From a couch potato to a fitness enthuse

A little background

I was born into a family of fitness freaks and yoga practitioners. My grandfather could do a headstand in his 70s. My uncles work for IT, but have flat stomachs and toned arms in their late 40s. My sister can do somersaults the entire room. And I, was the black sheep. I was the couch potato who would not twitch an eyebrow even when my mother screamed her lungs out, trying to push me to play or exercise.

I was able to maintain normal weight throughout school and college and did not see a reason to sweat. Once I joined work, corporate started showing its effects. I was changing local train and metro to reach office and spent three hours a day travelling, leaving no time for anything else (and that was my excuse). The fat was showing up around the hips, thighs and arms. I hid it with full sleeves, loose kurtas and forgot about it.

The reality check

My sister went to Delhi for an inter collegiate event and shopped for all of us. She got me a full-sleeved collared grey kurta which was my perfect fit back then. When I tried to wear it to work one day, I just couldn’t fit in! I finally managed to wear it only to realize that the stitches came off on one side. That's when reality dawned on me.

“My 18 year old sister got me something on her first trip sans family and I couldn’t even take care of it. Is this where I’m heading?”

That was it. The metro was completed until HITEC City by then saving half an hour of travel time. I found myself a fitness studio and joined.

The journey begins

I chose aerobics and not a gym as I wanted a group activity. My trainer’s kids are my age. I was one of the youngest in my class while all the other ladies were married and had kids. I would wonder how they managed work, home and still found time to work out. And boy!, they were so good. We would be ashamed of their enthusiasm to lift heavier weights or hold longer planks.

The first three days of exercise were pure horror. Every muscle in my body ached(cursed me, surely) like there was no tomorrow. I had the habit of taking stairs until then. But those days, I would just stand and stare at them wondering what do I do incase I felt too tired and collapsed midway.

I settled down after that and there was no looking back ever since. I started reading extensively about healthy, mindful eating, exercises for different muscle groups, importance of strength training etc. I cut down on sweets and intermittent snacking. I never had a sweet-tooth per se. I am not the “muh meetha karo” type but unnecessary snacking was driven by sweets which I couldn’t refuse.

The results

Two months later, I saw my first results. Four kilos down. I lost three kilos in the next four months and two kilos by the end of the year. The toning was so evident. Weight loss apart, the amount of knowledge that I gained about the human body, healthy weight loss, mindful eating has been immense. I understood how we take our body for granted not realizing that its the only place for us to live.

I continued going to aerobics until lockdown. I started training for my first 5k run which was supposed to have happened in April before Covid took it away. I have been working out at home post that. I also started meditation and chakra yoga and the results have been beautiful. I’m all for self-care and self-love now. I’m a calmer, less emotional and more peaceful version of myself. People believe that yoga and meditation are for the aged. I also believed the same until I started meditating myself. And I realized that I wasted all this time by not starting earlier.

You are what you eat — food and thoughts

My grandfather always said that the Indian approach to fitness is an amalgamation of physical, mental and spiritual well-being. They co-exist and influence the other’s efficient functioning. And my takeaways in this journey are:

• Weight loss happens in the kitchen, fitness happens in the gym
• Same applies to Abs
• Warm-up and cool-down, though under-rated are essential to keep injuries at bay
• Persistence pays
• Fad diets, ketos might give temporary results. But long term is the goal. You should win the marathon, not the sprint
• There is no one-size-fits-all approach. Listen to your body. Its talking to you - always
• Girls, you will not become muscular by lifting weights. Definitely not for what you lift.(Wish it was so easy)
• Guys, focus on the lower body too. It’ll definitely tone the upper body better.
• Mental health is as important as physical health

Fitness is not a chore, its a lifestyle choice. Its a way of life.

Mental and physical activities are the systematic investment plans for your health.