A bid to keep to my 2010 new year's resolutions...

I had my weekly tests again today. You can say i parasited from my dad who is undergoing a weight management programme after being egged on by my mom. Every Sunday, my mom's friend, who is the weight management consultant, comes over to assess my dad's progress. The children, us, will excitedly tag along and also see whether we ourselves has any progress. Every month too, she would bring this Pharmanex machine to measure the 'Skin Carotenoid Score' or SCS as i have researched on. This is supposedly a measurement of our level of antioxidant in the body.

Last month, i measured 14,000, which was on the low end. However, this month, it dropped to >10,000 which was even worse!!

Apparently, now i realise that everytime you exercise, you are exposed to pollution and the hot sun, smoke and all, your body release free radicals which can damage cells in your body. It's some chemistry thingy where without taking into the consideration the pollution in the air we breath, the oxygen we inhale is carried to our cells to help turn food into energy. In the process, some oxygen molecules lose an electron. Ideally, oxygen and other molecules keep their electrons in pairs. Molecules containing electron-deficient oxygen are considered free radicals. These free radicals become stable by capturing an electron from any substance in their path thus damaging it in the process. This process, called oxidative damage, is the underlying cause of many age related health conditions and diseases. Yahh.. you get it!

The way i see it, i use the analogy of a car. I see our body as an car and there will be combustion for a car to move. The fuel will be food instead of petrol. The oxygen remains the same and the spark comes from ourselves too. Everytime there is work done, exhaust gas is removed and there are also some incomplete combustion producing soot.. So, i see free radicals like this. Exhaust gas! Simple?

Now i have to think of a way to improve my antioxidant count as it is crucial for cell regeneration and recovery given the level of physical activity i heap upon myself to improve my fitness. Also, the way i see it, due to the nature of my job, i got no choice! I can't really limit my exposure to the sun. I also cannot really cut down on physical activities so... i need to improve my food quality intake.

As for the other vital stats; things have been improving. From the first week, my weight was 73.3kg and now it is 69.6kg. Visceral fat index has dropped from 11% to 10%... (not much but it's a start) and Body Age has gone down from an initial 40yrs to 37yrs old. Overall bodyfat has gone down from 21.3% to 20.7% (also not much but working on it...).

I don't want it to be a short burst sprint but an ultramarathon... that these good habits become ingrained as part of my life. I'm sure it'll work if i stayed focused and enjoyed every bit of the journey.

May Allah guide us all..bless us with happiness and health n protect us from the dangers of this world, physically or mentally. Help us become successful people in the world and after...