I watch 'The Biggest Loser' to get inspired to sustain my personal weight loss journey. However, the recent victory of Rachel Frederickson is more worrisome than inspiring. She lost a whopping 155 lbs - 60% of her original body weight and she looked so fragile during the live finale.

The internet is going crazy over this new diet pill called Obalon. Like other diet pills, Obalon suppresses your appetite. However, it does not use any of those harmful chemicals that cause side effects. Best of all, this procedure is non-invasive. Here's how it works:




The patient will swallow a capsule the size of a big vitamin. In it is the gastric balloon inflated to the size of an apple. The balloon should sit at the top of the stomach, giving the feeling of fullness resulting to less food intake and eventually, weight loss.

Depending on the patients weight and response to the procedure, the doctor may opt to add another balloon after 30 days and another after 60 days. At the end of the treatment, the balloons are deflated and removed in a 'simple' procedure that does not require the patient to be confined in the hospital.

Now bear in mind, this is not for everybody. Patients taking Obalon must have a body mass index of at least 27. In short, you have to be really obese to qualify for this procedure. Clinical trials show an average of 17 lb-weight loss after 12 weeks of being in the program.

Here's the catch. Obalon costs $4,932 US (207,144 Pesos). Definitely pricey but it looks like it's going to be worth it.

Sources:

Obalon
Daily Mail

A few months ago, I got a good deal on a gym membership. It was ridiculously cheap though the facilities were very nice. There are more than 20 treadmills so you won't have to fall in line. You had a choice between a small locker or steel lockers, all of which look like the athletic lockers you would see in other high end gyms. The location of this gym was a little bit of an issue - there aren't enough parking slots and if you commute, you'd have to walk to get to the nearest jeepney terminal.

I was so pumped today! I finished cycling with 52:52 time, 11.37 km, average 12.90, 1205 calories burned. This is a major improvement from Day 1 (when I did only 5 KM). The route I took was fairly busy today due to rush hour but safe I think. Just a few things I realized:

* I need to buy a mask. The streets of Metro Manila are just too polluted and some motorists absolutely do not care about cyclists and even motorcyclists.

* I should get a helmet for two reasons: it makes you look sexy (hahaha!) and for very obvious safety reasons. I just need to pick the right one.

* I need a water bottle when cycling. I felt a little dehydrated and I didn't stop to buy a bottle of water. That's not good.

* Speed is not important at this time. As I do this more often, I can work on improving my speed and gear shifting. I need to learn a lot of cycling because I'm more of a recreational cyclist than a hardcore one.

* I want those barefoot shoes. I think I's be more comfortable cycling in them. I will go to Trinoma today and check them out!

* I SHOULD OIL MY BIKE!




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Let me break it down for you. I have the running shoes. I have the boxing wrap and gloves. I have the Hip Hop Abs videos on my computer. How come I haven't completely turned this into a daily fitness routine? I realized working out may be hard without having a partner. I failed so many times in finding people who will either run or box with me.

So one afternoon, I was sitting and just talking to my little sister. That's when I realized, she may be the best partner for me. I stood up and told her I've decided I want to buy a new mountain bike. That way, we can bike around together and burn as much as 500 calories (in an hour).

And so it happened. We go around the village to bike for more than an hour - sometimes even more than that. We;ll see how this goes.

We've all heard about the Elisabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS foundation. But most people don't really know who Elisabeth is and how she changed the world by starting her foundation a decade ago. Here's her story and a bonus: his son who also contracted the disease has been cured. Does this mean hope for those who have it? I certainly hope so.

Food manufacturers, like most pharmaceutical companies have not been very honest about their food labels. So why are they still on your favorite grocery store's shelves? Before you grab that 'fat-burning' juice drink or that 'calorie-free energy bar', you might want to read on what those labels actually mean:

Made with Whole Grains

Whole grains are healthy but only if they make up most of the product. Most food items with this label often have more sugar or salt than the actual whole grains. That defeats the whole purpose.

Ingredients

Experts believe that ingredients' list should be arranged according to the proportions on the product. This is not followed by most if not all junk foods you see in the market today. For example, cake products may put flour first but we all know a large chunk of that yummy cake is sugar. What's worse is that sugar may come in different other names: corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup or juice concentrate.

Serving size

A certain snack bar says 'Only 50 calories'. That's good, right? NOT. The definition of 'serving' is largely misused in the food industry. One may say it's 100 calories per serving of soda but one bottle may actually have more than twice as much. Fooled? Does this mean you have to have 2 servings of your favorite soda?

Made with Real Fruit

There are many 'fat-burning' juices in convenience stores today. Do they really make you lose weight. Let's do that simple math. If you add one small bottle of juice, it may contain a certain amount of L-Carnitine. That's good. But these fruit juices still contain corn syrup which translate to candy sugar. It may even make you lose more weight. Lesson learned: just buy the real thing!

Zero Trans Fat

Trans fat are the bad cholesterol that lurks in your body. While most products have reduced (emphasis on the word 'REDUCED'), they've replaced it with Saturated fats - still a bad type of cholesterol. It won't help you have a healthy heart - it will just make you less guilty and more fooled.

There's more information you can read here: http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/reading-food-labels-470201-synd#ixzz1Bx7gPvTq

Surprise of the day: I bought new running shoes. Been planning (for weeks now) to go jogging with my co-workers. Unfortunately, I deliberately kept delaying it because I haven't bought new shoes. Anyway, they're here. The only thing I need is to take the first step and actually run. Haha!

If you want to show some muscles, why don't you try having one of these? It's a really cool way of showing off especially when you're working out at the gym. Will make the ladies go gaga over you.