My fitness journey
2019 was a year of fitness for me. I never worked out until I turned 31. I signed up for gym membership a couple of times but never went for more than 2 times. Health scare due to an incorrect blood test got me started and over the last 2 years, I have lost 15 pounds and reduced my body fat by 10%. But most importantly, I can go through my day more easily, do those 8 miles hikes and play sports for 2 hours at a stretch. I have shared some of the things that worked for me.
Disclaimer: Things described below helped me individually and I do not advise you to follow them blindly. Use your judgment. I am not an expert and do not claim to be one.
• Fundamentals:
o There is only one truth of fitness journey — 70% diet and 30% exercise. Everything else is a plain simple lie.
o It’s a lifestyle change. It has to be a part of your life just like work or sleep. Committing and dropping after a month would do you no good. So try to make it fun for yourself.
• Know your goal: My goal was to be fit so that blood reports were normal, I lose some weight and go through my day without injuries. It was never about having a six-pack. Understanding your goal is important as that would determine what change in the lifestyle is required.
• Eat Less Sugar — Processed sugar is cancer for the body. There is nothing worse that you could do to your body. I started by cutting sugar in my coffee and followed up with the daily dose of deserts in the form of cookies, muffin or chocolates. As soon as I started this, I started losing weight even without any exercise or lifestyle change. Soon, it became too hard with the temptations so I replaced my sugar intake with healthy snacks that would fulfill my sweet tooth. I found my solution in BarkThins and similar snacks. You should do your research. Never go full turkey else you will feel disconnected and demotivated with this process.
• Diet. What diet? — In the past, I always started my weight loss journey through some diet plans but I realized that diet plans never work since I would return back to my original lifestyle. So, I decided to try something that I can follow on a regular basis. This is critical for sustained fitness journey that any change you adopt in life, feels natural to you and you are able to continue on a day to day basis. For me, intermittent fasting felt natural, so I reduced my 4 meals a day to 2–3 meals a day. I reduced snacking between the meals and not buying them in the first place was a good initiator. I observed that slowly I started feeling less hungry and my portion sizes also went down. You should find your own meal plan which makes it easier for you to continue on a daily basis. Daily being the keyword.
• Smart workout — Respect your body. It’s a journey that you have to take on your own and you are not competing with anyone. So, don’t push yourself when your body is saying no to you. Those extra 10-pound weights will not change you overnight but it can injure you that can keep you out of your routine for several months and can have lifelong repercussions. It’s okay to finish your plank before 60 seconds and its completely okay to take a break in a class when everyone is going for it. It’s a long game and you can only win by coming at it every single day. How to know if your body is saying No — If the pain level is more than 5 on a scale of 10, take a break.
• Don’t get too comfortable — Your body has several different muscle groups and every muscle group has a different requirement. Lifting weights or going for one specific class is a good solution but not the best solution. I have seen people getting too comfortable with one type of exercise and continue doing that for a very long period of time. You need to understand that one single form of exercise will make the muscle groups in usage stronger, but it comes at the cost of ignoring other body parts. I focused on bringing variety to my workout and mix gym time with kickboxing, yoga, barre rand badminton. It helped me in two ways:
o It brought variety into my routine which made it more fun for me to accept exercise as an integral part of my lifestyle
o I saw changes in all the body parts and noticed an improvement in all the different classes over time.
• Find a group — I can’t emphasize enough that fitness is a lifestyle change. Having a social circle that is equally passionate as you is really helpful as you can go to classes together, have dinner, share stories and even compete. It just adds a layer of fun that makes it easier. The important thing is that you need to be aware of your goals and not get influenced by tips that worked for others as it may or may not work for you.
· Supplements — I realized that there were few classes like kickboxing which demanded so much more out of me that I was feeling unable to do anything in those classes. Muscle breakage was also a big concern for me. Being a vegetarian didn’t help either. I did my own research in what supplements would be right for me and I zeroed in on the following:
o Protein Shake
o Amino Energy Mix
o Creatine
o BCAA
o Glutamine
I have protein powder and a performance mix which has the last 4 components. I only use these two post/during workouts to reduce the muscle breakage.
So, this is all which I did and aspire to continue. I want to reiterate 2 points –
Do what is right for you
Make it a lifestyle change.
It’s a journey and I welcome any tips and advice that might have for me.
