It is close to a month since I’ve started this balanced diet and now its time to share the results (to brag and feel good about myself).
I’ve lost close to 7 kg and that is not the best part. Got a bit more to go before reaching my ideal weight and BMI. Frankly speaking, I’ve had a love-hate relationship with weight loss. Every year, I used to go on crash diets (Atkins) and lose the extra flab. Then spend the next few months gaining it all back until its time to lose it all again. Been doing this for nearly 2 and a half years.
I knew it was extremely harmful for my health. But I was looking at short-term gains. Finally, this time last month, I decided to put my foot down. No more crash diets. No more unhealthy lifestyle. No more couch potato business. No more all-sugar days. I don’t want to die before I turn 40. Atleast not due to health issues. I visited a dietitian. Came up with a balanced diet plan. And the results are extraordinary. Not because 7 kgs is a lot. I think its decent for a month. But because how a balanced diet has transformed me. And not just physically but, and more importantly, mentally.
My mental agility has gone up many folds. I feel my mind thinking faster, sharper and far more attentive. I am able to think clearly. My memory has gotten better. I don’t feel mentally tired when I get home after work. I feel relaxed while driving. Niggles in my lower back gone. Migraines gone. Overall, I feel mentally fitter. The benefits of this diet are far more significant on my mind than on my body. I know 7 kg is not less but it is just a number as compared to how I have benefited mentally. Overall, the health of my brain has dramatically improved.
And guess what? The diet plan is not rocket science. Just managing eating habits. Right things at the right time. Counting calories. Reducing the bad carbs and fats. Adequate protein and vitamin intake. Enough salads and fruits. Healthy snacks in between meals. That’s all.
All in all, if anyone of you is looking at loosing weight or maintain a healthier lifestyle, I’ll be glad to share the basic framework of this plan.
As quoted by a very wise man, “To keep the body in good health is a duty, for otherwise we shall not be able to trim the lamp of wisdom, and keep our mind strong and clear. Water surrounds the lotus flower, but does not wet its petals.”
Logical Obscurity 
I have realised that if you take weight loss as a project then we always land up gaining it back..however if it is or becomes a way of life then it really makes you healthy.
i agree. that was always my biggest mistake. but not this time. i took it up as a way of life – healthy eating, basic workouts and it worked out brilliantly. would recommend it highly.
Good job 7kgs in one month.
Even i changed my food habits after i did dieting for 3 weeks,good thing is that i have not put on weight since few months.But i want to reduce more 4 kgs to come to my ideal weight.
Now that i am going back,i am sure will reduce.There i get to walk so much which i don’t do here.
All best to maintain the ideal weight.
wow, you’re just 4 kg overweight? that’s really good. comon, you don’t even need to lose those. if i go down to the last kg, i’ll be dead before i get there. so chill. have a bit of that hyderabadi biryani 🙂
I lost of reducing that extra kilos but will see that weight remains the same.Hyd biryani i can’t miss,almost every friday i eat
With Hyd biryani each week, how can you not expect to be overweight? 😉
Inspired, I’m gonna lose some weight the right way… actually, I’ve never bothered to lose any.. My flab has a mind of it’s own… comes in and goes away all on it’s own… so I’m intervening and putting a stop to its entry… Inspired:) Thanks Masood
Great PnA. I am glad. You know what’s another good way of inspiration? Get a designer dress or jeans or something that you really really adore and buy it of a size that you aim to be in. And hang it at a place where you can get to see it daily. And start working on a diet and workouts. Trust me, it really works. Btw, this is not my idea. Someone told me about it.
Wow Masood! Congratulations on the weight loss!
It’s always more imp mentally I guess when we lose weight! one has to feel good about either the gain or the loss 😉
Glad to know you have stuck to your plan and it has helped you 🙂
I so agree with what you say! 🙂
I have been on a balanced diet now for the past 2 months and its helping 🙂
I still need to join back the gym and get in that extra exercise, but the basic frame work has helped 🙂
Yes, i agree. I feel good at loosing weight but somehow i felt that the balanced diet improved the working on my mind as well. All the healthy stuff helped get those grey cells working again.
All in all, its pretty cool.
thats big achievemnt..and its tough to believe that only diet did this miracle 🙂
Havent u hit gym or some stict exercise routine 🙂
nope, no gym. just a little stretching and walking sometimes. No exercise routine though i was told by the dietitian that i should do so every evening. but i conveniently decided to ignore that advice from her! 😀
Wow! thats awesome! plzzzzzzz share the diet routine and details…i really need to get myself down a few kgs and get back into my 50s. Have gained 6 kgs in the last 6 months…going by this, 100 will not be too far for me 😦
wokay. will do so. i will mail it across to you. its pretty simple and self explanatory. and extremely helpful and effective 🙂
Ok then mail it to me also…..I cd also do with some help 😀
Congrats!! I’m too trying to reduce. Protein diet. Not Atkins. Because I’ve read horror stories. This one is my own invention. A lot of protein and no white carbs. I’m a lacto-ovo, so eggs, soy milk,non-fat cheese, yoghurt and nuts. Would love to know more. I feel dal (pulses, lentils) have a lot of complex carb, so t’s ok not to have chapati rice and all. What d u say?
Neena
i did that many times. high protein, low carbs. it works like a charm up front but not good in the long run. Gained it all back and more. Its like elastic.
protein yes but lean proteins only. egg whites ok and twice a week. brown bread, low fat milk, yoghurt and cheese. kelloggs special K cereal or oats for breakfast. low fat digestive biscuits for snacks. lots of salads and fruits. no mango, grapes and banana though. 2 chappati a day is ok. Rice twice a week, 8 tablespoons and only at lunch. Before going to bed, have grapefruit juice. And first thing in the morning, have warm water with half lemon in it.
That’s the crux. Tweek it around a bit but you get the drift.
I think every one must eat every thing ,but in limits so as to maintain a balance.
.
yes, but too much sugars and excessively fatty food should be occasional (preferably avoided)
Congratulations! Balanced diets are definitely better than crash diets. I have always found that when I combine a balanced diet with exercise, it works wonders – my only problem is sticking to healthy eating and moderate exercise.
yes, it should be more like a way of life than a project. I always undertook weight-loss as something with a deadline. loose this much weight by so n so date. and that was the biggest mistake. it should not be that way. we need to change our eating habits completely coupled with moderate to rare (yes, rare is also ok in my world!) exercising and that’s it.
Way to go, Masood! Congratulations. You’re right, the key is to eat the right food at the right time and of course maintain it.
I wish I were as perseverant as you! 😦
haha..perseverant? and me? no way. you know, i have a problem. i love food. period. for me, food is not just something we eat to stay alive. it is like worship. i do it with all my heart. i love eating and enjoy eating so much that for those 15-20 mins, life is beautiful. all worries behind me. everything comes to a stand still.
so for someone like me to curb my natural instincts is not easy. i haven’t made too much changes to my eating habits. just making sure i eat the right stuff and at the right time. and its working like a charm.
“i do it with all my heart. i love eating and enjoy eating so much that for those 15-20 mins, life is beautiful.”- thats how it should be, Masood! You remind me of my brother..he relishes whatever he eats 😀
proud of u masood… and cheering for u here…
crash diets do no good
way to go my weightloss has been on a standstill since 3 months now because of the neck but thankfully its not going up
oh yes i remember your weekly updates. why haven’t you picked it up again?
“My mental agility has gone up many folds. I feel my mind thinking faster, sharper and far more attentive”……sahi hai!!
So was it before this dieting thing that you were frantically searching for my comments at Swar’s Goat Dating Post?? 🙄
…and of course the leaving the key under that girl’s car episode
way to go ji….keep your mind running like this all the time 😛
Looks like you need this diet thing more than i do.
it was not key, it was wallet. and it was not a girl’s car, it was my own! 😉
and yes, with my mind running like this, you’ll have a run for your money too! 😀
I was just checking if your mind is ok
I thought so too 😀
woah man !!! thats an effort ! Even I do this GM diet thingy and end up increasing after a month or two. I need to try one of those balanced diet now !
But I guess you lost a lot of your weight because of love !! 😀 😀 I mean, you wife and kid isnt wid you and you must have had a lot of calories burning just by thinking about them ! 😀 😀 😀
Who is this man talking about love and all? 😯
you think everyone’s anon like you? 😀
aha..GM diet..i did it in jan and feb. lost a few kgs but i got tired of all those fruits and veg days. used to wait for the meat day like crazy :p plus it was a great detox diet. not very useful in the long run.
haha call it love or anything else. as long as its burning the calories, all good. last thing i want is to look like a grandpa in front of my pretty wife! 😉
Wow thats wonderful bro 🙂 🙂
I am really in need of such diet as my flab is ever increasing 😦 😦
haha..flab has a sense of direction of its own. comes in all places and goes all over the place.. 😀
infact i would rather say flab doesn’t have any direction at all. its everywhere!!! (speaking from my personal experience 😉 )
I am gaining weight day by day.. have been in tension for last few months…
Inspired and going to loss weight very soon 😀
but 7 kg?? 😯 this is sooo much! 😛
Thanks. I know. And I have some more to go. Another 4 kgs in the next 2 weeks.
Wowww!! 7 kgs in a month?? Share the secret please!!!
Thanks 🙂
I gave some details about the diet above. Will paste it here as well
Lots of protein but lean proteins only. egg whites ok and twice a week. brown bread, low fat milk, yoghurt and cheese – all low fat. kelloggs special K cereal or oats for breakfast. low fat digestive biscuits for snacks. lots of salads and fruits. no mango, grapes and banana though. 2 chappati a day is ok. Rice twice a week, 8 tablespoons and only at lunch. Before going to bed, have grapefruit juice. And first thing in the morning, have warm water with half lemon in it.
That’s it. And make sure you eat several times a day. 3 meals and 3 snacks.
Assalamvalaikum and Congratulations….Well Done Masood, So when is Iram coming to floor you with the compliments 😉
She’ll be back in the first week of June. And this time her plan is pakka Inshallah 🙂
Hi M,
Dropped by on your blog through Swaram’s.
Just read your post on weight loss and believe me, its like looking at light at the end of a tunnel 😀
I must’ve tried a zillion kinds of diets, done with Aerobics and gymming, but haven’t been able to lose more than two kilos even after months of workouts 😦
I finally gave it all up, got married , had kids and now, I’m looking forward to doing some weight loss again.
Any guidance from you would be most welcome 🙂
Cheers,
N.
Come on share the balance diet now and save us and our money frm visiting dieticians..etc 😛
this is awesome and i almost fainted reading this. now please mail me me your weekly schdule pls pls pls…
7kgs in 1 month is really GOOD Masood, congrats!!!!!!!