How this young girl achieved her fitness goals
Prasangsa Roy Choudhury is a happy-go-lucky girl, who loves to shop, dress and eat with all her heart’s content. However, being overweight became a major roadblock in her life. Due to weight gain, she became extremely lazy, lost all her confidence and found it difficult to interact with new people. Over time, she even stopped fitting in her clothes and couldn’t find the right fit for herself. That’s when she decided to lose weight and get her life back on track! Here’s how she achieved her fitness goals:
Read also: Weight loss story: “At 63, I successfully brought down my BMI from 27 to 25.5”
Name: Prasangsa Roy Choudhury
Occupation: Student
Age: 17yrs
Height: 161 cms
City: Kolkata
Highest weight recorded: 87.5 kg
Weight lost: 24 kg
Duration it took me to lose weight: 8 months
The turning point
Being overweight made me extremely lazy and took a great toll on my self-confidence. Neither did my old clothes fit me, nor was I able to find outfits that were right for my body. After struggling with weight gain for quite some time, I finally decided to lose those extra kilos.
Diet followed
My breakfast:1 slice of bread and two egg whites
My lunch: Cornflakes and an apple
My dinner: Wheat roti with chicken salad, dal and mixed veg
Pre-workout meal: 3pcs. of almonds
Post- workout meal: Fruits like papaya, apple, guava and lemon
I indulge in (What you eat on your cheat days): Once in a month, I give myself a cheat day. I eat my favourite foods cooked by my mom.
Low-calorie recipes I swear by: Sprout salad
Workout regime
Neither did I join any gym, nor did I do yoga. I just walked a minimum of 10,000 steps daily, which actually helped me the most in my weight loss journey.
Fitness secrets I unveiled
I completely stopped having sugar and ghee. I realised that these two things were the factors behind my weight gain.
How do I stay motivated?: I was always motivated. Since I started my weight loss journey, I was determined to lose weight because I wanted to bring out the best version of myself and I wanted to show people that I can also lose weight without joining the gym.
How do you ensure you don’t lose focus?: Initially, I lost a lot of weight and in a very short amount of time. But as I touched 70kgs, shedding kilos became a task. The process began to slow down and I started to lose hope and focus. During that time, my mom and dad motivated me a lot. My dad pushed me to achieve my goals and also promised a reward (he rewarded me anyways, due to my hard work). My parents were really a great support system. Slowly and steadily, I reached my target of 63kgs.
What’s the most difficult part of being overweight?
When I was overweight, I couldn't interact with new people. I was shy because of my weight and had little to no confidence in myself. But as soon as I lost weight, I started gaining my self confidence and became more interactive with people around me.
What was the lowest point for you?: I was at my lowest self when I couldn't fit into the beautiful dresses my parents bought for me. Given that I was a shopaholic, I felt terrible when I couldn’t get the right clothes for myself. But all of that has changed now.
I hope to maintain a healthy weight and want to motivate other people to do the same.
What shape do you see yourself 10 years down the line?: I want to be fit and healthy and 10 years down the line, I hope to achieve a minimum of 60kgs and stay the same as today.
What are the lifestyle changes you made?
I stopped eating junk food and sweets. As I mentioned earlier, I eliminated sugar and ghee from my diet. This actually helped me a lot in my weight loss journey. Even during my cheat days, I preferred to eat home cooked foods made by my mom.
Lessons learnt from weight loss: I have been a big foodie all my life. During my weight loss journey I learnt how to control my cravings for junk food and sweets. Now, even if someone offers me a plate full of unhealthy, delicious foods and sweets, I refuse to have it as being fit is my sole priority currently.
Another big revelation would be that with weight loss, I have become more confident and interactive. Earlier, I used to think twice before talking to new people, but now I don't hesitate to at all.
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.