This article was first published in ISB's inhouse periodical, Spandan, September 2020 issue, https://sway.office.com/AGMm76bE9xBWptwE
In the middle of September 2017, I suffered from acute lower back pain that was diagnosed as Degenerative Spondylosis. A couple of days of rest and working from home along with the medication and exercises suggested by the doctor eased the situation.
I have always been fitness
conscious and have undertaken varied activities from time to time, viz.
aerobics, yoga, frisbee, badminton, gym, swimming, walking, and more, all in
pursuit of being fit. However, over the years, especially post-delivery, I
started to put on weight. I was 55kgs when I got married in 2008 and 80kgs in
2017. Of and on dalliances with physical activities resulted in a 3-4 kgs of
weight loss only to get back to where I was and to continue the upward trend.
I am an avid reader and enjoy
watching movies too. Eating when reading or watching movies takes the
experience to an almost cosmic level! When did the “once in a while” eating
sweets when reading or watching something at night turn into a habit and then
addiction is difficult to pinpoint. As most women, being in-charge of keeping
the kitchen stocked, I ensured a steady supply of ice creams, chocolates,
wafers, and cakes for myself. I would feel something was missing and would not fall
asleep until I had something sweet. Provocations and objections from my husband
would result in a siesta of a week to ten days and then the sweet tooth would
prevail, again.
While prescribing the medicines
for the degenerative spondylosis, the doctor mentioned very casually that the
core issue is weight for all such ailments, and it will keep happening as long
as I was overweight. However, being obese himself, he laughed it off saying
that he was not the right person to advise me to lose weight. The informal jest
struck a chord. It also worried me that a recurring back ache at a fairly young
age would mean living with it for another 30-40 years. The future with
different types of aches didn’t seem appealing.
As a first step, upon encouragement
from my husband and inspiration from a fit friend, I decided to leave all forms
of processed sugar for a few months. The first few weeks were difficult, to say
the least. Mood swings, tears, periods of craving, not being able to sleep-
avoiding a single morsel of sweet was like going through thousands of emotions
and turmoil in my mind each time, again and again, and with a straight or a
smiling face. For the opportunity to eat sweets presented itself everywhere: at
work, birthday parties, weddings, festivals, casual meetings with friends and
family. Not everyone understood when I said “No” because everyone knew that I
am fond of sweets.
We cannot control the actions, reactions,
and provocations by others. But restraining myself from reacting to all the
insinuations, mocking, show of non-confidence and discouragements has been
another battle all together. Visits to the toilet to hide the tears and saying
no when each cell in my body was craving for that sweet being offered was no
different from the accounts of those in drug rehabilitation centres.
The immediate result in terms of
weight loss was encouraging. With moderate levels of physical activity, in 6
weeks I had lost 6 kgs. But it was clear to me that my body had gotten used to
a no sugar diet and I was not going to lose any more weight with the status
quo. I decided to start with supervised training to strengthen my muscles, tone
up and increase the metabolism, which is otherwise very low due to
Hypothyroidism.
No sugar, workout three days a
week and cardio the rest of the four days for an hour each day started to make
me feel lighter, fitter, and agile. But it did not result in further weight
loss. That is when I started to think about what I always knew but never gave
any importance to; that weight loss is more about diet than exercise. It is
easier to cut calories than burn them.
In all my years of being fitness
conscious, I was not diet conscious. Hence, was neither fit nor healthy. The
quest to get my diet right led me to a celebrated dietician. I had heard about
her from a few other friends. I had seen a friend transform under her
supervision. Others had experienced different degrees of weight loss but all of
them recommended her highly. I did my own research too and decided to take the
plunge.
December 8, 2017 was the
beginning of my journey with eating right. It is not difficult was my first
reaction. I was eating my regular dal and curry, occasionally phulka and rice
too, and tasty food like paneer tikka and stir fry vegetables. I was not
majorly into junk food (apart from sweets), nor did I eat too much of fried
food. So, I still maintain that the diet plan given by the dietician was not
difficult. Plus, she always guided me when I needed to eat out or had to travel
outside Hyderabad. It was the quantity of food and the hours of eating that
became critical.
The difficult part however was to
tell the detractors to back off. People felt sorry for me. They felt I was
torturing myself. Many did not understand that it was a choice, not a
prescribed activity in a prison. I was getting fitter and healthier. I was not
sick and did not feel weak because I was eating less. Similarly, there were
many who would keep telling me that I had lost enough weight and need not lose
any more. People often forgot that I was educated, aware, technology and
internet savvy, I can search, I can read, and I knew who to approach for
advice. Deflecting unsolicited advice without the “well-wishers” feeling bad is
as much of a struggle as following the diet.
There are many who were genuinely
concerned that I might fall sick if I don’t eat. I had to explain to them that I
was not starving myself. I was eating as much as my body needed. I was just not
overeating. Which I was doing earlier. Then there were those who felt that I
should eat now, enjoy my life and worry about weight when I get some disease,
to them I had to tell that I AM enjoying my life. I do not want to wait till I
get a disease. Prevention is better than cure. Why should I wait till I get
diabetes or cholesterol to lose weight? Yes, I can still fall sick for various
reasons. But I want to try while I still can, to be fit and healthy.
Six months after I started the
diet and with moderate levels of exercise, I reached my right BMI. I had lost
20 kgs. I went into maintenance diet. That meant lesser restrictions. It’s been
more than two years since I stopped seeing the dietician. I have been able to
maintain my weight with a few kgs plus/minus. Overall, I have been fit. I can
do 500 breathe-in-breathe-outs in Kapalbhati, I am comfortably able to do
Chakrasana, Halasana and a 21k. I can cycle 60kms at a stretch. I aim to be
able to do a full marathon, fifty pushups without stopping, and 100kms of
cycling in the near future.
What has worked for me is eating
right with a combination of yoga, cardio and weight training and above all, the
discipline to consistently do it. Without the discipline, it is all
meaningless. Discipline involves saying NO, consistently. To yourself. To
others. Not giving in to temptations. Also, that you can eat everything but
have the discipline to moderate the quantity.
As you become healthier and
fitter, you will keep raising the bar for yourself. Initially it is weight.
Then it is strength. Then flexibility. Then speed. Ultimately, mental and
spiritual well-being. The quest is never ending. Take the path less trodden.
You have miles to go. But keep going. The journey itself is pleasurable. You
will discover many things along the way. What worked for me may not work for
you. But something will. So, start and the path will reveal itself!
