My 0bhp Plan To Make It To 40 Without Dying On The Way 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.
Last edited by djpeesh : 11th November 2013 at 12:45.
|