The New Journey

Hitting my lowest point let me reach a new high

Nefer Sehgal
Aug 28, 2017 · 4 min read

Sure once in a while jeans get tight, imagine reaching a point where your comfy set of pajamas rip in the middle of the night.

Between travelling, my back injury and stress eating I knew that I must have put on weight but I never realised how much. I added on an extra 35 pounds to my already unfit frame.

I lost my brand, I lost fair weather friends and now I even lost my figure.

This was a huge blow to my self-esteem as I always have had body image issues.

I was pretty much left in tears at my weigh in at but the first step is facing the reality of the situation.

I would always preach as an expert dieter to throw away the scale, but this time I decided to finally face my fears. Being anxious about how you look can consume your entire day. So it was about time I made that step towards a lifestyle I have avoided my whole life, to everyone’s shock I took time out of my work routine to focus on health, weight and mental wellbeing.

The first step was to check my weight. The second step was to research a lot about what I eat, as someone who is South Asian you get a lot of great urban tales about how and what to eat. As someone who has managed to live off nothing but coffee and one meal a day I could easily diet and shrink back. But I didn’t want to gain weight again overnight. It was time for a long-term solution.

The long-term solution was to replace everything I love with fruits and vegetables, which was alien to me.

To my surprise it was not how much I eat but what I was putting in my body and when. I always assumed I had a fast metabolism when actually I was slowing it down but ordering take out food or eating in the middle of the night. The one pro is that I get to eat a bit more than what I expected, the con is that its expensive even when you are grocery shopping for yourself.

Sounds like a simple yet a little difficult solution right? Well, it is the first night of me trying not to over eat and I have a splitting headache. If the start is anything indicator I reckon the rest of the nights will be torturous.

And oh the desi comments,

“I wish I could take time off I don’t have that luxury.” said one acquaintance in a snarky tone.

“Your husband lets you spend a lot on food” said a random old man at a grocery store. Note I’m not married.

It’s no one business about what I spend and what I choose to do with my own life. And note, I was choosing to make it a better life for myself people will make comments ignore them. And when you truly commit to this journey I truly feel less annoyed by remarks thrown at me. I just laugh them off instead of pondering about them all day like I used to.

The third day I decided to sign up with a trainer. My own light activities were just not cutting it and I needed a professional to not only guide me in the right direction but push myself. I again had to face another fear, the fitness test.

This time I was ready to hear the news however I was still a bit perturbed when he said I come in the obese range and my metabolic age was that at 47 years old. He also explained that it’s a common misconception that if you eat a lot you have a fast metabolism. However we were both on the same page, I was unfit as hell.

Are you ready to hear what happened after two months? Well guess what I didn’t lose any weight I gained muscle and got toned but things are a bit different now.

Here are a few things I gained which are positive

-I’m learning from my mistakes, I fall and continue my journey back on the road.

- I can battle flus and colds much easier now.

-I am learning new things.

-My new eating habits made my skin glow.

-I got a lot of compliments on how I look than I ever did when I was skinny.

-I feel more stronger and motivated to push myself more.

-I gained muscle hence I feel and look more toned.

-I have more confidence.

-I’m meeting old friends and making new ones.

-I have a routine.

-I’m taking on new activities such as squash and swimming.

- I got a great boost of endorphins everyday to keep me positive.

-I have more focus and patience.

Writing about gaining weight is a bit negative yes but hitting your lowest point means you only have one way to go. Despite what my weight is right now eating healthier and working out has done wonders for my life. I’m lucky that this was such a small dip in my life to get my feet back up again for the better this time.

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Nefer Sehgal

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I write personal blogs here

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