Transcript
Speaker: I grew up confused about my culture and identity and felt out of place most of the time until I found comedy, which forced me to be honest with myself and I realized mostly I'm just an expat brat.
Speaker: Welcome to my show.
Speaker: I'm Salman Qureshi.
Speaker: All right, we back, baby.
Speaker: We back like anybody cares, but we're back.
Speaker: This is...
Speaker: This is the expat Brad podcast.
Speaker: We're prepping up for the year 2025, although it's March, so it's a little late.
Speaker: Hey, how have you been doing everybody?
Speaker: This is going to be just a kicker off kind of episode.
Speaker: I've been busy the first couple of months planning other things and reworking some shit and deciding what I want to do with the rest of the year and how.
Speaker: the rest of the decade.
Speaker: I'm halfway almost into my 40s this year.
Speaker: And so it's kind of like things are getting serious now.
Speaker: You know, I'm racing towards my 50s very, very fast.
Speaker: And it's kind of unsettling a little bit.
Speaker: I didn't feel this bad.
Speaker: The last time I felt weird about this age thing was around 30.
Speaker: No, I did at 40 as well.
Speaker: What am I kidding?
Speaker: Every decade I go, oh, my God, another decade is gone.
Speaker: And this one feels like this is when I get old.
Speaker: But then a couple of years into it, I'm like, you know, I feel pretty much the same, except for parts of my body decaying and finding it hard to lose weight and stuff.
Speaker: But other than that, it's been great.
Speaker: I put on a lot of weight last year after my father's death.
Speaker: I think I just grief ate my way through a lot of it and stopped caring.
Speaker: And I think I picked up like five, six kilos.
Speaker: So I'm trying to...
Speaker: Yeah, it sounds horrible.
Speaker: Like I've been doing well until, you know, it all happened.
Speaker: And this time it's been harder to get going to try putting that weight behind, you know, because it's everywhere right now.
Speaker: And my tummy, you know, I just I feel bad now.
Speaker: I used to always feel bad about putting weight around my tummy.
Speaker: It's not like I'm obsessed with a look.
Speaker: It's just how it makes me feel.
Speaker: When I've got that around me, I know I'm probably killing myself, you know, unhealthy stuff.
Speaker: There was also the problem of Cold Stone was on discount on a lot of the apps.
Speaker: So if you order it online, my favorite thing from it was
Speaker: I blame slightly my wife for introducing me to it, this cake batter, the cookie.
Speaker: So do this if you're keen to put on weight for some reason or stop caring or just going through a rough time.
Speaker: Order their cookie, what's it called?
Speaker: Cookie dough ice cream, whatever it's called.
Speaker: Yeah, they all just have these fancy names.
Speaker: I don't even look at it now.
Speaker: But they do it with vanilla.
Speaker: And what we do is we request them to change the vanilla flavor to cake batter.
Speaker: And it ups the game, my friends.
Speaker: It ups the game.
Speaker: The problem is, after that, I'm spoiled.
Speaker: I can't even enjoy Cornetto's or Ben and Jerry anymore.
Speaker: Yeah, yeah, I said it out loud.
Speaker: I never thought I'd be team Cold Stone.
Speaker: But that particular flavor has got me hooked.
Speaker: And weaning off it has been one of the hardest things.
Speaker: I went back to these stupid apps like my fitness pal, you know, recording my workouts on Apple Health.
Speaker: And all that kind of shit you do.
Speaker: And the problem is it works.
Speaker: So just going back to it.
Speaker: I looked at my previous data, which was still recording MyFitnessPal, which says something about privacy and whatever.
Speaker: It's always there now.
Speaker: But I was looking through it, and my weight chart, every time I record it, it goes off for like a few months, a year sometimes, because I delete, I bring it back on.
Speaker: And it's bizarre because it's like this roller coaster just going up and down.
Speaker: That's what I've gone through over the last maybe 7, 8, 10 years.
Speaker: But it's...
Speaker: It's hard.
Speaker: And I keep fluctuating between a huge range between like my peak was 85 kgs, 85, 86.
Speaker: That's when I was the worst.
Speaker: I didn't hit that this time.
Speaker: I was very close to it.
Speaker: I think I went up to 82, almost 82 and a half.
Speaker: And that's when I really start feeling it.
Speaker: 82 plus, I start feeling it, man.
Speaker: But my waistline has never been this bad.
Speaker: I'm not going to record that because it's going to be part of history then.
Speaker: And I just look at it and go, God.
Speaker: At one point, I had also hit 78.
Speaker: So my goal...
Speaker: It's 75.
Speaker: In an ideal world, I'll bring it down to 72.
Speaker: That's when I'm really fit.
Speaker: But 75 is sort of like my, all right, I'm back in the healthy zone.
Speaker: And I got till 77 point something.
Speaker: And then it blows up again.
Speaker: It's like, goddamn, my weight's like a yo-yo, you know?
Speaker: It's just...
Speaker: It was an interesting graph.
Speaker: That's all I'm saying.
Speaker: Maybe I should share it at some point online, get a few laughs from people.
Speaker: But yeah, it's working.
Speaker: I've also, what I have liked about it is my little concoction, concoction, concoction.
Speaker: That's how you say it, right?
Speaker: So my breakfast, I probably stole it from some blog, you know.
Speaker: You guys know that, I know that, but we're going to claim like I did this myself.
Speaker: I take some Greek yogurt because it's supposed to be healthy and I throw in some blueberries, sometimes strawberries, sometimes mango chunk, but that's probably the unhealthy version of it.
Speaker: But I get them all frozen.
Speaker: Now, I don't know if you know this.
Speaker: I read this somewhere and it's ingrained in my head.
Speaker: I think it's still true.
Speaker: I probably should do research to reconfirm it.
Speaker: But at that time when I read it, it was from a good source and it stuck in my head.
Speaker: They say vegetables and fruits, frozen ones are actually healthier.
Speaker: And yeah, you know, you might think, how does that make sense?
Speaker: We've been told fresh, fresh, fresh.
Speaker: But the thing is, they freeze it at the earlier stage.
Speaker: And the fresh produce that you get has traveled.
Speaker: I think it is kind of kept in a chiller, obviously, and stuff as well, but it's not frozen.
Speaker: So the frozen one keeps the good stuff intact.
Speaker: It's spoken like a true scientist.
Speaker: You probably should go to an expert, not listen to me.
Speaker: But I think what they mean is the minerals or the healthiness, whatever the nutrition value of it is frozen in at the earlier stage.
Speaker: So I buy frozen.
Speaker: It's easier.
Speaker: I throw some of the mostly blueberries usually.
Speaker: And then I sprinkle some shredded pistachio, a couple of pecan nuts and a drizzle of honey.
Speaker: And that's probably the most unhealthy part.
Speaker: But I need to sweeten up.
Speaker: Fruits suck here, man.
Speaker: Fruits just suck out here.
Speaker: I don't know why.
Speaker: I just never have had a sweet strawberry out here.
Speaker: Never.
Speaker: You know, I don't know why.
Speaker: I bought expensive ones that have been flown in from where I would think would be good.
Speaker: You know, even if it's European or American or whatever, Egyptian, you get strawberries from all over the world here.
Speaker: None of them sweet.
Speaker: Never.
Speaker: If you know any better brand, please tell me.
Speaker: I would love to.
Speaker: But this, you know, I've had it in other countries and I love it.
Speaker: Anyway, because these fruits suck here mostly.
Speaker: Even with frozen ones, I just add a drizzle of honey and then chia seeds on top.
Speaker: I never thought, let's just be honest, you know, just something, let's just be clear.
Speaker: I never thought I would recommend this kind of stuff or go into it.
Speaker: The minute I hear things like chia seeds and chia seeds,
Speaker: shit like that.
Speaker: I'm just like, kill the person who said it.
Speaker: It sounds like one of those gym bros or new age health nuts and stuff.
Speaker: But here I am.
Speaker: I mix that shit up.
Speaker: It's low on calories.
Speaker: It's supposed to be healthy.
Speaker: For me, I feel better.
Speaker: I'm not going to lie.
Speaker: Every time I have it, I feel better.
Speaker: It's almost like a
Speaker: deserty kind of thing anyway because it's it's cold the yogurt's cold the blueberries are freshly unfrozen so they're kind of cold i eat them when they're still kind of on the cold side and just little things like that i noticed has made a big difference already for me but it's a long journey ahead my friends it's gonna be it's like the road construction work never ending you know in dubai like the traffic
Speaker: Every time they construct roads, more people come, more traffic jams happen, and then they build the roads again.
Speaker: It's a never-ending cycle I've come to peace with in terms of this is always going to be there.
Speaker: And my weight, I think on my mom's side, we tend to put on weight easily.
Speaker: I don't know if that's a real thing.
Speaker: Is it genetic?
Speaker: some kind of genetics that you actually put on weight, or is that just excuses we use ourselves?
Speaker: Is there any scientific basis to it?
Speaker: I don't know.
Speaker: I should probably research it instead of just asking that question.
Speaker: But I just think maybe it is an excuse, right?
Speaker: Maybe we're just making that shit up just to make it sound like that's the reason.
Speaker: But having said that, my mom's side does tend to put on, some of the family does tend to put on weight more easily.
Speaker: Not so much on my dad's side, no.
Speaker: And I don't know.
Speaker: I don't think it's the kind of food.
Speaker: I don't know what it is.
Speaker: But I'd like to blame that side of the family for my constant struggle.
Speaker: You got to blame somebody.
Speaker: And that's the year, man.
Speaker: But overall, I'm kind of feeling better about a lot of things.
Speaker: And you know, you kind of like at some stages in my life, I kind of felt, is this is this going to get am I going to get out of this issue?
Speaker: And and lately, I've been feeling more optimistic overall, which is a good feeling, you know.
Speaker: And I got to say, I've been having a lot of chats with people learning about their own ADHD and stuff, and I'm such a strong proponent of just get on the meds.
Speaker: You know, if you don't have ADHD, then shut up and sit in your corner.
Speaker: You don't realize what's happening.
Speaker: I've been taking my pills and you got to find the right amount and not, you know, there's no danger.
Speaker: There's no danger.
Speaker: If you are, go to a good doctor.
Speaker: You'll know a good doctor at our age as adults.
Speaker: You know, we kind of can tell a decent doctor who's not just shelling these meds out to us for to make a quick buck.
Speaker: done right, it adds so much value.
Speaker: And I, over the last year and a half or so that I've been taking it, I've seen big changes in my life in spite of some of the shit that's gone down.
Speaker: Overall, I just feel I've made great strides.
Speaker: It might just be luck that my life has had some things happen, some things got better job-wise, career-wise, financially, overall with certain things, with my kiddo,
Speaker: Zan speaking now, by the way, he's saying a lot of words and stuff.
Speaker: And, and that's very heartening.
Speaker: He's, he's a real he's turning into a real cool, cool buddy, cool kid really jumping around playing stuff and everything.
Speaker: So touch wood, you know, his progress keeps on that road.
Speaker: Having said that, when I look back at it, you know what I've done?
Speaker: I've saved all my Concerta.
Speaker: That's one of the meds I take.
Speaker: Concerta boxes that I've had from day one.
Speaker: And I've just seen the changes in my life happen.
Speaker: And I'm telling you, I can say for sure that is a big part of the change in me.
Speaker: It's not a fluke.
Speaker: It's not a coincidence.
Speaker: It's not a coincidence.
Speaker: I probably have been able to make better, less impulsive decisions and just being a bit more relaxed overall, being able to handle some things better that without the meds would have been much harder.
Speaker: And I'll look at those things.
Speaker: Maybe it's just growing up and stuff as well.
Speaker: But regardless, the reason I brought that up is because I also recently had a conversation with other friends and
Speaker: And they all kind of, some of them worry about the meds and stuff.
Speaker: And I just go, listen, if you had a cough or a cold, you wouldn't think twice about taking something for it.
Speaker: But just because it's, you know, the brain or the mental health thing, I guess it's years of like just being told that it's it might be bad and the stigma around it and culturally and blah, blah, blah.
Speaker: I'm just here to tell you, take it.
Speaker: Okay?
Speaker: Don't think twice.
Speaker: Take the med.
Speaker: Keep an eye on yourself.
Speaker: See how you're reacting to it.
Speaker: Be honest.
Speaker: Talk to your doctor.
Speaker: Be honest with the doctor as well.
Speaker: Tell them what you're struggling with and they'll guide you through it.
Speaker: A good doctor will guide you through it too, but also know yourself.
Speaker: And I'm telling you, you'll be able to tell the meds are making a big difference in your life if you
Speaker: You are ADHD, obviously.
Speaker: Get yourself diagnosed properly.
Speaker: And that, I think, goes for any other mental health.
Speaker: But again, the reason I'm not bringing that up is because that's not my forte.
Speaker: Also, I'm not a doctor.
Speaker: So this is from a personal experience.
Speaker: It's from a place of...
Speaker: having gone through a lot and just trying to tell people that, listen, you got to you got to take that step and it's OK and and it works.
Speaker: You know, just want to give you an example of someone for whom this has been great.
Speaker: Yeah, I don't know.
Speaker: I just started this episode off without much thought.
Speaker: I kind of just want to get back in.
Speaker: I've taken a very long break.
Speaker: I don't think I've taken a break like this in ever since I've been podcasting.
Speaker: But I really wanted to reevaluate why I do this.
Speaker: What am I doing?
Speaker: And overall, with everything I do,
Speaker: So I will start going into some video work and podcasting harder.
Speaker: I want to bring guests on, but I just wanted to say hi in this episode.
Speaker: I was going to keep it short just to say hi.
Speaker: I hope your year is going well.
Speaker: And I'm looking forward to releasing more episodes and connecting with you guys through this episode.
Speaker: As always, send me your questions.
Speaker: Reach out to me with your thoughts.
Speaker: It means a lot to me.
Speaker: I do read them, and I always appreciate them.
Speaker: So take care of yourself.
Speaker: I'm going to close off this episode.
Speaker: I just went off on things that are going on in my head right now, but we'll be releasing some fun episodes in the coming months.
Speaker: When I say we, I mean me, I don't know why I said we.
Speaker: You have a great week ahead and keep a lookout for the episodes.
Speaker: Thank you.
Speaker: Take care, people.
Speaker: Thanks for joining us on another adventure with the expat breath proudly brought to you by Capper Productions.
Speaker: If you enjoyed the show, please help us keep the mic running by clicking the link in the description and dropping as little as $3 to support us.
Speaker: Don't forget to hit that subscribe button so you never miss out on our latest episodes.
