Eat some protein each meal

Eating protein helps you burn more calories.

Jeff Hample, Ph.D., R.D., a spokesman for the American Dietetic Association says that, "Protein is made up mainly of amino acids, which are harder for your body to breakdown, so you burn more calories getting rid of them."

Just think:“ Eating a protein rich snack can help you lose weight. How about a few slices of turkey or ham or some string cheese? "

Eating protein will also help you feel full so that you are less likely to crave unhealthy foods.

Drink a glass of water after each snack

This will help you get in your 8 to 10 glasses of water each day but it can also have other benefits.

Feeling hungry after eating a handful or standard serving of nuts? Try drinking some water. The water will help you feel full and prevent over-indulgence.

Drinking water after a snack will also help remove the after-taste from your mouth and can help curb your desire for more.

Drink 8-10 glasses of water

Drinking 8 to 10 glasses of water each day helps in the process of slimming and also not to be denied, good for your health.

This may be a big problem to some of you. Water doesn't taste all that great generally because water doesn't really taste like anything! Drinking water 8 to 10 times each day gets easier the more you actually do it. It is simply a matter of conditioning your taste buds, and yourself, so that it becomes easier to do. Once you get started, you will begin to crave water.

To begin, you should drink a glass of water in the morning, before you eat. This is probably the easiest glass you will drink all day and it will help you remember to drink water all day long. Better yet, why not drinking two glasses?

If you really cannot bear the taste of water, try using a water purifying pitcher or filter. You can also add a few drops of lemon or lime to your water but not sugar or sweetener! Ice also helps.

Breakfast's important

Do not skip breakfast. Just go to bed a little earlier so that you can get up earlier each morning!

Breakfast is so important to your good health and to weight control. According to Dr. Barbara Rolls a professor of nutrition at Penn State University, "Your metabolism slows while you sleep, and it doesn't rev back up until you eat again."

Eating breakfast is not only good for overall weight loss, it will help you stay on track with your diet the rest of the day. You are more likely to binge on something sweet and in the bread group if you skip breakfast.

You can always keep a couple of hard-boiled eggs in the fridge or some high-fiber, low starch fruit around. If you plan to eat fruit at all during the day, breakfast is the perfect time to do it.

No plastic found in pisang goreng (fried banana)

KUALA LUMPUR : If you love pisang goreng and have been worried due to recent news of our local fritters being coated with melted plastics and bottles, worry no more.

The Health Ministry’s Food Safety and Quality Division has assured the public that their preliminary investigations have revealed no such results.

It’s director, Noraini Dato’ Mohd Othman, said samples of frying oil and fritters such as fried banana and keropok lekor, were being analysed by the Chemistry Department.

She said preliminary results showed that the plastic materials were not detected in the fritters.
“Nevertheless, more samples will be analysed especially from other States and the results would be available soon”.

On Feb 29, New Straits Times highlighted consumers’ concern in Johor Baru, alleging that big demand for fritters had caused hawkers to coat these fried snacks with plastic, creating a health scare.

E-mails had sent out warnings o people to keep away from consuming extra crispy fried snacks or chicken. The e-mails claimed that some hawkers had allegedly been seen adding plastic straws and bottles into boiling oil before frying the fritters.

The trend allegedly started in Thailand for frying ikan bilis and onions before spreading to Kedah and the rest of the country.

In a letter sent to the newspaper on March 24, a reader from Johor Baru wrote that he had witnessed the same incident at a wet market in Larkin, Johor Baru, last year.

He claimed that, despite complaining to the Johor Baru City Council, the hawker was still committing the offence.

In another letter by Consumer Association of Penang president S.M. Mohamed Idris, published on Thursday, he had called on the Health Ministry to investigate the matter thoroughly.
Weekend Mail had contacted Noraini’s department following the media reports and she said the ministry viewed these allegations seriously.

“Colorants, additives, preservatives and plasticizers in the plastic materials are very toxic and the public might be at risk if these materials are ingested. When the plastic is heated, it may melt and degrade into the frying oil, releasing all its components.

“Consumers should boycott vendors of such practices”, she said.

In general, plastics are made of long chain polymer, colorants and other additives. More additives are added to the plastic formula to control the physical properties of the plastic, she said.

“Plastic bottles are made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and plastic straws are made from a formulated blend of polypropylene, plastic resin, colorants and other additives.

“General toxicity and genotoxicity studies on PET indicated that this material does not pose a threat to human health”.

She said the ministry will step up its enforcement activities but the public should also alert the ministry through the nearest healthy authority.

WEEKEND MAIL, SATURDAY, 29th MARCH 2008 PAGE 6

8 ways to burn calories without noticing

1. Take the escalator -- but climb the stairs while you ride. You'll get there faster and use your muscles while you're at it. Just 5 minutes of stair climbing burns 144 calories.

2. Instead of piling items on the stairs so you can take them upstairs at once, take them one at a time.

3. When cooling your heels while waiting in a doctor's office, drugstore, or airport, stay on your feet -- standing burns 36 more calories per hour than sitting.

4. Rake leaves instead of using a leaf blower: You'll burn 50 more calories every half hour.

5. Scrub your floors more often. Putting some elbow grease into cleaning floors is more intense than vacuuming -- and it makes your floors look better to boot.

6. Chew sugarless gum. Research has found that the action of jaw muscles alone burns about 11 calories an hour.

7. Wash your car by hand instead of taking it through the automatic carwash. You'll burn an extra 280 calories in an hour.

8. Play with kids: Impromptu games of basketball, touch football, or tag -- or just jumping rope or throwing a ball -- will help you use energy and set a good example of active play for the children. Calories burned: 80 to 137 every 10 minutes.

Ways to Walk More

You exercise your hips and knees so you can walk more, without pain or exhaustion. But doctors will also tell you that the best way to walk more is to walk more. Here are 12 ideas to get you on your feet and moving:

Regulate it.
Every night, immediately after dinner, take a 20-minute stroll. Don't let the weather stop you -- that's what jackets, boots, and umbrellas are for. Indeed, there's something wonderfully refreshing and childlike about a walk in the rain or snow. Post-dinner is the perfect time for a walk. It gets you away from the television, it's when others are outside, it's a lovely time of day, and it stops you from eating more.
Divide your lunch hour in two: 30 minutes of eating, 30 minutes of walking.

Develop a habit.
Never sit while talking on the phone. Instead, walk around your home if you have a portable phone, and if not, pace back and forth. You'd be surprised how much movement you can do when you are concentrating on a conversation rather than the exertion.

Make it social.
Plan events around walking. For example, rather than meeting friends for coffee or lunch, suggest meeting at the public gardens for a stroll.

Take a commercial break.
When watching television, always get up and move about during commercials. You've seen them already, anyhow. During a single one-hour show, you can get in more than 10 minutes of activity!

Step up to it.
Take the stairs, take the stairs, take the stairs. You've heard it a million times, but if it is three flights or less, you have no excuse to take an elevator, unless your arthritis pain is truly prohibitive. In that case, take one flight of stairs instead.

Make it interesting.
For an evening's diversion, do some outdoor window-shopping. Strolling down a street of shops is great for people-watching, talking, and feeling alive.

Split your lunch.
Divide your lunch hour in two: 30 minutes of eating, 30 minutes of walking. No one needs to eat for 60 minutes. Chances are, you're just sitting and talking. Invite your lunch partner along for the stroll.

Escape the mundane.
Find a park or a wilderness area near you and commit to a nature walk a few times a week. Nothing lifts your soul as much as a good walk in the woods (or by the lake, or even in the desert).

Go postal.
Locate the outdoor mailbox closest to your home, and get in the habit of walking to it to send off your bills or letters. Maybe it'll get you to write more letters -- wonderful for your hands, even better for your friends and family.

Book yourself.
If you have little children in your life -- be they yours, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or even just neighbors -- commit to the following per year: a trip to the ball game, a trip to the circus, a trip to the zoo, a trip to the aquarium, a trip to the kids' museum. Buy the tickets long in advance, and exercise in advance so you're ready for a full day of fun.

Feel the rhythm.
Somehow, somehow, find a way to dance. Don't wait for a date or a wedding. Turn on the stereo and dance at home. Join a square-dance group or take ballroom lessons.

Make it secondhand.
Come up with a personal "instant walk" trigger. For example, anytime you become drowsy, take a five-minute walk. Or, anytime you want a snack. Or, anytime you get angry, bored, melancholy, or stressed. Walking isn't just an antidote for arthritis pain, it is a wonderful way to work out mental and emotional issues as well.