Lose 20 pounds in 12 Weeks with Change in Habits and Exercise

Lost 20 pound weight – Anil Gupta

If you read the title of this article and still eager to read it, you would certainly be happy to take up exercise to lose those extra pounds.
As a matter of fact, I have intentionally added the ‘with exercise’ in the title to keep people away from imagining about any magical solution that I may be sharing here.

If you have read my previous excursions with losing weight where I lost about 4.5 Kgs in 1.5 months without exercise and then about the same weight (not fat) in about a week using GM diet, you would know that I have been struggling for quite some time to find a feasible and long term solution to say good-bye to the fat.

Every-time, I have lost the weight in quick succession with no exercise, the weight has bounced back at double the speed. This is the bitter truth that I have been living through for past 3-4 years with just hoping and wishing to re-fit in my 32 inch waist trouser some day!

As they say, every dog has its day…..I got mine in the last week of August 2014. Hurray!

So, this article is all about sharing the experience of what I did, How I brain washed my own mind to board the bullet train with exercising to see that day.

There are no shortcuts to success, you have to take the stairs!

I have just gone through the following realistic points while making the transition and I hope they would help you too.

1. Realization

   The signs that you are obese or fat are not imminent to inner-self. My family also never told me that I am growing out of my clothes but the fact was something else.

   I got the first hint when my friends asked me to sit in car’s front seat to help accommodate more people at the back. Hmm…Sounds pretty normal but was a good enough signal to know that people see me as Obese!

2. The Motivation – Change your habit

   It is easier to imagine the great physical appearance of our Bollywood stars and then crib looking at your own bulge! But, if you want to stop cribbing, the only way is to understand what they do to maintain that body.

   I had started my research from here and then read about what they eat and what not. I think everybody who is trying to lose weight sincerely knows what needs to be done but still our mind pulls us away from doing it.

   I read about how Arjun Kapoor did it, then read about the TV star Ritvik’s daily schedule and couple of other famous weight loss stories.

   The single thing that stood out in their story was not to DIET or stop eating, but was to change your HABIT.

   Almost all of us do not lose weight just because we don’t understand this basic principle.

   Losing weight should not be your goal, but changing your habit to include more good food should be.
   Hitting the gym with a mindset to lose weight is just going to help you stay there for about a month or two with the breaks pumping-in when you reach your goal.

   Ever imagined what happens next? Your start getting the fat back.

   So, the first advice is to change your habits and include the exercise and ‘good food’ (explained later) in your daily schedule rather than consider it a small project of 3 months.


Anil Gupta – Before losing 20 pounds

3. The advice

   One of my close friend Ashish gave me the million dollar advice.

   Decide and choose one direction. Either eat whatever you like or lose weight by doing whatever it takes!

   We all know about it…isn’t it? Of-course, I also knew this but never took it seriously.
   You can’t sail in two boats. It is easier to choose one and then move ahead. I finally adopted the advice and the results started to show up within a week.

4. 80:20 principle for food intake

   If you know this principle which originated from a business study, it simply says that

   There are always 20% of the resources that produce 80% of total revenue.
   And on the other hand, there are always 80% of resources in a business that only produce 20% of output.

   This is a generic rule and can be applied to any area of life. So, I used in my case of losing-weight.

   The results were pretty much self explanatory after analysis of my food intake.

   – The 80% of un-healthy food that I ate each day was just contributing 20% to my weight loss target.
   – or in other words, the 20% healthy food that I took each day was responsible for 80% of health.

   So, the action plan was to increase the 20% healthy food portion and contribute much more in the weight loss.

   The plan works irrespective of your exercise and diet. You start replacing each non-healthy food with a healthy substitute and the results would be visible.

5. Heart: Shake well before use

   This is a sincere advise to all who are looking to really lose weight using the fastest lane.
   I was losing approximately 2 pounds a week when I was using treadmill and Elliptical (alternate days) for 33 minutes a day.

   These were my cardio session details that I used to accomplish:

   On treadmill (33 minutes)

   	Initial days	After first 30 days
   Average speed (miles per hour)	4.4 (Low – 3.6, high – 6.5)	7.3 (Low – 6.8, high – 8.0)
   Total miles	2.8	3.9 to 4 miles
   Incline	0.5	0.5
   Average heart rate	135 (Low – 110, high – 150)	160 (Low – 155, high – 175)
   Calories burned	300-320	480-500

   On Elliptical (33 minutes)

   	Initial days	After first 30 days
   Total Distance (miles)	2.7	3.8 to 3.9
   Strides per minute	160 to 170	200 to 215
   Total Number of strides	5500	6600 to 6700
   Average Resistance	4	7
   Average Heart rate	135 (Low – 110, high – 150)	170 (Low – 160, high – 175)
   Calories burned	300 to 320	480 to 500

6. Using an App to track the food and exercise

   Using an application like Noom Coach helps in the way that it helps you track what and how much goes in the body.

   The thing I liked in this app is, it classifies each food item into RED, GREEN and YELLOW categories. It has options for Indian food items too.

   I manifested this explanation in my mind to relate to each food.

   The RED item is delaying your weight loss.
   The YELLOW one is keeping your weight stagnant.
   The GREEN item is helping you lose weight.

   You can also follow and see the results for yourself.

I have achieved the stable weight loss with the above steps. I have also reduced my stress levels and increased stamina (can now play 3 straight sets of Lawn Tennis (singles) with ease! Hurray!).

It is important to form good habits and embrace healthy food. The money that you spend in restaurants eating all the RED food can be re-directed to buy the healthy ones.

Anil Gupta – After losing 20 pounds – 9 kgs

Mathematics

I was loosing 480-500 calories a day simply with the exercise. The other idea was to double this number by reducing food intake.
Hence, I focused on eating about 1350-1400 calories a day.

So effectively, I was trying to burn about 1000 calories a day to make sure I reach the target of burning 2 pounds of fat a week.

1 pound fat = 3500 calories
2 pound fat = 7000 calories

Calories to be burned each day = 7000/7 = 1000

I had set the target of some-how burning 70,000 calories as they constitute the 20 pounds.
Now, if I could burn 1000 per day for up-to 70 days, I can easily achieve that. Isn’t it?

The numbers give shape to a virtual imagination and some concrete picture.
But, keep in mind that your body will take time to adjust to your schedule in early days (about 15-30 days).

You would probably not be able to run 4 miles or burn 1000 calories in initial days. This is precisely the reason, I took about 90 days to reach the target of 20 pounds.

Food substitutions That I made (pretty self explanatory)

Habits that I changed (Its important to change them!)

My excuses that I had to fight with

1. The legs and sometimes foot starts to pain as soon as I start walking towards Gym – This is nothing but the thinking mind sending signals to skip the exercise unless it is really an injury. It never was in my case and hence, I just never listened to it.
2. The thinking mind convinces to take a break (rest day) every now and then – I consoled it using my observing mind by giving it a carrot of ‘doing lesser work-out than normal’. If you want to know more about ‘Observing and thinking mind’ concept, watch this awesome seminar from motivational speaker Sandip Maheshwari.As a matter of fact, I have completed watching his series of motivational seminars while doing these exercises. It has helped keep the momentum going and made my mind think ‘Asaan hai‘ (Its easy).
3. Eating 1 piece of Kaju barfi (sweet pie) won’t hurt – Yes, it can. It is okay to eat 1 piece with respect to calories but not in attitude. Have you ever noticed that sugar (does not matter if low quantity or more) triggers your mind and body to consume more? It does scientifically. It is dense in calories and won’t let you feel full until it has already done the damage to your daily maths. So, stay away from it.
4. Going out with friends on dinner is okay if I don’t eat/drink anything. – Not sure about you, but I am more susceptible to cravings when I see the food. Staying away from even the smell was my priority to help control my mind and tongue. If you believe my words, it works.

Specific details – Exported from Noom Coach Application

Exercise details

Lose 20 pounds weight loss exercise graph – Anil Gupta

90 days Analysis	Distance (miles)	Calories Burned
Treadmill Run	87.59	11972
Elliptical	102.4	15776
Others (Running, tennis, driving)	49.7	6387
Total	239.69	34135

Weight Details

Lose 20 pounds weight loss graph – Anil Gupta

Date	Weight in KG	Weight in LBS
8/31/2014	72.57	160
8/28/2014	73.71	162.5
8/25/2014	73.94	163
8/22/2014	73.94	163
8/19/2014	74.16	163.5
8/11/2014	75.3	166.00002
8/7/2014	75.52	166.5
8/4/2014	75.98	167.5
8/1/2014	75.75	167
7/29/2014	76.43	168.5
7/26/2014	76.66	169
7/23/2014	77.11	170
7/20/2014	77.34	170.5
7/17/2014	77.7	171.3
7/14/2014	77.79	171.49998
7/11/2014	78.24	172.5
7/8/2014	78.7	173.5
7/5/2014	78.7	173.5
7/2/2014	79.15	174.5
6/29/2014	79.38	175
6/26/2014	80.29	177
6/23/2014	80.29	177
6/20/2014	80.74	178
6/17/2014	81.19	179
6/16/2014	81.19	179
6/9/2014	81.65	180
6/2/2014	83.01	182.99998

Food Intake Details

• Diet
• Calorie Budget
• Meal division
• Calorie Category

My diet that helped me burn 500 calories each day apart from exercising:

Breakfast – 9 AM – (Approximately 250 Calories)

1 Whole Wheat Bread/Roti/Chapati (70 Calories)
1 Cup (Our 1 Cup = 240 ML) of skimmed/Fat-free/double-toned milk (90 Calories)
3 Boiled Egg Whites or Egg white Omelette (55 Calories)
1 Tsp Olive Oil (40 Calories)

Mid-Morning Snack – 11 AM – (Approximately 100 Calories)

1 Apple (96 Calories)
OR
1 large Orange (90 Calories)
OR
1 Wedge Of Watermelon (100 Calories)

Lunch – 1 PM – (Approximately 500 Calories)

1.5 Cup (Our 1 Cup = 240 ML) Brown Rice (321 Calories)
1 Cup (Our 1 Cup = 240 ML) Dal/ Rajma/ Chole (200 Calories)

OR

1 Cup (Our 1 Cup = 240 ML) Dal/ Rajma/ Chole (200 Calories)
4 Whole Wheat Bread/ Roti/ Chapati  (70 * 4 = 280 Calories)

Mid-afternoon – 3.30 PM – (Approximately 100 Calories)

1 Apple (96 Calories)
OR
1 large Orange (90 Calories)

Dinner – 6 PM – Approximately 500 Calories

1.5 Cup (Our 1 Cup = 240 ML) Brown Rice (321 Calories)
1 Cup (Our 1 Cup = 240 ML) Dal/ Rajma/ Chole (200 Calories)

OR

1 Cup (Our 1 Cup = 240 ML) Dal/ Rajma/ Chole (200 Calories)
4 Whole Wheat Bread/ Roti/ Chapati  (70 * 4 = 280 Calories)

Date	Calorie Budget	Calories Logged
8/31/2014	1,460	1,092
8/28/2014	1,460	892
8/27/2014	1,460	1,403
8/26/2014	1,460	1,538
8/25/2014	1,460	1,432
8/24/2014	1,460	1,442
8/23/2014	1,460	1,290
8/22/2014	1,460	1,262
8/21/2014	1,460	1,528
8/20/2014	1,460	1,401
8/19/2014	1,460	1,371
8/18/2014	1,460	1,728
8/17/2014	1,460	246
8/16/2014	1,460	1,310
8/15/2014	1,460	1,498
8/14/2014	1,460	1,448
8/13/2014	1,460	1,399
8/12/2014	1,460	1,675
8/11/2014	1,460	1,474
8/10/2014	1,460	1,394
8/8/2014	1,460	1,369
8/7/2014	1,460	1,439
8/6/2014	1,460	1,152
8/5/2014	1,460	1,649
8/4/2014	1,460	1,690
8/3/2014	1,460	938
8/1/2014	1,460	956
7/31/2014	1,460	1,447
7/30/2014	1,460	961
7/29/2014	1,460	1,006
7/28/2014	1,460	1,356
7/26/2014	1,460	1,450
7/25/2014	1,460	1,079
7/24/2014	1,460	1,292
7/23/2014	1,460	1,477
7/22/2014	1,460	1,521
7/21/2014	1,460	1,321
7/20/2014	1,460	1,475
7/19/2014	1,460	1,624
7/18/2014	1,460	1,514
7/17/2014	1,460	1,448
7/16/2014	1,460	1,539
7/15/2014	1,460	1,438
7/14/2014	1,460	1,498
7/13/2014	1,460	1,071
7/12/2014	1,460	1,483
7/11/2014	1,460	987
7/10/2014	1,460	1,447
7/9/2014	1,460	1,414
7/8/2014	1,460	882
7/7/2014	1,460	1,402
7/6/2014	1,460	1,413
7/5/2014	1,460	1,458
7/4/2014	1,460	1,356
7/3/2014	1,460	1,281
7/2/2014	1,460	1,313
7/1/2014	1,460	1,296
6/30/2014	1,460	1,390
6/29/2014	1,460	1,324
6/28/2014	1,460	1,179
6/27/2014	1,460	1,258
6/26/2014	1,460	1,350
6/25/2014	1,460	1,341
6/24/2014	1,460	1,600
6/23/2014	1,460	1,534
6/22/2014	1,460	1,380
6/21/2014	1,460	1,264
6/20/2014	1,460	1,418
6/19/2014	1,460	1,370
6/18/2014	1,460	1,385
6/17/2014	1,460	1,477
6/16/2014	1,460	1,263
6/15/2014	1,460	1,884
6/14/2014	1,460	1,400
6/13/2014	1,460	705
6/12/2014	1,460	1,380
6/11/2014	1,460	1,418
6/10/2014	1,460	1,363
6/9/2014	1,460	1,373
6/8/2014	1,460	1,500
6/6/2014	1,460	1,085
6/5/2014	1,460	1,264
6/4/2014	1,460	1,677
6/3/2014	1,460	1,475
6/2/2014	1,460	1,307

Date	Breakfast Cals	Morning Snack Cals.	Lunch Cals	Afternoon Snack Cals.	Dinner Cals.	Evening Snack Cals.
8/31/2014	246	0	426	420	0	0
8/28/2014	246	108	476	62	0	0
8/27/2014	281	108	476	62	476	0
8/26/2014	281	108	476	96	577	0
8/25/2014	246	96	521	93	476	0
8/24/2014	246	117	476	127	476	0
8/23/2014	262	96	614	127	191	0
8/22/2014	281	61	476	93	351	0
8/21/2014	324	61	521	93	529	0
8/20/2014	246	79	476	93	476	31
8/19/2014	246	80	507	62	476	0
8/18/2014	281	86	476	215	407	263
8/17/2014	246	0	0	0	0	0
8/16/2014	246	86	316	260	316	86
8/15/2014	281	108	521	62	526	0
8/14/2014	281	108	521	62	476	0
8/13/2014	246	108	476	93	476	0
8/12/2014	246	108	521	74	575	151
8/11/2014	309	86	507	96	476	0
8/10/2014	134	263	414	238	345	0
8/8/2014	281	74	476	62	476	0
8/7/2014	263	117	521	62	476	0
8/6/2014	246	65	407	127	307	0
8/5/2014	246	0	521	139	743	0
8/4/2014	281	108	548	127	626	0
8/3/2014	246	31	621	40	0	0
8/1/2014	281	96	476	103	0	0
7/31/2014	246	108	521	96	476	0
7/30/2014	281	108	476	96	0	0
7/29/2014	281	108	521	96	0	0
7/28/2014	246	96	476	62	476	0
7/26/2014	246	0	642	96	466	0
7/25/2014	246	0	414	62	357	0
7/24/2014	281	62	316	62	411	160
7/23/2014	316	96	507	0	496	62
7/22/2014	316	96	521	62	526	0
7/21/2014	246	0	426	96	457	96
7/20/2014	246	108	601	129	391	0
7/19/2014	281	0	591	376	376	0
7/18/2014	281	86	476	62	501	108
7/17/2014	316	133	521	78	400	0
7/16/2014	284	96	521	62	576	0
7/15/2014	276	129	475	62	496	0
7/14/2014	246	108	521	96	527	0
7/13/2014	246	108	556	161	0	0
7/12/2014	246	204	622	0	411	0
7/11/2014	246	108	537	96	0	0
7/10/2014	246	108	521	96	476	0
7/9/2014	246	96	521	62	489	0
7/8/2014	246	108	528	0	0	0
7/7/2014	246	108	476	96	476	0
7/6/2014	190	62	526	200	435	0
7/5/2014	246	62	471	96	521	62
7/4/2014	246	96	441	62	511	0
7/3/2014	246	96	511	62	366	0
7/2/2014	246	96	521	62	388	0
7/1/2014	246	62	475	96	417	0
6/30/2014	246	96	541	62	445	0
6/29/2014	246	96	430	96	456	0
6/28/2014	246	46	464	96	327	0
6/27/2014	246	108	414	0	490	0
6/26/2014	246	86	476	96	446	0
6/25/2014	283	129	516	46	367	0
6/24/2014	246	0	521	433	400	0
6/23/2014	246	0	476	189	623	0
6/22/2014	246	0	416	192	526	0
6/21/2014	197	0	469	86	512	0
6/20/2014	246	0	455	189	528	0
6/19/2014	246	0	521	158	445	0
6/18/2014	246	0	476	209	454	0
6/17/2014	246	0	521	127	583	0
6/16/2014	212	98	434	113	406	0
6/15/2014	186	0	590	96	582	430
6/14/2014	224	0	516	0	660	0
6/13/2014	246	0	459	0	0	0
6/12/2014	188	0	521	164	507	0
6/11/2014	246	0	592	96	484	0
6/10/2014	213	0	407	198	545	0
6/9/2014	241	0	344	336	452	0
6/8/2014	329	0	414	253	504	0
6/6/2014	286	0	316	483	0	0
6/5/2014	187	0	407	244	426	0
6/4/2014	255	0	518	210	534	160
6/3/2014	204	0	452	93	384	342
6/2/2014	225	0	500	254	328	0

Date	% Red	% Yellow	% Green
8/31/2014	23.00%	3.00%	73.00%
8/28/2014	0.00%	4.00%	95.00%
8/27/2014	2.00%	2.00%	94.00%
8/26/2014	2.00%	9.00%	88.00%
8/25/2014	0.00%	2.00%	97.00%
8/24/2014	0.00%	2.00%	97.00%
8/23/2014	0.00%	10.00%	89.00%
8/22/2014	2.00%	26.00%	70.00%
8/21/2014	2.00%	2.00%	95.00%
8/20/2014	0.00%	2.00%	97.00%
8/19/2014	0.00%	2.00%	97.00%
8/18/2014	18.00%	2.00%	78.00%
8/17/2014	0.00%	16.00%	83.00%
8/16/2014	19.00%	3.00%	77.00%
8/15/2014	2.00%	2.00%	94.00%
8/14/2014	2.00%	2.00%	94.00%
8/13/2014	0.00%	2.00%	97.00%
8/12/2014	7.00%	14.00%	78.00%
8/11/2014	4.00%	2.00%	93.00%
8/10/2014	2.00%	2.00%	94.00%
8/8/2014	2.00%	2.00%	94.00%
8/7/2014	0.00%	2.00%	97.00%
8/6/2014	0.00%	3.00%	96.00%
8/5/2014	7.00%	2.00%	90.00%
8/4/2014	34.00%	11.00%	54.00%
8/3/2014	4.00%	4.00%	91.00%
8/1/2014	3.00%	4.00%	92.00%
7/31/2014	0.00%	2.00%	97.00%
7/30/2014	3.00%	4.00%	92.00%
7/29/2014	3.00%	3.00%	92.00%
7/28/2014	0.00%	2.00%	97.00%
7/26/2014	0.00%	16.00%	83.00%
7/25/2014	0.00%	3.00%	96.00%
7/24/2014	15.00%	3.00%	81.00%
7/23/2014	4.00%	2.00%	92.00%
7/22/2014	4.00%	2.00%	92.00%
7/21/2014	0.00%	3.00%	96.00%
7/20/2014	5.00%	2.00%	91.00%
7/19/2014	12.00%	9.00%	78.00%
7/18/2014	2.00%	2.00%	95.00%
7/17/2014	4.00%	2.00%	92.00%
7/16/2014	4.00%	0.00%	95.00%
7/15/2014	4.00%	5.00%	89.00%
7/14/2014	4.00%	2.00%	92.00%
7/13/2014	0.00%	7.00%	92.00%
7/12/2014	0.00%	14.00%	85.00%
7/11/2014	0.00%	4.00%	95.00%
7/10/2014	0.00%	2.00%	97.00%
7/9/2014	7.00%	18.00%	74.00%
7/8/2014	0.00%	60.00%	39.00%
7/7/2014	0.00%	2.00%	97.00%
7/6/2014	0.00%	2.00%	97.00%
7/5/2014	0.00%	2.00%	97.00%
7/4/2014	0.00%	8.00%	91.00%
7/3/2014	0.00%	3.00%	96.00%
7/2/2014	0.00%	3.00%	96.00%
7/1/2014	0.00%	12.00%	87.00%
6/30/2014	0.00%	2.00%	97.00%
6/29/2014	0.00%	21.00%	78.00%
6/28/2014	0.00%	3.00%	96.00%
6/27/2014	0.00%	6.00%	93.00%
6/26/2014	0.00%	2.00%	97.00%
6/25/2014	0.00%	2.00%	97.00%
6/24/2014	0.00%	2.00%	97.00%
6/23/2014	0.00%	5.00%	94.00%
6/22/2014	0.00%	14.00%	85.00%
6/21/2014	0.00%	20.00%	79.00%
6/20/2014	0.00%	5.00%	94.00%
6/19/2014	0.00%	2.00%	97.00%
6/18/2014	0.00%	2.00%	97.00%
6/17/2014	0.00%	2.00%	97.00%
6/16/2014	7.00%	3.00%	89.00%
6/15/2014	27.00%	5.00%	67.00%
6/14/2014	58.00%	2.00%	38.00%
6/13/2014	0.00%	41.00%	58.00%
6/12/2014	2.00%	9.00%	88.00%
6/11/2014	0.00%	5.00%	94.00%
6/10/2014	0.00%	4.00%	95.00%
6/9/2014	3.00%	0.00%	96.00%
6/8/2014	21.00%	10.00%	67.00%
6/6/2014	9.00%	25.00%	64.00%
6/5/2014	0.00%	0.00%	100.00%
6/4/2014	9.00%	3.00%	87.00%
6/3/2014	10.00%	0.00%	89.00%
6/2/2014	0.00%	0.00%	100.00%

Lose 20 pounds calorie intake graph – Anil Gupta

Let me know if you need more information.

I have now started working on a new challenge to improve my hair density. This is to save my falling hair and hopefully grow more of them. I will share the details in next 90 days with the results (positive or negative).
In the mean time, if you have any tips on head’s hair growth, do let me know and I would like to try.