Weight loss story: “I turned vegetarian and lost 31 kilos by eliminating junk food and practicing mindful eating”

Rekha Miraskar was extremely focused on her academics, which is why she stopped paying attention to her diet and fitness. Over time, she gained a lot of weight and as a result she had to face multiple health challenges. Her condition worsened so much so that one day she found herself snoring with her eyes open! It was then that she decided to do something about it and chose the healthy way forward. With diet alone, she reversed her weight. Here’s her weight loss story:

Also read: Weight loss story: “I counted my daily calories and walked everyday to lose weight”

Name: Rekha Miraskar

Occupation: MBBS, MMedSci (UK), PhD (UK)

Age: 37

Height: 5’5’’

City: Bangalore, India

Highest weight recorded: 102 kgs

Current weight : 70.5 kg

Weight lost: 31.5 kg

Duration it took me to lose weight: I lost 20 kg in 2 months. Later, other priorities took over. So, I was slow in losing weight. I lost 11.5 kg in the next 2- 3 months.

Being overweight, I had to face many health challenges. I developed body aches, backache, severe knee pain, joints pain, could not get up from the bed after lying down and could not sit on the floor easily. My menstrual cycles got disrupted and my bowels suffered too. My mental health suffered too. My family was extremely worried and wanted me to seek professional help. At one point, I ended up snoring with my eyes open (awake)! It is at this time I decided to bring on the changes I needed to, but with diet alone and with no professional help.

I followed a vegetarian diet, although I have been a non-vegetarian until I turned 18. I was not too specific with what I ate at what time of the day. My breakfast, lunch and dinner were basically the same. Majority of my diet consisted of veggies. I ate eggs, fruits, milk products and whole grains as well, but in moderation.

I indulged in cheat moments and not cheat days. If I have access to cheat foods (anything delectable) and if I have the craving, I give into gluttony. At times, I remain self-restrained.

Low-calorie recipes I swear by: I mainly focus on nutrition, and not calories.

This is the 2nd time I have managed to lose weight consciously. I tried to lose 20 kgs 4 years ago.

At that point of time, I ran 8 half marathons, 4 marathons including the London Marathon, one ultra-marathon, 100k powerlifting and ashtanga yoga. I trained for all, simultaneously, back-to-back and I also raised money for Action Medical Research, Children charity via 40kg (perhaps a bit more) charity bake /cook sale, where I cooked unique protein rich bites/ food. All these were done, as I was working on my PhD at University of Warwick, in collaboration with University of Oxford, UK.

Given that I was finishing my PhD, I stopped focusing on my diet and exercise. I never watched what went into my mouth. As a result, I gained around 45kg and became 102kg!

But this time, I was curious to see if diet alone can help reverse my weight and help me improve my overall health. Indeed, it did! I am not saying one should not work out. Exercising acts as a boost and helps you get fitter. A minimum 30 min workout every day is always recommended from an overall health point of view.

Veggies and greens can do wonders! Of course, water. I also consumed grains, fruits, milk products, salt, sugar, caffeine and oil in moderation.

How do you ensure you don’t lose focus?: Food is pleasure. I have been a foodie for most of my life. It is difficult to control oneself and make a healthy choice even for one meal, when you have so many mouth-watering options around you. But I try to ask why do I eat and what do I get from the food that’s in front of me? Do I feel energetic or sluggish after eating? Am I able to function well, feel good and sleep well?

Besides self-confidence and self-image, one’s health and well-being suffer. Excess weight makes one more susceptible to a spectrum of diseases that can affect from head to toe. Not just physical health, but emotional and mental health and well-being too suffers. Overall, one struggles to perform better at life in general.

What shape do you see yourself 10 years down the line?: Very tough question. Every minute things change around us. It is not the body’s shape and size that needs to be focused on, but it is the health that one must focus upon. Just as we brush our teeth daily, one should learn to maintain discipline of healthy eating and exercising daily for at least 30 min to one hour. I aim to maintain good physical, emotional, mental health and well-being throughout my life. That would put my life in a better shape and obviously I would hopefully be in a better shape.

I eliminated junk food and practiced mindful eating. Today, by diet alone, not just weight, but all my problems that I faced, have been reversed. I wake up fresh, I am energetic throughout the day, my appetite has come back to control, and my mental health is much better. Overall, my health and wellbeing are doing good. It's ok if one can’t afford or don’t find superfoods, fancy, trendy items and imported products. One can still find nutrients in the veggies, greens, grains and milk products that one’s parents and grandparents ate!

Be patient and learn to relax.

Practice mindful eating.

Weight gain can be reversed at any stage of one’s life.

Remain focused on overall health and well-being, not just weight alone.

If one remains in good health and feels beautiful from within, one becomes beautiful.

Forgive yourself. At times, one can’t be very conscious about what goes into one’s mouth. And that’s ok. Start fresh for the next meal.

Don’t remain focused on weighing scales all the time. You would need it in the beginning to closely track how your body is responding in terms of the new changes you have made to your diet and lifestyle. Once you study the pattern, you can relax and just check the weighing scales once a week or a month.

Eat to live, don’t live to eat!

If you have a weight loss story to share, send it to us at toi.health1@gmail.com

These views are not generic in nature. Weight loss results vary for individuals and the views shared in this article offer no guarantee of specific results. The content is not intended in any way as a substitute for professional advice.