Exercise and Weight Loss

20 Aug Exercise and Weight Loss

When we think of weight loss, the first thing that comes to most people’s minds is exercise. We think that we need to puff and huff to lose the weight, no pain, no gain, right?

I battled with weight gain and loss since I was young. I grew up eating a lot of junk food, fast food and sweets. I had childhood asthma and was told to lay off exercise. I enjoyed my weekly trips to KFC and the fried chicken was so yummy. Before long, kids were calling me “fatty” and making fun of me. If you grew up in Singapore, you will know what “TAF” club means. Trim and Fit club for kids who has some excess weight to lose or are over the healthy bmi range. I was in the TAF club since I was in primary 5 (10 years old). Fast forward to when I entered secondary one, I discovered ECAs (extra curricular activities) and I was blown over by the varieties! I joined JUDO, and later on badminton and swimming. I really enjoyed the intensity of the training sessions and for the first time, I was allowed to join in on PE sessions where all my classmates get to exercise together weekly. I started to walk with my mother daily and I cut down on my soft drinks intake.

Slowly, but surely, I was beginning to lose weight. I did not realize I was losing weight until my classmates commented on my belt getting looser and the jeans I wore started to slide off. That’s when I started to get obsessed. I started to exercise like crazy like I mean I was doing like a mini triathlon every day for three hours. I cycled to the swimming pool and track. I ran 10 rounds, and I swam 20 laps and I cycled home. I skipped rope when I was home too. School work started to pile up and I was so stressed out I was bingeing big time. Even though I exercised so much, I actually gained weight. I ate a lot and I tried to exercise to burn it off, but to no avail. It was a case of bulimia and obsessive compulsive exercising. One day, I read a magazine about eating disorders, and I stopped, after realizing what I was doing was an illness. It was a coping mechanism.

Anyway I veer a little off track.. but exercise has always been an essential part of my life and I did personal training too, later on. Nutrition, I discovered, was 80% of the weight loss game. Eating the right kind of food versus exercising like mad was the key to weight loss success. Even with little or no exercise, I manage to lose weight just by cutting out junk and processed foods. Especially refined carbs like rice, noodles, sugar. And I was running marathons for a while too, and I realized it takes a toll on your knees pounding on a hard surface. The best kind of exercise is those that raises your heart rate to the 65%-80% range of your MHR. Use this formula: 220-minus your current age x 65% = ___

You can use a heart rate monitor to help calculate or you can use your finger to check your pulse for 10seconds and multiply it by six.

Eat Healthy Everyday & Good Luck in your weight loss efforts!