Name: Rakhi Meniya
Age: 30 years
Height: 5 feet 2 inch
Highest weight recorded: 74 kgs
Weight lost: 14 kgs
Duration it took me to lose weight: 2.5 months
The turning point: I had put on a lot of weight after my pregnancy and I wasn’t able to work out or monitor my diet soon after that. Hence, within a year, my clothing size went from S to XL and I found it quite tough to digest this huge change. My confidence had also begun to waver due to all the unsolicited pieces of advice. However, my husband acted as my pillar of support and gently nudged me to start working out and take care of myself. That was the turning point in my life and I have never really looked back after that.
My breakfast: I keep my diet simple and fuss-free so that I can follow it on most days. For my breakfast, I choose anything from a bowl of oats, a portion of sprouts with strawberry or banana smoothie. I completely avoid cheat meals or cheat days.
My Lunch: 1 chapati, 1 bowl of vegetable curry or a portion of sprouts with buttermilk. Occasionally, I have a bowl of brown rice with dal.
My Dinner: I make sure to finish my dinner by 7 pm every day, without fail. I have boiled vegetables like broccoli, carrot, cucumber etc. Sometimes, I have one chapati with a bowl of dal or vegetable curry.
My Workout: My workout routine is fuss-free. I run for 3 kilometres in the morning for six days a week and do Tabata workout at home. Tabata workout is an excellent choice for working out at home, given the current circumstances where we cannot hit the gym.
Pre-workout meal: Any fruit of my choice, including apple, orange and kiwi
Post-workout meal: I have a glass of almond milk with a handful of nuts
Fitness secrets I unveiled: If you want to lose weight and get back in shape, it all boils down to consistency. It does not matter what workout routine you follow, you have to keep doing it to see results. I have realised that losing weight is not rocket science, you have to watch your diet and continue working out as per your body type.
How do I stay motivated? Undoubtedly, one of my biggest motivators has been my husband, who gave me new targets every week to ensure that I kept going. When I started seeing the results, I kept following the same schedule for my work out and dietary plan. Also, when I saw that I was able to fit into size S/M clothing again, it further motivated me to continue my journey.
How do you ensure you don’t lose focus? In the beginning, it was really tough to make up your mind to follow a strict schedule and make rapid lifestyle changes. However, after I maintained my routine for the first 15 days, I slowly became focused. Whenever I felt that I was straying from goals, I would watch my old photographs to motivate myself to keep going. It wasn’t easy, but it was certainly worth it.
What shape do you see yourself 10 years down the line? I see myself as a healthy person, who loves to work out, no matter what.
What are the lifestyle changes you made? I believe being consistent with my workout routine has been the biggest and most effective lifestyle change that I have made. Furthermore, I also quit junk food, packaged products and most of the sweets.
What was the lowest point for you? Thankfully, I never reached a really low point during my weight loss journey but being overweight did hamper my self-confidence to a certain extent.
Lessons learnt from weight loss: The main lesson that I have learnt from my weight loss journey is that it certainly does not happen overnight. You need to be patient with your workout and watch what you are eating. So, ultimately patience is the key here. If you are honest with your efforts to lose weight, you will start seeing the difference.
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