Die for Diet!

About 3 years ago, I would weigh about 112 kgs and standing at 6’1” I was a ugly shape of a deformed Goliath. Then something thing happened and I was motivated into loosing all the excess fat and managed to shed about 30kgs in a span of 6 – 7 months.

The regime was extreme, with a daily jogging schedule of 6 kms and skippings of about 1500 revolutions. It was a time of pure enthusiasm and the need to achieve this goal. The dream was achieved when my trousers started to fall off and my shirts started to hang on me.

Then came the phase of wanting to shape my body into something more appealing than what I was witnessing in the mirror (not that I had a bad body). So I joined a gym to start on the exercise with weights.

The next year was involved into getting myself into shape. The weights were fun and the time in the gym was more of a socializing event that of exercising but along with the exercise came the greatest test of all. The diet!

I was always a fan of good food and believed that good food should always be tasted and appreciated. Never let go of any opportunity of relishing the food at any point. But for this new need of getting the body into shape I had to forgo many occasions where the very smell of delicious meals would get me on a high and I was not able to cherish the food or get my hearts desire satisfied by enjoying the taste of it.

For more than a year, I subjected myself to bland high protein diet. The worst part of it all was that I barely achieved the desired look and my stomach was as large as it ever was. No matter how hard I pushed the stomach was here to stay.

Now, two years on. I have decided that the dream of a perfect body is far from achievable and I am not going to be part of the eat right regime. I love the fats and I love the foods, I am diving into the cholesterol to fight it head on. So its hello butter, ghee, cheese, pork, beef, fries, roasts, oil and all you loving food that I have missed all this while.

If I could loose 30 kgs in the past, I can definitely do it again…..!!!

Little Honest Little

I have had the experience of telling the truth and was punished for it. I have always thought that honesty is the best policy. It keeps me confident and I am not worried of the outcome as my conscience is left without a blemish. Some have appreciated me for this skill and some have shunned me away as they think that honesty will get me nowhere in today’s world. How did I develop this skill in me? Well it’s been only 3 years since I adopted this skill set and it was taught to me by a child of 2 years.

My nephew, now 5 years old, had this uncanny habit of being honest and blunt about his actions and thoughts. He must have been a little over 2 and being very attached to me used to love going on short bike rides with me. On one such bike ride, I was to go and buy some goodies for christmas from a nearby shopping mall. We were maybe the first to enter the mall that morning and while in the mall, we passed a bakery which had some very good cookies and the both of us wanted to taste some. There was an offer at the bakery of buying 1 kg of cookies and getting a christmas CD and a visit to Santa Claus. I thought of this as a good occasion to introduce him to Santa Clause and I asked for his approval if he wanted to see Santa which he gladly agreed to in the greed of having the cookies.

We bought the cookies and were enjoying it as we walked towards the stall which was housing Santa Clause and all the children were meeting him there. Since we were the first we had all the volunteers approaching us and greeting us. They were some good looking women in the entrance who captured my attention and also my nephews as he was dumb founded and out of words when he saw them and greeted them with silence. As we proceeded into the stall, he took notice of a man in a red suit with big white beard and didnt budge a step ahead. He did not want to proceed any further as he was scared off his wits, I carried him and sat next to Santa Clause in the hope that he will not feel scared if I were to show him that there was nothing wrong with it. But he was reluctant to let go of me or be anywhere near Santa. He held on to me for his life and wouldnt let go. I did not want to push it so I clicked a picture and moved out of the stall. As we exited the stall he stopped crying and was all normal again(thanks to the beautiful helpers in red and green). I kept teasing him on the way back home that he got scared of Santa Clause when he had agreed to meet him.

On reaching home, he hollered to his mother, "Momma, you know I cried. I cried because I got scared of Santa Clause!" I was stunned, I thought he would be so ashamed of the incident that he would not want to share it with anyone, on the contrary he was the one promoting his story and narrating the incident to everyone of what had happened? This blew me away, there were many other incidents which showcased how this child was so proud of his flaws and had no restrictions of telling the world of it. But we as matured adults are scared to show our weakness or flaws to the world in the fear that we will be ridiculed or made fun of!

I proudly say it was my nephew who had inculcated a sense of true honesty in me and helped me grow into a better person. I am not sure if even today he knows what a great teaching he has imparted to me. When he could barely speak clear words his actions were loud enough for me to take notice and add it to my life!

Jogging Theories 2 – The Benefits of Money

Studies have shown that people have their best ideas when they are on the pot but for me I have the revelations when I go for a jog in the evening and it has started to become a ritual to jog every evening not for the exercise but for the thought.

Last evening when I went for my normal run, my gaze fell upon a group of people who were doing some sort of yoga. There were whites, blacks, browns, yellows but the point is that they were all bonding as one. There was no distinction with color, caste or creed of any instance. The beauty of this sight made me realize that this was only possible because of the instrument of money. People from all over the world would flock to one place in order to lead a good life and in the process; they shared their traditions and customs with each other. It was not limited to that, more times than not we shared food, happiness, sadness and were a part of the others rituals.

I remember as a child being invited to celebrate Eid with our friends and I would not eat breakfast or lunch because I would wait for the biryani that would be served. The beauty of the smell itself would make me high and the taste was heavenly. Onam, was another festival which we celebrated with a zeal that as amazing according to my standards(I am a hardcore non-vegetarian) but the whole process and events that followed were something that we would look out for. My friends would wait for Christmas as they loved the cakes and sweets that we made at home and the whole party scene with Santa Claus and the Christmas tree.

If we did not have money, we would not be able to share this with our friends, families and well-wishers. This was only made possible because of the need and greed of money, the under currents that the joy of having money gave us was unbelievable. Take yet another example, if you take your child to the most beautiful place on earth, there is always a cost involved, transportation, accommodation, food, etc. but at the end of the journey, there is joy, bewilderment and ecstasy. You see a joy in your child’s eye and there is not amount that could measure to it. It is a moment, which you cherish and relish for times to come.

With the help of money, we are able to travel to places that we had only dreamed of, it is an instrument, which gives not only the giver but also the receiver a lot of joy. There is a mutual benefit in the trade of money. Think about it, when you buy a loaf of bread the amount goes to the baker which is in turned trickled down to the transporter, warehouse, processer and then to the farmer. So many people are touched by your contribution and you in turn are happy with eating the bread. This goes on for the entire establishments on the items that you buy, all the movers and producers of the goods are getting a benefit from your one buy and they in turn are helping some other mover or producer have a smile by buying their goods.

They say too much of anything is bad but I have not heard anyone to say too much of joy is bad or too much of peace is bad then why are the instruments, which give us these gifts meant to be bad? Think about it, it’s not bad to earn that extra to make it a brighter day tomorrow!

Jogging Theories 1 – Money a Bain

Studies have shown that people have their best ideas when they are on the pot but for me I have the revelations when I go for a jog in the evening and it has started to become a ritual to jog every evening not for the exercise but for the thought.

Last evening after I was done with my run, on my way back there was a juice vendor who was selling some good lemon juice. Being a hot day, I decided to have a good cold class of lemon juice. While I was having the juice there were a few beggars who were asking for some alms and maybe some food from a group of people. While it is against the law to give money to the beggars, it is a matter of thought. How can we try and help them get a better life?

There is so much of disparity in society and in nations. While one nation is having problems with obesity and over-eating; the other nation is trying hard to provide at least a meal a day to their citizens. It was recently observed in China, where the urban population was slowly getting very obese thanks to the junk food trends but their rural population faced with unfavourable weather conditions were dying of starvation. This is a case in most Asian countries including India. We have a misappropriation of wealth among people and this is leading to some very alarming sights. The evil is clearly the instrument of money. If we all had to work for each other without monetary gains, the world would be a much more peaceful place.

What have reasons been for the recent wars ? Oil, Land, Minerals, trade all related to the green monkey. Stop and listen to the television and realise what are they telling you? If you don’t have money you are nothing and nobody cares for you but if you have money and are willing to splurge it we have the red carpet out for you. Which means that the mason who is helping build that mansion is not in a position to enjoy the same luxuries as the person for whom he is making it for? The engineer is not able to drive the car that he has so painstakingly devoted his time into making it. Why is this divide in society?

If we abolish this instrument of finance and make an instrument of deed. It will be more rewarding for each individual. If I help build 10 Porsche I get to keep the 11^th. If I helped in the construction of a building I should get a share of the profit or a flat for me and my family. Why should the rich enjoy in the rain and while we get all the pain?