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Weight loss: 'I lost 34 kg in a year'
Readers share the stories and strategies behind their weight loss. Today, Bhavin Jitendra Shah from Mumbai tells us his story.
Recently, we invited you to share your diet and exercise strategies with us.
Here is another response from Bhavin Jitendra Shah from Mumbai who lost 34 kg in a year!
I am an IT professional; which also means I am not very physically active. It also didn't help that I couldn't hit the gym because of some physical injuries.
My background : I was always a bulky fellow (weighing around 85-87kgs) but from 2009 to 2011 my weight increased drastically and I now weighed in105 kg (I guess before that I was even 110 kgs but I do not have proof to substantiate that).
To top it, I had an accident in 2005 where I have had to undergo a near-amputation of my hands, my right knee had a missing cartilage and my half of the left ankle bone is missing.
Between April 2011 and May 2012, however I lost 34 kg and during this period went from 105.4 kg to 71.4 kg.
I had consulted nutritionist Swati Chandrasekhar (she practices in Pune and in my company) and then followed her schedule as well as put forth some of the restrictions on myself.
Swati gave me a set chart pattern which was customised to my eating habits (I only prefer Jain food) and she was always in conversation with me if I had doubts they were clarified immediately and that help was indeed useful.
I do not wish to share the chart pattern as different people would behave differently to different diets and I am not a specialist to share it with people and indeed it would be better if people consult nutritionist.
The major points I feel which came out of my dieting were:
- Never remain hungry and at every intervals (say 1-1.5 hours) I was advised to eat/drink something.
- Since we remain and have a sedate work style we do not exercise and one of the exercise suggested was to go to swimming or atleast walk in water to start with(in case of not able to swim).
- I did not know swimming and with some help from my in-house company psychologist I could even swim after the 12 operations I had on my legs.
- Walking makes a lot of difference and people generally do not walk and use cars/bikes mostly.
- Have a balanced diet and shunning food would only add on to the craving.
- Breakfast is one thing which you should have properly since that would dictate your start of the day and well begun is half done.
- Dinner should be tempered (mark my word tempered and not shunned) a bit since then you hardly have any activity to be done after that.
- Milk is one important thing that needs to be taken daily at least 1 glass of milk.(cow milk only)
In addition to the above points, I have followed the following things which I feel has helped me a lot :
- I added buttermilk and curd (they are my favorites) to be used as stop gap whenever I have a craving
- We know that chewing is important.so every morsel of food I have, i made sure that I chew it at least 25 times (count it manually) and then swallow it. Swati added saying that you should enjoy the food, I guess this is the most defining factor as taking a break and not enjoying the food and just having it for getting on to the next thing lined up in office is as good as yourself that thing which you have brought but are unable to enjoy for lack of time...
- Oily foodstuff can be kept to a minimum or avoided(depends on how much control you have upon yourself).
- Foodstuffs made of maida should be avoided (biscuits, breads et al).
- Outside eatables a complete no-no as in bhel- puri and so on...
- Aerated drinks should be tempered.
- Tea/coffee is best avoidable.
- Walking daily for around 3-4 kms a must. I used to walk after lunch(not briskly) for 15-20 minutes and after dinner for around 2-2.5 km... I used to partly walk to highway which is 1.5 kms from my house and from JVLR in Powai to office in Chandivali (another 1.2 km)
- Make sure that you are physically drained out before you hit the bed.