My Calorie Counter

A body needs a minimum number of calories to maintain the million of chemical reactions which keep the eyes, lungs, heart, liver, kidneys, etc in healthy working order.

How many calories you need depends on height, total body weight, ratio of fat to muscle, age, gender, genes and physical exercise.

Find-out your daily calorie requirements by using The Harris-Benedict Calorie Needs Formula as follows:-

STEP 1: 655 + (9.6 x weight in kg) + (1.8 x height in cm) - (4.7 x age in years)

STEP 2: Multiply the above figure with ONE of the following activity multiplier,

1. For no or very light exercise> x 1.2


2. For light exercise/sports (1~3 days/week) > x 1.375


3. Moderate exercise/sport (3~5 days/week) > x 1.55


4. Heavy exercise/sports (6~7 days/week) > x 1.725

Fitness Buddy recommends you consume 3,500 calories LESS per week (or consume 2,000 fewer calories and burn extra 1,500 calories by exercising), to LOSE 1lb per week.

Tropical Smoothie Time

Per Serving ;-
154 calories
7g protein
31g carbphydrates
1g fat (0.5g saturated)
2g fiber
50mg sodium

Instructions: Throw all of the following ingredients into a blender and CRANK it up.

2 servings: 1/2 cup 1% milk, 2 tablespoon low fat yoghurt, 1/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, 1/2 banana, 1/4 cup strawberries, 1/4 cup cubed mangoes, 2 tablespoon vanilla whey protein powder, 3 ice cubes.

FB says I Like:-)

You Can't Touch This!

5 Powerless Food

1. Raw oysters - can be contaminated with hepatitis and other nasty viruses.


2. Charred meats - have been linked to cancer.


3. Any food that has touched the ground even for a second - instant contamination from dirt, chemical & bacteria.


4. Processed deli meats - loaded with saturated fats.


5. Mayonnaise - full of calories and fat.

FB says you have been WARNED!

Malaysians are super-human beings?

Believe or not, 31% of Malaysians had never before exercised in their lives, and only 12% exercised adequately. These are stats from the Second National Morbidity Health Survey. Compare these figures to USA, Canada & Australia where 40% of the population do it regularly.
Fitness Buddy says hate to think what Malaysians future generations will look and be like-dumplings, anyone?

Fitness Facts: Water! Water! Water, Everywhere!

Our brain is 75% water; blood is 92% water, bones are 22% water, and muscles are 75% water.
Fluids are vital to regulate body temperature and cushion vital organs and the bone joints.
Fitness Buddy recommends you take onboard a variety of fluids includes water, milk, isotonic drinks, fruit juices, soups, fruits and vegetables.

7 Good Habits When In GYM

1. Always warm-up before exercising for a minimum duration of 10% of your total workout time. Warm-up means raising your body temperature by 1 degree through low-impact areobics: Fitness Buddy (FB) recommends brisk walking and/or doing jumping jacks.Warm-ups help improve your joints' range of movements; warm muscles are more flexible and prevents injuries.


2. Stretch immediately after warming-up; especially stretch those muscles you intend to workout, and FB recommends you stretch bigger muscles (eg Chest, Quadriceps) first and then smaller muscles (eg triceps, calves). If FB had a dollar everytime FB sees gym-users start running on treadmill or pumping weights without stretching, FB can buy yacht.


3. REHYDATE - drink alot of water before before, during and after workout. Every pound you lose during exercise, must be replaced with 1 pint (3 glass) of H20 to avoid dehydration. Don't wait until you are thirsty; by that time it is too late. Dehydration will cause your body to retain water when you actually should be flushing out the lactic acid build-up which will otherwise cause muscle aches the next day.


4. Proper Footwear is essential. Make sure the shoe has adequate sole pads to absorb your running weight and good arch and ankle support. Your knee joints will thank you for not stingeing on a decent pair of exercise shoes. FB recommends Brookes shoes which are good and inexpensive. Remember - shoes have a lifespan too. On average, a shoe will last you 200km before its time to change.


5. Wipe Your Own Sweat. For christ-sake, do you really expect strangers to wipe your sweat from the work bench. Get real, bring your own towel if gym does not provide one, and get that elbow grease working. Apart from hygiene purposes, sweat droplets will corrode metal and discolour plastics of treadmill panels faster than you can say jack robinson.


6. Put back weights after use: No need explanation. If so, you should not be operating heavy machinery.


7. BREATHE! Do not hold your breath when exercising; your muscles need lots of oxygen to perform all exercises. Exhale when you exert force such as lifting, raising, pulling, standing.

Inauguration of Fitness Buddy

What is this blog about?

People approach or face exercise in many different ways, and exercise affects people in a multitude of ways. As a personal trainer, I see this phenomenon everyday at work on the job. Some people hate to exercise, others live-off the high created by a rush of endorphins released in their brains neurosystem. Of course, there will also be alot of others who are completely indifferent to exercise - if its there, they'll take, if not, they don't lose sleep over missing-out on exercise.

If you hate to exercise so much, why not just don't do it. Here lies the problem and solution all in the same place. Exercise is something we can't live with or without. The common reasons to exercise are:-

1. My doctor told me so. Same as my "cholestrol level is too high".


2. My wife told me to.


3. Want to meet opposite sex.


4. Want to lose weight. Same as "clothes don't fit"/ got to attend ex-boyfriend's wedding next month/ over-eaten during the festive season.


5. Going on holiday to Bahamas.

The reasons for not exercising are even more fascinating:-

1. No time ((Fitness Buddy says you should manage time and don't let time manage you))


2. "After work, I'm too tired to exercise." ((FB says this is exactly why you need to exercise and energise yourself.))


3. Too lazy (FB says good god man, get-off your fat ass and give me 20 push-ups now!))


4. "I don't need to" (refer to your nearest physician immediately)


5. "I started and stopped because i got no results" (FB says you need a Personal Trainer. If you can't afford one, read this blog everyday)

We all know that exercise is good for us but most of us would rather spend half-a-day at the car workshop servicing our cars than spend half-an-hour exercising and looking after our own health. This is one of the many mysteries of life that escapes me totally, Therefore, from now on, I'm just going to assume that all my readers accept that exercise is not an option but a way of life.

So in this blog, we will embark together on a journey to discover the wonderful world of exercise. Since I love food, we will also share our thoughts on the foods of the world. Afterall, exercise is all about burning energy, and without fuel this body is going nowhere.

Tomorrow we will cover the ground rules of exercise, keep you posted. Gus