Slim Is Not Beautiful, Curvy Is
Monday, October 6, 2008
I know, it's been a while since I updated this blog. My only excuse is - I've stopped working out too.. and started to get soft... *sigh*
No matter, it's time I got back to it. The good thing is that I didn't really "put it back on", since my diet essentially remained unchanged. Still balanced, healthy, just minus the "workout" component. Yes I gained 1kg or 2kg but that's ok. I can lose those again in a couple of weeks as soon as I get back to my workouts.
The title for today's post came from a lunchtime conversation I had with my colleagues. It revolves around women - their wives, girlfriends, and girls in the office in general. The usual complaint I hear from them is "I'm FAT!" even when they're a svelte 48kg standing at 1.63m tall.
Now, what happened was, during this conversation, a woman with a good figure walked by the table. I pointed her out and said - "She would probably think she's fat too, but she's not". Then the women at the table started going "noo she's gorgeous, she's not fat".
Whereupon I said to a slim (and pretty shapeless) girl, who was 45kg or less and was complaining she was fat, "but she's bigger sized than you, so what makes YOU fat and she, not?"
Ladies, realise this - you always think you're fat when you're not. Men don't like slim ok? They like curvy. Curvy and Slim are 2 different things. You can be "meaty" and still be curvy. You can be slim and shapeless. Usually, slim women are the shapeless ones.
The only men I know who liked slim shapeless women are photographers. They always say that slim women look great in photos. My reply - good, take a pic of them, and go to bed with the picture. In the meantime, I'd like something meatier to hug on my bed.
Ladies, don't go on a weight-loss diet/programme when you overshoot the "50kg barrier", ok? I don't know who told you that you can't exceed 50kgs, but this "rule" is not set in stone for every girl ok? You gotta look at your height too! You'd look pretty damn skinny if you're 1.7m tall and weighing in only at 45kg. Almost like a skeleton I'd say.
I know a couple of women with nice figures are of average height (1.66m or so) weighing JUST PAST 50kg... eg 52kg, 53kg etc. Yes they still want to go down below 50kg, but they'll lose the nice figure.
Secondly, the weight is not the all-controlling factor of your figure. I also know a particular girl that's 1.72m and weighing 51kg, but she doesn't have a nice figure. The difference? She didn't exercise. All her muscles are not toned, shapeless.
So yes, even if you're "under 50kg", you still need to work out. Muscles need to be toned to give definition to your shape. Simply weighing less is not the answer to your "problems".
Besides, who told you men liked women to be under 50kgs anyway? Magazines? If so, you ladies need to stop reading those magazines and wake up to the real world.
No matter, it's time I got back to it. The good thing is that I didn't really "put it back on", since my diet essentially remained unchanged. Still balanced, healthy, just minus the "workout" component. Yes I gained 1kg or 2kg but that's ok. I can lose those again in a couple of weeks as soon as I get back to my workouts.
The title for today's post came from a lunchtime conversation I had with my colleagues. It revolves around women - their wives, girlfriends, and girls in the office in general. The usual complaint I hear from them is "I'm FAT!" even when they're a svelte 48kg standing at 1.63m tall.
Now, what happened was, during this conversation, a woman with a good figure walked by the table. I pointed her out and said - "She would probably think she's fat too, but she's not". Then the women at the table started going "noo she's gorgeous, she's not fat".
Whereupon I said to a slim (and pretty shapeless) girl, who was 45kg or less and was complaining she was fat, "but she's bigger sized than you, so what makes YOU fat and she, not?"
Ladies, realise this - you always think you're fat when you're not. Men don't like slim ok? They like curvy. Curvy and Slim are 2 different things. You can be "meaty" and still be curvy. You can be slim and shapeless. Usually, slim women are the shapeless ones.
The only men I know who liked slim shapeless women are photographers. They always say that slim women look great in photos. My reply - good, take a pic of them, and go to bed with the picture. In the meantime, I'd like something meatier to hug on my bed.
Ladies, don't go on a weight-loss diet/programme when you overshoot the "50kg barrier", ok? I don't know who told you that you can't exceed 50kgs, but this "rule" is not set in stone for every girl ok? You gotta look at your height too! You'd look pretty damn skinny if you're 1.7m tall and weighing in only at 45kg. Almost like a skeleton I'd say.
I know a couple of women with nice figures are of average height (1.66m or so) weighing JUST PAST 50kg... eg 52kg, 53kg etc. Yes they still want to go down below 50kg, but they'll lose the nice figure.
Secondly, the weight is not the all-controlling factor of your figure. I also know a particular girl that's 1.72m and weighing 51kg, but she doesn't have a nice figure. The difference? She didn't exercise. All her muscles are not toned, shapeless.
So yes, even if you're "under 50kg", you still need to work out. Muscles need to be toned to give definition to your shape. Simply weighing less is not the answer to your "problems".
Besides, who told you men liked women to be under 50kgs anyway? Magazines? If so, you ladies need to stop reading those magazines and wake up to the real world.
Labels: rant, Weightloss
Why You Cannot Keep The Weight Off
Monday, July 14, 2008
Image via WikipediaI have been a regular customer at a certain pub here. When it closed last year, I became a "nomad" searching for a new watering hole to call "home".Recently a friend told me the guys there had opened a new place at a different location, and I headed there.
When the guys saw me (after 1 year) they commented "Wow you lost so much weight! You look fighting fit and trim now!".
Ok that's nothing much new there since I have shared similar comments from people who've seen me after an absence of a few weeks.
Now the interesting thing is that while they might have commented on how slim I am right now, they also mentioned that they have tried in vain to "lose weight and keep it off". From what they tell me, everybody had the same "flaw".
They all "went on a diet and an exercise regime".
The problem is, when you keep thinking that it's a diet and exercise routine to get rid of your "excess baggage", you're expecting it to be temporary. Whatever "diet" you're on will not be a permanent feature. Whatever exercises you do to "get rid of the flab" will never become part of your lifestyle.
The moment you achieve the desired results, you stop. Once you stop, it all comes back. You go back to eating your unhealthy mix of foods. You go back to lazing around.
The trick is to change your diet permanently. Don't just "go on a diet". Change it. Pretty soon, once you've gotten used to your new, healthier, more balanced eating habits, you'll find you no longer eat cakes, candies, sweets, ice cream etc as often as before. Even when you DO "binge" on the odd occasion that calls for it, it will "impact harmlessly against your metabolic shield". Ok that's not quite true in that you have a "shield" but when you do work out, your metabolism increases naturally. When you do "pig out" on junk food and desserts, they won't immediately collect as fats. Chances are they'll be burnt off by your metabolism.
I sometimes spend a whole WEEKEND eating junk food, ice cream, and fatty foods. I still don't "put it on" immediately. The body has already become accustomed to burning whatever comes in as fuel.
But, changing your diet is only the first step. The second step is to have regular exercise. You need to condition your body to always burn the calories that come in. Sitting around just eating healthy doesn't really do the trick. Some people might achieve "weight loss" by just changing their diets (especially true for women who go on "crash diets") but even if they do, it'll be just temporary. I have a few female friends who always try a new fad diet. After a few weeks, they'll be slim and sexy. A month or so later, they're back where they were (not "fat" but "not slim"), simply because they stopped their "crash diets", and they never coupled it with exercise.
So, forget pills that promise you they'll absorb the fats in your food. Forget the pills that tell you they'll increase your metabolic rate. You can do it all FOR FREE. Just work out and eat right, permanently.
Labels: diet, Weightloss
Eat Often To Lose Weight
Sunday, May 25, 2008
You'd be surprised at the looks I get when I say this.
No seriously, it's true.
I have written about this very important fact a few times, and one of them is, conveniently, here. Yeah I did the hard work for you so you can go ahead and click on that link.
Recently I was talking to a female friend. She's stick skinny at 45kg standing at 160cm tall, and she keeps saying she's FAT, and needs to lose weight. So I told her - eat more often to lose weight (although she doesn't need to. She looks fine. Beginnings of anorexia nervosa, maybe?). Can you imagine the immediate response? Naturally, the usual, misguided "noo I have to stop eating! I cannot eat lunch anymore! Must skip! Drink milo at most!".
She thinks she's fat because her size S dresses were starting to get "tight". Man, she buys clothes at the teenager section, of course they'll be "tight"!
Yeah, she's the weird sort that would rather starve and "look beautiful" than to really get into a good and healthy diet and be free from ever worrying about being fat again.
Look, I don't want to nag, but "eating less" actually makes you get fat FASTER. I wrote about it in the previous entry which I linked above. In short, your body goes into survival mode since "food is hardly coming in anymore", thus every scrap that comes in has a priority to be stored as FATS instead of being burnt as fuel if you don't require it.
Eating more often doesn't mean eating more in quantity. You just eat more times a day, but if you ration out your portions, you can end up eating the same AMOUNT per day as you usually do. Eating more often also has the small effect of triggering your digestion to start working, thus burning up some calories.
The main point of eating more often is this - you are telling your body that food is in PLENTIFUL SUPPLY, and it does not have to keep everything coming in as "fats" anymore. If food is bountiful, it'll burn whatever is required and only store the excess as fats. If you're on a "eat less" diet, then everything coming in is prioritized as storage as fats, and only using up whatever is required to burn for the day's activities.
The key is to eat more frequently, not more quantity.
Now, this part only tells the body that it can stop keeping food as fats. Now, how do you lose the fats already in your body?
To lose weight, there's no escaping the fact you need to burn calories. Eating more often but reducing your total daily amount from normal, plus exercising, creates a calorie deficit. When the body runs out of food to burn as fuel, it'll go into the fat storage to burn those. If you are trying to lose weight, you have to exercise.
Many people advocate cardio workouts, ie treadmill, running etc. Personally I hate cardio so I do circuit training, ie doing some exercises like push ups, sit ups, weights, and rotate among the various exercises for about 30 to 45 mins. The heart rate is up just like doing cardio, and it's not boring, because I'm changing exercises every 3 to 5 minutes. Doing 6 exercises (for different parts of the body), each for 5 minutes, already takes up 30 minutes. Trust me, time flies when you're not bored on the treadmill. You don't even need to keep looking at your watch or clock to see "how much longer I need to be on this treadmill".
Final word to women - you are NOT fat if you are not over 55kg at standing at 160cm. If you're 45kg, you're probably even underweight. "Fat" is all in YOUR MIND. Don't fear to weigh yourself. If you don't weigh yourself and think you're 50kg when you're actually 40kg, you'll starve yourself to death. And all for the sake of "looking beautiful".
Here's a secret - men don't like SKINNY women ok? Men like women with curves. Skinny women have no curves. Therefore men don't really like you if you're stick thin and still want to lose weight.
No seriously, it's true.
I have written about this very important fact a few times, and one of them is, conveniently, here. Yeah I did the hard work for you so you can go ahead and click on that link.
Recently I was talking to a female friend. She's stick skinny at 45kg standing at 160cm tall, and she keeps saying she's FAT, and needs to lose weight. So I told her - eat more often to lose weight (although she doesn't need to. She looks fine. Beginnings of anorexia nervosa, maybe?). Can you imagine the immediate response? Naturally, the usual, misguided "noo I have to stop eating! I cannot eat lunch anymore! Must skip! Drink milo at most!".
She thinks she's fat because her size S dresses were starting to get "tight". Man, she buys clothes at the teenager section, of course they'll be "tight"!
Yeah, she's the weird sort that would rather starve and "look beautiful" than to really get into a good and healthy diet and be free from ever worrying about being fat again.
Look, I don't want to nag, but "eating less" actually makes you get fat FASTER. I wrote about it in the previous entry which I linked above. In short, your body goes into survival mode since "food is hardly coming in anymore", thus every scrap that comes in has a priority to be stored as FATS instead of being burnt as fuel if you don't require it.
Eating more often doesn't mean eating more in quantity. You just eat more times a day, but if you ration out your portions, you can end up eating the same AMOUNT per day as you usually do. Eating more often also has the small effect of triggering your digestion to start working, thus burning up some calories.
The main point of eating more often is this - you are telling your body that food is in PLENTIFUL SUPPLY, and it does not have to keep everything coming in as "fats" anymore. If food is bountiful, it'll burn whatever is required and only store the excess as fats. If you're on a "eat less" diet, then everything coming in is prioritized as storage as fats, and only using up whatever is required to burn for the day's activities.
The key is to eat more frequently, not more quantity.
Now, this part only tells the body that it can stop keeping food as fats. Now, how do you lose the fats already in your body?
To lose weight, there's no escaping the fact you need to burn calories. Eating more often but reducing your total daily amount from normal, plus exercising, creates a calorie deficit. When the body runs out of food to burn as fuel, it'll go into the fat storage to burn those. If you are trying to lose weight, you have to exercise.
Many people advocate cardio workouts, ie treadmill, running etc. Personally I hate cardio so I do circuit training, ie doing some exercises like push ups, sit ups, weights, and rotate among the various exercises for about 30 to 45 mins. The heart rate is up just like doing cardio, and it's not boring, because I'm changing exercises every 3 to 5 minutes. Doing 6 exercises (for different parts of the body), each for 5 minutes, already takes up 30 minutes. Trust me, time flies when you're not bored on the treadmill. You don't even need to keep looking at your watch or clock to see "how much longer I need to be on this treadmill".
Final word to women - you are NOT fat if you are not over 55kg at standing at 160cm. If you're 45kg, you're probably even underweight. "Fat" is all in YOUR MIND. Don't fear to weigh yourself. If you don't weigh yourself and think you're 50kg when you're actually 40kg, you'll starve yourself to death. And all for the sake of "looking beautiful".
Here's a secret - men don't like SKINNY women ok? Men like women with curves. Skinny women have no curves. Therefore men don't really like you if you're stick thin and still want to lose weight.
Labels: diet, Weightloss
Drink Milk To Grow Big And Strong
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Mom knows best, and in this case, it seemed mom knew more than she let on.
Now, we all know that it's good for bones and teeth. Today, I came across this article that shows that it may actually be good for muscles and weight-loss too!
According to the article, the group who consumed skimmed milk after workout, registered greater loss of body fats and packed on more muscle mass. Looks pretty good to me. I must start thinking about having milk handy with me when I workout now.
The other point of interest, which is in the article, mentions that:
As reported in the first phase of the study, the milk drinking group came out on top in terms of muscle gain with an estimated 40 per cent or 2.5 pounds more muscle mass than the soy beverage drinkers. In addition, this group gained 63 per cent or 3.3 pounds, more muscle mass than the carbohydrate beverage drinkers.
This seem to confirm an earlier entry of this blog, which states that soy actually isn't good for you. So I guess this busts the myth that soy contains lots of proteins. I still know many people who tell me soy contains heaps of proteins. When I tell them about the article on soy, they say it's just marketing bull and they're sure soy is a good source of protein.
Ok then, guess I'm gonna go shopping for skimmed milk pretty soon!
Labels: lose weight, milk, soy, soya, weight loss, Weightloss, workout
A Pep-Talk To Get You On Track....
Monday, October 22, 2007
Not Enough Work!
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Ok I'm still behind schedule. The past week has been hectic and I only trained one day - Tuesday. I really need to get back on track, and yeah, the bathroom scale is screaming the same thing at me.
Yeah, no further weight loss occured. I'm still not putting in enough work, sigh!
Yeah, no further weight loss occured. I'm still not putting in enough work, sigh!
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Labels: weight loss, Weightloss
