Want to Lose Weight Naturally and Quickly but Lack Motivation?

I understand you want to lose weight, but it seems very tough to do that. I thought like that too, but only until I started seeing that change in me only in a matter of few months.

The following is based on a true story:

Please read on, and I hope you get your answer and the motivation to start and finish your weight loss journey.

Before the Coronavirus pandemic started spreading rapidly across the world somewhere in March 2020, I was working from an office. My workplace was some 8 miles away from my homeplace. 

To get to my workplace, I would have to take cab rides and train rides daily on my working days. So, I was physically very active during that time. I would also work out daily for 1+ hours at home before going to work. All that helped me to keep fit and active.

With the lockdown came work-from-home, and with it, came big health trouble for me.

When the virus spread got out of control, the government here had to enforce a lockdown to curb that. So, I was asked to work from home by my employers. And for the first time in my life, I started working from home. 

I would spend 10-12 hours daily working in front of the work computer at home, as did everyone else at the time. 

After work, I would be so spent that I would directly hit the bed, but I would struggle immensely to fall asleep. 

And that’s when I started neglecting my diet. I started gobbling a lot of junk food such as chips, pizzas, french fries, chocolates, and ice creams in large quantities daily. All the junk food was still easily available in the local stores here, even during the lockdown. 

My physical activities had been reduced to almost none. And before I realized it, I was beginning to look different, and it was not an uplifting sight at all. I was totally out of shape for the first time in my life. 

I’ve always maintained an athletic body shape my whole life. But that time during the lockdown, it was wild and crazy weight gain for me just in a matter of some months of working from home. 

Before the lockdown, I had weighed around 135-140 pounds, and it was quite a lean shape for a 5-foot-8-½-inch guy (me). 

Only two to three months after the lockdown, I weighed around 158-160 pounds. I was not able to sleep well. I was not able to put my mind to anything. I was losing focus on my work. 

So, after some eight months of working from home, I got canned. I was sad for a moment because I was out of a job. But at the same time, I was relieved and at peace. 

I had some savings, so I decided to take a break from jobs. 

I began to concentrate on my health. I cried my heart out to go back to how I used to look — that lean and strong me. So, I decided to lose weight, and within a matter of one and a half months, I had lost almost 10 pounds. And in another two months, I was back in shape with my usual weight, which I had maintained my whole life of 30+ years here on planet earth. 

So, without any further ado, here’s what I did to lose weight fast and naturally:

I started sleeping well at night. 

During the lockdown, I was working night shifts for my job at home. And sometimes, I would have to stretch my working hours up until the afternoon the next day. Then, during the day, it would be so tough to get a sound sleep. 

I had black curtains for my bedroom window to stop the sunlight from entering my bedroom, but there would also be noises of the children playing downstairs in my apartment building’s complex, and to add to that, the noises of the vehicles passing by on the road nearby my apartment building. 

So, I struggled very much with my sleep and it tragically impacted my mindset. I would get negative thoughts about everything. On top of that, stepping out was not allowed because of the lockdown restrictions, even if I decided to get some fresh air. 

My whole life was tumbling down, and I was feeling helpless. I needed the job as well as I wanted to be healthy.

The day I got canned from my job, I was sad because I needed that job so badly, but then I thanked God for pulling me out of that mess and making me aware of my serious health decline. 

So, I began to feel relaxed. I was not thinking about the future, I just wanted to sleep better every night and wake up fresh each morning. 

So, I started sleeping better each night. As my sleep got better, my zeal for life got better along with it, and my state of mind became more positive. 

Once again, I began to enjoy my days. My relationship with my girlfriend got better, which was not so great while I was working from home. I would mostly end up hurting her over text chats and phone calls because my mind was in total disarray at the time. 

So, a good night’s sleep started changing my life for the best, I noticed. 

And then, I decided to lose weight because I didn’t appreciate myself every time I looked in the mirror. It was as if it was not me but some different person that had my overweight reflection. 

So, remember to sleep well if you want to lose weight. A night’s 6-hour sleep is way better than a day’s 9-hour sleep. You’ll know what I’m talking about when you begin to sleep soundly at night if you are struggling with it too.

I started following a healthy diet. 

As I was bent on getting back in shape, I knew the first thing I needed to do to achieve this goal of mine was to watch carefully what I had been eating that whole time. 

Honestly, during the lockdown, I didn’t give a damn about what I ate. I just gobbled anything, and that caused me to be out of shape for the first time in my life. 

So now, I would start my morning with a glass of warm water on an empty stomach. Then, I would brush my teeth and lighten the load in the washroom (you know what I’m talking about, the most important morning ritual in everyone’s life — the washroom ritual}.

And another thing I struggled greatly with during my work-from-home routine was my digestion. You can read my 7 Natural Ways To Improve Your Digestion article, where I talk about my painful struggle with digestion during the lockdown time. 

So, after I got all of the morning pre-breakfast rituals done, I would eat my breakfast. 

I live with my family here in this apartment which includes my little brother and his wife (a nice, young lady), who mostly does the cooking for us in our house. So, upon my request, she would cook a healthy breakfast for us, which included Indian food such as Idli (a recipe made from overnight fermented and steamed white batter made out of powdered rice, semolina, and split white lentils which can either be eaten with tomato ketchup or vegetable-lentil broth or with the chutney made from grated coconut, green chilies, and garlic cloves ), and dosa (a recipe made from an overnight fermented white batter of rice and split white lentils. It is shallow-fried like an omelet and then eaten how Idli is eaten either with green coconut chutney or with lentil and vegetable broth called ‘Sambar’). 

On some mornings, I would make oats and eggs omelet for myself. Sometimes, I would eat steamed sprouts and legumes with chopped onion, tomato toppings, and black pepper powder sprinkled on them for taste. 

I started eating a low-calorie, yet healthy, nutritious breakfast each morning. Of course, it wasn’t as tasty as pizzas, french fries, or all that junk food, but I would enjoy my healthy breakfast. I was so focused on getting back in shape that I was willing to sacrifice everything for it. 

Three hours after breakfast, I would eat my lunch which would mostly include steamed rice and daal (red lentil and vegetable broth). On some afternoons, I would eat home-cooked and spiced-up vegetables with two chapatis (Indian bread made from the wheat dough). 

And then, three hours after lunch, I would either have an apple or a bowl of grapes or watermelon or sometimes a small bowl of yogurt/curd. 

Then three hours from that, I would eat my dinner in the evening, which would include daal and rice and four boiled eggs (1 whole egg with yolk and 3 egg whites only). 

I would not eat anything after my dinner. I would sleep early after chatting with my girlfriend for a while. 

No matter how badly I craved pizzas, french fries, chocolates, and icecreams, I adamantly never gave in to those cravings anymore. Of course, it was not as easy as you may think. It was the toughest battle I had to fight every hour and every day, but my eyes and heart were set only on the goal of losing weight. So, I would always succeed in overcoming those cravings. 

Whenever I had a craving for junk food, I would eat roasted peanuts, almonds, cashews, an apple or a banana, or grapes. 

If you are also bent on losing weight, you must avoid consuming deep-fried and sweet food consistently in large quantities at all costs. Your healthy diet will play a pivotal role in you getting that healthy shape you desire.

I started keeping active. 

The work-from-home routine had made me inactive and lethargic. I would be glued to my chair in front of a computer for hours while working. Other times, I would be lying on the couch or in bed, tossing and turning to get sleep. I wouldn’t go out as much either, initially because of the lockdown restrictions, and later on, because of the fear of getting infected by the virus and mainly because of my laziness. 

So, I decided to start a daily workout at home. I already had a pair of dumbbells and a barbell at home that I had not used in a long time. So, I started using that. 

I also started cleaning my room. I would dust every item in my room– my sofa, the window, my work table and chairs, and the fans. I would also mop the floor of my room every day. All this became my warmup routine.

Then, I would start my exercises — starting with the warmup of my low back, neck, legs, and shoulders. And then, I would do 50 crunches, 50 situps, and dumbbell workouts for biceps and triceps, abdomen, and shoulders (you can check out YouTube for this, you will find hundreds of great videos on home workouts). 

I would also do some 200 jumping jacks divided into four sets of 50 reps each. I would follow this workout regime daily without fail. 

I bought a weighing scale from Amazon and began to monitor my weight regularly. I started seeing a significant drop in my weight. I began to look better, very much like how I used to look before the lockdown. But, there was still a lot of work to do. However, seeing myself making such swift progress motivated me to the skies. 

Always find some ways to keep yourself active. If you cannot go to the gym, work out at home like the way I did, or design your own home workout regime. 

If you cannot work out at home, go for walks daily for at least one hour. If you cannot go for a walk either, clean the rooms in your house, dust every item, and mop the floor of every room in the house daily. 

Whatever you do, please keep active every day. When you are physically active daily, you will see that you sleep soundly at night and wake up fresh each morning.

I started consuming more water. 

During my work-from-home routine, I would drink anything without paying heed to its contents. I would drink cokes, canned fruit juices, and many other carbonated sugar drinks. 

However, as I started following a healthy diet, I noticed all those cold drinks were doing me more harm than good. These cold drinks are loaded with high sugar content. They also contain preservatives and additives which are detrimental to your health. 

So, I completely stopped consuming canned cold drinks. Instead, I started drinking more water daily. I would drink at least 3-4 liters of water daily. I started noticing improvement in my digestion. My bowel movements became regular and natural. I didn’t need to take any laxatives anymore, which the doctor had prescribed me when I was struggling with my digestion during the work-from-home period. 

My skin began to glow once again, and my dark circles got reduced. I was also feeling fresh from the inside. I also started drinking warm lemon water daily after waking up, which also helped me with my digestion problem.

Please drink at least 3-4 liters of water daily, and avoid drinking cold water as it can exacerbate your acidity. 

I started reading self-help books.

The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari, Miracles of Your Mind, and The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, to name a few. These books helped me focus on my goal and instilled positivity in me to keep going.

As the state of my mind improved, the state of my body also got better with it. When you want to lose weight or achieve any other goal in life, the achievement is only possible when your body, mind, and spirit are in 100% agreement with each other. 

You cannot be stress-free or positive at all times, but try to keep yourself positive by focusing only on the present without worrying about the future or past. 

So, I had lost almost 20 pounds by the end of May-2021. 

And then, I continued with the same fitness and diet regime. So now, my goal is to maintain a weight of around 140-145 pounds throughout my life. I hope God will keep me resolute in achieving this goal too.  

So, there you go, this is the true story of my weight loss journey, and I hope you find it uplifting.

Remember, there is no magic formula to losing weight, but only your magical determination can help you do that. 

I wish you all the success in achieving your goal of fitness. Keeping fit is very important. It makes you look good. It makes you feel good. 

And, is it not the whole purpose of this human life–to feel good and to be happy? I leave this question for you to answer and contemplate.

Just remember this — if you want it, you must start working on it right away and remain consistent until you achieve it. If a guy like me could do it, you can do it too.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are from my personal experience. Please consult your dietician before implementing these methods in your routine. 

Pictures used in the article belong to their copyrighted owners.