Eat Carbs to Slim Down?

Imagine you're on a diet. You are on your way shed those pounds away. People told you that you need to stay away from carbs, and you did it. Problem is you will go hungry and eventually lose control and binge. Why? Because your body need fuel and the fuel is carbs. Cut your body away from carbs, and it will start demanding more and more to keep up with the deficiency. 

The key to lose weight and curb hunger is to include carbs in your diet and cut a bit of calories intake, say about 500 kcal. You can also stay full longer by boosting your fiber intake. By keeping your diet well-balanced and filled with good nutrients, you will lose weight and be more healthy.

So what kind of satisfying carbs-packed food you need in your diet? Potatoes, good ole potatoes. You can bake them, you can steam them, top them with corn, beans, salsa, or whatever sauce you like. It tastes good, it's filled with fiber, potassium, and vitamin C without the additional excess fat and calories.

Stubborn Acne All Year Round

Like any other person, I have a little problem with acne. A simple case of make up brand switch can trigger the explosion of pimples. Seriously, my face is like a mine field waiting to be nudged. I usually treat the problem with acne gel or cream, mostly salicylic acid. But a layer of Benzoyl peroxide is needed for severe acne. BP can dry up acne like salt on a slug.

Facial by beautician sometimes helps to remove blackheads and whiteheads. Growing comedones can only result in more acne. I usually use soft scrub for daily facial wash and sugar scrub weekly. The scrubs help reducing comedones and, hopefully, acne.

I'm considering chemical peeling, but I'm not sure whether to choose home peeling or office peeling. Peeling by an expert should yield a better result, but would be expensive. Home peeling is preferable for the less privileged. There are many home peeling product containing low concentration AHA or BHA, which is mild enough to be used by common people like me. One product in particular that I really want to try is from Hada Labo Tamagohada. Girls are raving about it in some forum. 

Another acne problem that I can't solve with acne gel or cream is the monthly acne. Usually appears in a form of large red bumps which are painful to touch. A friend told me that it's a hormonal problem and could only be treated with cortisone injection into the bumps. I'm still waiting for other options, preferably less painful.

The most recommended treatment for acne (scars included) is laser, dermatologist approved. Said to be very, very effective. Said to have really short recovery time. Said to not only treat acne and scars, but also repair skin condition, which means it can be used for anti aging therapy. Awesome stuff, laser be. But I'm not prepared to pay hundreds of dollars per session just to get rid of acne. Maybe after I become a successful business owner. Until then, I'll just do what I can.

Vitamin D: The Essential

Vitamin D is known for its benefit for health and beauty. Our body can produce its own vitamin D with a little help from the sun. You guessed it, UV rays. Meaning, exposing oneself to a known risk factor of skin cancer, not to mention wrinkles and dark spots. We can always use sunblock, but this act will hamper the production of vitamin D as sunblock "blocks" UV rays from penetrating our skin. 

Fortunately, we don't have to risk ourselves to get our vitamin D. A lot of food stuffs contain enough vitamin D to protect our health and beauty. A few examples are salmon, sardines, mackerel, cod liver oil, shiitake mushrooms, and vitamin D-fortified yogurts and cereals.

Why is vitamin D so essential? Because its primary function is to strengthen our bones, teeth, and muscle. Vitamin D helps our body to absorb calcium, an essential mineral that composes bones and teeth, and helps muscles to work. Vitamin D also helps in preventing arthritis, osteoporosis, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and seasonal affective disorder, to name a few.

We are all aware that vitamin D is essential for our bones. We also need to be aware of a thing about aging, called the shrinking of the bones and muscles and tissues (Oh, my!), including the facial ones. The result would be wrinkles, hollow looking cheeks, and don't forget the jowls. So, take enough vitamin D for the sake of your everlasting beauty (and health). For those who are undergoing extreme dieting, you might need to take vitamin D supplement. You don't want to look like you age a century after you shed the pounds.

Cheerio!

Barley for Weight Loss

My eating habit does not contribute to good health. My daily menu usually consists of everything with high sugar content, high sodium content, high preservative content and so on. Even if I stick to my 1800 daily calories diet and eventually lose weight, I will not have perfect health. Maybe the allergy will pop up once in a while, hair will fall off, acne will spread like crazy. Conclusion is I will not be on top notch health.

So what's the secret of losing weight and staying healthy? Actually, a lot. One of those is barley. Yep, your old lovable grain, barley. Why barley? Simply put, Whole Grain. Based on the research stated in the Journal of Nutrition, all research participants who consume the fiber-filled wholesome goodness of whole grain barley will feel more satiated after eating a smaller portion of food, compared to those who don't. It will stay longer, too, so we won't get tempted to snack on anything.

Whole grain barley + nutritious fiber + no urge to snack = healthy weight loss. So, go grab your barley and munch at them. Bon Appétit......

Healthy Eating Habits

Concerning diet, we've heard the saying "You are what you eat". It does hold a sliver of truth because everything we eat will has an effect on our health. If we consume junk food on daily basis, don't be surprised to experience a wide array of physical discomfort. For one, weight gain is a given. Secondly, disease is not an option. For the sake of our mind and body, it is best to eat healthy.

So, about healthy eating habits. Eating in moderation goes without saying. Only consume what you need and divide the portion to 4-5 times servings. Or eat every 4-5 hours in small portion to keep blood sugar level stabilized. Breakfast is a must because it will boost our metabolism for the day. After supper, give at least 2-3 hours before retiring to bed.

Some choice foods for diet consist of low GI carbohydrate, lean protein, good fats, veggies, fruits, and water. Best low GI carbohydrate source: brown rice and wholemeal wheat. Protein source: skinless chicken breast, fish and lean meat. Good fats source: olive oil, flax seed oil, fish oil. 

I suspect all veggies and fruit are great, so have at them colorful foodies filled with vitamins and anti oxidants.

Recommended drinks: water (at least 2-3 liters per day), green tea and fresh juice. No drink with high sugar content, meaning no soft drink, no alcohol.

Additional food stuff that we might want to consider is spices. From what I read, ground pepper, ginger and chili pepper can give your anti oxidant level and metabolism level a nice boost. Try them.

Snacking Disaster

Have you ever wondered what you're going to eat if the table's filled with yummy foods? And I mean bad yummy foods with the high sugar and fat badness. Egg tarts on the left, butter cream birthday cake in the middle, a jar of chocolate chip cookies on the right. And ice cream of several flavors in the fridge. Honestly, it's a hell of a temptation galore. And to have it in the morning when you've just woken up, feeling hungry after hours of fasting, is nothing short of a death sentence to your weight loss program. Not to mention the midnight snacking.

What to do then? We can't just toss them away. It will be a waste. My friend told me that it's alright to pamper yourself with yummy foods once in a while as long as it's in moderation. A matter of fact, we'll go on a binge if we deny ourselves the simple pleasure.

Me? I kind of treat myself every day because of my sweet-tooth. Small treats, as in one cookie OR one scoop of ice cream, once a day. It's enough to satisfy the urge to snack on sweets. Actually, sweets snacking is not of the healthy. Nutritionists around the world would have a field day with me and my toddler appetite. You know, because mature people only snack on healthy fruit and nuts? Couch potatoes, excluded. I do eat fruit. One per day. Well, you know what they say, an apple a day keeps the doctor away.

The Side Effects of Wrong Diet

It's sad when healthy girls with lack of self-esteem and abundant self-consciousness became ill because of crazy extreme dieting. It happened to all of us. I myself included. 

Total calorie restriction. It's the bane of my existence. Not only did it not work, this effort made me malnourished up to the point where I bled from the gum of my teeth and had scabs around my mouth. It's totally scary. Not to mention the lack of energy I needed for my daily activity. Sure, this type of diet could lose us a few pounds in a really short time (say, nearly 10 pounds in a month). But, not for long. We'd get stuck on this whatchamacallit phase, ...plateau. And then we'd cut back more and more calorie until we hit zero calorie. And there's also a medical condition that often occurred with total calorie restriction, namely Ketoacidosis. Not a fun condition, seeing that we would experience tiredness, weakness, nausea and vomiting on daily basis. Unless we could pay a professional nutritionist to watch over us, this diet is a no-go. So I stopped doing it and my weight yo-yoed back to life.

Another one is called the Tiger Diet. This diet would annoy vegans from around the world. The main course consists mostly of, ... you guessed it, meat. Low on carbohydrate, high on protein. I should think it's low on fat too, but couldn't be sure. Pretty fast on the dress size shrinkage. I could go on this diet for a long, long time. I like my steak. But unfortunately, it's also not very healthy. High protein diet could hurt the kidneys, therefore also a no-go.

The last diet I still intend on doing is the chips-and-fries-and-sweets-and-soda cutback with balanced 1800 calories daily diet. Weight loss and dress size shrinkage rate: pretty low. Weight gain: Nada, ... a good thing. It means no yo-yo syndrome and I don't get sick. Staying healthy is nice.