Few of my close friends asked me to document the whole process I did with weight loss and I thought it was a good idea so it can help others to have an understanding on the process I did..
It is a long post so would request your patience to read through this. Kindly reach out to me for any clarifications..
Jan 2021
I have been seeing many inspiring people doing weight loss and getting results. I tried adopting various methods but failed miserably.
Sep 2021 – Feb 2022
I found a personal trainer gym very close to my home. It was there for many years but I ignored many times atleast to go in for a chat. Finally out of desperation, I walked in and met my trainer and owner of the gym, Phil. He suggested that I should do a bio scan. I did, and found all my numbers very high. But what can be expected? I would have surprised myself only when if the numbers were either normal or low. He told me, just one thing – Pradeep, all I want from you is dedication and commitment and we can see some good results.
I started to train with him twice a week. it was so hard.. body aches were normal everyday.. but I was determined. I looked myself into the mirror and was like, Pradeep, you need to work harder else you are not going anywhere in life.
It was self realization number 1
March 2022
I had an unexplained pain in my finger and booked an appointment with a doctor.. I met her the first time as my previous doctor passed away in unfortunate circumstances.. The doctor was very helpful and thorough.. she asked me to take a blood test as it was few years since I did the last blood test. The results came out and it wasn’t surprising… Most of the numbers were skyrocketing… She made a shocking statement, “Pradeep, if you didn’t show me atleast 2-3 kgs weight loss by June, then we might need to go for operation. I was like, whoa that’s crazy.. I had to do something about this and that’s when my whole attitude changed.. I was keen to prove myself that I could do..
It was an self realization number 2
I had a discussion with my trainer and doctor on the way forward and this is what I committed on doing:
The tests that she asked me to go through were detailed and it helped me to understand why and what I was doing wrong.. Glad I found her and I thought whatever was the outcome of the tests, I should stick with her and improve on the numbers..
- Train 2 times a week in the gym with the trainer
- Walk 10,000 steps everyday
- Start to eat healthy
- Do all the tests that my doctor asked me to do
- Be honest in accepting the reality and work 10 times more to improve it next time
Weeks, months and years rolled by
From 115.3kgs to 118.4 kgs, I came down to 93.8 kgs in a span of roughly 2 years..
I hit a snag after that, not losing an inch.. I was doing the same things, but no luck.. frustrated, dejected… I had a chat with my doctor and she suggested I look for a dietitian as even though I may be eating healthy, there may be some unexplained calories getting in without me knowing about it..
Again a timely advice from my doctor and I took it seriously.. I found a dietitian in India and she was from Haryana..
Again desperation kicked in to see if I can lose weight, but I was ready to work even harder than last time.
So at this point in time, I want to reflect my learnings so far:
- I continued to do strength training in the gym with my trainer for 2 days and I day all by myself – Some close family and friends told me to stop doing workouts in gym as recently many had heart attack and they collapsed – I know they all said it for my own good, but I had to do what was best for me and not pay too much into those as we really don’t know why and how they died..
- Walked more than 10,000 steps and since September 2023, started to achieve 20,000 steps a day – this was another milestone for me as I never attempted to do more than 10,000 steps a day.. Again thanks to STEPtember challenge, I was determined to win 🏆 – the result from STEPtember was I won in individual category and as a team..What an achievement that was!
- Drank 2-3 litre of water everyday
- Slept for 7-8 hours a day, from 8.30-9pm till 4.30am-5am – (never a problem for me till date)
- Never cared about problems in life and focused only on things that I could control 🙏🏻🙏🏻
September 2023
I met dietician for the first time and opted for 3 months package. I was given assurance if I follow their instructions, I should lose 10 kgs in 3 months.. I was like, wow…
I followed their diet chart religiously every day of the week.
On 23rd December, I did a yearly bio scan and I weighed 80.7 kgs..
I was spellbound and was overjoyed with my success..
Diet plays a huge role in weight loss
It was an self realization number 3
Okay what I ate as part of diet for 3 months.. below is the chart I was given.. it is a long list, but I wanted to give you a flavor of variety of types of food I was given to eat..
Very important – don’t follow this as this may not be the right chart for you.. please consult a dietitian!
Breakfast:
- Fruit + milk +1 toast or oats
- Idly – 2 pieces + sambhar + green chutney
- 1 dosai + sambhar
- Upma – quarter plate
- Poha – quarter plate
- Paniyaram – 4 to 5 pieces
- Pesarattu
Lunch:
- Veg pulao (quarter plate)+ veg + salad + curd
- 2 Ragi roti and cooked vegetables + salad
- 100 gm cooked Paneer + 1 toast
- Veg Daliya (quarter plate) + veg + salad + curd
- 2 idly + 1 cup Sambhar
- 100 gms cooked Soya curry
- Moong daal Chilka + veg + salad
- 1 Onion dosai + 1 cup Sambhar
- Veg salad + 1 toast
- 1 cup Kaala Channa + veg + salad
- 1 Besan Chila + veg + salad
- Veg Poha – quarter plate
- Moong daal – 1 cup
- Upma – quarter plate
- 1 onion roti with vegetables and salad
- Veg Quinoa + vegetables + salad
- Veg Millet Pulav + vegetables + salad
- Paneer sandwich
- 2 soya roti + vegetables + salad
- Masala oats (quarter plate) + vegetables + salad
- Pesarattu + vegetables + salad
- 1 Gobi Roti + vegetables + salad
- 2 Jaun roti + vegetables + salad
- 1 cup Lobia + vegetables + salad
- 1 cup Rajma + vegetables + salad
- 1 cup Daal chilla + vegetables + salad
- 85 gms tofu + 1 Ragi roti + vegetables + salad
- Boiled white channa chat
- 1 -2 maggi with vegetables
- 1 Methi roti + vegetables + salad
Dinner:
- Veg poha (quarter plate)+veg+ salad
- Veg salad + 1 toast
- 100 gm cooked Paneer + 1 toast
- Upma – quarter plate
- 1 cup Kaala Channa chat
- Veg Poha – quarter plate
- 85 gms tofu + 1 Ragi roti + vegetables + salad
- Boiled white channa chat
- 1 toast + salad
- 1 Onion dosai + 1 cup Sambhar
Thanks all for reading this post and happy to help if anyone needs guidance!
Outcome of my 2.4 years of weight loss journey ( from Sep 2021 to Dec 2023) – I haven’t shared all the numbers, but some key factors
- Lost a total of 37.7 kgs – from 118.4 kgs to 80.7 kgs
- My waist measurement – from 44 inch to 32 inch
- My abdominal circumference – from 121.5 cms to 92.8 cms
- From being obese, I am inching towards normal BMI
Year 2024 Goals:
- Achieve a weight of 75 kgs
- Lose further fat and be on 18% – currently on 24% from 37%
- Don’t lose muscle
- Abdominal circumference to be 85 cms (currently 92.8 cms from 121.5 cms)
- Waist line to be 28 – 30 Inches (currently I am 32 inches from 44 inches)
- Start running and participate in 5 kms, 10 kms and if possible Half Marathon..
Lessons Learnt in my weight loss journey
It is not only important to document the success but equally important to understand the failures so it can be a key lesson so we don’t make the same mistakes again…
- Don’t follow anyone’s weight loss journey – Everyone journey is different, so what has worked for someone would not work for you. I made this mistake of following someone without understanding what is needed for my own health and body type.
- Any new changes that you adopt takes 21 days to come into routine. Don’t give up before that. Back in 2019-2020, I started my “version” of diet only to feel hungry all the time. I got headaches, felt tired without even understanding the basic of diet and how to eat a balanced diet. I left it in between without consulting a dietitian. Another mistake!
- Few years ago, my colleague did a great weight loss transformation by adopting 5:2 diet strategy..
so, what is 5:2 strategy? – This is where you eat normally at certain times and then fast during other times. There are different versions, but the 5:2 diet involves eating a normal, healthy diet for five days every week and ‘fasting’ on the remaining two days. On a ‘fast’ day, you would typically consume between 500 and 600 calories. At that time, I thought, wow, let me do it.. I wasn’t even able to sustain for a week. Another failure.
- Intermittent fasting – I read about 16:8 strategy and it worked wonders for me. I lost 13 kgs in 6 month period. That was from 115 kgs to 102 kgs but I couldn’t sustain after 6 months as I lost motivation as I didn’t do anything to build muscle or strength. Once I stopped, I started to gain weight.. back to 115.3 kgs. Another failure..
The lessons I learnt from all these mistakes were:
- To lose weight in a sustainable fashion, is to have a well thought out plan and approach.
- I realized very late that for me to lose weight, I need to do walking, strength training and diet everyday of the week – no excuses.
- Having home cooked food is the best way forward. Restaurant foods will be appealing and tasty, but it is so dangerous as we grow older.
- Yearly blood tests is a must – Take doctors advice seriously as they are for our own good! It is better to spend money for the tests now than to spend in the hospital later..
- I never get tempted by what others do or eat. It is very important to build that mindset as it is easy to lose focus.
- Finally, don’t expect friends to take your weight loss journey path with you. You are in your own and it’s okay to be selfish at times for your own health 🙏🏻🙏🏻
There is no shortcut in life..
There is no smart work in weight loss
You can’t blame others for your laziness
All, if anyone is keen to follow my weight loss journey, I have an WhatsApp channel and you can do so by following this.. it is not a compulsion and it is completely free.. Lol 😀😃
Follow the Prad fitness journey! channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va7u0mG3wtbCeMWrHE0Q