Dr. Peter Goh's Blog

In physics we have the well known Law of Conservation of Energy. Basically energy cannot be destroyed but is just converted from one form to another. Similarly in physiology we must understand the Law of Conservation of Calories.

Mr. L wanted to know how long it would take him to lose 3Kg. He was a fit middle aged engineer who was only a little overweight. The main problem was that it was mainly around the tummy which was protruding in an unsightly way. I asked him what he ate for lunch and he said that he was a creature of habit and consumed Hainanese chicken rice everyday. He really loved chicken rice.

I told him his problem could be reduced to a simple mathematical equation. Each standard portion of chicken rice is equivalent to 750 Kcal.

The mathematics is undisputable. One gram of fat is equivalent to 9 Kcal. To lose one Kilogram would require one to reduce one’s food intake by 9000 Kcal. This is equivalent to 12 plates of chicken rice. To lose 3Kg, Mr. L would have to pass up on 36 plates of chicken rice which would take him just over a month or 36 days.

Mr. L grimaced. A look of pain swept over his face. That’s quite a sacrifice. After all we live to eat here in Singapore don’t we?

I gave him another solution. A less painful one. He could have his chicken rice everyday and still lose the weight. He agreed to eat half a plate of chicken rice, all the chicken and none of the skin. This cut the calories to about 400 Kcal a plate.

Mr. L lost his tummy in just over 2 months. He still got to enjoy his favorite food.
There are two main variables in eating. What you eat and how much you eat. If you want to continue eating the food that you enjoy you can play around with the portions. I went to a wonderful Italian Restaurant last night. It was the best in town. My host was an aristocratic English gentleman who really knew his food and wine. I had roast goose and a picture is included. The portions look really small but I calculated there were at least 1200 Kcal in this dish alone. It was difficult not to eat every shred of it. The sauce alone was undescribable!