Thank you all for the kind words and encouragement. :)
I did not expect such a response to my column. I thought it might be good to highlight some points and questions brought up by readers here.
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my grandma watch tv and sleep all day long , she eats more salted vegetable than i will ever see myself playing computer games ... and tats about it . watch unhealthily .. eat unhealthily and sleep like a pig . she is now 84 and strong as an ox .. how true is that? -Jose
Haha, your grandma (and mine as well) was from a sterner era and made of sterner stuff. You only see her sleep all day now, but I am sure she worked as hard as an ox when she was younger, and that is why she is now 84 and strong as an ox. Our lifestyles are very different from our grandparents' time, and nowhere as tough. We sit in the office or school, in front of computers all day, they laboured under the hot sun. Their diets were also less rich, unlike the excess we now have access to. Heheh.
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How long did you take to slim down by 20 kg? -pctan
MB, wow!!!
Pretty impressive for you to have lost 20kg within 4 months. Is it purely changing of your diet that helps?
During my weight loss regime, i took appetite suppressant every day, jog and swim 3 to 4 times a day, zero caffeine, no rice, no noodles, no lunch, no snacking, but only managed to lost 5kg.
Yours is pretty impressive as compared to mine.
I have since gain back 10kg, after i busted my knee from too much exercise.
If they is any other tips, do let us into ur bag of tricks. -Sunny
Sunny and pctan: No lah, not 20kg, more like 16kg in about four months. The first few kilos are usually caused by water loss, so I was reminded by the doctor not to be too complacent. The clincher is in sustaining the weight loss after the first month. Actually, many slimming centres promise that you will lose some kilos with some crazy diet, supplement or wraps, but most of the time, the early kilos are just loss of water.
And Sunny, I cannot say exactly why your regime did not work for you (though 5kg is a good amount to lose), but it does sound a little extreme. Exercising everyday? I think that is too much, as the body needs to rest. Your knee busting is your body telling you exactly that. Please be careful and don't injure yourself this way. Some of the damage can be permanent.
And the diet also seems extreme, like skipping lunch and zero carbs. Be careful you do not harm your body by going into extremes like this. You DO need carbs, and you DO need to have meals. Having next to no food (plus exercising in such an extreme way) only screws up your metabolism and can lead to weight gain later.
There are no tricks to it, just sensible and balanced choices.
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Tell us what you eat, mr brown.
You can only eat subway, popiah and 鱼片汤 for so long before you go a little cuckoo. -Johnny Malkavian
Johnny Malkavian: nothing special about the food. Really. No celery sticks and fish-soup-only diet, haha. I was eating regular meals outside, just smaller portions and healthier choices (more veg, less fried stuff, no sugar drinks). Laksa, Char Kuay Teow were of course no-gos (I work in Katong now, so you can imagine the daily temptation). You ask my colleagues, we eat together every day, good food and not bland stuff.
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perhaps share with us what kind of appetite suppresant u r taking?
I tried 1 of them from my doc some time ago. Yes its useful. but as time goes by. Argh. few kilos came back looking for me. lOl. trying to shred them now =P
kind to share? -idestiny
idestiny: As for the suppresant prescribed, I'd rather not say. Wait people rush out to buy it in JB, haha. These things have to be prescribed by a doctor, or else some people may have nasty side effects if they already have certain health problems.
It is not a magic pill, really. Lifestyle don't change, pill won't help. And yes, the weight can all come back after you stop taking these pills. So changing your dietary habits and getting exercise is important. Eventually you have to stop taking the pill and if by then you have not changed your lifestyle, the weight will all come back and then some.
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...you do make it sound very easy though- Rachel
Rachel: No man, haha, it was way hard. Especially at the beginning. But once you get into a habit of eating wiser, it gets easier. I cannot take sweet stuff anymore without feeling out of sorts now. Taste buds and appetite can change, given time. I now need to get the willpower to exercise more. I found that running is a little harsh for my joints, but brisk walks and swims are good.
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good for you, but what happens to all your oversized clothes now??? -critikal
critikal: Haha, good question. The oversized clothes are all in the closet mothballed. I gave some away too. Just as well, I get to dress more casual where I work now, so the change of wardrobe came at the right time. It was very funny, at about the third month since I started this, when I realised I could not cut any more holes in my belt to make my old pants fit. It was only when I went to the shops to look for new pants that I realised how many inches I had shed around the waist.
But really, looking slimmer is only a side benefit, the most important thing is feeling healthier and having more energy. We should not be feeling 80 before we hit 40, hahaha!
