Day 0- The wake up day

I had always been a rotund sort of fellow, the sort girls would call a 'cuddly teddy bear'. The problem was, I always believed in that image of mine and tried to enhance it by regular intake of sandwiches (the Melting sandwich, covered with molten cheese was my favorite), pizzas (Dominos' Cheese burst with cheese stuffed garlic bread and 2 cheese dips was something i could have in breakfast, lunch AND dinner), pastas (white pasta with bread!), and fried stuff. Ofcourse, there were some off days when I would have a measly Veg Maharaja Mac (with large fries and a coke). I knew I was growing in circumference but never realized how much, until the clothes started getting tighter. I laughed it off and visited Plus sized stores for new clothes, and kept on indulging.

I have never touched alcohol, cigarette, or any drugs in my life, but I think this is how addiction looks like. You enjoy indulging in your drug, feel sad about it later, promise to quit, indulge next day, feel sadder, and the miserable cycle continues. You will always find reasons to not quit. In my case, it was my residency in a government hospital. I always said that the stress and odd eating hours leads to unhealthy eating habits. When I got study leave for exams, I found another reason- exam stress. I badly needed my comfort food (listed in the first paragraph above). I laughed off the concerns of my friends and family when they said I needed to lose weight.

Then, one day I had re-recurrence of an old disease (pilonidal sinus. Google it.) Basically I had an infection near the butt crack that needed a surgery. Being a surgeon myself, I decided to get operated as quickly as possible. One day prior to surgery, the moment came I had been dreading the most- the pre-op check up. It included checking my weight so that the anesthetist could give an appropriate dose of the drug. The figure shocked even me. I was weighing 132 kg. At a height of 185 cm, I had a BMI of 38.76. The ideal should be between 25-30. Beyond 40, one needs Bariatric surgery. Beyond 35, one can opt for surgery if there are complications of obesity.

I was shot scared, but determined. That surgery not only excised my diseased tract, but also removed my complacence. Nobody heard the applaud, no uplifting background score played, but something had clicked in my head. I had to lose this. There was no way out, no way back.