Do you know your BMI? If you are Asian, what is actually your BMI?

The Asian BMI

Body Mass Index (BMI) is a measure of the weight of a person according to height. It does not indicate the body fat percentage nor how healthy a person is. But it gives a general idea if you are overweight or underweight, and if you are at health's risk.

Calculation of BMI in SI units:

BMI   =        weight (kg)
                    ------------
               height x height (m2)


The Singapore Asian BMI takes into account the Asian's smaller frame and the body fat percentages. For Singapore Asians, an Asian BMI of 27.5 and above (instead of BMI 30) is an indication of obesity and an Asian BMI of 23 to 27.4 (instead of BMI 25) is an indication of overweight.

The recommended Singapore's Asia BMI cut-offs:

BMI for Adults (kg/m2)          Health Risk
27.5 and above                          High Risk
23 - 27.4                                   Moderate Risk
18.5 - 22.9                                Low Risk/ Healthy Range
Below 18.5                                Risk of nutritional deficiency and osteoporosis


Click here for the Asian BMI Chart

High Carbs and Low Carbs

Since I have gone Low Fat, Low Carb, High Fibre, High Protein, I have switched some of the foods I eat and yes, permanently.

Low Fat doesn't mean no fat.

Low Carb doesn't mean no carb.
High Fibre means lots of fibre.
High Protein means more lean meat or proportionately more lean meat as compared to carbs.

Eating more vegetables and fruits is no hardship to me.  But at this point, I still need meat and carbs.

This is how to make permanent changes for carbs, which you will never go back.

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Rice :  Go for brown or black rice. Brown and Black rice are both high fibre carbohydrates. Personally I don't quite like the taste of steamed brown/black rice.  But they are wonderful when it is turned into fried rice and claypot chicken rice.  Yummy,  much more better than using white polished rice.  Learn to use sesame oil, some fresh pepper or south east asian white pepper and certainly garlic and turn the rice into wonderful food.  Also when you eat brown and black rice, you find yourself consuming little.  And brown and black rice make us fuller for a longer time, as the high fibre in them makes it harder to digest. And they are healthier as they are unpolished and contain more vitamins and minerals. 

I do not restrain myself and never eat white unpolished rice.  But I choose which I cannot go without and there are two : Hainanese Chicken Rice and Yang Zhou Fried Rice.  These I eat mininmally and seldom.

Bread : There are many kinds of bread - softmeal, wheat meal, white bread, multi grain bread. Multi grain bread has the most fibre as it contains grains and seeds, while white bread is just plain simple carbohydrates.   Just try putting a small piece in your mouth, don't chew. You will notice the white bread simply dissolves in your mouth. This is how easy it is to digest white bread, in seconds, and with simple digestive juices from your saliva.   When I first eat wholemeal amd multi grain, I didn't quite like the rough texture.  So I toast them lighlty.  It is indeed very delicious when toasted, any style...  cheese toasted, garlic and butter toasted, or just plain toasted.  Now I cannot go back to white bread, even if I want to.  White bread no longer taste nice.

Multi grain bread, in particular, is very filling and you get hungry much later.  In terms of calories, my bread package tells me multi grain is 148kcal per 2 slices and white bread 145kcal per 2 slices.  So not much difference calories wise, but multi grain bread has more vitamins and minerals than white bread and can last you a few hours longer and curb hunger pangs. 

White bread for me? Never!

I just ate this for lunch

This plate is Edamame, a salted soya bean.  Slightly saltish, very light and fresh tasting, also sweet.  The soya bean itself is sweet, the cover cannot be eaten and the salty taste is from added salt.

Crack open the pod and pop the peas into your mouth. It is heavenly.

It comes in a pack like this.  The peas are frozen and precooked with salt.  All you have to do is boil enough water to cover the peas.  When the water is boiled, turn off the fire and put the edamame in.  Keep cover for 3 to 4 minutes, Drain it and it is ready for eating. 




I have been eating Edamame since I discovered it in Japanese restaurants.  A small plate like above costs from S$2, sometimes as high as S$7.  The ones I get at the supermarkets are much cheaper and they taste the same. Perhaps even fresher, as we eat upon heating up.

Edamame is a complete Low Fat Low Carb, High Protein, High Fibre food.

Walk Your Fats Away

Have you ever wondered why we lose less and less as we diet? First our body mass becomes lesser and thus burns lesser energy. I find that regular exercise, especially easy ones like walking and cycling, keeps me in shape and allows me to eat the occassional sweets when on the Asian - Low Fat, Low Carb, High Fibre, High Protein.
Read >> Walking and Our Fats

Time for Desserts!

Oat Cookies makes 16

100g butter
1 cup wheat germ
1 ½ cup whole wheat flour
2 cups oats
1 cup plain flour
2 tsp double action baking powder
½ cup sugar
2 eggs

1) Cream butter and sugar together until creamy and white. Add beaten egg a little at a time and cream well.
2) Sift plain flour and baking powder. Mix well into butter mixture.
3) Add wheat germ, wheat flour and oats. Knead the mixture lightly to give a well blend.
4) Roll the mixture into a small ball and flatten it by the palm of your hand on a baking sheet.
5) Bake at 180 degree celsius until cookie is golden brown and crispy.


Chocolate Version

Add chopped semisweet dark or bittersweet chocolates at stage 3. You can also reduce the amount of butter and sugar gradually, but this will make the cookies tougher.

Click here for more desserts

Delicious Won Ton Soup

A good mix of healthy low fat proteins, three vegetables, healthy bit of fat (in the form of trans fat free seasame oil) and a tiny bit of simple carbohydrates, that is the won ton wrappers.





Won Ton Soup serves 8


275g chopped raw prawns
115g minced lean pork
275 g canned or fresh water chestnuts, chopped
3 spring onion, chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp cornflour, optional
½ tsp black pepper
800 ml chicken stock
fish sauce, to taste
green leafy vegetables (chye sim)
won ton wrappers


1) Mix prawn and pork, soy sauce, sesame oil, black pepper and cornflour, optional.
2) Stir in water chestnuts, 2 of the chopped spring onion and egg.
3) Wrap the mixture on won ton wrapper. Press the sides to seal the won to
4) Put the won ton in plain boiling water. After 30 secs to 1 minute, transfer won ton to boiling chicken stock.
5) Cook till won ton float to the top.
6) Add vegetables and fish sauce to taste.
7) Garnish with remaining spring onion. Serve hot.

If you like my recipe, click here Recipes for more

Eat more Vegetables, more complex Carbohydrates

Yes, my Asian - Low Fat, Low Carb, High Protein, High Fibre do mean that your diet should include more vegetables which is Low Fat, High Fibre complex carbohydrate. But eating vegetables does not mean boring food or no protein. To have a healthy diet, one must still have all the basic groups of food, but the proportion is important to a healthier you and also eventually a smaller you.
Try this dish, it is one of my favourites. Easy and nutritious. I plant my own winter melon too. Easy to plant, but to get fruits (not to say big juicy winter melons), care and skills are needed.






Egg Winter Melon Soup serves 4

400g winter melon, cut into thin strips
½ tbsp fish gravy
1 tbsp light soy sauce
2 egg whites, separated from two whole fresh eggs
600 ml chicken stock

1) Bring chicken stock to the boil and add cut melon. Continue to simmer for 15 minutes.
2) Add seasoning and lower heat.
3) Beat egg white and gently dribble a little at a time into soup. Stir gently.
4) Serve hot.

More Vegetable Recipes..... Please Click here