Easter vacation with easter eggs and egg hunting, but its something I always liked as a child growing up in europe. We get to eat chocolate easter eggs and get our hands dirty painting them...ahh, those good old days. What about eating eggs then? Are they good for you given that they are high in saturated fat and cholesterol (211mg versus daily recommendation of 300mg) ? According to nutrition data, a large egg has only 70 calories and are filled with lots of nutrients. Eggs are a good source of Riboflavin, Vitamin B12 and Phosphorus, and a very good source of Protein and Selenium. These nutrients are especially beneficial for you as they a good source of energy, help build up your immune system and also help your mental health. According to Harvard Health, "Eggs are also a good source of choline, which has been linked with preserving memory, and lutein and zea

I went grocery shopping today and bought a "herbal" or "organic" chicken. Apparently it was raised on herbs and not injected with hormones or antibiotics that make it gain weight fast. I've had it a few times already and really like the fact that it is lean eventhough it is roughly 30% more expensive. I also think it tastes better but I'm not sure if its just psychological. Anyways, I wanted to say that a very simple way of cutting out unnecessary calories and fat from one's diet is to eat skinless lean meats. That means no crispy chicken skin or skins in hainese chicken dishes. Avoid peking duck or suckling pigs. If there is skin on any meat (fish skin excluded as they have good fat) I take it out and I cut down the number of empty calories I consume by more than half. For a seving size of 100g the skins alone are 154 cals with 124 cals coming from fat. Skinless chicken breasts are only 110 cals and have merely 22 cals of fat (according to cal

Happiness and weight-loss for me go hand-in-hand. In thinking about life and looking back to what motivates us to be the person we are or do the things we do, I realize that many things in life actually depend upon one's state of mind and perspective. My decision to be healthy and lose weight wasn't a decision I made overnight. It was a result of a journey of self discovery as I reflected upon the true meaning of life. Was being "successful" and "rich" what life was all about? Was working 12 hours a day for recognition and a promotion our ultimate goal? Was having power and influence the answer? Or was life simply a matter of being happy with oneself and grateful for the things we have in life. Could just being with the people we love and doing the things we like be enough? Was this too "simplistic" a view on life? Had I become too laid back and lazy? Had I taken the easy way out of life? Perhaps I wasn't living up to my full pot

When I was young, there used to be a show on TV entitled "You Are What You Eat" and its a phrase that has since stuck around in my head. What it means is that to be fit and healthy you need to eat food that is good for you. I believe that being healthy is a matter of lifestyle. It's not something you just adopt for a couple of days and then decide to discontinue. It is a matter of choice. To be healthy, it is most important to eat foods that nourish you and are beneficial for you. Many people who work long hours and have hectic schedules may find themselves short of time and end up anything that is quick and easy. Sometimes they revert to "junk food" that is easy to eat and tasty, with little awareness of the effects of these foods on their body. Overtime, these unhealthy habits may be detrimental to your body and cause your weight to increase as well as your cholesterol level, or even have an increased risk of heart disease to name a few. Eating healthy