“Not a single cheat day in 20 months!!” that’s how SR Shrikant lost 53 kgs & 44% body fat

DiaryOfAnInsaneWriter brings to you the third post in the Health Transformation series. Thank you for loving & reading Sameer Karve & Mohit Anand‘s stories. The story you are about to read is about a high flying Global Consultant to Ministeries with no time for himself. He hangs out with the likes of Bill Clinton and has about 300 travel days in his calendar.

Despite an extremely busy life, SR Shrikant lost 53 Kgs & 44% body fat in 19 months! Here is how he did it…

Don’t forget to scroll to the end for a downloadable infographic containing invaluable tips from SR Srikant.

SR Srikant or as we fondly call him SRS is a friend that you absolutely want around. He is jovial, calm and patient. I remember him as a cute, huggable Panda who you can depend on for all your woes and troubles. We were all part of a happy group of friends who met often with the love of cars and travel uniting us all. As fate would have it, we drifted apart due to work pressures.

A while ago, at a party, a fit gentleman tapped my shoulder and said, “Hi Mayura, its me, SRS .” I turned around, gasped and said, “WTF, where is the rest of you?”  He let out his signature laugh and narrated his story.

You look leaner, fitter and energetic. What was the trigger that made you commit to fitness?

Thank you, Mayura. It’s a large bag of mixed emotions – some positive and nice and some brutal and negative too.

Tonnes of taunts by near and dear ones, office mates, very good pals, even strangers who asked me ‘ how can an overweight obese man like you stand on the stage and talk about Sustainability?’

“Finally, physical pain in the knees making me almost quit my profession and my daughter’s dream to play sport with me … made me take one final gigantic dig at becoming what am totally capable of being – a real fit guy.”

So tonnes of anger, spirit, and fire are part of the process. And I don’t think I have reached any real stage where I can say safely that now I am now on the path of fitness salvation.

“Loads of hard earned money lost in the form of gym memberships, swimming classes, nutrition programs – online and real-time, at least a dozen promises to my better half that next time when we meet at the annual function, I will get fitter. !!!”

What was the weight you started with and how much is it now? How much time did it take to come to come to this figure?

“In Jan 2016, I was 123 kgs, February, it was 121 kgs and the slide started there on.

Now in September 2018, am 69.3 kgs and feel like a million bloody bucks!!!!”

What preparations did you make before hitting the gym? Please tell our readers so that they keep these tips in mind.

I made an excel sheet that counted everything I did. And I for professional nutrition advice to GO SLOW but NEVER QUIT.

So a simple and effective start was to divide my entire waking day into 30 mins intervals.
And create a plan for my day for intake of food – Solids and liquids into 30 min targets.
5:30am to 6am – liquids … warm water 350-500ml
6-6:30am – solids – cereal breakfasts
630-7am – liquids – coffee + water – 500ml
7-730am – solids – 3-4 idlis
and so on…

“No change in what I ate but a very regulated approach to everything was the start of my process – for 2 months.”

I personally observed many changes… high energy times and low energy zones and the rationale behind the foods etc…

Also, I managed to finally start drinking 4 litres of water daily and that felt great to be hydrated constantly…

The beginning of a transformation process – in my own head – had begun well.

Did you follow a particular routine or diet? What were the lifestyle changes you made to ensure that your commitment to fitness remains intact

Yes, I followed a regular diet plan for a 90 day period & adjusted it as I moved along.

“Commitments made by me remains to not have a single cheat day. Not one.”

All Garbage IN must be accounted for within the same 24 hrs period and must be shoved out of the system. No matter what. Let’s hope I can stick to it forever… that’s as simple as that really.

There must have been moments of frustration where you felt like giving up. What kept you going? Can you share a couple of instances?

Tonnes of instances where I felt my past creeping up on me and the devil in my head. I used to enjoy my single malts, ice cream sessions, sweet tooth sessions, and shaadi walla khaana session and took the very personally…now I smile at them and say been there… done that enough.

Anyone who knows me … knows how bloody tough it is for me to resist these simple but unhealthy pleasures in life. But not anymore.

“My profession as a Global Consultant for Ministries across the world grants me access to some very pleasant hospitality destinations. My goal in such places for a good 10 years before I got here used to be hitting a 24X7 bar and nightclub. Now I search for 24X7 gym and yoga sessions !!!”

My friend circle has narrowed down a bit but my best buddies have stayed and loved me for who I am becoming day-by-day

How did your family support you in this mission?

Family support has been immense…initially, they assumed what I am doing was part of my regular nautanki. They thought the phase would last a fortnight and no more. As they saw me struggle over months and even howling at nite with pain/ hunger but not giving in…. their support was amazing.

“My daughter, Adithi’s study table has my old picture… and she proudly tells all her friends:- that was my dad when he was just great fun now he is a super fit and fun dad too.”

I am now my daughter’s basketball, football, badminton partner in all club events and we do fitness training together too. Feels bloody awesome.

My better half…I couldn’t have achieved this without her…

Family support remains invincible, it’s like that perfect stool you just find when you wanna lean on something… not that Swanky soft-leather recliner that lies in one corner of a drawing room but that four-legged creature lurking right behind you… when you behind need it the very most.

My better half … rightfully so too, is one creature who can’t live without telling me to improve constantly. Also making sure that am off sweets during my weakest days… and peps me constantly for finding my rhythm with sports and work and also balancing it.

“All men, by default, need an auditor in our lives. Not just the financial kind but for our more weaker and supposedly manly moments too.”

Our judgements, in my humble opinion, need constant review and an in-house auditor is the best help we can get. My better half – Keerthana – is that shining spirit of no-compromise in my life.
Even after a good-show, her attention is to make sure I don’t end up indulging too much. And she is bloody right. Since such silly acts are the ones that have derailed me many many many times before.

“So now, as a proud wife of a fit husband, she remains vigilant about my lifestyle and even in my worst moments – she only has advice for me!!!”

That no-sugar diet, those amazing tasting lemon infused yellow dal soups, that extra crispy dosa with no oil… she did all this to keep me incentivised in my lifestyle.

Kudos to her constant companionship and enthusiasm and care that am happily marching along making this whole fit-lifestyle business a personal milestone.

Your journey is still ongoing, what are you doing so that you reach your target weight?

My target weight has been attained a few months ago. But that is not what am after…from losing weight… to getting fit… to maintaining an athletic routine and body… to staying super fit to do a Himalayan trek soon… that’s the journey now.

“How much ever we love the very many flavours of mocktails, we must remember to praise dear old water as the main ingredient of it all.”

What were the positive changes in your health that you noticed after committing to fitness?

All the medical reports seem like a journey through a rose garden! Personally, even when I was obese, I had the ability to continue my spiritual journey smoothly… now with physical fitness that spiritual journey only feels much easier too. Like the opening of many chakras inside of you allowing you to raise your internal game!!!

Please give a message to our readers who are struggling to lose weight.

“This is a war only you have to fight. And fight it only for Yourself as anything and everything else can derail you. It’s like the salvation of the soul. It’s all you’re doing… for your own self. It’s all internal. No drama please.”

What are some of the dos and don’ts for a person who wants to lose weight fast?

What is ‘fast’? Sadly there are no ‘fast and permanent’ solutions. Give up that struggle fast, to lose weight fast.

Take a conscious and studied approach and you’re gonna feel like Mohammed Ali before a fight. All fire in the ballet ready to explode in the ring.

• Water – increase intake to 4-5 litres a day
• Maintain a notebook on everything you do…. and measure up yourself.
• Raise your heart rate to peak / optimum atleast once every 10 hrs and see the difference it makes to your system.

“Our body is an extremely intelligent mass of flesh. It has inbuilt AI to support your mental desires. Learn from it and enjoy the ride.“

Were there any foods you avoided, any that were absolutely part of your routine. Please share a sample diet chart if you can.

My current routine is very different from when I began… and precisely why I am SOO convinced that our body has inbuilt AI to lead us to amazing results.

“Right now, I play Pro-Grade badminton 5 mornings a week for 120 mins, Muscle training at a gym for 4 evenings a week, execute 18-20 k steps daily and take every opportunity to sleep off by 10 pm every day… all days of the week.”

• From a diet perspective, I am back to regular eating habits but only in 1/10th, the portions spread over 6-7 meals a day.
• Only fruits and liquids after 7 pm… no matter what.
• Small amounts of Ghee & tofu every day.
• Yoghurt, green salads, and fruits of all kinds especially all berries from farms …. to my heart’s content.

“For moving ahead… am convinced it is a 70% diet control and 30% muscle mass orientation that’s gonna be the key.”

SRS is no longer the huggable Panda, instead, he has turned into a fit person with strong shoulders for his friends and family. He remains the ‘4 am friend’, however, he is now an inspiration to all his friends, including me.

Here is a downloadable infographic containing Weight Loss Tips by SR Shrikant.

I really hope SRS’s story inspired you as well. Do leave your comments and questions so that we can have SRS answer them. All the best for your journey to fitness.

Penned by:

Mayura Amarkant 

I am taking my Alexa Rank to the next level with Blogchatter’s #MyFriendAlexa Campaign.