Assalamoalaikkum. I am clinical dietitian Ayesha Nasir and today we will be discussing the weight loss transformation of Muhammad Asif who is a student of GC Faisalabad and reduced 26 kgs of weight in 9 weeks.
Now the different thing about this case is that he is not my client. Before all testimonials were by my clients but Muhammad Asif will be discussing his journey and diet plan with us so we can all learn from him. At the beginning of his journey, his weight stood at over 100 kg. So, keep reading to find out his secret!
Why he lost weight
According to Muhammad Asif, his journey first started when his sister uploaded a photo of him for a scholarship program. Upon seeing his picture, a friend of his sister said that she thought Muhammad Asif looked like a father of two. This insight motivated him to lose weight.
In his journey, he did not seek the opinion of any dietitian, rather made his diet plan, and adhered to it. In addition, he watched many of my videos on YouTube and followed my advice about what to eat and not eat. In addition, he made sure to avoid eating junk food with his university friends during his diet and maintained his routine afterward.
His diet plan
In the morning as soon as Muhammad Asif woke up, he would drink water with basil seeds infused with a lemon and a tablespoon of Espaghol. Approximately half an hour later, he would eat two egg whites only, and around noon he would eat a salad made of only 2-3 cucumbers and lemon sprinkled with a little salt.
After that, he would drink green tea at around 4 pm. At night, he would have 150 grams of boiled chicken that was fried a little with olive oil. At night, before going to sleep he would go on a walk. In addition, he would also exercise once a day.
He skipped out on milk usually and would replace his salad occasionally with some fruit. Just a few weeks ago, he also started changing his dinner in the 7th and 8th week by switching the chicken with a cup of milk and 2 dates. He stuck to this routine for a few months and lost considerable weight over 9 weeks.
Muhammad Asif claimed that he felt no weakness while following this diet plan because his proteins were sufficient and kept him lean and strong. He did say that he reached a weight loss plateau after some time and the rate at which he was losing weight slowed down. This was because his metabolism was lowering because of the caloric deficit in his body.
My suggestions
I noticed a few mistakes that Muhammad Asif made in the diet plan that may have proven to be unhealthy in the long run for him. He was consuming lesser calories than he should have and that lowered his metabolism below a healthy rate.
I suggested that he should include all three roti, chawal, and milk. In his prebreakfast drink, I suggested that he replace basil seeds with chia seeds, and not add lemon and ispaghol in his drink as that was too much fiber. I also suggested that 2 egg whites alone as breakfast was insufficient calories since all the healthy nutrients are contained in the egg yolk, so 2 whole eggs must be consumed daily.
I also advised that salad and fruit should not be exchangeable rather they should both be eaten daily at separate times because fruit is an essential part of any diet and should ideally be eaten around 11 am. When it comes to dieting and fruit, only bananas, mangoes, and grapes should be avoided.
Milk should not be excluded from one’s diet at any cost, and I advised him to include a glass of milk in his everyday diet plan, either in the evening or before bed. At lunch, the salad should be made as a complete meal by adding lobia or channa to them.
Starting slowly with daalein like lobia and channas, meals should be made more calorically dense, but not all at once. Since the client had already made his body used to such low amounts of food, adding roti and chawal suddenly would bounce back his weight.
So, adding small amounts slowly and increasing them, in the long run, would be the best option so his metabolism can rise slowly. After hearing his story, I was surprised that he faced no weakness because the diet plan was insufficient. The food intake was too low.
But I stressed that roti should be eaten once a day at least. Muhammad Asif wanted to reduce a further 10 kgs but since his height was 5’8-5’9, I suggested that only a 5 kg reduction was more than enough according to his BMI.
As for physical activity, I suggested that he exercise on an empty stomach rather than exercising post dinner. This is because, on an empty stomach, the body is forced to burn stored fat rather than use up energy from the food he had eaten.
To make his diet plan nutritious and healthy in the long run, he would have to stop this crash diet and make it healthier by adding more nutritious food to his plan slowly over time. Otherwise, his current diet plan would lead him to lose all his muscle mass over time.
Additional Remarks
I sympathized with him when he explained that people still told him that his body was not ideal. Previously they would make fun of his heavy body, and now people call him skinny and weak. To this, I told him that people are never satisfied with the way we look, and to stop listening to their mean remarks, and do what is healthy for him in the long run.
Another insight is that losing weight fast is easier for men as compared to women, due to our hormonal patterns. And I always suggest that weight loss, in the long run, is better than that which is lost very quickly because those pounds bounce back more easily when you start eating more again as you go off your diet plan.