After a heart attack, a Hong Kong resident took charge of his health – changing his diet, exercising more, taking up yoga and meditating. Now he coaches executives in how to safeguard their health.
Three friends from Hong Kong, all in their 50s, and the son of one of them challenge themselves with an eight-day climb to the top of the world’s highest free-standing mountain in wind, rain and cold.
Two years after brain surgery to remove a tangerine-sized tumour, Elaine Tsang is happy, healthy and cancer-free. This she credits to yoga, Buddhism, positivity and a plant-based diet.
Charmaine Rangel was spurred to lose weight after being too heavy to sign up for horse riding – how she did it naturally involved exercise, intermittent fasting, diet tweaks and a health app.
Mother of two and fitness enthusiast Bhakti Mathur decided to make a change after age and menopause led to her weight creeping up. In seven months she lost 10kg. Here’s how she did it.
After feeling he ‘was going to die’, Singapore-based entrepreneur Dhruv Agarwala set out to lose weight and achieve Roger Federer’s physique. He shed 71kg through exercise, gym work and lifestyle changes.
Ravi Chandra was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 51. Instead of medicine, the Hong Kong finance executive took up running. In the years since, he has competed in 29 races and set up a running club.
With Jennifer Aniston as her role model, the toned and lean Jessie Lim talks about her weight-loss and fitness journey, in which she went from 85kg to 51kg in 14 months through diet and exercise.
Opal Li, who suffered from depression and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, learned to manage her mental health issues with meditation and yoga, before studying psychology and becoming a counsellor.
Taking up distance running has been life-changing for executive Sundeep Singh. He is 22kg lighter, he ran 100 half marathons in 100 days in 2019, and recently did an impromptu 100km overnight run.
A Thai Buddhist, Siriluck has fought cancer for 16 years, and says a good attitude and a belief in the healing power of your body are important, but so too are conventional cancer treatments.
Vinith Rao turned to the keto diet in 2018 when his weight hit 93kg. He lost 14kg, but regained it during the pandemic. After a wellness coach inspired him to try regular exercise with his diet, the kilos have stayed off.
Iyengar yoga, founded by the late B. K. S Iyengar, is intended for people of all ages and physical abilities. Three women share how regular Iyengar yoga practice helped them overcome physical and mental issues.
On his 60th birthday Peter Hopper set himself an epic running challenge – go the length of the equator by running 5km or more a day for 10 years. Four years in, the Hong Kong running coach’s streak is unbroken.
Told he had type 2 diabetes and hypertension at 42, a 101kg Singapore IT exec quit smoking, cut down on alcohol, began cardio and strength training and adopted a keto diet. Intermittent fasting was the final step.
Ultramarathon runner Winnie Khattar got into long-distance racing in her 30s. The Hong Kong finance executive talks about how she stays injury-free, and why running is ‘the most rewarding experience’.
At the age of 58, Venkatesh Prabhu started running. Kiron Kukreja started strength training at 88. They are proof that neither retirement nor old age should keep people from finding their way to fitness.
A breast cancer diagnosis helped change a former fitness instructor’s perspective on life, and she began to take better care of herself with therapy, meditation, a fresh look at food, and walking.
Ross Bendix weighed 127kg (280lbs) before having a seizure and being diagnosed with liver disease. He quit alcohol, started exercising, changed his diet and now he’s in the best shape of his life.
An executive in Hong Kong lost 30kg in seven months after joining a gym and hiring a personal trainer. Her lifestyle changes have helped her overcome her many health issues.
To recover from open heart surgery after a heart attack at 46, Dhananjay Yellurkar took up running and has now run marathons on six continents – even one ultramarathon.
Spurred by her wardrobe of clothes that didn’t fit, Hong Kong mother and former teacher Vandana Desai embarked on a two-year fitness journey.
A colon cancer diagnosis while he was trying to get fit shocked Winston Herrera, but he recovered and shed 25kg. Then he got lung cancer – and beat that, too.
Limiting the hours in which he could eat, diet changes and exercise helped Sumanta Panigrahi lose 17kg. When he put on 6kg working from home, they helped him lose another 15kg.
A 66-year old single mum who took up running less than 20 years ago, Pushpa Bhatt reveals how joining a 7km race jolted her out of sedentary middle age.
Former massage therapist and cancer survivor Petra Winkler-Hirter explains how Iyengar yoga helped her through chemotherapy’s side effects and recover from breast cancer.
A Hong Kong businessman diagnosed with high blood pressure and high cholesterol chose exercise over medication to lose weight. He took up running, got fit, lost 22kg and, 13 years on, is an ultra runner and triathlete.
We all have a voice in our heads, and sometimes it says too many negative things. Experts describe techniques for countering the negativity and harnessing our internal monologue to be happier and healthier.
Overweight for 15 years and obese for seven of them, Singaporean Sudipa Sen was diagnosed pre-diabetic and decided she had to do something. Three simple steps were all it took to shed 30kg in a year.
Theresa Brickley says the secret to ageing well is to keep active while listening to your body and adapting to injuries. In particular, regular strength training and yoga have helped the Hong Kong resident to keep feeling young.
