A journey from 75 to 65

About 4 years ago, I was a person who wasnt much conscious about fitness. I was kind of ok, not too bad for my height. I wasnt over-weight, I used to feel at that time. But thanks to my 2 & 3rd years at IIIT where my regular afternoon naps helped me put on those extra pounds. I didnt realize the change in myself until I saw a photograph of mine. God, I was awful. But I neglected that because I had even more serious problems in life to deal with at that time. I didnt realize that being overweight was the most serious problem anyone could face with.

Towards the end of my 3rd year at IIIT, I had to undergo a minor surgery and after the surgery I was recommended a bed rest for about 2 months. I was asked to not even walk quickly for another 2 months. I remember it was August 2003, and I was about 77 kg. The other tension in my life at that time was getting a job in a good company, no , some company as placements were around the corner. Thank God, I got placed soon into Infosys. Now I had to think of ways to lose my weight.

I started jogging on the road just beside our college, the road which led to Infosys and ISB. I used to go for a jog in the morning around 6:30 am. If I was late even by half n hour on some day, I used to skip jogging on that day. There was a reason for that. It always was fun for some people to watch a fat guy trying to shed his pounds by jogging/running. I didnt want to get stared by such people. I was a victim of inferiority complex then. But that fear made me rise earlier everyday and go for a jog without fail.

Six months passed by, jogging and working out in the gym, I tried everything possible to keep myself in shape. But damn it, nothing happened. I was the same as what I was six months earlier. I didnt know what went wrong. I couldnt double the intensity of my routines due to time constraints. I was frustrated, nothing is going to happen, I am a loser, I thought. Life looked like void to me. If I couldnt do this, I felt I cant do anything in life.

For a few months, I had other problems in life to face. For about 4 months, I was busy trying to find a better job than the one at Infosys, I was attending interviews, preparing for tests etc. Losing weight was always there at the back of my mind but those were some situations where I had to make a difficult choice. Obviously getting a better job was the first on my agenda. Finally, I have joined NCR in hyderabad in Aug 2004 and still tried my best to stick to my routines.

When I was on job, I realised the importance of staying fit and what difference it made to one's confidence. At that time I didnt want to check if I have lost weight or not. My parents and relatives always used to say that I was looking a lot slimmer than before. But then again you can never trust your family or relatives in these things.

I became a bit more serious, a jog and workout are not going to help me. I needed to do something more. The next thing that came to my mind was controlling my diet. I avoided all junk foods and cut down on eating rice. Though I wasn't a glutton, I had this irresistible temptation for sweets. I had to control that and that wasnt easy. I said to myself that I would try this for 2 months, not more than that.

2 months went by and I still didnt see any change in myself. I lost hope. I was a loser in life. But things changed one day. I happened to go to a friend's sister's marriage. A lot of my friends also came there. Most of my friends said that I was looking much better than before and also lost a lot of weight. For the first time, I have felt a sense of accomplishment somewhere deep down in my heart. Now I had the confidence to check my weight. I was anxious to know my weight. It was 66 kg. I can't explain how happy I was. I have lost nearly 10 kgs in two years. I did it. The sense of accomplishment I experienced was inexplicable.

Now I am a more confident person than what I used to be a couple of years ago. Having gone through all this just for losing weight, I understand the importance of fitness in my life. I never neglect my fitness routines no matter what. But the only thing, which I cant resist at times is my temptation for sweets. But I make sure that I more than make up for it in my next day's work out ;). Now it feels good when people call me a fitness freak.