It has been 2 years since I stood in front of the mirror in our closet and thought, “I need to stop lying to myself and pretend I look fine for my age.” I stepped onto the scale and watched the needle rotate to a new high, 156 lbs. I decided right then to begin a diet. After looking up my ideal weight based on my age and height online, I set a goal of 125, 5 lbs. lower than ideal. Furthermore, I wanted to get fit, to be more fit than I ever was in my early 20s. I have never had a visible six pack in my life before, so what the hell, threw that on the list also. 🙂
Another driving factor for this change can be attributed to my self-set goal to win a D-level singles badminton title from an event hosted by SGVBC or LABC before I hit 40. The goal was set 5 years ago and at the time, I was slow in making progress on improving my game despite getting training lessons from Lee Hock Lai, a professional level badminton player/coach. The level of play has increased dramatically since I was in high school. The kids that play in D-level now are leaps and bounds better than how it was 20 years ago. In addition, my right patellar tendon was also getting inflamed after each badminton session with pain gradually worsening throughout the years. My coach did make a suggestion to lose weight but, naively, I thought I was fine. Now, with the weight loss, the stress in my knee is reduced significantly and the pain has almost completely subsided manageable through post-workout icing sessions. Earlier this year, I achieved runner-up at a E+ singles event at LABC and a won a D singles event at the BCC Open. The finish line is very close…
To start my diet, I controlled my daily intake, eating about half as much as I normally would at every meal. I cut out almost all sugar intake other than normal sugars produced in fruits. Fats are actually ok but moderated, don’t over indulge on anything. To give the weight loss a boost, I increased playing badminton to 2 sessions a week and eventually to 3 sessions when my body got used to the punishment. The shedding of poundage was gradual but I stuck with it and knew it will eventually pay off. I reached my weight loss goal in March of this year.
In November last year, getting to about 130, I started badminton training with another coach, Tuck Chan. With over 25 lbs. gone and body fat percentage down to around 13%, I wanted to start working on my overall fitness. With the help of the Titin weighted compression vest system (https://titintech.com), I was able to greatly increase my stamina and leg power in a short amount of time. To increase upper body and core strength, I started a weekly workout involving push-ups, pull-ups, planks, and crunches. To further increase my stamina, I incorporated sprint interval training (SIT). SIT is a form of HIIT (high intensity interval training). Basically, you warm up, sprint 30s at 100% effort, recover for 4.5min, repeat 4 times. Do this 3 times a week on non-consecutive days. Be careful, this may make you want to throw up the first time you try this. :p As for the 6-pack abs, most research online state you must decrease your body fat percentage to below 10% in order to see the definition of the abs. And since you can’t spot reduce fat, the only way is to decrease body fat percentage by dieting and exercising. Right now, my body fat percentage is about 8-9%.
I read a great analogy once online; one of the major assets you own is your car and in order to keep it running smoothly, you have to bring it in for scheduled maintenance every so often. Now think about this, what is your MOST important asset? Isn’t it your body/health? Isn’t it time to start maintaining yourself on a regular basis? 😀 Have better control of what goes into your body and exercise regularly. I have started visiting a chiropractor every couple of weeks for evaluations, adjustments, and sports massages. And on the recommendation of the chiropractor, I recently started taking yoga lessons to increase flexibility and decrease chance of injury during competitive play. Treat your body well and it will reciprocate by making you happy, I promise. 😉
All in all, I’m very satisfied with the end result, albeit taking a little longer than I thought it would. Maybe I could have accomplished it in a shorter amount of time but I believe slowly-but-surely is really the best way to go. This will likely ensure turning your diet and exercise into a habit and reduce the possibility of regress.
My general weight loss tips: Mainly exercise more, eat less. No eating after 9PM. Cut out all sugary drinks (ESPECIALLY SODA). Lower alcohol intake and quit smoking. Keep track of your weight; I always weighed myself after an exercise session to exclude water weight (as much as 5-10lbs). Don’t give up if you’re not losing weight as fast as you’d like; it took me 3 months to lose the first 10 lbs. You may hit some walls, I hit 3, be persistent, work through them.