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The Magic of Weight loss

by Ragad | Mar 2, 2014 | Diabetes, Diet, Motivation

You have no idea, how many people I meet, talk to , communicate with, tell me how lucky I am to lose this weight. I smile and thank them all for their kind words. But seriously, in my head I think “lucky my ass”. If hard work is luck, then yes, I am very lucky. It almost feels as if people believe that those like me who lose weight, are illusionists. They eat some magic potions, and behold one day, wake up smaller, just as one day they woke up fat.Unfortunately, luck has nothing to do with weight loss. Just as it had nothing to do with weight gain. Laziness plays a big role in gaining weight (of course there are those who are afflicted by very painful illnesses and just cannot exercise), we start calling it ‘lifestyle’ issues. Hard work plays a major role in losing it, simply!

It’s pure science though. Nothing to do with magic.I was eating way too much. I discovered when I started logging my food. I would honestly think I wasn’t eating much. My meal portions were really small. One piece of bread (roti bread), or a small portion of rice, with simple lentils and salad was my regular meal. Honestly, that was it. Then how did I gain the weight?What I did not account for was all that I ate in-between my very small portions – the two biscuits I dunked into my coffee each morning, the post breakfast snack at the office, the post lunch snack, the potato chips pre dinner, the couple of whiskeys with tandoori chicken, and then the yummy ice cream, or chocolate that followed my very small dinner. Oh, and if I felt very happy that night, and if I was distracted some exciting ‘food’ show on television (thank you Masterchef), I would inadvertently get at least 2 slices of bread pan toasted with enough butter for a week.

In my mind, I was eating about 1200 calories a day, which is the recommended calorie intake for women my age. However, when I did finally log in my food intake on www.myfitnesspal.com (a free tool to log in food, drink and exercise) I was beyond shocked!!! I was eating for at least 2 women, and some days for three. No wonder I was the size of a house (a proper 3-bedroom one at that -:))

To lose weight, I realised all I had to do is simply eat for one person. Eat right kind of food. You cannot eat for one person, and eat a horse. You got to eat right. Decide your meals for next day a day in advance. Plan, plan, plan. Most of us don’t know how many calories we intake in each meal. Use free tools such as www.myfitnesspal.com.
Divide your meals into
– breakfast
– morning snack
– lunch
– afternoon snack
– evening meal

When I started eating right, some days I struggled with even consuming 1200 calories a day. When I was eating ‘whatever’ came my way – I was eating upto 4000-5000 calories a day.

It’s simple science. None of us really need to get into specifics of that. What we need to simply remember is consuming our recommended calorie intake every day, exercising every day (any form of exercise is fine) and leading a good lifestyle (drinking plenty of water, and getting at least 8 hours of sleep). Staying HAPPY is very critical. I learnt that I am an emotional eater. I eat when I feel low. Now I substitute that with exercise, reading and simply annoying others 🙂

Bring the magic to your lives – eat well, exercise! Don’t be secret eaters, as I was.

Let’s not pretend that our weight is just coming on its own. Let’s take ownership, so we can change it, so we can get healthier.

I challenge you to log in your food today on www.myfitnesspal.com. Log in every morsel, every drink, coke, pepsi, sprite, every thing…and then check how many calories you actually take in. Then calculate how many calories you really burn each day. The answers will come. It’s simple science. Not magic. But losing weight can be magical, as I have found out!

No Time for Exercise ? Try This

by Ragad | Mar 2, 2014 | Diabetes, Diet, Motivation

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My blog is not about losing weight. It is about re-gaining health. I am a middle-aged woman, with a full-on life. I lost control for a while, gained huge amount of weight in a very short span, and got very ill. I was told I couldn’t live much longer if I did not do something about it. The starting point for me was to lose the excess weight. It was not easy. It was not hard either. It was just about making a decision and taking action. I decided to take one day at a time. Every day, I focussed on that one day. And slowly, things changed. I lost the weight. I re-gained my health. My diabetes went into remission. I no longer suffer from hypertension. My liver is fine. The stone in my gall bladder is getting smaller. Is it a “miracle” as we would like to believe? No. It is simply, about making a decision and taking action, and sticking with it, every day.

One common phrase I have heard over and over again, “You are so lucky, you can exercise, I have no time to exercise”!

Seriously, one thing we all have in common is the 24 hours we get. What we do with those 24 hours each day, is what makes us different.

Make the decision and take action:

I have been there — making hundreds of excuses for not being able to exercise> some of my common excuses were:

No time – long days, and longer nights of work !
Travel – as you all know, I travel atleast 10-15 days a month
Children – Two teenagers is a full-time job plus more…
Social life – late nights can be tiring … with all that eating, and drinking!
Unpredictable life – I have to travel at short notice at times
Over 40 – My life is now about my children, so why bother!
Why put the effort – Exercise does take effort.
What will people think – Oh, I thought the whole world was watching 🙂

All of the above is totally true, and has not changed, honestly. But, I decided to work with it. So, I make use of what I have, with the time I have.

Just simple things to do at home. Remember, every little thing does count, as my trainer once told me, “everything is CBO” (Calorie Burning Opportunity). Ten calories here, and ten calories there…it all adds up. And it’s fun!!!

Buckets: Oh, that’s the best. I use half filled buckets (soaked with whites) to lift. helps with building my core, and also my arms.
kichen bench for push ups – while cooking, waiting for the pot to boil…
More ways to use the chair – I do planks, tricep bench dips. I sit on the chair at times, and do stomach crunches.
Stairs: Apart from using the stairs to go up and down, I use them to do push ups. I do about 50 odd a day. Just because I can!
Children : If you have young children, carry them around! Amazing calorie burners.

I am still a few kilos away from my goal. But my goal is not about my weight. I want to stay well, healthy and alive. I have a lifetime ahead of me, after all.

Feel free to comment on this, share with anyone needing encouragement. Remember, every little does count. Follow me on Facebook

One July Morning

by Ragad | Feb 20, 2014 | Diabetes, Diet, Motivation

That July morning, when I woke up to a different day – when I saw darkness around me in many forms, was the lowest day of my life. The symptoms were painful. I got myself to a doctor, series of tests…all suggesting I had severe Type 2 diabetes, huge stone in my gall bladder, hypertension amongst other ailments, all due to obesity.

Time stood still. But more than that, life stood still.

I had no idea of Diabetes except that I had lost a few family members, who lost their limbs first before they passed on. And at very young age. I had a history of diabetes in my family. I felt I had no chance. My doctor suggested getting the gall bladder out. But, he wouldn’t operate (or just couldn’t) on me as I had severe diabetes, which meant the chances of infection was very high and so was the healing time. I was scared inside to undergo surgery as I had no fall back option for my young twins if something were to happen to me. Those were dark days. Long days and longer nights. I felt alone. Miserable. Lost.

Other than the diagnoses, I hated the feeling I had within. I felt extremely unwell. For the first time ever, I felt I couldn’t go on with life. I needed to end it all and start again.People who know me are shocked that I was going through all that — I just did not show it to anyone. It is common, amongst us women. We simply pretend all is well to the world, when inside we are crumbling.

It’s then I got off my ass and decided to give it a try. To start all over again without ending anything. I made the decision to get off my arse. And GetOffMyAss I did!

I decided to take charge of my life…