Today, I hit a huge milestone! I reached 63Kgs! The last time I weighed 63 was nearly 13 years ago when I got married!

At the beginning of this year, I created a 5-Year-Vision Board with all my dreams that seemed impossible. Reaching 63Kgs was one of it. In my mind it seemed so impossible that I thought it will take me 5 years to reach there! Today, I proved to myself that with determination and perseverance we can make our dreams come true sooner than we can imagine!

Ever since I started sharing my weightloss physical transformation journey, I have been receiving numerous DMs asking how I did it. What contributed to my transformation is more than exercising or eating healthy. So I plan to share my journey and my approach in a series!

The fundamental aspects that helped me through this transformation are commitment, consistency and perseverance. What caused these factors to play an active role within me is – me figuring out WHY I want this transformation!

‘Being lean’ is predominantly viewed as a subject of appearance across the world. People lose weight in the hope of finding a suitable partner or for some special occasion. No wonder, when people begin to get fit, we hear comments like,

‘Romba style pannadha!’ (“Don’t try to be stylish!”)

‘Style adikira!’ (“She is trying to be stylish!”)

‘The weight you have reached is enough. You look good enough. Do not lose more weight!’

To be very honest, I viewed ‘weight’ likewise too. And as appearance did not quite bother me for a long time, I was fine with being overweight. At one stage in my life when the awareness about self-love and self-care dawned on me, I felt I need to put some extra effort in order to look better. And I enrolled myself in a gym.

For nearly two years I used to slog in the gym, working out for at least two hours a day. For a major part of that time, I never checked my weight (I will share ‘Why I did not check my weight, why I started to document my weight & how it impacted my mindset’ in a different blog post!). And in those rare moments when I did check my weight and when the scale did not move, I felt utterly disappointed that all my sweat and hard work had gone in vain!

Usually after such disappointment, I used to take a break from the gym. I used to think to myself, ‘It’s after all for the sake of looking good. Why slog so much for that!’ This was usually followed by a phase of stress, binge eating. The cycle kept repeating until early this year!

By chance I stumbled upon the dangers of being overweight and those are as follows:

1. High risk of mortality
2. Hypertension
3. Diabetes
4. Cardiovascular diseases
5. Stroke
6. Mental illness
7. Cancer

(Check out this article for more information: https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/effects/index.html)

Neither did I know excess belly fat has concerning implications! (Read about it here – https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/11/well/live/belly-fat-health-visceral-fat-waist-cancer.html)

As someone who savors life and desires for a long, healthy, happy life, the knowledge of this information woke me up from my ignorance. It occurred to me how a healthy weight transcended appearance and how careless & thoughtless I have been in taking care of my body – my vessel of life. I also discovered ‘weight loss’ (losing excess weight) is a byproduct in the process of getting fit and healthy!

I then began to gather more information on the benefits of a healthy body weight and waist size. I discovered reaching and maintaining a healthy body weight is crucial to reverse all of the above dangers. And the added benefit being extra confidence and a positive self-esteem!

That’s when I realised I have been approaching ‘weight loss’ from a09 weak perspective! Changing my perspective changed my approach! I started to approach exercising and healthy eating from a wellness point of view. Doing so motivates me everyday to do what I do. On days when I don’t feel like working out or feel like binging on junk food, I remind myself how I could be abusing my body! (I do skip workouts on some days and I do treat myself with ‘junk’ food occasionally. But I do it mindfully, in moderation unlike before!) In other words, I remind myself what kind of future I envision for myself and get into the act!

If you would like to embark on a physical transformation journey, I encourage you to ask yourself WHY – is it only for better appearance or is it for a lifetime of wellbeing? Your answer will define your priority, commitment and consistency! The simple act of asking yourself WHY will not only completely change your approach to everything you are pursuing, it will add more meaning and purpose!

Please note: There is nothing wrong in desiring to look good. You deserve to look & feel good for yourself. Just that our health and longevity takes higher precedence! What I have noticed is, when we do something for just appearance, our actions are temporary (Eg. We may stop working out once we reach our goal weight. Even the chances of giving up our efforts when we don’t see results is more!). On the other hand when we have a more wholesome goal, our approach is long lasting and lifestyle impacting!

“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” – Mark Twain

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