Am I???????????

GOSH! All I seem to wanna do recently is SLEEP! I mean I even feel sleepy driving back to work from lunch! Okay, Okay! I know, you guys are thinking, of course la sleepy. Heavy lunch. Well, the thing is, I had only thosai and a cuppa of ice tea. So, definitely NOT a heavy lunch. Already went to the doctor as well because got worried since it has lasted more than 2 weeks already, this tired energy-less feeling. 

After I explained my symptom, the first thing that the doc say is, I would like to do a pregnancy test if that is ok with you. I was like, okay, sure. After all, he is the doctor. The test was NEGATIVE but he still insist this could be wrong if it is early stages. So, advised me to come back for 2nd test if I dont get my period on schedule this month. Soooooo....see la. Seriously, I doubt I am pregnant la. I dont have all those other signs such as tender boobs or soreback! Okay, so I am burping alot and nausea but then this could be because of gastric due to stress bah!

So, end of the month, if I dont get my period, mean time to go buy my own pregnancy test kit la. Yar, I discover it is cheaper if I do my own test. I had to fork out extra RM31 to pay for the doctor fee that day. The bill come up to RM71 which RM40 is covered by my company and balance I need to pay my own. IF I didnt do the test, then I dont even have to pay the extra because consultation and medicine is less than RM40! If I get my own kit, it only cost RM20, i.e. saving me RM11 which is enough to pay for McDonald Value meal at lunch time. 

This is not call stingy la ok. This is call being money smart! BLUEKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Suspense................

Ok! I have get myself in the I am return mode and start to talk nonsense again ^_^

Have not been to work since Monday last week *snicker & wicked grin*! Why you ask? Am I playing 'ponteng kerja' you ask? Errr...as brave as I am and outspoken sometimes, I am not as brave as putting my livelihood on the line like that. Oh, did I mentioned that I most probably only going to start work this coming Friday if all goes well? Gosh, so that dash the thought that I am on leave to clear my leave does it not? Hehehe..this suspense is fun!

Actually, I am on medical leave till this Thursday and depending on the follow up with the doc this Thursday afternoon, I might or might not be allowed back to work on Friday. Of course, my boss is not happy about that but basically, nothing much he can do because MC is MC (but I do dread to think of my performance appraisal).

Oh, you are asking how come I have not been to office since last Monday yah?? Well, you see, the story is like this:

The weekend after we got back from our 'go-back-hometown' trip, just after New Year day, I suffered a sudden back pain. Went to the clinic nearby and all was well by Tuesday with the painkiller and 1 day of rest on that Monday. Then on last Saturday, while trying to get up, suddenly I was in this really really really horrible pain. I mean, if you sprained anything before, I can tell you, this pain is worse than a sprain!

On Saturday, it was still not too bad. Not too painful unless I bend to far and such. But on Sunday, I basically was in pain all the time, i.e. each step is the biggest torture in my life. Imagine I cant really sit because this would mean my back will send sharp shooting pain to my brain and my butt and leg literally start to feel numb! At one point, I was literally crying in pain and this really got babe attention because he realised it must be really bad. Damn, that really scare me.

That night, walking up the stairs took me 5 minutes because I had to keep stopping! The next morning, first thing was going to the clinic again. This time, doc gave me lots of medicine including painkiller, anti-dizzy pills (because the only painkiller I am not allergic will make me dizzy and feel like vomiting...sigh! Dread to think when I am preggie and I am not allowed any pain reliever because I am allergic to it!! GGRR), muscle relaxant, gastric pills and another one.. I cant remember. Basically, I remember I had to take 5 pills at a time, 3 times a day.

Doc must be really worried too because he wants me to be back at his clinic first thing next morning if the pain is not better because he will give me a letter of referral to a specialist. After another painful medicated drowsy haze, went back to the doctor on Tuesday, got the referral letter and babe took half day and went to the medical center with me. Doc actually tells me, if the pain is too much to bear, go straight to the A&E (accident & emergency). He actually address the letter to: "Orthopedic doctor, A&E".

Now, most of you would have thought this would have been warning enough to me how severe this is. Frankly, babe & I just thought we will see the specialist, got super powerful jab; do either MRI or x-ray and get send back with long MC and bags of super strong painkiller. Never in a million years did we thought I will get admitted! That is when we both realised, GOSH! This is really bad. Well, actually I was more like, oh..great....they can inject me directly to my spine and get me out of this torture!

Needless to say, they didnt do that but I did get a jab in the doctor's office because I cant get up from the examination bed/table! I am not joking. After the doc examined me and told us that he wants to admit me, I tried to get up from the examination table with babe's help but each time babe tries to pull me up, I just had to ask him to stop because I feel as if I am breaking into half at the waist! In the end, doc says refuse to let me get up until he gives me a jab.

Thank god he did too because the admission itself took more than 1 hour! Apparently, there is no 4 bedded room available (that was my request at first because I didnt know I am entitled up to RM200 per night room :P). Then I just cannot stand it anymore and told them to just get me to the 2 bedded room (which cost RM150 per night!). I finally only got properly admitted and in my bed at almost 5pm! (I reached the medical center at 1pm..which means 4 hours of hell...sigh).

Then at 6pm, I got a call to go to the physical therapy and I thought, huh? I have backache and I am gonna do exercise??? How the hell am I going to be able to get thru that without fainting when even lying in bed on my back is painful? Even more apprehensive when the nurse pushed me passed a whole row of equipments you normally see in gym! Then she pushed me through another door passed all the equipments and lo-behold, physical therapy as in infra heat therapy, ultrasound wave therapy and gentle massage therapy...that kind of physical therapy. PHEW!!! (Frankly speaking, I told babe that it feels like going for massage with different rooms and massage bed/table.)

I finally got back to my room where babe is waiting at around 7pm. Dinner is waiting at the table. Oh, I didnt tell you that the patient get complimentary meals? Hehehe! I was too exhausted by then and just had about 1/3 of the meal. Babe helped himself to the rest :)

2nd day, Wed, all alone in the hospital for the whole day. Babe wont be able to come and I told him not to anyways. No point for him to waste his leave just sitting around with me at the hospital and I can call him if something serious happens. So, me, ready to face the uncertainties for the day. Doc came at 8am to check up on me. He arranged for MRI and 2 more physical therapy for the day. By then, I am definitely better than the day before. At least I am able to get up on my own by pulling on the side of the bed railing.

Doc diagnosis from the MRI report shows that I have a tear, buldging & narrowing disc which is caused mainly by the deterioting condition of the disc where the fluid in 3 of the disc are all gone, i.e. dried up. Apparently, this is more and more common for people in my age group although it should only really happen to people in their 40s and above. (DAMN! I am old already!!).

AND the best news, since I am much much better by that afternoon doctor visit, I can go back the next day and recuperate at home! HOORAY! By then, I am very very sick of the place! UGH! Nothing much to do except SLEEP, EAT, PHYSICAL THERAPY and watch TV (Oh did I mention they actually have Star Movie, HBO, AXN and a few other channels. I think about 10-14 channels total).

Seriously, I really had no idea why the doctor admit me to be very frank. I mean, I can basically do my own heat therapy at home with a hot water bottle and take the painkiller at home and sleep and rest at home. Why admit me at all if there is no intention to do more than that? Babe had the same opinion. The doc could have just arrange for a MRI on the initial consultation itself and finds out the exact diagnosis instead of admitting me first.

We suspect it is because the insurance are the one footing the medical expenses incurred. And pretty hefty bill too for 2 nights and 3 days stay at the hospital with 1 MRI, 2 physical therapy & twice a day painkiller equals to RM1800+! Thank god for company insurance!

Anyway, I am home now. Much better. Back pain and right leg only starts when I sit or walk more than 1 hour at a time without lying down to rest my back. RK calls me old lady because of this! (BLUEK!). I also discover that I get tired really fast compare to before the injury. Start to recognise when I break into cold sweats, it mean time to rest. Started taking 2 scope of Anlene starting today. Was told that I should take Vitamin D too to aid the absorption of the calcium. Must find from Chinese physician what herbs I can take to improve my condition. I simply do not believe in the doctor's comment that there is no cure for disc deteriotion such as this! Wish me luck!!!!

SWIMMING & DIRECT SELLING....

My colleague and I finally went to the swimming at the pool at my apartment yesterday evening. I was suppose to have a meeting at 6pm yesterday but after dialing in and waited for about 15minutes, the moderator has not dial in yet (turn out he couldn't wake up! He was 5am his time and 6pm our time. Guess cant blame him lar). So, we dropped the call and decided that since still have time, we might as well go back to my place for a swim.

It was actually pretty dark by the time we finished changing to our swimsuit and go to the pool. Dark but still can see lar because the sun has not fully set. That was around 7.30pm. always thought that the water will be warm because the pool would have absorbed the heat from the sun the whole day and is suppose to release it slowly in the evening. But the water was so cold last night! Super duper cold. Kee, my colleague was actually shivering! I know I can feel EVERY part of my body tensed from the cold.

But after moving around in the pool for awhile, we felt better lar. There was another girl in the pool. One of the people staying at the apartment too. It was the first time I see her. When she wave and say hello, we thought she was just being friendly at first. Then suddenly, she ask do you know what is , I actually rolled my eyes in my brain, OH NO! ANOTHER DIRECT SALES! I have nothing against people that do direct selling but please lar! We went to the pool to swim and have fun. Not to listen to the nonsense about EXPERIENCE SHARING GATHERING or whether we are interested and if yes, she can invite us! As if that is such a previlege thing, to be invited..sheesh!! GERAM!

But me and K being super nice people, we just dont have the heart to tell someone direct to the face to shut up and leave us in peace. So, in the end, we were trying really really hard to change the topic a few times without much success and when she asked if we are free this Saturday, that was the last straw and I immediately told her, sorry, I wont be around. Will be going away for a long trip. I think she finally got the hint lar and left the pool without saying goodbye or anything! HEHEHE!

Anyway, we had a good peaceful swim after that. Looking forward to doing it again. Maybe we go to Jusco later and check out the swimsuit on 50% sales? ALAMAK! Errr...maybe not. Need to save $$$ ~>_<~ Or I bring Sum there and ask her to buy her swimsuit & googles??? PPsst, Kee, what u think?

After the swim and bath, we went to the mamak for dinner around 8.30pm. Ate thosai telur again with chutney that is white (coconut I think) and brown (er..this I am not sure what but really nice mix with the white one). Kee also ate thosai but hers was plain one. Babe at nasi pattaya and we ordered chicken tandoori. Super full after that but we were glad because we ate super light throughout the day and finally go swimming. Dinner was not too heavy. So, all in all, it was a good day yesterday.

p/s: *singing and humming* SMILE SMILE SMILE SMILE SMILE HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY!!!!!!! Going back the day after tomorrow!!!! No need to work for 16 days!!!! GRIN GRIN GRIN GRIN!!

Himalaya Anti Dandruff

I finally had it with the dandruff! No matter how I wash my hair, somehow, the very next day, I can see dandruff and the hair get super oily by evening too. I was using Rejoice Anti-Dandruff shampoo but it seems to have very little effect. I was already thinking of going back to the medicated super expensive shampoo (don't remember the name. The bottle is blue!). Then, DD told me that her friends the Himalaya shampoos are good for dandruff and pretty cheap too, RM18+ per bottle.

By chance, I happened to passby a Himalaya shop while walking to Giant supermarket on Wednesday. I told my dilemma to the lady there and she recommended a few items and the price tag added up to RM50.

This is actually packed in a transparent zip bag. Handy to bring along if you are travelling.

Need to rub this into the scalp and leave it for a few hours. Instruction at the back says best to leave it overnight but I cannot stand the smell. Wash off with the shampoo after one hour! Pretty hard to remove. I need to lather the hair with shampoo two times before it is completely gone.

Not unpleasant smell from this shampoo. In fact, it smells abit like Johnson baby shampoo.

Have not used this yet. But was told to apply to the tip of the hair once or twice a week after the hair is dry from shampooing.

Overall, I am pretty satisfied with the product so far. I washed my hair on Wednesday after applying the oil. Washed my hair too yesterday but this time no oil. So far, no visible dandruff (yar, it was that bad) and no itch! I am glad to say that this is RM50 well spent money!

p/s: This is not a paid ad. Just sharing what I feel about this product.

What is Low GI?

I was reading the Reader Digest from Oct 2003 on an article that caught my attention, i.e. "Hungry All the Time? How to turn off the switch?". Wahhhh so nice ah, can turn on and off like the switch light. When I want to feel hungry, just flip the switch to ON and when I want to lost weight, become OFF. Hhmm, does this mean that it works, I will be rich selling the secret formula? Didi & Shannen, want to know the secret? If want, must treat me super expensive meal. Erm, maybe not meal lar since suppose to be on diet, maybe a gold anklet? hahaha..

Ok lar, I be nice lar because I sayang you all so much, I share share with you. Apparently, the lower GI (Glycemic Index) a meal is, the longer you will feel fuller. GI is the indication of how fast a meal drives up your blood sugar. The faster the food that you consumed drives up your blood level, then the faster the blood sugar level will drop too. So, those drinks like cola will gives you fast energy and kick but you will feel like eating again soon. So, logically, food that releases sugar slower to the blood will help to curb hunger. Therefore, the lower the GI, the slower you will feel hungry. Anything under 50 GI is consider low, 50 to 70 is medium and above 70 is high.

So, the article states that there is 5 simple rules to beat the hunger and they are:
1. Be wary of White
Food made from white refined flour such as white bread(73), croissants (67), doughnuts(76) have high GI. There are also white veggies such as instant rice (72), baguettes (95), potato chips (75), baked potatoes (85). The exception to white rule includes item such as diary products (40 or less) and almost all pasta (40 to 50). So, get started on MILK and DRINK UP!

2. Eat Healthy Fat
We always know that olive and canola oil is good for you but it also have low GI. So, try cooking with those oil instead. Eat snack such as nuts, make sandwiches with cheese and peanut butter or avocado (using whole-grain bread of course). Eat lean protein such as fish, chicken, some lean beef and beans too.

3. Eat fibre
We hear this all the time but fibre helps you to feel full faster. That means eating food such as whole-grain bread (53), long grain such as basmati rice (55) and of course most vegetables and fruit score low GI as well. Same goes for unsweetened fruit juice. Be careful of dried fruits such as prune and dates (103) which have very high GI.

4. Snack smarter
Try snacking on Peanut M&M (33), Snickers (53) or chocolate milk (34) instead of jelly beans (80), colas (87) or other carbonated drinks. Another good choice would be soy beans (18).

5. Think balance
Last but not least, it is not a single food GI that counts but rather the overall of the meal. For example, if you are having salmon or chicken, a side dish of baked potatoes is acceptable as the total GI of both food divided by two will be in the low or medium range.

Personally, it seems too good to be true actually. Imagine snacking on Peanut M&M?? But I am willing to try it. Who knows it might work. If you are interested, click here for a list of the GI index for a few food items. And if you want to find out more about low GI diet, click here.

Comfort Food Gone Wrong

You know sometimes you feel so depressed and all that you fell like doing is eat something rich like chocolate or cakes or croissant? After comfort eating, then you will start to feel guilty for eating? I think this happens to gals more than the guys because the society view slim gal as sexy. Well, to certain extend, I do agree that slim is beautiful (see how well the society is brandwashing me too?). If I do not believe them abit, I wouldn't have subscribed to SparkPeople and be receiving daily news and tips from them via email.

Imagine my joy when I see an email from them with the topic: 7 Comfort Foods that are Good for You. I am very excited about this because this mean that I can actually have something that after eaten, my body will tell my brain that it feels good. AND my brain wont tell my body that it is making you FAT! hahaha.. So, lets see what are the comfort food that is suppose to be good for you:

Yogurt - add you favorite fruits to it. Suppose to be an exchange for yogurt but less fattening since it has less calories than ice cream. Also, the more fruit you add, the more vitamins and minerals you get. Plus it can help with the sweet tooth that is causing your craving. So double whamy here.

Fruit Smoothies - another amazing alternative to the sweet stuff. Loaded with vitamin and mineral. Fantastic for a hot day.

Chicken soup - hhmm, not sure about this one but when I have stomach crammed whenever I have visitation from 'aunty', a hot bowl of soup always sooth the tummy. (A splash of brandy in the chicken soup helps too*wink*)

Oatmeal - again, not sure about this since I do not make it a habit to take oat no matter how many times I tried them. The only oatmeal that I can tolerate is when I add lots of milo to it so that it seems like I am eating chocolate! hehe

Angel Food Cake - I thought cakes are loaded with lots of sugar and carb???

Vegetable juice - ewww...this is definitely not a source of comfort for me. I wonder who came up with this list!!

Crack pot creation - sounds something like our chai bui teng (leftover bits soup) where we put in all the leftover and make a soup.

Ooopss, maybe I should call the above food that you don't feel like eating when you are depressed? I guess the most important thing is eat in moderation. No matter how good some things are for you, too much of any things will be bad for you in the end^_^

Belly Dancing

yap..u got the topic right(or rather I got it right): belly dancing!!! hahaha...
Just got back from aerobics and stayed back for abit to accompany a colleague that was feeling faint because didnt drink enough water prior to the class. I have learned my lesson about that. I will always make sure that I drink plenty of water before, during and after the aerobics classes(or any exercise).

It seems that the next session at the center was about to start, i.e. belly dancing! And so the kepoh me was really surprised when my friend pointed a well proportion lady (errr...just in case you dont understand, that was a nice way to say plump! haha..sshh). But when she start her belly dance, you just cant take your eyes off her! She looks so sexy and mouth-watering!! Yap, you heard me right, mouth watering! I bet if a guy is there, for sure he will have nose bleed and saliva flowing from his mouth like an idiot! And her body, when she move, with that scarf tied around her waist, no words can describe.

My colleague (the one that was feeling faint) said that those with more flesh on her body will make sexy belly dancer because even a little shake will make the butt move from side to side sexily. Compared to the skinny ones, it will make more effort to show the butt move! Of course, it is even better if you have big boobs or butt! hahahaha..

So, my new craze. I am surfing the net for every information that I can find about belly dancing. I am trying to persuade my colleagues/ friends to join me for at least one class. The class is rather costly though, RM10 per class! Aerobics was RM4 per class. Oh well, my motto is try everything at least once in your lifetime. Who knows you might end up liking it so much and turn it into a career or life long passion! hehehe..mucks!

Plateau

I was reading an interesting article today emailed by a friend to me on plateau. Plateau is when the weight lost had suddenly stop eventhough you were doing the usual activities that has helped you to lost weight previously. This could be happening either because your body had managed to evolve and adapt to the activities that you are on or simply the activities is not 'heavy' enough for your new bodyweight/fitness level.

Hence, when this happens, the health & fitness experts recommend the following:

1. Lift some weight
This is where you start on your strength training and try to build more muscle, increase lean mass and strengthen the bone. Ultimately, the goal is to boost and increase the metabolism of your body. So, start by using 1kg dumb bell and strengthen the arm and shoulder. Or join the gym and get professional advice.

2. Varies your food intake
I know, this might sound weird to some of you but variety in your food intake not because it will keep things interesting but the different calories intake will also help to prevent the plateau. So, suggestion is perhaps instead of strictly keeping to 1800 calories daily. Perhaps you can keep to 1600calories for 1-2days and then increase to 2000calories for another day. This will also allow you to give yourself the occasional treat without feeling guilty.

3. Exercise
I know that you been also told to have variety of exercise routine so that you won't be bored with the same thing daily. However, there is another good reason for the different exercise routine. Different exercise work different group of body parts and muscle. By keeping a variety, then you can ensure that you body does not only get a full workout but also ensuring that your body do not adapt to the routine when you have achieve the optimum level of fitness for that muscle group. There are really alot of activities that you can do. For example, yoga, aerobic, line dancing, self-defense classes, hip-hop and so forth.

4. Change food group
This is similar to number 2 but instead on concentrate on just the calories, you need to look at the type of food intake as well. For example, high carb occassionally and then switch to high protein once in a while. Try to mix match abit and see the difference. Perhaps for breakfast, instead of 2 slices of bread and peanut butter, switch to sausages and eggs.

5. Change ways of eating
If you been eating just three meals per day, try to add in snacks in between meals but make sure that you reduce the portion of the main meal! This is a good way to 'trick' your body. The idea is when you snack, you will eat less for main meal. Just make sure that you remember the portion control.

So, the conclusion is continue to eat the healthy way but change and vary the food quantity, type and frequency abit. As for exercise, try to do something new once in a while. For example, if you been jogging daily, try aerobic once or twice per week. Listen to your body. If it is bored, the it will stay stagnant and you will be in a plateau without even realising it!!

Calories counting

wow~ Was browsing SparkPeople and discover that calories burn for doing different activities. Most amazing is that Aerobic burns more calories compared to yoga. I always thought they are similar. Anyway, some numbers to share:

All is for 60min but it may varies depend on the person's weight

Yoga---------------- 360
Aerobic--------------650
Step-robic-----------950 (wahhhh!!!!)
Swimming-----------550
Pilates---------------312
Water jogging--------700
Tramboline----------300
Running(10min/mile)-900 (wahhhh!!)
Heavy housework ---400
Line dancing---------400
Gardening-----------300 (boohooo..almost same as yoga!!)

So conclusion is, if you are looking for fast weight lost, then go for aerobic (even better step aerobic). However, I can personally also say that yoga has its own benefit. Yoga is a good stress reliever and helps to have better blood circulation. And hence, improving youthfulness.

So, perhaps, the best is to have a combination of different activities for more variety and motivation to continue exercising to keep healthy.