I Cannot WAIT to Organize Our Fridge!!!

I've never had my own fridge to organize ... aside from the college dorm mini-fridge not capable of storing much.

I read once in a Shape magazine article that not only is it important to keep your fridge organized, but to consider the foods you put together to maximize their shelf life.

When I lived with a roommate, we kinda had our own areas but it was always difficult to establish any sort of organizational method since we had about two of everything. So I can't WAIT to get a fridge with my future hubby and organize away!

Condiments (ketchup, tapatio, tabasco, A1, salad dressing) on the door shelves.
Fruits closer to the back and top (colder part of the fridge)
Vegetables in the crisper drawers and if you have two, one for the uncooked meat. (you should also clean this drawer often since it's for raw meat!)
Cooked items should go towards the top (leftovers, etc.) while raw ingredients are better at the bottom (in case gross stuff drips from uncooked whereas uncooked stuff with leftover droppings will be cooked and not contaminated).
Cheese and butter also in the side flappy thing, and hopefully lots of good tupperware to keep fresh cut fruit and veggies available for snacking. Oh.. and no more juice - we'll go concentrate cuz we'll be a young married couple and probably a Brita filter. Exciting!!!

Ice Water and Chewing Gum - the no effort weight loss trick!

Apparently drinking ice cold water is better than water that is at room temperature or is hot because it helps you burn more calories over time and essentially loose weight. I can confirm this has been stated repeatedly in multiple fitness magazines and by numerous weight loss gurus. The short reason is because your body has to warm up the water and in essence, burn the calories. Not suggesting you quit your gym membership, drink ice water and expect to be at status quo .. but just saying, it's a nice addition to the equation of working out and staying fit.

Chewing gum helps you lose weight. Not really... but like the Atkins Diet or the Subway Diet, it distracts you from eating those not so good things that would make you gain weight. Chewing gum is a way to avoid "mindless eating" and "mindless snacking." So if you combined chewing gum with junk food, you probably wouldn't see much of a difference... but if you chewed gum during the day to help decrease those munchy moments at 3 PM and eating because you're bored and not really hungry... then yes, it does help!

That's Just Unsanitary!

Lately, I've been noticing the need for carrying a hand sanitizer wherever I go!

Witness...Observe... Learn.

Today I was at the deli I go to everyday when I'm eating alone or if I forget to bring my lunch.... and there, I witnessed a mid-30s Asian woman pick up the ladle for the ranch dressing from the salad bar, and holding it up, used her finger from her other hand to wipe some dressing off the ladle... and then she proceeded to lick her finger, while still holding onto the ladle! Her eyes darted around really quickly, as if to ensure nobody was watching but me... from behind... walking quickly ... saw it ALL! I know she was most likely unsure of what flavor the dressing had but.... MAN, is that gross or what?!

Do You Believe In Make-Up?

Growing up, I never got to play dress up with make-up. 1) My mom didn't own any make-up besides lipstick and 2) My mom refused to buy me any play make-up to mess around with.

As a result, I grew up not understanding how to use make-up. I did, however, understand the art of skin care and at 16, began getting facials and understand the basics of washing, applying toner and moisturizer + SPF 15 or more.

At 16, I also learned how to create a double eye-lid fold on myself with scotch tape. You got it! 3M scotch tape! Unfortunately.. whenever I blinked - people would remind me, "There's something on your eye Daisy!" ... darn. Lucky for me.. a few months later.. the fold on my right eye became permanent! So the tape paid off!

When I was 18 ... some family friends from Taiwan visited. The kids from the family laughed at me when they learned I was using tape that I personally cut myself for the eyelids. They laughed because apparently.. in Taiwan.... land of many more Asian gals than my own hometown area which was 50% Asian, manufactured eye tape was available over the counter! This was news to me!

In college, I joined the ballroom dance company and as part of our competition image... we were required to sport big false eyelashes, lots of sparkly make-up, an upright, anal and tight bun, glitter, swarvoski crystals and even pro-tan our bodies if we were too white (I was exempt from the latter). Along with learning how to meticulously place eyelashes atop my eyes, I discovered that eyelash glue could take the place of eye tape and give me the fold I so desired.

The hard part about using eyelash glue was the application of it. It often came out chunky because it was a squeeze bottle and sometimes.. a few times... many times actually, the glue gunk got into my eye when I was squeezed too hard!

Apparently, I was not the only Asian girl taping her lids. And... one sunny afternoon, I discovered Eye Glue!!! Eye Glue comes with a brush and a funky applicator thing that lets you crease the fold. And then, my world was complete.

I tried to show friends what I was talking about by using youtube.com and came across the ultimate blog This girl is amazing! She goes through step by step how to do make-up and even has giveaways. The only thing I'd argue is too much foundation and powder as the base - but besides that - really really neat! Check it out!

Informercial

So my Equinox Challenge was a bit hard.. I reduced about 3% of body fat but my arms, back and stomach didn't shrink and only my thighs did. Oh well.. lost a few inches there. I am however, MUCH stronger than before as I can actually do real push-ups now!

So ....
Infomercials are mostly crap that infest your television airspace and are targeted towards those seeking affirmation, easy change and those who are for the most part.. retarded.

Falling into that last category, I have toyed with some exercise informercial stuff in the past...

1) Thighmaster...

2) Urban rebounder...aka overpriced trampoline

3) Windsor pilates (courtesy of the BFF)

4) Tae-Bo (also courtesy of the BFF)

5) Some tummy belt...

So the latest obsession? P90X. It really works is what everyone says!. Question is.. can I get through a one hour exercise everyday for 30 days minus Sunday rest day? Only time will tell..

Equinox Fitness Challenge

I have 8 weeks to get into the best shape of my life. I have 8 weeks to suffer the pains of limiting my caloric intake and varying my workouts so I don't plateau too quickly. I have 8 weeks to watch my inches decrease and muscle increase. I have 8 weeks to get more flexible and potentially say I can do the splits. I have 8 weeks to eat colorful vegetables, grilled protein and frozen yogurt in small portions. I have 8 weeks until glory. I have 8 weeks to see if I can do it. If I can't do it at 26... I may never be able to do it. I am going to win. Watch me.

Give Back and Get Fit!

Being skinny is not just about looking skinny. I mean.. yeah, ok from a literal perspective it indeed is..but challenge your brain to think beyond that and think of it as a metaphor. What can you do to rid yourself of the daily toxins that pollute your environment and thereby, flaunt a skinny self free of pollutants that are genuinely bad people, negative energy, selfishness, insincerity (otherwise know as fake peeps), and inconsideration?

First, recognize these people and understand that they cannot add to your life. Next, free yourselves of such people and seek thos who are sincere, who are kind-hearted, generous, thoughtful and helpful.

It's kind of like that commercial where kindness is shown to be contagious. It really is. Which brings me to my next point.. doing good things for the world, those who surround you and yourself (since the latter two are both part of that world...duh).

This doesn't mean you have to organize a beach clean-up every weekend, attend Habitat for Humanity of be a big brother or sister, although those are wonderful options of getting involved and giving back to the community! But start little and let it become habitual and part of your life.

So... for example, I hate running but I do it as part of my exercise routine anyway. I do about 4-5 charitable runs a year and I don't always raise a lot of money (people do grow tired of my constant requests for donating), but even my participation raises awareness and that is one small step for cancer, AIDS, Alzheimer's and whatever other cause I run for. So I give back and get fit. Yay!

If your joints are old or you just detest running.. you can still give back and get fit in other ways! You can volunteer to help beautify a school (LA Works is the place to contact if you like doing this), a local Eagle Scout with his final project, or those in need means a lot of squatting, toning, stretching and twisting while you heavy lift, paint, and garden.

Learn it. Love it. Live it.

While Working Out.. Avoid the Following

1) Farting while you run. I know it's hard to avoid and I know everyone is listening to music anyway but it's sooooo unfortunately disgusting, passively aggressive in its confrontational ways and and unfortunately a reality you must cease to end!

2) Body odor... an aroma of herbs most notably onion, garlic and gross with a sniff of dirty towels and unmistakenbly atrocious and breathtaking (in the bad way).

3) Prancing around naked in the locker room. I know it's not a big deal to YOU but standing there and talking about your fake breasts and commenting that you might have gotten them too big and then suggesting others feel them to see how real they are (no win here because they were sooo big, fake and high) is not okay. Standing there and blowdrying your hair with your boobs hanging out.. also not okay..at least put on a bra. Having full on conversations naked with your bush staring me in the eye.. also not okay. I know people are naked in locker rooms.. that should be for a brief second.. not for the entire duration of your primping.

4) Filling in your water bottle while others are in line. I learned this one the hard way. As I stood there filling up my huge water bottle, a big SIGH came from the girl in back of me who pivoted and went towards the other water fountain. I pondered about the situation for a moment... realizing, I should have been the bigger and more generous person, stepped back, and allowed her to take a sip before proceeding to fill my bottle. A simple act of kindness... a large impact of gratitude and generosity could have occurred had I not been mindless and unthoughtful.

5) Picking your wedgie while you work out. Mellvilleeeees are annoying when you're working out and who cares if anyone sees me ... errrr sorta. Because on the flip side, I crack up when I see it. Pick good underwear, no underwear or go into the locker room (where based on #3 plethora of inappropriateness is already occurring) and pick your wedgie there!

Miam to Muffin Tops In My Belly but Nay to Them On My Body!

...for my body is a temple and this temple shall not be adorned with rolls of muffin tops. Instead, it shall be scaled with concave textures indicative of what humans call .. a pack.

A muffin top is the top part of a muffin, the part that potrudes from the wrapper, that plumply sits atop a muffin tin and the scrumptious part that melts in your mouth as you tell yourself, only this muffin top will I eat today... only to subsequently scarf the rest of the bottom down in about 5 seconds shortly thereafter.

Miam is a common French expression synonymous with the American expression, "yum!" When eating muffin tops, I declare "miam!" because yummy are they ever! But muffin tops on females, a strange and common new look due to too much on the love handles and too small of a pant size is beyond disgusting.

Do you want to look like this?

So how does one avoid a muffin top?

Here are my recommendations for the day.

1) Avoid excessively easy breakfast foods. This means, the quick and easy Starbucks breakfast item that is sweet, delicious and packed with carbs such as muffins, bagels, pastries, doughnuts, krispy kremes, cheese danishes, chocolate croissants, etc.

2) Work on your obliques.

For a beginner, I'd recommend trying the ballroom dance move where you do an 8 motion with your hips.

For someone more intermediate, lay on your back with your knees up and feet near your rear and come up high enough where your shoulders are off the ground but your backbone is glued to the ground and reach right, then left, repeat again and again.

For the advanced, you can try the pretzel!

To do the move properly, get into the above position. You don't need a ball.. you should actually use your hands to hold yourself up. Tuck your hips - meaning that motion of tilting your hips under, as if to suck in your stomach and lean forward.. that feeling of your hips tucking in is what you want throughout this exercise. ove you back knee far away from the line of your front leg so that it is truly behind you and in the shape of a weird looking human pretzel. Now, you can do an assortment of exercises - including lifting your knee, or pushing it back, or just keeping it up. You will feel this in your obliques almost immediately!

For the lazy, just do the twist so your obliques feel it.... do the twist!!!

4) Try on jeans and make sure they aren't so tight that your muffin top shows. Bigger jeans that fit appropriately will do wonders.

5) Love your body and listen to the 4 rules above and avoid muffin top!!

Yo-Yo Dieting is a big No-No!

Ever play with a yo-yo? I looked up the definition on dictionary.com to assist you:



–noun
1.
a spool like toy consisting of two thick wooden, plastic, or metal disks connected by a dowel pin in the center to which a string is attached, one end being looped around the player's finger so that the toy can be spun out and reeled in by wrist motion.
2.
something that fluctuates or moves up and down, esp. suddenly or repeatedly.
3.
Slang. a stupid, foolish, or incompetent person.



Used as an adjective, a yo-yo diet is the worst and most popular kind of diet everyone aims for.



"But I want to loose weight!" ... well sorry to break it to you, but skinny is a way of life, not a temporary thing.


Popular yo-yo diets include the detox and cleansing diets. The most popular is the master cleanse which consists of canyenne pepper and lemon juice. There have also been success stories with liquid diets, raw diets, Atkins Diet, the Special K Diet and the Kaiser Permanente 3 day diet.

I'll let you in on a little secret. The reason why these "diets" work is because they've helped you cut out calories! The Special K Diet, which boasts its success on its website, has you taking in about 110 calories for breakfast and lunch with a snack of about 90 calories in between. You can eat normally for dinner though. Umm. Sorry to break it to you sisters and brothers trying to look skinny and amazing, but anyone who cuts out 500 calories from their diet will lose weight!

The Atkins Diet? ... cutting out carbs.. DUH. The Kaiser Permanente 3 day diet - keeps you full and satiated with its mix of protein and alternative liquids.. but mainly, it just eliminates the water bloat from 3 days of regulated meals.

I challenge you to eat healthy. Take out one type of devil food from your diet such as fried food or sweets. Don't try to nix both. This little change will help you tremendously reduce your caloric intake. Or, go without desserts during the week and give yourself a treat during the weekend. It basically all boils down to portion control as Nutrisystem so boasts but unfortunately, most of us don't have enough discipline to only eat what satiates our body. We tend to overeat, over indulge and continue munching despite our brains and stomachs being complete. Part of it can be blamed on society but rise above and be better than that.

Egg Whites Are Powerful

The art of boiling eggs is simple enough - yet until about a month ago, I knew not how. Armed with the knowledge of running them through cold water immediately after boiling, I know have 2 egg whites for breakfast everyday! Surprisingly, these eggs keep me satisfied until around 11, at which point I have a banana or some other fruit to keep me satiated until noonish. Try them! 4 egg whites if you are a male as you consume more calories throughout the day. That's eggs-trodinary! Egg-tastic! Eggs-xactly!

It Can Bloat You...

but you still need it! H2O is imperative to your body being at its best. Not only does it supplement all that fiber you will take in daily (see earlier post), but it will keep you satiated and occupied and you won't feel as hungry if you're constantly drinking water. Water does flush away vitamins so don't drink it sooo excessively that you pee out everything healthy in you! There's no technical guidance on how much water you should drink in a day - although some think it's 8 glasses, some think it's more or less, it's really your body and how you react to it. So I'd suggest drinking a lot and seeing how clear your urine becomes. Once it becomes a little too light, you've had too much... hold back and that should be about right.

Drink up!

To water that is!!

Avoid Mindless Eating

We all do it. We aren't even hungry .. we just feel like putting something in our mouth(avoid sexual comments here please) so we eat. And snack. And devour. And soon enough, our stomachs are in pain (LISTEN to your body) and we're bloated and disgusted with ourselves.

Eat when you're hungry! Don't eat for the sake of eating. AVOID mindless eating. Occupy yourself with work, an activity, gum or water.

MINDLESS eating is NO BUENO!!