How I lost weight and fats

For the first time in my life 10 years ago, I went for a health check-up conducted by a former company I worked for and I was told that I was at borderline high cholesterol. Initially, I thought, it was my lifestyle I led for my entire 20s. It was of course. I gotta admit that I took advantage of being young, and being in the hotel industry for 2.5 years didn't help. On top of that, I ate whatever I felt like eating, I was also at the mamak during my college years and never will it cross my mind that, it wasn't just purely my lifestyle, it was in fact hereditary too. I was asked to reduce fast food and red meat intake, and I attempted by cutting down my fast food to a month once. Did that help? I maintained my lifestyle, but reduced my fast food intake and they came back the following year. Instead of showing improvement (but it's not possible by doing that nano step, I was too naive), the result came back with a jump from borderline to high cholesterol, skipping another level of slightly high. I was officially high risk at the age of 31.

I continue leading that unhealthy lifestyle. Reducing by that little in such a small scale will not make a difference (and without working out). Alcohol was a big chunk of my life too in my 20s. 

Fast forward to late 30s, I have the habit of eating when a really bad event befalls on my family to avoid family members worry. I shove food to my mouth just because I did not want others to be worried. 

Finally, I started meeting new people and making new connections. I have always been told I was too thin. Fact is, nobody knows that I am skinny-fat, a condition where I look thin on the outside but the fats are all hidden between all my organs as what people call as visceral fat. 

What did I do? I have to do something before I hit my 4th decade on Earth. I was in a lose fat program for 90 days. My lifestyle had 180 degrees change, with supplements and meal replacement. After going through that program, I now identified what food are considered unhealthy. People go for no carbs, no sugar, but is it sustainable? It's not. If low carbs and low sugar, it's do-able. The program was like this:

Low sugar

Low sodium

Low carbs

No processed food

No dairy

High protein

This means I was sacrificing all my desserts, switch my coffee from dairy to plant-based milk, vegetables, certain types of fruits, avoid deep-fried food with one cheat day. I'm a carb lover, so I would binge (but not to the extreme) on that day, sticking with 3 meals (binge on one).

The result after 90 days?

 

Nothing comes easy, no pain no gain. This was my pain, but also my gain. It was difficult kickstarting but if I wanna improve my overall health by 40, this was what I gotta do. That has been a very transformative journey as I have permanently changed my lifestyle

I weighed 56kgs when I first started, and 47 kgs when I completed the program with 3 visceral fat, reduced to 1. Body fats from 33% went down to 23%. Do I still munch and snack, and everything? Yes I do. Almost 2 years later, I am between 49 kgs to 50 kgs and have been this weight for the past 1 year. I have incorporated workout as part of my lifestyle. So, I would say, this is for the best.

Part 3: Bangkok Trip

Happy New Year 2024! It has been such a rollercoaster ride in 2023, with many big decisions, big changes and challenges made in 2023. Phew, what a change. What's interesting is that the monks I went to in the past said there will be a major change each time our age has the digit 9 in the second digit. How interesting! Indeed, it has for me in 2023. The older you get, the less interested you are with celebration, which includes New Year. It's just another day, another night.

Often times, I heard about Sukhumvit and finally, I'm in the area. This is a really eccentric and trendy Japanese-inspired cafe. They have gone into merchandising with coffee accessories like coffee machines ranging of different prices, coffee products etc. A great place to hang out for sure!

Met a Bumble friend who happened to be in Bangkok the same time as me. Yay!

Of course, without a doubt, I met my uni friends, where the mixed Teochews gather. I don't have many friends with Teochew blood but I came all the way to Bangkok to meet them. haha. Jokes aside, we had a really good time, reminiscing our uni days! Those times were good. 

Then, they brought us to this dessert place. Dang! My favorite - mango!

A mandatory photo with these 2. Not sure when is the next time I'll be meeting them again. I should honestly do it more. The fact that I do once in 10 years is beyond sad.

The next day, spent some time in an Australian cafe instead - Toby. Ah that's my late dog's name too! I love scrambled with coffee. So here I am. 

I don't remember Chatuchak to be like this, I guess it has changed, or I have memory problem I am not sure. Haha. Dropped by for more coffee but of course, how can it be good, just for the sake of I guess. Got some good deals from there though, so no complaints. Department stores are not meant for me, I wouldn't spend so much on clothes.

Next up, I went to this dessert shop, the Thai version of ABC in Cheng Sim Ei, located within the Chulalongkorn University district. I guess similar to University District in Seattle, Ewha University of Hongdae.

Not long after he went back to Bangkok, he got to see me again. Haha. 

The local food is a must! Cheap and good. Hainanese noodle thailand in Bangkok.

Small-scale, a little run down and dodgy, is my kinda vibe for good food. This place checks all the boxes.

Second round? Sure. I can't remember the name of the restaurant and bar, but here for some French pastry with cocktail before we call it a night.

Of course

Since Bangkok is named the most visited city in 2023, I visited as a very supportive neighbor. It was a good trip catching up with really old friends and a new friend. Vibrant, lively city as what I have known Bangkok as and it never disappoints. Perhaps, next time I should consider going with someone who has the same mentality as I am then it's way easier. Everyone is different, but to make things easier, let's stick to the people I am familiar with or people that travels the same way as I do. That's the takeaway. 

Balkans Day 2 - 082018 - Old town Zadar (Croatia)

It's Friday! Not sure what people do these days on a Friday. I guess, this is what I do or what I can do from now onwards. Be more active and be more hardworking updating this so that I have stories many years to come. 

Picking up from the previous post about my vacation back in 2018, we woke up here, sunshine! 

Bonn Appetit! We have carbs over there. I like carbs haha. My body might not like it.

Or some healthier options, the fruits haha. Let's get the stomach happy before leaving.

The blue sky, leaving Dubrovnik. Until we see you again on our last day. What's the best thing doing road trips like this? Blast those classic Malay songs! haha. So Malaysian right? haha. Yes we are, of course.

After a couple of hours of drive, here we are at Old town Zadar. Roughly 3 ish to 4 ish hours depending on traffic. 

Read some really good reviews about Pet Bunara, so here we are

Just us two. Honestly, I can't remember how the experience was 4 years ago. I shall then not comment about it.

Walking around, from one alley to another, waiting for sunset. It's a nice place to walk around for some insta-worthy pictures and yes, remember to grab some gelato while walking around. Not sure how that works with Covid now if we can walk around eating ice-cream.
 

Location: Old town Zadar, Croatia

Day 2: Al-Hatta Desert, UAE

So, we are at Day 2 now. It starts with a drive to Al Hatta desert. That's about 1.5 hours drive away.

SP's friend was so nice. He drove us all the way from Al Zayeed street to the place. I mean, so damn nice right?

We couldn't find the place for quad biking. So, we did a pit stop and took pic with the camels first. Mind you, this was before the Mers outbreak. It was still fine back then.

I haven't done the ATV back home. Probably, similar. But, I enjoyed this, except it was too hot. I was burned.

And, SP's bike was hijacked. hahaa. We had to share haha.

So in a desert, these 4W get stuck in the sand and stuff like that, which is very common. They have this rope to pull you out from the sand and you are good to go. How nice.

With all the sweat and energy drained, it's time for our lunch. That's me of course having buffet, in Feast, Sheraton. One thing about Dubai is that, they have the same hotel, like Sheraton, a few of them in the same street. That's how good the hotel business is over there.

Even though I have taken buffet in different countries, this is a whole new level of buffet. It was SO good. There are so many nationalities working in the same hotel, it's amazing. With voucher, it costs 150 per person after buy 1 free 1. Otherwise, it's 300. I've never come across a buffet with alcohol. If opt for alcohol, it's about 400-500 for a brunch buffet and alcoholics can go for that. It's cheaper than drinking per glass outside.

The SPs. Haha. After this session, we had comatose hahaha.

Europe: Switzerland Day 1 Part 1

We are now going to Switzerland! By far, it's still the most beautiful country I have ever seen and been in my life. Switzerland is divided into a few parts. Different countries call it different terms. Some call it districts, provinces, and here, you call it cantons. They speak different languages depending on where you are. Switzerland is surrounded by Germany, France and Italy as well as Romania. A big portion of it is at the German part. They understand and learn High German in school but in everyday conversation, they actually use slangs, which they call it as Swiss German. It's only the Swiss Germans understand it. Even the Germans have a hard time understanding it at times. Again, a Luzern and a Basel Swiss German may differ too. Therefore, the Swiss language does not really exist. E.g. Merci means thank you in standard french. But, they use it in the German parts too. Vielmal is standard German means a lot. So merci vielmal makes sense for them. Just maybe not for the French and Germans.

We did a pit stop for a toilet break. Yes, to use the toilet, it's 1 CHF. It's a machine whereby you need to put 1 CHF and you are given this ticket/voucher. With this voucher, it's like cash in a form of a voucher. Buy anything there and just give this voucher to them, and 1 CHF will be deducted from the amount. There's no maximum amount of vouchers.

This is a typical Swiss style, a market place. Look at the food, the pastries, everything looked so good! It tasted even better!

The country is very peaceful, very clean with fresh air, and also organized. You have to see the cleanliness there, it's insanely amazing. They have the autobahn there too. It means drive without limits. It runs from Basel, northwestern to Chiasso in the southern side.

It's dinner time, prepared by the owner of the hotel. It reminds me of the life in IMI. Haha.

They are still using the old school key. It's when you appreciate the manual key, not the high tech key card. How often can you find these kind of keys these days. I know Europe still have it. Just awesome. The bad part is that, if you lose it, goodbye.

Right in front of the hotel. It's Hotel Schoenbuhl. Shoen means beautiful in German :D

The Random Sunday

Last weekend,I was pretty much occupied with plans. I didn't really have much time to laze around on my bed starring at the ceiling and do practically nothing. That's one of my favorite past time. I know it sounds so unproductive. Who says sleeping is not productive. If you look at a different perspective, sleeping is productive and it is beneficial for your well-being too. Lack of sleep is hazardous. The effect of it is really huge, and it gets even more as you age or in better terms, grow older.

Yeah, I was doing my nails on Saturday, and Sunday was the time we went to Publika to do free show again. The main event was belly dance but we lost ourselves there and ended up doing a song each for 4 groups. haha.

This is the Japanese group. Yeah, Japanese. haha.

In between 2 sessions, we were stoning already. The worst part is not when you are performing. But, it's the waiting part that is very painful and taxing. You get so bored you just don't know what to do. Therefore, we ended up having coffee which was necessary, and the red velvet too. It was in Coffee Societe. The red velvet was nice. Otherwise, all of us would have fallen asleep while waiting for our turn.

After everything ended, we did a pit stop. A pit stop that ended us spending an hour there. How awesome I know that. Yeah, I got this ear ring there. It's still affordable though I am already broke. Since I am so broke, might as well, right.

The Atas 1

Last week, the Singaporean came back. What's the best that we can do? Revive our moments together.

We went to Pavillion and ate Suki-ya. Damn we talk like a cow and smell like a beef after that. haha. The pisa tower vs the big ass ice cream :P

The three of us, missing Jojo

Just don't ask me what is this, I have no idea

Ahhh~~ Brown!!!!!! I was so excited and words can't describe the level of my excitement when I saw Brown!!

Teehee. I just love Brown. That look is always priceless :P

The Libran's Birthday Part 4

This is the 4th part and also the last part in my birthday celebration. Beloved SP brought me to this place in Subang. You know how great my senses are especially in that area, I am completely clueless.

We had Spanish meal. You may not be very convinced that it tasted great. But, do not be sure that it's like what it seems like.

That's what SP had, and it was definitely great

Mine, and I know that the taste of it remains questionable by looking at this picture. But, I can assure that it was heavenly

Then, I had brownies, with the small birthday candle haha

That's the Libran

Of course, together with SP. Yeah just the two of us hehe.

That's enough for the birthday celebrations. I had a few more celebrations after that but, there are no pictures. So, the birthday celebration officially ends on this entry.