Tag Archives: losing weight

AFT Interviews, AFT TV, AFTNews, AFTNews, Diet & Nutrition, Features Malaysia, The Kurang Manis Podcast

AFT Interviews: Malaysia’s “biggest” comedian Papi Zak: high uric acid got your tongue?

Video

We captured some curious questions from Malaysia’s “biggest” standup comedian and debut wrestler, Papi Zak (www.thepapizak.com), to Australia’s gastroenterologist and Instagram educator Dr. Pran Yoganathan (IG @dr_pran_yoganathan) – he spoke with us on Episode 3. Dr. Pran elaborates on the expensive tissue hypothesis (ETH) which relates brain and gut size in evolution (specifically in human evolution). Listen in to the trailer below for information on gout, uric acid on a high protein diet, our gut and metabolic health. 

The full episode of Ep. 4 with Papi Zak – listen below.

TV host & celebrity entertainer

Introducing Papi Zak, well known in the comedy circuit in Malaysia and the “biggest” Malaysia has to offer, states his website. For over 12 years, he’s written and performed material for his shows, and has fast established his quirky brand of humour and witty observations on the absurdities of every-day life. Zak was a former LiteFM and REDFM radio broadcaster and his comfortable presence in front of a camera has landed him screen work as the host of two television lifestyle programs – ‘The Halal Foodie’ and ‘Happy Endings’. Zak is currently the brand ambassador for Mr. Potato.

In doing our research on Papi Zak’s The Halal Foodie show, we found this bootleggish version translated and dubbed in Thai!

Papi Zak speaks to co-hosts Jasmine Low and Nikki Yeo in Episode 4 about his fitness journey – how he shed over 30kg from his 160kg stature, his childhood as a third culture kid, his mother’s amazing cooking, his new foray into wrestling and his quest to inspire others on the path towards fitness – just as he has. He also indulges us in his relationships… with food!

In this same episode, you’ll hear the voices of Dr. Pran Yoganathan, gastroenterologist featured in Ep. 3 and Dr. Desmond Menon, medical lab scientist from Ep. 2. Papi poses some curious questions Dr. Pran and together, we learn about gout, gut health, satiety, cholesterol levels and gout.

In the tradition of AsiaFitnessToday.com’s methods of using rhythm and movement as therapy, we introduce a comedy skit by Papi Zak at a TimeOut Kuala Lumpur show to seal off the episode. Tune in to the podcast to listen now.

Learn more about The Kurang Manis Podcast, click here: https://www.asiafitnesstoday.com/?p=9039.
Diet & Nutrition, Editor's Note, Travel & Wellness, Wellness, Women's Health

Editor’s Note: Never Too Late

Hands up please to those of you who began the year with the resolution to lose weight. Be honest. I am one of those people.

It all began with sitting by the beach, waiting for the fireworks display, that we started talking about our New Year resolutions. Although it’s mostly about body goals, losing weight is an important factor as 75% of us who were there were overweight.

For me, I began my body transformation completely mad – threw myself into exercising and crash dieting. That ended up pretty bad. I had injuries and binge-ate most times.

Took me a while to get into the groove of things while my friends are already seeing results. That did not hamper my enthusiasm to achieve my goals though. In fact, it encouraged me further.

I decided to adopt a healthier lifestyle and more realistic goals. The goal in the adoption was to change habits and mindset.

It may be July now but I feel as if it’s January and I’m just starting to finally realign myself towards a better me. There is no excuse to stop achieving goals set out on that beach on New Year’s just because it’s the middle of the year. The best time to begin working on a better you is now.

 

My weight as of 1 January 2018: 71kg

My current weight: 67kg

Diet & Nutrition

Calories in Malaysian vs. Aussie breakfast meals

I spent some time with my 8-year old nephew the other day and as usual, kids ask the darndest questions: “How many calories does a serve of french fries contain?”, he asked. I quickly hit search and discovered that one small little packet of fried potatoes contained 230cals!! That’s about the same amount you would lose if you ran 5kms. Imagine that. His eyes lit up, as though he had an epiphany. Little did he know, his aunt was on that journey already!

So it ignited my curiosity and I started researching about calorie intake and output. Here’s a snapshot of my findings.

Typical Malaysian breakfast

*1 bowl of rice=207 calories  Serving Calories
Fried vermicelli noodles (meehoon) 1 plate 510
Curry Laksa 1 bowl 589
Nasi Lemak with gravy 1 plate 644
Roti canai and dhal 1 serve 360

Typical Australian breakfast

*2 bread rolls=114 calories  Serving Calories
Eggs benedict; poached chicken egg, bacon or ham & hollandaise sauce with bread or English muffin 1 serve 238
Breakfast cereal with milk 1 bowl 72
Toast bread with butter and Vegemite 2 slices 319
Bowl of fruit (mango, bananas, blueberries and kiwi fruit salad) 1 bowl 107

What’s our typical daily calorie intake?

Typically, an average person would consume up to 2000 calories per day. However, if you intend to lose off some weight, then you’ll need to consume under that average coupled with exercise to burn off.

Bear this in mind.

3500 calories = 0.5 kg

Safe and practical weight loss programs recommend that we should aim for no more than 0.5kg loss per week. Any more and you could put your health at risk. That means you’re looking at a reduction of 3500 calories from your weekly intake – or, 500 calories reduction (or burnt off) per day. This brings your daily caloric budget to 1500. However, such a low caloric budget per day may not give you the sufficient nutrients you require. There are no shortcuts to it, and one sure way to lose weight is via physical exercise. There are so many ways to incorporate fitness training – speak to your fitness coach and get your goals set together.

Ever wondered what’s your daily calorie burn rate?

A typical white collar office executive would be considered sedentary whilst someone working in retail or F&B, who’s constantly on their feet would be considered someone who has Activity Level 1. Take a look:
*females Duration Calories
Standing up at work 1 hour 136
10,000 steps^ 1 day 500
Average number of calories expended in a day (sedentary) 1 day 1800
Average number of calories expended in a day (Active level 1) 1 day 2000

The calorie burn rate differs depending on a person’s height, weight and gender. Males would burn an additional 30-40% extra in comparison to women.

^Shape-up America! is a non-profit that tries to combat obesity by encouraging and recommending people take 10,000 steps per day. Likewise at Asia Fitness Today, we aim to make an impact by encouraging co-workers at the workplace to be aware, be conscious about their health and start MOVING. Take the stairs. Park further away from the office and walk – saving you money, and burning you calories. Gather a few colleagues, grab a bike-share and ride to a new spot for lunch.

So, no matter what your fitness goals may be, a good start is to understand your own daily consumption habits, the calorie content of your favourite foods, then adjusting your lifestyle towards achieving those goals.