💭 My Ongoing weight loss and gain Journey 💭

Within the span of 2023-2024, I have lost a considerable amount of weight, and now, I’m slowly going back to being a chub.

So within this timespan, I will be sharing tips and stuff that I’ve learned about weight loss, gain, and just my personal experience on gymming and dieting.

To give a little overview, I lost 15kgs within 7 months (April - November) because of how accessible gyms were around my neighbourhood. I would travel to the gym during midnight 1-ish after work or just on a normal day because I was conscious about my body and the gym is usually empty around that time. Fast forward a little to January when I moved out into another area which is honestly really secluded and barren COMPARED to my previous location. The gym which used to be a walking distance from me was now a 20 minute bus ride away from me. I gradually became lazier and lazier, shaking my leg at home, committing gluttony, especially since getting together with my girlfriend, and it has came back to bite me by putting back on 9kgs.

But now, here are the things that I’ve learned along my journey:

⚠️ These are what I’ve experienced PERSONALLY so do take it with a grain of salt. ⚠️

1. YOU DON’T HAVE TO EAT HEALTHY TO LOSE WEIGHT ‼️‼️‼️

Don’t get me wrong, I am not promoting a diet primarily consisting of just fast food or preserved foods. I’m sure everyone has heard of the term “CALORIE DEFICIT”. To put it very simply,

How much you eat >> what you eat.

I lost a significant amount of weight even though I was still eating at fast food joints once a week, but it does come at the cost of me skipping my breakfast almost every day. The daily recommended calorie intake for males is 2500kcal and 2000kcal for females. So what I did was I used a calorie counter to track my meals, so considering the fact that I skipped my breakfast, I was allowed to indulge a little more for my lunch and dinner, but of course, keeping it at a 2000kcal limit.

2. EATING PAST MIDNIGHT DOES NOT ATTRIBUTE TO WEIGHT GAIN ‼️‼️‼️

Every single asian can vouch for me that we have all heard from our parents at least once in our lives to never eat late at night. But going back to my first point, eating at whatever time of the day is fine, as long as you keep the calories in check.

Every time after the gym, I would walk to the nearest 7-11 and satiate my midnight hunger with the same order of chicken breast, a cheese stick, and sometimes the sandwiches.

3. HUNGER SUPPRESSANTS ‼️‼️‼️

This is a thing that I’ve been doing recently after putting a bit of chub back. Of course seeing my weight go back up caused a bit of concern to me. Knowing my tendencies to overeat during my meals, I would order a main which is usually some cai png or beehoon BUT with a side of coffee OR tea which was what has been helping me suppress my hunger. I managed to drag a cup of coffee for 2 hours which really helped me with my snacking tendencies. I also did things like bloat myself with water, since I work at the airport, I am granted the luxury of having a water dispenser. And if I had a really itchy mouth, I’d pop a hard candy once or twice or chewing gum that I got from JB.

4. WALKING >> RUNNING ‼️‼️‼️

After all my weight training routines, I will move on to LISS (Low Intensity Steady State), where I basically walk at a steady pace, at an incline, for 30 minutes AT LEAST. Compared to HIIT, this puts less strain on your body and is lower intensity so you have some energy left reserved for your next day workout. Intense cardio also attributes to muscle loss, so LISS helps maintain mass while shedding fat. This is what I think contributed one of the most to my weight loss. Seems simple yet effective.

5. PLAN YOUR WORKOUTS AND DIETS BASED ON YOUR END GOAL ‼️‼️‼️

People usually have the idea of just eat less and workout more to lose fat and gain muscle. It is definitely more complex than that. To put it very simply,

JUST FAT LOSS: Cut down calories in general, eat low caloric foods but you can get more of like egg whites, fish, fruits, and do more cardio, preferably HIIT or a jog in the park.

FAT LOSS AND MUSCLE GAIN / CUTTING: Cut down on calories WHILE eating protein-packed foods like lean meats AKA chicken breast, or veges with protein like edamame, broccoli or brussels sprouts. As well as weight training with LOW intensity cardio at the end to prevent loss of muscle. Protein supplements like Whey or creatine is good too.

GAIN MASS IN GENERAL / BULKING:

‼️ There is Bulking, and there is DIRTY Bulking.

DIRTY BULKING is a no-holds-barred approach to eating which ensures a calorie surplus, AND IS ONLY FOR PEOPLE THAT have committed enough time to the gym, and you’re VERY confident that you won’t lose your sense of commitment and get lazy OR people that are struggling to put on weight and mass in general.

BULKING is maintaining a CONTROLLED calorie surplus, eating healthier protein-dense foods while granting you the luxury of not needing to restrict yourself on the amount, Ex. A surplus of 500-1000 calories depending on what kind of weight training you’re committed to.

⚠️ Bulking is usually only done by bodybuilders and both methods of bulking are usually accompanied by high-intensity resistance training. So please do it with caution.

⚠️ The recommended protein intake while cutting is roughly 1.6-2.2g per kg of body weight.

While the recommended protein intake while bulking is roughly 1.2-1.7g per kg of body weight. While cutting, you increase protein intake to help preserve muscle mass and maintain metabolic rate despite a calorie deficit. Protein helps minimize muscle loss and supports recovery, which is crucial when you're not consuming as many calories. As for bulking, while protein is still important for muscle growth, you have a caloric surplus that supports overall muscle development and recovery, making slightly lower protein intake acceptable. Essentially, higher protein during cutting compensates for the risk of muscle loss due to reduced calorie intake.

Hopefully all this info manages to help someone or at least clear them of their doubts and questions. Godspeed to everyone on their fitness and health journey.

#weightloss #gym #diet #singapore #bulking #cardio