Tag Archives: Diet

7 ways to get healthier in Bangkok TODAY!

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Bangkok is an awesome place to live, but the hectic nature of the city and its expat lifestyle means that you have to make an effort to stay strong and healthy. It can get on top of you, if you let it.

We all know that we need to eat well and exercise to stay healthy, but beyond that here are a few quick fixes that will help you to counter some of the impact the city can have on your body and mind.

1. Leave at least once a month

This amazing place is only a few hours from Bangkok – go there!

Being constantly surrounded by people, tall buildings, noise and concrete is not natural or good for you. Too long in this environment can impact you in ways you don’t realise. Bangkok has so many awesome nearby getaways – Khao Yai, Samet, Kanchanaburi and Hua Hin are all just a few hours away – so treat yourself and recharge at least once a month, preferably more.

2. Order your smoothies, shakes and delicious Thai iced teas and drinks without sugar

Bangkok’s fruit shakes and smoothies are awesome, but with all the sugar syrup that’s added they’re not a million miles away from drinking Coke. Years ago, I remember seeing a woman prepare my Thai chai manow (lemon tea) by loading tablespoon after tablespoon of pure sugar into the drink. Tasted damn good, but it made the beverage a huge source of the worst kind of calories. Get your shakes with no sugar by politely asking “mai sai nam dtan loey krup/ka” (please don’t add any sugar).

3. Spend time in the parks

If you struggle to get out of the city, at least spend some time in the city’s parks. They provide a nice respite from the chaos and are a great place to relax or move around. Check out my guide to Bangkok’s parks for more info on where to go.

4. Be wary of eating out and cut out MSG

Bangkok has some of the world’s most amazing street food, and a whole array of fantastic restaurants. But just be aware that restaurants will do whatever they need to do to make their food super-tasty, which usually means lots of added fat and sugar.

One big culprit is added MSG, which is very commonplace. I love som tum, but if you watch it being prepared you’ll often notice that bucketloads of MSG is added (to make it more aroi, of course). MSG is best avoided by everyone, and a lot of people are actually allergic to it. Politely ask “mai sai pong choo rod krup/ka” (please don’t add MSG).

Ultimately, to be sure of what you’re eating you have to buy and prepare the food yourself.

Implement these 7 things into your life to help you survive in the Concrete Jungle

5. Move around as much as possible

Many of my clients are expats with desk jobs that require minimal physical exertion. Bangkok expats commonly sit down at a chair all day, get driven home by their driver and then sit down to watch TV or eat. All that time sat down and not moving is going to destroy your body and health. Some high intensity exercise helps, but it should also be complimented with as much movement in everyday life as possible. Take the stairs, walk around the office, stand up and roll your shoulders back and stretch out, walk that skytrain stop, jump out of your chair and do some jumping jacks (probably best if you work from home). In summary, our bodies were designed to move, so try and be conscious of moving them as much as possible.

6. If you’re going to a function/event/birthday, then eat perfectly in the daytime

This point is so important I think it’s deserving of its own article. Many people I speak to here talk about how hard it is to lose weight and eat well when they have so many functions, meetings and events to attend. All with obligatory drinks with clients, large buffets etc. The solution is simple, exercise some balance by eating perfectly (lots of vegetables, a little fruit, perhaps some lean meat) and sparingly in the daytime leading up to the event. This will produce a large calorie deficit which you can happily fill by eating and drinking what you want in the evening, within reason. More on this soon.

7. Read BangkokFitness.com once a week and set some goals!

OK, I admit it – reading my blog isn’t going to magically transform you into a warrior or a Victoria Secret model ; ) … but it might provide some inspiration to improve yourself or find out about a race or event that you can aim for (article on goal setting coming soon!)

Develop and progress by implementing these 7 things into your life today.

Good luck!

Intermittent Fasting

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UPDATE: The BBC documentary has now been uploaded to YouTube. I reckon you owe it to yourself to check it out here

When I bring up the topic of intermittent fasting with friends or clients, people usually look at me like I’m criminally insane. In a nutshell, intermittent fasting is practicing controlled periods of zero- or low-calorie food and drink intake. I go into it in more detail in my post on intermittent fasting. There is still a negative stigma attached to the idea of fasting, so it was refreshing to log onto the BBC this morning and see an article and accompanying TV documentary about the various health and weight loss/maintenance benefits that IF (Intermittent Fasting’s abbreviation) brings.

It’s refreshing to see one of the world’s most trusted news organisations featuring something like this and hopefully it will help people to take the idea more seriously and try something new when it comes to their diet and health.

You can find the BBC article here.

My post on intermittent fasting.

Or watch the program, tonight on BBC 2 at 9.00pm BST

Fast food in Bangkok

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One of the first things people notice about Thai people is that they are generally far smaller than westerners, although with the amount of fast food outlets opening in Bangkok this might not hold true in a generation’s time.

Junk food is breeding a generation of Michelin babies

Let’s take a look at the calorific impact of the most popular food chains that you find here. It may shock you out of eating it.

Krispy Kreme

A donut so trendy that to order any less than five dozen would be just plain embarrassing. One of their famous glazed ring donuts contains 200 calories, which is 2,400kcal per dozen (a day’s worth of energy), with a trolley-load coming in at 28,800 calories. Their donuts contain trans fat, the worst kind for clogging up the arteries.

McDonalds

You don’t need a feature-length movie to show you that McDonalds is bad – finishing a burger and fries and experiencing the post-meal remorse and regret is usually enough proof. A Big Mac is a neat, processed package of 540kcal and 29g of fat, add another 500kcal for the large fries and 300kcal for the large Coke (most of the Coke’s calories are from about a day’s worth of sugar).

Starbucks

Coffee should be safe, right? Well, a lot depends on the type of milk used in the drink (skimmed milk has 0g fat but tastes awful). Watch out for the some of the Frappucinos which can be packed with cream and sugar and can contain upwards of 600 calories.

Auntie Annes

I was a bit upset to discover that my beloved cinnamon pretzel has about as much nutritional value as a bowl of toxic waste. It comes in at 470 calories with a whopping 84g of sugar. Not all that surprising when you consider that they are covered in sugar.

KFC

A piece of chicken contains between 300-500 pieces depending on size and type, so a bucket should contain enough calories to last a few days, with enough saturated fat for a week. Large fries and Coke add 800 odd calories.

Pizza Hut

All of Pizza Huts 14 inch pizzas contain about a whole day’s worth of calories, with one slice coming in at between 330 a slice (Veggie Lover’s) to 480 calories (Meat Lovers), with lashings of saturated fat and processed ingredients. Yummy!

Rotiboy

Sometimes we must show more restraint than our role models

Yes, I know it was a fad that no longer exists, but those buttery, sugary bun things had 600 calories each! It’s a well-known made-up fact that they suddenly went bust because all their customers died of heart attacks.

Of course, I’m not so patronizing that I don’t realize that you were fully aware that fast food in Bangkok is bad for you, but sometimes it’s good to have an idea of just how bad it is.

Any food can be consumed in moderation; as a treat. I follow this: when you do treat yourself, make sure it’s f***ing tasty! I think it’s utterly pointless eating something that’s bad for you unless it’s absolutely delicious – so when you do treat yourself, treat yourself well (and use it as inspiration to work that little bit harder next time you train, too).