Day 21 of the Struggle...

Day 21

Easy Peasy. Still haven't smoked! I'm keeping strong!

Now I'm kicking it into hard gear to get the rest of my goals set up and kick started.

In terms of getting my health under control:

The Fast Track to a Hot Bikini Body

Summer is finally here! Are you ready to bare those arms and legs with confidence, even fit into a bikini for the beach? This is the time of year when everybody wants to look and feel good but some of us may not be quite ready. Don't you wish there were ways to help you get into shape fast? When Hollywood actress and MAXIM cover girl Emmanuelle Vaugier flies into Vancouver to do a project, we often have very little time to whip her into the tip top shape required for her film roles and photo shoots. Sometimes we have as much as a week, or even as a little as 24 hours, to do our magic. To make the most of our time, I've used a combination of techniques that have proven to be effective and have given us the results that we want fast. Listed below are proven techniques that will put you on the fast track to achieving the hot bikini body that you've always wanted NOW!

EAT RIGHT AND TRAIN RIGHT!

Drink Up!

Water is a natural diuretic. To avoid being bloated, drink at least eight glasses of water per day. Water regulates the body and flushes out toxins, salts and stored water. Not drinking enough water makes your body retain whatever moisture it gets. A great way to drink water is to add lemon. One of the major health benefits of drinking lemon with water is that it serves as a great weight loss remedy.

Eat Little and Eat Often!

Small frequent meals 3-4 hours throughout the day helps to fuel the body regularly and keep you from overeating. A good way to ensure that you're eating just enough and not more is to eat only until you are 80 percent full.

Anna trains Emmanuelle Vaugier

Cut Out The Sugar

Digesting sugar throws your body's blood sugar levels off balance, leaving you craving for more. This reaction also increases your appetite. Avoid it altogether! Sugar comes in many forms from sweet things to starches including things like: juice, ice cream, soda pop, muffins, rice, and even potatoes! Aspartame is also a type to avoid. Although aspartame is lower in calories than sugar, it still spikes your insulin levels. Instead, try the natural herb stevia. Stevia is sweet but it doesn't disturb your blood sugar levels like sugar or aspartame does.

Drop the Alcohol

Alcoholic drinks are extra calories that your body does not need. It also increases your appetite and weight as well as age you. If you want a body fit for the gym, you need a person fit for the gym. Alcohol can leave you unmotivated, distracted, and lethargic. Avoid ALL alcohol!

Eat Your Fruits Wisely

Fruits are better eaten alone and on an empty stomach. When trying to achieve a lean look, limit yourself to 1/2 cup of fruit per serving, allowing 1-2 servings per day. The best choices are fruits with less sugar content like apple, pears, strawberries and blueberries. Avoid grapes, dried fruits and juice. Another note, be sure to eat your fruits and not drink them. Drinking juice, whether it be carrot or beet juice, does provide nutrients to the body, however, it gives you more calories and sugar than if you eat your fruit whole.

Eat Your Vegetables

Choose to eat a variety of fresh vegetables raw or lightly cooked. Vegetables that are canned, frozen or over-cooked are robbed of its vitamins and minerals, flavor and texture. Salads, stir fries or steamed or grilled vegetables are healthy low-fat choices. To avoid extra calories and fat, hold back on adding heavy sauces or using high-fat cooking methods such as frying to prepare your vegetables.

Pick Complex Carbohydrates

Stay away from refined carbohydrates like white-flour products, breads, donuts, chips, crackers, pastries, pizza, pasta, biscuits, muffins, etc. They are highly processed and have been stripped of most of their vitamin and mineral content. They also add inches to the waistline. Instead, choose organic varieties of unrefined complex carbohydrates like brown rice, quinoa, barley, oats, oatmeal, lentils, chickpeas and millet.

Anna trained body - Emmanuelle Vaugier

Choose Lean Protein Sources

Avoid red meats, pork, ham, lamb, and processed meats like cold cuts, pepperoni and sausages. These are all high in calories and fat. Instead, choose lean meats like fish, poultry and eggs. Be sure to eat organic, free-range, grass fed, hormone-and antibiotic-free proteins. Examples of good protein sources for vegetarians are almonds and seeds. Nuts and seeds can be high in calories and fat. As a general guideline, have no more than 12 almonds or 2 tablespoon of seeds per serving.

Don't Eat Late

Calories from late night meals don't get the chance to be burned away and are, instead, stored as fat. Remember to think of your meals as fuel for your daily activities. Your body requires very little fuel to dream, breathe, and sleep. As a rule of thumb, try to avoid eating after 8pm.

Avoid the Bloat

Know your body and its reaction to foods. By avoiding the foods that you may have an allergy or sensitivity to, you can avoid the chance being bloated. Examples of the most common food allergens are wheat, dairy, gluten and soy.

Choose Good Fats

Fat is an important contributor to good health. However, saturated fat is bad for health as it is a major cause of weight gain and is also proven to clog arteries and cause heart disease and stroke. Avoid saturated fats like hydrogenated fats or trans-fats such as lard, palm oil, margarine, biscuits, pies and pastries. Unsaturated fat is a healthier alternative to saturated fat and can be found in oily fish such as salmon, sardines and mackeral and vegetable oils such as sesame, sunflower and olive.

Stay Away From Fast Foods

Fast foods are cheap and easy for a reason; they are made from unhealthy, low-quality ingredients that are high in calories and fat. While they may seem quick and convenient, consider how much energy you'll need to use up on a cardio machine to burn it all completely. Fast food doesn't seem so quick or convenient anymore, does it? If you want to get in shape fast, stay away from foods like burgers, hot dogs, burritos, and buttered popcorn.

Limit Your Salt Intake

Adding more salt in your eating can cause water retention. Avoid high sodium foods like frozen entrees, canned soups, chips and fast foods. Many people use salt because they need more flavor. A better way to achieve flavor is to use ingredients like lemon, a variety of fresh and natural herbs, garlic, ginger and onions.

Don't Eat Fried or Overcooked Foods

Foods that are fried and overcooked have lost their nutrient value and are high in saturated fats. Examples of fried foods are fish and chips, fried chicken, chicken wings and spring rolls.

Mix Cardio and Weights Into One Session

Cardio training helps to burn calories and rid the flab while weight training helps to firm your muscles and increase your metabolism. For best results, mix the both into your training session. To achieve long lean muscles, work with lighter weights and higher reps. (Example: 1-3 sets of 12-25 reps with 30-60 sec rest between sets) Rather than sitting in between your sets, fit in 30-60 second bouts of jogging, jumping, hopping, doing steps or skipping rope in between each set of weight-training exercise. By also challenging your heart and lungs throughout your workout, you will increase your physical effort and burn a ton of calories.

Mix Upper and Lower Body Exercises

By alternating upper and lower body exercises or performing combination exercises that are movements of the upper and lower body all-in-one exercise (ex. biceps curl with squats), more muscles will be worked, your efforts would be increased and your calories burned would be higher.

Stretch

To look slimmer and taller immediately, STRETCH! Stretching elongates the muscle and releases tension to give your body a lengthened look. Stretch your chest, sides, hip flexors, hamstrings and lower back. These areas are the most common areas of tightness for most people. Stretching the tight muscles in your body will balance your body for better posture which would keep you standing taller and naturally looking leaner. For a general guideline on stretching, stretch for 2-7 days per week. Hold each stretch for 30-60 seconds. Perform 1-3 sets for each muscle group. Stretch to the point of mild tension, not pain, and progress once the muscle relaxes. Breathe properly by inhaling and exhaling throughout your stretch.

Every month Anna Wong, personal fitness trainer to the stars, will be writing a column for Asiance Magazine. This column is dedicated to your questions and concerns in health and fitness. Your suggestions and requests are welcome. This column is for you so your feedback is important. To contact Anna, email her at anna@annawongfitness.com.

The content provided in this column are protected under an international copyright. They may not be copied and/or used for any purpose either completely or partially unless by prior permission from Anna Wong. Violations of said copyright may result in legal action.



Study Guide:
Take 2 hours each night to go through ECON notes and homework, get a good basis of understanding terms and formulas. Make Q-Cards to quiz myself. Show prof and parental units that I got this. Aim for the highest goal!

Here's something interesting I found on the web:

Professor Peter Taylor at Queen's University in Kingston, Ont., laments the fact that today's student is so focused on grades. "In the sixties you wouldn't need a book like this," says Taylor. These days, a simple diploma doesn't cut it. Employers look at grades for the initial cut to decide who to interview, he says. Top marks get the top jobs. Taylor would prefer a system with less value placed on marks. "More in the way of pass/fail courses," he says. "Bright can mean a lot of things. Highly creative students can't always perform in high-pressure situations," such as tests and exams.

Professor Milt McClaren at Simon Fraser University in Richmond, B.C., scoffs at the idea that talking grades to students teeters on questionable etiquette. "I try to make it absolutely clear what my expectations are. And I also try to make it clear how I'm going to evaluate students so that they know what the rules of the game are," he says. McClaren adds that his colleagues often say to him: "You know, students don't talk about anything anymore. All they want to do is talk about what's on the test." It's a common complaint among professors, he says, to which he replies: "Do you have a mirror in your bathroom? Well, look in it. We're the enemy. We're the people who are driving this culture."

A grade point average, McClaren says, "is worse than a criminal record. You're never going to get rid of it." Professors should have some sympathy with that situation, he feels. "It's not good enough to tell a kid, 'Just suck it up. I don't want to discuss it with you because it's kind of crass.' "

Hyman and Jacobs' book looks at everything from how papers and exams are marked and which courses to take to when and how to drop or pick up a course; how to make the most of lectures; how to study for and write exams; and finally, the dos and don'ts of talking to a prof.

To start things off, they set straight what they believe are misleading myths. For instance, "A is for Attendance" is incorrect, they write. "It's simply not the case that attendance will get you a good grade." Jacobs and Hyman don't discourage attendance, but the focus in grading is on product not process. Furthermore, the grader of a course could be an anonymous grad student, so sucking up to the prof in class is likely a waste of time.

The book also claims that it's a myth that professors don't care how well students do. "The fact is," they write, "professors feel really good about giving out A's and really bad about giving out C's and D's." Taylor, who teaches math and statistics, concurs. "I really hate failing a student. I really hate getting a paper where the student simply hasn't done anything that's worth very much."

McClaren's take is alarmingly different, however. If a prof hands out too many A's, he says, "I can tell you right now you're going to get a memo that's going to say, 'You're giving too many A's.' You're [seen as] too soft. A lot of people have a curve in their head that it's only possible for five per cent of students to get an A. We need to rethink the grading system."

When it comes to essays, graders have basic expectations, write Jacobs and Hyman. If the paper displays knowledge but it's not fancy or embellished, it gets a B. If it omits something that the grader thinks is an essential point, or if it's confusing, vague or irrelevant, it'll probably get a C. An A paper, on the other hand, shows a deep understanding of the material and likely brings in extra data or original insight to support the points made. Beware. A teaching assistant will "put your work under the microscope of their intellect and knowledge. They're primed to find errors," Jacobs and Hyman write.

In chapter three of Professors' Guide, the authors discuss the well-known strategy of students "larding up" their schedules with "Mickey Mouse" courses, which Taylor notes was unheard of in his day. "I don't even remember the word 'bird course' being around," he says. Children's literature("kiddie lit"), for instance, is always a popular way to fulfil an English requirement without ever having to read anything above a Grade 2 level. Surprisingly enough, Jacobs and Hyman don't discourage the practice. However, the authors include the cautionary tale of a classics major who signed up for "Greek and Roman Sports and Recreation" expecting a respite from intellectual rigour, but who found himself so bored he wound up with a C.

"The moral?" write Jacobs and Hyman. "If you take a course because it's easy and slog through it like a zombie, you might end up with a less stellar grade." Beware also of the "birdy" sounding sociology course. If it presupposes a command of statistics, it'll be a "GPA-buster for someone who isn't good with numbers."

As for prof "shopping," if students have good evidence that someone is a "hard-ass grader," they need to think carefully before proceeding. Jacobs and Hyman suggest students ask another professor whether they can "expect to do well" in so-and-so's class. They should also look for a posted grade sheet from the previous term or ask friends what their experience in the course was.

A foreign-language requirement is the "Fear Factor of the college scene," write Jacobs and Hyman. "Once your grades in a language course start to slide, it's hard to stop the downward spiral." They suggest not picking a language that requires learning a new alphabet. Chinese, for instance -- "unless you plan to go into business in Asia(contact Wal-Mart or Proctor and Gamble for more details)," they write.

If students find a course totally incomprehensible, or if they like the course but don't like the professor, "it's an absolute no-brainer." Drop it, advise the authors. And if, after dropping a course, a student enters a new course late, he should introduce himself to the professor, they advise. That way, he'll look like a diligent student. Politely request a course syllabus is their advice. And never say anything like: "I missed the first class, did you do anything?"

On the subject of taking lecture notes, Hyman and Jacobs propose that students average a page every 15 minutes. Tape-recording is a "monumental waste of time," they write. "How could it be better the second time? If you're ever in a position to generate an excellent set of notes, it's surely when you're maximally engaged."

In preparing for exams, Jacobs and Hyman suggest students look for old tests at the library or at frat and sorority houses. Many professors are too overworked, they say, to invent new questions, especially for multiple choice or essay questions that contain several parts. In review sessions, Jacobs and Hyman tell students to listen for cues from their teaching assistant, such as "You know what would make a good exam question . . ."

And students should always ensure ahead of time that they understand exam lingo. There's a difference between the instructions "compare" and "contrast" and "describe" and "evaluate." When asked to advance a hypothesis, for instance, they shouldn't start thinking they should summarize.

As well, it's the authors' opinion that any exam that looks like a "pig mess" gets a C. Students should avoid green or purple felt-tip pens, and write with black ink. Finally, if they're running out of time and it's a multiple choice test, Jacobs and Hyman instruct students to "blacken all the D's." If it's a math exam, they should include the strategy they would have used to solve the problem.

Professors' Guide devotes a whole chapter to the dos and don'ts of seeing the professor during office hours. McClaren, for his part, says "good luck to you." With a thousand students in a lecture theatre, it's "just not going to happen," he says of one-on-one meetings with every student.

Should you get an appointment, the book offers several points of etiquette.

1. Don't expect the professor to give you the answer.
2. Take notes during your meeting. Tell the prof when you don't understand.
3. Never lock horns with the professor and if you do, go back and apologize.
4.. Email is perfectly acceptable but make sure you set up a reputable account. Don't email from your hotchick@hotmail account.
5. Begin email respectfully. "Dear Professor ," and "Thank you for your kind help."
6. Don't email incessantly and don't assume that you're hated if you don't get a prompt reply.

And for those students who really are clueless:
7. An office appointment is not the time to "level" with the prof that you hate the course.

To comment, email letters@macleans.ca

It makes a lot of sense to be, being that I am a student trying her hardest to get somewhere in life... for more info, here's the source I got this information from: Here's a Way to Get Straight A's.