My Soap Box

Hi! Much as I love it here, I'm sorry that I have to move to another site because I'm experiencing technical problems in VOX. So I'll be posting in my new blog site but I'll be posting the titles and links to this site. I hope that you could still follow me there. Thanks!

RECENT POSTS!!!
Why I Hate The Google Image Search Engine
Hollywood's War On God
Day 25 Food Journal
Day 24 Food Journal
Back To Work

Diet and Weight Loss

Weight Loss Plans
Lose 20 Pounds In 30 Days?
Does Weight Loss Need To Be Expensive?
Running For Health - The Right Running Wear
Rainy Days And Diet Pills
Matter Of Fact Tell-Tale Signs That You Have To Lose Weight
Lead Sister: Karen Carpenter
Ten Great Reasons To Exercise!

My Journey
Day 1- The First Step To Being Sexy
Day 2 - Second Of A Thirty-Day Program
Day 3 - Third Day To A Better Me
Day 4 - Fourth Day To Slim City - Getting There?
Day 5 - Hunger Pains, Procrastination, And A Weak Heart
Day 6 - Go, Go, Go!
Day 7 - Lose Weight
Day 8 - Sunday - Rest Day
Day 9 - Weight Loss
Day 10 - Diet- Already Day 10?
Day 11, 12 - Food Journal
Day 13 - Food Journal
Day 14 - Lack Of Sleep Affects Weight Loss
Day 15, 16, 17 - Food Journal
Day 18 - My One-Hour Exercise Plan
Day 19, 20 - Food Journal
Day 21, 22, 23 -  Food Journal

Movies
At Close Range
Rachel Getting Married, The Shining, Return To Paradise, The Sum Of All Fears

Music
My Song Of The Week - Live To Tell
My Favorite Band - Queen
Unexpected Turn - The Black Eyed Peas
Wilson Philips - What Happened To The 'Chubby' Member?
Work Out Music - Songs That Get You Running
My Work- Songs That Get You Running 2

Social Issues
After The Love Has Gone

Miscellaneous
Sunsets
How To Increase The Traffic And Readership Of Your Blog (Not The Usual Way)
On Skipping Heart And Skipping Classes

My So-Called Life
The Leave
Dead End
Back To Work

This was a concert of the Black Eyed Peas in Manila, Philippines last July 2006. I was watching this video and listening to what Will was saying. At first he was doing the usual greeting when performers go to a foreign country. He started by praising the beauty of Filipina women, then mentions that he once had a girlfriend from the country and that many Black Eyed Peas songs were written because of this girl.

So as introduction to their next song, he said that this song was made because of her, then mentioning the song title. I almost burst out laughing when I heard that the title of the next song is " Shut Up". I don't really know if I should feel chagrined or happy. Anyway, the audience cheered loudly so I guess its all good. Anyway, I love their songs (which I use for work-out) so here's the video.

Here watch out for Fergie's one hand cartwheel while singing! I guess people were shocked but amazed!

Day 23 Food Journal

Breakfast:   scrambled eggs
                 1 piece sliced ham
                 a cup of rice
                 coffee

Lunch:        2 pieces frozen cake
                  water

Dinner:       1 piece of fish
                 1 cup rice
                 2 pieces of frozen cake for dessert

Day 22 Food Journal

Breakfast:  1 cup of coffee
                 1 piece of apple tart

Lunch:       2 pieces of ham
                 scrambled egg
                 1 cup of rice

Snacks:     3 small squares of frozen cake
                 water

Dinner:      2 pieces of ham
                1/2 cup of rice
                1 slice of pizza

Day 21 Food Journal

Breakfast: none

Lunch:      a cup of coffee
                2 small buko tarts

Dinner:     1 and a half cup of rice
               chicken stew with papayas and ampalaya
               a bowl of macaroni salad

I just watched a documentary about the late Karen Carpenter and its really shocking and saddening how a vibrant person died at such an early age of 32 from complications of the eating disorder anorexia nervosa.

This version of the story is very good and very objective about the professional and personal life of the singer and her complex relationship with her brother, Richard Carpenter.

More controversial was the 43-minute film Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story by Todd Haynes released in 1987. The director used Barbie dolls instead of actors to portray the roles. In addition to this, the film was said to be unobjective and inaccurate prompting the Carpenters to file a suit against it. The family won and Richard Carpenter had the released copies of the film confiscated and destroyed. 

There was also the 1989 TV version, The Karen Carpenter Story with actress Cynthia Gibb as Karen. I watched this too, and was touched by the story. The film was beautifully made. In my opinion, the casting was perfect as opposed to some criticisms that Cynthia Gibb wasn't suitable for the role. Any actress could only do as much. They'd have to lipsinc all her songs anyway. I mean, who could compare with Karen Carpenter's voice? I was also impressed that the actress took the initiative to lose weight as the story progressed. There was a scene showing a doctor taking Karen's weight and it showed the extent of how thin the actress went for the role. What I can't understand was why Gibbs was made to use horrible short, permed, and unnatural looking wigs when if you watch the documentary, Karen, in fact, had long, straight hair. It was only in the later stages of her life when she had the short permed hair. The actress also obviously didn't learn how to play the drums. This is bad considering that there were many scenes showing her playing the drums and that the real Karen was an accomplished drummer.

A pity that most young people nowadays don't even know Karen Carpenter and her story. It would have been a good reminder to all people especially to young women about the dangers of anorexia, and that it's existence is real and should be dealt with as early as possible. Anorexia is an eating disorder characterized by extreme low body weight, distorted image of one's body, and the fear of getting fat. Unfortunately, many victims suffer from this eating disorder for years and may go unnoticed until the victim's condition is already serious. But with proper care for our bodies and awareness about this slow killer, we can prevent tragedies such as what happened to Karen Carpenter.

Here are two of their greatest hits. Unfortunately, I couldn't find clear copies of their other songs from here. 

1. Rainy Days and Mondays
2. Superstar

Read More:

Anorexia Nervosa
Karen Carpenter
The Most Successful Duo
The Voice We Remember
Richard and Karen Carpenter

Day 20

Breakfast: 1 bowl of oatmeal
                1 cup of coffee

Lunch:      a big piece of meat - half a regular steak size
                a serving of veggies
                1 and a half cup rice

Snacks:    2 pieces whole grain wheat bread with cheese
                1 cup of coffee

Dinner:      1 cup rice
                3 strips bacon
                1 egg

Day 19

Breakfast: 1 bowl of oats
                a cup of coffee

Lunch:      2 cups of rice
               3 pieces of bacon
               1 egg

Dinner:     2 pieces of whole grain wheat bread with cheese
               1 glass of milk

Okay, if you're experiencing or have experienced three or more of these, it means that it's time to lose weight.

1. For women, people congratulate you for your pregnancy. They don't ask if you're pregnant, they give a big smile, rub your tummy, and say, 'Finally! ' or 'This is a blessing! ' or ' Cindy, why didn't you tell us?'
2. For men, people congratulate you for your pregnancy.
3. You can't put your own socks on.
4. You can't tie your own shoelaces, so you leave them tied on and just 'slip' in your shoes.
5. You can't put your leg up in front of you when you sit and still breathe normally.
6. You can't cross your legs and not lose balance.
7. For women, you feel awkward doing any other sexual position aside from the missionary. And for men, you're 'most comfortable' with the woman-on-top position because you don't get 'tired'.
8. You can eat a whole loaf of bread and a liter of Coca-cola by yourself for 3 o'clock snacks.
9. Your clothes don't fit.
10. People don't recognize you in recent photos.
11. Your family doesn't recognize you in recent photos.
12. You don't recognize yourself in recent photos.
13. Your 'slimming' black blouse is not working anymore.
14. Your eyes look squinty in pictures.
15. When colleagues talk about the Hot Chicks or Hot Men in your workplace, your name is not included anymore.
16. You're 'borrowing' your husband's jeans, shirts, sweaters...
17. You shop for garterized or stretchable pants.
18. You wear training clothes or sweat pants in your child's PTA meeting or when you go out to meet your friends.
16. When you meet an old acquaintance and his/her first sentence starts with " I didn't recognize you..."
19. When you feel embarrassed to attend your high school/college reunion.

20. Your mother and you share and exchange blouses.
21. You hate skinny girls. Damn bitches.
22. You hate looking at Keira Knightly pictures.
23. You have a lower libido. You just don't have the desire to do it.
24. After you eat dinner, you panic that  there's no more food for your midnight snack.
25. You have an 'arm rest' when you cross your arms in front of you.
26. You have a camel toe. Check your pictures.
27. Your neck is indistinguishable.
28. You say this sentence proudly, "At least I have a pretty face!"
29. You use your family (genetics or being big-boned) as an excuse for looking the way you do now.
30. You don't use your own picture in your username/profile pictures.
31. You use you picture ten years ago for your username/profile pictures.
32. When you take your own picture, you position it in angle where only your 'thin' face is visible.

Day 18
Basically,  alternating brisk walking for a 1 minute, then jogging for 5 minutes, and sprinting for a few minutes, then finally running. Here's what I do:

1. First, I do stretching for 5 minutes. This is important to get the blood flowing and to avoid any muscle cramping . So I do leg stretches, then a little aerobics.
2. For the first round, I just walk around the track.  I find a landmark for my starting point. As Tarzan, one friend suggested, a lamp post is a good mark that you can count when you run in a park. Then add more lamp posts as you progress. But in my case, I'm running in a track, so I mark a spot as my starting point and my finish line.

3. On the second round, I do brisk walking.  I listen to Rihanna's 'Don't Stop The Music' for this time. I have to follow and not miss a beat of the song. Choose a fast song that you like and the beat of the song should go with your each step as you brisk walk. You should feel a burn in your leg after a few minutes, if not, increase your pace. If you can, hold or suck your stomach in as you walk. 
4. Third round, I alternate brisk walking and jogging. Alternating your style is actually more effective in burning calories and fat than just continuously running or jogging.
5. On my fourth round, I jog all throughout to get me to sweat more and to tone my leg and butt muscles.
6. For my fifth round, I just walk. Try to catch my breath and too sweat it out. Take a rest for a few minutes.
7. On the sixth round, I brisk walk and sprint.
8. Finally on my last round, I run the whole track. I do a fast run. But be careful that you don't  stretch or burn out a muscle. Slow down when you feel that your legs are having  a hard time. Switch to jogging for awhile, then go back to running .

*After that, I did 15 squats. I guess I got carried away.

D'OHn't Get Carried Away

At this point, I can't feel my legs anymore! Haha! Kidding.Seriously though, make sure that you know your body's limit. This depends for each person. Only you know yours, so don't overwork yourself and never push yourself beyond your limit. If you do, dangerous consequences may occur like:

1. in my friend's case, she got sick the very next day- she had influenza ( fever and muscle pain)
2. nausea and vomitting (like what happened to me yesterday)
3. muscle cramps which are very painful
4. black out or losing consciousness especially if you haven't eaten anything
5. serious leg injuries

Remember that a 20 minute work-out is sufficient for a day. You can always increase your time later and there's always the next day to do that. The important thing is, try to put some fun to what your doing. It won't hurt to enjoy it!

Food Journal:

Breakfast:   none

Lunch:        1 cup rice
                  3 pieces of chicken

Dinner:        1 cup rice
                  3 pieces of chicken
                  water
                  a cup of fiber drink

Having a hard time to follow your exercise plan? Here's a little motivation! Looking at these fat animals make me want to run kilometers! By the way, they have an excuse - they're cute!

DAY 16

I'm on my 16th day of trying to lose weight. I check myself in the mirror and I try to be optimistic. The results aren't that big yet BUT there is definitely a difference from my body before.

This morning, I woke up at 5 am to prepare for my morning jog. I walked and jogged for almost 2 hours today. My legs are killing me but I feel satisfied with my exercise time and especially my endurance. I congratulated myself for being able to work-out that much today.

The Right Running Wear

I know its a little late to mention this in my blog but I want to emphasize the importance of having the proper running shoes. Before deciding to do running, make sure that you buy shoes that are really made for running to avoid foot injuries and leg problems. You might say 'Of course! and might think that everybody knows that, but no, believe it or not some people don't know about this. I made this painful mistake some 3 years ago. I hadn't any idea about that because nobody told me. My girl friend and I just suddenly decided to jog. We weren't prepared so we just used the sneakers that we had. Needless to say, the pain from our feet and legs gave us bad memories from jogging and even traumatized her against running again.

So for a newbie at jogging and running, please sacrifice to buy a good pair of running shoes. A good pair doesn't necessarily mean an expensive Nike or Adidas shoes. Keep in mind that this shoes' purpose is to cushion your feet from endless work-outs in the future. You might want to consider the durability and the function. Not so much on fashion. It will and must be worn-out, believe me, if you really want to lose those pounds. Here is a similar model of what I'm using. It's not expensive and it serves it's purpose.

Other good running shoes...