If you asked me 5 years ago, whether my weight is an area of concern in my life, I would have laughed out loud in your face. For most parts of my life, I have always been skinny. I was the envy of many girlfriends because no matter how much I ate, I never seemed to put on weight at all. I could binge on chocolates and cakes anytime I wanted without feeling guilty and the best part was, I didn’t even need to exercise. “Must be good genes!”, I always thought to myself, feeling really smug that I didn’t have to watch my weight rigorously like many of my other friends, even when I was in my late 20’s. My weight never went beyond 45kg and I was underweight by most standards.
Some friends warned me that things were going to change once I hit 30 years old, because that’s when my metabolism would slow down. I didn’t quite believe them.
After giving birth to my first daughter, I lost all the weight gained during the pregnancy effortlessly. However, by the time I gave birth to my second daughter, I found that the weight loss was not as easy and natural as the first time round. By then, I was 31 years old and I had about 10kg to lose after giving birth. My weight did gradually go down but after a year, I was still about 5kg heavier than my pre-pregnancy period. I didn’t mind it actually, because I thought I was too skinny to begin with. Gaining some chubbiness on my face was actually nice.
Then, life got busier and I didn’t really have time to bother about my weight – we didn’t even have a weighing scale at home! Even when my mom and husband started commenting that I should start to do something about the weight I’ve gained over the years, I didn’t pay attention at all. In my mind, I was still the skinny girl who could not put on weight no matter how much I ate. One fine day, I had to have my weight taken and the figure I saw on the weighing scale shocked me. I was over 57kg – an alarming 12kg put on after I had kids! What happened to the skinny Kless?!
After that stunning revelation, I signed up for gym membership and started going for regular exercising. Sad to say, it did not help much at all. I weighed myself everyday on the weighing scale but every single time, I felt defeated and disappointed. My self-confidence dipped and guilt crept in whenever I ate. I was a food-lover (still am!) and it was too difficult for me to control what I was eating!
I came across Halley Medical Aesthetics online one day. I originally intended to remove the mole on the side of my right eye. I didn’t mind it there, but thought it might be nice to remove it completely. Halley Medical Aesthetics was originally located at River Valley Road but they have since moved to a more accessible location at Orchard Gateway!
The staff were nice and friendly, and my basic stats were taken before I met my doctor, Dr. Terence Tan, for consultation.
Needless to say, my stats were devastating – My BMI was high and almost into the overweight range (Normal for Asians is between 18.5 – 23, and mine was 23!), my waist measured 90cm and my percentage of body fat was on the high side as well.
Dr. Terence is a humorous guy who started our conversation asking me about the recent Hat Yai trip I went on with my mom because he read about it on my blog.
When he saw my stats, he knew that more than the mole that I had intended to remove, my bigger problem was the weight. I shared that I had concerns with the post-partum cellulite on my tummy area as well as on the back. My tummy had a bulge that never went away after I gave birth and I never did anything about it except cover up with loose clothing as much as I could. Dr. Terence examined the areas I was concerned about and told me that those were not cellulite, but fats! I had no idea they were different things!!
He then went on to draw diagrams to explain the difference between cellulite and fats to me. I thought that Dr. Terence was very patient indeed, drawing analogies to help me understand the more complex medical concepts. At that point, I thought to myself, “Even if I don’t get anything done today, I’ve learnt many interesting new things today!”
At the end of the consultation, Dr. Terence made two main recommendations to help me get back into shape as well as shed off the excess weight, so that I can become healthier as a person. I am sure you know by now that being overweight is not good because it increases our risk for diseases by many folds.
Dr. Terence’s first recommendation was to put me on a TOTAL SLIM PROGRAMME, where I would lose weight using oral medications as well as by making doable and practical diet and lifestyle changes. Frankly, when I heard that, I was skeptical about the oral medication bit. I was not sure if they were safe, having heard past stories about effects caused by unapproved weight loss pills. However, Dr. Terence was fast to address my concerns – I would be put on 2 types of medication – Duromine & Xenical – and Nopal, a plant-based supplement that is a good source of fibre, and the other two are both approved by the US FDA (Food & Drug Administration).I did my own research as well, and all of them are commonly used by many people for weight loss, with little or no side effects. Dr. Terence assured me that the minor side effects would be gone within a week for most people.
Dr. Terence then went on to share three tips with me on how to make simple but significant changes to my diet and lifestyle. I thought they were really great tips that I should share with all of you!
1. Say NO to Yo-Yo Diet
That means that we should eat regular meals and appropriate portions at every meal so that we don’t overeat in one meal and undereat in another. Very often, we tend to think that it is OK for us to binge and overeat at one of the meals because we will eat very little or not eat at all at the next meal. That’s actually unhealthy and very bad on our body.
2. Avoid Healthy Foods
I know, I was just as bewildered when I heard this. I thought healthy foods are good??! Apparently, if we keep having that kind of mindset, we would overeat unknowingly, thinking that the ‘healthy food’ that we ate were good for our weight-loss journey. Dr. Terence explained that one liter of olive oil is just as fattening as one liter of lard. Both are oils and would accumulate as fats in our body! Olive oil may be a healthier option than lard, but remember our goal? It’s to lose weight and not put on weight healthily.
Foods such as avocado, nuts, margarine and milk are deemed as healthy food, but they can pile on a lot of fats on our bodies if we consume them frequently. Think about the food that you eat on a daily basis – Do you know what causes you to put on weight and what doesn’t? This was another thing that Dr. Terence shared with me that blew my mind away! In descending order of being fattening, oil ranks top followed by milk and sugar. The way to go when you are dieting is to avoid food with these 3 ingredients. Do not think that packet drinks (Yeo’s for example) which claimed to be lower in sugar content are safe – They are still extremely high in sugar level and thus, fattening! In fact, the statement that ‘Carbonated drinks are higher in sugar content’ is a myth!
3. Ask Trigger Questions
If you feel hungry (outside of meal times), ask yourself if you are really hungry or if you are just greedy for something to eat. If you are not hungry, don’t eat anything at all. If you are really hungry, go for food options with low calories. Instead of a chocolate cookie, opt for a slice of biscuit or cracker; Instead of a slice of cake or donut, go for a slice of bread. Limit snacking because those options are often high in oil and sugar contents. Eat three main meals a day and that’s it!
These 3 tips had been so useful to me ever since I heard them, and I hope they will help you too, if you are trying to lose some weight as well. :) If you are considering more professional help, check out what Halley Medical Aesthetics can offer to you at www.halley.com.sg/page-slimming-body-contouring
At the point of writing this blogpost, I am already in my fourth week of medication and I cannot wait to share with you how it has been so far. That would be in my second post, so watch out for it!
Dr. Terence’s second recommendation is for me to try CoolSculpting, which would address the issue of excess fats on my tummy area. While the Total Slimming Programme would result in a smaller Kless, the CoolSculpting will result in a shapelier Kless! It would be a body makeover that I so badly needed! Simply put, the CoolSculpting procedure is a non-invasive procedure that contours your body by freezing away unwanted fat cells. The fat cells are crystallized (frozen) and then die.
Over time, your body will naturally process the fats and eliminates the dead cells, leaving a more sculpted you. This procedure is FDA-cleared with millions of treatments conducted worldwide. Non-invasive means no downtime and you just need one hour for one area!
The good news is that I would get to do the procedure at Halley Medical Aesthetics’ spanking new space at Orchard Gateway, which will be much bigger and more comfortable! They are one of the few in Singapore that owns two CoolSculpting machines so I can work on two areas simultaneously to save time! I can’t wait to try it and share my experiences with you in another blog post. You have to stay tuned for it!!
Halley
Medical Aesthetics
277 Orchard
Road #03-15
Orchard
Gateway, Singapore 238858
T: 6737
8233 | www.halley.com.sg
FB &
IG: @halleymedicalaesthetics
blog.halleymedicalaesthetics.com
https://plus.google.com/+HalleySgMedicalAesthetics
No comments :
Post a Comment