Taxi Driver Loses 20kg In A Year To Fight Prediabetes, Urges Fellow Cabbies To Prioritise Health
Many jobs come with their own set of health risks. For taxi drivers, prolonged sitting and irregular meals put them at higher risk of developing certain health conditions.
Despite the sedentary nature of his job, Mr Ng – a taxi driver in Singapore – managed to lose 20kg in less than a year.
Sharing his weight loss journey on Facebook, Mr Ng hopes to inspire fellow cabbies to prioritise health — their most valuable asset.
Speaking to MS News, Mr Ng revealed that his wake-up call to get fitter came from ferrying diabetic passengers who shared their experiences.
Taxi driver loses 20kg in less than a year
Sharing in the Facebook group ‘Singapore Taxi Driver‘, Mr Ng says his weight-loss journey started in Apr 2020, during ‘Circuit Breaker’.
He was diagnosed with prediabetes in early-2020, which puts him at high risk of developing diabetes. He also weighed close to 100kg.
Image courtesy from Mr Ng
Mr Ng shared that he focused primarily on his income then, neglecting his physical well-being and forgoing exercises for the past 13 years.
Prolonged sitting, irregular meals, and chomping on high-energy junk food didn’t help either.
Speaking to MS News, Mr Ng said he had hypertension and high blood cholesterol too.
Wake-up call comes from diabetic passengers
Despite his doctors’ advice to lose weight, the 55-year-old’s wake-up call came from his encounters with diabetic passengers.
As a taxi driver, he frequently ferried passengers going for dialysis — most of them ended up with kidney failure from diabetes.
Others also had amputations, which are common among diabetic patients, too.
Hearing their experiences made Mr Ng realise that that wasn’t the kind of life he wanted to live,
I owe it to myself and my family to regain my health.
Combines HIIT exercises & early meals
The 55-year-old then embarked on his weight-loss journey, combining exercising and dieting.
He shared with MS News that he started off with a set of 8 HIIT exercises, which included simple tasks like arm and leg raising.
As he got progressively fitter and developed better endurance, he started jogging and introduced other forms of resistance training.
Shedding 20kg in less than a year, he now has an alternating resistance and cardio exercise routine.
When asked about his diet, Mr Ng says that he mainly switched up his meal timings.
Like many Singaporeans, he used to have late dinners at around 8pm. However, he has now pushed it forward to 3-4pm prior to his workouts.
Afterwards, he’d nimble on some nuts or a hard-boiled egg should the hunger pangs strike.
Crucially, he also stopped eating fast food from convenience stores, such as chocolates and chips which were his main sources of calories.
Urges fellow drivers to prioritise health
Sharing his experience online, Mr Ng urged fellow taxi drivers to seriously consider a more active lifestyle, if they are not already leading one.
This comes amid many cabbies having similar health issues as Mr Ng, with some suffering sudden strokes or heart attacks.
Even though their job requires a more sedentary lifestyle than most, they can combat it by spending more time exercising and sticking to a healthy diet.
According to Mr Ng, his path to reversing diabetes started out as a struggle. However, all it took was self-discipline and a sense of responsibility.
After all, we do owe it to ourselves and our loved ones to stay healthy.
Kudos to Mr Ng for his incredible feat
Just like Mr Ng’s family and friends, we at MS News are also proud of his achievements.
We wish him all the best on his fitness journey and hope that his experience encourages and inspires others who are struggling to get started on a more active lifestyle.
To quote Mr Ng, “at age 55, [if] I can do it, so can you.”
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Featured image courtesy from Mr Ng.
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