Category: Natsuko’s Blog

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This is How I learned How to Read in English

I read books a lot to the point one could call me a bookworm, but I was not always like this. When I came to Canada, I could not read books in English. I always liked reading from my childhood. Reading is one of my favorite way of passing the time, so I often stayed in my parent’s library room and read books. After moving to North America, I felt there was an empty hole growing me. I was so depressed that I visited the doctor. Initially, my doctor thought I became depressed due to rapid environmental changes. It was not like I was always depressed like this. It is not uncommon for a foreigner to become homesick and depressed. One day, we were talking about what activities I enjoy. I told her that I love going to places, experiencing new things, discussing an exciting subject with people, playing the piano, then reading. When I was talking about piano and reading, I started to cry. I realized that I substantially lost reading time. That day, I determined to learn to read in English. I began to read every day. Surprisingly, learning to read English books worked because I no longer felt melancholy.

I think most people can learn to read in a Foreign language at some level. Japanese students study English for six years. We aimed at approximately 7-8th grade level English after high school. There may be some natural aptitude for acquiring foreign languages, but people tend to develop foreign language skills in extreme situations. Later, I met some international students who had recently arrived in Canada. They read English books very well. There was a common trait among them. They seem to put themselves in an environment that they read English books before visiting Canada. Acquiring foreign languages can be done by adding little habits and tricks you can do every day.

A Habit of Checking Unknown Words

It is essential to look up the word you do not know. I do not always memorize the words, but you will eventually start to know them. I always look up unknown words, so I used to carry around a dictionary with me all the time. It was heavy, so I bought a tiny pocket-size Oxford dictionary to carry around. Since it was a pocket-sized dictionary, it contains fewer words with more simple definitions to understand than a full-sized one. So I ended up with few words I did not understand very well. This process can slow your reading, but it helped me gain vocabulary. Don’t overwhelm yourself, though. Some reading devices such as Kindle have a dictionary function. Now I read most of my books on Kindle because it is convenient. I downloaded an oxford dictionary onto my Kindle. Now I can highlight the word I want to look up with my finger, and Kindle will bring up the definition from the oxford dictionary. The process of looking up words is no longer a pain since I started using Kindle.

A Habit of Reading Every Day

Reading, in general, helps you to gain more vocabulary and reading skills. I felt the process of input and analysis becomes more efficient over time. The more books you read, the faster the reading becomes. I stopped voicing while I read in my early elementary years. It took me a little longer in English because I was constantly translating in Japanese first. Eventually, I stopped translating into Japanese. At this level, you are no longer thinking in your native tongue while you are reading. Then, naturally, you also stop voicing in your head.

Read a Book or Articles You are Familiar with

Read Something You Already Know or Materials that Interest you greatly. I started reading stories that I read in Japanese a long time ago. It is even better if you are interested in the material. Depending on your native tongue, the English can be drastically different. At least it was for me as English letters are quite other from Japanese letters. It can be overwhelming. I started reading something like “The Little House in the Prairies,” “Anne of the Green Gables,” or “Daddy-Long-Legs.” Something I read when I was young and loved reading.

It does not have to be a book either. I know a lady who loves Japanese manga so much that she learned Japanese by reading Japanese Mangas. When I was playing the League of Legends, I saw foreign people playing on the American Server. Some of them learned not only to read English from the game but also communicating in English. People tend to forget the pain of learning when they do something they want to learn. During my 1st through 3rd years in elementary school, we did not have access to the school library. Instead, we got 40-50 books in the classroom. Those books rotated every month or so. Not every kid was interested in reading. So my teacher in early elementary school would read a book and explained the book’s background to us. The book would no longer be available for few weeks because even kids who did not even touch a single book wanted to read the book. My second-grade teacher was such a good book reader. I bet she piqued many children’s interest in reading. It seems the sense of familiarity and interests removes obstacles to learning new.

You can use other media to gain familiarity. There will always be books that you want to read, but you have never read a book. Some books turned into movies. You can gain familiarity by watching a movie before reading the book. I used this technique for reading “Shogun” or “Gone with the Wind.” All Japanese school students must study ancient Chinese or ancient Japanese literature as a part of a Japanese class. I read comics books or books written in the modern language before I read in ancient languages. There is nothing wrong with those reading materials. The problem was the content of the sentence might transform into something different when you combine the translation of too many words with multiple meanings. Creating a sentence becomes building a puzzle from many pieces. Sometimes, this process does not work smoothly, and the sentence becomes a Frankenstein or Chimera. But, reading manga or movies of the material ahead of time can remove these problems as you can guess the correct meaning much easier since you understand the context.

Start With Books or Articles with Fewer Words

I started reading short stories for children because books written for adults were too challenging for me to read. I always love reading books written by Hemingway, E.M.Forster, or Tolstoy. At first, I started reading Anna Karenina, and I had to stop. It was too long; therefore, the content did not get into my head even after reading the book in Japanese. The reading experience was nothing but frustration. The first English book I read was “Anne of the Green Gables.” I was in Canada, and it was convenient. I even went the Prince Edward Island after I completed reading the books.

Summarizing What You Read 

Summarizing what I read helped me understand the topic better and improved my English reading comprehension skills. According to Mason and Krashen (1997), the Japanese students who summarized the English books after reading improved their English more than students who did not (p. 91). When I find an exciting part of a book, I highlight and add notes. I also try to summarize the point in my own words. Kindle is also convenient for highlighting and adding notes. Those notes are lovely as I can go through notes after reading. If I could not understand my notes, I reread the section and rewrite my notes. Since you cannot rephrase something you cannot understand, this will exercise active reading. Additionally, you also learn to articulate what you read differently, enabling you to learn English at a higher level.

The Day You Meet the Book

I read Helen Keller felt like she was struck by a bolt of lightning when she started to understand a word means something. One day, I truly enjoyed reading English Books. I still remember completing a book, “The Watcher” from Dean Koontz, within several hours. The book was so engaging that the book consumed me. I even forgot I was reading in English. Since that day, I no longer felt overwhelmed by any books I read. 

Learning to read a foreign language can be a slow process, but I have benefited from this skill. I can read many books written in English. Many books are translated into English before any other language. Many major academic papers are also published in English. It helps me when I need to research for work or casual writing. 

It is possible to learn to read in a Foreign language. Learning to read a foreign language can be accomplished by adding a few small reading habits and easy materials you are familiar with or interested in. Look up words and summarize what you read. The process becomes less painful if you use Kindle. As long as you must maintain the habit, you will become a good English Reader.

Reference

Mason, B., & Krashen, S. (1997). Extensive reading in English as a foreign language. System, 25(1), 91–102. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0346-251X(96)00063-2

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Losing Weight Challenge #2: Struggling with Antibiotics Effects and Eating Out

Mill Creek Park Greenway, TN

Background

To improve my physical and mental condition, I decided to work on changing my habits for good. Initially, I started with only 45 minutes of Zumba 5 days per week with no food or calorie restrictions. For monitoring purposes, I did weigh almost every day, first thing in the morning. Then, I gradually added minor changes to my daily life. I started a sleep goal of 8 hours per night after the 1st week. My goal is to be in bed by 9:30 pm, hoping to be asleep by 10:00 pm every day. At approximately the same time, I introduced a 2-minute meditation before going to bed. I lost 3.7 lb. from this 4-week schedule. 

Unfortunately, two days before ending this round, I had to start taking antibiotics for a day of surgery. I was still exercising a day before surgery, but I decided to push out the starting day for the 2nd round of the 4-week challenge for five days. Thanks to my lifestyle change, antibiotics and day surgery did not cause me to gain weight five months ago.

The Effects of Antibiotics

I had to take antibiotics for ten days for this surgery. I noticed that I had significant decreases in the amount of weight lost per day. For example, I lost only 0.1lb for the first 5days of the 1st week despite the exercise increase. It was not surprising since antibiotics can kill good microbes along with unwanted microbes. According to Cox et al. (2014), taking antibiotics can alter the metabolism of the host. A study found that that metabolic alteration occurred in mice taking a low-doses of penicillin. Mice taking a low dose of penicillin from youth had sustained effects on the body compositions. Low-dose penicillin strengthens the negative impact of high-fat diet-induced obesity because it disrupted the microbiota of mice (p. 705). I have been eating more fermented foods and taking some probiotics. I am not sure how long it will take me to regain all the microbes I lost.

While I was in better shape than the last operation several months ago, I also experienced difficulties falling asleep. 

Loss of sleep due to antibiotics

I had a sleep problem despite the antibiotics not listing Insomnia as a side effect. The sleeping problem, which started a few days after taking antibiotics, lasted about two weeks. I began to see issues arising from not sleeping well. For example, I was not performing well in the Zumba game. I felt tired when I woke up with inadequate energy. I struggled in completing my daily to-do list. I craved pasta and rice.

Eating Out

We took out food from a restaurant nearby our house because we just completed a project in the front yard. Alas, I gained just over 2.5lb from the Gyro platter. It may be a little too salty, but I had to drink much more water to get rid of the extra salt I introduced to my body. Although the biggest problem was not because I ate the Gyro platter, I kept eating even though I was already feeling full in the middle of it. There is nothing wrong with eating out or eating the delicious gyro platter. Instead, I need to think about why I kept eating it.

It took me approximately nine days to get rid of most of the weight. I noticed all this effect because I measured my weight every day. I realized how essential to weigh myself so that I can see the pattern of my weight movement. I am not that proud of this incident; however, I learned something from this incident. I need to listen to my body.

My struggle in losing weight continues until the mid-week of the second week. I was kind of desperate since I gained weight from the Gyro platter I ate. I start losing weight again. It sucked to lose my good gut microbes to die out from antibiotics, but so did the harmful microbes, too. I need to regain good microbes and nurture them by eating prebiotics such as pistachios and cabbages. When I talk like this, my husband makes a joke that I am talking about my gut microbes as if I have pets. 

For the 2nd round, I planned to add more aerobics time, and I take a course, “Designing Your Personal Weight Loss Plan,” from Coursera during this round. Since I took the first few weeks of the course, I knew this course was worth taking. I started taking this course in 2020, but I stopped after a few weeks due to priority changes. This time, I somehow felt I needed to prioritize taking this course because I felt the need for some guidance from a professional. Some content of this course is outdated. For example, the recommended tools for food journaling or planning meals are no longer usable. However, there were several tips, articles, and good books suggested in the classes. You can take it free from Coursera, and I recommend it.

There is a lot more content in this course, but I have summarized some things that inspired me:

  • Exercising: You will need to exercise at least 150 active minutes per week to lose weight. You can double count high-intensity exercise minutes. Some watches such as Fitbit can count active minutes.
  • Planning for Eating Out: When you plan to eat out or party, you can reduce calories 100-150 calories per day three days before eating out or adding 10-15 minutes of additional exercise. You can also take a smaller portion at the party so that you do not overeat.
  • Monitoring: Monitoring weight, calorie intake, and calorie output are essential because we can see the pattern in our weight movement. We must continue monitoring these data. According to Thomas et al. (2014), those who maintained the behavioral changes could sustain their weight loss, while many others gain back weight after the weight loss program (pp. 17-18). 
  • Mindful Eating: Instead of depriving you of eating something you like, eat mindfully. According to Dahl (May 16, 2014), you will crave more by trying to suppress eating. The research shows that parents who enforce stringent eating rules tend to become overweight because they eat more when they can (para. 10). Instead, eat anything you want to eat, but eat mindfully.

With a bit of professional guidance, I made some changes in my strategies for losing weight. I added all conditions from the first challenges. Still, I implemented other habits: a calorie intake restriction of 1,500 calories per day, food journaling, and ring-fit adventure (switch game) as a tool for muscle exercise. I added a 60-minute Zumba workout for the 2nd and 3rd week.

Summary of My Tactics

  • 45 Minutes of Zumba 5 times a day 
  • Weighing every day
  • Aiming for an 8-hour sleep
  • Drinking at least 80 oz of water per day 
  • 2 minutes of meditation per day

Added:

  • Food restriction 1,500 calories per day
  • One additional session of 45 minutes of Zumba per week
  • One 60-minute of Zumba on 2nd and 3rd weekends started ring fit adventure one mission per day for three days per week.
  • Food Journaling

I should be mindful of increasing the amount of exercise. Since I was doing Zumba every day, I started to develop leg pain. I took a day off from the Zumba session. Instead, my husband and I went for a nice long walk at a nearby park. The air was fresh, and I smelled the scent of nature. Listening to birds singing or trees swaying in the wind made me feel comfortable and relaxed. I slept so well that night.

I started losing weight again at the beginning of the 2nd week. It took me over a week to lose the 2.5 lbs. I just gained from the Gyro Platter, but by the end of the 4th week, I lost an additional 2.5 lb. I lost 2.3 lb. of fat, and I gained 0.2 lb. of muscle mass. Although I lost 5 lbs. in total, 2.5 lb. out of 5 lb. was the weight I regained. The result is not as exciting, but I lost weight. I am sure I can do better next time. 

I am considering reading a book, “Mindful Eating,” which was introduced by the Coursera course I took. I am considering implementing some Yoga next challenge. I also want to explore parks around Nashville going forward. The important thing is making small changes that I can sustain. That is what the Japanese believe as a Kaizen.

References

Cox, L. M., Yamanishi, S., Sohn, J., Alekseyenko, A. V., Leung, J. M., Cho, I., Kim, S. G., Li, H., Gao, Z., Mahana, D., Zárate Rodriguez, J. G., Rogers, A. B., Robine, N., Loke, P., & Blaser, M. J. (2014). Altering the Intestinal Microbiota during a Critical Developmental Window Has Lasting Metabolic Consequences. Cell, 158(4), 705–721. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2014.05.052

Dahl, M. (2014, May 16). A Non-Diet Diet: The Case for Eating Whatever You Want. The Cut. https://www.thecut.com/2014/05/non-diet-diet.html

Thomas, J. G., Bond, D. S., Phelan, S., Hill, J. O., & Wing, R. R. (2014). Weight-Loss Maintenance for 10 Years in the National Weight Control Registry. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 46(1), 17–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2013.08.019

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Take it Slow: Struggles of Picking up Piano After a Long Time Not Playing the Piano

In 2017, my parents-in-law and husband gifted me a piano because I had been sad about my broken keyboard. I had played the piano since I was three years old. I stopped practicing the piano when I moved to Canada. I was traveling for work, and I had simply other priorities. Although, I had a keyboard. As the keyboard was not full size, I could not play certain piano pieces. Playing the keyboard was so different from playing the piano. The keyboard broke ten years ago, and I stopped playing the piano entirely. With great excitement, I opened a box of my piano books that I brought from Japan and Canada as soon as the piano delivery guys left our house.

Struggles

I tried playing some piano pieces I used to play when I was young. I noticed some problems, which made me think that I could not play these piano pieces. 

I remember the notes, but I lost endurance. For example, I tried to play Beethoven’s piano sonata, No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2, commonly known as Moonlight Sonata. I could not play the third movement in one go because I had no endurance. I was so tired after 2-3 pages into the part, and I could not move my fingers anymore.

I tried to play Partita #2 from Bach. I could not play a trill with my left 4th and 5th fingers’ at the 5th measure of the sinfonia. I could not perform the trill because I could not move my 4th and 5th left-hand fingers independently from the rest of my fingers. Then, I tried to play one of Bach’s sinfonia, the three-part inventions. I still felt that I did not have complete control of all my fingers. With frustration, I told my husband Bach would cry if he heard how I play his music. He laughed.

My music seems to have lost dynamics. A piece of music without dynamic is like listening to static sounds from an analog television when there is no transmission. I played the Waltz in D-flat major, Op. 64, No. 1, which is a short waltz from Chopin. The first section of the music is fast and very lively. I remember that my Piano teacher told me Chopin composed from seeing a puppy chasing after his tail. I put all my concentration on the movement of the fingers; I could not focus on the dynamic of the music. Therefore, instead of a livery puppy chasing after his tail, it was a picture of a puppy standing still motionless.

I will be lying if I said I was ok with this. I was utterly disappointed with my piano playing initially. But it is not all bad. I still remember some of the music. I need to work on my finger movement. I need to drop few levels, and I rebuild my skill level slowly. After all, I have all the time to practice piano as long as I don’t stop. Well, I had some initial disappointment with my piano playing, but I had no desire to quit relearning piano. I was very adamant about some of the music I wanted to play in the future.

I think anyone can learn to play piano at a later age if they put their minds to it. It can take longer if you pick up the piano piece with much more significant difficulty than your current abilities. Some people managed to do that, too. Recently, I watched a YouTube about a Japanese 52-year-old fisherman who started to play Liszt’s La Campanella (NHK, 2028, July 28). The crazy thing about this was that he did not even know how to read any musical score. He practiced the piano piece for 8 hours every day for seven years. To commit yourself to that level of dedication, you should possess a particular personality. You should not feel bad for not being able to put the story of extraordinary commitment. His case is rare. Although, anyone can play the piano. It would be best if you took it slowly and tactically. If you are adamant about getting into the piano as I did, you need to do the following: (1) assesses your personality; (2) Define your goals; (3) build the tactic; (4) identify potential obstacles and how to overcome the obstacles; and finally, you must understand that the process to achieve goals can be a long process.

Assessing Your Personality

It is crucial to assess your personality before building your goals or tactics. Everyone is different. Just like the Japanese fisherman, some can work toward a significant challenge despite skill gaps. I do not have that type of personality; therefore, I had to build and approach my goals differently. I like my plans to be short-term and just slightly beyond my current skill. I learned this technique from reading Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s book, Flow. Csikszentmihalyi (1990) explains that we must set our goals within our reach. If your goal is too far beyond your reach, you grow resentful or resign from achieving the goals. The research suggests most of us struggle with the vicious cycles of failures, leading to dissatisfaction. Unless you are in good condition, struggling to meet your basic human needs, we desire a sense of well-being. People gain satisfaction from achieving even partial goals, which leads to improving our quality of life. Why should we lower our quality of life? (pp. 8-10). This book was an eye-opener for me. I could make some big goals in the long run, but I make small goals to achieve larger goals. I feel fabulous even if the goal achieved is insignificant compared to the larger goals I created. I am making some progress toward my larger goals.

Overcoming the Rocks

Endurance

In 2017, I noticed I felt some muscle pains from playing the piano. I also noticed I felt discomfort from playing the piano for hours. Since I was not sure how much practice I could do, I took it very slowly. I started to practice whenever I had time between my other tasks. I began with practicing for only a few minutes, but I played the piano every day. I started losing track of my time during each practice. I noticed I was practicing for over one hour, and I did not even realize it. Playing piano was no longer painful.

Difficulty Level

I must drop the level of difficulty. Practicing piano music I played when I was young helps me to remember some of my problems. I dropped to Royal Conservatory level 8. I bought Royal Conservatory level 8books from Amazon. At least, I can still sight-read most of the songs at this level. It takes me approximately two weeks to memorize a 2-3 page piece. I found out my capacity by playing random piano pieces in 2017.

Finger Exercise

It took few years, but I felt ready to take my piano to the next level, which involved practicing piano the way my piano teacher showed me. I decided to work on my fingers’ agility, flexibility, strength, and endurance to fix my problems. Hanon is an excellent material to work on my stiff 4th and 5th fingers. I am currently using Hanon, Czerny, and Dohnanyi. Czerny is more melodic than Hanon, and I like it better for that reason. Dohnanyi is a good finger exercise. I struggled with playing Dohnanyi. I remember it was difficult when I was a child. I must put a lot of conscious effort into moving my fingers, even on simple exercises. The exercises wear me out considerably, and it can be pretty frustrating. My brain hardwires the movement. Eventually, my fingers will start to move. Dohnanyi teaches me how to play the piano properly.

Fear of many Flats and Sharps

I felt an illogical discomfort every time I play music with 4-5 flats or sharps, which I always had. When I was young, I got overwhelmed by music written in E major or C-sharp minor. To get rid of m illogical fear, my piano teacher made me practice Hanon no 1 to 20 in E major and C sharp repeatedly. I use the Brown Scale Book to practice scales, chords, and arpeggios, so I do not have to do any transposition of notes.

Use of Metronome to Start Slow

I use a metronome a lot. When I try to play faster than I comfortably can, I skip notes or hit the key with the wrong finger. So, I start slowly using metronome using correct fingering and dynamics until 1 or 2 levels above the recommended speed of the music. I practice a little section at a time because some areas require more attention than others.

Pedal Use

I do not use the pedal until I can play the music faster than its desired speed. Pedal-use masks my errors if I start using it in an earlier state. Then, I will learn the song improperly. It can be challenging to undo when you learned once. Sometimes these bad habits are persistent. When I was relearning inventions, I noticed the bad habits I developed in my teens. I remember my piano teacher pointing out those habits.

Compromise

Finally, I have to make a compromise regarding how much time I can spend practicing piano. I have full-time work. I have a family. There are other things I need to do besides playing the piano, which was my most significant obstacle to practicing piano. Fortunately, I live in an environment where I can play the piano early or late. I will jump on whenever I can make time. When I have only 30 minutes to play, I focus on the sections I need to learn after a bit of warm-up. It gets harder during weekdays, but I practice piano at least a little every day, so I do not feel guilty.

My Optimism & Future Playing List

I am currently relearning Bach’s 15 two-part inventions. I am relearning in the orders I once learned. I started mid-February this year, and I have memorized five as of the beginning of April. I expect it will take more time to relearn the 11th, 12th, and 15th inventions. At this level, I can insert some Sinfonias. My current goal is to complete the book by this fall. I am making progress with my practice slowly, but I do not mind at all. As long as I live and I have mobility, I can play the piano. The most important part is to embrace my progress, and I genuinely enjoy playing the piano again.

References

Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly. (1990). Flow. [Kindle edition]. HarperCollins e-books.

NHK. (2020, July 28), Ohayonihon [Video]. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7PoiaMsJ1s&ab_channel=NHK

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How to Make an Exercising Habit into a Long Term Commitment

There is an exercise that I always do, which is a Zumba game on my Switch Consol. Whenever I play this game, I want to keep doing it because I enjoy it. There is something I want to confess. I was never able to sustain my exercise habit in the past. I just did it because my parents wanted me to be active or to lose weight. So my exercise streaks come and go.

Sometimes, there are things we seem to fail at sustaining as our habits. Exercise is a common one. It is almost as if my brain is refusing to accept that I must exercise every day. Well, I thought I was too busy to exercise, but that was not entirely true. I was avoiding committing to regular exercise. It was much easier for me to see exercise as a temporary solution to make myself healthy or lose weight. I somehow managed to believe that I want to read or to learn other things instead of exercising. 

First, I thought easy access is one of the keys for me to getting into exercising habits. It is pretty interesting how the options for exercise have changed, and it is more accessible. My mother used to go to a regular aerobics class in a local community center when I was a kid. Now, there were many ways to get them Online such as YouTube or Amazon Prime. We can even do it from a console as one of a game.

Second, extreme weather can deter me from exercise. Running was another option for me when I was living in Canada or living on the west coast. Since I moved to Nashville, I realized that extreme weather could discourage me from running. I do not enjoy running in hot, humid weather. The last time I ran, I had no choice but to run in the early morning to avoid heat. Since it was hard to wake up early, this plan did not go well.

Finally, I also thought the exercise program must be something I enjoy doing. There is one exercise I keep coming back to even after I stop for a while. That was Zumba. I have first introduced to Zumba approximately 12-13 years ago from now. I like aerobics exercise, but I am not good at dancing. I was worried because I might feel embarrassed by dancing poorly. While I was a little embarrassed, I tried a Zumba class out of curiosity. The dance routine I like the most is the Zumba dance with Shakira’s Waka Waka. I loved the song, and I loved the dance Routine. Because of my work schedule, I could only attend few classes per week. I searched for Zumba on YouTube, and I was practicing the dance Routine when I missed the class. 

I decided to start Zumba again on my Switch Console because it seems to mitigate obstacles. Initially, getting a console was a reward for completing a university graduate program. Unfortunately, I missed purchasing it entirely since there was no console available at the store due to COVID-19. After completing one of my most significant projects at work, I still got the console at a little higher price than the retail price. I want to get back to exercise, and I want to do the exercise with something I will enjoy the most.

So we got the console. As soon as I downloaded Zumba, I tried a 30-minutes class. My first day of Zumba with my console did not sound like I initially thought since some Zumba songs were too intense for my cardio level. To complete the 30-minute Zumba Routines. I had to take a break after 15 minutes. I tried the next day, the same thing happened, but I could complete more songs from the same class. I finished off an entire 30-minute class in one go by the 4th day, and I accomplished a whole 30-minutes course by the beginning of the 3rd week. There was no problem in achieving a 60-minutes class by the end of the 3rd month. Cardio improves much faster than strength. 

I saw an immediate improvement in my resting heart rate. Due to lack of exercise and poor life habits, my resting heart rate was higher than it had formerly been and made me feel uneasy. There have been some gradual improvements in my sleep quality and energy level. Completing a class is an achievement that made me feel good. 

Learning dance and performance have positive impacts on our brain; according to Edwards (n.d.), learning and performing dance use many brain regions, including the motor cortex, somatosensory cortex, basal ganglia, and cerebellum. These brain regions are responsible for planning, executing voluntary movements, eye-hand coordination, and smoothly coordinating bodily motions (para. 3). Edwards (n.d.) also reported that learning and performing dance also improve mental health and our cognitive skills such as decision making and visual recognition (para. 6).

It has been several months since I started exercising with Zumba. I manage to do regular exercise with my busy schedule. I have not felt that my priority set for training should be lower than other activities because I started seeing other benefits than losing weight and lowering my heart rate. After several months of exercise, my job performance increased. Learning queries or new tax laws seemed much easier than before. I seem to memorize piano music much faster. In the book “SPARK,” Ratey & Hagerman (January 2008) suggested that exercise improves learning in multiple levels because it improves alertness, motivation, preparing nerve cells for learning, and developing new nerve cells (p. 53).

My real motivation for getting into exercise was because I was suffering from a leaky stomach problem. After investigating, I see exercise can be more than a temporary solution to my concerns, and I can also get so many additional benefits in the long term. So I pick the activities that can avoid many possible obstacles. I decided on the exercise program I enjoy. Even though I enjoy doing Zumba, I still could not complete an entire Zumba class when I started. I had to start slowly. I keep doing it because I enjoy doing so. Now I can complete a 60-minutes game. Several months have passed, and I feel I gained so many benefits other than losing weight from the exercise.

References

Edwards, S. (n.d.). Dancing and the Brain. Retrieved April 6, 2021, from https://hms.harvard.edu/news-events/publications-archive/brain/dancing-brain

Ratey, J., & Hagerman E. (2008). Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain [Kindle Edition]. Hachette Book Group.

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The Reasons Why I Started Making Homemade Yogurt

I have a story that starts after a few weeks after the last day of taking antibiotics. I woke up in the middle of the night from stomach pain. I had been suffering from a leaky stomach problem from antibiotics for days. Since I do not usually take medication, my stomach got surprised by the sudden intruders. The pain the night was so bad that I could not sleep at all the rest of the night. I was so sick until the following morning that I ended up taking a sick day the next day. That was my first sick day in the last ten years. 

Deep in my heart, I do know that this was caused by more than just antibiotics because I was having mild symptoms of a leaky stomach for the last few months. I hypothesized that my stomach problem is due to my recent poor lifestyle. 

To find a lasting solution, I started identifying any unpleasant symptoms I have. Then, I was trying to identify the possible root cause of the symptoms. Then, I grouped any symptoms that appear to share the same root course. For example, I have not had any single days off for five months due to two major work projects I was leading. Then, I was trying to remember the last time I exercised. I hardly exercised for the previous five months because I made many excuses to keep myself from exercising. Mental exhaustion and the lack of exercise, of course, prevented me from falling asleep. I felt tired even if I slept long hours. We do not eat out, but I tended to cook comfort foods with more carbohydrates and fat to compensate for my lack of energy and stress. These poor lifestyle habits were very detrimental to me. It was high time to look into fixing the problems. 

Taking a supplement was the easiest solution for me to fix my leaky gut problem. According to Victor (February 2021), it is common for people to suffer from diarrhea, and it is possible to treat the symptoms of diarrhea caused by antibiotics. One study suggested that taking probiotics reduces diarrhea caused by antibiotics by 42%. Taking probiotics reduces diarrhea duration by an average of 25 hours (p. 39). Probiotics provide microorganisms called gut flora. Gut flora is vital for our body because it manufactures vitamins B12 and K. Gut flora fiber from short-chain fats and feeds our gut. The short-chain fats boost our immune systems.

Taking supplements seemed to be working; however, I discovered that not all probiotics supplements are effective as the capsule’s microorganism may no longer be alive. But taking supplements is not the only way to obtain probiotics for the guts. There are multiple traditional ways to obtain probiotics by eating fermented foods. Victor (2021) suggested that we can get probiotics from bacterially fermented foods such as Yogurt, Kombucha, Kimchi, and sauerkraut (pp. 5-6).

I have always been interested in fermented foods. About three years ago, I took a fermentation workshop. After the workshop, I started to make Kombucha. We have been making it since the fermentation workshop. It worked very well for my husband’s stomach problems and regulated his bowel movements. I sometimes make Kimchi or Japanese pickles, but I do not do it as often as I would like to. The biggest reason was my husband suffered from high blood pressure. I eat Natto, fermented beans, but I am not sure about making Natto at home as it smells terrible. Yogurt, on the other hand, I can easily make using our instant pot. 

Yogurt is fantastic food. Yogurt with active culture helps with some gastrointestinal conditions. Elaine (n.d.) reported that yogurt with live culture helps with Lactose intolerance, constipation, diarrhea, colon cancer, Inflammatory bowel disease, and H. pylori infection (para. 1). It has the benefit of a prolonged lifespan. According to Victor (Februrary 2021), Eli Metchnikoff, a Russian scientist, considered probiotics’ father, stated that the lactic acid bacteria could reverse intestinal auto-intoxication after studying the lactic acid bacteria. He also observed that those who consume fermented milk have a longer lifespan; thus, he theorized that the lactic acid bacteria could prolong life (p. 17).

I learned how to make yogurt from watching a video from Skillshare and YouTube. I read blog postings from people who make yogurt. Yogurt making was unknown knowledge to me since I have never seen someone making it around me. Since everyone’s instant pot has a slight difference in the operation, I decided to follow the recipe that came with the instant pot for my first attempt.

I first acquired a yogurt culture for my yogurt. You may be able to make yogurt from a commercialized yogurt, but I decided to buy a yogurt starter mix. I used yogurt culture from Euro Cuisine. 

Ingredients

Milk 42 oz

Yogurt culture one package

Procedures

Pour 42 oz of milk in an instant pot.

Choose the yogurt function, and adjust the mode to boil. The boiling process takes approximately 30 minutes on my instant pot. The instant pot brings up the milk to 180 F. This heating process allows for firmer, thicker yogurt. I usually boil it for a little longer to make thicker yogurt.

A thin layer of film or skin form appears on the milk’s surface after heating. I take out the film. I forgot a piece of film on my first try, and the texture felt awful in it. Now let the milk cool down to 111 – 113F. It takes approximately 45 minutes.

Pour the warm milk from the instant pot (111 – 113F) into a pitcher, and mix the yogurt culture packet (5g). Lightly whisk to dissolve all of the yogurt cultures into the warm milk. 

Pour the mixture of warm milk and yogurt culture into the rest of the milk in the instant pot. Close the lid, and set the instant pot to yogurt for 7 hours. My instant pot stops heating after 7 hours. 

Once the yogurt is cool enough to refrigerate, I put the yogurt into mason jars and refrigerate it. 

I usually make yogurt on Friday night before going to bed to have a yogurt the following morning.

Most recipes call for 1/2 gallons of milk per two tablespoons of yogurt culture, but the yogurt culture from Euro Cuisine called for 42 oz of milk for one pack of yogurt culture. I accidentally used 1/2 gallons of milk for one yogurt culture package, but I still made yogurt. 

If you cook something in the instant pot before making yogurt, make sure to wash and dry everywhere. Once I used my instant pot right after making stew, my yogurt had a scent of cumin. I think it was because I did not fully dry off the instant pot’s lid after washing.

So far, I try to consume at least 100 g of yogurt each day. We make yogurt dressing, frozen yogurt, and Indian foods from our homemade yogurt. I found many recipes I want to try. If you add some honey and frozen fruits, you can also make a good smoothy. I try not to add so much sugar to my yogurt since eating sugar may not be a good idea. 

We refrigerate our yogurt in mason jars. Yogurt never lasts in my house as we use them up within ten days after making it. So I know homemade yogurt lasts at least ten days.

I cannot say yogurt healed me of my leaky gut problems since I consume many other fermented products. But, I can say this. I have not had leaky gut problems since I am consciously eating fermented products.

References

Magee, E., MPH, & RD. (n.d.). The Benefits of Yogurt. WebMD. Retrieved March 27, 2021, from https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/benefits-yogurt

Victor, G. (2021). Absolute Prebiotic Diet Guide: Active Prebiotic Health/Kitchen Recipes to Renew The Body & Brain (Kindle).

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Yes, We Like Our Fizzy Kombucha

Introduction

My parents had a habit of introducing healthy foods to our household, and they used to drink Kombucha. When I was a child, I tried a spoon full of Kombucha. I remember that it was sour like vinegar. I do not remember why they stopped drinking Kombucha. I met Kombucha in the United States after years after my first introduction to Kombucha.

In 2018, Mr. Sandor Ellix Katz facilitated a fermentation workshop at Short Mountain culture, located in a lovely town approximately 1 hour from Nashville. We joined the workshop to learn how to make Sauerkraut. Mr. Katz introduced to us a variety of types of fermented products in the class. Kombucha was one of them. Because it was something I drank long ago, I was instantly curious about making my Kombucha. I bought my first SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast at Short Mountain Culture, and my journey of making Kombucha started.

Kombucha

General Idea of Kombucha

Kombucha is a fermented drink made from black tea and sugar. Kombucha’s fermentation process is similar to vinegar’s. That is why I thought it was sour the first time I tasted it. According to the Kombucha Brewing & bottling guideline published by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (May 2017), Kombucha contains approximately 1 % alcohol. During the fermentation process, a white film appears on the liquid’s surface, and it will turn into a blob. The white blob in the picture is called a SCOBY (p. 1). It feels like touching the surface of the hard jelly. 

The SCOBY from my last batch.
It is the SCOBY from my last batch. I remove any wanted parts from SCOBY to keep it healthy.

History of Kombucha

People have consumed Kombucha for a long time. My parents told me that it was from Manchuria, North East of China. The use of Kombucha has a long history. According to Jayabalan et al. (2014), it first appeared around Tsin Dynasty. People have used Kombucha to detoxifying and energizing in 220 B.C. Japanese people started consuming Kombucha around 414 A.D. A physician named Kombu brought Kombucha to Japan to treat the Japanese Tenno, Inkyo Tenno to treat his digestive problems in 414 A.D. (p. 538).

The benefit of Kombucha

As a physician, Kombu used Kombucha for treating digestive systems or detoxifying. My husband and I used it for treating our digestive system. My husband had some problem with his digestive system, which was in control after taking Kombucha. There are more benefits of drinking Kombucha. WebMD (n.d.) listed that Kombucha’s use boosts your immune system, losing weight, reducing blood pressure, and preventing heart diseases and cancer (para. 5 – para. 8). 

The process of making Kombucha

I use sweetened Jasmine green tea as the fermentation medium for Kombucha to shorten the fermentation process. Jayabalan et al. (2014) claim that green tea and lemon balm tea shorten the fermentation process as it has more stimulating effects on Kombucha tea (p. 542). I accidentally found this alternative medium by purchasing Jasmine green tea instead of Jasmine black tea. 

Ingredients to brew Tea used for fermenting

3 quarts of water

Eight bags of teabags (caffeinated black tea) – you can use green tea. 

1 cup of sugar

1/2 cups of Kombucha (Use the Kombucha broth that came with the Kombucha SCOBY for the first batch)

First, clean the surroundings and wash your hands with soap to avoid growing unwanted microbes or molds.

Add 3 quarts of water to a pot and bring to a boil. Then, you steep the tea for approximately 10 minutes. Add sugar, then allow it to cool to about 68F – 75F. Be careful with the temperature of the tea. It is a host to living microbes, and you can kill them off if the Kombucha broth is too hot. Once it has cooled to 68F, add the Sweetened tea and the 1/2 cup of Kombucha to a clean Jar. Then, add the Kombucha SCOBY. We keep ours in the dark area for approximately one week at room temperature. 

We like our Kombucha carbonated like a cider, so we do 2nd fermentation to carbonate it.

Bottling

Remove the SCOBY and set it aside on a clean plate. Keep 1/2 cup of Kombucha aside for the next batch.

I use 16 oz dark bottles for bottling Kombucha since yeast dislikes U.V. light. We use OxiClean to clean the bottles before filling them. Fill the bottle with 6 oz of fruit juice and add strained 10 oz of the fermented sweetened tea. It took me almost one year to figure out the balance of juice and Kombucha that best suit our tastes. I strain the fermented sweeten tea because I’m not too fond of pieces of SCOBY floating in my Kombucha. Seal the bottles and store them at room temperature at a dark location for about a week. Then refrigerate until ready to consume.

With little to no air, yeast will use sugar and excrete carbon dioxide. This process turns Kombucha into a fizzy drink.

The risk of Kombucha

Despite the health benefit gained from drinking Kombucha, there are some risks of drinking it. Like taking herbal medicine or any medicine, you will need to consult your doctor, especially if you have any preexisting conditions or take medications. For example, my husband consulted his doctor before taking any medications for his hypertension and kidney condition. 

It would be best if you cleaned all equipment used for making Kombucha and your hands. According to Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (1995), two patients from rural Iowa reported getting severe illness after consuming Kombucha. The arterial blood samples from both patients show severe metabolic acidosis, which indicates an elevated level of lactic acid in the body. Both suffered cardiac arrest. Although the FDA could not link direct causation to Kombucha, they suspected that the Kombucha might have become contaminated by unwanted mold or microbes (pp. 892- 893).

I inspect my SCOBY for health every time I make Kombucha. I remove any unhealthy layers or excess layers so that Kombucha will remain healthy. I sometimes wash the SCOBY with extra fermented sweetened tea.

There are a variety of ways to consume Kombucha. Some add herbs or Puree in Kombucha. Some add sugar to keep their Kombucha unflavored. We like our Kombucha fizzy and enjoy the flavor of the juice we use. But feel free to experiment to find flavors that match your preferences.

References

Jayabalan, R., Malbaša, R. V., Lončar, E. S., Vitas, J. S., &Sathishkumar, M. (2014). A Review on Kombucha Tea—Microbiology, Composition, Fermentation, Beneficial Effects, Toxicity, and Tea Fungus. Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, 13(4), 538–550. https://doi.org/10.1111/1541-4337.12073

Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Bureau of Food Safety and Laboratory Services. (May 2017). Kombucha Brewing & Bottling Guidelines. Retrieved March 24, 2021, from https://www.agriculture.pa.gov/consumer_protection/FoodSafety/manufacturing-packing-holding-distribution/Documents/Guidelines%20for%20brewing-bottling%20Kombucha.pdf

Unexplained Severe Illness Possibly Associated with Consumption of Kombucha Tea — Iowa, 1995. (1995). Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 44(48), 892-900. Retrieved March 21, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/23305248

Kombucha—Health benefits and risks. (n.d.). WebMD. Retrieved March 27, 2021, from https://www.webmd.com/diet/the-truth-about-kombucha

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First 4-Week of My Weight Loss Challenge

I decided to work on reducing my weight because I am quite a bit overweight. I noticed some negative consequents of being overweight. I tend to be hungrier than when I was average weight. My heart rate was higher. My energy level decreased. My clothing does not fit me well, and I lost confidence. I decided to challenge myself to lose weight. This blog is a summary of the progress of my first four weeks of this challenge. I experienced some benefits and some setbacks I wanted to share with you to help you lose weight.

perfect figure Image by Justine FG via https://www.freeimages.com/photo/perfect-figure-1326465

Exercise

With a commitment to being healthy, I started with regular exercise. One of the biggest obstacles for me is making time for regular exercise. Since I am working from home, I could do 30 minutes of exercise during my lunchtime and 15 minutes after work. I picked my favorite workout, Zumba fitness, for my starting exercise. I used to go to Zumba class back in Canada, and I have only good memories associated with the activity. Zumba can be a strenuous exercise, and the calories consumptions can rise to approximately 230kcal with my weight within 30minutes. I use Zumba Burn it Up!. I played the Zumba game since we acquired a console that was able to run it last Christmas, and I like the game a lot. Having a good feeling about the activities is an excellent way to keep me going with my commitment.

Equipment

The equipment I use for my exercise commitment is Fitbit Charge 3/4, Nintendo Switch, and Zumba Barn it up!

Fitbit Charge 3 & Charge 4: I have two Fitbit watches listed here because I had to replace my Charge 4. I loved Charge 4 as it tracks your activity duration and calculates your active minutes by considering the workout intensity. The workout intensity level is an essential factor for the amount of calorie output as it changes the amount of exercise expenditure per minute. For example, you will be spending much more energy by hiking a hilly mountain than walking on a flat road. The reason is your heart rate is higher for more vigorous exercise. Fitbit is not a cheap watch, but it eliminates my time to calculate activity minutes. You can use a heart rate monitor for around $20-$30 instead. The minutes for a high-intensity activity are double activity minutes. 

Nintendo Switch and Zumba Burn it up!: I used a Nintendo Switch Game for an exercise program. You can use any exercise program as it is more accessible, and you feel you can commit to doing so. My husband, who disliked jogging, used Zombies, Run!, a phone app to make his jogging more interesting. He likes Zombie stories. He can now run 10 km in one go despite his physical challenges due to his brain trauma five years ago.

There are some improvements in my vital measurements, such as my resting heart rate and sleep quality in the first week. For example, my resting heart rate improved from 68 to 65, and my sleep quality increased from 76% to 83%. I was anxious about recent increases in my resting heart rates; it was an unexpected change.

It was not only good news, though. Soon, I started realizing exercising is not enough to lose weight. After a week of exercise, I lost only 0.3lb with 420 minutes of weekly active minutes. I began to review my Fitbit records, so I had to make modifications to my programs. 

I noticed the following problems: sleep duration, water intake, and food intake. They are all equally essential factors in being healthy, but I must make choices. I was in the middle of a financial audit, and I did not have time to research all the factors. It is crucial to understand why I am modifying my programs. I was unsure about implementing the changes in my food intake as not all diets available are healthy nor practical. I decided to work on sleep duration and water intake. Since Fitbit cares about and tracks them, they must be important factors.

Sleep Duration

Sleep duration is essential for losing weight. According to Markawld et al. (2013), insufficient sleep leads to weight gain and obesity due to the change in energy expenditure and the changes in satiety and hunger hormones. Inadequate sleep will increase our energy expenditure per minute to compensate for the lack of energy; however, the hormone changes also signal our brain to eat more carbohydrates and fat, resulting in increased weight gain. Duration of sleep impacts females (pp. 5695-5696).

Sleep duration is a crucial factor for losing weight. To improve my sleep duration, I decided to review my habits. One of my biggest obstacles was I have no sleep schedule. I also like watching YouTube or reading on my smartphone, resulting in less than 6 hours of sleep. Even with my blue light filtering glasses, how good is not having enough sleeping time. So I will make modifications to these habits. First, I made a strict sleeping schedule that imposed a penalty to pay my husband. Second, I made it more difficult to access my mobile devices as my mobile devices are one of the factors taking away my sleep time. Third, I made a habit of meditating two minutes before going to bed. At first, it was challenging, but I managed to increase my average weekly sleeping duration to 7hours and 43 minutes by the end of the 3rd week.

Water Intake

Hydrating our body is essential for our health. There is an exciting news journal you can read on the John Hopkin University website. There are multiple benefits to drinking enough water, but I focused on a few relevant factors to this program. 

According to HR NewsWire published (Jan 15, 2020), water helps hydrate our body and lose weight. Research conducted by Elizabeth Huggins suggested drinking 2 cups of water before eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner decrease food intake by 22% on average. A 2013 study reported that drinking approximately two cups of 71F water before breakfast, lunch, and dinner helped reduce body mass index and improve body composition score by 14% among healthy adults due to the increases in the body’s metabolic rate 33% average. The reason is the body tries to recover the heat lost from drinking cold water. 

Finally, drinking water helps us exercise more effectively. Melina Jampolis, a board-certified physician nutrition specialist, explains that water dissolves and distributes electrolytes required for muscle contractions. Therefore, proper hydration will more effectively gain muscles. We tend to lose hydration during exercise. Sweat has its essential role in regulating our body temperature. So, it is crucial to have enough water before and during training (para. 4 – para. 15).

I struggled with implementing this habit. Initially, I set up a drinking schedule like 12 oz after waking up, 12 oz at 10 a.m., and so on. It became more challenging when I could not take time to drink due to auditors’ phone calls that lasted more than I would like. Then I missed the scheduled time to drink the 12 oz of water at 10 a.m. After few days of struggling, I drank 12oz of water after I go to the washroom. Somehow this method worked for me—the act of going to the restroom triggers my memory to drink 12 oz of water. Well, everyone has to go to the washroom sometimes after all.

I think having a sufficient sleep gave me more energy for being active. The effect of improving my sleeping habits and drinking enough water brought me a fantastic result of losing 3.7 lb in 2 weeks. 

Conclusion

My tip is to work on your goals even when you encounter some challenges. Losing weight can be tricky. In some weeks, you may gain weight, or it may not change at all. It can be frustrating. A slight modification in programs may help you to accomplish losing weight. The most important thing is that you will keep working on it because maintaining a healthy weight will become your lifetime commitment. 

References

Jan 15, H. N. / P. & 2020. (2020, Jan 15). Yes, drinking more water may help you lose weight. The Hub. https://hub.jhu.edu/at-work/2020/01/15/focus-on-wellness-drinking-more-water/

Markwald, R. R., Melanson, E. L., Smith, M. R., Higgins, J., Perreault, L., Eckel, R. H., & Wright, K. P. (2013). Impact of insufficient sleep on total daily energy expenditure, food intake, and weight gain. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 110(14), 5695–5700. JSTOR.