Name: Pratima Lokwani
Occupation: Dietitian & Fitness Youtuber
Age: 25 years
Height: 5 feet 3 inches
City: Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh
Highest Weight Recorded: 112.5 kgs
Weight Loss: 51 kgs
Current Weight: 62 kgs
Duration It Took Me To Lose Weight: 10 months
The Turning Point: While I was well aware that I had become obese and was rapidly gaining more weight, I did not really bother. After a point of time, I was diagnosed with PCOD and thyroid issues, but I still did not pay any attention or made any efforts to change my lifestyle. However, the alarming situation came when I did not get my periods for one while year, owing to all the excess weight. That was the point I realised that I needed to do something to change my lifestyle and get back in shape. That was definitely the turning point of my life and I have come a long way since then.
My breakfast: I have a bowl of red poha or a cup of tea with 2 besan chillas in my breakfast
My lunch: One bowl of quinoa with a bowl of dal, one bowl of curd or 2 chapatis with a bowl of vegetables and a bowl of curd
My dinner: I eat grilled chicken or grilled paneer with steamed vegetables
Pre-workout meal: A slice of brown bread with peanut butter
Post-workout meal: 3 boiled eggs.
I indulge in: I usually indulge in brownies and sandwiches.
My workout: I make it a point to follow a balanced workout routine. Depending on my routine, I do anything from spinning sessions, Crossfit, weight training and HIIT.
Low-calorie recipes I swear by: I completely vouch on besan chillas and oats
Fitness secret I unveiled: When my weight refused to budge after a point of time, I made it a point to frequently change my diet.
How do I stay motivated? When I started witnessing inch loss and could see the shift in the pointer of the weighing machine, it used to give me a boost of motivation.
How do you ensure you don’t lose focus? I learnt to celebrate and cherish small victories as they ultimately led to bigger results. I used to chalk out small and realistic weight loss targets for myself which eventually helped me lose a lot of weight in a healthy manner.
What is the most difficult part of being overweight? I used to feel stressed and sleep all the time when I was overweight.
What shape do you see yourself 10 years down the line? I want to stay focussed on toning my body and wish to maintain my current weight.
What are the lifestyle changes you made? The most important and impactful habit that I adopted on my journey to lose weight was to completely stop eating junk and packaged food items. I replaced all my unhealthy cravings with healthy food items and it made a lot of difference.
What was the lowest point for you? It was undoubtedly when I could not wear the clothes of choice because of my size. If you go to the market, 6 XL is not easily available in most shops. I also used to have a lot of trouble climbing stairs.
Lessons learnt from weight loss: When you are a journey to lose weight, you have to make up your mind to stay focused, no matter what happens. I have realised that mental preparation is crucial if you want to reach your weight loss goals.
If you too have a weight loss story to share, send it to us at toi.health1@gmail.com