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Well its a LONG story so ill try to summarize it.

I started my journey last year ,before that i was your typical overweight guy ,without a care in the world and living an unhealthy lifestyle which most of us get comfortable in. Decided to lose some weight before my wedding and then never looked back. Followed a strict diet and started jogging in the evening. Gradually got addicted to this new life and now i cringe at the sight of junk food and never miss a day at the gym. :)

Was a little hesitant to post selfies on a public forum but what the heck ,its for a good cause. I know people think its very difficult but if a guy like me (superlazy and a big foodie) can do it then anyone can.

Pardon my photo editing skills.





`The body achieves what the mind believes.`

Fantastic Acheivement. Kudos !!

Was this 23 kg drop over a period of 1 year? sounds like a very patient and consistent drop. Such weight losses are easy to retain compared to the fast weight loss programs that is now a fad

Btw, checking with all. As its Navratri and Iam off NV food, thought of using this time to get used to eating smaller dinner portions.

I have designed the following for dinner this week. Comments and suggestions are welcome

My breakfast is always oatmeal and lunch is 4 small phulkas and curry from home.

Monday : A bowl of Oatmeal with lots of apple pieces thrown in.
Tuesday : A bowl of Oatmeal with lots of apple pieces thrown in
Wednesday : 2 Idlis and 1 Vada
Thursday : Bhel Puri and 1 glass of juice
Friday : Subway Sandwich and Salad
Saturday : Veg Manchurian and Small bowl of Soup

Thanks a ton. Your photographs are inspiring for anyone who postpones the diet plan thinking its unrealistic.

This does not seem to look like a good diet. You need to get good amounts of good fats in and some protein. If I were you I would make following changes -
1 -> Replace oat meal breakfast with boiled/baked sweet potatoes, nuts and fresh fruits (berries are the best)
2 -> Retain your existing lunch, but make sure cooking is done in home made ghee and not vegetable oils
3 -> For dinner have fresh fruit/vegetable salad or boiled vegetables ( have lots of it and if possible saute in fresh home made ghee).
4 -> Skip the Vada and Manchurian completely.
5 -> Have one or two portions of dal daily (not the best source of protein, but in absence of non veg its the best. Avoid the likes of soya except if you are taking soya protein extracts)

If you dont mind eating non veg, i'd recommend having 2 good portions of meat without chapati or rice for lunch.

That is simply awesome. Please share some more details. We need specifics.

Apologies for the late response.

Yes, i figured it out that in order to lose weight and keep fit its more important to make long-term lifestyle changes rather than follow popular diets or fitness regimes.

Thanks, its all about finding/awakening your willpower. :)

Thanks, i basically got rid of the old unhealthy lifestyle which i had.
Initially i followed a very strict diet to lose weight quickly, almost to the point of eating only one meal a day which was wrong. Started to read more and more about fitness online and changed my routine/lifestyle completely.

To be more specific...

Diet - I eat clean for 6 days and indulge myself slightly on the weekend. I keep a check on the amount of carbs/protein/fat am eating.
Exercise - I do 20 mins of cardio which includes 10 mins on the treadmill and 10 on the cross trainer followed by weight training for around 40-50 mins daily. Sunday is rest day.
This has been my routine for the last 6 months.

Its not about starving yourself or eating bland food, just eat right and exercise, it really is that simple.

Go through this link and see if it helps. http://iifym.com/

Lemme know if you have any further queries.

Background: I've always been on the heavier side but when I was in college, I was heavily into working out. I was 90 kilos but my body fat percentage was 6%. Gradually I became lazy and stopped working out. My weight rose to about 110 kilos.

In 2010, I went to the US for a year and came back 22 kilos heavier. At 132 kilos, I was morbidly obese. My parents were horrified and I went to a dietitian. With a combination of running (in small bursts first and then gradually building it up) and diet, I lost 20 kilos over the course of a year and felt fit. When I reached 110 kilos, I began to slip, eating out almost everyday and then over time, my weight went up to 119. I was still running everyday (about 4-5km), either on the treadmill or on the road.

I signed up for the Mumbai Marathon and ran the half marathon in 2hours and 48 minutes. Enthralled, I signed up for a running fitness group that was training for the marathon. I used to wake up every other morning and go run at the race course. 2-3 rounds of the 2 km track. Still, the weight was around 119.

Cut to Bangkok in May. Was on a work trip and while getting onto a motorcycle, I managed to dislocate my knee. Perhaps my pants were too tight or I stepped in on a bad angle or something. Net result after a trip to the emergency room, was a diagnosis of a torn ligament.

Back in Mumbai, I struggled with excruciating knee pain and after two months, I began physiotherapy and swimming. Weight was now 122kgs. Slowly, I strenghtened my knee and began normal activities. But unfortunately, my mouth was working overtime. Maybe it was depression about my knee, general gluttony or a combination of the two but last week I stepped on the scales and I was 131.5 kgs. Three years of toil had come to naught.

My mother blamed my American lifestyle. Driving everywhere, not walking enough and too much eating out. I needed to stop. To change my life. While my health check was normal (in Thailand, did a blood test and had my BP checked at the hospital), I have borderline hypertension and my family has a fine gene pool of diabetes and kidney disease.

So on Saturday, I got myself a cycle and decided to stop the American in me before it was too late. That also meant no more junk food, no more chocolate shoved surreptitiously in my mouth and no alcohol for a little while. And no more driving everywhere.

Day 1 of my 0bhp plan began today. My office is about 9 kilometers from home.

I set my alarm for 5 am. Of course, the lethal snooze button ensured that I finally got out of bed at 650 am. I put my work clothes and a fresh t shirt for the ride back in my backpack (which was dusty from months of disuse).

I carried my bicycle downstairs. And then I began pedaling before I thought it through, decided against it and pulled my car out of the carpark. Soon I was in Mahim and I was figuring out how the gears worked, since I have never used a geared bicycle before. By the time I reached the Portuguese Church in Dadar, I was sweating. I needed water and briefly thought about stopping and finding a taxi with a carrier.

740 am I reached the office building. The building security guy gave me a thumbs up for cycling and I enjoyed going down the ramps. I realized that I didn't have a lock so I asked the security to watch over my bicycle.

A quick shower at the gym in the complex (which I signed up for last December and where I haven't been in a while) and I was fresher and more awake than any other morning.

The idea behind starting a whole new thread was to have inspiration and to ensure that I don't slip like I usually do (and I don't mean literally, which I do too).

Distance cycled: About 8 km
Time: 35 minutes
Feel: awesome

Now to stay away from the junk and to cycle home in the evening. Ordered a lock, and some lights on flipkart. Delivery by Thursday they claim.

Would love any suggestions for what to do, what not to do, and how I can reclaim my life and lose this weight.

Glued to your thread. Am in similar situation as yours. 140 kilos with a back problem and currently looking out to lose weight.

Wish both of us good luck buddy:D

Kind of sailing in the same boat. Need a major kick in the guts to jump start myself before its too late :deadhorse. Great to read your post. Inspirational. Please don't ever give up & keep continuing with this momentum. Kudo's buddy. No pain, no gain.

Good you have started making a lifestyle change.

But cycling DOES NOT cause weight loss.

The distance of 9 kms is hardly going to make a dent in the calories being burnt.

If you want to lose weight, then stop eating unhealthy food.
Cycling can work in making you fit and stronger. But the 9 kms would barely burn the calories from 2 deep fried samosa's.

Almost all of us have inherited genes that are pre-disposed towards diabetics and heart deceases. You are on the right track. But a profession gym with a certified trainer and dietitian might work out better.

I use http://www.dailymile.com/ for logging every cycle ride of mine.
THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT.

I just found myself slipping over the past few weeks and have taken steps to bring myself back to the usual routine.

You must track it to make it work.

All the best: :thumbs up

Hey did you dislocate the entire knee or only the knee cap(patella)?
I've suffered knee cap dislocation few times and now the doctor says I can get back to running and tennis only after a MPFL reconstruction surgery.
Usually the knee cap dislocation happens when the knee is bent at some awkward angle while doing something.

I still do leg exercises in the gym though (except lunges) and the usual other exercises and managed to go from 92 to 84 in a year, where I couldn't work out for a couple of months due to knee cap dislocation twice and a fractured wrist.

You're absolutely right @anilkalvani. No pain no gain! No junk whatsoever today. Breakfast was an egg-white omelette, lunch - a piece of tandoori chicken and a salad sans dressing. tea time snack was an orange. No sweets, no chips, no biscuits, no namkeen. If only everyday were like this.

Thanks @bblost for the encouragement. The cycling is just another step. I think I've been to every dietitian in Bombay. The idea behind cycling is that its not to replace my workout but to enhance it. I plan to swim and gym as well. I used dailymile when I used to run. Time to get back on the bandwagon.

@StrangeWizard: I first dislocated my knee in 2006 (after which the pounds started piling on). It was a patella dislocation. In May, I tore my lateral collateral ligament when the patella dislocated. The doctor did say that I'd have to have surgery for rebalancing the patella to prevent this from happening but I'd rather not have my knee opened up as a friend who had a similar incident (we both used to play rugby a long time ago) has never been free of knee issues ever since he had surgery.


@TorqMaster: PM me and we can figure out a way to motivate each other.


Thanks all for the encouragement. Will keep this thread updated.

Update: rode back in evening traffic. Took 25 odd minutes to get home. That's my best commute time ever!

Now a question. Does anybody know if you can get a slightly more comfy seat? My bottom is so sore after the ride back. Not to mention but the potholes on the way didn't help.

Keep it up!

Find a cycle store that has one of these and figure out the right saddle size you should be targeting.

Then try out saddles such as Brooks'.

A suggestion for your cycling regime: try to incorporate some amount of strength training at your gym to avoid bone mineral loss in the long run.

Day 2 was slightly easier. Bought a gel seat cover for my sore bottom. Also bought a headlight, lock and rear light. Bought the lights and lock on flipkart yesterday and they were ready to be used on my ride home.

630 am. Rode to the swimming pool where I usually go but mistimed my ride so got 15 minutes of swim time before I had to rush to the office. Because I was so late, I had no time to cycle to office (also I was fresh and showered) so took a taxi with a carrier where I mounted the bike.

8 pm. Rode back to Bandra from lower parel. Ride was pretty horrific as I had a number of near misses with taxis and buses swerving in and out of the left most lane. At Shivaji Park, I decided to take the inside road and my god, were the potholes nasty. Gel seat certainly helped, but managed to break my stand somewhere along the way. So had to get a new one fixed, at the bicycle repair shop which I just noticed was right in front of my building.

Total damages: 499 for the lock, 499 for the rear light, 799 for the front headlight (which has a li-ion battery that is charged via USB), 650 for the gel seat cover and 200 for the stand. Pretty expensive initial expense all in all.

Here are some pictures of my ride.



Cycle with the headlight on.



Headlamp



Gel seat



Lock