During pregnancy, does a woman lose her hair, no changes to her hair thickness, or hair grow thicker?
We might all guess that a woman will lose her hair during her pregnancy, like myself and my frens assumed. The correct answer is, a woman's hair grow thicker during pregnancy!
The underlying reason is hormones. Initially, human hair has a life cycle, from growing to falling out (or rather is pushed out by the new hair frowing in the follicle). During pregnancy, this cycle changes.
When a woman is pregnant, oestrogen extends the hair growth cycle. Hair stays in for longer period before falling out. This explains why women in later stages of pregnancy have very thick hair.
But this 'advantage' stops when a woman gives birth. Once a baby is born, the level of oestrogen drops back to normal, and the hair grown during pregnancy stop growing and remain dormant for a few months.
About 3 months after the baby is born, the mom start to lose her extra hair. This usually happens in the same time when the baby starts to play with his/her saliva. Many traditional grandmothers could right away tell that a mom is losing her hair, only by noticing the baby starting to play with his/her saliva.
Hair loss may vary from person to person. But don't be afraid, as hair loss only lasts for a few months. Hair growth should be back to normal 12 months after birth. So my suggestion is, flaunt it while you have it!!!
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Bottom Line of What Works to Lose Weight
The following guidelines of which works better, to help you lose weight more effectively (^-^)
Diet vs Exercise
The common question is, which will work, diet or exercise? The answer is both.
If you hate exercise and want to lose weight just by changing your diet, you're setting yourself up to fail, says Dr Chris Tzar, an exercise physiologist from the University of New South Wales. Choose this path and there's a 90% chance you'll regain any lost weight within three years, he says.
That's because dieting without exercise increases the odds you'll lose muscle from your body along with any fat. Since muscle cells burn more energy than fat cells, even when you're not actually doing anything, losing muscle makes it harder to lose weight and keep it off. That's why so-called resistance training, which builds muscle strength, is recommended, along with more aerobic exercise such as walking, swimming or running.
In addition, more muscles increase metabolism. So even when you are sleeping, you can still burn calories!
In contrary, if you love eating yummy foods and cannot change your diet, and you prefer to exercise instead, what you can do is to look at how much exercise it takes to burn off a single slice of apple pie (two hours walking) to realise that for most people, losing anything more than a few kilos through exercise alone will be challenging. It's unlikely you'll be able to work out enough to make up for any significant amounts of eating (let alone past amounts of eating). And like exercise, a good diet makes you healthier on the inside too.
Bottom line: Keep your food intake in check and exercise on regular basis.
Fat Burning Exercises
Okay. Now you hit the gym to start exercising. But which exercise is more effective in helping you to lose weight?
"Is walking more fat-burning than jogging? Well, if you walk for three hours it might be more fat burning than jogging for 15 minutes. One of the most important factors…is whether people are going to sustain the activity long-term" to quote Dr Tzar.
He recommends people try a range of different activities: to find out what they like, to help prevent boredom, and to reduce injuries.
What about those diagrams on exercise machines that suggest the body's 'fat burning zone' occurs at a low level of exertion? Unfortunately these are very misleading.
The body burns three types of fuel, i.e. fats, carbohydrates and protein. As exercise intensity increases, the proportion of the fuel mix coming from fat decreases, however the absolute amount of fat burned remains fairly stable, Tzar says: "It may be a smaller percentage but of a larger quantity."
To maximise your fat burning, high-intensity exercise is almost certainly the better option. In other words, ignore the diagrams and don't restrict your exertion because you think it somehow means you'll burn more fat.
Bottom line: Find one exercise activity that you like, that you can do at greatest intensity for a sustained period of time, is the best way to lose weight.
Best Time of Day to Exercise
Technically, the body's preference for burning fat is slightly higher first thing in the day. However, early morning exercise maybe harder for us to do, because we are generally less alert, our body temperature is low, and joints are stiffer.
Bottom line: The best time of day to exercise is the time of day that allows you keep doing it, preferably on a regular basis.
Counting Kilojoules?
Counting Kilojoules on food that you consume can be quite depressing and time consuming, especially for us who is busy at work.
Many experts also feel it's unnecessary and possibly psychologically unhealthy to count Kilojoules. Even WeightWatchers recently moved to offer an alternative 'no count' weight loss plan for those put off by the prospect of weighing foods and keeping records.
Chris Tzar agrees, "The reality is, if you're having a diet adequate in fibre, low in glycaemic index [that is, the carbohydrates are the type that break down slowly], and you're minimising your saturated fats, it's highly unlikely you're going to be overdosing on calories."
Bottom Line: Following the general principles would be sufficient. You do not have to feel obliged to count the Kilojoules.
How Often to Weigh
One study found that people who concentrated on being healthy, by improving food choices and getting more exercise, weighed less after 12 months than another group who thought more about weight.
Daily weighing is unnecessary at all. The weight loss you see on the scale may not be loss of fat, but most probably is simply loss of water in your body. And sometimes, you may not see any weight loss at all. This is because weight loss isn't linear. It could range from a quarter of a kilo to a kilo per week.
Bottom Line: If you would like to keep track of your weight loss from day to day, you may want to weight on daily basis. However, if you are easily discouraged, weekly or monthly weighing might be better than doing it on daily basis.
Diet vs Exercise
The common question is, which will work, diet or exercise? The answer is both.
If you hate exercise and want to lose weight just by changing your diet, you're setting yourself up to fail, says Dr Chris Tzar, an exercise physiologist from the University of New South Wales. Choose this path and there's a 90% chance you'll regain any lost weight within three years, he says.
That's because dieting without exercise increases the odds you'll lose muscle from your body along with any fat. Since muscle cells burn more energy than fat cells, even when you're not actually doing anything, losing muscle makes it harder to lose weight and keep it off. That's why so-called resistance training, which builds muscle strength, is recommended, along with more aerobic exercise such as walking, swimming or running.
In addition, more muscles increase metabolism. So even when you are sleeping, you can still burn calories!
In contrary, if you love eating yummy foods and cannot change your diet, and you prefer to exercise instead, what you can do is to look at how much exercise it takes to burn off a single slice of apple pie (two hours walking) to realise that for most people, losing anything more than a few kilos through exercise alone will be challenging. It's unlikely you'll be able to work out enough to make up for any significant amounts of eating (let alone past amounts of eating). And like exercise, a good diet makes you healthier on the inside too.
Bottom line: Keep your food intake in check and exercise on regular basis.
Fat Burning Exercises
Okay. Now you hit the gym to start exercising. But which exercise is more effective in helping you to lose weight?
"Is walking more fat-burning than jogging? Well, if you walk for three hours it might be more fat burning than jogging for 15 minutes. One of the most important factors…is whether people are going to sustain the activity long-term" to quote Dr Tzar.
He recommends people try a range of different activities: to find out what they like, to help prevent boredom, and to reduce injuries.
What about those diagrams on exercise machines that suggest the body's 'fat burning zone' occurs at a low level of exertion? Unfortunately these are very misleading.
The body burns three types of fuel, i.e. fats, carbohydrates and protein. As exercise intensity increases, the proportion of the fuel mix coming from fat decreases, however the absolute amount of fat burned remains fairly stable, Tzar says: "It may be a smaller percentage but of a larger quantity."
To maximise your fat burning, high-intensity exercise is almost certainly the better option. In other words, ignore the diagrams and don't restrict your exertion because you think it somehow means you'll burn more fat.
Bottom line: Find one exercise activity that you like, that you can do at greatest intensity for a sustained period of time, is the best way to lose weight.
Best Time of Day to Exercise
Technically, the body's preference for burning fat is slightly higher first thing in the day. However, early morning exercise maybe harder for us to do, because we are generally less alert, our body temperature is low, and joints are stiffer.
Bottom line: The best time of day to exercise is the time of day that allows you keep doing it, preferably on a regular basis.
Counting Kilojoules?
Counting Kilojoules on food that you consume can be quite depressing and time consuming, especially for us who is busy at work.
Many experts also feel it's unnecessary and possibly psychologically unhealthy to count Kilojoules. Even WeightWatchers recently moved to offer an alternative 'no count' weight loss plan for those put off by the prospect of weighing foods and keeping records.
Chris Tzar agrees, "The reality is, if you're having a diet adequate in fibre, low in glycaemic index [that is, the carbohydrates are the type that break down slowly], and you're minimising your saturated fats, it's highly unlikely you're going to be overdosing on calories."
Bottom Line: Following the general principles would be sufficient. You do not have to feel obliged to count the Kilojoules.
How Often to Weigh
One study found that people who concentrated on being healthy, by improving food choices and getting more exercise, weighed less after 12 months than another group who thought more about weight.
Daily weighing is unnecessary at all. The weight loss you see on the scale may not be loss of fat, but most probably is simply loss of water in your body. And sometimes, you may not see any weight loss at all. This is because weight loss isn't linear. It could range from a quarter of a kilo to a kilo per week.
Bottom Line: If you would like to keep track of your weight loss from day to day, you may want to weight on daily basis. However, if you are easily discouraged, weekly or monthly weighing might be better than doing it on daily basis.
How to Lose Weight, and How to Maintain is The Hardest Part
I believe many of us do experience this so-called yo-yo diet. Sometimes we lose weights, we get happy, allow ourselves some snacks and yummy guilty foods to celebrate our 'achievements', and before we know it, the fat is back on!!!
Of course those with very very strong willpower and self control can manage to keep the fat off for a long period of time. But not everyone of us is very strong willed. At times, we will fall down to the "pampering" ourselves with good food.
Not that good food is bad. What you can do is eat in moderate amount, spread your food intake into many times a day, 5 times a day will be enough to keep you feeling full, and avoid hunger which can lead you to eat excessively at once. Regular exercise will keep you in the right track.
But willpower and self control tend to fail. The question is, how to keep yourself in check.
There is a US trial involving over a thousand people started with a six-month weight loss program, during which they lost an average of 8.5 kg.
After this they were randomly allocated to 1 of 3 groups for 2 and 1/2 years: doing things for themselves with some written advice; a web-based interactive program which got them to feed in their weight and activity levels and encouraged increased exercise and sensible eating behaviours; and finally, a third group was allocated to monthly personal contact from a trained person, both by phone and face to face.
The good news was that everyone weighed less than they did at the start. The bad news was that it wasn't the intial 8.5 kilos.
Almost everyone regained weight, but those who'd had personal contact put less back on than the others, to the tune of about 1.5 kg.
The web-based program looked good to begin with, but soon lost its effect.
It's not cheap, but it looks as though to slow the passage of food from hand to mouth, what you need is having someone on your back.
Of course those with very very strong willpower and self control can manage to keep the fat off for a long period of time. But not everyone of us is very strong willed. At times, we will fall down to the "pampering" ourselves with good food.
Not that good food is bad. What you can do is eat in moderate amount, spread your food intake into many times a day, 5 times a day will be enough to keep you feeling full, and avoid hunger which can lead you to eat excessively at once. Regular exercise will keep you in the right track.
But willpower and self control tend to fail. The question is, how to keep yourself in check.
There is a US trial involving over a thousand people started with a six-month weight loss program, during which they lost an average of 8.5 kg.
After this they were randomly allocated to 1 of 3 groups for 2 and 1/2 years: doing things for themselves with some written advice; a web-based interactive program which got them to feed in their weight and activity levels and encouraged increased exercise and sensible eating behaviours; and finally, a third group was allocated to monthly personal contact from a trained person, both by phone and face to face.
The good news was that everyone weighed less than they did at the start. The bad news was that it wasn't the intial 8.5 kilos.
Almost everyone regained weight, but those who'd had personal contact put less back on than the others, to the tune of about 1.5 kg.
The web-based program looked good to begin with, but soon lost its effect.
It's not cheap, but it looks as though to slow the passage of food from hand to mouth, what you need is having someone on your back.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
New Research on Soy
I believe many of us living in Asian countries regularly consume soy, such as soy bean milk, particularly in Singapore. One can actually find at least one shop selling soy bean milk when walking down the roads in Singapore. There are in fact many shops selling soy bean milk in malls here in Singapore.
The high demand for soy bean milk was of course derived from our knowledge that soy bean milk is very beneficial for health, in the hope for cancer and heart disease free in the future.
But the actual fact is that, with heart health, it takes a lot of soy to reduce your bad cholesterol by just a tiny amount, although soy whole foods may be good because they replace unhealthy nutrients.
And with cancer, the large amounts of soy taken by Asian populations may reduce breast cancer risk by a little. But recent gene research suggests that your genetic profile affects your response to soy. Some genes may increase cancer risk with high doses of soy and some may reduce it.
So my suggestion is for you that do not live in Asian countries where it is quite hard to find natto, miso, tofu, soy bean milk, you might start lowering your efforts in searching and/or buying those foods, in consideration of the above research.
The high demand for soy bean milk was of course derived from our knowledge that soy bean milk is very beneficial for health, in the hope for cancer and heart disease free in the future.
But the actual fact is that, with heart health, it takes a lot of soy to reduce your bad cholesterol by just a tiny amount, although soy whole foods may be good because they replace unhealthy nutrients.
And with cancer, the large amounts of soy taken by Asian populations may reduce breast cancer risk by a little. But recent gene research suggests that your genetic profile affects your response to soy. Some genes may increase cancer risk with high doses of soy and some may reduce it.
So my suggestion is for you that do not live in Asian countries where it is quite hard to find natto, miso, tofu, soy bean milk, you might start lowering your efforts in searching and/or buying those foods, in consideration of the above research.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Dark Chocolate Easter Eggs, Anyone?
Happy Early Easter!!! (^-^)
And yeah, the reasons why I greet happy Easter now is because I just read this interesting research, that I thought you all should know soon!!!
If you guys have not yet bought any Easter chocolate for your beloved friends and families, you'd better rush to nearest sweet tooth stores to get dark chocolate easter eggs!!! Why? Because a new study shows that dark chocolate can lower blood pressure, with no changes to cholesterol or blood sugar.
The main reason is because dark chocolate can contain blood-pressure reducing polyphenols. In this preliminary research, a small piece of dark chocolate was able to lower blood pressure by 2 or 3 points on average. The effects might be caused by polyphenols relaxing the arteries.
However, this study needs further research. But anyhow, a small or few small pieces of dark chocolate won't do you harm. Just remember the classic principle, not to take in any food in excessive amount.
Some of you might be wondering, why not white chocolate? what's with white chocolate then? Besides that it is too sweet (for me, of course), white chocolate is actually polyphenol-free.
So, if you want to indulge your guilty pleasure, at least you have to do it in the right way. Correct?
-----
References:
Title: Journal of the American Medical Association
Author: Taubert D et al. Effects of low habitual cocoa intake in blood pressure and bioactive nitric oxide. A randomized controlled trial. URL: http://jama.ama-assn.org/
2007;298:49-60
And yeah, the reasons why I greet happy Easter now is because I just read this interesting research, that I thought you all should know soon!!!
If you guys have not yet bought any Easter chocolate for your beloved friends and families, you'd better rush to nearest sweet tooth stores to get dark chocolate easter eggs!!! Why? Because a new study shows that dark chocolate can lower blood pressure, with no changes to cholesterol or blood sugar.
The main reason is because dark chocolate can contain blood-pressure reducing polyphenols. In this preliminary research, a small piece of dark chocolate was able to lower blood pressure by 2 or 3 points on average. The effects might be caused by polyphenols relaxing the arteries.
However, this study needs further research. But anyhow, a small or few small pieces of dark chocolate won't do you harm. Just remember the classic principle, not to take in any food in excessive amount.
Some of you might be wondering, why not white chocolate? what's with white chocolate then? Besides that it is too sweet (for me, of course), white chocolate is actually polyphenol-free.
So, if you want to indulge your guilty pleasure, at least you have to do it in the right way. Correct?
-----
References:
Title: Journal of the American Medical Association
Author: Taubert D et al. Effects of low habitual cocoa intake in blood pressure and bioactive nitric oxide. A randomized controlled trial. URL: http://jama.ama-assn.org/
2007;298:49-60
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
New Laptop
Just got my new laptop last week..err.. for FREE!!! yeah!!! Hahah.. It was included in the wireless internet package I signed deal for next 30 months.
It is Lenovo ThinkPad X61, 12.1" XGA Screen Size. This laptop is insured 6 months for accidental damage and theft. Also insured on-site for 3 years, meaning if I encounter problems with laptop, all I need to do is to give a call to the call center and they will help me through the phone. If the problems are not fixed, then they will send people over to my place to fix it!!! Not bad at all !!!
RAM is only 1GB, a bit slow for me who is quite impatient when doing my work. But how can I complain when I got this laptop for free, rite? (^-^)
Thursday, March 13, 2008
C'est la vie !!!
More about myself (^-^)
What motivates me to write about myself this time, is because of I have just recently moved from Jakarta to Singapore. Well, that’s the plan for at least few years ahead. So, here I am, after a week here, finally somehow adjusted to living situation here.
In terms of living condition, it is totally different from back there in Jakarta. Living my life in Jakarta, and I believe many many others will agree to what am going to say, is just like living in heaven. You don’t have to clean up after your mess, you have maids to clean up, cook you dishes, wash your clothes, and just about everything else. Hehehe..nice eh? Here in Singapore, it is totally different. You just have to do it all by yourself. From sweeping, moping, dusting, laundrying, ironing, cooking, washing dishes, even tidying up bed. Hahhaa.. i know i know.. i might sound a lil too spoiled back then in Jakarta eh? Well..that’s just how things work in Jakarta. So it was just smart to make the most out of it. Hauhauaha..
But entertainment in Singapore is more lively, I should say. In Jakarta, the entertainment mostly only involves going to the mall, be it for lunch or dinner, or for bowling (which I hardly go to), or movies (this is the most common entertainment). Hmmm..there were some good clubs too. But here in Singapore, the entertainment includes all of the above, and plus there are some parks and theaters to go to!!!
Parks may be quite ordinanary for some of you, or maybe most of you. But
the theathers!!! Luv it so much!!! It is called “Esplanade, Theatres on the Bay”. The design of the building is very unique. It reminds me of fruit called durian (some of you might refer it as stinky fruit coz the fruit really has a strong, good smell to me ^-^ ). Those who have come to know durian will know what I am saying regarding the design of this building.
Went to the Esplanade last week, and there was free jazz concert show. It was really great and entertaining. And the entertainment in Esplanade include much more than music. It also includes theater, dance, visual arts, and multi arts. To top it more, there are always some free shows from time to time. Unbelieaveable! It is just something very different kind of entertainment, and I really luvvvvv it so much!!!
Plus, the transportation infrastructure in Singapore is sooo well organized. It is so easy to get to anywhere. Making life a lot lot lot easier. Unlike in Jakarta, where we girls would need to wait for driver or someone else to drive us anywhere. It is indeed quite uncommon to find girls driving on the road due to safety reasons.
I am sure I would really come to love staying in Singapore so much, well, despite all the house chores I have to do. There are sooo many things to do and many places to explore. Haven’t got my chance to go to Sentosa Island coz it has been raining almost everyday since last week. Well, I would surely take my time and enjoy to do one thing at a time (^-^)
Oh yah, did I mention the food was GREAT?!!! More reasons to luvvvvv Singapore (^-^)
What motivates me to write about myself this time, is because of I have just recently moved from Jakarta to Singapore. Well, that’s the plan for at least few years ahead. So, here I am, after a week here, finally somehow adjusted to living situation here.
In terms of living condition, it is totally different from back there in Jakarta. Living my life in Jakarta, and I believe many many others will agree to what am going to say, is just like living in heaven. You don’t have to clean up after your mess, you have maids to clean up, cook you dishes, wash your clothes, and just about everything else. Hehehe..nice eh? Here in Singapore, it is totally different. You just have to do it all by yourself. From sweeping, moping, dusting, laundrying, ironing, cooking, washing dishes, even tidying up bed. Hahhaa.. i know i know.. i might sound a lil too spoiled back then in Jakarta eh? Well..that’s just how things work in Jakarta. So it was just smart to make the most out of it. Hauhauaha..
But entertainment in Singapore is more lively, I should say. In Jakarta, the entertainment mostly only involves going to the mall, be it for lunch or dinner, or for bowling (which I hardly go to), or movies (this is the most common entertainment). Hmmm..there were some good clubs too. But here in Singapore, the entertainment includes all of the above, and plus there are some parks and theaters to go to!!!
Parks may be quite ordinanary for some of you, or maybe most of you. But
the theathers!!! Luv it so much!!! It is called “Esplanade, Theatres on the Bay”. The design of the building is very unique. It reminds me of fruit called durian (some of you might refer it as stinky fruit coz the fruit really has a strong, good smell to me ^-^ ). Those who have come to know durian will know what I am saying regarding the design of this building.Went to the Esplanade last week, and there was free jazz concert show. It was really great and entertaining. And the entertainment in Esplanade include much more than music. It also includes theater, dance, visual arts, and multi arts. To top it more, there are always some free shows from time to time. Unbelieaveable! It is just something very different kind of entertainment, and I really luvvvvv it so much!!!
Plus, the transportation infrastructure in Singapore is sooo well organized. It is so easy to get to anywhere. Making life a lot lot lot easier. Unlike in Jakarta, where we girls would need to wait for driver or someone else to drive us anywhere. It is indeed quite uncommon to find girls driving on the road due to safety reasons.
I am sure I would really come to love staying in Singapore so much, well, despite all the house chores I have to do. There are sooo many things to do and many places to explore. Haven’t got my chance to go to Sentosa Island coz it has been raining almost everyday since last week. Well, I would surely take my time and enjoy to do one thing at a time (^-^)
Oh yah, did I mention the food was GREAT?!!! More reasons to luvvvvv Singapore (^-^)
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