How a 47-year-old lost weight with a calorie-tracking app without giving up hawker food
LeanerTogether founder Tan Chin Hock with his favourite nasi lemak at AR-Rina Nasi Padang in Bukit Batok
ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO
Hedy Khoo
- Tan Chin Hock lost 3.2kg and reduced his waist by 3.8cm in two months by tracking calories using his app LeanerTogether, without giving up his favourite hawker foods.
- He adjusted portion sizes and increased protein intake to feel fuller, realising he had underestimated calorie counts in common dishes.
- Physical activity contributed 30 per cent to his weight loss, but meal tracking and better eating habits were key, helping him stay strong, healthy and in control of his health.
AI generated
SINGAPORE – Would someone trying to lose weight eat nasi lemak with fried chicken, egg prata with curry and economy riceregularly? Tan Chin Hock did. Nor did he give up McDonald’s breakfasts, pasta or biscuits
Yet in two months, the 47-year-old says he lost 3.2kg and trimmed 3.8cm off his waistline. How did he do it without exercising excessively, doing meal prep or giving up his favourite hawker dishes?
By tracking everything he ate and making sure he burned more calories than he consumed, he says.
From June 1 to July 31, the 1.68m-tall founder of health coaching app LeanerTogether used its nutrition-tracking feature to slim down from 64kg to 60.8kg. His waist shrank from 32 inches (81.3cm) to 30.5 inches (77.5cm)
An InBody scan on July 31 measured his body fat at 11.9 per cent, down from 22 per cent when he embarked on his weight-loss plan two months back
“I feel very good about where I am today. I am at the leanest in my adult life, even leaner than when I was serving as a commando during national service. I feel strong, energetic and in control of my health,” says the father of three
Tan, who works as an assistant manager in a hospital, began building LeanerTogether with agentic coding assistant Claude Code on June 1 as a side hustle
Claude Code came up with a working web version by the end of the day. For starters, he made sure his app scanner was able to detect well-loved local dishes like chicken rice and laksa, which are in LeanerTogether’s database. These dishes are staples for most working adults here, who do not have the luxury of time or energy to cook their own meals, he says
He used AI to search for publicly available nutrition information and standard recipes, then structured the data into individual local dishes with estimated portions, protein, carbohydrates and fats
Tan, who has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from RMIT University, which he obtained at Singapore Institute of Management, decided to test the app on himself while refining it
He got inspired after competing in the Natural Elite Championship 2025, organised by the World Natural Bodybuilding Federation’s Singapore chapter. He trained an hour three times a week in the gym in the nine months leading up to it
He also went on a three-month diet before the contest held in August 2025, but was not successful, as he says he was unaware of the calorie count of some foods. For example, he mistook coleslaw as a healthy choice but later found out it was high in calories due to the use of mayonnaise
He placed fourth among five contestants in hiscategory of Men’s Fit Model (First Timer) below 174cm. The experience spurred him to turn what he had learnt about balancing calorie intake and output into an everyday tool for people just like him, who eat out regularly
Not rocket science
It taught him that a healthier lifestyle was within reach
“Losing weight and living more healthily is not rocket science. Most of us can become healthier by getting the basics right,” he says. It means moving more, eating better, getting enough sleep and doing all three consistently, he adds
Over the past two months, he has recorded all his meals and snacks. Tracking revealed how badly he had underestimated the calorie content of some favourite foods. For example, six ondeh ondeh balls contained more than 300 calories, while a serve of kaya butter toast added up to more than 400
“Before, I had the mentality that if I stayed active, I could eat whatever I wanted,” says Tan, who calls his former build “skinny fat”. “I was always thin but carrying a layer of belly fat.”
He realised that not knowing how many calories his food contained was the main obstacle in his previous attempts to lose weight
As he and his wife, an account executive, seldom cook at home and have no domestic helper, he eats out most of the time. So he began by changing his meal portions without disrupting his daily routine
His usual weekday breakfast at home comprises of a protein shake and Weet-Bix wholegrain cereal. He gets off the bus one stop early, then picks up a steamed red bean bun from a coffee shop on his walk to work
Once a week, he indulges in a second breakfast of one egg prata and one plain prata
For his usual economy rice lunch at work, he prioritises protein and vegetables, choosing two pieces of steamed fish, broccoli and either chicken curry with potato or sweet and sour pork, though he asks for less gravy
Once a fortnight, he treats himself to a hearty lunch of nasi lemak, complete with a sunny-side-up egg, fried nuts, crispy ikan bilis and a deep-fried chicken leg, but with less coconut rice
Dinner at a foodcourt near his home could be fish soup with half a serving of rice, chicken rice with less rice or wonton noodles. On days that he has nasi lemak for lunch, he opts for a dinner of chicken breast salad from the same foodcourt
One Saturday a month, he has breakfast with his kids – who are aged 10, 13 and 15 – at McDonald’s, and orders a Scrambled Egg Burger With Chicken and an apple pie
On other Saturdays, the family tucks into buns from BreadTalk for their morning meal. Tan usually opts for a croissant and a soft bun with raisins and a cream cheese filling. Sunday breakfast is either bakery buns, or wholemeal bread with peanut butter
Once a month, he indulges in a prata breakfast bought by his father
Lunch on weekends is usually at a foodcourt, where he makes similar food choices as his weekday meals, with the occasional sushi meal. Weekend dinners are usually truffle cream pasta, chicken chop or a grilled saba bento at a nearby mall
Before using LeanerTogether, he was already lifting weights at the gym for up to an hour, two or three times a week, and trying to clock 10,000 steps daily. He maintains that routine, taking a 20-minute walk after lunch and climbing up to four storeys at work instead of using the lift
If he is short of his calorie-deficit target, he alights from the bus three stops earlier on his way home
Staying motivated
He reckons tracking his meals contributed 70 per cent to his weight loss and exercise the remaining 30 per cent
He says eating less left him feeling hungry during the first two weeks. But diligently tracking his mealsncreasing his protein intake helped him feel fuller for longer, as did chewing slower
“I was not walking around starving. I was just eating a bit less and getting on with my day,” he says. “I realised I did not need six pieces of ondeh ondeh when two or three were enough to satisfy me.”
As his body adapted, eating less came naturally. “The hard part is shorter than you think. It is a couple of weeks, not forever,” he adds
His main motivation is not to “achieve a particular number on the scale”. “As I age, I want to stay strong, mobile and healthy for as long as I can,” he says. “I want to remain independent, enjoy a quality life and not be a burden to my children in my senior years
“From my personal experience, I truly believe that if we can make healthy choices simpler and easier to sustain, more of us can become healthier, one small decision at a time.”
Hedy Khoo is senior correspondent at The Straits Times. She covers food-related news, from reviews to human interest stories
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