https://www.scmp.com/rss/326223/feed Bhakti took to writing in 2010 when she created the popular Amma, Tell Me series of children’s picture books about Indian festivals and mythology. After a long stint as a banker, she now juggles her time between her writing, her passion for yoga and long-distance running, and her family. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Bhakti Mathur Bhakti Mathur Claire Nesbitt spent years training her palate to spot balance, structure and subtlety in a glass of wine. Now, she uses the same precision to build speed, strength and endurance in herself and her clients. From being a wine critic tasting 40 wines in a day, she has transformed into one of Asia’s fastest Hyrox athletes and a full-time coach. Hyrox, a fast-growing sport that combines running with fitness feats, became her focus after she entered the first women’s open event in Hong Kong, in 2022,... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3352463/how-hong-kong-hyrox-champion-went-skinny-runner-top-competitor?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3352463/how-hong-kong-hyrox-champion-went-skinny-runner-top-competitor?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 May 2026 03:00:05 +0000 Bhakti Mathur Bhakti Mathur Last month, Shashank Gangil walked through a Hong Kong hospital corridor proudly carrying a newborn in each arm. The 39-year-old real estate professional had just become a father of twins, an event that would have seemed unlikely just 18 months earlier. In late 2024, Gangil weighed 94kg (207 pounds) and faced a worrying list of health issues: high cholesterol, signs of fatty liver disease, nagging plantar fasciitis and poor sleep. For years, he had told himself that “this is genetics”, but that... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3350812/94kg-he-wanted-start-family-how-he-lost-20kg-become-fit-dad?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3350812/94kg-he-wanted-start-family-how-he-lost-20kg-become-fit-dad?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Apr 2026 03:00:09 +0000 Bhakti Mathur Bhakti Mathur Anjali Hazari hit the ground running when she arrived in Hong Kong as a newlywed in her early twenties more than four decades ago – and she has not stopped. Despite developing knee pain that has required surgeries and now having osteoporosis and more, the retired teacher and tutorial company owner keeps pushing forward – first as a marathoner, then a mountaineer, now a powerlifter – at the age of 70. Raised in Amravati, a city in the Indian state of Maharashtra, Hazari studied in Mumbai and... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3348484/70-shes-now-powerlifter-how-retired-teacher-refuses-slow-down?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3348484/70-shes-now-powerlifter-how-retired-teacher-refuses-slow-down?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Apr 2026 03:00:09 +0000 Bhakti Mathur Bhakti Mathur From a childhood marked by loss to an abusive marriage that nearly claimed her life, Shyy Sachdev’s journey has been anything but ordinary. When told at 49 she might only have five years left to live, the then overweight chain smoker chose to reinvent herself. She began exercising regularly at age 50, strength training at 52, running at 53 and cycling at 61. Today, at 62, she is a force of endurance and resilience. Stronger and happier than ever, the UK resident and fitness influencer now shares... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3346044/how-100kg-chain-smoker-lost-40kg-fixed-knee-pain-and-became-fitness-influencer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3346044/how-100kg-chain-smoker-lost-40kg-fixed-knee-pain-and-became-fitness-influencer?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Mar 2026 03:00:08 +0000 Bhakti Mathur Bhakti Mathur Ben Payet’s story is not an unfamiliar one: a high-achieving professional whose health quietly slipped down his list of priorities. The finance executive moved with his wife from London to Singapore three years ago to be closer to her family. They were building a life in a new city, but Payet was carrying excess weight. When he stood on the scales in October 2024, he was shocked. It read 93kg (205lbs), a sharp increase from the 77kg he had weighed in 2019. He would go on to lose 21kg over the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3343270/how-singapore-based-executive-lost-21kg-9-months-and-cured-his-knee-pain?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3343270/how-singapore-based-executive-lost-21kg-9-months-and-cured-his-knee-pain?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Feb 2026 03:15:07 +0000 Bhakti Mathur Bhakti Mathur From a shy stay-at-home wife and mother to a world-stage bodybuilder, celebrity trainer, mountaineer, DJ and photographer, Kiran Dembla’s transformation is a reminder that life is what we make it. Her journey shows there is no age limit to starting life’s greatest adventures and is captured in her 2024 biography, Fitness Machine: The Extraordinary Life of Kiran Dembla. Dembla grew up in Agra, India, in a middle-class family. She had a passion for music, performing on stage and earning a master’s... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3341635/how-indian-mother-lost-24kg-7-months-and-became-bodybuilding-dj?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3341635/how-indian-mother-lost-24kg-7-months-and-became-bodybuilding-dj?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 31 Jan 2026 04:45:09 +0000 Bhakti Mathur Bhakti Mathur As a professional counsellor and founder of The Alice House, a Hong Kong practice specialising in grief and bereavement support, Eugenie Fung found herself overwhelmed working long hours and having little time for exercise. That changed when her friend Karen Chau, an investment and philanthropy adviser from Taiwan who has called Hong Kong home for the past decade, offered to work as her fitness trainer. Chau is the founder of Fit to Give Ministries (Fit2Give), a charity that provides free... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3340009/hong-kong-fitness-charity-founder-lost-13kg-4-months-now-she-helps-others-get-shape?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3340009/hong-kong-fitness-charity-founder-lost-13kg-4-months-now-she-helps-others-get-shape?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 17 Jan 2026 23:15:08 +0000 Bhakti Mathur Bhakti Mathur Meir Ben Tovim’s wake-up call came in the middle of the night as he was struck with excruciating heartburn and struggled to breathe. He rushed to the hospital and was told he was having a panic attack. That terrifying moment triggered an incredible transformation. He embarked on a fitness journey that saw him shed 41kg (90lbs), going from 126kg in November 2020 to 85kg in June 2021. His story may have a familiar ring. Growing up in Israel, Ben Tovim had always been on the heavier side. He played... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3333191/how-losing-41kg-7-months-saw-hongkonger-go-panic-attack-best-shape-his-life?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3333191/how-losing-41kg-7-months-saw-hongkonger-go-panic-attack-best-shape-his-life?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Nov 2025 03:00:10 +0000 Bhakti Mathur Bhakti Mathur When David Lee first stumbled on the street in Hong Kong seven years ago, unable to walk in a straight line, he had no idea it was an early sign of a rare neurological disorder that would change his life forever. He was diagnosed with spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3) in May 2022, two months after losing his mother to Covid-19. His ensuing journey from uncertainty to resilience is a testament to the power of determination, unwavering support and yoga. SCA3 is an inherited, progressive,... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3331075/how-yoga-helps-hong-kong-husband-rare-neurodegenerative-disease-stay-balanced?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3331075/how-yoga-helps-hong-kong-husband-rare-neurodegenerative-disease-stay-balanced?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 01 Nov 2025 23:15:07 +0000 Bhakti Mathur Bhakti Mathur When Terri Cheong failed the premedical check for a blood donation drive in January due to high blood pressure and high cholesterol, the Singapore-based finance executive decided to take charge of her health – and her life. “I realised how unhealthy and unfit I had become. I had let my health slip. Something had to change,” she says. There had been many signs that change was needed. Aged 54, she found walking and climbing stairs exhausting. “I couldn’t stand up from my beanbag without help. In... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3330599/how-singaporean-executive-lost-19kg-7-months-after-failing-blood-donation-check?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3330599/how-singaporean-executive-lost-19kg-7-months-after-failing-blood-donation-check?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 Oct 2025 03:00:09 +0000 Bhakti Mathur Bhakti Mathur For Mumbai resident Aarti Pathak, 2021 was memorable for all the wrong reasons. She lost her mother to Covid-19 in June, then, weeks later, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer. The economics professor turned writer and editor credits yoga, Ayurveda (traditional Indian medicine) and her deep religious faith for helping her face cancer with calmness, equanimity and grace, enabling her to heal. Pathak chronicled her journey in a memoir called Triple Negative: A Tale of Love,... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3328489/how-indian-mum-breast-cancer-turned-yoga-and-love-survive-and-thrive?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3328489/how-indian-mum-breast-cancer-turned-yoga-and-love-survive-and-thrive?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Oct 2025 23:15:07 +0000 Bhakti Mathur Bhakti Mathur Douglas Bray has overcome more challenges than most of us in the last four years. The Hong Kong business owner was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer in September 2021. Three months later, he and his wife separated. A few weeks after that, he was in a scooter accident and suffered a serious tear in the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee. Here is how, after hitting rock bottom, Bray took charge of his physical and mental health and underwent a transformation to compete in daunting athletic... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3324822/how-hong-kong-bone-cancer-survivor-overcame-illness-and-divorce-be-stronger-ever?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3324822/how-hong-kong-bone-cancer-survivor-overcame-illness-and-divorce-be-stronger-ever?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Sep 2025 03:00:08 +0000 Bhakti Mathur Bhakti Mathur When Ryan Merszei received the results of his annual medical check-up in December 2023, he was shaken. Diagnosed with high blood pressure and dangerously high cholesterol and triglyceride levels, he was at a high risk of hypertension, diabetes and liver disease. “My heart sank when I read the report. I was scared. My doctor told me that I needed to go on medication immediately, for an indefinite period of time, something I didn’t want to do,” says the 40-year-old Hong Kong resident and franchise... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3323129/how-daily-drinkers-health-scare-saw-him-lose-weight-get-fit-and-transform-his-body?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3323129/how-daily-drinkers-health-scare-saw-him-lose-weight-get-fit-and-transform-his-body?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Aug 2025 03:00:09 +0000 Bhakti Mathur Bhakti Mathur A month after his 35th birthday, Nidhin Valsan received unwelcome news: a diagnosis of late-stage non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a type of blood cancer. The senior officer with the Indian Police System was shaken, but he steeled himself for the fight of his life. He would undergo gruelling treatment – and afterwards, train to complete his first triathlon: the Ironman 70.3 Goa. He chronicles his return to wellness in his memoir Cancerman to Ironman: A Police Officer’s Journey of Arresting Illness. It... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3313682/after-cancer-diagnosis-35-and-rapid-weight-gain-survivor-fights-claim-first-ironman?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3313682/after-cancer-diagnosis-35-and-rapid-weight-gain-survivor-fights-claim-first-ironman?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Jun 2025 23:15:07 +0000 Bhakti Mathur Bhakti Mathur Taking time out for regular exercise and sticking to a balanced diet are keys to losing weight. So how does a chef who works long hours around food hope to shed extra kilos? Ngo Xing Jun, a chef at his family’s hawker stall in Singapore, found the answer when he shed 11kg (24lbs) to weigh 61.5kg and his body fat percentage dropped to a healthy 10.5 per cent over five months in 2024, from August to December. Ngo’s family runs Xing Long Food Stall at a hawker centre in Singapore’s Chinatown... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3311368/how-did-singaporean-chef-lose-11kg-5-months-weight-loss-journey-was-tough-he-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3311368/how-did-singaporean-chef-lose-11kg-5-months-weight-loss-journey-was-tough-he-says?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 25 May 2025 03:15:08 +0000 After three tangles with cancer, Aparna Suri finds joy in simple things – a snail crossing the road, the vibrant colours of a sunset, or the satisfaction of perfecting a new recipe. These small pleasures and the support of her family and friends have become anchors in a life repeatedly upended by cancer, yet defined by resilience. Suri was diagnosed with stage 1 triple negative breast cancer in September 2023, her third bout with the disease since overcoming Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 1996 and... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3307715/three-time-cancer-fighter-shares-secrets-pushing-through-fear-survive-and-thrive?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3307715/three-time-cancer-fighter-shares-secrets-pushing-through-fear-survive-and-thrive?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 26 Apr 2025 23:45:07 +0000 While imprisoned in Bali, Indonesia, for a year, Lyn Savage managed to step out of the shadows of despair and realise her life calling – as a yoga teacher. She had visited the tourist hotspot to learn new skills to enable her to leave a career in TV production to work in health and wellness. Singapore-born Savage has suffered from anxiety and mild depression since her late teens. She moved to Hong Kong in 2006 to produce commercials and documentaries. During an intensely stressful period at work... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3304203/how-prison-sentence-bali-led-hong-kong-tv-producer-becoming-yoga-teacher?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3304203/how-prison-sentence-bali-led-hong-kong-tv-producer-becoming-yoga-teacher?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Mar 2025 23:45:08 +0000 Bhakti Mathur Bhakti Mathur When her seven-year-old son returned from school and announced, “I am very stressed, I want pizza for lunch,” Chinchak Satapathy was stunned. “I realised that my son had begun associating food with coping with stress” from watching his parents, she says. “I thought, ‘What are we teaching our child’?” The moment, in October 2023, was a wake-up call for Satapathy and her husband, Himanshu Thakur. The corporate executives had moved with their then-toddler Ameya to Hong Kong from New Delhi in India... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3299538/how-hong-kong-couple-shed-50kg-be-role-models-their-son-after-he-asked-pizza?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3299538/how-hong-kong-couple-shed-50kg-be-role-models-their-son-after-he-asked-pizza?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 22 Feb 2025 23:45:08 +0000 Bhakti Mathur Bhakti Mathur When Raeza Ibrahim was handed his medical report in December 2023 it read like a death sentence. He was diagnosed with high cholesterol and fatty liver, with a high risk of developing hypertension, diabetes and liver disease. And he weighed 100kg (220.5lbs), more than ever in his life. “The report was the wake-up call that I needed,” says the 38-year-old Singapore dispute resolution lawyer and co-founder of live music venue The Blackbird. “I was aware that I was overweight but had not imagined... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3295977/how-26kg-weight-loss-gave-unhealthy-lawyer-singapore-his-life-and-happiness-back?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3295977/how-26kg-weight-loss-gave-unhealthy-lawyer-singapore-his-life-and-happiness-back?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Jan 2025 23:45:08 +0000 Cycling has transformed and enriched the lives of Hong Kong retirees Jimmy Poon and Patrick Ho. It served as a lifeline for Poon in recovering from cancer treatment; for Ho, it was a lifesaver – he discovered a serious heart problem while riding that might otherwise have gone unnoticed. Poon was 59 when he was diagnosed with stage IV rectal cancer in October, 2015. “I was shocked at the diagnosis. I had always been sporty and had been running regularly since my thirties,” says Poon, now 69, who... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3288505/how-does-cycling-benefit-mind-and-body-ask-these-hong-kong-riders-who-rode-back-health?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3288505/how-does-cycling-benefit-mind-and-body-ask-these-hong-kong-riders-who-rode-back-health?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 30 Nov 2024 03:15:08 +0000 Even after her friends found her passed out on the bathroom floor during a free-flow brunch at a restaurant, Julie Landau thought she could carry on drinking. It took a second episode for the corporate executive to open her eyes to her alcohol addiction and to turn her health – and her life – around. Now 42, Landau has been sober for three-and-a-half years and has overcome bulimia, an eating disorder she has grappled with since she was a teenager. As an executive coach, she uses her experience... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3286515/how-high-functioning-alcoholic-beat-her-addiction-and-overcame-bulimia-process?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3286515/how-high-functioning-alcoholic-beat-her-addiction-and-overcame-bulimia-process?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 16 Nov 2024 20:15:08 +0000 Eighteen-year-old powerlifter Saaina Bajaj serves as a reminder of the positive impact parents can have on their children. From considering herself plump as a preteen, she went on to become a powerlifting champion at age 16 and later bounced back from an unexpected medical issue. Bajaj moved with her family to Hong Kong from India in 2017 and, like so many other girls her age, was keen to fit in. “I remember comparing myself with girls in my class and thinking I was overweight. I was determined... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3279292/how-family-inspired-hong-kong-teens-transformation-chubby-champion-powerlifter?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3279292/how-family-inspired-hong-kong-teens-transformation-chubby-champion-powerlifter?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Sep 2024 03:15:08 +0000 When she felt the small growth below her collarbone, Lipi Srivastava instantly knew something was amiss. The now 50-year-old Hong Kong HR professional and mother of two quickly booked an appointment with an oncologist and had a biopsy. It confirmed that she had stage 1 high-grade breast cancer. Srivastava remembers feeling numb upon hearing the diagnosis: “All I could think [about] was how I was going to tell my kids and my parents. How would they react?” That was in August 2021. At her... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3278231/how-art-helped-heal-breast-cancer-survivor-hit-hard-chemotherapy-side-effects?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3278231/how-art-helped-heal-breast-cancer-survivor-hit-hard-chemotherapy-side-effects?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Sep 2024 03:15:08 +0000 When doctors told Dhiraj Bhandary in 2018 that he had a rare, life-threatening disease and type 2 diabetes, he moved quickly to take charge of his health and transform his life. Bhandary took up distance running and changed his lifestyle. Over the past four years, he has run four full marathons and 85 half marathons – 10 of these actual races and 75 runs in training – an average of one half marathon a month. He dropped 21kg (46lb), from 96kg in 2018 to 75kg in 2020, and now weighs about 78kg. He... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3277440/how-flesh-eating-disease-and-diabetes-sparked-indian-executives-health-reset?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3277440/how-flesh-eating-disease-and-diabetes-sparked-indian-executives-health-reset?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Sep 2024 03:15:08 +0000 Singapore-based corporate executive Alex Tan decided to take control of his health after a doctor warned him that if he did not, he would not live to see his teenage son reach adulthood. Tan had battled with excess weight since he was a child. By the time he was 15, he weighed more than 100kg (220lbs). Aged 30, he was at his heaviest, weighing 134kg. Attempts to get into shape over the years had all proved short-lived, and Tan carried the excess weight into his mid-forties. He was suffering from... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3275464/facing-death-singapore-dad-used-diet-exercise-and-mentality-shed-40kg-3-years?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3275464/facing-death-singapore-dad-used-diet-exercise-and-mentality-shed-40kg-3-years?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 Aug 2024 10:15:10 +0000 When Mathew Gomes started experiencing chest pain one night in April in 2022, he recognised it as a sign of a heart attack. He rushed himself to Hong Kong’s Ruttonjee Hospital, where doctors had to work through the night to stabilise him. He had an angioplasty the next day; a type of balloon was used to stretch open his blocked arteries, and stents – short wire mesh tubes – were inserted to allow blood to flow through them more freely. The heart attack was a wake-up call for the 59-year-old... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3268203/heart-attack-survivor-learns-take-charge-his-health-and-teaches-others-do-so-too?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3268203/heart-attack-survivor-learns-take-charge-his-health-and-teaches-others-do-so-too?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 30 Jun 2024 10:15:09 +0000 Exhaustion gave way to elation for Hong Kong residents Jaya Kumra, Seshu Krishna Anne and Hozefa Topiwalla after six days of gruelling uphill trekking. The friends took in the spectacular views from Uhuru Peak, the highest point in Africa at 5,895 metres (19,341 feet) above sea level, as the realisation of their accomplishment began to sink in: they had summited Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. It is the world’s highest free-standing mountain and known as the roof of Africa. It is also the most... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3266418/how-climbing-mount-kilimanjaro-brought-4-hong-kong-friends-closer-together?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3266418/how-climbing-mount-kilimanjaro-brought-4-hong-kong-friends-closer-together?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Jun 2024 23:15:08 +0000 On a visit to a Buddhist monastery in St Louis, in the US state of Missouri, in April, 2022, Elaine Tsang’s world turned upside down. She suffered a seizure and was rushed to hospital, where she was diagnosed with glioblastoma, the most aggressive and most common type of brain cancer. The prognosis for survival is poor. Surgeons later removed a grade 4, fast-growing tumour the size of a tangerine. “The diagnosis came as a shock to me. I had gone with my family to visit the monastery that I grew... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3265609/young-brain-cancer-survivor-credits-her-buddhist-faith-and-yoga-practice-her-recovery?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3265609/young-brain-cancer-survivor-credits-her-buddhist-faith-and-yoga-practice-her-recovery?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 08 Jun 2024 09:15:09 +0000 Nearly four years after she first tried horse riding in 2019 and fell in love with it, Charmaine Rangel was keen to start learning the sport at a Hong Kong equestrian centre. That plan was dashed when she saw the weight limit for riders: 70kg (154lb). “That was the tipping point,” says Rangel, 45, who weighed 73kg at the time, in January 2023. It spurred the banker-turned-kindergarten-teacher to embark on a fitness journey that led her to shed 14kg – to 59kg – and see a 14.7 per cent drop in... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3262120/how-lose-weight-naturally-exercise-intermittent-fasting-diet-tweaks-help-teacher-shed-14kg-11-months?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3262120/how-lose-weight-naturally-exercise-intermittent-fasting-diet-tweaks-help-teacher-shed-14kg-11-months?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 May 2024 10:15:24 +0000 I have always wanted the mirror to like me. Maybe that makes me vain, but that is the way it has always been. And for months, the mirror had stopped being my friend, showing me unwanted extra weight around the stomach, the sides of my waist and back. Growing older and the onset of menopause made it easy for my weight to creep up. I was at my heaviest – 61.7kg – in June 2023. One morning as I looked at myself in the mirror, I said: “It’s now or never.” That epiphany led me to shed 10kg (22lbs)... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3258647/dream-body-7-months-how-yoga-mindful-eating-and-now-or-never-attitude-helped-menopausal-mother-two?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3258647/dream-body-7-months-how-yoga-mindful-eating-and-now-or-never-attitude-helped-menopausal-mother-two?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Apr 2024 08:15:15 +0000 On a business trip to India in October, 2021, Dhruv Agarwala woke up feeling like he was having a heart attack. “My heart was racing, I had palpitations. I felt I was going to die,” says the 53-year-old, who managed to check himself into a hospital. It turned out to be a case of heartburn, much to his relief. “I kept thinking ‘One day I will lose weight, one day I will become fit,’ until one day I landed in a hospital emergency room. I remember that moment clearly, lying in the hospital bed,... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3256305/roger-federer-inspired-him-halve-his-body-weight-how-indian-tech-entrepreneur-lost-71kg-2-years?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3256305/roger-federer-inspired-him-halve-his-body-weight-how-indian-tech-entrepreneur-lost-71kg-2-years?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 24 Mar 2024 03:15:08 +0000 When Ravi Chandra was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes at the age of 51, his doctor recommended he start taking medication. Instead, he started running. That was in 2015. Since then Chandra has run 29 races – 12 marathons in Hong Kong, China, Taiwan and India, five half-marathons, seven 10-kilometre races and five ultra runs, including the 100-kilometre (62-mile) Oxfam Trailwalker in Hong Kong. Just three months after he took up running regularly, Chandra’s blood glucose levels had fallen back... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3255223/can-running-keep-diabetes-check-finance-exec-took-sport-avoid-taking-medication-condition-now-he?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3255223/can-running-keep-diabetes-check-finance-exec-took-sport-avoid-taking-medication-condition-now-he?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 16 Mar 2024 03:15:19 +0000 Bhakti Mathur Bhakti Mathur A climb up cathedral steps in Switzerland while on holiday with her family in December 2021 changed Jessie Lim’s life. As she huffed and puffed her way to the top and down, trailing her husband and two children, who were 12 and 15 at the time, Lim decided it was time to act. She was unfit and overweight, carrying 85 kilograms (187 pounds), plagued by backaches, and had spent 10 years on medication for high cholesterol. “It felt like a now or never moment,” says Lim, 53, who, after finding the... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3251402/she-could-hardly-climb-stairs-so-she-lost-34kg-14-months-how-singapore-executives-family-holiday?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3251402/she-could-hardly-climb-stairs-so-she-lost-34kg-14-months-how-singapore-executives-family-holiday?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 10 Feb 2024 05:15:11 +0000 Opal Li has found her calling. After many years of sorting through her own mental health issues, the Hong Kong resident is now a mental health counsellor herself. “My purpose is to help others. I know what it is like to be in a dark place and want to support people who are suffering,” says the 41-year-old, who works with mental health charity Mind HK and ReSource Counselling, both in Hong Kong. “I feel blessed to have this opportunity every day.” Li started suffering from depression in her late... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3249756/how-bipolar-disorder-sufferer-used-meditation-and-yoga-manage-her-mental-health-and-now-helps-others?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3249756/how-bipolar-disorder-sufferer-used-meditation-and-yoga-manage-her-mental-health-and-now-helps-others?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Jan 2024 10:15:11 +0000 For many of us, a Friday night out entails a meal at a restaurant, watching a movie or relaxing with friends and family. Sundeep Singh spends many of his evenings hitting the pavement. As the native of New Delhi, India, wrapped up his work one Friday evening in August 2020, he set off on an impromptu run. Half an hour in, he made up his mind to do a 100km (62-mile) ultramarathon through the night. Over the past decade, the diehard runner has completed 25 marathons and 300 half- marathons,... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3249008/how-distance-running-transformed-indian-executive-22kg-weight-loss-100-half-marathons-100-days?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3249008/how-distance-running-transformed-indian-executive-22kg-weight-loss-100-half-marathons-100-days?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Jan 2024 09:15:10 +0000 If you were to come across 66-year-old Siriluck hiking with her dog in the hills of Sai Kung in Hong Kong, you would not imagine that this Thai native, brimming with energy, has been battling cancer for 16 years. Hong Kong has been her home for four decades. Now retired from the airline industry, the daily meditator and trained yoga teacher moves with grace and confidence. When a doctor first broke the news that she had breast cancer, Siriluck – who chose to use only her given name to protect... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3243458/how-fight-cancer-thai-buddhist-yogi-leans-alternative-therapies-accepting-conventional-ones-lengthy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3243458/how-fight-cancer-thai-buddhist-yogi-leans-alternative-therapies-accepting-conventional-ones-lengthy?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 Dec 2023 10:15:12 +0000 When a neighbour started losing weight on the keto diet in 2018, Vinith Rao decided to give the high-fat, low-carb diet a try. A middle-aged father of two, Rao’s weight had ballooned to a high of 93 kilograms (205lbs) and he was ready to do something about it. The Hong Kong finance executive has called the city home since 2016. Sport had been an integral part of his school years in his native India. “I grew up playing cricket, football, hockey and badminton. Once I started college and embarked... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3237647/how-lose-weight-and-keep-it-healthy-eating-only-half-story-executive-lost-more-12kg-twice?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3237647/how-lose-weight-and-keep-it-healthy-eating-only-half-story-executive-lost-more-12kg-twice?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Oct 2023 08:15:17 +0000 Cary Au-Yeung suffered from anxiety and insomnia. A busy corporate executive in Hong Kong, she spent long hours at work and travelled a lot. When her father fell ill in 2016, her stress levels soared. “I barely slept three hours a night. I could not focus on work, felt exhausted and was anxious all the time,” says the 50-year-old, who also suffered from hot flushes and mood swings – side effects of menopause. In Pune, India, Uttara Desai was diagnosed with acute recurrent pancreatitis – repeated... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3235296/how-iyengar-yoga-helped-three-women-overcome-anxiety-depression-insomnia-ptsd-and-excruciating-pain?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3235296/how-iyengar-yoga-helped-three-women-overcome-anxiety-depression-insomnia-ptsd-and-excruciating-pain?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 Sep 2023 09:15:18 +0000 Four years ago, Peter Hopper set his mind on a far larger number than his coming 60th birthday – 40,075, to be precise. This is both the length of the Earth’s equator in kilometres and the cumulative distance he planned to run in the decade before he turns 70. Hopper’s challenge to himself, he decided, was to run at least 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) every day for the next 10 years. Four years into the challenge, he has an unbroken streak of 1,461 days in which he has run over 10km every day. “Right... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3232913/epic-running-challenge-64-year-old-has-done-10km-plus-daily-1461-days-unbroken-10-year-quest-run?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3232913/epic-running-challenge-64-year-old-has-done-10km-plus-daily-1461-days-unbroken-10-year-quest-run?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Sep 2023 23:45:08 +0000 Avinash Gowda’s struggle with weight began as a preteen. He lost weight during his teenage years, only to slowly gain it back once he began working. Years of work, travel and stress took a toll on the Singapore-based IT executive, now aged 50. A lack of exercise combined with a poor diet, smoking and drinking led to him reaching his heaviest weight in mid-2015: 101 kilograms (222.7 pounds). During a routine medical check-up at the time, Gowda was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and hypertension,... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3231516/how-lose-weight-and-keep-it-dad-shed-29kg-through-keto-diet-intermittent-fasting-strength-training?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3231516/how-lose-weight-and-keep-it-dad-shed-29kg-through-keto-diet-intermittent-fasting-strength-training?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Aug 2023 03:15:08 +0000 Most people who choose to take up running motivate themselves with a goal – an easy, flat 10km race, say, or even a half marathon if they want to push themselves. Winnie Khattar is unlike most people. The 36-year-old finance executive, who has called Hong Kong home for the last 13 years, began running in 2018 by signing up for the Vibram Hong Kong 100 ultramarathon. The challenging 103km (64-mile) endurance race follows most of Hong Kong’s famous MacLehose Trail up and down a series of forested... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3222751/how-run-your-first-ultramarathon-find-race-get-trainer-and-get-moving-hong-kong-finance-executive?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3222751/how-run-your-first-ultramarathon-find-race-get-trainer-and-get-moving-hong-kong-finance-executive?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Jun 2023 10:15:10 +0000 Think you are too old or that it is too late to take charge of your fitness? You need to meet this engineer who started running at the age of 58 and has completed marathons around the world, and this grandmother who started strength training at the age of 88. When engineer Venkatesh Prabhu retired 15 years ago, his daughter Bhakti Naik – a physiotherapist and nutritionist – encouraged him to start moving and get fit. He took up strength training and running. Now 73, Prabhu has run 50... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3220189/50-half-marathons-he-started-58-strength-training-newbie-whos-88-how-age-well?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3220189/50-half-marathons-he-started-58-strength-training-newbie-whos-88-how-age-well?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 May 2023 03:15:14 +0000 Jennifer Maddox was enjoying a relaxing afternoon, reading on her Kindle that was balanced on her chest, when she felt a lump in her right breast. She quickly scheduled a doctor’s appointment and had an ultrasound and a biopsy within the week. “When the doctor’s office called … I knew that the news was not good,” says 51-year-old Maddox, who was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer in March 2019. “My first thought was, ‘How did I get cancer?’ I was a fitness trainer. I followed a healthy diet... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3216152/how-breast-cancer-survivors-family-therapy-meditation-diet-rethink-and-exercise-kept-her-path?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3216152/how-breast-cancer-survivors-family-therapy-meditation-diet-rethink-and-exercise-kept-her-path?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 07 Apr 2023 23:45:15 +0000 Ross Bendix had a rough start to 2022. On New Year’s Day, he suffered a seizure and collapsed in his living room while watching television. He arrived by ambulance at Hong Kong’s Ruttonjee Hospital where he spent five days in the intensive care unit – and 42 more days in hospital on a drip. He was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver. At the time, Bendix was overweight, weighing 127 kilograms (280 pounds). He was put on antibiotics for blood poisoning, strong sedative medication to avoid repeat... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3213858/60kg-weight-loss-after-quitting-alcohol-how-beer-lovers-liver-disease-saw-him-give-his-6-8-pints-day?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3213858/60kg-weight-loss-after-quitting-alcohol-how-beer-lovers-liver-disease-saw-him-give-his-6-8-pints-day?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Mar 2023 23:45:08 +0000 Dealing with just one illness can be a challenge – and for years, Jane Carroll had to manage several conditions at once. With little energy to get moving or to eat regular healthy meals, the Hong Kong executive and mother of three had piled on the weight. She had gained weight after giving birth, and put on even more after taking antidepressants and painkillers for back pain. The moment she tipped the scales at 100kg (220 pounds) in May last year, the 48-year-old knew she had to find a road back... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3212167/how-shed-30kg-7-months-follow-healthy-diet-and-exercise-regularly-says-hong-kong-executive?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3212167/how-shed-30kg-7-months-follow-healthy-diet-and-exercise-regularly-says-hong-kong-executive?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Mar 2023 23:45:11 +0000 Dhananjay Yellurkar is a poster boy for what a heart patient can achieve. He suffered a heart attack at the age of 46 and underwent open heart surgery. Seven months later, he ran in his first half-marathon. Now, at age 59, Yellurkar is preparing for the Santiago Marathon in Chile, in May, to complete his quest of running a marathon on each of the seven continents. Over the past 13 years, Yellurkar, the chief risk officer at NIIF Infrastructure Finance in Mumbai, India, has run 12 half-marathons,... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3209736/how-recover-heart-attack-running-was-perfect-medicine-man-who-had-never-done-sport-now-he-does?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3209736/how-recover-heart-attack-running-was-perfect-medicine-man-who-had-never-done-sport-now-he-does?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Feb 2023 03:15:08 +0000 Bhakti Mathur Bhakti Mathur Looking at the clothes in her wardrobe, many of them still brand new but too small for her, Vandana Desai finally realised the time had come to make a change. The former primary-school teacher, a stay-at-home mum, had gained weight over the course of two pregnancies and developed unhealthy eating habits over the course of two decades. In October 2020, she weighed in at her heaviest: 80kg (176lbs). “I knew that I had gained weight. I felt unhappy buying large sizes (UK 14 to 16) while shopping... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3208879/how-age-well-20kg-weight-loss-helps-hong-kong-mother-and-ex-teacher-slip-clothes-once-too-small-her?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3208879/how-age-well-20kg-weight-loss-helps-hong-kong-mother-and-ex-teacher-slip-clothes-once-too-small-her?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Feb 2023 03:15:09 +0000 Bhakti Mathur Bhakti Mathur The thought of facing cancer is terrifying for most of us; the idea of having it for a second time is inconceivable. Winston Herrera, though, has survived cancer twice, diagnosed first with colon cancer, then with lung cancer. His story is one of willpower, courage and faith. In 2017, the banking executive and long-term Hong Kong resident was at his heaviest, overweight and weighing 93kg (205 pounds). Poor eating habits, stress, long working hours and lack of exercise had led to the weight gain... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3207356/how-could-i-have-cancer-second-time-dads-disbelief-after-shedding-25kg-through-diet-changes-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3207356/how-could-i-have-cancer-second-time-dads-disbelief-after-shedding-25kg-through-diet-changes-and?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Jan 2023 10:15:11 +0000 Bhakti Mathur Bhakti Mathur Sumanta Panigrahi’s fitness journey personifies resilience and fortitude. During the pandemic, like so many of us, he put on weight – in his case, 6kg. But two years earlier he had worked hard to shed 17kg, going from a high of 111kg to 94kg. Determined to lose the excess weight and keep it off for good, he lost 15kg within a year – reducing his weight to 85kg – and has sustained his new-found fitness level. What inspired Panigrahi to embark on his original fitness journey? And how was he able... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3199965/how-intermittent-fasting-helped-hong-kong-banker-shed-17kg-then-another-15kg-after-he-put-weight?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3199965/how-intermittent-fasting-helped-hong-kong-banker-shed-17kg-then-another-15kg-after-he-put-weight?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Nov 2022 03:15:09 +0000 Nearly two decades ago, Pushpa Bhatt, then 47, was becoming worried about her health. Her sedentary lifestyle and desk job as a senior human resources executive was taking its toll, her lower back was weak and she had developed arthritis in her knees. Bhatt, who is from Mumbai in India, was determined to overhaul her health and she started running – not realising that it would transform her life. Now 66, she has become a poster child for fitness and inspirational clichés. Bhatt ran her first... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3198134/running-completes-me-her-first-marathon-aged-58-shes-run-11-more-and-9-ultra-marathons-how-sedentary?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3198134/running-completes-me-her-first-marathon-aged-58-shes-run-11-more-and-9-ultra-marathons-how-sedentary?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Nov 2022 08:15:09 +0000