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September 15, 2011 12:48 PM Health & Fitness  |   Link
100 days on The Four Hour Body

Even with my few weeks of stress over my thyroid problem, I was still able to lose 2 dress sizes and over a little over 15lbs using Tim Ferriss' The Four Hour Body technique. My husband lost cover 18lbs and is already at his target weight. He definitely has lost alot judging on how loose his clothes fit now.

The first 6 weeks were rough as I wasn't seeing any dramatic day to day drops. Just a few ounces here or there and with the cheat day, it seemed that I was back to the beginning. After 6 weeks and I found out I was clear of thyroid issues I started losing more than a pound a day.

I've decided to stay on the diet to get to my target size before Thanksgiving. I have a feeling I can do it and with this diet more part of my routine I don't feel overwhelmed or bored. My goal weight treat is definitely a shopping spree.



July 05, 2011 01:13 PM Health & Fitness  |   Link
Four Hour Body at almost 50 days

I guess one of the positives about going on this diet is that I went to get my general physical. During that process, my doctor noticed I had a lump on my throat. After an ultrasound, the discovered that I had multiple nodules in my thyroid. I am scheduled to have a visit with a specialist. This will involve doing a biopsy on the significant sized nodules and to figure out next steps with how to remove/reduce the size of the nodules. I'm nervous and anxious but overall still trying to focus on losing weight. I'm not following the diet as strictly but still avoiding sugar and white starchy foods(rice, pasta, bread) as well as fruit. I've lost about 1 dress size and just in a holding pattern for now. I think I will get back into exercise with kids tagging along and perhaps invest in a kettlebell. Still debating about chariot with bike or signing up for the Y. We'll see what happens in the next few weeks. I'm also appreciating my days with the children alot more. I'm actually content right now and hoping to feel more at peace where we are.



October 20, 2008 05:52 PM Just Because  |   Link
Living Productive Lives

Great links to many articles about simplifying your life.

30 aritlces that will help you simplify your life

I've linked it here to remind myself every so often to reduce, reuse, and recycle. We've been practicing many of these suggestions for many years now.



September 09, 2008 05:11 PM Health & Fitness  |   Link
Working out with Moms

I just finished my first workout with StrollerGym today with Jennifer. Lucky for me I got 1:1 on training. Well depending on your perspective its great to get that kind of attention. The class definitely kicked my butt. I haven't been to a gym in 6 months and casual walks around the neighborhood hasn't kept me in shape. So I told myself that I will commit to at least 12 sessions with a goal to lose 1lbs a week.

The great thing is that we're outdoors at a park. I went to the Tuesday 11am session at Rinconada Park. B stayed with me in the stroller for the jogging party and I put her on a towel on the grass while we did pushups/lunges and situps. It was a nice warm up and cooldown and I felt my heartrate was up there for most of the workout. Next time I'll probably wear my heartrate monitor.

So my goal to improve my diet/health/mind:
local/sustainable/organic(if possible) fruits/veggies/dairy/cheese/meat
decrease processed food intake including cereal and snacks
lots of water and some milk/dairy
lots of sleep
exercise 3x a week for at least an hour
limit dessert to once a week and make it count
limit wine and it has to be a really great dinner or dessert
meditate daily
do something creative/art/music daily



October 24, 2007 10:25 PM Health & Fitness  |   Link
Baby Boot Camp

Just when I thought I couldn't get back into my boot camp class at my gym, I discover there's a version of it for moms/dads that allow for their babies to tag along.

Baby Boot Camp

And what's even better is there's a class that meets a park less than a mile away from our house! I'll probably add this to Patty's post-partum exercise class in San Carlos after Baby Jeli is born.



October 15, 2007 03:38 PM What I heard  |   Link
Going Green with Body Products Too

Skin Deep lists products according to how safe or not they are for you. With the recent news regarding lead in lipsticks this is a great website to check what kinds of chemicals many body products contain including baby care as well.



June 19, 2007 10:50 AM Health & Fitness  |   Link
Weight Loss and Alcohol Tolerance

Stanford folks studied a bunch of bariatric surgery patients in their alcohol consumption. They discovered that their tolerance went down. I remember when I lost my 50lbs(a few years ago) I couldn't handle caffeine and gave up coffee drinks right away. I also noticed that I couldn't drink as much before getting tipsy.

Bariatric surgery patients have less alcohol tolerance
One drink is enough to put many at the legal limit, study says
Erin Allday, Chronicle Staff Writer June 19, 2007



November 16, 2006 03:32 PM Health & Fitness  |   Link
Really Reading WSJ Again

Since J started his Kaplan classes for the GMAT, we started receiving daily WSJ paper and also monthly Rolling Stones. What a strange combination. Well today there were some really interesting articles that caught my attention.

Wall Street Journal (Paid Subscription Required)
How to Keep Your Aging Brain Fit: Aerobics
"According to a new study, the brain's long, slow decline may not be inevitable. And the key to keeping intellectually sharp as we age may not be mental gymnastics -- as commonly recommended -- but real gymnastics."

Pearson to Create a 'Wiki' Book
"Publishing giant Pearson is joining with two top business schools to create a business book authored and edited by a "wiki" -- an online community dedicated to writing."
Business school professors use wikis to get the business community to contribute to current topics facing businesses.



November 02, 2006 07:23 AM Health & Fitness  |   Link
Spa Living Full-Time

Living in Zen (NY Times)

Can it be the ultimate dream home for a spa-goer like me? A condo community revolving around spa ammenities. Interesting article about these concept communes being planted right in the middle of stressful metro cities. Sounds like a great idea. There are many special vacation destination or even 2nd home type residences in more rural/remote locations such as in Arizona and Utah. I even thought of doing my one month time off there, however I felt like Napa had a good mix of that feel without the high pricetag. I wonder if SF will have them too?



October 22, 2006 09:32 PM Health & Fitness  |   Link
Creative Bliss

Spa as a treatment for releasing creative juices and aid in making big decisions.

Seeking that Aha Moment

I have to admit lots of the advice in the article is true. My one month in Napa led to many decisions that were life changing and truly awesome. So the next time you are feeling the ultimate stress of life, head to a spa!



August 06, 2006 08:38 PM Health & Fitness  |   Comments (0)  |   Link
How to make your workouts more interesting...

J shared this video with me...you can only imagine all the blog titles I thought of...

what not to do while working out
beware of hot pants at the gym
who said treadmills aren't the rage anymore
next step...DDR on the treadmill

The list can go on and on...I love youtube.

In case it doesn't come up...YouTube



June 17, 2006 06:05 PM Business & Finance  |   Link
Work at SBUX = Gain Weight

Interesting article regarding high transfats in Starbucks food and beverages. Sounds like a consumer watch group is going to sue Starbucks about the unhealthy qualities of their drinks and especially their snacks.

Starbucks targeted over high-fat products
I remember writing about this a while ago regarding the high calorie and high fat contents.



April 02, 2006 08:45 PM Health & Fitness  |   Link
Great Fundraiser & New Sport Shop Discovery

Our friend MQ is doing a fundraiser for her TNT cycling event coming soon. She decided to host a fundraiser at a sporting equipment store similar to REI called Sports Basement. They have really great prices and their sale racks are even better. What was neat is that a percentage of our purchases went towards MQ's TNT fundraiser for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

If you would like to make a contribution to MQ's race for the cure, you can check out her site.



December 03, 2005 10:02 AM Health & Fitness  |   Link
It Really Kicked My Butt

I guess pushing myself too hard has taken its toll on my knees. I have chrondromalacia in my right knee and can't do boot camp or anything involving running, deep knee bends or squats so that includes circuit training too. I'm super bummed since I like the overall health benefits of a leaner body. I guess I'll have to check out spinning and water aerobics for now until my knee heals.



September 23, 2005 09:16 AM Health & Fitness  |   Link
The Meaning of Self Induced Pain

I guess this should be a whine but I can't really complain about it. I belong to a gym in my area. I've mentioned how some of the group exercise instructors are like drill sargents. I'm not joking. So far one of them is still on maternity leave, but I bet when the doctor oks her to come back she's coming back with a vengence. Recently I signed up for "Boot Camp" and it's really tough. I'm the slowest and of course the heaviest...everyone's fit already, they don't need this class!

Of course this pain isn't anything like the donating blood episode last week, but it's the kind of pain where you use muscles you rarely or never use. Then I was thinking wow God gave us all these muscles and they all work in an orchestrated way to keep us moving and able to do things. Over time our range of movements have decreased to sitting at a desk in front of a computer, sitting in traffic for many hours a week, or sitting in front of the tv and drinking beer/wine. Basically we're really not using the muscles that we were given to use in all ranges of motion. Today's workout made me realize that without that range of motion your body really doesn't want to do much...and likewise our heart go kaplut. And then what about our brain. We do endless activities where our brain just go kaplut.

Which brings me back to the meaning of self-induced pain. In order for our whole being to get stronger and leaner we need to push it just a little bit harder with a little pain to make the muscles get stronger. Just that little bit of pain makes the muscles overwork and during recovery they heal and get leaner.

Even while playing the piano I'm realizing this. Each time I learn a new scale or chord and just keep playing it over and over again, it's quite painful but then somehow after that 10th time I've played it my fingers know where to go. I can realize now as an adult why I didn't want to practice as a child. It hurt like hell. It was painful. I couldn't articulate that then. Somehow putting ourselves in situations where there's a little bit of pain just makes us stronger and builds our character.

So these self-induced painful exercise is building me up...and likewise the pain we experience emotionally in our life through trauma or stress also builds up and strengthens our character. But the main challenge is how we react to the stress or trauma. Do we step back and try to find an opportunity to learn or grow in a new way? Do we just wallow in a "pity party?" How can we exercise our choices in dealing with the emotional pain? As I did that 30th pushup on my toes, boy was I praying really hard to get through the next set of 30. But I'm also reminded about the pain I suffer is nothing like the pain Christ suffered. I'm reminded that I made a choice to pay someone to step up my workout and I remind myself that in times of emotional pain, God is exercising my spiritual muscles, my character.



September 22, 2005 07:50 AM Health & Fitness  |   Link
Early to Bed, Early to Rise

...makes Lisa sore and tired...

I woke up this morning aching and sore.
I sneezed, my obliques screamed in pain.
I bent over, my lower back was relieved of strain.
I sit up straight, and my shoulders sigh in relief.
I reach up for the box of cereal in the cupboard, my calves experience a surge of lightning.
I try to sit down at my desk, and my butt just cringes in anticipation.

Yesterday I woke up to do a 7AM workout called "Boot Camp" which involved 10 minute warmup, 30 minutes of basic training outdoor workout(situps/pushups/squats/lunges/planks) in ways I've never done them before, and 20 minute run. I felt fine the whole day until this morning.

Pain...it's all a pain...but I have that last 10 lbs to go!!!!!!!



July 12, 2005 08:10 PM Health & Fitness  |   Link
Walking on Cobblestone Barefoot, Good

Of course I knew this one already ever since I had my chance to wander on some in Hong Kong. A couple large parks I visited while there had these long paths with cobblestone. I would see old and young alike do their qi gong while walking on the cobblestone. Good to see medical field validating it.

Cobbleston'es benefits startle researchers



July 06, 2005 03:55 PM Health & Fitness  |   Link
Pregnant Circuit Trainer Kicks My Butt

She's only 4 weeks away from having a baby and she's still tough as ever. We did a bunch of squats and if our butts didn't touch the bench she was on us hard core! I took one moment of a breather sitting on the bench and she scolded me and boy did that get me going on the rest of the workout. I'm going to miss her when she goes on maternity leave. Of course my body aches, but not as bad as right after the jumprope class I took again on Monday.

I start my new project next Wednesday officially! That means next Tuesday is the last time I can work out during the day. Argh I hate working out at 6am.



June 21, 2005 12:01 PM Food & Wine  |   Link
Did Ya Know...

I was bored waiting for my non-fat chai the other day at Starbucks(SBUX). So I was staring at the wall and found a brochure of the "nutritional" facts for each drink combination they serve there. I wish they had one for the food. However, I was totally amazed to see the calorie and fat content for the drinks.

Online Nutritional Information for Drinks | Food

So here are the top 5 unhealthy drinks at SBUX:
1. Vanilla Creme, with whipped cream, Venti, Breve: 890 cal, 70 g fat
2. Hot Chocolate, with whipped cream, Venti, Breve: 870 cal, 64g fat
3. Caffe Latte, Venti, Breve: 710 cal, 62g fat
4. Vanilla Creme, without whipped cream, Venti, Breve: 790 cal, 61g fat
5. White Chocolate Mocha, with whipped cream, Venti, Breve: 900 cal, 61g fat

My tall nonfat chai is 170 cal, 0g fat. I was really surprised with #5. That's like all your fat for a day and half of your calories for the day...all in just one drink. That's like 2 hours on a treadmill going 4mph or you can take a jumprope class for an hour which burns about 1000 calories an hour. I think I'll stick to tea which has 0 cal and 0 fat...or my nonfat chai here and there!



Health & Fitness  |   Link
Do Not Underestimate the Pregnant Training Instructor

I thought I was going to die in class today. I figured pregnant instructor for circuit training..."No problem!" Boy was I wrong, along with a couple other participants. She was totally kicking our butts. She was there showing us how to do the movements including some power steps. She is the most fit pregnant woman I've evern met. She's 6 months pregnant and very excited about making sure we did the movement safe and getting a nice hard workout. I think my butt is going to hate me tomorrow.

Last Friday, I tried a jump rope class. Nope, not your beginner class. No, easy strolling like a pre-schooler. This was your "let me kick your butt into shape" with 80-85% of your max heart rate for a full 55 minutes. It has taken me 2 days to recover with my calves aching each time I take a step. I've noticed walking backwards down steps eased up on the calves. Just the same, both were great workouts.

I still have 15 lbs. to go...and it's been quite difficult. Especially with the nice summer weather I want to eat ice cream and drink white wine...of course not together. I guess I need to stop eating sweets at the many church related functions.



April 14, 2005 03:17 PM Health & Fitness  |   Link
Warning: Dim Sum Bad for Your Health

This is really bad news for folks who enjoy dim sum, "heart treasures." According to this article(yahoo), it's high in fat and sodium. It's difficult for me to believe because most Hong Kong Chinese are skinny! And even when they go out to eat dim sum, they walk everywhere and they probably don't even eat that much. Funny the article mentions to eat pork buns, come on the filling is chock full of sodium, sugar, and the infamous high fat pork. I think it's a conspiracy.



April 04, 2005 01:01 PM Health & Fitness  |   Link
Update on Jal Neti Pot

Now that we're back here in US, I don't think I'll be needing jal neti as much. I noticed back in HK, it was very useful in clearing the daily pollution of urban stuff. These past few days have been so clear. My cold is pretty much gone and I'm sleeping better through the night. However for Jeff it's a different story. We came to a very green neighborhood. Lots of pollen and it's spring so the rains have defintely spread the allergens around. Jeff will probably give his jal neti testimonial soon. It's definitely like brushing your teeth; a routine that is barely even 2 minutes of our time in the AM and PM.



February 25, 2005 06:42 PM Health & Fitness  |   Link
He's Too Sexy

I just have to brag. My husband is sexier than ever. After 5 months of working out at the gym 3-4x a week, this is how he has done.

Since I've been losing inches(more muscle, less fat), I'm not at the same level but there's definitely some definition showing up. Sooner or later we'll be gracing the cover of Muscle Mag.



January 20, 2005 03:35 AM Health & Fitness  |   Link
Homeopathic Remedy for Allergies

We live in a very polluted area of Causeway Bay and having being spoiled with the no smoking indoors in CA our allergies have been really bad here. Several days ago Jeff started doing a nasal rinse rather than submit to medical surgery to correct his sinus allergies. Today Jeff feels that daily routine has helped him alot eliminating his allergies. It's basically salty warm water that is shot up in a steady stream up one nostril and comes out the other nostril.

Here are some resources he found online to learn more about it but I suggest looking locally for classes or instruction.

The one that we have is from here: Neilmed

Jeff just ordered a real stainless steel neti pot from Health and Yoga.

The benefits of this one are:
A) larger size, this one is 16 oz versus 8 oz for the squeeze bottle
B) continous flow - the squeeze bottle you have to resqueeze after a little bit.

There was some talk of the continous flow helping to pull out more contaminants, but not sure if this is valid.

There are a whole bunch of articles on the net about this practice. It's called "jal neti". Here are some starters: the 2nd link is really good and has lots of good info.

Health and Yoga: Jal Neti
Net Handbook (pdf)

We also bought the Neti Wash Plus to add to the solution when we get more comforatable with the basic saline solution. It's supposed to prevent infection and is speficially made for neti pots.

Not only am I hoping to prevent colds and eliminate allergies, but the improvement in my sense of smell and taste will probably help me with my wine tasting education.



Health & Fitness  |   Link
Homeopathic Remedy for Allergies

We live in a very polluted area of Causeway Bay and having being spoiled with the no smoking indoors in CA our allergies have been really bad here. Several days ago Jeff started doing a nasal rinse rather than submit to medical surgery to correct his sinus allergies. Today Jeff feels that daily routine has helped him alot eliminating his allergies. It's basically salty warm water that is shot up in a steady stream up one nostril and comes out the other nostril.

Here are some resources he found online to learn more about it but I suggest looking locally for classes or instruction.

The one that we have is from here: Neilmed

Jeff just ordered a real stainless steel neti pot from Health and Yoga.

The benefits of this one are:
A) larger size, this one is 16 oz versus 8 oz for the squeeze bottle
B) continous flow - the squeeze bottle you have to resqueeze after a little bit.

There was some talk of the continous flow helping to pull out more contaminants, but not sure if this is valid.

There are a whole bunch of articles on the net about this practice. It's called "jal neti". Here are some starters: the 2nd link is really good and has lots of good info.

Health and Yoga: Jal Neti
Net Handbook (pdf)

We also bought the Neti Wash Plus to add to the solution when we get more comforatable with the basic saline solution. It's supposed to prevent infection and is speficially made for neti pots.

Not only am I hoping to prevent colds and eliminate allergies, but the improvement in my sense of smell and taste will probably help me with my wine tasting education.



January 11, 2005 07:43 AM Whine  |   Link
Beware: Librarian with Boxing Gloves

I've taken up boxing. This time it's not the cardio kickboxing stuff. Let's just say I love it. Yes I know for the folks from GSB, it was kind of funny to see me show up to work with boxing gloves. I think someone even joked that I brought them to meetings to spar with the other managers.

I think it is a great way to get into shape and release tension in the body. I'm just having a wonderful time this turn around...so I definitely was bummed out that I didn't bring my own gear from back home but I can get some good stuff here...even hand made gloves. Boy those sound serious. But what's really funny was when I was trying to look up the email about my gear from back home I found this quote in my inbox:

"They are subversive. You think they're just sitting there at the desk, all quiet and everything. They're like plotting the revolution, man. I wouldn't mess with them." -- Michael Moore talking about librarians (Buzzflash, March 2002).

I started to laugh. Here I am a trained librarian(thinking of going back to librarianship) and I'm enjoying the heck out of beating up my trainer. Gosh I wonder what it will be like when I enter the ring. I'll have to get Jeff to take photos or video.



January 08, 2005 07:51 PM Travel  |   Link
Tennis is BIG here

So when some top seated women tennis players show up for a tournament and fundraiser, it's pretty much sold out. I unfortunately was still recovering from my cold and Jeff went to the main event. The final match of the Watson's Water Challenge 2004. Venus Williams(USA) vs. E. Dementieva(Russia)

Jeff also had a chance to see the Williams sisters play doubles.

Even with Jeff's seats from 10 rows from the back he was able to use his super zoom camera to get some of these great shots. Maria Sharapova was on hand for an auction of her racket and signed shirt that went to aid tsunami victims. Her auctioned item alone brought in $500,000HKD($65K USD). There was also an autographs line for Sharapova that Jeff said was super long.

In and around HK, tennis and golf are big. There are so many boutique shops dedidcated to tennis and golf gear. While tennis is a little more accessible to the masses with courts in and around parks, golf on the other is quite exclusive here. Most folks go to mainland China to play for a weekend of golf and it's still cheaper than playing around here. It's pretty amazing.



November 20, 2004 06:31 AM Travel  |   Link
You can't get any whiter...really!

Can't anyone get a facial moisturizer here without skin whitening? Living in CWB, I've noticed there's a big fascination with skin care or more specifically skin whitening, make-up, and weight lose.

Weight lose is a also big deal here. If you're bigger than a size 6 you're pretty much considered obese here. It's amazing how skinny many of the women are here. I remember seeing an ad on the bus for someone who was probably a size 6 saying she was sooo fat and then get hooked up to some kind of contraption that got her to a size 0. Imagine my frustration of knowing I've lost over 40 lbs. already and arrive here to hear that I'm still obese from various fitness trainers. Aiya! Of course I know none of the products you smear on your body or ingest will help whiten your skin or help you loose your weight.

If anything some people are pretty vain about staying white and being super skinny. If they were skinny and had lots of muscle tone that's one thing, but most of the folks here are just really skinny. If anything there are no J-Lo or Beyonce shapes here. It's almost like their bodies are in a transitory pre-pubscent state.

In some way I've fallen for it, but there's no getting around it. I still need a moisturizer and I like getting massage oils. It just seems that they try to sell harder by telling you the product will make my skin whiter or the oil will help combat fatty deposits in your legs...or something like that. Gosh with my working out for 2 hours every other day and trying really hard to stay vegetarian, I know I'm doing it the old fashion way...I'm working it off! As for my freckles, I really like them. They set me apart from most folks and they build character :)

Maybe in the US people are really in an unhealthy state and I was desensitized that it was ok to be fat. But here, I've swung the other way. You definitely stand out if you're bigger than say a size 6.



March 24, 2004 08:59 PM Whine  |   Link
So close to 30 and so close to loosing 30

gsb_lisa.jpg.jpg

David Tom took this camera pic of me while at work the other day...didn't realize I'm starting to look so different. The pic on the right is of me last May 2003 at my cousin Jackie's wedding (30lbs heavier).



March 07, 2004 02:23 PM Health & Fitness  |   Link
Mind over Body

26.8lbs...