So I just got tagged in a post about Japanese actor Miki Ryosuke's Long Breath Diet. Here are some of my thoughts.


What is it?The article claims that this actor's breathing exercise helped him to lose belly fat, and that all you need is just 2 min a day of it.
I'll break this down section by section based on the article's format.
"How It Works"
Your body has 2 main fuel sources.
Physiologically, it's about efficiency. The body can use Fat best when there is abundant Oxygen. Without it, like when you're running hard and gasping for air (lack of Oxygen), the body burns Glucose instead as it breaks down with less effort and less Oxygen.
"What You Should Do"
Think about this as if you were moving your arm in the pool. If you were to swing your arm to the front and stop, you would find your self pushing back in the opposite direction just a little because of the flow of the water from the initial push. Having active muscle control is like doing that with your arm but out of water.
Back to the exercise at hand, in the pointers, you're also pushing using your legs and tensing your butt. In essence, even by just holding this position, you are using large portions of your body's muscles. This will inadvertently burn more calories and use more fuel (Fat in this case) than you sitting in your chair just taking deep breaths.
Which brings me to my next point. 2 min? If you're a couch potato doing 0 min of PA, then sure, 2 min a day is an improvement. My point here is, what is your starting point? In general, no PA is bad. A little PA is better than none. Any subsequent increment is better than a little PA. This applies till you meet the necessary guidelines for maintenance of fitness, which is 150 min a week of moderate to vigorous PA.
In summary, the claims of this article are grossly overstated and key factors like performing the exercise properly are neglected. However, including this in your routine will likely contribute to the strengthening of your muscles and in turn aid in burning fat.



Breathing exercises like this one where you are forced to breathe in and out can benefit conditions like back pain as they actively work the muscles in your trunk. These muscles don't just help you breathe, but also play accessory roles in maintaining your posture.

Now about the whole "more oxygen you use the more fat you burn" statement. Concept wise, it's not wrong, but not totally right. Here's a little more details. 

1. Glucose, which is meant for higher intensity and faster burn, e.g. running
2. Fat, which meant for lower intensity and slower burn, e.g. walking.

By performing this exercise, you are largely using Fat as opposed to Glucose. Most types of low intensity physical activity (PA) e.g. very slow push ups, walking or housework will have similar effects.

Now pay attention to the person in the video as you read the pointers below. Notice that his entire upper body is tensed up. He has active muscle control of his upper body as he moves and breathes.

Fatness VS Fitness

So i just had a lecture on the subject Fatness VS Fitness. Here are some of my thoughts.

1. The Science Stuff
Well that settles it then. The science is out (if you still believe in science. The kind that does not have alternative facts and that  shows humans as the main cause of global warming).

Being fit is the thing that will save you. Repeated scientific studies have looked into this issue and they all point in the same direction. Your weight, Body Mass Index (BMI) or the % of fat you have, while not insignificant, are not the primary risk factor to all cause mortality (chance of you dying). The single biggest factor is how fit you are.

BMI 20 - 25 is considered "normal", but at BMI of 20, some adverse effects in select populations have been recorded. On the other hand, if your BMI is 25 - 30, or "overweight" your risk of dying is marginally higher.

The kicker is that if you're a skinny couch potato (BMI under 25, but does nothing all day), your risk of dying is almost twice as high an obese (BMI 30-35) person who bothers to exercise regularly.

2. Fat Shaming
So here I owe many people an apology. For the longest of time, I've been rather unsympathetic to the outcries against fat shaming. My perspective (simplified) was that Fat => obese => unhealthy => okay to be shamed if it helps you lose weight.

Now that has changed. Not because I've heard some moving story, but because I've been exposed to new information that shows that my outlook was flawed. Fat shaming does not work when it comes down to helping people be healthier. Which was the focal point of my prior arguments for fat shaming. Fat people are likely to stay fat, and that's just the way it is.

Now before you anti-fat shamers go off celebrating, know that I am still extremely unapologetic in being critical of people who don't look after themselves. If you're fat, and you're not doing anything about it, well, you're still fair game. I won't shame you by being rude or calling you names. I never believed in that anyway. But I will be critical as hell.

The difference is that I no longer see Fat = unhealthy. Because you could be trying very hard to keep fit. Exercising regularly, changing up your diets, but for whatever reason prior, you're now obese. Those people should be encouraged rather than being shamed.

NSF PES E

So I recently read a few articles on my FB feed related to SAF and PES E soldiers. Here are some of my thoughts.

"A PES E Case Study (National Service in SG)" and "My Life as a NSF clerk in Singapore" both felt like fluff pieces. Don't get me wrong. They both quite accurately stated what goes on in the lives of a PES E NSF, and that they did clear up some misconceptions that non PES E soldiers usually have.

Perhaps my issue with the two articles was that as a fellow PES E soldier, my experience ran parallel to theirs, but still very different, and I can hardly say I had a "better" life than the combatants.

I have Narcolepsy. It's a sleeping disorder that causes me to fall asleep at random times of the day. Before you go "oh how I wish I had that", keep in mind that I fall asleep standing, I fall asleep walking, I fall asleep with a fork in my mouth, I fall asleep into my food, I fall asleep into objects which leave me bruised, and I've even fallen asleep while bent over a railing. To top it off, I wake up every 2 hours at night and occasionally get sleep paralysis and facial cataplexy. 

Guess where SAF posted me to? The security guard unit. That's right! That's a problem right there. How did a guy with a sleep disorder end up in a security unit, where part of my job scope included "being vigilant while on duty". 

Next problem. My senior commanders did not know of my condition. So because my unit was hastily set up and proper rules and regulations were not set in place, we were perpetually under staffed and I had to partake in excessive shift and duty hours. I can say that because we (all they guys in my camp, regardless of PES status) were technically being over worked according to SAF policy (thanks PES E BMT for teaching me where to find that). Sure I got to go home more days that some of the stay in clerks. But much of that time was spent recovery from the weird ass hours we had to pull. So to read about how some clerks had alot of free time to surf the net while "off duty" is quite a sore spot.

The last article I read was about Private Ganesh Pillay Magindren. Particularly about the coroner blaming his direct superior for not being curious about his Schizophrenia. While I feel that some blame should be accorded to her, I can't expect much from her based on my experience with SAF on the whole regarding this issue. His office didn't even know about his condition because the file took too long to arrive. That's just bullshit. The superior was criticised for not being "even slightly curious". Thing is, she was. As far as she could tell without the damn file, he was lazy and unmotivated. And she didn't just punish him for not being up to par. She took an effort to talk to him and to try to help him. So she did do her job, but it was the system that failed to back her up.

The SAF now allows recruits to choose their vocation (or state their preference, whatever). But I feel that all the effort and resources going into this endeavour should go into fixing the existing system, particularly in the case of individual like myself and Private Ganesh Pillay Magindren. People with flat feet get special shoes, people with asthma get excuse running. How about people with Serious Medical conditions get their supervisors notified?