Live to Eat, or Live to Starve?

2007-05-07T20:31:00.000+08:00

as they all say: ALL GOOD THINGS COME TO AN END.

ahwells, haha am studying chem too well doing this. how information can get in my head, i dont know. gosh but i hope i did okay for the bio test today): gosh i cant think of it...oooh mr johari will be marking this at like 2359 and i think i'll be in dreamland by then :D but BIOBLOG! haha we won't abandon it TOTALLY right...(:

okae getting back on track and wrapping up all we've said so far:

to all the mortals out there:

hey others may seem totally perfect and all but dont make yourself become worse by crash dieting and taking diet pills and all, take it slow. Have a healthy diet and do more exercise! then you will eventually become the way you want to be. remember: rome wasnt built in a day right? haha im coming up with all the cliches! gosh does that mean i am cliche-y? D: sighhh. okae back to what i was saying...

looking at this psychologically, sometimes people gorge themselves due to depression and some starve because they feel inferior to others. but pleasepleasePLEASE remember this:

NOONE CAN MAKE YOU FEEL INFERIOR WITHOUT YOUR PERMISSION! :D

dont ever think that you're ugly because you're just beautiful the way you are(:

listen to Ugly by Sugababes, True Colours by Cyndi Lauper and Stay The Same by Joey McIntyre(: Very nice motivinational songs<3 but if you're unhealthy and unfit, ofcourse it is time to change that, no?

before you can love others, you have to love YOURSELF.

ta! <3peiwen

2007-05-07T20:08:00.000+08:00

Hello! I am feeling quite sad now, because bio blog will have officially ended in about 4 hours. ): I'm also feeling quite 'unfaithful', because I'm attempting to absorb my chemistry textbook through diffusion while typing this. (Well, at least diffusion is bio!)

Anyway, since its the last official (or second-to-last, depending on how fast amelia types) post for our beloved biology blog (watch out: attack of the alliterations!), I thought it should be sentimental! (:

I've had a lot of fun posting on our bio blog, and loading the music and everything :D Its also been really entertaining and amusing reading amelia&peiwen&cheryl's post, and, I must admit, informative. SO, I'm going to miss our little pet project, but don't worry, we won't abandon it completely(did you really think we were that heartless?!?!), there will be updates from time to time, just not as regularly.

To conclude the whole scope of this blog, we just want to warn everyone out there that unhealthy eating habits are really really bad for you. If you keep it up, you might go through a lot of unnecessary and undesirable stuff (hospital trips, heart attacks etc; - refer to previous posts), and we all don't want that to happen.

Basically, we want everyone out there to eat to live! Not live to eat and gorge all day long, and not live to starve and not eat anything at all. There's gotta be some kind of balance that you can achieve, which most everyone out there has probably already found, or will find.

SO, keep yourself healthy, fit and eagerly awaiting the next wonderful post.
Hopefully this blog will see the light of day again sometime soon! :D

PS: Everyone pray that we get a good mark please! (((((:
Love,
SAM(:

2007-05-07T20:02:00.000+08:00

hello
this is amelia and i am here to summarise on what i have blogged.
previously i posted on eating disorders such as bullimia and anorexia and given reviews after watching a documentary on anorexia and talked mainly about my anorexic friend.

so to sum up what i have said, i said about the physical damages that these harmful eating habits will cause such as small effects like hair thinning and falling out to somethings more serious like irregular heartbeat and heart failure. all these effects show that these kind of eating disorders would lead to dire consequences and it is not worth to eat in this way.

also there are social damages that can be caused whereby the person with the eating disorder can cause their friends and family alot of worry and there can be alot of tension between them. friend and family try their best to help the person with the eating disorder but it is ultimately up to the person whether or not anything would change. this shows that these harmful eating habits not only affects the person, but it also affects the people around them, people who care for them.

overall i think that these kind of eating habits can only be overcome by oneself and try as we might to encourage these people to change, the change can only be executed by the person him or herself. i think there is a need for great mental strength to break this bad eating habit and its up to them to change. but i also think that we still can play an important role in supporting them and encouraging these people to eat right and do the right thing.

what we have been trying to get through to all you readers is that we have to eat right and find a good balance in our meals to be happy and healthy. we should strike a good balance in what we eat and excercise regularly and all that stuff so we should eat right, with the right amount of each type of food to have a good balanced nutrition.

so we hope that all you readers out there will eat right and live right. and that our blog has made an impact for you to choose to eat right.

so what we've learnt
that eating badly
doesnt pay
they tried it
just the other day
they wanted to be happy
they thought it was the way
but it weren't

so we should eat right! eat to live!
eat right and live right
amelia(:

2007-05-04T16:07:00.000+08:00

Hello everyone! (:

Sorry for the lack of posts - everyone's been really stressed&busy because of SS exams lately. Thankfully, its over now! :D

Okay so today's post will be about the different kinds of diets and their harmful effects. (:

So if you ever decide to start a crash diet (which you shouldn't), keep in mind that they are meant for short-term only, normally 3-7 days, and they are really unhealthy for you in the long-term because they're not balanced!

Let's talk about the Cabbage Soup Diet that you've always heard about but know nothing of.

Now, isn't this the cutest thing? It came from http://www.phys.ufl.edu/~zhuwm/photo/cabbage.jpg.

Basically, the diet consists of day 1 fruit, day 2 vegetables, day 3 fruit&vegetables, day 4 bananas & skim milk, day 5 beef & tomatoes, day 6 beef & vegetables, day 7 Brown rice, unsweetened fruit juices and vegetables. Let's not forget the cabbage soup, which can be eaten at any point during the diet.

Well, that was certainly enlightening. Its healthier than I expected, considering. I always thought the Cabbage Soup diet consisted of eating cabbage soup, and only cabbage soup!

Moving on to the famous Atkins Diet.

Supposedly, for the diet to work, the person must consume less than 20g of carbohydrates a day. You can eat all the meat & cheese that you want and certain 'good' vegetables. Some high-carbohydrate level foods are restricted. (Bread, Sugars, Potato, Cereals, anything made from Flour)

Mmh! My absolutely favorite kind of bread are BAGUETTES! (the delifrance one especially) What are yours?

Image from http://www.faqs.org/nutrition/images/nwaz_01_img0048.jpg.

The Atkins Diet says that it can be kept for extended periods of time, and though I am certainly no expert, common sense urges me to warn agaisnt this. Extended periods without carbohydrates will not only leave you feeling weak because of the lack of energy, it might also cause other adverse affects because you are now relying on fats & proteins for you energy.
Lethargic-ness leads to falling asleep in class which leads to bad grades which means BAD! (: So, please eat your fair share of carbohydrates!

Okay, last diet for today, the Grapefruit Diet!

I'm not sure if this it true, and it certainly seems exaggerated, but supposedly 2 1/2 months you should lose 52 pounds! Which translates to ROUGHLY 26kg? Which is really crazy, if you ask me. And really effective, if its true.

I just realized I've never eaten a grapefruit in my life! Poor deprived me):

Image from http://www.otan.dni.us/webfarm/emailproject/grapefruit.jpg!

The 'rules' for this diet are:

1. You must drink eight 8oz. glasses of water daily (64 oz. total per day).
2. At any meal you may eat until you are full.
3. You must eat the minimum listed at each meal. (That's cool! (:)
4. You cannot eliminate anything from the diet. Especially the bacon at breakfast and the salads. You must eat the bacon and salads. (These combinations of food burn the fat, omitting one part of the combination will cause the whole thing not to work.)
5. The grapefruit or fruit juice is important because it acts as a catalyst that starts the burning process. Don't add or reduce the amount of grapefruit or juice.
6. Cut down on coffee, it affects the insulin balance that hinders the burning process. Try to limit to 1 cup at meal time.
7. Don't eat between meals. If you eat the suggested foods you will not get hungry.
8. You can fry food in butter and use butter generously on vegetables.
9. Do not eat desserts, breads, and white vegetables or sweet potatoes.
You may double or triple helpings of meat, salad or vegetables.
10. Eat until you are stuffed. The more you eat the more weight you will lose. (Now that is REALLY cool!)
11. Stay on the diet 12 days, then stop the diet for 2 days and repeat.

Wow this sounds like a dream come true doesn't it!

So the daily plan for this diet is:

Breakfast:
Either 1/2 grapefruit OR 8 oz. juice (unsweetened)
2 eggs any style
2 slices of bacon

Lunch:
Either 1/2 grapefruit OR 8 oz. juice (unsweetened)
Salad with any dressing
Meat any style and any amount.

Dinner:
Either 1/2 grapefruit OR 8 oz. juice (unsweetened)
Salad with any dressing OR a red or green vegetable cooked in butter or spices.
Meat or even Fish any style cooked any way.
Coffee or Tea (1 cup)

Bedtime Snack:
8oz. glass of tomato juice or 8 oz cup of skim milk.

Image from www.blog.thisnext.com!

Despite all the good stuff about this diet, its still a relative unknown and it might be potentially harmful. So if you're gonna start a diet, its always best to consult your doctor! (:

Okay I hope this post helped! Please tag! Oh most of the information about the diets were from http://www.webterrace.com/fad/home.htm! Thanks to person-who-runs-that-site!

LOVE,
SAM(:

PS: Sorry the part about Grapefruit diet is so wordy - there was just a lot of stuff to put in! (:

2007-04-29T20:16:00.000+08:00

hello

today i whall give you an update on MAF

when we last left off we talked about MAF and how she has anorexia nervosa.

MAF was 35kg at her worst point, however now under the nutritionist and psychiatrist's supervision, she has made some progress bringing up her weight from 35kg to 39.5kg in about 3 months. this is some substantial progress.

i feel that it is all in the driving force, just as how there was a driving force to make her want to lose weight, there is a motivating factor to make MAF overcome her mental barrier to put on some weight.

however, MAF is still not cleared from her anorexia, in fact she is far from her doctor's target, which is for her to be 42kg by this wednesday, which would be impossible to acheive it now that she is still 39.5kg.

anyway here are some suppliments that MAF has to take

this is her suppliment -Ensure. it is a meal replacement drink but she has to take it as a suppliment at least twice a day.

this is a calcium effervescent tablet that she has to take everyday.

this is a calcium tablet that MAF used to take before her nutritionist switched her to the one above.

see now these are some of the suppliments MAF needs to take. so dont be anorexic, you wont want to take so much 'medcine' even though you are not really sick now would you.

you are what you eat!

amelia(:

Crash Diets

2007-04-24T15:44:00.000+08:00

a shoutout to SAMANTHA FU: heya, getwell yeahs?(:

anyway, it is time for a STORY! :D:D bet you're excited XD

okae, say there is this man called Fred. He is married and is a garbage-collecter. This is how Fred looks like:

Image from http://trouserpockets.blogspot.com/2006/05/illustration-friday-fat-here-is-my.html

Fred here, is obese (as you can see). Anyway, his boss was getting more and more disapproving of his laziness and sloppy appearance (yes, i know being a garbage-collecter isnt that glamorous but you must have a certain level of hygeine and fitness right?) So, Fred's boss had no choice but to say, "Fred, if you do not clean yourself up and lose some weight, I will have to fire you." Panicking, Fred started a crash diet, eating only fruits, day and night. Soon, the results began to show. He lost LOADS of weight becoming a wisp of a man. He got his happy ending: Losing weight.

but does the story end there?

NO! Being skinny did not mean Fred did his work well. Instead, he became weaker and weaker, he couldnt even lift up a half-full trashcan! Getting fustrated, Fred's boss called him to the office and fired him. "But boss, you said I had to lose weight!" Fred protested.

"I did tell you to lose weight, but not SO MUCH so that you cannot work properly!" His boss- EX boss claimed tiredly.

Returning home with a heavy heart, Fred discovered his wife at the door, with all her luggage. Rushing to the door, he asked her what the heck she was doing. Glaring frostily at him, this were the words that came out of her mouth.

"I preferred you when you were FAT!"

sigh, poor Fred. That was NOT his day. ahwells, but we can LEARN something from this yes? Yes, sometimes we shouldnt change because there are people who love us just the way we are! But this story is more about: DO NOT CRASH DIET! Yes, eating fruits are healthy, I grant you that, but ONLY fruits? What about other nutrients that vegetables, fish, etcetc provide? HUH? WHAT HAPPENS TO THEM?!?!?!

On to the serious stuff...

Forcing yourself to suddenly change your eating habits can lead to rapid and unsafe weight loss due to the food restrictions. Also, crash diets do not provide the nutirtion needed for body functions because they either:

-restrict calories to less than 1200
OR
-eliminate ENTIRE food groups.

so what DOES happen when you go on fad diets?

there are cases when...

High protein diets cause the body to lose calcium leading to osteoporosis.

Image from http://www.us.novartisoncology.com/info/understanding/osteoporosis.jsp?usertrack.filter_applied=true&NovaId=1178761728238482811

whoa huh? Even though protein is good, too much is not healthy as you need to balance it in your diet. REMEMBER: HAVE A BALANCED DIET!

Too much of one thing = BAD
Too little of one thing = BAD

capisce? :D

2007-04-18T16:34:00.000+08:00

Hello! Sam is back! Okay today I'm gonna tell you why you should not go on UNHEALTHY DIETS.

For example, not eating at all, eating very little or taking lots of pills to help you lose weight etc;

Image from http://www.healthybpm.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/12/diet-pills.jpg!

Image from
http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2003/images/mar2003_awsi_02.jpg!

And if you end up OVERDOSING..

Image from

http://www.getreligion.org/wp-content/photos/casket.jpg!

..you'll end up in one of these. Or maybe your kidneys will fail you, and you'll have to look high and low for someone willing to donate one. Possibly, you might not find that kind, compatible soul, and you'll still end up in a casket.

So, lose-lose situation.

Anyway, unhealthy diets also make you more prone to illnesses & chronic diseases! Which means that you restrict yourself from eating for nothing, because your body suffers. Being overly thin is not only unpleasing to the eye (all those jutting angles!), it is also reallyyyyy bad for you.

When you don't eat enough, you don't get enough nutrients (Carbohydrates/Proteins/Fats)!

When you don't get enough carbohydrate & fats, you lose you energy source, which makes you feel listless & tired all the time! You won't be able to concentrate, your grades suffer, you get stressed out! Image from http://www.delafayetteworldmedia.org/man_desperation.jpg!

Some people deal with stress by binging - so you ruin your efforts. Others deal with stress by eating even less - starting the cycle again.

See the vicious cycle?

Lack of protein?

KIDNEY & HEART & SKIN problems. Hair loss! You wouldn't want to become bald prematurely would you?

Severe protein deficiency also causes KWASHIORKOR, according to Mr Johari. Kwashiorkor is a form of child malnutrition that causes swollen abdomens, thin limbs, and sometimes greyish-blond hair.

Image from http://www.bio.ilstu.edu/armstrong/syllabi/cassava/cassava8.jpg!

This kid is NOT FAT. She is starving and malnutritioned because she does not have any food to eat, not because she voluntarily starves herself.

We should be thanking our lucky stars that we have food on our tables, not throwing it in plants or spitting it out in napkins behind our parents' backs.

Okay I shall end here, more another day because I have to go write an essay for english!

LOVE,
SAM(:

Vegetables!

2007-04-12T20:09:00.000+08:00

okay WE'RE BACK! :D just like we promised(:

now, while i am eating a nice red apple, going to talk about another part of healthy eating: VEGETABLES! :D i must admit that i dont LOVE vegetables but...it is healthy! i will only eat vegetables only if they taste good. ofcourse right...otherwise, who will eat it?

go http://www.hungrymonster.com/FoodFacts/Food_Facts.cfm?Phrase_vch=Vegetables&fid=5566

the above link leads you to a table of nutrition facts of fruits and vegetables. Super helpful!(: okay i bet more people like fruits compared to vegetables. well, i do. used to hate vegetables XP but i guess i like it more now cause...actually i dont know XD i usually go for the very green, leafy vegetables. Leafy vegetables like Kai Lan, lettuce etcetc. and it seems that they are good sources of many vitamins and minerals that keeps your body healthy like vitamin A, vitamin C and calcium. The darker the leaves, the more nutrients the vegetable has!

LEAFY VEGETABLES! :D looks good eh?

Image from www.co.mohave.az.us/.../spanishnewwic5aday.htm

by the way, leafy vegetables are low in calories, low in fat, high in protein, high in dietary fiber, high in iron and calcium and very high in vitamins A, C, lutein and folic acid. ohoh, remember the last post, I said guava was the healthiest fruit? well guess what the healthiest vegetable is? haha you wont guess this one unless you cheat and go find out XD okay seems that the healthiest vegetable is...(drumroll)

SWISS CHARD!!! (hoho i bet you didnt know that...)

Image from www.worldcommunitycookbook.org/.../sw_chard.html

i didnt even know there was such a thing called swiss chard! hmmm interesting huh? Lets say you take one cup of cooked chard, it gives you 109% of the daily recommanded intake of vitamin A. Secondly, one cup of cooked chard provides us 52% of our daily needs of vitamin C. Thirdly, one cup of chard gives us 15% of our daily needs of dietary fiber. FOURTHLY, one cup of chard provides 27% of our daily needs of potassium which by the way is very important for the nerves. That's not all. Chard also contains 16% of our daily requirement of vitamin E. Lastly, ine cup of chard contains 35% of calcium and only one quarter of the calories as one cup of 2% milk.

just call it the king of vegetables. added bonus: it is widely available, cheap and very easy to cook. ALL HAIL!

haha, okay anyway, back to business. Usually diets do not last long do they? It is more based on one's willpower and determination. Obese people need time to change their lifestyle in order to lose weight and anorexics need time to start eating to gain weight. eat healthy that is. everyday, you should eat atleast five servings of vegetables AND fruits. also, cut down on fatty and fried food. if you MUST snack, eat fruit! or carrots!

but it does not just stop there!

eating healthy is not the only way to lose weight. EXERCISE makes the road to a healthy body much smoother. Yes, i mean jogging, skipping, sit-ups etcetc. Okay exercise isnt liked by many (i think more people prefer vegetables to exercise!) so do run atleast everyday. but PACE yourself! you can run 5km but then you get so hungry, you start stuffing yourself and soon, all the weight is back on. so PACING is super important. okay you dont see many happy joggers around but...

you know what they say: NO PAIN NO GAIN! :D

Fruits!

2007-04-10T15:45:00.000+08:00

Now, after learning all the stuff about eating all the oily stuff and the good facts about fat, let's get on with a HEALTHY DIET that everyone can follow.

not those diets that says it will make you lose weight in three days or three weeks or something. that is NOT POSSIBLE, losing weight takes time. even if it is, it may not be healthy AT ALL! so what is the diet that is healthy and yet effective?

i won't disparage slimming products and weight loss pills (for fear of a potential lawsuit!). anyway, having a diet does not mean that you eat the same thing over and over again everyday. and personally, i dont like to follow directions on what to eat:

eg. DAYONE
for breakfast, eat...
for lunch, eat...
for dinner, eat...

yeah. because in the end it will be super boring and then, you eventually discontinue. so all i am going to do is recommand healthy foods that will make a person healthier and hopefully also lose weight. Okay lets begin:

FRUITS!

goodness, it looks so nice! hoho. love fruits. okay, back to the topic.

go: http://www.thefruitpages.com/

and http://www.thefruitpages.com/contents.shtml

this above website contains the table of nutrition facts of nearly every fruit i think. looks very impressive :D and there is nothing about fruit that can be found! cool right? fruit contains alot of vitamins and sevreal with low sugar content. so choose your fruits and EAT! however, dont eat too much of those that has a high sugar content okae? and fruits like lime, please dont eat them as a whole! preferably, make juice! and since it is very sour, put sugar, yes, but NOT TOO MUCH! otherwise it defeats the whole purpose.

by the way, guess what the most nutritious fruit is???

TAADAAAAAA!!!

GUAVA!!!!!!

Image from http://www.tcsiam.com/tcsiam/fruits_guava.htm

haha bet you didnt know that...i thought apples were the healthiest. ahwells. speaking of fruits, fruits are not just in one category, there are other types of fruit. Citrus fruits, tropical fruit and tree fruits! lets talk about citrus fruits first! Okay, when i say citrus fruits, i am talking about grapefruit, oranges, lemons, limes, pomelo, tangerine etcetc. Citrus fruits are acid fruits, does not mean they burn your stomach, but actually detoxify your body!

Did you know your body detoxifies itself all day and even during your sleep? Especially until noon, thus it is recommanded to eat fruit until then. So with this information, breakfast is settled! Fresh fruits all the way until noon! :D

Image from http://www.betelbox.com/gallery/pictures/Breakfast_Fruits.jpg

BREAKFAST FRUITS! :D:D:D doesnt it look good? but most importantly, DO NOT SKIP BREAKFAST! It is important to get energy to last throughout the day. and besides, even if skipping breakfast helps you lose weight, once you start eating, all the weight will go back on. you wouldnt want that right?? Also, eat fruits BEFORE dinner! When eaten before dinner, the sugars and burnt immediately producing instant energy! However, when eaten AFTER dinner, the fruit cant be burned properly and will ferment. ick.

hey but dont forget about vegetables! that will be what i'll be touching on next time! so remember to eat your fruits! :D:D:D:D

an apple a day, keeps the doctor away!(:

2007-04-05T19:16:00.000+08:00

FATS.

did you knoww, that not ALL fats are bad for you?? certain kinds of fats are actually good for you :)

Fats, or lipids, are nutrients in food that your body uses to build nerve tissue (like the brain) and hormones. Your body also uses fat as fuel. If fats that you've eaten aren't burned as energy or used as building blocks, they're stored by the body in fat cells. This is your body's way of thinking ahead: By saving fat for future use, your body plans for times when food might be scarce. Fat gives food flavor and texture, but it's also high in calories, and excess amounts of fatty foods (as with excess amounts of any food) can cause many health risks.

okay, now looking on the POSITIVE side of fats:

- they are essential to growth and development

-can't always be manufactured by the body, so they have to be eaten
fuel the body
-aid in the absorption of some vitamins (Vitamins A, D, E, and K are known as fat soluble, meaning they can only be absorbed if there's fat in a person's diet.)
-are the building blocks of hormones
-are necessary for insulating all nervous system tissues in the body
-help people feel full, so they're less likely to eat as much
-can protect against heart disease

Fat has more than twice as many calories as protein or carbohydrates . therefore, fats are a great source of energy but also adds twice the amount of calories to a meal.

WHAT KIND OF FATS ARE THERE??

Unsaturated fats: Found in plant foods and fish, these fats are seen as neutral or even beneficial to heart health. The best of the unsaturated fats are:
-monounsaturated, found in avocados and olive, peanut, and canola oils
-polyunsaturated, found in most vegetable oils
-omega-3 fatty acids, found in oily fish such as albacore tuna and salmon

Saturated fats: Found in meat and other animal products, such as butter, shortening, lard, cheese, and milk (except skim or nonfat), saturated fats are also in palm and coconut oils, which are often used in commercial baked goods. Eating too much saturated fat can raise blood cholesterol levels and increase the risk of heart disease.

Trans fats: Found in margarine (especially the sticks), commercial snack foods and baked goods, and some commercially fried foods, trans fats (also called trans fatty acids) are created when vegetable oils are hydrogenated (meaning that hydrogen atoms are added to the fat molecule so they remain solid at room temperature). Like saturated fats, eating too much trans fat can raise cholesterol and increase the risk of heart disease. By 2006, food manufacturers must list trans fats on food labels. For now, keep an eye out for "hydrogenated" or "partially hydrogenated" oils on the ingredient list.

http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/food/general/fat.html

2007-04-05T18:58:00.000+08:00

TOO MUCH PROTEINS CAN HARM YOUR BODY.

when you consume more protein than you need, you crowd out your metabolism-revving carbohydrates, so your body starts the arduous, metabolism-inefficient task of using protein for fuel.

ohmygosh sounds so COMPLICATED. okay bascially, consuming too much protein MAKES YOU TIRED. Protein takes a long time to digest (about 4-6hrs VS 1half-4hours to digest and burn up carbohydrates). Although protein's slower digestion rate can be a good thing (it promotes satiety when you combine the right amounts of the best carbohydrates with the appropriate portions of the best proteins), it can also be a negative thing when you overdo it because a large portion of blood leaves the brain and muscles and stays in your stomach (and intestine) for a long period of time for digestion.

This means that there is less blood available to supply the muscles and brain with oxygen, causing sluggishness and decreased energy. In addition, too much protein in the diet can lead to high cholesterol (many foods that are high in protein are also high in the artery-clogging saturated fat and/or cholesterol) or calcium loss from the bone, promoting osteoporosis or other diseases, such as gout. High-protein diets may also put a strain on your kidneys and liver, as these two organs are responsible for breaking down protein and then excreting the excess nitrogen that is created from the protein.

Our protein needs depend on our age, size, and activity level. yup, and PROTEIN IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE If we were to stop eating protein, our body would start to break down muscle for its needs within a day or so. :O

ok, here's a list of food high in proteins :)

Beef
Hamburger patty, 4 oz – 28 grams protein
Steak, 6 oz – 42 grams
Most cuts of beef – 7 grams of protein per ounce

Chicken
Chicken breast, 3.5 oz - 30 grams protein
Chicken thigh – 10 grams (for average size)
Drumstick – 11 grams
Wing – 6 grams
Chicken meat, cooked, 4 oz – 35 grams

for more infomation, this is taken from- http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/whattoeat/a/highproteinfood.htm

2007-04-03T21:51:00.000+08:00

reply to passer:

eating the right amount of carbohydrate will help you get rid of stored fat :)

Carbohydrates are your body's primary fuel. They are broken down into glucose, which is the best fuel source for your brain and muscles. Without enough carbohydrates, your body takes drastic measures to make the glucose it needs. When this happens, you have less energy and feel tired. You may feel light-headed, dizzy, and unable to think clearly. And when you limit carbohydrate intake, you actually inhibit your weight-loss efforts. Your body needs carbohydrate to burn stored fat. :)

taken from- http://health.howstuffworks.com/usda-food-pyramid-ga4.htm

2007-04-03T19:16:00.000+08:00

CHERYL'S HERE TO POST :D

hey, what's the difference between a hungry man and a glutton??

ANS: one longs to eat the other eats too long

hahaha ok la. not thaaatt funny. heh. =X mm k ANYWAY. do you knowww what will happen if you eat too much carbohydrates? YOU GROW FAT :O

Eating fat does not make you fat. It's your body's response to excess carbohydrates in your diet that makes you fat.

you see, your body has a limited capacity to store excess carbohydrates, but it can easily convert those excess carbohydrates into excess body fat. the total storage capacity of the body for carbohydrate is really quite limited. If you're an average person, you can store about 300-400g of carbohydrate in your muscles, but you can't get at that carbohydrate. In the liver, where carbohydrates are accessible for glucose conversion, you can store only about 60-90g and it represents your total reserve capacity to keep the brain working properly.

Once the glycogen levels are filled in both the liver and the muscles, excess carbohydrates have just one fate: to be converted into fat and stored in the adipose, that is, fatty, tissue. In a nutshell, even though carbohydrates themselves are fat-free, excess carbohydrates ends up as excess fat. That's not the worst of it. Any meal or snack high in carbohydrates will generate a rapid rise in blood glucose. To adjust for this rapid rise, the pancreas secretes the hormone insulin into the bloodstream. Insulin then lowers the levels of blood glucose.

The problem is that insulin is essentially a storage hormone, evolved to put aside excess carbohydrate calories in the form of fat in case of future famine. So the insulin that's stimulated by excess carbohydrates aggressively promotes the accumulation of body fat. In other words, when we eat too much carbohydrate, we're essentially sending a hormonal message, via insulin, to the body (actually, to the adipose cells). The message: "Store fat."

Hold on; it gets EVEN WORSE. Not only do increased insulin levels tell the body to store carbohydrates as fat, they also tell it not to release any stored fat. This makes it impossible for you to use your own stored body fat for energy. So the excess carbohydrates in your diet not only make you fat, they make sure you STAY FAT . ohmygosh. WA DOUBLE BLOW.

yup. so that's what happens when you consume too much carbohydrates. okay. let's end this post with something to make you smile! uh.

why did the student eat his homework?

ANS: because his teacher told him it was a piece of cake. :)

hahaha :D okay, i'll post on PROTEINS another day. byebye :)

2007-04-03T18:22:00.000+08:00

Today I shall have a picture post cause our blog seems to be lacking in pictures!

Okay first, HEALTHY FOOD! (Stuff normal people eat!)

That doesn't really seem like something I would eat, but its healthy! :D

Image from http://www.dorsetforyou.com/media/images/6/b/Avarietyofvegetables_1.jpg!

Mmmmh that looks quite...edible!

Image from http://www.good2gofoods.net/g2g-top/healthy-food-vancouver_08.jpg!

Image from http://www.kidcyber.com.au/IMAGES/food%20pyramid3.jpeg!

Okay this is a food pyramid! Stuff that we learnt in home econs! But its good to know! I realized my fruit&veggie intake are way lower than they should be! ):

Now, unhealthy food! (Stuff people like me eat!)

That just looks sinful!

Image from http://www.lebenswichtig.de/webpics/mcdonalds/fries_b.jpg!

Gosh look at all the oil seeping out of the noodles! It looks gooooooood.

Image from http://onokinegrindz.typepad.com/ono_kine_grindz/images/charkwayteow.jpg!

I haven't had that in ages!

Image from http://www.soocool.com/gallery/photos/exhibitregular/01_RotiPrata.jpg!

Chocolate mousse cake! :D

Image from http://www.dessert.net.au/userimages/user1177_1155656732.jpg!

It really not fair, how all the good foods are always unhealthy & fattening!

Okay we shall now compare normal, healthy people with both anorexic and obese individuals.

Healthy people!

Image from http://ils.unc.edu/~blandau/inls181/problemsets/photoshop/images/fitpeople.jpg!
An anorexic
Image from http://www.xes.cx/pics-misc/thinspiration_5.jpg!

Obese Person

Image from http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42026000/jpg/_42026140_obesity416.jpg!

So, would you rather be healthy, trim and fit or stick-thin and afraid to face the world, or have three stomachs?

There's not much to think about, is there?

Love,

Sam(:

P.S: Remember to tag us! (:

2007-04-02T20:38:00.000+08:00

Hello! Like Amelia said, yesterday we watched this show, 'Help me, Help my child' on Channel NewsAsia. I thought the title was quite irrelevant cause there was nothing about helping them on the show!

Okay so the screen was like blurry and shaking and static-ky and i was getting a headache because of it! But I still watched on in order to gain a good grade for BIO! (: (Do you see the sacrifices we're making here, Mr Johari!)

Anyway, basically the show was about two kids and their anorexia.
I shan't elaborate on the facts since Amelia already did that. So I shall tell you about what I felt!

Haha okay I thought it was really really sad&depressing&scary. I felt really bad for the kids because they were like, dying, and they couldn't do anything about it!

Its not like they weren't trying, because we could see that they were making an effort to get better. But its like Amelia said, sometimes Katie was taken over by her 'anorexic self', and Tron was just overcome by his fear of choking to death.

Katie's case sort of reminds me of that book review I did on 'Skinny'. Its about the same, Giselle hearing a voice in her head which makes her do those things, and Katie being controlled by her 'anroexic self'.

Tron's anorexia seems really unique to me, because he has a real, concrete reason to fear eating, instead of just being afraid of becoming fat like most superficial girls. (Not that all anorexics are superficial. Some of them have real psychological problems.) I felt really sad for him because he didn't get a chance to see his beloved grandmother before she died, and I can't imagine what it must be like to be resenting your parents every second for her death.

From the show, I realized that anorexia cases often have a trigger cause (illness, traumatic event) and the root of anorexia often goes much deeper than a simple fear of growing fat.

Its also very heartwarming to see how their families support them, and put on a smile for them even though they're being torn apart inside. I was really glad to see that Tron got better, and that Katie was taking the steps toward recovery.

To everyone out there: Remember that when you become anorexic, you're not the only one that suffers. Everyone else around you is affected too. Please don't make your loved ones go through that torture, don't become anorexic!

Love,
Sam(:

2007-04-01T20:54:00.000+08:00

hello
today sam and i watched this show on anorexia on channel news asia called help me help my child

anyway it featured 2 kids and their struggle with anorexia. a girl katie and a guy tron both fifteen who were anorexic.

katie developed anorexia after being sick and then she didnt want to eat anymore. she looked very pale. she went to the hospital due to complications, which were life threatening. she felt painful and had to take drugs. her mother described her as delirious and katie would cry and scream. she was anorexic since 12. her family also fights anorexia. she goes to the hospital weekly for checkups. she does not have a scale at home so that it would prevent her from obsessively weighing herself. during her weekly check ups she is weighed and her weight is constantly dropping. she was put on a diet plan and though she sounded she was eating okay, she was still losing weight so the doctor suggested that she was taken out of school to be monitored for 4 weeks. and if she did not improve, she would have to be warded.
during that time, she had to eat 3000 calories daily but katie kept negotiatingand her mother had to keep battling with her over what she eats. she started well, but later her 'anorexic self' took over and she began pouring her food away and hiding them. her mother's vigilant observation of her caused her anorexia to be more severe. because she kept getting worse and her weight kept dropping, she was brought to see the eating disorders ward and that scared her as she saw all the skinny people. she really did not want to be warded and she gained more control over her 'anorexic self' and managed to stabalise a bit. however she still continues to eat only what she deems healthy. her mother has taken a more gentler approach toward her and their relationship had gotten better, and one day her mother hopes that katie would wake up from her anorexia.

images from http://www.channelnewsasia.com/documentary/index.htm
tron is anorexic because he skips meals because of his paranoia of eating after 5 for fear that he would choke to death if he ate after 5. his anorexia began when his grandma died and he became depressed empty and purposeles, and he stopped eating. he would clamp his mouth and refuse to eat or drink. he even wrote suicide letters. he went to the psychiatric hospital and was warded. he was 32kg. he NEVER ate past 5 because of his fear. his parents tried to look for the positives and the psychiatrist recommended they do some role play thing because the family involvement was very important.
after some treatments with the psychiatrist he made some small increase in weight gain. and he tries to do something to help himself, unlike most anorexics. the doctor recommended that he slowly try to break his fear of eating after 5 and he managed to eat 2 sweets at 5.05, which was an achievement to him. he made better and better progress and increased in height and weight and managed to eat more at a later time. he wants to help himself and get his weight up.

the psychiatrists say that anorexics cannot turn things on their own and they need pressure and help from their family to help them conquer anorexia.

these two cases so remind me of MAF. MAF is very similiar to them in the sense that she bargains and tries to negotiate over the food she eats and she was also scared to be warded which is also a reason why she wanted to eat more. she also has a paranoia over the time she eats and she always has to eat by a certain time so that 'she has enough time to digest her food'. she almost had to be taken out of school and she used to throw her food away. her anorexia also started after she was sick.

so we can see many parallels in the anorexics. and we do hope that one day they will realise that dieting is so silly and that they should just eat properly and be healthy and normal.

amelia

2007-03-30T17:43:00.000+08:00

HELLO FRIENDS(:

today's post shall be a very PERSONAL post about my PERSONAL encounter with an anorexic and hopefully this PERSONAL post will get us a higher mark(:

anyway lets call my anorexic friend MAF - my anorexic friend(:

so anyway from the start. way back around august last year, MAF decided to lose weight for which the reasons are deduced by me as 1. because she is tired of being fat 2. she wants to attract attention as she is an attention seeker 3. [what i think is a more important factor] she wants to be a very good ballerina, and seeing that ballerinas are skinny, she wants to be skinny too. by the way, MAF is 12 this year
so she began her diet and excercise routine. she firstly started dieting by eating only an apple for each meal, or very little porridge. she would use the excercise machine every day for at least 45 min. her body was very not used to this and thus she had to take long naps in the afternoon. back then she could afford to eat that way, because she was quite fat so at least she still had some stored energy. this went on for about 2-3 months and she looked healthy weight. she was still okay, so we were not so worried as her parents thought that she would stop or at least they could stop her when she reached an ideal weight.

however after that, she did not stop dieting and her excessive excercise. she would just eat small amouts vegetables and egg(her favourite food). she refused to eat meat for quite some time. her excercise got more intensive too. she would practice ballet every day, do 100 crunches right when she wakes up and before she sleeps, do alot of jumping and running about. she seldom sat down and when she did, she sat totally upright, refusing to relax, thinking that it would make her gain weight.
she weighed herself just about a hundred times a day and when her parents forced her to eat, she would wipe her mouth with a tissue and at the same time, spit the food out into it. she ate alot of pineapples, about 1/2 to 1 whole pineapple a day. she developed her paranoia of food and if she touched oily food she would wash her hands with alot of soap. she also rinsed her mouth after every meal for about 5 minutes. she kept asking us if she looked fat and kept saying on how 'fat' she looks. she had a very negative atttitude and this gave her parents' alot of stress and headache.
on one occasion somewhere in september/october last year, she was cutting a pineapple for herself and she accidentally cut her thumb. the wound took a long time to heal, and until now it is not fully healed. this is because of her eating habit.

and so MAF continued this way, developing various food phobias along the way. the side effects were also setting in, she lost alot of hair and she had loose skin. she bruised easily, and her wound did not heal. she also looked pale.

this picture drawn by me shows her change

early on this year, MAF's parents decided seek medical help. they brought her to NUH and she was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa. the doctor warned her parents that anorexia is chronic and that they would have to monitor her continually. the nutritionist gave her a diet plan to follow and some suppliments. she had to visit the nutritionist fortnightly and go for weekly blood tests.

another drawing of mine(: this is very realistic. MAF's neck looked like this. NOT EXAGGERATION

on one visit,the doctor reviewed the results of the ECG (electrocardiogram) tests [which records the heart's electrical activity] and found that she had a very low heart rate. the doctor said that MAF could get an enlarged heart. because of MAF's excessive excercise, her heart was forced to work harder. this could cause her left chamber of her heart to be enlarged because as we know, the left side pumps the oxidised blood to te rest of the body, so she would need more oxidised blood and thus strain her heart. the bad thing about an enlarged heart was that as we also know, our heart is pumped by electric impulse. the blood that leaves our heart is eletronically neutral as the right side's charge would cancel out the left side's charge, however, if the left side of the heart is enlarged, the blood from the right side would leave first and thus it would be charged. this can cause the person to have seizures and heart attack.

so the doctor disallowed MAF to do ANY cardio excercise. she even disallowed MAF from PE. however MAF still continued to excercise and jump secretly at home when her parents were not looking. one day while secretly exercising she felt palpitation of her heart and told her parents. and she was disallowed to do ballet, even though her ballet exam was coming.

only until recently that MAF started eating better because she had to put on weight if not she would not be allowed to do her ballet exam. and she did, however, whether or not she would continue to eat better, only time will tell.

see, isnt this post so PERSONAL. hope you found it engaging. rememeber to look and the mirror and say to yourself hello beautiful. have fun eating(:

amelia(:

2007-03-28T19:48:00.000+08:00

hello
today i followed 'someone i know who is anorexic' to National University Hospital to the department of neuroscience. because she is anorexic, she needs to have weekly blood tests and fortnightly visits to the nutritionist and psychologist.

anyway, we saw this woman who was really anorexic and she had to sit on a wheelchair because she was so bad that she had not enough muscle to support herself that she could not walk anymore. her veins were popping up and the muscles in her arms were all so visible that it was quite painful to watch and her skin looked very loose. her legs and ankles were swollen (it is a side effect of anorexia) because her heart or kidneys were not functioning properly. she had very little hairs on her head.

it was really sad to see because that woman would probably have passed the point of no return. 'someone i know who is anorexic' would have gone down the same path if not for seeking treatment and visits to the doctor. i really hope that no one would want to go through the same thing and that 'someone i know who is anorexic' would really wake up from her anorexia and most importantly break off FULLY from it because anorexia is chronic and it may recur.

anyway i will give you more details on 'someone i know' and her battle with anorexia another time. in the meantime. rememeber to love yourself(:

amelia(:
p/s: i actually wanted to post pictures of 'someone i know who is anorexic' but i decided against it even though we know we will get a higher mark, it would not be morally right. so we shall stand for what is right.

2007-03-27T17:56:00.000+08:00

I just wrote a really really long review but I lost it! AGAIN!
I really really hate blogger. Okay now I shall try to recreate it from memory.

So I'm reading this book now, Skinny by Ibi Kaslik. Here's what the cover looks like:

The summary on the cover goes:

Do you ever get hungry? Too hungry to eat?

Holly's older sister, Giselle, is self destructing. Haunted by her love-deprived relationship with her later father, Giselle is fighting an all-consuming battle with anorexia. As a track star, Holly struggles to keep her own life in balance while coping with the mental and physical deterioration of her beloved sister. Once a strong role model and top medical student, Giselle is spiraling out of control. And, together, they are holding on for dear life.

I haven't finished the book yet, but so far it's been really good! (:

I think that Skinny is really funny, sometimes sad, and at times disturbing. The author's potrayal of anorexia is quite unique. Giselle hears a voice in her head, which she calls 'She'. 'She' makes Giselle do things such as excercise vigorously, eat very little, and vomit in a bid to lose weight. 'She' constantly criticizes Giselle about her looks, her behavior, her thoughts. Its quite frustrating to read about, actually. Everytime it seems like Giselle is getting better, 'She' comes back and takes over again, forcing her to take a few steps back.

It seems, to Giselle, that the cause of her anorexia is the lack of affection from her father while he was alive. Giselle is quite affected by it, because she loved her father although his favorite daughter was Holly, and she often asks herself why he couldn't love her back.

On the other hand, Holly is also a fairly amusing character. Following her on her adventures with boys was very funny! (: Although she's deaf in her left ear, she manages to function quite normally, and I think that that is quite admirable of her! However, Holly also has her own problems. She claims to see her father's ghost along the streets everyday, and that he stops to talk with her.

Holly and Giselle's experiences have enlightened me on both anorexia, the relationship between sisters, and many other things! In fact, like any other siblings, they have their ups and downs, but they always manage to overcome it. Despite all the good stuff, the book was also quite confusing at times. It might be just me, but it seemed to skip from place to place without any real connection.

But overall, the book is still really really good! Even though its quite sad sometimes, everyone should still go read it! :D

LOVE,

SAM(:

2007-03-26T18:49:00.000+08:00

HELLO!
Today we shall educate you on the harmful diet of eating too little.

BULIMIA NERVOSA, often called bulimia, is a type of eating disorder. A person with bulimia eats a lot of food in a short amount of time (binges) and then tries to prevent weight gain by getting rid of the food, called purging.

Purging might be done by:
- Making yourself throw up
- Taking laxatives — pills or liquids that speed up the movement of food through your body and lead to a bowel movement

A person with bulimia may also exercise a lot, eat very little or not at all, or take pills to pass urine to prevent weight gain.

There is no single known cause of bulimia or anorexia. But some things may play a part:
- Culture stimulates people to want the perfect body, to fit that certain standard of beauty and society pressures them to have the perfect body
- If there is a history of bulimia or anorexia, the child is likely to get it too. Parents who think looks are important, diet themselves, or criticize their children's bodies, their children are more likely to develop anorexia.
-Stress and stressful environment or situations can lead to the onset of bulimia or anorexia
-Personality traits. They don't love themselves enough to accept themselves or they may feel hopeless or tries to be perfect in everyway
-Genes, hormones, and chemicals in the brain may be factors in developing bulimia or anorexia

Someone with bulimia may use extreme measures to lose weight by:
using diet pills, or taking pills to urinate or have a bowel movement
going to the bathroom all the time after eating (to throw up)
exercising a lot, even in bad weather or when hurt or tired.

Someone with bulimia may show signs of throwing up, such as:
- swollen cheeks or jaw area
- calluses or scrapes on knuckles (if using fingers to induce vomiting)
- teeth that look clear
- broken blood vessels in the eyes

Someone with bulimia may also have a distorted body image, shown by thinking she or he is fat, hating her or his body, and fearing weight gain.
Bulimia can also cause someone to not act like her or himself. She or he may be moody or sad, or may not want to go out with friends.

Image from
http://www.womenshealth.gov/faq/easyread/bulnervosa-etr.htm

ANOREXIA NERVOSA
A person with anorexia nervosa, often called anorexia, has an intense fear of gaining weight. Someone with anorexia thinks about food a lot and limits the food she or he eats, even though she or he is too thin. Anorexia is more than just a problem with food. It's a way of using food or starving oneself to feel more in control of life and to ease tension, anger, and anxiety. Most people with anorexia are female.

An anorexic:
-has a low body weight for her or his height and resists on keeping a normal body weight
-excessively exercises
-has an intense fear of gaining weight
-thinks she or he is fat even when very thin
-misses three (menstrual) periods in a row―for girls/women who have started having their periods

Someone with anorexia may look very thin. She or he may use extreme measures to lose weight by:
making her or himself throw up
taking pills to urinate or have a bowel movement
taking diet pills
not eating or eating very little
exercising a lot, even in bad weather or when hurt or tired
weighing food and counting calories
moving food around the plate instead of eating it

Someone with anorexia may also have a distorted body image, shown by thinking she or he is fat, wearing baggy clothes, weighing her or himself many times a day, and fearing weight gain.
Anorexia can also cause someone to not act like her or himself. She or he may talk about weight and food all the time, not eat in front of others, be moody or sad, or not want to go out with friends.

Image from

http://www.womenshealth.gov/faq/easyread/anorexia-etr.htm#d

So basically what you have learnt today is that:

- Anorexia and bulimia are examples of harmful eating disorders whereby people take drastic attempts to lose weight.
Anorexia and bulimia have similiar goals, causes and sypmtoms which is to lose weight but the sufferers use different means.

This may seem unreal or extreme but it does happen, in fact it happened to someone I know and we will tell you about her encounter with anorexia in the next post. Be excited!

amelia(:

2007-03-22T18:39:00.000+08:00

Hey! Check out our new songs! (: I actually wanted to put 'Food Glorious Food' on, but radioblogclub didn't have it. If anyone has it, send it to me! (:

I am really really angry right now because I lost a whole long post and now I have to redo it! ):

A good BMI calculator is http://www.virilplant.com/bodyfatcalculator.htm!

Anyway, today's post is going to be on the EFFECTS OF OBESITY ON LIFE! (social, family etc;)

Psychological and social effects of obesity

Nowadays, society emphasizes physical appearance and often equates attractiveness in women with slimness. This makes obese people feel insecure and unattractive. Many people think that obese individuals are gluttonous or lazy (not true!) and are prejudiced agaisnt them! (working world, social, school etc;)

They often feel DEPRESSED, REJECTED & ASHAMED of themselves. If you are reading this, please don't ever feel that way about yourself! Feel good about yourself and who you are, and don't ever let anyone put you down!
(info adapted from http://www.virilplant.com/obesity-consequences.htm)

Effects on Family:
Your family/parents might feel that it is their fault and thus feel guilty, or they might be ashamed of you because of reasons that were stated ealier on in this post. However, you should never be ashamed of what you look like or how much you weigh. (That doesn't mean that you shouldn't work towards lowering your weight though!)

An artists' (me) interpretion of a HAPPY family! (:

An artists' (me again!) interpretion of a SAD family! )
Here's a few pictures (for comparison):

Image from http://www.qeliz.ac.uk/psychology/images/anorexia.jpg!
I think she looks fairly normal, if a little thin, from the front. But from the back....

Image from http://sajadi.co.uk/fblog/images/anorexic.jpg!

Image from http://www.genciencia.com/images/anorexia.jpg!

Eww):

Image from http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f288/this_is_side_one/anorexic.jpg

Image from http://www.thethinderellasyndrome.com/images/gloria_arugueta_overweight.jpg!

Okay that's the last post of the week! I hope you enjoyed reading this blog and found the posts informative!

Please tag us and share your thoughts! We'd love to hear from you!

(The information (eg; diets, surgery) provided in this blog are only for truly obese (BMI above 30) and truly anorexic (strong fear of growing fat/BMI under 17.5) individuals. Please do not attempt any if you are neither. )

Watch out for the next post in a few days!

LOVE,

SAM(:

2007-03-20T18:39:00.000+08:00

We're back! Did you miss us? We know you did.

Today's post is going to be about how we can deal with obesity!

Live Light - Live Right is an Obesity Program for Obese Children And Adoscelents! http://www.livelightobesity.org/

FDA-approved weight loss drugs
Right now, there are 2 drugs licensed for treatment on obesity.
1. Xenical
- Blocks absorption of fat from diet.
- Useful only if taken in conjunction with low-fat diet.
- High fat intake results in diarrhoeal side-effects.
2. Reductil
- Acts on the brain to suppress appetite.
- Suitable only for some - can lead to many side effects (possibly high blood pressure).
-Close Monitoring necessary.

Bariatric Surgery
-Alters your stomach/small intestine to make it impossible for you to eat too much at one go without side effects.
1. Stomach Banding
- Alters the size of the stomach to restrict calories
- Easily reverisble
- Easier for patients to 'cheat'.
2. Stomach Bypass
- Reduces size of stomach
- First part of the small intestine is bypassed (reduces intake of nutrients & calories).
- Lead to greater weight loss.

Here's a extremely graphic picture of bariatric surgery. NOT FOR THE FAINT HEARTED.
Click on the link to access it: http://www.nemc.org/Surgery/html/bariatric/surg_025.jpg

For those more interested in the academic side:

This picture came from http://www.bhcpns.org/ContentImages/Bariatrics/Surgery1.jpg.

I feel kind of queasy after all that talk about surgery (and that gross picture didn't help either). Give me a sec - I just need to control my urge to barf.

Anyway, For more in-depth information on bariatric surgery, visit http://www.bariatric-surgery.info/what-is-weight-loss-surgery.htm#definition.

Dieting
Tips!
1. Watch what you drink!
- Sodas contain lots of calories
- Drink lots of water!

2. Excercise!
- Find ways to fit excercising into your daily routine
eg; walking to school
- A suitable goal is 30 mins of aerobic excercies, 3 to 5 times a day.

3. Don't aim too high!
- Start by reducing the amount of food you eat by small portions
- Gradually introduce healthier foods.

4. Stop eating when you're full!
- Many people continue eating after they're full for lots of reasons (bored, stressed, lonely etc;).

5. Eat less more often!
- Most find that eating small snacks throughout the day helps them make healthier choices at meals!

6. Five a day keeps the pounds away!
- Eat more fruits and vegetables (5 servings) and less junk food!

7. Avoid fad or prepackaged diets!
- Stay away from diet pills unless prescribed by your doctor.
- They can be addictive!

8. Forgive yourself!
- When you slip up, the best idea is to get right back on track and don't look back.
- Don't procrastinate and tell yourself you'll start again tomorrow. Start now!

Some Dieting Rules!

1. Don't eat a large meal in the evening when probably aren't going to be excercising after. Eat more when you're going to be the most active. Eat a hearty breakfast, a substantial lunch, and a light dinner.

2. Never skip breakfast!

3. Eat slowly and thoroughly chew your food.

4. Don't eat while you're doing anything else. eg; watching TV, using the computer or doing your homework.

5. Stop frying food.

6. If you must snack, stock the fridge with low calorie snacks. eg; raw vegetables and low fat yogurt.

(Modified from http://www.coolnurse.com/dieting.htm.)

MMMH! Don't those look positively DELICIOUS?
This came from http://www.dieting-info.co.uk/content/homebig.jpg.

You don't want to be like her, do you? (I sure don't!)
Image from http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d191/reno1977/obese.jpg

So, today I read an article about a little 3 year old who died from heart failure due to obesity. Click on the picture for the link to the article. Scroll down (its the 7th article on the page).

Its really sad that children so young are dying because of obesity, don't you think? If you don't do something about obesity soon, it might be your turn next.

So get up, get out and go excercise! (:

Did you find this post useful? Were there any errors? Tag and tell us all about it! We'd love to hear from you!

LOVE,

SAM(:

2007-03-19T18:12:00.000+08:00

Hello, World! (especially MR JOHARI who is grading this and whom we will be VERY happy with if he gives us a high mark!)

Okay anyway, we're here to tell you about ...
Unhealthy eating habits!

1. Eating too much (Obese people)
2. Eating too little (Anorexics)

Did you know that 1 out of every 100 teenagers are anorexic? Also, 90% of those with eating disorders are females. Its quite sad, that teenage girls have such low self esteem that they would starve themselves to death. In my circle of friends alone, at least 4 have relatives that are anorexic.

If you ask me, those stick-thin girls aren't pretty at all. I mean, come on, what's cool about looking like a scarecrow with knobby knees and jutting shoulder blades?

Image taken from http://www.fathersforlife.org/images/skeleton7.jpg.

Besides anorexia, another result of unhealthy eating habits is obesity - which can be cured as long as you're willing to exercise and give up certain foods!

Obesity

Obesity is defined as body mass index greater (BMI) greater than 30.

(If you were wondering, BMI is calculated by applying the following formula: weight divided by height squared.)

There are many debates on the causes of obesity. The most common one is, of course, overeating. Some claim that obesity in kids is their parent's fault for not teaching them proper eating habits. Others claim that obesity is genetic. Yet others believe that obesity is caused by the availability of unhealthy food in mordern society. Experiments have been carried out using mice as test subjects. Studies have found that those mice with access to unhealthy food tend to gain more weight.

Picture from http://www.sfpix.com/health_saturdays/Heal_sat1.html.

In recent years, obesity rates in adoscelents have increased by drastic amounts. For children aged 2–5 years, the prevalence of overweight increased from 5.0% to 13.9%; for those aged 6–11 years, prevalence increased from 6.5% to 18.8%; and for those aged 12–19 years, prevalence increased from 5.0% to 17.4%. This might be due to the comforts provided in mordern society. Food is always available and there is rarely any need for laborious activity.

Being overweight/obese puts people at greater risk to health conditions or diseases.
Eg;
Hypertension
Dyslipidemia (eg; high cholesterol levels)
Type 2 diabetes
Coronary heart disease
Stroke
Gallbladder disease
Osteoarthritis
Sleep apnea and respiratory problems
Some cancers (eg; endometrial, breast, and colon)

Everyone should be aware that obesity is a serious health condition and should not be taken lightly. Steps can be taken to cure obesity before it is too late.
Some ways to manage obesity are:
Bariatric Surgery
Diet/Excercie/Counselling/FDA-approved weight loss drugs
Convetional dietary and Excercise Therapy
(Look out for the next post if you want to find out more on these ways!)

Here's a link to a Calories Index for those who are trying to control their weight!
http://www.annecollins.com/calories/index.htm
(Tip: A realistic goal for obese patients is a BMI of 25 and below.)

That's all for now! Check back soon for the next post! (:

Credits go to the website of Centres for Disease Control and Prevention - CDC & www.annecollins.com & http://www.anred.com/stats.html for the information in this post! You can check out those two websites if you want more information on obesity.

Was this information useful to you? Tag us and share your thoughts! We'd love to hear from you!

LOVE,

SAM(: