I was never truly overweight.  Standing around 170 cm (or 5 ft and 7.5 inches), I weighed a little over 65 kg (or 144 lbs.) and most BMI calculations told me that my weight was within the range for my age and height.  However, I am now approaching my 40th birthday and that is what was a concern for me.  The second was slight accumulation of fat around the waist, which I attributed to my job that basically requires me to sit in front of a computer all day.  I do work in the yard during the weekend but I would still describe my life to be sedentary.  And I guess the fact that I was happily married (and did not need to attract new women) further worsened my situation - I was less careful about how I looked.

Somewhere in my heart, though, I was concerned that my waist was not at the right size.  It definitely showed even though my waist size was only 78 cm (31 inches), smaller than most of my colleagues and friends.  As I stood in front of the mirror that my wife uses more often in a sideways position, I realized that I had to do something about it.  I did not want to go crazy and spend a ton of money; so I stuck to simple things.  Within 6 weeks, I lost weight of around 4 kg (9 lbs ) and now I am a lean and fit man.  And my waist size is down to 65 cm (29 inches).  This is how I did it:

• Significantly reduced carbohydrates from diet.  Starting with bread and pasta, I eventually eliminated a lot of sugars (e.g. I started to mix my own breakfast cereal after buying the ingredients in a health food store and did not add any sugar to it).

• Increased protein content of my diet and switched to vegetable protein as opposed to animal protein.  Considering the Asian population in Sydney, I could buy high-quality tofu which I learned to like.  It was easier than I thought.  I was not only eating healthy meals, I was consuming less calories than before.

• Got rid of junk food and I am not just talking about fast food, which I completely stopped eating.  I also stopped drinking Coke or any other processed drinks (switched to water and an occasional glass of wine at dinner time).  When I really felt like having something else, I would make my own juice at home after buying fresh fruits like oranges or papaya.  I also threw out any snacks (potato chips, cookies, etc.) that we had in the house and decided to buy only fresh fruits for snacking.  

• Gradually reduced the portion size.  Initially, it seemed that I was still hungry but I found out that if you eat slowly and drink a lot of water, you can feel full pretty easily.

• Started exercising on a regular basis.  Since I did not have time to run outside, I bought an old treadmill and just ran for about 15-20 minutes every day.

While individual situations might vary, I am just so impressed with my success.  I have been able to accomplish a great body without going nuts.  Not only do I look great (I no longer need to breathe out to keep my waist area looking flat while I am at the beach); now I enjoy intimacy completely relaxed as my wife plays with my flat tummy.  While I used to mistakenly think that one does not have to do anything to look great, if married, I realize that it is not true and if one looks great, it can have a significant impact on one's quality of life, particularly private life.  I think my wife is much more interested in me and is the one to initiate sex. She even calls me a metrosexual now!

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