Weight Loss Success: Chander Joined A Gym And Lost More Than 70 Pounds

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Name: Chander R.
Age: 33
Height: 5'8"
Before Weight: 219 pounds

How I Gained It: At one stage of my life I was going through a very unhealthy daily routine which comprised of not cooking healthy food at home, eating junk food such as Hungry Jack's, McDonald's burgers, chips and pizzas, to name a few! Exercise was never part of the routine with long hours spent in front of the laptop. I could clearly see my waistline expanding and it was pretty evident that things were not okay. Although I would realize that a change was imminent, procrastination was the culprit, I was never moved to make that change.

Breaking Point: One morning I said to myself that I had to make up my mind to make a change. I visited my local Virgin Active health club and had a quick chat with a sales guy at the gym. He gave me a quick walkthrough and also said that I was looking overweight for my height and age. What won me over was the variety of the group sessions they have, plus in-house rock climbing, a swimming pool and a ridiculous number of cardio machines. I made up my mind and signed up!

How I Lost It: I hit the gym the following day and started off with the rock climbing. I was rather amazed that I could push myself to climb up to 4 meters (approximately 13 feet) -- this was a confidence booster! I had never imagined that I would be able to do it.

I wanted to try out the treadmill the second day at the gym to check how far I could run. It was rather disappointing that I could not make it beyond 1.5 kilometers (almost 1 mile) and was profusely sweating at the end. I knew I had a problem to deal with and went back home disheartened.

On my third day at the gym, I signed up for a Spin class with the thought that cycling would be much easier than running. Well, that wasn't true at all! Ten minutes after the class commenced I was ready to give up and go back home to watch TV and eat chips. But I didn't want to do that. I knew I was at the gym to achieve something and not to give up. I pushed myself until the end of the class. I felt a sense of achievement, and I knew it was definitely going to help me smash my goal to lose weight.

But I knew the gym alone wouldn't help me if I didn't look at the diet side of things as well. Coming from an Indian background, I used to eat a lot of rice. I had no control on sugar -- just because I used to love it, I would generously put four sugars in one coffee!

I had to make sacrifices in my diet. I gave up rice, sugar and chocolates, plus carbonated drinks, anything fried and those burgers and pizzas. I even gave up beer. Now, my diet involves eating lot of veggies, fruits, cereal for breakfast, sugarless coffees and protein shakes.

The gym became my second home. I worked out seven days a week, doing Spin, running, Pilates and yoga. I lost about 11 pounds in the first month.

Now, I'm a fitness freak! But I am more responsible as to what I eat and don't really splurge.

It's been a year since I started going to the gym, and I can see that I have transformed myself into a complete health nut. I still don't eat junk food, I still work out out seven days a week, and I am also in the process of setting up my own personal gym at home. I have joined a running group and run with like-minded folks three times a week to train myself for charity runs.

I will soon be joining a biking group to enjoy scenic Melbourne. I love being able to wear tighter-fitting jeans and awesome T-shirts. I feel like I have a calorie calculator that pops up in my head before I bite anything. And I am taking my fitness goals to the next level by signing up for a personal trainer course very soon.

After Weight: 146 pounds

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Comments

[jonathanparis88]

12:34 PM on 06/03/2012

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http://insanefatlossreviews.com/the-fat-burning-furnace-review-burn-fat-and-gain-muscle/

I'm sure you'll like it!

[jonathanparis88]

01:14 PM on 06/02/2012

Eating right is key to staying and keeping fit. The fact is that what you put into your mouth makes all the difference in how much you weigh and how you feel. I was also very fat once, and it was because I ate plenty of junk food. Then, I learned about a program called The 31 Day Fat Loss Cure that laid out a whole system on how to eat properly and exercise accordingly. I learned that eating starchy foods like whole wheat, oatmeal, rice, bread and other carb-heavy foods actually made you fat, despite being called "health" foods. I lost over 30 pounds in the first 31 days of this program. If you're interested in losing weight naturally without hours upon hours of boring exercise, I highly recommend looking at my review for this program below and giving it a try. There is a 60-day money-back guarantee, too. Trust me, you won't regret it!

Click the link below for more details:

http://insanefatlossreviews.com/31day-fat-loss/

[Archer Sabaduquia]

07:57 AM on 06/01/2012

Honestly, viewing before and after pictures really make me feel like weight loss is easy. But the truth is, you really need to have a drive to be able to reach your goal to lose weight. It's not that easy and you have to sacrifice not to indulge on fatty foods.

please visit me at http://xenadrinereviewsg.com/xenadrine-ripped-reviews-what-customers-think-of-xenadrine-ripped/

[urkiddinme]

02:51 PM on 06/01/2012

Oh, it's not about toxic empty promise diet pills like Xenadrine?

[hi on life]

05:38 AM on 06/01/2012

If you want a great meal replacement shake that is priced less then most and our vanilla shake is just like a milk shake and less then$1.50 which is low for a meal replacement shake, go to www.shop.idealshape.com/?click=14481

[anitafeeney]

04:42 AM on 06/01/2012

good for you you look fabulous its hard i know keep up the good work

[LeeAnne Averyheart]

04:16 AM on 06/01/2012

Why would they put up a picture of a woman throwing up gang signs?

[Likecandy7]

01:31 AM on 06/01/2012

A proper diet and exercise - so simple. And yet there are larger and larger numbers of people every year under going surgery - insanity. Even young teens in recent years.

[anitafeeney]

04:48 AM on 06/01/2012

because society today is always looking for that magic pill or magic bullet or magic whatever to solve their problems it has always been this way since people have been on this earth we are always looking for an easier way and yes i am including myself in this i am in the midst of losing weight but i am doing it in what some would term the hard way watching what i eat and excercising ( it is NOT easy to sit there eating a salad while my husband eats his wopper jr right next to me let me tell you lol)but i dont complain because my weight is MY FAULT ENTIRELY from poor eating over the years and laziness fortunately i only have 40 pounds to loose ( a little less now since i have been eating healthier and doing my richard simmons videos lol and i cut out the soda chips cookies chocolates any and all sweets and any and all chips and fast food )

[anitafeeney]

04:51 AM on 06/01/2012

and there are some who get to the point where surgery is the only option initially whether it be because of bad eating and no excercise or through bad health and meds ( there are meds that will make you blow up like a baloon prednazone for example which is a life saving med for some people so not everyone puts on weight because of bad diet and inactivity for me however it was because i was lazy and didnt take care of myself properly which i openly acknowlege

[Steeplechase2000]

12:41 AM on 06/01/2012

he is cute

[chanderr]

08:30 AM on 06/01/2012

haha :)

[Kali03]

08:35 AM on 06/01/2012

You are!

And you've done a wonderful job of working hard and creating a healthy life and body for yourself.

Discipline and integrity are a turn-on for many (most?) women. A guy who can get his life together the way you have is attractive...and being fit and healthy on top of it is great, a real bonus.

You should be very proud of yourself.

:)

[MarvinGardens]

10:16 PM on 05/31/2012

I guess he reached his Chandrasekhar limit.. Hahaha...ummm that's the theoretical limit that the mass of a star has to be in order to age into a stable white dwarf. Simply said it is the mass above which electron degeneracy pressure in the star's core is insufficient to balance the star's own gravitational self-attraction. Jeeze people don't you guys know what's funny?

[Steeplechase2000]

12:42 AM on 06/01/2012

YOU MIT GUYS ARE HILARIOUS

[Carmen Madonna Campos]

12:25 PM on 05/31/2012

EXERCISE!!!!!!

[anntetsusaiga]

01:28 AM on 06/01/2012

That is a lot easier said than done for people like me... I have a herniated disk, degenerative disk disease and I am unable to sweat at all, no joke! I have almost had a stroke seriously because of this so Exercise is not easy!!

[anitafeeney]

04:56 AM on 06/01/2012

may i make what is intended as a helpful suggestion i have back issues too not as bad as yours but i can empathise but in the assisted living where i work and this is what got me into it and we have several here with back and arthritic problems as well but i have seen the people in my assisted living using some richard simmons videos ( some of these people are in wheelchairs and just do the best they can and it has helped them ) might this work for you? as i said this is intended as a helpful suggestion and what works for some may not work for you i do understand that

[Carmen Madonna Campos]

03:08 PM on 06/01/2012

ah, i know the herniated disk well, i herniated two last May.i did my physical therapy, but what saved me was using the pool at my gym. good luck - it is very difficult to exercise through injury.

[anitafeeney]

04:53 AM on 06/01/2012

and what is one to do when they need knee surgery and cant move very well ( not the case with me but there are medical conditions that hinder excercise )

[Carmen Madonna Campos]

12:27 PM on 06/01/2012

swim!
water aerobics, or contact a physical therapist or a personal trainer.

[urkiddinme]

02:53 PM on 06/01/2012

Biking is usually safe for people with knee problems and there's no reason someone with knee problems couldn't do strength training and core exercises.

[seriousside9]

12:22 PM on 05/31/2012

if only i was like him i wouldnt have looked bad in a picture

[ThomSee123]

11:30 AM on 05/31/2012

DUHHHHHHHHHHHHH--gee, what a freakin' concept? And such an original idea at that..........please, gimme a f****** break!

[homer68]

11:19 AM on 05/31/2012

The ONLY way to loose it and keep it off is to burn more calories than you consume. There are many ways to do that, and it looks like he found his way. Good for him.

[lovetheworld82]

12:11 PM on 05/31/2012

funny thing you mention that...I was arguing w/ someone else in another post about fat women in bikinis...she called them brave and went on to talk about a story where her sister is a size 16 and eats super healthy and works out every day but has never gotten below a 16....I told her inless she has an unlerlining medical condition, that is scientifically impossible that she doesnt lose weight if she is burning more calories than she intakes...I also said either the lady telling the story was being dishonest..or the sister was....she got ticked off. Science...it makes people mad

[ladyrider1958az]

11:25 PM on 05/31/2012

But I am sure science will agree that you are an illiterate idiot. Does it matter to you if someone is overweight? Then get over yourself

[Dave35]

11:09 AM on 05/31/2012

Ok Great!! This guy put down a fork and picked up a gym membership. Whoopidy Doo!! Happens everyday. This isnt news.

[pegreads]

01:51 PM on 05/31/2012

It may not be news to you but it is meant to be encouraging or inspirational to people who haven't done it for themselves or maybe those who have. If you don't like what this series of articles is all about then don't waste your time reading them. If you or anyone else was hoping for some quick-fix cure there simply isn't one. This is what it is.

[anitafeeney]

04:59 AM on 06/01/2012

and there are those of us who are in the midst of our own weight battle who find this encouraging and inspirational and it makes us want to try harder it shows some of us that there IS a light at the end of the tunnel and that YES we can do it too

[MCFeel]

10:59 AM on 05/31/2012

I LOVE these stories. And I especially love that they're real people who have successfully lost weight through a wide variety of methods. So many times we see before/after pics and they're promoting a particular weight loss program, or worse, some "exercise-in-a-bottle" scam. So these stories aren't all just Weight Watchers or Nutrasystem. They're WW and Nutrasystem PLUS other no so "lucrative" methods, like veganism, cutting out dairy, cutting junk food, running a marathon, joining a gym—all sorts of ways that worked for different people. I think you read these and then someone's story or body type really clicks for you and you try what they did. I think this is my favorite AOL section. Bravo! I'd love to see follow up stories on these folks some day—did the weight stay off?

[chanderr]

06:33 PM on 05/31/2012

Thanks for your comment! Glad you liked it.Yep the weight did stay off or even better I have lost bit more weight.

You are right,once the goals have been achieved,it's very hard to maintain it and not to mention I still to workout 7 days a week

I joined the Gym in December 2010 and achieved the goals by May 2011 and my motivation hasn't dropped even a bit,I guess I am now under weight :)

Cheers

[anitafeeney]

05:04 AM on 06/01/2012

your story is inspiring me and though i am trying now i do a workout video and cut out all the junk and the soda and the fast food and doing well but i still have a bit to go i find your story inspiring and it encourages me to redouble my efforts and do better and also helps me see the light at the end of the tunnel