There is nothing worse than realising that those close to you are fearing for your health. Something similar happened with 35-year-old Siddharth Shinde, whose best friends and family members were worried about his growing weight. Hence, he decided to take control of his life and lost a massive 40 kilos in less than 8 months.
Name: Siddharth Shinde
Occupation: Food Safety Officer
Age: 35 years
City: Al Nahda Dubai
Height: 5 feet 8 inches
Current Weight: 70.3 kgs
Highest weight recorded: 112 kgs
Weight lost: 40 kgs
Duration it took me to lose weight: Less than 8 months
The turning point: I was rapidly gaining a lot of weight and my belly fat was increasing day by day. I had also developed breathing issues and my health was on an all-time low. My best friends understood that I needed to reduce weight and focus on my health. This is why they took me out for dinner last year and told me that I needed to get back in shape.
My breakfast: 2 slices of brown bread and 5 eggs (white part only) and protein smoothie.
My lunch: 200 grams of chicken breast, one bowl of brown rice and fresh vegetables as a salad.
My dinner: 200 grams of chicken breast and protein shake
I indulge in: I do not believe in the concept of cheat days. I am on a very strict diet and do not stray from the path of fitness.
My workout: I work out 6 days a week and take one day off. Daily, I do a minimum of 1.5 hours of weight training and 30 minutes of cardio.
Fitness secrets I unveiled: You need to be patient during your weight loss journey and understand that there is no shortcut to lose weight.
How do I stay motivated? My best friend and my trainer, Puneet Rao was my biggest motivation to lose weight and get back in shape. He pushed me to keep going when I wanted to give up. Even my best friends Pallavi, Richa, Diptesh, Kanchan, Shweta and my aunties helped me to stay motivated.
How do you ensure you don’t lose focus? My best friend Puneet played a crucial role in my weight loss journey. He helped me stay focussed and consistent.
What’s the most difficult part of being overweight? It was without any doubt the host of health conditions that came from being fat. I was also losing my confidence bit by bit.
What shape do you see yourself 10 years down the line? I want to stay fit and healthy and do not wish to gain weight again. I also want to attain a muscular physique.
What are the lifestyle changes you made? I made it a point to completely stop eating and drinking anything which had a lot of sugar in it. This included chocolates, fried food items and aerated drinks.
What was the lowest point for you? I realised that I was rapidly gaining weight and needed to control my food intake. Even my aunties and friends had started pointing out that I needed to lose weight.
Lessons learnt from weight loss: It is important to be kind to yourself when you are trying to lose weight. It is also important to understand that life is so much more than the numbers on the weighing scale.
