End of May Stats

Finished the month at 88.5 Kgs - have lost 1.5 kgs this month, which is what I was targeting. My total kms of running this month stands at 102. Am hoping to take this to 125 Km in June

Got myself a cool Camelbak 2 Litre hydration pack for long runs. The waist pouch I currently have is too small. Will post some pics and details on this soon.

Today's Run - 8.9 Km in 1 hour

I wanted to start my run a bit early today - but woke up late, and could hit the road only by 7.10 AM. The sun was already out, and in the area where I run, there is not much of tree cover.

I ran exactly for 1 hour, and did 8.9 Kms - not too bad in my books, but was a bit dissapointed at not hitting 9.2 / 9.3 which was my target. I did my first 5 Kms in 32 minutes though - which is an improvement of 1 minute over my personal best

Am not exactly setting the tracks on fire - but am progressing nicely in my books so far.

Completed a 10 Km Run!

I did it..broke the 10 km barrier this Sunday. 

When I started to run yesterday, my initial target was to do 8 km - having done a 6 km last Sunday. But ,at the 8 km mark, I felt quite good - and just decided to see if I could run 10 kms. I completed it in 1 hour 13 minutes. My average speed in the 10 km run was 8.3 Km / hour. It took me 33 minutes for the first 5 kms and 40 minutes for the next 5. 

Today's outdoor Run - 5 Kms

I was in the zone today - did 5 Kms in 33 minutes. This is a big improvement for me - I shaved off nearly 5 minutes from my earlier time of 38 minutes last week.

Am hoping to break the 30 minute barrier in another 2 weeks!

Did a six Km run this Sunday

I have been running outside atleast 4 kms everyday this month. I have stopped running on the treadmill as running outside is just so much more fun. My average speed has gradually improved to around 7.5 Km / hour.

On Sunday, I decided to up the ante. I was going to give a shot at running 6 kms. My route was to start from my house and run to my gym - which is 2.70 kms. Then, turn back and reach home, which would mean a cumulative distance of 5.40 Km. And then, continue my run for three laps in the ground adjacent to my home - a lap of this ground is 200 M. My target was to do this at an average speed of 8 Km/h - which implied that I should complete the 6 Km run in 45 minutes

Overall, the run went fine. I missed my target by 1 minute, and finished in 46 minutes. My average speed was 7.8 Km/h. Felt quite ok, and could have continued running for atleast 1 more km.

2nd May - The first run with Suunto t3c

I did my second outdoor run on May 2nd - wearing my Suunto t3c running pack. Decided to lap Raheja Vihar - the township where I stay. Well, the foot pod informed me that a full lap of Raheja Vihar was equal to 1.3 Km. I did three laps in 35 minutes. Not a great speed, but there were some steep inclines, and it was just my second run outside

Overall, I was quite impressed with the Suunto t3c. The measurements seemed accurate, and the range of information available is fantastic. It does take sometime to understand all the operations, but the reward is well worth the time invested in understanding how to use it.

Suunto t3c - my heart rate monitor

Did some intense web search on 2nd may and understood the importance of exercising keeping in mind one's heart rate. I also wanted to measure my performance in workouts more accurately (including treadmill runs in the gym). I shortlisted three heart rate monitor devices that day -

1. Garmin Forerunner 305 - very cool; awesome data analysis possible. A bit ungainly to wear, but what the heck, its for your exercise. The disadvantage was that because it uses GPS to measure distance and speed, indoor use (especially, at my gym) was not possible - I could still use it to measure my heart rate and calories burnt though. Another problem I foresaw was servicing - the battery had to be replaced by a certified Garmin Centre. And, the dealer in Mumbai, Aerial Services (located enroute to terminal 1A in the domestic airport - in the car park of the restaurant) was quite uninspiring. He seemed to know very little about the product - and infact, he did not seem very keen on the sale itself. He quoted a rate of around Rs. 17000 (before tax). 

2. Polar s625x - has the standard heart rate monitor. Distance and speed measured through pod technology (unlike Garmin which is GPS). I contacted Chintu at Kushi Exports - located in Lokhandwala. He was extremely helpful and quite knowledgeable about the product. The Polar did seem really good - and its reviews across the board were quite positive. However, again, the battery had to be replaced only by the company. This to me, just meant increased hassles.

3. Suunto t3c Running Pack - I finally decided to go in with the Suunto t3c running pack. It comprised of a watch, a heart rate monitor belt and a footpod. I also purchased a PC pod so that my training data could be downloaded on to my laptop for further analysis. Kushi Exports are the sole distributors for Suunto products in India. 

The Suunto t3c has some disadvantages - chiefly, these are it the watch can get scrathes quite easily, and the manual is quite poor. The advantage however is that it is quite feature rich, batteries can be replaced by users, and you can build it with components. For instance, if you need to measure your performance with GPS, you need to just go and buy the GPS pod. Yes - I needed to be careful about the scratches.

What do you get out of this heart rate monitor watch and foot pod?

1. Pretty accurate (98% +) measurement of speed and distance. 

2. You can either do an auto-lap or manual - lap of your runs.

3. Calories burnt, average heart rate, max heart rate, and time spent in the three heart rate zones

3. max speed, average speed

4. Training Efficiency - an index of how strenuous your run was

5. A provision to store upto 15 logs - that is, upto 15 days of data can be stored in the watch. 

6. Monthly and weekly totals of all the above parameters

...and, the best part is that all of the above data can be wirelessly synced into my laptop using the PC Pod (has to be bought separately). This data can then be analysed using the Suunto Training Manager Lite software. The software, to be honest, is average. But, hey, the good bits is that you can keep syncing and filing your training outputs here - and maybe, I am going to be amazed end of year on the progress!

All in all, seemed to be a very worthwhile purchase. Justified the purchase as being equivalent to my yearly cigarette bill.

Running Outside for the First Time

On the 1st of May, I thought about trying to run outside. I had been clocking around 5 - 7 kms per day on the treadmill through April, and my confidence had increased. 

I went to Oberoi mall and invested in an Adidas Salvation running shoe. These shoes felt real good - much better than my Adidas Supernova that I had been using.  I also bought some running shorts, shirts, and a waist pouch. Was going to attempt the run in style!

On 2nd May, I ran outside. I did 4 laps around my township and this took around 45 minutes. I was not sure about the distance since I had never measured it before

Running Ugly - Chanderpaul vs VVS Laxman

Right through April I ran on the treadmill. I am by no means an elegant runner. I often spent time at the gym observing the running technique of some of the more fit runners. There was this one particular guy who kind of flowed while he was running. His whole motion was so relaxed, and smooth. He would be doing 11 km/h while you would think it was 8. 

I was not one of those. I knew that. In my 50 minute run, I would just focus on making it. I could feel the lack of fluidity in my running form. But, then, I was not an athlete, and I had to make the best of my talents - whatever I had. 

This got me thinking about cricket. I have always been a great admirer of VVS Laxman. That knock of 281 is, in my books, the greatest test innings ever played. The sheer beauty of Laxman's batting, the grace of his strokes, the zen like peace which descends in the field while he is batting are aspects I have greatly admired. When Laxman bats, there is no violence in the field - there are no savage screams, no unnecessary adrenaline. A Laxman knock is definition of fluidity and beauty in batting.  And on top of this beauty, in the last 8 years,  Laxman has played a critical role in more than 60% of India's test match wins. And saved quite a few. 

At the other end of the Spectrum - you have Chanderpaul. Nothing could be more ugly than a Chanderpaul knock. Right from the guy's stance, to his defence, to the way he dabs the ball to third man - Chanderpaul is an aesthete's nightmare. He however is also a critical element of the West Indian team. Yes, sure, the WI team is amongst the weakest in the world - but Chanderpaul has played several brave knocks for his team in his career. 

So there you have it - Laxman is an aesthete's delight. And Chanderpaul epitomizes the concept of batting ugly. And, yet, both get the job done. 

I guess, to me, as far as my treadmill running was concerned, it was important to last through those 50 minutes. I knew it was not pretty. But, hey, the best part about running is that it is always 'me against me'. You are only battling yourself - trying today to beat yesterday's benchmark. And if its ugly, well, that is what it is.

Why is this blog titled 'The Tao of the Oat'?

Like a true south Indian ( I am Telugu, and grew up in Tamil Nadu), I enjoyed my Vada Sambar, Venn Pongal, and Poori Masala for breakfast - and all of this with loads of coconut chutney. Having grown up in Coimbatore, which borders Tamil Nadu and Kerala, coconut was an integral part of every aspect of cooking

One of the first things the nutritionist did was to eliminate these items from my diet - I was allowed to have idli (only with sambar & without chutney, and the sambar was not supposed to have coconut). Rather than have this watered down version of idli, I decided to eliminate it altogether - I mean, either I had the real idli or did not have it at all. 

My breakfast was supposed to be oats and egg whites. And, initially, I absolutely hated oats. It was tasteless, spiceless, took too long to chew - and generally made me feel like a horse. Soon, however, I started recognizing the merits of this meal. I was seeing the Tao, the way, by consuming oat for breakfast. 

Hence, the Tao of  the Oat

April'09 - A quantum leap in my treadmill running

After the 1 month break, when I started running on the treadmill again, I somehow felt fresher. Maybe, the lull in March had refreshed me. I just felt that I could run longer than 10 Minutes continuous - which was my record in March. Maybe, this was because my quitting smoking had cleaned up something in my cardio system in the last 20 days. 

I think, to someone more fit than me, this might just sound like the heights of being pompous - calling a 10 minute continuous run as a record! However, I have never been a physically active person before in my life. And, I was seriously overweight and trying to accomplish something reltated to my fitness. Hence, to me, moving from a 1 minute run in December to 10 minutes continuous is a big leap.

Coming back, I felt stronger on the treadmill in the first few days of April. On April 4th, I asked myself - "Hey, can I run for atleast 17 minutes continuous?" (after providing for a walk for the first 3 minutes to warm up). I decided to give it a shot. And, completely surprised myself by doing it!

My run was as follows -

3 minute walk at 6.5 Km/Hour

7 minute run at 10.5 Km/hour

4 minute run at 9.5 Km/Hour

6 minute run at 8.5 Km/Hour

..so, I made it. This was the first day in 4 months when I did not feel a sense of hate and revulsion about the treadmill workout. I actually enjoyed it - as I surprised myself with what I achieved that day. 

For a week I stuck with this routine on the treadmill, and continued with the elliptical routine of 25 minutes too. Then, I again asked myself, as to whether, I could run for 30 minutes continuous. This seemed to me to be an important psychological mark - a 30 minute continuous run. 

I decided to attempt this on April 12th 2009. I set some ground rules -

1. The slowest speed I would go down to was 8.5 Km/hour

2. It would be a continuous run; no walking

..and, again I did it. I mean - I ran ugly, and huffed and puffed on treadmill, including some very loud sighs of tiredness. But, I did the job. I ran continuously for 30 minutes - albeit at a slower pace than before. From my runs in the previous week, I realized that going at 10.5 Km/Hour early on was not going to help me last through 30 minutes. So, I decided to cut down my peak running speed to 9.5 Km/Hour. The 30 minute run schedule was as follows-

 3 minute warm up walk at 6.5 Km/Hour

15 minute run at 9.5 Km/Hour

15 minute run at 8.5 Km/ hour

I had approximately run 4 Kms on the treadmill that day. I was totally drained - and my knees hurt a bit. But it was enoromously satisfying.  I was beginning to enjoy treadmill running.

I persisted with a week of this routine. That is, 30 minutes on the treadmill, running. And, 20 minutes on the elliptical. This was till April 18th. 

Then, again, on April 19th, I asked myself as to whether I could do the whole 50 minute cardio session on the treadmill itself, and eliminate the elliptical from my cardio routine. I decided that I would try two 25 minute sessions on the treadmill- with a resting break of 3 minutes between sessions. And I did it.

The first 25 minutes, I repeated what I did earlier the previous week. I ran at an average of 9.0 Km / Hour with a peak of 9.5 km/h and a min of 8.5 km/h. The second set was difficult. When I started out, I could feel the strain. I decided to limit my run speed to 8.5 Km/h. The whole run was accomplished at this stready pace. I ran for a total of 50 minutes, and had run around 8 kms on the treadmill - with a three minute break. In a couple of days, I was able to eliminate the 3 minute break - and run continuously for 50 minutes on the treadmill. My typical run used to be -

3 minute warm up by walking at 6.5 km/h

5 minute run at 8.5 km/h

20 minute run at 9.5 km/h

25 minute run at 8.5 km/h

So, I had actually started running - and enjoying the treadmill. I spent the rest of April doing this.  I did slack off a bit on my weight training. But, I did not mind it, as I was beginning to really enjoy running on the treadmill

End of April09 - I was at 90 Kgs. I had lost 10 Kgs in 5 months since December

March'09 - a lull in my activity and quitting smoking

My quarterly gym membership expired on March 4th 2009. I had to spend 2 weeks in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu as my brother was getting married. In those 2 weeks, I did have some transgressions from my diet - in fact almost completely. The only saving grace was that I limited the quantities I was consuming. I did manage to do some crunches, leg raised and squats on alternate days. 

The most important date in this month however was March 6th. For old time's sake, I decided to travel to Coimbatore by train. I have always found trains an excellent medium to clarify my thoughts to myself - maybe its the rhythmic movement that calms my mind. Whatever it was, but on this day, I just felt that I was through with smoking. I mean - I just felt disgusted and decided that it was over. I was carrying a pack to smoke surreptitiously, when Teju was not looking around.  I threw that in the trash can and told myself that this was the end of it. I could just feel strongly inside me that this time it was for real. Smoking was out of my life.

I really did not have any withdrawal symptoms. Maybe being amongst my family, and the festivities associated with marriage helped. 

On 23rd I came back to Mumbai, and measured my weight for the first time in 17 days. Happily, there was no gain (I know that weight is not the only barometer of fat ..etc..but I was happy). 

I slacked around for another week. This was now getting dangerous. It was almost a month since I had done any serious exercise. I certainly did not want the good work of the last 3 months to be undone. On April 1st, I dragged myself back to the gym and paid up for a year's membership.

Feb'09- My running improves further

Well, the skepticism regarding the elliptical's figures got me thinking. I decided to take my treadmill workout in more serious fashion. It was as if, I turned on a switch. I was soon, able to run, 10 minutes continuously on the treadmill - and a total of 14 out of 20 minutes on the treadmill, I ran. My typical workout was -

3 minutes walk at 6 km/hour to warm up

10 minute run at 10 Km/hour

2 minute walk at 5.5 km/hour

2 minute run at 9.0 Km/ hour

1 minute walk at 5.5 Km / hour

2 minute run at 8.5 Km / hour

..and then cool off by walking for 2 minutes. This was then followed by a 25 minute workout on the elliptical and rounded off with the abs and back muscle exercises - 2 sets each of crunches, situps, leg raises and back workout.

This was in my books atleast, a big improvement from where I started in December. From a 1 Minute to a 10 minute continuous run (and a cumulative 14 minutes)

My smoking still continued at 6 cigarettes a day. Phillip, my instructor, kept telling me to quit it if I wanted to improve my cardio activity. I, however, was not even able to conceive how to quit. I was happy with myself in having persisted on my exercise schedule for 3 months. I was also quite disciplined regarding my food intake. I justified my smoking by telling myself that I could tolerate this - and in any case I had reduced.

The truth however, as every smoker knows, is that quitting is hard, and it has to be complete. There is nothing like a slow reduction of smoking and gradually quitting

Overall, Feb'09 was a good month for me. I was there at the gym 24 days out of 28. And continued with the same routine - alternating my days between cardio and weights. End of Feb'09, I weighed 92.5 kgs. In 3 months, I had lost 7.5 kgs. 

A Question of Measurement - Treadmill vs Elliptical

The concept of measurement without error is nonsensical. But when does the error become so large as to render the measurement nonsensical? This was a question that started troubling me in Jan'09. 

Over the last 2 months at the gym, I had relied on the measurements on the gym machines to set targets for myself and going about achieving and improving on them. Soon, however, I started doubting their accuracy. 

Initially, my problem used to be the difference in the numbers between the treadmill and the elliptical. On the treadmill, after a 20 minute workout, I used to feel quite drained. Overall, I used to feel the strain. On the other hand, the elliptical did not feel that difficult - yes, I used to have resistance etc - nevertheless, the workout was never that intense as a run on the treadmill. When one looked at the calories burnt figure however, the elliptical would always show more by atleast 20%. 

I could not somehow reconcile myself to this. Sure - my search across the net on this subject informed me that the elliptical was a very efficient machine. It also placed less stress on the knee joints - and hence, it did not tire one out as much as treadmill.

But, I just did not feel convinced. Maybe I was wrong, and being unscientific. This skepticism however, played a very important role in transforming my attitude to cardiovascular exercise.

The Second Month

Things got easier in Jan-2009. I kept the commitment going. Was there at the gym 26 days out of 31 (including New Year's eve and New Year)

The treadmill runs started to improve. End of Jan-2009, I could run around 9 minutes in total out a 20 minute workout. My general routines used to be -

0 - 3rd Minute - walk at 6 Km/ hour

4th to 10th Minute - run at 9.0 Km /hour

11th to 13th Minute - walk at 5.5 Km/ hour

14th to 16th Minute - run at 9.0 Km/ hour

17th to 19th Minute - walk at 5.5 Km/ hour

20th Minute - run at 9.0 Km/hour

Cool off at 5.5 Km/ hour for 2 minutes

This was my treadmill routine. The elliptical and bike went on ok. In consultation with Phillip, I decided to knock off the bike from my routine, and compensated for that by spending an extra 10 minutes on the elliptical. The whole of Jan-09 my cardio routine was -

1. 20 minute run on the treadmill, followed by a 2 minute cool-off

2. A 25 minute workout on the elliptical followed by a 2 minute cool-off

3. Sets of crunches, leg raises and sit-ups to work on the abs

On weight days, I did the circuit. Mostly found leg strength exercises tougher - clearly understood that relatively, my legs were much weaker than my upper body. I found free squats particularly strenuous. 

Snacking was mostly under control, and cigarettes were restricted to 5- 6 per day and eliminated on weekends.

End of Jan-09, I was 5 kgs down, cumulatively, and weighed 95 kgs. I was beginning to feel the difference. 

Why am I putting all these experiences in a blog?

1. I want to put it down as a kind of living diary to myself

2. In my fitness and weight loss journey, I gained inspiration from several blogs where people have documented similar experiences. These blogs have helped me enoromously. If  somebody as unfit as me could could start off on this journey of fitness, then anybody can. I needed to put this down so that some random searcher from somewhere in the internet space might find this useful

The challenges of eating right

Teju and my mother-in-law were in charge of my diet. Essentially, the biggest challenge for me was to avoid eating those office lunches - especially, pizzas and other greasy stuff in meetings. 

I just disciplined myself in the first month - no matter what, I would eat food packed from home. My mother-in-law helped me enoromously. I shared my work calendar with her, and on days that I had meetings, she would make my rotis into rolls so that I could eat in the car, enroute or exiting from meetings. And avoid the pizza stuff

Controlling my food intake was not such a big problem actually. Being a south Indian, I was expecting severe deprivation pangs for rice. Nothing like that happened - I was quite comfortable avoid rice in my diet. 

My diet was fulfilling in the sense that I did not feel hungry or deprived. The food was basic and simple. The quantity was adequate. 

A reduction in smoking

A good outcome of the first month at the gym was that my smoking reduced. The need to smoke went down. And, especially on cardio days, I used to consciously smoke lesser - the thought of the treadmill was dreadful enough. I did not need cigarettes to make my run on the treadmill worse than what it was. 

However, after a workout, I used to walk across the road to the paan shop outside my gym, and have a smoke - generally justified with an 'I deserve it after the workout' thought. 

End of December 2008 - cigarette count, 5 - 6 per day.

The First Month at the Gym

It took me a couple of days to get over the gym blues - that is, just to accept my unfit body to myself. 

On the first day, Dec 7th 2008, I felt a bit shy, and a bit nervous too. I went to the locker room, changed and went in.

Phillip, my personal trainer, told me that we would start off with a 20 min session on the treadmill, followed by 15 minutes on the elliptical, and 10 minutes on the bike. 

I was dreading the treadmill, and as it became apparent to me, that was for good reason. Phillip told me to alternate between a 2 minute walk and a 1 minute run for 20 minutes. Well - I could run for exactly 1 minute. And that was that. The run completely drained me - and left me panting. I walked for the remaining 19 minutes. And was quite exhausted. The elliptical and the bike were relatively easier - nevertheless, I was quite drained out at the end of 45 minutes.

This was pretty much the trend over the whole of December. I used to alternate between cardio and weights. The whole thing was quite painful- the cardio days especially. I just dreaded the treadmill. In fact, I used to curse the machine - since the effort expended seemed that much more than the elliptical, and the returns, in terms of calories burnt, that much lesser (atleast as per the measurement devices on the machines; the elliptical always showed  more returns per minute than the treadmill). I persisted through - and ensured that I was hitting the gym atleast 5 days a week. 

By the end of December, I could run for 5 minutes continuously at 9 Km/hour - which was no great shakes, honestly. But, I was weighing 2 kgs lesser - the kind of weight loss which you, feel internally, but is not apparent to the outside world.

The Fitness Trip Starts - After Many Fits and Starts

That's me in November 2008.  I was  35 years old, weighed 100kgs, and smoked 12- 15 cigarettes a day. One could say I was a regular corporate guy - someone who had in a sense allowed the mechanical pounding of the corporate world to tell on his corporeal self. This was till 26/11 happened in Mumbai. There was a mail being circulated in my office from one of the survivors. The writer of this mail, amongst other things, stressed the importance of being fit. And that was when, for possibly the first time in my life, I thought of getting fit

So, that's how it started. On the sixth of December 2008, I told Teju, my wife, that I wanted to do something about my weight. Teju was kind of shocked - she had been telling me to do this for 6 years, and never imagined that such a day would dawn!

I went to a nutritionist that very day. She essentially told me that I was atleast 14 kgs overweight. And the first priority would be to lose 10 kgs.  She gave me a diet plan - the gist of which was about avoiding rice and snacks, and eating right with a diet high on fibre, vegatables, and an optimal intake of proteins. 

I left the nutritionist's office and went over to the neighbourhood gym and enrolled for three months . I wanted to first see if I was disciplined enough before committing financial resources for a year's membership. 

That's how my attempt to get fit started. 

...and this is me in May 2009..6 months after the fitness journey started