My journey from 104kgs to 91kgs

This is my journey from 75 kgs to 104 kgs to 91 kgs as of Jan 2025.

The first time I checked my weight was in my first year of engineering. It was 75 kgs. It settled at 80 kgs for the entire engineering. After that, it gradually increased to 85 kgs.

COVID happened and I was at 94kgs. At the time of my marriage, I was 90. After a few months, I moved to 95 kgs again. The marriage weight! I noticed my dresses were not fitting anymore but I kept going. I moved to XL from M.

I had to travel a lot, eat various foods, meal times were inconsistent, and I got a new project. I was eating without any proper schedule. I used to code all day. I am not physically active. Mentally exhausted. New adaptations and more.

After a while, I checked my weight and it was 104. Shocking! I have moved to XXL from XL. I have not thought in my wildest dreams that I will cross 100 kgs. Whenever I take a lift, I will read the max capacity and laugh that 100kgs is from just me!

I tried to reduce it. It did not happen. Continuous travel disturbed my schedule. I stopped going to the gym because I was not sure when I could stay in one place and keep it consistent. Maintaining a routine is a disaster.

I used to stay up late, work late, and sometimes had to wake up early. There was no proper sleep, which affected my eating habits too. My gastric came back, had chest pains here and then.

I visited a doctor and explained that I was experiencing chest pain. The cardiologist laughed and asked, “Why did you come here?” He then told me, “You’re overweight. You have to lose so much weight. You also have poor sleep.” It made sense. My sleeping wasn’t great, my eating habits were poor, I wasn’t exercising, and I wasn’t moving enough. All these added up.

I started making changes like going to the gym and trying to cut my work hours. At the same time, I focused on some dietary adjustments. But nothing gave me the results I was looking for. Everything was back to square one. The reasons were the same — travel, work, bad schedules, no proper routine.

Eventually, I decided to cut down on excessive eating. I also stopped eating junk food, outside foods and online orders. That is when I started losing weight. I came down from 104 to 98 in 4 months.

One day I was discussing business ideas with my mentor, Mr. Venkat. That discussion drifted towards personal health. He said, “Weight gain is a lifestyle problem.” That stuck with me.

That statement got me thinking deeply. It struck a chord because my overweight is due to my lifestyle. There are only two reasons for overweight. One is lifestyle and the other is due to any medical conditions.

We do not get proper sleep because of our lifestyles. We stay up late to use our phones. Apps are designed to grab our attention, so we scroll endlessly chasing cheap dopamine. I am no exception. I used to watch long YouTube videos on various topics. At least they were interesting and knowledgeable. Later I start short format reels and shorts.

Our sleep patterns are dictated by day and night. Our bodies are not designed for this technological shift. If devices are one reason, a new set of work styles is another. The IT sector has the largest number of people who work beyond the regular 9-5 job. Some of them work night shifts. Now more people are working against their biological clocks and circadian rhythms.

And then there is overeating. Food is in surplus. Fast foods, junk food, sweets, chocolates, packaged food, biryanis, burgers, and pizzas are just a few km away or a few minutes away. Delivery apps make it easy to get any food at any time without moving from the house. Convenience is the silent health killer and the new business frontier.

Our professions take up most of the time in a day. Whether you are an employee or a business owner, the problem is the same—you do not have enough time outside of work. For those who commute, the issue is even worse.

This creates a cycle: we wake up without proper sleep, rush to work, hustle, come back tired, eat unhealthily, relax with our phones, sleep late, and repeat. Weight gain is often the first sign of poor health.

After thinking about all these, I realized I had failed repeatedly because I have a bad, poor lifestyle. I lacked consistency and discipline. I joined the gym many times but never stuck with it for more than two months. I struggled to control my eating habits. I struggled to sleep at a fixed time and wake up at a fixed time. I did not even walk for 15 minutes a day. My lifestyle is controlling me. I am not controlling my lifestyle.

I decided to make a change in my lifestyle. I developed something I call the SEML protocol: Sleep right, Eat Less, Move more, and Lift more.

Sleep Right

Sleep is the foundation. Without proper sleep, your day is broken. If you do not get enough sleep, you cannot exercise effectively, work efficiently, eat right, and avoid cravings. I worked on improving my sleep habits, aiming for 7-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep each night. I had to work more on sleeping at a fixed time rather than waking up at a fixed time.

Eat Less

We do not need to eat as much as we do because we are not physically active. Most of us have sedentary jobs, so our calorie needs are lower. I focused on reducing my calorie intake by eating smaller portions and being mindful of what I consume. Two simple rules. Only eat home food. Eat less quantity.

Move More

Movement is essential. Many of us do not take 5,000 steps a day. I started small, with just 10-15 minutes of walking daily. I struggled to find the time to walk in the beginning. I walked whenever I had time. The rule is not to skip. Gradually I have set a fixed time to walk.

Lift More

Strength training is important for building muscle and keeping us active throughout the day. I started with light dumbbells and short 15-minute workouts. I increased the duration to 30 min a day.

With these changes, I’ve seen significant progress. My weight has dropped from 104 to 91 kgs, and I’ve gone from XXL to L-sized clothes. Even when disruptions like travel or weekends, I and trying to build a lifestyle that I control. This journey took time—about eight months to go from 97 to 91 kgs. I went shopping and tried XL. Brand after brand does not fit me. Then I tried M and I was surprised. I have come down to size M. I felt very happy.

Somewhere I heard that the longer it takes to remove weight, the longer you will keep it. Because you are working on the foundations not just results. It is a long-term game, and I believe it is worth it.

The protocol is working. My hypothesis is true. The conversation has taken me in the right direction. In total, it took more than one and a half years to get where I am now. Reduced 13 kgs in 18 months.

If there is one thing you can control in this universe, it is yourself—your thoughts, reactions, habits, and health. You deserve all the health. You should decide whether you need health or not. I deserve all the health.