When a diet doesn't fit: Learning to eat for life, not just for looks

Scroll through Instagram long enough, and you'll find a hundred people telling you how to eat.

- Kang Wan Chern

Keto, paleo, intermittent fasting, carnivore, vegan; there's no shortage of confident influencers promising fat loss, energy boosts and total life transformation. And when they come with six-packs and dramatic before-and-after photos, it's easy to get sucked in.

I'm guilty of falling for diet fads that spoke to my physical insecurities, and here's what I've learnt: Don't follow a diet just because someone online says it works, no matter how legit the influencer is. Instead, ask who that diet is designed for, and whether it supports your lifestyle.

That's because nutrition is still an emerging science filled with contradictions and evolving evidence. Every diet has its champions and its critics. Choosing what works means understanding your own needs, activity levels and health goals, not blindly following trends.

My quest to overhaul my nutrition started in late 2023, triggered by some unflattering photos that showed I'd grown a little pudgier around the edges. A trip home to Penang confirmed what the camera had been hinting at.

"What happened to your waist?" my mother asked bluntly as I walked through the door. Mothers don't lie, and mine definitely doesn't sugar-coat. Her words stung enough to stick.

I wasn't technically overweight. At around 62kg and 1.68m tall, my body mass index (BMI) was around 22, which is within the normal range of 18.5 to 22.9, according to the Singapore Health Promotion Board. BMI is an internationally accepted measure for adiposity in adults and is used to assess potential health risks associated with being under or overweight.

Still, 62kg was the heaviest I'd ever been at the time, and I couldn't shake the urge to get back in shape. I set a goal of returning to, or besting, my 2020 stats: 58kg, around 24 per cent body fat, and over 24kg of muscle mass.