Oh the terrible stress of exams! We recntly completed our social studies mid years, helping many of us to heave joyful sighs of relief. However this week has brought on many tests such as bio today which many of us have our doubts): on a lighter note school is coming to a close for the midyear holidays! many of us are going away to enjoy this time of relaxation! Browsing through websites i found out how snacking is really harmful when done in excesive amounts. A site said that in today’s society, there is a lot of stress and pressure on teens to have an ideal body image. This is every bit true and we all face insecurities on how our image is. Stick thin seems to be very popular however this is very unhealthy as well. You may ask why it affects teenagers so much more than adults. The answer is that the teenage mind is so much more undeveloped than an adults. Because of this, what they see in magazines, music videos and movies become part of their lives. They want to become molded into celebrities with a size 0. I feel that one's weight should be accustoned and measured according to one's height, every one of us finding our own ideal weight. In the United States,over 8,000,000 people have eating disorders. Recently models have been collapsing on runways and many who are not having a BMI of above 16 are not allowed on the runway as they pose as health hazzards. 90%-95%of them are women, but don’t think men are off the hook. It happens to them as well. Women outnumber men 10-1.
Male eating disorders are not very common. They represent about 10%, but this percentage is growing worldwide. Most times the reason they pick-up this disorder is because:
They may be involved in sports which they would have to be an ideal body weight.
The males may have a closer relationship with their mothers than there fathers.
Therefore i feel that one should lead a healthy lifestyle. Excercise is key when trying to lose weight, instead of bingeing then purging as this would cause one to be unhealthy and could develop eating disorders. A suitable diet with balanced amounts of starch and proteins as well as fats is required and we must all stay fit and head to the gym at any chance we get. healthy lifestyles leads to happiness everyday!

debraaaa(:

Hai !
Here's some advice to manage a healthier life !

    
Try to make your family more active !
-Don't spent too much time online , watching television or playing video games ! 
Limit to maximum of 2 hours per day !! 
[Note: The American Academy of Pediatrics has advised that children younger than 2 years of age should not watch television at all.]If you insisted on watching television ,use an exercise machine, such as a treadmill or stationery bike, while watching!!!
-Make your vacations an active one ! Hiking ! or..Riding Bicycle !
-WALK !! DON'T DRIVE while doing  ERRANDS!!
-EAT together ! EAT less! When families do not eat meals together, they tend to eat fewer fruits and vegetables and more fried food and soft drinks.

Better EATING !!!

- MORE water.
-Drink LESS soft drinks or packed fruit juice ! Drink

fresh fruit juice WITH very little sugar instead !!!
-LIMIT!!!!!!! consumption of HIGH CALORIE STUFF such as : potato chips, burgers,french fries  and cookies.
-MORE !!!vegetables and fresh fruits.
-EAT healthy snacks instead !!!! Fresh fruit, vegetables, and whole grain crackers
-Eating too quickly = OVEREATING !!
so try to play the "Put the -Fork Down" game. Put your fork or finger food down between bites and take your hand away and try to catch one another not taking a break between bites!!!!

Oops ! Don't follow this one !




TIPS on FAST FOODS !!!
Sometimes, your only choice is fast foods! If you happen to face this situation , try these tips 
to keep at least some of the calorie out of your way ! 
-AVOID large cheeseburger ! Order regular sized burger instead !
-PUT your FRENCH FRIES ASIDE!!
-TRY DRINKING MINERAL WATER , instead of SWEEENED SODA ,PROCESSED FRUIT JUICE OR ANY OTHER SOFT DRINKS !
-IF soft drinks are your only choice , order REGULAR one instead of LARGE one !
-Actually , it would be much better if you buy fresh baked breads instead of fast foods  ! ^^

The body cannot utilize refined carbohydrates since it contains no vitamins and minerals ,causing incomplete carbohydrate metabolism which results in the formation of ‘toxic metabolite’,dangerous substances such as
-pyruvic acid , which accumulates in the brain and nervous system
-abnormal sugar containing five carbon atoms in blood cells
They prevent the cell from getting enough oxygen(prevent proper respiration) , causing the cells to function abnormally or die .This explains the abnormal functioning of bodyparts which is the symptoms of degenerative disease .

In order to digest ,detoxify , and eliminate the sugar which caused an overacid condition of blood ,vitamins and minerals such as calcium ,potassium , magnesium , and sodium are wasted , drained out from our body , resulting in the loss of balanced amount of substances in the body .
A great deal of calcium lost results in teeth and bones decay , and the body weakening .Eventually the organs are affected . Excess sugar is stored as glycogen in glucose .Too much of sugar consumed means too much glycogen to be stored , bloating the liver .If the liver has reached it’s maximum capacity , excess glucose is sent to blood in the form of fatty acids ,taken to every harmless part of body such as belly , buttocks ,and thighs for storing .

At last , if the harmless parts of body are also filled in to their maximum capacity , the fatty acids will be sent to organs such as liver and kidneys .Their function begin to slow down , their tissue degenerated into fats , and abnormal blood pressure is created .The parasympathetic nervous system would also be affected , small-brain-controlled organs become paralysed or inactive .The circulatory and lymphatic system are attacked , white cells occurs in abundance but the creation of tissue is slowed down . This also caused our body reflexes to be slowed down .

What about the brain ?
The brain needs glutamic acid , found in many vegetables to function properly .However , we need vitamin B to divide glutamic acid into an antagonistic-complementary compounds which produce a ‘control’ response in the brain .One source of vitamin B is a symbiotic
Bacteria living in intestine . Too much sugar kills the bacteria , which results in the reducing amount of vitamin B .This causes one tends to be sleepy and loss her ability in calculating and memorizing .

exerciseee!

we should all do regular exercise!
recommendably, 5 times a week for AT LEAST 30MINS.
exercising in the morning is great because it'll help to burn off energy for up to 16 hours:D
furthermore, you'll be prettyprettier with your face all pink and flushed right. RIGHT?RIGHT?
XD
and FAT BURNING exercise would be stuff like jogging, walking, cycling, swimming.
hey if you like stay on the 10th floor of your building, instead of taking the lift, walk up the stairs(:
tone those calve muscles baby!
XD
why should you do these type of exercises for at least30 minutes?
this is because the first 20 mins of your run or swim or swim or cycle, your body is fuelled by the carbohydrates in your body.
and as you start exercising for more than that 20mins, your body switches its source of fuel to the fats stored in your body!
BURN THOSEE FATS ROAR!

WEIGHTS TRAINING
is reallyreally good too.
except that we would get REALLY HORRIBLE LOOKING BIG BULKY ARMS RRRIGHT-
well theres something that we DO NOT KNOW!
in order to get really toned and muscular but not BULKY arms, we should use small weights and start out slowly instead of trying to get those type of ONE SHOT effectswhere you use really heavy weights and do alot at one go just to get INSTANT SEXY ARMS.
=="
nah-ah.
not possible(:
by using these small weights and starting with say 2 sets of 10reps thrice a week, you'll see much better results rather than waiting till the last 4days of prom night and hurriedly "CHIONGING" to get a SEXY BOD.
ahahhaha
XD

I KNOW I'M GOING OUT OF POINT BUT JUST TO ANSWER HANNAH AND VIONA'S QUESTIONS,, (:

okaay well to answer your questions,
regular exercise will help to maintain your weight! but that really depends on what kind of food you consume and how much you consume.
basically, your diet plays a very important role as well!
because depending on how many calories you take a day would round up to the amount of exercise you would need, to shed what you've gained.
If you exercise regularly but you eat alot at the same time, they would cancel each other out.
Sometimes, people tend to not eat entirely hoping to achieve a sudden weight loss.
However, by going on a crash diet, your brain recieves signals that your body does not require that much calories to suffice.
And when you finally decide to give in to temptation and jump on that HUGE BUFFET, your body would turn most of what you had consumed into fats as it has already been programmed not to require such a large amount of energy.

Recommendably, many experts suggest that eating 6small meals a day are helpful for weight loss as you are less prone to snacking on unhealthy junk food whenever you feel bored or hungry. 6 small meals will make sure that your stomach is feeling satisfied thus not making you feel hungry.
However, you should not be feeling bloated at any times as each meal you consume should be in small portions.

check out this website for some diet recommendations(:
http://www.ivillage.co.uk/print/0,,541380,00.html

a healthy diet should provide your body with all essential nutrients as well as to keep it FEELING GOOOOD so that you won't snack on all the other ICKY STUFF XD

Refined carbohydrates like sugar, pasta and white rice should be kept at a minimum because that tend to cause a sharp insulin response( which reduces glucose production in the liver and rapidly converting starches into glucose easily absorbed into your blood). This causes your body to recieve alot of hunger pangs just 30 mins after consumption which is reallyreally bad.
Some alternatives to refined carbohydrates would be stuff like

• low sugar cereals made from wheat
• wholemeal breads
• Rye breads
• stoneground flour
• hi-wholemeal flour
• rolled oats
• muesli
• and vegetables like tomatoes, and carrot and celery sticks.

did you know, that eating the FRUIT skin is even better than just eating whats under it alone?

(:

and of course not forgetting that a balanced diet is important,

EAT MORE VEGGIE FOR FIBRE AND, EGGS AND STEAM FISH FOR PROTEIN YAYE!

Fries and Chips are packed with acrylamide !!!
Should such foods bear health warning labels ?
(so as to reduce the number of customers !)
Should companies reduce acrylamide levels in their chips ?
(so you would have new reason to buy more snacks !)
However , whatever the decision is , snacks nowadays would still contain many dangerous chemical substances !
By the way , my snackmania frind once asked me : “How dangerous are the chemical substances ?”
How dangerous are they ?
Why are they so dangerous ?
What type of food I should avoid ?
What type of food should I consume if almost all of our daily meals menus are actually so dangerous ?
What should I do to keep healthy ?

Sodium nitrite = Cancer



MSG = Obesity and nerve damage
alias monosodium glutamate / yeast extract , you can find
this delicious killer in almost every single snacks you can
find .Information regarding ‘how it works ‘ can be found
on my revious posts .
Acrylamide =  Cancer  
The issue of Acrylamide causing cancer had been proven
by animal testing using lab rats .Unfortunately it is an
ingredient in french fries that the California Attorney
General feels should be informed to the consumer .However
, this issue had caused disputes between foods manufacture
an the FDA .
Hydrogenated vegetable oils= Heart disease , stroke
alias trans fats .It clogged your arteries , preventing your
blood from flowing .It also execute the good cholesterol
in our body .For further information you could read my
post on “Frenzy French Fries !”
High-fructose foods = Diabetes and obesity
corn syrup / sugar / sucrose ,
Artificial colors = Behavioral disorders
sweets , jellies , chewing gum , soft drinks
Aspartame = Brain damage, optic nerve damage
Soft drinks , including most of packed fruit juice ,
‘herbal’ tea , soy milk , coffee , soda drinks , and milk .
Junk foods , snacks , and fast foods .
Homogenized milk fats =Heart disease ,Cardiovascular disorders
Packed milk , cheese , dairy products and red meat hormone related-cancers
Factory cows are injected with synthetic hormones that
causes young teenage girls to unusually develop breasts
while they are still too young .It also accelerates the
spreading of hormone related cancers such as prostate
cancer .Moreover ,nowadays , even milk labeled as ‘organic‘
actually came from the hormone-treated cows also , as what
happened to Horizon milk products .
Processed foods such as cookies, crackers, frozen dinners, etc.
Fried foods
Refined carbohydrates = degenerative diseases , slowing down of reflexes
Pastries , pizza , dough
For the explanantion of “Why are they so dangerous ?” I have explained MSG , Trans Fats , Acrylamide and Aspartame , would answer it in my next post , to begin with : “refined carbohydrates”!
See Ya!!!

I got many interesting stuff from here !!
Watch out for Health ranger !
http://www.detnews.com/2005/health/0509/25/A17-326011.htm

oh yea...almost forget !
Wanna know if you're considered obese or not ?
Here's a table !
Just match your height and weight and there's an answer !




he...he... see ya...

Exercise regularly !
At LEAST half an hour of running or jogging a week !

 

the maximum number of calorie intake we should have a day!

Every person has a different amount of calorie intake needed,
so here i've found a website, where you can go CALCULATE what your body's Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is.

Also, their is another calculator which tests how much your calorie intake should be IN ORDER to balance out your daily acitivities!

how cool is that? (:
-- check it out -- http://www.bodyforlife2.com/calorie_intake.htm

and this other link from the same website calculates your BODY MASS INDEX (BMS)
-- http://www.bodyforlife2.com/bf-bmi-metric.htm :D

did you know,

that it is better to actually eat more carbohydrates rather than fats even though they are both STILL FATS in the end?

this is because fats are automatically stored as fat in your body when eaten.

However, in the case of carbohydrates, your body uses more energy in the chemical processes of converting carbohydrates or proteins into fats, which means that that some calories are actually burned in the storing and conversion process.

On the other hand though,
we still need fats to help our body function properly, like to absorb the vitamins we ingest.

The maximum amount of fats which should come from our daily intake of calories is 30%.
however, 25% would be a healthier option which would do more good to our body.

-click click to see the calorie content of some of the food stuff which we actually eat dailyrong>

heres another thing!

who loves ITALIAN?

to not love italian food would just mean that you MAD.

really.

NOW LET'S SEE WHATS HIDDEN BENEATH THAT TEMPTINGLY BUTTERY HEAVEN SMELLING PLATE OF CARBONARA SPAGHETTI!

By downing a 245g plate of carbonara spaghetti,

you are converting 317 calories of fat, into FAT!

and if you were to have a 1500c-calorie intake daily, that plate of spaghetti would have already chalked up 317 calories of fat out of the 375 calories (25% of 15000) which you should be taking!

and, thats only O-N-E meal you're counting,

and did i mention that that was only the calories coming from the FATS in the spaghetti?

the actual amount of calories coming from the spaghetti is actually a WHOPPING 796!

Let's look at breakfast.

ooh, ROTI PRATA.

how many calories?

644 for 2 slices.

oohooh,

HOW ABOUT CURRY.

yummyyummy CURRY CHICKEN!

a mixture of oil, coconut milk (VERYVERY FATTENING), chicken fats/skin, more COCONUT MILK, more oil which is secreted from the chicken.

and so muchh more.

this is one heck of a FATTENING DAY.

definately already overshotting the maximum intake of calories of fat intake per day

ohoh!

and today, a couple of friends and i were totally craving for like SEOUL GARDEN BBQ-ED BEEF AND CALAMARI!

so happyhappy us head down to JURONG POINT

and OMG.

IT CLOSED DOWN.

with like a capital C-L-O-S-E-D.

so SADSAD us trot down to whatever nice there was to eat,

TADA!

fish and CO (:

okay-just SO THAT FISH AND CO WILL NOT GET MAD AT US and sue FOR LIKE TYPING THIS HERE AND ALL,

the service was really good and the waiter waitering us was REALLY nice and the food was GOOD.

(although it DID NOT satisfy out craving for BEEF and SOTONG)

FIRST UP!

the heavenly smelling BUTTER GARLIC MUSSELS arrived at our table with a basket of warm bread.

dip the bread in and put it in your mouth!

its so so good except that there are JUST a gazillion fat calories hidden inside the creamy buttermilk sauce entirely enveloping the mussels!

butter (fat) + milk (fat) + bread(carbohydrates aka UNBROKEN down fat) + mussels!(protein)

= OOh. FAT to the power of 3 + protein!

next on the MENU!

NEW YORK FISH AND CHIPS.

908 calories

36g protein
54g fat

478mg sodium

is that alot?

IT IS.

the fish is deep fried after being coverd with a batter of flour.

and flour is already CARBOHYDRATES. why do all the TASTY TASTING FOOD HAVE TO BE SO SINFUL. *shakes head*

in addition, the french fries which had already been proven to be really very unhealthy from the previous posts.

and not forgetting THE BUTTERMILK sauce drizzled over the fish.

!SHRIEKS!

-my OIL DETECTING oil senses detect OIL!

GASP.

WHERES THE GYM I SAY!
i NEED TO BURN.
BURN BABY BURRRN!