Weight Management - Step 3

It has been awhile since I wrote on my blog.  This is partly because of laziness and the other part is because of work, travel schedule and doing assignments for my PHD.  However, I have not forgotten about my training. I am still keeping my 2 swim, 1 bike and 1 run routine weekly.

If you have followed Step 1 & Step 2, you would now know how to determine a healthy weight range and fitness level for yourself.  Then it is time for you to set a time frame to achieve both.  A "rule of the thumb" for weight loss is 1kg per month (3500 calories = 1 kg).   Cardio fitness, which is generally the most important fitness can generally be achieved after 12 training sessions. If you divide it into 3 sessions per week, your fitness level would improve in about a month's time too.  

Now comes the difficult part - How to keep the first ONE month going.  For this to happen, you need a great deal of motivation and determination!!!!  

How  and where do we get that motivate and that much needed determination?  Lets take a look at a typical scenario in any city. It is common for a teenage lass of an ecto/ meso build, standing at 1.61cm to weigh slightly over 61kg with BMI just over 23, to pass off as "OK" in many developed cities.  This lass considers herself active by doing 2-3 hours of sporting activities per week, but very little house chores and no other physical chores. 

First, we need to determine the ideal weight for this lass. Using the BMI model, a weight range between 50-58 is recommended. However, since her current weight is on the high side, this would make cardio activities harder because of the extra weight that the body has to work with. She needs to have baby steps. Work on a disciplined diet as indicated in Step 1 before embarking on aggressive workout plans as stated in Step 2 is important.  By detoxing and eating right for at least 2 weeks, the lass should drop her weight to a more manageble range of around 58-59kg.  Then start working progressively, ie, for example if she has decided "running" as her form of cardio exercise, she should start with a run for around 20min, then packed with other calisthenics exercises such as push-ups and planks in each training. After continuing the 20min for more than 6-8 times - at least 3 times per week, she could then increase the intensity to a faster pace or do a 30min run instead.  After a month, her muscles development would be able to bring her to another level of training either by increasing the intensity or increasing the distance.  By this stage, she would be able to manage her weight in the range of 58kg but would definitely look leaner than before.  Continue with the proper eating habit with loads of veggie, fruits and protein, less of starchy food such as rice and noodles.  If she continues this routine, this lass would be able to achieve the targeted weight in less than 3 months.

So there is no secret to great motivation or determination, there is ONLY small steps, small steps that you can see results. And the result will then bring you to another level that you want to see in your plan.

Keep up the spirit. No men or women are born FAT or OBESE, you can make the change.

Weight Management - Step 2

Sorry for missing for awhile.  I was off preparing for my triathlon competition. I have 2 races back to back, Aug and Sept.  The Aug race went well and I am happy with my performance, being the oldest competitor in the open category (Open cat: age between 18-44) and yet come in within a decent position.  My next race is in Beijing.  All the best to myself!

Before I go any further, lets have a recap.  If by now you have started step 1 - congratulations to you.  Kindly be reminded that oats contains more calories than rice, that is why I recommended oats porridge for dinner whereby you use less oats to prepare for your carbo portion of your dinner, but adding a lot more Greens. Some of you might have completed the detox process and now you are ready for Step 2 - Setting your ideal Weight and Fitness target.

World Health Organization (WHO) recommends using BMI as an indicator for your healthy weight range. I would like to add 2 more items to it.  The first being your body type.  There are 3 different body types - Ectomorph, Mesomorph and Endomorph.  You might be in one or a mixed of 2.

So, how do you know which body type you belong to?  Here are some traits that can help you find out your body type.

Typical traits of an ectomorph:

- small frame and bone structure (wrist is the best to determine your body type)

- narrow shoulder

- generally thin

- long and lean muscle mass

- fast metabolism

Typical traits of an mesomorph:

- athletic build

- rectangular muscle 

- generally strong

- gain muscle easier

- gain fat more easily than ectomorph

Typical traits of an Endomorph:

- Round and thick bone structure

- broad shoulder

- stocky build

- gain muscle and fat easily

- slower metabolism 

If you are ectomorph or meso/ectomorph, than using BMI to determine your healthy weight range is a good enough indicator. But if you are a Meso or Endo, than you have to look at one more thing - your Muscle Mass.  So how do you measure muscle and fat?  There are devices that do just that.  Among so many devices in the market, I prefer Omron's weighting scale which also calculates your muscle and fat percentages.  If your muscle mass is higher than the average and fat lower than average, than even if your BMI is over 24 or 25, you are still considered in a healthy weight range.  Typically, this group of people's BMI ranges between 23-26.  

Now that you have your target healthy weight range, its time to set your fitness goal.  I tend to use Singapore National Physical Fitness Assessment (NAPFA) to monitor my fitness level.  I find this assessment easy to do and can be done almost anywhere.  The NAPFA test consists of 6 stations and the tests assess a person's cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility and muscular power.  It is quite a complete test without the high cost involvement.  Please refer to the chart attached below for the test score.  

The cost of doing the assessment is almost close to nothing.  Let me tell you how......

running - you can run anywhere.  All you need to find is a 400m stadium or any track with distance markings. Do a 2.4km run and time yourself.

Pull ups and inclined pull ups.  Go find "monkey bars in children's playground and "wola"...thats your Pull up bars right there!  For the ladies, inclined pull up bars can be improvised.  Use a strong wooden stick and secure the sticks over 2 wooden chairs using carpet tapes (make sure that the chairs are about 90cm in height) - that's your inclined pull up bars.

You need a measuring tape for shuttle run and standing broad jump and a soft surface for sit ups. 

The following is the Assessment details:

What is NAPFA?

The National Physical Fitness Assessment (NAPFA) involves a series of 6 test stations. It is a measure of both health and performance related fitness.  NAPFA has been identified by the Singapore Sports Council to be safe, reliable and representative measures of the different important components of overall fitness.

6 Test stations are:

• Pull ups (for males) & inclined pull ups (for females) - test for muscular strength of upper body

• Sit ups - test for muscular endurance of core muscles

• Sit and Reach - test for flexibility of core muscles

• 4x 10m Shuttle Run - test for speed and agility

• Standing Broad Jump - test for muscular power of lower body

• 2.4km run - test for cardiovascular fitness and muscular endurance of lower body

EVENTS DO'S AND DON'T'S

1-minute Sit-ups

Do:

Hands to cup ears

Back flat on mat

Knees bent slightly > 90degrees

1 count when elbows touch knees & back flat on mat after

Partner to count out loud

Don't:

Hands clutching neck or away from ears

Elbows not touching knees and back not flat on mat after

Sit and Reach Forward

Do:

Back flat against board (sit straight up) with arms stretched out

Legs straight and strapped down or locked straighten

Don't:

Arms stretched out with back not flat against board or slouching

Knees bent

NB : No difference with or without shoes

Standing Broad Jump

Do:

Both feet together behind start line

Bend forward swinging arms and rocking motion to gain momentum

Jump off and land with both feet together; do not move till reading taken

Don't:

Double jump when taking off

Step over start line on starting

Jump with feet one after the other

Land and shift feet

Sit on mat after jump - no count

4 x 10 meters Shuttle Run

Do:

Start behind start line

Put block down on marked spot (10 meters away)

Don't:

Throw block on marked spot

Step over start line

30 seconds Pull-up for men

Do:

Feet off the support step, body and arms straight (hanging)

Palm of hands facing outwards

Body still

One count when chin is above bar & arms straight after pull up (recovery for next pull)

Don't:

Pull up while body is swinging

Horse-kick to pull up (legs in cycle motion)

Palm of hands face inwards

Chin touches or is not over bar - no count

Arms slightly bent after pull up - no count (recovery for next pull)

Inclined Pull-up for ladies

(30sec)

Do:

Hand bar to be at least 2inches away from stretched out arms

Bar directly above upper chest

Arms straight & holding bar; butt off the mat, body straight at < 45degree angle – start position

Chin to cross rod; arms straight after pull up (recovery for next pull) - one count

Don't:

During 30 secs, butt lands on mat - redo

Chin does not cross rod

Arms slightly bent after pull up (recovery for next pull)

2.4 km Run-Walk

Do:

Run 6x 400m on the running track around the stadium

Don’t:

Do not run under hot weather

Who should take NAPFA test?

Anyone, unless proven medically unfit.  

How often should you do NAPFA Test?

NAPFA test should be done annually or twice a year. 

A good way to maintain your fitness besides training for them is to engage in a regular sporting activities, which adds fun to the whole process; my sport is Triathlon. 

Weight Management - Step 1

BT Training

Weight Loss - Step 1

We invest greatly in our education, social skills, memory skills, etc - lots to do with the BRAIN.  But many of us forgot to invest in the temple that holds the soul and knowledge.  In this series, I will be sharing some of my experience and knowledge in weight management so that you can maintain a good TEMPLE so that this "TEMPLE" of yours would be able to serve you longer with less or NO holes to take care of during rainy days.

If we use the analogy of having a Healthy Financial status, many of your financial advisers would advise you to first " Removed the Debt".  In our context, removing the debt means "Remove the Excess WASTE" in the body.  And, how do we do that?

Firstly, we have to DETOX.  Detox is a process whereby the body removes the waste from the system.  Many slimming centers would recommend a special diet for detox.  They include special Green Tea formula, Lemon detox program, etc.  My recommendation is simple:

Keep eating the regular 3 meals per day but simply replace the starchy carbo with OATS.  Oats has been classified as a Super food for detoxification as it contains both soluble and insoluble fibers.  Soluble fiber delays the emptying of your stomach and makes you feel full for a longer period of time, which in terms helps control weight.  Slower stomach emptying will also affect your blood sugar level and benefit people with diabetes. Soluble fibers also help to lower LDL, the bad blood cholesterol  by interfering with the absorption of dietary cholesterol. Insoluble fibers in a simplest term, helps your digestive system and regular your visit to the toilets to remove waste through your gut.  Besides that, Oats have glutathione, the super-antioxidant that your body makes naturally to help fight disease. 

I recommend anyone who wants to have a healthy weight loss to change their standard carbo to oats as such for a min. period of 2 weeks and a maximum period of a month:

Breakfast: Oats with milk, honey and lots of different fruits.  (Banana, grapes, plums, kiwi, berries)

Lunch - Eat normal but skip deep fried, add lots of veg.

Dinner - Make soup with either chicken or fish, add oats to the soup to make oats porridge. Add lots of veg including carrots, broccoli, any other green leaves.

If you are hungry in between, take a hot milo drink or take a banana/ apple.  Totally skip Fast food and Chips.

Hope the above is helpful....see you guys again in a week's time for Step 2. Remember if step 1 is not done properly, step 2 will be useless for you - REMOVE THE DEBT FIRST!

IS YOUR PE TEACHER OVERWEIGHT, FAT OR EVEN OBESE?

I am lucky to never come across any of my PE teachers being overweight or worse, OBESE.  That's likely because I had my PE lessons some 30 years ago, before technology took over our life.

Just go spin around your neighborhood school and stay in the gym or basketball court to wait for the PE teacher.  Chances are, he/ she will not be the ideal ambassador of Health and Fitness. He/she is likely to carry a pouch around the waist.  So if the one who is teaching PE is not a walking resemblance of health and fitness, do you expect the kids to?

In many of my presentations, I stated over and over again that PE teacher is probably the toughest teacher in the school because PE teachers do not usually use teaching aid like powerpoints, projector, etc and worst he is subjected to the word "Physical". PE teachers do not normally go into a class with the textbook in one hand and the clipboard and whistle on the other.  He must have all the knowledge and lesson plan at the back of his hand, plus he must not look anything like the one on the right in the attached picture; otherwise, he is not going to make a difference.  In today's society, having a BIG PE teacher becomes an acceptable norm, hence, we have a "bigger population" and "obesity" becomes the world's No. 5 killer.  And, this is the result of us accepting norm. We must reverse that norm.

You can help to reverse.  The next time, you walk into a PE class and the teacher looks like the one on the right in the attached picture, go to the Principal office and ask the questions that you should ask....."Is my PE teacher healthy and Fit? If not, why is he teaching us to be?"    

According to World Health Organization, obesity and overweight are the fifth leading risk for global deaths.  The number of Obese and overweight population has increased by more than double since 1980s.   In 2008, more than 1.4 billion adults, 20 and older, were overweight. Of these over 200 million men and nearly 300 million women were obese. (Source: World Health Organization)

Many scholars and scientists have worked earnestly to address the problem with many eagerly introducing weight loss medication such as Orlistat (Xenical) and weight loss surgery including Gastric bypass surgery and liposuction among many others.

As an Educator, I see the introduction of medicine as a cure on an individual case by case basis but unable to eliminate the root cause of obesity - Education can.  However, science including food technology has moved light years ahead of education, especially Physical Education.  A visit to any universities’ websites that offer of Degree in Physical Education and you will find that the content is quite similar to those 20-30 years ago.  If the PE teachers are trained to educate students with content 20-30 years behind time, our kids would have an even dated knowledge.   Many PE lessons are still physical activities driven with low or no transfer of diet, healthy, sports science knowledge.

It is critical and eminent that Physical Educators look into how technology has affected human being and how Physical Education can best keep up with technology.  

In one of my presentations to a group of school kids, a kid stood up and told me, "Sir, but being FAT is CUTE!" He was quite a chubby kid from Indonesia, definitely from a well to do family.  His statement made everyone in the hall laughed.  Do you know what was my reply?

Swim Coach or Fitness Coach in Jakarta?

Hi,

I am Bryan from Singapore and I am now working in Jakarta.  I am an amateur triathlete taking part in mainly short or Olympic distances.  I am starting this blog to raise funds for my research into managing obesity.

Besides my work in Jakarta, I freelance as both Swim and Fitness coach.  Having been a swim coach for more than 15 years, I have trained a wide range of people from beginners to athletes training for triathlon.  My approach in helping people with weight issue is both practical and inexpensive.  

I hold a BAS in Physical Education, Swim certificates from both Singapore and Ausswim, Strength & conditioning cert and I am currently pursuing my PHD focusing in Obesity Management.  I received government study grant for my PHD study, the coaching fee helps to pay for my research into managing obesity.  My fees are very affordable as I do not run this as a business but more to raise enough for my research.  

If you are keen to learn more and be part of a bigger program - "WHY I MUST SPEAK OUT ABOUT OBESITY", please sms or whatsapp me at 0853 1079 8802 or simply email me at btrunning@gmail.com.  I have quite a few testimonials to support what I do best; help people stay active, fit and healthy. 

I will be sharing some of my approach in this blog on both swimming and fitness.....please keep an eye for my new postings and post me questions if you have any.

Thank you

Bryan