ID :
181119
Tue, 05/10/2011 - 11:23
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/181119
The shortlink copeid
FAMILY SUPPORT HELPS TO FIGHT AGAINST OBESITY
By Noor Adila Ali
PASIR PUTEH (Kelantan, Malaysia), May 10 (Bernama) -- Whenever the topic of food comes up, Zulkifli Mohamad's family gets unusually excited.
This family of six likes to eat large quantities of food. They have even traveled hundreds of miles to visit countries, not for their history or culture, but for their promise of offering new dining experiences.
"We’re just like everyone else, we love food," the 53-year-old says. "It's even harder to resist when you live in Malaysia, with its vast array of unique and delicious cuisines."
GOING THE DISTANCE, PORTION-WISE
Distance is no problem for this family of food lovers. They have no problem traveling even 50km to have dinner in hotels or eateries that promise good food.
Sometimes, to ensure that the trip was worth the time and effort, they even ate more than what they wanted or needed.
Zulkifli, who hails from northern state of Kedah but now lives in the state of Kelantan in the east coast, said that that bad habit was also shared by his wife, Rohaya Hussin, 48, and daughter, Nur Zahin, 23.
"We used to just gorge on food, plenty of which was junk food. Eating sensibly was simply out of the question.
"Especially if we had traveled to an eatery 40 or 50km away, – we would eat so much that we couldn’t even move afterwards. We did that so that the trip would be ‘worth it’," he explained.
A 'LARGE' FAMILY
"We have enormous appetites. At one point, we were even known among our friends as the 'large' family, and it was not because there are six of us," recalled Zulkifli.
Such labels, however, did little in encouraging the family to take another look at their unhealthy diets.
"We didn’t mind. We were too happy eating to our hearts' content. Our health was the last thing on our minds," he said.
REALITY CHECK
Predictably, the food-derived happiness turned out to be short-lived. Soon, they began to experience multiple ailments due to their gluttony.
"We never really saw our burgeoning mid-sections as a warning of health problems to come, so we kept on eating.
"But then I started to have chest pains, aching legs and became tired very easily.
"I couldn’t take my family out often. There were even times when I was too tired to get behind the wheel," said Zulkifli. At the time, his weight had soared to 113.6kg.
His wife Rohaya, whose weight had jumped to 77.5kg, also began suffering from joint aches and low energy. Meanwhile, Nur Zahin started to avoid social functions as her 90kg-frame started to lower her self-esteem.
Zulkifli said he decided to make a comprehensive change in his diet and lifestyle when he decided to embark on the hajj pilgrimage three years ago.
"Hajj is physically and mentally exhausting, even more so if you are as big, heavy and unfit as I am. It affected me very badly," he said.
A medical check-up revealed that he had a series of health problems, including high blood pressure, diabetes and coronary disease. His wife also discovered she had developed high blood pressure due to her weight and diet.
FEAR NECESSITATED CHANGE
"When we realised that we were suffering these dangerous health problems as a result of our excessive eating habits, we felt frightened. We knew we had to make immediate changes to our lifestyles," noted Zulkifli.
They took their first step by controlling their diets. Previously, they never thought too much about dining out frequently or eating whenever they wanted.
Today, they say they only eat when they are hungry.
They also started reducing the number of times they visited restaurants. They spent more time preparing nutritious meals at home, as well as on doing some light exercises.
FAMILY SUPPORT
Zulkifli acknowledged that it was not easy to break away from a routine that had been part of their lives for years. However, he believed that his family and their health were more important.
"All it requires is family support. I’m lucky because I wasn’t alone in my battle against the bulge. My wife and daughter joined it too.
"When everyone is together in the efforts to lose weight and get healthy, everything becomes much easier. We even have a competition to see who reduces weight the fastest. When one of us slows down, the rest of us cheer the person to keep up the efforts. So you see, family support is very important," he pointed out.
However, controlling their diets did not mean giving up their favourite foods, said Zulkifli. It just meant eating in reasonable quantities.
"We also enlisted the help of a colleague who is a medical expert, and a friend working in the nutrition field. We followed their tips and advice to achieve a much healthier diet and lifestyle.
"We didn’t have to fork out tens of thousands of ringgit to become healthy. All we needed was sheer determination, spirit and family support," he noted.
In just six months, their efforts paid off. Zulkifli’s weight dropped to 90kg, while his wife stands proud at 65kg after a 12.5kg weight loss. Meanwhile, his daughter lost a hefty 21kg, lowering her weight to 69kg.
BETTER FAMILY BONDING
Zulkifli said that their journey through obesity has been filled with precious lessons and experiences.
However, he claimed that he had no regrets about eating his way to obesity.
"If it wasn’t for our excessive eating that led to the obesity, my family and I probably wouldn’t have realised the importance of having a good quality of life.
"In fact, today, when we eat, we appreciate the food better. Previously we simply ate, paying little attention to the taste of the food. We only cared about filling our bellies to the brim. Today, we can eat in small quantities and still be satisfied because we can taste how delicious the food really is," he added.
His family members have also grown much closer to each other these days, he said. Zulkifli’s three other children regularly joined their mother and sister in making delicious and healthy treats. They also dined together more often.
"Previously, we were very greedy and each of us insisted on having our own plate filled with food. Today, my wife and I could share a plate and still feel full at the end of the meal. It is also more romantic," he added, smiling.
HEALTHIEST IS TASTIEST
Zulkifli also pointed out that a common misconception most people had was that healthy food was not very tasty.
He said the truth was, in fact, quite the opposite. Healthy food was the tastiest and more unique than the usual unhealthy choices.
"There are actually several delicious healthy recipes. For example, if we wanted to eat fried chicken, we would coat it with oats instead of flour. It’s crispier and tastier. There are plenty of healthy recipe alternatives, we just have to change our mindsets and be determined about it," he added.
IT DOESN’T COST MUCH
He emphasised that it was important for people to realise that it did not cost much to lose weight and lead a healthy lifestyle.
"Don’t give up easily thinking that only the rich can afford slimming treatments and such other measures."
"The truth is that becoming slim and healthy does not depend on how much cash you have. Have a goal and the determination, stick to it, and if you are truly disciplined and make healthy eating habits a family affair, I believe that you can lose weight at no cost," he said.
Zulkifli welcomes anyone looking for tips and support for losing weight and achieving a healthy lifestyle; you can email him at
zulkiflimohamad2009@gmail.com.
PASIR PUTEH (Kelantan, Malaysia), May 10 (Bernama) -- Whenever the topic of food comes up, Zulkifli Mohamad's family gets unusually excited.
This family of six likes to eat large quantities of food. They have even traveled hundreds of miles to visit countries, not for their history or culture, but for their promise of offering new dining experiences.
"We’re just like everyone else, we love food," the 53-year-old says. "It's even harder to resist when you live in Malaysia, with its vast array of unique and delicious cuisines."
GOING THE DISTANCE, PORTION-WISE
Distance is no problem for this family of food lovers. They have no problem traveling even 50km to have dinner in hotels or eateries that promise good food.
Sometimes, to ensure that the trip was worth the time and effort, they even ate more than what they wanted or needed.
Zulkifli, who hails from northern state of Kedah but now lives in the state of Kelantan in the east coast, said that that bad habit was also shared by his wife, Rohaya Hussin, 48, and daughter, Nur Zahin, 23.
"We used to just gorge on food, plenty of which was junk food. Eating sensibly was simply out of the question.
"Especially if we had traveled to an eatery 40 or 50km away, – we would eat so much that we couldn’t even move afterwards. We did that so that the trip would be ‘worth it’," he explained.
A 'LARGE' FAMILY
"We have enormous appetites. At one point, we were even known among our friends as the 'large' family, and it was not because there are six of us," recalled Zulkifli.
Such labels, however, did little in encouraging the family to take another look at their unhealthy diets.
"We didn’t mind. We were too happy eating to our hearts' content. Our health was the last thing on our minds," he said.
REALITY CHECK
Predictably, the food-derived happiness turned out to be short-lived. Soon, they began to experience multiple ailments due to their gluttony.
"We never really saw our burgeoning mid-sections as a warning of health problems to come, so we kept on eating.
"But then I started to have chest pains, aching legs and became tired very easily.
"I couldn’t take my family out often. There were even times when I was too tired to get behind the wheel," said Zulkifli. At the time, his weight had soared to 113.6kg.
His wife Rohaya, whose weight had jumped to 77.5kg, also began suffering from joint aches and low energy. Meanwhile, Nur Zahin started to avoid social functions as her 90kg-frame started to lower her self-esteem.
Zulkifli said he decided to make a comprehensive change in his diet and lifestyle when he decided to embark on the hajj pilgrimage three years ago.
"Hajj is physically and mentally exhausting, even more so if you are as big, heavy and unfit as I am. It affected me very badly," he said.
A medical check-up revealed that he had a series of health problems, including high blood pressure, diabetes and coronary disease. His wife also discovered she had developed high blood pressure due to her weight and diet.
FEAR NECESSITATED CHANGE
"When we realised that we were suffering these dangerous health problems as a result of our excessive eating habits, we felt frightened. We knew we had to make immediate changes to our lifestyles," noted Zulkifli.
They took their first step by controlling their diets. Previously, they never thought too much about dining out frequently or eating whenever they wanted.
Today, they say they only eat when they are hungry.
They also started reducing the number of times they visited restaurants. They spent more time preparing nutritious meals at home, as well as on doing some light exercises.
FAMILY SUPPORT
Zulkifli acknowledged that it was not easy to break away from a routine that had been part of their lives for years. However, he believed that his family and their health were more important.
"All it requires is family support. I’m lucky because I wasn’t alone in my battle against the bulge. My wife and daughter joined it too.
"When everyone is together in the efforts to lose weight and get healthy, everything becomes much easier. We even have a competition to see who reduces weight the fastest. When one of us slows down, the rest of us cheer the person to keep up the efforts. So you see, family support is very important," he pointed out.
However, controlling their diets did not mean giving up their favourite foods, said Zulkifli. It just meant eating in reasonable quantities.
"We also enlisted the help of a colleague who is a medical expert, and a friend working in the nutrition field. We followed their tips and advice to achieve a much healthier diet and lifestyle.
"We didn’t have to fork out tens of thousands of ringgit to become healthy. All we needed was sheer determination, spirit and family support," he noted.
In just six months, their efforts paid off. Zulkifli’s weight dropped to 90kg, while his wife stands proud at 65kg after a 12.5kg weight loss. Meanwhile, his daughter lost a hefty 21kg, lowering her weight to 69kg.
BETTER FAMILY BONDING
Zulkifli said that their journey through obesity has been filled with precious lessons and experiences.
However, he claimed that he had no regrets about eating his way to obesity.
"If it wasn’t for our excessive eating that led to the obesity, my family and I probably wouldn’t have realised the importance of having a good quality of life.
"In fact, today, when we eat, we appreciate the food better. Previously we simply ate, paying little attention to the taste of the food. We only cared about filling our bellies to the brim. Today, we can eat in small quantities and still be satisfied because we can taste how delicious the food really is," he added.
His family members have also grown much closer to each other these days, he said. Zulkifli’s three other children regularly joined their mother and sister in making delicious and healthy treats. They also dined together more often.
"Previously, we were very greedy and each of us insisted on having our own plate filled with food. Today, my wife and I could share a plate and still feel full at the end of the meal. It is also more romantic," he added, smiling.
HEALTHIEST IS TASTIEST
Zulkifli also pointed out that a common misconception most people had was that healthy food was not very tasty.
He said the truth was, in fact, quite the opposite. Healthy food was the tastiest and more unique than the usual unhealthy choices.
"There are actually several delicious healthy recipes. For example, if we wanted to eat fried chicken, we would coat it with oats instead of flour. It’s crispier and tastier. There are plenty of healthy recipe alternatives, we just have to change our mindsets and be determined about it," he added.
IT DOESN’T COST MUCH
He emphasised that it was important for people to realise that it did not cost much to lose weight and lead a healthy lifestyle.
"Don’t give up easily thinking that only the rich can afford slimming treatments and such other measures."
"The truth is that becoming slim and healthy does not depend on how much cash you have. Have a goal and the determination, stick to it, and if you are truly disciplined and make healthy eating habits a family affair, I believe that you can lose weight at no cost," he said.
Zulkifli welcomes anyone looking for tips and support for losing weight and achieving a healthy lifestyle; you can email him at
zulkiflimohamad2009@gmail.com.
