Fitness and health
How I Lost More Than 10kgs without Spending on Fancy Gym and Diet
From weighing 70kgs ➡58kg. All about reversing my chronic disease and weight loss journey.
Are you struggling to lose weight?
Or you’re someone who wants to live a better lifestyle free from any chronic illness then this one is for you, my friend.
when I was diagnosed with a thyroid disorder in 2019. I was horrified and yet confused because I was 26. how can a healthy-looking 26-year-old have a chronic illness?
Back then I believed we only get diseases when we get old. I know it sounds silly but at least not at 26. I mean c’mon. I looked reasonably healthy.
I was putting on weight. but that’s because of my unhealthy eating habits I thought. later, I noticed other symptoms like swelling on my hands and feet. I used to feel incredibly lazy and tired the whole day. No this was the alarming sign.
All my life I’ve seen my mom on thyroid medicines. sadly, that’s the first thing she has every morning. It was my biggest nightmare to suffer from the same disease and take pills for my entire life. seeing my mom suffer from hypothyroidism I know deeply how immensely it impacts your life.
And the feeling of being dependent on pills forever was a nightmare for me.
That was the time I decided to navigate the path of health, It was never the extra kilos I was worried about. Instead, I was looking for ways to upgrade my life physically mentally, and emotionally.
I was looking to crack the code to healthy living and find out sustainable, ways to remain healthy and fit. that’s how my journey to health and fitness began and since then there has been no looking back.
I’ll share with you how I embarked toward better health and reversed my chronic disease in 6 months. So, stay till the end.
To Live a healthy life you must have harmony between your emotional, mental, and physical well-being. and that’s the reason Instead of only focusing on healing the disease and targeting my weight I delved deeper into the causes, habits, and patterns that were responsible for my condition in the first place.
1. Acquiring “RIGHT” Knowledge
The first step in my journey was to acquire knowledge, the more the better. I read about everything from building the right habits to nutrition and healing diseases naturally from trusted sources.
That's when yoga entered my life and guess what? after practicing certain yoga asanas with a few dietary changes like avoiding cruciferous vegetables, and peanuts. I was stunned, to see my lab reports that said I no longer have the thyroid disorder. yayy! I did it. I said to myself. I was happy and proud.
That’s when I realized our bodies are incredibly capable of healing themselves. You can heal almost any disease naturally if you support your system and follow the basics.
2. Unlearning-
“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who can’t read and write, but those who can’t learn, unlearn, and relearn.” — A. Toffler
Unlearning is the process of giving up habits, behaviors, and beliefs that weigh you down.
Think of unlearning as a software update. Do you update your devices? So why not your knowledge?
Since our childhood, we have been programmed to do things a certain way. Our habits and patterns are shaped by the type of people and environment we are surrounded by.
we follow the same routines, and habits for years on the go and expect different results. Not possible.
I started with small habits like
- Instead of having coffee first thing in the morning, I started having lukewarm water with a dash of lemon or simply plain water. The goal is to hydrate your body right after you wake up. caffeine does just the opposite it throws out water from your body.
- From spending mindless hours watching news, netflix and scrolling through feeds I switched to reading books, listening to podcasts, and watching documentaries. some of my favorites are — Minimalism, fat, sick and Nearly Dead, The Game Changers, and Deadly Dairy. all of them are available on YouTube for free.
- From checking my phone for emails and messages straight after waking up. Now, I spend my mornings more slowly and intentionally doing meditation, reading, and paying gratitude for everything I’m blessed with.
3. Nutrition
We’re what we eat.
You can hit the gym 7 days a week. Or get yourself, world’s best trainers and fitness coaches. At the end of the day. Tell me what’s on your plate and I’ll tell you what the future of your health looks like.
Fitness is about 80% diet and 20% exercise.
Preparing my own meals
From going out to eat every weekend I started preparing my meals. and by far this is the best decision I’ve taken for my overall health. My meals are quite simple, whole, and plant-based. however, I still enjoy eating out but there is a balance.
Furthermore, by changing my diet to plant-based I saw changes in my overall health my vitamin b12 and calcium levels surprisingly improved.
I meet my protein requirement mainly from legumes, nuts, quinoa, and sattu(chickpea powder). Protein requirement is not the same for everyone it depends on many factors like age, physical activity, and your body weight.
3.1 Fasting
we humans are physiologically made for fasting and then feasting.
In this modern age, we can not even think of going without food for even a few hours. I’ve been doing intermittent hours for 3 years now. I fast for 16 hrs and eat in an 8-hour window. My body responds well to fasting. It has been a life-changing decision to incorporate fasting into my routine.
Imagine a machine that’s working 24*7 365 days a year for the course of 70 to 80 years. what do you think will happen to the machine? it will crash.
That’s what happens to our bodies when we keep eating around the clock and give no rest to our system. roughly 80% of our bodily energy goes into digestion.
when you give periodic rest to your system it frees the energy and utilizes it in repair, healing, and wear and tear of the body. sounds great? try it for yourself.
if you’ve never fasted try to go slow. start with 12:12 or 14:10. they are equally effective. once you get used to fasting you can challenge yourself with 16:8 fasting.
In India, fasting has always been a part of our culture. this concept is relatively new and is trending in the West as intermittent fast.
have you ever thought? how does your fracture heal in a few months? did your doctor add some medicine to the plaster? No, right. You’re resting and supporting your body’s innate ability to heal. that’s how it works.
Fasting helps unlock your innate ability to heal promoting health, increased metabolism, weight loss, and a better immune system,
“Natural Forces within us are the true healers of disease”— Hippocrates
Benefits of fasting —
- I lost all my extra kilos. It helped me achieve and maintain my ideal body weight.
- clean and clear skin.
- got rid of chronic health disease hypothyroidism.
- feel more energetic and active throughout the day.
- got rid of constipation
- My lipid profile got better.
4. Staying Active
I love going for long walks.
that's when I feel connected to myself. My brain does all the processing in that period when I'm not busy doing anything. It not only helps me stay fit but also improves focus and elevates my mood.
when I’m not walking I’m on my yoga mat.
The word “Yoga” means union, union with the self or divine. There is nothing more relaxing and uplifting than yoga.
yoga doesn't require any equipment. a yoga mat and you’re good to go. and you’re free to practice anywhere.
I also make it a point to use stairs whenever I can instead of a lift (I live on the 8th floor :P). Or if I’m out shopping for groceries, I prefer walking.
The idea is to make small choices accordingly that fit your schedule, environment, and age group. do what you can implement immediately and sustain in the long run.
walking and yoga are my thing.
Figure out what is that one thing you can include in your routine that can help you achieve your fitness goal.
5. Detoxing
Fasting is one of the ways to detox your body but that’s not it.
Combine that with vegetable juices of your choice and it can heal any disease in the world.
juices are rich in micro-nutrients and antioxidants. that can help you flush out toxins that have been sitting inside your body for ages. They also reduce inflammation in your body.
My juices are 80% vegetable and 20% fruit.
My go-to juices are green juice, ABC juice an coconut water.
- Green juice — half an apple, spinach, cumber, ginger, coriander, and mint.
- ABC juice. — which has apple beetroot, carrot ginger, and mint.
6. Associate with like-minded people
You might wonder how this helped me in my weight loss journey.
You become who you surround yourself with. if you surround yourself with people who have beliefs, and principles different from yours you’ll always have mental clashes and never succeed in anything you do.
There are high chances you’ll give up at some point.
surround yourself with people who can support you in your journey.
Associating yourself with like-minded people is the foremost step to achieving any goal.
For eg- if you want to do good in business you associate yourself with the person who has succeded in business. on a similar note if you want to achieve health and happiness start associating with people who are on the same path or have achieved the goal.
Conclusion
Attaining good health is more than just food and exercise. It’s also about what we feed our mind and whom we associate with that helps us stay on track.
Lastly, I want you to remember that everything takes time. weight loss, healing, or anything for that matter nothing happens overnight it takes time, effort, and patience to see the results. attaining good health is a journey and not a destination.
It’s the small choices that we make every day, makes up for the person we want to be. Being 1% better every day.
Leaving you with a quote to ponder upon-
“Do something today that your future self will thank you for” — Sean Patrick
Thanks for reading!!
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