That day.. This day...

Today as I completed yet another successful run of 6km on tread mill, I got this thought of writing a blog on how this success story transpired.

Thanks to my sedentary job, it didn't take much time for me to become corpulent and I started to look like an obelisk. My waist size was increasing in geometric progression. One might say it is how you recognize a software engineer, but i strongly disagree. There is a large percentage of people who inspite of the sedentary nature of their jobs, do hit the gym or jog around parks and keep themselves fit.

Irony in this was that I too used to hit the gym, but my gluttonous appetite never let me get my weight under control. Every time a new movie of John Abraham was released, my sporadic exercise regime used to become much more systematic. But thankfully most of his movies had a brief stint at the box office and my exercise regime would slip back to once in a blue moon event. Every daybreak starts with a search for an excuse to skip the gym. It used to vary from genuine reasons like rain or work to weird reasons like not finding a matching t-shirt for tracks or vice versa.

It was during one of those days, that the company where i was working organized a 10km marathon. I was very eager to participate in the marathon. I started practicing for it. My decision to participate in the marathon was received with a lot of bantering at office. In spite of all that, I participated in the marathon. I completed it with great difficulty; most of the time walking and running for short spans. However it was a riveting experience and I enjoyed it to the fullest.

In the meantime I changed my company; with this change a lot of other things changed. After around three months in the new company, I decided to buy a cycle to commute to office. The new office was around 12 km. Even this decision was received by my friends with a lot of bantering. Many of them commented that this would be a fantasy for a week and then cycle would be yet another piece of junk. But this thought got engraved quite boldly on some part of my brain. Every time I felt like giving up cycling, the sarcastic remarks and bantering i am going to receive from my friends kept me going.

I started to do some cardio at office gym after cycling. This regime started to show off some results. Soon i got obsessed with cycling and cardio exercises. Yet another motivation to keep me going was the endurance levels of some of my colleagues who come to office gym. I see them running for 30 mins in a single stretch which motivated me to do the same. In a span of two months i too was able to run on treadmill for 30 minutes in a single stretch.

Though after doing all this, there wasn't a noticeable change in my appearance. It was then that i decided to abstain from food. I started eating sparingly and gave up my craving for ice creams, pizzas and soft drinks. Bingo, I started losing weight rapidly. People started to notice the change and my waist size was decreasing in geometric progression. I was getting applauses all around, it then became a responsibility to maintain the good work I had done.

Losing 16 kilos in a span of three months is indeed an achievement. With every ounce i lose, my desire to get thinner and leaner got more intense. I started to go on long runs on Sundays, which spans around 22kms altogether. In addition to that I also started practicing fasting on Mondays which has a more prominent religious connotation and inspiration from one of my best friends.

So dear friends, shred off the sluggishness, eat healthy and be healthy.....

Blacky and Me

Though the title resembles the movie name, "Marley and Me" it has nothing to do with it. Hmm.., yep in a way it has something to do with this blog. This movie gave me the inspiration to scribble down a few words about my pet dog Blacky.

If Marley was the worst dog in the world, my Blacky is the best one for me. Blacky, a cross of German Shepherd and an indigenous breed. It was the end of 2001 summer and my Aunt informed us that their neighbours are having puppies. There were around five puppies, of them there was this small black one. The owner told me that she is the sluggish of all. Somehow my intuition said to take her. She was the eldest of all, a big time sluggard. Pitch black colour, with a little white patch at the end of the tail. She was an instant hit at home. In no time she became the best friend of the kids in the neighborhood. People of all ages became a fan of Blacky. Every passerby would halt in front of our gate to get a glimpse of her. And in no time "Blacky" became a household name.

She had all the good traits one can boast about. She would never accept any food from stranger. She isn't a wanderlust as one would think of dogs. I wonder how she had coped up the cruel reality that her world had shrunk to the four walls of my house compound. Was she really sluggish? Hmm... a yes and a no! Yes, when it comes to eating, wouldn't even bother to get up to eat. When she was less than a year old, she would gorge so much of food and would lie down on her stomach. She used to sleep so deeply that even if we lift her she wont wake up. But when she is in the mood of playing she would be very agile and nimble.

In this busy world, where one gets lost in the cob webs of life trying to strike a balance between work life and personal life it is so very soothing to have a dog like Blacky. Once I reach home, i forget all that had happened whole day. The guileless gestures, the friendly growls inviting us to play with her would soften any heart and one would end up playing with her. It so relieving to see someone get so very excited when you reach home, wagging tail as if it would never stop, jumping and licking all over you.

This is my blacky...... One of the best gifts god has given me...