Since my double heart attack in 2019, my family has been very concerned with what I eat and how that affects my heart health.
For about 6 months after the hospitalisation, I did eat healthy.
Oats, greens, steamed, baked dishes with minimal oil and salt. My all-time favorite burgers and fries were once in a blue moon, indulgences.
But as the memory of the heart attack faded and work life restarted, eating healthy was replaced with convenient eating. What was at hand, what was easy to cook and what was fast. My weight started to go up to pre-heart attack levels and my family, my Dr and I were concerned.
Towards the end of 2019, I tried out the keto diet. I have to say that this was over massive resistance by my family and led to arguments with Hanaa and the kids. I managed to get them to agree to allow me to try it for 28 days as I had found a 28-Day Keto meal plan.
Amazingly, I saw my weight drop, fast. I even reached a weight of 107 kg close to the end of the diet period. However, for some reason, after a short break and an attempt to do another round, this time around the weight loss did not go as well and the pandemic just hit our shores.
When the pandemic hit, there was a change in how we ate. As only one person could go out to shop, we thought through the foods we would need and joined the million other Malaysians and humans in discovering recipes to entertain and sustain our sanity and hunger throough the period of lockdown.
Our cooking was generally healthy but I think I combined too much of 1 part of Keto (the cheesse) into my cooking and that coupled with a sedentary lifestyle due to stay at home order, led to my weight, ballooning once again.
Since my family had resigned themselves to allow me to do Keto, this time around, I listened and Liyana found a nutrisionist for us.