Philippine Independence Day Grand Parade in NYC

The Philippine Independence Day Grand Parade will be held on June 3, 2007 starting at 12 noon on Madison Avenue from 41st Street down to 27th Street in the heart of Manhattan, New York. You may proceed after to the Street Fair that goes on until 6:00pm from 26th Street to 23rd Street and the Cultural Show takes place at 2:30pm on a stage at the Northeast corner of Madison Ave. and 23rd Street. Please note the following:
· Flag ceremony at 8:30 am at the Philippine Center (556 Fifth Avenue between 45-46th Street)· Ecumenical Mass to follow at 9:00am at the Philippine Center, with a breakfast reception.· Parade opening ceremonies at 11:45 am on 41st Street and Madison Avenue

What Waist-Hip Ratio is Best?

Q. What Waist-Hip Ratio is best?
Waist-Hip Ratio and Apple/ Pear Shapes
Waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) looks at the proportion of fat stored on your body around your waist and hip. It is a simple but useful measure of fat distribution. Most people store their body fat in two distinct ways: around their middle (apple shape) and around their hips (pear shape).
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To calculate your waist-hip ratio, click this calculator link:
Waist-Hip Calculator
Waist-Hip Ratio and Health Risk
Having an apple shape (carrying extra weight around the stomach) is riskier for your health than having a pear shape (carrying extra weight around your hips or thighs). This is because body shape and health risk are linked. If you have more weight around your waist you have a greater risk of lifestyle related diseases such as heart disease and diabetes than those with weight around their hips.
Waist-Hip Ratio and Obesity
Even so, overall obesity is still of greater risk than where fat is distributed or stored on your body. Other important measurements are Body Mass Index (BMI) and percentage of body fat.
How to Calculate Waist-Hip Ratio
Waist Hip Ratio is calculated by dividing your waist measurement by your hip measurement. (Hips are the widest part of your butt).
To calculate your waist-hip ratio, click this calculator link:
Waist-Hip Calculator
Best Waist-Hip Ratio for Men and Women
Ideally, women should have a waist-to-hip ratio of 0.8 or less.
Ideally, men should have a waist-to-hip ratio of 0.95 or less.

How to Calculate Body Fat

Which Body Fat Calculators Are Best
There are three main ways to calculate body fat:

• Home Body Fat Scales
• Skinfold Calipers (Callipers)
• Hydrostatic Weighing
  

Each of these body fat calculation methods has advantages and disadvantages.

Using Home Body Fat Scales to Measure Body Fat
Body fat scales claim to measure body fat quickly and conveniently. These body fat scales use the Bioelectrical Impedance method to measure your body fat percentage. A low-level electrical current is passed through your body and the "impedance", or opposition to the flow of current, is measured. The result is used in conjunction with your weight and other factors to determine your body fat percentage. Unfortunately, your body's "impedance level" can be altered by many factors besides body fat. For instance, the amount of water in your body, your skin temperature and recent physical activity can all adversely affect the results.So only by following strict rules can you hope to get an accurate measurement of your body fat using these scales. The most important rules to observe in order to make a more accurate calculation of your body fat are:

• Don't eat or drink for 4 hours before the body fat measurement test.
• Don't exercise for 12 hours before the test.
  

Notes:

• Some studies have shown variances as high as 8 percent when using the bioelectrical impedance method even if the rules are precisely followed.
  
• As with skinfold calipers (see below) there are different equations used to calculate body fat from your body density. These are usually pre-programmed into the machine.
  
• The best body fat scales tend to made by Tanita.
  

Using Skinfold Calipers (Callipers) to Measure Body Fat Skinfold Measurements
Measuring body fat with a set of body fat calipers is the most cost effective way to determine fat levels. But it's important to use them correctly. For instance, either have a professional take the measurements for you or buy a set of Accumeasure calipers (callipers) and follow the measuring instructions. Accumeasure are the only calipers than allow you to test yourself and most studies have shown that they are very accurate.

Using Hydrostatic Weighing to Measure Body Fat
Hydrostatic weighing (underwater weighing) is the most accurate way to calculate body fat - that is, if you can find a hydrostatic weighing tank.
How does hydrostatic weighing calculate body fat? By using Archimedes Principle. Your examiner first calculates your body density by measuring the amount of water you displace when you immerse yourself in water. Then a formula is used to calculate body fat based on your body density. The problem is finding a facility (University, major gym or fitness center) which has a hydrostatic weighing tank!!
Table 1. Body Fat Guidelines from American Council on Exercise

Women (% Fat)
Essential Fat
10-12 percent
Athletes
14-20 percent
Fitness
21-24 percent
Acceptable
25-31 percent

Men (% Fat)
Essential Fat
2-4 percent
Athletes
6-13 percent
Fitness
14-17 percent
Acceptable
18-25 percent

Why Body Fat Measurement is Important
Body fat is an important element in successful weight control. Body fat requires fewer calories than muscle. So the less fat/more muscle we have, the more calories we can eat before gaining weight. Body fat is often expressed as our "Body Fat Percentage" or "Body Fat Percent." Body fat percentage is the amount of body-fat-tissue as a percentage of total body weight. If your total body weight is 160 pounds and you have 32 pounds of fat, your body fat percentage is 20 percent.

Body Fat Calculation and Health
The higher your percentage of fat above average levels, the higher your health risk for weight-related illness, like heart disease, high blood pressure, gallstones, type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis, and certain cancers. Also, the higher your percentage of fat (and the smaller your percentage of muscle) the less calories you need to maintain your weight and therefore the easier it is to gain weight. This is because muscle is more metabolically active than fat tissue.

Body Fat Explained

What Is The Purpose Of Storing Body Fat?
Storage of fat on the body is a critical defence mechanism. Remember, the human body has not changed essentially since the Stone Age. At that time starvation and famine were ever-present dangers to survival, while over-consumption and obesity were unheard of. To enable Stone Age humans to survive periods of food scarcity, the human body was designed to store energy which could then be drawn upon in times of famine. Thus for example, people could overeat during the hunting season, or when food was plentiful, and the surplus would be stored as fat tissue (adipose tissue). And when food was short, the body would burn the deposite fat as energy. Of course Stone Age life and body chemistry was/is much more complicated than this simple explanation suggests, but it suffices to explain why we have a built-in fat storage facility.

How Are Carbs, Protein And Fat Absorbed And Stored?
The human body needs energy to power muscles and to fuel the millions of chemical and biological reactions which take place throughout our system every day. This energy comes from the food we consume in our diet. Food consists mainly of water and three types of nutrient - protein, dietary fats and carbohydrate - which are found in varying proportions in most foods. These nutrients are broken down, digested and absorbed by the body in the gastrointestinal tract, running from the mouth to the anus. Each of these macronutrients is processed and absorbed by the digestive system in different ways.

How Are Surplus Carbs Used And Stored?
Carbohydrate is the major source of energy for the body. This is because, of all nutrients, it converts most readily to glucose which is the body's preferred fuel. When we eat carbohydrate, it is converted to glucose in the digestive tract and distributed via the liver to cells throughout the body for use as energy. Once our immediate energy needs are satisfied, the remaining carb glucose is handled in one of two ways. Either it is converted to liquid glycogen (a temporary source of readily available energy) and stored in the liver or muscles. Or, it is converted into fatty acids by the liver and stored in adipose cells (fat-cells) around the body.

How Is Surplus Protein Used And Stored?
Protein is broken down into amino acids in the stomach and small intestine, then distributed via the liver to cells throughout the body for a variety of uses included cell formation and repair. Some surplus protein amino acids are kept circulating in the bloodstream, the remainder is either converted into a type of simple sugar and used as energy, or (like carbohydrate) is converted to fatty acid and stored in adipose cells.

How Is Surplus Dietary Fat Used And Stored?
Dietary fat is broken down into fatty acids and glycerol by the stomach and small intestine. It is then distributed (in the form of triglycerides) via the lymphatic system and bloodstream to the cells for a variety of specialized uses or, in the absence of sufficient carbs, for energy. However, since dietary fat cannot be converted into protein and only about 5 percent (the glycerol part) is convertible into glucose, and because dietary fat is not the body's preferred choice of fuel, a significant amount ends up being stored as body fat in the adipose tissue.

Conversion Of Body Fat To Energy
If energy is required suddenly, the body first uses up its glycogen reserves. After this, it converts the body fat in the adipose cells into energy by a catabolic process called lipolysis. During lipolysis, triglycerides within the adipose cells are acted upon by a complex enzyme called hormone sensitive lipase (HSL). This converts the triglyceride into fatty acids and glycerol. The fatty acids are then transported via the bloodstream to tissues for use as energy, or (along with the glycerol) taken to the liver for further processing.

Adipose Tissue
Adipose cells which make up adipose tissue are specialized cells which contain and can synthesize globules of fat. This fat either comes from the dietary fat we eat or is made by the body from surplus carbohydrate or protein in our diet. Adipose tissue is mainly located just under the skin, although adipose deposits are also found between the muscles, in the abdomen, and around the heart and other organs. The location of fat deposits is largely determined by genetic inheritance. Thus it is not possible to affect where we store fat. Nor is it possible to influence from which area the body burns fat for energy purposes.

Why Do We Get Fat?
Most of us develop body fat because we eat more calories than we burn in exercise. Given a culture which emphasises "value for money food portions" and "super-sizing", along with an steady increase in serving size, an upsurge of new tasty high-calorie foods and energy drinks, such over-consumption is perhaps only to be expected. Lack of exercise is also a major contributory factor. However, overeating and lack of fitness is not the whole story.

How to lose body fat

How to Lose Body Fat
Losing body fat isn't difficult but it doesn't happen overnight. So ignore all the weight loss ads for "fat-burners" that claim you can reduce fat instantly, without effort! Such fat-loss claims are pure fantasy.

Losing Body Fat is Different from Losing 'Weight'
Note: losing fat is different from losing 'weight', because when we lose weight part of the weight loss is water and part is muscle. We're talking strictly fat-loss.

Best Way to Reduce Body Fat
Aim to lose a maximum of 1 pound of body fat per week.
Follow a low-fat diet (about 25 percent calories from fat), with plenty of fruit and veg and regular helpings of complex carbs, like whole wheat bread, oats, pasta, brown rice. Choose lower-fat meat and dairy foods where possible. Drink at least 6 glasses of water a day.
Combine this diet with regular exercise. Mix aerobic exercise with regular weight/strength-training to raise your metabolic rate and boost your lean body mass.
Take your body measurements before to start on your fat-reduction plan. Some weeks you may not lose weight, but you will lose fat, so monitoring your thighs and upper arms will boost your fat-loss motivation!

Can You Reduce Body Fat by Exercise Alone?
It's perfectly possible to lose fat simply by exercising, but it takes quite a bit of time and effort. Remember, one pound of body fat is roughly equivalent to 3500 calories.

What Amount of Exercise Burns 1 Pound of Fat?
To burn sufficient calories to lose one pound of body fat, you might:
- Briskly walk a total of 35 miles
- Swim moderately fast for 6 hours
- Dance for 12 hours
- Play about 12.5 hours of golf, carrying your own clubs
- Jog for about 29 miles

At the same time, you would need to monitor your eating habits to ensure that you are not increasing your calorie-intake in line with your increased exercise!

Be Patient When Trying to Burn Fat by Exercise
As you can see, it takes time and considerable physical effort to achieve any kind of rapid fat-loss by exercise alone. So if you want to burn off your last pockets of fat by increased fitness training, give yourself enough time and don't jump onto your bathroom scales more often than once a month. Also, be aware that muscle is denser (heavier mass) than fat. So while you may look leaner, your weight may show only a slight reduction.

Exercising Without Stretching Can Increase Bulk
Paradoxically, even though some exercise routines (eg. ab-exercises) produce a leaner look, other types of exercise (lower-body training) can make you look bulkier, especially around the thighs. To prevent this, make sure you start and finish your fitness workout with at least 5 minutes of stretching exercises to elongate the muscles worked.

Exercise Doesn't Turn Fat Into Muscle
One popular misconception is that you can convert fat into muscle by exercising. Unfortunately, this is not possible. Exercise can burn enough calories to force the body to burn fat, but it cannot turn fat into muscle. However, certain types of exercise (eg. ab-exercises) can strengthen muscles in an area of excess fat (eg. stomach) and give the appearance of a leaner shape.

La Isla De Los Pintados

Sometimes called the Forgotten Islands of Southeast Asia, located as they are off the main trading routes, the over 7000 islands that comprise the Philippines host a rich mix of about 80 to 90 distinctivelydifferent cultures, ranging from the wild sea gypsies of the Sulu Archipelago, many of whom have never stepped foot on dry land, to intensely independent Kalinga people, who live in the remote mountainous region of Northern Luzon. Here, where the terraces are close and the slopes are steep, age-old traditions are not easily changed. The few roads through the area are supplemented by narrow footpaths which wind their way along terrace edges up the jutting stepping stones of the terrace walls and through mountain passes to connect the villages and barrios. Everything, including new construction materials when needed, must be borne on human backs and heads.But one of the constants that are part of almost all traditional Filipino cultures is tattooing, with styles that range from intricately delicate swirling designs to bold and simple silhouette motifs. Tattoos have long been so much in evidence that part of the Philippines was dubbed "La Isla De Los Pintados" -- the Islands of the Painted Ones -- by Spanish explores. Sadly, over the last half-century, Filipino tattoo traditions have been slowly vanishing. For Some of the images, only a surface story can be told of their meanings, since it is believed that telling the in-depth story will diminish the tattoos worth, depriving it and its wearer of its protective power. Other tattoo designs would seem to conflict with traditional Filipino beliefs, Unless you know the thinking behind them. For example, a lizard is a messenger of death. If a lizard whispers in your ear, you won't survive the next battle. So you'd think people wouldn't be wearing a lizard tattoo, but actually the image acts as a talisman. Other messenger lizards of the spiritual world would presume that the message has already been delivered when they see the tattoo and they leave you alone. There are different tattoo traditions among each of the Philippine's main island groups; LUZON, VISAYAS, and MINDANAO. According to research, the mountain tribes in Northern Luzon developed a highly creative culture, and tattooing is still very prevalent among the people who live there. Their tattoos are intricate patterns comprised of curved and straight lines, inked in indigo blue and placed on the chest and arms. It would be difficult to find a man or woman from the interior of LUZON who has never been tattooed. But the practice is rapidly disappearing as many people are now discarding their old traditions in favor of the new.The Men of the VISAYAS, the people called PINTADOS by the Spaniards, tend to tattoo their entire bodies. The women only tattoo their hands. Both sexes get inked at an early age, as it's believed that the younger child begins to get tattoos, the easier he or she will find the experience. Visayas tattoos are extremely elaborate, they look like complicated etchings. They leave only their wrists and feet bare of ink. Basically what they do is cut the designs into the skin and then press soot or ashes into the wound. Traditional Filipino women get tattooed to enhance their beauty. Men's tattoos are markers of their age, accomplishments, and tribal seniority. Some tribes believe that tattoos have magical qualities, particularly images of scorpions, centipedes, snakes, and boats, all of which have especially deep significance to the people who wear these tattoos.The traditional tattooing method involves the tattooist smearing the skin with a mixture of soot and sugarcane juice. If sugarcane juice isn't available other substances such as lard or hen's dung can be used. The skin is then rapidly poked with the tattooing instrument, which ranges from the pointed metal pieces used by the PINTADOS, to the pieces of sharpened wood used by the kankanay tribe from Central Benguet.The Most unusual tattooing device was developed by the Isneg tribe from the Apayao Province called the "Igihisi" it is made from a curved piece of rattan with four or five pins attached to one end. The tattooist places the pins into the skin and then rapidly beats the curve next to the pins, on it's convex side, until the pins are deeply embedded into the skin. The folklore of how tattooing began in Borneo is very similar to a Philippine tattoo myth. Both are birds, who --as the story goes --fell into a bowl of black ink. Covered with pigment, the bird frantically flew into a warrior, and began to peck at him. Soon the warrior was covered with little black marks that formed a design, and the first tattoo had been inked.