Aquarius

I lost 26kg in 5 months

without going to a gym
At 102kg, Dimple Shamin Jivothama, 32, was obese. Frustrated that she couldnt find a dress to
wear to dinner with her husband, the Dubai resident decided to get in shape with brisk walks,
yoga and a diet

As told to Tessy Koshy

15 Jul 2014 | 04:57 pm

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Dimple Shamin Jivothama at 102kg.

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Scanning the racks of pretty dresses in a shop, I finally spotted the one I knew instantly I had to
buy. It was the right length in shimmery black fabric with lace trimming. Caressing the cloth, I
was transported to a romantic candlelit dinner setting with my husband, Arun Jivothama. He had
been away in India on a business trip for almost a month and I had been missing him.
12, 14, 16 I read the size labels of the dresses one by one. But it was a UK size 22 that my
eyes were frantically searching for. At 171cm tall I weighed 102kg. Would I ever find my size, I
wondered, as I moved the hangers slowly this time, carefully searching through the row. A surge
of sadness overwhelmed me as I realised there were no large sizes available. Disappointed, I
had no will to shop for another dress.
Anyway, whats the point, I said, catching sight of my bulging waistline in the store mirror. My
plans were shattered and I drove home in tears.
Being an emotional eater, I headed straight to the freezer and pulled out a tub of ice cream. With
the curtains drawn I plonked myself on the living room couch and devoured the whole tub. In
silence.

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Then I thought about being in the dress shop

and something flipped in me. I realised Id let myself go for too long and now I couldnt even find
clothes that fitted. It was the turning point, and I decided I had to take control of my life and get it
on track.
Food had always been my biggest weakness. Growing up in Mangalore, in southern India, I was
the tall, plump school kid who was always gorging on food. By the age of 13 I was 75kg all
thanks to the heavy, calorie-rich food that I used to have at home. By the time I went to college I
was tipping the scales at 90kg.
Its not that I never tried to lose weight. In college I once shed 10kg, my first-ever weight loss, by
going on a diet and playing basketball and other sports. But the kilos piled on soon after college
when I stopped playing sport.
In 2004 I got married and moved to Dubai. I lost weight before the wedding because I wanted to
fit into a gorgeous wedding dress. With aerobics and dieting I lost a few kilos but promptly put
them back on as soon as I settled into matrimony.
Then, during my pregnancy I gorged on rich food under the guise of feeding the little one growing
in my tummy and was soon a whopping 109kg in 2005.
A year after I had my baby, in 2007, I decided to give weight loss another shot and enrolled at a
well-known slimming centre in Dubai and lost 25kg in three months. But as soon as my
membership for the slimming programme ended I was back to large meals, which meant the
weight came back with a vengeance in a year.
I craved fatty, oily, greasy and sugary food. The only time I regretted eating all those goodies and
putting on the extra kilos was when I went shopping. Like most women I loved dressing up, but
over the years I realised I was opting for loose, baggy tops instead of the trendy figure-hugging
dresses I loved to wear, only so I could hide all my fat.
It made me terribly sad yet I did nothing about my diet. My day would typically start with a heavy
breakfast of chicken mayonnaise sandwiches washed down with a cup of milky tea or a can of
soda. My job as a secretary at an automobile showroom in Dubai meant I was spending long
hours at my desk with little physical activity.

Even at work I was munching often. For instance, at 11am I would snack on a big packet of
crisps and guzzle down a large mug of coffee laced with a lot of sugar. Lunch would be two
burgers, a medium cheese pizza or a large portion of biryani. The meal would end with two bars
of chocolate every day.
At 4pm it would be tea and a whole pack of cookies or a plate of banana or onion fritters. Yet by
6.30pm when I reached home after work I would be desperately rummaging through the kitchen
cupboards for munchies. Id snack heavily on biscuits, chips, rolls or crpes.

Dinner was an elaborate affair that included a large bowl of rice with fish curry or four or five
chappatis with chicken curry. No meal for me was complete without sweets. Late at night I
would again raid the fridge for Indian sweets such as gulab jamuns and laddoos.
My sweet tooth made me do crazy things at times. Id be shopping in a mall and the smell of a
waffle baking would make me drop everything and head for a bite. Wed be driving to an event
and if I spotted my favourite ice cream store Id insist on turning the car around to get a scoop or
two.
With time my food indulgences started taking a toll on my health. All the extra kilos used to leave
me breathless even if I climbed just a few steps. Back aches and knee aches became more
frequent. Squatting and bending was almost impossible. I was also diagnosed as a borderline
diabetic. My BMI was 38.
Do something, lose weight, get fit, my mother, who lives close to our home in Karama, would
tell me. But I was living in a bubble wrongly believing that just because I was tall, the extra kilos
would not show much and because there was no major medical condition everything was just
fine.
Of course, the idea of losing weight did appeal to me but the thought of not eating my favourite
foods would make me banish those thoughts quickly. But it also meant I could not even tell my
slightly chubby eight-year-old daughter Calista to lose weight as she would retort, But Mamma,
you are also fat.
However, shopping for a dress that time in March last year was a major turning point. I was by
now fed up with my boring wardrobe that made me look old and haggard. My health also began
to worry me. After finishing the tub of ice cream, I thought hard and said to myself, This is it.
Either I can eat yummy food or look yummy.
The next day I woke up at 5am and went for a walk to Zabeel Park, half a kilometre from my
house. I managed one round of the park (2km) in about 30 minutes and felt exhausted.
I came home and made a breakfast of two wholegrain cereal biscuits with low-fat milk that Id
bought on my way back and then packed a large bowl of fruit salad with a tub of yogurt for lunch.
Instead of soda and tea I guzzled water throughout the day. It was difficult and there were times
when I felt like indulging myself but I would think of a dress that I could wear if I was thinner so
that made me stick to my routine.
When I reached home in the evening I had watermelon and it made me feel full. I continued with
this routine the next day as well and soon teamed up with my neighbour a fitness freak who
used to go for walks at 4.30am every day. I joined her and slowly increased my duration and
distance doing around 7km.
I also altered my diet drastically. Now I started my day with one litre of warm water at 4.30am.
After the 7km walk I would have a glass of unsweetened lime juice. At 8am my breakfast would
be cornflakes with low-fat milk and a handful of nuts. At 11am I would munch an apple or two
oranges with a cup of green tea. Lunch was grilled chicken or fish with salad or yogurt and fruit
(apple, pear or orange). Some days I ate only fruit and a few bowls of low-fat yogurt. At 4pm
instead of tea and cookies Id have fruit and green tea. Whenever I had a strong craving for
sweets, Id take a small portion of fruits.
It began to pay off. In the first month I lost 6kg. That was a big motivator, as was the fact that my
husband was pleasantly surprised when he came back from a business trip. Im so glad you
are doing this, he said. You do look slimmer already.
But the next 10 days after that initial weight loss I was stuck at the same weight. Thats when I
increased the distance of the walks, doing an extra 5km in the evening as well. My speed had
also increased and now I could do one lap in 20 minutes.
In June I discovered the Friends of Yoga group, a voluntary organisation that provides free yoga
classes outside parks all over the UAE. Now my routine included a 7km walk every morning and
a 5km walk in the evening, followed by an hour of yoga.
In that month I lost another 6kg.

Diet, the walks, yoga and Kallie Puris book Confessions of a Serial Dieter helped me to lose
more weight. From her book I learned its important to avoid eating after 7pm.
Initially it was difficult to skip dinner and I spent a few sleepless nights but in just a matter of a
few days my body got used to the new eating patterns. My last meal at 7pm was fruit and green
tea. Thats when I started seeing a drastic weight loss.
Around that time Dubai Municipality launched the Your Weight in Gold Campaign. Participants
had to lose a minimum of 2kg to win a gram of gold for every kilo lost. I registered for the
campaign at Zabeel Park in July, lost 4kg and won two gold coins.
At first when the weight loss was slow, no one noticed the change. But after losing 22kg my
fitter form became a topic of discussion wherever I went. Several colleagues at work wanted to
know my diet mantra. A month later, I lost four more kilos and since then Ive managed to
maintain my weight at 76kg. This is in spite of putting on weight when I went to India on holiday.

My target is 75kg. Once I attain that, Ill switch to a more moderate diet and maintain it. My
daughter and colleagues at work have been inspired by the changes in me.
My daughter joins me on my evening walks and several of my friends have started seeking my
advice on how to lose weight.
My mom was delighted by my progress. I cant believe you did it, she said. You look so nice.
Just keep at it and dont allow the kilos to return.
The best part about my weight loss is that I didnt spend a penny on expensive gyms, fat-burning
pills or slimming centres. All I did was invest in a good pair of walking shoes.
Now, almost a year later, I have managed to keep my weight at 76kg.
I give into my cravings occasionally but it never becomes overindulgence.
I was thrilled to bits when I was chosen to be featured in Fridays diet issue of May 30. I enjoyed
the fashion photo shoot and traded weight-loss advice with the two other women who were also
part of the feature.
After I appeared on the cover, several of my neighbours and friends who I had not seen in a long
time, called to ask me details about my diet. In fact, I still get calls from people who saw the
issue.
Oh, and yes, although I didnt manage to get the black dress I so wanted, which set me on the
path to a new lifestyle, now I do have a lovely selection of size 14 dresses. And I love dressing
up in them!

What she ate before

Breakfast Two chicken mayonnaise sandwiches or chicken cutlet sandwiches, plus a
cup of milky tea with three spoons of sugar or a can of soda.
11am Packet of potato crisps, doughnuts or croissants with coffee Lunch Greasy burger,
cheese pizzas, or biryani and two chocolate bars.
4 pm Tea and cookies or a plate of onion or banana fritters.
6.30pm Chips, biscuits, rolls or crpes.
Dinner Large bowl of rice with fish curry or four or five ghee-laced chappatis with chicken
or prawn curry.
What she eats now
Breakfast Two wholegrain cereal biscuits, four almonds and a few walnuts with low-fat
milk. Or 1 bowl (120g) muesli with low-fat milk, or an omelette with four egg whites and a
slice of rye bread One hour later, green tea and a glass of water.
Snack 1 apple, or 2 oranges, or 2 pears, and a cup of green tea.
Lunch 1 bowl of lentils, seasonal vegetables (except potato), grilled chicken, a small cup
of low-fat yogurt plus a small bowl of fruit (watermelon, grapes, apple, pear, oranges,
pineapple). Or a bowl of lentils, chickpea curry, grilled fish, a small cup of low-fat yogurt,
fruit (watermelon, grapes, apple, pear, oranges, pineapple). Or papaya and low-fat yogurt.
Or banana and low-fat milk After an hour, green tea and a cup of water.
Evening snack at 7pm A small bowl of fruit and green tea.

As told to Tessy Koshy

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