Grauer Schatten

Lose Fat Effectively (Part 2): You Are What You Eat

2007-02-21T19:37:00.000-08:00

Watch what you eat. This is the next 20% of the battle against fat.

1 pound of Fat is equal to 3,500 calories. In theory, to lose a pound of fat, you have to burn 3,500 calories.

So how can you burn calories? There are two ways to do it: through your metabolism and cardiovascular exercise.

Let's first discuss metabolism. Metabolism is a series of chemical reactions in our cells to convert the fuel in the food we eat so we can have energy for everything we do. You are burning calories while you work, play, sleep, think, even when you're just watch TV. In short, you burn calories just to exist.

So how many calories do you actually burn? well it depends on your daily activities and how big you are. The bigger you are, the more calories are needed to keep you alive. I have provided you a way to know how much your body burns everyday, which is known as your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE). This is called the Harris-Benedict formula. First you have to calculate for your Basal Metabolic Rate (also known as BMR, which is the amount of calories you burn just to exist, minus all the activities). To calculate for your BMR:

To determine the BMR for men:
BMR = 655 + (6.2 x weight pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years)

To determine the BMR for women:
BMR = 655 + (4.4 x weight pounds) + (4.6 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years)

Example:
Man
180 lbs
74 inches (6'2")
28 years old
BMR = 655 + (6.2 x weight pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in years)
BMR = 655 + 1116 + 938.8 - 190.4
BMR = 2520 calories

To compute for TDEE, mulitply your BMR by your activity factor:

Activity factor

Sedentary = BMR X 1.2 (little or no exercise, desk job)
Lightly active = BMR X 1.375 (light exercise/sports 1-3 days/wk)
Mod. active = BMR X 1.55 (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days/wk)
Very active = BMR X 1.725 (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days/wk)
Extr. Active = BMR X 1.9 (hard daily exercise/sports & physical job or 2 X day training, marathon, etc)

The man above, if he's very active, is burning 4347 calories a day.

Now, if your TDEE is 2500cal/day, and you eat only 2000cal/day, you are making a deficit of 500cal/day. In one week, you make a deficit of 3,500. You lose 1 pound of fat per week without working out. If you eat 1500cal/day, you lose 2lbs of fat per week.
Simple isn’t it? Yeah... but in reality, it is not. Because even if you lose 2lbs of fat each week each week for the four or six weeks, it won't be the same for the succeeding weeks, until the time when you're not losing fat anymore.

Here's the explanation:

Have you ever wondered why our ancestors were able to withstood famine? Because the body is an intelligent creation. It can detect your caloric intake for a period of time. If you are reducing your caloric intake for a month or two, your body will think "hey, I’m not eating as much as I used to, there must be a famine... I better conserve energy to keep this person alive." Your body will now lower your BMR and TDEE by slowing your metabolism. Your body cannot differentiate famine from your fat-loss efforts.

The way around this is to trick your body, by eating high-calorie diets every 4 days. Before your body starts to burn less calories, jump start your metabolism by eating whatever you want every 4th day.

If your TDEE is about 2500cal/day, your calorie consumption routine may look like:

Monday - 1500cal
Tuesday - 1500cal
Wednesday - 1500cal
Thursday - 2500cal
Friday - 1500cal
Saturday - 1500cal
Sunday - 1500cal
Monday - 2500cal

In one week, you lose a little less than 2lbs of fat, in a month, you'll lose about 8lbs of fat!

For me, the ideal rate of fatloss is 2lbs per week. Any more than that, it's very likely that you're losing muscle along with fat. Muscle tissues are important because they are metabolically active.The more muscle tissues you have, the higher your metabolic rate. The higher your metabolism, the more calories you burn even while at rest.

Other parts of this series:
Part 1 - Your Reason

Lose Fat Effectively (Part 1): Your Reason

2007-02-20T19:45:00.000-08:00

Have you noticed? I did not say “Lose Weight.” This is because losing fat and losing weight are different. A lot of people try to lose weight by eating less… a procedure the call “dieting.”
In this 5-part series, I will give you a brief, but thorough insight on why dieting does not work, and how can you lose the fat and retain the figure. However, I would like to warn you that although the points I’m about to discuss are simple, they are not easy. There is no easy way to lose fat and we all know that nothing of great value comes easy. Now, let’s get that body trimmed!!

The first thing you'll need in order to lose fat is:

Your Reason

If you have a reason why you want to lose those flabs, you’ve won 60% of the battle against fat. Because your “reason” will be the one that will wake you up to start your exercise, the one that will keep you going when you’re tired, push you to lift that last rep, and give you mental strength to say no to that heavenly pepperoni and mushroom pizza.

I’m not talking about simple reasons like “I want to lose fat because I want to look good” or “I want to lose fat because I want to wear a bikini.” No, those lame reasons will have you quitting on the first day. Why? Because you always wanted to look good, you always wanted to wear that bikini, but you have not taken any action until now. It just means that they’re not strong motivators and you can live without them. Don’t say you want to, say you NEED to. I’m talking about burning reasons, like “I need to lose fat so I can stay healthy to be with my family longer!” or “I need to trim these fats because I have to look good to the girl/boy of my dreams!” or “I need to trim these fats because I am sick and tired of it, because I have only one lifetime and I’m not going to spend it as a blob!”

Ever been ditched by a girl because you’re fat? Have you been ridiculed because of your weight? If you know what I mean, I guess you have what it takes to burn down those flabs and get your life back.

Other parts of this series:
Part 2 - You Are What You Eat

He/She Cheated On Me… Why?

2007-02-17T21:45:00.000-08:00

We recently had an out-of-town trip and my co-workers were talking about infidelities, and how it affected their (and also their friends’) previous and on-going relationships. I was so sleepy that night and I wasn’t able to contribute to the topic.

In my opinion, cheating is the most dreaded event in a relationship, since this defeats the purpose of having a commitment. But why do people cheat on their partners? What drives them to go the distance and hurt someone whom they promised the stars and the sky? For me, these are the main reasons:

Your partner is hungry
Of all the basic needs (food, clothing, and shelter), hunger comes first. If you’re hungry, you go out to look for food. But in a relationship, it is not the hunger for food instead it could be any of these two: Physical hunger and emotional hunger.

Physical hunger has been with us for a million of years. This includes hunger for food and the need for sex. Cave men had sex all the time and they hunt mammoths, mastodons, and sabretooth tigers whenever they get the kicks. It seems that eating and having sex is all that they do. Humans are polygamous in nature and it ensures the survival of our species. Here are the most common reasons why he cheats for sex:

1. Your partner does not find you to be sexy anymore. So stay in shape, be like the one who swept him/her off his/her feet back then.
2. When it seems that your partner’s birthday happens more often than having sex with you. Alright, alright, I’m exaggerating. But if you’re having less sex, your partner will eventually go out for more. Couple this with some flirty co-worker or classmate who he/she finds attractive and you’ve got a cheater. Satisfaction is the key here. Be there most of the time when he/she wants it, make your partner feel good, and don’t make him/her feel deprived.
3. Sex with you has become boring. Even weightlifting and cardio needs variety. Variety is life. So put some life in yours by doing something adventurous (but safe… no mousetraps or lightbulbs or any breakables… that’s painful and freakin’ embarrassing when you go to the E.R.), so your partner will be excited instead of thinking what it will be like to have sex with the girl/man next door.

On the other hand, we have our emotional needs. These came into our mind thousands of years back. Men became civilized, built houses instead of looking for caves, worshipped gods, elected leaders, made nice clothing, and found out about love and the importance of acceptance. Within this period, humans decided that they should be monogamous, that they should only have one partner and should never have any sexual relationship, or love another. Here are two reasons why he/she cheated on you beyond physical affirmation:

1. Being set aside. When you make your partner fell less desired, taken for granted, and make it seem that he/she’s on the bottom of your priority list, he/she might not have second thoughts on getting off your ride when that warm and attentive person comes along.
2. Not talking about your relationship. As my girlfriend says it, communication is the key. She jokes about it often but yes, she’s damn right. You may be happy with what you have, but you should also consider your partners two cents. He/she might be thinking that there are things that you should be doing, or changes that should be made. If you keep on ignoring this, there might be someone who is willing to listen. And that is the beginning of the end.

But I must point out that between these two needs, the need for sex is still stronger. It has been with us for millions of years as opposed to thousands of years of civilization. It’s the basic instinct, the instinct to “go out and multiply” (But now this has changed to go out and wear a sack).

He/she has decided that you’re not meant to be and he/she can’t tell it to you straight.
This is beyond instincts and this has nothing to do with the things in your relationship. Sex may be the basic instinct, but Love is still the strongest force in the universe (cheesy!!!). This is the point where your partner realizes that there is someone else that is “destined“for him/her and it’s not you. Often times, this happens to relationships that are doing fine. You’ve been living happily for some years, being the perfect couple that everyone envies, then one day Mr./Ms. Destiny came knocking on his/her door and your cheater answered it, arms wide open.

He/she cheats because he/she can’t simply tell you that he wants out. The last thing he/she wants to see is you crying, after all the kindness, sweetness, and the happy years. A friend once said to me, “brutal honesty may have forgiveness in the end, but dishonesty is endless brutality, truly unforgivable.”

The bad thing about this is that there little you can do on your part. The good thing is that it’s not your fault.

He/she is not ready for a commitment
Your boyfriend/girlfriend thinks that you relationship is just for fun, or just to try something new. He/she regards commitment as a chain that will restrain him/her from the things he/she loves. The first couple of years will be fun for him/her because of the new experience but when this type of person starts to feel the weight of the chain, he/she will find a way to break lose.

He/she likes the feeling of being loved and needed, but by different people.
This is something psychological. Your partner has mental issues, insecurities that root back to his past, possibly as deep as his childhood. He needs to prove to himself/herself that he/she is lovable and indispensable, and these are often caused by past events that made him/her feel deeply rejected and unloved. This is the twisted result of the saying “when life gives you lemons, you make lemonades.” He is like a disabled athlete who works endlessly to prove to the world that he is number one, and sadly you’re just one of his trophies. Though there is nothing you can do on your part, rest easy and know that what goes around comes around.

Why System Restore Is Restricted To Your PC

2007-02-13T18:13:00.000-08:00

I needed to convert some .3gp files to .MPEG and I’m at a loss coz I’m not a techie. A friend advised me to download a video file converter from the Internet. He said it is free. I searched and I noticed that most of them are not free while some say, “free to try, $29.95 to buy.” I don't want a trial version, so I searched using my Peer-to-Peer program and luckily, I found one. I downloaded and installed it and the next minute my wallpaper was replaced by a blue background with a notice that a Trojan software has hijacked my PC. Great. I began to think if it was any luck at all. Problems like these often involve editing the Windows Registry, which is not really my forte. Besides, there’s this one no-brainer solution: System Restore*. In a nutshell, System Restore... well… restores your system back to a specific date which are marked by Restore PointsJ. Just choose a restore Point, and Windows XP will undo all the changes made to your computer that was made after the date of the Restore Point. I restored it back to the day before I installed the program, and my computer woke up from its nightmare. No sweat.

At that point, I thought what if we have some sort of a “System Restore” function in our lives and we can undo our mistakes?

I thought of it for sometime and I think it would’ve been great. We all had our times when we will all give anything just to undo what we’ve done… where we want to slap ourselves on the face and hope we’ll wake up. But the knot in our stomach is a grinning notice that it is real, that it’s happening, and we screwed up big time. How handy it is if we have the gadget that auto-saves our lives and can shoot us back to anytime we want. Everything will be perfect, right?

On an illogical point, it will be perfect. We'll have things go your way, we’ll prevent unpleasant events, and we can even win the lotto a lot of times. Taking reality into consideration, it’s absolute chaos. Imagine a lot of people traveling back and forth through time, changing the course of events just for the sake of “making things right” for them.

Security is what this is all about. And it is what most people live and die for.

We love it when we know nothing can go wrong. We are afraid of taking chances. We are afraid of risks. We are more focused on living securely than living freely. We always play it safe, striving hard to do the right things. Logical or not, life is not a school where you always have to be right (damn I hate studying). Life is a playground where you can either win or lose, or start a brawl and get wounded in the process.

We don’t need a System Restore. Life is meant to be lived with mistakes and failures. They are like stones that are given to us not for the purpose of dragging us down, but as steps that we can build so we can climb up. They are given to us so we can learn, and take it as an opportunity to show everyone what we are made of. Mistakes and Failure are your professors in the University of Hard Knocks.

So just let System Restore be on Windows and welcome your mistakes. Life is all about not knowing what will happen next, and knowing that you are strong enough to take on whatever happens.

To end this, here a quotation from Helen Keller:

"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing"

* For information on Win XP System Restore, please visit: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/learnmore/systemrestore.mspx

Looking At Things Differently

2007-02-13T17:49:00.001-08:00

Hi, my name is Kris. For the past years I've been challenging most of people's beliefs. I don’t know why but for some reason, I really beg to differ. I don’t readily accept the norms and for most people, I am a rebel. A good for nothing nut who always ask those questions that are not meant to be asked, a lazy guy who thinks that doing less accomplishes more, and a hard-headed INFP who has his own rules to follow. But I see myself as someone who dares to look at things in a different way coz I know that life is more than what meets the eye. I stand apart from the crowd, looking at reality from another angle.