Happy New Year 2015!

My name is Sianong Phomkong. I’m the editor-in-chief and founder of LomKan.com. This site is mainly targeted at Lao audience. But some of our foreign friends have suggested that we offer it in English also, in case some foreigners stumble on it. So, here we are giving you a loosely translated version of our premier article. Please be forewarned not to expect any excellence in English writing skills.

The premier article we chose to put on our blog is about weight loss.

The old year 2014 has passed, replaced by the New Year 2015. As usual, a new year comes with new resolutions. I’m going to do this. I’m going to do that… And every year, weight loss is amongst the top choices (if not the number one itself). And I’m one of those who have been keeping this resolution on top. The only difference is that while in the past I made my resolutions known in a small circle, telling only close friends and family; this year I decided to take this issue seriously – I’m announcing to the world that I will get rid of the extra weight… permanently! (I’ve lost the pounds many times, but every time they’ve managed to find me. And I, like an old softy, have taken them back. Talk about an unhealthy relationship).

When it comes to weight loss methods, I’m not looking for advice from anyone. Been there, done that many times. The first time I seriously lost weight (from not believing that I would ever become skinny in this life) I went from 74 kilos (163 lbs.) down to 49 kilos (108 lbs.) in three and a half months by eating Lao bananas (all I could eat) for lunch and cabbage soup for dinner (which I gradually replaced with fish and vegetables). Also, I worked out at least an hour every day, dancing to the tune of my choice. Once I did it, the feeling was like I had been reborn. To the point, seeing some fat people along Vientiane roads I had the urge to stop my car and go tell them, “If I can do it, so can you.” I was very satisfied with my figure. A fashionista at heart, now I got to dress up for real. Being on a long mission, working at the UNIDO office in downtown Tokyo, life was fabulous! Having been to many countries, I have to say that Japanese women are very brave in expressing their fashion preferences. Stylistic. And I fit in seamlessly! … Until one evening when I was fighting the crowd, crossing the famous intersection outside Shibuya Station. My eyes caught a glimpse of a woman’s butt, or lack thereof. It reminded me of people’s comments about myself. That I didn’t have one either. This must be exactly what I look like from behind, I thought to myself. And then an idea came to me, I should gain some weight to make my behind look better. What a mistake that was!!! This put me back on the roller coaster. Since then I’ve gained and lost weight too many times to count.

What I really want to know now is how to prevent the weight from coming back once I lose it.

I am an emotional eater. I use food as stress relief. The more I become worried, the more I eat. The more I eat, the more weight I gain, and become even more worried. Whenever I’m happy and calm, I eat sensibly. And the weight gradually falls off. Hence, I believe that support from surrounding people is the most effective factor in this weight loss journey.

Before losing sight in this lengthy prologue, I would like to get to the main point of this article. Once again, I’m announcing to the world that I’m going to lose weight. And I invite you to join me on this journey. I’ve been in a weight loss group before. And we were successful. Once a week group members reported their progress to others. We shared information on what we had done to contribute to our weight loss, stagnant or weight gain – workout methods, food intake, etc. Also, we gave each other words of encouragement. Some of you who have never joined a support group like this might not think that it will work. But it really does. Members of my old support group lived in various parts or the world. Yet we were truthful to one another. Not wanting to let others down, we each exercised hard and tried to eat healthy food.

You don’t have to let yourself be known to me nor to other readers. Don’t need to tell me your current weight, nor how much you want to lose. Simply put those numbers down for personal references. Use them to compare with mine in every week. On the opposite, I will be open and direct with you. I will let you know my weekly progress.

Let’s get started!

I’m 45. My height is 1.58 m (about 5’2”). My current weight is 58 kg (about 128 lbs.). My goal is by Valentine’s Day I will make it down to 55 kg (121 lbs.)

In order to achieve this goal I will dance, use exercise bike, treadmill and dumbbells (1 and 2.5 kg). Also I will try to stick with healthy food as much as possible. These last four words have been added, because while I was writing this article, a neighbor showed up with half birthday cake (a large half cake – 5 lbs.!). Look at the photo. Doesn’t it look inviting? *_^

Life is like this, once you’ve set out your goal, obstacles tend to appear out of nowhere.

See you in a week. I’ll let you know between me and this cake who will come out victorious.

Please don’t forget to leave your comments. Sincerely, thanks.