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.

Away on the road, at the beach

Went to the beach recently with my family, just to spend some time with them, and trying to get some time-off over work (spent 2 nights there).

People say it's difficult to maintain our healthy diet while on travelling. Yes, it's difficult if you do not plan.... but even if you don't, there are still other ways to eat properly.. you just need to look for it.. it can be hard, but it's well worth it.

When I said plan - I packed my own cooked brown-rice, some fruits, and nuts/seeds. So that I won't eat anything and everything while on the road. But even then, I've run out of my packed-stuff on the second day, but then I still won't settle for anything common, unhealthy food around - like nasi lemak or roti canai for breakfast (that's the only thing available around the place we stayed!!). I still ordered from the stall, but only cucumber and boiled eggs (that's all that they have that I can eat!). For the rest of the family? - all the works! with an extra sambal and teh tarik of course (while i brewed my own green tea).

Call me crazy, or whatever - i just don't feel like putting junk food into my body.. anymore.

At the beach, besides the usual sun-bathing, and swimming, I also added that extra boost of cardio running along the beach (interval sprinting on the sands), and doing some bodyweight workouts. As expected, people have that weirdo-look at me, but who cares. 

See this pic, I'm doing the 'bird-dog' routine at the beach..

I got my niece trying to follow me, and gotten some weird looks from other beach-goers.

I did jumping squat, bird dog, prisoner squat, lunges, spiderman pushups, split squat, burpees, plank, side plank, mountain climb pushup, etc, and interval sprint along the beach. I also added a sprint towards the sea, and back - that's a tough one.

get more details of the exercise routines from my other posts here.

let's be healthy..

Sher Khan.

The Food Pyramid

During our school days, we've been taught about The Food Pyramid, or even if you were to go to a dietition these days - they still talked about this old Food Pyramid (I know that because during my initial days of trying to lose weight, I did go to one of those dietation session - the lady dietation explain the details of this pyramid (posted on the wall), and why we need to take a lot of grains etc etc).

Here's the traditional Food Pyramid (published in early 80s) that we've learnt over the years.

Do you know because of this food pyramid - we're mis-informed, and since they (whoever that produce it) published it, the rate of obesity in the world increases?? - do a search on uncle google, and you'll find studies after studies proofing it.

The traditional food pyramid actually suggested that in a day, we need to take food based on the food groups. From the base of taking a lot of carbohydrates from grains in a form of breads, rice, pasta, etc to a narrower/higher in the pyramid of other food groups like veggies, chicken, meats, milk, eggs and take sparingly of oils, ice-creams, cakes.

I've learnt throughout my journey - if I were to stick with this recommendation, I won't lose the fat and lose the weight. The key to my diet, is to choose the types of carbohydrates, protein, and fats (no such thing as low-carb diet, low-fat diet, low-protein diet)...so Dr. Atkins is wrong?.. you bet. 

I tend to agree with the revised Food Pyramid guidelines  (published in 2005)- that everyone should be aware of.

Further to that, in my own diet, I tend to eliminate or avoid some food groups altogether. Like refined grains products, processed/packaged food, and sugar (as much as I can). On carbo, focus on complex carbohydrates only, that is high in phytonutrient index - that's the key of increasing your metabolism and control your insulin levels through-out the day. On fats - I eliminate as much as trans-fat as possible (this is another reason why I avoid processed/packaged food), and go sparingly on saturated fat. On protein - make it at every meal, in its most natural form as much as possible. and most of all - focus on getting a lot of fiber! (both soluble and insoluble types), and drink a lot of plain water!.

So there you go! - hope you've learn something new today.

UPDATE:
My latest post (Nov 2010) -- shares on my recommendation for "what to eat, and what not to eat".

let's get healthy!

Sher Khan.

Get Free domain for life! - www.EmbunWeb.com

No time, too busy to exercise

There are days when I'm too busy at work, and got back late that I'm not able to exercise.. this week is such a good example, for the whole week, I got back late (way past 8pm), that I've missed my 'window' of exercising (if you've been following this blog, my typical routine is between 7 to 8:30pm) - I've found that's the best time for me to sweat it out. I've tried early morning, but I'm more productive (and stronger) during this time. 

If I were to get back home late - I'll miss the exercise for the day. Right? well, not exactly.

Although I'm not able to do a full blown 45min strength and cardio routines, to the very least, I make sure I do bunch of push-ups, pull-ups, chin-ups, and squat during this tight period, I even can sometimes squeeze running high knee on the spot, and quick barbell military press - just before I hit the shower. 

See my previous post on those routines I mentioned.

Exercise is so important for our body to maintain a greater number of mitochondrial mass. The more exercise you do, the more these power-cells in our body is produced, and ultimately, it shall boost our metabolism to its peak!

What the heck is mitochondria? go and search with uncle google lah.. lots of reference.

In short, it's the energy cells within your body - has those tiny hairs that produces energy. The more active you are, the more of these hairs grows on these cells, and the more energy it produces -that increases your metabolic rate! -- this is the secret of losing the fat!

The trick is to keep exercising (interval training that is - working at 80% of maximum heart rate), and these little power-cells shall flourishes -- making you more energetic, stronger, and definitely assisting you in the quest of losing the excess weight... even while you're sleeping, watching tv, or even right now while you're reading this blog!

Go and have a deeper read on mitochondria, and then you would understand why it's so important that we need to exercise regularly.

let's get healthy..

Sher Khan.

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

I told myself...

"I'm always hungry!", "I don't like apples/pear/mangoes", "I don't have time to exercise", "I can't live without my coffee", "I love red-meat steaks", "My work/life is too stressful, that I turn to food for comfort", "When I'm out with friends, I don't want to offend them (for having savory desserts, alcohol drinking, teh-tarik, etc)", "I love nasi lemak/roti canai/pizza - they keeps me energize!", "Coke/Pepsi is my life!","I live on McD, KFC, DunkinDonuts, etc", "I don't like to sweat in the morning (or afternoon, or evening,)", "I don't know how, so that's why I don't do it", "I just love Pringles/Lays/Doritos/Twisties/etc etc)" .... the list goes on and on and on..

Those are the quotes that I myself used to have, but not anymore...

I told myself, I've definitely did something wrong for the past 34 years, that made me into what I was..

I told myself, if I can't lose weight (that's something totally under my control), don't bother trying or dreams about other achievement..

I told myself, I want to see my kids grow up, and at least to see them get married one day..

I told myself, I want to able to run and play together with my kids, not watching them by the side..

I told myself, I don't want to die early and leave my wife and kids suffering without me..

I told myself, f**k-other people with their comments, I shall proof to them and ownself, I'm worth it!

I told myself, WHAT'S STOPPING ME?!!

I told myself, I CAN DO IT!!

Pump up the volume, and view this video.

Sher Khan.

Incredibly Inspiring Video - Get Back Up!

..and you thought you had a bad day?

There are times when we think and felt that our life is worthless - everything you do doesn't seems correct, or things seems impossible to you.

see below and be inspired.

So, what do you do when you fall down? You get back up. Bigger and better things awaits you.

Have a great weekend.

Sher Khan.

Ginseng soup.. anyone?

Gong Xi Fa Chai to my chinese friends all over the world!

It's 2-days public holidays here in Malaysia, and I'm taking the opportunity to do some shopping and trying new recipes!

These days, I've always looking to add some new flavors into the food I'm taking, as long as it's good in its nutritional values and brings benefits to me, I'm all for it!

Recently (during last christmas), I was at a food court, looking for things to eat, and stumble upon this stall that sells various chinese soups - from ginseng to herbals soups, etc (it's at Lot10 shopping centre). I've never in my life ever taste any of these (I used to cringe when my chinese friends ate them.. remember that William? (not sure if he'd ever read this)). That day, in the name of 'a good stuff', I ordered a bowl of its chicken-ginseng-soup.

It look something like this image below (well I borrowed the picture from a site - so you get the idea, there's a recipe there too).

As they said, the rest is history - I just LOVE them!!

Since then, I've been on a search of a chicken-ginseng-soup, but it's not easy to find some halal version of it (I guess I've not searched hard enough). Never mind I thought, this is a good chance to be adventurous and try something new myself at home!

As always, Mr. Google showed me the path, printed some ingredients list, and off I went to find it. I've no clue where to look for it, tried asking at my local grocery stores, found some pre-packages stuff branded under the name of 'Uncle Sun' - taste just like the one I expected. I'm happy - been having ginseng soups now at almosts every other weekend!

Now that I'm getting more familiar with the ingredients, I tend to buy the ingredients raw at the local chinese medicine shops - and make myself the soups (at least I can control how much salt etc). My family are getting used to it now, and all of them been taking it with me! even my 3 year old!

Since today is Chinese New Year, I wanted to be slightly 'oriental' and making myself the soup - this is my version below. Added some beans, celery, lentil, lotsa onion, etc - just to add more fiber to it.

This was my lunch, at least what's left of it. I tend to eat them all - the ginseng, dried wolfberries, chinese red dates, tree bark, dried longan, lotus seeds, everything! (except of coz the chicken bones), and I have it with some brown rice only. 

Hmm.. actually I've some left for a reason.. my dinner! ;)

Have you try something new today?

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.