The proof really is in the pudding, you see. And it was pudding that ended up settling quite uncomfortably around my waist and led me to put on a gargantuan 105 kgs with a waist size of 45 inches. Ironically (or should I say — comically!), it was when I tried climbing the stairs to get to the chocolate mousse residing happily in the fridge did I realize that my knees probably wouldn’t last the 20-odd steps towards that mousse of decadence.
I had to do something. Next thing I knew I was on a treadmill in my room for two minutes walking. The next three minutes I was on the floor with heart palpitations. I truly was in a sorry state. What really hit me hard was that I was not always a fat guy. Back in my early 20s, I was very active indulging and obsessing over fitness in a big way. I used to get up at 4 am just to walk, jog, and sprint for two hours; go to the gym for an hour; head off to work; go to Kyokushin karate practice at night; and then head off to tap dancing and Kandyan dancing classes over the weekend. I also enjoyed badminton, tennis, and swimming, and I had a set of six pack abs that I look back at with envy.
So what happened? Well, corporate life happened. One too many cocktail parties, and too many days and nights burning the midnight oil led me to become a desk monkey with all signs and symptoms showcasing that I’d be the proud recipient of type two diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. The first step was to realize that I had a problem. Secondly, I had to have a plan of action.
The simplest thing to do was get over my defeatist attitude and YOLO lifestyle, and start walking. I immersed myself in various sources of fitness information, and followed incredible individuals like Ido Portal, Poliquin, Peter Attia, and Christopher Sommers on social media. Let me encapsulate everything I learned since my fat loss journey — you need to move. The human body was made to move. Quite simply put: if you don’t use it, you lose it. I won’t go too much into the benefits of exercise since that’s a simple Google search away. Rather what I’ll tell you is that your health really is wealth, and you owe it to yourself to invest in YOU.
All stats and facts point to diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer are on the increase here in Sri Lanka. As a person who has lost so many loved ones to heart disease, cancer, and complications from diabetes, I assure you that’s a great deal of misery you can do without. With our lives today being intuitively connected to our smartphones and various social mediums, there is a revolution afoot. I make it a point to walk 7 kms a day, and obsessively track my progress with my iPhone’s Health app. Science proves that walking is the best way to lose fat especially when done consistently. I’m proof.
Consistency and patience pays great dividends, and throughout the years I’ve peeled away the fat, and at 38 years of age, I stand at 5 feet 11 inches, sport a 33 inch waist and carry just 82 kgs on my being. I’m the healthiest I’ve been since 23, and it’s thanks to good dietary habits (I personally function well on a ketogenic diet, but that’s a whole different article right there!), Crossfit, and logging in hundreds of kilometers walking that helped me get my health back in order.
The first step is always the hardest, and I’ve found apps like AIA’s Vitality App incredibly useful in giving me that extra motivation to hit my walking goals. The Vitality App is available on Apple’s iStore, and Google’s Playstore; the application syncs with a Fitbit or Mi band, or even iPhone’s Health app and Android’s S Health to log in your progress, and reward you with some undeniably attractive gifts like PickMe or Takas.lk vouchers, mobile top ups from Z Messenger, and EAP movie tickets. How it works is simple: If you walk 7500 steps a day you will receive 50 points and if you walk 12500 steps a day you will receive 100 points, and based on when you achieve those individual targets, you will be rewarded accordingly.
In conclusion, let me leave you with this small story. I remember coming across a quote back in the 80s when I was hunting around for a BMX bicycle in one of Colombo’s most popular cycle stores; it read as follows: We sacrifice our health to earn our wealth, and then spend our wealth to get back our health. These are words of wisdom that I hold very dear since I very nearly did lose my health for good. I hope this article convinces you that you need to prioritize your health, and that with the advent of technology you really don’t have an excuse to fall into that evil trap of procrastination.