Dieting Rule #1: Metabolism

One of the hardest and challenging step of weight loss is metabolism. There are 3 reasons why, and i will list them out here.

1. You need to eat.

Most people think just dieting alone will help them loose weight. Yes, there is truth to that. But, remember that one guy from season 1 of "Survivor?" He lost like 50lbs during the show because he was eating a whole lot less in that island. However, when the show ended and he went back home, the fat also came back. The reason is metabolism.

During winter, bears hibernate. They don't eat, and their bodies are able to adjust and lowers their metabolism to the point where they can survive. Our bodies do the exact same thing. If you stop eating or lower your calorie intake significantly - your body will react and lower the metabolism, thinking if it doesn't you will starve to death. This is why you need to eat. But there are tricks to how you need to eat.

• First, you need to eat 5 times a day. Breakfast, lunch, brunch, dinner, snack.
  
• Second, you need to eat small portions. THIS IS KEY. Whenever you eat more than your body can handle per sitting, all those extra calories go to fat.
  
• Third, you need to eat smart. Chicken breast and fish, instead of pizza and hamburgers.
  

I am a HUGE offender of this rule. I honestly don't follow any of it. And that is the reason I can't seem to trim the last 10lbs i want to get rid of. I eat maybe twice a day - and during lunch i eat a very large portion (which sums to the majority of my calorie intake in a day). I also love carbs (rice, noodles, bread, etc.) - so my diet stinks.

Don't get me wrong though - you can still loose weight with my bad habits, but the results won't be alarming. To top it off, you have a high risk of gaining all the weight back because of a slow metabolism. However, there is a cheat which i will list below.

2. You need to gain more muscle

Muscle burns more calories than fat. That's a given. The more muscles your body has, the more fat/calories you will burn in a day. Your body will also thank you by increasing the metabolism to a degree.

Doing cardio (running, bicycling, walking) is a great workout and helps your heart stay healthy. I am all for cardio. But what it doesn't do that well, is help you increase your muscle volume. And here comes the big shocker! The downfall of cardio only diet is that your body will stay healthy only as long as you keep doing cardio everyday. Whenever you stop, or take a few days off.. guess what? Your body will not have the required metabolism and will gain all that weight back.

So, along with a healthy cardio, you need to lift weights. If you don't have any weights, use your body! Situps, push ups, etc.

3. Genetics

Just like some kids are born into rich parents and have their whole futures laid out for them. Some people are just born with an instilled gene that keeps their metabolism high even without exercise.

Maybe one day in the future, we can create pills that changes our genes..

---

Anyways, i should probably start listening to my own advice. Eat smaller, more often, and get muscle!

Restaurant Review: Veronese Cafe

Veronese Cafe
419 W Commonwealth Ave
Fullerton, CA 92831
(714) 578-8265

Hours:
Mon-Sat 9:30 am - 12 am
Sun 12:30 pm - 12 am

If you are looking for something different than Starbucks or a nice dating spot, you should try Veronese. The main difference is the atmosphere. There are little fountains, lots of plants/trees, and plenty of seats for large parties. The drinks are well made, and they serve food (which i have yet to try). It's pretty quiet and unique.

There are two short comings with this place though.

1. Parking sucks. There are about a total of 8 parking spots behind the shop. If they are all taken you will have to park on the street, but it's only a 1 minute walk.

2. Service. Don't expect great service. Personally i haven't had any bad experiences, but i've heard some bad reviews on Yelp. My theory is, since the place is Korean owned, they are nicer to FOB's that speak fluent Korean. Most Koreans like to get their drinks and just talk with company and not be bothered by waitresses every few minutes - and they are probably used to that custom.

If you end up going, ordering a drink and receiving it shouldn't be a problem. Just make sure you go up to the counter to pay instead of flagging someone to bring you the check.

Why is growing hair so difficult?

So for the past 2.5 months i tried to grow my hair. Grow it long enough to do the whole FOB look. My hair is semi curly, so i was going to get a straight perm or magic straight done. When i went to the salon, i was advised against doing it, simply because i would have to redo it every other month and it costs $60 - $80 for guys. I hate the fact that my hair is so stubborn and short is pretty much the only thing it's good at.

Pretty much everyone i know has told me shorter hair looks better, or makes me look younger. I guess i should 포기 the long hair.

Movie Review: The Good The Bad The Weird

좋은놈 나쁜놈 이상한놈.

The movie is about 3 guys. A thief, a bounty hunter, and a murderer. All 3 of them are entangled in a drama over a treasure map. The setting is old western with a mix of early 1900 weapons and vehicles.

Lee Byun Hun and Jung Woo Sung star in this movie - and it's not often you find two very high paid actors in the same movie. Neither of them outshine each other - and it was a perfect balance.

The movie has many shooting scenes and abundant volume of chase action. Cinematography was really good, and some of the scene locations looked nice. But, the overall plot and drama didn't have any "umph". Most of the story was predictable. Worth watching at least once.

Rating: 7/10

Song of the Day: Huh Gak - Hello

After winning the Korean version of American Idol, Huh Gak finally released his first mini album. He has a great voice.. and the song suits him very well.

While we are on this subject.. anybody else think it was funny how John Park got voted off American Idol and ended up going all the way up to 2nd place in the Korean version of AI? I honestly don't think he sings that well.. anyways..

Rant: People who try to get pity attention

Ever since i was little i was taught a little secret about getting extra attention for myself. Pity. This can be used in a few different ways, but the general method is always the same. Act or exaggerate how sick or hurt you are. This is used in many different scenarios - the most prudent - is calling in sick for work when you are fully capable of finishing a shift.

Next is going MIA so that people start to worry about you. This works best after you made a mistake and need to apologize, but don't feel like being the instigator. So, you wait and expect others to approach you first to save face.

Lastly, (and this is by far the most annoying) is a method to get pity from people who live with you. It only works this way because you need to be in constant interaction. First, you need to act sick - and take unusually long naps. Stay in your room and come out only to use the restroom. When you do come out, you must make sure not to make eye contact or talk to anyone. If someone asks you a question, just grunt and act sick. If no one pays attention to you, you need to make your presence known by grunting and sigh'ing very loudly so that everyone can hear.

These methods do the following:

1. Make the other person worry
a. Did i do something wrong?
b. Why is he/she sick?
c. Did something happen?

2. You receive pity attention
a. If you are human, you will doubtfully wonder what the matter is
b. The other person becomes a priority in your daily thought process

3. You get what you want
a. Are you a parent, and your grown up kids are behaving? Act sick until you get the results you want. Then proceed to be miraculously cured. (F*** to any of you old timers that used this method)
b. You are a gf and want to play mind games with your bf. At the end, the bf is so worried he gets whatever you want.

To top it all off, you can call yourself a professional at using the pity attention method when you are able to be the one pissed off while using it. For example, you achieved the pity attention and you get people asking you if you are "ok". You respond by purposely acting pissed off and annoyed; when in reality you are happy inside that you are getting the attention. "Don't worry about me", "Get off my back" etc. What happens next is making the other person even more nervous and worried.

My mom's side of the family use the sick/pissed off tactic very often. I've had to live with it so long that i learned to just completely ignore them. Giving them any sort of pity attention will just encourage them. Generally what happens when i ignore them, is that they get infuriated that i don't give a crap. And my obvious response is that even if i did care, they would give me the cold shoulder tactic.

If someone tries to use this tactic on you, think carefully about how to respond. You may just have to balance the volume of attention you give - or else you can fall prey to a devious devourer.

Creating Korean Pancakes!

On a rainy day in Korea, you can ask just about anyone what they are craving to eat, and the answers will generally be the same.

"김치전, 양파전, etc."

It translates to Korean pancakes. There many different types of Korean pancakes, based on a single variable. Just like there are many different types of pizza based on toppings. There is seafood pancake, kimchi pancake, vegetable pancake, etc. Although my favorite is seafood pancake, the ingredients are not readily available. So i go to the next best thing, which is kimchi pancakes.

These pancakes go really well with soju, and it's a snack Koreans love to eat while drinking. Here is a quick and easy way to make some for yourself today!

What you'll need:

a. 1 cup of flour
b. 1/2 cup of water
c. 1/2 cup of kimchi
d. 1 egg
e. optional: frying mixture, and kimchi broth

First get the kimchi on a cutting board and dice it up. On a large mixing bowl, add the flour, kimchi broth (this is just the red juice in the kimchi container), water, egg, and the kimchi. The frying mix is optional because it's used for people who like their pancakes a little crunchy.

After you add everything, mix it together and you should get a nice thick layer of something like this:



Get a large frying pan and add a generous amount of cooking oil. You can make a large shape (as pictured below) or little shapes for individual sizes. Just make sure it's a thin layer.



After you took one, before you make another one - add more cooking oil. With the ingredients i listed above, you should be able to make 7 individual pancakes, or 2.5 large pancakes.



Enjoy! On a final note, you can be creative and add more ingredients like green onions or even beef.

King's Hawaiian Sweet Rolls

Simply put.. the most delicious rolls you will ever eat. I bought a bag of 12.. and they were gone by the next morning. I have James to thank for introducing me to this delicious piece of bread.

They might end up being my downfall.. considering each roll is 90 calories. 12x90=.. you do the math.. haha.

Quote of the Day: Eye for and eye

"An eye for an eye, leaves everyone blind."

Movie Review: Glove

There aren't that many movies that put little drops of tears in my eyes. Either i am getting old or being too emotional; but this movie was a pleasant surprise. I was looking at a list of torrents to DL and just happen to find this. The original trailer and posters didn't really seems appetizing. And how wrong i was..

Did you know there is love is baseball? Glove - G = Love. lol.

The synopsis of the movie is about a troublemaker pitcher in Korean baseball that is suspended for his violence. He goes to coach baseball at a school for deaf students to redeem his reputation.

There is a part in the movie at around 1 hour and 15 minutes where the coach gives an inspirational speech. That was the climax and the best part of the movie.

If you can read Korean, you can find the torrent @ 1004box.com

Rating: 9/10

Song of the Day; Yoon Jong Shin - Wedding Day

Not a fan of the melody or the singer. However, the lyrics of this song is amazing. 가사가 참 멎지다! If only Kim Bum Soo originally sang this... lol

몰랐었어
니가 그렇게 예쁜지 웨딩드레스
하얀 니 손엔 서글픈 부케
수줍은 듯한 네 미소
이해할께 너의 부모님 말씀은
지금 보니 니 옆에 그 사람은 널
아마 행복하게 해 줄거야
하지만 넌 잊을 수 있니
그 맹세
마지막을 함께 하자던
울었잖아 촛불을 켜고
무엇도 우릴 갈라놀 순 없다고

세상 그 누구보다 난 널 알잖아
순결한 너의 비밀 너의 꿈을
나를 보지마 지금 니 모습에~
우는 날~
난 지키고 있을께
촛불의 약속 괜찮아
너는 잠시 잊어도 돼
널 맡긴거야 이 세상은
잠시~ 뿐인걸

Song of the Day: Davichi - Don't Say Goodbye

I think Davichi is one of the best vocalist female group in Korea right now. Their harmony and unique voice is awesome. I can listen to this song all day.

You are NOT the father..

I watched "Bridesmaids" movie today and this clip from the Maury P. show was featured. Maury is a daytime talk show that basically calls in two adults and tries to figure out the paternity of their children. Most of the time, the guests act like bafoons.. for our enjoyment of course.

How to take great photos guide

I get so frustrated when looking at friends pictures when they post on Facebook and the image is either off centered, blurry, or too dark. To top it all off, it's not just one picture.. but an entire album full of crappy pics. You really don't need to be a professional to take decent pics to upload online. If you like taking photos, taking a few minutes to learn how to take them in the first place should be a priority.

Just cuz you have the tools to build a house, it doesn't mean you can just build it. Maybe you can half ass it, but it will look like shit. You need to learn how to do it properly so that the end result will be a beautiful house. Photos are the same. It doesn't matter if you are using a point and shoot digicam, 35mm, DSLR, or even a camera phone - there are always 6 things to remember. The following is like the rules of photography and you should memorize it. I am not a professional, so take this guide with a grain of salt.

Click here to read the guide

Movie Review: Sunny 써니

This movie was well received in Korea. It recently came out on DVD and i was able to get a copy. It's pretty good, it's funny and sad.. then funny and sad again.

The story is about 7 girls and their lives during High School during the 60's 70's. The movie crosses during the present and the past, and shows their memories through the protagonist Nami.

Overall it's a great movie, and i thought the flow was well balanced.

Rating: 8.9/10

Song of the Day: Boom's Back

If you don't know Boom, then this video will probably not interest you. Boom is a comedian that just made a come back after serving 2 years in the army. He does a few interesting dance moves. The song sucks, but his pretty funny.

Labor Day Weekend & SOTD: Kara - Step

Hope most of you had a safe Labor Day weekend. Mine was really good as i was able to reconnect with a few friends that i haven't seen in almost 5 years. We were all really close during my prime, and we had some crazy times together. There was a LOT of eating this weekend (Thai Food, Yogurt Land, Steak, Hot Dogs, chips, beer, more chips, more beer, etc.) - my body is telling me i need to go work out pronto.

In other news, Kara has made a comeback with their new song "Step". I'm not really sure about the whole "Step it Up" motto though.. considering it was obviously a reference to the movie Step it Up - and the way they say it sounds funny. Anyways, enjoy the video, they do a booty dance.

Song of the Day: G.Na Banana

Catchy.. Banana Banana Banana Banana Banana Banana Banana Banana Banana Banana ..

Not sure about the 2nd song.. it starts out, "Be on top".. and i'm not sure if that's just idiotic Konglish or trying to slyly add some sexual ideas to the song.



On a side note, i met up some friends and ended up drinking two bottles of Johnny Walker blue and woke up without a hangover. The joys of super expensive alcohol.. lol