5 Strategi Susutkan Lemak

KOMPAS.com - Riset terakhir menegaskan bahwa hal utama yang perlu diperhatikan saat kita ingin menurunkan berat badan adalah  mengendalikan asupan kalori. Terutama, bila usia kita sudah semkin mendekati 40 tahun ke atas. Batas yang sering dianjurkan oleh para ahli adalah sekitar 1.600 kalori per hari.

Sebagai panduan, simak lima tip berikut untuk membantu memangkas kalori, mengendalikan dorongan ngemil, dan memastikan program penurunan berat badan berjalan maksimal.

1. Perhatikan porsi makan di rumah
Bukan kegiatan makan di restoran saja yang perlu diwaspadai. Menurut studi terhadap 18 resep yang dimuat dalam sebuah buku resep masakan klasik, hidangan khas rumahan ternyata menyimpan 63 % kalori berlebih dalam setiap porsinya. Salah satunya karena porsi makanan di masa sekarang semakin lama semakin banyak.
Solusi: Saat memasak, kurangi bahan-bahannya hingga setegngah dari komposisi resep. Atau, segera sisihkan separuh hidangan untuk disantap pada waktu makan berikutnya.

2. Tampik minuman manis
Orang yang menghilangkan konsumsi minuman manis dalam sehari, bisa menurunkan berat lebih banyak dalam waktu 6 bulan. Bahkan, satu gelas minuman sudah bisa memberi perbedaan yang signifikan. Ini bila dibandingkan dengan yang berusaha mengurangi asupan kalori dari makanan padat, dengan jumlah yang sama. Peneliti dari John Hopkins University berasumsi, kalori yang berasal dari cairan tidak cukup memuaskan, sehingga kita cepat merasa lapar lagi.

3. Bersahabat dengan protein
Pada penelitian yang dilakukan di Eropa, orang-orang yang komposisi menu hariannya terdiri dari 25 % protein ternyata bisa lebih sukses menurunkan berat badan. Protein, baik dari makan besar maupun snack, bisa membantu kita merasa kenyang lebih lama. Saat dicerna, protein juga butuh kalori lebih banyak ketimbang yang diperlukan karbohidrat dan lemak. Demikian simpulan para peneliti.

4. Awali dengan makanan berkuah
Riset membuktikan, kita menyantap kalori 20 % lebih sedikit jika mengawali waktu makan dengan sup, alih-alih langsung menyantap makanan utama. Catatan: hindari sup yang tinggi kalori, seperti yang dibuat dengan menggunakan krim.

5. Minum jus sayuran
Jus dari ekstrak sayuran bisa memuaskan lapar dan mengendalikan asupan kalori. Ini terlihat pada penelitian di University of California, Davis. Relawan yang minum sedikitnya 240 ml jus sayuran (rendah sodium) bisa kehilangan berat badan 4 kali lebih banyak. Ini dibandingkan mereka yang punya pola makan serupa, namun tidak menikmati jus sayuran.

A warrior of light is never predictable

A warrior of light is never predictable.He might dance down the street on his way to work, gaze into the eyes of a complete stranger and speak of love at first sight, or else defend an apparently absurd idea. Warriors of light allow themselves days like these. He is not afraid to weep over ancient sorrows or to feel joy at new discoveries. When he feels that the moment has arrived, he drops everything and goes off on some long-dreamed-of adventure. When he realises that he can do no more, he abandons the fight, but never blames himself for having committed a few unexpected acts of folly. A warrior does not spend his days trying to play the role that others have chosen for him.

The warrior of light does not worry that, to others, his behaviour might seem quite mad. He talks out loud to himself when he is alone. Someone told him that this is the best way of communicating with the angels, and so he takes a chance and tries to make contact. At first, he finds this very difficult. He thinks that he has nothing to say, that he will just repeat the same meaningless twaddle.Even so, the warrior persists. He spends all day talking to his heart. He says things with which he does not agree, he talks utter nonsense. One day, he notices a change in his voice. He realises that he is acting as a channel for some higher wisdom. The warrior may seem mad, but this is just a disguise.

The moment that he begins to walk along it, the warrior of light recognises the Path. Each stone, each bend cries welcome to him. He identifies with the mountains and the streams, he sees something of his own soul in the plants and the animals and the birds of the field. Then he allows his Personal Legend to guide him towards the tasks that life has reserved for him. On some nights, he has nowhere to sleep, on others, he suffers from insomnia. ‘That’s just how it is,’ thinks the warrior. ‘I was the one who chose to walk this path.’ In these words lies all his power: he chose the path along which he is walking and so has no complaints.

(Author: Paulo Coelho)

Another obsession of mine in making myself thinner...Apparently not very hard. Just say no to TV(like I can do that)

Cut back TV time, burn more calories

It may seem obvious that spending less time lounging on the couch may help burn more calories, but a team of researchers from the University of Vermont recently confirmed that cutting back daily TV time increases the amount of calories you burn. The study, published last month in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine, included 36 adults who were either overweight or obese, and who watched at least three hours of TV per day. 20 participants were randomly assigned to cut their TV time in half—which researchers enforced with a timer that would lock the out after their allotted viewing time expired. At the end of the three week trial, participants who'd had their TV time cut in half burned an average of 120 extra calories per day—or roughly the equivalent of half a candy bar—compared with those who carried on with their routine viewing habits.

While cutting back on TV time helped participants burn more calories, it didn't impact the amount of calories they consumed each day, researchers found. Still, burning 120 extra calories per day is a start. As Dr. Jennifer Otten, lead author of the study, told the New York Times: "If you add it up over time, it's equivalent to walking eight miles a week. Over a year, it might help prevent weight gain of 12 pounds.”

(Source: Time)

New Year's Resolution

January 5, 2010

My first day of blogging (again).

One of my resolutions for this year include to spend more time to write and read. So far, have yet to achieve in both. But (God willing) there is time. So, in hope for the best, I'm starting the entry.