That July night did have some impact on me. So now the question was what had to be done if I have to set the wheels in motion to achieve the unthinkable. Another question that use to pop up is, "Is it even achievable?" There were plenty such type of questions after that night. So next morning I just got up, took my earphones and went for a walk. Normally people have the habit of spending on all types of accessories before starting a new drill or an activity. Like for example, if it is about a morning walk session then some would go out and buy a new pair of sports shoes, some track pants, wrist bands, mobile arm bands and what not. These days it's the era of gadgets such as the digital wrist bands which clocks your steps & heart beats. Well, my way is a bit different. I first measure my persistence level. If I have continued a particular activity for a good amount of time only then I start investing and exploring some new accessories or updating my daily schedule. To give a simple example, I started my morning walk sessions immediately after the D-Day but I purchased a pair of shoes in mid January 2017 i.e. almost after 5.5 months after starting the new routine.
If someone else would have been in my place, that person might have chalked a plan on what to do and what not to do stuff. Which gym to be joined and what to eat and what not to. I, on the contrary, am a man always with no plan. Our life wasn't our choice and our end is already scheduled. All we are doing is just heading towards it. So planning for me seems to be an illusion. Because in here too the majority thinking is one way. If you win means you are a man with a plan. And if you lose, you are good for nothing. I just had one thing in mind and that is, I have to start. What I have to start, No Idea. What I have to achieve, Yes that I knew. But I hadn't quantified a particular figure as target.
Just to break this entire write up, I have decided to give sub headings to the different phases in the journey. Coming back, so the next morning I just got up and went for the usual walk. Only this time the change was I had changed the route. Just added an additional turn which made the new routine walk of around 44 minutes. Now, I didn't buy any shoes for the same and floaters were for office purpose. So I was left with only one option, slippers. The biggest risk of wearing slippers is, a fall is in the waiting, especially with the rainy season going on. Well but at that moment I thought I could manage that much. For achieving consistency was more important.
As I said above I hadn't taken any oath or decided upon a strategy of how I was going ahead with the weight loss. So the eating habits were still the same. First weekend of August came the friendship Day. With office group, we had a celebration at Dadar and with college folks we had a celebration at Dombivli. Both times the menu was full and sumptuous. One conversation I remember from this day was that happened with the college set of people. One girl said, "I have started gyming and today is sort off a cheat day for me." Another guy, first, applauded her efforts and the bitch turned to me and said, " Dude you need to start thinking seriously about yourself." He is a among the best in my list so the abuse is normal. Now just because I ignored the comments and went on relishing the royal menu doesn't mean it didn't had any impact on me. Since there was no plan in place so I let it go at that moment.
Post friendship Day celebration came the moment of me calling the shots in my life. The first things I needed to cut down upon was the food habits. The walks won't have impact until extra fuel is stopped from going inside. So the first to face the axe was birthday cakes. Though the reason of stopping them was totally different, but I couldn't give that to all. Especially when my birthday will be coming around in a couple of months. However it did have a good impact on my weight loss program for one simple reason. Cake use to come for everyone's birthday. And since I had different groups, I used to be invited for many such occasions. Everyone knew this was just a mere formality. Yet people continued the trend. Now normally what use to happen is, post cutting and feeding people use to have a one small piece each thus leaving almost half the cake behind. And then everyone be like, "I am done". And I don't know for what reason I had chosen to be a messiah to empty the plates on the table in order to ensure no food goes waste. I used to be among the ones who use to consume at least 30% of the cake each time. Hence it was essential to stop this social service. So the cake tradition was the first to take the hit.
At first I changed that principle in my life, "If I haven't asked for it, I don't owe anything." And I started applying this principle always on the food table. After cake, randomly a thought came in my head. And that is, "How about if I stop eating outside food?" I knew it was going to be a difficult task. Especially for a person like me who has been living on that for so many years. But I just said to myself, why not try it once. If it works then cool. Else it won't be doing any harm as such to the status quo.
It was somewhere in mid of August 2016. So with the morning walks becoming a regular part of the day. Now they were assisted further with no more cakes and no outside food. I didn't practically define outside food. One thing was for sure and that was, I am not going to anyone for seeking suggestion or guidance. I remember when I use to say that I go for morning walks, so people use to have a belief that my morning walk meant jogging or running. But it literally meant walk. Some use to say, "No that won't have any impact, you got to run or at least jog." But since I had made up my mind, no outside interference. So no comments made me think I am doing something the wrong way or like it won't have any impact and will be pure waste of time.
Somewhere in August, I added another item to the Itinerary. I had heard from a friend who use to do that. So I just googled what it exactly did. The item was drinking a glass of lukewarm water with honey and lemon. Some websites said it aided in weight loss, especially the belly fat. While others said, it didn't aid in weight loss but helped in flushing out the toxins. I gave a simple thought, something better than nothing. Here too I applied my principle of 'No Investment Until Persistent'. Back home there was honey, but the brand was Patanjali. I am a Total No for this brand. But the law said, finish one bottle. If I still continue the process, I will buy the one of my own choice. And since then till date, only Dabur bottle comes home now. BRs brand is banned.
Came 23rd August 2016. One month completion. A month, since the awakening. So now it was time to check my current weight. During my childhood, the best part of railway platforms was about checking your weight on the big full of light machines. The card on which the weight use to come printed would also have a actor/actress picture. Back then I assumed that there must be some similarity between us which is why I must have got their picture. So on the day of one month completion I was searching for these machines on the railway platform only to realize they were removed long back. Such monotonous is my life that sometime I fail to recognise the changes happening around. So now I had to search for some other options for checking weight. Previously I use to check at the doctor's clinic. Now that wasn't an option. Then suddenly I remembered seeing a guy sitting on railway station FOB with a weighing scale. So while coming home one day, I just dropped by there. On a normal day I would have been a bit embarrassed to do this for all the passerby would be staring at you. And to add to it, if the weighing scale guy is a loudmouth, and says the figure in a higher tone. Imagine that. But something had changed in me since that month. I was able to pierce the veil of 'What will people think". I won't say I have mastered in it. But surely an amateur student. Coming back, the guy was having the old style weighing scale. So I removed my sandals, kept my bag on a side and stood on the scale. The guy was staring in for few seconds and finally concluded with 101.
Now let me explain how the weighing scale stuff works. Being a machine, each of it is going to have some or the other differences from the other. So this means each weighing scale is going to work differently and will give you different results. Hence it is recommended to use only one scale when one undertakes a journey of weight loss. I remember how some girls in my office had become conscious and worried on account of sudden weight gain when they got the figures during the health check up. Only after confirming from the regular machines the next day, did they stop worrying about the sudden spike. Back then I use to laugh at such people who use to get worried about their weight after eating any small thing. But today I too fall in that category. It's when you have earned it, the fear to maintain it is always there in you.
Also, one more thing that needs to be considered while checking your weight is timing to do so. During the day as we consume food, body stores the nutrient content from them to be converted and used as energy. Also, body stores lot of water which is why it's said that one can live without water for three days. Now all this has an impact on getting the actual weight figure. Hence it is always recommended to check weight first thing in the morning after visiting the loo. That is the time, one can get a near accurate picture.
So now considering the above factors, the huge difference in my weight i.e. from 105 to 101, surely it wasn't because of the regular walks which I had started. Obviously it did have some impact, but not that much to be celebrated as a huge achievement. But I must say I was satisfied. For when you start something to achieve a particular goal and when the results also start coming your way in the journey, nothing can be more satisfying. I immediately texted a friend of mine about it. It's one trait in me that I am trying to improve. I always get excited by even smallest of an achievement. And I immediately want to share it within my close circles. The same is applicable with problems too. But in the excitement or in the not so good times I tend to forget that not everyone will be in a mood at any given time to feel about it as I would want to. So I am learning to curb those levels a bit.
As I stepped into the second month, one thing was clear in my head. Whatever I was doing was working, which means I am on the right track. Now all I needed to do was just increase the levels. I had now set a rough target in the back of my mind. The immediate target was to come into Overweight from Obesity i.e. bringing weight into two figures from three figures. Next level was, and it was a long time target, to achieve the benchmark for Skydiving. This adventure Activity has a weight restriction of 90 kilos. So if one has to enjoy it, you got to be below that. Third, and the most important, target to achieve the Normal Benchmark of Weight from being an Overweight. Normally a person's height in centimetres minus 100 is considered to be your normal weight. At 101, this will be like touching the stars. So I never had it in my mind. The less we think about the destination, more fascinating is the journey.
So September month was a motivated one. And the entire month I was eagerly waiting for 23rd September when I was supposed to check my weight. Being monsoon times, on a morning when I was doing my normal morning I slipped on the road. Since I use to go on my brother's rubber chappals, it slipped on an iron lid of a pothole. My mobile did had a great fall but don't recollect about me falling at that moment. It happened twice in that month. And since then I use to walk very cautiously since it was final month for the rains. My investment principle still didn't approve about the purchase of shoes. Finally on the result day the figure came out was 99. I couldn't believe my ears when the guy said weighing scale said those numbers. I was literally in the seventh heaven. In a matter of two months, I had crossed the first level of my set targets. I was no more an obese guy. Obviously it wasn't evident on the outer side. But I could feel the change in the inside.
The outer body change was visible from October. I remember people asking me why are you suddenly becoming thin? Have you started some diet or stuff? I had to somehow dodge the questions as it was just the start. And I have the habit of playing my cards close to my chest. Co-incidentally I had fallen sick in that period. Sudden fever and severe cold. So I had used this to my benefit saying I was very much ill in the past few weeks which has led to some weight loss. Well honestly, it did. I remember losing a kilo in it. My family doctor couldn't stop the fever so he had recommended me a MD. I had some 3 visits to the MDs hospital. There is one funny incident which happened in the hospital. MDs have the habits of recording your weight, BP, pulse on each day of visit. So now I didn't had to wait for the entire month to end. For it happened twice or thrice in one month itself. On my second visit, the doctor had checked my weight on his digital weighing scale. It came out to be 97.8. Now this was way to fast then my monthly average of 2 Kilos. I was like, I am happy to stay sick if it will drop further. But on my next visit, the nurse did this drill of checking weight, BP before I entered the doctor's cabin. This scale wasn't a digital one. Here the weight came out to be something above 98, I can't recollect the fraction. But I was shocked. I just couldn't bear the fact that it increased so quickly. Though the logic behind it was correct. I asked the nurse to recheck my weight. She didn't allow me to check. Instead she checked my file and said it's the same as before. During recovery it does come back to where it was. She was right, but Apna Dil hai ki manta Nahi. So when I went to the doctor's cabin, I asked the MD to recheck my weight as I feel it wasn't correct. He gracefully allowed me. But unfortunately, it came out to the same. So now I had no option but to accept the fact that there wasn't any miracle.
Normally, November means Diwali. So here diet won't have much impact because of the Faral. Hence not much memories from the festive month. However December 2016 was surely a big month. It is from this month that Statistics became a part of my life. Until now I had no record of the morning walks. Even the weight figures were noted down on the calendar. So I downloaded three Applications in my mobile phone. One was to check the BMI (aktiBMI), One to keep a track of my water intake (Water Reminder) and, the most important one, to keep a track of my number of steps (Pacer). This was the first addition to my arsenal, though virtual, since starting the journey. I think it was 16th December 2016, when I started using these Applications. The first clocked weight, then my current one, was 96 Kilos. So now when going for a walk in the morning, I use to use the GPS Run facility in Pacer which use to track the exercise. These apps are based on algorithms. It shows the number of steps, kilometers covered, time taken and calories burned. Pacer also has options to input other exercises and also weight log. The best part is the reports it shows of Total of all the above areas in three categories; Month wise, Six Monthly, and Yearly. It also has weekly calorie burning reports which is bifurcated in five parts; Needs Work (<1059 Cal), On Target (1030-2120), Epic (2121-4238), Superhuman (4239-8475), Martian (8476<). Also the Weekly Average Reports helps you to ensure you are on track and that you maintain consistency. The Water Reminder App uses your height and weight as base to calculate the number of liters of water you should be consuming in a day. It has various options to input your data such as a Glass, Bottles of various sizes. It also has weight log which helps in calculating the total water intake amount based on current weight. Among the reports it provides is Water Intake report on Daily, Weekly, Monthly and Yearly Basis. It has auto reminders which shall keep your phone vibrating and giving you notifications if you are behind schedule. These things made each day more and more interesting. Reaching the Daily steps goal of 10K or achieving 100% Water Intake became a daily motivation. Uptil now I hadn't concentrated on the water area. But yes, water plays a very important role in weight loss. It is our general habit to drink water only when we are thirsty. That results in very low intake of water. I remember on many a days I won't even drink 3 glass of waters a day. But post these apps, I am trying my level best each day to stay on the 100% mark. Water helps to flush out the toxins in the body. Plus most of times when we feel hungry, it is not food that the body wants but water. Hence water intake also reduces unwanted hunger. Yes this results in increased number of washroom visits due to the AC flow at the workplace. But that's the small cost you need to bear. However, if you look from the other way, it is not a cost but it benefits in achieving another target i.e. the daily 10K steps target. Due to our revolving chair life, body movements have become very much restricted. Hence the 10K target helps us to have enough body movements in the day to keep the things balanced. So with all this new motivation I was all set to step in the new year. The weighing scale ended at 94 Kilos for the year 2016.
New Year 2017, but the journey was still the same. For a lot had to be achieved. The apps were doing their job pretty well. As I started providing more and more data, the statistics went on looking more good. It had been almost 5.5 months in the journey. So now as per my principle, it was time for some investment. I finally purchased a pair of sports shoes and weighing scale. This was surely a huge addition and provided that extra additional motivation. By January I had also increased the walking time in the morning. And now with the shoes, there was no fear of slipping on the road. So a little bit of running when the road is totally vacant. I couldn't believe how things were taking shape, but it was really great to see efforts were paying off.
Now that the consistency was achieved, it was time to shift gears. To up the ant, increase the levels. But what if the increase in levels might add boredom instead of maintaining the current levels. And most importantly what more will be required to be done to add further spice in the journey. Patience, next post will talk about it.
May The Force Be With You !!
-SR.
