April 2017, I had come back from
a wedding. I was going through the pictures of the event
and I did not like what I saw. At 37, putting it mildly, I was very fat. On the weighing machine I was 93kgs. Now for
those who know me know, I am very passionate about sports. I could not believe as
to how I came to this situation. Morning Backaches had become a routine and cholesterol
was flirting with the borderline. That was it. Today, on 29th Dec
2017, I weigh a just less than 75kgs and I am putting this down to remind myself
more than anyone else of things that helped me get from 93 to 75.
Logic Of weight Loss: The equation for weight loss is a common sense
equation
CALORIES SPENT – CALORIES INTAKE = WEIGHT LOSS
If one understands this, it is
clear, one has to spend more calories during the day than one can consume and
if possible the difference should be as huge as possible. So let us take both
of the ingredients of weight loss.
1)
Calories
Spent: Again this component has two parts.
a.
First is your basal metabolic rate. The energy you spend during the day. The more
active you are during the day, the more calories you burn. Take those stairs to
climb 2-3 floors, park your car a little further, fill your bottle only half
and walk twice to the tap in your office during the day, clean your home on
weekends, play Tennis, cricket, run with your kid. Things like Green tea
without sugar, lime water without sugar etc also trigger ones metabolism.
Unfortunately, with age this rate goes down.
b.
Physical
Activity: There is no substitute for hard work. One has to exercise hard
and consistent.
2)
Calorie
Intake: What you eat is what you become. From my personal experience, this
affects the weight loss more than the 1st part. Most Indians are
veggies by nature. The problem however is the process of cooking that makes it difficult
for us to keep calories under check. Oil and Sugar are the main culprits.
Snacking does not help either. I was guilty of all this. Today, I still have my
share of Samosas, Pav Bhajis, Occasional indulgence at Chatori gali for the
deep fried Tikkis and the stuffed parathas, but all this is evenly spread. For most
of the other days, eggs, Musseli, 2-3 rotis with pulses, cooked vegetables are
order of the day for both meals. Fruits are filler for me. Apples, Melons,
Kiwis, cucumbers etc form my evening snack. The worst part of the day is post
dinner. I have a habit of munching while watching TV. This part is yet to be honed
and I still get sucked into unhealthy snacks. Desirable is munching walnuts,
prepare chana (black and white) salad with Onions, green chutney and green chilies
to make it tasty.
While any success is a lot of
things coming together and so was this success in reducing weight was a
combination of lot of things coming together, I would like to bring point out
the following that really helped me
LIFE GIVES A CHOICE! Yes it does. I could have sulked.
Professionally too, I wasn’t at my best and there were enough reasons to sulk, self-pity
and all of that. However, I chose not accept the status quo and do something
about the situation. Accepting status quo like accepting defeat. Sports had
taught me to fight. It is in the mind. Like most of
the good but hard things, it all boils down to how bad you want that. How much
hard work you are ready to put for the same. Simple. Technique, process etc. do
play a role but the most important in there in your brain. There are days that
you will hit lows. You shall not able to lift those weights, run that mile you
are used to. It is your will that will challenge the status quo. In the end
that is what makes the difference.
HARD WORK! I know there is a big industry out there which helps one
achieve ones goal for reducing weight. The fact remains, the arithmetic of
reducing weight is basic. One needs to work hard and that is it. Nothing less
and nothing more. I must put a disclaimer that I have not used any supplement,
added protein etc during this weight loss. The only expense for me was the Gym
fees which I will gladly continue to pay.
CONSISTENCY! Consistency and Intensity are both important, but I
have realized, it is the consistency
that is more important. If one is consistent, the intensity will increase. I
started with maximum pace of 6.4km/ hr on tread mill. Now I can run 11-12km/ hr
easily for say 30-45 mins. It happens when you are consistent. Its easier said
than done. For me, Rahul Dravid was an inspiration. The man would do the same
thing, putting his head down, day in and day out and that’s it. What I have
been doing for the last 7 months is wake up at 6:00am and hit the gym. You are
more likely not to miss the gym in the morning than in the evenings. We have
our work pressures, socializing etc to do and hence that is the time I recommend
to follow. Similarly, one should be consistently mindful of eating.
TECHNIQUE! This is the end of getting into the nitty gritty. I must
acknowledge the advice from my former colleague Mr. Mohammed Adeel (from
Lahore, Pakistan). He introduced me to this website called www.bodybuilding.com and there you have
this 84 days programme called Lee
Labrada’s 12 week Lean body trainer . I did not follow the recommended Diet
plan but used it for exercises. It has a neat app which one can use every day in
the gym. One records every set/ every move you make. It consistently tells you
what to do next. Techniques to do these exercises are explained. I am currently
in week 10 (doing it the 2nd time) and I find the programme neat as
it covers all parts of the body. It balances cardio and weight training. Further as I grew thinner, I managed to run
faster and longer distances. I have run between 7-10 kms at a stretch, more than
7-10 times in last 3 months. Variations do help as body should not be allowed
to get into any comfort zone. In fact that is why the programme I got is
wonderful. One day it helps to work out Chests shoulders and Triceps, the next
day may be the Legs and the abs, the 3rd day back and biceps and the
4th day is about Cardio. In fact it’s a mix of all that and not in
that order. Keep your body guessing is the key. Truly a wonderful resource.
MONITOR PROGRESS! “In God I believe, for everything else bring data”.
This for me was again a technique to keep me motivated. The app as discussed
above would make notes of the exercises I would take up daily. Every day I
would weigh myself. The days of eating indulgences would show up there. Similarly
weekly I took pictures of my front, side and back. When you see your
improvement, you are more motivated. The more you are motivated the more you
will lose weight and so on.
SUPPORT FROM FAMILY AND FRIENDS! Losing weight is a lifestyle
changing process. Unless your partner supports the cause, one is likely to
fail. I must credit my wife to bearing up with me in the process. She has to
curb her excellent cooking skills. Similarly, here in UAE, I have an excellent
inner circle of friends, who were always health conscious. Trust me it helps to
have correct benchmarks around you who inspire and push you.
Excellence is not a destination but a journey. While I am happy to
share the above, I know it is one milestone. Inshallah, this shall lead to
years of fitter me.
Abu Dhabi, UAE
29th December 2017
