Lose Weight and Keep it off

Lose Weight and Keep it Off ~ Bring out the Best you​

Has weight loss been a goal that you have been working towards for a long time? Has it been an elusive target that seems to move away from you, each time you move a little closer. I am with you and I feel your pain. After each of my pregnancies I had gained enough weight to look like a totally different person. Many women gain and lose weight during pregnancies. What makes my journey slightly different is that I gained 50 pounds after the delivery.

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Both times I did manage to lose most of that weight as well. The last time I went through this rollercoaster ride was in 2010 when I lost a total of 45 pounds. Of course my target is still to lose another 10, but that’s my elusive target now which I keep flipping back and forth from.

Three people have asked me to share how I lost weight and almost everyone I knew during that timeframe have commented that I did lose tremendous weight. I started writing this article 6 months ago, but then left it unfinished. Then last week, I struck up a conversation with a fellow Metro commuter who is now my friend. She mentioned she has noticed how I gained and lost weight over the last few years and it generally happens only on TV. This made me revisit my incomplete memoir on my journey, my trials and tribulations. Perhaps during this exercise I can revisit my own 10 pound target and work towards achieving it. I dedicate this article to all the women who are struggling to lose weight amidst the other challenges of life, being a good mom, wife, and managing a career or home.

For those of you who know me and think it is my body type and it is easy for me to lose weight. Not true! I worked really hard at it. Perseverance made me lose my pounds over a span of two years.

The views in this memoir are my own and are not intended to serve as medical advice. This is my struggle and I still have my elusive target before me. I wanted to share my story so it could help others. Perhaps this will help me achieve my own goals as well.

1) Setting your Goal
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Do not feel sorry for yourself - Stand up straight and stop whining in self pity.
Your weight does not reduce your value even by a fraction. You are who you are with or without those pounds.

I AM WHO I AM ….. WHETHER I WIN OR LOSE THIS CHALLENGE.
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Ask yourself why – Then why are you doing this?
Most of us have good reasons. It could be to be healthier. It could be to have more stamina. It could be just to look or feel better. Either way, you need to make sure you really want to take up the challenge.
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Even if you lose the challenge, it doesn’t reduce your value as a person. Think of it like a game or sport. It doesn’t matter if you lose. Nevertheless you give your best to the challenge and try your best to win.
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If you had trouble losing weight all your life –stop for a moment and think honestly – have I really wanted to lose it that bad. Or Have I been complacent to let my ambitions slide. Have I let myself indulge in too many cookies? Have I started a diet and lost my focus too soon. Is it just a wish… or is it a strong all-consuming desire. Unless you really want this to happen – Trust me .. IT WONT..
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2) Believe in yourself

​If you think -oh weight loss is only for those "other lucky girls" who can lose easily - you have already lost your battle before starting the fight. First step - I CAN DO IT
Weight loss was my goal from the age of 8 until my late teens. Then for a few years I had a break and was comfortable. But it became a REAL GOAL after my second baby when I hit 186 pounds. If you can chase your goal with the tenacity and ferociousness of a tigress.. only then it is your real goal. Say to yourself - I REALLY WANT TO SUCCEED and I CAN

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So, do you really want to lose weight? Think hard and reflect. How bad do I want this? In that answer you will find the key to accomplish your goals. Any half hearted attempt will have a heart hearted outcome. So if you cut your diet too soon, or break your schedule for exercise, chances are –the couple of pounds that you did lose, are going to come right back with a vengeance.


​3)​DAILY ACTION PLAN

1.Measuring your weight
Buy a good digital scale and weigh your-self in the morning before your breakfast. Note down the weight. Your goal should be to reduce the minimum you can attain. So for example after lunch your weight may be 2 pounds more. It doesn’t matter. As long as the lowest point in the mornings is reducing gradually. Also, water retention can be higher at certain times, so do not worry if you seem to be going up and down with the weight loss. The scale is merely for a status check once in 3-4 days. So each time you hit a low, you are working towards your goal. Don't be disheartened if later in the day your weight has gone up again.


2.Make a list of healthy foods that you can eat without guilt
ALWAYS HAVE A STRONG BREAKFAST
a)Breakfast options – Oatmeal – I prefer the whole oats which needs to be cooked very well. Add a little salt to the water that cooks the oatmeal to help it cook faster. Add fat free milk. The instant oatmeal has a high sugar content.

b)Other breakfast options are whole grain bread, multi-grain bread. Chapatthis., Pumpkin flax granola. Cereals are fine if they are not frosted, sugar coated or sweet.
c)Coffee is light, always in fat –free milk. Drink plenty of milk. It gives you the calcium which women need in abundance. I did read an article that stated that milk can cause weight loss. It definitely gives energy. My mantra is to eat healthy. Do not starve yourself. Eat well, eat smart instead.You need this energy to carry you for the day. So always eat well, keep your mind energized.


3.Cheerfulness during your day.
Did you know that stress hormones like cortisone are a cause of weight gain? Put a smile on your face and start your day. It is a great day ahead and you are getting closer to your goal. Read inspirational material. Be nice to people around you. Reduce your stress levels.

​4.Make exercise a part of you.
Pull your stomach in; Walk with your head held high ; Walk up and down the house /office. Take the stairs; Clean the house; Cook, play with your kids. Be active; Do not sit in one place. If you need to sit, get up occasionally and move around. If you can exercise do it.

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​5.Snack Time :- A few hours later you can start your snacks.
a)Celery, Lettuce are said to have negative calories. They both have worked well for me. The body spends considerable energy to digest them, probably more than the calorie content of the food itself. Thus, translating to negative calories. The celery from Costco is good but needs to be washed well. If you prefer organic, go for it. Lettuce is from Harris Teeter. (Organic bunch). If you find it hard to eat, add a dash of lemon.

b) Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. Learn to appreciate the taste of raw fruit and vegetables. If you do not lose weight - feel good about the fact that you have ended up a healthier person in the bargain my making right food choices. Eat bananas only once in a while. Also preferably eat fruits that have high water content. Grapes have high sugar.​

6. Drink Lot of Water

7. Keep staying cheerful; Keep working on the exercise. Even when you sit in your chair, pull your stomach in; Imagine some music and sway a little. Keep that smile and cheerful attitude. Feel great.


8. Lunch time :-
If you have had enough of your fruits and vegetable snacks you are not going to feel very hungry. Eat Chappatis instead of rice. Reduce your portions. Eat a small meal with more of vegetable sabjis. Make your sabjis with minimal oil. Eat less of the main carb (like rice /chappati) and eat more of the sabji /protein. Chicken and fish are fine, but the curry gravies can also be a source of fat (oil). Overall reduce your portion to make sure you have eaten, but you are not very full. If you feel really full, you have probably overeaten.


9. Do not exercise soon after a meal. Eat at similar timings every day. Do not stay hungry. One skipped meal will cause you to binge the next time you see food. Eat at intervals but small portions.

​10.Dance Classes :-
Take up lessons . Dancing makes you feel young and attractive. It improves your overall personality and is a great form of exercise. It increases positive feelings and blood circulation. It adds flexibility. Once you are learning some form of dance, you can dance at other times at home. Dance with your children. Dance when you cook. Keep pulling the stomach in (I did read that this was Bipasha Basu’s trick as well)


11. Evening snack :- The danger zone! Cookies, cakes ,wadas, fried foods ,all things that take you farther away from your goals. Do not crave foods. If you really want it, eat a small portion. Then skip the next thing you would usually eat. Although it is important to have a balanced diet, I may occasionally binge on snacks. If I have eaten too much of fried or snack foods, then I will skip dinner and just eat an apple or so.


12. Remember to drink plenty of water . 8 -16 glasses is the goal.

​​13. Check the ready-made foods/snacks. Read the labels and eat more natural foods with fewer or no preservatives. Think HEALTHY... Why are you doing this - to get more healthy, build up your immunity, feel better.. do not focus on the weight loss part.

14. For dinner, try to have healthy soups. Juice shakes and then a small portion of main course foods. I totally gave up rice for a few months. I eat it occasionally now. I did meet a person once who lost 36 pounds mostly at the tummy by totally cutting off carbs.

15. For a few months I drank warm water with honey and some lemon after dinner. I think it did help me.


16. Exercising :- Whatever you do, if you pick something that burns high calories then pick it only if you can keep doing for the rest of your life. If you enroll in a gym program or if you join Zumba, you need to keep doing it. The moment you stop, the body is used to burning so many calories and eating to support it, it will just come back as heavy pounds. In my case, I didn’t pick high burning activities. I picked Kathak , walking and house-hold chores or just moving around the house.

​I keep up with regularly being active around the house so the activity levels are reasonably constant. If you have been overweight for a long time, and you feel you need to enroll in stronger activities, and then keep up with it or gradually reduce the frequency until you can replace it with just being an active individual.

​​Work on your relationships, work on your other goals. It is a whole package. The happier, more active person you are, the easier your weight will reduce. Basically, you need to burn more calories than you consume for the weight to reduce. At the same time, you need to support your body with a healthy powerful diet and keep your stress levels low.

​Are you feeling like a tigress? Join the weight loss support group to share your stories and tips with others. I would love to hear your own tips that could help me.

Every pound you reduce will add to your confidence. Make it a positive goal. Not one that will make you more desirable, but that will make you feel healthy about yourself. Do it for yourself. Not for society, your family or anyone else. When the goal is achieved and the ambition fulfilled, the sense of achievement are unmatched.

 

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