TCM can alleviate PMS

Recently I revisited a Chinese doctor at Eu Yan Sang, with the hope in curing my chronic PMS problems.

My definition of PMS is “permanent menstruation sufferings”. Imagine feeling extremely bloated and fatigue before the period. Imagine experiencing excruciating cramps, cold sweat, nausea, dizzy spells – did I miss anything else? Oh yes, a 45-day cycle – delayed period means longer pre-menstruation woes.

I have always taken my health for granted – but one thing I am wary about is not to consume pain killers for cramps because that will cause cysts to grow – that will make matter a lot worse.

Hence, I had to talk myself into TCM (again) to cure this problem. The last time I visited the doctor was two and a half years ago. I hated the medicine – the taste was horribly bitter. BUT, it worked. My next period came on the 28th day, there was barely any pain except a wee bit of pain on the first day.

Of course, the story is I got lazy and didn’t go back to consult the doctor. I stopped after that very course of medication that worked, so my cycle went back to a 45-day cycle.

The use of TCM requires a lot of patience, and tolerance of the medication. I have just completed one course yesterday, and I definitely want to be follow-up on this to achieve a regular 28-day cycle with a painless 4-day period!

Banana dieting plan

This is one of those times when I feel upset looking into the mirror. I bought this new tee-shirt on impulse – loved the graphics on it and did not care less how I looked in it. When I try it on again back home, my tummy is visibly huge under that unflattering body-hugging tee. As much as I love that tee, I am hating it now.

Hating the tee is not the best solution. I need to get rid of that tummy.

Last month when I was in Shanghai for a business trip, I get my hands on my favourite local beauty magazine, 都市丽人. There is an article about diet plan – Breakfast Banana Diet Plan – get slimmer in 3 weeks! Sounds great, isn’t it?

Here’s what can be done:

1. For breakfast: Have bananas with lukewarm water. That will help you clear your bowels. Have as many bananas as you like. 🙂 This will seemingly make you feel full and eat lesser during lunch.

2. For dinner: You can still take what you usually have for dinner (of course, you have to avoid those deep-fried stuff). Have your dinner before 8pm, because food stuff like meat needs 4 hours to be fully digested. If you feel hungry before you hit the bed, grab some fruits – typically only need 15-20 mins to digest.

3. For your body restoration: Sleep before 12 midnight. (Really tough especially on girls’ night out days). Anyway, the reason behind this is for your body to restore when you are asleep. Base on some research, your body restores during the first 5-6 hours of your sleep. However, apparently, after sunrise, the process will cease. Ok, this sounds really scientific. Let’s just do our best to hit the bed before midnight.

4. For your drinks: Drinks with artifical flavourings would deteriorate your taste bud and will result in you eating more. (This is horrifying!) So, before lunch, you should only drink plain water. After lunch till before dinner, you may have drinks with less sugar or no sugar content.

Do not seem too difficult. Hopefully I will be disciplined enough to carry out this plan for 3 weeks!

Happy food for good well-being and sleep

I do have my own list of good mood food – think all junk food. In particular, I will go for chocolates, french fries, potato chips and ice cream (and the junk food list goes on). However, does eating all these junk food really make my mood better?

I must admit that eating greasy fried food gives me an instantaneous happiness and that is because my cravings were met. But afterwards, I will feel bloated due to indigestion, and that feeling will make me feel a lot worse.

What food could make us feel good then?

On 11 November 2008, TODAY (Singapore’s local newspaper) covered a special story on Happy Food for a Lousy Mood.

Here’s the formula to get “Good Mood”:

Protein + Complex Carbs = Good Mood

Protein raise tryptophan levels in our bodies which help the body to produce serotonin, the “mood-lifting” brain chemical that makes a person feel good.

You can get protein from lean meat, seafood, eggs and tofu. Other sources of tryptophan include almonds, sesame seeds and peanuts.

In addition, you should take some complex carbs too. You can find it in food like whole grains, potatoes, pumpkin and yam. These food help the body to uptake and metabolise tryptophan into serotonin more effeciently.

Serotonin also help you sleep better, thus enhancing your overall well-being.

Now, you know what to eat to be in a good mood!

Danger of wearing high heels

This is not a new topic, but many females choose to ignore it.

Two weeks ago, I had to attend a career talk. Being dressed in formal wear, I naturally wore high heels to complete the “look”. I did not feel pain on the day when I was walking on the high heels. However, when I woke up on the next day morning, I had muscle cramp on my butt and thighs. The cramp was extended to my lower back and I felt extremely painful to sit-up straight, thus I had to take bed-rest for the entire day. Frankly, I did not attribute the pain to me wearing high heels the day before – because I did not realize that wearing high heels can be so harmful to my body. It was through my friend’s deliberating questioning that I realized my pain was due to me wearing high heels.

Coincidentally, two months ago, my team worked on a persuasion topic on preventive measures using fear appeals. We worked on the “danger of wearing high heels”. The picture below depicts how our entire body is affected when we wear high heels. (Source: Brenna Maloney, The Washington Post)

The highlight from the research states that our posture is affected because high heels push the centre of mass in the body forward, taking the hips and spine out of alignment. Currently, my spine is already out of alignment, thus wearing high heels would only aggravates the problem. Thus, I should avoid wearing high heels at all cost.

I cannot deny it is hard to avoid wearing heels for certain occassion. I guess we just have to be prudent and make the best choice.

danger of wearing high heels

calcium mad-rush before i hit 30 – updates

My professor happened to read my entry about my low bone density condition.

She asked, “Is what you wrote real?”.

I said, “Yes, of course Prof, everything I say on my blog is real!” (Laugh)

She became concerned and told me to make ginger a part of my diet. Ginger, yes, ginger. I do not like it either. Based on my Prof, she said that if you try juicing a piece of ginger, leave the juice to set for a while, you will see a layer of white deposit at the bottom of the glass – those are apparently, “calcium”.

Ginger juice – a little too much for me to handle. I shall be discipline and pop my calcium pills everyday.

calcium mad-rush before i hit 30

My fall in China made me realized how bad my bone density condition is. I have extremely brittle bones, quoted by the doctor, my x-ray report is much like an 80 year-old lady’s report. I was not too pleased about it, in fact, I was pretty upset over my condition.

I have only five years to build my calcium level. It seems to be a mad-rush to me, because I begin popping calcium pills, drinking soya bean milk and eating a lot of tofu. I may be over reacting, but I am really worried about my condition. I am already 25, and technically, my calcium absorption rate is deteriorating, or rather has deteriorated.

The doctor warned me not to fall or hit anything hard, because my calcium built-up is so little that it could bearly protect my soft bones.

My joints hurt very much in whichever position that I sit or stand. I have to do a few stretches that are recommended by my therapist, however, the lazy me, tend to forget doing that.

Just a word of love to all of you, if you are not lactose-intolerant (like me), drink as much milk as you can, especially in your 20s. Also, no alcohol, coffee and tea, as they contain properties that slow down or deplete your calcium intake.

One pill a day, one cup of soya bean milk a day, one serving of tofu a day = my daily calcium in-take

three ways to eat and yet still be slim and healthy

Tired is my physical and mental state. Disappointment is my reflection on my time management skills. I have decided to put everything down, and post this long-due entry.

After three months in Shanghai, I have put on much weight, and the fats build-up is visible (yes it is sad). The food is fantastic, because much oil has been used to make it so good. Anyway, it is time to be focused on my get-into-shape plans. There are three good ones that I could consider. These tips are from a beauty magazine I bought in Shanghai – it is an irony, I know.

Get-into-shape Plan #1: Only eat rice, vegetables (steamed, boiled or raw) and fruits (except bananas). Do not put salt in your food, drink water/juices/oolong tea. Never drink coffee.

Why rice? It helps to reduce water retention. In addition, this rice-plan works well because you will not feel hungry as easily and rice contains fibre for good bowel movement.

Get-into-shape Plan #2: No food after 5pm, well, at most an apple. To be ensure that you can still get a good night sleep (without grumbling noises from the stomach), eat a little portion of rice with vegetables (non-oily).

I have tried this couple of times and I can see a visible flatter tummy. It is amazing, and I definitely felt good about it. However, for beginners, it is adviced that you carry out this plan on alternate nights so that you will not suffer from gastric or stomach discomfort.

Get-into-shape Plan #3: Only after every five hours, take small meals with lots of vegetables (non-oily). Do not take seafood and chemically-treated food products. This plan would also gives you a better complexion through detoxification.

This plan sounds simple, but it means you must resist from snacking in school or office. This is again a test of determination.

Girls and guys, stand up, breathe in, tuck in that tummy, if you cannot tuck it in (just like myself), let’s take on one of the get-into-shape plans.

Food for good skin and health

I am sorry for my absence for almost two weeks. I am extremely upset that I am unable to access WordPress in Shanghai. I am trying to tap on proxy servers to get through the firewall.

I have been in Shanghai for a more than a week. I do like this place very much. The weather is cool but sometimes the wind sends down a chill into my bones!

Everything is great except my skin – it is cracking. I have been putting on more moisturizer for the past few days. I am heading to the mega supermarket to get baby oil later.

I came upon an advertising newsletter which is distributed out at the subway station. There is a section on lifestyle that talks about the type of food you could eat to improve the condition of various parts of your body.

Here are the tips:

Tip #1: Improve your hair condition

Eat small wheat which provides organic and natural nutrients. It also helps to prevent the growth of white hair, balding, and it provides a healthy shine to your hair!

This is really new to me. I am definitely going to try this out.

Tip #2: Care for your brains

It is really simple – just eat biscuits. With a well-balanced level of sugar, biscuits help our build our brains cells and improve memory.

I should have eaten more biscuits during my examination period.

Tip #3: Protect your eyes

Yes, it is definitely carrots which are rich in Vitamin A. It helps to improve eye sight, prevent astigmatism. Besides protecting your eyes, chomping down carrots would also make your skin happy.

Tip #4: Love your heart

Eat the silky, white and soft tofu which helps to prevent blood clots and high blood pressure. Tofu also contains calcium for your body.

I love tofu, and it is pretty easy to find tofu in Shanghai.

Tip #5: Protect your digestive system (This has been my health problem for ages)

This is not something everyone would like – garlic. It is reported that people who consume garlic often enough, would face lesser indigestion problems.

Tip #6: Get good skin (listen up everyone!)

The orange and funny looking vegetable that is iconic for Halloween – the pumpkin. (I am surprised too.) Well, pumpkin contains Vitamin A and helps reduce the risk of developing skin cancer.

I am posting this entry with the help of my dear friend in Singapore, Elaine. Thanks a lot my friend. I will definitely try to tap onto some proxy servers so that I can post more often. 

How to survive coordinating two weddings in a row?

I almost did not survive the weekend. I was heavily involved in my buddy’s wedding on Saturday, and my another girlfriend’s wedding on Sunday. (I will post some of their gorgeous photos soon.)

For both weddings, I am their “jie-mei” (somewhat like bridesmaid in the American terms) during the day and emcee for the wedding banquet.

Well, thank God I survived and I even managed to wake up for my 0830hrs class the following day. To be honest, I am really, really tired and burnt out. I was in a daze and found it hard to concentrate during the morning class, and of course, the afternoon class.

Anyway, since I survived this wedding rush for two brides, I would share some little tips on how to survive. 🙂

Tip #1: Drink lots of water during the day

With Singapore’s humid weather, to avoid headache and sore throat, I have to drink lots of water to keep myself hydrated.

Tip #2: Prevent blister

We are all in our pretty heels and with so much walking for the whole day, it is definitely wiser to prevent blisters from developing than nursing them with lots of plasters. Protect your feet with anti-blister treatment using products like Foot Glide Anti-Blister Foot Formula. (See my post on blister saviour to find out more.)

Tip #3: Use conditioner to remove hair styling products

After numerous sprays of hair styling product, my hair become hard and stiff. To remove the hair styling product thoroughly, apply conditioner to the hair before shampooing. Massage the hair gently, rinse off then shampoo as usual.

Tip #4: Eat when it is time to eat

I often hear girls saying that they are not eating so that they can fit more nicely into their dresses. However, if you do not have enough energy for the event, fatigue will hit you fast and hard.

Tip #5: Keep warm – bring a nice dressy jacket along

Some hotel ballrooms have very strong air-conditioning, and there is no way you will enjoy the dinner if you are freezing throughout. Bring a nice looking dressy jacket to keep yourself warm. Even if you do not need it, you can lend it to a friend who needs it. 🙂

Tip #6: Maintain a light mood

There are times when there are delays, bad weather, noisy crowd etc. The only way to survive through all these is to maintain a happy and light mood. Afterall, it is a joyous occassion. Smile, cheers and be merry.

Love yourself, pamper yourself, time to yourself…

I have been following WiredBerries for the past two months, and this article “A Little Luxury” compelled to me. It talks about taking little (luxury) breaks in the midst of your busy schedule.  

The article is so apt for my stage of life now. My life has been hectic. Many times, I felt fatigue and burned-out. However, in order to move on, we need rest.

Here’s what WiredBerries and I suggest you could do.  Take time to enjoy a little luxury – do it for yourself, my dear friends.

Luxury #1 – Steal time for a short nap

I did that on last Saturday – it was awesome. 🙂

Luxury #2 – Take a long shower

I would add in a scrub session as well to pamper my skin a little.

Luxury #3 – Do nothing for 10 minutes

This would mean “stone” for 10 minutes and totally let go. I have tried this, and I almost doze off after a while!

Luxury #4 – Put on a face mask

I did that on last Saturday too! It was a great feeling – I could hear my skin exclaiming “thank you” to me for pampering it.

Luxury #5 – Enjoy good (or very good!) wine with some dark chocolates

I have not done this before. It would be my wish to have this session soon.

Luxury #6 – Indulge in mani and pedi-cure session

I cannot even recall the last time I have such indulgence. I definitely am going for one soon.

Luxury #7 – Stay in with a good book, or find a nice cafe and enjoy a good book

If I have time to finish reading my textbooks and case studies, I would love to reach for a good book.

Luxury #8 – Stay in your pyjamas for the whole day

I miss doing this.

Luxury #9 – Have a solo dance

This sounds cool. Has anyone tried this before? I am sure it would be pretty therapeutic! 🙂

Now, it is your choice – love yourself a bit more.