I am a 23-year-old student and used to weigh 67 kilos on a 5' 5" frame until a few months ago. Although I was not obese, I was not totally comfortable with the way I looked.

After having tried jogging and many fad diets with not much success, I turned to the gym for a solution. I worked out for about two hours, which included about 45 minutes of weight training, followed by 30 minutes of abdominal exercises and exercises for sides and finally cardiovascular exercises for 20-30 minutes. I usually vary my cardiovascular workout everyday using either the treadmill or cross-trainer or cycle.

But the key to losing 13 kilos was changing my diet. I did not take any drastic steps but instead gradually changed my regime. My current diet now consists of:

• Breakfast: 3 soya cutlets, a glass of soya milk, 1 cup of sprouts and 5 almonds
• Lunch: 1 cup curd, cooked vegetables, salad, 3 rotis, 1 glass of buttermilk
• Snacks: 1 fruit or 1 glass of juice
• Dinner: 3 rotis, cooked vegetables

For those of you looking to shed some extra weight, this is what I would recommend:

~ A heavy breakfast: Do not skip breakfast, it is the most important meal of the day. Sometimes, I substitute soya cutlets with milk-dalia just for a change.

~ No potatoes: I noticed I had not quite been able to lose much weight for about three weeks and after a discussion with Bobby Sir (my fitness trainer, and a hugely experienced man) I concluded that they had to go. Life had to change permanently. And voila! Magic happens. Three weeks, 2 inches off the waist; 3 kilos off the scale. Things can't get any better than this. Also avoid starchy foods like arbi, mangoes, bananas.

~ Low on fats: And of course it has been ages since I last had parathas, samosas, aloo tikkis and deep fried snacks.

~ New summer coolers: My two favourite drinks through the summer have been buttermilk and fresh lima soda (no sugar, extra lemon and salt). Add to that a glass of watermelon juice and loads of water every day.

~ A glass of warm water with a few drops of lemon every night before I sleep -- grandma's advice still does the trick.

~ No ghee on rotis: This is where I disagree with traditional advice. At least for me, saturated fats are bad no matter how much they may help the body.

~ No curd at night and snacking to a minimum, sweets once a week (I cheat on this once in a while).

~ No alcohol, no smoking

~ Minimise eating out: I try not eating out too often (it is the worst part of the diet, but it must be done).