It's been exactly 3 months since I started my program, and the weight-loss phase is coming to an end. I'm meant to do a 6-week "maintenance" phase from now on, but it doesn't mean I won't keep on losing more weight!
Final weight loss: 7.5kg.
True to form, my weight loss is about 2.5kg per month, although 6 days ago at my lowest weight I had lost about 8kg. A couple of big meals right after passing my exam, as well as a lack of exercise, meant my weight rebounded over the last few days.
I'm pretty happy with what I've achieved so far. Ultimately I'm shooting to lose 15kg, so I'm only halfway there, but I've seen my body fat percentage drop significantly, have tightened by belt by two notches, and I see a different person every time I look in the mirror. All things to be happy about.
For three months, I stopped eating some of my favorite things. I haven't gone inside a McDonald's once, even though ironically, I have to pass by a McDonald's outlet twice every time I go visit my nutritionist… and I see her twice a week. I haven't had any of those really sinful hotdogs from Wing Lok Yuen (永樂園), and for a few months I had them for breakfast (and sometimes lunch) regularly. I certainly haven't been back to get my favorite sandwich at Yue Hing (裕興). No instant noodles for me, either.
Amazingly, other than the little bit of moon cake that I allowed myself for Mid-Autumn Festival, I hadn't snacked at all during the last 3 months. When I found myself feeling hungry in the afternoon, I ate my daily ration of food or the occasional pack of saltines - which I would take out of my grain allocation for dinner later. My collection of jams - most of them homemade by friends - haven't seen the light of day for 3 months. The box of Sprüngli Grand Cru chocolate truffles - which I asked the parental units to bring back from their trip to Switzerland in July - is now more than 3 months past the "best consumed by" date.
It hasn't been easy, but then again it hasn't been as difficult as I originally imaged it would be. I will persevere and reach my goal. I'm waging a long-term war, and I am determined to win. My deepest gratitude to the person who inspired me and continue to lend me moral support. You know who you are.
- RANT WARNING -
Despite having lost a reasonable amount of weight, I'm by no means the "biggest loser". That title, unfortunately, goes to the environment. A big part of this program is about portion control, and since the very beginning I have made it easier on myself to work out portions by buying specific types of food in specific packaged quantities. This purchasing habit ended up producing a lot of waste, which I hope will be eventually recycled, but unfortunately given Hong Kong's pathetic recycling infrastructure and a government who doesn't give a damn, there are no guarantees that this will be done.
What sort of waste am I producing daily or weekly? Let's see:
Plastic bag for my bread - on any given day I could go through 1 package of Garden wheat toast, leaving behind one plastic bag.
Plastic wrapper for my cheese singles - on most days I consume 1½ slices of Kraft low-fat cheese for breakfast, so I discard 3 wrappers every 2 days, and one plastic package containing 10 slices about once a week.
Plastic tub for my yogurt - I go through a small, 125g cup of Yoplait Formé no-fat yogurt for breakfast on most days, so I'm chucking away lots of small plastic cups. These days I found that they also come in 1kg tubs, so I've switched to this more environmental friendly solution.
Steel cans for tuna - often I find myself going through canned tuna in spring water, and would go through almost a can per day.
Steel cans for corn - for some meals I substitute cans of corn for bread, leaving behind 1 steel can every week or so.
Plastic bag for veggies - I have veggies with every lunch and dinner, and would typically go through a packaged bag containing 300g every 2 meals. Since Island East Markets reopened, I've been shopping there for my veggies and now get them in larger quantities, reducing my consumption of plastic bags.
Plastic bag for saltines - on days when I'm short on bread or I need an afternoon snack, I open up a small pack of Garden saltines packed inside plastic wrappers. When I'm out of bread for breakfast, that's 3 wrappers discarded for 1 meal.
Plastic pouch for low calorie meals - my nutritionist gives me a certain number of stews sealed in plastic pouches, and recommends I consume them since the portions and calories are controlled. I would have about 2 of these per week, but at least this will reduce my tuna can disposal by a ratio of 2 pouches to 1 can.
That's a lot of plastic and steel I'm throwing away! I gotta figure out ways to cut that down, as I don't want to be increasing my contribution to the landfills… especially since I've been moving in the other direction for the last few years!
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