Belly Off! Club
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| Firdaus and his daily diet |
All it took, though, was a glimpse at
the number on the weighing scale for him to set it right.
Here, there are several important steps we could learn from his
experiences:
THE SETBACK
THE WAKE-UP CALL
THE FOOD
THE FITNESS
THE REWARD
THE SETBACK
Firdaus's daily diet
used to be typically Malaysian: nasi lemak for
breakfast and nasi kandar for lunch. Bad eating habits plus
lack of exercise were responsible for his weight gain. By the time he was 26,
he was at a staggering 105kg.
Things spiralled
down dangerously as the fasting month ensued. Firdaus would indulge in Ramadan
delicacies such as roti john and a cornucopia of kuih muih in one fell swoop
for iftar. “I guess when you fast
in the day, you subconsciously want to make up for it at night."
THE WAKE-UP CALL
When the
Ramadhan/Eid festivities were over, Firdaus had ballooned up to 115kg, which
meant a surplus of 10kg within one month. Seeing the number vividly on the
weighing scale was damning for him.
“I started thinking to myself: ‘If I
weigh 115kg now, what will happen to me when I'm 40?”'
THE FOOD
Firdaus's first step
towards a healthier body was to cut soft drinks and fast food from his diet. He researched healthier food options and
monitored his calorie intake. Firdaus consumed one
heavy meal a day (at lunchtime) and for breakfast, he swapped his usual white
bread with whole meal while dinner would comprise only soup. Firdaus also
completely ruled out fried food.
THE FITNESS
His next step was
adding regular exercise to his weight loss plan. In his first week,
Firdaus spent 30 minutes running on the treadmill but due to his asthma, he
took his time in increasing his running time gradually. Having dropped 2kg in seven days, he was motivated to keep
going. His
workout schedule now consists of an hour at the gym plus weight lifting, cross
training, football, futsal and badminton" as part of this four-time-a-week
routine.
THE
REWARD
After losing weight
Firdaus mostly noticed his increased self esteem. "When your
fitness level increases. you start believing that you can do a lot of
things." he says With his fitness finally in check. Firdaus is set to enjoy years of good health alongside his wife
and son who have been his biggest source of motivation.
(Adapted from Men’s Health/January
2013/Page35)
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