Let me introduce myself, I am Shailesh Kulkarni age 54 from Pune, Maharastra.
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I had been facing lifestyle disorder for the past many years and neglecting heath issues. In the year 2013, I had a stroke and was on medication as prescribed by doctors. Despite this, there was nothing that I was doing to set my health in order.
My weight increased from 90 kg during my marriage in 1997 to 116 kg in 2022. I was on blood thinner because there was no blood supply going from my lower ankle and I have been suffering from sleep apnea and central apnea from 2014 onwards. I have been using CPAP machine for the past several years. And this was not sudden, it was there present, but it was as if I had accepted it as it was.
One night just before Dussera last year, while massaging my legs and ankle, it suddenly stuck me, that if I did not do anything about this blockage now, I would soon have more serious problems to deal with. I am not a typical brisk walker type neither a gym guy, had been a member of multiple gyms, but in 2-3 months would discontinue letting the membership fees go waste.
Considering this, I was thinking what would be the best option. And then it struck me that cycling would be the best option since I have been doing cycling in my childhood & during college days. So I started looking for various options online. My wife, knowing me now for several years, knew that this would not last long, so she suggested that instead of buying a cycle immediately, why not take cycle on rent for a few months and then see how it goes? Idea was not bad, so I googled to find out bicycle shops which gave cycles on rent and took an MTB on rent for 1 month.
In the meantime, I was in touch with Mr.Rahul from Omobikes regarding the frame size, whether MTB/Hybrid would be suitable for me. In the first week, started with 5-6 km per day and next week jumped to 15 km per day. Thereafter I kept it constant at 15 km per day. In the entire month in which I had taken the cycle on rent, I took only 3 days off (due to ill-health). So in my mind it was confirmed that cycling is the exercise which I could do consistently. After discussing various issues with Rahul, finalised Omobike-Hampi model. I got delivery of my cycle on 6th November 2022.
There is nothing as "Instant Coffee"
Since I had a limited budget, ordered a steel frame -21 geared cycle with extra large saddle. So, from November 2022 started cycling early morning. I became so obsessed with cycling that I used to wake up at 3.30-4 am, and then go for cycling.
I got my inspiration from my Uncle who is 72 years of age, but does an average of 60-80 km per day with utter ease. His average speed is around 19-23 kmph.
So I started wondering, if he at his age can do it, why can't I? So, it was elevations, flat roads, downhills all sorts of road terrains. Everyday, I used to take the weighing scales out to find out how much weight I had lost. Initially there was no loss in weight.
But I did not give up. I thought I wasn't doing enough to reduce my weight. Therefore, I started taking cycle to various parts of the city where I take one-on-one tutions. In 2-3 months was clocking an average km of around 60 km. I had an average speed of around 15-16 kmph. After starting to do this, my weight drastically dropped down from 116 kg to 108 kg.
I was very happy at this progress. So, I was maintaining this consistency of around 60 km. The weight dropped further to 105 kg. At this stage, I thought of upgrading my cycle to 24 gear cycle. Again spoke with Mr.Rahul from Omo Bikes, and got the best deal in the market. While converting the cycle to cassette system, the hubs need to be changed. The market price of all the components comes to around Rs.8950. I got it at Rs.4050. The entire conversation with Rahul has been on their official whatsapp number 6205538323.
In the evening a message came from Rahul, that the company has an alloy frame which has scratches on it. He was inquiring whether I would be interested in getting alloy frame without any cost. The company is at a different level in dealing with customers. The entire frame along with fork and other components was shipped without billing a single penny to me. So, after upgradation,I maintained average distance of 60 km, but weight did not reduce further. I was getting a little frustrated.
Diet??
No, I am a foodie, I won't diet. So the solution was to increase the km. Then I did my first 100 km. After doing this 100 km, the weekly km covered were around 350 km. My weight kept on fluctuating between 103-105. In the meantime,
I found that the extra large saddle, was giving trouble to my inner thighs, as it was brushing against them. Omo bikes has a lovely reward program, and I ordered the normal saddle without being billed a single penny. After this, there was no stopping. On an average I used to clock 350-450 km on weekly basis. I also did one of the longest ride to Shirdi which is around 240 km from my place. Currently I am at 96kg weight after 8 months of continuous effort and planning to go slow and enjoy more of bicycle riding than focusing on weight loss .
Summary points:
a) Once you start cycling daily, keep weighing scales away from you. Its not "Instant coffee".
b) Diet-well you need a protein diet, but no need to cut down on anything, since you won't feel like eating anything after you come back from an exhausting ride. You need to eat oats.
c) If you are doing more than 1 hour of cycling or 30 km whichever is earlier, you need to mix electral /enerzal with water and drink it from time to time to give you instant energy.