I soon realized that there are more to stress than just getting tired. It has a lot of deadly side effects such as:

• Work-related stress can kill, study finds
• Prolonged stress can lead to dementia
• Prolonged stress can shrink the brain?

So that’s what 60 lbs of extra weight looks like. Wish me luck.

Check out my progress at http://myhealthandfitness.info/tracking/

Again, my overall goal is to be 78.73kg by my 33rd birthday on 30 Sept. I’ve divided that goal into three stages. The first stage ends on th 4 April, the second on 4 July, and the last ends on 30 September. Because of the slow start, I now need to lose 15kg or 30lbs by the 4 July.

Analysis:

Uncontrolled diet, and lack of exercise and sleep are the main killers this first stage. Stress eating due to deadlines and obligations killed my diet although we started eating healthy. Lack of discipline in my exercise time and sleep led to me being too tired to do physical activity.

Resolution:

1. Do not eat after 9am and before 8am. That time should be spent resting and recovering.
2. Daily 30-minute exercise, minimum.
3. Sleep at least 6 hours a day.
4. Record workout performance.
5. Do these resolutions.

Let’s see how this first stage ends and the second stage begins.

In my bid to eat healthier food, my wife and I bought our first blender. Using this new tool, fruit shakes and soups should become a staple of our meals. Blending fruits and vegetables ensures that the food we eat is not loaded with preservatives and other chemicals.

I’m already thinking of several shake recipes. Hopefully they come out tasting good. I’ll keep you posted.

Last week I was rushed to the medical clinic for chest pains, stomach pains and nausea. After a handful of blood tests and ultra sound, I was diagnosed with a fatty liver but my stomach problems were still under observation. If it doesn’t get better in two weeks the doctor would do an endoscopy.

With that experience, I am jolted back to the hard reality that I should lose weight and start living a healthier lifestyle.
Today, Feb 14, I’m going to show some love for myself and start eating healthy.

I started the day with a bowl of rolled oat cereals, scrambled eggs with tomatoes and hotdog. I washed it down with a mug of decaf coffee.

For lunch I tossed a salad of lettuce, tomatoes, white onions, cheese bits, black pepper, and vinegar. For dessert I ate a banana and a cup of fruit yogurt.

I guess that’s a healthy restart. How about you, how are staying healthy?

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I’ll let the photos tell the story.

This is me on the 1st of November, 2010.

Photo taken on 1 November 2010

This is me on the 3rd of January, 2011.

Photo taken on 3 January 2010

I obviously gained weight. I think. You be the judge.

I guess by now you have an idea of my top goal for 2011. Yes, it is to lose weight, AGAIN. This year, I’m taking it to a more realistic level: lose 60lbs in 9 months or 20lbs every 3 months. The end goal is to have a well-trimmed body by my 33rd birthday (le fin Septembre).  For the record, that will be from 233 lbs to 173 lbs in 9 months. I know it’s possible because I’ve seen some determined people do it.

How am I going to do this again? The plan is still the same: Exercise and Diet. The reason I failed the last time was I didn’t follow the plan.

As an incentive, we’ll be going to the beach this April, 2011. By that month, I should have lost 20lbs or equivalent to my set of love handles.

Oh, by the way, for those reading this, I have an incentive for you to follow my status. I’m giving away a brand new Nokia C3 phone on my birthday to the first person who can guess what my final weight will be on the 30th of September 2011 Manila time. I’ll post more details about that contest and also on the details of my weigh loss and workout plan within the week.

Cheers!

What is Obesity? What is BMI (Body Mass Index)?.

It’s a good resource for understanding this condition. Here’s an excerpt from that resource page regarding obesity:

An obese person has accumulated so much body fat that it might have a negative effect on their health. If a person’s bodyweight is at least 20% higher than it should be, he or she is considered obese. If your Body Mass Index (BMI) is between 25 and 29.9 you are considered overweight. If your BMI is 30 or over you are considered obese.

Now for the BMI, here’s another excerpt:

The BMI is a statistical measurement derived from your height and weight. Although it is considered to be a useful way to estimate healthy body weight, it does not measure the percentage of body fat. The BMI measurement can sometimes be misleading – a muscleman may have a high BMI but have much less fat than an unfit person whose BMI is lower. However, in general, the BMI measurement can be a useful indicator for the ‘average person’.

So if you naturally have big muscles like I do, our BMI will be higher. Now this is a dilemma for me. Where should I base my weight loss targets now? Should it be on BMI or should it be on overall physical appearance? With regards to my insurance premiums, I’m obese. So should I just target the normal BMI? But what if it is impossible given my body type?Hmmmm.

Anyways, I’m still overweight, so I still need to lose weight. Once I achieve a slimmer and firmer body, I’ll reevaluate my targets again.

For now, it’s back to my workouts and healthy eating habits.

Original article source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/info/obesity/what-is-obesity.php

Directly quoting the article:

“The large number of beverages and soda fountain machines containing E. coli is still of considerable concern… and suggests that more pathogenic strains of bacteria could persist and thrive in soda fountain machines if introduced,” the authors wrote.

Godard and her colleagues acquired 90 beverages of three types, (sugar soda, diet soda, water) from 30 fast food restaurants in a 22-mile area near Roanoke, in southern Virginia. They surveyed beverages from both self-service and employee-dispensed machines and the samples were tested.

There were no reported outbreaks of food-borne illness related in the Roanoke area at the time of the study.

They found that 48 percent of beverages obtained from soda fountains contained coliform bacteria, 11 percent contained E. coli (which are mostly harmless, but some can cause diarrhea, urinary tract infections, respiratory illness and pneumonia), and 17 percent had Chryseobacterium meningosepticum (which could sicken newborns or adults with weakened immune systems).

Ok, now you may say that is only in the US: that’s not happening in your country. Think again. If the fastfood chain you have in your country is US-based, then it’s very likely that their standards may be similar with that of the US : how they prepare their food, how they serve your drinks, and how they clean their machines.

How did the bacteria get into the drinks? Here’s what the researchers think:

“It could be from dispensing with a hand that wasn’t clean or using wet rags to wipe down the machine,” Godard said. “We haven’t done the work to really identify those potential sources and how these bacteria get established.”

One thing that amazes me about this news is, if it were really that dirty, why aren’t people having mass food poisoning? The researchers are not sure either, they’re probably still looking into it. The only reason I can imagine is that the soda  or carbonated water kills the bacteria: heck, Coke was once suggested as a toilet cleaning solution.

So next time you drink that fastfood soda, have this little news in mind.

Original article source: http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/01/08/soda.fountain.bacteria/index.html

In a trial with 106 obese children the gadget showed promising results, the British Medical Journal reports online.

After 12 months of use the children weighed less and ate smaller portions. Their speed of eating was reduced by 11% compared with a gain of 4% in a comparison group.

Experts believe eating too fast can interfere with an inbuilt signalling system that tells the brain to stop eating when the stomach becomes full.But early in life, with instructions like “make sure you eat it all up”, children are taught to override these signals.

I guess the old reminders to eat slowly really works.

So how do you eat slowly?

Here are some ideas:

• Chew more. Chew your food until it’s all mushy inside. That will help digest the food better and gives your jaw muscles a good exercise.
• Drink a glass of water before a meal to feel fuller.
• Eat fruits before a meal. Again your adding non-fattening volume ahead of the main meal.
• Use chopsticks. Imagine using chopsticks in all your meals. Good luck to eating fast (unless you’re a chopstick master).

• Don’t swallow a spoonful.

I’m giving this a try.  Let’s see if I can manage to slow down.