Thu 2021.0812
I'd like to tell you a story of my thirteen months long journey of weight reduction, from July 2020 to August 2021.
Once upon a time . . .
30Jul2020 : 87.7 kg
At the end of July last year, I was weighing in at almost 88 kg. With my
height at 1.69 m, this worked out to a BMI of 30.8 which made me borderline
obese.
Around that time, I suffered from a bout of gastro easophageal reflux disorder (GERD), along with shortness of breath and heart palpitation. The internal medicine specialist whom i consulted referred me to a cardiologist who carried out some scans and tests and diagnosed mild coronary artery disease. In subsequent follow ups the specialist remarked that my weight was still very high.
I was already taking regular 5 km morning walks then, but my weight wasn't going down fast enough.
17Sep2020 : 85.5 kg <--- 20 km daily cycling
By mid September, after losing about 2 kg, I resumed my old hobby of long
distance cycling, a hobby that I had neglected for more than a year.
However, I did not pay much attention to my food intake and I continued to overeat all the time.
01May2021 : 83.3 kg
Another eight months passed, with regular 5 km morning walks and frequent 10 -
20 km cycling, but my weight dropped by only about 2 kg and I was still badly
overweight at 83 kg.
19May2021 <---- 8 km/day walks begin
Sometime later that month, I decided to increase my morning walks to 8 km a
day. That seemed to help because I managed to bring my weight down by almost 2
kg in two weeks.
The month of May was the turning point in my battle against obesity.
04Jun2021 : 81.5 kg <--- Light meals begin
By early june, my weight had gone down to 81.5 kg. I had lost a total of 6.2
kg in the eleven months from end July 2020 to early June 2021.
However I was still overweight by about ten kg and it was time I paid some attention to my food intake. So starting that day, I decided to have only three light meals a day: breakfast at 6 am, lunch at 12 noon, and dinner at 6 pm, taking less than half of my usual servings.
No tea, no snacks, no supper: I had to slowly get used to feeling hungry all day long.
Initially it was difficult. Time passed slowly. I had to sleep it off by taking long afternoon naps. After a week or two, I got used to the hunger pangs and it didn't bother me much anymore.
10Jun2021 : 78.8 kg <--- crossed 80 kg
It took only about a week of light meals coupled with daily 8 km walks for my
weight to reduce by another 2.7 kg.
For the first time in many months, my weight had crossed the 80 kg mark, going down to 79 kg.
17Jun2021 <---- 10 km/day begins
The following week, I decided to increase my daily walking distance by another
2 km to 10 km a day (about two hours walk at 5 km/h).
18Jul2021 : 73.6 kg <--- crossed 75 kg
After about a month of longer distance walks, my weight was down to 73.6 kg, crossing below the 75 kg mark.
24Jul2021 : 72.6 kg <-- crossed 73 kg
The extended 10 km morning walk (sometimes combined with a 1 km jog) helped me lose another kg in the following week.
In the ensuing couple of weeks, however, my weight loss slowed down a little.
There were times I'd lose half a kg over a few days only to gain it all back again in one day. Most of the time such setbacks occurred because I ate more than I should. Food intake seemed to have a stronger effect on body weight than exercise.
Nevertheless, I pressed on towards the finishing line. It didn't take long for me to reach my target BMI < 25.0.
12Aug2021 : 70.65 kg <--- crossed 71 kg
Yay! After many months of being overweight, at last today 12Aug21, I have
returned to normal weight at 70.65 kg, with a BMI = 24.7.
I have completed my journey. I have reached the finishing line.
Summary of total distance walked:
- May2021 : 226.0 km
- Jun2021 : 268.1 km
- Jul2021 : 294.9 km
- Aug2021 (01 - 12Aug): 112.5 km
I have walked more than 900 km in the three and a half months from early May to mid August 2021.
From 87.7 kg on 30Jul2020 last year, my weight decreased to 81.5 kg on 04Jun2021, and finally to 70.65 kg today 12Aug2021. All in all, I have lost about 17 kg in thirteen months.
The road ahead:
After today, I will settle down to a "new normal" of moderately light breakfast 6 a.m., lunch 12 noon, dinner 6 p.m., with some light tea / fruits but no supper. It is imperative for me to maintain my weight within the 70 kg to 71 kg band.
For the near future, I will pay attention to the following self-defined alert levels for my body weight:
- 70+ kg Normal weight
- 71.0 kg High Alert
- 71+ kg Critical
It is also necessary for me to add some strength training and muscle building exercises to my daily routine. I have just recently embarked on the following exercises in addition to my daily 10 km walk and jog:
Indoor training, especially when it's raining, 3 sets of the following routine:
- 8 push ups
- 12 sit ups
- 10 - 15 squats
- 30 reps biceps 2 kg lift each hand
- 10 reps triceps 2 kg lift each hand
