Are you overweight?

Obesity is a complex, multi-factorial disease with interplay of appetite regulation, energy metabolism & psychological factors. Hence, losing weight is not simple & requires a multi-prong approach.

Yet today many people persist in seeking simple cures to this complex health problem. They are easily lured by fad diets or pills that promise an instant path to thinness. Most end- up disappointed as within 12 months they put back on the weight that they had lost and some even more.

You do not need to lose weight if your weight is within the healthy range on the weight-for-height chart & are otherwise healthy.

If you are not overweight but health problems related to overweight run in your family, it is important that you keep your weight steady. If you have family members with weight-related health problems outlined earlier, you are more likely to develop them yourself.

Below is a chart to see if you are at a normal weight, overweight , or obese. Overweight is defined as a BMI of equal to or greater than 23; obesity is defined as a BMI equal to or greater than 27.5. This is the guideline issued by the Malaysian Academy for the Study of obesity. The cut-offs are lower than the WHO classification, which classified overweight and obesity at cut-offs of 25 and 30. This is because evidence from many Asian countries show that Asians develop diseases at lower BMIs. We also tend to have a higher body fat percent at similar BMI, compared with the Caucasian/European population.

CATEGORY	BMI	RESULTS
Normal weight	18.5-22.9	Good for you! Try not to gain weight.
Overweight	23-27.4	Do not gain any weight, especially if your waist measurement is high. You need to lose weight if you have risk factors for heart disease (smoke, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes) or family members having heart disease or diabetes.
Obese	27.5 or greater	You need to lose weight. Lose weight slowly-about ½ pound to 2 pounds a week. See your doctor or dietitian for help.

Product Review : Yogood Blueberry Apple Granola Bar 蓝梅苹果燕麦棒

对于使用正确方法减肥的朋友都知道，控制饮食及运动才是减肥瘦身的根本。听起来容易，但要持续性地实践起来，其实还是需要下点功夫。

减肥最好的饮食方法就是少量多餐，不要喝有糖饮料及慢慢地减少主食的分量。但是由于从原本的大分量，突然减量，不过一会儿肚子就饿了。这其实很正常，所以我们提倡少量多餐，在餐与餐之间可以吃一些小食来填饱肚子，酱的话到正餐的时候才不会因为太饿，而吃过量。

在选择小食方面，最好维持在100卡左右。建议可以吃水果或坚果类。跟大家推荐这个来自Austria的Yogood{Blueberry Apple Granola Bar 蓝梅苹果燕麦棒}

它的味道香脆可口，而且挺耐饱的。通常我在1pm吃了午餐后，4个小时就会饿。但是，我放工回到家，7点多才吃晚餐。相隔6个多小时，一定饿死了。所以我会在4.30-5.00pm左右吃一个Yogood{Blueberry Apple Granola Bar 蓝梅苹果燕麦棒}。其热量才86kcal，真的是对减肥的朋友而言，是很不错的选择唷~~

How Obesity Affects Your Health ?

Obesity is recognized as major health problem and not just a cosmetic or lifestyle problem. People who are overweight & obese are more likely to develop health problem such as :

Types 2 Diabetes 

Cancer (Breast Cancer in postmenopausal women, endometrial cancer, colon cancer)

Heart Disease 

Gout 

Gallbladder Diseases 

Hypertension 

Osteoarthritis 

Lipid Disorders 

 Metabolic Syndrome

Sleep Apnoea

Impaired Fertility 

Low Back Problems 

Increased Anaesthetic Risk 

Of a population of 26 million, six million Malaysian adults are overweight and obese. And the obesity levels in adult Malaysians have almost tripled in less than 10 years, rising from 4.4% in 1996 to 12.2% in 2003. 

A recent survey by market researcher TNS Asiapanel revealed that about 38% of Malaysian housewives are overweight, the highest among five Asian countries are overweight, the highest among five Asian countries that include Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, and South Korea. 

Of major concern is that most Malaysians tend to get abdominal obesity (around the tummy) rather than generalized obesity, which can lead to long-term degenerative diseases like diabetes, stroke, heart attack, renal failure and gallbladder problems. 

Besides the physical dangers to your well-being, being obese also has many emotional sufferings such as poor self image, self-consciousness, or inferiority complexes. Obese people often face prejudice or discrimination at work, at school and in social situations. Feelings of rejection, shame or depression are common. 

The terms "overweight" or "obese" are used to describe excess body weight. Overweight typically refers to weight 10% above the expected body weight for height and build. Obese refers to being 20% over the target. The greater the excess, the higher health risk the person will have. 

Determining If You Are Overweight ？！

     Some people maintain that they are not in the least perturbed about being fat.They enjoy their food, are happy and content and feel fit enough to cope with life’s demands.

For others the thought of squeezing into a pair of over-tight jeans, bulging  at the hips in a swimsuit or wobbling on the disco floor has no appeal and adds insult to injury.

If you wish to establish whether you are overweight, there are two quick ways of doing so:

1.       Pinch an Inch

§  Stand up straight & loosely get hold of the skin at the side of your body at waist level.

§  Use forefinger and thumb and pinch the skin.

§  Don’t pinch the underlying flesh, only the skin. If this pinchful is an inch or more, you are overweight and could do with some weight loss.

2.       The Mirror Test

§  Take your clothes off and stand in front of a full length mirror.

§  Take a good look at yourself.

§  Start jumping gently up & down on the spot and observe yourself doing this.

§  If there are wobbles which tend to do their own thing, wobbling and moving at their own speed & direction , the loss of a few pounds is called for. 

You can also determine if you are overweight by using a height-weight chart.

Find where you are on the included chart & determine whether you fall into the categories of underweight, healthy, overweight or obese by finding your height on the chart. Follow the height line from this point in a horizontal direction until it intersects the line which indicates your weight. The point of intersection will fall into one of the categories.

Any diet which effectively cuts calories will cause fat in the body to disappear wherever it is.

There is a different between men & women with regard to where fat accumulates in the body. In men it tends to accumulate on the belly and in women on the thighs & hips.

Even after weight loss, people do not automatically achieve perfect body shapes.However, body shape can be improved by losing weight & by exercising which starts to tone up the muscles.

团圆饭--如何吃不肥！！！

明天就是年二十九了，虽然今年没有年三十晚，但是团员饭依旧要吃滴~~~ 对于一些减肥的朋友，过年可要小心咯，因为处处都是美食、处处都是诱惑！

很多人会想说，过年还讲减肥？？！！不要那么扫兴啦~~ 可是你知道吗：年节用餐很容易就没有节制，加上喝酒或其他饮料，一餐轻易飙破1000大卡，体重跟着直线上升。所以，你之前的努力，很可能就会功亏一篑。

所以不要在过完年后，抱着“年初四”酱的心情及撑暴得衣服去上班，建议饮食上应该把握四少一多原则，降低身体负担。年菜中多油、勾芡、油炸等种类的食物，热量特别高。如佛跳墙1人份约350大卡、1碗烩青菜约80大卡、两片煎萝卜糕热量220大卡、两片红烧鱼约170大卡、4片炸年糕更高达500大卡。加上啤酒、烈酒等热量动辄150大卡以上，一不小心就吃进过多的热量。

且年节围炉家人团聚，边谈天边用餐的结果反而越吃越多，还可能造成肠胃不适症状，更增加慢性疾病患者健康负担。建议大家可把握四少一多原则，即「多纤维、少油、少盐、少糖、少喝酒」，减低热量摄取。

【多纤维】
纤维是植物中所含的营养素，能够帮助清洗人体消化系统。分为不溶性与可溶性纤维两种。不溶性纤维对消化系统有益，能使大便柔软且松散，防止便秘。调查显示，全麦产品、玉米麸皮和亚麻籽即含有不溶性纤维，适度摄取对人体健康有益。

而可溶性纤维对心脏和血液循环系统有益。可降低血液中的胆固醇、控制血糖含量。水果、蔬菜、燕麦麸皮、燕麦粥、大麦、亚麻籽和豆荚里含有溶性纤维。在年菜中多添加上述高纤食品，除了多纤维还可增加维生素、矿物质的摄取。

【少油、少盐、少糖、少喝酒】
避免吃含油（勾芡）汤汁与油炸食物，烹调方式可采用烫、凉拌、蒸煮等，并减少调味料使用。可多吃盘饰蔬菜及餐后水果，而喝汤、喝酒各以一碗、一杯为限，多吃鱼肉或将肉类的皮去掉再吃，便可轻松吃出健康年菜。

最后祝大家猴年行大运，女生们个个减肥成功、身材永远都S字形。

藜麦的烹饪小技巧

需要注意的是，由于过多加工会损失藜麦珍贵的营养，为了保全更多营养，稼祺成品藜麦尽量减少机械加工工序，如想口感更佳，烹饪前最好用清水浸泡后反复淘洗几次确保彻底洗掉可能残留的皂苷，以免有轻微的涩味。

1、为使藜麦香味更浓，可在入锅之前把藜麦放在干燥的煎锅里烘烤几分钟，烘烤的过程中要不断地搅动使它受热均匀以免烤焦。

2、将藜麦浸泡几小时后食用，营养更高。

3、为使藜麦颜色更靓丽，可以用各种颜色的蔬菜汁浸泡着色，色香味更佳。