Because: Self love is Supreme!

Tab aur Aab.

Like most women I aspired a zero size figure too, but first one being romance in my happily married life other being my diminishing bank balance, they were fighting hard to be zero but waist line gave me a tough time.

So, I aint a professional sharing my “param gyaan” but I would like to share my thought process what I went through in absolute honesty and some little “gyaan” on eating right! Aab itna toh banta hee hain!

FLASH BACK!

Journey from 85kgs to 61kgs.

Nearly 4.5 years ago I had the most magical day of my life! My son ‘Atharv’ entered in our lives! I thought his arrival means bidding adieu to few kilos off my pregnancy weight!

But the scale refused to cooperate. I was fucking just 2kgs less. From 85kgs to 83kgs now! And I murmured to myself, Why does this hospital have a ‘baba adaam ke zamaney ka’ weighing machine!

The reality check seeped in; Voila! There was absolutely nothing wrong with the machine!

So here I stood staring at the dumbstruck machine being 18 kgs more as compare to my pre-pregnancy weight! The major conundrum of my life!

But yet, happily whole heartedly I ate. Joh lao paet mein. Meetha, chocolates, ice cream, every second day food would be ordered from a hotel. Bhai, baby ke saath cooking karna mushkil hai na? On second thoughts cooking kabhi bhi karna mushkil hee hain..No?:P

But possibly because I was breast feeding my child I still manage to shred some 5 kgs in first few months. So I was 78kgs now. Also thanks to a dozen of maids who kept leaving me!:P

This 78kgs never left me for an extended time. Visibly, thanks to my life style and my fanatical love for food. How can one not eat fries, abstain from soda drinks and restrict meetha after dinner?

 Uss sey aacha toh marr hee jaaye.

 Praan chaley jaaye agar meetha na khaye.( Original hain bhai)

So, nearly 3 years I was a large confident woman. I never let my weight affect my confidence. No ‘body shaming’ here.

Now, nearly a year ago, we had our family get together wherein I was evidently the widest in our entire family picture. That picture made me want the things to change. Trust me I got that fire struck onto me with that picture, I told myself; “You take baby steps and start doing your bit. In the end you will at least feel you tried! ”

As the old saying goes; To find the pearls in the sea, the least you need to do is leave the shore!

Nothing comes easy! We need to carve our paths to attain our goals. No?

 So, I researched on diet plans, exercises (which were just to read and know but not apply as yet). Maybe with 3/4 days of work and I knew a little bit of eating right basics. I laid my hands on Rujuta Diwekar book; “Don’t lose your mind, lose your weight” and followed her scrupulously. 

So, Bingo after 3 stretched years I was shredding my first few kilos. I started eating right and within 20 days I lost 3kgs just by eating right. Regular intervals of 2/3 hours, not very stringent as of now!

The fire is within you, you need to light it yourself!

This went on for nearly a month. Later, I had to move my ass; I started walking :P. I would be worn-out just walking for barely 10/15 minutes and this very realization was an eye opener!  But the improvement was quick and steep. Within no time I could brisk walk for an hour.

Further, I pursued yoga. I am a diehard fan of yoga. It fills you with lot of positive energy. With yoga I gained a lot of control on my diet too, Eating right was just about mindfulness and to be observant to whatever you are feeding your body!

You start being aware whatever little thing that goes inside to your body! BE AWARE OF WHAT YOU EAT AND HOW MUCH IS REALLY REQUIRED? That will take you a long way!

I quit tea completely, switched to green tea and by now I had sacrificed on ice creams completely too. Bhaiya, huge sacrifice hain yeh!:P Naturals roasted almonds, uss sey badi jannat kaha hain?:P

I learnt more on dieting, gave up carbs in the evening and introduced a lot of healthy food in my diet. Namely; corn, oats, cornflex, almonds, chana, peanuts etc. Nothing changed in a day, its training your mind and body together. It’s a lifestyle change and not a goal oriented program!

Refined sugar is poison if you desire to lose weight! So there was no refined sugar in my diet now and your sugar free is sweet poison, jee nahin woh bhi nahin chalta hain! (Even if Sanjeev Kapoor mentions in that add its low calories! :P)

So, I lost 2/3 kgs  more, staring at the weighing scale which read 72kgs now! But 2 months and just 3 kgs, I wasn’t very pleased with the progress.

Now it was time to take a bigger leap, I joined Aerobics and continued with my evening jog/walk schedule. (I was jogging by now.)

But there was a downfall. I had to break my routine as had to visit my native place for some emergency.

Could not maintain my exercise routine completely and I fell prey to street food there. Awesome Kanpur Street food! Yummy Alu Chaat! Aha! Aha! Abhi bhi mooh mein paani aa raha hain!

Luckily I put on just 1 kg after coming back to Mumbai. You know why it was just 1 kilo? Because Sasural gayi thi Maike nahin.:P

Now, I was geared up to soar higher and I had some progression in the past which uplifted me.

So, I join a GYM on 6^th October 2016! With my weight being 73.5 kgs

My husband thought I will just enrol and waste money, honestly speaking I thought the same.:P  Itni mehnat aur mein, mushkil tha thodha.

After a week or so; here was a changed Arti who started loving gymming and who was getting thinner month on month. My workout intensity increased gradually too. I never imagined running the treadmill in the speed of 12 ever! But now I do. :P

Every day I pushed myself a little further, I told myself: Give in your best today!

Just kill yourself with exercise, I promise you will not die.:)   {Khud sey baatein aksar geniuses karte hain..:P..(dailougue from Movie Noor)..}

Now some eating right gyaan which I follow, I aint professional here:

No Meetha! Kuch paaney ke leeye Kuch khona padega!

No chocolates! (Trust me I don’t mind killing someone, if I was allowed to eat entire Bournville chocolate to myself..:P..)

No Biscuits! (Not even one, trust me I eat 1/4 a biscuit even if I crave for it)

No Namkeen (Alu bhujia’s ..mmmmm...were my saviours, dump kar deeya mainey unko)

No deep fried (Mummyji’s Bhaturey, I could eat until I was full until neck and more. I still eat one but thats like once in a year.:P)

No fries, no burger, Sub sandwich khao toh no mayonnaise ..very little sauces, no extra cheese, uss sey aacha khao hee nahin..precisely my point.:P.

No Aerated drinks! Bhaiya zeher peelo lekin Soda wale item nahin.Aap utney hee cool lagogey agar aap Amul ka chaas peeyongey.Modi uncle koh yeh soda companies bandh kar deni chahiyein.Haina?

Aur bhaiya daaru toh bhool hee jao..nahin nahin mein nahin peeti thi..am generally speaking. Too much of calories to get high!

Aur mein aapko koti koti pranaam karugi if after reading this post you zip your mouth maximum after 8! You are half sorted if you follow this one basic rule!

Now comes what to eat?

Aab yeh sab upar ka taam-jhaam nahin khaogey toh bachta kya hain khaney mein..:P

I haven’t followed any diet per say, but I have an array of foods which I mix-match and eat.

Fruits and vegetables primarily, no processed food, paneer in its pure form, oats, cornflex, try not to eat carbs after 4, sprouts! I eat a big bowl of sprouts with vegetables and fruits in it like every second day. Banana, I eat a lot of banana, though it’s commonly believed that it contains a lot of calories.

Yaar Rujutaji kehti hain go local, eat local food, but Mumbai ka  toh local food vada pav hain..:P..Ok please ignore this point!..:P..

Baaki, Thodha google kar loh ya mujhey message karke phuch loh. Aab celebrity toh hun nahin..merey pass bahut time hain!

Now it’s a general notion that losing weight is a costly affair, I beg to differ. Yaar, I am a middle class woman and start up company hain meri ,  joh pichley chaar saal sey start up hee hain..:P...merey pass bhi bahut jyada paise nahin hain aur upar sey mein Marwari. Get the point? So get the crap out of your brain and spend it on your health! You will save lakh of rupees in future.:)

So from October to now I travelled from 73.5kgs to 61kgs and I still need to shred more!

To sum it up, there are really no short cuts to getting that shape. You need to slog your ass and eat right and remember consistency and progression is the key!

Everyone can achieve it, there is no other side or rocket science to it. Ek ram-baan tariqa hain.

We all deserve this and we should do it for ourselves .No?

Because: Self love is Supreme!

Closing ‘param gyaan’:P

Hit it hard,

Or don't hit at all.

Go out and fight,

don't blame your plight.

Walk as if you were to run,

Run as if you were to fly.

Go heavy or don't lift it at all,

You will rise, even if you fall!

Much Love:

Arti Jalan Agarwal.