my weight loss blog

Let me share a piece of my story

2012-07-16T23:15:00.003-07:00

LEFT: March 2011 / 249 lbs / 46 inch waist
RIGHT: July 2011 / 168 lbs / 33 inch waist

I have been very busy so it has been more than a year already that I have been loosing weight. I actually started March 2011. Let me share a piece of my story:

When I was in third year high school, I used to weigh 135 lbs as a varsity in taekwondo. When I was in college I stopped training and I gained a lot of weight. Losing weight never came into my mind until a year after college when I was working already. I was 21 when I lost a staggering 55 lbs. I exercised of course but the diet I was having is called starvation diet, which, apparently is not good. It's good I lost a huge amount of weight but after a year whenever, I gained back what I lost and I have no control over it, even if I eat a few the weighing scale just keep on reading unfavorable result.

When I started working for like 3 years straight in the night shift, it became worst. I gained back what I lost plus another 20 lbs. Stress and unhealthy lifestyle are the culprit (I drink beer every weekend, eat comfort foods, then sleep).

It was a frustrating and depressing moment, when I actually have to go back to my starvation diet, and I lost a couple of pounds anew.

It wasnt a good practice because my flesh is as watery as watery bed, and my man boobs is very visible if I wear thin shirts.

I get into sports, but the results are still unfavorable. I became active but ate a lot in return. I tried jogging with high hopes of getting in shape and losing weight consistently without gaining a lot back. For 3 years I have been inconsistent with my diet and exercise but all hopes have gone until I finally gave up.

After all the frustrations, I was courageous enough resign on my call center job, went to Singapore and tried my luck working. I enrolled again in the gym last March 2011, because my health was already compromised. I am in my late 20s now and I am not getting any younger. Our blood-line is 90% likely to have diabetes and high-blood pressure.

So from 250 lbs, I am now 168 lbs for my 5ft 7 inches height. I am still a little bit overweight and I am near the finish line of 150 lbs. I did it from March 2011 to date (July 2011) without worrying of gaining it back. You may wonder how I did that. First, it was gruelling and seemingly impossible despite the busy schedule.

1. Motivation: Yes the first key is motivation. You need to have a goal. Buy shirt that doesnt fit you until such time you will able to wear it.

2. Change of Lifestyle: If you drink beer a lot or party a lot, I didnt ask you to stop, but to moderate. Moderation is always the key. I never stop eating pork, but moderately eating comfort foods on my so-called cheat days. However, the more you think about depriving yourself, the more you got stuck to the idea that you are pressured to lose weight which brings me to my third point.

3. Do not think you have a deadline for your goals. This is waht I always think whenever I started gaining weight and losing weight anew. The gain-loss seesaw will make you feel depressed. Change of mindset, can be one of the key. As point number 2, change of lifestyle, think that you are going to do this for the rest of your life. It is like having a car, and doing a regular maintenance, your body responds as to how you are maintaining it. A V-Power gasoline is more expensive but better than the regular gas. But the body doesnt require expensive food to be fit, it is the contrary, so take it as an advantage. Consistency, and balance.

4. Exercise regularly, and harder. I bet it is true that if you do not feel pain, you are not doing it right.

5. Make your friends understand that you are temporarily on a hiatus of drinking, food tripping while you are in your firs 2 crucial months. I guess we all share the same apprehensions, what would our friends think/react if you do not go out with them for a regular lechon or red-horse session. Trust me, they too would want to follow your lifestyle, only that they lack the motivation to do it and ends up being bitter about by making you stick to the status quo. I got reactions from friends regarding that, sometimes favorable, most of the time unfavorable. They would tease you all the way down from being vain or the often misused "OA" term (which they actually mean exaggerating refusal). Trust me, my friends, they all swallowed their pride and asked me where I go gym after they saw the results. At least you are in the forefront and you are ahead of them. (Which will give you another motivation, would you want them to get ahead of you? hehehe).

6. How could I survive without eating a full-meal dinner? I survived with apples, bananas, whole wheat meal bread, onions, tomato, cucumber, ginger and lettuce, so can you. Mindset.

7. Regular exercise and weightlifting is not just the key, you need to do it RIGHT. If you need to hire a gym trainer, make sure he teaches you right, otherwise, the damage brought in you will be permanent. Having a gym buddy is one, but I would strongly suggest to get a trainer to guide you all the way until you know how to use the equipment right. Make sure they are there to mointor your progress and not just demonstrate then leave you while he/she is busy chit-chatting with his/her colleagues.

8. Water therapy. If you feel hungry, drink. If you still feel hungry, eat. Once youre diet is consistent, you will lose your cravings. Unless the aromatic lechon is just a few feet away, then grab a liter of water then eat, and think about the 30 minutes jog. Would you give in to lechon in exchange of an hour jog? Think again.

9. Sleep at least 6-8 hours.

These are just the routine I have. It is not boring. You will just have to learn how to live with it. I am still trying to burn my beer belly, but the man boobs, which had been my problem part for years, is now defined

I think I've written enough.

Oh wait, calorie counting for the 10th item. Yes, arduous, but worth it. Imagine eating more calories than you burn.

Blog gets resurrected after 7 months of hibernation

2012-07-04T02:09:00.002-07:00

click to view larger image

I have been very busy lately with my work and weight loss. I forgot to update this blog for more than seven months. I think it's time for me to update this blog.

Dec. 22, 2011.
last gym workout for 2011

So let's start off with my weight loss progress last December 2011. My walking weight is between 87-89 kilos and during this period I have difficulty in losing weight. I am hitting the plateau so I decided to minimize going to the gym and lifting weights. What I did is I concentrated more on my road work - running. Everyday at 7 am, I would run 6.25 km between 35-40 minutes from my house to the office. By the time I arrive at the office I will take a hot shower, dress up with my formal attire and eat a light breakfast, work from 8am to 6pm. After all in a day's work I change clothes back to my running gear and run another 6.25 km from office to house. This is my routine from Monday to Friday except during those times that it would rain then I have no choice but to take to bus or train.

size 46 pants - December 30, 2011

I lost 2 kg during this month but I gained it back during the first week of January because I took a one week vacation in the Philippines and of course I ate a lot of food with just a 3km jog every morning. But I'm still happy though that I have maintained my weight at 87kg during my vacation. I now have a size 36in waistline from size 46in. Most of my clothes are loose that I don't really look good wearing them. I remembered donating those over-sized clothes to the victims of Typhoon Sendong that hit Cagayan De Oro and Iligan a few days before Christmas.

The Biggest Loser Pinoy Edition (yeah I admitt I was a fan of this reality show)

2011-11-22T22:59:00.001-08:00

The Biggest Loser Pinoy Edition is a reality show that centers on overweight contestants accomplishing the same goal of losing the highest percentage of weight to become the Biggest Loser.

The contestants came from across the country (Philippines) and faced temptations and challenges, weigh-ins and eliminations until one contestant remained to claim the title of "Philippines Biggest Loser."

The contestants had an amazing journey of transforming their bodies, health and ultimately, their lives and was aired over sixteen weeks in ABS-CBN. I was a fan of that reality show, even if I'm living and working here in Singapore, I tried my best to watch each episode in TFC (The Filipino Channel) or video streaming over the internet.

Each contestant works out under the supervision and guidance of professional trainers Jim Saet and Chinggay Andrada. A nutritionist, Nadine Tengco and psychologist Randy Dellosa also monitored the progress in the camp.

The season starts with a weight-in to determine the contestants' starting weights, which serve as the baseline for determining the overall winner.

The contestants are separated into two teams of six contestants, each wearing separate colored t-shirts. The trainers are responsible (in conjunction with medical personnel retained by the show) for designing comprehensive workout and nutrition plans and teaching them to the contestants. However, the contestants are individually responsible for implementing the principles taught.

During an episode, various challenges and temptations are featured. Those who win a particular challenge are given special privileges, such as a weight advantage for the next weigh-in or even full immunity from being voted off the show. Each week culminates in another weigh-in to determine which team has lost the most weight for that week, in percentage of total weight lost. The team that has lost the least percentage during that week (known as "falling below the yellow line", which refers to a line featured on a video screen showing the cutoff between safety and being at-risk) will have one member voted off (unless the team consists of only one remaining member, in which case there is no vote). The vote is usually made by the other teams, though some episodes feature one team making the decision alone. Some episodes feature a second, "red line"; if a contestant falls below the red line the contestant is automatically off the show with no vote. Other episodes allow for the contestants, if successfully meeting a goal at the weigh-in, to all receive immunity for the week.

When the number of contestants has shrunk to a predetermined smaller number (unknown to the contestants), the teams are dissolved and the contestants compete one-on-one against each other.

The camp in which the contestants stayed during the duration of their game is located at the previous Eagle Ridge Golf and Country Club in General Trias, Cavite. It was renovated for the production of the series. The gym of the camp is courtesy of Fitness First, while the emergency health rooms are courtesy of St. Luke's Medical Center.

Larry Martin was the grand winner of the Biggest Loser Pinoy Edition. Martin, a policeman from Camarines Sur, was declared the first grand winner of the Biggest Loser Philippine franchise. As the grand winner, Martin took home the grand prize which includes P1 million, a condo unit from DMCI Homes, a Vespa scooter, a lifetime membership at Fitness First, a 40” Sony Bravia Internet TV and Whirlpool appliances.

Going into the final weigh-in, Art Mendoza was the heavy favorite to win the Biggest Loser Pinoy Edition. However, Larry Martin had the best percentage weight loss among all the finalists. Art Mendoza ended up finishing first runner-up, taking home P500,000, a Vespa scooter, Whirlpool appliances and one year Fitness First membership. Finishing third was Raffy Tan while Angela Lupangco and Hazel Chua ended up fourth and fifth, respectively.

If you want to see the before / after pictures of the Fab Five Finalists please visit the blog of Randy Dellosa.

MYTH: Sweat Suits, The Diet Pill and Fad Diets

2011-11-22T22:06:00.001-08:00

2007 drastic weight loss (not recommended)

A lot of people have been asking me if it is possible to lose weight specifically 20 pounds in 2 weeks. Is that even possible?

Well I had done that before in 2007. 40 days to be exact. I also lost 48 pounds. But that was a drastic weight lose and I don't even recommend it. I ended up starving myself for 40days. I don't eat breakfast and dinner. I am only eating Skyflakes or Magic Flakes during lunch. So I'm just eating once a day and only three slices of crackers during lunch. Can you do that? I ended up losing a lot of weight that my skin sagged (specifically on my arms and stomach). Turns out that most of the weight that I lost are muscles that have been eaten away by my body due to starvation and that is not really healthy.

First of all, a healthy amount of weight loss is 2 - 3 lbs a week or 1 - 1.5 kg. Some health professionals such as my personal trainers at the gym lean more towards 1-2 lbs a week as a healthy amount of sustainable weight loss. So no, 10 lbs a week is not possible to do it in a healthy manner (unless you are going starve yourself like what I did last 2007). Sure you could do it, but it is all water weight. I remembered just this month I went on a 21 km run from Hougang to Buona Vista, I lost 3-4 kilos in less than two hours (see picture on the right). But I gained it all back as soon as I started eating and re-hydrating (drinking).

SWEAT SUITS

For decades, many people have used sweat suits, garbage bags ir saunas in order to lose weight quickly. I'm also using one as posted on my previous blog. You will lose weight in the form of sweat, which is water and electrolytes, but you will gain it back as soon as you eat again or drink water. This myth seems to have spread through sports like boxing where guys need to lose a few pounds in order to make a weight class. But sweating exessively has no useful purpose in healthy weight loss. The dangers of sweating to lose weight are severe - they may include heatstrike, extreme loss of electrolytes (kidney damage or death) and dehydration.

THE DIET PILL

The only way to lose weight is to burn fat by reducing caloric intake, exercising more, or a combination of both moderate eating and exercise. There is no pill that can help you burn fat or increase your metabolism while sitting on the couch eating chips and drinking soda. Sure, there are pills than can reduce your appetite, but if you want a healthier version of a natural hunger suppressant, just drink more water.

In fact, your body needs water in order to burn fat. Sweat too much water out and your body will first have to make adjustments for its dehydration by retaining water and fat.

FAD DIETS

Fad diets are popular because they promise rapid weight loss. However, fad diets or crash diets do not allow the body to burn fat calories as you would think, they actually produce a net loss of lean muscle mass, water and stored energy. Just like I mentioned on the second paragraph of this blog. As a result, most people on such diets become tired and have a hard time finding the energy they need to exercise.

You have to burn calories through cardiovascular activity such as walking, running, biking, swimming or even doing household chores. Lifting weights or doing calisthenics burns calories and spikes your metabolism to build lean muscle and stronger bones. You may not see a weight loss immediately, but you will see inches lost, because muscles takes up less space than fat and weigh more. But, the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn at rest.

Sauna Suit ordered from ebay (Korea)

2011-11-22T19:17:00.001-08:00

Every time I'm doing my workout at the gym, I always wear my sauna suit. You may have noticed that already on some of the pictures I posted (on previous blogs) that I am wearing a sauna suit while doing exercises at the gym. For those who does not have any idea what I'm taking about, a sauna suit is a garment made from waterproof fabric designed to make me sweat profusely. It may be called sometimes a "thermal jacket". Sauna suits today are typically made of PVC or coated nylon cloth. The construction is typically in the style of a waterproof sweat suit, consisting of a pullover jacket and drawstring pants. The closures at waist, neck, wrists and ankles are all elasticated to help retain body heat and moisture within the garment. Some sauna suits includes a hood (on the jacket part) to provide additional retention of body heat.

I got two of these Kingston sauna suits from ebay. The product is made in Korea. I commonly wear this during physical exercise at the gym as an aid to weight loss. I also wear this if I'm doing outdoor running during early morning and evening. This helps a lot as an aid to my weight loss. By wearing this suit, this can cause a rapid loss in my body weight by loss of water. Even though the gym is airconditioned, my body temperature is high and I would sweat profusely.

Just a disclaimer though, please do not wear this when running outdoors under the direct sunlight. The body temperature is multiplied several times when you are directly under the sun doing outdoor running and can lead to the possibility of heat stroke and dehydration. I suggest wear this only during early morning jog when the sun is not yet up or during evening runs. Thus, a sauna suit should not be worn while doing extreme exercise or in hot conditions.

Some people said that the use of a sauna suit accelerates weight loss in exervise by an increase in metabolic rate and calorie burning. Others disagree, and that the only significant effect is temporary water loss that can be immediately reversed by drinking water.

Well, for me I had positive effects wearing a sauna suit. It provides me the encouragement to do physical exercise. The increase in my body heat from wearing a sauna suit gives me the impression of getting a good workout.

If you want to order a sauna suit then just go to Wushushop-Hyem ebay store. They only accept Paypal as payment and uses Korea post. It takes 10-15 days delivery to all countries.

More pictures of the sauna suit from it's original packaging below.

6 common exercise mistakes

2011-11-22T02:30:00.001-08:00

This is an article that I have read from www.maxworkouts.com discussing the 6 common exercise mistakes.

Mistake #1: Doing isolated exercises

Doing isolated exercises like bicep curls and tricep kick-backs will not get you any significant results. These one-muscle-at-a-time moves simply don't stimulate enough muscle fibers to build lean muscle or expend enough energy to maximize your calorie burn.

If you want to build lean muscle while burning fat so you can get serious definition, you need to perform compound exercises that stimulate as many muscles and expend as much energy as possible at the same time. Using these types of exercises will dramatically accelerate your results.

Mistake #2: Working out with machines

Fancy machines may make the gym look high-end, but truthfully, about the only thing they're good for is for sitting down while you tie your shoes or catch your breath! The problem is this: Machines alter the way your body naturally moves and restrict your range of motion. This severely limits your ability to fully activate all of your muscles fibers -- that means less fat burning and less muscle definition. Worse yet, machines can cause excessive strain on your joints, leading to nagging injuries down the road.

If you want fast results, it's critical that you incorporate exercises that allow your body to move naturally with full range of motion so you can skyrocket your metabolism and tone your entire physique.

Mistake #3: Doing long bouts of cardio

Look, you need to do cardio if you want to lose weight and burn fat...BUT there's a right way and a wrong way to do your cardio workouts. If you've been pounding the pavement or the treadmill with nothing to show for it (except sore joints and a pair of stinky worn out sneakers), you already know it takes a lot of effort to get minimal results.

Mistake #4: Doing crunches and sit-ups to get 6-pack abs

If you want washboard abs, doing traditional ab exercises like crunches and sit-ups WILL NOT get you a six pack. In fact, doing any exercises that target your abs won't get you a six pack either! These so-called "ab" exercises are a complete waste of time. They don't make your abs get any more defined and they definitely don't burn any fat.

The key to getting sculpted abs is to burn off that stubborn layer of belly fat that's hiding them! In the next few minutes, I'll show you how to burn away the "ab flab" while stimulating all 6 of your abdominal muscles at the same time so you can finally carve out your six pack abs.

Mistake #5: Repeating the same workout routines over and over

Repeating the same workouts over and over is a surefire way to STOP getting results. We're creatures of habit and we tend to stick to things we're familiar with and good at. But when it comes to your workouts, if you want to keep making progress and keep seeing changes in your body, you've got to start switching things up.

You see, your body has an amazingly ability to adapt quickly and when it does, that's when you hit the dreaded plateau and you stop making progress. You need to change up your workout routine so you can keep your body guessing to accelerate the results process.

Mistake #6: Doing long workouts

Longer workouts do NOT equal better or faster results. If you've been slaving away at the gym and your body isn't visibly changing, you can't do more of the same thing and expect a different result. When it comes to getting lean and fit, your body responds to quality over quantity.

The key attitude is the WILL to do it

2011-11-21T20:20:00.001-08:00

I started at 108.65 kg in March 13, 2011 when I realized that I was a fat slob and being fat would make achievin my dreams harder. My most important goal is to be happy.

In the following 8 months (as of this writing) I got down to 87 kg. I am still working on losing weight until 70 kg, which is my ideal weight.

The key attitude is the will to do it. This enables you to do everything else, it is a very powerful instrument.

I became very disciplined when I imagined that now exactly this second was the most important time of my life, it literally was. I imagined my life in 20 years without losing weight - a fat single loser with social anxiety - and if I accepted the challenge I would be happy and enjoy life.

I am not the same person as 8 months ago, my life turned 180 degrees. Other key behaviors where, of course, eating habits and my gym membership.

I'm doing it slowly right now. I didn't jump into it all like many or most do. I took 1-2 months doing cardio exercises and the gym and slowly tweaked my diet over time. Towards end of the two months, I simply started outdoor running. Around the third month, I started doing free weight exercises and during the fifth month I got serious in the gym researching more variety of exercises.

I guess what I am saying is that I believe lots of people that fail, fail because they try doing everything at once. When I talk to people and help then I have the, spend the first month logging their foods and work on eating better slowly. For example, stop late night snacking one week, then the following week no eating fast food. Slowly work on small things. Adopting new healthy habits or dropping unhealthy habits, in a common sense has played a big role in my transformation.

Well, I guess not following your diet for a day or even a week does NOT mean you failed. Just pick yourself up, dust off and get back to healthy living. Also see the previous question what my game plan was.

We will all hit hurdles in life where it will be very difficult to follow through on diet and exercise. If someone feels the need to go out and eat a good fattening meal, it is ok to do now and then.

As a matter of fact if you can be strict with your diet Mondays to Fridays. I have always had a cheat meal on Saturday and one on Sunday and sometimes binged pretty badly, but overall month after month I was losing weight. Of course if weight loss is stalling you need to work on taking out or reducing these cheat meals.

So I guess don't give up just because you will blow up one day. See what you did, work on fixing it and move along.

DETERMINATION: You can absolutely, 100% do it, as long as you really want it!

2011-11-21T19:48:00.001-08:00

My change in lifestyle has affected my life in a variety of positive ways, many of which I did not event expect.

Throughout college and my life as a young professional, I found it difficult to stay on track and get my work done.

I was disorganized and unmotivated. As I began to take control of my diet and training, I began to feel more confident, and this translated directly to other areas of my life such as work and social life.

At one point in my college career, I felt as though graduating and getting my degree was unlikely. I had trouble focusing on school, because I was unhappy with my body and lacked self-confidence.

I know how you feel, because I've been there so many times before. I have felt unmotivated, discouraged, and defeated. You owe it to yourself to do the things that motivate you and make yourself feel great, and if one of those things is improve your body, then you need to know that you can absolutely, 100% do it, as long as you really want it.

Nobody is going to change your body or your life, except you, and the determination you have. There are no miracle diets, pills or supplements that are going to do it for you.

It has to come from within, and when you do make the changes in lifestyle and training that lead to the body you want, you will have a great sense of accomplishment and achievement, knowing that you did so with nothing but your own determination and will.

I know you can do it!

COMMITMENT: CONSISTENCY, MOTIVATION, PATIENCE and KNOWLEDGE

2011-11-16T23:36:00.001-08:00

click on the image for larger size

I have been working on transforming my body for the past 8 months. I can say despite me wanting to change my body over these 5 years, I was only 100% committed in my diet and training for the last 5 months.

In these past 5 months however, I have seen enormous changes in my body, due to adherence to only a few key principles. Commitment and devotion to training and diet are they key to the results that we all want.

I belive very much in the old cliche "you only get what you put in". This saying undoubtedly rings true in many different areas in life, but I feel that it really applies to bodybuilding / exercise and improving one's health and quality of life.

Some of the keys to my success have been:

CONSISTENCY (In training and diet)

I train 6 days a week, and never miss a session. As for my diet, I personally stick to a "targeted low carb diet", taking a a relatively low number of carbs 6 days per week, with the majority of my carbs being ingested directly before and after my workout.

As I began to maintain consistency, I saw the gradual changes in my body, and became almost addicted to the feeling of bettering myselft in the gym and seeing the results in the mirror.

MOTIVATION

It is completely natural to sometimes lack the drive and desire to get into the gym and maintain a healthy diet day after day, week after week.

I keep myself on track and motivated in a variety of ways; I keep a mental image of what I want my body to look like in my head, and think about how great I'm going to feel once I achieve this long term goal, and having my "dream body". This type of mental imaging and goal setting is powerful and motivating.

I look to others as motivation as well. I have an enormouse folder of inspirational images and qoutes on my computer, that I often find myself looking at before I head to the gym. Of course, I also view pictures of my crushes in facebook. Kidding aside.

I also make sure to keep my iPhone loaded with music that gets my blood flowing and gets me pumped up to have a great session in the gym or running outdoors.

KNOWLEDGE

Learning about different exercises, techniques, dieting principles, and nutritional information has been incredibly helpful to me in my pursuit of a body that I am happy with.

For years I didn't know about what to eat, when to eat, how much rest or recovery time my body needed, and what types of exercises would suit my goals best. I am learning new things about nutrition and exercise everyday, and with this new found knowledge, I'm able to maximize the time I put into the gym, and thus see results faster.

PATIENCE

It took me 8 months to achieve what I thought to be a short term goal of like 2-3 months. The reason it took me so long, is because I lacked the four very basic principles I have outlined here. I lacked consistency, in that I would commit myself to exercise for a few weeks, and then neglect my training for weeks or sometimes even months on end.

In addition, I knew little about nutrition, so much of the time I was putting in at the gym wasn't being used to its full potential anyway due to my lack of knowledge. I lacked the motivation to change my habits, my body, and my life, because I wasn't seeing immediate results.

Results in the gym don't happen overnight, they happen over weeks and months of consistent work and proper nutrition. That doesn't mean that it's going to take someone 1-2 years to achieve their goals, because in fact, I feel like if I could do it all over again, putting 100% in effort in consistency, keeping myself motivated, attaining relevant knowledge, and maintaining a little bit of patience, I'm extremlt confident I could have made the same transformation in well under one year.

People seldom improve when they have no other model but themselves to copy

2011-11-16T19:25:00.001-08:00

The past 8 months of my life has been amazing. I can't begin to tell you how much has changed and what has happened. I never thought that 8 months ago, I would be inspiring a lot of people. Life is amazing and I'm thankful everyday for this gift. I was given a second chance to change my life. The story of how I got to such a bad situation is as important as how I got to where I am today.

It is a story that deals with depression, faith, overcoming, confidence, fear, hope, challenges, motivation and friendship.

Key bad habits I dropped? EVERYTHING I USED TO EAT!

I went from my high weight of 248 pounds down to my lowest at 187 pounds in less than 7 months.

The first 10 pounds were from healthy diet and jogging alone. Then I hit a plateau and that's when I started exercising really hard, both weight training and cardio, and lost the next 40 pounds.

I went from not exercising at all, to working out like a freaking mad man, pretty much 6-7 days a week. Varying muscle sets.

I'd really like to say the old cliche, "If I could do it, anyone can do it,"

To be totally honest, I'm not so sure if this is true. You see, I have this little thing which is typically looked as a psychological issue, or problem, called obsessive / compulsiveness.

So many years ago, when I decided I was going to do build and modify computers, I just put a stupid amount of my time and energy into doing just that. And so I succeeded. Never mind that I blew off having a real career, or possible retirement someday.

So anyway, I'm not sure if this is what you wanted to hear. I mean, how can you teach somebody to just throw out 90% of every important thing that normally runs through their minds, and replace it all with health and fitness?

Would you even want them to do that? One thing's for sure, if they did this, they would almost certainly end up reaching 99% of their genetic potential or more.

Anyway, I guess there are a lot of worse things for a person to go off the deep end with, other than health and fitness.

Stay tuned, I'm just getting started. If I could make this kind of change in 18 months, I can't wait to see where I'm at by my 28th birthday that is about 4 months from now as of this writing.

I can only speak from my experience

2011-11-16T18:28:00.001-08:00

I can only speak from my experience, I was an obese person, but for how long? I used to hate pictures of myself, I was really mad when i looked myself in the mirror.

I have been alone for years, no girlfriend and not going out because i was ashamed of myself. If you identify with these things, well, you need to change.

The best feeling in the world is when people see you on the street and make this big amazing surprised face because you are looking younger, great and healthier. Another great feeling is to fit in normal size modern clothes.

Are you demotivated? Find the reason! Take a picture of yourself every month so you will see the changes and be motivated every time. Know that you are eating to keep your body healthy and fine. Just think in long term, your body will thank you for that.

When you reach your goal, you will feel powerful, invincible, that you can achieve whatever you want in life. Let me tell you that this feeling leaves you speechless and so happy every second of your life. It will worth the fight and the sacrifices, just keep doing it and results will come.

Some weight loss pointers

2011-11-15T21:24:00.001-08:00

IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO START

No matter how much you are currently overweight, obese or out of shape you are, you can always start making changes and imporove your life.

Forget about yesterday and focus all your energy into making smart choices for you
to live a healthier life.

FOOD IS A VERY POWERFUL DRUG

You can use it to make yourself very sick or you can decide to use it to effectively fuel and energize your body. Try to research different foods and learn about the multitude of ways nutritious foods would impact your body in a positive way. Learning how and what you are eating is important

BE VERY CONSCIOUS

When you sit down to eat a meal, try to ask yourself if this food is helping you reach your goals or is it setting you back. A lot of people I know simply eat without thinking about what they are putting into their bodies. It's like shoveling the food into their faces. They consume foods unconsciously. Try to relax and truly enjoy every bite of the food you have prepared for yourself.

PRE-PLAN YOUR MEALS

This is very crucial. If you don't have a plan, it will be very difficult to choose the right foods to attain your ideal physique. Keep nutritious foods at your home and especially at work. Maybe have a bag of nuts at your desk so that you will have access to these quality foods when you are hungry.

How long did it take me to start seeing the results?

2011-11-15T19:25:00.001-08:00

Within about about 1 month of going to the gym, I started feeling very active and my srength levels go way up. My energy level was really high and I couldn't wait to get back in the gym to train. When I added cardio workouts and a clean diet to my overall fitness plan, the changes were incredible.

To this day, I am still halfway through my weight loss progress, I can still see changes in my physique over the course of at least a week or two when my nutritional plan is on.

When I tighten up my diet and really focusing on the the foods I eat, the changes start showing up in a matter of days. Unfortunately, this can go the other way also.

If I take a few days or weeks off and when I consume more calories, the mirror doesn't lie. I have always found it fascinating that with small changes on what I eat and my training at the gym, one can make noticeable changes in their physique.

As of this writing, I am currently on my 7th month of strict training and diet to reach my ideal weight of 73 kilos. Currently my walking weight is between 87-90 kg. I lost already around 20 kg since I started going to the gym last March 13, 2011.

The most important changes I made and the most challenging about losing weight

2011-11-15T19:06:00.001-08:00

From the three elements (clean food, weight training and cardio), my diet was probably the most important aspect which helped changed my physique. When I decided to be very disciplined with the foods I consume, the changes were incredible.

I have always been a person who loves to eat and with a huge appetite. During those days I was still working in a call center, I would indulge in everything from greasy fast food to very sweet desserts. I don't have control over what I am eating.

The most challenging thing for me was adhering to a strict nutritional plan and cutting out most of my favorite foods. I then learned early on that these so called favorite foods were triggers and these would instantly affect my appetite.

Let's say if I had a small piece of dessert or some fast food, it would trigger my hunger and it was almost impossible to back down from eating more. I focused on more nutritious foods to fuel my body.

Within about 3 to 4 weeks, my craving went down and my tastes started changing. My usual habits and routines started to change. I was focused to prepare healthy and nutrient dense foods all the time.

Of course, I still get craving once in a while but I decided to choose healthier foods to eat. Choosing the healthier alternatives have cut down on my overall calories and still leave me feeling satisfied.

What made me decide to lose weight

2011-11-15T18:24:00.001-08:00

I worked in a call center as an overweight adult. I was always tired and had very little energy to do anything. Four years of working in a call center on a night shift, I got older, sluggish and suffering lower back pains. I knew I had to make some changes

At the end of my call center career in the Philippines, I was weighing in at about 245 pounds. I was really big and was carrying around a significant amount of fat. I wanted to burn off excess pounds and focus on more of a lean athletic physique.

I decided to really focus on my diet. I went on a very strict nutritional regimen. I cut out all empty calories from my diet like fast food, sweets and soda. I really focused on only eating clean nutrient dense foods.

From the first week that I started going to the gym at True Fitness, I focused primarily on my cardio workouts. I gradually increased the time from 30 to 45 minutes to 1 hour on my cardio workouts everyday to burn off excess fat.

I also started weight training but with machines only during the first month.

It really came down from all angles. Clean food to fuel my body, weight training to build muscle and cardio to burn fat.

My first time to enter True Fitness VivoCity

2011-11-01T04:08:00.000-07:00

outside view of True Fitness VivoCity @ 3rd Flr Sentosa Boardwalk

It was March 10, 2011, in the middle of strolling around IT Show at Suntec Convention Center Singapore my cellphone rang. I received a call from a person named Sheila saying that my friend referred me to get a complimentary two week VIP pass at the club.

I was thinking that this is going to be another sales talk as they are trying to meet the monthly quota of membership sign ups. Well, I have been jogging for the past month already except when the weather is bad. I'm also contemplating of going to the gym to see what would be the benefits aside from my usual routine of jogging.

So I decided just to come to the club even though I know it will just be another sales talk and closing their sales for the membership. I promised to myself that I will not sign up since I have not yet received my first full month salary. I am on a tight budget until the end of March so there is no way I'm going to sign up. I had the appointment set with Sheila on a Sunday afternoon, March 13, 2011.

At around 5:30 PM on March 13, I went to True Fitness VivoCity to meet Sheila. She was also a Filipino working as a Fitness Consultant. So we did a little bit of chat about the Filipino culture and from what part of the Philippines we live in.

I tried asking Sheila who referred me to this club but she would not disclose any information. But I'm sure one of my friends who got my number referred me to this club.

She started by touring me inside the fitness center showing me all the equipments, the rooms for fitness classes and the locker / shower room. After showing me around she started doing some sales talk which of course is very common starting at 500 dollars membership fee and 180 dollars monthly fee. Well, of course I declined the offer saying that I don't have enough money to pay for that expensive membership fee. I am expecting a rebuttal from her which is not to include the membership fee but just to pay the first month. I still declined for a reason that I still don't have any money to pay for the first month and I would just like to try the 2 weeks VIP access. After a very long sales talk which lasted for thirty minutes, Sheila finally gave in and understood that I cannot pay for now so she gave me the 2 weeks free VIP access.

And so after a long discussion with Sheila, I was then handed over to one of the personal trainers who took my weight, height, BMI (Body Mass Index) and BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate). I will just create a separate blog about BMI and BMR next time so that you will understand what I am talking about.

The first thing that the personal trainer did was to get my height (176 cm) and weight (108.65 kg) then calculated my BMI (34.6) and BMR (2200 calories) and explained to me all those figures. To make the story short, my ideal weight would be at 73 kilos and it would take me 11 - 15 months to shed off my excess weight assuming that I will loose 0.5 to 1 kilo per week. The personal trainer also made some sales talk for personal training which would cost me 125 dollars per 1 hour session. That was way too expensive for me so I declined no matter how many times they offered a lower price. After all those sales talk from fitness consultant to personal trainer, I started my first gym session at True Fitness VivoCity last March 13, 2011.

March marks my second month in Singapore

2011-10-31T21:08:00.000-07:00

pictures taken at IT Show 2011 (March 10-13) @ Suntec Convention Center, Singapore

This is my first time to witness an IT Show in Singapore. I had a great time checking out all the gadgets, electronics, computer stuffs and the booth babes. Too bad I still haven't received any salary since I just started work last February 21 so I only took some pictures and brochures.

Suntec Convention Center is really spacious and it took me almost four hours to check everything out from Level 3 to Level 6. My feet is aching from all the walking. I realized that being obese and overweight is a disadvantage when you are walking for more than 3 hours without even sitting down for a rest.

Still, my only plan is to loose weight by merely jogging everyday until I received a call last March 11 while I was busy strolling at the IT show. Sheila, a Fitness Consultant from True Fitness VivoCity called me up regarding 2 weeks free VIP pass which at first I hesitant to try but accepted the offer because it sounds like a good deal to me going to the gym for 2 weeks free. Up until now I still don't have any idea who referred me to True Fitness. It might be my good friend Jan Copingco who happens to be a member of the club referred me since she got my handphone number. Details on how I enrolled in a fitness centre will be discussed on my next blog.

My first month in Singapore

2011-10-31T04:08:00.000-07:00

I just signed a contract with my new company last February 11. My first day of work is dated February 21, 2011 and I still have a lot of time to stroll around Singapore with friends.

These pix were taken at VivoCity and East Coast Park. I'm still obese and having a round shape body.

New Year's Resolution for 2011

2011-10-31T03:47:00.000-07:00

As I purchased my tickets to Singapore last August 2010, I promised to myself that I really have to loose weight by 2011. I was thinking positive that I will be getting a job abroad and luckily I did within the first 2 weeks of my stay. During that first two weeks I did some jogging with my fellow job seekers and Gherald, Jennifer Joy and their friend Kuja between 6-8pm everyday. We spend the rest of the day applying on online job portals and at the end of the day we tried to at least do some exercise by means of jogging. Sometimes we end up just walking around the city for one to two hours and going to some tourist spots.

Here are some pix last during my first two weeks in Singapore (Jan 30 to Feb 15). Still fat and obese, what ever you want to describe.

with Tin waiting for our flight in Singapore

with Erna

at City Square Mall

at MRT going to Orchard

had a reunion with Joeboy at Somerset

A mascot weighing in 248 pounds and with a 44 inch waistline

2011-10-28T03:54:00.000-07:00

Let me share to you guys my photos taken between 2009 and 2010.

See how big I was then?

This is the heaviest weight I had in my lifetime. At 248 lbs and a waistline of 44 inches, this is the worst shape of my life.

Introduction

2011-10-28T03:35:00.001-07:00

this is me when i was 6 or 7 years old (i think this photo was taken 1992). yeah im fat. btw, the person at the back and hugging me is my cousin Johann

Hello, my name is Michael and this is my weight loss story.

Let me start my blog by giving you an overview about myself.

I am a Filipino, currently I am based in Singapore and my home town is in Bacolod City, Philippines although I consider Cebu City to be my second home since I have been work there previously for the past 4 years.

I am 27 years old (to date year 2011), I weigh in at 108.65 kilos and my height is 5 ft, 7 inches or approx 1.68 meters tall.

I had worked in a call centre environment for the past 4 years as Technical Support Helpdesk. I'm working during the night for the majority of my stay during the 4-year stint at the call centre. I struggled with my weight for the past 4 years. Because of my abnormal schedule, I really have difficulties managing my time. Most of the time after my shift in the morning, I am so stressed with work that I am just thinking of going home and getting some sleep. I don't have the luxury of time to go to the gym or to do workouts.

year 1998 or 1999

2nd year high school at 133 lbs

I had lost weight before twice. The first time when I was in second year high school and that was around year 1998-1999. It was during that time that I became an athlete and a varsity on my school. Due to some circumstances, my parents let me enrolled on TaeKwonDo classes starting 1st year high school and since then I have learned to love that sport. My weight during that time was 193 lbs when I started in TaeKwonDo. I managed to lose 60 lbs from 193 lbs to 133 lbs in less than 3 months. You may ask me why I did that. My answer to that question is that I want to enter in a TaeKwonDo competition as a varsity player in my school and there are no weight categories such as heavyweight or super heavyweight. The only weight category that is available in a TaeKwonDo competition during my high school days is until welterweight only, which is 131 - 134 lbs max weight limit. I had my share of wins and losses on those competitions. I stopped training in TaeKwonDo during 4th year high school as I focused more on my academics and at that time I ballooned back to to more than 200 lbs from the time I graduated high school.

I was not able to loose weight during college. I had a walking weight of around 215-220 lbs until I graduated.

The second time I lost a big amount of weight was during my 1st year of work after college. That was around the year 2007. During that time I was around 235 lbs and I had a 44inch waistline. I managed to shed off 60 lbs from 235 lbs to 175 lbs. From size 44 waistline to size 34. You may not believe it but I shed off that 60 lbs in just 42 days. Anyway, I am going to create another blog entry later regarding the details of this weight loss.

Well, what happened after loosing that amount of weight? I became lazy to exercise, I was eating a lot and as fast as I lost that weight, I went back to being obese within 8-10 months.

I was not happy with my weight for the last 4 years I was working in a call centre. I constantly gained weight. I think my heaviest weight was at 248 lbs and I have size 44-46 waistline. I had to custom made my pants and shorts with my tailor.

After 4 years of working in a call center and a couple of promotions I finally called it quits. I am not getting any younger and my health was at the worst. I planned on working abroad because of bigger opportunities and compensation.

Luckily I landed a job within 2 weeks of my stay in Singapore. I had a very nice day shift schedule with a relaxed environment. Within the first 2 weeks of adjusting to my work schedule, I was referred by my friend to join True Fitness at VivoCity. If you don't have an idea what is True Fitness, it is a fitness centre with state-of-the-art fitness facilities. I was offered a 2 weeks free pass to try out. I started my first workout at that gym last March 13, 2011 and so far I have lost more than 20 kilograms (details to be blogged later)

OK, so this is my third attempt in losing weight and I hope this would be the last attempt and I'm really serious in getting a toned body. I am looking at least 10 months - 2 years of training for this attempt.

So welcome to my blog and I hope you follow me on my journey to weight loss and fighting my obesity.

Cheers!