Prepare early for nutritious food..

I make sure I prepare some food/snacks upfront so that I don't have to resort to a 'convenience food' (a term I use to eat whatever we take whenever we're hungry - things like un-healthy snacks/meal whenever we feel hungry). Having our food ready upfront is important to maintain ones diet. Serious to lose weight and be healthy? then no excuse for eating junk.

Sharing with you some of my typical weekend ritual of preparing my food up-front for the week.

1. I make sure I stock-up on the groceries stuff (chicken, fish, lots of vegetables and fruits) - i like to buy off the local market (or night-market) - not the hypermarkets. It's fresher and better quality (from experience).

2. preparing some tidbits or snacks for the week (dry roasted nuts/sunflower seeds/pumpkin seeds, etc)
3. prepare my breakfast ingredients (flaxseed, sesame seeds, peanut butter, etc)


below are some pic

Grinding the flaxseed to take the most benefits of it - easily digested/absorbed by our body. What is flaxseed? see old post.

Baking my own 100% whole wheat bread. I like the heavy, dense, high-fiber, all natural home bake bread. My recipe can be found here.

I've also grinded sesame seeds to a more finer paste-like. It's best to dry roasted the sesame seeds first, then grinded it. Again, for easy absorbing into my body. BTW, do you know that sesame seeds has the highest plant sterol? the natural science-proven cholesterol lowering substance. See previous post on seeds.

My typical breakfast in the mornings (takes about <8mins to prepare) --- I take 5 spoonful of rolled-oat, mixed with 2 spoonful of powdered skimmed-milk, with hot water in the bowl. Then after 5 mins, I put few dashed of cinnamon-powder, and mixed the sesame seed paste, about 2 tb grinded flaxseed, one handful of goji-berry, pinch of raisins/pumpkin seeds/sunflower seeds/wheat germ, handful of nuts (peanuts/almond/cashews). YUUMMMYY... . more breakfast ideas from my previous post.

There you go. have fun exploring.

Sher Khan.

My Grocery List

I got some of the common questions asked:

• What do I put into my shopping cart?
• Do I need to read food labels every single time?
• There’s so much things on the shopping aisle, how would I know what’s good?
• What are the guidelines?

I’ve said it, and I’ll say this again – natural real whole food diet. What the heck is that? some example? Some of my past post on this topic:
What's Natural Whole Read Food?
Celebration = Food !
Two of the Most Evil Food
Counting Calories?

Whenever you pick-up a food item, don’t be fooled of by the excellent marketing terms on the front of the packaging (it’s a multi-billion industry to create statements/branding/catchy statements that is the most appealing to people like you and me!).  These days, knowing the consumer is a bit more educated, the food manufacturer becoming even more creative with their ‘Health Food’ claims… ‘all natural’,’fat free’,’no cholesterol’,’no salt added’,’sugar free’.  Whatever it is… always…always…always… look at the back of the packaging, and read the ingredients list. That’s what really you’re getting..  the longer the list (sometimes you can’t even pronounce some of the stuff in it) the more reason for you to put it back on the shelf.

Watch this youtube video of Health Food vs. Healthy Food. Must See.

‘Ahh.. Sher, too complicated’. No, it’s easy, really. Pick the ones with the least amount of ingredient. Less is More! (more of good nutritional value that is). Example? A watermelon has 1 ingredient… watermelon. Apples?.. apple. Rice? Brown rice. Eggs?.. eggs. Broccoli?.. broccoli. Oats? ..oats. Bread? whole grain.. hah..beware.. this is a trap. See my earlier post on bread. Nuts is good right? yup, but not the honey roasted, salty types. Go for raw and dry-roasted nuts.

Even more confused? Put it this way, whenever you picked an item, do this test by asking yourself.
"Have my ancestors eat this stuff back then?" If the answer is no, put it back...


All the best.
Sher Khan.

let's have breakfast

"Let's go for breakfast".

I get this invitation everytime when I reached office or any place if it's early morning... well, 9am is way too late for me for breakfast, my breakfast is about max 30-45mins after I woke-up in the morning. (i typically wake up around 6-6:30am daily)

So what's my typical breakfast? I've posted that a while ago here, and if you've not seen it. Here it is again. (My typical breakfast).

We need to take our breakfast as early as possible because our body really needs it. When we wake up in the morning, our body 'nutrition' level is at a very low level (6-7 hours without food/water).. it's craving for nutrition (our cells screaming for it!!), and if you're still running without, the brain will tell your body that you will not getting any (bcoz the brain doesn't know when would be your next meal), and the brain will start to instruct the rest of your bodily functions (especially your metabolism) to switch into survival mode... to start conserving energy, and lower down everything. Result? metabolism slows down, the body starts to store everything.... and guess what it stores as?... yup.. fat! (instead of burning it).

So, take your breakfast early - as the saying goes, eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.

Today for breakfast (at 7am) I had some natural low-fat yogurt, topped with ground flaxseed + handful of goji berries + raw almonds + raw pumpkin seeds + a pinch of raisins, and later a whole cut mango fruit. I'm full.

On the days I go for morning exercises - I will still take some breakfast - a quick one like some fruits and nuts, before pounding on the pavement. Then, I'll have a full breakfast.

What's for breakfast?

See my other options for breakfast:

Let's Juicing !

Bread - sabotaging your diet?

Away on the road, at the beach

Can I eat this.. that.. this?

Sugar Level

Treating/Indulging yourselves?

some questions, and tips..

Sher Khan.

Santan is bad for you?? *bs*

Recently I was in a discussion with some friends, and the topic of interest was... Santan (coconut milk) is bad for you.. He actually goes to an extend explaining he lost some weight and dropped his cholesterol levels because he has been avoiding meals loaded with santan.

If you've been following me here, you know that I shall opposed to that - that I've always encourage anything that is close to it's natural form, real whole natural food is the way to maintain a good health... and coconut milk is one of nature most nutritious food!  Yes it's loaded with saturated fat, but the good type of saturated fat, that we should be consuming it..!

Read this below article, it says it all. (thanks to my personal trainer Mike Geary for this).

----------------------------------------

I've written many times in the last couple years about the mistaken beliefs in society about saturated fat and the false perception in the media AND with MOST health professionals that saturated fat is bad for you.

If you've seen in some of my articles, I've even showed you why saturated fat can even be GOOD for you in some cases, despite every health/fitness professional in the world just accepting the false belief that it's bad for you.

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised to FINALLY see a big name publisher have some guts to publish an article about why everyone in the world may be wrong about their beliefs about saturated fat.

I received my new issue of Men's Health magazine over the weekend (Nov issue), and they have a huge 6-page article in there about the faulty research in the past about saturated fat, and some new emerging research that is showing why it may actually be more good for you than you would believe.

I've got to give them credit... the article was VERY well researched and put together beautifully to summarize where the studies in the past have gone wrong, and why recent studies are showing that everyone may have been wrong for the last 5 decades about saturated fat.

I'd highly suggest you read the entire article if you can. If not, I'm going to try to give you a quick summary of the findings here since it was a long article...

First of all, did you realize that although doctors, nutritionists, fitness professionals, and the media all have told you that it's a FACT that saturated fats are bad for you, this "FACT" has actually never been proven!

It's actually not a "fact" at all. It was a hypothesis! This goes all the way back to a flawed research study from the 1950's where a guy named Ancel Keys published a paper that laid the blame on dietary fat intake for the increasing heart disease phenomenon.

However, there were major flaws to his study. For one, in his conclusions he only used data from a small portion of the countries where data was available on fat consumption vs heart disease death rate. When researches have gone back in and looked at the data from all of the countries, there actually was no link between fat consumption and heart disease deaths. So his conclusions were actually false.

Second, his blaming of fat intake for heart disease was only one factor that was considered. There was no consideration of other factors such as smoking rates, stress factors, sugar intake, exercise frequency, or other lifestyle factors.

Basically, his conclusions which blamed heart disease deaths on fat intake were really just a shot in the dark about what a possible cause may have been, even though all of those other factors I just mentioned, plus many others, may be the bigger cause.

Unfortunately, Keys study has been cited for over 5 decades now as "fact" that saturated fat is bad for you.  As you can see, there certainly is nothing factual about it.

Since that time, numerous other studies have been conducted trying to link saturated fat intake to heart disease. The majority of these studies have failed to correlate ANY risk at all from saturated fat. A couple of them made feeble attempts at linking saturated fat to heart disease, however, it was later shown that in those studies, the data was flawed as well.

Do we actually have evidence that saturated fat may actually be good for you instead?

Well, let's consider a few examples...

Did you know that there are several well known tribes in Africa... the Masai, Samburu, and Fulani tribes... where their diet consists mostly of raw whole milk, tons of red meat, and cows blood?  Despite their very high saturated fat intake, they display extremely low body fat levels, and heart disease to natives of the tribe is virtually non-existant.

Now most critics of this example will say that it must be related to superior genetics... however this is false, as when they studied tribesman who had moved out of their native lands and started eating more modern day diets, their blood chemistry skyrocketed with heart disease risk factors.

This is true of certain pacific island countries inhabitants as well. Several studies have shown that certain pacific island nations had VERY high intakes of total fat as well as saturated fat from tropical fats such as palm, coconut, and cocoa. Despite super-high intakes of saturated fat, these island natives were typically very lean and heart disease was virtually non-existant.

However, when researchers followed up with islanders that had moved away from their native island and adopted a typical western diet, the heart disease factors were through the roof.

In fact, did you know that although saturated fat intake does increase your LDL bad cholesterol, it actually increases your HDL good cholesterol even further, hence improving your overall cholesterol ratio, which has been proven to be more important that just total cholesterol level (actually total cholesterol is an almost useless number... inflammation is the REAL problem, but that's a whole different topic).

Another fact worth noting in favor of saturated fat...

Saturated fat is comprised of various different types... the 3 most common types are stearic acid, palmitic acid, and lauric acid.

Stearic acid is found in animal fat and cocoa in higher levels. Research continues to show that stearic acid has no negative impacts on heart disease risks. If anything, it's either neutral or beneficial. In fact, your liver breaks down stearic acid into a monounsaturated fat called oleic acid, which is the same type of fat that makes up most of heart-healthy olive oil. Bet you didn't know that!

Lauric acid is beneficial as well. Not only has it been shown to increase your HDL good cholesterol levels significantly, but it is also lacking in most Americans diet and has even been shown to have some powerful immune-boosting effects potentially. It is even being studied currently in HIV/AIDS research to help improve immune function in patients.

Tropical oils such as coconut and palm are the best sources of lauric acid.

Palmitic acid is the other main component of saturated fat and has also been shown to increase HDL good cholesterol to the same, if not greater extent than LDL bad cholesterol, thereby making it either neutral or beneficial, but certainly not bad for you.

So, if all of these researchers have tried so hard over the years to point the finger at saturated fat, but have continued to fail to show a correlation between saturated fat and heart disease risk, what are the REAL culprits for heart disease?

Well, here are the REAL causes of heart disease risk:

*Trans fats (artificially hydrogenated oils)... 

*Heavily refined vegetable oils such as soy, cottonseed, corn oil, etc.(inflammatory inside the body, and typically throw the omega-6/omega-3 balance out of whack)

*Too much refined sugar in the diet (including high fructose corn syrup)

*Too much refined carbohydrates such as white bread, low fiber cereals, etc

*Smoking

*Stressful lifestyle

*Lack of exercise

*Other lifestyle factors

So why does it seem that so many attempts over the years have tried to lay the blame on saturated fat... do you think it might have anything to do with the muli-bil_lion dollar vegetable oil industry, which has taken over for cooking oils for what used to be mostly animal fats and tropical oils in decades past...

hmm... do multi-bill_ion dollar industries really have an influence on the way data is portrayed to the public? Of course they do! And don't even get me started on the cholesterol meds industry! Again, I digress.

I hope this article has opened your eyes about the truth about saturated fat and how you've been misled over the years.

The true FACT is that saturated fat is a neutral substance in your body, and even beneficial at times, not a deadly risk factor for disease. The REAL risk factors are what I listed above.

-----------------------------------

Now, back to my friend story, he thinks he lost the weight is because he has been avoiding coconut milk - but I'm too very sure, he has lost it because he's more aware of what he's been eating - most of it is because he dropped the junk & processed foods.

I tell you right now, do that, and you'll see your fat will melt away. (i've written all over this blog the reason of it). 

Alright! now, since we're on the topic of saturated fat, I don't want you to miss this great video from my favorite nutritionist... Isabel De Los Rios..

all the best.

Sher Khan.

Bread - sabotaging your diet?

Do you know that wheat and wheat products (bread, wheat flour, pasta, wheat cereals, what ever product that list wheat or flour as an ingredient) are the type of foods that can really cause a sudden increase in blood sugar?.. hence I've been avoiding them to close about 2 years now, and been taking 'whole wheat' kind of breads, and it's the best way to maintain our health?

Yes and No. 

Yes - we need to take whole-grains into our diet to increase the amount of fiber you take and the benefits of 'whole-grains' itself - from the bran-endosperm-to-the germ (as opposed to the refined white flour that is mainly starch from the endosperm). Being 'paranoia' as I am - i don't even want to take the normal whole-wheat bread on the local baked shelf because if you were to look at the ingredient (see for your self, some of popular local brands - like hi-five, gardenia, etc). Take a look at the ingredient list, and you know why. Hence, I baked my own 100% whole wheat, and has been perfecting it now.. (hmmm I can still smell the bread off the hot oven.. heavenly!)

Having said that, I've discovered recently that wheat (even whole wheat) is one of the substance that people are allergic to it - normally to the special protein inside it, known as gluten. That typically creates blemishes and acne on the skin (due to the high insulin secretion to balance off the high glucose in the body).

I've also realised that flour and flour products are still processed food (even whole wheat). We're better off eating brown rice (closer to it's original form), and obviously other fruits and vegetables.

Don't get me wrong here, I'm a fan of bread. I love whole-wheat bread (took me months to perfected my own recipe) - just love the taste of it, topped with peanut butter, and dash of raisins and sunflower seeds.. yummy!

The problem is - even if it's whole wheat - you tend to eat more than 2 slices sometimes (that is a lot - considering it's affect on your blood sugar). It will definitely sabotaging your diet. carb-overload!

If you've been dieting, and you're hitting the plateau - I suggest you look at your bread consumption. Hey - I'm not saying to never have bread again (it's life, you got to enjoy it rite?), just that I think we need to control it better - people are taking too much bread (especially the white kind - from the normal sandwich bread to naan bread to pastries to donuts to cakes). People are taking in 4-5 servings of some kind of bread type product every day that makes them gain weight. It prevents people from losing their unwanted weight, and worst, bringing about some diseases like heart diseases and type 2 diabetes.

I've been testing this on myself - it has been close to 2 months now that I've stayed away from flour and flour products (even whole-wheat)... and I tell you.. I feel lighter.. my skins getting clearer.. and the best thing is.. the scale is moving downwards consistently!!

I know, it's not easy.. believe me. Yup I've even missed my bread making session - the kneading is so therapeutic!

With no bread around - I tend to take more oats, yogurt, brown rice, and fruits for breakfast (see my typical breakfast), and of course, my new juicing adventures.

what have you discover recently???

to your good health,

Sher Khan.

Creating Web Sites Just Got Incredibly Easy with PortalXpress - www.WebbingXchange.com

skip the fat, you'll lose the fat

----i have revised this post with more details explaination....

Skip the fat, and you'll lose the flab.. the saying goes. Hence the low-fat diet being so popular out-there. Infact, that's what the old food pyramid is telling us. Eat a lot of grains, and take fat sparingly. We know now that eating lots of grains, especially refined types is disastrous coz its spiking your insulin level too high that leads to you eat more and ended up not using the energy created, and later the body store the unused energy as a storage - and guess how our body stores it as?.. yup.. FAT! 

Well I say this based on my personal experience, and I've learnt that don't go low-fat or low-carbs, but eat the right type of fat/carb, and avoid the bad ones. (see 2 most evil food to avoid)

As I've been saying over and over again here - work with your body, not against it, and you will lose the fat!.. automatically. no kidding.

You asked - how to work with our body? well, our body was designed to process the food we eat.The process where your body uses the energy you take (the food) and combined it with the oxygen you inhaled is called your 'metabolic rate'.. i.e. the efficiency of your body metabolism. The higher the metabolism, the more efficient is uses the energy in your body (even from excess food), and it left with no excess storage. 

If you were to take 'processed food', you've left your body with nothing to process. If you were to take a LOT of refined food,it  increases the energy so fast in your system (which input is more than the output), that easily lead to excess storage..the fat!

The other problem with processed food is that - the healing nutrition (the enzymes, vitamin, minerals) is almost non-existence - that made the food manufacturer has to fortify it (with added vitamins! - that is not natural) or tend to diminish from the date it's being manufactured to the date you consume it.

ok, sorry.. enough on that...too much science you say.. 

Here's a quick tips to shave off the fat (typical malaysian diet):

• go slow with the bad and ugly fats - the saturated fat and trans-fat (avoid if you can) - that means, go slow on full cream dairy products, red meat, anything cook with refined cooking oil, fast-foods, deep fried foods - yes those fried chickens, ikan goreng, pisang goreng, popia goreng, karipap, keropok, kerepek ubi etc etc etc. 
  
• move from refined carbohydrates to complex carbohydrates - white rice to brown rice, white bread to wholegrain bread, white potatoes to sweet potatoes, white pasta to wholegrain pasta, roti canai to capati, no bihun/kuehteiow/laksa (processed).
  
• take lean protein like chicken (without skin), fish, nuts and seeds.
  
• stick with plain water only - no teh tarik, carbonated drinks, teh ais limau, kopi tarik, milo, etc
  
• last but not least ... you think i'll skip this one?.. pls do regular exercise!! (no time? see this)

see other post on more of these tips. 

also here's a good article I read recently on webmd's - good fat vs bad fat.

Well.. if you can do the above 90% of the times, I'm sure you will lose the fat... guaranteed! There you go.. sher khan's fat loss prescription!

Look at how I see food these days.

You can't?? then consider your goals again - what do you want?

It's either YOU DO or YOU DON'T - it's all within your control.

Let's get healthy..

Sher Khan.

some questions, and tips..

hi.. had an email chat with some colleagues, and I thought, to share with you all..

-----------------

Bros.. to start.. don’t do drastically.. would be difficult.. then you’ll turn-off, at the end.. failed miserably... do something you can stay for long-term.. it’s a lifestyle change really… focus on leading a healthier life (by eating healthily and do regular exercise).. the losing of weight/tummy shall come naturally…

 To stop the intake of rice just like that can be tough, and by replacing it with whole meal bread won’t help as much (if you take more than 2)– still glycemic load is way too high – need to regulate your insulin level much better.

 I suggest, to start, you still take the rice, but.. small portion. As a rule, always divide  your plate into 4 quarters – rice, veggie, chicken/fish, fruit/veggie.

No second helping pls… portion control is a must.. best if you can change the white rice into brown rice (refined into complex)..  so you shall feel full longer… it helps with that hunger pangs. Do eat 5 mini meals a day, not the typical 3 big meals (it shall rev up your metabolism – the key to weight loss!) 

Having said that - the most important is to make progress – in yr case, instead of everyday and every meal you take rice, try this - today no rice for dinner, but esok like usual, then.. slowly move into selang sehari.. today rice, tomorrow no rice, etc.. this week 5 times, next week 4 times, so on.. adding new food into your menu that is high in its nutritional value, and dropping the bad ones…  The key is progress… if you’re really serious, please have a log of what you’re eating daily (no cheating here – be honest). After a few days, you can revisit what you’ve eaten (and what you should have avoided).. then make that progress..  it’s a lifestyle change.. (share with me your log, I can assist you to improve what you’re eating).

 Also, keep note on your weight every other week (have a log also) – timbang at the same place, same time (lepas subuh before breakfast – in your birthday suit). The timbang log and the food log are the records that motivates you to improves yourself as you go along.. the challenge is all within yourself. Bak kata Sir Edmund Hillary -  "It's not the mountain we conquer but ourselves."

Don’t starve yourself. It shall slow down your metabolism – eat something every 3-4 hours (hence you keep seeing me eating fruits or nuts.. right?), and drink LOTS of plain water. 

Btw, go slow on the fruits.. too much fruits is not good also.. too high in fructose.. leads to weight gain (fructose doesn’t metabolise as efficient as glucose for energy). Need to avoid certain fruits for now.. very sweet ones like watermelon .. need to normalise your insulin level first… so it won’t hit you with that binge, that increases your appetite level.. 

Whatever it is.. the key is moderation.. and like nabi said.. stop eating before kenyang.. it’s all true.

Exercise? It’s important, but to me, you need to start by improving your eating habit first – then we talk about exercise.

Ok bros.. all the best..!! 

Ps: I use online BMI calculator to check mine.. normal bmi is between 18.5 to 24.9. But then again, sometime people can be within the ‘normal’ bmi, but other vital health signs, like the lipid profile is all borderline cases or even high-risk level.. so kena jaga la… so that you’re free from health risk (heart attack, stroke, diabetes, hypertension, etc) – the most common diseases and killer!

Eh.. panjang pulak tulis..  sorry.. a bit passionate on this subject these days.. let’s do lunch.. can talk further.

Sher Khan.

-------------------------

From: DIN 

Hmm.. Ahmad is damn serious.

 Aku pun dah tak makan nasi since “that day”. Aku tak lah rasa lapar, but instead rasa energy quite low lah..

 My current status:

Weight = 73kg
Waist = 34”
BMI = 23.8

In 4 mths, to reduce to:

Weight = 65kg
Waist = 31”
BMI = 21.2

Aku rasa the most ideal BMI shd be around 20-21. Betul ka Sher?

Tqvm.

------------------------------------ 

From: AHMAD

Sher,

Rosli made a challenge to me, Din and Wan to get in better shape. Alhamdulillah, we have started our ‘diet’ Monday 2 march lepas. Anyway, need tips....

Current status: 1 March 2008
Weight : 74 kg
Waist: 34’
BMI: 26.2

Goal – in 4 months
Weight : 65 kg
Waist: 32’
BMI: 23

Anyway, aku dah stop eating rice and hopefully boleh istiqamah le.... I am supplementing it with roti wholemeal and lots of fruits.... Damn... Right now, aku rasa lapar gila!!! Ni baru 2 hari ni.... Exercise, I take 30 mins power walk after subuh.... At least 3 times a week. Okay, let me know what else I need to do....

Mmm aku rasa aku nak add to my blog ni...... Hahaha, golf blog aku pun silence aje...

Ahmad

the 2 evil foods - pls avoid them!

I want to touch on a subject that I've been talking on this blog for a while now - but it seems people still just don't get it!

Let me say it again here - the 2 most evil foods in our food supply are:

1. Trans Fat - aka the ugly fat

2. High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) - aka supersugar

Try as much as you can to avoid these evil foods (I said try is because I know for a fact it is difficult - this stuff is so abundancely found in our foods these days).

So, what are these 2 stuff.. and why I called them evils?

If you're really concern about your health, and especially to reduce your ever expanding waist. Please please please do some readings on these 2 evil stuff.

Do a search on Uncle Google, and you'll get to see tons of info on them. Facts after facts, study after study has proof that it's evil. The info is a LOT, that you're better off reading them from the sites, rather than me trying to explain them here.

Then, after you've read them. You'll understand why I keep myself away as much as possible from processed food, and focusing on a more natural real whole food way of eating.

Ok ok, I know doing Uncle Google can overwhelmed you sometimes..  So here's I'm cutting and pasting a good article for your reading pleasure...

this is a note on HFCS... from Men's Health website.

--------------

Here's how this little bugger was born: About 30 years ago, food manufacturers figured out that they could make sodas, cereals, yogurts, and some 40,000 other manufactured foods taste sweeter -- for a lot less money than with simple sugar. They did it by developing HFCS (which is derived from corn).

 

Sounds fine in theory, but here's the problem: When you eat any type of carbohydrate (like bread or fruit), your body releases insulin to regulate your body weight, pushing those carb calories into your muscles to be used as energy or storing them for later. Then it suppresses your appetite. Those carbs are the signal for you to stop filling your tank.

 

But HFCS doesn't stimulate insulin, so your body doesn't register it the way it registers simple white sugar. (That's why you can drink a few Big Gulps and never really feel full.) So what are you left with? You eat the HFCS-containing foods that are high in calories, but, like a band that stops after one set, those foods leave you wanting more. So you eat more foods with HFCS, stockpiling those calories like they're savings bonds, and the cycle of eating -- and storing fat -- continues.

 

Today, you can find HFCS in things like ketchup, pasta sauce, and crackers -- it's everywhere. Now, you don't need to eliminate it completely (though that's the ideal), but you do need to treat it like a manipulative ex and find ways to kick it out of your life. 

--------------------

here's on Trans Fat...

--------------

"Trans fats" may sound like the name of a cross-dressing pool hustler, but the reality is even more bizarre. Artificially made fats, trans fats are like wigs in shower drains -- mammoth cloggers. They gunk up the works by increasing the amount of bad cholesterol in your body. (Trans fats have been linked to an increased risk of heart disease and diabetes.)

 

You can understand why when you realize how they're made. Trans fats are created by combining vegetable oil (a liquid) with hydrogen to create partially hydrogenated oil, or trans fatty acids. Once infused with the hydrogen, the liquid vegetable oil turns into a solid at room temperature.

 

And the food industry loves trans fats, because they are cheap and seem to stick around forever. Plus, you can add trans fats to all kinds of foods in a way you can't add regular oil (for instance, normal vegetable oil in a cookie recipe would ooze out when the weather gets warm; with trans fats, the treats stay crisp and solid). So now trans fats -- like HFCS -- get added to chips, fries, muffins, and all sorts of on-the-shelf products.

 

But the real evil is what trans fat does to you on the inside. Remember, these fats are supposed to be liquid but have turned into solid. So instead of melting, like they would in their natural state, inside your body, they try to revert to their waxy, solid makeup -- inside your arteries.

 

Tips: Scan the label and eliminate. Like hotel bars on business trips, little good can come from them. Some tips for total avoidance:

• Check ingredients lists for aliases like "hydrogenated" or "partially hydrogenated." The higher these ingredients are on the label, the more trans fats they contain.

• Pick high-protein breakfasts like eggs and Canadian bacon over waffles. If you have toast, skip the margarine. Processed bread products and margarine are two of the most common forms in which trans fats find their way into our bodies.

• At a restaurant, ask what kind of oil the chef uses. You want to hear olive oil, not shortening (another code name for the transfat).

• When eating out, stick to soup or salad and avoid the bread, which can be filled with trans fats.

--------------

You get the idea... now, I'm asking you.. are you serious in your quest to lose the fat?

Then, what's stopping you?? 

let's get healthy,

Sher Khan.

Can I eat this.. that.. this?

I've people coming to me.. and ask.. 'Sher, can I eat this?' - holding a warm-chocolate-chip-muffin-top-with-some colorful sugary-stuff. I look at the person, with a surprise look, and have yet to open my mouth, and the person response 'This is it for my lunch... can right?'

Duh.

Just yesterday, I had a colleague asked me, 'eh Sher, I wanted to ask you la, I've been on a diet for a while now, trying to lose weight,  have not been eating much, but it doesn't seem to work la, how ah?'. On her desk, I saw some candies, and a mug of a 'diet' tea. I asked, 'what do you have for breakfast?', she said, 'just this tea now, and 2 slices of the leftover pizza in the office pantry earlier at 10am'. I asked again, 'what about lunch?', she responded, 'not yet' (it was already 3pm), she still haven't do lunch, and saying she's so hungry, extremely hungry, that later she went to the pantry and made a herself two-pieces of white bread spread with some margarine.

Double Duh!

I even got people SMS me, asking 'sher, chicken tandoori ok ah?', 'what about corn-in-cup?','should I go for latte or mocha?', 'coke light?', 'chocolate can riteee?','gardenia break-thru?', 'there's a healthy cake sold at SecretRecipe, it should be ok right?'

duh. duh. duuuuhhhhhhh. duuuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..

If you've been following this blog, you'd know what I'd recommend.

Quick tips:

1. focus on whole real natural food - closest to it's natural form the better

2. no processed or junk food. period.

3. eat your breakfast as early as possible

4. eat 5 mini-meals, instead the normal 3 big meals a day

5. go low on sugar and salt - better yet, no table sugar, use rock-salt only

6. drink plain water (lots of them) and no sugar green tea your only type of drinks. forget fruit juices, even if it's 100%.

7. most important - stay away from the 2 most evil man-made food - the transfat and high-fructose-corn syrup

8. regular exercise - a mix of strength and cardio routines

9. aim for at least 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day

10. do not eat 3 hours before bed

11. target to have protein at each of your meal

12. add varieties to your menu daily - covering all food colors (red, green, yellow, white..etc)

13. go organic if possible

14. take fish oil supplements

15. don't burn the midnite oil - aim for at least 6 hrs of sleep a day

16. treat fiber! - as your best friend

17. interval training!

18. switch from butter to peanut butter (careful with brands loaded with HFCS & hydrogenated oils)

19. go nuts with nuts and seeds!

20. avoid the white menace (white flour, white rice, white sugar, white bread, white pasta)

21. focus on complex carbs (like brown rice, oats), no refined carbs

22. for carbs, focus on high phytonutrient index with low glycemix load.

hmm.. what else... I'll add more when they comes to mind.. if you want me to elaborate the points in more detail, pls drop me a note.

Try to add more of the good stuff into your daily diet and avoid the bad stuff, and I'm sure and can guarantee that you will lose weight (without depending on any magic pills or powders out there). The key is to work with your body as the nature intended it, not against it. Eat and drink stuff your body needs, and it will automatically burns the fat away..

ok.. i need to get my sleep now.

let's be healthy..

Sher Khan.

My 2008 blog posts

Just would like to summarise the articles that I've posted here since June 2008 till December 2008.

I've no secret, and revealing it all for the world... If you think it's useful, pls do comment and share it out.

Thanks for stopping by, and read all my scribbles.

Here it goes:

▼  2008 (34)

• ▼  December (3)
  • My Before After - Dec2008
  • Selected as a Success Story Winner
  • Results Don't Lie

• ▼  November (1)
  • Rejuvenated!

• ▼  October (3)
  • My BMI is finally NORMAL!
  • Sher's own 100% whole wheat bread recipe!
  • Celebration = Food !

• ▼  September (6)
  • Supplements...
  • You are what you eat!
  • My exercise routine during Ramadhan month
  • What the World Eats
  • How do I eat during the Fasting Month
  • My August 2008 Photo

• ▼  August (9)
  • Some Health related links to share..
  • My Exercises..
  • Exercise? Part V - why Interval training is better...
  • Exercise? - Part IV - Interval and Strength traini...
  • What's my typical lunch/dinner?
  • Counting Calories..
  • Exercise? - Part III
  • Fruit Juice is Way Over Hyped
  • Exercise? - Part II - LSD, Cardio, Walking

• ▼  July (11)
  • Exercise? - Part I
  • To Loose Weight, You Don't Have To Starve..!
  • Stay Good at 90% of the Time
  • What do you drink?
  • What's Natural Real Whole Food?
  • What Kind of Diet are You On?
  • What's Your Typical Breakfast?
  • Now I know your secret.. you don't eat rice..!
  • My Turning Point
  • 1st release of - My Before, and After Photo
  • the journey continues..

• ▼  June (1)
  • I Survived Raya!
  
  
  Sher Khan.