Losing or Maintaining Weight on Your “Tour of Duty”

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Hi again, it’s Chef Shane here, back from an increasingly hot Phuket.

A lot has been said about diets and weight loss online, on TV, in magazines and everywhere else that you look. The weight loss industry is a massive one, and generally a fraudulent one.

It panders to people who do not want to accept the basic truths behind why we put weight on, and offers an “easy magic solution” – in return for a lot of money and a fair bit of harm to your body.

I am writing this because I am personally one of the ones who have actually lost 28 kilograms over the last 2 years, and still slowly dropping, without putting it straight back on.

I have nothing to sell you, and I’m not interested in profiting out of giving you the information.

The reality is that diets, low cal drinks & food, and “rapid weight loss” do not work.
If someone offers you, and can back up with evidence, the opportunity to lose 10kg in a couple of months, and then run as fast as you can. Because it just might work.

The human machine is very well designed, and very few people balloon to a huge size rapidly.

Obesity is a long, drawn out process that generally comes from bad lifestyle choice. Small bad lifestyle choices make us “overweight,” and large bad lifestyle choices will make us obese.

When you lose weight rapidly, it satisfies the ego’s need for instant results and instant gratification, but the big picture is that the body finds it hard to cope with this change, and will rapidly put the weight back on, plus a bit extra as a defence mechanism when the dramatic diet changes, or is finished.

The only way is a slow gradual lifestyle change.

In Dubai I puffed up to 105kg from about 88kg, and was feeling very unhealthy and beginning to lack self esteem.

The reason was quite simple. Good social life, having a few beers every day, then working “too hard” and missing breakfast. This affects the metabolism – slowing it down. You get hungry less, and eat more, processing and burning it off more slowly.

You can go for almost a day without getting hungry, and can eat LOTS when you do get hungry.

I used to be able to go to a buffet and get my money’s worth.

I had a company car, and the Dubai lifestyle does not include walking amongst its pleasures. It is very much a driving, work hard eat fast and eat LOTS mentality and culture.

Available food is normally high in fat meats and carbs. Lots of shawarmas, fast food, grilled cheesy sandwiches, and everything has bread or chips and more.

It is actually VERY hard to get healthy food. Fruit and veg are all flown in, so you have to put effort into finding them and doing it yourself.

It is the home of the all you can eat and drink buffet at ridiculously low prices.

My move to Kazakhstan gave me an opportunity to change.

I chose to rent an apartment 20 minutes walk from work, and walked to and from work every day, 5 days a week. A small change, but a very important one. It is almost considered exercise, without really seeming like it.

I began having breakfast. And lunch. And dinner. Suddenly I was always ravenous. My metabolism kicked in and started burning up everything I ate.

Before, I could skip brekky, drink too much coffee, and not eat for 12 hours without feeling too bad.

Now if it is an hour or two past mealtimes and I haven’t eaten – I want to kill somebody!
That means a body that is not storing much body fat.

I made a change to eat a defined amount with each meal. Before I would have 2-4 dishes, shared with family, and we would all eat. And eat.

Now I have one portion at a time, rather than eating until I couldn’t eat any more.
Four people? 4 portions. I can get to try more than one dish!

Only me? <Sob> one portion. And – 20 minutes after I eat it – I am full.
Kazakhstan had a fair bit of fruit from season to season, so I started eating a little fruit every day as well.

One of my big things was drinking my calories.

Not just in alcohol, but more dramatically, everything else I drank. This was frequent.
Iced teas, fruit juices, iced coffee, hot coffee, soft drinks, isotonic drinks like Gatorade, red bull and more.

I swapped 80% of it for water. This began to taste refreshing and healthful after the first horrible couple of weeks where it just tasted “bland”

The first couple of months were depressing.

All of this change, and my weight and size actually INCREASED.

I was mortified.

But be patient. Like I said, it is a long slow process of gradual lifestyle change.
From 105kg in June 2007, I am now down to 78kg in March 2009. And feeling great.
No, I’m not a supermodel. But I’m not getting talked about as much, which is a great side benefit.

Just to re-cap:

Cut back on alcohol to once or twice a week. Any percentage of cut-back in the long term will be reflected in your belt notches
Substitute your daily beverages with water. Keep a glass of fruit juice as a once a day treat.
Cut back on sugary food, fatty food, and “too many” “bad” carbs. This is really as easy as trying to eat reasonably healthily, and having a ‘normal’ portion.
Portion your food. Know how much you are eating – and waste the excess rather than eating it because it is there
Walk every day. Or do some exercise that you are comfortable with. I walked to work and listed to MP3’s and took photos. Kept me interested. Any REGULAR increase in activity will be reflected long term by an equal percentage.
DON’T go on diets, pills, or mad exercise frenzies. They will put your body into defence mode, you WILL lose weight, and then you will promptly put it back on – with EXTRA as soon as you revert to the “regular” lifestyle.
Instead of fast food, try and have balanced meals. Any percentage of unhealthy food that you replace with fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, poultry, fish and pulses will be very promptly reflected in your attitude towards life and your waistline

Travelling and working away from the comforts and familiarity of home is difficult.
Hard drinking cultures, cold climates with heavy fatty starchy foods, location lifestyles that differ from home – all are factors that put one at risk of stress and weight gain.

Try to find affordable healthy foods that you like in the local cuisine. Drink lots of water. Did you know that many “hunger pangs” are actually the first signs of dehydration?

And the biggie? “If it’s got sugar, treat it like a booger!” – shudder, despise it, and don’t put it in your mouth.”

A general rule of thumb is – if it has been processed, it’s no good. If it was caught, grown, bred or picked, then eat LOTS of it. Fresh is best.

The sad thing about having lost weight which is staying off – I can’t indulge my passion for Thai food without at least 4 others present – as I can only finish one helping before I give up – full.

On the bright side, I’m feeling more alert, motivated and capable than ever before, and getting positive comments instead of snide ones is a LOT nicer.

Take a photo of yourself today – then drop me a line in 12 months if you have made a permanent lifestyle change – however small. You can thank me then, because I GUARANTEE the results.

Questions, comments, your own tips and experience?

Best regards,

Chef Shane

The Culinary Globe Trotter

chefshane@prochef360.com

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