Find Happiness

Only this morning i complaint to a dear friend that i don't know if i have been happy. How does happy looks like anyway? 

Aristotle once wrote,' happiness is a state of activity.' 

Hmmm...check this out and let us ponder a bit and perhaps do what is suggested and then analyse our feelings:

1. Value relationship. The most stable, longest and contented relationship beat income, education achievement and political participation to feeling of happiness.

2. Express yourself. Singing aloud, talking to a stranger, raising hands...can contribute into self expression and provide feelings of happiness.

3. Focus on the positive. We can test this too. Write down three good things that happen to us everyday for six months and see whether we have an improved outlook.

4. Hydration. drinking plenty of water helps boost our happiness.

And according to World Happiness Report, more happiness predicts better future physical health.

If happiness can be seen by doing these activities or having all the four above, then, it is not that difficult to do and surely i will be able to tell my friend that 'Hey! I know i am a happy person now!'


(Source: Reader's Digest, January 2013)

How to starve your fat cells

I like these tips. 

Fat cells once present in the body will always be there and never will reduce in number. They persists. Bad eh? But they can reduce and increase their size accordingly.

So these are three tips that will help reduce the size of the fat cells:

1. Sip tea before meal.
- a hot drink 20 minutes before a meal helps to reduce some calories.

2. Sniff grapefruits
- scent of grapefruit can temporarily raise metabolism and reduce appetite.

3. Eat eggs for breakfast.
- some studies show that eating eggs at breakfast can cause reduction in weight than those who ate a few slices of toast.
- also protein and fibre-rich breakfasts can lower levels of hunger hormones later on in the day.

Let us all try.

(Source of information: Reader's Digest, March 2013)

Lose that stress and so lose that belly fat!

Hey! Its been a long while since i last wrote anything in here. Today i found something new to share with you. I have been trying to lose some belly fat for sometimes already. I do aerobic exercises and now starting on a low carbohydrate diets as well. Then i found this information that really surprised me. I can do all those exercises and dieting but if i continue to allow stress be in my workbook as well, then everything i do might as well go down the drain.

Information i gathered from 'Shape' magazine says so.

It says that, whenever we have stress, the cortisol level in our body will increase. Cortisol causes more fat to be deposited in the abdominal area as they are more cortisol receptors at that area.

So what is cortisol?

Cortsiol is a stress hormone. It is a steroid hormone produced by our body whenever we feel stress up. It actually helps to produce glucose in out body using different resources apart from carbohydrates...it should be good. However prolonged high cortisol level may cause craving for comfort food and overeating. Too much cortisol in the blood too will reduce our immune response. 

No wonder, stress is one of the contributors for many diseases. And....chronic high cortisol levels also kill neurons in the brain and interfere with production of feel good chemicals (serotonin and dopamine) leading to depression and more stress.

So, in short, we have to control our stress level hence controlling level of cortisol. This will help us turn away from comfort food, and yes, helps reduce belly fat.

'Shape' also suggests six simple ways to shrink stress (excerpt from David D Burns, Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy):

1. Eat more foods rich in Omega-3 fats
2. Do vigorous walk or bike ride.
3. Go on Mediterranean Diet
4. Relax everyday...deep-belly breathing, meditation, muscle relaxing therapy.
5. Limit stress-fueled noshing
6. Think positively

Let us all stay away from stress and have that fantastic abs!