Five easy tips to lose weight by an ex-obese!

Five easy tips to lose weight by an ex-obese!

I have been obese for the better part of the last two decades. Fatness was a part of my personality, it defined who I was. It didn't matter how smart, intelligent or funny I was, being fat overshadowed all those qualities. Then things got worse when I took a tumble down a hole, alas instead of Alice's Wonderland, I received a butterfly fracture in my right ankle which left me bed-ridden for six months and with a souvenir metal plate to support my ankle.

 The doctors told me that it was the fracture was exacerbated by my excess weight but even that didn't change my view on obesity. My general sense of rebellion allowed me to view my girth as sign of well-being and felt the world in general had no say it. It didn't occur to me that being fat was making me prone to heart diseases, high cholesterol and diabetes.

But then fate played a card and my father (an equally obstinate man), forced me to join a gym. I hated it in the beginning but after a few sessions, it started to feel really good. I was dropping kilos like hot bricks! In nine months, I lost almost 40 kg and that's when I decided to become a health and fitness journalist because losing weight is extremely simple and I felt the need to share that with the world. So here are five simple tips that will help you lose weight:

Tip 1: Accept your problem

It's not just about looking good, obesity will kill you. It will give you heart disease, type 2 diabetes or joint problems. If you're a guy, the excess cholesterol build-up will give you erectile dysfunction and is also likely to increase infertility in both sexes. That's not how we were meant to live our lives. So stop listening to what others say about obesity and accept you've a problem. And obesity is not a sign of prosperity; it just means you are a glutton.

Tip 2: Stop believing in fad diets

I lost 40 kg in 9 months and I did it without any crash dieting. I didn't take weight loss pills, nor did I follow a fad diet. All I did was exercise and eat healthy. There are thousands of crash diets out there which will help you lose say 5-10 kg in a week but then the weight will come back when you stop following that diet.  I've seen scores of people who lose a lot of weight but then gain it all back once they stop dieting. (Read: )

Tip 3: Up the ante gradually

I was extremely lucky to have a trainer who knew that you can't push fat people too much or you'll end up disheartening them. When I went to the gym, my trainer Anil Bailu (a former Mr Maharashtra) started me off slow, not making me do more exercise than my body could handle. Every week, I would do weight training thrice a week and cardio for six days. In the beginning, that would only consist of 15-20 minutes sessions of mild walking, because he knew that my obese body couldn't take more. Gradually, as I lost weight, he upped the ante, increased the cardio time and I started lifting heavier weights as well. So don't overdo it and have patience, the results will come.

Tip 4: Weight loss products don't work

If it sounds too good to be true, it is. Simply put, all weight loss products are shams. Most weight loss pills are caffeine-loaded pills which just allow you to exercise longer. Some of them make you really edgy and angry as well. And some of them like DNP are downright dangerous and can be fatal. (Read: ) 

The sauna belts and meal replacement shakes too are useless, they just do not work. They are just shams to scam vulnerable people, like penis enlargement pills. The only way to lose weight is to eat a healthy diet and exercise. There are no two ways about it.

Tip 5: Believe

The most important thing I can tell you is believe in yourself. You are obese because you've eating unhealthy for years. In the same way, you can lose weight by making the right choices. There might be some genetic predisposition that still doesn't inhibit your ability to control your own actions.

If I could do it with a metal plate in my leg so can you. So stop complaining, get off your butt and just eat right (you will get plenty of ideas on our healthy recipes section) and exercise. It's that simple. (Read: )

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