Hard to believe, this is the story of Sapna Vyas Patel who sweated it out and fought against all odds to lose 33 kgs in a year that too without going on a diet. One glance at the svelte 27-year-old Gujarati girl, and you find it hard to buy the fact that the fit-as-a-fiddle and flexible-till-her-very-last-muscle Sapna weighed 86 Kgs at one point of time.
Many teenagers are over-weight and so was Sapna Vyas Patel weighing 86 kgs. She was least interested to lose weight and blamed her genes for her weight gain. “Taunts and barbs used to hurt me but not enough to spur me into action.” said Sapna. Then one day she realized that being over-weight was way too damaging than she thought. An episode at the ice-cream parlour where she was assumed as the mother to her toddler niece left her disheartened. She was just 19. She realized that she looked older than she was because of the extra weight. Moreover, her dressing was baggy and shabby to cover up her bulge. This added to her woes. “I would pick up the basic garments, take them to the changing room and struggle to fit into them. I used to feel sad when I had to put them back.” This sounds like you and me, isn’t it? She couldn’t fit into the trendy clothes so had to pick the ones that would fit her. This made her appearance even scruffier.
She started her weight loss journey in 2009 with a crash diet. “I began my weight loss with a crash diet. I lost initially but was irritated and hungry most of the time. The weight came back in no time.” So the learning for her was that crash diets do not work. For a long term weight loss benefit, one needs to change their lifestyle. One needs to follow portion size, diet control and regular exercise. Point taken! “In 2011, I started reading up on nutrition, diet control and workouts. I started working out and watching what I ate. Her first step towards getting into shape was to cut out all the junk food from her diet and replace it with fresh fruits and vegetables. Soon I started to see the kilos drop.
Next, Sapna made sleep an essential part of her schedule, following it up with cardio exercises. Later, the fitness enthusiast included lawn tennis and weight training to her regime. The more weight I lost, the more confident I became.” People didn’t take her quest for weight loss and fitness seriously. Friends used to call her out for junk food but she used to refuse. You can call her headstrong or focused, entirely up to you. But she religiously followed the diet and exercise routine. “I focused on fat reduction and body sculpting. One hour of walking and weight training worked wonders for me. I successfully reduced weight without stretch marks, lose skin, dark circles and other side effects.”
Sounds like a dream. But it wasn’t easy. The lass put in mass efforts to reach where she is today – at 53Kgs. The fitness trailer is presently pursuing a doctorate in lifestyle brand management from Indian Management Academy (IMA), Ahemdabad. Besides this, she also update her video blog: www.youtube.com/sapnavyaspatel every week, on ways to remain fit.
“My aim is to make more people aware about fitness and take it to the next level”, Sapna says ambitiously.