Losing weight is never easy, especially when food becomes your stress-buster and a best friend in need. However, in the long run, we realise that it is not right for our physical and mental health. Eventually, when we see ourselves in the mirror, we end up feeling bad about how we look. As a result, we start being too hard on ourselves by starving ourselves. And this is exactly what a 27-year-old Sahiba Kaur did to shed kilos as her unhealthy eating habits started affecting her eyesight, and led to other health problems.
“I’ve been a terrible binge eater to the point that I started questioning my own sanity. It affected me physically and mentally as well. It took me approx 3 years to accept and love myself again. I started intermittent fasting for 16 hours. However, it wasn’t easy. I went through multiple breakdowns as food was my best friend. For me, it was a huge deal to stay without food for such a long time but in the end, it was for my betterment,” she said.
She shares that her journey was a roller-coaster ride as she has always been overweight. She started working on herself in 2020 but in 2021 her life took a turn. “In 2021, some terrible things happened which damaged me completely. I started hating myself. I was stressed all the time, sleep-deprived, had terrible eyesight, and gained weight terribly. I reached a point in life where the weighing machine showed 107 kgs. I got extremely insecure about myself. I stopped meeting people, I would cover myself in oversized clothes, a cap and a mask so nobody could recognize me. But I had no guts to change myself and kept on binge eating,” Sahiba said.
But if there is a will, there is a way. “I somehow motivated and convinced myself to start small. I started morning and evening walks to begin with. Soon, walking, slow running and rope skipping helped me a lot in my weight loss journey. But it wasn’t easy at all. It was very tough for me to walk and jump with so much weight. It used to hurt a lot but with each passing day and consistency, it became easier. I lost approx 15 kgs and currently I am 92 kgs but the journey is still not over.”
What Inspired You To Embark On This Journey?
“I never had an inspiration to look upon for weight loss. In fact, my own setbacks inspired me. I still remember the time I used to cry every single minute because of my situation and I really don’t wanna cry like that again. However, my partner motivated me a lot. He has been the biggest cheerleader. I wouldn’t have done it without him. He pulled me out of the dark hole, he was extremely patient with me throughout the “self-hate” journey and did his best to help me, in whatever ways he could,” Sahiba said.
How Long Did It Take For You To Transform Yourself?
“It took me around 4 months to lose 15 kgs with walking, slow running, and without gym. But this is not the end. My transformation is still on until I achieve my target which is 65kgs,” Sahiba said.
Biggest Challenges You Faced In Your Weight Loss Journey
“I was a binge eater, it took so much effort to break the pattern. Still, sometimes I get indulged in food due to stress and overflow of emotions as eating has been a coping mechanism since childhood. I had very few friends when I was a kid, so “food” became my best friend. But somehow, I managed to stay consistent physically, and intermittent fasting has helped a lot. Initially, I used to do things in a stressful manner but it didn’t help at all. So I decided not to be hard on myself. Hence I started doing things in moderation. I know my journey is not a massive one but I know it will be soon,” she said.
How Did You Stay Motivated Throughout Your Weight Loss Journey?
“There were days when I wanted to stop everything and go back to binge eating, but I reminded myself of how far I’ve come in this journey. I can’t go back to where I was. I can’t be that depressed, and insecure, all over again. Also, the people who always humiliated me for my weight secretly motivated me,” she said.
Diet And Exercise Regimen You Followed During Your Weight Loss Transformation Journey
Sahiba shares that her real weight loss journey started on Dec 9, 2023. To lose 15 kgs I did the following things
-I started intermittent fasting for 16 hours.
-For diet, I had simple home-cooked meals. I tried a fad diet once but I realised once you stop following the diet, you’ll gain weight again. So now I just focus on a calorie deficit and I add a lot of raw veggies in my meals (for fibre and a good gut).
-I couldn’t afford gym so I started with 5k steps a day, then increased it slowly and slowly.
– Sometimes I go for a walk twice a day. And now I’ve added rope skipping to my routine also because now I don’t feel physically heavy and I can do skipping easily.
Did You Encounter Any Setbacks, And How Did You Overcome Them?
“I had cervical spondylosis which made it very tough for me to walk. I still binge eat whenever I’m in a bad mood. But after everything is done. I push myself harder, I try to burn extra calories,” she said.
What Advice Do You Have For Others Who Are Looking To Embark On A Similar Transformation Journey?
“If you ever feel low and insecure about your body, just sit, take a deep breath, close your eyes and think about those things which you love about yourself and it might make you feel a little good about yourself. Think about all the ways to improve yourself in and out. I do this when I feel worthless. It really helps if you do it nicely. Just remember, you’re not less than anyone. And if someone makes you feel that way, ignore them. Don’t give access to your life and emotions to anyone. Keep it to yourself. Cut all the toxic people and focus on your peace of mind,” Sahiba shares.
“As a former binge eater who is still recovering: Binge eating is a very serious issue, a lot of people don’t get it and take it as an excuse to just eat a lot, they don’t understand what is on our minds. So if you’re binge eating, just remember that you’re not alone, we’re on this journey together. But on a practical note, overeating can have serious impacts on our physical and mental health. You can get a lot of health issues from it,” she said.
“If you also want to start your “self-care” journey, first of all, accept yourself as you are and forgive yourself for all the times when you hated yourself. And promise to yourself that you’ll do whatever it takes to be a better person for yourself. Just try and give at least 1 or 2 hours of the day to yourself. In that time, try and connect with nature (go to the park and have a nice walk or sit on the terrace during sunset) connect yourself with God (for positivity and peace of mind) and perform any physical activity (walking, running, skipping, home workouts, yoga, gym, Zumba, pilates, dance, whatever you like basically) and eat healthy (indulge in your favourite food sometimes). It is important to not stress about losing weight. only you have the access to make your life or break it. You live only once, so make it worth living,” Sahiba mentioned.
How Has Your Life Changed Since Achieving Your Weight Loss Goals
“It changed in many ways. I feel so light, physically and mentally. I feel confident and more enthusiastic to continue this journey. Now I wear the things I love, my size dropped from 3XL to XL. I love to see myself in the mirror because I feel proud that I started from the bottom with full faith in myself. I even started documenting my journey on Instagram so people can see and get inspired if they are in the same situation. I get messages about how I’ve inspired someone and it makes me feel so emotional. I try to help people with their journeys towards good physical and mental health because nobody (except my partner) helped me in mine,” Sahiba said.
