Monthly Archives: December 2010

Aesthetics & Beauty Guide January 2011

25 December 2010

Aesthetics & Beauty Guide Jan 2011

Finally finished wrapping up Aesthetics & Beauty Guide (ABG) January 2011 issue (it’s a coincidence that it looks so Christmassy btw). People, especially women, are always envious of me whenever I tell them what I do – which is review beauty treatments for work. Indeed, I have to admit that my job is pretty amazing and in this issue, I get to try out an array of procedures to treat skin problems as well as test-drive the latest slimming machines (goodbye love handles!) in our Imperfections Special! In fact, you will even read about the very treatment that super-svelte Dr Georgia Lee uses on herself to maintain her figure!

Find out what the top 10 most popular aesthetic treatments are and the kind of research you should do on your doctor before going for a procedure. Want to improve yourself but not keen to go under the knife? Then check out our feature on Sculptra – a non-surgical face lift, and breast fillers for shapelier breasts in 60 minutes flat! I also chat with successful entrepreneur, Merry Riana, to find out her success and beauty secrets, and if this multi-hyphenate (author, businesswoman, motivational speaker, mentor and mother) can keep herself groomed to perfection, you have no excuses!

ABG will hit newsstands end January, look out for it! Now, I just to to finish my other magazine, The Republic (http://www.therepubliconline.com/) and I’ll be freeeeeeee…:)

Merry Christmas everyone!


Avoid Festive Bulge With These Tips

17 December 2010

‘Tis the season to be jolly….and weight gain, with parties galore and lots of festive bingeing. You don’t have to stay at home and be a recluse in order to maintain your  hard-won numbers on the weighing scale. Just follow these secrets of successful dieters and you’ll still be able to fit into your skinny jeans.

1. Eat and drink wisely

If you’ve lost weight eating nothing but lettuce and fat-free chips, this may come as a shock but the best weight-loss plan is also the one the healthiest. Most people think of weight management and healthy eating as two separate things. But when you’re managing calories, it’s more important than ever to have a good balance of foods. Fruits and vegetables, lean sources of protein, low-fat dairy and whole-grain, high-fibre foods are the elements of good nutrition and have also shown to help with satiety. You don’t have to reinvent nutrition when you’re trying to manage your weight.

 If you want to cut something out, start with the obvious – empty calories. Cut out sugar and soda if you had to get rid of two foods that would sabotage any diet in the stratosphere.

2. Fill up on low calorie foods

People eat a consistent weight or volume of food each day. So you can eat the same amount of food and get fewer calories by choosing foods that are less energy-dense.

Which foods fill you up and provide you with nutrition without a lot of calories? Fruits and vegetables, which are both rich in fibre and high in water content. Fat packs nine calories a gram, water packs none. When fruits and vegetables constitute the bulk of your plate (and I don’t mean French fries), you’ll lose weight and keep it off. It’s virtually impossible to get fat eating fruits and vegetables, there are less than 100 calories in a vat of spinach!

Lean protein (fish, white-meat chicken and lean cuts of pork and red meat) will also help manage hunger. And, it’s important to reduce fat, but not too much, since fats help you absorb vitamins. A drizzle of olive oil, a “good fat”, is okay. 

3. Slow and steady wins the race

You can lose weight on any fad diet quickly. The problem is that the human body hasn’t evolved beyond its feast-or-famine origins: When you crash diet, the body thinks it has to store fat to survive this time of famine. The answer is a slow and steady weight loss of no more than one kilogram per week, which doesn’t send up the internal red flags that cause our metabolism to slow down. 

You can also apply this concept to the pacing of your meals. First, don’t skip any. Dieters who ate breakfast reported working out more, making them more successful at shedding weight. So get into the routine of eating breakfast, lunch and dinner and two healthy snacks each and every day.

Second, don’t rush. It takes about 20 minutes for your body to register that you’ve had enough, so if you eat quickly, it’s easy to eat too much. 

 Here are a more clever suggestions to fight the temptation to polish off jumbo servings:

-      Buy small (25ml) plates to use at home. 

-      Drink out of tall, thin glasses. 

-      Split food portions with a friend or ask for half of your portion to be wrapped up in a doggie bag at a restaurant before it’s even brought to the table (and save it for lunch the next day). 

-      To avoid overeating when dining out at a restaurant, order a salad with light dressing on the side, broth-based soup or light appetiser and wait until you’ve eaten that to decide whether you want to order more.

However, if you still managed to pile on the kilos, look out for my next edition of Aesthetics & Beauty Guide, out end January 2011, where I review the latest fat-busting machines as well as the secret workout of Madonna, Kylie and Claudia Schiffer, that keeps them lean and mean, in half the time! Happy holidays!


How Pets Keep You Young

11 December 2010

Today, I’m going to talk about my pet topic – my puppy :)

More than just furry companions, your pet, whether it is a dog or a cat, can keep you youthful and healthy. I know for sure that I’m at my happiest when I’m with Mochi, just seeing her adorable face and funny antics makes me forget my work, and I’ve been guilty of choosing her company over friends on several occasions (sorry people!).

People and animals have a long history of living together and bonding. Perhaps the oldest evidence of this special relationship was discovered a few years ago in Israel—a 12,000-year-old human skeleton buried with its hand resting on the skeleton of a 6-month-old wolf pup. “The bond between animals and humans is part of our evolution, and it’s very powerful,” says Dr Ann Berger, a physician and researcher at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

On top of making you feel happy (which in turn keeps wrinkles at bay),  studies suggest that four-legged friends can help to improve our cardiovascular health. One NIH-funded study looked at 421 adults who’d suffered heart attacks. A year later, the scientists found, dog owners were significantly more likely to still be alive than were those who did not own dogs, regardless of the severity of the heart attack.

Another study looked at 240 married couples. Those who owned a pet were found to have lower heart rates and blood pressure, whether at rest or when undergoing stressful tests, than those without pets. Pet owners also seemed to have milder responses and quicker recovery from stress when they were with their pets than with a spouse or friend.

Several studies have shown that dog owners also get more exercise and other health benefits than the rest of us. One NIH-funded investigation looked at more than 2,000 adults and found that dog owners who regularly walked their dogs were more physically active and less likely to be obese than those who didn’t own or walk a dog. Mochi and I go for weekly runs at Botanic Gardens and I walk her several times a day (climbing up and down the stairs of my apartment).

Before you rush out to get a dog or cat, please bear in mind that pets, although cute and good for the health, is a huge commitment (at least 15 years of your life) and can be costly to maintain (if you are a doting mum like me).  If you can’t imagine that, best that you stick to fishes or hamsters.


Where I’ll Be Tomorrow…Join Me!

3 December 2010