Before you continue reading, you must know that I am 43 years old and I belong to an era where exercise and gym were for the ‘modern’ and ‘model’ type of girls. Yes, I belong to the stone age of fitness.
As teenagers, we ate till our stomach’s fill and studied very hard to get good grades and used our evenings for gossip because it seemed cool.
Through this post, I will be taking you through the journey of a typical Indian girl who activated her weightloss journey at the ripe age of 40.
As a child, I was one of the many atheletic children around. We lived a gadget free life. Classes & tuitions were for the ‘dumb’ kids (unless you were in 10th grade)
My childhood days were filled with happy moments playing with loads of friends and activities. I clearly remember, during my school days, I was a dark, skinny girl whose knees were always black and grazed. ‘Tomboy’, ‘Bhavani’, ‘Gundi’ were names that were given to me when I was growing up. Reason: I was energetic, competitive and athletic.
During my childhood, I played almost every sport they offered in school and in the evenings I would play badminton, lagori, kho-kho, saakhli, langdi, chippis, marbles, pakda-pakdi, hide & seek and so many games.
Life changed when I started going to college, the gym was for models and sports was for less cool kids. We were the cool kids who hung out at the best cafes and the college canteen was our second home. We discussed lipsticks, clothes, boys and studied hard to get good grades.
Fitness was the last thing on our minds. Maybe we just took it for granted.
I surely did.
While I was living it, life seemed to be moving at a snail’s pace but looking back, I feel that I zoomed through college, MBA and marriage within seconds!
I never believed that I could put on weight. I was athletic – wasn’t I? I didn’t need to watch what I ate nor did I need to exercise. Did I?
Arre theekh hai, shaadi ke baad toh wajan badhta hi hai, usmein kya?
Canteen food at college, tapri food at MBA and Marwari food after marriage!! Hmmn…seems like a recipe for a health disaster!
Well, it was – I steadily turned fat & raced towards ill-health!!
The arrival of kids turns life upside down. My first one was born in 2005 and the second after a long gap in 2013! The second kid sapped a lot of my energy especially since I was 35+ when I delivered.
Chronic fatigue, terrible back pain and lack of energy was a daily story.
Every week, I would decide: ‘Agle Monday sey exercise karungi’
Little did I realise that my entire thought process was wrong. Focussing on weight-loss was the biggest mistake.
I didn’t know this until one day a simple statement from my son changed my life.
Find a cause that you can commit to:
- It could be something as simple as wanting to fit into a new dress or being able to walk up 4 floors without panting. Or like me, being able to keep up with a hyperactive bunch of kids
- It could be moderate like aspiring to run a marathon dream run of 3 km or going for a day-long shopping spree or puja without getting tired the next day
- It could be complex like reducing your thyroid/blood sugar or blood pressure levels.
Whatever may be the reason, identify it and just begin!
Keep walking and you will be surprised at what life brings to you.
I used to postpone my fitness journey to ‘next Monday’. I led a very unhealthy lifestyle – no exercise, irregular sleep & meal routine, junk food etc. But when my own 12-year-old son gave up on me, it broke my heart.
I started my fitness journey on Feb 3, 2018 – I will never forget that day because I couldn’t walk more than 450 metres on that day.
Does my story sound familiar to you?
Are you at a total loss with your efforts to lose weight at getting healthy?
I really hope my post and the #BlogchatterA2Z series on my blogzine inspires you.
Do write in your queries, suggestions and comments. Would love to read and respond.
Penned by
Mayura Amarkant
Disclaimer:
Dear Reader: You must know that I am not a healthcare expert and nor am I posing to be one through this series. I am sharing my personal experiences and journey. I urge you to speak to your healthcare professional before trying anything in this series.
DiaryOfAnInsaneWriter 
A trigger is important for anything big to start. Your son’s statement served as the trigger. To see you follow through is AMAZING!
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You look really young after your health transformation! Hats off to your dedication and commitment. I wish I was this disciplined. Now that I am following your series, I am getting inspired to follow your footsteps.
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Hats off to your commitment and dedication. Claps for your son!
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Hats off to you! Your commitment and dedication are an inspiration to so many people. You have proved that there is Life After 40. Kudos!
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Your son is surely a rock star, however, you took the cue and made a difference in your life and consequently, your family’s life too. Kudos to you, ma’am!
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Kudos to you for taking control of your life! You are an inspiration to many.
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Wow! I am impressed by the dedication you showed after questioning by your kids. I can relate to this. I can see the huge difference and charm on your face after losing so many kilos. I am also on the same journey.
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Love the honesty here, Mayura. That and how your post silently inspires the reader to recheck their health and priorities. Loved it!
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I started walking and lifting weights three years after my daughter was born.That and eating on time helped me.
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I can so relate to your story, Mayura. What a brilliant and positive and inspiring post. I am looking forward to your posts and hope to be able to start my weight loss journey as well.
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I loved the pics and the way you shared your journey. I’m not a fitness freak or gym person but follow a healthy lifestyle and love my walks and runs. Thanks for sharing.
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Your theme is one of the most favorite of mine during this year’s challenge. and I am coming here everyday..to know more about it. i know, obesity is one of the major health problem and most of people find it hard to keep themselves motivated for regular exercise and healthy diet. your series will help lots of people and I am sure they will find some kind of inspiration with this,
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Finding a reason to commit is a fab place to start. I have been trying not to focus on the weighing scale and just exercising with some form of consistency. This is an easier goal and I find myself able to keep it up.
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Your journey inspires me. I put on a lot of weight after childbirth and seem to be unable to shed it. But I lack the motivation to stick on to an exercise regime. I hope I can motivate myself to do better after reading your posts.
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I’m going to follow your posts religiously. Period 😦
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I can relate to your life story! A strong commitment to a goal or a reason to be fit is important. Once you do that, rest falls in place. I am conscious of fitness but cannot stick to any exercise regimen for long. Hope to find some inspiration through your posts! Thanks for sharing, Mayura!
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Wonderful Mayura- I completely agree with you. Being fit, not slim or skinny, is my goal too. It will be a pleasure to follow your journey.
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I have been physically active in some way or the other most of my life which has kept me in almost the same weight range. Like you said focusing on health helps you to keep walking
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I have found several causes that I keep in mind. It has helped me begin my journey multiple times. But the issue comes in fitting it into my daily schedule. Also, as a college student, I admit that my food and sleep habits are pretty bad. Need to change that. Thanks for sharing your journey.
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Such a positive post in these times… Waiting for more!
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