Breaking Barriers: My weight loss journey from 78.5 to 63.5 kgs

In today's fast-paced world, where time is a precious commodity, it's essential to have the energy and focus to make the most of every moment. This realization hit me hard over the past few years, as I discovered that physical health is crucial in mental acuity and overall success.

As an entrepreneur, I continuously strive to optimize various aspects of my life, including time management, operational efficiency, and people management. With my work increasingly revolving around strategic thinking, problem-solving, and crisis management.

I embarked on a journey to improve my energy levels, kick-started by shedding excess weight.

Embarking on a Transformative Journey

In September of last year, weighing in at 78.5kg, I significantly changed my routines.

I adopted a multi-faceted approach, which encompassed enlisting the guidance of a weight management program, working out with a personal fitness trainer, and educating myself through various online resources, particularly YouTube channels that provided insights into understanding my body better.

The Path to Success

One of my biggest realizations is that "what you eat determines your health."

The first thing I did was go on a controlled diet program with the help of Amura Health guys, which included starting with a clean eating habit avoiding junk/fat/oily food items and slowly ramping up to sustaining within limited calories and mixing it with intermittent fasting.

I have seen numerous people (including me in the past) trying something of their own to lose weight. I recommend taking professional advice to ensure you are not harming yourself or doing something wrong. Your body is a highly complex system.

The program's first 4-5 months were all about controlling food and bringing your weight to the desired level.

There is one challenge in losing weight this way. Your body weight is generally due to two factors, either fat or muscle mass. You only wanted to lose fat but not muscle, but unfortunately, when you are on a calorie-deficit diet and shredding weight, you'll lose both.

It's crucial to regain the muscle weight to strengthen your body. This is where all the gym workout (strength training) sessions come into play.

Again, please don't do it on your own. Both programs losing weight through diet and gaining muscle through gym workouts are connected, and you need professional supervision.

Challenges, Discipline, and Results

Undoubtedly, the path to weight loss was challenging. The program demanded discipline, requiring adherence to the prescribed diet and workout regimen even on weekends, with no cheat days allowed.

However, armed with a deeper understanding of my body and surrounded by a professional team, I found it easier to stay on track. Encouragingly, visible results began to appear within a mere few days, providing me with daily motivation as I witnessed a steady weight reduction.

Lessons Learned and Sustainable Habits

Another realization for me, you can only do this if you are genuinely interested in keeping fit and building sustainable habits.

I have seen numerous people who go through this regime for a short time get the results and then return to their old habits.

It's a lifestyle change, and you must enjoy and adapt to this new way of living.

Throughout my journey, I drew inspiration from various sources, including several YouTube channels, the two notable ones.

• Dr. Palaniappan Manickam (Dr. Pal) ( Dr Palaniappan Manickam )
• Dr Santhosh Jacob ( Dr Santhosh Jacob )

Both of them are Tamil doctors, and their videos are filled with fun and humor and got similar styles.

They are not very active on LinkedIn, but they are famous for their YouTube Channels Dr.Pal & Dr.Santhos

I love the tagline from Dr.Pal "Make yourself a priority." and his simple philosophy, "Eat between sunrise to sunset."

What are my hacks?

To sustain and maintain, there are a few routines I follow.

One of the key hacks is to measure my weight every day. I have a window of 63-64kgs.

You also need to live life and enjoy it, typically during weekends or when you attend those parties, it will increase by about 1-1.5 kgs. But the hack is to make sure you are on a controlled diet for the next few days to bring it back to your ideal range.

Most of us are not aware of our bodies and continue eating whatever we want for a prolonged period of time.

The other important factor is to avoid eating late at night. I tend to eat maximum by 6:30 pm daily.

The third thing is keeping your eating window the shortest possible. I maintain between 10:30 am - 6:30 pm. Outside this window, I only take water and black coffee.

If you follow these steps, you can eat any food you want in moderation and enjoy it.

Conclusion

As a person who leads many young people, I wanted to be at the forefront and lead by example. I hope the story will resonate with those who follow me and our team.

If I can do it, there is no reason why you can't :-) "not enough time" is not an excuse anymore.