TheYearThat
ChangedEverything
By Anna Yap
DIAGNOSED WITH BORDERLINE HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE AND A FATTY LIVER AT THE AGE OF 33 IN 2004, Don Yeo, Assistant Chief Executive Officer of the Policy and Strategic Resources Group at the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board, began to take the advice of doctors seriously - to cut down on fattening, deep-fried and oily foods.
"It was so hard! I love eating. I am a "momentum eater". I need not be hungry to eat, and I'm not driven by hunger. If you put food in front of me, I'd eat it, and I'd just keep eating and eating. I have a sweet tooth and my favourite food is ice cream. I also love pastries and deep-fried food," says Don.
This love of eating caused him to gain 3-4kg every year from his early 20s onwards. He felt resigned to failing his IPPT (the Individual Physical Proficiency Test for National Servicemen) year after year, and faced flagging energy levels each day.
But taking the advice of doctors proved to be depressing. Unable to indulge in his favourite foods, Don felt wretched. "Then I thought to myself: since I was already suffering, why not be even more disciplined and go totally all the way?"
Thus, from March to December 2004, Don went on a strict diet and exercise regimen to lose the weight he'd been putting on since he started work in 1995.
"At first, I started to run three times a week for short distances. Then I graduated to running every morning for about half an hour covering about 5km each time. I also hit the gym three to four times a week after work, adding strength and resistance training to my routine," says Don.
Out went all the soft drinks, fried and oily foods, and carbohydrates. "I only ate vegetables, chicken breast meat, tuna and egg whites," he recalls. He ate fruits rarely and instead, had a daily vitamin supplement. He explains that he had to eat very little so as to create a calorie deficit so that fat could be burnt. "I ate so little I would feel faint sometimes."
It was difficult at the start of such a strict diet; he felt hungry all the time and was tempted to break the diet. Not only that, dragging himself out of bed every day to jog was such a chore, and the gym work felt onerous. "But the human body can get used to anything," Don says. After the first few months, it got easier as his body adjusted to the regime and diet, and he was, in turn, also encouraged by the changes he saw in his body. "People always say they want to lose weight for health, but let's face it, all of us want to lose weight to look good."
And lose weight he did. Weighing in at 90kg at the start of the diet in March 2004, Don's weight dropped to a mere 63kg by the end of the year. That is a weight loss of 27kg in nine months.
To maintain the weight loss, Don still exercises hard. "I have to fight genetics. My family members are endomorphs and we put on weight easily." Every day, he does cardiovascular exercise such as running, as well as resistance training at the gym. The result is a trim "gym body".
He doesn't restrict his diet in that severe fashion anymore; he merely watches what he eats and indulges in his favourite foods in moderation, and should there be times when he overeats, he compensates by working extra hard at the gym afterwards.
"Dieting books say to eat slowly and to eat before one gets hungry because by the time the brain gets the signal that you're full, it's too late already and you've eaten too much," says Don. Another bit of advice from diet books is to eat many small meals a day instead of three big meals. This however is advice that Don is unable to follow, as he has a tendency to keep eating once he starts.
Instead, his advice to anyone who wants to lose weight is to start slow, and to be disciplined. "Once you see some results it'd be motivation for you."
And the results do speak for themselves. Don no longer fails his IPPT, his blood pressure is normal, and more than that, together with the LASIK (laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis) surgery he did in 2004, he's now even better looking than when he first got married!
