Having "Me" Time

Now the year has started and the holiday festivities are slowing losing momentum (at least until the Chinese New Year) let's all start the year out being fit and healthy!    A lot of people start the year with a resolution to lose some weight and be healthy.  It often works for a couple months and then somehow the goal gets lost amidst all the work and whatever life brings us and we end the year having gained weight rather than having lost weight. That was me for probably more than a decade or so. No more.  It still feels surreal having lost 15kg (32 lbs).  This time last year, I was still working on my last few kgs. Wow. This year, for the first time, my goal is to just maintain my weight and I tell you it feels WONDERFUL. It's amazingly less stress and I don't have to start the year with a guilty feeling knowing I didn't make it happen last year and so I have to do it again this year.  I can move on with my l...

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...

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...