Having "Me" Time

Since it was just the New Years in Thailand and New Years is not only a time for celebration but also of resolutions, I made one more this past week.  It's something I've been working on for the past month but I keep getting drawn back into this vicious cycle of sleeping late, waking up late, feeling groggy, lacking energy and so forth.  It's a horrible cycle to be in.  I feel exhausted but its so hard to get out of. I therefore have a new resolution to sleep early, latest by 22.30hrs.   It might sound a bit early to most, but to me it makes a big difference.  The past two days I've managed to get myself to bed early and the result is a much more energetic, happier and fresher me.  My brain is clearer and I find myself more focused at work.  I run better and I am not as out of breath. I work better when I've had good quality sleep. This is even though I sleep the same amount of hours as if I went to sleep at midnight or 1am, b...

Ever since I've moved house earlier this year, I've had the opportunity to see another part of life I had never previously seen.  I now live next to a military base that is also open to the public. Cars pass through in and out to get to the main road on the other side of the base.  Most mornings and evenings that's the route I'd take.  Unexpectedly though, on a quiet day you can be most certain to hear the sounds of soldiers in training.  Just half an hour ago as I lay on my bed relaxing, a beautiful sound came through the window.  It was the sound of trumpets playing a tune that reminds me of war movies. It was 9pm.  Like an alarm clock, every evening and not a minute late,  the sound of trumpets playing a tune will echo through the air and flow through all the houses in the surrounding area.  It sounds magical.  If you wake up early, you're hear the same tunes being played at the wake of dawn.  5am.  The...

With the holiday season knocking at the door, it is always a challenge to keep fit and healthy.  To maintain one's weight during the year is not so easy for most of us, let alone maintaining one's weight during the holiday season! All that turkey and holiday parties are extremely deterimental to one's waistline. So today I want to share with you a little secret on how to stay active and burn away a little of that holiday eating.  I realized this was something I had only begun doing recently since I began my weightloss journey over a year ago.  Now it has become a part of my routine.  What do I do?  It's easy.  I eat first then I shop. Didn't I say it was easy?  Now the important part is implementing it.  Before in my much much chubbier days, which I am happy to say is now behind me,  I didn't give a slight thought as to what I'll eat and when I'll eat it.  I'll eat when I'm hungry and t...

Over the weekend, I went out with my dear friends for a birthday celebration (Happy Birthday again!)  and since it's now the "Vegetarian" Festival in Thailand, we discussed and wondered about its origins and what is this festival really for?  All we know is that for a period of 9 days, people of Chinese descent in Thailand go "vegetarian" or "vegan."  During this period, those participating in the festival abstain from eating meat, anything made from meat (including oil or fat), eggs, and vegetables that have strong flavours.  Garlic, onions, and chives are all off limits.  Even fish sauce that is used in most Thai dishes are substituted. I wonder what is this festival for?  Do people in other countries celebrate this festival as much as we do here in Thailand?  Everywhere I go during the 9 days of the festival, I find shops and restaurants all raising the signature yellow flag to tell me that they serve "Je" or Vegetarian food.  Almost eve...

We've all heard about Body Mass Index (BMI), but what is it exactly? According to the National Institute of Health it is " a measure of body fat based on height and weight that applies to both adult men and women. " It is one of the three criteria that the the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) use to evaluate whether someone is overweight or not. 1. body mass index (BMI) 2. waist circumference, and 3. risk factors for diseases and conditions associated with obesity. (These include high blood pressure, high glucose levels, cholesterol levels, triglycerides, family history of heart disease and smoking) I was surprised when I first calculated my BMI..I was borderline normal weight going on overweight! (Ok, I'll stop being in denial.. I was slightly overweight!) Check out where you stand at the following websites. Don't be in denial! http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/bmicalc.htm http://www.nutritiondata.com/tools/calories-burned The latter...