KETO Diet in Penang, Malaysia

I cannot remember how I came across KETO diet, but it all started in the beginning of year 2018. For those who have seen me in person, would have the same doubt and asking the same question - "For real? You are god damn thin like a stickman!" (they judged a book by its cover, literally, with my clothes on!)

Well, I may look thin when fully clothed but deep down I am actually fat, at least according to the Body Fat Percentage. Don't show me this face 😒😒😒, you will understand after seeing the photo!

What is Skinny Fat?

Isn't it contradicting? "Skinny" and "Fat" at the same time? Well, the “Skinny” refers to having relatively low levels of lean muscle mass and the “Fat” refers to having too high level of body fat. So when you combine both – too little muscle and too much fat, you get the “Skinny Fat”! Let me show you my numbers back in 1st of March 2018 compare to the reference fitness level.

Numbers do not lie, so obviously I was having the skinny fat body type. Many people would assume that if their Body Mass Index (BMI) is within the healthy range, then they have nothing to worry about. WRONG! BMI does not tell you the whole picture, especially if you are skinny fat like me. So Body Fat Percentage and Muscle Mass Percentage play a huge roles too! 

Here comes the million dollar question!

Last few years, a lot of articles were telling me to bulk first, build some lean muscle with higher intake of protein. So I did, I took Serious Mass, a high calories weight gainer from Optimum Nutrition. Combining with frequent workout, I did gained some lean muscle especially on arm and chest while still having flabby waist. But muscles all went away when my workout reduced due to my work schedule and I ended up back to square round one! 😩😩😩

So I have decided that I would rather look skinny lean rather than just F-A-T since I cannot fix my workout schedule as my time kind of depending on my appointment with clients (this happens when #YourFinanceDoctor is not famous enough to let client accommodate my time😢😢😢). Anyway, this is where I started to look at how to cut first. All the while I was taking low fat high protein meals, until I get to know about KETO. 

What is KETO?

The ketogenic diet, in short - KETO, is a high-fat, adequate-protein, low-carbohydrate diet that forces the body to burn fats rather than carbohydrates. Hence, the body produces ketones in the liver to be used as energy. It is also known as low carb diet, low carb high fat (LCHF), etc.

Our bodies are incredibly adaptive to what you put into it – when you overload it with fats and take away carbohydrates, it will begin to burn ketones as the primary energy source. Optimal ketone levels offer many health, weight loss, physical and mental performance benefits. The Keto diet can even reduce seizures and widely accepted as treatment for epilepsy today.

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Like they always said, "Fitness is 70% diet 30% exercise" and "Abs are made in kitchen!" So I am on my journey to get leaner body, particularly no more flabby waist/muffin top and probably visible abs. My daily routine would be Keto Diet + Intermittent Fasting (16-8) + 1 Gallon Water and exercise. I am still improving my exercise routine though! 

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Nevertheless, I have seen some improvement, including waist reduced from 33 inches to 30 inches and lost 8kg in roughly 2 to 3 months. Although it is still a long way to go until the washboard abs became visible, but my target would be making it come true at the end of 2018! 

I measured this morning and my weight was 68.3kg! Body Fat Percentage dropped to 14.8% too. I believe my next target would be increasing my Muscle Mass Percentage. Basketball is fun but probably not helping me to gain muscle, so I would have to start lifting heavy with mass-building compound exercises.

The next question is...

Do you want to see this book without cover?

I promise it will be a thin one! #ifyouknowwhatimean

I was thinking to take photo from time to time as a record too.

Thanks to KetoJules, a Malaysian that records her Keto journey, as well as Suraya from RinggitOhRinggit, I was inspired to record mine too! If you are on a Keto diet, especially if you are residing in Penang, let's keep in touch! The Keto journey can be quite lonely in Malaysia, so it would be great to have a support group, especially on sharing the knowledge, be it workout, recipe and many more!