Supplements...

The other day I was at my relatives, and in the kitchen, noticed that there are so much of these so called 'health' food and supplements... in various powder forms to pills to tea bags to liquid forms. (btw, be extra careful with various form of 'detox diet' that comes into the market these days.. if you're thinking of taking them.. must read Demystifying Detox Diets'.

They asked me.. 'which kind are you taking?'.. I answered 'none of them!'.. but I make sure I take my capsules of multi-vitamin and fish-oil daily.

'That's it?...... 'yes, that's it'.

I'm not a doctor, and I don't intend to prescribe anyone anything. But sharing my experiences, I've learnt that these are the minimum 2 essentials supplements that a person should take daily. 'Essential' here is because our body can't produce it by themselves, and you need to take it from the food source or supplements.

The multivite is to ensure I've a complete dose of most nutrition daily (good article here), and the fish oil.. loaded with it's omega-3 (DHA & EPA) is not naturally produce by our body.. so we need to take it daily for it's well established, not just for heart health but also for optimum functioning of both body and mind, especially in reducing inflammations, and overall disease protection. (Read some articles on the benefits of fish oils)

Taking nutritions from the food sources is preferable than supplements, but the concentration of Omega-3 is better in capsules form (plus it's pure, and free from toxic), and for another obvious reason.... I do want to eat chicken as well! (not just fish!).

Also, I ensure that I still need to feed my body with the whole natural real foods that loaded with antioxidants, high-fiber, other vitamins and minerals... with lots of plain water! minus the 2 most evil substance found in our food supply everywhere... . the man-made trans-fat and HFCS aka super-sugar! good article here

These days, I've been thinking of taking the Whey Protein as my standard post-workout nutrition (..still thinking, not sure which brand is suitable for me.. too many of them in the market!!!). I need it especially to boost my muscle growth.. and to speed up my 'recovery period' before the next workout... these days.. my post workout soreness is killing me...! ( see D.O.M.S.)

My multivite is from GNC Mega Men, and fish oil from GNC Salmon Oil.

Good article - checkout Should You Take Supplements?

long live and prosper!


Sher Khan.

You are what you eat!

Had a chat with a colleague recently, as usual, these days, the topic of interest would be.. 'how can I lose weight?'.. 'how did you do it?' etc.. Well, that's the reason why I put up this blog. Some comments said, 'yeah.. i read them.. but tooooo muccchh info la Sher'... '.. half of it I don't quite get it...' .. 'especially when you start talking about BMI, LSD, Interval, Phytonutrients, carbs, insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, BMR, low glycemic, glycemic load, heart rates, etc, etc..'

uuhmm.. err.. I thought I've given enough references (by putting links to various sites, google searches, etc) to give people the insights of what certain terms that I think you need to know in details, etc... to understand what's happening.

Those links I've provided is not just a random pointing.. Those are real information/knowledge that I've found, hand-picked, that supports what I'm saying.. (no syok sendiri here ok..). Yes, I do read them, and I'm assuming you shall continue reading around that pointed sites!

If you're really interested to know what I've done.. I'm sharing with you all here.. not keep any secret whatsoever! and btw, I'm not selling any special diet products here ok! All with the spirits of open sharing.. I give some, you give some... win-win for all.. for the mankind! ;p

now, if you're still interested to lose that weight/fat/flabby.. I'm asking you, please answer honestly:

1. what have you done today that is different to achieve towards your goal?
2. what have you been eating today? list them down (let's be honest!), and look at the list, compare with the list for yesterday, and the day before, and before. Now, look at it seriously. Are you doing ok?
3. have you exercise today? yesterday? last week? pls use your body more.. no time? use stairs instead of lift! even for a short 2-3 flights, parked at the farthest spot from the door!

Think of it this way --- there's must be something wrong for the past months/years that you've done that turns you to what you are today. 

The phrase of 'you are what you eat' is actually true, I believe in it!!! (I used to think the person who came out with that is dumb!)

There are some days when I came back from work, I feel so tired and lazy to exercise, and as soon as I drove up the my driveway, decided to skip it, no exercise for today. Put down my laptop bag, hit the couch, and watch TV, flipping the channels - then it hits me.. that's what I've been doing back then, that made me fat.. I need to change them!.. I've a goal..!
well.. the next minute, I'm already in my jogging shoes, pounding on the threadmill.
If you don't like doing gym, or bodyweight - get yourselves involves in sports.. whichever/whatever kind would do.. as long as you use your body more!
(in the pic, me playing beach volley..)

Decide what you want, put up the goal, and never look back.

all the best.

btw, read this excellent report "dark side of cardio" by my fav trainer - Craig.

Sher Khan.

My exercise routine during Ramadhan month

Now that you've learnt what I'm eating during the fasting month, as promised, here's what I've been doing for my exercises routine during this period.

I've been thinking myself - how should I do my exercises? how do I incorporated my routine and keep my fitness and overall muscle mass intact? My worst fear is.. I shall lose the hard-earned lean muscles mass that I've been developing for the past months, and worst, my overall fitness plummeted.

During this month, my major concern for exercise is .. TIME. You see, I normally do my exercises just after I came back from work, and that's generally around 7:30pm'ish. As soon as I reached home, I shall hit the dumb-bells and treadmill for a solid 30-45mins... just nice for my dinner typically by 8:30pm'ish (i try to complete my dinner before 9pm, and leave me about 3 hours before I hit the bed)

During the Fasting month, I try to reach home by 6:45pm'ish, and hit it immediately. I typically managed to do about 15-20mins max, sometimes for just as short as 10mins... my point is.. I do make sure I still do my exercises! though not as long or not as frequent, but i tell you, about the same intensity as normal days (to maximise the time) . So far, I manage to squeeze about an average of 3-4 exercises per week.

So what kind of exercises I've been doing? due to the short period of time, I tend to focus on circuit training or supersets..

I tend to do various bodyweight workouts, if I've 10mins, I try to do a quick one such as this one below on youtube by Vince..




or try Craig's chest superset, or abs superset. OR if that's too hard for you, watch a simple bodyweight for beginners (i used to do this myself back then..). Go on and search on youtube to see more body weight exercises variations - pick the one most suitable for you. (another good one here if you've 30mins).

I tend to focus more on strength training rather than pure endurance cardio (running, biking, etc) - main reason is I feel my body contains less nutrition (esp towards the evening), and when the glycogen stores has been depleted, it shall start to generate the energy by breaking down my most precious asset.. the muscle. That's the first thing our body shall do, before it hits into the fat stores. Therefore, I make sure I build more muscles, while keeping my heart rate up (try doing heavy weights, and focus on speed - I bet you'll gasping for breath! - who said strength training is not cardio? it's pure anaerobic..!!). see aerobics vs anaerobics

Having said that, last weekend, I ran a few laps on a local stadium track for just about 30mins (finished at about 7pm). Surprisingly, after close to 2 weeks without hard runs, that session feels invigorating!

It's safe to say now that exercising has become a part of me... I feel something is not complete if I don't do exercise. (check my earlier post on how sedentary my lifestyles were)

till then.. be healthy!
and how is your fasting doing so far?


Sher Khan.

What the World Eats

Such as interesting article that was posted originally by the TIME Magazine.
You can also see this from Dr. Mercola's site, and some comments by him.

Please do check it out and to see how fascinating to look at what's on other people's tables across the globe.

Please do look and examine closely at each of the foods they have..

and then honestly ask yourselves - what would be on your kitchen table at home? which country is similar to yours?

Sher Khan.

How do I eat during the Fasting Month

Yup. The Ramadhan is here, and it is in the second week now.

I've been getting quite a bit of inquiries on how I do I eat & drink during this period. Sometimes I feel like I'm a nutritionist/doctor.. you should look at their genuine and honest look when they asked that question. They really expecting me to tell them how to eat & drink!

This would be my 2nd fasting month since I started my journey, and I'm still learning on how best to do my nutrition and exercise. And I don't have a special/proper meal plan or guidelines during this period. Infact, I've been wondering myself the best way of doing it.. I don't think I should 'prescribe' to you any plan, but what I can do is to share with you how do I do it (hhmm.. sounds like Discovery channel pulak!)

On nutrition:

during sahur:

1. first of all, I make sure I DO NOT MISS my morning meal (sahur). It's a must and crucial in order to ensure your metabolism in check and provide sufficient nutrition in your body. Please make sure you wake-up and eat!
2. I shall take down a full glass of water, and followed with some fruit cuts (to kick-start my digestive system, and provide a quick release of carbs with good antioxidant)
3. Then I start with the main meal - good portion of all essential nutritions. My rule is to cut the plate into 4 quarters (normally it should be some brown rice, chicken/fish, veggies, fresh fruits). But during this month, my portion is like brown rice,veggies, fish/chicken, fish/chicken. I took 2 servings of protein instead, and get my fruits intake before and after meal. Slightly more than usual for my typical meal. I even take some handful of nuts just before the end of the sahur.
   
4. Why? I want to ensure I've enough nutrition, I focus on more protein, and complex fiber. Protein keeps you satiated and full longer, and fiber keeps my metabolism running at peak.
5. I also tend to eat brown rice more than my usual breakfast oatmeal - main reason is because i think fresh food is better.. and complete.
   
6. Oh.. and I drink lotsa of water!.. just plain filtered water.. loads of them.. nothing else.
7. Besides the fruits, I tend to avoid any sweets stuff (even the good dates/raisins/fig/prunes) during sahur- I already get enough 'sugar' from the brown rice, veggies & fruits that I eat. Carbs metabolises into glucose (sugar) in our body for energy production. The higher the sugar, the higher our liver needs to secretes the insulin. I want to maintain my insulin levels at a moderate pace... not to spike it (to avoid craving/binge later, and control my appetite - that's the key! - more on that later)
   
8. Then, I make sure.. I do not go back to sleep. That's the last thing you want to do. After your big meal, pls do not go to sleep (it's ok if you want to be a sumo wrestler). Because when we sleep, we're shutting down most of our bodily functions, and we tell our body to keep the excess nutrition for storage for later use... and guess what, our body's storage is FAT! (studies of Sumo wrestler diet shows this as a fact!.. hence their daily routine is to have big meals, and sleep immediately after that!) don't believe me? click here

Ok?

for Iftar (breaking of fast):

1. once iftar, i have 2-3 dates, and 1-2 full glass of water. followed with some fruits.
2. rest a while (do your maghrib prayer during this time is the best), and then I go straight to my main meals.
3. again, my meal focusing on complex carbs, with loads of lean proteins, with food that is high in pythonutrients - whatelse if it's not a lot of veggies! just remember that the greener the veggies, the more nutritious it will be. (highly recommended vegetables)
   Also, refer to my old posts on how I do my nutritions, nothing far-off than that.
4. one thing for sure - I don't take any of those sweet treats or deep-frying foods, and please do limit those 'bazaar ramadhan' foods. Home cook meal is still the best (you know what you are putting inside, and the quality of the ingredients you used.. something as simple as the type of oil you use, and how much salt/sugar you put into it, not to mention the freshness of the ingredients!)
   
5. and throughout the entire nite - i make sure i drink lotsa plain water. I also drink a big glass of warm green tea around 10pm'ish...
6. typically, once I came back from the tarawikh prayer, i shall do a small meal - a full plate of fruits, or some yogurt concoction i'd made (3-4 scoops of low-fat yogurt tops with ground flaxseed, pumpkin/sunflower seeds, almond/cashews, dash of pure cocoa powder.. yummy!!)
   
7. i make sure i stop eating 2-3 hours before i hit the bed.

that's it.

oh btw, I tend to pay an extra attention to my urine... I make sure it's clear and not smelly (indication that I've enough fluid in my body). Dehydration is a major problem during fasting month. Make sure you drink enough!

Exercise? next post.


Sher Khan.

My August 2008 Photo

Sharing with you my latest pic. Captured on the 31-August-2008.

click on the pic for a larger image.

BTW, my BMI is now at
Almooooooost there...... !!!

Hope by this Raya, I'll be well within Normal BMI!!!
hmmm... I'm still wondering if my 6-pack with ever surface!..

check your BMI

Sher Khan.