Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Sharing About My Slimming Progress

I just did a sharing about my slimming success yesterday evening with many people who aspire to slim down successfully without rebound. I've also updated my progress as follows:

Anyway, this is my slimming statistics after just 3 months as I completed in July 2010. It's December 2010 now and my latest weight is 72kg.
Here are my latest photo.






Saturday, October 2, 2010

What is Visceral Fat?

You may have noticed that many people above thirty starts to develop a 'beer belly'. As visceral and subcutaneous fat starts to build up, most people do not realize the danger signs that their health is at risk.

What is Visceral Fat?

Visceral Fat refers to the fats that surrounds our vital organs and is located in the stomach area. It is not the fat that lies under your skin though. That is called subcutaneous fat. Visceral Fat is deeper within.

Studies have shown that the more visceral fat you carry in your body, the higher your body develops insulin resistance, which leads to type 2 diabetes. High visceral fats also makes a person more prone to stroke, heart diseases and hypertension.

Although visceral fat is easier to lose as compared to subcutaneous fat, most people pay no attention to it because they do not understand the dangers of how visceral fat can affect their health as it is hidden and not visible. They usually pay more attention to subcutaneous fat which is visible and visually disturbing.

The good news is, with regular exercise, visceral fat can be reduced. The key here is to have a regular exercise regime. Doing no exercise at all will lead to an increase in visceral fat over time. Coupled with a healthy diet, and with the help of the program I had undergone, both visceral fat and subcutaneous fat can be significantly reduced in no time.

On 16 September 2010, The Straits Times featured the article "Dangers of tummy fat" by Geraldine Ling. I have attached the article for your reference.

Click on picture to view in full page or click here to view PDF version (clearer).

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

What Does Health Mean To Me?

Since my blog is about slimming and health, today I'd like to blog a little bit about what health means to me.

When I was a young boy, I was pretty unhealthy. I wasn't fat back then, but I was always coughing. I often visit the doctor and medicine was kind of part of my diet. I even coughed to the extent that the doctor advised me to stand under the sun for half an hour every day. I did not know for what reason he asked me to do that. All I knew was my mom made me do it in order to be healthier. Anyway, that was the time when I was around 4-5 years old.

I grew up to be a slim boy. In fact, I would call myself skinny instead. I did not like sports or games and would avoid them whenever I could. I hated jogging and running as every time I have physical education lessons, I would run out of breath. Nevertheless, I was skinny (slim if you would like to call it), but I was not healthy. I lacked confidence whenever I see that others can run fast. However, apart from this small problem, I have no other health issue. I ate well, and I slept well. I can swim and I can hike. I love walking up stairs (somehow that did not give me any difficulty in breathing). Still, I tried my best not to get involved in running.

And because I was skinny (I was 57kg even when I was 19), I took my health for granted all these years. When it comes to food, everything can go into my stomach. I ate huge quantities of food everyday and I also eat very oily foods without thinking. My parents used to say that even if I soak myself in oil, I will never grow fat. Ya... Fat Hope!

When I went into my twenties, signs of 'growing' started to show up. Ya, I began growing horizontally in my late twenties, and once I reach thirty, my growth was 'exponential'. In less than ten years, my weight has increased by more than 10kg, and I earned myself a big beer belly. I was able to do ten chin ups during my army days but now, I cannot even do two. Still, I thought that being fat is a small issue and I can live with it. "Everybody else is fat" I thought. "Being fat is normal" I thought.

Few months ago, my wife attended a health seminar, and she brought me along. I had a shock when I saw for myself the kind of risks I am carrying in myself. I am a time bomb waiting to explode. My health condition is not as rosy as I thought it is. As a result of my obesity, I have developed slip disc. I also have high cholesterol level. Luckily, my blood pressure is still normal.

What shocked me was the diseases that are caused by obesity. Heart diseases, diabetes, stress, and many others are associated with the obese, and if one does not recognize the dangers of these, one is doomed to move towards destruction. You may find that I am a little bit dramatic here but a fact is a fact. I have friends that are in a even more dangerous zone than I am and they still have not realize this fact.

Lucky for me I took action. I took action because I value my life. More importantly, I took action because I value my love ones, especially my wife and my daughter. I took action because I also want to help others realize the danger they are in. And I am happy today I saw what happened to me, and I took action to change it.

So what does health mean to me?

Today, with regards to health, I live by one principle - Staying Healthy Today Means That I Do Not Have To Pay For It Later.

I got struck with slip disc because of the choices I made ten years ago. I have high cholesterol today because of the foods I took five years ago. It is all going to change. Ten years from now, I am going to be as fit as a fiddle. I know the importance of a healthy diet, the importance of regular exercise, and most of all, the importance of how I can enjoy my life with my love ones in my future.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Time to change my clothes!!!

Check it out! It's time to buy new clothes! As promised, here is my latest photograph and as you can see, I really have to buy myself some new pair of pants (and also new shirts as I do look like I am wearing clothes I stole).



Anyway, it has been very busy weeks and as such, I have not visited the gym for a while (no excuse!!!). I will and I must go for some exercise at the end of this week. More updates coming up soon...

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Excited About Slimming... Even For A Guy

I wanted to update this blog by end of August but I am unable to contain my excitement. This is because when I went up my weighing machine yesterday, I was amazed to see my weight at 76kg. Yes, 76kg. What excites me so much is that I am 1kg away from 75kg, which was my weight 12 years ago when I just completed my national service.

What does this mean to me?

For many years, I have tried to slim down and reduce my weight. I tried dieting, exercising, eating dietary supplements, skipping meals and many other ways. Still, I could not see any visible result, although ocassionally, I do see some changes in my body. However, the changes were often temporary and my weight and my shape always rebound back. Worse, I grow bigger every time.

Today, I see a new me. My belly is going down by inches and so is my weight. My visceral fat dropped from 12 to 9. Now, visceral fat is something that is extremely hard to shed. Visceral fat is the fat that surrounds the internal organs. Studies have shown that high levels of visceral fat will make a person more prone to heart disease, stroke, diabetes and hypertension. My goal is to lower my visceral fat to at least 5.

Anyway, I am really excited about myself now. I have since stopped taking the slimming program (it's supposed to be 3 months) but I do continue with 1 meal replacement every alternate day. My slip disc problem is gone and I no longer feel pain in my back even if I have to sit for hours. I can start jogging now without the fear of pain and as my body gets lighter, it takes less effort to jog.

I will be updating a new picture of myself at the end of this month. At the same time, I am glad that my wife, who has also undergone the same program has me, has also produced impressive results. My sister also joined in the program and is making really good progress. At the end of it all, I believe that having a healthy body that allows us to have energy to do things that we want is the most important.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Slimming Program - Completed?

Today is the official date of my 3 months slimming program. Was it a success? Honestly, I think there is room for improvement. Here are my results.


I hope I can build more muscle mass and really shape up in time to come. I am still quite happy with the results though. As you can see, my body is not as 'round' as before and I certainly feel healthier and more energized. Also, here are my other 'stats':

Height: 175cm (no change)
Weight: 77.5kg (decrease by 5.2kg)
Body Fat: 21.4% (previously 25.2%)
Body Age: 42 (previously 47)
BMI: 25.3 (decrease by 1.7, still slightly overweight)
Visceral Fat: 10 (decrease by 2)
SCS: 39,000 (previously 13,000)

Like I said, these are not optimal results but they sure are encouraging. The good thing about this program is after 3 months, I no longer need to continue with the program.What I need to do is to maintain a healthy diet and to exercise whenever I can. Like I mentioned in my previous post, after going through the program, my health consciousness and awareness has certainly increased.

I will continue to keep this blog updated. Anyone who happens to see this blog and is interested to find out what slimming program I went through can drop me a comment with your email and I will revert to you.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Slimming Program - Update

I am nearing the end of my 3 months slimming program. Yesterday, I measured my waistline and I discovered that it has went down by 5cm. Although the result is not 'great', and my tummy is still showing, it has motivated me to continue with faith on this program.

This program has changed me not only in size and shape. As I enter the last month of the program, my mindset towards health has totally changed. In the past, I take whatever my tastebud fancies. I shirk at the thought of 'healthy foods' like vegetables and fruits. I ignore exercise TOTALLY and I will never ever think of health as my priority.

Today, after slightly more than 2 months into this slimming program, I am a changed person. EVen if I do not achieve the desired results in 3 months time, I know I will eventually slim down to what I want to be. Today, I make sure that I eat healthy food including vegetables and fruits. Today, I am open to exercise. In fact, I am going to sign up soon for a gym membership to ensure that I exercise regularly. As I go through this slimming program, I can feel the following changes and benefits go through my body. They are:

1) I feel lighter and has more energy.
2) I feel that I am more alert and less lethargic.
3) I begin to enjoy eating heatlhy foods.
4) I am more motivated to exercise to keep my body fit.
5) I know exactly why I want to be fit.

I am happy that I have gone through this slimming program and I will share the end result with you soon.