From the web : 5 ways to exercise less and lose more

If you had a magic lamp would you use one of your three wishes to workout less whilst losing more? If you would then your wish is our command. Here’s how you can lose more and exercise less.

Put in some speed

Add a little speed to your sessions if you want to exercise less and lose more. Running steadily for a set distance over a prolonged period of time is all well and good, but your body will soon get used to running this distance and you will no longer progress or continue to lose weight.

Instead of running steadily for all of your run sessions you should do some speed sessions and include some interval work in your workouts. Interval work is great because when you work harder in the sprint sections of the interval session your muscles work harder too, producing additional chemicals in your body to process the extra oxygen in your body. To get this job done your body expends more energy and burns more kilojoules. Therefore you can exercise for shorter periods of time and lose more weight. Three cheers for interval training.

Eat an apple

Who knew that eating could help you exercise less and lose more? A recent study undertaken by US researchers at Iowa University have found that a natural compound called ursolic acid that is present in apple skins increased the amount of muscle in mice. The compound also increased the amount of brown fat in the test mice and these two tissue increases are known for their ability to increase the amount of kilojoules burnt.

The study found that mice on a high-fat diet that were given the ursolic acid compound were less affected by obesity than mice that were not given the compound. The researchers concluded that ursolic acid could help reduce obesity and help to burn more kilojoules. So, if you want to exercise less and lose more it might be time to stock up on apples.

Lift some weights

If you want to lose weight and do less then don’t skip weight training when you work out. Lifting weights is great because not only does it burn kilojoules when you are working out, if done correctly it will also increase your muscle mass. This is important because the more muscle you have the more kilojoules you will burn when doing an activity, compared to someone doing the same activity with less muscle. Therefore by doing some weight training you’ll be able to do less exercise but burn more because of your increased muscle mass.

If you’re a woman and you’re suddenly sceptical about weight training don’t worry, due to your oestrogen levels most women don’t build hefty muscles and won’t bulk up too much.

Cut down your exercise sessions

A study undertaken by Danish scientists discovered that doing shorter exercise sessions could help people lose more weight. These conclusions were drawn during a study that examined sedentary, unfit Danish men who were in their 20s and 30s. The scientists divided the male participants into three groups. One group were to return to their usual inactive routines (this group acted as the controls), one group were to exercise daily until they had burnt 300 kilojoules, whilst the final group were to do daily workouts where they burnt 600 kilojoules.

Surprisingly the group that did the moderate workouts and burnt 300 kilojoules ended up losing more weight (seven pounds on average) than the group that did longer sessions, who on average lost only five pounds. The scientists aren’t entirely clear why those who did less lost more, but they suggested that those who worked out for longer ate more to compensate and because they were tired from their workouts they did less and sat down for longer during those times when they were not exercising. So, if you want to lose more and exercise less then it might be wise to do shorter exercise sessions.

High-intensity workouts

A high-intensity workout may help you to exercise less and lose more. This is because high-intensity workouts can help you to burn more kilojoules compared to doing moderate exercise. The CDC suggests that we all do 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week or do 75 minutes of high-intensity exercise per week.

Other benefits of a high-intensity workout are seen from the American Heart Association, who suggest that a high-intensity workout can help you lose weight because after exercising your muscles need to have their glycogen stores replenished and this process also burns kilojoules. So if you want to do less and lose more it may be worth doing a few high-intensity workouts when training, such as interval training, swimming or skipping.

(Free Malaysia Today)

From the web : Where are your manners people?

Going for a walk in my neighbourhood the other day, I came upon a sight that we as Malaysians are all too familiar with – trash flung right under a huge but impotent signboard spelling out a nasty RM500 fine for anyone caught dumping trash.

That same evening, I encountered another familiar sight – dog poo piled in glorious abundance at random spots along the sides of the roads and on grassy banks. Was picking up after your dog too laborious or undignified a task? Better to let your neighbours manoeuvre the obstacle course themselves and for those less skilful, deal with the consequences in private. After all, what’s a little poo-smear on your shoes or bicycle tyres!

Here are some more ‘nasties’ that Malaysians never tired of…

Queuing - Why does the average Malaysian take such issue with the simple act of queuing? The train finally pulls up and the once office-weary crowd suddenly bursts into action, turning hostile and elbowing each other as they strain to be the first in. As a young student using the public bus years ago, I cannot count how many times the bus stopped right in front of me yet I was the last up as old ladies, young boys and even meek and mild-mannered school girls hissed, spat and jostled their way past me with umbrellas, school files and elbows jabs blocking my pathetic ascend. Sigh!

Flushing – I hate using public toilets only because Malaysians harbour an aversion towards flushing. It’s ridiculously painful to walk around with a bladder fit to bursting, then have to peek into the toilet bowl first before actually getting down to the business at hand. And yes, sometimes the mass that greets you in the bowl is someone’s unfortunate dinner the previous night. Absolutely sickening!

Squatting on toilet seats – Malaysians are an acrobatic lot. How else could you explain muddy shoe marks on a public toilet seat? Did it never occur to them to line the seat with tissue paper, then sit on it before taking a dump?

 

Throwing trash from the car – Soda cans, food wrappers, half-eaten food and cigarette butts. Yes, these and many more are often seen airborne before unceremoniously crash-landing on our highways. Once while waiting for a friend by the roadside, a speeding car comes hurtling along the bend. A well-dressed foreigner winds down his window and flings a beer can onto the divider, probably thinking nothing of it since many Malaysians before him did it too. 

Smoking in restaurants – So maybe they didn’t see the ‘No Smoking’ sign or maybe, just maybe they are inconsiderate and selfish. It’s positively annoying (and somewhat impossible) to carry on a conversation with your friend when the goon beside you is spewing cigarette smoke into your face and choking up your respiratory system with second hand smoke.

Spitting in public – When Beijing hosted the Olympics, the government invested money to educate its people from spitting in public. In beautiful Malaysia, we do encounter this disgusting habit every so often too. What really is more stomach churning is the guttural sound that precedes the act. 

 

Double-parking – A favourite among many Malaysians. Some even leave their business cards on your windscreen so you can call them to re-park their car once you’re ready to leave. Others just don’t give a damn and leave you honking furiously till they casually emerge ten minutes later. As far as they’re concerned, a curt ‘sorry’ should suffice. 

Since many Malaysians are daredevil thugs in corporate clothing, it would help if the authorities got serious about enforcement. Right now, most people do as they please simply because all those ‘no smoking’, ‘no dumping’, ‘no parking’ warnings are pretty much ‘all bark no bite’. 

(Free Malaysia Today : Sandra John)

From the web : Diet blunders busted

 

Prepared to be shocked, dieters. Here we reveal 5 surprising diet myths and tell you the truth about losing weight.

If you eat less you lose more

If you want to lose weight surely you need to eat a lot less? Well, that’s not exactly true. By going on one of these ‘crash diets’ or ‘fad diets’ where you cut your kilojoule intake drastically you may find that you lose weight initially. However, when you eat a lot less than you need your metabolism slows down and once you return to eating normally again your body will not burn off the kilojoules as quickly as it used to do. Therefore when your crash diet ends normally dieters regain the weight.

Plus crash diets are bad for you because eating the same foods repeatedly means that you are depriving your body of other essential vitamins and minerals, which means your body cannot function as it should. This deprivation can also lead to muscle loss, which is bad news if you want to lose weight because the more muscle mass you have the more kilojoules you expend when performing physical activities. Therefore by losing muscle you’ll burn less and inevitably lose less weight too.

If you exercise lots you can eat what you like

Exercise is associated with weight loss and, although exercise will help you keep weight off in the long term, exercise on its own is often not enough to help you to shift the pounds you want to lose. This is because it takes a lot of effort, time and energy to burn off all of the necessary kilojoules to lose weight. For example, to burn 420 kilojoules you will need to spend around 60 minutes exercising. So that’s 60 minutes exercising to burn off a small snack or 50g of wholemeal bread – clearly then exercise alone is not enough if you want to lose weight.

The MayoClinic also support this theory, suggesting that studies show ‘an exercise regimen… is unlikely to result in short-term weight loss beyond what is achieved with dietary change’. So if you want to lose weight you need to change your diet and exercise.

Cutting dairy helps you lose weight

If you want to lose weight would you eat cheese or drink full fat milk? If you wouldn’t then you may need to reassess your diet. Researchers at the Nutrition Institute at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville found that low-fat calcium foods can actually help to reduce body fat and that fat cells that contain more calcium will burn more fat.  The researchers believe that calcium can therefore help encourage the burning of fat opposed to the storing of fat.

Dairy products are also great for dieters because it is thought that not getting enough calcium causes your body to produce more fat, which would obviously inhibit weight loss. Interestingly, in the study held at the Nutrition Institute, it was found that taking calcium supplements did not produce the same benefits as actually eating dairy products. So if you want to lose weight it might be time to tuck into some natural yoghurt and honey or have a delicious fruit smoothie made from fruit, milk and ice.

Eating late at night will make you gain more weight

A lot of people believe that eating after a certain time in the evening will lead them to gain weight because they do not get the opportunity to burn off the food they’ve just eaten. According to a study conducted at Dunn Nutrition Centre though, this may just be another diet myth. To test this theory researchers gave participants a smaller lunch and a larger evening meal for a period of time and measured the amount of fat the participants’ bodies stored.  Then the researchers gave the participants a larger lunch and a smaller evening meal, again measuring the participants’ fat levels.

The results indicated that there was no link between when people ate and the amount of fat stored. Another study conducted by Oregon Health & Science University found similar findings, when they did a study on monkeys.

I put on all this weight over Christmas

Although we all like to indulge at certain points during the year, surprisingly weight gain is actually a slow process and it is unlikely that we put on a lot of weight during those times we indulge or splurge.

This is because in order to put on one pound of weight we need to consume an extra 14,700 kilojoules. Yet the average Christmas dinner, which is generally the most indulgent meal of the year, is thought to amount to around 6,300 kilojoules. For those people who feel like they’ve piled on the pounds the weight is more likely to be the result of fluid. So, if you have a diet slip up don’t feel guilty. That chocolate treat won’t sabotage your progress as long as you go back to a healthy diet and exercise after your little indulgence.

(Free Malaysia Today)

From the web : Tips to get fit and motivated

Let’s face it. When it comes to staying healthy and fit, we’re all battling our inner demons. We struggle everyday to get out of bed – or the sofa – and wonder in amazement at how others could do it. Staying motivated has much to do with the psychology of the mind and social support.

 

First, understand that we all are creatures of positive reinforcement. No one likes to be told to do something. So when it comes to workouts, choose something that you enjoy doing. Alina Kamaruddin speaks of her gym class, “When choosing a gym, I make sure that it has a variety of classes that fits my personality. I don’t do workouts that I dislike, in this case, zumba. But that’s just one class out of a week and my gym still leaves me with plenty of option to do something else.”

Rewarding yourself after a workout also helps get you committed to more workouts in future. Personal trainer Jonathan Quek says, “I encourage my clients to reward themselves after a good workout – whether they want that ice-cream or that burger bakar.” There is nothing wrong with indulging, especially in food, says Quek “because you have worked hard at burning off those fat, and so long as indulgence is done in moderation, it is a good motivator.”

Self-control is another way to motivate you to exercise more. Understand that every one has limited self-control, and that this resource thins out the longer the day wears on. For example, you have better self-control to plan your day if you start in the morning. As the day goes by, and more variables go into it, you will keep on losing control of what you can or cannot do.

This is why some fitness experts encourage us to exercise in the morning. This is when you’ll have less hurdles and excuses to overcome, for example an over-extended meeting at the office or running errands after work. If a morning workout is simply impossible, then come up with an alternative plan that can help you remove those hurdles or have you work around them.

 

Finally, embrace the concept of social support. Human beings are by nature, sociable. We like to feel we belong, and whether you admit it or not, we sometimes seek a group’s approval of our actions and behaviour. This is the reason why people who work out in groups fare better in sticking to their exercise routine than one who works out alone. MetCon X founder, Daing Daniel Fitri, explains, “In a group workout such as with MetCon X, you never feel alone. There are always people in your group to motivate and cheer you on, regardless of your fitness levels. Sometimes when you feel like giving up, you won’t because you see others marching on.” 

Another reason group workouts are great, he says, is they also motivate you to work harder. “You don’t realise this but in a group, when everyone’s doing it together, you’re more likely to go beyond your comfort zone.” So the next time you plan to workout alone, try roping in a friend or a group. Committing to a workout with others is the best motivating factor to get you out the door and onto the road of fitness.

(FMT : Free Malaysia Today - Anis Ramli ) 

From the web : ‘Harlem Shake’ shocks

 

WASHINGTON: The up-and-coming Brooklyn DJ behind “Harlem Shake” said yesterday he’s thrilled to see his cutting-edge electronic dance music (EDM) track going viral in a very big way.

“Honestly, (I’m) just happy to see people go crazy to my stuff,” Baauer told fans during a two-hour ask-me-anything session on Reddit.com as more and more “Harlem Shake” memes kept finding their way onto YouTube.

“It will definitely create lots of hype but thats not something i worry about,” he wrote during the online chat.

“The viral craze was something totally out of my control. I see it really positively. At the end of the day lots of new people are listening to my music. Im hoping that my music will speak for itself.”

Baauer, 23, the stage name of Philadelphia native Harry Rodrigues, released “Harlem Shake” last May, four months before a New York Times music critic identified him as a rising star on the underground Brooklyn EDM scene.

Few outsiders knew of its existence, however, until Feb 2 when a satirical blogger named Filthy Frank, who performs video skits in a pink body suit, posted a YouTube clip of himself and friends grooving to the tune.

 

Within 10 days, spinoffs by everyone from firefighters and Norwegian soldiers on cross-country skis to college students and cubicle-bound office workers were being uploaded at the staggering rate of more than 4,000 per day.

In every 30-second clip, the concept is largely the same: a masked or helmeted individual boogies solo in the midst of disinterested bystanders, until, on the cue of the words “Harlem shake,” the video cuts to the whole group dancing wildly.

Baauer’s single, meanwhile, leaped into the iTunes Top 10 charts in North America, Europe and Australia – happily coinciding with an ongoing tour with producer Just Blaze that will soon take him to Britain and the Netherlands.

“The last few months have cast him as the poster child of this contemporary US fusion of dance and rap music,” says Mixed Management Group, which oversees the business side of Baauer’s promising career.

More than a few EDM enthusiasts have embraced “Harlem Shake” as welcome relief from South Korean rapper Psy’s chart-topping “Gangnam Style” that similarly generated a YouTube sensation.

But Baauer is magnanimous. “I think that guy (Psy) is doing pretty good right now, so I’m not too upset about that,” he told Interview magazine a few days ago as “Harlem Shake” took flight.

Trivia lovers will recall that the Harlem Shake was originally an urban dance style that grew out of the eponymous Manhattan neighborhood in the early 1980s when hip hop was in its infancy.

But Baauer — a one-time Harlem resident who’s previously remixed tracks by the likes of No Doubt and Prodigy – told The Daily Beast his track is no more than a sample of Philly rapper Plastic Little’s 2001 song “Miller Time.”

“I just had the idea of taking a Dutch house squeaky-high synth and putting it over a hip-hop track,” he told the news website. “And then I tried to just make it the most stand-out, flashy track that would get anyone’s attention.”

Meanwhile, the man most responsible for all the euphoria seems to be having second thoughts. “I’m thinking of just deleting the harlem shake video,” Filthy Frank tweeted Sunday. “It’s just so pointless and attracts useless people.”

Kita minum dulu...

Di dalam sebuah kelas falsafah, seorang profesor berdiri di hadapan dewan kuliah, meja di hadapannya terdapat beberapa barangan. Tanpa sepatah perkataan, kelas bermula dengan beliau mengambil sebuah balang mayonis yang besar dan mengisinya dengan bola golf.

Dia kemudian bertanya kepada para pelajarnya, adakah balang tersebut penuh, dan pelajarnya menjawab "Ya!". Profesor kemudian mengambil sekotak batu kerikil halus dan menuangkannya ke dalam balang yang telah dipenuhi bola golf tadi, lantas menggoncang balang tersebut dengan lembut. Bebatu kerikil mengisi ruangan kosong di antara bola-bola golf. Sekali lagi dia bertanya akan pelajarnya sama ada balang tersebut telah penuh, pelajarnya lantas menjawab "Ya..."

Tanpa menjelaskan apa-apa kepada pelajarnya, profesor tersebut lantas mengambil pula sebuah kotak yang berisi pasir dan menuangkannya ke dalam balang tersebut. Pasir yang dituang mengisi ruangan di antara batu kelikir dan bola golf. Seperti tadi dia bertanya lagi kepada para pelajarnya sama ada balang tersebut telah penuh. Dalam keadaan yang penuh persoalan, rata-rata pelajarnya menjawab "Ya.."

Sejurus selepas itu, profesor itu kemudiannya mengeluarkan dua cawan kopi  dari bawah mejanya dan menuangkan kedua-duanya ke dalam balang yang telah sedia ada diisi batu golf, batu kerikil dan pasir tersebut. Air kopi mengisi ruangan yang terdapat di antara pasir. Para pelajar mula ketawa dan tersenyum meihat tindakan profesor tersebut.

"Sekarang..." profesor mula bersuara apabila riuh rendah dan gelak ketawa pelajarnya berkurangan. "Saya mahu anda semua menganggap balang ini sebagai kehidupan anda...Bola-bola golf mewakili perkara penting - Tuhan, keluarga anda, anak-anak, kesihatan anda, kawan-kawan dan semangat anda - Jika anda kehilangan segalanya dan hanya perkara penting ini yang masih anda ada, hidup anda masih penuh. Batu kerikil halus ini pula mewakili perkara-perkara lain seperti kerja anda, rumah atau kereta anda, manakala pasir pula mewakili perkara-perkara lain, yakni perkara-perkara kecil."

"Jika anda memasukkan pasir ke dalam balang dahulu...anda tidak akan mempunyai ruang untuk batu kerikil dan bola golf. Ini sama juga seperti kehidupan anda. Jika anda menghabiskan masa dan tenaga untuk  perkara-perkara kecil, anda tidak akan mempunyai ruang untuk perkara yang sebenarnya lebih penting untuk diri anda." 

"Ambil perhatian untuk perkara yang kritikal untuk kebahagiaan anda.Luangkan masa gembira untuk anak-anak. Sentiasa melakukan pemeriksaan kesihatan, bawa pasangan anda untuk makan malam, yang pasti, anda akan masih ada masa untuk membersihkan rumah atau urusan lain. Sila ambil berat akan bola golf dahulu - iaitu perkara yang benar-benar penting. Tetapkan keutamaan. Perkara lain cumalah pasir..."

Salah seorang pelajarnya mengangkat tangan dan bertanya apakah pula yang diwakili oleh air kopi. Profesor tersebut tersenyum. "Saya gembira ada yang bertanya. Ianya  menunjukkan bahawa tidak kira bagaimana penuh pun kehidupan anda, akan sentiasa ada ruang untuk secawan dua kopi bersama rakan-rakan..."

P/s : Renungan untuk semua. Apabila kehidupan kita seakan terlalu penuh dan tampak sukar untuk diuruskan, apabila 24 jam sehari seperti tidak mencukupi, ingatlah kisah 2 cawan kopi ini...

How to be productive at work...

Getting started

Start with understanding and doing your assigned task. Remember, taking the first step is always difficult, but if you do not take that one step you can never achieve your goals. Don't get worried with the task assigned, if it is new to you.   Ask required questions to better understand assigned task. Once you get started, everything will come in easy.

Stay Healthy

Bad health can also be a possible reason for being unproductive. Before you go to work; take your breakfast, rest well and research about your duties.

Make an appointment with yourself

Give yourself at least 30 minutes during the day. This will enable you to concentrate and focus your attention on the matters at hand. Give yourself time to think and concentrate as you tackle your job and projects. These uninterrupted 30 minutes will give fruitful results in the long run.

Utilize your prime time

We all have a specific time of the day when we have lots of vigor and zest and a greater ability to think and concentrate. Work out when you have your high energy levels and tackle your most important work at that time. Try to arrange meetings, appointments and other activities at another time of the day.

Avoid unplanned meetings

Spontaneous meetings are real interrupters as well as huge time-wasters and productivity destroyers. They break your concentration, disturb your thought process while undermine your momentum. The next time someone comes into your office or sits by your desk and start making him/herself comfortable, say that you are in the middle of an important project. Then ask if you could get together at a mutually convenient time later in the day or week. This is called a polite excuse.

Schedule your meetings with staff and colleagues

In most offices, time is wasted when people get up from their desks to ask their colleagues a question. Fix a specific time to meet colleagues for queries. Best is the time slot which does not fall in the peak hours of work.

Take breaks

It is a fact that taking breaks periodically during the day relax your body and nerves and refreshes you for the tasks ahead. Ensure that you take small breaks all day. It could be a walk to the water cooler from your office/room or a visit to the photocopy machine/fax/ printer.

Planning required

Establish a routine of listing your daily and weekly tasks. This will allow you to have your most productive week all the time. Start your day an extra 15 minutes early to do this planning every day. Write down the top 3 important things you must do that day. Plan your upcoming week on Sunday evening.

Drop unimportant tasks

Delete the non-essential items from your to-do list. The best way to do this is to prioritize and complete your most important things first.

Enjoy your time at work

Being productive and competitive in official business doesn't mean that you have to be serious all the time. Smiling doesn't mean you're not working hard. Be enthusiastic as well as competitive. Stay positive, that way you can face and win challenges better.

Be a Team Player

Don't be afraid to collaborate with others. Don't wait for your boss to tell you what to do.

Learn from criticism

Be a sport and never immediately reject critiques from others, even if you do not like or respect them. Sometimes people you do not like may be giving you more honest feedback than you can get from others.

Acclimatize

Adapting is in the nature of living beings. Those who do not adapt, become extinct.

Upgrade your learning

Always be on the lookout for opportunities to learn and improve your skills. Look for good seminars and training.

p/s: Lots of tips here, some i just can't do yet. It takes time...

Feeling stressed anyone? Try and reduce it...

1.     Make it a point to verbalize all your pent up feelings to colleagues.

There is no substitute for communication when it comes to relieving stress. Feeling of isolation is common in cases of prolonged stress and talking about your feelings to a colleague can help you vie things in another perspective – thus act as a cushion in times of stress.

2.     Take one day at a time.

Do some effective time management. Do not spend your tea and coffee breaks to catch up with pending work. Instead, take time off to do something completely different which is in no way related to work. Taking a break from your normal schedule does wonders in refreshing your mind and outlook towards your job.

3.     Try to realize your own energy schedules.

We don't feel the same way during the entire day. So, schedule your work accordingly. Find out which are your high energy hours – and keep the more stressful work during that time. This will ease out stress and stop unnecessary loss of vital energy.

4.    Never try to work all the stressful jobs at the same time.

It will require some amount of advance planning no doubt but if you can plan out your work and take one stressful work at a time – you will soon find out that you can really put in your best in that particular work. It will also leave you less drained.

5.     Keep some outdoor activity in your daily work schedule.

A refreshed body stores a refreshed mind. Out brain needs vital oxygen to keep our body and mind in optimal performing condition. Physical exercise makes us look better and feel better. It increases self-esteem. When you are hibernating, the emotional distresses increase and you feel much low.

6.      When you have a big and intensive job in hand – do not get overwhelmed by its magnitude.

Instead, break it up in small components. It will then seem easier to handle and manage. At the end you will not even realize that you have actually completed the big job so successfully.

7.     Remember you cannot handle everything.

Learn to delegate, if you have the opportunity to do so. If you know your own limitations, it makes the task easier. This way you can involve many others in the problem solving and decision making process.

8.     You do not have to say yes to everyone and every job that comes your way.

Learn to decline. If you go on saying yes to every project, you will soon be full of anger and resentment. Saying no at the right time gives us a sense of control and happiness. That does not mean that you decline from getting involved or committed. Life is all about choices. So take as much as you can give but never over commit and under deliver.