Around the time that I had to have a hysterectomy (surgery to remove the uterus), just about everyone told me that I better watch my weight even more closely now, as the hormone imbalance that this surgery may create will play havoc with my metabolism.
So I became over-cautious and went to a dietician who specialised in diets after such a surgery. I was put on a very balanced diet involving measured quantities of proteins, fruits and vegetables and carbs were limited to only once a day – at breakfast.
But I pushed myself even further and virtually starved myself. I ate no carbs like rice, roti or bread and no sugar or fried food. The only exercise permitted for 8 to 12 weeks post surgery was swimming. But how to swim, I did not know. So this time, my mission was also to learn how to swim along with keeping my weight in check.
It took me 2 weeks of daily training and I was able to swim for 40 minutes but next to the wall (now of course I am much better). This coupled with my strict diet and I was able to get my weight down to the slimmest I have ever been in a long time. This also broke the myth that everyone who has had to undergo such a surgery WILL gain weight.
The doctor who performed the surgery had told me that as long as I keep exercising and watch my diet, I should be in good shape because the adrenaline produced as a result of the workout will help in correcting any imbalance. She said that as long as the ovaries were healthy and intact, which they were, there should be no imbalance . She also warned me not to use this as an excuse to gain weight as most women tend to do so.
I, of course, took it to another level and overdid the diet bit . I cut out all carbs from my diet and only ate fruits and vegetables for almost 3 months – and hit the magical figure of 54kgs on my scale.
But I do want to pass on the advice that one must eat small portions of the good carbs like brown rice, multi-grain bread or roti made with bajra atta. Good carbs are important as the body needs energy to exercise and burn fat and that doesn’t usually come from just fruits or vegetables – not even proteins.
So how long was I able to maintain my “slimmest”-ever weight in 20 years?
We’ll find out next week. And till then, do remember carbs are not as bad as some dieticians make them out to be. So eat the good ones, but watch the quantity, of course.
Till episode 9 – take care and stay energised.
(Vandana Malik will be writing in with what she calls a new weight loss “attempt” every week for readers of The Quint. Watch this space for more!)
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