WB064: Progress follows consistency

About one year ago, I went for a basic medical checkup and got a big wakeup call from the less-than-stellar results. My low-density lipoprotein ("LDL") levels exceeded the recommended range and my blood pressure was also on the high side.

LDL - commonly referred to as the "bad cholesterol" - solidifies into plaque and builds up in the heart's arteries. I liken this process to your heart's piping being blocked, cutting off crucial blood flow.

I don't think you need a medical degree to know what this eventually leads to.

The medical results motivated me to learn more about the human body and figure out how to get healthier. Based on the health brochures distributed by the district, the solution is not terribly complex: maintain a balanced diet and exercise regularly.

You are, after all, what you eat.

One year on and a subsequent medical checkup later, I am relieved that I've lost some weight and my LDL & blood pressure levels have fallen back within the acceptable range.

My LDL is still on the higher end of said range, but thankfully not in the danger zone. Strangely enough, although my Body Mass Index ("BMI") and waistline are within range, my body fat percentage needs to be monitored.

I can't pinpoint what exactly has contributed to my improvement in health.

All I can say is I feel the constant encouragement from those nearest and dearest to me, and consistently focusing on diet and exercise over the past year have contributed greatly.

Dietary improvements

Firstly, I've made a conscious effort to incorporate more vegetables into my daily diet, along with a daily serving of 40g of rolled oats. Vegetable and oats are rich in soluble fibres that prevent the body from absorbing cholesterol.

Secondly, I've cut back on drinking alcohol and eating red meats such as pork and beef. Alcohol is bad for health as it gets broken down by the liver into triglycerides and cholesterol. Red meats are high in saturated fat, which lead to higher cholesterol.

To maintain my protein intake, I'm eating more soy products like natto (Japanese: 納豆), a traditional Japanese fermented soybean product, chicken and fish. It helps that each day, the supermarkets here stock affordable, fresh fish like aji (Japanese: あじ, English: horse mackerel), buri (Japanese: 鰤, English: amberjack) and madai (Japanese: 真鯛, English: sea bream).

Thirdly, I've moved from eating at restaurants for lunch to eating home-cooked meals. Preparing lunch everyday seemed like a chore at the start, but settling on a practical system has helped alleviate this issue.

Finally, I've switched white rice for brown rice - a very drastic move as white rice is really delicious - as white rice loses a lot of nutrients like fibre during the refining process. My craving for white rice has gradually reduced as brown rice has become my default carbohydrate.

Regular, quality exercise

Over the past year, I've also taken a proactive effort to make running a regular habit. I now run three to four times a week for at least 30 minutes each time.

Running is not something I terribly enjoy, but I've come to get used to it as an exercise that I don't mind doing.

How did this mindset shift happen?

Not being overly ambitious (with running further and faster) and recording down my progress in a physical diary have contributed greatly. For some reason, the latter is a much better motivator than keeping track of things on a mobile device or digital tool.

Through running around my neighbourhood, I've come to familiarise myself with routes suited to short and long runs, along with routes that have a good balance of shaded and non-shaded areas.

I'd say the biggest challenge I faced was running in the summer. After some experimentation, I settled on starting my run by 800AM. Any later and it gets too hot mid-way through the run.

At the end of the day, I'll continue trusting that progress will come with consistency. And next year, we'll see what my medical report looks like.

--Ends