A three-month regimen to reclaim long-lost fitness
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
It's bizarre but true: Even as much of the world wonders when and where its next meal is coming from, lots of us are getting fatter.
Americans are supposedly bigger than ever before, even after the proliferation of nonfat products in the 1990s, and are reportedly now throwing dietary caution to the wind entirely after the Sept. 11 horror.
Britain is said to be just a little behind its American allies, its crisis of obesity leading to an average waistline of 38 inches for the British man (obviously, that's not Jude Law or David Beckham being surveyed).
Even in Indonesia, with all its troubles, the irony is that middle and upper income people living in urban centers such as Jakarta eat too much, too often and do not exercise enough.
We did not have to look too far to find two volunteers, both reporters in The Jakarta Post newsroom, to take part in a three- month fitness program to get fit, and in the process shed some weight.
The candidates: Jeff, 34, at 1.79 cm and 117 kg, is clinically obese. His body fat ratio is a whopping 39 percent (it should be about 19 percent). He has not exercised regularly for about two years, and has ballooned more than 27 kg since the age of 24, due to his sedentary lifestyle, overeating (usually at night) and eating mostly junk food.
Heidi, 25, at 1.55 cm and 64 kg, has to forget about wearing funky tank tops and sexy tube tops without revealing a fat stomach and bulky upper arms. Her body fat ratio is 27 percent when it should be 23 percent at most. Ever since she started working 19 months ago, she has gained eight kilos due to a lack of exercise, poor diet and from not looking at herself in the mirror!
The helper: Assigned to assist the couple in their quest to become fitter is Diding Waluyo, the head of fitness at Quantum fitness center and spa in Menara Imperium, Kuningan, South Jakarta.
Problem areas: Diding gave both Jeff and Heidi a thorough fitness evaluation before the program began. For Jeff, poor eating patterns, particularly his habit of rarely sitting down for a complete meal and nibbling food throughout the day, were identified as part of the problem.
Diding advised Jeff to do away with the poor food choices, such as fried rice and hamburgers, and instead eat at least three meals a day, concentrating on grains and lean protein. He also advised Jeff to keep a food diary of what he eats each day.
During the evaluation, Jeff's fitness was found to be on the borderline between fair and poor. During the Harvard step test, designed to measure cardiovascular strength, Jeff could only complete three minutes of the five-minute test.
Heidi, meanwhile, was slightly better than Jeff, completing four minutes of the test. However, her heart rate was too fast which, according to Diding, meant she was not fit enough. And her blood pressure was unable to be measured as her pulse was undetected. Although Heidi almost turned hysterical at the thought she was probably an alien being, Diding calmed her down, saying that it was due to an excessive period of "inactivity."
As for diet, Diding asked Heidi to skip the gorengan (fried food) breakfast and between-meal snacking, and to eat sliced fruit instead.
"It's OK to eat three times a day. But eat proportionally. Don't drink carbonated drinks, as a can may have up to 200 calories, and you can only burn it off after an hour of running," he said.
"And no more meals after 8 p.m.," he added.
The program: Diding is putting Jeff on a combined program of cardiovascular exercises (stationary bike, treadmill, rowing machine) and weights three times a week.
Heidi also has to do the stationary bike, treadmill and weight training three times a week. But Diding also added exercises for her stomach, including a series of sit-ups and other abdominal workouts.
Targets: Diding said both Jeff and Heidi needed to reclaim their fitness, which would bring other beneficial effects, including weight loss.
"Of course, it's about getting fit for me, because I can feel the effects of being overweight whenever I climb a flight of stairs," Jeff said.
"But it's also about feeling better about myself, and having more choices in what I can wear, instead of the same 38'' jeans all the time."
As for Heidi, it's not about reaching a higher fitness level. "I just wanna look good wearing a tank top!".