A collaborative partner of FitNet A collaborative partner of FitNet
I grew up in Durgapur, a small and clean city based on industries and known for the academic excellence. I studied at home, had long travels on bicycles and took part in the outdoor games. It was a culture I miss now a days. People seem to be forgetting outdoor activities and increasing screen time. We had no screen options like computers, mobiles, tabs etc. to keep us engrossed. Our only outlet was the field. As for food, I hardly had anything other than home made food.
As I passed +2 level, I got chance to do MBBS from NRS Medical College in Kolkata. As I migrated to the big city of Kolkata, I felt like a bird who has been freed from his cage. I started visiting all kinds of restaurants and started a super sedentary life. In medical schools, people have to study, a lot. There is no other way round. Slowly I had no other option but to eat and study. My physical activities took a backseat. I neither visited the hostel gym, nor took part in the outdoor games.
The extreme stress of passing those hard MBBS exams took a toll on my health too. Stress of passing exam and career building along with whole day being passed on seats or beds with almost negligible physical activities started making me FAT. But perhaps the most distressing factor was the food we had to take. The canteen and the mess food were loaded with oils (with loads of trans fat too!) and sugars with nothing but simple carb based meals. Those foods were perhaps the exact opposite I have been shouting against since start of this website.
The damage done, seemed irreversible and permanent. I grew fatter and fatter and continued my fat gain journey even after I moved to BSMC, another medical college inside a small town for post graduation. I completed DCH (a post graduation on pediatics) I settled here in Uluberia (the same town where I reside even now, while writing this blog page) and slowly built up my private practice.
Building up a private practice for a fresher without any background support, that too in a sensitive clinical subject like pediatrics, is not so easy. Any doctor can confirm how much hard labor is required and how much damned stress it can cause. I, myself, have gone through the ordeals of obesity, carrying an unfit body, poor immunity, irritable bowel syndrome, depressed and stressed mind, low back pain with slip disc, poor energy levels and what not. I had swelled to almost 90 kg with a body fat percentage I am really ashamed to mention. My triglyceride levels had touched 220, I had 1st stage of fatty liver and my BP started shooting up at times. The worst part was the psychological issues where I suffered from anxiety disorder. My stress remained at an all time high which eventually started taking a toll my sleep too. I really felt like somebody pushed to the limits. I fought with myself to have a break…
The damage done, seemed irreversible and permanent. I grew fatter and fatter and continued my fat gain journey even after I moved to BSMC, another medical college inside a small town for post graduation. I completed DCH (a post graduation on pediatics) I settled here in Uluberia (the same town where I reside even now, while writing this blog page) and slowly built up my private practice.
I started reading various blogs and online articles and advice. I also read few books on health, diet and exercise. A notable one was a book known as Don’t lose out, work out by Rujuta Diwekar, a famous dietician and fitness consultant from Mumbai. I also started eating healthier (mostly home made or cooked by my wife or mom) and started low intensity cardio and joined a local gym. But for several reasons, the major being the time constraint, I had to discontinue. Finally I decided to build up my own home gym. Read the my post on how I built my own home gym.
I started rectifying my food and exercise habits (I hardly did any exercise before that). I learnt that carb restriction, avoiding sugars and most refined carbs and weight training with progressive overload is the stepping stone. Exercise seemed to free my body. Almost all the stress related symptoms and the ugly flap started disappearing from my body. People started asking me if I am on any crash diet or having any lifestyle disease like diabetes. The weight scale responded smartly after I started 2 to 3 times a week heavy weight training we few sessions of cardio in between with constant check on my nutrition.
Meanwhile I subscribed to a PT and FT course (personal trainer and fitness trainer course by BFY – Better Fitness for You) and learnt more and more. I also did an international Certification by NESTA (FNC – Fitness Nutrition Coach). I felt the lack of optimum knowledge on fitness and nutrition, which has been seriously lacking even in medical school curriculum. This is something I had to learn and implement in my life, all by myself. My body fat came to around 15%, I developed decent muscle mass and had an amazingly free mind. My triglyceride level tested few days ago came half of the previous level, i.e. 110. My liver had no signs of fatty liver at all! So yes, I myself have seen diseases disappear without taking any drugs.
Finally I decided to write fitness blogs under the name of “easyfitnessidea”, which has now an amazing team of dietitians and fitness consultants as authors. Besides I decided to start a weight loss movement with a few of my close dietitians and fitness trainers. So I formed a Pvt. Ltd. Company under the brand name of FitNet, registered as FKS Global Pvt. Ltd. It worked on lifestyle modifications with dietitians providing customized diet charts, fitness trainers showing correct ways of workout and medical support by me. We soon had overwhelming response of clients. We got social media, word of mouth and fellow doctors to provide support for FitNet. Now as a C. E. O. of FitNet, I have got another job at hand. Meanwhile I have continued my practice as a pediatrician and will continue to do so, with more energy and vigour.
Now, not only I had transformed, but we, as a closely knit team, are able to transform many lives as well. As a doctor, I feel happy to relieve patients from their symptoms. But think of someone who has screwed his/her health due to the various stress factors in life. Well, nothing can give me more joy than seeing someone following our advice and able to transform themselves to a much fitter self and getting their health back.
