Losing weight
Strange how I seem to get ideas for blogging late at night when I should be asleep. I guess at night is when my mind can go wild without interruption.
I stepped on the scale last weekend and almost died of a shock. I've been ignoring how my clothes seem to have shrunk, sometimes blaming the smaller clothes on having been in the dryer too long. In total denial! I have so many reasons to lose weight, apart from the obvious vanity one.
Both my parents were diabetic and had high blood pressure. My father was diagnosed with diabetes and HBP in his 30's. His eyesight deteriorated when he was in his late 40's which caused him to fall and break his hipbone in 1984. He had a heart attack while lying in hospital for 6 months for his hipbone to heal. Being a diabetic, his hip bone took a long time to heal. Soon after he was discharged from hospital with a limp, he was diagnosed with kidney failure. He passed away one month short of his 55th birthday after suffering for 5 years.
My mother was diagoned with diabetes and high blood pressure when in her 40's. She too was overweight. For some time, my mother's menses was erratic. She thought it was due to menopause. When she finally saw a gynae, she was diagnosed with the beginning stages of cervical cancer. After a total hysterectomy and radiotherapy treatment, her intestines got blocked. Her small intestines got twisted which resulted in the blockage. Until the day she passed away, no one knew for sure what caused the intestines to get twisted.
My maternal grandfather passed away at the age of 81 from a stroke. Nobody knew he had high blood pressure. He used to drive a lorry until he was in his late 70's and cycled to get everywhere in Teluk Intan. He did like his fatty pork.
My paternal grandmother also suffered from high blood pressure. My father's younger brother passed away from a heart attack when he was 54.
With a family history like mine, I really should be careful. Also, I will really love to look good in a dress! I've just realised that I've been avoiding mirrors whenever possible. Last weekend, when in Singapore, it suddenly struck why women like to shop for shoes. When trying on a pair of shoes, you're looking at your legs from the calf down. Unless one is obese, the legs from the calf down don't look fat! There isn't any problem of not being able to pull up the zip or having to see unsightly bulges or cellulite.
So, I know my reasons for wanting to lose weight and be as close to my pre-PT weight as possible. Yup, I blame PT for the weight gain ;-) Being blissfully happy in the relationship makes one fat! Plus we had kids ma.
This is what I know about ways to lose weight:
So, I promise myself to watch what I eat. Make fruit and vegetable the bulk of my diet and cut out refined carbs. Exercise at least 1/2 hour each day, whatever the form of exercise is. Starting from this day, 29 June 2006!
I stepped on the scale last weekend and almost died of a shock. I've been ignoring how my clothes seem to have shrunk, sometimes blaming the smaller clothes on having been in the dryer too long. In total denial! I have so many reasons to lose weight, apart from the obvious vanity one.
Both my parents were diabetic and had high blood pressure. My father was diagnosed with diabetes and HBP in his 30's. His eyesight deteriorated when he was in his late 40's which caused him to fall and break his hipbone in 1984. He had a heart attack while lying in hospital for 6 months for his hipbone to heal. Being a diabetic, his hip bone took a long time to heal. Soon after he was discharged from hospital with a limp, he was diagnosed with kidney failure. He passed away one month short of his 55th birthday after suffering for 5 years.
My mother was diagoned with diabetes and high blood pressure when in her 40's. She too was overweight. For some time, my mother's menses was erratic. She thought it was due to menopause. When she finally saw a gynae, she was diagnosed with the beginning stages of cervical cancer. After a total hysterectomy and radiotherapy treatment, her intestines got blocked. Her small intestines got twisted which resulted in the blockage. Until the day she passed away, no one knew for sure what caused the intestines to get twisted.
My maternal grandfather passed away at the age of 81 from a stroke. Nobody knew he had high blood pressure. He used to drive a lorry until he was in his late 70's and cycled to get everywhere in Teluk Intan. He did like his fatty pork.
My paternal grandmother also suffered from high blood pressure. My father's younger brother passed away from a heart attack when he was 54.
With a family history like mine, I really should be careful. Also, I will really love to look good in a dress! I've just realised that I've been avoiding mirrors whenever possible. Last weekend, when in Singapore, it suddenly struck why women like to shop for shoes. When trying on a pair of shoes, you're looking at your legs from the calf down. Unless one is obese, the legs from the calf down don't look fat! There isn't any problem of not being able to pull up the zip or having to see unsightly bulges or cellulite.
So, I know my reasons for wanting to lose weight and be as close to my pre-PT weight as possible. Yup, I blame PT for the weight gain ;-) Being blissfully happy in the relationship makes one fat! Plus we had kids ma.
This is what I know about ways to lose weight:
- The weight was gained over the years so I mustn't expect to lose the weight quickly without compromising my health. So no crash diets please.
- I need to exercise to firm up. No more sedentary lifestyle.
- Eat healthily. That means avoid fatty food, refined carbohydrates like white rice, sugar, refined flour, etc. Healthy carbs are welcome, eg, potatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkin.
- Discipline, discipline, discipline!
- No fad diets, eg, the Atkins Diet which says eat meat and no fruit or veg for two weeks. And have dog breath? No thank you!
- Fruit and veg is good for bulking up without piling on the calories.
- Change of lifestyle will mean losing weight and keeping it off. No point in dieting to lose 10 pounds, then go back to the lifestyle which resulted in the weight gain in the first place. Don't want to lose 10 pounds and gain 15 pounds!
- I've always been a chubby girl. My aunts were very sweet. They used to tell me I have "baby fat". Well, "baby fat" has become "fat, baby!" So, I shouldn't expect to have a body like Jessica Alba or Nicole Kidman. Body like Salma Hayek is a possibility lah. Got the same pear shape lah.
So, I promise myself to watch what I eat. Make fruit and vegetable the bulk of my diet and cut out refined carbs. Exercise at least 1/2 hour each day, whatever the form of exercise is. Starting from this day, 29 June 2006!
posted by Min Chan at
2:33 am
13 Comments:
Good luck,Min!
Try including more fish in your diet.
This is what I've been doing:
Breakfast: tea+ 2 pcs of digestive biscuits. They are high in fibre.
Lunch: Bread or fruits.
Dinner: Fish/meat with salad.
Hope it helps!
Go for it min!!! :) let's do it together, I need to get rid of my mummy's belly man :(
get healthy for the kids and us :)
Slow and steady wins the race. You can do it! I wrote a similar post on 3rd October 2005 and have since lost 15 pounds (and regained 3 pounds). No more sedentary lifestyle for me. Now, I walk whenever I get the chance, ride on my exercise bike while I watch tv or read the papers, dance salsa to some vcds (I recommend you get some. Its a fun way to exercise!) and I've replaced my rice with more vegs and fruits. I feel and look better. Still slightly round but not so frumpy. Hahaha! And like you said, thats only the vain part benefits not to mention the health benefits. My mum died of cervical cancer too while dad and his parents all have high blood pressure.
Thanks for the advice, Kate. Will keep it in mind.
cuddlyfamily, let's do it!
mumsgather, thanks for sharing your experience. Yes, persistence is the key isn't it? Your family history is like mine. I'll always remember how my parents suffer. Definitely do not want to go through what they did. It was difficult for my brothers and I to see my parents suffer.
Well guys, so far so good today. Since the weather has been hot again, I'll get to swim more. Yay! Taking one day at a time.
Errr.. you almost forget this. Cleaning out kids plates added our weight sideway. Boohoo!
hijackqueen, so far, I've been able to order one adult portion to be shared by both my kids. So I've not had to finish off their food. Phew!
Hey Min! Thank you for stopping through my blog. I see you are thinking of loosing weight as well.
My suggestion? From what I am doing and what I have seen work countless times with other weight loss bloggers is to start slowly. Make a few changes, (cut sode out, fast food) from your diet, but don't calorie count at first. First and foremost, start a workout routine, excersize, something. (Biking is awsome, and if you want more info on that just email me or leave a comment and I will explain it more :) ) Once you get the workout in check totally, start dieting. No fad diets, just eating healthy. It is hard to stay motivated at first, I have a ton of links to bloggers who have suceeded in or are working towards loosing weight.
Either way, get ahold of me and I'll help as much as I can :)
Hi Tyler! Thanks for the tips. Just read from your blog someone has lost 350lbs!
Woo Hoo, way to go, Girl! Really sorry to hear abt ur parents. After seeing my inlaws suffering from Heart probs & Diabetes, I vowed never to be obese again 4 years ago & lost 50lbs. I feel more younger & energetic than I did 10 yrs ago. I can wear all my prewedding & prekids clothes easily now & save money on my clothes shopping! Oh ya, losing weight also makes ur sex life so much better.All the best dear!
I empathise with you as I'm going through a similar experience.
I'll enjoy seeing your progress.
Great going, Min! Yeah, I would go slowly too, although if the urge hits you to make some bigger life changes, go for it! I find making smaller, more permanent changes like avoiding the lift when it's one or two floors up.. (it isn't as pathetic as it sounds!) I find I often overeat when I spend the whole day at home, even if I have had a good meal. the need to munch can be overwhelming. So that's when you need to reach for a cool glass of water (no fruit juices or soft drinks, they make your blood sugar levels go up like crazy!)
We are on a bit of a health kick too, and when you set your heart to it, it can be kind of fun being good! Good luck!
Lovey
C O
best way to keep at your dieting is......two things. get a digital weighing scale and weigh yourself at the same time each day. and get a full length mirror and look at yourself everyday. that should get you motivated. good luck.
Thanks for the word of encouragement. I've been doing pretty well since I posted but I binged yesterday. Back to more fruits and veg today.
mamasan, I read somewhere that we overeat because our body is "starving". Not that we do not have enough to eat but not eating right. So our body craves for certain things, especially sweet things. Since I've been eating fruit and drinking fruit juice for first half of the day, I've not craved for sweets and also not been overeating.
me, I don't work well under pressure! LOL I'll stick with watching what I eat and when my clothes start getting loose, I know I'm doing alright. I'll weigh myself once or twice a month I think.
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