Weight loss story: “I prepared nutritious and home-cooked lunch boxes for my son, helped him lose 10kgs in 9 months”

Banker, wellness coach and mother-of-two Bhawana Sinha felt responsible for her elder son’s excessive weight gain. While it was all in the spirit of love, she believes it was partly her fault that her child weighed a staggering 47 kilos at the age of 8. From foods wrapped with cheese to lunch boxes packed with chocolate biscuits and his favourite junk food, she describes how it all affected her child’s health and fitness. However, it was her effort and determination that brought it all back on track.

Here’s a mother’s account of how she helped her child, Priyesh Kumar, go from 47 kilos to 37 kilos in just 9 months and achieve a healthy lifestyle…

Also read: Weight loss story: “I tried 3 different types of diet, each helped me lose 6-7kgs”

I believe it was my fault that my son reached 47kgs at the age of 8. The realization came very late. Looking back, I remember purchasing clothes that were for children 4-5 years older to him. His physical activity was down to zero and he was feeling sleepy and tired all the time. His favourite places were the bed and sofa and he kept on binge-eating on biscuits - approx. 10 every day.

COVID-19 pandemic was the worst for everyone, especially the children. It became difficult for mothers like me, since we had no option but to stop them from going outside and playing or doing any outdoor activities. However, once I realised the unhealthy lifestyle my child was living, I started making a plan for him.

I started giving him one coconut water in the morning, which helped him feel energetic. I enrolled him in his favourite game for one hour, that is tennis. Besides incorporating a change of 20% physical activity in his routine, I also included 80% changes in his diet. However, these changes were introduced gradually and not immediately at once, which is why my child did not sense the change at all.

For his breakfast, I replaced his so-called healthy drink with a real nutrition drink which consisted of a banana with soaked dry fruits. Since I am a working mother I have to ensure everything is right in the morning and night time only.

I made it compulsory for him to take one apple with peel (earlier he used to take without peel). Since I was taking the same it was easy to convey the message.

For the 1st week I made only these two changes in his lifestyle.

Next week, I replaced his biscuits from his lunch box with homemade nutritious dry fruits ladoo with natural sweeteners. For short breaks and long breaks, I only packed home-cooked meals. Even during my weight loss journey, I realized the importance of giving the right portion of nutrition to your body so as to stop unhealthy cravings.

Then, the following week, I made it compulsory for him to have one piece of cucumber before his lunch. Though I am not there with him during his lunch hours, it took more than 7 weeks to make his habit to take raw veggies before lunch. Now he takes cucumber, beetroot without fail and fruits like papaya along with banana and apple are also a part of his fruit intake.

I fixed his dinner time and bed time. This one rule particularly helped a lot. Since I have already enrolled him with tennis, complete sleep was very much needed for physical fitness. Earlier he used to sleep with me around 11 pm.

I am happy that I realised how important it was to focus on my child’s health. This was only possible because of my own health and wellness journey. Becoming a health coach, working on my own lifestyle and investing my time in health education, gave me the vision to achieve an ideal health. This encouraged me to pick the same route for my children and although it took a lot of pain, I succeeded. Remember! Children don’t obey you, they follow you. It worked like magic.

If you have a weight loss story to share, send it to us at toi.health1@gmail.com

These views are not generic in nature. Weight loss results vary for individuals and the views shared in this article offer no guarantee of specific results. The content is not intended in any way as a substitute for professional advice.