Everyone wants to lose weight, be fit and slim easily. So how do you do it?
I used to be fat. I suffered from reflux and poor indigestion.
I solved most of my problems overtime - 5+ years by doing simple things.
1. Eat Healthy Food. This means - eating fresh fruit and vegetables. And drink at least 2 litres of water
2. Cut out Junk Food. Slowly eliminate fried food from your diet - this includes KFC, McD, etc..
3. Think (and care) about what you are eating. 90% of the time we are just shoveling whatever is on our plate. If we thought carefully over what we eat - then we will be able to refrain from eating bad food - including white rice and bread.
4. Exercise at least an hour a day. By that I mean do some form of physical activity. Run, if you can't run, Walk. Avoid Sedentary hobbies like computer games. Our human body was designed for physical activities. If we don't use it, our bodies will deteriorate.
5. Eat smaller servings. Don't over-eat. Try eating smaller amounts - then waiting 20 minutes before going for a 2nd helping. It takes awhile for our stomachs to register that we are actually full.
8. Do it gradually. If you can't run 10km a week, run 5km or just 1km.
Think positive thoughts. Getting depressed only causes you to think negative thoughts and that can't be good for you. Its always good to keep a positive outlook on life. At the same time, you need to develop self-awareness. Be conscious over what you are doing. Ask yourself - why are you eating that chocolate, fried food etc..? And did you really have to eat that 20 chicken nuggets, bigmac, and large fries in just that one sitting?
Change bad habits. A lot of people resort to food as a quick pick-me-up if they get depressed. This probably stems from childhood when if you cried as a baby your parents/carers would give you a sweet or some food to pacify you. That sort of feedback is now effectively hardwired to your brain. Changing bad habits takes sometime. So whenever you get stressed or upset - you turn to food to calm yourself down. Rewiring your brain takes time. Changing thought patterns and behavior is very hard but it is possible. Just as a quick suggestion - if you get upset - go for a walk, get some fresh air, the endorphins produced by exercise will help to calm yourself down.
Dieting programs do not offer the best solution. You can't go on a carbo free diet, or worse one of those water or fruit juice only diets. They are only band aid solution - and your metabolism actually slows down to take into account the food deficit. The result is that the minute you stop, the fat comes straight back on and becomes more resistant to losing weight. A mindless adherence to a diet without any thinking is probably going to fail.
When you go on a diet. You are removing a key food from your usual meal. Now there is a reason why you want to eat those food. Its simple. You like it.
And when you stop eating it, you body craves for it. I think your brain sends endorphins into your blood stream whenever you eat that food.
What you need to do is to first be aware of your body's response to food and also aware of what the food is doing to you.
I used to over-eat a lot and I'd get indigestion. I also used to drink 10 cups of freshly brewed coffee (+sugar) a day. I'd consume a whole boxful of biscuits while reading my favorite book. I'd get heart burn, reflux and I'd even wake up at night because of heart palpitations. 1 + 1 = 2. You don't need to be a genius to realize what was killing me. Eating junk food, drinking copious amounts of coffee etc.. and over eating was ruining my health.
So do yourself a favor. Say to yourself - "YOU are important." Your health is important. Look after yourself because you only have one body. Its not like a car where you can change it when it wears out.
If you can. Take a notebook journal and write down all the stuff you eat.
Now try and evaluate what you eat. Or in the words of Samuel L. Jackson - "Can you feel where the money went?" or can you justify it?
The sad fact is most of the time, we just shovel all kinds of crap into our mouths without thinking. We open a jumbo packet of chips and before we know it, we ate the whole darn bag in one sitting. (I did it just then). We try and fool ourselves by buying baked crisps but if you end up eating the whole bag whilst watching Top Gear, that can't be good.
The fatty food that we eat is almost accidental. People will often eat whatever that is served before them - they don't think. They just gobble.
Bad stuff that people swallow down without thinking are -
1. French Fries
2. fried wedges that they serve at bars, together with the sour cream
3. Fried Chicken
4. Fried Fish (and chips)
5. Pizza
6. White Bread - all white bread has practically no nutrient content whatsoever
7. Most commercial cereals - Nurtigrain, fruitloops etc..
8. Meat Pies
9. Ice Cream
10. Junk Food - packets of chips
11. And horror of horrors - white rice and white bread.
Now, I'm not telling you to absolutely not eat it. Because the minute you say to yourself "don't touch" - you'll end up touching it. First you have to realize, I mean really deep down KNOW that the food is unhealthy for you. What we call food - chips, fries, soft drinks, white bread is simply junk food.
But forcing yourself to lay off those junk food overnight may simply backfire on you.
One simple step to help you reduce your dependency on food is :
1. Take time when you eat your food to thinking about what you are eating. Don't just shovel the food down your throat like a pig.
2. Learn to taste your food.
3. Make the fat you eat "work" for you. Meaning, whenever you eat that McDonald's Hamburger or that big bag of chips, you taste it, and you feel it. You're not just swallowing it down like flushing water down the sewer.
Taste it. Know it. Feel it.
OK, then evaluate. Was it worth it? And can you live without it?
Let me give you an example. I love eating McDonald Quarter Pounder and their French fried chips and drinking that Coke. Love it.
But I did realize that its not healthy eating it. Its filled with lard, preservatives and too much salt. But what to do?
So instead I started eating smaller servings. First I resisted the temptation to upgrade my orders from medium to large.
Eventually I had the small size. Same Quarter Pounder but I had small chips and a small coke. Now, I rarely go to Mackers and when I do - I just order a Quarter Pounder and a cup of coffee instead. Or if I crave the chips - I order the chips and coke but no hamburger. But I still savor the moment, the food and my body after awhile can feel the fat and the unhealthy content in that burger.
And what do you know? After a few years - I seldom go to McDonalds anymore. Rarely.
A gradual approach to healthy living is often the method that works the best. Be stubborn. Keep at it.
Your stomach is like an elastic band. You can stretch it and stretch it. It will accommodate all the food you want to eat and get bigger and bigger. Any drastic reduction usually doesn't work because its too severe. Your whole body - brain and stomach - will conspire against you.
Another important component is exercise. You have to try and fit in an exercise routine into your day. Is one hour too hard for you? Well, try 30 minutes then of brisk walking. Or maybe try a block of 10 minutes. Just keep it regular, frequent and you'll be amazed how that 5 becomes 10, 10 mins can become 15, and later evolve to an hour. Just keep it consistent.
People often make the mistake of going to the gym, working out too hard and then not going back again for a month. Try and learn to pace yourself. Make it a fun activity- go with a friend, do a group class.
Flexibility
There are three core components to physical well-being:
1. Strength
2. Flexibility
3. Endurance
One important exercise that everyone should do - and is often neglected - is stretching. Research in it. Get a Pilates DVD or watch it on Youtube - do a few routines, slowly. I say again, do it slowly.
It is very very important for your body to remain flexible. There is no point in being able to bench press 200kg if you can't bend and touch your toes. As we grow older our muscles and tendons shorten and as they get shorten they get tighter, stiffer, harder until eventually they break down.
Look at yourself daily in the mirror. Have a few photos of athletes or people with good bodies next to the mirror. Somehow that process will help you gravitate to those goals.
Whatever you do, don't skip meals. Make sure you eat regularly at set times everyday. If you don't, your body will assume you are in a war/famine situation and your metabolism will suffer.
Snacking is good so long as you are eating healthy stuff like fruits, unsalted nuts.
Bottom line - try and think carefully over what you eat. And always drink water. Coca-cola and all sugared drinks +alcohol is all not good for you. Drink i occasionally but treat them almost like poison. If you avoid that and drink 2litres of water a day - you are going to make a world of difference to your life.
Sunday, June 01, 2014
Anton Casey - Pinkerton Syndrome Part 1.
This is an old blog post that didn't get sent out. I went to Raja Ampat again to do scuba diving. It was somehow marred by the fact that there was this short middle-aged French dude on board who was molesting all the Asian girls who somehow didn't seem to mind the prick.
I couldn't understand why they tolerated such behavior. Seriously a big WTF? If any asian male did what he did - ask girls to come to his room for rumba- he'd be thrown off the boat with 100kg of weights tied around his throat. But this French dude was doing his shit with impunity.
I was partly repulsed by his behavior and also curious how he could get away with social murder. Maybe it was the jovial manner he did it. But still - what he was saying was over the line.
Which brings me to my 2nd point - are Asians too tolerant of white foreigners?
I think we are too tolerant. Unfortunately we are still living under the shadow of 200 years of colonial dominance. For the last 200 - 300 years the world has been living under the burden of white colonial rule.
There were clearly some benefits - but at the same time there were outrageous crimes committed.
The British - yes the same people who introduced Victorian Christian morals - also forced China to accept Opium as a legitimate trade item.
Get this - the British - same people who sang "Onward Christian Soldiers" - Victorian puritanism, Anglican schools, high tea, were the world's Opium drug dealers. Seriously WTF.
When the Chinese Govt objected and banned the sale of Opium - the British Govt went to war to force China to accept the Opium trade.
Can you imagine if China went to war to force Britain to allow heroin to be sold legally.
As part of the settlement, China was forced to hand over Hong Kong to the British for 100 years.
I found it seriously ironic when Western journalists complained over democratic rights when Britain was going to hand over Hong Kong back.
You should also find it ironic that I'm writing about this in English too hahaha.
OK... I've got to go back to my ship chores. I'm currently in Fiji onboard the Yacht ICE. You can follow our adventures here on www.bluetreasure.me
I couldn't understand why they tolerated such behavior. Seriously a big WTF? If any asian male did what he did - ask girls to come to his room for rumba- he'd be thrown off the boat with 100kg of weights tied around his throat. But this French dude was doing his shit with impunity.
I was partly repulsed by his behavior and also curious how he could get away with social murder. Maybe it was the jovial manner he did it. But still - what he was saying was over the line.
Which brings me to my 2nd point - are Asians too tolerant of white foreigners?
I think we are too tolerant. Unfortunately we are still living under the shadow of 200 years of colonial dominance. For the last 200 - 300 years the world has been living under the burden of white colonial rule.
There were clearly some benefits - but at the same time there were outrageous crimes committed.
The British - yes the same people who introduced Victorian Christian morals - also forced China to accept Opium as a legitimate trade item.
Get this - the British - same people who sang "Onward Christian Soldiers" - Victorian puritanism, Anglican schools, high tea, were the world's Opium drug dealers. Seriously WTF.
When the Chinese Govt objected and banned the sale of Opium - the British Govt went to war to force China to accept the Opium trade.
Can you imagine if China went to war to force Britain to allow heroin to be sold legally.
As part of the settlement, China was forced to hand over Hong Kong to the British for 100 years.
I found it seriously ironic when Western journalists complained over democratic rights when Britain was going to hand over Hong Kong back.
You should also find it ironic that I'm writing about this in English too hahaha.
OK... I've got to go back to my ship chores. I'm currently in Fiji onboard the Yacht ICE. You can follow our adventures here on www.bluetreasure.me
Saturday, May 31, 2014
Citizenship
What is the point of a Singaporean citizenship or for that matter any citizenship? This question was asked by the Apostle Paul when Roman soldiers tied him up and beat him. Unlike that of a subject - in a Kingdom - citizens have certain rights. Being a subject of a King - comes with it obligations - you are a servant. You serve the King. In a democracy - the rulers theoretically work to serve you, the citizen. Of course as a citizen you are obliged to pay taxes, serve in the military (to defend the nation), observe the laws etc..
The whole idea of citizens and democracy is not an Asian concept. It came from Greece and Rome. The ancient Greeks were great thinkers - and came up with a system of representative govt - democracy.
Asian values and culture - despite all its hype - never did have this. It was all Kingdom based. Master-servant. Ruler-subject. In an age where most people can read, write and has a reasonable amount of education - kingdom based - elitist rule - does not work.
However, the level of government - the quality of govt - in a representative democracy is highly related to the educational level of the people. When I mean educational level I'm also talking about the quality of analytical thinking of the people. There are some road sweepers who probably have got more wisdom than University professors or politicians. I'm not sure whether a society - which is obsessed over reality TV, gossip celebrity magazines, and who are willing to pay millions of dollars to sports people while whinging over the pay over kindergarten teachers, doctors etc.. - can elect good politicians.
In Singapore we are tied to the idea of an elitist form of government - so we pay lawyers, doctors, engineers military officers to be our leaders. To a large degree because of "the long-standing one party rules all" system we have adopted - the government - the politicians, the judiciary, the military all come from the same mold. Thankfully, the Spore govt has a high educational level standard.
One problem we however are going to get is that they all seem to think the same. And when there is really only one level of govt - there are no check and balances. No one watches over what the govt does.
Does a wolf think the same as the deer?
We pay huge sums of salaries to these leaders and hope that we will get a great result.
But you look at the huge fuckup that happened with the Global Financial Crisis. Were any highly paid bankers and CEOs who drew salaries and bonuses 10000 times the level of ordinary workers - were any of them prosecuted or made to pay for the damage they caused?
In a Kingdom - the king was accountable to noone except God or Heaven.
In a democracy - the leaders were accountable to the people. The question that all citizens should be asking is - how are they holding their governments to accountability?
I don't believe in revolutions - personally I blame the French Revolution of 1789 for creating WW1, WW2, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot etc..
But I do believe in educational evolution- when the people become wise and learned, they will naturally want to elect good quality leaders.
In a democracy you get the government you deserve.
Personally I look at the debating sessions in the Australian parliament - and it looks worse than an unruly kindergarten. How can politicians (and media) who are engaged in petty quarrels - one stupid fight was over one politician who said the word, "meow" to another politician.
The only thing I can say is - give a shit over who you vote into power. The minute you say "they are all the same" - you're literally bending yourself over to get fucked.
The whole idea of citizens and democracy is not an Asian concept. It came from Greece and Rome. The ancient Greeks were great thinkers - and came up with a system of representative govt - democracy.
Asian values and culture - despite all its hype - never did have this. It was all Kingdom based. Master-servant. Ruler-subject. In an age where most people can read, write and has a reasonable amount of education - kingdom based - elitist rule - does not work.
However, the level of government - the quality of govt - in a representative democracy is highly related to the educational level of the people. When I mean educational level I'm also talking about the quality of analytical thinking of the people. There are some road sweepers who probably have got more wisdom than University professors or politicians. I'm not sure whether a society - which is obsessed over reality TV, gossip celebrity magazines, and who are willing to pay millions of dollars to sports people while whinging over the pay over kindergarten teachers, doctors etc.. - can elect good politicians.
In Singapore we are tied to the idea of an elitist form of government - so we pay lawyers, doctors, engineers military officers to be our leaders. To a large degree because of "the long-standing one party rules all" system we have adopted - the government - the politicians, the judiciary, the military all come from the same mold. Thankfully, the Spore govt has a high educational level standard.
One problem we however are going to get is that they all seem to think the same. And when there is really only one level of govt - there are no check and balances. No one watches over what the govt does.
Does a wolf think the same as the deer?
We pay huge sums of salaries to these leaders and hope that we will get a great result.
But you look at the huge fuckup that happened with the Global Financial Crisis. Were any highly paid bankers and CEOs who drew salaries and bonuses 10000 times the level of ordinary workers - were any of them prosecuted or made to pay for the damage they caused?
In a Kingdom - the king was accountable to noone except God or Heaven.
In a democracy - the leaders were accountable to the people. The question that all citizens should be asking is - how are they holding their governments to accountability?
I don't believe in revolutions - personally I blame the French Revolution of 1789 for creating WW1, WW2, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot etc..
But I do believe in educational evolution- when the people become wise and learned, they will naturally want to elect good quality leaders.
In a democracy you get the government you deserve.
Personally I look at the debating sessions in the Australian parliament - and it looks worse than an unruly kindergarten. How can politicians (and media) who are engaged in petty quarrels - one stupid fight was over one politician who said the word, "meow" to another politician.
The only thing I can say is - give a shit over who you vote into power. The minute you say "they are all the same" - you're literally bending yourself over to get fucked.
11th day
Gosh I've been here over 10 days now. We are still in Vuda Point Marina. Yesterday we had to untie a tender from the topdeck and launch another into the water. Its all very "new". New Terminology, new habits, I'm also finding myself spending much too time on facebook - as its the only outlet I have to the "normal" world.
Yesterday we went to Latoka market - a wet market. It reminded me of the old Take-Kah market in Singapore.
Its 10am. Everyone is working now on the ship now.... except me... :( I think I must be the laziest Singaporean in the world.
Yesterday we went to Latoka market - a wet market. It reminded me of the old Take-Kah market in Singapore.
Its 10am. Everyone is working now on the ship now.... except me... :( I think I must be the laziest Singaporean in the world.
Monday, May 26, 2014
Attracting capital to Singapore... at what cost?
Well, obviously Singapore needs a lot of foreign investment. I think most citizens can accept that.
But at what cost though?
One metaphor that comes to mind is that of the tropical fishtank aquarium.
Ok, so you have guppies.. Everything seems fine. But you want more. So you introduce a dozen of piranha fish - competition will be great.
Hey, guess what happens next.
:)
I think expecting the guppies to evolve and cope in such a small environment is a silly proposition.
But at what cost though?
One metaphor that comes to mind is that of the tropical fishtank aquarium.
Ok, so you have guppies.. Everything seems fine. But you want more. So you introduce a dozen of piranha fish - competition will be great.
Hey, guess what happens next.
:)
I think expecting the guppies to evolve and cope in such a small environment is a silly proposition.
So far so good
Its been nearly a week since I'm here at ICE.
When you go on this sorts of trips you imagine its going to be a voyage of discovery - and while you find different people, different places to see - you also learn about yourself if you care to take notice.
Self-awareness. Quite often we do things without realizing what or why we are doing it. Sometimes when we react even violently to situations its because of some problem we have had in the past. I have a problem doing math because my father used to mock me with exasperation for not comprehending the solution. And when there happened a thorn was placed in my side. Now a certain amount of trepidation occurs when I approach something new which I don't understand. But I grip the thorn now and bear the pain. I seek to overcome. And if I fail, I try again.
But one "problem" or trait I have - is that I'm drawn to what is secure and comfortable. One day I didn't even leave the boat. I just sat around, facebooking, reading. I'm not sure whether that is healthy. I need to go out more and socialize. After a courier trip to the airport I had the taxi driver drive me to eat curry crab but instead he took me to a fancy restaurant to eat chilli crab - which cost US$50 per 100grams . I didn't complain - I just wanted to give the Fijian crab a try. I notice a stranger sitting alone and - rather than endure my taxi driver's conversation about business ventures - I excused myself and walked over to this total stranger and struck up a conversation. The person was working as a French interpreter and was here on a business seminar trip. The interpreter was also from my Melbourne and also like me - bored and looking for a conversational partner. Like me this person was also planning for a change in vocation. We talked and chatted and made friends on facebook. This wouldn't have happened if I didn't pluck up the courage and talk to a total stranger.
Meeting people has been a challenge. I fear rejection. When I was in Primary School I just had one friend - a rather horrid friend I might add. He bullied me. He made fun of me. He treated me like shit. And like a fool I endured it.
I wonder whether it was because of my inherently patient disposition that allowed me to remain in that friendship - or whether it was because some parental conditioning - my mother used to beat me ferociously because she had an uncontrollable temper and was often provoked into doing it by her mother, my grandmother. Both attend church religiously btw.
Anyway, meeting people is a challenge. Its also like a voyage of discovery. You go somewhere - you may find a pleasant land with pleasant people - or you may find a place where they skin you alive and boil you for soup because they are hungry.
Which reminds me of a song by the Eurythmics, "Sweet Dreams", "I travel the world and 7 seas. Some of them want to use you. Some of them want to abuse you. Some of them want to be amused."
But I think we owe it to ourselves to do it - to challenge ourselves, to explore the unknown. To seek a better world. To learn more about our world. To try different things. To experience a life other than the one we know.
Sitting alone in a cave or sitting at home watching TV seems like a terrible waste of a life.
When you go on this sorts of trips you imagine its going to be a voyage of discovery - and while you find different people, different places to see - you also learn about yourself if you care to take notice.
Self-awareness. Quite often we do things without realizing what or why we are doing it. Sometimes when we react even violently to situations its because of some problem we have had in the past. I have a problem doing math because my father used to mock me with exasperation for not comprehending the solution. And when there happened a thorn was placed in my side. Now a certain amount of trepidation occurs when I approach something new which I don't understand. But I grip the thorn now and bear the pain. I seek to overcome. And if I fail, I try again.
But one "problem" or trait I have - is that I'm drawn to what is secure and comfortable. One day I didn't even leave the boat. I just sat around, facebooking, reading. I'm not sure whether that is healthy. I need to go out more and socialize. After a courier trip to the airport I had the taxi driver drive me to eat curry crab but instead he took me to a fancy restaurant to eat chilli crab - which cost US$50 per 100grams . I didn't complain - I just wanted to give the Fijian crab a try. I notice a stranger sitting alone and - rather than endure my taxi driver's conversation about business ventures - I excused myself and walked over to this total stranger and struck up a conversation. The person was working as a French interpreter and was here on a business seminar trip. The interpreter was also from my Melbourne and also like me - bored and looking for a conversational partner. Like me this person was also planning for a change in vocation. We talked and chatted and made friends on facebook. This wouldn't have happened if I didn't pluck up the courage and talk to a total stranger.
Meeting people has been a challenge. I fear rejection. When I was in Primary School I just had one friend - a rather horrid friend I might add. He bullied me. He made fun of me. He treated me like shit. And like a fool I endured it.
I wonder whether it was because of my inherently patient disposition that allowed me to remain in that friendship - or whether it was because some parental conditioning - my mother used to beat me ferociously because she had an uncontrollable temper and was often provoked into doing it by her mother, my grandmother. Both attend church religiously btw.
Anyway, meeting people is a challenge. Its also like a voyage of discovery. You go somewhere - you may find a pleasant land with pleasant people - or you may find a place where they skin you alive and boil you for soup because they are hungry.
Which reminds me of a song by the Eurythmics, "Sweet Dreams", "I travel the world and 7 seas. Some of them want to use you. Some of them want to abuse you. Some of them want to be amused."
But I think we owe it to ourselves to do it - to challenge ourselves, to explore the unknown. To seek a better world. To learn more about our world. To try different things. To experience a life other than the one we know.
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Tonga Expedition Trip
I'm going to be changing the name of my blog to A Singaporean in Tonga to document my 6 month trip with the boat ICE - its captain Don McIntyre, Jane Chou, Paul Brown,
The purpose of the expedition is to search for sunken ships from the 16th century in Tonga. Centuries ago, when Spain was a mighty empire - the Spanish Empire used to sail its ships from Latin America filled with gold and silver that its soldiers took from the Incas and South Americans to Asia to trade for silk, spices, porcelain, etc.. The profit on these voyages were tremendous - over 4000%. Back in those days, simple household goods like nutmeg, cloves were worth more than their weight in gold.
Some of the ships would sail pass Tonga in the South Pacific to "refuel" - they depended entirely on wind to cross the vast ocean. And the trade winds would take them to isolated islands in the pacific like Tonga where they would restock food, water and even wood to repair their ships. Apparently 10% of the trade ships would pass through Tongan waters. Some of them never made it and sank.
We hope to uncover some of these ships.
The photo below was taken at Fiji where our boat is currently docked.
The purpose of the expedition is to search for sunken ships from the 16th century in Tonga. Centuries ago, when Spain was a mighty empire - the Spanish Empire used to sail its ships from Latin America filled with gold and silver that its soldiers took from the Incas and South Americans to Asia to trade for silk, spices, porcelain, etc.. The profit on these voyages were tremendous - over 4000%. Back in those days, simple household goods like nutmeg, cloves were worth more than their weight in gold.
Some of the ships would sail pass Tonga in the South Pacific to "refuel" - they depended entirely on wind to cross the vast ocean. And the trade winds would take them to isolated islands in the pacific like Tonga where they would restock food, water and even wood to repair their ships. Apparently 10% of the trade ships would pass through Tongan waters. Some of them never made it and sank.
We hope to uncover some of these ships.
The photo below was taken at Fiji where our boat is currently docked.
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