agreenteaaday

I took my exchange friends to hunt for some essentials at Watson's today and two events were quite eye-opening. But I'll just talk about Gab's hunt for a facial moisturizer.

She whined to me: "Don't you have any regular moisturizers for the face?"

I was perplexed and pointed to the shelf of Nivea products in front of us. "Uh what do you mean regular moisturizers? These are good, normal-priced items."

Then came the reply. "Yeah but they're all whitening! I don't need any more whitening! Don't you have something that's not whitening?"

hehe. And indeed, most of the moisturizers I saw around touted whitening/brightening claims (or those that don't are either for ageing, or just way the expensive atas type). Fortunately I remembered that Sukin Organics and Yes to Carrots had "plain ole moisturizers" so I brought her to look for them. In the end she took Sukin because the smell was awesome and she preferred something lighter. I think Gabrielle was also tempted cuz of the fantastic rose smell (me too! I'm running out of moisturizers! And I've decided that it's best to have 2 different ones, a light one for the t-zone, and a heavier one for night use to fend off the blast from the air-conditioner.) but she had too many given to her by her mom. Heh.

It's a slightly controversial article, and even when the supposed research cited, I would still caution that it should be taken with a grain of salt.

Interesting Ideas/Issues Brought Up
- The energy gap: the difference between the number of calories you use and the number you consume
- People tend to overcompensate for calories burnt during exercise. One suggested reason, was that vigorous exercise reduces our self-control, and makes calorie-laden food more appealing to us, making it easier for us to fall prey to temptation.
- Moving about regularly throughout the day MAY be just as beneficial as exhausting bursts of activity (read: intense exercise), without significantly increasing hunger pangs the way the latter does.
- Very frequent low-level physical activity may be better for us than slogging away at the gym irregularly. "You cannot sit still all day long and then have 30 minutes of exercise without producing stress on the muscles. The muscles will ache, and you may not want to move after. But to burn calories, the muscle movements don't have to be extreme. It would be better to distribute the movements throughout the day."
- Losing weight may be more important than improving cardiovascular health when it comes to preventing certain diseases.
- Overweight people actually expend significantly more calories every day than people of normal weight; this seem to support the theory that the type of food intake may be at play in addition to metabolism rates.

( Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin )

We've read some other material on how sleep and weight loss are interlinked. This is yet another form of evidence to support that good and regular sleep are benefiical towards weight loss.

( Lack of rest ups ghrelin, a 'hunger hormone' that stimulates one's appetite )

I took a long walk today, from Tampines back to my home. The distance had seemed short earlier on, and I was confident that I'll be back in about half an hour. But detouring and ambling through parks aplenty let me reach my door steps a little more than an hour after I've left. It was a good walk though, and I've been missing the opportunity to walk in good weather ever since I came back from Paris. It is often too hot and humid, be it night or day. Fortunately, I had the luxury of a cool breeze lapping my skin. I was surprised too that there were so many parks, playgrounds and pleasant paths along the way. I felt really glad that I had chosen to walk.

I reminisced the long walk that Juan and I had endeavoured to make to Franci's house from mine. It wasn't even the plan. We were to be at her house for dinner, but I was bored in the afternoon and had convinced him to meet up... I believe it was to check out a museum - something cultural and "purposeful". But in the end we had the crazy idea to try walking all the way from Invalides to her house, because the Seine tended to make distances seem shorter. I'd cut over to Blvd Saint-Germain and Juan kept nagging at me to go to the Seine but I thought that was counter-productive. After a while he didn't want to believe me anymore and we went into a hotel to get a free map. We walked on, bickered, cracked a lot of lame jokes and made things up about the sights around us with our crazy imagination. Finally, we realized that we would be disastrously late, so we relented and rushed over to Odeon and took the metro to Franci's. That had the effect of what, shaving off 15 min? But it helped ease the guilt at being late jaja.

I do not believe in fate. It might be a result of over-confidence and exposure to the meritocratic system, and well as my ambitious and perfectionistic streak, but I prefer to go all out to get what I want. I think if I left things up to fate, I'll have too many regrets.

But back to the topic. I realized that if I were to consider total walking time, that should include the 2.5hours of window-shopping earlier on, and that would mean I've been walking around for a grand total of 3.5 hours! Window-shopping is really an easy way of sneaking in exercise! x= But there's the issue of cost, so I decided that the optimal way is to go to be cash-strapped during the walk. And credit-card less too. Same goes for accompanying friends lest they decide to lend you money. This is where fate comes into play (and the few times I would call in fate's help). If any of you spot a good deal, just go back for it again another day. If it's meant to be yours, it will still be there d=

The way I've been preparing my warm green tea was usually to heat up a mug of water for about a minute in the microwave, and dunk the tea bag in. For subsequent cups, I'll heat up another mug of water, soak the tea bag enough to let the green tea infuse the water, and pour the water over to the first mug. This laborious way was part of the effort to conserve used tea bags to chill and cool my eyes at night.

Usually I can make one tea bag last for 4-5 mugs of tea. I had 2 cups this afternoon, and when I got back at night, I resumed using the tea bag. But I was lazy and microwaved the teabag inside the mug... The unfortunate result was that my green tea tasted quite flat and "scalded" - the way food tastes after you've scalded your tongue (though my tea, by the time I got to it was definitely not scalding hot)!

So there: no more crazy shortcuts and laziness with my green tea!

I realized tonight how scarily inefficiently I chew my food, even though I've been trying to chew more thoroughly and eat more slowly these few months.

See, I have this weird condition where excessive gargling makes me nauseous. And just now, I actually threw up a fair bit of my dinner - it was pretty alarming to see some almost-bite-size pieces of food among what resurfaced. And that was remains from a relaxing dinner, during which I was not rushed to finish my food. I think I will need to be really mindful when I'm eating, to make sure I am taking time to chew everything thoroughly. Otherwise, digestion is going to take a long time, or worse, be ineffective - and that will likely contribute towards bloat! Ugh.

Today was the closest I came to stopping food at 9. I had a heavy dinner at 5.45pm, and up till 8.15pm I was quite full. I still had a small piece of brownie that I had brought to work to tide me over in case I got hungry, and I decided to eat it even though I didn't really need it. I felt adequately full after the brownie, so I was quite confident that today, I'd make it!

And then hunger started to creep in around 10pm, and when I got home, I was told that a family friend had given us some sushi and sashimi! Heh I fell prey to the sake sashimi d= I comforted myself with the thought that at least I'm eating just proteins - good for cell regeneration, right? *grins*

I also plan to give the oatmeal-yoghurt-honey mask a try tonight, so wish me luck!

Drink 8 glasses of water a day. That's a commonly heard and accepted adage, and spouted by all sorts of sources - our parents, teachers, nutritionists, the media, doctors, nutritions, fitness instructors and what have you. Intuitively, it seemed right. Drinking up seems to have multiple benefits - clearer skin, flushing out of toxins from the system, keeping dehydration of the body (and face, and lips!) at bay, and even the indirect effect of helping those on diets to feel full more easily without consuming additional calories.

Most of us also probably understand that 8 glasses is just a handy arbitrary number. Well okay, I was quite kan cheong and wanted to know how much 8 glasses approximately meant because I worried that the American/English (where most advice would come from) glasses were much bigger or smaller than the Ikea ones I use. Or maybe they meant mugs. So I did a bit of research and decided that a glass is supposed to be about 8oz, and that translated into a total of 1.9l in my terms. I rounded that up to 2l, and tried to keep track of how many bottles I consume, using the 330ml/490ml bottle I keep around and refill.

Water seems so fantastic that we generally think "the more the merrier!" Well, I did read that water intoxication can be dangerous, but I doubted I'd ever get to levels so high I would come to such a risk. So drink up, I did and I'd feel so deliriously happy on days when I'm getting good water intake.

Eventually, a few months ago I stumbled upon an article that said this adage was a bit cock-and-bull, and that we don't really need that much water. I shrugged it off - well maybe we can do well with less, but hey as long as I'm not taking it to extremes, no worries! And I continued.

Today, Lifehacker had a lengthy post (that pointed to a lot of external research) knocking off this particular myth. The important points I distilled were:
- most of us are already getting sufficient water to match our bodies' needs, so there's no need to get worked up over the 8*8 figure
- the body remains about 2/3rds of water from water-containing food and beverages like juices
- this means that everything we consume is secretly contributing towards hydration too!
- the good news is that caffeinated drinks need not be discounted as possible sources of water - contrary to conventional thought that claims it has a dehydrating effect that needs to be offset - and it actually helps to retain water well
- we still need to watch out for alcohol though, because this particular beverage causes a net loss of fluid - when we exceed more than a cup.

I'm not completely convinced about the food-contributing-to-water-volume bit, because it really depends on what sort of food you take, doesn't it? I must admit that there are days when I'm completely not self-aware and have gone without a sip of water, having consumed only different types of food. This may even exclude soup! I wouldn't risk believing that it would be enough to tide my body by. In addition, the claim that most of us get enough water anyway might be based on American society that has a higher consumption of beverages - soda and coffee namely. And using my personal extremes-hitting water consumption chart as an example, that presumption is really too general a statement.

I like the thought that I need not worry about dehydration from consuming 1-2 cups of coffee though. I'm no coffee addict nor am I dependent on it to tide me through the days but I enjoy a good cup now and then. I might still be cautious with my caffeine intake because I do worry that it will stain my teeth! Vain, I know d=

The articles also tried to rebuke the concept of water as an "all-purpose health potion", which in addition to the benefits I cited, also works positively against arthritis, migraines, and hypertension. I can't tell you about arthritis or migraines, but I did notice that when I'm tired or nursing a headache, getting a drink of water really helped.

To me, the research cited is good to assure the anxious that we need not be too fixated on this magical formula, but I still believe that water has numerous benefits, and except for the rare person who takes things to extremes - there's no harm in consuming more water!

I have been wanting to adopt the good habit of stopping the intake of food after 8pm (as oft advised). I finally tried that last night, and my dinner was at 6. Unfortunately, my stomach couldn't take it. Around 11 I was really famished and I ate a small bowl of porridge. Well at least it's a healthier item that's quite soupy, init? And then my father was making egg-and-cheese sandwiches for my sister's breakfast so I grabbed one sandwich too. Dang!

It finally dawned on me that the No Food Deadline should actually take into account sleeping times. Since I normally sleep around 1am, 8pm would be a little too early! A more viable one would be 9 or 9.30pm I think. With a 3 to 4 hour gap between the last food intake and sleeping, the body will have completed most of the digestion phase before bedtime, and sleeping hours can concentrate on cell regeneration etc.

I've been going out the last 2 days, and my water intake has plummeted horribly. At work, I drank 2-3 litres of water a day, but the last 2 days, I think I took maximum 660cl. That's based on the calculation that I do at least finish one bottle of water (I keep one with me), and the remaining amount would come from restaurants I dine at (though some are not always willing to serve water), and some extra bit that I would take at home. That means I'm hitting about 22% only of my "normal"  intake. *sigh* I think I should stay home or at work more, because that's more conducive to my water-consumption activities!

I started hankering for the water coolers at school - which gave me access to cold and hot water easily. I thought that it would be quite a wonderful thing if only such water dispensers were available in public spaces and commercial centers... then it occured to me: how about a water vending machine?

Water-dispensing vending machines will be a good environmentally-friendly compliment to existing vending machines that sell bottled water, because it allows people who carry their own bottles to refill it with clean water. While tap water in Singapore is generally potable, the plumbing of a building is sometimes a factor in the quality of water (I remember how the water from the taps in my school's science lab had a slightly dubious milky tint!), and the thought of refilling bottles at the wash basin area in public toilets isn't very appealling too. It would be good if these water dispensers can offer customers a choice of standard volumes of water to refill with. I think 330 ml and 500ml would be sufficient - I do doubt that many carry larger bottles around. In fantasy land, a choice between chilled and hot water would be awesome (the hot water would probably be much appreciated by parents with infants!) but I would even settle for unchilled water if some semblance of temperature control is cost-prohibitive. The distributers of these water dispensers can then model the prices after the retail prices of bottled water, and maybe give a slight discount for not having to supply the containers.

Besides being environmentally-friendly, having water dispensers strategically placed would be an excellent way of encouraging a healthier lifestyle among the people. I have noticed among my friends that we drink noticeably less water when we're out (except unless we happen to be dining at a retaurant that is gracious enough to provide water). Cost and convenience are interlinked reasons. If we are really thirsty and need to buy a drink, sometimes the "kiasu" mentality is that we might as well pay a little more for flavoured drinks. Otherwise, we might decide to just bear with it until meal time or when we get home. The water dispenser would then be useful for filling the gaps in-between.

I really look foward to the day that water dispensers are widely available, and frequently used by the population!

The other day, I'd headed down to Browhaus to get my eyebrows threaded. I'd gotten my first-ever threading job from Browhaus actually, because they were having a promotion drive at my school in my first year. I completely did not expect that much pain, especially when the thread came down on what were probably thicker or more stubborn eyebrow hair. My ears inevitably kept tearing (and that set off my nose too). Fortunately, the lady who was doing the threading for me was quite patient, but I was quite indignant when she and the other beauticians around her tried to coax me to "stop crying". I felt compelled to explain that my tears were running because it's a physical reflex - I wasn't upset! 

Well that particular threading session left me all red for about half a day, but I think that was my best threading job ever. Of course, maybe I'm biased because it's the first time, and the first times are always impactful, but who knows? I've had a few more threading/plucking jobs done and some were okay, but none left me really satisfied. I should add that I'm generally quite reluctant to spend much on beauty services, so that might be the cause...

After all that time in Paris gawking at people on the metro (and at this point, I would like to assert that Paris is not some fashion city. Yes there are some who keep themselves looking classy but it's not ubiquitous. I was actually quite disappointed at first. But hey I must make the best and learn what I can!), I've become wistful for cleaner brows. I decided that when I return, I would invest in a good eyebrow threading session and do my best to maintain the shape by dutifully plucking out stray hairs. Well, at least I hope to last 1-3 months each time...

Browhaus of course was the natural choice for me. Unfortunately it was much more expensive than I remembered. $15! and that was before GST (goods and services tax)! But well, it's an investment d= I was quite surprised that the session wasn't too painful. Now that's not numbness from being accustomed to it, because I really hardly go for threading, and the last time I went it still hurt a lot. This time it hurt only at certain points in time and for the most part, it barely stung. Yay! 

While waiting to make payment, I saw that they had some samples of various lotions and creams on display so I thought of trying one of them, both for the eyebrow area, and for the corner of my lips because it was cracking. The beautician was still around chatting to one of the receptionists and she actually offered to help me apply! That was really nice of her. In fact, that's even after I'd rejected their package offers, so I would consider that quite genuine help. (=

The package was pretty tempting actually, but I haven't much money with me now and I was in fact paying for this session with my father's credit card. As much as I wanted to sign up (and I'm not so easily coaxed into plans), I had to resist because I would feel pretty guilty about charging $100 to his card! Anyway I think it was $100 for 10 sessions in a period of 2 years (24/10 so that's about one every 2 and a half months?) and the current session would only cost half the price at 7.50 too. Ah well, I'll need to save up money first! 

Today, I'd attended a talk on Detoxification for Weight Loss, Anti-Ageing & Vitality from Divine MedSpa. I had in fact, first heard about Divine MedSpa from VivaWoman who had gone for their openhouse, and wrote up a fair bit about Divine MedSpa's philosophy and offerings. 

I subsequently signed up for the newsletter and learnt that they were running some free workshops and classes until mid-July. The list of workshops can actually be viewed here. I signed up for the Detoxification workshop and I'm keeping a lookout for the yoga classes when the instructor returns.

I've actually been interested in trying detoxification, but the resources on the internet mostly consisted of ads and that put me off a bit. I looked around at the NLB too but most of the books were really technical and I couldn't appreciate the content too well. I was quite excited to read about the workshop because the blurb on the website sounded reasonable (without beginning to sell anything!) and promoted living healthier. I'm actually quite glad I went down for it after all!

As it turned out, only 2 people had registered for today's session, but the other lady couldn't make it so it became a somewhat one-to-one session with Delia. She shared with me that she had started detoxing to combat a major illness - her body rejected the mainstream medicine that was given to her and she eventually met another doctor who recommended detoxification to her; in fact he had stressed that there was nothing he could do to help if she didn't first start fasting. Delia by now is a seasoned practitioner of detoxification and she does look the part of someone who's benefitting aesthetically from regular detoxes: her skin's glowing and she looks pretty healthy!

She assured me that she wasn't there to hardsell any products (though she is a representative with Neera Detox at the moment), and that today we will be focusing on how the body reacts to detoxification at the biochemistry level. I was slightly worried that it will become too technical, but it was actually quite all right, and Delia took the time to field my queries. I will attempt a brief overview based on what I gathered today:

Eating in fact expends energy. This may seem pretty desirable (I was confused too) but apparently, it sometimes lead to the process of metabolism (breaking down what we consume) taking up precious energy that could be used for other purposes that go towards balancing our body's chemicals and banishing toxins. Metabolism also creates metabolic waste, and supposedly excess accumulation of metabolic waste is harmful for our body. She told me that some research has shown linkage between cancer and excess metabolic waste - I'm a little skeptical about this though. But back to metabolism. There's also the idea that when we stop consuming (or limit it, as in liquid detoxes), our body starts to break down excess fat stores. Delia said that sometimes toxins are stored among our bodies' fats, and when our body break down the fat stores instead, the toxins are also released so that our body can elimiate them. This is one aspect of detoxification. The other is that the body also enters autolysis, a process whereby it starts to ingest harmful or unnecessary cells in our body such as metablic wastes, dead and dying cells, and damanged tissues. In her case, she had a sizeable growth that was reduced after long-term detoxification. Delia further shared that during the process of detoxification, human growth hormones are released, and these are beneficial towards enhancing sleep (she had a client who had been suffering from insomnia, and that was relieved when she started fasting), regulating hormones, and protecting our muscles. I can definitely use all of that! I wish I can be more precise with the technical aspects, but this is all I remember! Still, it's a good start, isn't it?

What went through my mind as I was hearing the part about releasing toxins, is the bits I can remember when reading books on Ayurveda. It also advocates occasional detoxifications, because it is believed that certain symptoms arise out of toxins accumulated in our body, and that these toxins are often the cause behind acne, dandruff, oily skin and blackheads, sinus and other inflamation issues. The idea of being overwhelmed by a sudden release of toxins into my bloodstream did scare me, but I really look forward to improving my annoying sinus issue and having some relief from blackheads!

She recommended a 24-hour detox, so I can get eased into the habit of detoxification. Note that her idea of fasting for detoxes isn't a complete fast, but usually consists of some form of beverage that's taken throughout the day. I believe that it is to sustain us with some source of energy. The Neera detox consists of a mixture of syrups (maple, and syrup from 4 types of asian palms), and some minerals and trace ingredients. It is then supposed to be mixed with distilled water , fresh lemon juice, and Cayenne pepper. Delia said I can experiment different types of beverages for fasting to decide which was the best, and I really appreciated her giving me tips instead of telling me to use the Neera product! So a possible substitute would be maple syrup with fresh lemon juice. She suggested juices as well (though she talked about carrot juices, so I guess she was referring to the healthier and bad-tasting variety), but cautioned that we've really got to be mindful of the effect of juices as they tend to be quite high in sugar content and can spike up our blood sugar level; the yoyo-ing could possibly increase hunger pangs and make fasting more difficult! I had considered sugar cane juice since simple sugars would be in line with reducing the amount of energy used towards metabolism, and that turned out to be a big no-no: Delia considered sugar cane juice to be too rich in sugars! Honey is also not recommended, but it wasn't elaborated why. She also warned me that I will experience cleansing symptoms such as headaches, paleness of skin, sensations of feeling cold (because the body's temperature is lowered) and fatigue when I first start fasting. That means I have to plan my fasting for days where I can afford to be a little weak, at least for my first few attempts! Also, detoxification must be seen as a long-term project, because the benefits are accumulative. In fact, Delia thinks that those who are considering one-off detox diets do without it completely, because the side effects are greater than the benefits it can bring in such a short stint.

In between, Dr. Cheng who had set up the Divine MedSpa chatted with Delia and I had some further insights from it. I sensed that Dr. Cheng was really trying to create a holistic approach towards beauty. I was already quite intrigued that Divine MedSpa is planning to offer meditation, jin shin jyutsu, reiki etc among its range of services under the holistics section. From their conversation, I had the impression that she really believes in the services that she offers, and has quite an open mind towards trying out other forms of alternative medicine to achieve holistic care. So while Divine MedSpa's spa services are a little expensive for my budget, I think I might actually patronize the place bit by bit! And like I said, I really appreciate the fact that it was offering interesting workshops and classes like this for free - without any hardselling from either the external party or Divine MedSpa itself. In fact, no one even pressed me to consider Divine MedSpa's services and it made me much more comfortable during the hour or so that I was there.

I think I might follow Delia's recommendation for a 24-hour fasting, and maybe try to do it once a month, and hopefully once a week. I will have to wait a little though - there's no way I can fast during the school holidays because I'm usually at home and there's no way my mom would accept the idea of not eating, especially if she sees the cleansing symptoms! I will use the interim time to research for suitable recipes!

I'd glanced into the mirror while in the restroom today, and I thought my face looked kinda different - almost as if I'd put on foundation of some sort. That was quite surprising for me, because I almost never put on any form of make-up. I've got a personal bias against make-up; it's not that I don't need it, I just worry that I'll become enslaved to it. 

But back to the difference. I pondered about it, and I finally decided that perhaps it had to do with the sunblock I was using. I had just bought Biore UV Perfect Face Milk last night, because I'd left all my facial products behind in Paris and needed to start from scratch again. I had in fact been hoping to get the Marie-Veronique Organics Creme de Soleil after reading the rave reviews (5 hearts!) from VivaWoman, but considering exchange rates and shipping charges it costed a pretty money - and I suspected that I will have to wait at least 2 weeks for it, a wait my skin might not be able to afford! I wanted a good temporary solution (until I get round to ordering the MV Organics Creme de Soleil) and I remembered that I had used Biore's sunblock before, and it fared well. In fact, I'd first read the review for the Biore UV Perfect Face Milk on VivaWoman. The first time, however, I'd bought a slightly different version (it was a blue bottle, and could be used for the body too) cuz I couldn't remember which it was when I went to shop for it. Recently too, I was reminded of it when I came upon it in last Friday's Urban; there was an article where stylists were interviewed for their favourite cheap-and-good and good-but-expensive products, and one of them mentioned this. 

I checked out my face again at my next bathroom visit, and my skin didn't ooze with facial oil the way it usually does. I think the UV Perfect Face Milk had a slight mattifying effect on my skin. It blended easily enough looks-wise, although it does leave the skin a little sticky throughout the day. Still, had this stage my key concern now is not to look greasy - since that's a problem even without any sunblock! So I guess this is working out for me! I just need to stay alert for any breakouts - just in case!

I'd first started drinking green tea regularly during my internship last summer because I'd read that it had anti-oxidant properties, and I considered that a better approach than simply applying products that claim to have anti-oxidants. Plus, going to the pantry to prepare my mug of green tea or topping up the hot water delivered some action and broke up the monotony of the work days. 

Subsequently I noticed that I actually lost some weight, a kilo or 2 over about a fortnight's period. I'd tried to recall if my lifestyle was any healthier and the only real difference I could conjure up was the green tea - so I proceeded to look up more of its health properties on the internet. Apparently, green tea increased metabolism of glucose (sugar) and lipids (fats)! Of course it's not significant weight loss, and I have also observed that whatever increase in metabolism there was, it plateaus off so it's quite silly to expect green tea alone to boost metabolism to amazing levels. Nonetheless, I've tried to keep up with the green-tea drinking habit because weight-loss or not, it is useful in clearing the palate, and at least it keeps me drinking water.

In Paris, my room in the residence had pretty awkward electrical wiring and the power box in my room kept tripping when I tried to boil green tea using the electric kettle. I was usually quite lazy to make a trip down to the common kitchen to boil water so I didn't drink all that much green tea there. It was only when I came back, and had the convenience of the microwave at home that I resumed drinking green tea on a normal basis (plus I had to make up for 5 months of dehydration from drinking too much alochol and not enough water!). In just a few days' period, I'd lost 2kg! That was quite surprising. Of course, part of it was probably weight loss from excess water, since it was quite likely that the stress of packing and the long-haul flights increased water rentention. Still, I believe some credit must be given to drinking green tea. (=

My Italian best friend, I discovered, is really disciplined with her beauty routines. She straightens her wonderfully wavy hair almost every day, buys zero-fat yoghurt, controls herself even from her favourite chocolate/sweet treats, works out, and massages body lotion "every morning, every night"! I thought the hair and the body lotion activities were the hardest to maintain regularly - I for one love my sleep too much, and given the late hours we kept, I really wonder how she refrains from simply falling into bed and sleeping.

Still! She's got pretty toned legs, and although it's probably largely due to her dilligence with exercise, I decided that I could at least start by following her "every morning, every night" moisturizing regime too. I started it 2 nights ago, and while it hasn't done much for me in reducing cellulite/stretch marks (that's a long-term, quite unlikely but lofty dream), my skin already feels very smoother! So, in view of weekly challenges Viva Woman-style, this is mine for the week!

( Kid Goes Into McDonald's and Orders... Yoghurt? )

The overall findings weren't that surprising to me, but I wasn't expecting children to actually choose far-healthier options at fast-food places themselves. I would generally think that the point of going to a fast-food place was to indulge in the occasional (I hope) unhealthy food. On the other hand, based on my experience in Paris, perhaps the reason for that has to do with fast-food outlets offering cheaper eat-out options than cafés or brasseries. For instance, a cheap small burger at Quick or MacDonald's was about 2 euros, and the cheapest sandwich you can get at a café or a boulangerie usually hovered around 3 euros! And that was going by the cheapest possible rate. Price was the main propellant for me towards fast-food on days where I'm quite broke.

Two favourite places of mine to hang around and browse are bookstores, and a popular pharmacy chain in Singapore called Watsons. I love bookstores for stationery (funny that in France, there is a clear distinction between stationery stores and bookstores though, with two different words), and I love pharmacies in general... But to be specific, I like pharmacies that have a good range of skin-care products. I honestly couldn't care about makeup, and run-of-the-mill brands generally bore, even if they seem somewhat established. However! I do get tempted when new and interesting products come out. x=

I have been toying with the idea of putting down reviews of products I've used (though maybe none as extensive as Sesame's on Vivawoman.net), and articles and musings on other aspects of holistic care. So, here's hopefully a long-term attempt at it!