LifeTest #4 – Lose 5 Kilograms

Everyone has a trigger. Mine was when an older dude commented in the elevator that I “seem to be putting on a bit of weight”.

I was like, no freaking way. I’m not fat by most standards. I exercise at least once a week. I got a Silver for last year’s IPPT, been underweight for most of my life, and I’ve never had to worry about my weight, ever.

But then again, I have gained 5-6 kilos since college. The tummy was starting to show through my work shirt. Ever since I stopped dancing hip-hop, I’ve done a lot less exercising and a lot more sitting. If I didn’t do something about it today, I’m going to turn into one of those middle-aged men who can touch his steering wheel with his belly.

It’s time to nip this problem in the bud.

The Slow-Carb Diet

I’ve tried several times over the past year to watch my weight, but I never really attempted it seriously because I didn’t think it was that big of a deal. I’d eat healthy for a couple of days, and then I’d snack on half a can of Pringles whenever someone offered me one. I’d devour two pratas whenever the cravings came up, telling myself that “I’ll work it off tomorrow.”

I lacked a clear, structured, set of instructions on losing weight. The information online was ridiculously conflicting and confusing, and everyone seemed to have an opinion on it.

That changed when I picked up a copy of Tim Ferriss’ book The 4-Hour Body. I’m a huge Tim Ferriss fan – Ever since I read The 4-Hour Work Week a couple of years ago, I’ve been inspired to approach life as a neverending series of tests. Why should weight-loss be any different?

In his chapter on fat-loss, Tim talked about the Slow-Carb Diet, which is essentially a diet that follows 5 basic rules:

1. Avoid “white” carbohydrates
2. Eat the same few meals over and over again
3. Don’t drink calories
4. Don’t eat fruit
5. Take one day off per week and go nuts

You can find the elaboration of these rules on my LifeTest page, but that’s the gist of it. I was convinced by Rule #5, which I think makes this diet particularly sustainable compared to others, as I talk about in my previous blogpost.

The Slow-Carb Diet also has thousands of success stories, so I was like, what the hell, let’s try this out. If I don’t see any progress after a month, I’ll go try something else. But if it does help me to lose weight, this could be a game-changing boost in self-confidence.

Challenge Accepted

So that’s really it – I’m gonna try to reduce my weight by 5 kilograms, which will put me right smack in the middle of the “Healthy BMI” range (I’m now towards the higher end of it).

I’m started off last Monday (29 Jul) with a weight of 70kg, and a waist measuring 33.5 inches. I’ll be blogging my progress, struggles, and thoughts every week on my LifeTest Log page, so check it out if you like.

To a sexier tummy!