I used to be slim. Now I have become a fatty because of my law firm lifestyle. For the past 6 months I have been swimming 4 days a week for 1 km regularly. Though I feel good after swimming and think I have lost weight, the scale shows no changes at all. Things are still the same. Why is it so? I have reduced my junk food intake. Please suggest what I can do. What have you guys tried to do to lose weight? Is lifting the only answer? ☹️

Here are some (hopefully) helpful suggestions. Thee have worked for me up to a point. To be entirely honest, the most weight I've lost was in the first year of Covid when I wasn't eating outside and was doing a lot of the housework because no maids etc. :-D

1. If you can, speak to a nutritionist to see how you can alter your diet to lose some weight. A keto diet, if done properly and under supervision, actually does help with weight loss, but don't think you'll suddenly drop 5 kg in a couple of weeks. It takes some months and has the potential to cause health issues in some people (my wife and I tried Keto for 6 months some years ago. We lost weight but also ended up with severe dehydration);

2. Try and stop eating junk food altogether save, perhaps, on weekends as cheat days. When I started my first law firm job ~ 20 years ago, the only choice for a meal when you working late nights (and there were MANY of those) was junk food and I'm still trying to get rid of all that fat. Thanks to Zomato/Swiggy there's hundreds of healthier choices these days.

3. Reduce carbs and increase proteins (for e.g., cut back on sugar, potatoes and maida and increase meat intake or greens (if you're a vegan/vegetarian). However, if you are reducing carbs, make sure you're hydrating sufficiently (water, not coke/juice/tea/coffee);

4. Eat a big breakfast, a medium size lunch and a small dinner. If possible, eat dinner before 7 pm and then eat nothing till breakfast the next day.

5. Avoid random snacking. If you can't avoid snacking (no shame in that - I'm one of those people), then reduce your main meal intakes and switch to nuts, black gram, sprouts, makhanas for snacks.

6. Keep up the swimming / other regular exercise. Even if it doesn't help you lose weight, it will keep you fit and limber.

Gandhi looked like a stick insect by fasting. So maybe picket outside the law ministry and go on a fast demanding immediate entry of foreign law firms and overruling of filibustering by SILF? 😉

More seriously, the answer is to reduce stress, get lots of sleep, reduce sitting on a chair all day and reduce eating carbs: unfortunately none of which is possible if you work in a law firm. So maybe consider a stint at the Finance Ministry or SEBI or SBI or Invest India for a year, if your firm allows?

I have recently lost 20kgs+ without going to gym so I can surely suggest you something.

• Look out for what you eat, your food matters a lot when you're trying to lose weight. Go in little calorie deficient (Google the term), try intermittent fasting, eat less refined carbs, more proteins (not more than 70-80g if you don't workout a lot), eat more fibres, veggies and fruits too.

• working late we all crave for snacks, so try keeping some healthy snacks. Roasted grams and air fried chickpeas are my go to options .

• Try saying no to Junk Foods, a lot of time while working I'm offered snacks most of them junks, but I try to say no.

• Do strength training 4-5 days a week.

• avoid sugars and fried foods.

Hope this helps.

I always think that working out first thing after waking up is the best bet. Once the work day starts, the chances of getting a workout in just plummet.

But personally, I also left a tier-1 job because after a point, it became a battle between 'enough sleep' vs 'working out' -- and both are equally important for longterm overall health.

IT helped during COVID as I could do bodyweight exercises before starting my day at 9 AM. Once office opened, I found a gym near my office, which had lockers, shower and decent changing rooms. I started there, 5 days a week. The issue was that I had to reach the gym by 8, complete my workout by 9:15, get ready and enter office between 9:30-9:45. Being a guy, i didnt need much to get ready, but kept moisturisers, hair gels, EDT/EDP in my office. But given that I would leave at around 7:30 from my home, I asked my maid to pack my food for the entire day, the prior evening, including, fruits, snacks, lunch and light dinner. I carried my protein powder and creatine in the gym bag.

its not easy, especially if you have japanese clients, or early morning calls. But after a while, you manage expectation and people realise that they can pay you for your time but not for your health. Also, one advice to the OP - check your scales every 15 days. Water weight fluctuations dont really represent the true weight loss trajectory.