MANNY PACQUIAO: Still our hero in VICTORY and in DEFEAT

Sunday, December 9, 2012 was a day of mourning for Philippine Sports and the entire nation. The whole nation reacted with shock and sadness as Manny Pacquiao was knockout cold by his long time nemesis Juan Manuel Marquez at the end of the 6th round of their fourth fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, USA.

Manny's defeat dampened the spirits of the Filipinos from all walks of life, from the man on the street, street vendors, drivers, farmers, police and military personnel, and up to the highest corners of government. It was a big blow to a country much worst than those delivered by Pablo-a killer typhoon that left 1,200+ dead or missing and devastated thousands of homes in Mindanao just early last week.

The 39-year-old Marquez sent down Pacquiao, 33, face first to the canvas with a right hand with one second left of the round to win their welterweight fight.

President Benigno Aquino’s spokesman Edwin Lacierda said despite the defeat, the country would not turn its back on the superstar fighter who has won world titles in an unprecedented eight weight divisions.

“Nothing will change. The people of the Philippines will continue to support Manny. We join them in praying for the return of his strength and determination,” Lacierda said in a statement.

The whole nation is indeed behind Manny Pacquiao in Victory and in Defeat! We all know that Manny can't win them all. It was just a matter of time because nobody stays at the top forever.

Guys! We all shared with Manny in his time of triumph and victories. Let's reunite once again and share with him in his time of sorrows and defeat. He is our Sports Hero and will always be that way and nothing can ever changed that.

Let's Count our Blessings, Not Everyone is Fortunate as we are

Life is not fair. Yes of course! It's never been fair and it will never be. Each and everyone of us are blessed differently. Some people are blessed with incredibly superior and powerful advantages while others are born with crippling disadvantages. Let's  count our blessings! Some people are not as fortunate as we are. We may have food for three meals today but there are people out there with nothing to eat for just one meal.

 We may have our homes for shelter with warm beds, pillows and blankets. But there are people and families out there who live on the streets under the heat of the sun and the biting cold of the night.

We may have clothes, shoes and sandals to protect our bodies while others have hardly enough to cover themselves.

If you have hot food on your table and some in your fridge, clothes on your back, a roof on your head and a place to sleep, you are richer than the 75% of the people in this planet.

If you have money in the bank, your wallet, and some spare change, you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the million people who will not survived this week.

If you have never experienced the danger of war, the agony of imprisonment and torture, or the horrible pangs of starvation, you are luckier than the 500 million people alive and suffering.

If you can read this blog you are more fortunate than 3 billion people in the world  who cannot read it at all.

Life may not be perfect, every dream may not be fulfilled, every material need may not be achieved and everyday may not be as peaceful and stress free as we hope, but we are fortunate than most people in this world.

So as we struggle for the day to day challenges and responsibilities of our lives, as we work and sometimes hope for a little more of everything in life, we should not forget to count our blessings and most of all to be ever grateful to GOD for what we have received and continue to  receive.

Being grateful to GOD may also be well expressed by sharing our blessings too to those in need.

Life is not fair! But so what? There's nothing that can be done to eliminate the unfairness, yet there's plenty that can be done to thrive and prosper in spite of it, and even because of it.

FOOD CRAVINGS THAT WRECK YOUR DIET

BREAD
Craving a big, fluffy hunk of warm bread does not mean your body is deprived of grains. Food cravings have little to do with nutrients and plenty to do with the brain chemistry of pleasure and reward. Cravings may center on texture( creamy, crunchy) or taste( sweet, salty) but they all have something in common- overindulging can sabotage your diet.

ICE CREAM
People who get cravings tend to have higher BMIs- no surprise since fattening foods are often the object of desire. The combination of coll, creamy and sweet makes ice cream an irresistible treat- but a costly one in terms of calories. A typical serving of vanilla has 230 calories

POTATO CHIPS
It's the combination of salty and crunchy that give potato chips their allure. Depending on the flavor, a 1-ounce snack bag has at least 150 calories. Munch your way through a large 8-ounce bag and you're looking at 1,230 calories!

CHOCOLATE
Almost half of women crave chocolate on a regular basis. There have been many theories to explain why, ranging from magnesium deficiency to mood swings. But one thing is certain: Consuming a chocolate bar is a quick way to add a couple hundred extra calories to your day.

POPCORN
Sometimes a setting can trigger a craving, like the desire for popcorn at the movies. Memory pllays a big role in cravings- you've enjoyed popcorn at the movies before, so you expect to enjoy it again. Popcorn itself can be a healthy snack. But movie theaters tend to pop it in coconut oil with buttery sauce. The result: 400 to 1,200 calories per tub!

STREET & PARK FOOD
Watching a game or just strolling in the park is not the same without a hotdog or nachos or peanuts. Just seeing or smelling the concession stands can make it tough to resist. But consider these numbers:

8 ounces of cheesy nachos-900 calories
8-ounce bag of raw peanuts-800 calories
Hotdog on a stick-400 calories

DOUGHNUTS
If you're on a diet, doughnuts are like the forbidden fruit. That fact alone may be enough to trigger a craving.

Doughnuts are an American favorite- from jelly filled to bear claws and those that are pink frosted or sprinkled. They're a sweet treat that people love but feel bad about eating. Unfortunately, the nutritional information of doughnuts is enough to make anyone think twice before taking a second serving- and sometimes even a first.

Doughnuts are high in calories which may contribute to weight gain. A 2-ounce doughnut has 220 calories. Most doughnuts however are at least 3 ounces or larger. Dunkin Donuts' website states that one of it's chocolate-frosted cake donuts has 340 calories, while one of it's jelly-filled donuts has 260. One doughnut, although usually not enough to make a person feel full on its own, has as many calories as one regular-sized, hearty breakfast.

RED MEAT
Do you feel like a meal is not a meal unless it involves a big chunk of meat? The good news is you don't have to give up meat to achieve a healthy weight- just be choosy about your cuts. A typical flank steak has about 700 calories.

PIZZA
Pizza is America's favorite food. It does have some health benefits: A typical slice has 12 grams of protein and 2.5 grams of fiber. But pizza also has about 280 calories a slice - more if you add meat toppings.

PASTA
Pasta ranks among the top five favorite foods in many countries. The trouble is most people eat white pasta, which is made with refined flour. White pasta has only a fifth the fiber of whole grain pasta, which means it may take more to fill you up. Pasta sauces can be diet-killers too. A large bowl of fettuccine Alfredo has 800 to 1,200 calories.

FRENCH FRIES
This salty side dish is hard to turn down when ordering at a drive-thru. But a large order of fries can have as many calories as a burger-about 500 at a typical fast food restaurant.

NUTS
Whether in a bar or party or strolling in the park, it's easy to keep dipping your hand into the nut bowl, but all those handfuls add up. A cupful of roasted nuts packs more than 800 calories.

COFFEE
Coffee craving may go beyond your typical food craving, thanks to the addictive powers of caffeine. You may feel you can't full wake up without your morning dose. Fortunately, coffee has very few calories- until you load it up with cream and sugar syrups. Large flavored lattes and mochas can have more than 400 calories.

COOKIES
Taking cookies for snacks is a very bad habit because cookies is high in sugar and much more in calories.

PRACTICAL WAYS TO CONTROL YOUR CRAVINGS

Sometimes, going on a diet can really be hard. We are forced to stop eating the food that we love to eat so much. There's always a price for everything and that's the price we have to pay keeping our bodies fit and healthy and to attain that slim and trim figure that we so desire.

However, there are moments that just when we suppress our appetite for a certain favorite food the more that the desire grows and intensify. Ever found that your cravings got worse the harder you tried to ignore them? A study published in the journal Appetite suggested that many people crave the foods that they most attempt to resist. The more we crave to eat it. Food cravings has little to do with nutrients and plenty to do with brain chemistry of pleasure and reward. As a result, a battle is on to test your will. Should we fight the urge to eat, or to just give in to the craving. We emerge from this battle victorious sometimes, but with a pang of regret. Sometimes we give in to the craving and then wallow in guilt and self-loathing.

Personally, I don't think it to be that way. That should not be the case. Going on a diet should not be synonymous to deprivation, or even self-torture. Doing so we'll end us bingeing later and gaining more weight than what we thought we have already lost. Given this, how then can we fight the urge to eat the forbidden and keep to the diet plan?

Going on a diet requires more discipline of the mind than of the body. The mind should rule over the body. Our planned diet should not equate with deprivation in our mind, simply because it should not be that way. We can still eat whatever we want to eat whenever we want it. Rather than going cold turkey on your junk food addiction, having a little of what you fancy should help to reduce the temptation to binge on your favorite treats. You could try following the 80/20 rule; eating healthily 80 per cent of the time and being less strict for the other 20 per cent. There's one thing though that we have to remember, is for us to eat our food in portions and try to burn whatever excess calories that we have eaten. We can either spend extra time in the gym or added repetitions in our workouts. We  can also spend just more time walking. Any form of movements helps burn calories.

More often than not, eating a small portion of the food we crave is better than just suppressing. If we suppress our craving, we will just end up bingeing when we let go. Whereas when we eat just a small amount, the craving will be satisfied and we will not end up taking to much.

But there is a limit as to giving in to our cravings. Eating a small portion when done regularly many times of the day defeats the purpose of your diet plan because you will be unable to burn the excess calories. One best thing to do to avoid the craving is to get our mind as far away from it as possible. We should stash the booty where we cannot easily find it or so reach for it when the cravings come a-calling. To keep our mind off the craving, we should keep our self busy and do something else, like read or do chores or go out for a walk to kill time and get the craving out of our system. By the time we are done, the craving is most likely gone too.

However, sometimes we just need to sit down and analyze why we crave a certain food so much. Food is known to bring comfort to some people in the face of emotional distress; could it be that we just eat just to drive the pain away? Unfortunately, no matter how much food we eat, the source of our pain will not go away.

It's not wrong to crave for food. We should, however, learn to watch ourselves so we won't overdo it. That is all it takes to control the craving. But there are cases wherein craving is not just a simple as that.

If you experience regular, intense cravings for particular foods, it may be that you are suffering from a nutritional deficiency which your body is trying to address. It is believed that chocolate cravings can stem from a magnesium deficiency, while a lack of chromium in the diet can lead to sugar cravings. Maintaining healthy levels of zinc can also help to regulate your appetite. Make sure you are eating a wide variety of nutritious foods to address any deficiencies in your diet.
 

Whether your cravings stem from hunger, boredom or lack of motivation, heading out for a run or hitting the gym could help you not to give in. Exercise is not only a great distraction from your cravings, a study led by a researcher at Loughborough University has also found that aerobic exercise can help to suppress your appetite. Furthermore, getting active will help you to feel great about your body, and you wouldn't want to ruin all that hard work with a junk food binge now would you?

Just because you've decided to eat healthily, that doesn't mean you can never snack again. Rather than giving in to your junk food cravings, try experimenting with healthier alternatives, such as frozen yoghurt or sorbet instead of ice cream, seasoned popcorn rather than crisps and sweet potato wedges instead of fries.
 

If you're struggling to resist sugar cravings, try investing in a vanilla scented candle or air freshener for your home or wearing a vanilla scented perfume to curb cravings while on the go. A study at St George's hospital, south London, found that using vanilla-scented patches on the back of participants' hands significantly reduced their appetite for sweet foods and drinks. It is believed that this is because the smell of vanilla can help to suppress sweet cravings.

 

Research has found that eating carbohydrates such as pasta, bread and potatoes stimulates the production of the 'happy hormone' serotonin in the brain. This may explain why many of us crave these 'comfort' foods when we're feeling down. To cut your cravings, try to find healthier ways to give your serotonin levels a boost, such as meeting up with a friend, watching a comedy movie, taking part in an exercise session or smelling some uplifting essential oils such as neroli or lemon.

Just as many of us indulge in comfort eating when we're feeling down, stress can also be a powerful trigger for cravings. Research from the University of Cincinnati has shown that sodium in salt inhibits the body's stress hormones, meaning that cravings for salty foods could be your body's attempt to deal with stress. To overcome these cravings, try to avoid the things that cause you stress as much as you can and make relaxation a regular part of your routine. Find a healthier way to deal with stress when it occurs, such as working out, meditating or talking through your problems with a friend.

According to research results published in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, your environment can be a powerful trigger for food cravings. Maybe you associate going to the cinema with eating popcorn, for example, or watching your favourite TV show makes you reach for a snack. To banish habit-formed cravings, try to avoid the environments that trigger them. Take up a hobby that reduces your TV time, or walk a different route to work so as not to pass by your favourite coffee shop. By avoiding certain places or activities, you can help to kill those cravings.

While it may sound counterproductive, if your cravings are really getting on top of you, breakfast could be the perfect time to indulge. Researchers from Tel Aviv University found that participants who ate a 600-calorie breakfast which included dessert lost an average of 40lbs more than those who had a smaller 300-calorie one. This is thought to be because the metabolism is more efficient in the morning, and also because giving into cravings first thing can help to banish them for the rest of the day.

Researchers at the University of Chicago have found that not getting enough sleep affects our appetite-regulating hormones, meaning that we feel hungrier the next day and are also more likely to crave calorie-rich, high-carbohydrate foods. Not only that, lack of sleep decreases willpower, meaning that you are less likely to resist those cravings. To help reduce your cravings, make sure you get a minimum of seven hours of sleep a night.

And oh, one more thing, this all seems like complete common sense to me, but researchers discovered by looking at brain scans that simply showing test subjects pictures of yummy foods engaged the same parts of the brain associated with appetite and pleasure. Just looking at a photo was enough to ignite cravings and spark appetite.

That part seemed obvious to me- that looking at yummy pictures can make you feel like you 1.) are suddenly hungry and 2.) are suddenly hungry for what you are looking at!

The more interesting part of the study was that these bodily reactions are similar to those found in cocaine addicts, when they were presented with pictures of needles or their drug of choice. The cocaine addicts' brain regions lit up in the same manner as the people looking at pictures of super yummy foods. That's a bit scary isn't it? More evidence that sugar and fat can become addictive, just like drugs. It's the same way as looking at adult pictures that sets your mood and appetite for sex.

So guys, avoid looking at yummy pictures to control your cravings. That's it ! Happy Diet!