Mission SEVENTY - day ONE

Once again, like several other times, I have decided to lose weight. I don't exactly remember how many times have I taken this vow, but I do remember that I have broken it every time. I am 5 feet 7 inches tall. Actually it is between the sixth and seventh inch, but i prefer the rounding off to my advantage. According to diet calculators, I should be in the range of 68 kgs to 72 kgs to be termed FIT. Well, I was once 68 kgs in weight, but then I wans't 5'7" tall by then. Since the time my height has stopped increasing, my weight has started growing faster than it did. No there is no thyroid problem, no hormonal imbalances, no stress-eating or any other eating disorder. There is a plain simple reason - I eat a lot and I do nothing that can be termed as physical activity.

When I was in class 12th, I was 68, and thought that it's all right. In a year I was 74. In another 3 years, I was 78. When I joined the job, I caught jaundice for two months, but contrary to tradition, I did not lose a single gram. Instead, I came out of the hospital as heavy as I had gone in, 82. One more year and I was 84. Did some gymming for a couple of months, came down to 83.5, but soon the lost weight came back and June last year I was 85. Last month, I got my self weighed and it was 88. The digits looked nothing but 4 huge CIRCLES two at the bottom and two sitting on the top, I almost felt I saw two fat men in the weighing machine grinning at me. Now it is getting scary. I am f***ing 20 kgs overweight, that is THIRTY percent extra weight. The more scary thing is that the rate of weight gain has swiftly moved up.

After getting a lipid profiling done and finding out that the sugar levels are okay and the cholesterol has crossed the boundary, I have finally decided to take this seriously. But what is different in the slimming vow now? What is the guarantee that I will not betray myself one more time. Probably the fact that the previous attempts were a desire to make myself look good and the later ones had the aim of becoming a body-builder. But this one is instigated by a more vital and critical desire - to live.... and to live long enough to do what i wish to do. Hence, in this desire for a life worth living, I, hereby, pledge, on this twenty fifth day of june, 2009 to put in all efforts necessary to get myself to a weight of 70 kgs.

The pledge is safely worded. One, it only pledges to make efforts and not necessarily get results and secondly, no time frame is decided in the pledge. That might make it sound a little vague and something that shall soon be broken. But actually, these loopholes make sure that I shall not break the pledge as it is not unnecessarily binding on my freedom. And there are a few firm clauses too. The most important being the mention of a tangible and measurable target - 70 kgs. This will not only ensure that I keep the pledge on till the goal is achieved, but also that the goal shall not be deemed achieved by other facts like getting the waist-size down or looking slimmer. The strictness of the measure shall ensure that I stay committed until mission accomplished.

Well, as today was the first day of the pledge, most of it was spent thinking and chalking out the details of the mission. A few directives have been agreed at, namely

1. Zero direct fat - Direct refers to food which has only fat and nothing else like ghee, butter etc. It does not include food that contains them. Today's update - No direct fat taken today.
   
2. Reduce intake of fat containing food to zero in gradual manner. For example, stop eating fried stuff initially, then gradually start avoiding normal food like curries, sweet dishes or special preparations that use ghee or additional oil for preparation. Today's update - Parathas in meal were replaced with plain rotis. Dal makhani was still eaten.
3. Start yoga. Yoga is first before any other exercise because it is easier. Do Kapal-Bhati (Dad's recommendation courtesy Ramdev Baba) daily. Increase the number from 50 per day to 200 per day. Today's update- 50 done.
4. Start running. I need to run at least three days a week for faster burning of calories. Today's update - enrolled for the Delhi Half marathon. Shall start practising from next weekend. DON'T get surprised people. I have run two half marathons earlier too but didn't lose any weight. Am hoping some results this time.
5. Measure progress at least every month. Progress shall be solely measured on weighing scale and no other measures shall be acceptable. Today's update - Am thinking of buying a weighing scale. Will finalize the decision by end of July - only if i stick to the above guidelines.
   

That is the plan for now. Like all other plans, this one too shall be reviewed and revised, if required, but the goal is clear. The journey doesn't stop until the machine clocks 70. It is still 18 kgs and several days to go. All the best fatso. :)