Hitesh and Tarun’s Fat-Loss Journey
By vishwa on Inspiration
January 23, 2019
This is Hitesh. When he joined Ironcult, he was enormously fat for his medium height. He weighed an astounding 115 kilos! His loose skin around the midriff and his flabby love handles were bulging and looked unhealthy. They prompted him to join the gym. Although, when joining the gym, he assured that he wasn’t joining the gym for any quick fixes, I doubted his words.
I thought he was yapping these big words, for people are typically known to join the gym with big promises, which can be unrealistic. What ’s more frustrating is that their interest to come to the gym fades in a few days. Sadly, those big promises are abandoned. My question was why he had gained so much fat in the first place if he had really been aware of the pitfalls of hasty remedies? However, I now gladly accept Hitesh’s words as he continues to prove me wrong. He comes to the gym and continues to lead a fitness lifestyle and importantly never speaks about short-lived goals. I am very glad to know that his promises weren’t empty.
He now weighs 88 kilos, which means that he has lost more than 25 kilos. What’s more, these kilos have been kilos of fat. He also looks healthy after losing the weight. I have seen people look anemic after losing weight. This occurs when people indulge in taking “emergency” measures: fad diets, indulging in excess cardiovascular training, etc. It’s been almost a year, and I am glad to see him come to the gym with the same zest with which he had come the first day. His most noteworthy character attribute is patience. He is in no hurry to achieve whatever goals he may have in mind.
As he says, “The difference between fat to fit is a wonderful thing you can do to yourself. It is never easy, but in the end, it will be “worth it.” With the right coaching, support, mindset, persistence, and attitude, what seems impossible today will be your warm up one day.”
“Give up, give in & give it all you got.”
This is Tarun, who is the younger brother of Hitesh. He had told Hitesh to join Ironcult. Tarun was coming to the gym a few years ago. Because of personal commitments, he had to stop coming. However, he later re-joined the gym. Both brothers come to the gym every day. It’s heartening to see them persist. It’s no surprise that Tarun too has lost around 10 kilos. I know this is the beginning of his journey.
A few months ago, when I spoke with the brothers, I had said that Tarun was still fat but Hitesh had continued to lose weight and looked healthier. My stinging reply hurt Tarun, but it prompted him to lose weight. Tarun took those words seriously and now proudly poses a leaner frame. Both the brothers are a source of inspiration, as they have inspired two of their cousin brothers to join the gym. What’s evident is that none of their cousin brothers will have short term goals. Hitesh and Tarun will outrightly reject that. I too continue to say that leading a fitness lifestyle is superior to having short-term goals.
Tarun rightly says, “I would like to think that we are all driven by fear and greed, and the more fortunate of us also by copious amounts of laziness as well. The secret of my weight and inactivity was also greed(gluttony) and laziness. The only motivator for me to join the gym though was when fear trumped greed. It was fear of not being able to lift my child or struggling with a bad back for the remaining lifetime or the several other diseases that are almost guaranteed with this lifestyle. It’s this fear that brought me to the gym. Now, 6 months later, however, I am driven again by greed, the greed to be stronger, leaner and faster.”
Personally, it was fear which had taken center stage in my life. I knew I would be ruined if I continued to worry excessively and to fall into depression as a result. I needed to vent my anxiety. I had embraced bodybuilding, which helped me to battle my worries. However, within a few months, leading a fitness lifestyle had transformed me and gave me a new outlook on life. I was consumed by this new lifestyle. Fear of ill-health did indeed lurk in the back of my mind, but the passion to be fit and strong came to the forefront.
The reason Tarun provides to embrace the fitness lifestyle might generally be true, because not many of you love leading a fitness lifestyle. What drives you to hold on to it might be the fear of sickness. But as Tarun says, glutton/greed can in fact triumph over fear.
