2017 was a bad year personally. A combination of a long illness to my mother which led to her passing away, a change in job and cities and a slipped disk in a freak gym accident which left me with debilitating pain, left me the most unfit I have been in a long time — both mentally and physically.
As the new year dawned I took some time out to set my life on order. And the first thing on the list was getting fit. I believe that this is one of those overarching aspects of the life that has multiple knock on benefits. While fitness is an end itself and low weight obviously has multiple health benefits, it also makes you more energised and discipline in one aspect of your life invariably rubs into others. Call it positive reinforcement 🙂
Over the last month I have lost 6.5 kgs (14.33 lbs) in body weight, and I just wanted to share the plan and the resources that helped me get there with a wider audience. While it is tough AND requires a lot of hard work, I believe this plan is doable for most people as long as you follow the three basic rules: Diet, Exercise and Tracking
The Diet
This is for me the the most important aspect of the weight loss process and the one where most people tend to trip up.
While there are many diet plans that can help you lose weight, a lot of them will leave you unsatisfied and/or hungry — which means they are bound to fail in the long run. What has worked best for me is a protein heavy and low carb keto diet that allows you to eat fully and does not enforce any fasting.
By lowering the amount of carbs consumed (typically less than 30 gms a day), a keto diet induces your body into ketosis which is a healthy metabolic state.
For people more interested in the science of ketosis, fellow Medium member Will Little has a great article. But for others suffice to say that in a state of ketosis, your body burns the extra fat it has stored in the absence glucose intake (which is the final state of most carbs you take). It is not unusual for people on Keto to lose up to 10 lbs in the first few weeks while making you feel less bloated and more energised.
While all this is fine, what does it mean for you in daily life? Simply put you need to base most of your meals around protein sources and minimise all carbs that you consume during the day to less than 30 gms (more on how to measure this later). Easier said than done? Yes. I am sharing a list of easy recipes that can help you create a keto plan that is easy to follow. And in most cases, you can also order in food that is low on carbs quite easily or be on keto even when dining out!
The Workout
The best part about being on a ketogenic weight loss program is that there is no need to go overboard in terms of your workout regimen. And while carbs are the primary source of fuel for your body, it is perfectly safe to workout and not feel energy-deprived during ketosis.
I found that 30 mins of intense cardio (think: able to speak during but not make long conversations) is enough to get me to my goals. That is something that most of us can easily fit into our daily schedule.
If you can also add some anaerobic exercises such as weights, yoga or stretches it will help boost your metabolism further and help you get to your goals faster!
As I mentioned earlier though, diet is still essential to your weight loss no matter how much effort you put in on your workouts. Workout is a supplement to and not a replacement of your diet plan. And this is true for almost any fitness plan that you follow.
Tracking Your Moves
Coming to an important aspect of this, or in fact any, weight loss plan. Most such plans fail not because of a lack of intent but because of a lack of planning. So sharing some tips and resources that will help you stay on track.
Plan for your meals a week in advance. For example I typically create a weekly meal plan on the Saturday of the preceding week and then make sure to stock up on all the items that are required to execute it. Typically my meal plans contain five meals a day — breakfast, lunch, dinner and two snacks a day. Even if I am planning to eat out or meet someone for dinner, I plan what I am going to eat well in advance so that I don’t get swayed by seeing some of my favourites on the menu.
To keep a track of how much carb you are consuming (or can keep consuming during a day), my best bet would be MyFitnessPal which is available on iOS as well as Android. It has a vast collection of recipes (including most popular Indian foods) that you can just click to add to your daily meal diary and will let you calculate your calories intake as well as the breakup of Carbs, Protein and Fat.
Also a common mistake a lot of people make when following this diet is to cut down on their fat intake. Don’t make this mistake. While going on keto is going to reduce your diet and calories automatically (by making you feel fuller for longer and also eating better), with carbs out of the picture fat is going to be your primary source of energy and succour. Trying to eliminate that as well is a recipe for failure.
Finally, I think the biggest factor in making this plan a success or a failure is how much discipline you bring to it. Make your milestones visible and track progress. Plan for your week and day in advance. One idea that worked well for me is to have a very visible tracker of my daily metrics on top of my wardrobe. This allowed me to stay true to myself and also have these numbers in front of me both at the start and the end of the day. You get the idea — you can make your own tracking medium that works for you.
Just two final words of caution. Once you start with ketosis the first 2–3 days when you body is adjusting to the ketogenic transition you can feel fogginess lethargy and headache. Don’t abandon your plan — fight through it and by the end of 3 days your body will feel renewed. Also, one of the common side effects of ketosis is dehydration and constipation. So make sure you drink lots of water (try and get in a minimum of 3 lts a day) and get as much fiber as possible — psyllium husk (isabgol) in hot water before bed every night is one good option.
Conclusion
At the end of the day any program you design is only as good as your execution of it. And I cannot promise that this is a magic pill. Yes this involves a lot of planning and a lot of hard work. But all I can say is that this worked for me and I have seen this work with a lot of other people I have advised in the last few months.
But whether it is with this plan or something else, health is one of the most important aspects of a healthy, productive life. So I wish you all the best in your battle with the bulge!
