Life At Slow-Mo

On September 3, 2022, my result was 78.65 kg (173.39 lbs). These are my results a week later.

Item	Measurement September 10, 2022	Measurement, January 24, 2022	Healthy Standard1
Weight2	78.60 (173.28 lbs)	98.7 Kg (217.6 lbs)	55.3-68.0 kg (121.9-149.9 lbs)
BMI2	28.8 (Obese)	36.2 (Obese)	18.5-24.9
Waist (circumference)3	99 cm (38.97 in)	122 cm (48.03 in)	< 102 cm (40 in)
Hip (circumference)3	105 cm (41.33 in)	120 cm (47.24 in)	
Waist to Hip Ratio (WHR)	0.94	1.01	< 0.9
Blood Pressure4  (Systolic/Diastolic)	103 mmHg/ 79 mm Hg	137mmHg/ 95 mmHg	110/70 mmHg- 145/90 mmHg
Visceral Fat	14	17	<9

It is understandable if you are thinking, “What, you did all that fasting and you only lost half a kilo?” Here is the context. Last weekend after I wrote my last post, I had a heavy breakfast and a pint of beer with some greasy snacks in the afternoon. I wanted to balance all the carbs from the beer with some protein, so my snack of choice was fried crispy tofu. If you happen to visit Indonesia, or if it happens that there is a Southeast-Asian restaurant nearby, see to it that you have fried tofu. They are crunchy and delicious!

On Sunday morning, my bathroom scale went up to 79.50 kg (175.26). Yes, I spent the whole week just getting back to my previous weight. I’m a little regretful, but on the other hand, I was glad I could spend a great Saturday afternoon relaxing.

When we drank alcohol, our body will turn it into an energy source first, before glucose and lipids. This will cause the body to treat the rest of the food we ate as excess, and store them as adipose tissue, or fat.

On top of that, any liquor you drink is loaded with calories. For example, a shot of whisky can contain up to 100 calories. If you mix it with coke, you will drink roughly 240 calories. A 12-ounce beer contains 155 calories. Having two beers racks it up to 310 calories, easy. That is already a lot of energy for the body to use.

The best course of action while losing weight is to abstain from alcoholic drinks. However, some careful planning may still allow you to have a drink or two while you’re going out with friends and maintain a calorie deficit. Some tips that I learned from @bodysmartfitness (too late) are:

• If you’re planning for a night out on the weekend, take fewer calories on Monday-Friday. If you cut your intake by 200 calories a day, by the weekend you have 1,000 calories to offset the alcohol effect.
• Use low-calorie mixers for your spirits. Diet soda or soda water are some choices.
• Have fewer drinks (of course).
• Mind what you are eating. You may feel extra hungry after drinking and choose to eat a 2,000-calorie pizza.

My mistake was having a pint spontaneously, after a day of a big breakfast and heavy lunch. I was not in the right situation to drink that day. Lesson learned.

Last week I bought four diet-related books, and I plan to review them in my upcoming posts. Remember to check back, or better, subscribe to this blog. See you then!