When I started my working out, I had little to no idea about how to go with either my workout or my diet. Anyway, I still made it a point to hit the gym. Just like most dudes, I always thought that workout would take care of fitness needs. But I was wrong and after a couple of months in, I figured that my diet needed attention. Though I had worked with a dietician in the past, I didn't see any credible results. This is when I got in touch with Shantanu Prasher, Editor for Health at MensXP.   He broke down the fundamentals of fat loss and building muscle and made me familiar with how a physique transformation is achieved.

He made it very clear that things that would come next wouldn't really be easy and needed discipline.  I was put on a calculated diet and a structured training program. I learned the importance of calculating food and maintaining a sound sleeping pattern. He worked from ground up on my physique and more than anything, we chased strength.

This is how my program was divided-

1)   Upon starting, we worked on leaning out first to get rid of the skinny fat state I was stuck in. Lifting progressively heavy while in a caloric deficit is what I did. Focus on strength was of prime importance here.

2)   After the above re-composition, I was now primed for starting my bulk. My calories climbed up week by week along with the weights I was lifting in the gym.   Focus on strength was of prime importance here as well.

3)   The workouts were tied mostly around the big basic lifts like squats, deadlifts, lunges and OHP. The aim was to get stronger every week.   

In under eight months of training, I've realized that a fitness regime is not just about a before and after transformation picture. It is a lifestyle. It makes you mentally and physically strong. It helped me 'adult' mentally in a short span of time. How you'd ask?  Besides changing my diets and workout plans according to my progress with Shantanu, what was the biggest effort at my end was to figure the time to actually work out and prepare my meals.

Apart from 45 minutes of workout and 15 minutes of warm up and psot workout stretching, what came new to me was walking. I quit driving to my gym and started walking instead. All in all this took me at least 2 hours a day and in the lifestyle of a millennial, this IS a huge task!  

This is brief look at my day-

1. Scheduling my day. 

2. Putting alarms for every meal.

3. Waking up early to cook the meals and count my calories.

4. Sleeping early so I can wake up early and recover well.

5. Reaching work on time so I can leave early 

6. Reaching the gym on time so I could meet my friends / family later. 

 If this isn't adulting, I wonder what is!

Bringing a certain balance between what u need and what exactly are your priorities. Helps you get your life on track, keeps you away from negativity and almost acts as therapy for all your stress. If you wonder what happened to my social life then I'll keep it real. Your social lifestyle does come in the way of regular training and diet (read: the weddings, the birthdays and festivals) but once you've put your body in the habit of a certain routine, training, 2-3 days of outings in a month won't change anything.

The biggest struggle is to start and take that one big step~