Briathrail // Albert 2MNG

I felt like shit last week. And paid dearly for it too. But I have good hope for the next weeks.

First, I took a blood test the weekend before. That was for the GP/doctor to assess the effectiveness of my medication, if it needs adjustment or retaining. Good news, I am still on the same meds as before. No change. But bad news hit like a truck – my triglycerides, bad cholesterol, were very bad. The doctor warned me to start minding what I ate, and check my diet to avoid salty and fatty foods more. Basic advice, better to cook at home.

And the day after that, I woke up badly after I involuntarily stretched my left leg during my waking-up groggy stupor. It was super painful that I could not walk my left leg for a good 5 minutes.

There was a terrible effect after – my left foot started exhibiting painful aches every time I step with my heel after a prolonged rest period. Especially mornings. Stepping with my left foot had that sharp ache. So I immediately booked a trip to a known podiatrist in Singapore by Saturday. I can’t run another week without knowing what this shit officially is – yes, I googled this but I’d rather get a real specialist’s opinion.

So by Saturday, I got my diagnosis – plantar fasciitis. Podiatrist said this was something that built over time and fully manifested after a bad stretch. Foot scans and muscle analysis showed it. My foot is in bad shape, then.

Podiatrist booked me for several sessions of non-invasive shock wave therapy and a custom pair of orthotics. Costly shit, but I gladly forked the money (albeit in installments).

The reason is that I have good enough money set aside to afford the treatment. The me in 2013 would’ve just lived with the pain if faced with such a big bill. The me now in 2024 will gladly pay it in full. Because I know that my health and well-being is more important than a big amount that I can recoup by the end of the year.

Also, I did factor in that 1) Singaporean healthcare was top-tier, and that meant a pretty penny, and 2) I did have health insurance, but this was an impromptu checkup, not a “hospitalized” event and I’d rather pay full rather than haggle with the insurance provider for rather small claim amounts, of that I’m not even fully sure they’d cover. I chalked it up to convenience.

One important question came to my mind when I saw the bill – yes or no, can I afford it? I computed in my mind. Yes, I can. So I paid upfront.

Health is wealth, so they say. I better get this foot thing sorted out.

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Fortunately, the podiatrist offered me a small reprieve – if by the 4th session of treatments, I manage to go down to a certain weight, he’d consent to cancel the remaining treatments and refund me the unused treatments in full. That’s a challenge to my ears. And I like imposed challenges with a reward. So I agreed to it, and asked him what could I do at the start.

He advised to count calories. Limit myself to 2000kcal and exercise more often. Less oils, more protein. He said that once I get that down pat, we can finetune by the next sessions.

However, I already started last week to do more home cooking instead of eating takeaway or outside, as my blood test already told me as much. So after that podiatrist appointment, I finetuned my diet more. Chicken breasts, beans, controlld portions of rice. He also advised me one crucial thing I agreed with: if I cook shit myself, it better taste good to me. He said the easiest quit of a good diet is to crucify my tongue with bad-tasting food. Eat just vegetables for a week and you’ll be miserable… well, maybe if it’s Indian food I can manage. My tongue will cry out for flavor if I just cooked barely-flavorful food. So spices helped me at that, and fortunately I had a cupboard full of spice and dried herbs. Italian herbs, garam masala, red peppers, onion powder.

I started with fried rice with very minimal amount of olive oil, mixed vegetables, and some green beans. Controlled portions, so I bought a 800ml glass container that’s shaped like a takeaway rice box, and aimed to only eat 3/4 of the container for lunch and dinner, uncompressed. Around 110g of cooked rice, 150g of mixed vegetables, and lots of spices, with steamed snow peas.

This is what I made for fried rice at lunch last Sunday, btw.

• 120g leftover cooked rice
• 150g Emborg mixed vegetables, thawed and washed
• 2 pieces of frozen tofu kimchi dumpling from Pulmuone
• 1 cup snow peas, washed
• 1/2 tablespoon light olive oil
• Red pepper powder to taste
• Onion powder to taste
• White pepper powder to taste
• Minced garlic, 1/2 tablespoon
• Dried Thai bird chili powder, to taste
• Furikake, 1/3 packet (I bought a pack with 5 packets inside)
• Dash of Maggi Original Seasoning Sauce (estimate it as 1/2 tablespoon)

I had the snow peas washed, stripped of its stringy side, and steamed with the dumplings. I diced the dumpling afterwards – the idea was to use it as a meat substitute. Cooked the garlic in oil first, then dumpling and rice went in once garlic turned brown. Seasoning sauce while the thing sizzles, I usually add it from the side of the wok and not directly on the rice. Add white pepper and onion powders. Let rice get some browning a bit (adds additional flavor too), then add the red pepper powder and the mixed vegetables after. 2 minutes, mix again thoroughly, then I put it in the container. I added the snow peas, the Thai bird chili powder, and furikake. I close the container for 3 minutes to let the snow peas have additional steaming.

Above recipe also relies on “to taste”, because for me, I tend to adjust on the fly. I sometimes cook like old grandmothers – by eye and by feel. But the portion size is defintely measured – I had two 160g cooked rice packets in the fridge, so I put them together then portioned them in 3 so I get around 100g. For the mixed vegetables, I eyeballed the amount to a cupful, uncompressed. 1 cup is usually 250g compressed, so uncompressed it should be around 150g. When I finished, I did have 3/4 of the container. Way less than what I had for lunch a week ago (I had three mala fried chicken with 1.5 serving of sweet potato fries), but still very delicious. Seasoning helped a lot.

Also, the frozen tofu kimchi dumpling from Pulmuone was a meat substitute, and also for added texture. It’s vegetarian dumpling, and it was cheap. I’d buy more later. My Monday, I switched it for two eggs. Tuesday, I switched it for half a marinated skinless chicken breast, diced to small pieces. I remembered the podiatrist’s advice to add protein, so I was mindful to add more protein to the dish with meat or eggs sometimes.

Speaking of protein, I also looked for more to add to my diet. Overnight oats in the morning with a half-tablespoon of unsweetened chocolate to make it taste good for me. Sometimes I spiced it with a whole banana and a dash of cinnamon. My custom oat recipe is:

• 1 tablespoon custom thickener mix
• 3 tablespoon rolled oats (I alternate between Australian rolled oats and IKEA hjalteroll porridge/oats), plain and no sweetener
• 3 tablespoon Quaker instant oats, plain and no sweetener
• 1 tablespoon Quaker 5 black multi-grain mix
• 150ml of low-fat milk, very cold
• 1 packet of Tong Garden Nutrione Baked Nuts & Dried Fruit – Berry Mix (28g)
• Half a tablespoon of Hershey’s Cocoa Powder, 100%

I bought a second 800ml glass container to help me with portion size. Again, 3/4. So all 8 tablespoons and nuts go in, with a packet of Splenda. Put in hot boiling water to cover all ingredients, mix thoroughly, cover, and leave for 15 minutes. Should be very thick by the end. In those 15 minutes, I had a water bottle with milk in the freezer, as I need it super chilled. I add the milk in the oat mix, stirring until loose, then I put the container in the fridge for tomorrow’s breakfast. I mix in the chocolate powder in the morning before eating.

For the custom thickener mix, in a food processor I added 5 tablespoons of the Quaker 5 black multi-grain mix, 10 tablespoons of rolled oats, 5 tablespoons of Quaker instant oats, a 40g packet of Nanfang black sesame powder (unsweetened), and 5 packets of Super Nutremill Less Sugar Cereal oat drink. I blended it until they’re almost powdered, then I put it in an airtight jar. A tablespoon of the custom mix helps to make the overnight oats pleasantly thick with a hint of sesame flavor. I hit on this recipe when I was dissatisfied with the texture of my first overnight oats many years ago and experimented on a lot until I got this one.

So for snacking… sometimes at the 7-11, I now buy barley tea and packaged chicken breasts instead of iced tea and chips. They sell these banging-good chicken breasts in various spiced forms, tasted good, portion-sized and low in calories. No skin too. Around 90-110 calories each pack.

But I had to change my lunch as well. More protein and vegetables, less greasy food. So I had to look out for the food I ate during lunch. No more bak chor mee or fat-laden foods. But I am also cognizant that vendors doesn’t cook “healthily”, they’ll use vegetable oils and fat a lot. So, I had to look for vegetable dishes that doesn’t feature much oil, like stirfried vegetables that doesn’t look glistening with oil. Rice is a staple, I won’t be able to escape it but I can start limiting my intake one at a time, like I hold off on the last tablespoon of rice for one day, next days I try to hold off on two. Brown rice options are very very rare. For now, I go for one rice, two vegetables and one lean protein for cai png. It’s still a shame that the yong tau foo stall had to close, that’s my easiest vegetable filler.

One week in, and I think I’m on the right track. I do and put in my 180 minutes in the gym, I ate decent portions, less indulgences, and very mindful of what I ate, even snacks. The last thing I have to control is my sleep schedule, because it’s still wack. I always sleep quite late.

Also, I tried my gym’s new vending machine for protein shakes. One portion for between 4-6 SGD depending on the drink. And I must say, “cookies and cream” flavored protein drinks are much better than the stawberry and chocolate.

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The podiatrist session really whacked my lifestyle budget as well.

I was already planning my trip to Hawaii by June, and I got all my ducks in a row, documents and information all prepped (as their online form is finicky and quick to expire sessions), but the foot diagnosis made me cut budget. Next year, then. Can live with hope that someday I’ll escape Asia. But for now, budget travel neaby will do.

I also have to travel because my landlord have to have a good schedule as to when he could arrange for painters to repaint my room’s walls and ceiling. It’s peeling like crazy as the room gets humid sometimes. I turn on the dehumidifier a lot, but it still happens. So he said the next paint applied will be the same sturdy paint used in basketball courts.

I also have other work-related limits – I only have 15 days of annual leave, and I used one already. So I always plan my vacations around weekday with non-working holidays to extend them. So as there’s Hari Raya Haji next June and my entitlement of a “birthday leave”, I only have June as the most feasible vacation time. I could not go beyond June 24, as I have a few projects with deployments soon after that and I have to be on-hand. I’ll miss my nephew’s birthday, but I’ll just give him his gift before I leave.

Back to travel, so I aimed for somewhere visa-free to save money and effort. So, I immediately booked a 5-day trip to Taiwan. It’s long been on my list, and as I already had Thailand a few months ago, I’m going to cross Taiwan out now. I’ll plan for Indonesia and Vietnam for the next few years.

So my vacation is from June 12 to 24, that’s a decent chunk of time for the landlord to do business on my room. June 12 to 17 will be in Taiwan and 18 to 24 will be in the Philippines, I’ll just chill in my home room then. I plan to buy a few IKEA bookshelves to have my book collection in, instead of what my dad did and just fill the closet with them. Oh and also to look for my former (expired) passport.

I booked my trip thru Trip.com via a link from SkyScanner, and got the flights for cheap – I looked for the same flights elsewhere and even direct from the airline itself, I got mine at least 200 SGD cheaper. All direct flights, 2 Scoot flights and one flight from China Airlines. Flights costed me around 530 SGD base with no extras (except for China Airlines, I opted for just baggage and any seat), and all the extras like preferred seats and checked luggage amounted to an extra 120. Seats are a must, I’m a window seat guy because I like to lean on something to sleep, and I don’t want a middle seat or an aisle seat. Too inconvenient for me.

I also booked my hotel for the Taiwan trip via Agoda, because I found a decently-priced room there in a hotel with a fitness room. I already anticipate that the Taiwan trip will have lots of eating, so I’ll have to ensure I burn the calories. There were other nicer hotels, but the one I found was the perfect one – decent price, with fitness center, close to night markets and street food places, close to a 7-11, and within walking distance to a train station.

So the flight will be Singapore -> Taiwan, then Taiwan -> Manila, then Manila -> Singapore. Time of departure and arrival were also very convenient too, just right and no rush.

Right now I’m planning my Taiwan trip’s activity. My friend who went there before also advised me to book tours as the best sights in Taiwan are outside the city and those you cannot DIY unless you’re rich and have a car. So I’m planning for two tours sandwiched between two eat-and-chill days. Well, maybe shopping too. I’m eyeing the tours going north to Jiufen.

Hopefully not much walking there though. I love long walks, but my left foot needs a bit of chill too.