The journey to good health is not always extraordinary: a dramatic downward spiral, followed by a moment of epiphany, a successful resolution and curtains.
Very often, it is the drab everyday exercise, inspiring not in its uniqueness but in the plaintive act of keeping at it. Sandhya Subramanian’s story is testament to it.
“I have always been a large person… I was 4.7 kilos when I was born,” says Subramanian. As she discovered, fighting against her ‘inheritance’ was not an easy task. “If I don’t work out for a few days, I start gaining weight real fast. Obesity runs in my family,” she says.
The problem of heredity
As Subramanian started working, her once weight-watching self began to slack. Given the long work hours and the passive lifestyle induced by her job in corporate communications, she began putting on weight soon.
“The deciding moment for me was when I looked at a picture and failed to recognise myself in it,” says Subramanian. “Normally, when you take selfies, you angle it so that you look good. But here was a candid picture which showed me as who I was… and I did not like it.”
That photograph, taken in February this year, pushed Subramanian towards joining a gym. This was the second time she was actively working towards losing weight, having lost 27 kilos before starting work in 2014. “I was caught in so much work, I began skipping working out. It went from six days a week to five to three, to a period in 2015, when I’d stopped working out.”
Subramanian began the way most people do: with cardio in the gym. The only difference is her dedication, which she has a lot of. “In these three months, I’ve missed gym only for three days,” she says.
The initial two weeks of re-joining gym after a break of two years was difficult. “I could barely run for a minute on the treadmill! Moreover, there was no motivation; you don’t immediately start to lose weight, and even if you do, it doesn’t show unless it is more than five kilos.”
She reveals what kept her going, “It might sound silly, but every day for a month, I would read Pinterest quotes on motivation. I had an entire folder saved,” she adds, sheepishly. “And of course, I can’t work out without music. Michael Jackson tracks are on my go-to playlist.”
Subramanian alternates complete cardio days (50 minutes of treadmill, followed by 35 minutes on the EFX and 25 minutes of spinning) with cardio plus weights, focussing on core muscles through pelvic crunches, planks, lunges, dead lifts and leg presses.
Apart from cutting off fried food and sugar, Subramanian didn’t get on any special diet. “I am a hardcore South Indian; I couldn’t stop eating rice if I wanted to. It’s a psychological thing,” she laughs. Instead, she restricts the amount she eats. “Eating at the right times and not eating between meals also helps,” she notes.
The body image paradox
At nearly 6 feet tall, Subramanian has often dealt with the issue of not fitting in, right from her growing-up years. “I would rarely meet guys as tall as me, forget girls,” she says.
“On top of that, once I started gaining weight in my undergrad, I started feeling even more conscious. I had friends who would eat like gluttons and never gain a kilo, and then there was me who gained weight without gorging on food. It felt really unfair.”
So when Subramanian began working out, it was a question of vanity, she freely admits. “It started out with the need to look good. Let’s be honest, it feels great when someone compliments your looks. But I eventually began questioning myself, whether body image issues were the only thing driving me.”
With age, Subramanian started to realise that staying physically fit was a gateway to emotional and mental fitness. “When you aren’t comfortable in your skin, it takes a toll on your mental health too.”
Being a woman who has just turned 30, Subramanian found out that now was the time she would be more susceptible to an array of medical conditions; her mother herself has diabetes. Staying within her ideal weight range made her feel light, active and fit.
“Most of all, it is the joy of being able to walk up a flight of stairs without feeling like your heart is going to explode in your mouth. Looking good is just a great side effect.”
