Top 5 Diet Tips to Change Your Eating Habits

Few more months and it's Christmas once more.

I could just imagine how various festive activities like parties and reunions would pack up the pounds without us knowing it.

I was able to find an article about preventive maintenance for our diet by Gold's Gym Nutrition Director Brian Rosental on changing bad eating habits to help shed pounds.

Loved this!

1. Turn off the TV and eat at the table. Take a moment before eating to acknowledge having the food you have in front of you and slowly appreciate each bite. This will reduce the tendency to overeat.

2. Get the snacks off your desk or coffee table. "Studies have shown over and over, we will eat it just because it is there," says Rosenthal.

3. Forget the diet fads and meet with a dietician or a Certified Fitness Nutrition Specialist. Every body is different and what your body needs will be different from your friends, family and colleagues.

from the net

4. Eat every three to four hours whether you are hungry or not! By eating small amounts all day, you burn more calories digesting, keep your blood sugar levels normal, reduce cravings and reduce the chance of breaking down muscle.

5. Always have protein when you have carbohydrates. Because protein takes longer to digest, you are less hungry as often.

Rosenthal tells his clients that a healthy lifestyle is an ongoing, moving forward process. "Your body is the way it is based upon a complicated string of events in your past that have resulted in how you are now," said Rosenthal. "Think about your health for a moment. The thought is now in the past. What you do moving forward determines what your health is and will be in the future. That being said, it is important to discover what your body needs in terms of fats, proteins and carbohydrates-and then implement a plan!"

- Very well said.. on a different note, Pinay Fitness would like to Congratulate Amor Milana and her friend Mia for being the first to sign up for the FREE MAKE OVER PROMO-

Pregnancy and Exercise

Have you heard of the news on the woman who gave birth after running a marathon?
Yes my sisters, she finished the whole 42 kilometer stretch and still managed to eat dinner with her husband before she felt the actual signs of giving birth.
When I heard about this, I was amazed!

Taking a trip down memory lane, I remember continuing my running even up until the second trimester at 7 months. I could still bike around our subdivision back then until I get to be 6 months, but after that, the balance is kinda off so I opted to wait till I gave birth -- but actually doing it until 9 months.. I was surprised that the doctor actually allowed her - well, maybe she is that fit to go through 42 kilometers of running, both physically and mentally. KUDOS to her.

taken from the net

It occurred to me that there are many women out there has this idea that one should be extra careful when pregnant but unless the doctor says that you are at risk (threatened miscarriage, low lying-placenta, previous medical conditions), pregnancy is a phase that one goes through in life that one has to prepare of. Pregnancy is not an excuse to stop being active (unless your doctor requires you have bedrest, then you have to follow doctor's advise).

Come to think of it, it is common knowledge that exercise promotes muscle tone, strength, and endurance. If one continues a routine while pregnant, it can help you carry the weight you gain during pregnancy, prepares the you for the physical stress of labor, and make it easier to get back into shape after the baby is born.

I am a mother of four lovely girls and I know that being active during one's pregnancy can also reduce the physical discomforts of backache, swelling, and fatigue thus improving your mood and self-image and make you feel "sexy" despite the bulge!

A Crazy Facebook Post on Health and Nutrition

I was browsing through my friend's Facebook posts when I read a note about a supposed interview with a doctor on the ever controversial topic of Health and Nutrition.

The first part had me thinking "Is this for real?!" and I was showing it to my bestfriend hubby since I was really disturbed on how it was being presented.

As the interview progressed, it hit me -- it was a joke.

(from cartoonstock.com)

Stop me if you've already heard this but I just wanted to share because, as much as it scares me.. there are those who would definitely believe this.
Enjoy!

(Thanks for sharing this Mai!)

Cold vs. Flu

Yesterday I was literally bedridden. 

My head hurts when I start walking my way to the kitchen to get food.

It's a feeling that one just wishes to go away.

Now that the "BER Season" is here, one could easily catch these things. But I wonder, is it the common cold? or The Flu? 

Doing more research, I found out that, although the common cold and the flu share many similar symptoms, they are 2 different conditions.

Below is a representation on how to differentiate a cold vs. the flu.

Bike to Work for Fitness

I am retyping  and posting an article written by Fara Manuel of The Firefly Brigade for the 10th Tour of Fireflies Newsletter where yours truly was featured for an interview about Biking to Work.

"They are ordinary people with extraordinary abilities. They are everywhere among us. They are bike
commuters! In the streets at sundown, it has become a pseudo-bike parade for menial workers who bike commute. Their bikes become make-shift carriages & extensions to shovels, construction materials and what-have-you's. But this street parade is not at all exclusive. More and more "weekend" or recreational cyclists are joining the trend!

*Urban Assault : going down the stairs of Luneta
(Photo courtesy of Karen Menez)

Mountainbiker, Rissa Falvo is a 38 year old, Control Systems Design Engineer for a multi-national company and a mother of four. Her commute? a 20km or 50 minute bike ride from Makati to Alabang.