Food vs Health

May 12th, 2012 by admin

Good evening.

One of the previews from the shoot we did for Vanity Dream’s upcoming update a few days back. I like this because this was the best looking photo of me out of the whole batch because we did the shoot almost only a little after I woke up from the throne pfft.

Truthfully speaking was a little worried for the session also because I knew I wasn’t going to be able to pull of many things (but luckily there weren’t many for this batch and we had Rachel). I’m almost never the type to talk bout ‘weight’, ‘gaining fat’, ‘going in diet’s’. It’s not that I think I was skinny to not bother, but I always think I eat moderately.

I don’t take in a big portion of unhealthy food (ring : sugar) not because they are carbs or they make people go fat but I just naturally don’t like how sweet things taste. I love heavy carbs like sausages, patties, nasi lemak – all the heavy duty stuff. I don’t look out for what I eat, but I think not being a fan of anything sugar has actually helped me A LOT. I can’t imagine what would happen to my health if I actually ate all the heavy duties AS WELL as the sweet stuff that’s available all around.

However, my fluctuating appetite has really made its stand this time round and I feel like it’s starting to give me body signals. I was sick for about 3 weeks about 1-2 months back. The first week was horribe, second week it was still lingering, but it took almost three full weeks to get rid of everything and for me to sleep and breath from my nose like normal again. It was just usual cold, but I suspect it was some body virus although my doctor hadn’t suggested any of those. Well, I only went to him once because I still don’t really trust Western med (and also because it made everybody around me more relieved). Don’t know why and since when I started getting really suspicious of the real capability of West Med that I keep calling for Chinese herbs every time I fall sick.

My point is that, that 3 weeks of trauma actually had me cutting down on alot of things that I usually (over)eat. Meat, noodles, rice – I didn’t feel like eathing them at all. I only ate to keep myself energetic, it wasn’t about appetite anymore. My body was more thirsty for water than food (which is extremely, extremely, unusual because I usually don’t drink more than a small cup of water everyday!). I think the whole process reinstated my inner health and I was cleansed inside out. I found myself a lot skinner that I have usually always been. I think at one point I kind of got scared at my own body because I never felt that light before. Don’t know how much I weighed, I just trained myself out of being curious about my weight – it was always jumping from 49kg – 50kg (see what I mean by me being not the usual skinny girl type who are usually 40-45kg) constantly for years anyways so I didn’t see the point.

So I started eating more and more when I felt healthy. Rejoicing into the food I had lost appetite and interest for for almost a month, and wondered where’d the hunger for these things hid themselves in during the short period. Gradually I started eating more and more, and back to my normal eating habits of 3 meals, and continued growing to a desperate need for at least 4 heavy meals and lots of snacking in between. Most surprising and shocking thing of the whole ‘recovery’ was that I was eating all sorts of sweet delicacies. Cakes, chocolates, soda, sweet fruits (I almost never, ever, pick sweet fruits!) and was actually enjoying them. I found myself buying chocolate cookies from the Mark&Spencer shelves, even when it wasn’t the ‘craving phase’. I have a chocolate craving phase  that lasts about 2 days every single month that I would prefer to label as the “Ladies Need’ phase. It was so shocking, but I never realized until about another 2 weeks later I actually started feeling very heavy and congested.  I sat down and started think back on my sudden gluttony and realized the things that I have been eating. Meat day in day out whenever possible, plates of rice at one sitting.

Actually the reason why I’m writing this all today in contrary to my usual “nothing much happened today. I missed the train by 30 second” posts is because I’m suddenly feeling a little threatened by my habits. The (extreme) habits are slowly fading off but what got my attention was how bloated my stomach was today. I walked so uncomfortably because the stomach was building from so much this and that. I tried to take a photo but I couldn’t figure out how it wouldn’t come out weird so I chose not to. I was playing with my iPad today only to realise my stomach had bloated to an extend where it was resting on the tablet, covering the Home button as well as the whole white border below! Worst part was that what made me realise my superpower bloatedness was my stomach was so far into the screen (above the border) that it was clicking on stuff below the screen by itself!!

I usually rest the tablet on my lap so if you don’t know what I’m trying to say, imagine your own stomach going further and bigger.  If you can imagine the roundness. I have never had a flat tummy unless I laid flat, and it’s actually really normal for a person’s stomach to bloat after meals and I thought mine was after-meal bloats but it never went down because I just did it again (just!) and…

Actually my main concern is that I don’t drink enough water to wash everything unnecessary away. I drink a bottle everyday now (but the bottle from today still has a quarter left) but everybody know’s its not enough. For the habit that I’ve been carrying for a few weeks now, I don’t see how I’m going to feel healthier without drinking more water and eating less.

Here’s a candid photo from another Vanity Dreams shoot that was shot right at the end of the Sick Phase and I was fresh and “cleansed” from all the healthy diet I was taking in. Not diet as in gamfei diet but food eating patterns, okay?

Haiyah, you know what I’m thinking about now? It’s the fact that I can’t seem to explain this without conveying my real concernsfor my own health! It’s just that this never happened to me before so I’m just being a Paranoid Parrot. Not about me getting fat (that’s a concern, but I’m not at that stage to think I’m fat because that means something else) but it’s about how I feel like I’m bloating unhealthily from waist below. Rapid cellulites are forming at the back of my thighs so I am just concerned if this is a sign of too much sudden food intake that kind of changes the hormones? You know how I even found out  they were growing? Because my back thights started to hurt from a force trying to push through and when I touched it it felt like light pinches! I didn’t even know cellulite can be painful until I Googled it and found out! Turns out it’s because

“Cellulite develops when fat and fluids accumulate in subcutaneous tissue, the fatty tissue just below the skin.  This tissue is connected to the skin through fibrous bands called septae.  Cellulite forms when these bands become rigid and pull down against the connecting fat cells, creating an uneven appearance on the skin.  As Shonagh explains, nerve endings can also become compressed and tender in this process which accounts for the pain many women experience with cellulite.”

Okay nobody read through that. Basically it just simply tells you ‘you have fats’ and proceeds to tell you how the fatty tissues and body cells work together in an inharmonious manner that causes the pain.

This is one of the most personal posts I think I have ever made that talked about my body. I don’t think I ever dedicated a post just for it but it’s just coming from a suddenly concerned 21 year old. There is actually another main factor as to why I suddenly started worrying about my eating habits today but my story is getting too long and pointless and I don’t know how to phrase my words.

Okay thank you goodnight bye bye.

Shall report when I’m done with this Glutton Unhealthy phase and is back to normal Natalie again.

#abruptending

How to Make Kimchi Soup

May 7th, 2012 by admin

Hello.

Because I’m not in the video I figured I need to charge in by spamming the post first. #rachelberrysydrome

So I did an assignment for my project called Introduction to Film and TV Production. I got to say I wasn’t really happy with this final product because quality of video was so bad! I forgot to fix the settings but it looked fine on the preview screen in the cam. Also had light allowance problem because the camera was consistently blocking off and allowing light to be captured so my end product of the raw videos were quite inconsistent when it came to exposure. Technie noobs, I guess this is what you have to deal with in life pfft. That aside, we had to do a demonstration video so here’s what I made – Kimchi Soup.

Truthfully, I added alot more ingredients to it and instead of Kimchi Jjigae (jjigae is soup), I was actually making something called Budae Jjigae. However, I decided not to call it Budae Jjigae because I didn’t have the right recipe or appropriate soup base recipe to officialize it as Budae Jjigae. Hence, I am finalizing my kimchi jjigae but with a turbo boost of what Budae Jjigae usually has.

The video is not what I handed in, the one I had to turn in was a little bit more trickier because I wasn’t supposed to put subtitles or captions to explain my directions of how to make the soup. Unlike other straightforward How-To-Cook videos, mine has a little story that I forcefully injected in because that was one of the requirements. I didn’t have emotional touches on this one, I guess – but it was still a little tale to pull of as a story.

Got Abby and Francisca to argue for the beginning of my video. The took 15 minutes to find about a final topic to argue about because everything else just got each other laughing! Impatient director (holla!) was impatient.

So, here’s my way of cooking Kimchi Soup with a Turbo Boost of meat that serves 3-4 portions (that can make you feel really full, for sure!). It’s really easy so I hope you guys out there (Korean lovers, especially) try this recipe. There is a place that sells cheap and good Kimchi in Ampang especially for making kimchi jjigae so I always get my kimchi from there cause they are usually home-made by store owners or associates. Doesn’t take more that one hour actually but sometimes it gets a little long because I really want to slowly boil the taste out of the kimchi and everything else.


Please enjoy and do drop me emails/comments if you don’t understand any!

Umpteenth Time

May 3rd, 2012 by admin

Here is candid yawning photo for you to scoff at.

Tetris Call

April 25th, 2012 by admin

Have posted this somewhere behind but because this is the best photo to describe me now.

 

Just less decent looking.

MUJI Opening in KL Pavillion

April 21st, 2012 by admin

I remember being so enthusiastic about how I thought I saw Fahrenheit had a MUJI banner outside the building a few days prior to its opening. I still insist it was right up there at the exterior of the building, I’m sure! However they did not open even after months after its opening so I gave up. I remember blogging about MUJI Singapore here because I really, really liked the concept and it’s cleanliness. I thought the concept was really simple and nice, just how I like my things.

Then, news came that Pavillion was finally going to bring in Heaven’s Sent Gift and give it a corner lot. I was so excited sometimes I’d pass by the lot while it’s on renovation and peek in. I headed straight to the shop the second day it opened (missed the launch! Hope I didn’t miss anything much!) with a happy heart. MUJI did look like MUJI, but I have to say that I would have walked out a happier child if there was much more space in the shop to move about. Maybe there was a crowd, so I felt everything was very compact and shelves were very near to each other.

I have to come clean. I fell in love with MUJI because of their stationary section, and it kind of disappointed me how I saw their stationary was only a really small section compared to the branches I saw in Singapore. No complains though, still got to be grateful it decided to come to KL. Most probably will give the shop another shot when there’s less crowd so I can slowly browse through their stationery. A small queue was lining up just to check out their pen so I could’t even touch them when I was there. :(

I did take a few photos of the shop so for those of you who haven’t heard of MUJI and is in KL would pay the shop a visit. Their stuff are pretty environmental, clean, with a simple concept that is smart at the same time. I have to say their stuff does seem a little mucked up compared to the one in Singapore. The only reason why I keep comparing the branch here to the one in Singapore is all because the ones there left such an impression for me! I remember buying my floor chair (one with no legs) for about RM 150 maybe, but the one sold here cost a little over RM 200. Quite a difference I must say!

They sell a rather wide range of stuff so it’s a shop for everyone in the family :)

Quite a busy crowd in comparison to other outlets in Pavillion (Daiso  is exceptional)

Hangers going at sets.

Their stuff on display that kind of gives you an idea how you can have a comfy room at a minimalist’ point of view.

Garments section was quite busy too!

Love the kitchenware. So simple!

I don’t know what MUJI foamballs can do compared to other foamballs, but it does give me an illusion of a white clean foamy shower.

Towels, pillows, house slip in’s – all you can think off!

Their collection of notebooks.

Love the idea :) Good for people like me, and going for a reasonable price!

More notebooks. I love the files and folders on the left. Now I need not fret about finishing my Muji notebook papers since we have refillers here in KL!

Clear containers to keep your house designs simple and coordinated. I love how it’s a little translucent so you can see through.

More kitchenware!

Also some socks that we could use on a cold day. Pretty nice collection of colours I think!

On another note,

Here’s me last weekend after being Mujified.

Though a little disappointed, but still a happy girl nonetheless!

Here’s to more (bigger!) Muji outlets!

My Heart Will Go On

April 21st, 2012 by admin

This song is not as amazing as it is, being sung live!

Short Update

April 19th, 2012 by admin

Hello there.

It’s my two week holidays again. It just seems like yesterday when my semester restarted. However, I’m most probably only going to take one week off – the remaining week should be spent through shooting for an assignment, some illustration design cramping, and my ultimate objective – that shall remain hidden until it’s finished.

 

Inset : Extract from Vanity Dreams

[P.S] I’d just like to make a short shoutout for some of you out there. Sorry I can’t reply to all your messages because I personally feel that it isn’t the type of attention that I am comfortable with. I hope you guys understand that it isn’t out of intention to be rude. Hope you all have a blessed life ahead!

Me To Know, You To Guess!

April 16th, 2012 by admin

안녕!

Hello, today’s blogpost will be in Korean so most of you can close my window now pfft. Anyways, it’s just a reflection post and not something that I want to hide but I think Korean has the better expressions for many things! The gist is just about how I feel I am blessed and lucky in life, despite how I am not able to express my wants and thoughts for many many things! If there was God, I’d like to thank God for showering me with such gifts of blessing now and always, but knows now to give me too many chocolates at one go so that I can learn to hold back at temptations! So, there for you curious people.

이제 부터 한글이다.

오늘부터 2주동안 방학인데 바쁠게 많아서 좋다. 내 블러그 읽으신분 많지않지만 하루에 200명을넘지않은 이 페이지를 방문하시는 분중에 몇명이 한글을 알까요? 못 읽어보시는분들한테는 미안하지만 가끔식 이렇게 한글로 글을쓰고싶을때도 있어요. 제가 원래 애써 밝은 생활을 살고싶은아이입니다. 되면 될수록 웃으면서 농담도하고 지내고 싶어하네요.

대학 1학년때 저에게 와서 질문하나 물어보는 친구가있었어요. “나탈리, 너 진짜 성격이 대체 뭐냐?”고 이렇게 물어봤었다. 사실대로 말하면 나도 모르겠다. 해맑은 나탈리도 진짜인 내모습이고 조용하고 말많이없는 나탈리도 내모습이다. 생각좀해봤는데 답이 쓸쓸 나온것같아.

어렸을때부터 제가 생각과 고민같은게 괜히 많이하는 편이에요. 부모님들한테 말하면 걱정시킬까봐 절대로 나눠서 이야기하지는 않고, 제가 친구를 잘만나는데 의외로 친한친구되기는 어렵다. 상처라기보다는 중학교때 받은 경험이 많았었기때문이다. 그때부터 저신의 문제는 자신을 풀고 사람들한테 애기꺼내기가 힘들다. 이래서 제가 친하게지낼수있는 친구만 만나면 정말 아끼고 잃고싶지않을 마음에 정말 지키고싶다. 제가 애정표현을 못해서 그런지 아끼는 친구들이 항상 내가 그들을 아끼지않다고 생각을하곤하나보다. 근데 어떡하죠..이렇게 살아온 나를 표현을 아끼는게 잘못했나요. 정말그런가요?

문제는 이거예요. 누구한테나 표현을 할준비나 하는중일때마다 상처를받은 경우가 뻔하고 확실해요. 중학교때 한두번 도 아니에요. 사람들이 날보고 미소만 지은다고 행복하고 고민없는 사람이라고 할때마다 제가 인정하는척 할수밖에없어요. 그런데 확실한거 있어요. 제가 행복하긴 행복해요. 건강하기도 하고, 좋은 대학도 다니고있고, 가족분들도 한집에 살고..다 좋아요.

그래도 난 미소 가득한 나탈리 될래요. 사람들이 날 미쳤다고 해도 창피한다고해도…이게 나만의 방법이라고 생각해요. 안그러면 답답하고 서러워서 터질것같애요. 그래서 오버를 안하면 버틸수없다는거예요.

오늘이좀 기분이 섭섭해서 이란 글을 쓰면서 기분이 푸는거예요. 사람한테 이런 이야기를 꺼내기 어려워서 나는 글로 표현할수밖에없어요. 그래도 나는 내가 아끼는 친구들이 나처럼 표현을 못하면 안돼요. 내가 너희들에 아픔과 고민을 들어줄게요. 항상 뭐해야될지 몰라서 가만히앉고 말이안나오고 듣기만하지만…누군가 너희들에 이야기를 들을준비가 되어있을 사람은 언제나 나라고, 전하고싶다.

아 아.

ㅋㅋ 됐다. 너무 씁슬한 글이었네요! 이제 부터 찬란한 내일을 기대해야지!

사실은 어제 한국에 만난 아주 소중한 친구랑 애기를 좀 길게 나눠서 기쁘고 이렇다. 내가 표현을 못해도 이친구가 나를 이해해주고 나한테 은근히 힘이되어주는 친구예요.  습관될까봐 항상 나한테 잘해주는 사람을 거절하는데 이친구가 몇번이나 내 소심한 거절을 받았는데도 계속 잘해주니까 내가 정말 운이있구나…라고 싶었어요. 그리고 이상한게 이친구를 잘알지도못하는 경우에 이친구가 멀어질것같은 느낌에 애싸 당겨온 기억이났어요. 하나님이 나한테 보내주시는 신호인가요…라고 고민도해봤어요. 평소에 갈길을 갈분은 제가 그냥 보내는 스타일인데..그때 왜 당겼는제 모르겠어요. 솔직히 나한테 잘해주는 사람들이 항상 나한테 뭘얻어가고싶어하는 사람들이라..사람을 잘안믿는데. 이 친구사 진심으로 나한테 잘해주는거 느껴요. 한국에있는동안 1주일도 안걸려서 소중하고 짐심한 친절함을 느껴온 친구가 2명 만나게 되는 인연이라는 자체가 너무 신기했어요. 우리땅에서 그렇게 열심히 사람한테 마음이 열어줄준비가 있었는데도 믿은갈만한 사람없는데 한국가보니까 하나님 보내주시는 신호처럼 만나게되서 고맙네요. 내가 인간에 아직 희망있다는 메시지인가요? ㅎㅎ 앞으로 난 이2명한테 아무도아닌 존재를 되어버려도 이2명을 평생 아끼고 살게요. 한번 친하면 죽을때까지 친한친구라고 생각을하는 편이에요. 나랑 어울리는 친구. 세상에 아직 있다는게 하나님 한테 고마움을 전달합니다.

나는 아주 운이 좋고 행복하는 여자라는게 알고있어요!

여러분 홧팅!

:)

Voldemort

April 11th, 2012 by admin


Because Francisca understands.

나의하루 : Sights, Steps, Sound

April 7th, 2012 by admin

A collection of photos I took today because I spent really long hours, uhm, meditating – as what I would prefer to call it. Taken all in within one day, the photos are all arranged chronologically from 7AM till about 6PM today. Hope you enjoy them!