My last stint at the gym was to stalk the boy who out of the blue claimed we had ‘fallen apart’ and severed all ties. I’d go to the fitness club to sort of spy on him (I had heard he’d made a new friend there) while faking to do crunches and pushups and use the stationary cycle. That was nine years ago.
A year ago, I enrolled myself in the same gym again. This time around the reasons had changed. I wasn’t going there for someone else. I was going there for myself. I opted for a combination of an hour of aerobics followed by 30 minutes of weights.
And so I worked out religiously for six days a week for a month. At the end of which the scale still refused to budge from 74. The needle might have been hovering between 73 and 74 but after such rigorous exercise you’d expect the scale to tip considerably, wouldn’t you?
Then what was I doing wrong? It didn’t take much to figure out that food was the culprit. So, I’m a foodie. I love food, so much so that if you asked me to choose between my boyfriend of two incredible years and a cola and a bag of chips, I’d probably choose the munchies. Well, maybe I’m a little out of line here, but you get the idea.
Mr Foodie: My success was unintentional
Being a compulsive eater, I turned to food at every occasion. If I were happy, I’d eat. If I were sad, I’d eat some more. And if I were just bored, I’d find something new to eat. Food was comfort. Food was a friend for all seasons.
Coming to the realization that exercising alone wouldn’t help, I’d have to give up on my best friends was a hard one. I lived in denial for a month or so and continued with my exercising stint. I wasn’t as regular as when I first started out, because I knew it wasn’t bearing fruit. From six days a week I dropped down to four, and even then I’d just do an hour of aerobics and head home forgoing the weights.
After a few months of investing time, effort, and money (gym membership was in no way cheap, and add to that the money I spent on workout clothes), I decided that it was time to get my act together and do what it took to lose weight.
First up, I had to give up my most loved Fanta. I would easily gulp down a bottle or two a day. Sometimes, I have to shamelessly admit, I even had a liter of the fizzy drink in a day. Old habits die hard, they say and that certainly held true in my case. Giving up Fanta was no easy task.
To say I loved the drink is an understatement. It was my lifeline. The bubbly drink made me happy. Not once did I feel like I was consuming empty calories, as many people often made it a point to tell me. But I knew it was one of the significant items I consumed on a daily basis that had turned me into an elephant (almost). It had to go.
And it did. It took a lot of self-control but in the end, I reduced my Fanta intake from a bottle or two a day to a bottle or two a week. I now look forward to Sundays when I can enjoy a glass of Fanta in the sun or the occasional movie when I can order a big Fanta without guilt. On regular days, it is water I reach for instead ofFanta. I made a promise to myself and it’s one I intend to keep.
Along with the drink, I cut down on junk food too. Now I indulge in it once a week or so, and even then I limit the portion. Instead of having an entire bag of Kurkure or Lays chips, I either only eat half a packet and keep aside the rest for later or split it with a friend. And trust me half a bag is more than enough to satisfy cravings. It did take a lot of discipline but the results have been worth it.
In the next four months, I lost almost six kilos. Cutting back on junk food, especially the fizzy drink, proved to have other benefits too. I didn’t feel as lethargic as I did before and my stamina during aerobics improved too. My skin cleared up and people would comment that it looked brighter and fresher than ever before.
Some people believe that you can eat anything you want as long as you exercise, but I have found out first hand that it only works up to a certain age when your body’s metabolism is naturally high. Once you are in your twenties, that doesn’t hold true anymore.
You have to eat right, and exercise to get the body you want. There is no other option. What you put in your body counts as much as how rigorous your exercise regime is. Along with cutting down on junk food and exercising, eating the right kinds of food helped me lose weight. I’ll get into that next week. For now, I ask you all to look into your eating habits and cut down on the food items you know are contributing to those love handles.
The writer now weighs 51 kilos and gets complimented on her fit figure.
