At the risk of sounding boastful, i admit that i have succeeded in losing some weight. I started to hit the gym after a lot of apprehension. I noticed that i was way below the average fitness level among most women in the gym and that i could barely hold my running for 10 min on the treadmill. Less than half a mile, i would have this ache in my legs and boy i felt like i was dead. I would look around and watch people go twice as fast as me. I painstakingly went past that to more than 3 miles in one go and boy did i feel proud of myself. I had never worked out seriously before.
Like any other indian graduate student, the pastas, ranch and southwesterns,garlic alfredos, Hummus,rice-cheese-bean burritos at taco bell( i know you guys will say oh yes for this one) slowly started to take their toll. I always thought i limited my meals but when i actually began adding up what i used to eat, i figured it was a disaster. One single dinner of pasta and dessert was like 3 days or more of saturated fat and Sodium. Especially because all that is piling up in the night and you dont really need it at all.Even the so called "good foods" across various cuisines are like at least 500-600 calories To top it all, i am a hypothyroid patient. I wasnt too bad but still i had to lose 15 pounds. In my defense, my earlier apartment didnt have a full length mirror.
I started to add some strength training exercises to my workouts. I am a big fan of pilates. Amazing things you can do to change the way you look. I am not very efficient with them and wish i could afford a personal trainer. I did have some painful inJuries but thankfully i am still in one piece. I added 30 min of exercise to my routine in the morning. Mostly for my tummy and to kickstart myself. I added some crunches,push ups and squats and built a longer sequence that would actually have me break into a sweat. I felt good about that.
If there is one thing i struggled the most, it was to get out of the rice habit. We eat way too much rice. And if you need to build a calorie deficit it isnt possible to do so without changing your diet. I watch people around me struggle with it and mostly its a state of denial in your mind. You think you are hungry and cant do it or you think its not worth it because you cant do it. Seriously you can. In all probability your stomach has stretched to accomodate for a larger appetite and therefore you might feel a little hungry but slowly you get used to it. I switched over to eating Just the curry part and a slice of brown bread or two and having a glass of fresh fruit Juice or eating a good plate of fruit in the night. It seems like i hardly eat but seriously it is good stuff. Occassionally i have chappatis.
I noticed that i burn much less than what most people do in a normal 1 hour workout and therefore decided to split the workout and control my diet. The biggest no-no has been lunch outside.Eat well portioned meals, smaller ones 6 times a day and have your 1/2 little cheat eatings as usual.
For the same weight, muscle looks 5 times leaner than body fat and burns more calories. There are some great free body routines out there for people to try. The key to everything is a strong mind and discipline. You can do it if i can. I have nothing against drugs that melt away fat or lipos but seriously girls you are stronger than that. Its an amazing feeling when you get there. Go for it girls!!!!!
Show them thats its not only our grey cells that are on the go. Getting past all the denial and the hypocrisy,I know all of you want to get into that victoria secret top.
Scoff all you like and ya right me but im telling ya, you need to lose something to gain something else. Sweat it out...
CHEERS
