Teacher and aspiring model Sowmya reveals her makeover secrets

It was with the single-minded mission to sustain in the world of modelling that Higher Secondary teacher Sowmya decided to plunge into fitness. She knew that was the only way to survive in a world where flab meant bad news. It all started when her weighing scales showed an alarming 65 kgs after childbirth (Sowmya weighed 49 kg before). She used to write for publications and when one of the publications wondered if she can be featured on the cover, Sowmya wasn’t sure. She somehow felt she would look flabby on the cover in her present shape. But then Sowmya was always a fighter. That’s why she not only appeared on the cover but also knocked off extra pounds in the bargain. And hear this—she did that by having rice twice a day. Yes! You heard that right! Sowmya shares her weight loss journey.

“I am someone who loves to wear stuff I like. I love to dress up. Before marriage, I weighed 49 kgs. But post delivery it had reached 65 kg. I really felt I had put on a lot of weight. Though I wanted to lose weight and get back to shape, somehow circumstances weren’t in my favour. Though I tried to control my food, that wasn’t helping much. That’s when a friend said there will be results only if I incorporated some workouts into my daily routine. And in my mind, workouts meant only gym workouts. And in Idukki, there weren’t many gyms near my house.

That’s when I came to know about a fitness programme that could be done at home. Through a social media group, they would give instructions. They would inform us about our diet and daily workouts. What I found really interesting was that there was no special diet prescribed for weight loss. I just had to eat home-cooked meals, keep an eye on portions, check protein intake and look out for my daily calorie intake. Since I was a working woman, this turned out to be highly beneficial for me. That I was able to do workouts at home using a resistance band was also effective.

I just couldn’t skip rice from my diet. At home, we would have rice for lunch and dinner. So I was also used to that diet. But I started having more curries and less rice. You can even say that rice was more like a side dish now. My husband and children used to make fun of me saying – “ah amma is having curry with rice.” That combined with 1-hour daily workouts started showing results.

Earlier I had difficulty in walking and had breathing issues. But after the workout, all these issues disappeared. Somehow I always felt stifled when I was at my heaviest. But now I can wear anything I want and that does wonders for my confidence. Even my energy levels are better. Now am able to do things which I wouldn’t have had the confidence to do earlier.

I remember my friend who burst out laughing after commenting that I had gained so much weight after delivery. I felt really bad that day. That was the first instance when I felt conscious of my weight gain. A lot of people did observe that I had gained weight after pregnancy. But then the same people are telling me to not lose any more weight. When I joined school after Covid, even my students commented on my appearance. And my colleagues cautioned me against losing more weight as they felt I was just right now.”