Living clean - a cautionary tale from a fat guy who loves to eat...

That defining moment...

My hba1C results back in June last year...

You don't get fat overnight.

If you neglect your body and kept on eating uncontrollably, you will gain weight. And if you keep it up over the years, your body will bloat up. That's a fact.
My turning point came sometime in the middle of last year. I mentioned this on my earlier post. So, what I have with me, was a piece of paper that read: "Diabetic, poor control".
After putting two and two together, it dawned on me that a poor diet, irregular eating hours, consumption of excessive carbohydrates and carbonated drinks had contributed to a spike in my sugar-levels.

At the height of my peak weight around 105kg...

It was hard to swallow the hard facts. 

"Diabetes", is a disease associated to your lifestyle. If you are docile and have trouble breaking down sugar in your food, there is a very likely chance of diabetes to occur. People in their mid-30s should check their sugar-levels to determine if they have diabetes (type 2) that is linked to weight gain and a carbohydrate rich diet.
Now, the carbohydrate part itself, needs a bit of explaining to do. We need sugar that converts into energy. Food containing starch is converted into sugar. If you can use the sugar and burn off the excess, then your body is doing a decent job in keeping your health in balance. This means, you exercise regularly and observe a balanced diet. Not too excessive on the carbohydrate intake. That was my problem. And it became from bad to worse.

A recent shot of me and my girl...

Change - it's inevitable...

A few things happened last year. My career was on a rocky path. My food column was cancelled and my health was deteriorating rapidly.
I chose to do something about the health part. Career decisions, well, I made mine. The only way to shed the extra bulge was to exercise and go on a diet.
When I said this to a couple of co-workers, they laughed. I was determined. I wanted to live past the age of 50 with no major health issues. I can fight diabetes.

Husky-power!

My motivation? Siberian Huskies!

I have two wonderful dogs. Each time I leave my house for work, I kept thinking on how much I have neglected them. 
To make up for this, I was motivated to leash them and walk at least 30-minutes a day. This became 1 hour and later, the workout was intensified to 2 hours a day. On the average, we walk about 10km. In total, for the first 90 days of my weight loss program, I walked almost 15km and lost 1kg a week.

Rise and shine!

The morning workout...

A happy Husky is a tired Husky!

Each day when I wake up in the morning, I was motivated to harness my pups and go for a 45-minute walk. 
If I don't, I felt that something was not right. My body needs the exercise to keep the sugar-levels balanced.
So, that said, I get the exercise I need, the dogs are happy. On food intake, I limited my carbohydrates. I consume rice in small portions only once a day. For breakfast, its moderate intake. I go a bit heavy on vegetables for lunch and eat as light as possible during dinner. Over a period of 90 days, I lost more than 10kgs.

Coffee, sandwich and the naughty boy...

Loading up... 

That "no guilt" dinner... 

Exercise, eat right and sleep well...

If you are an obese dude with a body mass index of 32, there is no shortcuts to losing weight and toning up your body. The first order of the day, is to get up and out to burn of the excess fat.
How did I achieve this? I walk. I eat less carbohydrates. I eat plenty of greens. Drink plenty of water. Abstain from carbonated drinks. Since I don't have a sweet tooth, I don't eat cakes and sugary pastries.
All that good food? Well, been there, done that. Eating clean, for starters, is not a cheap affair. It can be costly. The good and clean stuff are. It's a fact.
Sleep is the next agenda. You get good sleep, your body heals from the inside. Considered the fact that you exercise and eat well.

Toning up in the gym

Toning the limbs - after getting rid of the fat...

The human skin can stretch. If you put on weight, fat fills the area beneath your skin and puffs you up. Once you experience drastic weight loss, the skin becomes loose. This is a crucial time for you to hit the gym for weight training. I've done the cardio part, shed plenty of weight, but its time to take care of the skin which was once filled with fat. I pinched the skin on my forearms and it was stretching like rubber. So, I signed up at the company gym and underwent a program to tone up. Free weights was on the agenda. I started to curl weights to strengthen my upper body and core area.

Sweating it out at the gym

Curling the dumbbell.. 

After seven months, the moment of truth...

I was scheduled for a blood test on January. Did the usual fasting and prepped myself to see my physician.
She commended me for losing weight and maintaining a regime. The routine has become a part of my life. 
In short, I have changed my lifestyle.

Drawing blood..

The specimen

Normal sugar-levels

After a week, I went back to the physician to obtain my test results.
My hba1c reading was at 5.6%. The sugar-levels were back to normal. But this don't mean I can get back to binge-eating, gulp down Coca-Colas like a thirsty camel, eat what I want and as much as I want.
No Sir. I am not going back on that path again. That said I still have about 8kgs to shed to make it to my ideal weight of 78kgs. 
From 101kg in June last year, I weighed-in at 84.6kg at present. In total, I have lost about 16.4kg. But the war on diabetes is far from over.

My latest blood-glucose reading

With my buddies during Chinese New Year

It's good to know what to do when it comes to staying lean...

My goal is to be clean, lean and strong. I hope to achieve this by regular exercise and having a clean diet.
The last 8kgs is the hardest and I am committed to stay on course to gradually shed all the fat around my belly. I have kept diabetes under control and the next move, is to keep my blood pressure steady and cholesterol levels as low as possible. Can this be done? Absolutely! 

A clean bill of health...

The moment of truth...

Three months has passed since I embarked on a fitness program.

My aim was weight loss and getting lean. 

I walked 10km a day, sometimes clocking up to 20km to burn calories.

My daily calorie burn is roughly about 930 calories.

To get into shape, I split my workouts into two sets. One in the morning and the other late in the evening or at night.

Despite the shitty weather, I pushed on. There's no stopping.

So, having given my blood sample before heading off to Bangkok for my multimedia workshop, my chances to get off medication was good.

I have restricted my diet to greens and lean meat. Rice is only for lunch in a manageable portion.

At night, I eat light.

My hbA1c test - non-diabetic

 So, with all that done, my body began to heal. 

No more junk food, carbonated drinks. I had beers occasionally, but that was it.

I met Dr. Selva, the man who diagnosed me. 

He showed my test results and revealed to me on what to expect.

"Good. I have never seen a patient so determined. 

"You had one something right. 

"Now, I am taking you off your medication and will decrease the dosage for your hypertension meds. Keep it up, what you are doing..."

Hearing that was like striking a lottery.

I am cleared of diabetes and high cholesterol.

But I am not out of the woods as yet. There's much to do.

Too extreme?

I asked Dr. Selva if my program was too drastic.

He said I was "in-between"

"There are three types of weight loss.

"First, the extreme. You lose 10kg a week. That is not good.

"Next, there's the drastic weight loss, you lose weight rapidly, but in a month or so.

"Lastly, gradual weight loss. Noticeable in three months.

"What you are experiencing, is right in the middle of it."

My goal is to reach 78kg. That is my ideal weight and the Body Mass Index indicates that such is "ideal".

Walking outdoors despite the haze...

My current weight

The distance I've logged on walking

Getting lean...

Every day I workout at the office gym.

There's no excuse and I can't be lazy. I plan this during lunch time and spend an average of one hour doing body weight exercise and lifting weights.

I started with a warm-up session on the bike, clocking in 15-minutes in two sets.

From there, it's the body weight workout.

• Leg lifts - 10 reps 1 set x 2
• Stomach crunch - 10 reps 1 set x 2
• Push-ups - 10 reps 1 set x 2

After the body weight exercise, it's time to curl the dumbbells. 

I do two sets with 30 minutes switching from cardio to weight training.

The results are slowly showing. I am not aiming to be a meat head, but rather lean and fit.

Now that I am progressively stronger, I need to add more resistance and maintain my daily routine both walking and at the gym.

Hopefully, in the next 90 days, I will be able to shed half the weight and progress to achieve my goals by the second quarter of next year. 

The walk..

"These legs are made for walking.."

My health has gone to the dogs and of late, I have inherited my late father's lifestyle diseases.
High Cholesterol, Hypertension and Type II Diabetes: it's all in place.
That said, my dad lived up to 73 before he passed away.
On a routine trip to the clinic near the office, I was "forced" to take a blood test without fasting.
The results were simply devastating.
High-Cholesterol, and a glimpse into my blood-sugar levels indicated that something was not right.
The doctor said my kidneys were leaking protein.
Later, another test was made and the results weren't good either.
Glucose-levels in my blood and urine were high.
This was followed-up by another test that sealed my fate.
The doctor had diagnosed me with type II Diabetes.
There was a moment of self-denial and disbelief, but hey, dad had it, and it was in the late stages of his life.
I was put under medication and was told to go on a low-carb diet and eventually cease consumption of starchy food such as rice and noodles.

 Coping with the "unholy" trinity.

High-cholesterol, Hypertension and Diabetes can only mean one thing: Death.
There's risk of getting a heart-attack as plaque from extremely high cholesterol clogs up the main arteries in the heart.
Next, is stroke. And last but not least: kidney failure due to chronic diabetes.
Sounds scary, but it's true of such condition goes untreated.

Positive mental attitude and a change in lifestyle

The first thing I did, was to talk to Michelle, my wife.
A change in lifestyle is imminent. 
Being Asian and with my brains hotwired to consume rice, it will be hard to reduce intake of this grain, but what has to be done, has to be done.
Our first measure was to replace the polished rice with brown rice from Cambodia. Consumption is reduced to small portions.
This also means a change in eating habits. No more nasi lemak in the morning. My breakfast is now a piece of Canadian purple wheat sandwich. Fillers would be Japanese Soba or buckwheat noodles.
Natural "healers" like Okra and Bittergourd became my daily diet for the last 30 days. I love okra, so, there's never been an issue consuming this vegetable.
Eating well is one part, the other is exercise.
I don't need gym membership because I have working dogs.
They are my motivation and I have scheduled my time to accommodate their wellness by taking them for morning and night walks.
This is now my routine. 
We walk for 3.5km a session. It feels good to sweat it out and the kidz love it.

Our Siberian Huskies are getting the most of my exercise regime

My usual walking route

The longest distance I've done in a day

Don't stop.. Believing.. 

My buddy Bob Lew, a Diabetes sufferer also contacted me about my weight. At the time, I weighed-in in at 101.0kg.
He managed to shed 22kgs through a new diet regime and aims to hit 88kgs in the months to come.
Bob is a man determined and would not stop at anything to achieve his goals. I know this because we've been friends for 30 years.

Bob (3rd from left) with me back in 1988

At Broga Hill in 2010

So, having heard what he had to say, I took on a 90-day challenge. 
The aim, is to shed 10kgs.
With controlled food intake and adequate exercise, this can be achieved.
Since my last weigh-in on June 16 at 101.0kg, I have lost some 5.8kg and stand at 95.2kg. I strive to eat healthier and stay away from food that is heavily-laden with carbohydrates. Since I don't have a sweet tooth, sugar has never been an issue. I drink my coffee black without sweetening. 
I guess the straw that broke the camel's back was the high consumption of canned drinks like Coca-Cola and 100PLUS.
This contributed to the spike in sugar-levels and the blood test confirmed this.
To fight the bulge, I walk a minimum distance of 6km a day. This helps to burn the fat and get rid of excessive calories.


Never give up

I have never stopped my outdoor pursuits and this medical condition is by no means, a hindrance to by active lifestyle. Now that exercise is a daily routine, I need to head out even more.
So, the part where I find balance is very important. Spouse support helps a lot as I have nothing to hide from my significant half.

Living with Diabetes doesn't spell the end for outdoor pursuit such as angling

Sweating it out at the archery range

I've hit the middle-age and based on my life journey, I have little regrets if my life ends abruptly.
As a matter of fact, life has been excellent!
My only regret, if I die before my time: is not being able to grow old with Michelle, my wife.
Things happen for a reason and given the chance to make it right, I will do my level-best in controlling this lifestyle disease. So, there's no room for thoughts like giving up or throwing the towel. Life's worth living if you have people who care for you and you don't let them down by ignoring your own health and well-being.