Name: Nainesh Chainani
Highest weight recorded: 136 kilos in September'14 with waistline at 46 inches
Weight lost: 71.5 kilos as he reached 64.5 kilos in September'16 and reduced waistline to 30 inches
The turning point:
Hailing from a typical Sindhi (Hindu) family, I always had extra pounds since my childhood. Our staple diet consisted of oil, cheese, butter, ghee and lots of sugary foods. My sedentary lifestyle made things even worse; I went on adding weight at a constant pace. I was the chubbiest, introvert kid of my class, throughout my pre-primary, primary as well as secondary education.
It was in 2006 that, for the first time, I indulged in some kind of a physical activity. I started gyming when my weight reached 238 lbs (107 kilos). Post 16 months of constant workout and maintaining a healthy diet regime, my weight reduced to 183 lbs (83 kilos). I was elated with the results, so much so that over the next few months, I completely stopped paying attention to my diet. I was also occupied with my studies. Being back to my sedentary lifestyle resulted in gaining weight again.
Now, for over a period of three years my weight was now 280 lbs (127 kilos), I was ashamed of the way I looked and was extremely low on self-esteem and confidence. With only a few months left for college to begin, I had little time to get back in shape and look presentable. I didn't want to start a new phase of life, which included meeting new people, to be again clouded with opinions about my body, as it was during my school years.
There I was, I hit the gym again and started to eat healthy. I gave my 100 percent to lose that extra fat and I was able to shed weight gradually. With time, I had regained some of my lost confidence and was excited to start college.
College started and life was going well. I now weighed 180 lbs (81 kilos) but it didn't last long. In the second year of college, life took a turn when I entered into a relationship. During this time, I lost track of my fitness goals and stopped working out. I was again back to square one as I again started gorging all kinds of foods. My relationship didn't last for more than nine months, however, post that I failed to get back on my healthy regime.
After completing college, I joined my dad's business and got occupied. My daily routine consisted of absolutely no physical activity, just sitting in office working from my desk, resulting in gaining weight.
Fast forward to 2014, almost 5 years later, I weighed 300 lbs (136 kilos). This time, things got worse as not just me but my parents also felt ashamed of the way I looked, to the point that I wasn't allowed to attend my cousin's wedding. The reason was the way I looked but I don't blame them. I am sure no parent would want people to laugh at their kid for the way he/she looks.
Everything happens for a reason! Not being able to attend the wedding hit me hard. It acted as an eye opener and was enough to wake up the lazy couch potato, who hadn't been doing any physical activity since a few years, plus the extra pounds which weighed me down and left me feeling more lazy and lethargic.
However, this time I kept my approach slow but consistent. After losing 55 lbs (24 kilos) in 2006 and 100 lbs (45 kilos) in 2009, I knew the drill. I maintained a note of the mistakes I committed in first two trials as I didn't wish to repeat them again. I wished my third trial to be the final and most refined one with minimum or no mistakes.
I started with making healthy choices like going for small walks at least 5-6 days a week, trying not to eat anything which has a lot of oil, cheese and sugar, but I didn't put my 100 per cent into it. Maybe I didn't want to rush things up this time as I really wanted the results to last forever. Hence, I started bringing in changes slowly but at a consistent pace.
My diet plan:
My journey was two years long and there are no specific foods or diet plans that I can list down. My diet kept changing at regular intervals as and when my body got used to the earlier diet and stopped reacting to it or when my taste buds asked for some change. All I did was observe how my body was reacting to the food I was consuming and what were its outcomes.
Calorie-wise, there were three phases of my diet.
- First, my goal was to be in a calorie-deficit mode as my physical activities were not much and I wanted my body to target the stored fat as a source of energy as and when needed.
- Second, I wasn't really trying to stay in calorie deficit mode but was trying to burn extra calories than I used to consume.
- Third, the final few months for the last 40 lbs of stubborn fat were a combination of both burning extra calories along with eating right things which gave me enough energy to carry on with my workout while keeping me in calorie deficit mode.
I started with avoiding things I should stay away from and added healthier things to my diet which were light on calories and satisfying at the same time.
After a few months, I corrected my meal portions. I broke them down to 7-8 meals per day. This enhanced my metabolism and helped me burn a few extra calories even while resting.
Once portions were in place, I corrected my meal timings. I simply used to avoid having any solid meal two hours prior to my bed time; all calorie dense foods were consumed in morning which left me feeling satisfied the entire day. All carbs and fat-rich foods were taken before working out so that everything gets used up while getting converted into energy. All post workout meals were high on protein and fiber. Last two meals of the day were just fruits.
Sundays were compulsory cheat days! Because body needs a shock once a week otherwise it gets used to your diet, therefore, I used all my Sundays to eat anything and everything. I used to write down things I craved for from Monday to Saturday and ate them on Sundays. This way I fulfilled all my food cravings and in return it allowed me to stay focused on my goals and just wait for the upcoming cheat days. It's all about training your subconscious mind!
My workout:
I started with 40 minutes of walk 5 days a week. Next week I increased to 6 days. After that I kept on adding 5-10 minutes every 1-2 weeks. Sundays were compulsory rest days as I didn't want my body to get used to my routine. Plus, taking a day off proved really beneficial to keep my morale high so that after a day's rest, I get back to my routine fresh, motivated and super charged.
After two and half months of just walking, I developed stamina and got rid of my lethargic feeling till some extent. My lifestyle wasn't sedentary anymore as I was doing some physical activity for minimum an hour every day. Then I joined a gym to give it an extra thrust and pushed myself hard to give in all I had got.
At the gym, I started with an hour of cardio every day and half an hour of circuit training (light weights but fast pace, with minimum to no rest in between sets). After a few months, I shifted to 30 minutes cardio, an hour of circuit training and then again 30 minutes cardio. As and when my body got used to these exercises and routine, I raised the bar by increasing the intensity in cardio and weights in circuit training.
A few months down the line, I was lighter by many pounds. It's a pretty well-known fact that when you are on the higher side of your weight you tend to lose it very quickly, however as and when it gets to the lower side you lose the pace. The entire process slows down gradually because as you get near to your standard body weight, you have to push it harder to get that scale moving. The stubborn body fat can only be lost with a lot of extra hard work and a right nutrition plan otherwise you'll end up losing your muscle mass instead of that fat. Therefore, I started morning running sessions as during that time you're in a fasting state which makes it a perfect time for your body to utilise that stubborn fat by converting it into energy to fuel your morning cardio session. This increased my strength and my stamina constantly surprised me whenever I thought I will push myself to failure but didn't.
The more people noticed, the more effort I put in to get better. I literally got greedy for compliments. I started this transformative journey for myself and after going ahead with it till some extent, I got tired and frustrated with the same monotonous lifestyle. I started losing hope and motivation but since people started noticing the change in my body, my hope and motivation level skyrocketed.
For the final few months, I did 30 minutes of cardio, two hours of circuit training and again 30 minutes of cardio along with my morning running sessions. By this time, I was an inspiration for people willing to lose weight; I became a topic of discussion amongst friends and family. I started off as a fitness blunder and now a "weight loss transformation inspiration". This gave me a different high and I was loving it. People used to come to me in the middle of my workout just to get some tips on how I did it and even to congratulate me on my progress.
Low-calorie recipes I swear by:
My fibre-protein fit bowl:
Lettuce, onion, capsicum, broccoli, zucchini, bell pepper, red cabbage, kale, celery, cucumber, carrot, tomato, green onion, chickpeas, kidney beans, black eyed beans, garbanzo beans, pomegranate and roasted cottage cheese: Bind everything together with hung curd. You can add schezwan sauce or mint chutney to add some flavor to hung curd. Serve it chilled.
Fitness secrets I unveiled:
Fitness is not a one day, a few weeks or a few months job; it's a lifestyle. Amalgamation of healthy choices in terms of food, drink and activity which one makes every day for a better-fitter tomorrow is called a fit/healthy lifestyle.
Never give up! One rep, one push, one pull, one step, one punch at a time and you'll see your goal getting attracted towards you inch by inch! The sweat, the time and the dedication will eventually pay off. Just stay consistent!
How do I stay motivated?
Weighing scale: What gets measured, gets managed! Investing in a nice digital scale will help you track those small changes which will help you plan your course of action.
Activity tracker: Investing in an activity tracker is also a very good call as it will help you track your calories burnt, steps taken, distance covered, floors climbed, heart rate and even sleep quality. If this isn't enough motivation, you can connect it with your social media accounts and you'll be able to see your friends' progress, which can prove very motivating as it adds an edge of competition to the entire game.
Maintain a book of goals and stats: Write your current weight, your current body fat percent, your current muscle mass, your current overall body measurements, your current average daily active minutes, a short summary on your current energy levels and so on and make sure you write these every week or in maximum in a fortnight. This book will help you have a look from the time where you started, the distance you have travelled so far as well as the distance still left to be covered. Self-comparison is the best comparison because it results in self-motivation which is the best form of motivation.
Click pictures every now and then: Don't feel shy or ashamed with the way you look, you are changing and so is your body. Click as many pictures and store them. After a few months of transformation, you'll feel proud of the changes you have gone through when you'll compare your current and old pictures. Bonus: You can create an amazing before and after documentary from those photos and videos for your social media accounts.
How do you ensure you don't lose focus?
In the age of short cuts like weight loss surgeries and bypasses, I chose the hard way. It took a lot of serious hard work, dedication, time and consistent efforts to get better and better each day. I thank those people who motivated me in the right way to keep going and I thank those negative comments from positive people more as because of them I pushed myself hard just to PROVE them that I CAN!
Start your journey with enough fuel till you see some changes, then once you start noticing the changes, then your positive changes, appreciation and compliments will drive you forward towards your goals. The best part of your transformation begins when you inspire others!
What's the most difficult part of being overweight?
There are five: body shaming, lethargy, laziness, lack of energy and lack of confidence.
What shape do you see yourself 10 years down the line?
I have been huge all my life, so at 64.5 kilos, I am the skinniest yet. My future goal is to reach 100 kilos by putting on muscle and maintaining my body fat below nine per cent. I dream to conquer the Mount Everest someday and I will do it very soon.
What are the lifestyle changes you made?
I'm living a complete healthy lifestyle now. I feel incomplete if I have missed even a single day of my 6 days/week workout regime. I now crave for healthy foods as eating clean is now a staple diet for me and a proper sleep routine. I take care of these three things all the time to keep my body function at its best.
What was the lowest point for you?
My lowest point was before I started my transformation journey but once I was on it, the only thing I felt was a never ending high. Whenever I felt low even for a bit, I used to take out my old picture, recalling those times when I started my journey and why I started it.
Lessons learnt from weight loss:
It's very easy to pick up tasks and drop them when you know no one is watching, but it gets next to impossible to drop things and give up when you know a lot of people are watching and tracking your progress as you have set an example for them. In a way, now people are counting on you, so you would never want to become a bad example for yourself as well as for others.
Keep your phone aside when working out! The current generation is addicted to phone, people use their phones on treadmill, other cardio machines and even while resting between sets. One will start checking their facebook, instagram, snapchat, twitter or text messages and will start replying. What happens here is all your attention is diverted towards your phone and you lose the track of your workout. Your body's temperature cools down, your heart rate leaves the fat burning zone and constantly drops towards resting zone. Every minute you are lost in your phone doing something or the other is a minute wasted which you could have used for your benefit. If you get a lot of important work related calls while working out, switch time to early morning or late evening. Minimum distractions mean maximum results.
Gym is not a place to socialise. Hang out with friends, chit-chat, have a gala time - we have cafes for that. Gym is a place where you go to get results, change your body, get better, grow muscle, burn fat, increase your strength, up your stamina, challenge yourself to become a better you. Focus on these aspects, stick to the reason why you came to gym, to work out.
Never skip your warm up and stretching. They are as important as your workout is. Cases of muscle and ligament tears mostly take place when one tries to work out without warming up properly. Consider the example of iron, even our body works on a somewhat similar principle. One can easily change the shape of iron when it's red hot, but if one tries to do the same when the iron is not hot or not at the optimum temperature, one might end up breaking the iron in two or more parts, but won't be able to change it to the desired shape. Hence always warm up first 'to the optimum temperature', then stretch all your primary and secondary muscles which you are going to be training on that particular day. Once done with stretching, get on to your workout without letting your body cool down to normal resting temperature and resting heart rate. So, don't think twice before hitting that treadmill for a quick sprint or doing some burpees and few pull-ups in the middle of your on-going workout whenever you feel you have left the optimum temperature zone and looking for a quick warm up.
It's not what you eat! It's what you write down! Maintain a food diary. Writing your daily intake down plays a major role in overriding your brain orders and cravings. Once the human brain is overridden, it will naturally crave for nutritious foods instead of unhealthy ones.
Stay consistent with your efforts, results will show up sooner or later, just keep pushing. Never quit before trying and trying means giving in everything you've got.
If you have a weight loss story that can inspire others, mail us at toi.health1@gmail.com
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