Since summer is coming and a lot of people will be trying to lose weight for beach season, I figured it would be the perfect time to post about this subject. I recently started a Ketogenic diet and wanted to measure my body fat so I could compare it again a few months down the line and the most accurate way to get your body fat measured is with a Bod Pod.
A couple of years back I posted briefly about the Bod Pod when I passed by the then recently opened SPARK Athletic Center. The Bod Pod is much more accurate than biolectric anaylysis (the paddles you hold while standing on a scale) and much more accurate than skinfold calipers which a lot of people seem to think is very accurate. Recently I was made aware by a reader of a small nutrition center in Shaab that also has a Bod Pod and the best part is, it’s available for both men and women.
The picture on top is of the Bod Pod, you basically sit in it for a few seconds while the machine uses air pressure to calculate everything. Some of the information the Bod Pod will be able to provide you with is your body fat percentage, your fat mass, your lung capacity and your resting metabolic rate.
The whole process takes a few minutes and you could be in and out of there in less than 30 minutes. The cost of getting your measurements taken is KD20. If you’re interested the place is called Your Choice and they’re located next to where Edo used to in Shaab (Same building as Ryoog). You need to call for an appointment on 22621117 and here is the location on [Google Maps]
Last week I had a disaster of an experience with Aramex since they had misplaced a package of mine. What actually pissed me off was the lack of transparency from their support team. My package was coming from Germany and like all Shop & Ship packages stop in Bahrain before heading to Kuwait. On February 13th my package left Bahrain and after no updates for a few days I decided to contact support via their live chat. According to Aramex, my package was clearing customs, no biggie so I continued to wait. By February 21st, over a week after my package left Bahrain my tracking number had still not been updated. So I contacted support again and they told me they’ll check on my package and have someone call me.
Since I was frustrated, I decided to vent my frustration to Aramex on their twitter account. They replied back telling me they had checked on my package and it was currently clearing customs. That didn’t help with my frustration since my package was just a pair of sneakers and I didn’t know why it needed 8 days to clear. Since it wasn’t urgent though I was like whatever. Then, a few minutes later I get a call from Aramex telling me that they can’t find my package and they needed a few days to try and figure out where it was. I was like WTF? You guys just told me on twitter that my package was in customs. The guy over the phone told me the people managing the twitter account didn’t have access to check my package status.
So I went back on twitter now noticeably upset since I couldn’t understand why they would tell me my package was in customs while I was also being told my package was lost. In the end though it looked like the twitter account people were right while the person that called me was wrong since my package ended up getting it’s status updated then then delivered the following day.
For some reason, Aramex have recently turned into a big mess and I just wish they were more transparent. Things happen and consumers are mostly understanding. When my internet connection at home is down, first thing I do when I call support up is ask them if the problem is from their side or mine. If they’re facing issues I just reply telling them ok just wanted to check and then hang up. If my package usually takes 3 days from Bahrain to arrive to my door in Kuwait and now suddenly it’s been 8 days and my package was still not delivered, something is clearly wrong so fill me in and don’t act like it’s business as usual. If you’re having issues with flights from Bahrain, local customs officials being lazy or whatever the reason, I’d like to know so I can be understanding.
In any case the reason I wanted to post about Aramex in the first place is that we can now finally pay online with Knet. You’d think this would have been their first feature on their website but up until now we could only pay by credit card or PayPal. Knet obviously makes things a lot more convenient.
Mercer’s 2016 Quality of Living rankings were just released and it’s not that much different from last years. Nearly everyone in the region dropped a couple of spots but Kuwait managed to move up one point to 124th place world wide. Regionally though Kuwait still trails behind UAE, Oman and Qatar.
1 – Vienna, Austria
75 – Dubai, UAE (-1)
81 – Abu Dhabi, UAE (-4)
107 – Muscat, Oman (-3)
110 – Doha, Qatar (-2)
124 – Kuwait City, Kuwait (+1)
133 – Manama, Bahrain (-3)
164 – Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (+1)
165 – Jeddah, Saudi Arabia (+1)
230 – Baghdad, Iraq
Last week I got an email from the US Embassy asking me if I would be interested in a very exclusive one-day trip onboard a U.S. Navy Aircraft Carrier, the USS Harry S. Truman. The occasion? In celebration of Kuwait’s 25th Liberation Anniversary. I replied super excited right away saying yes and then spent the whole weekend snowboarding nervously hoping I wouldn’t fall and end up breaking anything so I wouldn’t miss out on this once in a life time opportunity.
Yesterday morning I woke up at 6:30AM and got all my stuff ready so I could be at the embassy before 8:15AM which was our departure time. I originally was planning on taking my big proper camera with a few lenses but last minute decided not to. Last year I decided I was going to spend less time worrying about capturing perfect shots and instead truly take in and enjoy whatever I was experiencing without having to share it with the world. So I decided to pack my small Sony RX1 (which is a legit camera anyway), my Kindle, a battery pack for my phone, motion sickness pills and a small bottle of water.
Once everyone had arrived to the embassy we took off to the military airbase located next to Sheikh Saad Terminal. After a quick safety briefing we headed onto the runway and got ready to board the Navy C-2 Aircraft that was waiting for us on the tarmac. We put on our lifejackets, helmets, ear protectors and goggles and then started boarding the super tiny plane. We were around 10 people in total including the US Ambassador, some members from the ministry of defence and ministry of interior, as well as a few civilians which included myself. We took off from the airbase and headed towards the aircraft carrier which was located somewhere in the Gulf between Kuwait and Qatar. It took us around 35 minutes to get to it and before we landed we were told to brace ourselves because the plane would hook onto the runway we would go from 240km/h to 0 in just two seconds. Thankfully the motion sickness pills worked and the landing wasn’t too dramatic.
Once onboard the aircraft carrier thats when everything became surreal. I grew up watching Top Gun and Hot Shots and wanting to be an air force pilot. I even wore my vintage Porsche Design watch for this trip, the same watch Tom Cruise wore in Top Gun. So walking on the flight deck being saluted by the sailors as we headed into the ship felt like I was on the set of a movie.
We were greeted inside by the commander and commanding officer of the carrier along with other members of the Navy. After a bit of mingling we were geared up again and taken back to the flight deck where we would watch fighter jets take off and land from up close. What a ridiculous experience that was, I was all over the place, I wanted to snapchat, shoot video, take photos and enjoy the moment all at the same time. I was on a flight deck of a US Navy aircraft carrier watching fighter jets take off right in front of me and I wanted that moment to stay with me forever. I don’t think I’ve even taken it all in yet and its been more than 24 hours already.
After watching planes take off and land and then walk around the flight deck a bit we were taken on a tour of the bridge, command center and the hanger bay. The carrier is obviously ginormous with over 5000 people onboard and everyone always referring to it as a floating city which it really is. I usually get sea sick on boats but because the carrier is so huge it doesn’t sway in the water at all, it’s pretty much like being on island. We were pretty much allowed to walk around all the spaces we were in pretty freely without any restrictions. I was told I could take as many photos as I wanted of anything I wanted without having to worry about anything. They were extremely professional so if there were screens with any classified information on them they would just swap them with non classified information before we walked in.
During the tour I tried my best to listen to all the interesting information that was being shared to us but honestly I spent most of the time just aimlessly walking around in awe or just starring out of the window watching fighter jets take off and land or watching the rainbow warriors (aka Skittles) work on the flight deck. It was all so mesmerizing.
For the final leg of the tour we were taken to the hanger bay which is basically their underground parking and garage for the jets. I was actually really looking forward to this part of the tour since I had never seen the hanger bay neither in pictures nor on TV.
You really get an idea of how freakin’ huge this ship is when you’re in the hanger bay, not only is it large enough to park plans on the flight deck, but it’s so large that it can park planes and helicopters below deck as well. Crazy shit.
Once our tour was over we were given some souvenirs to keep and then geared up again to fly back to Kuwait. The takeoff was horrifying, crazy fucking shit and holly fuck all at the same time. Because the aircraft carrier runway is so short, all planes use a catapult system to help them hit 0 to 270km/h in just 2 seconds. To give you an idea of how crazy fucking fast that is, the rollercoaster at Ferrari World which I thought was ridiculously fast hits 240km/h in 4.9 seconds. So I’m not even sure how to describe to you the feeling of being blasted off the carrier at a beyond insane speed while sitting on seats that face the back of the plane. I was wearing earplugs as well as an over the ear hearing protector but once the catapult launches it just sounds like a rocket taking off. For the couple of seconds in which you are accelerating at full speed you’re basically in complete shock at how anything could be so violently fast. And then you hit euphoria. There is a moment when you reach the end of the runway and fly off the edge, everything suddenly goes quiet and you feel like you’re floating in your seat. I swear this must be exactly how astronauts feel when they leave earths atmosphere and reach space. What a ride, it’s killed rollercoasters for me for the rest of my life.
You know, I blog for fun and for I blog a living, and because I’ve been doing it daily and for such a long time, I don’t really appreciate the blog sometimes. It’s just something I do. Then something big like this happens and it reminds me that what I do is somewhat meaningful and it reenergizes me all over again. Over the past 11 years I’ve experienced some ridiculous shit that I wouldn’t have ever dreamed of experiencing if it wasn’t for this blog. I got to spend a day on an aircraft carrier, thats just unreal. Friday is my blogs 11 year anniversary so this was an amazing way to celebrate. Definitely a big thank you to everyone at the US Embassy for hooking me up.
Blue Zone is a juice bar that just opened up a few days ago at Sultan Center Shaab. For those of you who’ve been to Sultan Center Shaab, the juice bar opened up near the main entrance once you walk in where the sliced fruits used to be on display.
I was at Sultan earlier tonight and spotted a friend sitting at the bar. Turns out the place was for a relative of his, Khalidah Alessa, a former health coach was behind the bar busy baking a hemp seed and date protein bar. She’s managed to turn the little corner into a cute space serving healthy cold-pressed juices, smoothies and small treats. She even has wheat grass shots and will start serving healthy breakfast options soon.
If you’re interested in trying Blue Zone out, they’re open from 8AM to 8PM and you can check out their instagram account @bluezonekw
Although the title sounds like a joke it isn’t. Bayt Lothan, the non-profit organization that has become an important community center hosting a variety of workshops and events is being evicted from their current property in Salmiya. They’ve been active from that location for the past 20 years but late last year they were told they would have to move out by the end of March.
Even though the current Bayt Lothan house used to belong to one of the former Amirs, the current owners want the house back so they could turn it into something commercial. The rumor is that the house will be demolished and a mall will be built in it’s place although based on the land size I think it will probably be turned into a food complex.
Q8 Books whom are located in Bayt Lothan are also being forced to leave although they don’t have anywhere to go. Q8 Books is hoping someone could provide them with space as Bayt Lothan were providing the space to them for free. So not only does it suck that Bayt Lothan is being pushed out but Q8 Books as well. Both are very important culturally and it’s sad to see this happening.
We don’t need more malls and we definitely don’t need more food complexes.
Recently, I decided to measure my body fat percent on a body composition machine and boy oh boy was I nowhere near happy by the numbers. I’ve been going to my workouts religiously and watching what I eat, for the most part. My pant size has gone down 2 sizes, I’m much more toned and definitely stronger than I’ve ever been before. Why haven’t my numbers changed?? Here are some reasons as to why numbers do not really reflect that change that is DEFINITELY going on within you.
Equipment used to measure body fat percent is not always accurate!
The most common of all equipment to measure body fat percent is the bioelectrical impedance, and despite the fact that this machine is commonly available and easy to use, it is probably the least accurate way to measure body fat percentages. Bioelectrical impedance works by sending electrical impulses through the body and measuring how long they take to return; the quicker the return of the impulses are equates to a leaner body (fat hinders the movement of the impulses). This technique is not always accurate because hydration levels can also affect how fast the electrical impulses move through the body. The more hydrated you are the faster the impulses move; therefore if your body was somewhat dehydrated, you will be getting a false reading in regards to your body fat percent. The calipers are probably the most accurate, BUT you need to have a skilled person taking measurements and the measurements need to be taken in the same place at different times to ensure accuracy. It can be hard to remember the exact skin-fold that was measured previously.
The scale and BMI are the worst measures of weight loss.
Both the scale and body mass index (BMI) do not take your muscle mass into account. Therefore if you are someone that is working out and doing a lot of resistance training – you are building muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat. So, your weight might increase or stay the same regardless of the fact that you are actually losing fat and dropping in size. If you are not exercising and only restricting your food then using a scale to monitor your weight loss could actually be beneficial. Although to be completely honest with you, I do not like the term weight loss and prefer to focus on fat loss. Taking a look at BMI, it is a calculation of your weight and height. It does not take into account how much of your weight actually comes from muscle or fat, therefore it is the worst indication of whether or not you are at a healthy weight range.
The numbers may frustrate you, but don’t let them bring you down! Numbers do not always reflect everything. As long as you feel good about yourself, then that is all that matters. Make sure you are exercising, eating and sleeping well. Remember, any change you make should be a lifestyle one and not a temporary one. I hope this helps you if you’ve been let down by your weight.
Post by Hyatt Al Sayegh, a Clinical Dietitian and Dr. Sears Health Coach.
Founder of Fork Fed.
Over the weekend the Kuwait Cats Club hosted “the biggest and most prestigious cat show in the Middle East”. I didn’t know this event was taking place which is why it wasn’t posted on my weekend to do list, I just found out about it by accident while on the Madeenah Tour of Bnaid Al Gar. Turns out it was a two day event taking place on Friday and Saturday but I only got to see the last couple of hours of the show Saturday night. I was really surprised at how organized and legit the whole set up was. The event looked very intense, the cat people in Kuwait really don’t mess around, they take these competitions very seriously.
All the judges were brought in from the US and Europe just for this event, I am assuming from the prestigious Cat Fanciers’ Association since they were the event partners. The event was being held at the Safir Hotel and I just wish someone had told me about it earlier. If there is anybody from the Kuwait Cats Club here, please let me know when you have future events, it’s a shame not to share these cool events with more people.
The video on top is of the cat that won best cat in the show. [YouTube]
A couple of cool things taking place this weekend. Cinemagics is playing the documentary “Amy” on the rooftop tonight. “Amy” is a great documentary on the story of Amy Winehouse and uses real mostly unseen footage throughout the film. I watched it recently and loved it even though I’m not an Amy Winehouse fan. It’s by the same director behind “Senna”, the amazing documentary on Ayrton Senna’s life which I also loved. Qout Market is also back this Saturday, in case you weren’t aware they’re no longer in Murooj but instead have moved to Salmiya near the Scientific Center at the Pearl Marzouq residential building. The new location (pictured above) is their best location yet and a lot more casual feeling than their previous ones. Check out the full list of events taking place this weekend below:
Combat Athletics is a new training facility in Kuwait that specializes in MMA, No-Gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai and Boxing. I passed by them awhile ago since they’re located near my place in Salmiya and I left fairly impressed. They’ve got two trainers at the moment with two more on the way. The first is Claudio “Hannibal” Silva, an MMA fighter with an 11-1 record with his last two wins coming in the UFC. The second trainer is Ajarn Khunsuek, the 2006 European Muay Thai champion with a ridiculous 300+ fights on his record but the coolest part about him though for me was the fact he had a cameo appearance as an extra in the 1989 movie ‘Kickboxer’ starring Jean Claude Van Damme. Both the trainers are pretty legit and Combat Athletics is banking on them to help turn the place into a proper training facility. Other than getting great trainers they’ve also heavily invested in their facility. The ring pictured above is the only official 5 rope ring in Kuwait while all their Muay Thai and boxing equipment are by Throwdown, their grappling mats by Zebra while and their strength and conditioning equipment by Life Fitness. Basically they’ve spared no expense.
Combat Athletics have been open for awhile now holding private PT sessions, but starting this coming Sunday they’ll be soft launching to the public. The gym is mixed so for all the women who’ve been asking me where they could to do proper Muay Thai training this is the place. I took a peek at their prices which haven’t been finalized yet and they’ve got an interesting system setup. You’ll have the option to sign up just to use their facilities, or the option to come just to their classes or the option for both. So for example because I’ve already got a gym membership somewhere else, I can just sign up for Muay Thai classes with them. They promised to send me the final price list once they’re ready but for now you can check out their instagram at @combatathletics
Friday night I passed by RAW Sushi Bar with a few friends to try the place out. RAW is a new sushi place located in a very industrial part of Shuwaikh and currently opening just on the weekends. Actually up until last week they were opening only Friday evenings but starting this coming week they’ll be opening Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings. They’re still in a soft launch phase which was why their menu wasn’t the final edition when we passed by but I liked the place so wanted to post about it.
First to get the food aspect out of the way, we ordered a whole bunch of rolls and starters so we could try a variety of dishes. The worst dishes we had weren’t really bad but they just weren’t anything that really stuck out. On the other hand the stuff we did like we would go back for more. Their Negimaki was the best I’ve had and from the rolls we ordered my favorites were the Cali Wearing Orange and the Pink Ink rolls. Forgot what was inside them but just look for them on the menu if you pass by. One of the things I liked about their rolls was the ability to order half portions so you can order more of a variety without over ordering.
The interior of the place was dim, industrial and trendy looking. It’s not that big with a small bar running along one side of the restaurant and four small tables scattered around. They’ll soon have outdoor seating but I think I’d still prefer the inside more just because of the mood. It’s a local business run by the owners themselves who happen to also be the sushi chefs. I asked one of the owners why he chose to open up in that location and he told me he was actually a bike builder and spent a lot of his time in that area. There literally isn’t anything else around them open that late, there aren’t even any street lights which can be a bit creepy. But, it’s where he feels comfortable and along with all the location quirks I thought they helped make the place seem that much more special.
The only issue we really had was with the service. It was fairly slow but that was to be expected since they had only been open a handful of times and are still working to fix all their kinks. Price wise I found them extremely reasonable. We were four people and our bill came out to KD26. It actually should have been around KD31 since we ordered 4 starters, 5 different rolls, 4 waters and 2 green teas but, they didn’t charge us for two half portions of rolls because there was a mix up and we ended up getting them really late. Still, KD31 add tip plus divided by 4 is KD8.5 per person. That’s really good. As I mentioned, starting this week they’ll be opening Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 7PM till midnight. Their instagram account is @eatrawkwt and here is their location on [Google Maps]
This post is for the MMA fans here. A few years ago I posted a clip from Warriors War, a middleweight MMA tournament that took place in Kuwait back in 2001 and involved the likes of Matt Hughes, Bruce Buffer and Big John McCarthy. I was pretty surprised back then that I hadn’t heard of this tournament before but Ray Elbe sent me a link to an article a few days back that discusses the event in full details. Turns out it was a complete mess from an organizing stand point which should be no surprise but there was also a scheme to rig some of the fights. If you’re an MMA fan you’re going to find this enjoyable to read, check out the article [Here]
The Shakshooka Market is back this weekend and it’s my personal favorite event for this weekend. But there are other honorable mentions like the Winter Land Carnival which seems interesting (they’ve got a large outdoor ice skating rink). For the geeks over here there’s Global Game Jam 2016 taking place this weekend as well. Finally there is the Camel Classic RC Race, for those of you who aren’t aware, we actually have one of the largest off road RC tracks in the world so that event should be cool as well.
I also think there is a military event taking place near the Kuwait Towers this weekend but I haven’t been able to get any info on it. If you know something let me know but for now, check out the full list of events below:
Arabian Business have released their World’s 50 Richest Arabs list for 2016 and Kuwait made the list three times:
10- The Al Kharafi Family
11- The Bukhamseen Family
26- The Alghanim Family
The richest Arab is Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud from Saudi Arabia but thats not a surprise. What is a surprise to me at least is that 7 people from Lebanon made the list including Joseph Safra whom I hadn’t heard of before coming in 2nd place. Due to the amount of wealth in Kuwait I just expected more people from Kuwait to make the list although a lot of Kuwaitis are not on the list like Mohammed Alshaya because Alshaya is a private and family-owned business and so their finances are a secret.
