Life is short, thought Eliazar so he lost 50kg in seven months

Death of friend at 35 inspired Filipino teacher to undertake a dramatic diet, but experts stress caution.

Eliazar Dimalapang, a maths lecture at Fujairah Women's College, lost 50kg through dieting and exercise.

At the beginning of a new year, many people vow to make changes in their lives. One of the most common resolutions is losing weight. And while many do not achieve all their goals, others tell inspiring stories with successful endings.

Eliazar Dimalapang is one of those inspiring people.

A 35-year-old Filipino teacher at Fujairah Women's College, a branch of the Higher College of Technology, Mr Dimalapang lost nearly 50kg in seven months.

"I used to feel so insecure, and I've been feeling that way all through my life, especially in university, so I said to myself that I have to stop and do something about it."

Mr Dimalapang's weight-loss journey began in January last year. "One of the things that triggered it is that one of my friends died. He was 35, and I was about to turn 35. I didn't want something bad happening to me; life is short, so we have to be careful."

With no outside help, Mr Dimalapang lost the weight through sheer perseverance.

"For seven months I woke up every day at 5:30am and started my exercising, and in the evening I exercised again. I started counting my calories and writing down everything I ate."

Concerned about the cost of hiring a nutritionist or dietician, Mr Dimalapang decided he would try to lose the weight on his own. And he did. "If I can do it, others can also do it."

But Hala Abu Taha, a clinical dietician at Right Bite, disagrees with Mr Dimalapang's theory. "The internet has a lot of misleading information," she said. "Maybe he got lucky, but on the other hand he might have lost the muscle weight, not the weight from fats."

Ms Abu Taha said that unreliable sources on the internet led people to embark on diets without the consultation of a professional, which in many cases led to health problems and risks.

"Sometimes those people could collapse, sometimes they could develop anemia, and because they may lose a lot of muscle, immunity will be very low."

One of the biggest risks, Ms Abu Taha said, was relapse, which often came after the dieting phase.

"Because if they do it by themselves, they eliminate every single item," she said. "They will start not eating [carbohydrates], not eating many things, and then the body would not take it anymore, and that's when they relapse and start eating more and more and more."

Incorrect diets that some people follow could lead them to, after losing weight, immediately gaining more than what they lost, because they lose water and muscle weight, not fat, according to Ms Abu Taha.

She suggested those who could not afford a dietician or nutritionist could simply decrease the size of they portions they eat, as opposed to eliminating foods. And, she added, drinking at least two litres of water a day is important.

"Don't eat till you are satisfied, but don't stay hungry either, because then you would eat double the amount," she added. Ms Abu Taha also advised a lot of walking. "Walking is the cheapest exercise ever," she stressed.

Paul Kasimba, a trainer at Lifeline fitness centre, agrees with Ms Abu Taha about the risks of going it alone: "It is possible for someone to exercise on [his or her] own, but at the end of the day you do really need someone who can guide you."

Mr Kasimba said that each person needs different exercises at different levels, and that being unaware of certain guidelines could lead to risks.

Mr Dimalapang agreed that there might be issues for people losing weight on their own, but he said that if they read a lot about it and gather enough information about healthy lifestyles, then their journey to losing weight will be successful too.

"For people who don't have much time to read, the best thing is to consult a professional, but for people like me, who are fond of reading, honestly, there won't be a need for a professional," he said