No magic pills

There is SO MUCH written about weight loss. Weight loss industry in India alone, stands at about Rs.8000 crores (1 crore =10 millions) Every day, when I open the newspaper, there are at least 5 advertisements for weight loss and fitness. There are many which charge you for the number of kilos you want to lose!

Almost all my friends are trying to lose weight. They ask me how I manage to be, the way I am, despite having two kids and despite being 35. (I am 5 ft 4 inches tall & weigh 53 kgs which is about 117 pounds) When I say that I watch what I eat and I work out, they say “Oh!—but YOU don’t need to work out. You never put on weight.”

Excuse me!!! EVERYONE puts on weight (yes—I have had my share of battles with the bulges too.) and I NEED to work out. Isn’t prevention better than cure?

Somehow, I am paranoid about putting on weight. I watch my weight carefully and the moment it goes to 54, I step up my work out and eat healthier. (more fruits, less fried stuff etc )

It is no picnic to try and lose even 1 kg. It is an uphill task—literally. Theoretically it is easy. Everything you eat, has calories. Calories are burnt for every single activity that you do, including sleeping.—If you burn more calories than you consume, you will naturally lose weight. It is that simple. The rate at which you burn calories is called Basic metabolic rate. You can do many things to boost your metabolic rate. This article is a good one.

There are no easy methods—there are no short cuts. If you starve yourself, you will end up with saggy skin and hair loss—not to mention other ailments caused by lack of nutrition. If you work out too much and not eat right, you will again fall ill. What is most disappointing is that you do not get instant results. It will take at least a week to ten days, to lose even 500 grams.(unless you go on crash diets—which are not healthy)

Personally, I don’t go to any gym. I have a professional treadmill at home. On most days, for half an hour, my view is this.(After this I do a bit of yoga and ab-crunches)

Since treadmill can get monotonous and boring, I usually use my mobile and text friends. Or I watch an interesting movie on my DVD, while on the treadmill. (The experts call it the disassociating effect—where you switch off from what you are doing) I also have weights at home, though I confess I haven’t touched them ever since I got back, from my holiday.

My brother has been a great influence on me, when it comes to fitness.(He is a fitness maniac, into body building and I have seen the amount of dedication and care he takes. He has a very high pressure corporate job, yet makes time for fitness) He once told me “Don’t compare to yourself to your next door neighbour or friends. Your role models should be somebody you really admire.” I told him that the ones I really admire are celebrities and they have an army of servants to take care of their children and also have personal trainers. He told me to not use that as an excuse and see what I could achieve, given my ‘limitations’.

Today, I am happy I took his advice.

If you want to lose weight, the first thing is to accept that it is tough and is going to take a LOT of hardwork. Second is to eat healthy. Third is to drag yourself to workout, even on days that you don’t feel like it. The last is to persist, persist and persist.

Good luck!