Losing weight

I saw an article in BB on 18th Oct. I don't have the article with me at the moment. It was about this weight loss clinic which has just opened with some of the latest technologies which will help it's customers lose weight. It even showed a picture of a slim young lady and claimed that a customer even lost 10.5kg. I had to laugh when I read all the fancy words they used to explain what the treatment is and it's effects on the body. Seems like it came out from star trek. I am no mocking the technology, as with all new treatments, we must have the scientific evidence to prove it, and this was too unbelievable.

This is another gimmick in a long line of weight loss fancy gimmicks in Brunei. Still remember the fat loss spray? And recenly the gadgets from Osim? Bussiness in the weight loss industry in Brunei must be big bucks. First of allm there are a lot of overweight people in Brunei because of our diet and lifestyle. Secondly there is pressure from many sources to keep ourselves thin including health reasons and appearance sake.

I will not say that these weight clinics are scams. Some of them will give results. But, most will only give short term results. Main reason for failure is that there is usually no change in lifestyle and diet.

As I said before, our diet and lifestyle is the major reason for so many Bruneians to be overweight or even obese. In general, our diet is full of fried food, oily stir-frys or excessively sweet food and beverage. Our lifestyle is also quite sedentary. We drive everywhere, try to park as close as possible to our destination, we don't use stairs as often as we should and our lives are so busy nowadays that there is no time for exercise. No point in blaming your genes, because they only play a small role. This is just touching the surface of the problem and I hope some readers will see this in their lives and try to change.

Ever since coming back from overseas, my weight kept increasing, and my clothes became smaller and smaller. I only started to really change my eating habits and lifestyle recently and alhamdulillah my weight is moving in the right direction. No fancy stomach trimmer gadget or saddles. And no gimmicks like Atkins or fancy creams and treatments. Honestly... It's all proper diet and exercise and it works!!

Therefore in order to lose excessive weight or maintain your weight is to change your lifestyle and diet. I will try to share some of the changes I have made and feel free to leave your comments.

Visit to gerai ramadhan

I went to visit gerai ramadhan yesterday. Just thought I'd see what's on offer as I have not been there for some time. From previous years, the crowd tends to diminish towards the end of ramadhan but today it seems to be as crowded as it has been over the past 3 weeks. I think that is good for our stall owners as this is one constructive way to boost one's income.

The food was about the same though - fried everything, oily mee goreng, sweet kuehs. I did my mandatory round of the stalls and found out that there are more rolls and cakes on sale. All sorts of shapes, sizes and colors are offered as well as creative names for each one. Didn't buy any though. There were also biscuits on sale.

The juvenile me wanted to get some fireworks... but managed to remember cuboiart's cartoon - check it out on this link. We're basically burning money heh heh but I think for parents with small children, it would be one of those things that you have to get. I remembered my childhood years when we would look for illegally smuggled firecrackers sold by some brave souls. Aaahhh those were the days.

So what did I get in the end? Some grilled chicken and pulut panggang.

It is almost Hari raya Aidilfitri, a day of celeberation for all muslims. As with other years, shops in Brunei are always full of people, trying to get themselves ready to celebrate Hari Raya. Shops have reported been crowded with people and the roads leading to the shops congested with cars.

It came as surprise to me that during the past two nights, the shops have suddenly become less busy, almost back to normal season. I thought everybody have finished their hari raya shopping, Then I realised something. Its middle of the month and most people probably are a bit short of cash, not everybody mind you.

This phenomenon is normal in Brunei. Shops tend to be busy around 28th (depends on when government servants get their wages) up till probably 1st week of the next month. Then slowly, less and less people go shopping and shops are almost empty after 20th of the month. I thought that this month will be different since hari raya shopping is important and people need certain items badly. But if you take into account other expenses like clothes, cakes, biscuits and other items which need to be ordered in advance, then you can see why shops are not as busy now.

This month the wages will come out on 21st October, almost a week earlier than usual. Banks have put up notices that they will be open longer than usual to cater for this. If the moon is to be sighted on Sunday,22nd October, then that Saturday will be the only time for us to visit the banks, apart from maybe a few branches which open on Sundays. After raya, shops will be empty again, since it's going to be around 5 weeks in between wages.

Personally, I like to go to the shops at the end of the month. That's when I most of my shopping and I will just stay away from shopping areas on the first few days after wages. And I will make sure I have enough cash so that I do not have to queue up at ATM machines during this time.

Lastly remember to spend wisely and enjoy yourselves during this festive season.

Another long gap

Well, it has been a while since I have actually posted something. I have a few drafts of entries but I feel that they were not good enough to be posted heheh a bit of quality control. Thanks for those of you who has stopped by.

We're on the last week of Ramadhan now and I think I have been too busy with work to take full advantage of this month to improve myself. I was planning to take at least the last 10 days off but I was not able to because of last minute change of scheduling by the boss. To me, fasting is Alhamdulillah not as tiring this year. I just feel sleepy at times, which borders on embaressment because I tend to yawn too much or doze off at my desk. I guess being online at this time of the night doesn't help matters.

Guess it's time to sleep now. Good night all. Don't forget to baca niat puasa.