Name: Samarth Trigunaik

Age: 24 years

Then: 91 kg

Now: 80 kg

Lost: 11 kg in four and a half months

Agra-based Samarth Trigunaik started piling on the pounds after he went to Canada to obtain his commercial pilot’s licence in 2012. His two years there translated into a poor lifestyle choices and dietary habits. His weight soon went up to 91 kg. Samarth woke up to the problem only when he returned to India and began applying for a job. The strict fitness norms for pilots meant he would have to lose 10 kg before he could be certified fit enough to fly.

Samarth embarked on a drastic diet that did more harm than good. Deprived of essential nutrition, he felt his eyesight had become weak and his stamina had taken a beating.

The Beginning

He decided to join the HealthifyMe program in June 2015 and started noticing benefits in 20 days.

“I used to exercise on my own and control food portions, but I never lost any weight. Within a few days of enrolling with HealthifyMe, my stamina shot up and I began to feel more motivated,” he says.

The Exercise

HealthifyMe experts put Samarth on a combination of gym training, yoga and diet.

His strength and performance coach, Saravanan ‘Sharu’ Hariram, says one of the challenges was Samarth’s busy schedule. He, along with yoga instructor Pragya Bhatt and dietician Ritu Puri, drew up a programme that took into account Samarth’s time constraints, objectives and body type.

“Since Samarth said he could only do exercise for an hour in the morning, we prescribed cardio four days a week and the whole body strengthening two days a week. He was also told to do yoga asanas with special emphasis on Surya Namaskar,” Saravanan says.

Samarth hit the gym for an hour every morning and did yoga for about 45 minutes every evening.

The Diet

Ritu put Samarth on a diet that complemented his exercise regimen. He woke up at 8 am every morning to a glass of warm lemon water, followed by a small protein-rich meal. This was followed by an hour-long workout, and then a post-gym meal.

Lunch – at 2 pm – was always preceded by a plate of salad. It usually comprised two chapattis, a small bowl of dal or chicken, one vegetable, and curd/raita. In the evening, he had green tea and a fruit. Dinner consisted of salad dressed with a few drops of apple cider vinegar, chia cake, a missi roti, a vegetable and a glass of buttermilk.

The Benefits

“The best part of the HealthifyMe program was that I could contact the experts anytime during work hours,” Samarth says. “If I had to miss my exercise for any reason they provided alternatives,” he adds.

HealthifyMe also gave Samarth a pedometer to count the number of steps he walked each day. “I had a target of 7,000 steps each day,” he says.

Samarth is thrilled with his HealthifyMe experience. “I love this app. I will recommend highly it to others,” he says.

The Rewards

Nothing beats being able to fit into an old pair of jeans. “From 36 inches, my waist has shrunk to 32,” Samarth says.

But weight loss isn’t the only reward. “HealthifyMe has made me feel more content, healthy, confident and energetic,” he says.  “A pilot’s career is related to his health and medical fitness. The program has played a major role in boosting my career.”

The Final Word

Proper guidance, along with discipline and consistency, were the key to Samarth’s successful weight loss.

Although Samarth had been trying out exercise and diets on his own, they hadn’t had an impact.

Saravanan ascribes this to a lack of knowledge about proper fitness techniques. “People often devise their own fitness regimes, and – in most cases – they don’t work. Firstly, because they do random exercises in the gym and the training isn’t customised. Secondly, the exercise isn’t complemented with proper nutrition,” he says.

At HealthifyMe, “all three of us—Pragya, Ritu and I—collaborated to devise a suitable weight loss program for Samarth,” Saravanan says.

Clearly, this collaboration helped Samarth drop those kilos!

Disclaimer: Samarth achieved his fitness and career goals with HealthifyMe. Results may vary from person to person, so let our coaches identify what works for you.