I dedicate this blog to my best friends Taniya and Sunanda who have been motivating me to pen down my weight loss journey since a long time. But yesterday while chatting on our mini whatsapp group (of only the three of us 😅), I was so inspired by their talks that I decided to write as soon as possible (the moody me who gets this sudden burst of energy 😆). So thanks my dearest Tanu and Chu for encouraging me so much. If I know true friendship, it is because of both of you. Thank you for being there for your Ladoo (😍) all this time (more than 12 years) and I know we three will be there for each other forever. ❤️❤️❤️

Now to my journey. It started when I was trying to conceive for a baby from 2011 to 2014 (Though I was only 21 to 24 years then, I love babies and was eager to have mine too). I did not have any major health issue nor was over weight. Still it took me three years to conceive my daughter. (Sometimes there are no reasons medically, yet you can’t conceive. It’s the hardest kind of infertility.) I had many sleepless nights and used to cry a lot as I had lost all hopes of becoming a mother. (One of the most difficult phases of my life.) As I was about to fall into depression, a friend of mine suggested a famous Indian infertility doctor here in Qatar – Dr Khudsiya Begum. Couple of months of consulting with her and with God’s blessings, I conceived. It was the happiest moment of my entire life. 😍

So from a girl, I became a mother in Feb 2015. Motherhood made me so excited that I gave it my all, neglecting my health, mindless eating and with lack of exercise, I gained a lot of weight. Still I did not realize I was gaining as I was busy bringing my baby up in the best possible way (love is blind and I was so blinded by my daughter’s love that I could not see anything else, not even myself 😅).

March 2017 was when that blindfold got opened by a friend here who mentioned to me how much fat I had become (much more than in the above second picture 😬). Though I felt sad then, I thank her with all my heart now as that was the reason I got motivated to start losing weight (Thus began my fight with fat to become fit.) That rhymed! 😄

Then, from March 2017 to November 2017, I lost almost 9 kgs of weight. Will share how I did it as pointers so that it’s easy for you all to read.

* Followed “3 miles walk by Leslie Sansone” video on YouTube which is a heart healthy walk while standing in a place. I do this even now when I don’t get time to walk outdoors. I keep the video and follow her for atleast 30 mins which covers 2 miles in a day. I found time for this when my daughter slept and did it everyday without fail.

* Along with this, I did an hour of brisk walking outdoors in the evenings while pushing the stroller with my daughter in it. It not only gave me the much needed fresh air but also sunlight to my body.

* Started portion control while eating healthy meals instead of eating out and eating late at night. I saw how that helped in my weight loss too. Eating dinner before 8 is what I follow even now. Gives us ample time to digest the food before sleeping.

* I also stopped sitting in a place and forced myself to move throughout the house when I felt like sitting idle. Sitting in a place was one of the major reason that I had gained weight. So this helped me maintain my weight loss.

* Lemon juice has really helped me in my weight loss journey. Just squeeze one Indian lemon and add little water making it to a glass. Don’t add anything else. Drink it on empty stomach or anytime of the day when you remember. It will not only aid in digestion and weight loss but gives you the much needed Vitamin C boost to the body.

* I also want to add that the first couple of kgs took the longest time. After that I lost the rest of the weight very quickly. So don’t get disheartened within a week. Atleast do these walks for two months and you will definitely see the result.

And as I lost those 9 kgs, I conceived my son in November 2017 which was a great surprise and a miracle too. It showed me how the walking and healthy eating had affected my body and I conceived naturally without any medication this time. The third picture is just before conceiving my son. See how much I had reduced.

During my second pregnancy, I was much more aware of my body due to Birth Village – The natural birthing center where I consulted and delivered my son. It was a natural VBAC which is “Vaginal birth after C section”. Though it is considered risky, my confidence in the Birth Village team was so much that I was not worried at all.

I ate healthy and walked throughout my pregnancy, even took part in the pregnancy workouts and dance sessions, making it a very happy kind of pregnancy. 😍 All thanks to the BV team!

I delivered my son in August 2018. This time around, I knew I had to take care of myself too post partum and took time everyday for some walks. Again, the “3 miles walk” video became my best friend which helped me reduce my postpartum weight.

In the above pictures, the first one is when my son was about an year old in 2019. The second picture is on his second birthday in August 2020 followed by this recent picture during my daughter’s bday in Feb 2021.

The second picture is when I had again lost focus on myself and got so busy taking care of both the kids that I hardly ate. This led to a massive weight loss which can be seen from my face. I realized if I go this way, it will affect adversely on my health (All thanks to my Amma this time who realized on video calls that I was reducing much more that I should be and neglecting myself. Mothers’ always know us, no matter how far they are. ❤️).

So now, I am eating well but eating healthy along with brisk walking daily for atleast an hour (combining outdoors and indoors) and also not sitting for long in a place. I make sure I walk inside the house whole day while listening to my daily shlokas and favorite songs. Also, after finishing cooking and household chores before 5 in the evening, I dedicate the rest of the time till night to walking. My son has been keeping me active too by asking me to play football with him and also since he loves dancing, he asks me to join him as well (even though I am the world’s worst dancer, it does make my little boy happy and that is all that matters. 😍)

So this third picture is the me now and I feel really good about myself. Though not the ideal kind of “slim and trim” body or face (and have those chubby cheeks too 😄), I am healthier and fitter now than ever before as I am taking care of myself well. Though late but as they say, better late than never, I realized that I should take care of myself too and not get drowned in becoming a wife or a mother. So, self love is very important as well. ❤️

Hope you all enjoyed reading this long writeup and hope it will be helpful to atleast some of you. Happy and healthy cooking – with walking! 😄