Monthly Archives: January 2009

Are There Really Exercises That Make Chest or Breasts Bigger?

Posted by Toni on January 23, 2009 2 comments

I want to share a portion of the members’ inputs in Yahoo Answers where I am an active member, in one of my questions that gathered really good feedbacks. 

 

Here is the question:  There are lots of exercise equipment sold on TV Shopping Channels. I just wonder if they are effective. Do exercises help in increasing bust/chest size? Or does eating more protein food or fatty food help as well?

 

The answer is No. What they do is strengthen the muscles that underlie the breast, so it gives the illusion of size, but no actual bust size increase.

 

Every woman wants to have great breasts. Here’s a quick anatomy lesson. Your breasts are actually made up of fatty tissue, so their size depends upon how much fat you tend to store there, which calls in factors like your genetics, your weight, your health and your age.

 

The muscles that reside directly underneath your breast are called the pectorals. They are partly responsible for the ‘perkiness’ of your breasts.

You can’t do anything about the size of your breasts (short of gaining weight or having surgery.) However, you can make them appear bigger and firmer by developing your pectoral, or chest muscles.

The Modified Push Ups

Lie on your stomach, bend your knees, and cross your ankles. Bend your elbows and place your palms on the floor just to the side and in front of your shoulders. Straighten your arms and lift your body so you’re balanced on your palms and knees. Tuck your chin a few inches toward your chest so your forehead faces the floor. Tighten your abdominals.

Bend your elbows and lower your entire body in one motion. Rather than trying to touch your chest to the floor, lower yourself only until your upper arms are parallel to the floor. Push back up. Don’t lock your elbows at the top of the move and don’t do the dreaded ‘head bob’ (when you dip your head toward the floor without moving any other part of your body).

Dumbbell Press

Lie on your back with your feet flat on the floor and a tin of soup or a dumbbell in each hand. Make sure the dumbbells are of equal weight. Push the dumbbells up so your arms are directly over your shoulders and your palms face away from you. Pull your abdominals in but don’t jam your back into the floor or let it arch upwards. Tilt your chin in toward your chest.
Lower the tins of soup down and a little to the side until your arms make a 90 degree angle and your elbows lightly touch the floor. Push the weights back up, taking care not to lock your elbows or allow your shoulder blades to rise off the floor.

Incline fly

Lie on the floor with your head, neck and upper back propped up against several large pillows. Hold a dumbbell in each hand and press the weights directly above your chest, palms facing each other. Tuck your chin to your chest to align your neck with the rest of your spine, and maintain your natural back posture, which is neither arched nor flattened.

Spreading your arms apart so that your elbows travel down and to the sides, lower the weights until your elbows lightly touch the floor. Maintaining a constant bend in your elbows, lift the weights back up, imagining that you have a barrel lying on your chest and you have to reach your arms wide around it. (www.ivillage.co.uk)

 

Dumbbells can be replaced by soup tins if dumbbells are not available.

Laughter, Sex, Vegetables & Fish

Posted by Toni on January 23, 2009 None comments

I love this book written by Dr. John Tickell and I want to share a part of it for you to ponder on.

 

There are four things in life that you can potentially use to excess.  Those are: LAUGHTER- that’s a big one; SEX- although there’s some doubts about that right now…a lot of doubt indeed; VEGETABLES and FISH.

 

So the motto now reads:  MODERATION IN ALL THINGS EXCEPT LAUGHTER, SEX, VEGETABLES and FISH.

 

No particular order, and not all together – it makes one hell of a mess.

 

Now the reasons you can overuse these things.

 

Laughter and sex are the best two stress cycle breakers known to the human system.  We are not sure whether they are No. 1 and No. 2 or No.2 and No.1.  But if they come together you are getting old.

 

Vegetables form the basis of the food groups eaten by the races of people in this world who live the longest and feel the best.  We can look at these people and they’re 85, they’re 95, they’re 102 and they look like we do when we are 55 or 65.

 

What’s the difference?  One big difference is the amount of plant food these people consume.

 

Fish.  The fish story is very impressive.  We know from the research that races of people who eat at least two meals of fish a week have an incidence of heart attack and stroke way lower than Western populations because fish oils seen to protect arteries.

 

Now, think about all these.  The author reckons they are the secrets of long living people.  This book is entitled Laughter, Sex, Vegetables and Fish OR How to Survive and Thrive Under Stress.  I love this book!

Redeeming My Freedom…

Posted by Toni on January 22, 2009 None comments

This year has started with a big bang for me!

As a stay-at-home mom for 4 years now, I was stacked at home looking after the kids and doing the endless house chores every day. The big news is, my kids started to go to kindie 3 days in a week on January 5! I was alone at home all by myself. That was the first time I was left at home alone. Although there were still lots of things to do in the house and errands to run, I felt like I am starting to redeem the freedom that I used to enjoy. I also felt like the old me is coming back.

After I dropped the kids to kindie (day care) on their first day together there and talked to their carers and teachers at 8:30am, I went back home and prepared a mug of coffee and a slice of panettone (Italian cake). I sat on the lounge, took the television remote and turned the box on. Wow! I haven’t felt that relaxed for a long time. I switched to the channel which I love watching and spent 1 hour sitting there, watching and eating my breakfast at the same time.

After the breakfast, it was time to start the ball rolling again doing house chores and everything at home. I spent less time with my computer though which made me feel I wanted the day to go beyond just 24 hours.

Oh well, I know that I will be able to catch up with all the cleaning and organizing I have to do at home, maybe in a couple of weeks time. I can’t wait for the kids to go to kindie again, lol! I miss them a lot though when I am alone at home.

Now that I have more time for myself, I have come up with lots of plans on how to improve myself more physically, mentally, spiritually, financially…and planning to take up an online course on Child Care & Nutrition…

I hope that this post gives inspiration and hint to all stay-at-home moms like me. Stay happy.

For a little bit more of inspiration read this article:  Gratitude is the Secret of Happiness

How to Love & Pamper Yourself

Posted by Toni on January 21, 2009 None comments

I must admit that I did not have much time to pamper myself. Since I gave birth to my daughter more than four years ago, I realized that time flies and I did not even notice that I have not accomplished much for myself in terms of physical fitness, extra-curricular activities, a regular health check-up with my doctor, and the like. There were times that 6 months will pass without me having been to the hairdresser to have my gray hair dyed and trimmed. Two years have passed since I gave birth to my son and I haven’t seen my gynecologist for my regular check-up and paps smear.

I felt guilty that years come and go without me doing something special for myself. Doing the following for ourselves, will help us realize that the way to look after ourselves is to give a little bit of pampering once in a while:

1. Get yourself into a regular exercise. Brisk walking every morning or late in the afternoon will boost our energy level. Walking is one of the best exercises to relieve stress caused by daily loads of work we have at home.  Running is good as well as long as the proper techniques are applied.

2. Set a schedule for yourself to just sit and relax, and watch your favourite television show. I know this cannot be done most of the times especially when the kids are still young and demand lots of our attention. So if you cannot fix a schedule for this, do this when the kids are busy playing or having an afternoon nap.

3. If you prefer to have a nap when the kids are having theirs, then that would be a good idea. A nap somehow will help you recharge your energy for the remaining responsibility of the day.

4. Give yourself a treat by doing the things that you love to do at least one day fortnightly. If you have young kids that make it impossible for you to do this, you can ask a family member or trusted relative to look after the kid for a couple of hours. If you can do with the kids with you, then, that would be better.

5. Dress up and put a bit of make-up on. Make yourself beautiful as if you are going somewhere even if you are just set to stay home the whole day and do house chores. I started doing this when a friend of mine saw me through our webcam and gave me some comments on my then problematic skin, dry hair etc. She sent me a huge amount of beauty products after a month. Take note: those products are from the “Philippines to Australia with love…” Feeling beautiful and well taken care of physically helped me boost my energy and self-confidence. When I look and feel beautiful I feel energized, recharged, confident, and happy. That really makes a big difference.

Nutrition In Pregnancy

Posted by Toni on January 19, 2009 None comments

 

We have learned throughout the years that health at the beginning and during pregnancy can have a major effect on our health and that of our developing baby.  In the past doctors’ main concern is the health of the woman during pregnancy. Most doctors would recommend to a woman wanting and planning pregnancy to prepare her body and keep herself healthy prior to pregnancy.  Today doctors would suggest looking at the pregnancy’s health concerns at least three months prior and several months after especially if the mother will prefer breastfeeding the child.

 

A visit to the doctor before or during the early weeks of pregnancy is advised for the purpose of nutritional evaluation or dietary assessment. This usually involves evaluation of pre-pregnancy weight for height, determination of gain weight throughout the entire pregnancy, discussion regarding proper nutrition, balanced diet, vitamin supplementation, exercises and other physical activities.

 

My favourite book on pregnancy entitled “Your Pregnancy Week By Week”, written by  Glade B. Curtis  & Judith Schuler, explains the following concerns on nutrition before pregnancy against various birth defects of the spine and brain, called neural-tube defects.

 

Be careful with Vitamins, Minerals & Herbs.  Don’t self-medicate with large amounts of unusual combinations of vitamins, minerals or herbs.  You can overdo it.  Certain vitamins, such as Vitamin A, can cause birth defects if used in excessive amounts. As a general rule, stop all extra supplementation at least 3 months before pregnancy.  Eat a well-balanced diet and take one multi-vitamin or one prenatal vitamin a day.

 

Folic acid is a B vitamin (B9) that can contribute to a healthy pregnancy.  If a mother-to-be takes 0.4mg of folic acid each day, starting 3 or 4 months before pregnancy begin, it may protect her developing baby against various birth defects of the spine and brain, called neural-tube defects. 

 

Many common foods contain folic acid: asparagus, avocados, bananas, black beans, broccoli, citrus fruits and juices, egg yolks, fortified breads and cereals, green beans, leafy green vegetables, lentils, liver, peas, spinach, strawberries, tuna, and yoghurt.

 

Begin good eating habits.  Many women eat on the run and pay little attention to what they eat most of the day.  Before pregnancy, you may be able to get away with this and start with a healthy diet. 

 

During the entire pregnancy put in mind that you are eating for two: for yourself and for your baby. This may also be the main consideration even after giving birth for the purpose of maintaining your healthy body while you are breastfeeding.

 

And even beyond pregnancy, remember that we, moms, have to be healthy so we can look after our family. Healthy moms create healthy families.

 

 

Health and Nutrition

Posted by Toni on January 19, 2009 None comments

Healthy moms create healthy families.  It is surprising that most of my friends who are also moms are starting to be health conscious.  Reading health books and magazines as well as gym sessions seem to become a fad.  It is also impressive to know that some moms are getting very conscious about nutrition labels on various products they purchase in the supermarket.

I thought to myself, isn’t that hard and time consuming reading all those labels before I put the item in my shopping bag?  Well, I am learning.  And I should say that it is very important to read labels of products we buy and be very choosy on what we buy for and feed our families.