For quite a long time in my life I didn’t have to worry about exercise or dieting. My weight was in control and body in shape. Even, for a period, I had become skinny to the extent where the bones of my own body felt like piercing in it.
Though I had never been a foodie yet I didn’t care for the calorie intake either. I was not cautious about what and when I was eating. I loved chocolates and sweets, and I took them anytime without giving a second thought to the weight increase because they added nothing.
It is just the story of last three years that I started gaining abnormal amount of weight. The fat started accumulating at various spots of my body like thighs, arms and abdomen. I not only went out of shape but certain other activities became difficult for me.
I started having persistent pain in my feet and legs, my walking speed decreased, sitting in crouched position felt like a punishment, a walk for a short distance would let me out of breath. I felt sluggish and tired quite often.
It was the first time that my clothes went short to the extent that I could no longer wear them. The alarming was the fact that my weight was continuously increasing and not stopping. I grew above the standard BMI and thus fell in the category of over weight.
I was unable to understand the reason behind this sudden weight gain. There was no explanation with me for the scenario. Nothing had changed in my routine. In fact, my food intake had decreased than before. I didn’t feel like eating much. Still, the weight was not ready to decrease.
When I had started gaining weight, I visited a gynecologist for an issue. I displayed my concerns about my weight with her. She said it was okay to gain this much weight. As the age increases, certain changes do appear in the body. In other words, it was normal and I needed not worry about my body.
I might not worry if the fat accumulation stopped there. It didn’t. I started thinking of some remedies. I was not ready to go for a full diet plan. It requires too much discipline and strict eating habits. Along with responsibilities I had in my life, I was unable to continue with any diet protocols. However, I cut my sugar intake.
Along with it, I started doing certain exercises. Nevertheless, it didn’t seem to help much. The only change in my weight was in the upward direction.
I switched to walking and jumping as an exercise but the result was horrible. I suffered from severe pain in my foot. It was later when I found out that my heel has become flat and so walking and jumping hurts. I reminded of an actress who told in an interview that she could not exercise because of her feet so she took a path of dieting for weight reduction. At that point I wondered why anyone with mobile limbs cannot exercise. After experiencing my circumstances I understood the reason pretty well. Any ways........
It was after sometime I found out that I had been suffering from Hypothyroidism and it was the reason behind my weight gain. Unless the underlying problem was treated, neither diet nor exercise could benefit me.
I started taking medicine for Hypothyroidism. It paused the increase of weight. Moreover, my digestive system started working better and general fatigue was also diminished.
I started doing exercise again. I couldn’t do rigorous ones involving walking or jumping, because of pain in my feet. I chose the ones that could be performed in lying position. My weight dropped by one kilogram.
Had I continued the exercise for a longer time, I might get better results. I failed to be consistent. 😕. I have started incorporating the exercise again in my daily routine with a hope that it will yield results.
The lesson I have learnt from my experience is that it is crucial to understand the underlying issue behind weight gain. Unless the major cause is highlighted, we may end up causing more damage to us than the gain by going for exercise or diet.
After figuring out the underlying problem, it is time find the solution that works best for us. Neither all kinds of exercises are healthy nor all the diet plans. We need to be prudent in the selection.
Moreover, the adoption of both the exercise and diet should be done in a gradual manner but not abruptly. It should not be like we keep on fasting for the whole week and then get involved in binge eating for the next week.
In conclusion, both the exercise and the dieting are workable solution for weight loss. However, their adoption should be mindful, gradual and be selected according to the personal needs.
This post is my response to Hl-featured contest edition 1 week 129
Image created by me using Bing AI