I'm balding

Many outsiders think that being a flight attendant is easy money. I'm telling you, that cannot be further than the truth. Having worked other jobs, I assure you the only easy part about our job is that we don't get to take home work. That said, I find most of my days off spent glued to the bed, almost comatose and completely unaware of what happens around me as though in a drugged state. 

Besides the fact that it is physically very demanding and taxing to your health, many of us also develop health problems associated with flying.  Trust me, out of ten stewardesses, eight of them develop atopic dermatitis/ eczema. Unfortunately, I'm no exception to the case. About as common as eczema is hair loss, which affects both male and female attendants. So the next time you're on a plane, do appreciate these unsung heroes more.

I've just realised that I'm balding too, when my boyfriend took a picture of me from the back. I know I've been shedding a bit too much hair but I've been blithely ignoring it. I suspect it's due to the poor physical state I'm in, and also the fact that I have very long hair and I have to constantly tie it in a tight bun to work, fasten it with a million pins and slick back all fly-aways and cowlicks with copious amounts of gel and hairspray. Some background info before I start: I do not drink or smoke, and I try to eat as healthily as I can. My dad suffers from male pattern baldness but then again he is 61. Hmm, my hair is virgin and I have not dyed or done any chemical treatments to my hair before. Prior to joining the airlines, my hair had always been my crowning glory, and the object of my friends' envy. I used to be asked so often what shampoo and conditioner I used (I no longer get asked that anymore). 

Do something, I will. And I plan to embark on this baldness-annihilation plan ASAP before people start asking me if I have alopecia. May the heavens aid me. I will try to stick to it for two months before reviewing my scalp condition again.

I will be outlining my plan here and hopefully it is comprehensive enough. Please feel free to provide any suggestions. I'll be all too thankful. :)

Diet:

1. Nutrition: - Protein
   A strand of hair is composed of mostly protein, which means your hair needs protein to grow. "Hair and nails are both protein fibers," says dermatologist Paradi Mirmirani, MD, of the Permanente Medical Group in Vallejo, Calif., and a member of the North American Hair Research Society.
                           
   - Iron
   Not getting enough iron can cause hair loss.

   The best source of iron in your diet is meat. Clams, oysters, and organ meat top the list.

   Good vegetarian sources of iron include fortified cereals, soybeans, pumpkin seeds, white beans, lentils, and spinach. The problem with iron from non-animal sources is that the body absorbs iron less efficiently from plants. "It's possible to eat a vegetarian diet paying attention to iron and still not get enough," Gerbstadt says.
   - Vitamin D
   
   
   Though the evidence still isn't clear, some studies suggest that vitamin D may play a role in the hair cycle.
   
   
   And also, apparently minerals like biotin and zinc have not been proven to help. Apparently, experts are divided in their views about these supposed hair supplements. 
   
   
   (http://www.webmd.com/beauty/hair-health-11/eat-hair-type?page=1) 
2. Supplements 

Catty Comments

At the risk of sounding petty, I'm detailing this to remind myself in future that my sister is easily jealous, so I should always be on my guard.

Auntie Emily mentioned that Audrey didn't pass the interview because of the swimming round. Not because she was a weak swimmer, but because she was too skinny to look good in a swimsuit. My sister immediately said, rather helpfully indeed, that I would not have been able to make it if they still kept that round in the interview, since I 'wouldn't be able to hide my fats'. She went on to say, 'she was able to pass cause she wore flattering clothes that hid her stomach. If she had been wearing a swimsuit, she would have to bare her real figure.' I paraphrase but you get the gist.

During the dinner at Imperial Treasure, she mentioned that the standards of THE airlines has dropped considerably, and it wasn't like how it was in the past when being a Girl was extremely prestigious. Now graduates would rather take up proper jobs in companies that pay better. Oh yes, go on and put me down. She's also pointedly implying that standards are low now, which is why I managed to get in. Which she alluded to time and again throughout the dinner.

Maybe I'm being petty. But you'd care to note that I'm curbing my tongue and ending my ranting here. There were other things she said, but I understand that this is who she is and it was after all, her birthday celebration today. Viva la Clara!

I know I'm not nearly as attractive as you, and I really don't care...just please stop putting me down in front of others.

What irked me the most was when she insisted I took some slimming supplement/pill from Fancl, which I didn't.

On a side note, I found this on my table when I got home. My father borrowed the books for me. Sometimes I really feel that he's more excited about training than I am. It must be because he thinks I'd be rolling in money as a FA. Everything he's interested in has got to do with money. I will always remember how his eyes light up whenever he hears the word 'money' or 'salary', and somehow, he'd appear from nowhere if you talk about money to anyone. And he'd hover around like a housefly eavesdropping, and clap if he hears that you'd be earning something, however paltry the sum is.

The quest for the perfect BMI

I have never been as fixated on numbers as I am now. I take my words back. Academically I've always been fixated with that little decimal point and what comes after it, no matter how infinitesimal the difference is. But weight wise, I've never been one to obsessively watch my weight. Yes, I never minded my extra curves and rolls of flab.

Yet now I find myself having no choice but to make sure the digits on both sides of the decimal point go down. Down. Just by a little bit, just one kg, or two. And find myself frustrated when it bounces back up after letting myself go. It's terrible. How do people lose three kg in two weeks? I can't even see myself losing one kg. Perhaps it's because I'm not exercising enough and still stuffing my face full.

I hate that I'm actually blogging about food and weight.

This is so ridiculous!

I'd much rather blog about my intellectual pursuits, but.......alas......... to the company I'm interviewing with, I am nothing but a face and figure. (They wouldn't care about your brains.) And perhaps height. There's nothing much I can do about my height, but there's something I can do about the other two. As long as I watch my weight, I'd look better. All this takes is willpower. And self-confidence. Two words that I'm not exactly well-acquainted with.

I hope everything will pay off.

It's just another two weeks from today. And after that, I can let myself go and stuff my face silly with all kinds of food.

It's hard.

What's hardest is controlling the insatiable urge to eat, and when I actually do eat, despite telling myself to just eat a plate, I end up binge-eating. And vomiting is not an option. I despise people who vomit their food out, and even though I can empathise with them now, I still despise the action. Anyway, I'm obsessed about getting enough nutrition so there's no way I would eat and vomit. I'm just trying to eat sensibly. 

Talk about willpower. Ha. The sheer irony.