Taking on the right weight

The holidays must have added some more to our love handles. For Filipinos especially, food goes beyond the “eat to live” belief and leans more towards “live to eat.” I guess most of us are foodies and the exceptions are those who just eat to survive. That is possibly why our streets are filled with outlets of various types of street food, mostly grilled or boiled in high heat to bring out the juices from the bones.

But what do these things do to our bodies? For some health experts, they find grilled good healthier compared to fried ones but there is also the danger of ingesting the potentially cancer-causing compound called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heterocyclic amines (HCAs). The former is developed when fat drips on the hot coals and smokes the meat.  The HCAs likewise form when high heat is applied to red meat, poultry and fish when broiling so whether one uses charcoal or direct fire, the process is immaterial. The HCAs are bound to occur.

So how does one help himself reduce the risk of taking in toxins? Layering our stomach with fruits and vegetables is one advice before eating any grilled meat. A good green salad before the main course might be helpful.  

On choosing meat to grill, it would also be best to get what is lean. That would reduce the fatty leaks on the coal. And, let us not char our meat although I have to confess, I love charred so I am learning to change perspective. 

Grilling vegetables are the safest grill. And they can be treated in the same manner as meat. With just a dash of salt and pepper, the colorful veggies may come in flavorful. 

I also learned that marinades help reduce the HCAs by up to 99%. Another handy tip is to reduce your grilling time. Sometimes we just leave our meat on the grill as we chitchat. A few minutes to cook leave your food juicy and fresh. Better use thinner slices so you also grill faster and do not expose your meat longer to the heat. And one last lesson I learned in grilling is not to pierce the meat so that the fat dribbles to the coals. You know the reaction it brings already.

As the year begins, I have also made my decision to take care of what I put on. I have grown really heavy through the years, and I mean not just with food but with all the things that I have gathered. Excess stuff that clutter my closet, excess work that do not really need to be aplenty because WE CAN program our work to have bite size pieces each day and digest what is digestible. Oh yeah, we will get surprised when we begin or get organized and realize we spent a lot of time worrying about nothing.

And yes, I have to master the art of saying “No” politely so I do not load up the pressure on another and still be able to do what really matters. And with this, I am also evaluating my habits. Some are time wasters even if I make an excuse that they de-stress me.

And yes, we have to have more movement. I have noticed that a lot of our obesity concerns are due to the fact that we no longer move physically. We get stuck to our computers.  We feed our children computer games to shut them up from a tantrum rather than let them exercise their lungs and flail their legs and feet (which I realized is good exercise really), or converse with them to explain why the “we can’t do this because…”  Stuffing out kids with cellphone games and whatever form of gadget will just make them more anti-social and impatient. The speed of gratification they get is not true in the real world.

Let us resurrect the board games, where children can play monopoly, strategize, think and interact with other kids, face to face.  Let us play pico, sia-tong, dakpanay, bulan-bulan and tubig-tubig again or teach our children to do so.

Let us also take time to talk, have dates with family and friends, and choose the right use of our time. Let us not take on the excess weight we do not need, through unnecessary work worries, nega-laden friends, and wrong food choices.

Let us carry the right weigh and live the abundant life God has promised. One that starts with Him and ends with Him, for all of what we enjoy is a blessing.

Happy New Year everyone!