I have been wanting to write this post for quite some time now. All the views are my own and here I am penning down all the thoughts and ideas based on my personal experiences.
So, I got married two and a half years ago. And it’s no big news to the world how big and magnificient Indian weddings are! From food to lights, clothes to crackers, everything shines, dazzles and is over the top!
We Indians believe in showing off all that we have! We have to show off to the whole world that our son and our daughter is getting married! The celebration may go on for weeks or even months..
Anyhow, so coming back to my story, I was exercising quite well before marriage and was at a moderate weight and height proportion. But then marriage happened, a big lavish wedding followed by week-long honeymoon and many, many weeks of lunches and dinners with the extended family and friends. It was a big change for me, in so many ways. Emotionally, I was on the ninth cloud with all the special attention, all the love and all the affection of my new family. It was all new to me, I was trying to absorb as much as I can! I wanted to seize every happy moment life was throwing at me..and well.. all my happiness started to show – not only in my eyes but on my body too. I started gaining weight, and fast! It’s another thing that I have a tendency to gain weight as soon as I start neglecting my healthy habits. And right then, I was just enjoying every bit of the newness life was showering me with! My lifestyle was changing, my body was changing, my habits were changing, I was not cooking for myself, I was not a regular at the gym anymore, and obviously all of this was not helping. Now when I think, all I did in the initial months of getting married, was eat, eat and eat since food is a medium of showing love in India. My husband is a foodie and so are my in-laws, which acted like a cherry on the cake!
In India, people show their love by cooking and serving delicious food, our very special Indian delicacies and it does not end here, they even make you eat more than your appetite (of course out of love). Politely and lovingly they will keep serving you that last (extra) helping just when you announce that you are full! And since you are new to the family, you can’t just say no and hurt their feelings! And since I was new in the family, I was shy and nervous to even think of saying no, or hurt anyone’s feelings! As a result, I gained quite a lot of weight. I started disliking the face and body I was seeing in the mirror. I was just not feeling myself. And then I decided I was done with all of it. I decided to step up, for myself.
I then joined my office gym. I drafted a plan for myself – like how much to eat, when to eat, what to eat. And I started working on myself, my diet, increased my physical activities, walked more, worked out fiercely and what not! I did this with full dedication.
Of course results started to show! I also learned to say ‘No’. We all must learn that. And there is no harm in saying no – in a polite and firm manner, after all, its your body and not a dustbin!
Well, in a matter of 4 -5 months, I was back to my normal self. My confidence was back and I was enjoying my married life like never before! Nonetheless, I even motivated my husband and in-laws to follow the healthy way of living life!
So after all this brain storming, I have come up with the below few solutions which may help you to lose weight or even avoid gaining it.
So, I got married two and a half years ago. And it’s no big news to the world how big and magnificient Indian weddings are! From food to lights, clothes to crackers, everything shines, dazzles and is over the top!
We Indians believe in showing off all that we have! We have to show off to the whole world that our son and our daughter is getting married! The celebration may go on for weeks or even months..
Anyhow, so coming back to my story, I was exercising quite well before marriage and was at a moderate weight and height proportion. But then marriage happened, a big lavish wedding followed by week-long honeymoon and many, many weeks of lunches and dinners with the extended family and friends. It was a big change for me, in so many ways. Emotionally, I was on the ninth cloud with all the special attention, all the love and all the affection of my new family. It was all new to me, I was trying to absorb as much as I can! I wanted to seize every happy moment life was throwing at me..and well.. all my happiness started to show – not only in my eyes but on my body too. I started gaining weight, and fast! It’s another thing that I have a tendency to gain weight as soon as I start neglecting my healthy habits. And right then, I was just enjoying every bit of the newness life was showering me with! My lifestyle was changing, my body was changing, my habits were changing, I was not cooking for myself, I was not a regular at the gym anymore, and obviously all of this was not helping. Now when I think, all I did in the initial months of getting married, was eat, eat and eat since food is a medium of showing love in India. My husband is a foodie and so are my in-laws, which acted like a cherry on the cake!
In India, people show their love by cooking and serving delicious food, our very special Indian delicacies and it does not end here, they even make you eat more than your appetite (of course out of love). Politely and lovingly they will keep serving you that last (extra) helping just when you announce that you are full! And since you are new to the family, you can’t just say no and hurt their feelings! And since I was new in the family, I was shy and nervous to even think of saying no, or hurt anyone’s feelings! As a result, I gained quite a lot of weight. I started disliking the face and body I was seeing in the mirror. I was just not feeling myself. And then I decided I was done with all of it. I decided to step up, for myself.
I then joined my office gym. I drafted a plan for myself – like how much to eat, when to eat, what to eat. And I started working on myself, my diet, increased my physical activities, walked more, worked out fiercely and what not! I did this with full dedication.
Of course results started to show! I also learned to say ‘No’. We all must learn that. And there is no harm in saying no – in a polite and firm manner, after all, its your body and not a dustbin!
Well, in a matter of 4 -5 months, I was back to my normal self. My confidence was back and I was enjoying my married life like never before! Nonetheless, I even motivated my husband and in-laws to follow the healthy way of living life!
So after all this brain storming, I have come up with the below few solutions which may help you to lose weight or even avoid gaining it.
- Learn to say NO – Stop feeding your mouth when you clearly know you are full! Say no to others generously, when they offer you that extra helping which you clearly don’t need. Say no to yourself when you know you are done!
- Cook for yourself – I know this might be tough for working women, but you should still try to make an effort. Nobody understands the needs of your body more than you.
- Eat home cooked food – as much as possible. No explanation needed.
- Workout – Last but not the least, work the hell out! Even if you are not over weight, or fat, you still need to work out, to keep your heart strong! Do anything that amuses you – be it dancing, running, cycling or yoga!
So that’s my story and a few suggestions! I also tried putting up my before and after pictures! It feels like I have come a long way.. Though this is a never ending journey 🙂
Cheers to healthy living!
Ritika..
Oh my the after pics are so gorgeous!!! well the before pics are cute too:)
But the difference is so visible!!! nice!
Cheers!
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OMG so much weight loss…good going girl!
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That's such an inspiring read.. amazing work you did for weight loss. You look beautiful.
I can co-relate since I was fat once upon and then reduced and now suffering from belly pouch postpartum 🙂
Enjoy your days.
Love
Shilpi
http://www.pinkjasminestyling.com
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woouw! Super!
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Lovely post n inspirational pics.
Aditi
So-Saree
http://www.sosaree.blogspot.in
New Post Up
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Amazing style!!
Would you like to follow each other?
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I have the same story, Infact every Indian married women does ! U r a victor, n u proved that too. baby- can I borrow ur skinny legs sometime ?
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I can completely reelate with you Surbhi.. Thank you.. and I wish we could just borrow each other's sexy features like that.. The world would be such a better place then! ha..ha..
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Thank you Aditi 🙂
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Thank you India! I love your name, btw..
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Thank you Rachna.. It was a lot of dedication 🙂
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Thank you Shivi! I feel myself now..
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Thank you Shilpi! I am glad you liked it.. And I can understand, but I guess, you can certainly tone up that belly with some good excercises!
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Way to go Ritika! You look great, keep up the hard work 🙂
I married my high school sweet heart a little over a year ago and I went through a similar experience. I ended up gaining 10 pounds in our first 7 months of marriage. I've started to eat healthier and exercise regularly now. Hopefully I'll see similar results as you. 🙂 Thank you for your story.
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Thank you Brittany! I am sure, you would do wonders.. even better than me 🙂
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