If you happen to be on the heavier side, you can expect people to advise you to lose weight. And if you have finally knocked off some kilos, they would remind you how tired and haggard you look. So the bottom line is that there is no pleasing anyone. Ask PG student Sangeetha, who hails from Beypore. She has heard a lot of such comments all her life. But none of these issues hassled her. It was when she wasn't unable to wear her favourite dresses that she really felt let down. And what followed was a struggle to regain all that. Sangeetha talks about her journey.
How this lockdown betrayed her
Until the pandemic struck life was going ok for Sangeetha who never found her height or weight a matter of discomfort. But when the lockdown was announced, Sangeetha decided to go easy on her diet and experimented with cooking. She would happily eat her cooking experiments as well. Unfortunately, all that resulted in the weighing scales touching 95 kilos.
When depression came
Sangeetha always loved dressing up. But all that weight gain meant she wasn’t able to fit into any of her dresses. That was enough for anyone to feel depressed. And then there were those who started commenting on her weight gain to make matters worse. If only people knew how much such comments hurt! When her clothes betrayed her, Sangeetha really thought of doing something about it.
And then things just moved faster
Though she used to visit the gym during vacations, she had never incorporated workouts into her daily routine. But once lockdown eased and gyms reopened, she started regularly working out at the gym. She would do more cardio. Her trainer would make her do a lot of exercises that didn’t require equipment. Though she found it all very hard initially, with the trainer’s motivation she started enjoying it.
On days when the gym wasn’t there, she would walk for an hour at home to maintain her weight. She also did a lot of exercises at home and followed a diet. She kept changing her diet. She reduced her sugar and rice intake. Sangeetha started including more protein, fruits, and juices in her diet. For breakfast, she would have chapati, curry, and salad. A juice at 11 am and a bowl of rice and chicken curry for lunch. Dinner would be salad. Finally, she lost 33 kilos in a year.
People still passed comments
When she started losing weight, she would get both positive and negative comments. But she accepted both gracefully. There were those who felt she looked great after losing weight and those who thought that weight gain added colour to her cheeks. But now she doesn’t bother with such comments. She only takes note of things that will affect her positively. But most of her friends encourage her and remind her that she looks her best now and that has really helped her self-esteem.
At first, her parents weren’t really thrilled when she decided to go on a weight loss journey. They were unhappy that she had become too thin. Though most people are happy with her weight loss, her parents and brother are genuinely unhappy with her new form.
Nothing is impossible
This weight loss journey taught her that if you set your heart to something, nothing is impossible. She had thought that she wouldn’t be able to do this. Sangeetha used to think she was destined to always look this way. But hard work always gets rewarded.