Anyway … Here are 15 super foods that are also good for your general health. Found the list on Davita.Com website and I created an image as illustration purposes. The 15 super foods for the kidneys are: Red Bell Pepper, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Garlic, Onions, Apples, Cranberries, Blueberries, Raspberries, Strawberries, Cherries, Red Grapes, Egg Whites, Oily Fish, Olive Oil.

If I hadn’t done my strength training earlier, I would have gladly done it at this gym hehe. Anyway, while I was waiting  I used the foam roller for self-myofascial release. I also used the massage chair :D <– loved it

Speaking of gym, well this blue exercise ball (55 cm) is the latest addition to our mini gym room. I’ve used it many times before but never owned one.

A note on exercise ball

Exercise ball is sometimes called a stability ball, a gym ball or a swiss ball. It is a great tool to improve the strength of the abs, the lower-back as well as posture. Because it is a little unstable and you must constantly adjust to remain balanced, use of the stability ball improves the functional strength, balance and flexibility of the body. Using free weight with the ball as a bench is great for all those stabilizer muscles.

Choosing the size of an exercise ball

45cm Gym Ball – suitable for height 5’0″ (152cm) or shorter
55cm Gym Ball – suitable for height 5’1″ – 5’6″ (155cm – 167cm)
65cm Gym Ball – suitable for height 5’7″ – 6’1″ (170cm – 185cm)
75cm Gym Ball – suitable for height 6’2″ (188cm) or taller

Some sample exercises using the gym ball

I’m off to make a simple (late) lunch — something with cauliflower, egg and cherry tomatoes … hmmm probably a cauliflower casserole.

***

We are heading to sis’ place later to celebrate my niece’s 2nd Birthday! I’m preparing a mango salad to bring over.

******************************************************************

We lunched at The Soup Spoon (Chicken Stew, Garden Greens, Muffin) @ Paragon

Followed by shopping for a scrap booking project for our dad

Then I met this man aka the husband. We went to look for a blazer for him. We only had about an hour or so to spare. So we stepped into G2000, tried about 3 blazers and eventually chose this one.  If it was me, an hour wouldn’t have been enough! Not even a day would.

[It's really rare to see him in a coat or blazer ... the last time was in 2008 on our wedding day!]

By the time I was back home (6 plus), it was time to prep dinner. I managed to snap this before the sun went down!

A yummy Red Lentil Soup (lentil from mum, I have a kg of them I think), just the way mum makes it (added extra green veggies though hehe). I actually made dinner for one person (me) as the husb had a company function to attend (reason for getting a blazer in such a short time).

I bought some quinoa seeds. Stay tune for quinoa recipes ..

***

I have recently been concerned about toxic in our cosmetics and personal-care products such as shampoos. Particularly shampoos and moisturizer creams — something that I use on a daily basis (well shampoo = every other day or after a very sweaty workout). I’ve never used organic shampoos / organic creams / organic cosmetics (have you?) but I am starting to think that maybe I should switch (hormone-disrupting chemicals scare me). Organic products ain’t cheap though :( — however, they are cheaper than Clarins!

Anyway, most off-the-shelf  products are a huge source of endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Here are some of the potentially harmful ones that I read that you need to avoid:

Formaldehyde: This preservative may be found in moisturizers, facial cleansers, shampoos, conditioners, body washes, eye shadows, mascaras, and many other products. It’s harmful to the immune system and is a known human carcinogen.

Parabens: Found in shampoos, conditioners, body washes, tooth whiteners, toothpastes, facial cleansers, sunscreens, moisturizers, and astringents, these preservatives have estrogenic effects on the body and have been linked to breast and prostate cancer.

Placenta: Used in some hair relaxers, moisturizers, and toners, placenta is also estrogenic and may increase the risk for breast cancer.

Triclosan: This antibacterial agent is found in a variety of products, including moisturizers, hand creams, shampoos, conditioners, antiperspirants, and toothpastes. It may interfere with the metabolism of thyroid hormone and contribute to antibiotic resistance.

Remember me saying that I was reducing my dairy intake?  I did and it has been easy. I’m not taking any of the Whey protein stuffs either. It’s been a while since I last cooked omelette! I made some today. Note: I am not vegan. I eat meat. I just try to avoid or reduce certain food due to health reasons.

I’ve decided not to repeat Month 2 of Insanity 60-day program anymore. I’m gonna go back to strength training, yoga,  running and do other home DVD workouts. So Jilian and Jackie are back into my life hehe. I may still add in some Insanity workouts once or twice a week though. I am so looking forward to the release of Insanity Asylum! Rumor has it that it will be released in February 2011.

According to this website where Shaun T talks about Asylum:

It’s very athletic, all sports-specific training. There’s a video called Game Day where you’re doing football, basketball, track and field, tennis, rock climbing, soccer, speed skating, baseball — it’s heavy, heavy, heavy sports-specific training. Another thing that’s crazy about Asylum is that it’s going to have a strength video where you’re using dumbbells, and you get into this thing called a Cardio Dumbbell Rotation. It’s something like you’ve never experienced before [laughs].

There’s another video called Overtime, so even if you’ve done one of the Asylum workouts, if you want more, it’s another 15 minutes of just pure going for it. Asylum is going to take people who did Insanity, take their fitness level, and then put their skill to the test.

The great thing about Asylum is that there will be a couple of pieces of equipment, but it can all fit in your suitcase, so you can still do itn your hotel room.

Two more weeks till Christmas! Two more weeks till our short holiday! We haven’t been there in 5 years. Any guesses to where we are heading to?

Flashback 2005

Just hope it will be sunny this time!

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday. XOXO.

I have two more weeks left (yes only two – sniff sniff) of Insanity and “what comes next?” has already crossed my mind. I will be ordering Turbo Fire next! But not before I bring back some running into my life.  Did zero running in the past 51 days (I did run once but that doesn’t really count) and I wonder if I still know how to run. Kidding :D  Anyway, my FT4 results.

Fit Test 4 result (D51FT4):

1. switch kicks — FT1: 114  – FT2: 114   – FT3: 132 – FT4: 120
2. power jacks — FT1: 50  -  FT2: 52 – FT3: 60 – FT4: 60
3. power knees — FT1: 84  -  FT2: 100  – FT3: 103 – FT4: 109
4. power jumps — FT1: 32  -  FT2: 40 – FT3: 43 – FT4: 60
5. globe jumps — FT1: 8  -  FT2: 9.5  – FT3: 11 – FT4: 12
6. suicide jumps –  FT1: 17  -  FT2: 18  – FT3: 20 – FT4: 21
7. push-up jacks — FT1: 22  -  FT2: 26 – FT3: 26 – FT4: 28
8. low plank oblique — FT1: 38  -  FT2: 47 – FT3: 60 – FT4: 61

***

Sometimes out of the blue, the husband will buy a whole Pandan Chiffon Cake for me. I like that he thought of me, but I had to remind him that I (we) can’t take in too much sugar (and simple carbs too). A cake won’t kill of course :)

He also likes to buy mini cereal boxes to pour into his hot or cold drinks.

Or he will get this type (picture below). Many off-the-shelf cereals and bars are loaded with added sugar such as corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, maltose, brown sugar, honey, cane juice (I still love SILK Almond milk though) etc.

This one above has 19 g of sugar per 1 cup serving! O.o There is 8 g of fibre per serving but still…  *shakes head*

USDA recommends limiting added sugars, from packaged foods and the sugar bowl, to:

• 24 grams a day (6 teaspoons) if you eat 1,600 calories
• 40 grams (10 teaspoons) for a 2,000-calorie diet

Nuff on cereals …

I like when he comes back with a bunch of fresh veggies and suggests that we eat stir fry veggies for dinner. I will still cook my meat though.

Below: Spinach, Chicken fillet, lentils

Happy Sunday :)

There is no set serving amount or specific time line, Michi’s Ladder is designed to give you a better assessment of food and which foods would be more nutritious for you. The idea is to receive the majority of your foods from the top tiers, Tier 1, Tier 2, and even Tier 3 of the plan.

Michi’s_Ladder (PDF File)

– Shut the Fuck up –

Oh how I wish I had said this loudly! I simply told him that it’s not nice to say this to a lady. If I was in a better mood I would have made a joke out of it.

I don’t always get angry or upset by these unflattering remarks. I guess it depends on the moment, how they said it and most importantly who said it. Thankfully I won’t be seeing this person anymore. Honestly I know I’ve gained weight (and it definitely sucks not being able to fit in your favourite jeans skirts, shorts and all). I have my reasons. Period.

I will still cook, bake, eat and exercise.

Has anyone ever commented on your weight? How did you feel?

***

This afternoon the lion dance people came to our office. After that we went to Singapore Island Country Club for a very late lunch (3pm). Here, the kids are feeding them with mandarin.

Lion Dance

A little peek at my office space :) Polar HRM price list stuck to the wall, sample apparels on the right tray, a photo of me and my colleague stuck to the right side of the wall … My sister’s umbrella at the right side.

This morning before heading to office. I can’t wear this favourite necklace of mine anymore because it gives me a rash on my neck.

Goodnight everyone! Sweet Dreams!!

I had a full glass of unsweetened low fat milk (Dutch Lady milk rocks) prior to my run and another 2 full glasses afterwards. I know, that’s quite a bit of milk huh. Based on my activity level and body weight, I roughly need about 57 to 67 grams of proteins per day, so I’m glad I’ve already consumed 40% of my daily protein needs. Do I always count these? NO I don’t have time. Milk is just very straight forward because for most milk, 1 glass = 8 grams of proteins :)

Well I’m off to the airport now!

PS: I know, it’s time to retouch my highlights!

In this video, Stuart McGill, a highly regarded professor of spine biomechanics at the University of Waterloo in Canada and a back-pain clinician, provides some sample exercises that are “back-friendly”.

Ditch the traditional ab workout or crunch and the sit-up on the exercise ball. Be careful with Pilates.

[Photo Source] — So cute right :) Fat cat trying to do a sit up? hehe

You can read the full article here or on The New York Times

Is Your Ab Workout Hurting Your Back?

By Gretchen Reynolds

The genesis of much of the ab work we do these days probably lies in the work done in an Australian physiotherapy lab during the mid-1990s. Researchers there, hoping to elucidate the underlying cause of back pain, attached electrodes to people’s midsections and directed them to rapidly raise and lower their arms, like the alarmist robot in “Lost in Space.”

In those with healthy backs, the scientists found, a deep abdominal muscle tensed several milliseconds before the arms rose. The brain apparently alerted the muscle, the transversus abdominis, to brace the spine in advance of movement. In those with back pain, however, the transversus abdominis didn’t fire early. The spine wasn’t ready for the flailing. It wobbled and ached. Perhaps, the researchers theorized, increasing abdominal strength could ease back pain. The lab worked with patients in pain to isolate and strengthen that particular deep muscle, in part by sucking in their guts during exercises. The results, though mixed, showed some promise against sore backs.

From that highly technical foray into rehabilitative medicine, a booming industry of fitness classes was born. “The idea leaked” into gyms and Pilates classes that core health was “all about the transversus abdominis,” Thomas Nesser, an associate professor of physical education at Indiana State University who has studied core fitness, told me recently. Personal trainers began directing clients to pull in their belly buttons during crunches on Swiss balls or to press their backs against the floor during sit-ups, deeply hollowing their stomachs, then curl up one spinal segment at a time. “People are now spending hours trying to strengthen” their deep ab muscles, Nesser said.

But there’s growing dissent among sports scientists about whether all of this attention to the deep abdominal muscles actually gives you a more powerful core and a stronger back and whether it’s even safe. A provocative article published in the The British Journal of Sports Medicine last year asserted that some of the key findings from the first Australian study of back pain might be wrong. Moreover, even if they were true for some people in pain, the results might not apply to the generally healthy and fit, whose trunk muscles weren’t misfiring in the first place.

“There’s so much mythology out there about the core,” maintains Stuart McGill, a highly regarded professor of spine biomechanics at the University of Waterloo in Canada and a back-pain clinician who has been crusading against ab exercises that require hollowing your belly. “The idea has reached trainers and through them the public that the core means only the abs. There’s no science behind that idea.” (McGill’s website is backfitpro.com.)

The “core” remains a somewhat nebulous concept; but most researchers consider it the corset of muscles and connective tissue that encircle and hold the spine in place. If your core is stable, your spine remains upright while your body swivels around it. But, McGill says, the muscles forming the core must be balanced to allow the spine to bear large loads. If you concentrate on strengthening only one set of muscles within the core, you can destabilize your spine by pulling it out of alignment. Think of the spine as a fishing rod supported by muscular guy wires. If all of the wires are tensed equally, the rod stays straight. “If you pull the wires closer to the spine,” McGill says, as you do when you pull in your stomach while trying to isolate the transversus abdominis, “what happens?” The rod buckles. So, too, he said, can your spine if you overly focus on the deep abdominal muscles. “In research at our lab,” he went on to say, “the amount of load that the spine can bear without injury was greatly reduced when subjects pulled in their belly buttons” during crunches and other exercises.

Instead, he suggests, a core exercise program should emphasize all of the major muscles that girdle the spine, including but not concentrating on the abs. Side plank (lie on your side and raise your upper body) and the “bird dog” (in which, from all fours, you raise an alternate arm and leg) exercise the important muscles embedded along the back and sides of the core. As for the abdominals, no sit-ups, McGill said; they place devastating loads on the disks. An approved crunch begins with you lying down, one knee bent, and hands positioned beneath your lower back for support. “Do not hollow your stomach or press your back against the floor,” McGill says. Gently lift your head and shoulders, hold briefly and relax back down. These three exercises, done regularly, McGill said, can provide well-rounded, thorough core stability. And they avoid the pitfalls of the all-abs core routine. “I see too many people,” McGill told me with a sigh, “who have six-pack abs and a ruined back.”

Fitness means being able to perform physical activity. It also means having the energy and strength to feel as good as possible – Source

An elite athlete will likely test as very fit in terms of cardiopulmonary capacity, but is he healthy? Very likely, but not necessarily. He might be very fit, but if he’s putting his body under too much stress in order to perform at his best, he may not be all that healthy.

Elite athletes – the very fittest of the fittest – are often on the verge of physical breakdown from overuse injuries. Well, this applies to the average athletes too.  Going to extremes like training too hard and eating too little in order to improve or maintain the previous activity levels or timings or achieve a goal … all these are stresses to the body. The greatest potential gynecologic risks of marathon training for women involve amenorrhea (no periods), osteoporosis, and disordered eating, in what is commonly called the female athlete triad.

[Photo: Taken last year at the Singapore Marathon 2008]

Fitness doesn’t seem to be as important a factor in one’s risk of disease as one’s current level of physical activity.

Anyway …

On Wednesday night I made baked char siew chicken (marinated with Lee Kum Kee char siew sauce, salt and pepper the day before to save time) with stir fry beansprout & white mushroom in spicy teriyaki sauce. Simple but tasty.

And then it was papayas!

I haven’t eaten papayas in a while.  So when Aline blogged about papayas, I felt like eating them again. I always cut the papayas in bite size chunks and keep them covered in the fridge so that I can have them anytime. They are usually gone within a day or two.

Papayas are rich sources of antioxidant nutrients such as carotenes, vitamin C and flavonoids; the B vitamins, folate and pantothenic acid; and the minerals, potassium and magnesium; and fiber. Together, these nutrients promote the health of the cardiovascular system and also provide protection against colon cancer. In addition, papaya contains the digestive enzyme, papain, which is used like bromelain, a similar enzyme found in pineapple, to treat sports injuries, other causes of trauma, and allergies – Source.

The husband likes papaya smoothies but not really eating the fruit alone. I’m the opposite.  My glass was way less than his haha. He likes to have both yakult and milk in his smoothies.

So I stayed home from work today but I will try to join the girlfriends tonight for some catch up and gossip sessions. Giiiirrrrllllssss :)

Your whole day depends on how you greet the morning. As long as you welcome it with energy and high spirits, everything will go okay. So start the day with cheers and smiles :)

A 30 minutes run or other form of exercises also do  wonders. At least  for me, provided that I have had enough rest at night. Do you know that you need to do at least 30 minutes of aerobic activities everyday? This can be in the form of walking, climbing the stairs instead of taking the lift, running, swimming, cycling etc. This is really good for your health.

You should  incorporate some weight bearing activities to increase your bone density because as we age,  osteoclasts, which is the breaking down of old bone, gradually takes the upper hand, and we lose more bone than we gain. When you exercise, you stresses your bones and more osteoblasts (building of new bones) are formed.  So your body increases the pace of osteoblast production when you lift weights or go for a jog.

Whenever we talk on the phone, I will ask my parents whether they have been going to the mountains and I also remind mum to do some resistance exercises.  Do some half squats, push ups etc.  Use your own body weight to create some resistance and if you can’t get a dumbbell, you could always fill a bottle with water or sand :)  Mum have you been doing? hehehe

So to all couch potatoes out there, be active and stay active!

Anyway ….

Milk + Weis’ Mango & Cream ice cream + 1 fresh mango +2 ice cubes = A delicious mango smoothie this morning :) Skip the ice cream for a healthier version hehe.

I took the picture above this morning :) Singapore Circle Line (CCL) officially opens today — only five stations (Marymount, Bartley, Serangoon and Lorong Chuan) begin operations for the public today.  CCL is Singapore’s 4th Mass Rapid Transit line. More on Wiki and take a look at Singapore MRT map if you are interested. CCL is the yellow line.

I couldn’t wait for the CCL to be opened, as this meant avoiding the terrible jam along one particular road everyday during the peak hours (evening especially)! So this morning I took the yellow CCL. The train was rather empty (good thing isn’t it). The journey to office was faster. From one of the CCL stations, I can either opt to walk for 15-20 minutes or take a bus to office. I might walk in the morning and take a bus in the evening. If I decide to walk everyday, that would be a total of 54 minutes of daily walk for me! 7 + 20 + 20 + 7 = 54 minutes. What a good way to get some daily exercise eh :)

Last night …

Dinner was a baked rosemary chicken with baked asparagus and  baked beans. The asparagus was over-baked and had lost it’s nice greenish colour.

We had a fruit platter after dinner. Here’s the mangosteen that I bought during the weekend.

Mangosteen is a tropical fruit that is grown primarily in hot, humid climates of southeast Asia such as Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia.

The fruit platter that we shared consisted of Sunkist oranges, mangosteen, Red Globe grapes and honey mangoes. I’m pretty much into grapes nowadays. Kinda sick of apples and pears. I like big grapes (unlike the ones in the picture) with seeds because I like to eat them slowly.

I used to take, like a year ago but for some reasons I stopped.  I’m starting to take these multi-vitamins (left), minerals (center) and plant concentrates – asparagus, cranberry juice, kale, rosemary extract etc. (right) again.   Whether I’m getting enough nutrients from my current diet or not, I still prefer to take supplements. It’s a personal choice I think. I just take half of the recommended dosage. Too much is also not good.

Tonight, dinner was supposed to be my regular lasagna-style eggplant with prawns. Well, the sliced eggplants shrank so much after baking them just a little, that they were too small to be used as layers. Instead I added them directly to the prawn tomato sauce and they tasted the same (minus the breadcrumbs + cheese) as the lasagna-style eggplant. The other mushroom dish was similar to yesterday’s one i.e stir-fry mushrooms with some soy sauce and beansprouts. I love this combination. You can also use Terriyaki sauce instead of soy sauce.

Now, on a completely different note … The carpet arrived during the weekend.

I’m still deciding whether to place it underneath our coffee table in the living room or somewhere else, maybe in the bedroom. I like the whole house to be carpeted. Unfortunately with the Singapore weather, it’s impossible.

What I did was:

• 1o x 5 sets half squat
• 15 x 5 sets barbel bent-over row
• 8 x 5 sets Barbel Military press
• Planks (front and side)
• Boxing
• 20 x 3 sets push-ups
• 250 crunches and sit-ups

For dinner I prepared  rosemary grilled chicken with corn mushroom. Healthy and delicious! The rosemary herb was freshly plugged from the pot.

Dessert was a delicious homemade Brownie léger poire-chocolat (pear-chocolate light brownie ). I will blog the recipe soon! I actually videoed the steps but I’m not sure if I’m gonna publish it :)