how to start 2024

Happy New Year!!

Sorry for being a tad quiet the final months of 2023, I took a much needed break. Now I’m back, refreshed, and ready to tackle the new year.

I hope you are too! 

I know in the past I’ve talked about not waiting for New Years to make changes in your life as you could always take the first step immediately, but now that New Years is here I can’t deny the vibes that come with it. There really is something special about crossing over to a new year.

It feels like closing a chapter to our lives and starting a new one no matter where we are on our journey, and fresh starts are always exciting. I guess I can’t forget that I started my journey based on a New Years resolution too back in 2015. January 1st 2015 I told myself I was gonna start a weight loss journey and this time do whatever it takes, however long it takes to reach my goals.

The details in between you likely know already, I hit that goal at the end of 2016.

This year I have a couple of changes I wanna make to my diet and workout routines too and I’m taking the same approach. Set the goal, do whatever it takes to get there, and give myself no time limit. 

So going into 2024, I wanted to share with you my raw thought process. Hopefully it helps you push forward and makes 2024 easier for you too.

Number one: expect setbacks.

I think the number one killer for new years resolutions is the expectation that everything is gonna go smooth and perfect. When you have that kind of expectation the moment the road gets bumpy you start thinking about quitting. The moment you drive down the wrong road you quit, where you could have just stayed on a road for an extra 10min, made a U-turn, and continued your journey.

Setbacks are inevitable.

Setbacks aren’t failures. It’s like expecting to go through life never tripping and falling down once you’ve learned how to walk. You can’t name one person that has never tripped on something their entire life. But we walk everyday, aren’t we all experts at walking?

Of course, but we still fall.

Normal.

What’s not normal is falling down then deciding to never get back up again.

We gotta treat our diet and workout goals the same. We’re gonna mess up and that’s fine. Just get back up and continue.

Number two: set your goal without a time limit.

I think a lot of times we screw ourselves over by giving some arbitrary time limit. Like “I wanna lose 20kg in 3months,” or I wanna lose 30kg in 7months”. The time frame is based on nothing but a personal “want”. That “want” creates unnecessary stress and anxiety. So what happens if you lost 5kg in 3 months when you were expecting to lost 20kg? You just quit all together and throw away all the efforts you made to lose that 5kg?

Sounds funny when I say it like that right? But it’s something I guarantee we’ve all done before. We quit cos it was “too slow” and “too slow” is subjective to our own opinions.

It’s fine to have a overarching long term goal, something to aim at, a north start to follow. That’s all fine and dandy.

But don’t hang on it too tight.

Say you’re hoping to lose 20kg in 2024, and say we’re in the final weeks of December 2024 and you’ve only lost 6kg, call that a win. That’s still progress. Sure not the speed that you hoped for but still progress nonetheless. Keep it going in 2025. At that pace you’re eventually gonna lose the 20kg in the next few years.

Why the time limit? Progress is progress. If it takes you to 2026 to hit your goals, so be it. When you hit your goals you’re not gonna care how long it took you to get there. You’re just gonna care that you got there.

Don’t limit yourself, progress is inevitable when you take it slowly.

Number three: stop comparing yourself to others.

We may all be on a similar journey, but we’re all very different. Different environments, different personalities, different circumstances, different goals, different wants and needs, just different.

The grass is always gonna be greener on the other side if you play the comparison game. It’s not a fun game. It’s not fun to keep playing victim when instead you could be taking responsibility.

Taking responsibility for what? For yourself.

Realize that you are fully in control of your actions. Sure there are all kinds of things out of your control but have you thought about all the things that are within your control first?

Comparison is the thief of joy.

Focus on yourself. Others are going faster than you when you all started at the same time? Good for them. Be happy for them and concentrate on yourself. Go at your own pace. The winner isn’t the one that reaches the finish line first.

Everyone that reaches their own finish line is a winner.

I’ll be honest with you, when I started my journey in 2015, I didn't not expect it to take almost 2yrs to hit my goals. I was expecting more like 6-8mths at the slowest pace. The journey is gonna be long, extra extra long.

If you see someone getting there quicker, great! That’s them not you.

Focus on you, and only you.

Those 3 things I’m telling myself as I kick off 2024.

2023 felt like a transition period for me. The world opened up again after shutting down in 2020-2022, lost some close ones, gained some close ones. 2024 for me personally feels like the actual continuation after 2019 (if that makes sense at all).

So I’m pumped to start this new year, I hope you are too!

I know my content has slowed down a lot in the second half of 2023, it’ll all slowly pick back up to speed in 2024. I truly am so grateful that all of you are still here with me after all these years through all these ups and downs.

It truly means a lot. 

Thank you.

Let’s keep working towards being better versions of ourselves moving forward.

Happy New Year! Wishing you an absolute epic year ahead!

Your cheerleading captain,

Po.

it's ok to mess up

Back in my 123kg days my idea of messing up was that it was the end of the world. If I went on a diet and I messed up even one little bit, I would quit the diet and feel like the ultimate failure.

It was so severe to a point where I remember one time I was following some recipe I found from a magazine and the recipe called for green apples but I couldn’t find any green apples in my local supermarkets and I started to super stress out. In the end I used red apples but to me back then I understood nothing about diet and believed that if I didn’t follow the plan exactly then it wasn’t going to work.

I was right, it didn’t work.

In hindsight 100% nothing to do with the color of apple I was using in the recipe, it’s just I followed the recipe for a mere 3-4 days expecting massive results but didn’t see any so I quit.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my weight loss journey it’s that it’s ok to mess up. It’s something I only really only understood after having gone through the journey and hit my goals. Throughout my journey I still had a part of me that was very scared to mess up, but over time I realized it’s actually totally fine.

Messing up isn’t the main concern.

The main concern is what you do after you mess up.

Overate the day before?

Totally fine.

Get back on track the next day and keep going. No need to punish yourself, no need to make any adjustments, just move on. In all areas of life we’re bound to mess up here and there. Life’s not perfect, we’re not perfect, so it’s kinda weird to expect a diet to be perfect.

Of course when you start messing up quite frequently that’s when you gotta take action. The action of course is not to quit, but to go back and review your routine and diet as a whole. Messing up a lot frequently means the plan isn’t working, and when the plan’s not working it’s time to make adjustments.

Again, not quitting. Making adjustments.

I know it could feel scary.

Say you’ve been consistent for 3 weeks, had one off day and you weigh yourself the next day and it seems like you gained everything you lost back. That’s scary, except that’s not the real picture. In most cases when you overeat or go off plan after being consistent for a while there’s bound to be a weight spike.

Most of it is water weight.

It’s not gonna take you another 3 weeks to see the scale weight come back down, a good 2-3 days back on track will have your scale numbers back to where it was before the off day.

There is no limit to how many times you’re allowed to mess up. You can mess up infinite times. What’s important is what you do after you mess up.

The only thing that guarantees failure is if you quit.

As long as you don’t quit, reaching your goals is truly just a matter of time. Yes, it’s a long time of ups and down. But everyday you don’t quit, that gap between you and your goals are getting shorter and shorter.

Hope you’ve been well!

don't make this mistake

One of the common mistakes many do when trying to lose weight is eating too little. Yes you do need to eat less to lose weight, but less doesn’t mean starvation. Less doesn’t mean eat as little as possible.

One of the common things I see when people are working out their calories to be in a calorie deficit is they’ll set a number, say their TDEE is 1900kcal so they aim for 1600kcal to lose weight, but then they’ll be eating 1000-1200kcal only thinking that it’ll make them lose weight faster.

Sure, no doubt eating 1000-1200kcal is gonna make you lose weight faster in the short term, but it’s also likely gonna make you gain it all back pretty quickly too.

Why?

Cos it’s unsustainable.

You’re unnecessarily eating too little. Eating too little means you’re dealing with a lot of hunger all the time and eventually it will just end up in a binge. If you worked out your calorie deficit to be 1600kcal, stick to 1600kcal. The goal is to eat as much as possible while in a calorie deficit, not try to win some kind of starvation contest.

It goes deeper too.

A common question I get is, “I still have 100-200kcal before I hit my limit but I’m not hungry. Should I still eat those calories?”

I think the question is are you truly not hungry or are you just afraid to eat more cos you think it’ll somehow mess up your progress? The fear of eating more and convincing yourself that you’re full and that you don’t want to eat anymore can work a few times, but in the end it’s gonna end up as a bounce back as well.

Why?

Cos you’re eating too little unnecessarily.

You’re playing mind games with yourself convincing yourself that you’re full when you’re not and over time you just have this hunger you can’t satiate and that’s when binges happen. You’re not full. You’re afraid to eat more. But not eating more to maximize your calories is actually what’s costing you your progress in your journey.

Losing weight is all about consistency and you have the highest chance to be consistent when you make the journey as “easy” as possible. Intensity gets you no where, it hurts your progress more than it helps.

Think of it like a marathon race.

If you’re running a marathon and decide from the start sprint full speed, sure it may seem like you’re winning for the first 2 minutes. After that you start to slow down cos you went too hard too fast and everyone starts to pass you and your chances of being last place becomes way higher than being first place.

It’s the same with a weight loss journey.

You wanna go at a pace you can keep up with for months and years, not a pace where you’ll quit in 1-2 weeks.

Eating too little will make you quit very quickly.

I know it’s way way easier said than done, but you gotta stop fearing food. Eat as much as possible while in a calorie deficit. That’s the quickest way to your weight loss goals.

salt, sugar, and oil for diet?

I fully admit I used to be one of those that believed that salt, sugar and oil were the 3 evils for weight loss. I believed that losing weight meant I had to avoid them at all cost.

And I did, for about a year.

I only started including them back into my diet when I realized that they weren’t responsible for me gaining fat at all. They’re innocent, and today I’ll explain why.

Let’s start with salt.

Salt doesn’t really carry much calories at all. If you’re eating too much calories of salt you likely have other issues to deal with rather than the calories. While yes it’s true too much salt isn’t the greatest for health, but in moderation it’s really not a big deal and can be part of your everyday diet.

Salt gets blamed for making you gain weight cos eating more salt than usual can cause your daily weight to spike. That weight spike isn’t from fats though, it’s water weight. Too much salt can make your body hold more water than usual which would be reflected on the scale the next day. 

Not something to be worried about, water weight goes away on its own over the next couple of days, but something to note so you don’t freak out if you gained a kilo over night.

Does that mean you should stop eating salt to avoid these weight spikes?

Not at all, weight fluctuations are a normal part of the weight loss journey. Whether your body is holding on to water due to workouts, salt or some other reason it’s totally fine and doesn’t keep you from progressing towards your fat loss goals. Water weight comes and goes. Focus on tracking your weekly average weight to track your overall progress, daily weight means very little.

Sugar.

Sugar is basically empty calories.

What’s empty calories? It’s calories that don’t have much nutritional value in them.

Does it make it bad? Not at all.

Probably not something you want to eat too much of, but in moderation it’s totally fine. Now when talking about sugars here we’re talking about added sugars like a sugar pack for coffee, syrup in tea, honey etc. and not sugars coming from natural sources like fruits and veggies.

Sugar in itself has no inherent ability to make you gain weight. It is impossible to gain weight by eating 5 tablespoons of sugar and nothing else for a week. You’re guaranteed to lose weight by doing that. Gaining or losing weight has to do with the total calories you consume on a regular basis as a whole, not just one mere ingredient.

Finally oil.

Oil of all types are roughly 120kcal per tablespoon. It’s quite dense. It’s quite easy to overeat it and end up eating too much calories. Solution? Just be mindful how much you’re using whether it’s in a salad or cooking. Oils like olive oil are a healthy source of fat. There’s nothing wrong with eating it while trying to lose weight, you just gotta not soak your salad in it thinking that it’s helping you lose weight.

One thing I’ve learned from my year of avoiding salt, sugar and oil is that including them in a diet makes the diet much easier to follow. Cos with them around the “diet” feels less like a diet and more like a normal meal which then makes it easier to keep up with consistently.

It’s really quite unnecessary to completely avoid salt, sugar and oil for the average healthy individual.

Too much of anything isn’t a good idea, avoidance is unnecessary. Moderation is always always key.

Hope this helps!

stop drinking calories

A quick way to consume less calories is to stop drinking them and eat them instead.

What does that mean?

It means instead of drinking juices, eat the fruits instead. Instead of milk, have some cheese. Instead of a latte, have black coffee, instead of sugar in your tea use artificial sugar, instead of regular coke go for coke zero.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with drinking calories, it’s not some taboo thing that makes you immediately gain fat, no no not at all. It’s just drinking calories provides very low “full feeling” which means you could end up eating too many calories without even feeling like you did.

The weight loss journey is a battle with hunger constantly. The more you can keep your hunger in control the longer you’ll be able to stick with your diet which over time is what produces the results you’re looking for. Feeling fulfilled helps keep your hunger and cravings in check.

Having coke zero instead of regular coke means you have an extra 150kcal you can eat. A grande latte at Starbucks is roughly 190kcal, switching to black coffee means you just earned a whole serving of white rice.

It’s a small habit change that could yield in exponential results.

If you have the habit of drinking one can of regular coke a day (150kcal) that’s 1050kcal a week. A mere change from regular coke to coke zero means you saved 1050kcal a week. That’s a whole big meal, that’s 3-4 ice creams, that’s room for you to enjoy more real food in your diet throughout the week.

Now of course I’m not saying you should completely forbid yourself from drinking calories, there’s never a need to completely avoid anything. Just less makes a difference. Like the daily regular coke example above, instead of drinking one everyday drink one every other day and that’s still roughly 500kcal saved per week.

Take some time to review your current drinking habits.

Little changes go a long way.

sleep is important for fat loss

When it comes to fat loss the conversation usually goes in the direction of working out or your diet. Sleep is like the neglected third child that gets a mention here and there but never taken too seriously. 

I guess is kinda warranted, sleep doesn’t directly help you lose or gain weight in any significant shape or form. Sleep too much you’re not gonna gain or lose weight. Sleep too little not much is gonna happen too in terms of weight.

BUT…

(Ohh there’s a big “but” here.)

...sleep does play an important role in the process of losing fat. Lack of sleep can mess with your hunger hormones, in other words mess with your body’s hunger signals. It’s really not as serious or scary as it sounds, but it could be a factor that makes your journey way easier or way harder.

Lack of sleep can cause you to feel hungry and cravings at odd times, which of course if you got the discipline to fight through it then it’s no problem at all, it’s when you fail to fight through it that it becomes a problem.

I mean the weight loss journey already hard, it’s not like you need an extra thing you gotta worry about.

There’s been numerous times early in my journey when I didn’t fully understand the process yet that I felt quite confused cos there would be days where I felt extra hungry or craved at weird hours whereas the previous few days was totally fine and I didn’t change much in terms of diet or workout.

It took me awhile to figure out that it was sleep. On days that I slept 4-5hrs, the next day would be a hunger battle. I’d feel hungry faster, and seem to have a bigger appetite than usual. On days I got 7-8hrs of sleep I’d feel super good and never seem to ever get hungry to a point where it’s a “problem” that I have to deal with.

Just wanted to talk about this today cos there could be days where you indeed are being super perfect with your diet and workouts but somehow you just feel a lot more hungry than usual, that could very much be simply due to a lack of sleep. You don’t need to change or diet or workouts, you just need to sleep more.

7-8hrs daily is the recommended amount for sleep. Below 6hrs is usually when those hunger hormones starts to go out of whack.

Hope this helps, hope you’re well!

Till the next one~

how to eat during weekends

With the weekend right around the corner I thought we’d dive into a couple of tips on how to eat and still be progressing towards your weight goals during weekends.

I think a lot of people struggle with weekends (I did too back in my 123kg days) cos they go way too hard on weekdays. The pattern would be something like starving yourself Monday to Friday, then Saturday and Sunday you’d eat like it was your last meal on earth.

Repeat week after week and give up when there’s little to no progress.

It’s too extreme.

Weekends don’t have to be 100% party mode while weekdays also don’t have to be 100% strict mode. Find somewhere in between that fits your preferences and lifestyle.

Losing weight doesn’t mean you don’t get to have fun during weekends, you absolutely can. It just means when it comes to food and drinks you still wanna keep an eye on it in terms of amounts you’re consuming.

A little bit over the top is no big deal, partying all in for just one weekend is no big deal, it’s when you just lose control every weekend that it starts to affect your overall progress.

While weekends can be fun, it doesn’t mean you just do whatever you want. You still wanna have some kind of plan going in.

Gonna have dinner and a night out partying? Maybe skip or eat minimally during the day and save all those calories for the night. Have a Sunday lunch gathering you gotta attend? Enjoy the lunch to its fullest but perhaps try to keep breakfast and dinner on track more meticulously. 

No one night out or one birthday party is gonna ruin your progress. It’s when you consistently have those nights out and keep partying every weekend without limits that your progress starts to slow or come to a halt.

The phrase “treat your weekends like weekdays” gets thrown around a lot when giving weekend diet advice, which I kinda agree with. It doesn’t mean your weekends gotta be strict and boring like weekdays, it just means you gotta plan ahead on weekends and try hard to stick to the plan like you usually do on weekdays.

Personally I don’t make a distinction between weekends or weekdays. In my mind it’s more like “normal day” vs “event day”. There could be 10-15 days where there’s nothing eventful so I just stick to my normal day plan, and there could be weeks where there are 4-5 events and so those days I stick to a different plan.

I have normal day diet plan I stick to mindlessly when there’s no special occasions going on, but when there’s certain events like birthdays or gathering then I’d plan that day ahead of time on a case by case basis.

Not saying this is the “best way” to go about it or anything but it’s a way I prefer and fits my lifestyle quite easily.

Find your balance between fun and diet!

Happy weekend!

stop trying to be perfect

Stop trying to be perfect with your diet. It slows down your progress more than you realize.

Looking back at my 123kg days I remember thinking that being perfect was a necessity to lose weight. Back then I didn’t understand that losing weight primarily about diet either, I was trying to be perfect in both workouts AND diet.

Yep, basically an impossible task.

Most of the diets I went on back then would follow the same pattern. I’d be super motivated the first week, being 100% perfect. By week 2 it would start to get tough (cos the programs I followed back then were super restrictive) and I’d start to fall off the wagon. As soon as I’m not perfect for a day or two I’d have basically quit. I would think to myself that I ruined everything and the only way forward would be to start over or try something else.

Trying to be perfect always made me quit prematurely and whenever I quit I’d take a break before starting again. It was just this start stop start stop start stop situation repeatedly. I was going nowhere in terms of progress although it seemed like I was putting in a lot of work and effort.

The thing about the weight loss journey is you can reach your goals consistently hitting 70-80% of your diet. 100% isn’t a requirement. You’re allowed to have breaks, you’re allowed to mess up. No one day, no one meal, no one vacation can ruin your progress.

The only way to ruin progress is to quit. To completely utterly quit.

That perfectionist mindset that a lot of us have is what slows us down. It’s what keeps us starting over and over again when there’s really no need for it. All that does is slow us down from reaching our goals.

It’s like taking a test where 80% and above is a passing grade, but you keep retaking the test when you score below 100% cos you somehow believe only 100% is good though.

You don’t need to be 100% to reach your goals. 

When you need a break, take it.

When you need a vacation, take it.

When you mess up, figure out what went wrong and keep going. No biggie. We all fall down from time to time. Just cos you fell down doesn’t mean you gotta go back to the starting line. Just get up and keep going.

Stop chasing perfection, it’s an unnecessary curse.

how to deal with hunger

Let’s talk about hunger today. Today’s gonna be a little bit of a brain dump for me with all the questions I’ve been getting about hunger over the years.

Hunger is normal.

While dieting, while on a weight loss journey you’re bound to feel hunger here and there. It’s inevitable. It’s part of the process.

Sure there’s no need to be feeling starved and suffering all the time, but that little nudge of hunger that’s normal. Normal meaning just cos you feel a tiny bit hungry doesn’t mean you gotta eat something. You don’t have to solve hunger the moment you feel it. 

I think a lot of times the weight loss journey gets extremely hard cos we’re all trying to completely eliminate hunger. That’s impossible.

Some hunger is totally fine, hungry to the point where you’re constantly suffering and can’t function is not and that’s when you probably wanna make some adjustments.

Say you’re on a 3 meal a day schedule, breakfast at 7am, lunch at 12pm, dinner at 6pm. It’s kinda normal to feel a bit hungry at 11am and 5pm as it’s getting close to your next meal. If the hunger isn’t too intense just try your best to make it to your planned schedule. No need to panic and start looking for snacks.

It’s those snacks that tends to make you overeat.

If the hunger is too intense then there are things you could such as having a bigger previous meal to help you last longer. Or you could change your schedule a bit and eat earlier around the time when you get hungry. Or you could change the number of meals you eat in a day.

With the previous 3 meal a day example, if you made that 2 meals a day instead your meals become larger and more fulfilling.

Of course the types of food you’re eating in those meals also matter in terms of helping you feel full or hungry. A cafe latte plus a cookie is easily 300-400kcal which is roughly the same calories of a McChicken from Mcdonalds.

Which do you think will make you feel more full?

Figuring out your habits and preferences in itself is a journey. You’re never gonna find a meal plan on the internet that feels super good for you off the bat. All the meal plans and diet programs you start with are at best templates. It’s a place for you to start, and it’s up to you to make the adjustments as you go through with it day after day week after week.

It’s after weeks and months of adjustments that it’ll start to feel better and feel like something you can keep up with regularly. Don’t completely quit just cos you messed up a little on one of the days. Figure out what you messed up on, what you can do to prevent it next time, and try again.

Jumping around different diets and different programs constantly without ever making adjustments specific to you will all just end up with the same results: back to square one.

The special formula doesn’t exist out there.

Remember the fundamentals of losing weight. Losing weight is about being in a consistent calorie deficit. It’s about eating less than your body expends for an extended period of time.

If you’re achieving that, your eating schedule, the types of foods you’re eating, the exercise you’re doing, that’s all up to you. There is no “best” way. There’s simply a way that can be more enjoyable to you so you can keep it up consistently.

I hope all that helped and made sense.

tl;dr hunger is normal. No need to panic if you feel a bit of hunger here and there in your weight loss journey. You don’t have to eat the moment you feel a bit of hunger. If you’re starving all the time though definitely make some changes, cos starving all the time isn’t normal.

Hope you’re well, till the next one!

the best diet for you

I wanna make 3 points super clear today.

One, there is no such thing as a best diet.

Best diet meaning a universal diet that all of us no matter shape, size, gender, can go on and all be guaranteed the similar results. That doesn’t exist.

Two, there is no such thing as a best food.

There is no food where the more you eat the more weight you’ll lose. That food doesn’t exist.

Three, there is no such thing as the best workout for fat loss.

Fat loss is primarily dealt with through your diet, not workouts. All workouts burn calories which means all workouts are essentially helpful in the fat loss process. They all work, there is no best.

Now with those 3 points out of the way, I do want to say this:

There is no such thing as a best diet, but there is a best diet for you. There is no such thing as a best food for weight loss, but there is a best food for you. There is no such thing as a best workout, but there is a best workout for you.

What does that mean? Sounds hocus pocus right?

It just means that all diets work.

No matter what diet you’re on if it helps you achieve a consistent calorie deficit it’s gonna help you lose weight. There are so so many diet methods out there and they all work, but just cos they all work doesn’t mean they’ll all work for you. “Work for you” meaning it might not be suitable to you due to preference or environmental circumstances.

The thing about losing weight sustainably is that whatever diet you’re on you gotta be able to keep it up consistently for the long term. Long term meaning months and years. If you follow a diet that you really dislike from day 1, your chances of success is will be little to none.

Being able to keep up with a diet for a long time means you gotta work with it, you gotta not mind it. You don’t have to love it, but you gotta at least be able to accept it.

This isn’t to sound doom and gloom either.

Figuring out a diet that works for you just means figuring out a diet that works for you on a normal day basis. You’re still free to celebrate and take vacations and all that, that’s no big deal at all. But at least when you got nothing going on it’s just a normal day you have a plan that you can stick to that helps you stay on track with your goals whether that’s losing weight or maintaining weight.

There is no universal best diet, but there is a best diet for you and that’s for you to experiment and figure out. 

There’s no best food for weight loss, but there are foods that you’ll enjoy more if you include them in your diet which will help with sticking to your diet for longer which then will end up helping you yield more results.

There’s no best workout for fat loss, but there’s definitely some form of workout out there that you can somewhat enjoy on a weekly basis and being able to keep that up for a long time also aids your journey as a whole.

Unlike how media tends to paint some one size fits all solution for weight loss, losing weight is actually very individualistic. It’s based on your own goals and preferences. What works super well for you might not work for me at all, and vice versa.

Understanding the principles of weight loss, understanding what matters and what doesn’t, understanding your own preferences and lifestyle, that’s what actually helps you shape your diet and lifestyle to move forward.

superfoods is a myth

Let’s get down and dirty with the truth about superfoods.

I hear that term thrown around a lot on a regular basis which is understandable cos I used to buy into the hype too. During my 123kg days I’d take the time to hunt down superfoods when they weren’t regularly available around me, then I’d empty my wallet on it cos it’d cost a fortune since it’s so rare, all just hoping it gives me some kind of “super” benefits. 

I was naive. I didn’t know better.

Now that I know better, I realized that superfoods is no more than a flashy marketing term. The definition of superfood is basically a nutrient rich food. In other words basically all types of whole foods are superfoods.

If all whole foods are super foods doesn’t that mean it’s all just kinda regular food and there’s nothing “super” about it?

Yep.

Here’s the real deal:

There is no food that exists where the more you eat the more weight you’ll lose, or the faster you’ll lose weight. That kind of “superfood” doesn’t exist.

There’s also no food where the more you eat the less you gotta worry about your health. Does nutrient rich foods help provide you with a lot of nutrients?

Sure.

But being healthy comes from eating a variety of nutrient rich foods and not just one type. Every nutrient rich food is rich in certain types vitamins & minerals but not all and it’s when you mix and match different types of nutrient rich foods that you get a better balance of everything versus sticking to only one type.

I remember there was a period of time where in the media avocados were king of “superfoods” and back then where I lived avocados were really hard to find and were super expensive. I thought avocados was some secret elixir to health and had massive potential to help me lose weight so whenever I found some I’d buy a bunch. 

Thinking back at that memory I’m really just shaking my head to myself. 

Sure avocados are super nutrient rich, but it’s not like a “must have”. You could find similar nutrients from other foods like cashews, pistachios, kiwis, apples, oranges etc. There’s always alternatives when it comes to food. There’s no such thing as a “must eat” to achieve your goals.

The only “must eat” thing is foods you absolutely love.

In summary, don’t fall for superfoods. Every nutrient rich food is a super food. No foods exists where the more you eat the more benefits you have for weight loss. That’s all marketing tricks trying make your wallet skinnier, not your belly.

Hope you found this letter useful!

how to lose belly fat

So goods news and bad news.

Let’s start with the good news. Good news is if you wanna lose belly fat it’s absolutely possible and all you gotta do is tweak your diet to accomplish it.

Bad news?

Bad news is it’s impossible to target your belly for fat loss. Meaning there’s no way to do something or eat something where you only lose fat in your belly and no where else.

This is true not just for your belly, but for any specific body part too. Whether it’s face fat, leg fat, arm fat, thigh fat, butt fat, or belly fat you can’t expect to lose fat just in that area and no where else 

So how does losing belly fat actually work?

You can lose belly fat by losing overall fat.

While you can’t tell your body where you want to lose fat first or last, by eating less over time consistently (calorie deficit) you’ll be losing overall fat which eventually the target you desire to lose fat in will be affected.

It’s also different for everyone. Everyone loses fat at different areas of the body at different rates. There’s nothing we can specifically do to “encourage” an area to be effected more than another.

What does that mean?

It means doing things like sit ups or crunches basically does nothing at all in terms of losing belly fat. Sit ups and crunches can help you build your core muscles, but it can’t help you lose fat. There’s no exercise you can do to target an area on your body for specific or accelerated fat loss. It doesn’t exist.

Targeting fat loss is a myth.

At the end of the day when it comes to all things fat loss it all comes down to your diet. Your diet is the driving factor for fat loss. Figure out your diet first before worrying about exercise if fat loss is your primary goal.

Hope this helps!

how to enjoy life during diet

There’s a misconception on how weight loss actually works.

A lot of people think (me included back in my 123kg days) that it’s just some sort of program you gotta commit to for a certain amount of time and after completion you can go back to your “normal” life.

It’s incorrect. It’s simply not true.

Two things happen when you stick to that mindset.

One, while you are committed to the program you will definitely make some form of progress. But two, as soon as you stop the program and go back to your normal habits, you’ll start to lose all the progress you made very quickly over time.

“Why?” you might ask.

Cos your weight is based on on the average of your regular habits.

If your old habits are what got you overweight in the first place, going back to them will just eventually make you overweight again. The “program” that you followed temporarily changed your regular habits, so during that time your weight changes.

Does that mean you gotta forever be on some sort of program?

Hmm, yes and no.

No in the sense that you don’t have to be following any kind of strict set rules for the rest of your life to lose weight and keep it off, but yes you do have to figure out some form of lifestyle change that you can stick to for the rest of your life

A lifestyle change doesn’t mean you become super strict and just lose all the joys in life, a lifestyle change means you have a certain way to eat and live towards your weight goals during “normal” days but still am able to enjoy and celebrate life such as birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays.

Your “normal” days is what you gotta work on. That’s where you gotta change. All the fun stuff in life like going on vacation or celebrating a milestone or birthday? That can remain exactly the way you enjoy it.

Think of it this way. 365 days in a year. Let’s say a good 65 days in that year is all for celebration. Those 65 days you just do and eat whatever you want with no limits. That’s totally fine. What matters for your weight and health is what you do on those 300 “normal” days.

The other day someone asked:

“How do mukbang youtubers still stay so thin?”

The answer is similar to what I’ve mentioned above.

Most mukbang eaters only eat that much in front of the camera, and usually it’s once or twice a week maximum. They don’t eat like that on a regular basis, especially those that still keep their figure. Of course there are those that do eat like that on a more regular basis, and you can see by going through their older videos compared to the new that they would look quite different in size.

Your weight is based on your lifestyle, and lifestyle is something that occurs for life. Throughout all the content that I’ve created on my IG or in these letters I hope to break down the fundamental details for you to create diet habits that suit you that helps you progress towards your goals.

There’s no one size fits all. There’s no method that’s a universal best way, but there 100% is a best way for you individually and that’s for you to figure out over time.

I hope through this letter today you understand that what you’re looking for isn’t some temporary program or quick fix, but it’s to start changing your habits bit by bit. It’ll feel slow at the start, super super slow. But over time you’ll see that small consistent efforts do reap a lot of results.

It’s all in the consistency of your actions and patience.

The effort of losing 0.01kg is very minimal. Keep that effort up consistently for a year and that’s 3.65kg lost permanently.

Consistency and patience is the secret if you’re ever looking for one.

eat same foods everyday?

A question I get asked quite often is:

“Do I need to eat the same foods everyday to lose weight?”

The answer is no.

...but there’s a little more to it than a simple no. Let’s dig in further on this particular question today.

You can eat the same foods everyday, different foods everyday, same foods some days different foods on others, it really doesn’t matter cos as long as you’re in a consistent calorie deficit you’re gonna lose weight.

While that’s the full answer to that question, there are actually benefits eating similar foods on a regular basis. Eating similar foods regularly can help with staying on track as you’re less likely to eat something else outside of your diet based on impulse.

For example if you’re plan ahead and eat the same lunch everyday you know that your lunch fits your diet goals and as long as you stick to your planned lunch you’re 100% on track. The chances of you suddenly eating fast food for convenience is a lot lower compared to playing the “what’s for lunch” game everyday and letting some kind of mental roulette decide.

Eating same foods daily is a viable strategy, not a necessity.

There are a lot of variations of this you could play with too, such as eating the same foods everyday except on days with special events. Or if you’re eating 3 meals a day you could set that 2 meals a day are always the same, and 1 is different based on your preferences.

There’s no right or wrong way to do it, at the end of the day it’s the total calories you’re consuming on a regular basis that matters the most for losing weight and not the types of food you’re eating or when you’re eating it.

I hope reading this gives you more flexibility in your diet!

scale weight isn't everything

The scale is not the only place that shows you your weight loss progress. It’s not the most important method of measurement either.

I think often times we give way too much emphasis on the scale and completely ignore all other signs of progress. Too many times there’s obvious progress in other areas but we choose to ignore them cos the scale doesn’t show the same “amount” of progress.

An example I used to experience all the time is where my pants and shirts would be noticeably looser but my scale weight is still exactly the same so I’d feel like nothing’s changed and that my looser clothing is just me being delusional. I kinda wish I could go back in time and let my old self know that it’s not the case at all and that I’m actually totally on the right track.

Progress is progress.

All forms of progress are legit. Progress doesn’t move at the same rates. You could see the scale weight go down but don’t really notice your clothes looser. You could see more definition in your before after pics but scale weight is still the same. You could be totally on track for 4 days in a row but see no kind of physical change at all yet.

Those are all still progress though.

There’s no rule where only scale weight counts as progress. All progress is legit progress. Experiencing any form of progress means you’re on the right track and if you keep going consistently you’ll eventually see progress in other forms too.

If you feel your clothes looser but the scale weight is still the same, you’re so on the right track. Just keep going and eventually you’ll see your scale weight go down. Don’t let any one form of progress take more importance than others.

Don’t forget mental progress too.

Being able to stay on track consistently for a longer period of time than usual is also progress. Feeling less guilty with the foods you eat is also progress. Being in a overall better mood is also progress. All these little wins add up. Don’t ignore them based on what the scale says.

The scale is only one method of measuring progress. It doesn’t tell the whole story. You could absolutely hit your goals without ever weighing yourself too.

a note on motivation

I think a lot of us has motivation backwards.

Myself included (previously).

In the past I used to think the only way to achieve my goals was through motivation. When I was motivated, I would push 1000%. When motivation went away I’d pause my journey and push 1000% looking for motivation hoping to find it before I get back on track again.

More often then not, I just never get back on track again.

The thing about motivation is that it’s not within our control. It comes and goes, there’s not really much we can do to summon it out of thin air. The good news is whatever our goals are, motivation isn’t a necessary ingredient to achieve it. The thing required to lose fat is to be in a consistent calorie deficit. You don’t need to be motivated to be in a calorie deficit, not at all.

Does motivation make the fat loss journey easier? Of course. Motivation makes everything easier.

But what do you do when motivation isn’t around?

You gotta keep doing the things that get you closer to your goals anyway. You gotta keep showing up. You gotta keep up the hard work.

It’s like getting up in the morning to go to work or go to school. Are there those days you are super demotivated? Of course. But what do you do? You get up anyway and go, cos you know there’s a lot more at stake than your current feelings.

You gotta treat your weight loss journey the same way.

Mind over feelings.

On days where motivation is no where to be found you gotta remind yourself of the bigger picture. You gotta remember that you’re not doing this for instant satisfaction, you’re doing this for the long term end goal down the line where your efforts of every single day matters.

When you keep going, over time you’ll slowly see results. As you slowly see results the chances of motivation coming back increases. Which then means if you’re really looking for motivation, the act of “looking for motivation” is incorrect.

It’s backwards.

You don’t look for motivation.

You put in the work you gotta put in which over time yields you results, and those results are what attracts motivation to come look for you. Motivation looks for you, and not the other way around, and you gotta give motivation a reason to come back to look for you.

I thought of writing this letter today cos too often the question I get is about seeking motivation, which I feel is the wrong thing you should be looking for if ultimately your goal is weight loss, muscle or health.

Motivation is great, when it’s around totally abuse it to the maximum. But when it’s not around, that’s not a cue for you to take a break to look for it again. It’ll eventually find its way back, you just gotta keep working and pushing forward towards your end goals.

I hope this little reminder today helps!

eat instant noodles and still lose weight?

Let’s talk about our favorite instant noodles today.

A big misconception about instant noodles is that they’re inherently fattening. That eating it means you’re instantly gaining fat. That’s completely untrue. Instant noodles is no different than an apple or banana in terms of food that contains a certain amount of calories. Eating one pack of instant noodles and nothing else throughout the day has zero chance of making you fat regardless of gender, height or weight.

Getting fat only occur when you constantly eat too many calories but that’s not any one particular food’s fault, it’s the fault of all the foods you ate together combined.

So what does that mean?

It means you could include instant noodles in your everyday diet and still lose weight. There’s no need to completely avoid them. One pack a day, one pack every couple of days, 2 packs a week, it all works as long as you’re in a consistent calorie deficit. 

Figuring out a system/schedule that fits you will help your overall weight loss journey cos it’ll be slightly more enjoyable which gives you a higher chance to stick to it.

Let’s break down the numbers.

Typically a pack of Indomie or Maggi is around 340-380kcal. A pack of Shin Ramyun is around 500kcal. Understandable, Shin’s portion size is significantly bigger than Indomie or Maggi. I’m sure the majority of us have been through 2-3 packs of Indomie in one sitting simply cos of how small the portions feel.

So a pack of Shin or Indomie would be 350-500kcal for the day which is super manageable in terms of fat loss cos that at most is 25-35% of your total calories for the day. You still have a lot of calories to spend before hitting your limit. Instant noodle calories aren’t scary at all when you break it down. It’s just like all foods, you gotta plan ahead and be responsible with your portions.

The bulk of calories in instant noodles is in its noodles, not the spice/oil packs. Using half or completely avoiding the spice/oil packs doesn’t significantly change the calories at all, but does change the flavor and enjoyment.

If you’re the type to cook multiple packs at once but not use all the seasoning packs I’d recommend you save them so in the future you could enjoy the instant noodle flavors cooking plain noodles or plain pasta which will be lower calories than instant noodles for the same portion size.

The reason why most instant noodles are much higher calories than regular flour noodles or pasta is cos they’re fried. Pasta/regular noodles at the same serving size as Indomie is roughly only 200ish calories.

Long story short, enjoy your instant noodles. They can 100% be part of your regular diet. In terms of health and weight loss, as long as you’re eating majority nutrient rich foods in your diet and in a consistent calorie deficit, you’ll be able to enjoy the best of all worlds.

Weight loss isn’t a game of “either/or”, it’s about “and”. It’s all about understanding your goals and how to get there, then finding the balance between enjoyment and push.

eat less move more

I’m sure you’ve heard others recommend eat less move more as weight loss advice, and I’m also pretty sure you’ve heard some people call it the worst advice ever cos it doesn’t really help at all.

I agree.

I agree that the mere 4 words “eat less move more” is as good as telling someone to “cheer up” when they’re feeling down. Kinda pointless. Maybe would have even been better just to say nothing at all.

But…

“Eat less move more” isn’t exactly wrong advice. So that’s what I wanna break down today. Hopefully so if some random people utter those 4 words to you that it’s not completely pointless and in some shape or form it reminds you to do what you gotta do to inch your way towards your goals.

So let’s break it down.

What does “eat less” actually mean?

“Less” doesn’t mean volume, but calories. One snicker bar is roughly 48g for 245kcal while 500g of watermelon is roughly 150kcal. If instead of eating 1 snicker bar you eat 500g of watermelon you’re actually eating more food, but less calories.

I think it’s easy to misunderstand “eat less” to being eat as little as possible physical amount of food or starve yourself where it really means the opposite. It’s totally fine to stuff yourself with high volumes of food if you’re aware of the total calories you’re consuming.

A grande cafe latte at Starbucks is 190kcal. Add a random cookie (150kcal) that’s 340kcal. Having a latte and a cookie may seem like you’re “not eating much” but it’s 340kcal which is more calories than a 6pc McNuggets (261kcal). The nuggets will definitely feel like more food and more guilt than a latte and cookie but is actually less.

If you have a habit of drinking soda or alcohol, changing the sodas to zero calorie types and cutting down on the amount of wine you drink in itself is already “eating less” even if you don’t actually change any of the foods you eat throughout the day.

“Less” means less calories consumed.

What does “move more” mean?

“More” doesn’t mean you gotta hit the gym or start jogging for hours everyday. It just means be more active in your everyday lifestyle. It could mean more steps in a day, it could be standing more, or taking the stairs whenever you get a chance.

“Move more” basically means more energy expenditure. Spend more calories. Burn more calories. Two main ways to make that happen is to increase your daily activity level as mentioned above, and/or start taking some form of exercise on a weekly basis.

Remember exercise doesn’t have to be the traditional gym or running. It can be sports, it can be a yoga, it can be dance, skateboarding, rollerblading, gymnastics, anything that makes you move more than you would without the activity.

While moving more burns calories and is great for health, it does not have the same effect for weight loss as “eat less” does. Out of the two, “eat less” is way more important than “move more”.

You could “eat less” and “move less” and still lose weight. But if you “eat more” and “move more” there’s a high chance you’ll actually gain weight. “Moving” isn’t key to losing weight, “eating” is. It’s possible to make progress practicing “eat less” alone while the opposite is quite unlikely.

I hope with this breakdown the next time you hear “eat less move more” it reminds you what’s important for your journey and to make sure you’re on track!

Till the next one~

how fast can you lose weight?

Let's talk about the realistic expectations of the speed of sustainable weight loss.

Sustainable being the key word here.

I mean sure, we’ve all been sold on those magical methods that promise you 10kg in a week or two and some of them actually work. The thing is, you lose that much in 2 weeks it’s likely you gain it all back 2 days later. Then you’re back to where you started and all that effort and suffering was basically pointless.

If the weight you lose isn’t sustainable then it’s not very meaningful.

So what’s a realistic speed of losing weight?

Roughly 0.5-1% of your bodyweight or less per week.

So if you weigh 80kg currently, 0.5% is 0.4kg per week. If you keep that up consistently that’s 1.6kg per month. Sounds slow right? Well it is if you compare it to those crash diets, but check this out. If you lose 1.6kg per month for a year, that’s 19.2kg per year.

19.2kg is a lot. It’s nothing to scoff at.

Being normal humans it’s natural for us to always feel impatient and want results as fast as possible. I get it. Our desires is what those crash diet programs use against us.

The hard truth is 0.5-1% per week is basically as fast as it goes when we take sustainability into consideration. For weight loss to be sustainable you gotta change your lifestyle, your habits. Lifestyle and habit changes take time, a lot of time. You’re not gonna change your habits over night, or over a week, or even a mere month. It’s gonna take a lot of adjusting, a lot of trial and error.

Also remember that weight loss isn’t a linear path. It’s quite impossible to lose exactly 0.5% of your bodyweight week after week for a whole year. Some weeks you might lose 0.1%, some weeks completely zero, some weeks maybe 1.2%, it’s gonna fluctuate up and down. On average though, expecting 0.5-1% bodyweight lost per week is realistic as attainable.

All of us going through a fat loss journey I think we’re just too stuck up on wanting fast fast fast. We forget that little things add up. Can you imagine the past 10 years, every year you lost 2kg? Sounds little right? But that means 10yrs ago vs now you’d be 20kg lighter.

How much effort would losing 2kg a year take?

Not much at all.

Moral of today’s letter? Take it slowly.

Progress is progress. Even losing 0.1kg in 2 weeks is progress. It’s incredible. It’s headed in the right direction. What you wanna put all your efforts in is to be as consistent as possible, and not to try to go as fast as possible.

Fast is what gets us in trouble and makes us go back to the starting line. Take it one step at a time, progress becomes inevitable.

low calorie foods mini list

I thought today would be a more light hearted letter.

As you likely already know I’ve been calorie counting since I started this journey back in Jan 1, 2015. Two more years would be my 10yr anniversary (though I don’t think anyone in the world celebrates anniversary of calorie counting).

Throughout the years I’ve figured out all the little tips and tricks that could make the journey feel a little smoother as you’re going through it day by day 

Today I wanna go through a mini list of low calorie foods. Low calorie foods meaning foods that are so low in calories it’s kinda difficult to overeat them so you could easily include more of them in your day to day diet to feel fuller and more fulfilled if need be.

So let’s get started.

Leafy greens. All leafy greens (spinach, sweet potato leaves, kale, cabbage, watercress, lettuce) are roughly 20-30kcal per 100g. 100g of leafy greens is a pretty hefty amount and could add a lot of volume to your meals. You could mix and match or pick or your favorite ones.

Mushrooms. I really feel mushrooms aren’t talked about enough. Mushroom calories are similar to leafy greens but give such different texture compared to it. Depending on the type of mushroom it’s also roughly 20-30kcal per 100g. A simple sautéed garlic mushroom is a super flavorful dish for very minimum calories.

Cucumbers. They make great snacks and side dishes. All forms of cucumber (squash, old cucumber etc.) are roughly 15kcal per 100g. You read that right, merely 15kcal. Eating a kilo of cucumbers would only be 150kcal (not that I’d recommend you eat that much.) One way I love enjoy cucumbers is cutting it up in bite size pieces, putting it in a bowl or plastic bag. 1-2 drops of sesame oil, chopped garlic, and salt. Mix/shake well with a cover and you’ve created your own typical asian cucumber salad.

Tomatoes. They’re around 18kcal per 100g. I love just having mini tomatoes in the fridge so whenever I’m feeling like a snack I know I could reach for that instead of chips.

Shirataki Noodles. If you’re in Asia, it’s likely easy to find. If you’re not, you likely have to go to some asian market to find it. It’s not zero calories as many claim but is indeed super low in calories as a noodle. It’s roughly 15g per 100g. A usual portion of noodles eating out or a pack of shin ramen is roughly 180g, so a equivalent shirataki noodle portion would still be less than 30kcal.

Why is the noodle so low in calories?

Cos it’s made from an ingredient called konjac root which consists of mostly fiber and water. It’s no miracle food though in the sense that it does give you a moment of fulfillment at the instance of eating it, but it doesn’t keep you full over time. Just something to note if you’re finding yourself hungry quickly after a meal with shirataki noodles.

Seafood. Clams, squid, shrimp, cray fish, crab etc are all relatively low in calories and high in protein. They’re all roughly in the range of 70-80kcal per 100g, which is quite low compared to more fatty cuts of meat.

Watermelon. Roughly 32kcal per 100g. It doesn’t really get better than this especially if you have a ripe and sweet watermelon. Perfect dessert, perfect snack. My only complaint would be it’s a hassle to buy whole and bring home then it’s a huge mess to cut it all up. But kinda worth it for 32kcal per 100. I usually have either watermelon or tomatoes always on standby in the fridge in case of sudden cravings.

Berries. Blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, cranberries are all roughly 32-50kcal per 100kcal. Also a great snack or ingredient for your smoothies.

Popcorn. A measurement cup is roughly 31kcal. Popcorn is actually quite low in calories if you homemade them and skip the butter. It’s usually only high calories at movies and stuff cos of all the butter used. You can make it at home and just season it with dry seasoning like garlic/onion powder and or salt/pepper and it’ll taste pretty amazing too. Nothing like fresh popcorn!

A big part of reaching weight loss goals is really just awareness and preparation. Have some of these low kcal foods ready at home so when you’re feeling hungry or have cravings you have an option to turn to rather than the convenient more caloric dense snacks and chips.

This isn’t saying you can’t have chips or chocolate, of course that’s fine too. But perhaps you only reach for them 50% of the time instead of 100%. That alone in the long run makes a big difference.

Hope this has been helpful!

—Po