How I cut down sugar and lost 31 kg in 6 months

Rediff reader Subash tells us how he went from an unhealthy 117 kg to 86 kg in just six months.
If you have recently lost weight, you can share your story too!

• Earlier in this series: How I lost 24 kg with cycling and diet

I work in the hospitality industry and have a fairly active social life.

However, due to family and professional stress, I started putting on weight.

When my body's metabolism was swift, the rate of gain was manageable.

I used to work out on the treadmill, play badminton and visited the gym liberally. Yet, I started piling on weight.

In August 2018, I hit 117 kg.

I took time off and signed up for a 2 week Ayurveda camp with dry skin massages, diet and started walking for an hour.

During this period, I lost 5 kg. I also realised the 'science of losing weight.'

When I came back, I used the learning, augmented with online research and used an amalgam of techniques to bring my weight down by 31 kg in 6 months without much of collateral damage or feeling weak.

Most of what I did during these six months were against the conventional advice provided by well wishers and gym trainers with commercial instincts.

I was often advised to do heavy exercises, go slow on cardios, lift weights and take protein supplements.

'Eat more lean meat, develop muscles so automatically the fat will reduce; starve yourself with one chapati per meal'...these are some of suggestions I ignored.

I chalked out a simple, sustainable method that I could do the trick.

To follow my routine, you will need to have discipline and motivation.

After one month, when you look at yourself in the mirror, you will feel happy about your achievement.

You may even think of getting a new wardrobe or amending your existing ones just to keep you motivated and going. 

I am sharing with you the diet and regime that worked for me. The idea is to keep it simple.

• No milk, no sugar, no fruits, very frugal fat. You may use ghee or oil as you would in every day cooking.
• Have less carbohydrates; cut off rice, chapati etc and replace with dahlia (broken wheat) for all 3 meals. 
• There is no restriction on vegetables or dal (you can have up to 3 to 4 cups a day between lunch and dinner). You will start developing a taste for vegetables and pulses.
• Dahlia has to be restricted to 1 cup per day in raw form. It has to be cooked in a gruel form so it stretches for all 3 meals.
• Mix liberal quantities of veggies and dal in the liquid dahlia to ensure it is tasty and you don't get bored.
• Start with 1 cup of green tea in the morning followed by 5 to 6 glasses of warm to hot water every day. 
• I exercise on the treadmill for one hour at the speed of 6 km/ hour, elevation 10 to 15 for 45 minutes.
• I also play badminton for about 45 minutes everyday. If you don't have any other physical activities or sport, just increase the treadmill to another hour. 

The theory of starving the body of carbohydrates ensures your metabolism is immediately attacked and the body uses the stored fat for energy. This will never happen if you have enough carbohydrate supplements in your diet. But since you are eating enough of dal and veggies, you are not totally starved too. 

I stuck to this schedule for 3 to 4 weeks and it soon became a part of my routine.

I'd have my cheat days after 2 months, once every week. I'd go to a good restaurant to enjoy food and maybe have a round of drinks to celebrate.

With the above routine, I managed to lose 2 kg per week.

Every few weeks, I'd hit the plateau which would last for about a week. In these six months, I may have had approx 12 to 14 cheat days thanks to client meetings, reunions, weddings etc

I am 86 kg and plan to reduce another 3 to 4 kg soon.

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