How Halloween Bitch-Slapped My Healthy Lifestyle

Photograph: They're coming to get youoooooooo... by Crystl

Today marks the 1st anniversary of my downward slide into healthy-diet demise. Yes, on Halloween 2006, I fell off the CR wagon for the first time, and it's been very difficult staying consistently on ever since.

How did I let it get so bad?!
From the beginning on February 8, 2006 until that point, I was so good, unwavering. I was a paragon of CRON in all ways, eating only 1500 calories max of good nutritious food each day, walking every afternoon down Corydon Avenue with its hot cafes and friendly people, and bouncing back to healthy habits quickly after binge events like Easter dinners and the kids' birthdays.

But Halloween was different. I really should've known that I was heading into dangerous territory, but no, I'd underestimated the evil sweetness and the destructive forces that were lying-in-wait to strike at the first moment of weakness.

And strike it did... and here's how...

My sweet tooth made me weak. Been the case since I was a little girl. That's why my family called me Candy, and why I named my blog Life Candy.
I can turn down a bag of salty chips or cheezies, but chocolate bars and cake, I just can't resist. It's an addiction not the best for little ol' insulin resistant me.
I was able to kick it last year but like all addictions, just a taste can suck you back in... and of course, you can't just stop at one.

A chain of high-cal events? Try bouncing back after that! One day of hi-cal eating barely registered a blip on my CRON radar... until Halloween. Why?
Well, right after Halloween, my roomie celebrated his birthday. Then 3 days later, my birthday hit. After that, just as I was climbing back onto the wagon, Christmas season started with many parties and their sweets-laden tables. Turkey, honey-glazed ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, chocolate confections, candy cane, Christmas pudding, and of course, egg nog.
Honestly, I had difficulty remember HOW to eat healthy after all that!

"Winter Hibernation" is the only name I have for it. You know, the minute the cold weather hits, we start reaching for the warm, stick-to-your-ribs, rich foods like stews, roasts and cream soups that help us add on that extra layer for winter. Like squirrels. Or bears.
I did just that... about the same time that I stopped going for my walks down Corydon. It was just too cold for this island girl. And I couldn't find a replacement activity that wouldn't incite my little ones to interrupt every 10 seconds.

What's the point? No one's going to see anyway. This was probably the lamest of all of my excuses. When I saw my body changing, I just covered up with sweaters and the ever-sexy parka. Did I look fat? Oh, no, that's just my long underwear! I stopped caring because no one was going to see me anyway. We women stop shaving our legs and getting pedicures for the winter because it's all covered up anyway. This is the same thing. Gah, how vain, eh?!
Health should've been the #1 priority, but it wasn't... Disgusting. I must've been drunk.

Anyway, here I am, a year later, faced with the same challenges. But now, I'm more aware. I'm hoping for the best but preparing for the worst. Maybe this time, good healthy habits will prevail. Wish me luck.

10 Tunes That Get Me Moving

"Senatus Populuseque Romanum;

This is your destiny...
Civilize and Order the World..."
~ Lyrics by J. Feldschmid, guitarist, The Contrast (1986)

I played bass guitar and sang backup in a new wave rock band called The Contrast.
My candy-apple red bass was almost as tall as me - I was a tiny little thing in my late teens - but I played it like an old pro. Whether it was a gig or rehearsals, I was popping, slapping and dancing. I brought the funk element to the group, and I loved it.
We wrote our own songs, a sampling of which you just read at the top of this post, and also covered songs by groups like The Cars, Simple Minds, and U2, back when they were still considered "alternative".

Music was my world back then. I almost ditched engineering school for rock stardom... a fact that would've given my parents palpitations had they know how close a decision that was.

The 80s was a glorious time in music. Pop, new wave, metal, rock, rap, punk, and even disco (no matter how much we denied it) were all well-represented and enjoyed by their different factions. And video gave everyone a new way to enjoy these different sounds. It was a time for trying new things, and kids rebelled not with bare-midriffs and guns, but with big hair and neon lipstick.

I was such a music snob back then. If it wasn't new wave, British, alternative, or some combination of the three, it was crap. Duran Duran, Depeche Mode, Devo, The Police, Howard Jones, Simple Minds, Alphaville, and Strange Advance could do no wrong... Remember them? These groups were always on my walkman! And the dancier the better... I definitely preferred the tunes that made me want to get up and dance.

Fast forward 20 years. My tastes have changed considerably, and now, as I simplify my music collection, I am stunned by the range of styles that joind my 80s favourites.
I found Santana, No Doubt, Aretha Franklin, Sade, and Black Eyed Peas. All good. Then there's Color Me Badd and Right Said Fred. What was I thinking?!

But the songs I still gravitated toward were dance tunes. That was the common denominator.

I've rifled through my shrinking collection for 10 tunes for a songlist for workouts or dancing to while I fix dinner. Keeping it to 10 was hard... maybe I'll make a second list soon.
Here are my first 10 in no special order...

1: Crazy in Love - Beyonce featuring Jay-Z
2: Hips Don't Lie - Shakira featuring Wyclef Jean
3: Into the Groove - Madonna (This was a hard choice... I wanted to add a lot of Madonna tunes...)
4: Pump It - Black Eyed Peas
5: Groove is in the Heart - Dee Lite
6: Shake your groove thing - Peaches & Herb
7: Hot in Herre - Nelly
8: Spybreak! - Propellerheads
9: Every Little Thing She Does is Magic - The Police
10: Wait a Minute - Pussy Cat Dolls featuring Timbaland

2 special mentions:
1: Magic Carpet Ride - Steppenwolf
2: Yo (Reggae Mix) - Chris Brown

Anything else I should add?

8 Things I Love About My Body

"My Body is a Temple" ~ Nenette Alejandria Mayor

I love my body, therefore, I practice CRON.

Many CRON detractors would consider that statement an outright lie. Why? Because these uninformed masses claim that CRON is an eating disorder, and an aspect of EDs is the hatred of one's body.

I love every inch of me, and because I do, I want to honour this Temple by eating vitamin-and-nutrient-packed foods in quantities that don't overload me or put stress on my system. And CRON is the scientifically proven way for me to keep this gorgeous body of mine for as long as possible.

So, in this day and age when talking about your own lovely bits could be considered gauche, conceited or offensively braggart, I throw caution and modesty to the wind and tell you the 8 things I love about my body. I will then tag 8 of my CRON bloggers to do the same.

And if you don't practice CRON, that's cool too. Please share your list of 8 Things. It can be anything about your body... from head to toe. Don't be modest! Everyone should have a healthy self-esteem. It may feel weird at first, but you'll be happy you did it. After I did my list, I loved myself even more! :)

So, do it! Be proud of who you are, take very good care of yourself, and love your body.

Okay, I love my...

1. short-waisted torso - it makes my legs look longer
2. breasts that after nursing babies for 5 years straight still have some buoyancy
3. skintone - aka the island-girl perma-tan... a friend once described me as "the girl with cafe au lait skin"
4. broad shoulders - kinda makes my head look small, but they look phenomenal when bare
5. thick black wavy hair, that at times has a mind of its own!
6. posture and how I carry my body, sometimes accident-prone but for the most part quite graceful
7. long piano-playing fingers which, although not used for piano-playing anymore, are great at typing out my thoughts at great speed
8. my lips - not too thin, not too Angelina Jolie, just right

Okay, your turn!

This post inspired by April's CR Blog post "I've Changed My Mind: I'm Ready For You This Time".

Raging Body Fat and a Broken Scale

[Note: This post contains some math which may be frightening to some readers. Reader discretion is advised. Unless you like math. Like me.]

I learned a couple of really disturbing things last week... I have 36% body fat, and my scale is off by 5 pounds.
Obviously, the body fat issue is the more serious problem, but I'm really quite distressed by my scale. I actually feel betrayed. I'm not really 121lbs, but 126lbs. Now, my next step is to decide what's more annoying, shelling over the extra $ for a new scale or adding 5lbs every time I weight myself.

Onward to the real trouble...

Yup, 36% of my body is fat... and you wouldn't know it just by looking at me. At 5'4" and 126lbs with a small-boned strawberry-shaped frame, it's very easy for me to camouflage any extra bulk.

And boy, have I ever added extra bulk... and in such a short amount of time at that!

Since October 1st, the day after my 20-year high school reunion weekend, I've not respected my Temple as I should. Not only have I not been CR-ing (reducing my calories), I've not been ON-ing (selecting nutrient-packed foods). Waffles with cream cheese, pasta with oily cheesy pesto sauce, and creamy cheesecake have passed my lips in quantities that would make a sumo rikishi faint.

So, have I hit rock bottom? With bad cholesterol levels and torso fat, this better be the lowest I go, because any lower and I'd be a walking heart attack. Heck, I could be a walking heart attack as we speak.

I know what I need to do. I've done it before. And thanks to the nature of CRON, everything I ate and did is well-documented. I just have to look at my records from last year when I was doing full-on CRON, and do that again... 1200-1500 calories, lots of fruits & veg, soups, lean proteins (mainly fish), fibre, water, green tea, calisthenics, yoga and hula. The good stuff.

I suspect I can lose a great deal without jeopardizing my health as long as I lose just fat, and to ensure that, I have to build/maintain lean muscle.

So, let's figure out what my goal weight could realistically be... (Hang on tight, here comes the math!)

According to the American Council on Exercise (couldn't find anything for Canada, except some beef cattle bodyfat tables... uh, no thanks...), healthy fit women should have about 21-24% body fat. So I need to go from 36% bodyfat to 24% bodyfat.

At 126lbs, I have...

126 x .36 = 45.36, or rounding down, 45 lbs of fat

which means I have ...

126 - 45 = 81 lbs of lean muscle mass

Now, if I want to decrease to 24% body fat but maintain the existing 81 lbs of lean mass...

36% - 24% = 12% fat
or
126 x .12 = 15.12 lbs of fat must be lost

So, the goal weight is (assuming my lean muscle stays at 81 lbs)...

126 - 15 = 111 lbs

Just in case my lean muscle goes up, I'll check my body fat again at 115-118 lbs... or 110-113 lbs on my traitorous scale.

Okay, that's all the math I needed to do. It's best that I stop now anyway. My roomie already called me a nerd for doing math on my blog in the first place.

Alright, this begins tomorrow... actually, it already started at lunch today... :)
Wish me luck!

"A chef, a sifu, and a writer walk into a bar..."

Sounds like the start of a joke, right? In actuality, this scenario could happen in my world... or more precisely, in my family.

The sifu, or teacher, is my cousin Michael, the youngest certified Wing Chun Do Gung-Fu blackbelt and master instructor who runs his own self defense club in Seattle. He's been in magazines and won awards too numerous for me to mention here, so check out his profile at http://www.i-selfdefense.com/ (his club's site - look under Instructors).
I can probably count on my fingers the number of times we've seen each other in person, but thanks to email, we've managed to bring the American northwest and Canadian prairies closer together and forged a bond I hold very dear.

The up-and-coming chef is our cousin Zandra, who promises to fatten me up with her tasty creations on my next visit to BC. Despite the 14 year age gap, she and I have a lot in common, among them, a warped sense of humour, the tendency to be a little accident-prone, and to this day, the ability to annoy our parents by doing the exact opposite of what's expected of us. More like a sister... or maybe partner-in-crime...

And yes, I'm the writer. Really.

Now, having a writer, a martial arts sifu, and chef in one family may not be all that unusual... unless you consider how incredibly Filipino-Catholic our family is. [Okay, insert broad-generalization disclaimer here... yes, there are exceptions to this "rule".]

"So, what's so special about being Filipino-Catholic?" you say.

Well, it carries a ton of meaning.  The "Catholic" bit alludes to the rule to obey our parents no matter how weird, illogical, or cockamaimey the suggestion.

The "Filipino" bit implies the unspoken expectation to choose from a very limited subset of acceptable careers. (Probably also true in other cultures, but I'm Filipino and this is my story.) If you weren't a doctor, nurse, engineer, accountant, dentist, or manager, your parents lost bragging rights in their tight-knit little hive. And it's your job as their child to protect these rights by conforming.  Oh, but when you don't conform, you've squandering the opportunity they've worked so hard to give you. Bad, bad anak!!! No deboo for you!

In all honesty, I can't completely fault our parents their lack of imagination narrowed focus. As immigrants in this golden land of "white people who talk so fast", those careers - icons of financial security, stability and social status unachievable back on the islands - were suddenly within arms reach.

To them, coming to Canada and the US meant giving their children the opportunity to pursue the dreams they themselves couldn't.

However, what they seem to miss is that we, the children, have taken their dreams one step further.  We've seen this as an opportunity to pursue not only those careers, but many others, to find our own way of making a contribution with our own talents and passions, not limited by any predefined guidelines.

Essentially, we've taken the ball and are running with it.

But, we are generally good kids, so many of us didn't walk the road less traveled at first.
Zandra tortured herself with a year of nursing school before following her dream and enrolling in culinary college.
And I myself was a miserable engineer for almost a decade, waking up each morning preferring to rip my arms off, blend them in a blender, then slather my whole body with the bits rather than go to work, before turning to the creative arts.

However, we have many cousins who chose their careers based on pleasing their parents first before pleasing their own souls, and they're still in that space. I hope they don't make themselves miserable.

Meanwhile, I'll be at the bar enjoying my non-alcoholic beverage sitting with the half-drunk chef with the long thick island-girl hair and the smiley, serene sifu built like a MACK truck. And there's always room at our table for more...

about me & this place.

Hi! My name is Nenette AM, but you can call me Nen. I'm a Canada-raised Filipina, mum, wife, lifestyle blogger, former hula instructor, and recovering engineer.

I love sci-fi, assorted sashimi, and soft hula sarongs. I loathe mosquitoes, -30C windchill, and the word "moist".

Want to know more? Here are 100 things.

I write...

• about life, food, design, eco-awareness, music, natural beauty, healthy living, celebrity stalking, and the occasional smattering of math to demonstrate that I'm more than just a mom -- while I talk about how adorable and funny my kids are.
• about all the sweet and wonderful things I've been doing to make my life better, stronger, faster. (Cue the Six Million Dollar Man theme.)
• to share stories of drunken debauchery innocent fun my funky girlfriends and I occasionally enjoy.
• to let my friends and family know that I'm still alive, and that I haven't eaten my children or left my husband for my pretend boyfriend Gerard Butler.

... and so much more!!!

I try to write almost everyday, but if I miss a day or two, it's because I think you need to do some work, read a book, or maybe go to the bathroom. But, mostly because of, you know, the whole 'Busy Mom' thing.

So, anyways, welcome to my little online home. Comment and/or email me -- I love getting both.

xo

the mob.

Roomie: (b. 1967) husband, roommate, love of my life, father of my children, cute Northern-European, brilliant scientist-guy
Lam: (b. 2002) son, clever brainiac, social butterfly, list-guy, gadget-fanatic, gamer, chocoholic, "LAM" are his initials
Mini: (b. 2004) daughter, "Mini-Me" only cuter and a little more Brit/Scot/Austrian/Dutch, artist, strawberry fanatic, dancer, collector of things fuzzy and stuffed
Mittens: (b. 2008) girlie cat, brown/black tabby, Mini's baby, loves peas & Roomie

other places I'm featured.

The Inside Scoop on Sweet, Sassy n' Sexy Nenette
- My friend and mom-of-4 Sareli Deraj interviews me on her blog SareliDerajBlog.

Shall We Dance?: Hula Dancing
- Carly Baillie interviews me as Director of the Makana Aloha Hula school for Flare Magazine.

Powerful Beauty with Nenette of LifeCandy
- My small contribution to the Powerful Beauty feature on my online buddy Jami's blog, Bionic Beauty.

the fine print.

I write a lot about my health and fitness journey. I also do A LOT of research - however, my background is in software design/engineering, not medicine. So, please be sure to see your health care professional before you try anything I'm trying for myself.

I also apologize for any overuse of the word "really".

credits.

Without these people, my blog would look entirely different...

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Hello in there... are you still hungry?

Today, I met my friend Myrtle and a very handsome young man for snack/coffee today.

I enjoy meeting up with Myrtle, and ever since this young man came into her life, we try to meet up often. We have similar views, similar approaches to things, and even a similar sense of humour, so we laugh together a lot. She understands me, so I feel comfortable bouncing ideas off her.
At best, I get suggestions that aren't too far out of my comfort zone that I can try out to solve some problem or dilemma.
At worst, I find out that she has the same problem or dilemma, and we both realize that we're both screwed! LOL :)

Case in point, today, as I mentioned, we met up for snack/coffee. Well, snack/coffee ended up being a omelette with salad (me) and sandwich with soup (Myrtle), and we topped both meals off with a cookie and fruit crumble, respectively.

Did we really need to consume all that?
We both agreed that we didn't, but consume we did without concern for "the limit".
I really should've been aware of my limit as I'd read just this morning Sara's post about judging her appetite and satiety signals. Gah! I should've known!

About a year ago, when I was a full-fledged moderate CRONie (for my new readers, that's the practice of reducing calories to only those that are optimally nutritious... basically, healthy eating, or what I like to call, the "stop eating crap" diet), I knew where "the limit" was. I could hear my body's satiety signals. Now, I just can't anymore. I lost the knack, the skill, the sense.

I, like Sara, will have to press the reset button and relearn my lost art.

Unfortunately, I've been really bad (some good days, but over all, just plain bad) these past few months - no, prepping for my high school reunion wasn't an effective motivator - and that means I may have to go through the type of detox I went through early on when I cut out all the sugar, high-GI, and other bad foods from my diet. The headaches, crankiness, aching limbs, and the desire to rip my arm off to hit myself with the wet end... lovely... I'm giddy with anticipation.

Myrtle said that maybe the pain will be enough to keep me on the wagon... Well, it didn't last time... here's hoping this time, it will... :)

Nenette Goes to her 20yr Reunion with a Mullet...

If I have any advice to give people today - and if you're over the age of 35, as I am, you should already know this anyway - it's this: DO NOT get a haircut 4 days before an important event!

Please, please for the love of Buddha, God and Ganesha, just don't do it!!!
I still can't believe I did! Gah!

Okay, the event was my 20yr High school reunion. About 2 weeks before, I realized that I really needed to get my hair cut. No manner of styling or expensive hair product could improve its crazy, frizzy, standing out-to-the-side look. So, I called my hairstylist, Jane.

Now, I don't trust anyone else with my hair except Jane. Her cuts have done the impossible: made my hair look good with very little styling and hair product for MONTHS after my cut. Good thing too because she's not exactly cheap!

So, anyway, I go to see her on the Tuesday. Because I've been so tired of the style I'd had for months (I was growing out a bad bob), I gave her free reign. "Do what you want", I said. I've never done that before. And I think I won't ever do that again.
She cut a LOT off. In the end, I looked like Joan Jett! The top is short and the sides and back are long, but thinned out.

It was fun for the first couple of days... then the novelty wore off.

Then it hit me... I HAVE A MULLET!!!

I'm not a Rock-N-Roll Mom -- I'm Island-Girl Mom!!!

And, OMG, this style is so HIGH-MAINTENANCE!!!
When I wake up, I look like I've been zapped... everything stands on end! I either have to wash my hair, shower, or heavily wet my hair to get it to calm down. Then if I can't make it behave, I pull out the Big Guns: clips, barrettes and headbands.

So, I spent my entire 3-day reunion weekend with my hair up to minimize the mulletesqueness. (No, that's not a word. I know.)

But the odd thing is that I got a ton of compliments on it! Totally unsolicited, I swear. People really liked the look. Weird.
I'm definitely growing it out... I won't be seeing Jane until she actually has something to work with to get me back to Island-Girl Hottieness (no, that's not a word either)... that should be around May of next year. She gave me a great Island-Girl cut last year... I'll ask for that again.

Anyway, the reunion went well, and I enjoyed seeing my old friends. I like having my hair up, and I have re-learned a lesson... Don't get my hair cut 4 days before an event.

Meanwhile, here are some pictures of me with my new 'do, up and down... lemme know what you think...

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's Thanksgiving Weekend here in Canada, and I'm thinking of the dinner I will be serving my family tonight. Since it's just immediate family, I don't have to make anything big and elaborate, nor do I have to clean up. My favourite kind of celebration!
And because the dinner will be very easy to make, I can spend most of my day hanging out with my family and doing some work on two of my blogs.

I'll be making glazed ham (my mom's recipe, and when this thing starts roasting, the smell in the house reminds me of Christmas... she only made it during Christmas), steamed broccoli, roasted root veggies, and one of my guilty pleasures (no, not Gerry Butler), garlic fried rice.
Not very CRON, but I'll make up for it. :)

It's been a great year, and we have a lot to be thankful for... health, love of family, many good friends, exciting projects, security, and good fortune.

What are you thankful for?

blogs I like & so should you

These are the blogs/links I love. Proceed with caution... visit them once, and you'll be hooked too. :)

Bionic Beauty
The Bloggess
Cheaper Than Therapy
Daily*Quel
Fun N Family

Harmzie's Way
In Mind's Zen Garden
Karen Cheng's Snippets of Life
Keep Up with Me
LOVE and LIFE

markbanaag.art
My CR Experiment
Mythbuster Beauty
Paul Johns
S Studio by Shai Coggins

Still Life with Wyliekat
Taste Memory
The Coffeeholic Bride - About Life and Things
Urban Wallflower
Vively Online

xkcd

"You've no idea how many men I've had to sleep with to win this." -- Kim Cattrall

Big "thank you" hugs to Laura of Buttons and Ribbons for this fab Lemonade Stand Award. You rock!



A great big THANK YOU to the lovely Lisa of Retro Housewife Goes Green for including me in her list of lovely new-found blogs. Look at me! I'm lovely! :)


Thank you so much to my longtime online buddy and fellow-Scorpie, Kyooty, for this awesome Blogger Friendship Award! She truly rocks, and I'm so honoured that she thinks I do too. :)


Thanks to my RL friend Su of Vively Online who gave me a Sisterhood Award. Su and I have been "sisters" for ages -- way back to our engineering days programming and load-building. She is truly awesome!


"Loved the name of the blog, love the gal behind the blog- Nenette. I enjoy her posts, they make me laugh, ponder, and discuss (probably sometimes babbling my husband’s ear off)." Thanks again to my bloggerina buddy Jami for this gorgeous Blog Star Award.


Thank you so much to my beautiful fellow-nerd bloggy buddy Jami at Bionic Beauty in 2008 for my very first ever award nominations!


~~~~~
I totally ripped the format of this awards page off Musingwoman's most awesome In Three Words blog award page. Still hoping and awaiting her return!

Books I Love...

Books are lovely... but some truly suck. These listed here do not suck. They are a jumble of my favourite erotica, romantic-fiction, health/diet/nutrition, simple-living, and green-living books. I love reading and learning, so this list will continually grow. Be sure to come back and see what I've added.

Just click on a book, and it'll take you to its Amazon.com page.

Check these babies out. I highly recommend them...