Why (& how) I lost 30kgs in the last 1½ years

I was always the 'fat kid' - a title that has stayed with me, right from my early school days.

I remember my 3rd standard class teacher bringing in a weighing scale and asking everyone to hop on - and I had the highest score in class - 30!

9-year old me considered more to mean better - irrespective of context. I remember coming home that day, beaming with joy, and telling my parents that I weighed the most in class. They too shared my excitement, which spurred me on.

But this feeling did not last long. What followed in the coming years was not easy to take - constant ridicule, snide remarks, bullying, and name-calling by friends and family alike. I was embarrassed to go out - fearing people's judging eyes.

Every day seemed hard to get through. And whenever I went out, I rushed to get back home - the only place where no one cared how I looked - where I felt safe. Suffice it to say, I was far from comfortable in my own body.

In the meantime, I tried to do what I could to lose weight - to fit in better, and also feel better. Here are some of my failed experiments:

• Gym: Working out at the gym seemed to be the solution and I tried it - not once, but 4 times through different periods in my life. I expected results to show quickly and when they did not, I quit. I've not gone to the gym for more than 2 weeks at a time.
  

• Replacing rice with chapati: I remember some family member claiming to have witnessed amazing transformations in people who followed this diet. I too decided to give this a try. Let's just say after a week, I seemed to have put on more weight than I started.
  

• Turning vegetarian: This plan was doomed to fail before it even started. But I did give it a go - for 2 days. Chicken just tasted so damn good.

In hindsight, each of these failed experiments taught me a few good life lessons:

• Good things take time. Hard work + consistency is key. If only I'd read Atomic Habits then - it's all about those 1% improvements.

• Context matters. Just because something worked for someone, doesn't mean the same thing should work for you. Many factors including (and not limited to) age, lifestyle, and general consumption levels affect the final output.
  

• Know yourself and your limits. Don't just blindly follow. Turning vegetarian was too much of a change for me, and for not many benefits - at least from a weight loss perspective.
  

• You have a limited number of f*cks to give. Reserve it for people and things that you care about. Thank you, Mark Manson.

Hitting gold 💰

In November 2020, I came to know of Escaso - a 'body wellness' clinic that focused on weight loss. This place and the people there changed the way I looked at food and went about life.

I was skeptical at first but decided to give it a shot. They operate out of my hometown, so that too made it easy. I was convinced that this was the place - right after my first appointment. I took their 3-month program for a hefty fee, but it was definitely worth it. The program changed my relationship with food, how much I ate and what I ate.

My key insights from the program:

• The core focus of the program was diet management - finding a sustainable, permanent diet that is tailored for you. This involved a study of my existing diet and modifying it to help make it healthier - and hence aiding in losing that excess fat.
  

• Your weight is not a clear indicator of your health. What you want to lose is fat. If your weight is on the high side, but it's mostly muscle, then you're most probably goo.
  

• Sugar is bad. Get rid of it. Cutting off sugar for 4 straight weeks saw my fat percentage drop by 10% (~8kg)
  

• Reduce quantity, improve quality. The food that you normally eat is in excess of your needs. Eat the right combination of foods, in the right amount. (more on this below)
  

• Drink at least 2-3 liters of water every day.
  

• Regular documentation and review. The program made it mandatory to document (daily) what you ate, the quantity, and at what time you ate. Our assigned dietician then reviews this list the next day and comes back with feedback.
  

• Longevity is key. When following a diet, make sure to do it for the long term to see the results.
  

This is what my diet looks like now (a year after completing my program):

6:30 AM - wake up

7:00 AM - have a fruit (any fruit)

9:00 AM - breakfast (1 egg + 1 dosa) - protein + carb

11:00 AM - 1 glass sambaram (buttermilk) - protein

1:00 PM - lunch (rice + chicken/fish + vegetable) - protein + carb + veg

4:00 PM - coffee (minimal sugar) + rusk - usually not recommended, reduce quantity

7:00 PM - dinner (chicken/fish/beef + 1 dosa/handful rice) - protein + carb Sleep before 11 PM.

I started this program at 115kg and now I weigh 85kg. It's been 1.5 years of following this diet and I've never felt more confident and comfortable in my body :)

Mandatory before & after pic:

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