PROTEIN - How much do you know?
You probably know you need to eat protein, but what is it? Many foods contain protein, but the best sources are beef, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy products, nuts, seeds, and legumes like black beans and lentils. Protein builds up, maintains, and replaces the tissues in your body. (Not the tissues you blow your nose in! We mean the stuff your body's made up of.) Your muscles, your organs, and your immune system are made up mostly of protein.


Your body uses the protein you eat to make lots of specialized protein molecules that have specific jobs. For instance, your body uses protein to make hemoglobin, the part of red blood cells that carries oxygen to every part of your body. Other proteins are used to build cardiac muscle. What's that? Your heart! In fact, whether you're running or just hanging out, protein is doing important work like moving your legs, moving your lungs, and protecting you from disease.

All About Amino Acids
When you eat foods that contain protein, the digestive juices in your stomach and intestine go to work. They break down the protein in food into basic units, called amino acids. The amino acids then can be reused to make the proteins your body needs to maintain muscles, bones, blood, and body organs.

Proteins are sometimes described as long necklaces with differently shaped beads. Each bead is a small amino acid. These amino acids can join together to make thousands of different proteins. Scientists have found many different amino acids in protein, but 22 of them are very important to human health.

Of those 22 amino acids, your body can make 13 of them without you ever thinking about it. Your body can't make the other nine amino acids, but you can get them by eating protein-rich foods. They are called essential amino acids because it's essential that you get them from the foods you eat.

Are your bowels moving?
Moving your bowels means to poop. If you said "yuck," you're not alone. Most people don't want to discuss going poop. But moving your bowels is an important body function, so it's good to know what's normal and what's not.

Your bowels, also called the large intestine, are the lower parts of your digestive system. Your intestines finish the process of digesting food — a process that starts in your mouth and stomach and ends with you going to the bathroom. About 2 quarts (1.9 liters) of food and liquids pass through your body each day. They can stay for several days in your bowels, where your body absorbs water and salts. As water is absorbed, the digested food gets more solid and becomes a bowel movement (poop).

What's Normal?
Many people think that normal means having one bowel movement every day, but that's not always true. People are different, and so are their bowels. Normal for one person might be three bowel movements a day, and normal for another might be three bowel movements a week. If your bowel movements fit somewhere in that range, then you're on a normal schedule.

Constipation
Constipation means that you're not moving your bowels often enough, and your bowel movements are harder and drier than normal. Normal bowel movements should be soft and easy to pass. They shouldn't be dry, hard, or painful. If they are or you've gone for more than 4 days without having one, you may be constipated.


Can Stress Affect Your Bowels?
Sometimes, being worried or upset can give you either diarrhea or constipation. You might even have some combination of tummy pain, bloating (the feeling that you're pumped up with air), gas, diarrhea, and constipation.

You may have sensitive bowels — a common problem doctors call irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). IBS is also called spastic colon, mucous colitis, or nervous bowel.

Tummy pain is the most common problem of IBS. Also, people with IBS can have diarrhea, constipation, or both at different times. When someone with IBS passes a bowel movement, mucus (thick, slippery fluid that looks like egg white) can sometimes come out, too.

People with IBS often can feel better by changing their diets. They can also learn new ways to handle their worries so that they feel less stressed out.

Your weight has been important since the moment you were born. Maybe you even know what your birth weight was. Most babies weigh less than 10 pounds and sometimes as little as 3 or 4 pounds. But very quickly, a young baby gains weight and everyone is glad about that because it means the child is growing bigger and stronger.

As you get older, your weight is still important. It's something your parents and doctor will probably keep an eye on. When you go for a checkup, the doctor often will record your height and weight and compare it with what it was the last time you came in. The doctor wants to check that you are a healthy weight because weighing too much — or too little — can be a problem. But these days, being overweight is more common than being underweight.

In the last 30 years, a growing number of kids and teenagers have developed weight problems. Today, 1 out of 3 kids and teens between the ages of 2 and 19 are overweight or obese, which is a word that means very overweight. Many grown-ups understand what it's like to have weight problems. Two out of every 3 adults are overweight or obese.


What Does It Mean?
When people talk about being overweight or obese, they mean that someone has more body fat than is healthy. Everyone has some body fat, but when someone has excess fat, it can affect the person's health and ability to walk, run, and get around. It also affects the way they look and may cause them to be bigger and rounder than other people.

Why Do People Become Overweight or Obese?
Most of the time, people have too much body fat because the body gets more calories (from foods and drinks) than it burns through physical activity, such as playing soccer or walking to school. Extra calories are stored as fat. The more extra calories a person consumes, the more fat is stored.

This happens very easily in modern life. People spend more time in front of TVs or computers and less time exercising. We drive everywhere instead of walking or riding bikes. Fewer schools offer gym classes; more kids play video games than active ones like dodgeball. Even grown-ups spend more time sitting at desks and in cars than they once did. People also lead busier lives so they have less time to cook healthy meals. We eat more restaurant meals and ready-made food from a box.

Weight problems also can run in families, but don't let that discourage you from making changes that could help you reach a healthy weight. Your habits — what kind of food you eat and how much you exercise — can make a big difference. The biggest problem for most people is not getting enough activity and exercise.

You've probably seen ads for low-carb foods and diets, but kids and adults need carbohydrates. Most foods contain carbohydrates, which the body breaks down into simple sugars — the major source of energy for the body.


Simple carbohydrates: These are also called simple sugars. Simple sugars are found in refined sugars, like the white sugar you'd find in a sugar bowl. If you have a lollipop, you're eating simple carbohydrates. But you'll also find simple sugars in more nutritious foods, such as fruit and milk. It's better to get your simple sugars from food like fruit and milk. Why? Because they contain vitamins, fiber, and important nutrients like calcium. A lollipop does not.

Complex carbohydrates: These are also called starches. Starches include grain products, such as bread, crackers, pasta, and rice. As with simple sugars, some complex carbohydrate foods are better choices than others. Refined grains, such as white flour and white rice, have been processed, which removes nutrients and fiber. But unrefined grains still contain these vitamins and minerals. Unrefined grains also are rich in fiber, which helps your digestive system work well. Fiber helps you feel full, so you are less likely to overeat these foods. That explains why a bowl of oatmeal fills you up better than sugary candy that has the same amount of calories as the oatmeal.

How the Body Uses Carbohydrates
When you eat carbohydrates, the body breaks them down into simple sugars. These sugars are absorbed into the bloodstream. As the sugar level rises in your body, the pancreas releases a hormone called insulin. Insulin is needed to move sugar from the blood into the cells, where the sugar can be used as a source of energy.

When this process goes fast — as with simple sugars — you're more likely to feel hungry again soon. When it occurs more slowly, as with a whole-grain food, you'll be satisfied longer. These types of complex carbohydrates give you energy over a longer period of time.

The carbohydrates in some foods (mostly those that contain a lot of simple sugars) cause the blood sugar level to rise more quickly than others. Scientists have been studying whether eating foods that cause big jumps in blood sugar may be related to health problems like diabetes and heart disease. You're probably already on the right track if you are limiting simple sugars (such as candy) and eating more complex carbohydrates (like vegetables, oatmeal, and whole-grain wheat bread).

From all you hear, you'd think fat and calories are really bad for you. It's true that many people are eating more fat and calories than they need. But we all require a certain amount of fat and calories in our diets to fuel our growth and activities — everything from solving a math problem to racing up and down the soccer field. So what's the truth on fat and calories?

Fats, or lipids, are nutrients in food that the body uses to build nerve tissue (like the brain) and hormones. The body also uses fat as fuel. If fats that a person has eaten aren't burned as energy or used as building blocks, they are stored by the body in fat cells. This is the body's way of thinking ahead: By saving fat for future use, it plans for times when food might be scarce.

A calorie is a unit of energy that measures how much energy food provides to the body. The body needs calories to function properly.


Calories

Food labels list calories by the amount in each serving size. Serving sizes differ from one food to the next, so to figure out how many calories you're eating, you'll need to do three things:

1) Look at the serving size.
2) See how many calories there are in one serving.
3) Multiply the number of calories by the number of servings you're going to eat.

For example, a bag of cookies may list three cookies as a serving size. But if you eat six cookies, you are really eating two servings, not one. To figure out how many calories those two servings contain, you must double the calories in one serving.

The calories in food come from carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. A gram of carbohydrate contains 4 calories. A gram of protein also contains 4 calories. A gram of fat, though, contains 9 calories — more than twice the amount of the other two.

That's why one food with the same serving size as another may have far more calories. A high-fat food has many more calories than a food that's low in fat and higher in protein or carbohydrates.

Fat

When it comes to fat, labels can say many things. Low fat, reduced fat, light (or lite), and fat free are common terms you're sure to see on food packages. The U.S. government has strict rules about the use of these phrases: By law, fat-free foods can contain no more than 0.5 grams of fat per serving. Low-fat foods may contain 3 grams of fat or less per serving. Foods marked reduced fat and light (lite) are a little trickier, and you may need to do some supermarket sleuthing.

For instance, a ½-cup serving of vanilla ice cream contains:

- 178 total calories
- 2 grams of protein
(2 grams times 4 calories = 8 calories from protein)
- 12 grams of fat
(12 grams times 9 calories = 108 calories, or 61%, from fat)
- 15.5 grams of carbohydrate
(15.5 grams times 4 calories = 62 calories from carbohydrate)

Compare this with the same serving size (½ cup) of cooked carrots:

- 36 total calories
- 1 gram of protein
(1 gram times 4 calories = 4 calories from protein)
- 0 grams of fat
(0 grams times 0 calories = 0 calories from fat)
- 8 grams of carbohydrate
(8 grams times 4 calories = 32 calories from carbohydrate)

So fat makes quite a difference when it comes to total calories in a food.

Maintaining a healthy weight means choosing a variety of foods that are low in fat (especially saturated and trans fats) and added sugars. Think about substitutes for foods that have a lot of sugar, fat, or calories. For example, you may want to drink water or skim milk instead of soft drinks, or choose mustard instead of mayonnaise on your sandwich.

Being aware of the amount of fat and calories you eat makes sense, as long as you eat a balanced diet. Establishing sensible eating habits, choosing foods wisely, and exercising regularly are the keys to long-term good health.

Fat plays an important role in our body, functioning as an energy store, a cushion for vital organs and a transport system for fat-soluble vitamins. That is why we require some fat in our diet. However, as fat is a concentrated source of calories (9kcal/g compared to 4kcal/g for carbohydrate and protein), eating too much may lead to weight gain and obesity.

So how much fat should I have?

Fat should make up about 25-30% of our total energy intake. Based on a typical 2000kcal diet, the total fat allowance is about 55 to 65g a day. It’s easy to exceed this allowance if one is not mindful. For example, if you have a curry puff for breakfast, a bowl of laksa for lunch and a plate of chicken rice for dinner, you would have already consumed 70g of fat.

Are there different types of fat?

Yes, there are 4 types of fat:

- Saturated fat
- Monounsaturated fat
- Polyunsaturated fat
- Trans fat

Fats and oils in food are a mixture of saturated and unsaturated fats. There is usually a higher proportion of a particular type of fat in the mixture. Fats or oils that contain mostly saturated fat are often termed "saturated fat"; likewise, those that contain mostly unsaturated fat of either type are termed "monounsaturated fat" or "polyunsaturated fat".

Did you know that different types of fat can affect your health differently?

The “bad” fats

Trans fat

Trans fat is formed when vegetable oils undergo hydrogenation, an industrial process that hardens liquid oil to produce fats like hard margarine and shortening. Trans fat raises LDL (‘bad’) cholesterol and lowers HDL (‘good’) cholesterol levels, thus increasing the risk of heart disease. The main sources of trans fat in our diet are pastries, cakes, cookies, biscuits, commercially deep-fried food as well as products containing vegetable shortening and hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils.

Saturated fat

A diet high in saturated fat raises the level of LDL-cholesterol in our body, which increases the risk of heart disease. Major sources of saturated fat include animal fats (e.g. lard, fatty meat, skin of poultry); high-fat dairy products (e.g. full cream milk, butter, ghee); food prepared with palm-based vegetable oil; as well as dishes containing coconut milk or coconut cream.

The “good” fats

Polyunsaturated fat

There are two main families of polyunsaturated fat: omega-3 and omega-6.

Omega-3 fat helps reduce blood clotting in the arteries, protects arteries from hardening, and reduces the level of triglycerides in the blood. This in turn lowers the risk of heart disease. Good sources of omega-3 fat include fish e.g. salmon, sardine, longtail shad (terubok) and Spanish mackerel (tenggiri papan); walnuts; canola oil and soybean oil; as well as products enriched or fortified with omega-3 (e.g. bread and eggs).

Omega-6 fat also helps improve heart health by reducing total and LDL-cholesterol levels in the blood. Good sources of omega-6 fat include: vegetable oils (e.g. corn oil, soybean oil and sunflower oil); and seeds (e.g. sunflower seeds and sesame seeds).

Monounsaturated fat

Monounsaturated fat tends to lower total and LDL-cholesterol (“bad” cholesterol) levels in the body. Food rich in monounsaturated fat include vegetable oils (e.g. olive oil, canola oil and peanut oil); most nuts (e.g. almonds, cashew nuts and hazelnuts); as well as avocados.

So what should We do?

As part of healthy eating, aim to consume fat in moderate amounts. Remember, having too much fat, even the ‘good’ types, will provide excess calories. Limit the intake of saturated fat and trans fat in your diet, and replace them with unsaturated fats. Here are some ways for you to do:

At home

- Use less oil in cooking. Choose oils higher in unsaturated fat, and avoid re-using oils more than twice.
- Adopt healthier cooking methods (e.g. steaming, baking) more often.
- Replace coconut milk or coconut cream in cooking with low fat milk.
- Use fat spreads (e.g. margarine, butter, kaya, peanut butter) sparingly.
- Choose low fat dairy products, lean meats, fish and skinless poultry
- Consume fish at least twice a week. Replace meat in dishes with beans and bean products (e.g. tofu) on some days.

When eating out

- Choose dishes prepared without coconut cream or coconut milk
- Replace fried noodles with soup noodles occasionally
- Limit deep-fried food to no more than twice a week.
- Consume high-fat bakery products (e.g. pastries, cakes and cookies) less often.
- Remove visible fat and skin from meat and poultry.
- Ask for less oil and gravy in food.

Losing weight and getting into shape is what most people aim for since excess weight can cause both emotional and physical stress. If you feel that you want to lose weight and you need guidance along the way, then this article may be useful as we cover five ways to lose weight in a safe way.

Eat Sensibly

Making sensible choices in what you eat is the most straightforward way to lose weight, although many people adopt unhealthy dietary habits because they do not like to give up their favorite foods. Eating right does not mean that you need to altogether give up your favorite food items. This only means that you will need to ensure that you limit your intake of starchy carbohydrates, increase your intake of protein, drink enough fluids and consume all the required vitamins. Eating right also means that you can eat small quantities of your favorite food items once or twice a week and not indulge in unhealthy foods frequently.

Exercise and Weight Training

All doctors recommend exercising in order to lose weight or stay in shape but over and above a regular exercise program, weight training can also be good for you. Weight training helps men lose weight while gaining muscle and it helps women lose weight while toning their body. It is recommended to work out for 30 – 45 minutes a day for 5 days a week and concentrate mainly on increasing the strength of the body while working on toning muscles in order to lose fat. If you aren’t able to commit to working out 5 days a week, get started at 2 or 3 times a week, and progress from there. Make your goal reasonable and attainable.

Eat Smaller Portions

This is one of the simplest ways to lose weight. Many times it isn’t necessary to pile your plate high with food. Most of it gets wasted anyway, so be conscious of this by ordering smaller portions, or sharing a meal the next time you go out to eat. And when you’re cooking at home, be aware of the meal sizes you prepare.

Eat More Vegetables

In place of eating rice or pasta, go ahead and make some cooked or steamed vegetables. This will provide necessary fiber and help you with that feeling of fullness. This comes back to the first way to lose weight, which is eating right.

I was fat for the earlier point of my life about 13-18 years old and I wanted desperately to reduce those ugly pounds away. Have you look at the mirror and don't even feel like looking yourself. I am one that kind which becomes quite anti-social because of physically appearance.

During the age of 15, I started smoking and drinking and during the latter part of life I even try drugs before, which is quite typically quite common. Then at the age of 19 I went army and went into the 26 weeks of extreme obese weight cutting programme.

2 years in army I lost about 30kg and finally I was happy that I slim down but one thing is I still have the last 8 to 10kg to lose and I find it super difficult to lose these extra kilos. My weight after 2 years in army is 88kg and sometime it can shoot up to 92kg. I don't really like it anyway and what worst is I have High Blood pressure at the mere age of 21. It was mainly because I was smoking, drinking and played drugs till the age of 21.

I started working around February in Sim Lim tower there. It was a good time there and around the month of March. Suddenly my sister called and told me about a weight loss challenge thing. I rejected her at first but for don't know what reason I called back and said I will be joining. After work at around 630pm I went to the studio hosting the weight loss challenge. The room was great, smell good and it was very comfortable and I found out I am in the Singapore studio of Herbalife and because I knew Herbalife one year before. I knew what to expect but who cares, what matters is I win the Weight Lose Challenge and win the cash.

I joined the weight loss challenge at around March 2009 and the first week I was using crush diet to reduce my weight and weight training. Second week for the challenge I found out WHOLE WEEK OF INTENSIVE TRAINING AND THE RESULT DON'T EVEN MATCH MY EFFORT and I intend to try out the Herbalife products. I did not immediately try; I did go to some of their events and found out the future holds for me there. And thinking about it ''earning money and changing people lives'' and I grew more determined to change my life and health.

After using the products for one and a half months time, I lost:

8kg while playing computer, 6% drop in Body Fats. The visceral fats from the danger stage of 13 to the healthy stage of 9. Best thing is my high blood pressure normalises and I quit smoking all in one day without any cold turkey effect and my confidence grew totally.