"Finish...Finish"...Oh...and I saw a ghost!

These are the words I am hearing most frequently in Singapore as delicious food is forced upon me.

Part of me thinks I should just enjoy it as I am on vacation but another part of me knows that I will be paying for it when I get back. I am going to do my best to eat well today. I think one reaches a point where their body starts to tell them enough is enough. I am feeling pretty bloated...I guess the two pints of beer and the milkshake probably didn't help.

Today we are on our own for dinner as we are going to a show this evening so that should help.

Tomorrow is kind of a day of travel as we are flying to Jakarta Indonesia so I am hoping I can be reasonably good then too.

I do not know what internet access will be like in Jakarta.  I suspect I will be able to get wireless periodically to check emails but do not know if I will be able to have access long enough to sit down and right a blog so if you do not hear from me for a week don't worry...all is good :-)

I need to be at least just a "little" good right now so that I start to feel good again.

On a completely different note I think I saw a ghost yesterday. I feel kind of weird typing this because I really don't believe in this stuff.

We went to an Indian restaurant for lunch and I went to use the bathroom. It was up a long set of stairs and was sort of creepy and very dark. I went to close the bathroom door but I had a lot of trouble. It felt like something was pushing back (although that thought never actually crossed my mind)....it was that feeling you get when you try to close or open a door against a really strong wind.

I got the door closed about 3/4 of the way and then instead of being hard to close the tension completely reversed and the door slammed shut really fast and really loud. It was like the effect wind could have but I was on the second floor in a dingy hallway and there was no wind.

It surprised me but I didn't think much about it. I turned around and jumped a little because I had thought I was alone, but there was a chubby Chinese man in a blue and white costume sitting on the toilet. He wasn't using the toilet but was just sitting on it. Then...in a split second...he was gone.

It freaked me out a bit but I didn't say anything as I thought it had to be my imagination and I didn't want to sound like a total freak.

The more I thought about the vision I saw and how it combined with the weird door experience the more it made me wonder exactly what it was.

Later we went to dinner with about twenty of Jamie's cousins and aunts and at some point during dinner I told Jamie about it on the side. I started my story to him with "don't tell anybody but..." .

Unfortunately he didn't hear those words as the story spread like wild fire and everyone was so intrigued. I think in Asian culture they are more accepting of this type of experience. They were all laughing about it and I seemed to be the only one doubting it actually occurred.

They were all surprised I still went to the bathroom and didn't run out though. LOL

One of his elder aunties say what I described sounded like the God of Luck visiting.

I hope so!

Be healthy!

Alan

Food In Singapore

I have to admit it is really tough to eat well in Singapore.

Correction..you can eat well very easily, but it is really hard to eat healthy in Singapore.

I can totally understand why there is no Weight Watchers program here. I think it would be virtually impossible to follow the plan.

Actually, when I think about it, I don't think I have seen a sign for any type of weight loss program here.

I suspect it is partly because "diet eating" doesn't really seem to exist, and partly because, other than the slightly evident tummies on some people, the only larger asians you see here are younger asian kids, and those kids are usually hanging out in McDonalds.

To be fair to McDonald's though, it seems to be one of the few places one can actually get a salad.

Everything seems to be a mixture of rice and noodles mixed with meat and sauce in a bowl, with a few vegetables on top of the dish as decoration.

Everything also seems to be shared here, so ordering one "healthier" dish just for yourself doesn't seem to be a possible reality. I think it might be perceived as rude.

The only thing you can really attempt to do is portion control but, when you are visiting relatives, that is tough. This is not really an asian thing, I think it transcends cultures...relatives do everything they can to force food down your throat.

I am just starting to get worried.

I caught myself counting the number of days remaining before I could get back to normal eating. One is not suppose to count down the number of days left in their vacation with the hope that is be over soon!

The one thing I can tell you though is that the food here is delicious. I will try almost anything and last night they started calling me an Asian trapped in a Canadian body.

Everything is so fantastically good that it is really hard to behave. I will do my best.

We will see friends from Sweden today. They arrived in Singapore last night.

It's so great they are meeting us here.

Be healthy!


Alan

...and so this is Christmas

It is the time of year when people get together with loved ones...sometimes it is the only time of the year when people get together with loved ones....and sometimes people really don't enjoy getting together with loved ones.

No matter what the scenario for you is I think it is important that we do get together with them if we can.

If we are close by it is important we get together with the people we love at some point during the holiday season, and if we are not close by it is important we find a way to make contact with them.

The reality is they will not be with us forever. It s uncertain who will go first, but it is certain that along the way we will lose loved ones.

I have a dear friend who will be living through the anniversary of the passing of her daughter today.

I blogged about this last year but I will blog about it again because more than anything else, my heart bleeds for anyone who has lost a child. I simply can't imagine it and my thoughts go out to her and anyone else who has lost someone or is feeling alone at this time of year.

All we can do is let the people we know, know that we care about them. It doesn't have to be in words. It can just be by making sure that in some very small way we make contact.

There are people on our lives that love us. It is important that we love them back.

I know...not a typical blog today...and full of my own self-riteous beliefs. I am sure there are many people going through other situations that I haven't even thought about, but I think the bottom line is this.

If you care about someone...let them know while you still can.

Be healthy!

Alan

Plastic Surgery...Or Not...Or Something In Between

I debated on whether to write about this topic or not as I am not sure how well it fits in with "Nutrition and Health" although I did write about it once before a very long time ago.

I do think it matters how you feel about your looks in terms of overall mental health though. You just feel better about yourself if you feel you look good. We all experience that when we get ready to go out somewhere and feel like we "look good"...we also feel great.

Besides, I am a vain person...I totally admit it.

I do know that the possibility exists that things can go horribly wrong though. You should see the "pulled back" lady we saw walking around Singapore today! Jamie just looked at me and said: "Is that what you want?" LOL

A few years ago I had botox injections and walked around looking like Dr Spock for six months. It was not pretty and it kind of scared me off doing stuff to my face.

Over time, however, there have been things I would like to "fix" if I could do it without looking frozen or plastic.

I don't like the bags under my eyes, nor do I like the indented lines that run from either side of my nose to the sides of my lips. While I think the lines in my forehead make me look older when I raise my eyebrows I am not too keen on changing that as the last thing I want is the "frozen head look".

After much research I decided to book a consultation with a plastic surgeon in Singapore just to see what he had to say. He is renowned as one of the top plastic surgeons in the world so I wanted to at least hear what he had to say.

My plan was to play it smart. Playing with one's face is so permanent I booked the appointment at a time where I really COULDN'T actually do a surgery. We leave for Jakarta in the three days and then when we come back we are only in Singapore for three days before we start our trip home (with a stop over in London). Surgery wasn't a possibility as I didn't allow for sufficient recovery time.

Sooo...my thinking was..."Consultation...good"...surgery this trip "impossible"...it was a good plan.

What I didn't expect was for one of the top ten plastic surgeons in the world to tell me that I do not need plastic surgery.

I did not speak of my previous botox experience but the plastic surgeon also told me not to ever let anyone do botox on me as it would be disastrous.

This was a good start...I was impressed.

He then told me that he would suggest filler in the lines from the nose to the mouth and then some more in the cheeks. The filler in the cheeks wouldn't totally resolve the "bags under the eyes" issue but it would mean that my cheeks aren't pulling down on the eyes so the bags would not be as obvious because there would be less weight pulling them down. The result would be a more youthful appearance. That sounded pretty good.

The procedure would last 1 1/2 to two years (which s about how often we go to Singapore to see Jamie's family) , does not require surgery, and only takes about 15 minutes. It is also reversible if I don't like it.

Soooo....it is actually possible that I could do this.

To be honest I want to do it.

Jamie is less sure and I respect that. He thinks I don't need it yet and I should wait for our next visit.

I will probably do as Jamie suggests. Not so much because I want to but because it is an important decision, we are a team, and I think we both need to be onboard with it.

I would really like to get it done, but am not desperate to get it done, so I will likely wait.

What do you think?

I totally expect people to tell me I am nuts as that is the most frequent response one hears when one considers altering their face.

Be healthy!

Alan

Dentistry for Weight Loss

I was getting a little worried about all the food here in Singapore but found the perfect, if temporary, solution.

Go to the dentist...let him tell you you need the back tooth extracted but that it will be "minor surgery" and then tell them to go for it!

Only problem was this all occurred at about 3:30pm today (which is 2:30AM back in good old Toronto) . I hadn't eaten since leaving Jamie's mom's condo at 9AM because I didn't want to go into the dentist office with food stuck between my teeth.

By the time I was told all this I was starving and it didn't sound like I was going to be able to eat afterward.

So...I told them to go ahead with the surgery but that I needed to leave the dentist office and eat before they did it.

They told me I could have something light, which I did, and now eating is real tough.

This should keep me in check for another couple of days.

Perhaps I will just get a tooth pulled every three days and then get porcelain implants put in on the last day!

Then I will go home thin and pretty :-)

Sounds like a plan! Anyone got $40,000K they want to give me for Christmas?

Be healthy!

Alan

ooops

Major derailment yesterday but I had a lot of fun.

Got an awesome Christmas present yesterday which was loaded with chocolates and I ate them all.

Then we had Martinis followed by a birthday dinner for a friend (I chose good food but not healthy food) and of course combined the dinner with copious amounts of wine.

No regrets...it was a blast....but feeling kind of bloated today.

I really don't worry about "a day in life"...it is only when it continues that there is a real problem.

I may have a problem though...I'm going to a Christmas dinner today.

Fingers crossed I survive the weekend without putting on ten pounds!

Be healthy (I will try)

Alan

No...I did not cheat!

I weighed in yesterday. I was down 3.4 pounds. Yay!

I am real happy about that but I have been accused of cheating by my spouse. I did not cheat. I simply made a choice.

Normally I weigh in around 5pm. Yesterday I weighed in at 3pm because I was hungry and wanted to weigh in before I ate. That is NOT cheating!

I have been going to Weight Watchers for a long time and I have yet to meet someone who eats BEFORE they weigh in. In my mind it is much smarter to just weigh in so you can eat like a normal person rather than starve yourself for two more hours so that you weigh in at the right time. I ate a six inch subway sub after I weighed in. Had I waited it would have been a 12 inch sub.

So...I did not cheat. At least that is my rationale (I can rationalize anything) and I am sticking to it :-)

I wish I could end this blog by saying I remained perfect the rest of the evening though. We went to a farewell party later that night for a friend who is going to work on a cruise ship  and I had about 5 pints of beer and an order of Nachos.

It was an indulgence but a well deserved one I think (there I go rationalizing again).

Today will be a 100% healthy day.

Be healthy!

Alan

Symbols of Inner Determination

A friend sent me a message last night letting me know that he was happy that I started my blog again and that it was "almost a visual symbol of your inner determination this time".


I hadn't really thought about it but that is so very true. I knew the blog helped me stay focused but I hadn't really thought about it being the anchor for my inner determination.


It also made me think about Cindy (our Weight Watcher's leader). Each Christmas she gives us an "anchor". Something to visually see to remind us to stick to our goals. As silly as it may sound, anchors do help us stay focused.


This year Cindy gave everyone a "round tuit". It doesn't really matter what a round tuit looks like. The point is that we often say we will accomplish a task when we get a "round tuit". So now we all have one and there are no more excuses.


When I do the blog it is my anchor. It is indeed a symbol of inner determination and that symbol keeps me strong.


Inner determination on its own can get weak from time to time and an anchor will either stop us from getting weak or get us back on track if we do have a momentary period of weakness.


Do you have a visual symbol of inner determination? If not I encourage you to get one. I am finding  it REALLY helps.


Yesterday was a pretty perfect day. I splurged with one bite of a butter tart but other than that I was spot on :-)


Be healthy!


Alan

The Second Plate

Went to to a Holiday party that included a buffet dinner last night.

On the food front I think I did well. Ok...maybe a tad too much chocolate dessert but all things considered I think I handled myself pretty well.

I almost totally gave in to temptation. After I had finished eating I actually stood up to go for a second plate of food, but then I somehow managed to smarten myself up and sit down again.

The thing is, I wanted that second plate of food but I didn't NEED it.

In the moment, I was hungry for it and thought I really needed it but two minutes after I sat back down I had actually forgotten about it and never gave it a second thought. It just goes to show what tricks the mind can play on us.

At the end of the day I think success boils down to one's ability to shoot down the devil on the shoulder that is filling us with bad advice.

That devil did convince me to drink a fair bit so I have some work to do to compensate for that but today there is nothing special at all happening so today will be a good day.

Be healthy!

Alan

Gingerbread

Had a wonderful dinner out last night with great friends.

On the plus side the dinner was quite healthy (there was even a weight watcher's dessert), but on the down side I managed to become fixated in the gingerbread and ate it like a madman. It was real good but it just reinforces in myself that I have just a tad bit of a self control issue....but give me a break...it was good!

Still, I ate more gingerbread than I should, and I know with the holiday season upon us this week is going to be jam packed with social functions. I am out tonight, Wednesday night, Friday night, and Saturday as well. I can't afford not to be careful!

I think tonight will be the hardest. I am going to a buffet dinner and I don't think there will be many healthy choices. There will also be copious amounts of alcohol I am sure.

I will be as good as I can.

I still think the most critical thing during times like this is to be 100% perfect outside of the "events". The events themselves will be a challenge, but if I couple that with poor eating during the day, then "disaster" is the only possible outcome.

So 100% healthy it is during the day today, and as healthy as I can be this evening.

Be healthy!

Alan

Yes We Can!

I have a vision board in my office.

In the centre of the vision board is a picture of a thin me with my arms up in the air and the slogan "Yes We Can!"

I was happy when I put that board up because I was feeling thin and excited about the prospects of staying thin.

Well...I haven't exactly stayed thin consistently, but I am happy to report that I am actually getting pretty thin right now.

It is funny though. I am not feeling the same excitement that the guy in the middle of that vision board was feeling.

I guess it is impossible to remain excited about being thin 24/7 all year round.

Don't get me wrong, I am real glad I am back on the right path but sometimes paths aren't as exciting as we want them to be.

Last night was Saturday night and my excitement for the evening was watching a movie at home that was over by 9:30. I was at a loss as to what to do with myself after that.

I don't think it means that it will be unexciting forever. I am, for example, going to be getting together with awesome people tonight.. Sooner or later there is another bend in the road and things start to change...hopefully for the better.

I think that when the road is fairly straight and boring it is easy to forget that the only way to reach the next bend is to keep going forward and be as good as we can along the way.

I intend to stay on the right path, and when I reach that bend in the road I just know that when I go around the corner I am going to find myself emerged in excitement, beauty, and health.

Be healthy,

Alan

Planning

Tis the season to eat food fa la la la la...la la la la.

Do you have a lot of social events on the horizon? I do.

For some strange reason it doesn't scare me as much as it usually does (ok...ok....it doesn't always scare me...sometimes I am perfectly content to eat my way through the season and deal with the consequences later).

They always tell us at Weight Watcher's that we need a "plan". That it is important to figure out how to have fun without being over indulgent.

Problem is we (or at least "I") have been brought up to believe that overindulgence is not only right during the holidays, it is pretty much an expectation and a requirement.

So will I indulge? Sometimes. Will I overindulge? I am supposed to say "NO" but if I am being honest with myself the real answer is "sometimes". That is still a lot better than my old answer with was "all the time".

What is my plan?

I don't have a major one. I want to have fun...but the plan that I do have is to try to at least keep it reasonable most of the time and behave when I am not at a social event.

So the real plan is simply to be good whenever I am able. If I keep myself in check during the day as well as during the "down" nights I should come out of the holiday season ok.

That is the plan. We shall see if the plan works.

Be healthy!

Alan

The Secret

Hi everyone!

Following my post yesterday announcing that I had lost 11.1 pounds in three weeks I got a few Facebook messages asking what my "secret" was.

I would love to say it was extensive exercise because I really believe in it. Unfortunately I spent 90% of that three weeks unable to exercise because I had thrown out my back.

I would also love to say it was weight watchers as I am 100% certain that without them I would be fifty pounds heavier (at least).

I was, however, away when I hurt my back, not following the Weight Watchers program, and eating in restaurants every day.

I did have a BIG secret though. I followed my secret diligently and guess what. It worked!

Are you ready for the secret? Well...here it is....it is common sense.

Believe me...that sounds easy but it is not. When it comes to eating with common sense I am one of the worst. I usually can't find my common sense. Put a restaurant menu in front of me and common sense disappears out the window.

Ironically, however, exercise did still help me...it helped me attain common sense.

It was not that I was exercising that gave me common sense. It was the fear of what might happen to my body because I COULD NOT exercise AND I was eating out.  I was scared into eating well.

So....this is what Jamie and I did:

1) Each morning at the free breakfast buffet we pretty much just had toast and fruit.
2) We went out for lunch each day and orderer, within reason, what we wanted.
3) When we got our lunch in the restaurant we divided out meals in half and only ate half.
4) After I finished eating half, just to make sure I wouldn't eat more while waiting for the check I put my fork in an unreachable place (going to the washroom and dropping it off near the kitchen works great).
5) We had the second half of our lunch for dinner.

By doing this we managed to eat out everyday for every meal, not exercise, and lose weight.

Common sense makes so much sense. It baffles me that I have such a hard time using it on a regular basis.

Be healthy!

Alan

Down 11.1 pounds!

Stepped on the scale yesterday and I am down 11.1 pounds. Soooooo happy!

That is a three week weight loss, but even so it is significant.

A friend of mine surpassed the 100 pound weight loss mark last week. I think this could become epidemic!

What a bunch of losers we are!

Be healthy,

Alan