Life-changing diagnosis
Radio producer gets bitter news and gives up on his ‘sweet’ lifestyle
Radio producer gives up ‘sweet’ lifestyle after bitter news.
PETALING JAYA: He was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes four years ago after his sister, who is a doctor, told him he “smelled sweet”.
Radio producer and presenter Umapagan Ampikaipakan said he was advised to take the HBA1C blood test, which is done on people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus, to check their average blood sugar levels.
“It also helps to have a family of doctors,” said Umapagan, whose father is a chest physician.
After the test results, he said he had to go through a complete lifestyle change, which included watching his diet and exercising more.
“Having a desk job requires sitting for long periods of time, so I have to find ways to be active.
“At work, now we have an option to stand during our radio shows,” he said.
The first order of the day for Umapagan, 35, was to cut back on food from mamak eateries, especially roti canai.
His drink orders also changed from sugar-laden to kosong.
Umapagan’s biggest hurdle was to reduce his white rice intake.
“It is difficult not to have rice. Substitutes like brown rice and quinoa are also expensive,” he said, adding that his food expenses, nonetheless, increased.
Before his diagnosis, Umapagan said he was actually a vegetarian.
“You can still be a diabetic although you are a vegetarian,” he said.
His dietician told him that vegetarians would fill up on carbohydrates, which was not good.
Also, he has always had a sweet tooth but now he has reduced the sweets, chocolates and biscuits.
“I am fine by myself, but when in the office, where there are a lot of snacks, it is horrible,” he joked.
Nowadays, he said, the important thing in controlling his diabetes was to have a balanced lifestyle.
Umapagan added that he got on his elliptical machine at home in the mornings before work.
“Because of my busy schedule, I do very little outdoor activities, and by the time I get home about 9pm, I have no mood to go for a jog,” he said.
But he said being diabetic did not mean that he could not have his “cheat days”.
“Just don’t go nuts,” Umapagan quipped.
He also has to significantly reduce the amount of rice in his banana leaf meal.
“It’s less than a handful now. I just pile up on the vegetables,” he said.
With Malaysia being the “fattest” country in South-East Asia, he concurred that Malaysians had bad self-control when it came to food.
“Some people think that medication is a cure for diabetes, which is not true.
“We can’t eat whatever we want. I think if I lose between 5kg and 8kg, I can wean off the medication,” Umapagan said.
“Many Malaysians go undiagnosed because they don’t take it seriously.
“Also, many people don’t bother looking at food labels. Now I do – there is a difference between 5g of sugar and 13g of sugar.”