I was just telling my husband the other day that maintaining a healthy lifestyle is like a Marriage! It needs commitment, understanding and the will power to succeed. Making unhealthy choices is like cheating on your spouse. At the same time, for a marriage to be successful, it has to be entertaining, exciting and stimulating. Yes, you make sacrifices to keep your marriage strong. But most couples who have been married for really long will tell you that the secret to their successful years together is because they are so used to one another that they’ve become a part of each others daily life and routine. This is what your healthy lifestyle should become. It should become a part of you, so much so that you should not be able to live without it.

My endeavor is to follow a routine, which is healthy within the framework of my present lifestyle. You and I know that we will lose a tremendous amount of weight if we eat salads day and night. Some of us have even tried it and have been fairly successful in losing some extra baggage (I know cos I’ve done it). But is that sustainable? Can we do it day in and day out, year after year? The answer is a clear NO!!! Ultimately we fall off the bandwagon and gain twice the amount we had initially lost.

Most healthy meal choices (for me and for most of us desis) are not great for our palate. They are either too bland or too sweet. Nothing, absolutely nothing can substitute the yumminess of a “aloo-tikki chaat” or “samosas”. Yes, it is possible to substitute some of the ingredients in these dishes for healthier ones – but come on…by the end of it; it just doesn’t taste the same. Baked samosas??? You’ve got to be kidding me!!!

I can easily declare, it is that much MORE difficult for us desi women who have grown up eating desi food to lose the extra pounds. Having said that, and having lost more than 10 pounds in the past few months, I can confidently say that it is definitely possible to lose the adipose without giving up our desi cravings. A salad is fine for a day or two but soon we want to taste a parantha (a flat, thick piece of unleavened bread fried with clarified butter on a griddle, sometimes stuffed with grated vegetables etc) or gulab jamuns! (milk solids called khoya kneaded into a dough, with a pinch of flour, and then shaped into small balls and deep fried then soaked in a light sugary syrup flavored with green cardamom and rose water, kewra or saffron)

So, what’s the answer? How does one actually lose weight even while consuming these oh so yummy but sinful delicacies? For me, the answer is a delicate balance between “portion control” and “exercise”. This is almost a fine art. You simply have to burn more than you are putting into your body. What is significant is that I did not give up any of these to shed the pounds. I did reduce the portions and frequency of consumption but continued to eat my favorite desi delights. In fact, I experimented eating 1 parantha everyday for lunch for a whole week and still came out lighter than I was at the beginning of the week.

Someone once told me that I could never lose weight if I ate a banana everyday. I eat 1 banana every single day before heading out to the gym. It keeps me full and gives me energy. When I started this journey, I decided I needed to be able to sustain whatever I achieved. The only way I could sustain and maintain this lifestyle was by not giving up the stuff I loved to eat and enjoyed. Keeping that in mind I started working out and checking what combination of exercise and food intake was working best for me. This combination will be different for each one of us – depending on how much we can exercise, metabolism, type of food etc. But what I want to underscore is that do not go on an absolute alien diet. Sure, you will lose weight but will gain it right back (as I did mention in my previous post). Ive tried it and regret ever having done it.

Having said that, I want to emphasize that my journey is not just about weight loss. As the tag line of my blog clearly states – it is a journey towards Health. I am not looking to be a size zero or a 110 lbs. I want to be at a weight, which I am comfortable with. I want to be at a fitness level where I can do stuff that I want to. I want to trek, I want to swim, and I want to run! To do all of this, I have to make some sacrifices, which I am ready to make. But I will not become a “food ascetic” (give up all the food I love eating).

Some tips for those of you who have been thinking of changing your lifestyle to a healthy one…Here’s how I did it. I don’t know if this will work for you. Maybe some of it will, while you would need to ignore the rest. The important thing is that you chart out your goals and STICK to them.

Commitment – Before starting anything important, you have to commit yourself to it. I know I had been thinking about working out for almost a year before I started doing it regularly. I started to do it several times and then stopped. I would workout for a couple of times a week for 3-4 weeks and then stop for several months at a stretch. This does not work. If you think of working out twice a week for an hour each, then workout for twice a week for an hour. No matter what, do it. It doesn’t matter if the sink is full of dirty dishes or there are 3 loads of laundry to fold. Your health should take precedence over all of your household chores. While commitment is the most important aspect, it is also the most difficult. If you are able to stay committed, the rest will follow.

 Fitness buddy – The second most important piece, which has helped me in my voyage, is getting a fitness buddy. In my case, it is my husband. In truth, he inspired me to do this in the first place. He managed to lose more than 20 pounds in less than a year back in 2007-8 and soon after quit smoking (cold turkey). He is one of my biggest inspirations and also keeps me in check when I become lax. It always helps when both you and your spouse are trying to make a life change together, trying to eat healthy and trying to exercise. So get out there and get a fitness buddy.

Baby Steps – Many of my “runner” friends have told me to run the half marathon this year since they know I’m running now. To their disappointment, I’ve said ‘No’. I do not want to do too much too soon. In fact, I want to be able to give my body time to adjust and adapt. When I started exercising, I actually started with only one day a week for an hour. I am now up to 5-6 days of vigorous cardio and some strength. So, start gradually – (do as much as possible #AMAP) don’t try to do too much too soon. Remember – you have to maintain this throughout your life. An injury can deter you so take is easy. #AMAP

Activity Band – This helped me tremendously. It told me that I needed to move more. Simply by meeting my step goal for the day, I know am keeping my heart healthy. This is not necessarily a must for everyone. Many of my very active friends don’t use this and still manage to do all the right things to achieve their health goal. Again, this has worked well for both my hubby and me. You can log in the calories you are eating and the band will help you calculate if you are burning enough or not. It is a personal trainer and dietician all in one. (There are so many fitness bands out there and so many versions of each. Do your research and then buy. Maybe I’ll do a post reviewing some I’ve used)

Reward yourself for a good day – I always reward myself when I achieve a goal. If my goal is to do 10,000 steps a day and I do 20,000, I reward myself with a massage or even a lindt chococalte. This way things remain interesting and you want to achieve so that you get to do or eat stuff that you love.

Cheat day – Following a healthy regimen can be tiring and boring after a while. Both Sid and I assign us a “cheat day”. We try to abstain from unwholesome food all week so we indulge ourselves during the weekend. This does in no way mean we gorge ourselves with ice cream and friend food. We will share a dessert or have an extra glass of wine. What is life without good food and good drinks, right?