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Dec 6

How to lose weight and get fit like this 43-year-old Ironman triathlete and open water swimmer – GQ India – What a man’s got to do

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Weight loss is easy. There are multiple clever and fail-proof tricks and tips that can help you lose weight without ever going on a crash diet or starving yourself. But, heres the real kicker just by losing weight or your bodys excess fat, youll not automatically become fit.

Fit is not a destination. It is a journey. If you dont incorporate fitness as part and parcel of your daily life, you will fall back into your old patterns (and inches) sooner than you can even imagine. 43-year-old Nikhil Kanodia an entrepreneur, Ironman triathlete and open water swimmer tells us that three years ago, he decided to whip himself shape to become the fittest version of himself in his 40s. I started my journey in Jan 2016 and I weighed ~92 kgs, he says.

I dropped around 20 kgs in 3 months (went from 92 kgs to 72 kgs) by following a whole foods diet, he adds.

A whole foods diet is a lifestyle change that emphasises on the consumption of whole or minimally processed foods as your meals. Plants, including vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, seeds and nuts make up this diet.

Kanodia outlines his whole foods diet plan as a combination of proteins, good fats, low glycemic carbs and fibre. To successfully follow a whole foods diet, cut out salt, sugar, refined carbs and processed foods from your meals. Actually, here's a quick note on salt: my rationale was to get rid of my body's water retention. I added salt back into my diet a year after starting my journey.

Post this initial fat loss of 20 kgs, I got into triathlons (Ironman) and as my endurance increased, while training for them, my weight further decreased and trimmed to my present weight - 68 kgs. And, on that note, here's another kicker, as your body's needs change, you need to adapt for diet as well.

Consequently, Kanodia also updated his diet and started following a dedicated weekly training schedule.

"Currently, I am on a Low Carb High Fat (LCHF) diet wherein my daily calorie intake comprises 60-70% fat, less than 130g of carbs and protein. This diet has helped me maintain a more normalised blood sugar level through the day and made me better at fat oxidation also which in turn has enabled me to first and foremost race cramp-free and also work on improving my performance in long-distance triathlons."

I train 10 hours (on average) per week for a Half Ironman race (also known as Ironman 70.3 that includes swimming (1.9 km) + cycling (90 km) + running (21.1 km). And about 15 hours (on average) per week for a Full Ironman race (also known as Ironman Triathlon that comprises swimming (3.86 km) + cycling (180.25 km) + running (42.20 km).

This is what my weekly training schedule includes:

3 swims (Endurance swim, Strength swim, Technique swim)

3-4 runs (Fartlek/ Hill interval run, Tempo run, Endurance run and Brick run)

2-3 bike rides (High gear strength/ Tempo bike, Endurance bike, Recovery bike)

1-2 strength workouts (usually HIIT with focus on legs, core and upper body)

I train hard 6 days a week! Monday is typically a rest day or light strength and stretching session.

Notably, Kanodia participates in 2-3 Half Ironman races per year along with participating in 1 Full Ironman race.

QUICK READ: Swimming workouts: what to know before diving in

When I am on Ironman training I follow this LCHF diet plan:

Breakfast: 1 whole egg + an omelette made from 2 egg whites/ fried egg (sunny side up) + an avocado or vegetable salad (200g) + a cup of black coffee

Mid-morning snack: Papaya/melon (200g)

Lunch: Indian meal comprising 1 vegetable curry (150g) + a serving of sauted vegetables (100g) + 1 chicken preparation (200g) + 3-4 chapatis made from flour of nuts/seeds

Snacks: A cup of black coffee and berries (150g)

Dinner: Grilled chicken, fish or lamb (200g) with sauted vegetables (200g)

When I am not training, I eat much lesser than this and also follow an intermittent fasting pattern of eating on certain days.

Intermittent Fasting (IF) is an eating pattern that cycles between periods of fasting and eating. It doesnt specify which foods you can or cannot eat. It only focuses on when you should eat them.

There are many IF plans and patterns that you can follow, but the most effective one, according to studies is the 16:8 IF diet. The 16:8 IF diet entails one to observe a 16-hour fasting period, followed by an 8-hour eating window.

How to follow the 16:8 diet plan to lose weight?

You can commence a 16-hour fast at 10:00 pm in the night, after you eat your last meal of the day and go to sleepthats 7-8 hours gone right there. You can break the 16-hour fast at 2:00 pm with your lunch and eat small meals till 10:00 pmthis makes up the 8-hour eating window. Alternatively, you can also begin your fast at 8 pm and break it at 12 pm, the next day.

Healthy living is not about building 6-pack abs! Getting those were easy, now that I look back on how far I have come. It only took me 3 months to transform from having a belly to seeing abs and another 3-4 months to see a proper 6-pack. However, only once I started training for endurance events (marathons, triathlons, long-distance open water swimming races and long bike tours) I realised that real fitness takes time to develop...and it still feels Ive just started. Train, eat, recover and repeat! Do that repeatedly day after day and that's how you'll be able to imbibe real fitness in your life."

Let me elaborate the above statement with this one example: despite achieving the best-ever aesthetics (for me), early on in my journey, my body would still cramp during every single endurance event I'd participate in be it a Half Marathon race or an Olympic distance triathlon or Half/Full Ironman. When I Googled the reasons for these sudden cramping, I came to the following conclusions: insufficient electrolytes, insufficient carbs and/or insufficient training."

"I explored all these areas individually but the cramps never went away. Until I finally read a research paper that pointed towards the benefits of fat for fuel. Our bodies can carry a max of 2000 calories as glycogen (energy from carbs). That's about 2-2.5 hours of energy depending on intensity. Our stomachs cannot effectively digest more than 60 calories per hour. If you are totally carb-dependent in a long race, it is only a matter of time before muscle glycogen runs out and cramps/ bonking happens. The good news is that there are around 40,000-50,000 calories of fat even in the most lean physiques. That's almost unlimited energy provided we teach our bodies to tap into it!"

The only race I have successfully completed (till now) without any cramps was the Full Ironman that I'd participated in earlier this year a 3.8km swim, 180 km bike and 42.2km run. The reason I was able to do was by following a LCHF diet! I am really excited to see how much faster I can get on the LCHF diet!

We also reached out Golds Gym where Kanodia works out on a daily basis to understand how the LCHF diet works. According to Golds Gym Maharani Baghs head trainer, Sachin Mavi, the low carb high fat diet (LCHF) body activates ketones. Hence the body starts taking energy from fats instead of glucose that we get from carbohydrates. When we start reducing our carb intake we push are body to start using fat as fuel which in turn leads to weight loss.

Disclaimer: The diet and workout routines shared by the respondents may or may not be approved by diet and fitness experts. GQ India doesn't encourage or endorse the weight loss tips & tricks shared by the person in the article. Please consult an authorised medical professional before following any specific diet or workout routine mentioned above.

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How to lose weight and get fit like this 43-year-old Ironman triathlete and open water swimmer - GQ India - What a man's got to do

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