This is perhaps the lightest weight I have ever been since I gave birth to my daughter. The journey to BMI 25 is still ongoing. I know I could do better. I can’t see the curvy hips yet.
Trim and Fit 2025 – the end
Tag Archives: weight loss
Kelab Kurus 2024 – an obesity programme
I signed an oath at the beginning of March this year to become an active participant in our clinic’s obesity programme. This program has gone into its 2nd year and I am one of the 24 people selected by the committee member to join. I have a BMI of 28.3kg/m2 which makes me Obese as per Asian standards. The goal is to lose 10% of our initial weight over 6 months. This means that my last weigh-in will be in early September. That gives me enough time to look good in pictures for my birthday in August, (hopefully) my graduation at the end of the year and of course my wedding anniversary.
In our first session, we calculated our daily calorie intake. The key phrase in any weight loss program is ‘calorie deficit’. So regardless of what diet fad one chooses to take, as long as you are in a deficit, it is fine. It is a bit challenging for me though because I am petite. My calorie deficit theoretically is less than the minimum required for every human being. Thus, like it or not, I have to incorporate exercise into my weekly routine. By just exercising 3 times/week, I could increase my calorie intake a bit to allow a deficit to happen. I hope that makes sense.
So far, we’ve had sessions from the dietitian and physiotherapist team. All of us were given a Food Diary and encouraged to share our journey in the WA group. Members who are diligent in attending the sessions and also interactive on WA are given merit points. The committee members have lined up lots of activities throughout the months and I really look forward to them. These activities are aerobic exercises, aqua-aerobics, hiking, walking at the park etc.
It has been a great and motivating start so far. I hope to achieve my goals at the end of this 6 months.
Heading to Jalan Yang Kurus
Having a BIG WHY definitely helps you in the weight loss journey. I have been on an on-off mission for this purpose since my first pregnancy more than 10 years ago. and now I am at it again for the year 2023. I have started since early December 2022, to kickstart the motivation to do so. Hoping to gain momentum in the new year.
My Big WHY
Better photos
I love taking pictures but ever since I looked like liquid paper or lemon on a stick, I do not take delight in such activities anymore. I’d be wearing a really nice outfit but it doesn’t look as flattering as how it should be in real life. Having said that, it is also very difficult to shop for new clothes when you’re petite and a bit on the plump side. Unless I have my attires tailor-made but who’d have time for that. It’s like the upper half of my body is an XL but my lower half is still petite, only with a bigger waistline.
This kind of explains my work wardrobe. I haven’t been able to fit into my baju kurung nicely and I have a lot of nice ones. the bulges at different parts of the body are distracting. therefore, I buy more blouses for my workwear. Let’s hope I can fit back into my baju kurung by the end of the year.
My brother will be getting married by probably July next year. So that is another motivating factor. You don’t want to look like cempedak. Or is it nangka? I need to look like the noona and not an ahjumma.
Better Health
I believe if you are mindful of the food that you choose to eat – you’ll not only lose weight but also benefit from the nutritious meals you prepare for yourself. Better complexion, stronger bones and an improvement in general well-being. When it comes to consuming a proper diet, you’d have to be on a calorie deficit to shed the extra kilograms. Exercise may help but 80% of it is food. As diabetes and hypertension run in the family, this also means I have to take great care of my health. I do not want these diseases to set in too early.
Hiking at Bear Hill
It was my 1st time to Bukit Beruang to hike. Our clinic has this health programme to combat obesity among staff by organizing activities such as running, Zumba and sports. This week we went hiking and Ya Allah.. nak terputus nyawa. I could feel my heart rate elevate and then my body heated. It was a good workout and I am considering going there again sometime in the future, maybe with friends but not kids. It is a bit too strenuous for the little ones.
There are a few entry points to the hill but we went to the one in the residential area which is Taman Melaka Raya. When we arrived at 830am, there were a lot of elderly Chinese folks already going down the hill. They must have started early which is like Wow. It makes me wonder what the other non-Chinese elderly folks do in the morning for their exercise. What would be their chosen activity? Would you know?
We went up the hill using the easy-intermediate level tanah trail and made our way down by the tar trail. Even then, we were already very very exhausted. I could sense the euphoric sense in completing this feat though especially when you’ve gained enough stamina to go on longer and more challenging trails.
A friend of mine shared a few tips to help us with muscle recovery. Some of her suggestions include;
- proper warm-up, stretching and cooling down
- wear appropriate clothes and shoes
- eat a light breakfast and bring water
- after the hike, bath in cold water to decompress
- have high protein food
- sleep with the legs elevated at night
The next day I did not have any muscle aches at all. It was amazing.
Snippets of moments at Bear Hill in this video
Exchange and substitution
Heyya.. I am still in the BLS2020 programme. The 6 month agonizing but hopefully fruitful journey to lose weight.
I knew a nutritionist. My sister that is but she has forgotten almost everything she learnt during her undergraduate years because she is not practising. She is now a teacher by profession. Ha ha.
Fortunately, the internet especially my fav go to for infographics, Instagram has a lot of things I need to know about diet, exercise, weight loss. I just need to choose my hashtags properly and double check to see if the ones dispensing advice are certified trainers/nutritionists. Yup, not doctors cause the advice is superficial and very textbook. I know because I’m one. I did not even know that there’s a thing called a Food pyramid for vegans!
Recently I’m learning more about food exchange and substitution. Like, if I don’t want to use sugar in my drinks – what can I safely replace it with. Or if I want a recipe for low calorie choc chip cookies – what would be the secret ingredients.
When it comes to exchange, it’ll be like ‘if I drink this bubble tea now, my calorie bank would shrink. Am I willing to sacrifice my fist of rice and palm of broccoli for this?” – on most days, I am proud to say I am able to walk away from those hip drinks. But I do have my bad days. Especially when my nephews and nieces come by to the house!
It is also interesting to note that food products marketed as healthy may not be as healthy you would think it is. I learn to read the labels. Still making mistakes but sis cuba.. lol. Take this for instance, a tablespoon (15g) of this St Dalfour marmalade is only 47kcal whilst a tbs of this healthy spread ranges from 84 to 96kcal.
We have 4 months to go. Indeed, I feel lighter although the scales are not showing it. I am drinking more water. I am more selective with my choices of snacks and timing of meals. I am lifting weights. My husband has this multi function home gym fitness station which has been redundant for quite a while. I have painstakingly moved it to my personal craft room for my own use. I hope to see results at the end of this 4 months.
I plan to practice belly dancing at home and just wiggle for cardio purposes since being on a treadmill can be boring. who knows I can get a figure like Shakira. HA HA HA HA.
I am still optimistic of what I hope to achieve out of this 6 months of restrain and pushing myself. This is because as one successful weight loss instagrammer puts it,
Minci Moss 