Being overweight or a borderline obese is not just a physical conflict but a higher degree of a mental battle. It affects a person basic driving virtues like confidence, self-worth and positivity. Turning tables at this point is mayhem. Luckily we all know at least one person in our friend/relative circle that is or has faced such a situation. In my case, I was that person. Running was not even on the list of top 10 things on my mind that I wanted to do to enable “healthy” weight loss and a better lifestyle.
I was stuck in a vicious cycle of weight gain and stress eating due to the same. This went on for the longest time that I have known until the day I met Shiraz Sir & Nitin Sir.
Running – they said was the solution. (Laughable I thought back then)
I was like, “who wants to run for 2.5 plus hours?” I wasn’t convinced yet. But I kept thinking about it. I honestly wasn’t sure how I was going to do it from a training perspective. I was up all night introspecting.
Starting that dawn, things changed. Not physically in day or a fortnight obviously. But, with a few more dialogues with Shiraz Sir, the conversations mentally put me at rest and assured me that whatever it was, it will definitely change things for me and for the better.
During the training early on, the distance was shorter, time was longer and stamina was nil. What mind truly believes, body achieves. Shiraz Sir didn’t stop training my mind. It wasn’t just motivational talks but I could see him perform every word he said. Time to complete a marathon from 2 hours 45 mins came down to 2 hours 6mins. Weight loss did happen and that too more proportionately than I had predicted but somehow that wasn’t my goal anymore. My goal changed to fitness and self-worth.
It is amazing what your body can still do after years of self-sabotage and self-doubt. I wanted to do it so I did it. It takes the “want” the “desire the “passion” to want to change things to actually live that change. Want has to be strong enough to transform into the RIGHT KIND OF ADDICTION. Pain loses value and body just aims for result.
Shiraz Sir and Nitin Sir have seen how running has completely changed my life – it has helped me clear my head and be a better person. The changes I’ve seen in myself are indescribable. And in no way was any of this possible without them.
They taught me to keep running when the pain struck and then motivated me to push myself harder.
“You are running on guts
On fumes
Under the blazing sun
Your heart is racing faster than your legs
Your muscles twitch
At times you throw up
You’re delirious
But, in no way can you stop, not before you have crossed that finish line”
It is the sweetest misery that non-runners can never understand. A sense of achievement and peace like no other
If you really want to understand, you will have to run a mile. And sooner than you realize, the “mile” shall become “miles”.
Thank you sir for making my life worth living.
I love you Shiraz Sir & Nitin Sir,
Ameet Dodeja
Excited to be alive….!
