Going From Fat To Fit

Words by Chris Noel Hidalgo

If being round counts, then I have been in shape almost all my life. Cute and pudgy as a kid, I was able to maintain that physique through a strict regimen of fast food, desserts, and extra rice. When the pandemic struck, I countered early-onset cabin fever with even more gluttonous eating. So much so that I tipped the scales at 110kg at my heaviest.

The result? Years of suffering through sleep apnea, easily being winded by short walks, and constant fatigue, just to name a few. Luckily, one day after a few pandemic months, something just clicked and I decided that I did not want to live that way anymore. I wanted a long, healthy life, and a likewise healthy relationship with food.

Focus on small but doable changes to get where you want to be

Short of losing limbs, there is simply no way you can go from 110kg to 70kg overnight, nor even over a month. Unrealistic thinking like that is bound to force you into sudden, unhealthy, and unsustainable practices. It is called a fitness journey for a reason—you are going to be at it for a long time. Think of it as a marathon and not a sprint.

Myself, I set small monthly goals that did not involve forcing myself into starvation. I initially started out by promising to only eat one cup of rice per meal and substituting sugar-laced desserts for fruits. By eating roughly the same amount of food but with healthier pickings, I was able to see consistent, weekly weight loss of a few hundred grams or so. These small steps then motivated me to be more consistent in the long run.

Get a food scale and measuring cups

Weight loss is basically calories in versus calories out, or what you eat versus what you burn. The “calories in” part involves accurately measuring what you’re eating. It means weighing solid food by the gram, and measuring liquids by the milliliter. You’ll need a food weighing scale for the former and measuring cups for the latter.

Sure, they are not as sexy as fitness watches but trust me: these will do wonders for your journey. You will no longer have to guess what one serving actually means, taking away the risk of either over- or under-eating. Pair this with the next step and you’re golden.

Download a calorie tracking app

Measuring food goes hand in hand with tracking the calories they provide. For this, you’ll need a calorie tracking app. The most popular one is MyFitnessPal, but I find that its crowdsourced food database leaves much to be desired. I personally use Cronometer as its database is better curated, it’s more user-friendly, and it offers a more intuitive means of viewing your calorie and nutrient intake.

On top of these functionalities, most calorie trackers can also tell you how many calories you need based on your current height, weight, activity level, and weight loss goal. Want to lose 0.25kg per week? Just input these in the settings and the app will automatically tell you how many calories in total you should eat daily, along with how many calories you have left for the day as you add more food to your log.

Get a fitness band and do follow along workouts

For the calories out portion, you’ll need to do exercise. If you’re stuck at home without access to gym equipment, then followalong workouts on YouTube are a great place to start. You can dip your toe in the pool with low-intensity walking videos, then level up to full-body and high-intensity interval exercises once you have gotten the hang of things. Just don’t push yourself too hard too quickly or you might end up passed out on the floor.

A great way to make these workouts scientific is with a fitness band. Higher-end models (like Fitbits and Apple Watches) have fancier tech which allows them to more accurately track your heart rate, oxygen levels, and calories burned. More affordable ones (like those from Xiaomi or Realme) may not be as accurate, but they can still give you rough numbers without breaking the bank.

Those calories that you burned? You can input them into your app of choice and ta-da! You now have enough wiggle room to fit one small piece of chocolate as a reward for your hard work.