Click the link above to learn how to retrieve your AIA statement from the MyAIA portal or AIA+ app. I’ve also included tutorials on how to update personal information, manage debit/credit card details, and make payments directly on the app if you’re not already familiar with these features.

Klik pautan di atas untuk mengetahui cara mendapatkan penyata AIA anda melalui portal MyAIA atau aplikasi AIA+. Saya juga telah menyertakan panduan tentang cara mengemas kini maklumat peribadi, mengurus butiran kad debit/kredit, dan membuat bayaran terus di aplikasi jika anda belum tahu caranya.

English

If you’re looking for an affordable plan with high coverage, A-Life Sejuta Makna might be just what you need.

Why Choose A-Life Sejuta Makna?

This plan is one of the most affordable options in the life insurance and takaful market, targeting those who want essential coverage without breaking the bank. Here’s a closer look:

• The Advantage: RM 1,000,000 coverage, low payments.
• The Limitations:
  1. This policy doesn’t offer a maturity payout, and coverage stops at age 60. If you outlive the policy, no payout is provided.
  2. It comes with a single coverage option of RM 1,000,000, hence “Sejuta”. There’s no other payout option.

Why Coverage Until 60 is Often Enough

Most people seek life insurance to provide a financial cushion for their families during their peak working years. This period is typically when mortgages, education costs, and general living expenses create a significant financial load. As retirement draws closer, the need for life insurance lessens as debts reduce and financial dependents become adults.

Additional Benefits: Takaful Plan with Conditional Hibah

A unique feature of A-Life Sejuta Makna is the instrument of a conditional hibah payout. This setup allows the policyholder to bypass inheritance laws under the Distribution Act and faraid allocation. Whether the beneficiary is a friend, partner, or adopted child, the individual you name can receive 100% of the payout, free from claims by creditors or legal entities. It’s available for purchase for anyone, Muslims and non-Muslims, Malaysians and non-Malaysians.

Comparison with A-Life Wealth Builder and A-Life Legasi Beyond (Male, age 30 sample)

Bahasa Malaysia

Jika anda mencari pelan mampu milik dengan perlindungan yang tinggi, A-Life Sejuta Makna mungkin tepat untuk anda.

Kenapa Pilih A-Life Sejuta Makna?

Pelan ini adalah antara pilihan yang paling mampu milik dalam pasaran insurans hayat dan takaful, sesuai untuk mereka yang mahu perlindungan asas tanpa membebankan bajet. Berikut adalah perinciannya:

• Kelebihan: Perlindungan RM 1,000,000 dengan bayaran premium yang rendah.
• Kekurangan:
  1. Polisi ini tidak menawarkan bayaran matang, dan perlindungan tamat pada umur 60 tahun. Jika anda hidup melebihi tempoh polisi, tiada bayaran diberikan.
  2. Hanya ada satu pilihan perlindungan iaitu RM 1,000,000, sebab itu ia dinamakan “Sejuta”. Tiada pilihan bayaran lain.

Mengapa Perlindungan Hingga 60 Tahun Sudah Mencukupi

Kebanyakan orang mencari insurans hayat untuk menyediakan pampasan bagi keluarga mereka ketika berada dalam tempoh kerjaya. Tempoh ini biasanya melibatkan beban kewangan yang besar seperti pinjaman rumah, kos pendidikan, dan perbelanjaan harian. Apabila menghampiri usia persaraan, keperluan untuk insurans hayat berkurang kerana hutang semakin berkurang dan tanggungan juga menjadi dewasa.

Manfaat Tambahan: Pelan Takaful dengan Hibah Bersyarat

Salah satu ciri unik A-Life Sejuta Makna ialah instrumen hibah bersyarat. Struktur ini membolehkan pemegang polisi mengatasi undang-undang warisan konvensional di bawah Akta Pembahagian dan pembahagian faraid. Sama ada penerima hibah adalah rakan, pasangan, atau anak angkat, individu yang anda namakan akan menerima 100% pembayaran tanpa tuntutan daripada pemiutang atau badan undang-undang. Pelan ini boleh dibeli oleh sesiapa sahaja, Muslim dan bukan Muslim, warganegara Malaysia atau bukan.

Perbandingan dengan A-Life Wealth Builder dan A-Life Legasi Beyond (contoh untuk Lelaki, usia 30)

Quotation PDFs

A-Life Sejuta Makna.pdf

A-Life Legasi Beyond.pdf

A-Life Wealth Builder.pdf

I’ve prefilled sample values so you can easily see where to replace them with your own numbers.

How-to

1. Cash Flow Statement (CF Stmt):
   • Purpose: Track your income and expenses to calculate your monthly cash flow.
   • Instructions:
     1. Enter your monthly income in the “Income” section (e.g., salary, bonuses, side income).
     2. Record your fixed and variable expenses in the “Expenses” section (e.g., rent, utilities, groceries).
     3. The cash flow section will automatically calculate how much money you have left after expenses or if you’re running a deficit.
     4. Use this to adjust your spending or saving habits.
2. Net Worth Statement (NW Stmt):
   • Purpose: Gives an overall picture of your financial standing by calculating your total assets and liabilities.
   • Instructions:
     1. List your assets in the “Assets” section (e.g., cash, investments, real estate, cars).
     2. Record your liabilities in the “Liabilities” section (e.g., mortgages, credit card debt, loans).
     3. Your net worth will be automatically calculated by subtracting your liabilities from your assets.
     4. Use this to monitor changes in your financial position over time.
3. Insurance Summary:
   • Purpose: Summarise your current insurance coverage and assess if you have enough protection.
   • Instructions:
     1. Input details of your life, health, and critical illness insurance in the relevant sections.
     2. Make sure to enter the sum assured and any additional benefits like personal accident coverage.
     3. This will help you see if your insurance is sufficient or if you need more coverage.
4. BLR, ECR, DCR (Ratios):
   • Purpose: These ratios provide insights into how resilient you are financially.
   • Note: The BLR, ECR, and DCR ratios are auto-completed based on the inputs you fill in the Cash Flow Statement, Net Worth Statement, and Insurance Summary tabs, so you don’t have to manually input anything here.
   • Description:
     1. BLR (Basic Liquidity Ratio): This shows how many months you can survive with your cash savings if your income stops.
     2. ECR (Expense Coverage Ratio): This determines how many years of expenses are covered by your life or critical illness insurance in case of death, total permanent disability, or critical illness.
     3. DCR (Debt Coverage Ratio): This shows the percentage of your debt that can be covered by insurance in case of an emergency.

FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

1. How do I know what numbers to enter for my insurance coverage?
   • Ask me, or check your insurance policy documents for the sum assured for life, critical illness, and personal accident.
2. Why is my BLR showing a very low number of months?
   • This could indicate that your expenses are too high relative to your savings. Consider cutting unnecessary expenses or building an emergency fund to increase this number.
3. What do I do if my net worth is negative?
   • A negative net worth means your liabilities exceed your assets. It’s important to focus on paying down high-interest debts like credit cards or personal loans while building assets through savings and investments.
4. Why are my insurance ratios showing I’m under-insured?
   • If your insurance coverage isn’t sufficient to cover your debts or long-term expenses, you might need to increase your life or critical illness insurance.
5. What if my expenses change month-to-month?
   • For variable expenses, try to average them over the last few months. This will give you a more accurate view of your typical monthly outflow.
6. How often should I update this tool?
   • It’s best to update your cash flow statement and insurance summary at least once every six months or whenever there’s a major financial change (e.g., a new job, significant debt, or insurance updates).
7. How do I use the DCR (Debt Coverage Ratio) if I don’t have insurance for my debts?
   • You need insurance. Call me.

Feel free to download the file and let me know if you have any questions or need further guidance.

Download

ACFC_CFstmt & NWstmt.xlsx

Contents

English

1. Health insurance helps cover the cost of hospital treatment. However, newer policies also require us to bear part of the costs. The primary reason for this is to balance sufficient coverage with affordable premiums.
2. Co-insurance and deductibles are the two main concepts where customers share part of the hospital bill. Co-insurance is a percentage of the total bill, while a deductible is a fixed amount that must be paid before the insurance covers the rest.
3. Deductibles can help reduce our monthly premiums because we bear some of the risk of treatment costs. With AIA, there are now several deductible options, including the new ones: RM0/RM300 (available for existing customers only), RM500, RM500 SMART, RM500 + 20% coinsurance (capped at RM20k), and RM20k deductible.
4. For the RM500 SMART option, please refer to the following table and infographic to understand how it works. This SMART deductible operates differently depending on the type of treatment received and whether a SMART panel is consulted.

Requires visits to SMART panel GP & specialist before admission, except for emergencies. Otherwise, the 20% copayment will be imposed on top of the RM500 deductible.

Bahasa Malaysia

1. Kad medical membantu membayar kos rawatan di hospital. Walau bagaimanapun, polisi-polisi baru memerlukan kita membayar sebahagian dari kos tersebut. Sebabnya mengapa ia wujud adalah untuk mengekalkan keseimbangan antara perlindungan yang mencukupi dan kos caruman yang berpatutan.
2. Co-insurans dan deductible adalah dua konsep utama di mana pelanggan membayar sebahagian dari bil hospital. Co-insurans adalah peratusan dari jumlah bil, manakala deductible adalah jumlah tetap yang perlu dibayar sebelum insurans menanggung selebihnya.
3. Deductible boleh membantu mengurangkan caruman bulanan kita kerana kita menanggung sebahagian dari risiko kos rawatan. Di AIA, ada beberapa pilihan deductible, termasuk yang baru iaitu RM0/RM300 (hanya untuk pelanggan sedia ada), RM500, RM500 SMART, RM500 + 20% co-insurans (maksimum RM20k), dan deductible RM20k.
4. Untuk pilihan RM500 SMART, sila rujuk jadual dan infografik berikut untuk memahami bagaimana ia berfungsi. Deductible SMART ini beroperasi dengan cara yang berbeza bergantung kepada jenis rawatan yang dan sekiranya panel SMART dikunjungi.

Memerlukan lawatan ke GP panel SMART & pakar sebelum kemasukan ke hospital, kecuali untuk kecemasan. Jika tidak, 20% pembayaran bersama (copayment) akan dikenakan di atas deduktibel RM500.

SMART DEDUCTIBLE

1. Please see the info below. Let me know if you have questions. There are more images of examples of how the copayment will be imposed if the steps are not followed. To avoid confusion, I will do away with sharing of those other images here unless necessary (via whatsapp).

Definition of emergency

1. Emergency Treatment means treatment in the event whereby immediate medical attention for preservation of life or limb is required for Disability which are sudden and severe failing which will be life threatening or lead to serious deterioration of health. 
2. Upon admission, an Initial Guarantee Letter shall be issued with X SMART Co-Insurance/Takaful applied. After treatment is done, AIA will issue a Final Guarantee Letter (FGL) based on the diagnosis of the SMART Medical Practitioner. If the illness/condition indeed requires Emergency Treatment, then the FGL will be issued with RM500 Deductible only, else, X SMART Co-Insurance/Takaful shall apply. 
3. Emergency Treatment at a Non-SMART Panel Provider shall be subjected to X SMART Co-Insurance/Takaful. For Emergency Treatment due to Accident only, AIA will waive the X SMART Co-Insurance/Takaful regardless of type of hospital. 
4. What are the examples of conditions that require Emergency Treatment?  Examples of common conditions/symptoms requiring Emergency Treatment (The list is not exhaustive and not limited to): 
   • Accidental injuries (Burns/Falls/Drowning/Poison ingestion/Electrocution etc.)
   • Orthopedic emergencies (Hip fractures/Compartment Syndrome/Spine fracture/Limb amputation etc.
   • Extensive burns (> than 25% body surface area) or involve facial region.  Vascular injuries/major bleeding.
   • Stroke/Brain Injury/Transient Ischemic Attacks.

SMART Panel List

SMART_Panel_Provider_Listing_v25f3a332e-2a1c-487f-b4fe-0816c97dda08.pdf

Contents

English

Some of you may have read the CodeBlue post on copayments or seen derivatives of it on social media. If you’re wondering whether your existing plan is affected by this, the answer is no. Bank Negara says:

• With effect from 1 September 2024, insurers and takaful operators (ITOs) must offer consumers an option to purchase MHIT products with a co-payment feature.
• Consumers who have already purchased MHIT products without a co-payment feature can continue with their existing MHIT products at renewal.
• ITOs can also continue to offer MHIT products without a co-payment feature to new consumers.

Reference: Bank Negara Malaysia

As for AIA, our newer plans now all have deductibles. So far, existing policies are not affected. In theory, yes, the policy terms can be amended based on what’s stated in the contract:

“We reserve the right to amend the terms and provisions of this Policy by giving three (3) months prior notice in writing, and such amendment will be applicable from the next renewal of this Policy. No alteration to this Policy shall be valid unless authorised by Us and such approval is endorsed on this Policy.”

However, this has never been done before. What has happened a few times over the past few years have been medical repricings (premium increases). I hope this clarifies things.

Bahasa Malaysia

Anda mungkin telah membaca artikel CodeBlue mengenai copayment atau melihatnya di media sosial. Sekiranya anda tertanya sama ada pelan sedia ada anda terjejas oleh perkara ini, jawapannya adalah tidak. Kenyataan dari Bank Negara:

• Berkuat kuasa 1 September 2024, penanggung insurans dan pengendali takaful (insurers and takaful operators, ITO) dikehendaki menawarkan pilihan kepada pengguna untuk membeli produk MHIT yang mempunyai ciri-ciri pembayaran bersama.
• Pengguna yang telah membeli produk MHIT tanpa ciri-ciri pembayaran bersama boleh mengekalkan produk MHIT sedia ada mereka.
• ITO juga boleh terus menawarkan produk MHIT tanpa ciri-ciri pembayaran bersama kepada pengguna baharu.

Rujukan: Bank Negara Malaysia

Di AIA, pelan baru kami kini mempunyai deductible. Setakat ini, polisi sedia ada tidak terjejas. Secara teori, ya, terma polisi boleh dipinda berdasarkan apa yang dinyatakan dalam kontrak:

“We reserve the right to amend the terms and provisions of this Policy by giving three (3) months prior notice in writing, and such amendment will be applicable from the next renewal of this Policy. No alteration to this Policy shall be valid unless authorized by Us and such approval is endorsed on this Policy.”

Walau bagaimanapun, ini tidak pernah dilakukan sebelum ini. Apa yang telah berlaku beberapa kali sejak beberapa tahun kebelakangan ini adalah penetapan semula harga perubatan (peningkatan caruman).

Contents

English

This year, AIA has revised the premium pricing for specific product portfolios.

Some of you may have noticed that your premium has increased, or that you received a medical upgrade campaign WhatsApp from AIA, or both.

A summary of what can be done:

1. Leave policy with the new increment
2. ⁠⁠Reduce it back manually if you’re not comfortable with the increment.
   1. However, since the medical cost has increased and if the premium increase is reduced (the premium stays the same), that means the policy sustainability (longevity) will be shorter
3. Accept the medical upgrade which might have even further increase, but gives you much more benefits than leaving the current medical plan as is
   1. If you’re not sure you’re offered, do check with me 🙂
   2. The upgrade can be done via AIA+ app
   3. Some of the added benefits are: 10 million annual limit, no limit of days per year for admissions, health screening limit increase to RM500 annually
   4. The downside to the upgrade would be that the new deductible increases to RM500 from RM0 / RM300.

Bahasa Malaysia

Penyesuaian semula harga premium dan tawaran medical upgrade

Tahun ini, AIA telah menyemak semula harga premium untuk portfolio produk tertentu.

Sesetengah daripada anda mungkin menyedari bahawa premium anda telah meningkat, atau anda menerima mesej kempen medical upgrade melalui WhatsApp daripada AIA, atau kedua-duanya sekali.

Ringkasan tentang apa yang boleh dilakukan:

1. Biarkan polisi dengan kenaikan baru.
2. Kurangkan secara manual jika anda tidak selesa dengan kenaikan tersebut.
   1. Walau bagaimanapun, memandangkan kos perubatan telah meningkat dan jika kenaikan premium dikurangkan (premium kekal sama), ini bermakna keberlanjutan (jangka hayat) polisi akan menjadi lebih pendek.
3. Bersetuju dengan medical upgrade yang mempunyai kenaikan harga juga, tetapi memberi anda lebih banyak faedah daripada membiarkan pelan perubatan semasa seperti sedia ada.
   1. Jika anda tidak pasti anda ditawarkan, boleh check dengan saya 🙂
   2. Upgrade ini boleh dilakukan melalui app AIA+
   3. Beberapa faedah tambahan adalah: had tahunan 10 juta, tiada had berapa hari setahun untuk kemasukan wad, had medical check-up meningkat kepada RM500 setiap tahun.
   4. Kekurangan kepada peningkatan adalah bahawa deduktibel baru meningkat kepada RM500 daripada RM0 / RM300.

Contents

English

This post is generally applicable to Malaysians only (with some exceptions), as most policies of non-Malaysia citizens have amended terms.

Terms for claims abroad are generally the same as claims domestically, with some differences:

• Claims are via reimbursement only, not cashless.
• The limit of being abroad is 90 days consecutively. If you’re abroad longer than that and there’s a claim in a foreign currency (after the 90-day period), it’s not claimable.
• The claim paid out will be limited to what it would have cost in Malaysia, based on bill itemisation. What do I mean by this?
  • For example, let’s say the typical itemised invoice for 1 week of dengue admission in Malaysia adds up to MYR 10,000.
  • If we are admitted for dengue in Indonesia (with cheaper healthcare), the bill is IDR 10.000.000, and that’s less than the MYR bill, no problem, it can be claimed in full.
  • If we are admitted in Singapore and it’s SGD $10,000, then it likely won’t be claimable fully as some of the items cost more than they do in Malaysia.
• If there’s a medical emergency abroad and the estimated cost of the hospital bill is astronomical, and unlikely to be born out of pocket first by the insured, AIA can arrange for a medical evacuation and bring the patient back to Malaysia. These type of cases will be evaluated on a case by case basis.
• If you’re traveling to a higher cost of living country where the healthcare cost is also likely higher, it’s encouraged to get a travel insurance with your flight ticket. Or if you travel frequently, you can get an annual travel insurance.

Cheers. - wan

Bahasa Malaysia

Terma claim di luar negara sama seperti claim di Malaysia, tetapi ada beberapa perbezaan:

• Claim hanya “pay and claim”, tidak cashless.
• Had berada di luar negara ialah 90 hari berturut-turut, dimana sekiranya selepas dari tempoh tersebut, anda dianggap bukan pemastautin di Malaysia dan claim selepas dari tempoh tersebut dalam matawang asing tidak boleh claim.
• Claim hanya diluluskan mengikut had kadar bil rincian di Malaysia. Saya akan perjelaskan:
  • Contohnya, bil rincian untuk masuk wad disebabkan denggi di Malaysia berjumlah RM 10,000.
  • Sekiranya kita masuk wad di Indonesia dimana kos perubatan sedikit lebih murah, katakanlah bil denggi yang sama tersebut jumlahnya IDR 10.000.000, maka tiada masalah, claim boleh diluluskan sepenuhnya sebab ianya lebih murah dari Malaysia.
  • Kalau kita masuk wad di Singapura pula, dan bilnya jadi SGD $10,000, maka claim tidak dapat diluluskan dengan sepenuhnya kerana kosnya lebih mahal dari di Malaysia.
• Sekiranya ada kecemasan perubatan di luar negara, dan anggaran kos akan sangat tinggi dan tidak mungkin untuk kebanyakan orang bayar pay and claim, maka AIA boleh uruskan untuk medical evacuation, iaitu hantar doctor dan jemput patient dari luar negara balik ke Malaysia. Kes-kes macam ini akan dipertimbangkan oleh AIA mengikut situasi, dan saya tiada panduan jelas untuk tahu apa kes yang dijamin lulus ataupun tidak.
• Sekiranya anda ke negara yang lebih tinggi kos sara hidup, dimana kemungkinan kos perubatan juga lebih tinggi, maka anda digalakkan untuk ambil insuran perjalanan dengan tiket pesawat anda. Sekiranya anda kerap ke luar negara, lebih sesuai ambil insuran perjalanan tahunan terus.

Sekian untuk hari ini. - wan

Contents

English

Dear friends,

Last week, our agency visited our partner agency in JB for a joint final quarter planning, and we invited a few Singapore AIA agents to share their ways of conducting sales.

Among the many things they shared, there’s one tool I think is suitable for customers to use for their own review and planning, and I shall attach the excel file here.

It’s usually done as part of Policy review by agents, but it’s also useful to review your own insurance policies as well as savings (EPF and non-EPF) that you have and you can update it from time to time without having to deal with unsolicited advice from other parties.

I have done some work making this table more accessible to the layman, but should you find difficulty in using the excel or have suggestions for improvement, please let me know. Some things to note:

• There might be acronyms here which may not be readily understood.
• There might be certain Singapore-specific references here (which I’ve mostly removed but I may have overlooked some).
• The formula determining your shortfall in retirement planning, critical illness coverage and death coverage may seem high. That’s ok, don’t be intimidated. You can adjust the formula to what you feel is more attainable or realistic.

I hope you find it useful. – wan

Bahasa Malaysia

Apa khabar sahabat,

Minggu lalu, agensi kami melawat pejabat agensi partner kami di JB untuk sesi perancangan suku tahun akhir. Kami juga menjemput beberapa ejen AIA dari Singapura supaya mereka boleh berkongsi ilmu jurujual mereka.

Banyak yang mereka kongsi, dan saya rasa salah satu instrumen yang mereka kongsi boleh digunakan oleh pelanggan untuk perancangan dan muhasabah sendiri, dan saya kongsikan di post ini.

Ianya berguna supaya kita boleh semak kembali insuran sendiri serta simpanan (EPF dan non-EPF) dan kita boleh kemaskini dari masa ke semasa tanpa diganggu pihak lain.

Saya telah edit excel tersebut supaya ianya lebih mudah digunakan dan difahami, tapi sekiranya ada yang tidak faham atau ada maklum balas supaya saya boleh memperbaiki, boleh maklumkan ke saya. Saya minta maaf terlebih dahulu sekiranya:

• Singkatan yang digunakan mungkin ada yang faham.
• Mungkin ada item/perkataan yang unik kepada Singapura sahaja, tapi saya sudah delete sebanyak yang boleh.
• Formula yang menunjukkan berapa kita kurang untuk simpanan persaraan, penyakit kritikal dan pampasan akibat kematian, dan mungkin jumlahnya agak tinggi. Tapi tak perlu risau, kita boleh edit formula tersebut supaya lebih sesuai dengan aspirasi masing-masing.

Saya harap ia berguna untuk anda. – wan

9 Box Summary Template copy.xlsx

Contents

Bahasa Malaysia

• mulai 11 Ogos 2022, claim follow-up boleh dapat GL, sudah tidak perlu bayar sendiri dan claim lagi apabila ke hospital.
• caranya, dari app MyAIA, tekan button “Guarantee Letter Request”, dan GL akan diluluskan.
• sekiranya customer tidak dapat berbuat demikian, hospital pun boleh tolong request-kan (tapi agent tak boleh requestkan ya, mesti dari app customer atau hospital).
• sekiranya nak submit claim manual seperti yang sedia ada sekarang, masih boleh.

• harap dapat download app MyAIA sekiranya belum.

  

English

• starting 11 August 2022, Guarantee Letter (GL) can be issued for follow-up claims. This means that customers don’t need to pay first and claim afterwards.
• From MyAIA app, locate the “Guarantee Letter Request” tab, and GL will be issued.
• alternatively,  hospital can submit the Post Hospitalisation GL request to AIA on behalf of the customer (but the agent is unable to, it has to be from patient or hospital).
• manual claims are still possible.

• please download MyAIA app if you have not already.

  

Cheers. - wan

By: Wan Muthalib

I tried many things - avoiding fatty food, skipping meals, the subway diet and nothing seemed to work. The subway diet actually did work but it was not sustainable. I just kept getting hungry and tired all the time and it lasted for only 3 weeks, and how long was I going to keep going on subway for, forever? There has to be a better way, one that I can do forever and not having to put too much thought of what or how much I ate. I didn’t find the answer then, and I submitted that this was due to my genes and there’s nothing I can do about it.

Sometime in 2018, a friend shared his weight loss photo on Facebook. In the comments, he mentioned he’s on keto and that it involves eliminating carbs and sugar entirely. I didn’t look it up further, and I thought there must be more to it, it can’t be that simple. But only a few days later, I met a client and she looked a lot slimmer and told me she’s on keto diet. She explained it the same way my friend on Facebook did - no carbs and sugar. That’s when I began seriously considering it.

First thing that comes to mind was what to eliminate from my current diet. I didn’t consume a lot of rice to begin with, but my meals were still carb-heavy with noodles, pasta and fruit. Wherever I ate out, carbs were the base of every food. I googled what’s keto and what’s not, and how people on keto prepared their meals. It was intimidating at the beginning, since I’m not a good cook.

So I just picked a few ingredients at the beginning and experimented. What’s important is that I had a sufficient amount of fat, protein and fibres without any of them coming from carbs and sugar. In my case it was chicken, cheese, brocoli and eggs. When I attend events, I skipped the rice and ate protein and vegetables. There was a period of adjustment. Every time I went grocery shopping, half the time was googling the carb content. For the first two weeks, it felt horrible. It’s something called the keto flu. I felt like I was getting a fever because the body craves sugar. Whenever I accidentally consumed something which has carbs above the keto threshold (about 30g per day), I’d feel my body shiver for a while until the sugar left the system.

Then there’s the good part. Once our body is on ketosis, we’d feel less hungry. That’s because when the body runs out of sugar, it will have to tap to our stored fat. This transition from sugar to fat feels very uncomfortable, so it alerts the brain to go eat again. On keto, when the consumed fat is used up, the transition to burning stored fat is unnoticeable. I’m pretty sure I’m butchering the science behind this, but that’s the layman explanation on how it works.

And work it did. In the first 30 days, I lost 10kg. In the following months, I lost another 10kg. So in total, I lost 20kg. I couldn’t believe it myself, my clothes got loose very quickly and I didn’t want to buy new clothes sooner in case I lost more weight. Everyone I knew who saw the transformation wanted a keto lesson, my self esteem got better and I also got more Tinder matches. No calorie counting and no portion control, easy.

Can you do it forever? Yes. Personally, I had a setback, but it was intentional. I got into a long term relationship in 2020, and my partner introduced me to many types of food I hadn’t tried before; mainly chinese food, and I didn’t want keto to get in the way of that, so I consumed carbs and my weight increased again. Soon enough it didn’t stop with chinese food but all types of food and snacks. My clothes got tighter again and now I’m back to being keto-compliant and hopefully lose weight at the same rate I did previously.

Is keto healthy? It’s debatable, but my blood test results show that everything’s normal, and I’m in the camp that believes it’s safe. Is keto the best diet? It is for me, but the best diet is whichever you can commit to. Or maybe dieting isn’t for you and you prefer working out harder to be caloric-deficit, that’s also ok. Or maybe, you don’t have to change anything at all, as long as you’re happy and healthy 🙂

Cheers. - wan

By: Wan Muthalib

https://wan-m.notion.site/Keto-Diet-af037c2af3de466caf027cfadf590f43