Special Feature: How I Lost 40kgs in 8 Months

Recently, I got in touch with a childhood friend of mine. Suffice to say, he wasn't half the man he used to be.

Now, this isn't going to be your bite-sized chunk of information you're used to receiving on Straight Eye for the Straight Guy. So I suggest you grab a cup of coff.. I mean, a bowl of fruit, sit back, relax and brace yourself for an awe-inspiring story of hope, courage, determination and desire.

How I Lost 40kgs in 8 Months

by Kynan Tiong Sawan

I’m going to go straight to the point and I’m not going to talk about my feelings. I’m writing this with the hope of helping people. Because we all need help when it comes to something as important as our health.

Exercise

I’ll begin with exercise. First of all, we need to admit that we are a product of our environment and that the way we are at present is the result of the circumstances that we were placed in whilst growing up. I grew up in a home that rarely encouraged me to go out and play, and thus, I never really understood or realized the true value of exercise, or playing hard for that matter.

My previous weight loss efforts were always futile, and the only reason behind my failure was the fact that I never tried. People tend to start an exercise routine one day, get sore the next, then decide to take a week off to let the muscles heal.

This isn’t wise, and is actually a hindrance to developing a habit of exercise, because let’s face it, once a week is not exercise. The bare minimum is at least 20 minutes a day depending on your age and weight. Ignore the soreness and try to repeat what you did, and when you do the exercise – try your best. You’re meant to feel a burn, and you’re meant to sweat and look terrible. Exercise is not pretty and the only reason the people on television look good doing it is because they’re either not doing it with full intensity, or perhaps the studio that they’re filming in is air conditioned. Taebo videos however, are an exception. Do you see how sweaty those guys get? Now that’s exercise.

My exercise routine started off as a run through a wild forest reserve area behind my university. I didn’t time myself, and I didn’t care about my form. What I cared about was how tired I made myself feel, and how wet my shirt became from being soaked in sweat. This went on for about 3-4 months until I hurt myself by attempting a 3km run on an extremely uneven path (damn you Northlake). The injury has been the best learning experience I have had so far.

My injury lead to me signing up to a gym, and I haven’t looked back since because I am now on my way to achieving 8% body fat if I keep up whatever it is I’m doing.

The gym itself is another hurdle that you have to get through. A lot of over weight people tend to be embarrassed about how they look when they are in the gym. This was true especially for me. I was terribly self conscious at first and could never focus whilst I was working out at the gym. But with time, I eventually got used to it, and the gym is now one of my favourite places to go to in the university. People are friendly, and people do want to help. And I can tell you that each time I see an overweight person huffing and puffing in the gym, I smile not because it’s funny, but because I know that this person will achieve their goal based on the effort that they are making.

Lifestyle

I remember watching an episode of “The Cleveland Show” and in it, the little son of the main character tells his father “If I walk any further in this heat, I’ll develop sweat stains under my breasts”.

I was that kid, sweat stains under my breasts and all. The unwillingness to sweat or walk is an example of the bad lifestyle that many overweight people lead. What we need to remember is that nothing is wrong with sweating. It’s perfectly natural and it just means that your body can’t cope with the temperature of your environment. If sweat is a problem for you – wear deodorant and bring a spare shirt around. There’s always a solution to every problem.

The idea of living a healthy lifestyle makes perfect sense. If you want to have the body of the triathlete, you need to live the life of a triathlete. This means train like a triathlete, eat like a triathlete, and think like a triathlete.

However, living the life of another person you aspire to be does not mean that you need to do exactly what they’re doing. After all, not everybody can run, swim, and cycle 42km. The secret is to think of the types of decisions and choices that these people will make, and to live your life by these decisions.

My lifestyle changes were very subtle, and I hope that they will be permanent. Making simple choices like walking to the store, instead of driving or taking the bus can make a great difference in your life. Taking the stairs instead of the escalator is also a great example of a lifestyle change that one can make. Whatever it is, it has to relate directly to you and your life, and no one else can make the decision to change your lifestyle except you.

I think that many overweight people have a problem leading a healthy lifestyle because being overweight truly and severely limits your body movement. And when the movement of our body is limited, it is definitely harder to be active. In a nutshell, my best advice would be to have it hard and suck it up – at least till the weight drops off and you feel the new movements that your body can make.

Diet

My diet was and still is the most challenging aspect of losing weight. But the 2 most important things that I kept in mind throughout the year was that I had to eat like my grandfather, and that “I had to put in less than what I put out.

Living like my grandfather was important because I realized that many of the foods that I was consuming were not good for me because they were foreign to my natural diet, and not required by my dietary needs.

Putting in less than what you get out means that you need a calorie deficit that goes along with burning calories through exercise. The hardest bit – accepting the fact that I couldn’t enjoy the little things I used to enjoy anymore.

Further into my weight loss, I did more research and cut out sugar to prevent the storage of fat, and increased my protein intake to build and maintain muscle mass. By this time I was on what I call ‘Semi-Atkins’ – a diet based on the inverted food pyramid with a substantial amount of complex carbohydrates from fruit and vegetable as part of my diet.

With diets however, one must remember that not all diets can work for everybody. The initial part of my dieting phase saw me crashing in the middle of the afternoon – and I was never one to take afternoon naps. I took my body’s reaction seriously and then tweaked my diet to suit my personal energy and dietary needs.

One other thing to remember – diets are diets, and the weight comes back with a vengeance the moment you stop. And this is why it is so important to choose a diet that you think you could live with for the rest of your life. This is all part of the change in lifestyle, and if it’s not something that you can apply to your life permanently, then it’s not going to work out for you.

I now live like a diabetic, and hope to continue living like this. I cook all my own food, and am constantly researching foods that will suit my new diet and lifestyle. All this is done in fear of gaining the weight back because I know for a fact that I can definitely go back to what I used to be if the proper precautions are not taken.

However, the solution to the problem of gaining back the weight after stopping a diet lies in our bodies’ natural ability to adapt. As of now, I am slowly incorporating different types of carbohydrates into my diet so that my body adapt to my consumption of refined carbohydrates.

But the fact remains that I will try my best to abstain from all refined carbohydrates and sugars, and also high glycaemic foods. Whatever it is, I’ll take the healthier option. Because we have the rest of our lives to eat cake and be fat. But why do it now? Because now is the time to be free and live the dream. And my dream was to grow up to be what I am now – the best that I can be.

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Living Better: How You're Exercising

Ultimately, this exercise plan will culminate in you looking healthy, toned and fit.

If you came here with the intention of rivaling Ronnie Coleman, you're better off visiting Bodybuilding.com.

And by that I mean Brad Pitt, not Brad Hollibaugh.

Before we begin, you have to be aware that there are probably a million different workout plans out there. It would be foolish to call myself an expert on anything, but here is what has worked for me and has worked for many. It is a practical, fundamental workout plan that you can fit around any busy student/workman schedule.

But hold it right there - you don't actually have to sign up for a gym membership just yet. As how a toddler must learn to crawl before he/she walks, the first step towards an effective workout regime is conditioning. Apart from your weekly badminton sessions or weekend jogs at the park, I want you to do something very simple for me.

Every night, before you go to bed, get down on all fours... and perform a pushup. Pushups are a compound exercise, meaning they work more than one major muscle group - in this case the arms, shoulders, chest, back and abs. Compounds exercises are the best way to shape your body's overall frame before you start specific weight training.

Before I began to weight train, I used to regiment myself to 120 pushups a night (4 sets of 30 pushups) before bed, every night, without fail. You can start off with a reasonable number, say 30 pushups (3 sets of 10 pushups) every night before retiring. The rule of thumb is start low and then gradually build yourself up to higher levels, as your body adjusts accordingly.

When you're able to do at least 20 to 30 push-ups consecutively without rest, your body is fit and ready for the next stage.

The Pushup

There's a lot more to a pushup than meets the eye. The key to performing a correct pushup lies in your body's form. Suffice to say, many men aren't aware of the correct method of execution - as a rule of thumb - if it feels too easy, you're probably doing it wrong.

Figure 1

As in Figure 1, make sure your back is in a straight line, with your face looking ahead. You should aim to be completely stable in this position and be able to breathe comfortably. Your hands should be placed approximately shoulder-width apart.

Figure 2

Now, in a slow and controlled motion, lower your body until it is perfectly parallel to the ground. Your entire body (upper and lower) should move in tandem and your chest should almost touch the surface of the floor. Most men make the mistake of performing a "semi-girly" pushup, where their upper bodies are doing the pushup while their lower bodies don't move.

Now, making sure your form is kept perfect throughout, push yourself up, again in a slow and controlled motion, back to the starting position in Figure 1 and voila - you've completed your first perfect pushup!

The key to achieving perfect pushup posture is to keep your chest extended outward and your midsection taut and tight - squeeze your core abdominal muscles (a.k.a your abs) in order to keep your back straight and your body stabilized.

If you're in doubt, it's always perfectly OK to get someone to spot for you, i.e. someone to watch you doing the pushup to make sure you're in perfect form.

Now all you need to do is to get down to 9 more of those bad boys and you've completed a set. 2 more sets and you can sleep peacefully with the knowledge that you're one big step closer to a dream come true.

Over the course of the next month, with enough dedication and the right eating habits, you'll notice your body changing quickly - beginning with more rounded shoulders and a filled-out chest. You'll also enjoy increased strength and stamina in sport. But I assure you that this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Up next: Eating your way to a six-pack

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Living Better: A New Beginning

Your journey begins on an inquest into two things: what you're eating (surprise surprise) and how you're exercising.

Before we begin, first and foremost, we need to be realistic about our expectations. I'm going to be honest with you - you probably aren't going to look like a Calvin Klein underwear model in 3 months from now. But, you definitely will look like the Calvin Klein underwear model version of yourself once we're through - if you have the desire and discipline to stick by these very simple guidelines.

What you're eating

Most people hear the word "diet" and automatically think of "minimal food consumption". That's called a crash diet. A diet where you damn near stop eating and limit your food intake to sad things like watercress leaves and Jacob's plain crackers.

But the most fundamental thing about the right diet isn't about eating less. It's about eating right.

A very simple example is the Mediterranean diet - a diet rich in unsaturated fat, fruits, vegetables, fish and limited amounts of dairy foods and wine.

The Malaysian diet is, in my opinion, one of the worst diets in the history of mankind. It is rich in saturated fat, refined carbohydrates and bursting with sugar and salt. To make things worse, the Malaysian diet is also lacking in many vital nutrients, protein and fibre.

To want to make a positive change in your life is to desire to say no to food that is simply put, bad for you. Many of you will recoil in horror when I say no to char kway teow, no to laksa, no to pisang goreng (all Malaysian favorites).

But, it isn't as bad as it sounds. There is light at the end of the tunnel.

Many will rant, "It's impossible to live in Malaysia and not enjoy Malaysian food!" Wait, wait, wait. Let me finish. Your tongue will still have the opportunity to grace such delicacies as I'm not advocating complete avoidance. For the weak-hearted, I'm advocating moderation. Bona-fide moderation.

Start by making better dietary decisions. Here's an example. Picture this: you're at the kopitiam and you're craving for some good ol' chicken rice.

Instead of the drumstick, opt for the breast (chicken breast is the lowest in fat content and the highest in protein). And please skip the oil and sauce.

Instead of chicken oil-flavored rice, ask the seller to give you white rice (brown rice is a far superior choice but almost impossible to obtain when you're eating out in Malaysia).

Ask the uncle to load you up on cucumber slices, or better, with a side dish of bak choy (green vegetables).

The same applies to almost any other food option out there. Making a change can simply start with asking for your food to be done with less oil, salt or sugar. Opting for something steamed/boiled instead of deep fried. Choosing a Japanese bento box over a Chinese takeout meal. Snacking on mouth-watering cut fruit instead of potato chips. Doing something is better than doing nothing.

In any case, always be on the lookout for options that contain a balanced proportion of protein, carbohydrates, good fat and fibre. And when it comes to fresh fruit and vegetables, you have permission to go absolutely berserk (ie. eat them at every opportunity!)

There is light at the end of the tunnel if you're still far from convinced - once the 3 months have expired and you've set your new lifestyle in stone, you can always make the occasional exception. But trust me on this - once you're through the twelfth week and enjoying the first-fruits of your labor, let it not come as a surprise if your cravings for unhealthy foods (once the cornerstone of your eating habits) remarkably diminishes...

To be continued: How you're exercising

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Living Better: Desire

Desire is a beautiful thing.

The desire to say "I am not going to do this to myself anymore."

The desire to want to be healthy. To want to be fit. To want to be happy.

The desire to be free from sickness, disease, fatigue.

The desire to be, in every sense of the word, the best man that you can possibly be.

The desire to want change.

Simply put, if you don't want something with every drop of your heart and soul, you are not going to get it. If that's you, stop reading here.

Still here? Great.

Most people going on a weight-loss diet quit within the first 3 months.

Some engage in crash diets, lose a ton of weight, and then balloon up in equal or less the amount of time they spent dieting in the first place.

That's because most of us adopt short-term solutions. We want to lose 10kg within the next 4 weeks. We want to trim 4 inches off our waist by July.

The problem is, we don't see past those 4 weeks. We don't see past July. Once we lose the weight we want to lose, we go back to our old ways.

There are others who adopt diets that are just plain dangerous (e.g. cutting out carbohydrates completely, going on an all-protein diet, etc) and cannot be kept up in the long run without either driving you nuts or running you the risk of premature death.

Thus, I'm not here to set you a weight loss/gain target or recommend you the latest fad diet out there.

I'm here for something much more... monumental. Yet practical and realistic.

I'm here to advocate a lifestyle change.

A permanent lifestyle change.

A lifestyle change that will revolutionize virtually every single aspect of your life, be it your physical fitness, your mental vigor and even your relationships.

So why 3 months?

Because, chances are, if you're consistent throughout the span of the next 3 months, you're going to be consistent for the long run.

So if you're ready, mark down day one on your calendar and join me on this journey of self-renewal.

Because you chose to,

Your life changes now.

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