Category Archive: Diet and losing weight

December 16th, 2019
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Very Low-Calorie Diets May Disrupt Women’s Hormones

Some time back, I was on a low calorie diet to shed off the remaining post-baby fat I’d gained after 3 kids. While I felt very much lighter and fitter and had to send all my skirts and pants to the tailor to have the waist part tightened, something else also happened. My hormones were disrupted. My period was delayed.  I felt hungry all the time and despite eating more than usual after my weight dropped rapidly, I was still hungry.  My body was screaming for more nutrients to repair and regenerate cells. I knew that I had to stop the calorie-restricted eating and increase my calories (with nutritious foods) to stabilize my wacky hormones.

Your hormones are regulated by three major glands:

  • Hypothalamus: located in the brain
  • Pituitary: located in the brain
  • Adrenals: located at the top of the kidneys

All three glands interact in complex ways to keep your hormones in balance. This is known as the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis.

The HPA axis is responsible for regulating your stress levels, mood, emotions, digestion, immune system, sex drive, metabolism, energy levels and more.



The glands are sensitive to things like calorie intake, stress and exercise levels.

A woman standing on bathroom weighing scales

Long-term stress can cause you to overproduce the hormones cortisol and norepinephrine, creating an imbalance that increases pressure on the hypothalamus, pituitary and adrenal glands.

This ongoing pressure may eventually lead to HPA axis dysfunction, sometimes controversially referred to as “adrenal fatigue”.  Symptoms include fatigue, a weakened immune system and greater risk of long-term health problems such as hypothyroidism, inflammation, diabetes and mood disorders.

Many sources suggest that a diet too low in calories or carbs can also act as a stressor, causing HPA dysfunction.

In addition, some evidence suggests that low-carb diets can cause increased production of cortisol (“the stress hormone”), making the problem worse .

One study found that, regardless of weight loss, a low-carb diet increased cortisol levels compared to a moderate-fat, moderate-carb diet.

As I’ve never bothered to know how many calories I should be eating a day for my age, weight and height, I started to track my calories at https://www.myfitnesspal.com/

MyFitnessPal is a smartphone app and website that tracks diet and exercise to determine optimal caloric intake and nutrients for the users’ goals and uses gamification elements to motivate users.

Consuming too many or too few calories can lead to hormonal imbalances. Consuming nutritious foods, exercising on a regular basis and engaging in other healthy behaviors can go a long way toward improving your hormonal health. Eating within your own personal calorie range can help you maintain hormonal balance and a healthy weight.



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Diet and losing weight, Health Issues
November 19th, 2019
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Circadian Rhythm Intermittent Fasting

I’ve been practising intermittent fasting based on my circadian rhythm for almost a year now. On most days, I have a 12-hour fast.  On some days, it’s only 10 hours of fast.  At our home, the kids and I eat our dinner very early. On some days, we have our dinner at 4 p.m. when the two older girls are back from school.  On other days, we have our dinner at 5ish p.m and other days latest by 7 p.m.  With a circadian rhythm fast, I don’t need to torture myself with not eating during my waking hours.  We stop eating by 5 p.m. or 7 p.m. and from that time until the next morning, we only drink plain water.  This is safe for bigger kids with no health issues.  My 3 daughters aged 11 years old, 14 years old and 16 years old are practising circadian rhythm intermittent fasting as well.  And the most surprising thing is that they do not complain of feeling hungry anymore when they wake up in the morning.  In view of their dinner time (between 4 – 7 p.m.) and recess time in school the next day (at 10 a.m.), my eldest and youngest daughters have more than 12 hours of fasting during school days.

During the building phase or the time when I’m allowed to eat, I eat what I want, in small portions, keeping to a low-carb low-sugar diet. When it comes to food, less is more. You don’t need to eat a lot even if you’re eating healthy food. Eating too much of anything, whether it’s fruits, nuts and seeds will still have negative consequences. If you’re not hungry, don’t eat. It’s pretty simple.

By aligning your food with your circadian rhythm, you can help maximize weight loss, energy, get better skin, get rejuvenated and see overall better health. And it’s proven. I now wake up at 4:30 a.m. on school days without the zombified feeling like I used to, though I only get 5 or 6 hours of sleep. And I have the energy to exercise an hour a day from 6:30 am till 7:30 am and then keep myself busy with house chores, chauffeuring, running errands, computer work and much more.

When it comes to eating healthy, most people talk about what’s on their plate, but not what’s on the clock. The latest science is showing that when we eat is as important as what we eat. That’s because our metabolism actually changes throughout the day because of our circadian rhythm (your body’s clock, which tells your body to do the right thing at the right time).

Eating out of sync with your circadian rhythm can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, being overweight and even cancer. But by aligning your food with your circadian rhythm, you can help maximize weight loss, energy and overall health.

How do you do it?

It all starts with the sun, which is what sets our circadian rhythm. That rhythm expects us to eat during the day when the sun is shining (because for long periods in past history we also didn’t have electricity and light bulbs) and fast during the night. In fact, some fascinating research has found that calories eaten in the morning might not actually count as much as those eaten at night. Human studies have shown that in dieters, people who eat most of their calories before 3 p.m. tend to lose more weight than people who eat most of their calories later.


Eat with the sun

Most of us typically eat over a 15-hour window. Instead, eat only when the sun is up, since this is when your body wants you to eat. Ideally, that’s 12 hours between your last meal of the day and the first of the next day.  This is a form of intermittent fasting, which appears to have important health benefits for longevity. If you can stretch this “fasting” window out to 14 or 16 hours, that’s even better. Since you’re asleep for most of it, it’s actually not that hard.

Daylight Savings food craft on kixcereal.com

How can simply changing the times when you eat have such dramatic health benefits? According to new research, the secret lies in the effects of Intermittent Fasting (IF) and Time Restricted Feeding (TRF) on the body’s internal clocks.

Recently, IF as well as TRF have emerged as potential strategies for avoiding major dietary changes while achieving strong effects not just for one diseases risk factor but for an array of factors that constitutes the foundation for metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and possibly neurodegenerative diseases.


To see results in IF and TRF, there must be consistency in the time that it’s being carried out. Do not keep changing the frequency and time of the IF and TRF.  If you start at 6 p.m., stick to 6 p.m. and not have different times each day. Our biological clock aligns with nature – sunset and sunrise. Try to practise this for 5 days a week. You can have a break during the weekend, if you wish.

Jump start your health by embracing this simple 12-hour fast based on your circadian rhythm.  The number of fasting hours can be gradually increased to 13, 14, 15 and 16 hours based on how well your  body copes. If you are not hungry, extend the fast.  You don’t have to follow what other people are doing and stress yourself out. Every body is different. Stick to a number that your body feels comfortable with. On days that you use more brain power and energy, you can shorten the fast. On days that you are more sedentary, increase the fasting hours. Keep it simple. It’s not a game or a competition.  Listen to your body and follow an IF and TRF based on your own lifestyle. Do not compare with what other people are doing and make yourself miserable.

IF and TRF help tremendously with your digestive system and repair your cells more effectively. Our human body is not designed to break down food after 7 p.m.


IF and TRF are not an excuse to practise an unhealthy lifestyle. It does not mean that if you fast, you can binge, drink alcohol excessively and eat junk food. IF and TRF won’t work if you have an unhealthy lifestyle.  Fasting for longer hours of time to make up for your bad lifestyle does not work. You may stress your body even more.

Fasting is essential for everyone for better health.  If you’re new to IF and TRF, start with 10 hours based on your circadian rhythm and gradually increase the numbers. Listen to your body.  Have your dinner by sunset and break your fast at sun rise. Break your fast with water, fruits or dates followed by a simple breakfast.

Give this a try for a week and see how you feel — the results may surprise you!


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Diet and losing weight, Health and Fitness
July 14th, 2018
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How Protein Can Help You Lose Weight Naturally

After my diagnosis of PCOS with unexplained weight gain some 18 years back, I did an extensive research on PCOS. I learned that PCOS is an insulin resistance disorder. Losing weight with PCOS is extremely difficult for some patients. With exercise 365 a day and following a high-protein-low-carb diet, I was able to bring my weight down, though it was an arduous journey.  I was reluctant to go on Metformin, a medication to treat PCOS. I diligently wrote down what I could eat and how much carb every food item that I ate weighed. I limited my carb intake to 100gm a day, which meant that I had to cut out rice, noodles and white flour products from my diet. My main meals consisted of a lot of meat, eggs and vegetables. I got my carb mainly from fruits and the occasional sinful indulgence on cakes and ice-creams. Even my choice of fruits were limited to guava, green apples, lemons and grapefruits.

Protein is the single most important nutrient for weight loss and a better looking body.

A high protein intake boosts metabolism, reduces appetite and changes several weight-regulating hormones (1, 2, 3).

Protein can help you lose weight and belly fat, and it works via several different mechanisms.

Going on a high-protein diet may help you tame your hunger, which could help you lose weight.
You can try it by adding some extra protein to your meals. Give yourself a week, boosting protein gradually.

Blue Denim Jeans

Your weight is actively regulated by your brain, particularly an area called the hypothalamus.

In order for your brain to determine when and how much to eat, it processes multiple different types of information.

Some of the most important signals to the brain are hormones that change in response to feeding.

A higher protein intake actually increases levels of the satiety (appetite-reducing) hormones GLP-1, peptide YY and cholecystokinin, while reducing your levels of the hunger hormone ghrelin (6, 7, 8, 9, 10).

By replacing carbs and fat with protein, you reduce the hunger hormone and boost several satiety hormones.

This leads to a major reduction in hunger and is the main reason protein helps you lose weight. It can make you eat fewer calories automatically.

slide image

 

Protein Makes You Burn More Calories (Increases “Calories Out”)

Due to the high thermic effect and several other factors, a high protein intake tends to boost metabolism.  It makes you burn more calories around the clock, including during sleep.

A high protein intake has been shown to boost metabolism and increase the amount of calories burned by about 80 to 100 per day (14, 15, 16).

This effect is particularly pronounced during overfeeding, or while eating at a caloric surplus. In one study, overfeeding with a high protein diet increased calories burned by 260 per day (12).

By making you burn more calories, high protein diets have a “metabolic advantage” over diets that are lower in protein.

The Best Protein Sources

Choose protein sources that are nutrient-rich and lower in saturated fat and calories, such as:

  • Lean meats
  • Seafood
  • Beans
  • Soy (only non-GMO)
  • Low-fat dairy
  • Eggs
  • Nuts and seeds

If you plan to add a lot of protein to your diet, or if you have liver or kidney disease, check with your doctor first.

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Diet and losing weight
June 20th, 2018
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Health And Beauty Tips For New Moms

When you’re a new mommy, you have so much to do and somehow, you end up at the bottom of the list. Even though the new baby is important, don’t forget about yourself. Consider these ways you can develop your appearance and enhance your beauty as a new mom.

1. Makeup Routine
You won’t be getting a lot of sleep during the first few months. In order to balance it all and look bright-eyed, dab some concealer under your eyes. Put on some mascara and these two steps will help you look well-rested and stunning. Add a bright-colored lipstick or pretty lipgloss to pull the look together.

Woman with brown hair doing lipstick and holding little mirror

2. Hair
Consider wearing a simple style that allows you to be comfortable and effortlessly chic. Whether it’s a specific haircut that’s easy to maintain or a sleek bun, find ways to pull your hair together and keep it moving. You can also throw on a fun bolero or stylish cap whenever you’re having a bad hair day.

3. Wardrobe
Choose outfits that are effortless and easy to clean. It makes no sense to have a bunch of designer clothes that the baby will eventually spit up on. Chances are you’ll have to change your clothes multiple times every day. Consider a uniform of a cute cotton v-neck t-shirt in a bright color matched with a pair of comfortable jeans or leggings. Accesorize with a fun necklace, a few bangles or a nice pair of earrings. Keep it simple and fresh for those first few months when everything is hectic.

Woman Carrying Baby Sitting on Gray Surface

4. Nutrition
Eating right is so important. If you’re a mom who prefers to snack, find healthy options for your favorite snacks. If you like chips, try carrots and hummus instead. You can also purchase popcorn kernels and create your own popcorn at home. It’ll be a lot healthier and it’ll taste great too. Just be sure to add the right seasonings like nutritional yeast flakes and a dash of vegan butter. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables. Drink tons of water before you reach for that beloved cup of coffee. You can even get assistance by checking out weight loss programs that work from ThinCo.

Blue Denim Jeans

 

5. Positive Affirmations
Pregnancy activates a whirlwind of hormones. It’s easy to get into a place of post-partum depression or dissatisfaction due to lack of sleep. One of the ways to manage it all involves listening to positive messages that affirm who you are and who you want to be. Listen to motivational and inspirational speakers every morning. They’ll help you get the strength and determination to keep pushing every day. When you have the right mindset, your life will follow in the same direction.

6. Exercise
Exercise is such an important facet to include as a new mother. You don’t want to get into the habit of skipping workouts. Once you receive clearance from your doctor, start with light exercises like walking. Take the baby for a walk in the stroller on a nice day. While the baby is sleeping, do a workout video in the living room. Go to a Zumba or swim class while the baby is with your spouse. When you take this time to invest in your physical body, you’ll feel stronger and more capable to conquer anything.

buildings, city, exercise

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. Undergarments
There’s a reason why a brilliant woman came up with Spanx. So many women swear by its capabilities to tighten, tone and shape the body. As you work on getting your body to a place that’s ideal for you, consider trying waist-shaping undergarments that tuck you in and help you feel better when you walk out the door.

8. Treatments
As a new mother who just pushed out a baby, you deserve all of the special treatment in the world. However, you have to make sure you prioritize yourself. In addition to making sure the baby goes to all of the important appointments, schedule your own appointments for pampering. Get your nails done and your hair done. Sure, these are tasks you could’ve done yourself at one point, but sometimes it’s nice to let someone else do it. Plus, this is a great opportunity for you to sit back and relax while someone else does the hard work.

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Diet and losing weight, MFLV
November 21st, 2017
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Three Health Strategies That Can Take Your Life To Another Level

People who have decided that they want to get healthy in 2017 should know that they can. One big secret to success is keeping the health optimization process as organized and systematic as possible. To make this happen, try integrating some or all of the following wellness techniques into your lifestyle:

1. Purchase Wellness Products Via Online.

One wellness technique that you can implement to improve the quality of your life is purchasing wellness products via online. This approach to health optimization is empowering because it makes the process of getting healthy convenient. Specifically, online shopping helps you avoid the inconveniences and irritations that can result from having to drive to a physical store, stand in long check-out lines, and deal with aggressive company representatives who just want to sell you things. By shopping online, you can compare and contrast prices on your own. And given that you’ll already be in the internet realm, you can do research via websites to determine which products and services would be ideal for you. If you want to buy fat blasters online, note that you can accomplish this objective through internet retailers like Health365.

 

2. Start Meditating When You Wake Up.

Another health strategy you can implement to take your life to another level is meditating when you wake up. This technique facilitates health by helping you start your day in a manner that involves gaining access to and control over your thought processes. Note that during meditation, you may be able to identify and subsequently eliminate any thought processes that are conducive to productivity and positivity. Also keep in mind that meditation is a wonderful way to fight stress, boost immunity, and enhance the functioning of your cardiovascular system.

7 Renewing Benefits of Meditating 7 Minutes a Day

3. Get Into Exercise.

If you’re really serious about health optimization, get into exercise. This wellness strategy is beneficial because it helps you fight a wide range of diseases that are common in society. Some of those diseases include obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and depression. In addition to enhancing your body’s ability to fight disease, exercising regularly will empower you to think more clearly, enhance your energy levels, and accelerate the weight loss process. In the event that you’re not trying to lose weight, note that exercise is an effective weight management strategy.

If you’re ready to start exercising, note that there are multiple modalities available to you. Some of them include:

• yoga
• weight-lifting
• pilates
• jump rope
• running
• cycling
• step aerobics

Also note that many gyms are now offering new forms of exercise within the group fitness setting. Some of these new forms include Zumba and POUND. In addition to providing members with group fitness classes, note that working out in the gym setting can grant you access to skilled, knowledgeable personal trainers who know how to put together customized exercise routines that address your unique wellness goals.

Zumba Dance Practice- screenshot thumbnail

Conclusion

If you’re tired of mediocre living, it’s time to begin implementing lifestyle changes that will help you take your life to a new level. By focusing on health optimization, you can attain a wide range of incredible benefits that enable you to lead a more productive, positive life. Three health strategies that you can implement to move beyond mediocre living are outlined above. Start making the mental shifts and lifestyle changes explained in this article so that you can begin seeing a dynamic difference soon!

 

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Diet and losing weight, MFLV
July 6th, 2015
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5 Real Tips for Losing Weight

You’ve tried the fad diets. You’ve followed the advice of every tabloid out there. If you’re weary of ineffective or downright insulting weight loss tips, here are five real ones that will get the job done.

1. Add, Don’t Subtract

Instead of just denying yourself cookies and cakes, replace the junk food in your fridge with something else. For example, reach for sugar-free jello every time you really want candy. You’ll still be allowing yourself a treat but it won’t be the kind that sticks to your thighs.

2. Only Make Permanent Changes

Fitness fails when people make unrealistic changes to their lifestyle that they know they’ll never be able to sustain in the long run. Don’t force yourself to have a salad for lunch every day unless you plan to have salad for lunch every day for the rest of your life. Instead, stick to salad once a week.

3. Not Tomorrow, Today

How many times have you told yourself well, I messed up today, so I might as well stop dieting for the rest of the afternoon and pick it up again tomorrow? This is faulty and disordered thinking that leads directly to binging. Hold yourself accountable for every morsel that crosses your lips.

4. Find Exercise You Actually Enjoy

This ties back into #2, but don’t try to turn yourself into a morning jogger when you despise running. Find some kind of dance class or yoga workshop that you genuinely enjoy participating in, and then working out won’t be such a chore.

5. Consider Weight Loss Surgery

It isn’t giving up. It’s getting back in control of your life. Once you have things firmly in hand, it’ll be much easier to think about the future and make positive lifestyle changes than when you were careening around a corner with no brakes.

These are just a few tips for shedding the last of that body fat. For more information, including surgery options, talk to people like Dr Paul Collins St Petersburg FL. They’ll set you straight!

 

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Diet and losing weight, MFLV
August 18th, 2014
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Carb-Free Chicken Bolognese Spaghetti

While my girls tucked into their spaghetti noodles with chicken bolognese sauce for lunch yesterday, I had my kind of spaghetti, free from carbohydrates – with organic alfalfa sprouts 😉

 

 

This tasted SO SO good and not cloy at all.  There’s something about durum wheat noodles that give me a cloy feeling after the meal, which I hate. The same goes whenever I eat yellow noodles or flat rice noodles.  But with green sprouts, mmmm, it tastes so refreshing and I do not have the nauseous feeling after my meal! And alfalfa sprouts are very healthy too!

 

I also like to enjoy my ‘spaghetti’ by substituting the wheat flour spaghetti with multi-grain and seed crackers or a slice of toasted wholemeal bread.    This way, I do not have to worry about the insulin spike from the wheat flour and I get to enjoy the meaty bolognese sauce without feeling fat!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Diet and losing weight, Healthy Food
February 7th, 2014
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My High Protein Low Carb Breakfast

This morning, I just had a craving to eat something soupy and salty.   I was pretty fed-up with eating CNY cookies and bread.  So after dropping off Cass in kindy, I went to a nearby coffee shop to take away this:

 

It has got to be high in protein, high in fiber and low in carbs but every stall inside the coffee shop was selling noodles.  The stall that sells the closest to a high protein meal is the pork noodles stall.  So I got myself a bowl of minced pork with reduced vermicelli (only a small fist full, which I did not even finish) with an added egg, lots of green veggie and a piece each of bitter gourd and ladies finger with stuffed fish paste.  Yes, my crave is now satiated and my brain can now function at full strength 😀

 

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Diet and losing weight
January 30th, 2014
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Kicking Off Addiction To Carbs

For the first time in my life, I am NOT binging on Chinese New Year snacks this year.  In previous years, I would have already finished off a few containers of cookies and chips even before Chinese New Year arrived.   Actually, it is not hard at all.  Ever since I kicked off my addiction on deep fried food, pastries, ice-creams and other sugary snacks, my taste bud changed as well.  It also helps heaps that the MIL has now turned into a health freak after a few health scares last year.  When everyone in the house eats clean, it is very easy to eat clean too.  Even my foodie hubs is turning into a health and fitness freak now — since last year, when he successfully lost a few kilos.

It is not an overnight alteration. It took me months to alter my taste bud.  Ever since I stopped eating deep fried food, those zits stopped rearing their ugly heads too. That is my greatest motivation – to look into a mirror looking at a glowing face 😀  My complexion is almost flawless now and best of all, I have absolutely NO craving on deep fried food and sugary snacks now.  Of course I still do eat snacks every now and then, but I do not crave for them and do not binge on them anymore. I snack mostly on almonds, cashew nuts, pistachio nuts and roast pumpkin seeds to stave off hunger.

There are containers of deep fried arrowroot chips, cookies and pork jerky sitting invitingly on the table of our CNY corner but you know what? I have almost zilch desire to pull off the celo tape of the caps to feast on those sins!  Monkey see monkey do. My kids have never been so disciplined before. They have not even asked permission to eat those cookies and chips!

 

 

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Diet and losing weight, Health and Fitness
February 19th, 2011
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Craving For Chocolate Cakes

Not me! It’s my dear hubs! He has been having an unusual strong craving for chocolate cakes lately. Ever since he tried the chocolate cake from Food Foundry, he has been craving to indulge in those decadent chocolate cakes all the time. He would be crazy enough to pack us all into the car at 10:30pm just to make a trip to this bakery to grab his favorite chocolate cake. On Valentine’s Day, we had coffee and cakes (rich and creamy cakes!) at Alexis Bistro (another place for superb cakes) at 11pm with a group of friends. Gosh, I am so sick of cakes now. Thankfully I don’t need pills for weight loss just yet. All I need to do is to sacrifice half an hour of beauty sleep each morning to work out in the gym.

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Diet and losing weight
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