This woman shed 35 kilos in 6 months with regular exercise and a healthy diet. In the process, all her health problems disappeared as well.
Medha Kulkarni* (43) accompanied her sister to the doctor a year ago. Her sister, Dhanashree* (39) was suffering from diabetes and blood pressure. The doctor spoke to Dhanashree before turning to Medha. “She took one look at my face and body and said, ‘Do you eat sweets every day?’ I was surprised, and I said yes. She then said that I needed to lose weight if I didn’t want to end up in the same state as my sister,” Medha remembers.
Stunned, Medha took a decision on her way home. “Diabetes affects half my family, and at that stage, I was pre-diabetic, too. I was at least 30 kgs overweight and feeling tired all the time. Plus, I had persistent acne that no medicine could treat,” she explains. Realising that all her health problems were linked to her excess weight, she decided to get in shape. “Nobody in my family had ever seen the inside of a gym,” she laughs. “I decided to be the first one and enrolled for a personal training programme.”
Shedding the weight and health problems
She was given a gruelling exercise regimen that included three days of cardio and two days of strength training for 40 minutes each, followed by brisk walking on the sixth day and a holiday on the seventh day. “It was so difficult at first. The gym’s dietician put me on a no sweets, no oil diet. Combined with the exercises, I was drained at first,” Medha remembers.
But then she started losing weight. “It was one kilo at first, then two kilos in the next two weeks. I was motivated to continue with my weight loss workout,” she says. Even on the rest day every week, she stuck to her diet and kept away from fried, sweet and salty food. “People feel it is okay to indulge on a cheat day, but soon you are tempted to cheat every day. Overcoming my sweet tooth was the hardest thing for me. And slowly, my acne cleared up,” she explains.
Seeing her sister’s progress, Dhanashree joined the gym as well. “Within a month of regular cardio and weight training, she lost three kilos and her blood sugar level also came down,” Medha says. “Soon, we enrolled our parents in the exercise programme. I realised that fitness is a way of life and everybody should adopt exercise, whatever their age.”
A year later
Today, Medha has shed a cool 40 kilos and is at her ideal weight. “My trainer did not expect me to show such good results, but I persevered. And now exercising and eating healthy meals has become second nature to me,” Medha explains. Her health tips are simple: “Include sprouts in your breakfast, boiled eggs and steamed chicken in your lunch, and salads and soups in dinner. Stay away from food with a high glycaemic index like white rice and refined flour. These cause a spike in blood sugar, mess up the metabolism and cause sugar cravings.”
She urges senior citizens to take up exercise as well. “My parents’ health has dramatically improved since they joined the gym. My father’s diabetes is under control and my mother does not have hypertension any more. They are fitter today than they ever were. With everyone’s fitness at a high, we have not had to visit a doctor in a year!” Medha laughs.
*The characters in this article are fictional and have been used for illustrative purposes.
Medha Kulkarni* (43) accompanied her sister to the doctor a year ago. Her sister, Dhanashree* (39) was suffering from diabetes and blood pressure. The doctor spoke to Dhanashree before turning to Medha. “She took one look at my face and body and said, ‘Do you eat sweets every day?’ I was surprised, and I said yes. She then said that I needed to lose weight if I didn’t want to end up in the same state as my sister,” Medha remembers.
Stunned, Medha took a decision on her way home. “Diabetes affects half my family, and at that stage, I was pre-diabetic, too. I was at least 30 kgs overweight and feeling tired all the time. Plus, I had persistent acne that no medicine could treat,” she explains. Realising that all her health problems were linked to her excess weight, she decided to get in shape. “Nobody in my family had ever seen the inside of a gym,” she laughs. “I decided to be the first one and enrolled for a personal training programme.”
Shedding the weight and health problems
She was given a gruelling exercise regimen that included three days of cardio and two days of strength training for 40 minutes each, followed by brisk walking on the sixth day and a holiday on the seventh day. “It was so difficult at first. The gym’s dietician put me on a no sweets, no oil diet. Combined with the exercises, I was drained at first,” Medha remembers.
But then she started losing weight. “It was one kilo at first, then two kilos in the next two weeks. I was motivated to continue with my weight loss workout,” she says. Even on the rest day every week, she stuck to her diet and kept away from fried, sweet and salty food. “People feel it is okay to indulge on a cheat day, but soon you are tempted to cheat every day. Overcoming my sweet tooth was the hardest thing for me. And slowly, my acne cleared up,” she explains.
Seeing her sister’s progress, Dhanashree joined the gym as well. “Within a month of regular cardio and weight training, she lost three kilos and her blood sugar level also came down,” Medha says. “Soon, we enrolled our parents in the exercise programme. I realised that fitness is a way of life and everybody should adopt exercise, whatever their age.”
A year later
Today, Medha has shed a cool 40 kilos and is at her ideal weight. “My trainer did not expect me to show such good results, but I persevered. And now exercising and eating healthy meals has become second nature to me,” Medha explains. Her health tips are simple: “Include sprouts in your breakfast, boiled eggs and steamed chicken in your lunch, and salads and soups in dinner. Stay away from food with a high glycaemic index like white rice and refined flour. These cause a spike in blood sugar, mess up the metabolism and cause sugar cravings.”
She urges senior citizens to take up exercise as well. “My parents’ health has dramatically improved since they joined the gym. My father’s diabetes is under control and my mother does not have hypertension any more. They are fitter today than they ever were. With everyone’s fitness at a high, we have not had to visit a doctor in a year!” Medha laughs.
*The characters in this article are fictional and have been used for illustrative purposes.