Waking Up Early is Making Us Fat

Waking Up Early Is Making Us Fat! This startling headline in the papers screamed out at me and caught my attention immediately.

Those who follow this blog will know that I obsess over my weight a lot. Not that I am really fat but I am very mindful of the bulging waistline and fighting what seems most time to be a losing battle of the bulges.

So the article was a real eye opener.. Just look at what the researchers have to say:

- “…….metabolic chaos: glucose spiked to levels that could, over time, trigger diabetes, while energy expenditure slumped to the point where subjects would have gained up to 13 pounds in a year.”

- “Sleep loss, says Buxton, triggers a feedback loop that “makes people prefer processed and sugary foods over fruit and vegetables, while leaving them with less energy to exercise.”
Reading it, I now have the answers to why I am losing the battle

1. I am waking up too early especially on weekends when I set my alarm to go off at ungodly hours just to go for the long runs.

2. No wonder my body has been resisting the idea of waking up early. Our God created body is not just a piece of miracle, it is also the best physician and it knows that waking up early is bad for the body. So now I know why I loves to sleep so much ~ cause its good for my body

I going to sleep now. And don’t wake me up please. Thank you arigato.

Woodcutter Trail no more?

Recently I posted a trail run at the infamous Woodcutter Trail. Subsequently I got a message from somebody who tipped me off that the Nparks had started to clamp down on "illegal" entry into the reserve where the Woodcutter Trails is located. 

How true was the above? A quick dug by another friend soon confirmed the worst fear. Indeed Nparks had clamped down on entry into the trails, put up new signages and even fined bikers! Some bikers even had a dialogue with Nparks, Nature Society and other related parties to break the impasse but it seems like it was no good. 

So Woodcutter and even Butterfly and Scorpion Trail is now out of bound to everybody. After so many years, why did Nparks suddenly decided to enforce the "rules"?  To me it was deja-vu all over again.   

A few years ago, runners could run from MacRitchie Reservoir to Upper Peirce Reservoir via what was known as Killer Hill and the SICC golf course. Then one day runners were disallowed ostensibly for their own "safety". It was a big shock to everybody since nobody had been injured by golf balls in the many years that they have been running that route. But what caused the closure was a group of gangster had went there and beaten up some golfers which prompted the SICC to take the action to close off the access. My post about this here.

So is it the same case with Woodcutters and the rest? Apparently, the real reason was that somebody who went there posted a photo of the helicopter landing site and that incurred the wrath of the SAF who pressured Nparks to keep bikers and hikers and runners out. Sighed!

So it all boils down to responsible usage of the facilities and not to abuse it. On my runs in the trails, I often see discarded isotonic drink bottles and gel packaging. These are items that must have been dumped by runners, hikers and bikers. Then there are damaged trails where bikers forced their way through to carve out "new routes". All of us as users of these facilities should and must learn to use the place responsibly and be accountable for our actions. If we do not collectively do this, we will soon find ourselves without a trail to run. Already there are many complaints from the public about the overcrowding at MacRitchie Reservoir and how runners are forcing hikers off the trail. If we don't moderate our behaviour, one day we may even find runners ban from MacRitchie as well. Let's hope that day will not happen!

New Items for Sale

Some housekeeping and some more stuff to clear.

2010 Singapore TNF 100 Challenge Event Tee $20

2011 Run & Raisin' Event Tee $10 (SOLD)

2012 The Republic Run Shoe Bag (2 pcs) $10 each

 2011 Yellow Ribbon Prison Run Shoe Bag $10

2012 Bali International Marathon Cap $10

From Zero to ????

I have this friend. One year ago, he could barely run 6km. Now, he is talking about completing the Ironman! In the space of a few short months, he has gone from a novice sportsman to a hard core fanatic triathlete. He  wakes up at 4 am to cycle, talked about open sea swimming and runs home from work. He goes overseas to cycle, run ........almost every weekend. 

I seen so many people like him. They started off tentatively and once they got hooked, they went to the extreme. They jumped from minimum mileage to super high mileage, think that they are invincible and refused to take a break. 

The saner one of us knows sooner or later they will get injure and burnout. But when we uncle who eat more salt than they eat rice try telling these young heroes to slow down and take a break, we are me with scorn and ridicule. People who are past their prime should just be seen and not heard. Sighed:( Guess we old fogeys better keep our mouth shut and just concentrate on our own stuff instead of being a kapoh.