How my first Marathon got to me to shed the post pregnancy weight!

“You will put on a lot of weight its normal”, “It’s going to be very difficult and almost impossible to lose it, you’ll see” said many aunts and cousins who had been veterans when it comes to pregnancy and parenting. It wasn’t what I wanted to hear but seemed to be the norm, your chances of winning a mega lottery was doable. 

Having been quite active in life, putting on unnecessary weight was not going to happen. And so I thought! The day I delivered my baby, the weighing scale showed 84 kgs that is a 24 kgs since the two blue lines on the pregnancy kit. As I plunged into motherhood, weight was the least of my concerns. My little baby girl was priority and everything else went on the back burner. Eventually being overweight caught up to me in various forms of mental and physical pain, it was now or never, action had to be taken. 

The Struggles:

Though losing a few kilos was a boon after delivery, but most of it found its way back. I couldn’t work out since, had to wait for the 3-month safe period after having a C-section. With the onset of calcium deficiency during breastfeeding it resulted in a bruised tailbone. Sitting on my rear was impossible and literally a “pain in the ass”. Walking for more than 10 minutes would cause excruciating pain travelling up my legs. 
This person, who would breeze though a high impact aerobic class now found taking few steps towards hell. It went on for over a year, with taking double the doses of Calcium and vitamins and months of physiotherapy as well. My orthopaedic had advised me against any form of exercise, not even walking. 

The Epiphany:

I still don’t remember how and when it happened, probably was that inner voice the one who said “I would never end up like this”! Or was it the fact that my baby turned out to be the most active toddler ever and matching up to those energy levels was the need of the hour? All I knew I had to pull myself out, break the norm…..the next thing I realised was registering online for my first ever 5k Marathon Run. 

Reality Bites: 

We have all heard of stories about people taking “from couch to 5k” challenges, it wasn’t the same for me. I wasn’t a couch potato (No Mom can ever be one). This run was everything I was medically advised not to do. To add to it were the bewildered looks on the faces of my parents and husband. “A 5k really? You can’t even walk half a kilometre without taking a million breaks”, said my Mom. 

But there was no looking back, no second spent in rethinking my decision. It wasn’t easy! there was 3 months until the marathon. Initially I started walking with baby steps, literally. 

Geared with my Nike shoes and new workout clothes, I felt motivated and walks around the house became longer ones outside the house. Following a balanced healthy diet quite made the difference. The strides became faster and the distances walked increased. During this self training period, I never ran even once, it was only brisk walking. The by product to all this decrease in my weight! It started dropping by inches, after the first few I stopped giving it any attention. The goal was to finish a Marathon and try not to be the last one crossing the finishing line. By the end of 3 months, I could walk 3-4 kilometres without exhausting myself. 

Unbent, Unbroken, Unbowed:

The Bangalore 5k Midnight Marathon was my first ever; it took 50 mins to complete it without a break, without calling for an ambulance and of course not being the last one! This wasn’t a one off experience for me, the love for marathons grew. In 2014, with the help of my High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) classes, I completed five 5k marathons including a “Skyscraper Run” up 32 floors and 830 stairs in 12 mins. This year started off with a 5k Obstacle Marathon! 

All this started over the frustration to lose weight, which of course happened. Though some where down this journey, I realised the true meaning of being healthy and fit. Weight was just another number that anyone can conquer. The real test was in taking a Leap of Faith to make a change and  Doing it Now!

Wish you all loads of Good health and remember not to lose faith in yourself and your body ever!

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