As 2008 comes to an end, and as many people start to make new plans for the year, write down their New Year Resolutions, sign up for gym memberships… here are some of my favourite and easy-to-adhere Resolutions that you could add on to your list.
Resolution #1
Have a solid breakfast - too many people start their day with just a cup of coffee. Coffee is not a meal. Breakfast is the single most important meal of the day, and studies have shown that eating breakfast helps people manage both their hunger and food intake throughout the day. Research also suggests that people who are SUCCESSFUL at losing weight – and, more importantly, keeping it off – eat breakfast every day.
I never used to eat breakfast during my early years - “I’m not hungry” was my excuse all the time. And I know that it may seem like a great idea to ’skip a meal’ and consume less calories to help you manage your weight - but believe me, it is counterproductive. I guess this is one of those things you need to try to know and feel the difference it can make in your everyday life!
An example of a great breakfast can be something like this:
Hot cereal
1/2 cup cooked oatmeal
2 tbsp raisins
1/2 cup fat-free milk
1 cup orange juice
Doughnuts, sugar-coated cereals, Bread with kaya and butter, Nasi Lemak and Roti Canai are unnecessarily high in calories and are also nutritionally incomplete.
Keep this up for even just one month, and I guarantee you WILL feel a difference.
Resolution #2
Limit your intake of fast food - Fast food menus are growing at an alarming rate - and so are our waistlines.
Make a decision this 2009 limit the number of times you visit your favourite fast food outlet.
Some people have fast food EVERY DAY - you can start by cutting it down to 3 times/week, then to 2x/week, and eventually working your way down to just once a week. Of course, it would be ideal to completely eliminate fast food from our diets, but I’m being realistic here. I think if we all strive to limit ourselves to only ONE fast food meal in a month - that alone would do our bodies (and our pockets!!) so much good.
Resolution #3
Recognize the signs of hunger - don’t overeat! - We are all guilty of overeating - but some of us do this on a regular basis. Are you really hungry, or is it just a feeling of habit, boredom, or some other emotion? If it was less than 2-3 hours ago, you’re probably not feeling real hunger. Eat to live, don’t live to eat.
Resolution #4
Mindful Eating - don’t gobble up your food, and try not to eat on-the-go, or while driving, where little attention is paid to what we’re eating. Learn to take time, sit down, and enjoy your food. “Hunger hormones” (ghrelin) in your blood and an empty stomach signal the brain when you’re hungry. Nerves in the stomach send signals to the brain that you’re full, but these signals can take up to 20 minutes to communicate - and by that time, you may have already eaten too much. Take time between bites, sip water, and enjoy conversation while having your meals.
Resolution #5
Reduce your coffee intake - This is for you coffee addicts out there. Some can’t go through the day without having at least 3 to 4 cups! The calories add up very quickly - and so does that yellow smile of yours. Ever wondered how come you don’t overeat, get some exercise, but still don’t lose that weight? It could be that cup of coffee you’re longing for right now…For example, a single cup of coffee that contains 100 calories, multiplied by 365 days in a year is 36,500 calories - Now, if those calories are in excess to your daily calorie requirements, that would be a weight gain of 8.1 lbs.
Resolution #6
Drink More Water - Not Teh Tarik - Have water with your meals when you’re eating out, or even at home. Do you really need that Iced Lemon Tea to go with your lunch, or Teh Tarik (a hot tea beverage which can be commonly found in restaurants, outdoor stalls and kopi tiams in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. Its name is derived from the pouring process of “pulling” the drink during preparation. It is made from black tea and condensed milk) at 10am, and 4pm everyday? It has become such a habit to order such drinks whenever we are eating out. Our so called proud Malaysian heritage - the Teh Tarik, is a joke. I would rather have a Coke than to drink Brown Sugar water simply disguised as Tea. Save money, and add some brownie points to your health by ordering some water. Use that money to buy more fuel for your car instead.
Resolution #7
Reduce/eliminate unecessary sugar intake - This does not only mean saying ‘Kurang manis’ (less sugar) when you order your drink from the stalls, but making a bigger effort to reduce, and cut out sugar. For example, when I have my oats in the morning, I sometimes mildly sweeten it with Splenda. I also use it with my occasional coffee, tea, etc but don’t make this a habit though. You could also try Stevia (a natural herb and sugar alternative), but stay away from aspartame-based sweeteners.
Resolution #8
Reading food labels - One good thing is that since 2008, all fast food outlets here in Malaysia are required by law to display the nutritional information for all items in their menu. You may be surprised at what you discover in your favourite foods. Learn to watch out for total calories, excessive amounts of sugar, fat, and sodium (salt). But then again.. you shouldn’t be having much fast food in the first place if you’re going with Resolution #2 above.To understand your calorie requirements, and how much you should be eating, visit MyPyramid.gov.
Resolution #9
Bring Your Own Lunch - Once or twice a week, prepare your own meal to take to work the next day. I sometimes did this everyday when I used to hold a routine office job, but that takes more effort. Your colleagues may find you funny or being ‘anti-social’ at first cos you’re not joining them for lunch - but as time goes by, and as your waist gets slimmer - you’ll be the one laughing. :)
Here’s a really important one - one that would make the most significant impact this coming 2009, and make me glad (and your family and friends!) if you took up:
Resolution #10
Get active! - Many of us live sedentary lives (not getting enough physical activity). There are many out there who also think they’re getting enough exercise, but sadly, are not. Unfortunately, a sedentary lifestyle is a CAD risk factor - ranked among other risk factors such as smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and obesity.
In a recent study, British researchers confirmed that some exercise is better than nothing.
Researchers found that for sedentary people, even a few minutes of daily stair climbing - a vigorous but easily accessible form of exercise - can improve cardiovascular health.
Previous studies have shown that accumulating short bouts of exercise can make a difference; this one shows just how short those bouts can be.
Twenty-two sedentary college-aged women walked up 199 steps - more than you’re likely to find at home, but doable in a high-rise - in 2.25 minutes, a “brisk but comfortable” pace which shot their heart rates up to 90 percent of their predicted maximum.
They progressed from one ascent per day during the first week to six ascents per day, for a total of 13.5 minutes over the course of a day, during the sixth and seventh weeks.
By the end of this modest exercise program, the women were measurably more fit: Heart rate, oxygen uptake and blood lactate levels during climbing were reduced, and their HDL (”good”) cholesterol levels had increased.
Source: Preventive Medicine, 2000; 30, 4, 277-281
Stop using the remote control on your TV - get up and change the channel yourself. Take the stairs if your office is only a few floors above. You get the picture.
As you can see - the resolutions I’ve suggested above are simple, straightforward, easy to follow, and are baby steps. Both a beginner or an elite athlete will see benefits if one were to follow them. They are little changes to our lifestyles. And it’s the little things that count.
Once again everyone, Blessed New Year! May 2009 be a year filled great happiness and health, like never before!
Yours truly,
DM
Read also:
{ 1 trackback }
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
a very good one … keep up your excellent ways of educating people…. :)…
Happy New Year!
Great site you’ve got. Well done on your weight management.
You’re inspiring too.
Eat like a king during breakfast, Eat like a peasant during lunch and eat like a poor man during dinner.
:)
Malaysian diet are simply terbalik of everything…or if i may add, it’s rice, rice and more rice every meal.
Nasi lemak for breakfast, Nasi campur for lunch and more nasi for dinner.
carbo overload! It will work fine if the malaysian consuming it requires like 6000 Calories a day because they are doing hard labour.
The Malaysian diet is totally flawed and upside down. Take the Food Pyramid, turn it upside down, and make it stand on the peak - that’s our diet sadly.
But you know guys.. if only everyone could just do 30 minutes of some form of physical activity on most days of the week - we would actually be pretty alright. But in reality… it’s a challenge to get a sedentary person to exercise even once a week..
DM … totally agreed with that. I was given a chance to appear on one of the Astro’s program, to talk on fitness 3 weeks back. I was campaigning for similar fitnesss duration as well … 30 minutes is only what it takes. The key element here is intensity. Without the right intensity, we will not be making good progress on our current fitness level.
Another thing, our perception on exercise too is a bit haywire. Exercise doesn’t mean that we have to hit the gym or the park. We can cheat exercise routine in various forms i.e. park car further from entrance, use stairs instead of elevators, hand-carry groceries instead of trolleys, or even brisk walk at the mall. It doesn’t really have to be sweat-breaking to lose the fat.
p/s - DM, very educational website. You have very good write-ups here. …way to go!!
Good list of Resolutions and a very Malaysian-specific way of getting Malaysians to change their habits. I still can’t believe how many people opt for stopping at nasi lemak stalls early in the morning for their breakfast (i have been guilty of that once or twice, seeing that the walk from my gym to my car goes past these stalls).
Marcus: Yes its tough. Its become part of our culture to eat junk for breakfast. Funnily, Nasi Lemak has become so popular that it is even promoted to tourists as one of our Malaysian specialties. Well, no harm in consuming it in moderation, but some of us even have it more than once a day! Not only that - nowadays, you can get Nasi Lemak 24 hrs/day at any mamak which is open all night. 20 years ago, you can only get it in the mornings.
Leave a Comment