An online acquaintance of mine, whom I have been corresponding with lately, sent me this just recently. Part of me is extremely happy that she is truly motivated to bring her weight down, and part of me is upset that she too, like many others have sought a quick-fix to their weight problems – read her mail and you’ll know what I’m referring to…
Hi DM,
You know, by reading your reply everyday, I’m able to keep my focus and strive for my goals. sometimes when my family or frens are eating something nice, it hurts so much to see them eat, yet now I’m able to control my desire. as i told ya earlier i have started the herbalife program. Currently I’m taking 2 shakes per day to replace my breakfast and lunch. Dinner i have veges, meat or mee sup at times. I’ve completely cut off rice from my ,meals. Inbetween if i get a lil hungry, i eat 1-2 pieces of TIGER ~ cream crackers. and as i was advised by my herbalife friend, i drink close to 3-4 liters of water everyday. i have completely cut out coffee (something that i could not live without previously) for the past 5 days and all beverages. it was hard but i managed.
I’m also working out in the gym every 5 days a week for almost 2 hours. Can’t do more than that cos I get very tired afterwards also breathless due to my asthma. I do brisk walking on the treadmill for a minimum of 1 hour and some ab exercises & light weight lifting. I really hope i can see a difference in my weight.
I cant take herbalife in the weekend cos i don’t want my family members or my bf to know bout it. they are against it lo. so its hard for me in the weekend. so i decided to do DETOX dis weekend. As Monday is a public holiday. i was thinking to do a 3days DETOX. What do u think? cos now i feel I’m able to control my hunger lo. is it advisable? hope to hear your reply soon before i get started. thank u so much for giving me the guidance and support.
Wish me luck. I’m so driven and motivated this time, and i look forward to ur reply everyday cos it keeps me going. I pray that my drive does not die off. thank u once again.
jamz
Any words of wisdom, my dear readers? Her problem is quite obvious – I can spot overexercising and a diet that is possibly too low in calories.
- before I bring out my ammunition and once again, voice out my frustration (not on the company that sells these products) – but on the idiotic distributors who act as self-proclaimed dietitians and nutritionists and give out unsafe advice to those desperately seeking and in need of help, therefore vulnerable.
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Noel Chelliah, ACE-CPT, ACE-LWMC, has been recognized as one of the Top Transformation Experts in Malaysia. No stranger to being overweight himself, Noel has gone through a life-changing transformation himself, from fat, to fit. In 2010, Noel founded the DailyMuscle Body Transformation Camp, which today helps hundreds of individuals exercise and practice healthier habits. In his spare time, Noel serves the community with various programs that promote a healthier lifestyle, and enjoys playing with his dogs.
My name is Noel Chelliah, and I’m a Transformation Specialist and founder of the 
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
She is misguided by the “coach”.
It’s just the matter of time before she gives up, and turning her body system upside down.
How can she be replacing breakfast and lunch with a cup of shake?
For dinner maybe, even that’s not advisable , but strictly not breakfast and lunch.
Eliminating rice totally from her meal, which means no carbs to help the body to digest/utilize the fat and proteins properly. Besides, parts of the CNS depends exclusively to function on Carbs.
Hmm … and working out 2 hours at the gym does make her sound like a high performance athlete.
NO NO NO NO NO…
Gal, you’re doing it all wrong. Herbalife will not help you lose weight.
And eating so little is not the best way to go.
Ever wonder why you’re feeling so tired after exercising instead of feeling energized? It’s because you’re not eating enough! You need energy to exercise.
And eating so little is not going to help increase your metabolisme. In fact, your metabolisme will be lower in order to conserve energy. Plus, when you exercise without eating enough, your body will not only burn fat, but it will also ‘consume’ your muscle, not build it.
Eat proper meals. Take everything in moderation. You shouldn’t punish yourself by not eating any delicious food. It would only increase your chances of binging later on.
So get rid of that Herbalife (I know some Herbalise agents would want me dead) and just eat proper, healthy meals OK?
All the best in achieving a better body and healthier lifestyle!
Oh man…totally salute this girl lah. I mean, what really makes her trust herbalife THAT much? I’m really embarassed to say it here but I was once a herbalife drinker b4, but believe me, I was not impressed at the result at all, tho I was naively enough to trust this product when I lost 2-3kgs for the first week. Waste my money.
Well, Aizan & Jason have said it all. She thought cutting down on rice will make her lose weight. It’s so obvious that her calorie intake per day is really low. Overexercise, like DM said, and yet not getting enough food to “feed her body/muscles”. It actually doesnt matter if she joins the family and eat nice food, as long as she knows how much her calorie intake is. She’s an active gym-goer, so I think she can eat more, (and rice!) so that it’ll be a balance between diet and exercise.
DM, I bet if you ask her to eat 6 small meals per day, it’ll be as if you’re asking her to take her own life! hehe….her workout regime is awesome, only for athlete, like Jason said.
Btw….I’ve read that coffee or caffeine intake is actually good for our body, esp pre-workout, to reduce the post-workout soreness. Right, DM? Of coz it’ll have to moderate doses lah, like 2 cups per day, which is good enough for me. :) Go ahead and tell her that she can drink coffee already!
Sigh…another fad diet that’s very low in calories and over-exercising to top it off. It won’t be long before she burns out, loses grasp of her willpower and ends up on a binge due to massive cravings. Here’s my advice for her:
1. NEVER EVER go on a fad diet which advocates hardly eating and critically slashing your calories. Adopt a life-long habit of healthy eating that you can maintain long-term. You MIGHT lose some weight in the beginning, but before you WILL regain all of it and MORE when you go off the diet and return to old eating habits.
2. Eating so little is VERY unhealthy and add that with excessive exercise, you are doubling the risk of damaging your health and body. On a daily basis, your body needs consistent food and nutrients to nourish and replenish itself, even without added exercise. With exercise, it’s even more crucial to eat right so that your body can recover. Your body needs a good amount of carbs, protein, healthy fats, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients to function optimally and healthily.
3. Adopt good habits, instead of relying on willpower of dieting alone. Obviously, you got to this state thru a series of bad habits of over-eating, eating too much of the wrong foods, lack of exercise due to a sedentary lifestyle or all that I’ve just mentioned. Replace those bad habits with good ones that you can incorporate into your daily lifestyle. Start exercising regularly (which you’re already doing). Eat healthy, wholesome foods consisting of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, lean protein and healthy fats (go google on where you can get this from), instead of relying of those shakes (seriously, I think those promoting misinformation about these quick fix shakes/foods should be shot). Eat a healthy portion at every meal to prevent over-eating.
Take it from a former fat guy like me, I’ve been fat (93 kgs) and now I’m at a comfortably lean 74 kgs. I’ve been a fad dieter and done numerous other mistakes in the past. I can’t stress how important it is to adopt a healthy lifestyle of good nutrition and regular exercise that is sustainable long term for weight maintenance success, instead of resorting to something drastic to change your life. Check out my blog under fitness category to get more details =)
“sometimes when my family or frens are eating something nice, it hurts so much to see them eat” – good dieting should not result in you feeling sorry for yourself, having your friends/family around you worrying about what/why you are (not) eating, and the fact that you are feeling HURT. good diet is about having self-control (which i suppose you have) and moderation (in which i think you may or may be lacking so do excuse me if i am wrong).
“Currently I’m taking 2 shakes per day to replace my breakfast and lunch. Dinner i have veges, meat or mee sup at times” – girl, which Herbalife person actually told you to replace your b/fast n lunch ought to be SHOT. If you have to, replace your lunch OR dinner. Breakfast is a must after a whole nights’ worth of fasting (anywhere between 6-10 hrs) so your body needs GOOD NUTRITIOUS food as fuel. Dinner of veg, lean meat and soup is fine IMHO, coz i have that too and the less salt the better. Some form of carbs WILL NOT KILL YOU, in fact it will help in absorption rate, and slow releasing carbs actually help your body to have enough energy to last you (throughout your workout perhaps).
“I do brisk walking on the treadmill for a minimum of 1 hour and some ab exercises & light weight lifting” – I don’t think that this actually results in one feeling ‘very tired’. It is kinda obvious to me, that your body is actually lacking energy from within, and not that you have exercised so much till you are low in fuel. If you are feeling this way all the time now, doesn’t that actually tell you something is wrong? One usually feels energized, adrenaline-pumped, and happy after a good work out, and not drained and walk out looking like something the cat dragged.
“In between if i get a lil hungry, i eat 1-2 pieces of TIGER ~ cream crackers” – I rather you a glass of skim milk with Digestive cookies. Either that, a fast+slow acting protein shake as little as 150 calories.
“I cant take herbalife in the weekend cos i don’t want my family members or my bf to know bout it” – listen to yourself. enough said.
“i decided to do DETOX dis weekend. As Monday is a public holiday. i was thinking to do a 3days DETOX.” – has this helped? also, what kind of detox are u thinking of? coffee enema? with such low cal intake for so many days, plus almost fibre-less meals everyday, I don’t know what you are trying to get at.
Jason: misguided, definitely! “working out 2 hours at the gym does make her sound like a high performance athlete.” – could also mean that there is inefficiency or resting too long between reps etc. :)
Aizan: I think they will be chasing me too now! I have a friend who is distributing it, and bombarding ppl with information on Facebook.
Adeline: yeap, coffee/caffeine is actually good. Black coffee is the best – but not on a VERY empty stomach. I usually take mine with half a packet of raw sugar.
Mark: good for you! “now I’m at a comfortably lean 74 kgs.” well done, and most importantly you are happy with what you have become.
and lastly, i think 3-4 litres of water is a tad too much :)
Unbelievable. All I can say is, it won’t be long before she falls of the wagon, as instead of a proper diet and exercise that makes you feel good, she has the opposite effect. It’s also lead to feeling guilty coz she’s hiding it from bf and family.
Instead of feeling sorry that her family does not have a proper diet, she feels sorry for herself for not being able to enjoy those things.
All these will wreck havoc on your self esteem in the long run and derail you from your goals.
Classic short term gains.
To Jamz,
I do not agree when you said you have to replace your b/fast & lunch with a shake. You did not replace, you actually subsitute!! I’m a herbalife user. I lost weight 5kg in 5 month. Yes it is not weight lost programme. It is weight management programme. Correct me if I’m wrong here!! I was 50kg before and for the past year I’ve baloon up to 55kg. With Herbalife, HIGH & COMPLETE NUTRITION is very good for our body. Who said you can’t eat rice with herbalife!! I ate rice everyday with right consumption of course!! You got the information from your herbalife friend dear. How fat are you?? Crazyly wanna loose weight?? Fat enuf like a pig?? So look at yourself and tell yourself, your body, mind and soul. You want to live healthy life not to be skinny like a skeleton!! You feel weak bcoz not enuf nutrition in your body!! So you better get your fact right and reconsult with the correct herbalife distributor or better still go and attend their event for once!! For me to know and for you to find out!! As for your trainer, I feel sorry for them and for you coz you have to push your limit to get your ‘ideal’ weight!! I do exercise. 3 times a week and each time takes me only one hour session. I jog, i did cardio and sprint with my 2 kids at TTDI park. We exercise and at the same time we had fun!! You don’t have to enroll expensive gym to get good figure and loose weight!! It’s all about attitude. So I suggest you look yourself in the mirrow and ask yourself what do you want in life?? To be healthy or to be skinny!!
so much determination, but has been directed to the wrong path. I think she should be very desperate to lose weight since she’s in a bad shape. I’d suggest eating healthily for the 3 major meals of the day. I used to exercise for 2 hours a day, but not everyday. 1 hour is used for strength training and the other 1 for jogging or cycling. There’s no quick fixes to these kind of things.. should take our time and get used to the lifestyle changes. Eventually our goals will be met.
I dont know what is it with ppl and herbalife/weight loss products.
It seems like the need to lose weight is more than being educated about the right way to be healthy and strong.
I personally am trying to lose weight and have friends who takes these stuff, and I am no benchmark to talk – but i really believe that working out and eating right is the only way. Changing our lifestyle and maintaining it is the best way to keep it up.
Personally i dont think alot carbs is good either, i believe the zone is the best form of nutrition ( summary: eating right to improve performance) but as long as we eat everything in moderation and stay away from the junk/fatty/canned stuff
I do believe that coffee is good (it is rich in antioxidants) but this perhaps apply to freshly roasted coffee wout sugar.
I think you need to eat to lose weight. Not the other way around.
And its not about how long you work out, but the how instense your workout is and for women – we need to do strength training. Milk will hardly help our bones, doing olympic weights and deadlifts will. :-)
Jen, I applaud you. and so will DM and e others. Cheers.
Jen: Yes, indeed, I applaud you. Not a day goes by where I don’t get further disgusted by Herbalies. Would you believe that I was approached in a gym lately by some Herbalies Promoter – suggesting I try their ‘tea’ for more energy? Urrghh. Lucky for her I was in one of my more humble moods…
DM – i’ve never been approach before (phew) although I think most of them are tempted too ( seeing that i can be potential candidate)
Good thing you didn’t rant to her about your views on Herbalife.. haha
Yeah. I hate it even more when they wear one of those outfits or drive around with those car stickers which say “Personal Wellness Coach”.
some even wear a badge that says “Ask me how to lose weight now!”
Eh… I should get one of those too.. don’t you think?
Hi DM, when u say over-exercising.. what would that mean? It’s very hard to draw the line between under-exercising and over-exercising..
Wida: Working out 2hrs x 5days/week is certainly overexercising. A typical exercise session should be an hour, or 90 minutes at most. To do 2 hours 5 days/week is too much – even for fit individuals, it is too much. So for someone new to exercise, and on such a large calorie deficit… it is actually dangerously overexercising if you ask me.
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