I got a little stuck at the 84kg range this week. I bumped myself to 85.0kg after three days of eating close to the 1,500-calorie limit and a half bottle of soju. From there, it was a slow way back into the 84.3kg where I hit the snag. On June 12, 2022, my result was 84.65 kg (186.62 lbs). These are my results today.
| Item | Measurement, June 20, 2022 | Measurement, January 24, 2022 | Healthy Standard |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weight1 | 83.9 kg (184.96 lbs) | 98.7 Kg (217.6 lbs) | 55.3-68.0 kg (121.9-149.9 lbs) |
| BMI2 | 30.8 (Obese) | 36.2 (Obese) | 18.5-24.9 |
| Waist (circumference)3 | 108 cm (42.51 in) | 122 cm (48.03 in) | < 102 cm (40 in) |
| Hip (circumference)3 | 109 cm (42.91 in) | 120 cm (47.24 in) | |
| Waist to Hip Ratio (WHR) | 0.99 | 1.01 | < 0.9 |
| Blood Pressure4 (Systolic/Diastolic) | 118 mmHg/ 79 mmHg | 137mmHg/ 95 mmHg | 110/70 mmHg- 145/90 mmHg |
Here are the additional measurements:
| Item | Measurement, June 20, 2022 | Measurement, February 5, 2022 | Healthy Standard |
|---|---|---|---|
| Body Fat | 31.5% | 36% | 17.5%-20.6% (Good)4 |
| Visceral Fat Level | 15 | 17 | <13 |
Say What?
In April I got one of the big shocks in my life. I went to get some blood tests done. The main objective was to know the status of my blood sugar and cholesterol level. When I was registering myself at the lab, the technician asked, “Would you like to take the HbA1c test as well? It will tell you how much blood sugar is attached to your red blood cells.” I thought it was good to get some more information, so I agreed to the offer.
When the results came, my cholesterol level was high as expected. My blood sugar level was still good although barely. But the surprise was on the HAb1c result. I was at 5.8% whereas the healthy standard was 5.7% or less. There on the report was written that I have crossed the line into the pre-diabetes category.
Nobody in my family has diabetes. So the fact that I am close to having the disease was completely unexpected. I thought I had reduced my sugar consumption significantly. However, when I think back to the past two years, I can see why I am in this situation. I ate a lot of carbs, especially rice, bread, and cakes.
Carbs reduction is now a high priority in my diet. On top of keeping an eating window and restricting my calorie intake, I must pay attention to how much carbs and sugar I have every day.
Going Back to Digital
If you read my last post, you will see that I had difficulties measuring my carbs consumption. I only paid attention to calories and disregarded the macronutrients. In a much earlier post, I also mentioned that I decided not to use any food logging apps because they lacked nutritional data on local cuisines. Well, I am coming clean now: I got nutritional data for my manual food journal from the website of such apps.
Since looking up, calculating, and recording macronutrients is a lot more difficult than simply writing down calorie numbers, I finally gave up doing manual journaling. In 2013, I already signed up for a website called fatsecrets.com. So I reactivated my account, cleaned up my old data, set a new weight loss goal, and restarted my digital food journal.
It is very practical. All I need to do is to find the food I ate in their extensive database, enter the amount I ate, and the app will calculate the rest. In a single action, I got the nutrition data: calories, fat, carbohydrate, protein, and so on.
Instead of having to make a manual estimate, now I have a summary of the macronutrients I consumed in a day. From this information, I can tell whether or not I am eating the right amount of carbs.
I must admit it is very difficult to eat fewer carbs. My journal for the past three days is disheartening. Half of my diet is still made mainly of carbs. On the bright side, now I have the tool to correct it.
Life At Slow-Mo 
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