Being Thin is the New In???

What Is Anorexia? (cited from mamashealth.com)

Anorexia is an eating disorder where people starve themselves. Anorexia usually begins in young people around the onset of puberty. Individuals suffering from anorexia have extreme weight loss. Weight loss is usually 15% below the person's normal body weight. People suffering from anorexia are very skinny but are convinced that they are overweight. Weight loss is obtained by many ways. Some of the common techniques used are excessive exercise, intake of laxatives and not eating.

Anorexics have an intense fear of becoming fat. Their dieting habits develop from this fear. Anorexia mainly affects adolescent girls.

People with anorexia continue to think they are overweight even after they become extremely thin, are very ill or near death. Often they will develop strange eating habits such as refusing to eat in front of other people. Sometimes the individuals will prepare big meals for others while refusing to eat any of it.

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Pause. Just when you think Anorexia mainly affects teenage girls, you are wrong! Check out this news article from MyPaper on 24th July 2009...

Mr.Keropok's Thoughts:

OMG!! What has become of the world? There's nothing wrong with being thin if it's being done the correct way. But why do these teenagers need to resort to starvation or eating malnutrition meals?

Maybe the question behind the question to ask is 'Why the craze and pursuit of being thin?'

If it is for health reasons, then it's understandable. But if it is just plain following a trend just to look cool and gain some limelight, then personally I feel it is plain stupidity. Do pardon me for the lack of a better word. I'm just agitated each time I see young people not exercising some common sense nor thinking of consequences.

Slim vs. Anorexic. To some it may seem like a thin line or grey area of debate. For me, it's as clear as black and white. Don't be silly to fall into the cultural trap.

OMG!!! Lack of Sleep could Get You Fat!!

Source: Article from ChannelNewsAsia.com, 28th July 2009

The benefits of a good night's sleep go beyond improving your concentration and overall well-being. Researchers have found that it is also good for your waistline.

Those who consistently fail to get enough sleep may experience weight gain, according to findings presented at Sleep 2009 in Seattle last month.

A study on 92 healthy adults conducted by University of Pennsylvania found that those who had less than the average amount of sleep gained an average of 1.3kg during the 11-day experiment.

Another study on 1,000 volunteers conducted by Stanford University in California found that those who slept less than eight hours a night had higher levels of body fat. Those who reportedly slept the least weighed the most.

According to Dr Lim, who is the director of Sleep Disorders Unit at Singapore General Hospital, sleep deprivation is "a stressful state which alters our body's hormonal environment".

Lack of sleep decreases the level of leptin, a hormone that makes one feel full after eating. It also increases the level ghrelin, a "hunger hormone" that stimulates one's appetite. This results in overeating and weight gain, said Dr Lim.

"People who don't get enough sleep may also feel tired and exercise less," she added.

For those who have less sleep because they stay up late, eating habits such as bingeing on calorie-laden foods to stay awake may be the reason behind the weight gain, said Ms Lim Su Lin, chief dietitian and senior manager at National University Hospital's dietetics department.

"To stay awake, they may resort to drinking high-sugar, caffeinated beverages or munching on tidbits," said Ms Lim. They may pile on the pounds as a result.

So what constitutes a good night's sleep?

"It is simply one from which we wake up naturally (without an alarm clock), feeling refreshed, alert and able to function at peak mental performance," said Dr Lim. A person who sleeps well would not need to nap in the middle of the day.

Adults require six to 10 hours of sleep.

(Click here to read the full report >>)

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Mr.Keropok's thoughts:

*Pinching the spare tyre on my waistline* ... Hmm.... Based on this report, then I should start clocking more sleep time instead my borderline of 6 hours daily.

But in all things, everything must be seen from holistic approach. Apart from amount of sleep, one other way to control our waistline has definitely got to be our diet and regular exercise. So here's my battle plan:

1. Cut down on soft drinks and any other sweetened drinks. Only drink one cup of tea per day, one sweet drink per week.
2. No supper! (this is gonna be tough!)
   
3. Exercise at least twice a week. (I need people to push me on this!)
   

Objective is not about slimming down, but keeping fit. =D

Stay tuned for my next posting on Anorexia!

"Fast Eaters Get Fat!" - Myth or Truth?

Recently this interesting writeup from KermitKhoo's blog caught my attention - where she mentioned about how eating slowly can help one to slim down. And there was even research conducted and journal publications to justify those results!

OMG!!!! I am definitely one of those guilty of eating really fast! I usually gobble down a cheeseburger in 4-5 mouthfuls!

Decided to trawl the Internet to confirm this finding. By and large, majority of research and healthy living articles confirms that Speedy Gonzales eaters are more prone to getting obese as compared to their counterpart slow munchers.

Here's a quote from ZenHabits:

A growing number of studies confirm that just by eating slower, you’ll consume fewer calories — in fact, enough to lose 20 pounds a year without doing anything different or eating anything different. The reason is that it takes about 20 minutes for our brains to register that we’re full. If we eat fast, we can continue eating past the point where we’re full. If we eat slowly, we have time to realize we’re full, and stop on time. Now, I would still recommend that you eat healthier foods, but if you’re looking to lose weight, eating slowly should be a part of your new lifestyle.

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Mr.Keropok's Thoughts:

Well... Hmm... I'm still quite skeptical about this because there are many factors that causes a person to become obese e.g. no exercise, eating lots of junk food, genetics...etc.

BUT... definitely as part of healthy living and to reduce some stress in my hectic lifestyle, it would be worthwhile to slow down my eating pace so that I can enjoy the food and company that I am eating with.