Short Cuts = Short Lived !!!!

Hurry! Loose your mind… oops loose your weight this summer.

8 kgs weight loss in 30 days.

15 kgs weight loss in 45 days.

Guaranteed weight loss or money back offer!

No this is not what I am advertising, this is what we come across every other day and most of us even fall for it. Don’t blame anyone, it just sounds so impressive and promising anyone can fall for it and what makes it even more promising are the “before” and “after” images of the client telling you their life changing story. The “before” picture looks so pitiful, rejected and hopeless in life and the “after” so attractive and confident as if ready to conquer the world single handedly. Thanks to the quick hassle free weight loss. After witnessing such convincing visuals, who wouldn’t be tempted to try it out. After all, easy routes are always welcome.

I dedicate this article of mine to all those who have been up for such rides.

I sometimes wonder who must be falling for such gimmicks. But wow, there are a whole lot of people out there ready for it. No wonder the slimming centres succeed in making enough and more money. Nowhere do they promote exercise or healthy diet plans or balanced lifestyle but they still sell. A client just needs to go there and let a machine work on them which promises “fat” burn and increase in “BMR”. Don’t ask me how that’s possible, Instead if you find out please enlighten me too. It’s shocking to see people falling for it. No prizes for guessing why. In fact even better now, u do not have to make a trip to the slimming centres if you purchase one of those easily available steam sauna belts or morning walkers. The very popular Steam sauna belts and morning walkers are just another addition to the successful gimmicks list. It only makes me laugh. I know of people who have worn the sauna belt and not lost even an inch. They would never be able to even if they wore it for a lifetime. And morning walkers please give me a break.

Apart from the quick weight loss packages and belts there are a lot of treatments available at affordable prices in the market. Treatments like liposuction/ lipolysis, tummy tucks and waist-trim treatments to name a few. Not only available but also promoted and purchased. There is a general mentality set that if “all” fails; such treatments are always there to work wonders. But have we given “all” a try?

Apart from the above one more classic example of “easy” weight loss are the various diets floating in the market and on the internet. Diets like liquid diet, zero carb diet, protein diet, fruit diet, out of which most are self made. Each of us suddenly become wise and assume we know all about diets and the additions and subtractions of calories. I come across a lot of people who claim to be on various diets which keep changing as per their convenience every time you meet them. You also must be coming across many at your work place. Their Tiffin’s are always full of fruits and salads. Ignore the fact that they hate it and are more interested in your food but behave strict and focused. They not only follow their so called diet but also keep educating others to do the same. Some sort of self convincing. But as the weekend comes around you should see them eat. There is no stopping them or their cravings. All this while whatever food they have been avoiding is seen on their plate in large quantities. Of course they are told they can “cheat” on weekends but I guess they heard “binge”. The only reason to this behaviour is that after fasting comes feasting followed by fasting again and so feasting. In the whole process the only thing you end up loosing is your mind and not your weight. The sad part is such diets are sometimes even prescribed and hence cannot blame the client always. But, what is the root cause of all these diets and treatments being executed? Impatience and laziness. You want everything to be served to you on the platter. You will not move your muscle (read butt) to work hard nor do some exercise to reach your ideal weight. I understand you already are done with the hard work to make that muscle the size it is today.

As much as you will hate to read this it’s true. All these are just temporary measures to achieve unrealistic unfit goals. How long are you going to make trips to the slimming centres for treatments? How long are you going to keep yourself starving on crash diets? How many times do you plan to go over the fasting and feasting cycle?

It’s going to take a lifelong to live long and healthy this way.

It is very important to follow a diet but it needs to be a correct and balanced diet made only for you containing the right amount of carbs, proteins, vegetables and fats. It needs to be customized as per your lifestyle and health status. It cannot be a case of one for all. Now team this up with a workout regime of your choice and you’ll be on the right/ healthy track.

Eating the right food, at the right time in the right quantity is the way to go. Now, the “Eat Healthy, Live Longer” tagline makes absolute sense.

Been There, Done That !!!

This one’s my story of bulge for all those who believe instructors only preach and are born with a perfect body, it’s completely false. At least there’s more to this instructor. I have been where most of us are today - Overweight, lazy, under confident and full of excuses. I exactly know how it feels to be there. Let me share with you my story of weight loss, confidence gain and alertness towards becoming fit.

2004 – Weight 70kgs Height – 5’ 4”

Will not get into further statistical details but as you can see from the above –

FAT!

This was my state during my college days. No one but myself to blame, actually not only me but also the kind of diet I was on. It was called “The Cheese Diet”. As the name suggests it consisted of cheese (one whole cube or sometimes a couple of slices) in between meals, sometimes twice or even thrice a day over and above my regular food. It was an explanation to the small frequent meals one should take during the day. Apart from the diet, the “Zero Exercise Plan” also contributed in making me what I was. The only physical activity I had was going for dance classes twice a week. But after the dance sessions I used to be so pleased and impresses with myself that I thought I deserved to eat whatever I liked which lead to consuming equal and more amount of calories than those burnt.

After a point it started getting embarrassing for me as I could not wear most of the clothes my college mates would wear because they wouldn’t fit me. I dint like going shopping as I stopped fitting into a pair of jeans of waist size 36. Yes, you read it right don’t go back. This was my alarm to wake up and do something about myself. So, like everyone I also took my first step towards fitness. I got myself enrolled at a gym. The day finally came when I entered a gym for the first time and the first thing I learnt there was something called an “Ideal Weight”. We all have an ideal weight to reach depending on our height. My instructor calculated my ideal weight and told me I had to loose at least 15 kgs. I was shocked listening to the number and instantly thought of an easy way out and asked her if there was a way to increase my height, that ways I will have an easy target to achieve. My instructor chose to ignore my convenient idea. And with that my gym sessions started. Mind you only gym sessions, not diet.

2004 (After 6 months) – Weight 65kgs Height – (still) 5’ 4”

Wow! I was super excited by my 5 kg weight loss. You all must be wondering 5 kgs in SIX months? That’s horrible. But like I mentioned before I never had a diet plan, only workouts which were sometimes irregular. So then I started taking up various diet plans from all over the place. Sometimes tried self created diets which obviously terribly failed. But it dint stop me from going on.

2005 – Weight 63kgs Height (still) 5’ 4”

Phew!!! Now my body was so badly used to the exercise plan that it stopped showing any results. The very popular “Plateau” happened to me. I was frustrated and almost wanting to accept myself the way I was until I realised how important diet was in the process of getting fit. It will compliment my hard work at the gym and give me desired results in a healthier way. By diet I don’t mean “starving”. At least that wasn’t my definition of dieting. I was put onto a well balanced healthy diet pattern suiting my body’s requirement. I also changed my workout routine only for the little variety to break the plateau. I introduced dance, aerobics, sometimes even kickboxing along with my workouts. It just made my workouts interesting and I felt motivated as I could see the changes in my body and fitness levels.

2006 and Till Today – Weight 58kgs Height (Happy to be) 5’ 4”

Finally! The day came when I had achieved my target and so called “Ideal Weight” in a healthy and correct way. Lot of hard work, lifestyle changes, change in food habits and of course a lot of patience. Well, this doesn’t mean I do not eat cheese anymore; it’s just that I don’t eat it the way I used to. Now it’s all in moderation and once in a while.

I was showered with the kind of compliments I never thought I could get. I suddenly felt such a boost in my confidence level and my over all personality. It was a different me. I could go shopping and buy and wear whatever I wanted to. But it doesn’t stop here. I still dedicatedly work hard in maintaining what I have achieved and raising the fitness bar or else all the previous work will be an absolute waste. My weight might look the same to you but what is impressive is how my fitness graph has been going up. So much of a positive change made me take up fitness more seriously. It had all started with a hobby which became a passion and now my profession.

Today when I come across my members stories or experiences I can totally relate to them only because I have been there, done that. I have also lived with excuses, tomorrows, and size XL and I feel glad and satisfied that today I can help my members get out of their dilemma and modify their lifestyle only to make them feel and live healthy. So it might have sounded like “all preach” and “no practice” from my earlier blogs but I guess not anymore.