If you followed me on my Instagram account, you may have noticed that my face has became a lot more smaller. Losing weight has always been in my new year's resolution for every year. However, that resolution would never seemed to be able to be achieved. Thus, I will bring forward to the next year instead! Haha, bet many of you guys would do that too, you are not alone! As you guys know, I am always associated with food. I admit that I am a glutton myself, I can't resist nice food and I tend to overeat most of the time.
Before you continue reading, the purpose of me writing this post is to serve as a reminder for myself not to return to my original weight. Simultaneously, a few of my friends have also approached me to share with them some tips for losing weight. I promise to keep this post short and sweet as I also dislike reading lengthy posts!
Before I begin, this blogpost will be filled with old photos of myself before my weight loss transformation.
Apr 2016
Oct 2016
May 2017
What changed me?
During my last year of studies in poly, I received a letter from MINDEF (after going for my medical check up for enlistment) informing me that my cholesterol levels were not in the healthy range and I was advised to see the doctor for a medical review. The news came to me as a surprise as I did not expect that at such a young age, I would be at risk of being diagnosed with high cholesterol. Back then, I was very terrified and became very paranoid. I began to search up symptoms of high cholesterol. Nonetheless, some of the symptoms I noticed on myself was a tingling and numbing feeling on my back whenever I lay on my bed using my laptop. In addition, I also have frequent headaches (perhaps twice or thrice in a week) and I would often rely on Panadol extra to help ease the pain. I supposed the cause of my weight gain was due to my unhealthy lifestyle that I was adopting.
In June 2017, I decided to change for the better. I told myself that if I continue living with this lifestyle, sooner or later I would suffer with illnesses such as high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol. I never really weigh myself, thus I decided to step on the weighing scale and saw that my weight was at a shocking 106kg (June 2017).
I actually lost weight before I enlisted into the army. Hence, I would like to take this opportunity to also thank the SAF for shaping my physical fitness. My weight went down even faster after I enlisted (July 2018), and today I weigh about 75kg (Dec 2018).
Step 1: Take Baby Steps
Step 1 to losing weight is to always do your research before you do anything. When I started, I knew nuts about losing weight. I thought that if I do not eat anything and survive on salad/special k cereal alone, I would definitely lose weight fast. This mentality is wrong as it would only make your life miserable. Spend a good 1-2 hours reading up online on how to lose weight using the correct methods and decide on what kind of diet/exercise training programme you would like to adopt. Trust me, being equipped knowledge will always be an advantage in your weight loss journey because you need to work smart and NOT follow how others do it. I believe that every individual's body is different and once you found the most comfortable way to lose weight, you will develop the motivation to do it. Many people give up halfway because they cannot tahan the change. Hence, the mind-set is very important. If you would like to go slow, please go ahead! No one is pushing you to go fast. Just remember, little steps makes a difference :)
Mar 2013
Step 2: Diet
Till date, I find that the most effective way to lose weight is a calorie deficit and exercise. Please do not starve yourself and make your life miserable by not eating or surviving on one meal per day. Although my diet is highly not recommended, I can share with you what I ate when I first started.
As you can see from the picture above and below, I followed a very strict diet every week whilst allocating a cheat day for myself. On the cheat day, I will entitle myself to eat whatever I want. If you would like to up the challenge, change the cheat day to a cheat meal instead.
For most of my clean meals, I will usually eliminate the carbohydrates completely. However, this is not recommended as your body needs energy. You can still consume carbo, but just reduce the intake of your rice/bread. If you do not consume enough carbs, you will become very lethargic and tired. I have been through that and you will feel like eating more for your next meal or end up breaking diet by having a sweet snack.
Credits to: Ministry of Health
I find this model very helpful when I make food selections. Oh yes, you need not prep your meals if you are busy. You can still eat healthy when you are eating out. Just ask for lesser rice and consume veges that contain lesser oil. Caifan is the best choice because you have the power choose your "liao".
Mar 2015
Step 3: Exercise and Patience
Work on your own pace and choose what kind of exercise suits you the best. For my case, since I'm in the army, I exercise on a regular basis. Do note that you shouldn't expect to see results after the first week of transformation. It will usually take about a month to see a difference. Patience is the key to success, so don't be discouraged if you found out you did not lose any weight in the beginning. This is because your body is still adjusting and after you reach fat burning stage, you should be able to see positive results :)
BEFORE
AFTER
My thoughts about after losing weight
I have no regrets embarking on this journey a year ago. I feel that a lot of credit goes to my constant motivation to diet. Even during my book out days, I will make the effort to eat clean. When I first started, it was really difficult. I would crave for a lot of food especially sweets and pokka green tea. However, I've managed to eliminate my sweet drinks habit and now I enjoy ayataka green tea and also oolong tea. I feel that in order to fight your fear, you have to face it. Turn what you hate into something you like. Time will tell as you gradually grow. I'm satisfied with my weight right now and I feel much more healthier than before! So I believe if you have the right mind-set, you can do it as well! Take care and good luck!
Feel free to DM me on Instagram if you have any questions regarding on my weight loss!
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