Zamzani Abdul Wahab, better known as Chef Zam is a talented culinary chef who realised that at the age of 15 he was weighing a worrying 90 kilograms (kg).
“I felt big and had very low self-esteem, but it did not stop me from joining aerobic classes. I’m happy to say that even though I was big, I could do the splits!” said Chef Zam.
Chef Zam faced many difficulties including being unable to find clothes that fitted him right, experienced torn pants all the time and constant leg pain. On top of those challenges, there was also an incident which served as a wake up call about his weight too.
Back then, his hair was a little longer and during an aerobic class, a girl approached him thinking that he was a girl and asked if he would like to go to the sauna together. Thankfully, that did not deter him from attending aerobic classes and he continues to do so until today.
In 2007, Chef Zam made a life changing decision to opt for bariatric surgery as the solution to manage his weight. Bariatric surgery is a procedure performed on people who are obese. There are many types of bariatric surgery and one of them is by reducing the size of the stomach through the removal of a portion of the stomach. Hence, eventually helping to achieve weight loss.
After a major transformation in life from undergoing bariatric surgery, Chef Zam is ecstatic with the way he looks and feels about himself. Today, Chef Zam continues to be an inspiration to many by showing that you can do anything if you put your heart and soul into it.
Bariatric surgery is a decision that will change your life forever. So, we speak to Chef Zam on the challenges he faced before and after bariatric surgery as well as how this surgery has changed his life.
1Twenty80: What inspired you to pursue culinary arts?
Zamzani Abdul Wahab: To be honest, it was by accident. I did not have many choices after I completed secondary school. At that time, there weren’t many options left for me in continuing my studies except for two which were Diploma in Secretarial Science or Chef Training
at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UITM).
I decided to choose the Diploma in Chef Training because I was familiar with being around hotels. I still remember it as if it was yesterday. Almost every day after school, I would go to Primula Beach Hotel in Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu because my late friend had a salon there. So I would basically spend almost the whole day there. During my visits, I would see chefs and hotel staff working every day and that became something normal to me.
Seeing chefs every day was how I randomly decided to embark on the Chef Training course.
1Twenty80: Tell us more about how you became a chef and how did it lead to being a celebrity chef?
Chef Zam: It all fell into place and nothing was forced through cooking auditions or competitions. To put it simply, I believe that it was all my ‘rezeki’ (blessing). At that moment, I was teaching at a college in Petaling Jaya (PJ) when a Very Important Person (VIP) in Malaysia invited me to her house for tea. We were there for quite some time drinking tea and catching up on life. More or less a month later, I got a call from a friend who was planning to do a TV show and asked if I would be interested or not. I said yes and the rest is history.
1Twenty80: When did you first realise that your body weight is above the standard bmi?
Chef Zam: I never understood what BMI was until I was in my 30s. All I knew was BMG, the recording company (laughs).
During my time in London, I started reading health related articles and only then I realised that I was obese. I did try to lose weight, but it wasn’t much of a success though.
Quote: During my time in london, i started reading health related articles and only then that I realised that i was obese. I did try to lose weight, but it wasn’t much of a success though.
1Twenty80: When did you decide that it was time to get the bariatric surgery done?
Chef Zam: When I was in London, by mere chance, I stumbled upon an article about weight loss surgery. That caught my eye and I became curious and eventually I did some research about the surgery.
To my relief, I discovered that the gastric bypass surgery was available in London. However, being a student at that time, I knew I couldn’t afford it. Due to that, the intention of getting surgery got washed away.
When I was back in Malaysia, it suddenly crossed my mind about the weight loss surgery research I did in London. So, I decided to find out if it was available in Malaysia. Much to my surprise, I found that Malaysia does offer weight loss surgery which could also be referred to as bariatric surgery. I immediately called up the doctor’s clinic and I was connected to the surgeon. After conversing, we made an appointment for me to come in and meet the doctor for further evaluation.
During the appointment, the doctor suggested a few available procedures that I could opt for, but I decided to settle on bariatric surgery and I was happy to know that I was qualified to get the surgery done.
Another reason I chose bariatric surgery was because I wanted to lose weight and didn’t want to have any possibility of gaining it back.
After further discussions about the cost and surgery procedure, I finally decided that I want to get the surgery done right away. I was 37 years old when I got the surgery done.
Quote: I felt big and had very low self-esteem, but it did not stop me from joining aerobic classes. I’m happy to say that even though I was big, I could do the splits!
1Twenty80: How was your post-operative care like and how quickly did you lose weight after the surgery?
Chef Zam: I was on leave for about 10 days, taking the time to recover. After the surgery, I was eager to know my weight, so I went about my place, searching for a weighing scale. I remember so clearly after 10 days of the surgery, I lost eight kilograms (kgs) weighing from 136 kgs or even more prior to the surgery. I was shocked yet excited to find out that I actually lost weight.
1Twenty80: After the surgery, how was your food consumption? did you have any cravings?
Chef Zam: I just went on with my usual eating habits. Whatever I felt like eating, I would just go for it! However, I could only eat a few scoops of food because I would feel full easily.
Quote: Live your life to the fullest as life is too short to waste it.
1Twenty80: You were alone during the surgery process, but managed to work it out by yourself. How did you manage to get through it?
Chef Zam: Before the surgery, I sent my mother back to Kuala Terengganu. I didn’t tell my mother about my plan of getting weight loss surgery done because I knew she would be worried. Therefore the only person I consulted was the doctor.
Apart from the doctor, the only person who knew about the surgery was my boss. Although she was against it, that did not stop me from moving forward with the surgery. However, she did visit me after the surgery as she was concerned about my well-being.
1Twenty80: Did you feel overwhelmed when you looked into the mirror and discovered a new version of yourself?
Chef Zam: To be honest, I was on cloud nine to see the weighing scale drop a few kilos every time I stood on it and not to mention fitting into all my loose clothes and pants.
1Twenty80: What would your words of encouragement be to people who aren’t confident with their body?
Chef Zam: Live your life to the fullest as life is too short to waste it.
