26-year-old Pragati Malik, a banker by professional was a victim of an unhealthy lifestyle, like many 20 somethings. However, when she realized it affected her appearance, she decided to overhaul her lifestyle.
To know how she did it, read her weight loss story here:
Name: Pragati Malik
Occupation: Banker and nutritionist
Age: 26
Height: 160 cm
Highest weight recorded: 72 kilos
Weight lost: 15 kilos
Duration it took me to lose weight: Although I faced a lot of fluctuations in my journey, roughly, it took me 8 months of time.
The turning point:
I led an unhealthy lifestyle. However, I did not pay much heed to it. When I started getting a lot of acne on my face and back, I realized that it was all a side-effect of my lifestyle. It dawned on me that I urgently needed to make amends, and it had to start with weight loss.
Later, I faced several ups and downs in my journey. I started a weight loss program but my diet wasn’t really sustainable. It made me avoid a lot of things and added a lot of healthy “fad” food items which were of no good. This made me feel depressed. This went on until I decided to certify myself in nutrition and understand the actual science of food, in detail.
Today, being a nutritionist, I have the capability of helping others lead a nutritious lifestyle and help them stay healthy.
My breakfast: I just have a whey smoothie. As of now, I don’t usually eat anything else for breakfast unless I’m hungry.
My lunch: I prefer homemade food for lunch. Any cooked vegetable, with two chapatis (or rice on selective days) with some curd and salad is my go-to meal. If I am in the mood for something different, I eat eggs.
My dinner: Usually soup in winters or any other homemade food. Not much variation. Since it is the winter season, I stick to warm, healthy soups. Else, regular homemade food prepared in minimal oil.
If I have a cheat day, I devour a pizza, which is my all-time favourite!
Pre-workout meal: I like to work out an empty stomach. Nothing special before exercise!
Post-workout meal: Since I tend to work out in the mornings, I prefer to have something filling like a whey protein smoothie (made of 1 cup of whey protein, milk, and dry fruits)
My workout: I go for weight training at least 4 times a week and a mild run once or twice in a week just to add cardio endurance in the body.
Low-calorie recipes I swear by: I don’t usually count calories when I eat but still, I try to look for items with the least/zero sugar and its variants.
Fitness secrets I unveiled: Through my journey, I realized one simple thing that no workout is completely successful unless combined with good nutrition. Exercise is very important for the body but a good nutritious diet followed regularly, not just for the first few months but all throughout the transformation phase is crucial.
After all, looking fit is not only about how one would look externally but how healthy/medically fit one would be from the inside.
How do I stay motivated? Change begins from within. The results I have achieved so far is the biggest motivation for me. When I compare my old pictures to the new ones, I feel an instant kick of motivation. I am very happy to say that I am healthy now. So, I am the biggest motivator for myself.
How do you ensure you don’t lose focus? My self-motivation lets me stay focussed.
What’s the most difficult part of being overweight?
Being overweight exposes you to a lot of chronic as well as long term health issues. Earlier, I used to ran out of breath while walking and was very lethargic. There were also several other complications that I faced in the past. I am glad that I am over these now!
What shape do you see yourself 10 years down the line? While I am happy with my transformation, I do want to tone down a bit more and stay in a healthy frame forever!
What are the lifestyle changes you made? A good nutritious diet, eating mindfully, clubbed together with regular bouts of exercise helped me reverse the damage done by my bad lifestyle.
What was the lowest point for you? My weight loss journey was not all this easy. In the beginning, I was too concentrated about the number and this obsession made me go through eating problems. Eating “boring” food made me see signs of depression. This continued until I decided to understand more about holistic weight loss and inculcated some more healthy and tasty stuff on my plate.
Lessons learnt from weight loss: Weight loss is a result of inculcating a fit lifestyle throughout and staying healthy. As they say, health is actually the biggest wealth asset to be taken care of.
If you have a weight loss story to share, send it to us at toi.health1@gmail.com
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