From 92.25 kg on 05 January 2026 to 83.30 kg today.
Exactly 50 days.
Ideal weight = 80 kg (height in cm minus 100). Fine. I lied a bit. I am 179 cm.
Target = 26 April 2026 (Abhijit’s 52nd birth anniversary). This will be my gift to him.
9 kg in 50 days. That is roughly 10%.
And yes, before you say it.
Like every other uncle who loses a few kilos and suddenly discovers both abdominal definition and enlightenment, I too now feel qualified to dispense life advice and dietary gyaan. You lose 9 kg and apparently you also lose all hesitation. Or awareness of propriety.
So here is mine.
Diet
- Intermittent Fasting: 16h fasting, 8h eating window.
- Cut sugar (one teeny, tiny small teaspoon in my chai). No desserts, no colas, nothing.
- Increase coffee (black, no sugar). One large instant coffee spoon in a tall glass of iced water.
- Cut carbs (two toasts, and on some days, a little rice or two rotis).
- Go full throttle on protein. Chicken, eggs, paneer.
- Add nuts, salad, and fruit (I do not overthink which ones, I eat them all).
- 400 ml coconut water.
- No milk (except a splash in tea).
- No alcohol. Zero. Zilch. Nada.
Note: This aggressive phase is only till 26 April. After that, the fun stuff returns, in moderation. This is discipline, not lifelong punishment.
Training
- 10 km walk every day, at a pace slightly above comfortable (I finish in about 90 minutes), on an uneven 550 m circuit around our society. I use this time to talk to myself, record it, then (some time during the day) use TurboScribe to transcribe, use ChatGPT to create writing points, write, use Claude to polish, and then put finishing flourishes of my own
- Upper body three times a week (because I enjoy it). No fixed programme. I mix and match.
- Lower body twice a week.
- Planks, push-ups, squats.
- Lots (and lots, and lots) of stretching. I will be 54 this year. So, this is crucial.
Sleep
20:30/21:30 to 04:00/05:00.
Attitude
Stay happy, sing, dance, make love, be with family and friends, pet strange dogs, write whenever I have something to say (which is rather often), tell dirty jokes, laugh a lot, have dreams (though the scale of what I dream has reduced over time), make the world a better place for children, fight, make up, make love (I know I said it earlier…do it twice), and do not worry too much (about anything).
Almost forgot: I dream of motorcycling too.
I have not ridden for eight months. Life happened. Work happened. Things happened. But I intend to restart soon. Maybe from Diwali this year. If I can make enough to afford the new RE 750 Inty (which should release by then).
Call it a midlife crisis if you like. But here’s what I found: for middle-aged men, there is nothing that beats motorcycling as a mental health intervention. The machine demands attention. The road demands presence. When you lean into a curve, there is no space for anxiety about emails or cholesterol. It is meditation at 120kmph. Or at 40kmph. Speed isn’t it (though not to me; for me speed is, needless to say, it!)
So yes, here is the uncle prescription:
Lift weights. Walk far. Eat protein. Sleep early. Love well. Laugh often. And get a motorcycle.
There. Good morning everyone.
P.S.: There is a reason I am doing this. But that is for some other post. For some other day.
An important clarification: Intermittent Fasting is known to have no effect on weight loss. I do it for other reasons:
- It brings discipline to my diet so I pick and choose what I want to enjoy
- It stops me from dinner and alcohol (my eating window is 0600-1400)
- It takes away the blocking of my mindspace and bandwidth thinking about, planning, cooking, ordering, and eating food
- I sleep on a light stomach and wake up feeling refreshed
- I feel lighter and more energetic through the day
- I don’t miss eating
