How I lost 27 kgs in 18 months
Sick of the food I was served everyday in my college mess, me and my friends made it a routine affair to go to the “dhabas” near our college for our meals. But I did not realize that it slowly took a toll on my health and I eventually swelled up into a 110 KG monster.
Needless to say, readymade clothes no longer started to fit. No brand had my size of t-shirts and jeans. I had to sometimes ask relatives to bring t-shirts from US because my size was only available there.
Soon enough, I got determined to lose that fat. And here’s what I did:
1. Got a treadmill – I was so fat that I used to find it embarrassing to work out in gym’s. Plus, gym equipment is used by hundreds of sweaty men and women everyday and hardly ever sanitized. If you’re the kind of person who would rather have some basic equipment at home, just go and buy one. 45 minutes of rigorous workout every evening – I made it a habit that stuck with me for nearly 18 months.
2. After dinner walks – A small 15 minutes of slow walking after dinner does wonders to your digestive system. You feel “light” in the morning since that dinner has digested better. Plus, these 15 minutes are a good opportunity to call up old friends and relatives whom you’ve lost touch with.
3. See what you pop – This is probably the biggest one. Stop popping in food mindlessly. Be conscious of each and every bite that goes inside your mouth. Quick snacks between meals? Stop. Went shopping and got a candy instead of change? Don’t pop that in. Getting bored so planning to have a cup of coffee? Stop. Eat food when you are hungry, not when you want to.
4. Diet control – I intentionally decided not to “quit” eating anything but I simply reduced everything by half. Eating 4 slices of bread for breakfast? Make that 2. Eating 4 roti’s for your meal? Make that 2. Desserts after every meal? Make the portion smaller and take just 1 serving. Going out? Eat a sandwich instead of pakora’s. Order roti’s instead of parantha’s or rice. If you feel hungry, add plenty of salad to compensate for it. If you’re a foodie like me, it’s hard to resist good food anyways. Have everything, just moderate the amount.
4. No cold water after meals – Drinking cold water after a meal just kills your digestion. The stomach needs to function at a specific temperature to break down the food you’ve eaten into it’s nutrients. Having a glass full of cold water after that meal completely destroys that process.
I don’t have a before/after picture (I wish I did!) but believe me, losing all that extra flab does make you feel more confident. People started asking me for advice on how to lose weight! Answering those questions is such a lovely feeling!
The more important part is to maintain that weight and that’s a struggle in itself. I’ve been conscious of my weight ever since I reduced. Though I have gone up a little bit since then, I swear I will never go back to my “original” 110 KG self ever again. I really never will. Nobody can.
Way to go Gaurav. Post some pics of today, past pics we can see from SlideShare days.