My Weight Loss Journey – For Body And Mind

And I said to my body, softly, “I want to be your friend.
It took a long breath and replied, “I’ve been waiting my whole life for this.”
~ Nayyirah Waheed ~

I have struggled to have a positive relationship with my body for so many reasons – because of the stigma around being overweight, obsession with ‘ideal’ body image and the self-criticism which comes along. This is an issue which is common among so many women and my journey too started with a great deal of body dissatisfaction.

Being overweight was always a problem for me as it led to several health issues like PCOD (Polycystic Ovary Disease) and hormonal imbalance which again led to the miserable feeling of not looking good and always feeling self-conscious while dressing up. I am blessed to have a supportive husband who never ever criticised about the same and a great friend circle who has never passed a snide comment which could make me feel low.

In 2008, my health took on a toll when I was trying to conceive for the second time and it was not happening naturally. This meant I had to undergo 2 cycles of IUI (Intrauterine Insemination) under the guidance of best of the doctors in India. All of them, however, had one common advice – and that was I needed to lose weight. I had straightaway put on 20 kilos in a year’s time – this was a result of innumerable medicines and hormonal injections.

Time passed and by 2016 my weight had reached 104 kilograms which was alarming and shook me tremendously. I ended up exercising a lot and even went to countless dieticians but to no avail, as I could not sustain my diet for more than two months. I was caught in the vicious cycle of stress and weight gain. In 2018 January, I hit 40 and with that I began experiencing perimenopausal symptoms. The hormonal problems began majorly with painful periods accompanied with fatigue, mood swings, and anxiety.

Life finally took a turn for the better when I met my guardian angel in the form of my gynaecologist – Dr. Rooma Sinha (Apollo Hyderabad, India) who tolerated my tantrums and gave me a patient listening every single time. Eventually we decided to go for a hysterectomy on 11th November 2018. After that, my weight came down by 4 kilograms but because of continuous resting and eating everything again it shot up.

Nutritionist Sunita Arya came as another blessing who changed my life and my outlook towards food and eating. Under her guidance, with a proper diet and exercising, I lost 20 kilograms in 5 months. Shabir, my personal trainer, did not give up on me and endured my outbursts whenever he used to push me for exercising more.

Today, I feel I am in the best of health but I have 12 more kilograms to lose which I have targeted to do from June 2020 to October 2020 (3 kilograms a month) and know that I can and will be achieving the same.

Learnings from this journey

Overcoming psychological blocks or mental hurdles such as negative body image is the first step in starting this journey. If they persist, these blocks can be self-sabotaging.
Before anyone starts any such journey, be thankful to your body for the years it has supported and nourished you.
I consider healthy eating and exercising as a way to nourish my body and not a means to punish it.
Lose weight for the right reason. Our goal should be having a healthy body – weight loss or gain is just a way to achieve that.
Do not compare your body or your health journey to others’. You are your best competition.
Don’t pay heed to what people say (especially unwanted advice). It is said that you should listen to all but do what your heart says to.
Never ever give up, have faith and believe in yourself. Self-belief is a key to achieving any goal in life – and losing weight is no exception.
Have realistic standards and goals. It is important to remember that how a majority of the popular media projects body image is unhealthy and unreasonable.

So, a shout out to all the people who are struggling to achieve a healthy weight. Proper intake of food, exercising, and discipline help you achieve this goal. I don’t eat after sunset and do intermittent fasting for 16 hours. I can run 8 kilometres at a stretch at 80 kilograms and my health has improved with the added advantage of glowing skin. Not to mention, I feel happier, more upbeat and have greater self-confidence. And to top it all, the self-love I feel towards myself makes me proudly proclaim that ‘I am my favourite’.

Poonam Daga Member since May 25, 2020

Poonam Daga is passionate about the weaves of India and is a founder of ‘Village Haat by Poonam’ where she promotes weavers from all over India. Through her platform, she also promotes housewives who make food like papad, pickles, sharbat, etc. at home and cannot reach the mass population. Foremost, she considers herself a homemaker and an encouraging mother – a job that she has always loved and felt an affinity for. Multitasking, thinking-on-one’s feet, crisis handling and creativity are some of the skills she gained as a mother which she now applies to her venture. She considers her 20-year-old son and her husband as her backbone. She lives in Hyderabad, India.

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