We asked Get Ahead readers to share their stories of weight loss with us. Here, 29-year-old software engineer Debabrata Khan shares how he dropped 14 kilos in three months:

I am 5' 6" tall, and used to weigh 90 kilos until a few months ago. Being overweight made me feel bad about myself and I suffered from low self-esteem for a long time because of it. 

Finally, one day I decided that I needed to make a start somewhere and the office gym presented just the right opportunity. I signed myself up and began on my weight loss journey.

Once I got into the exercise routine, I also started watching my diet. Here's how I managed to shed the extra weight:

Diet

~ Breakfast: Two whole wheat bread slices with jam followed by an apple or a fruit.

~ Lunch: Two rotis with one vegetable followed by two-three slices of watermelon and papaya.

~ Snacks: I'd have one or two biscuits whenever I felt hungry.

~ Dinner: Two rotis with vegetable or chicken, and sometimes some rice.

Exercise

I followed this exercise regime five days a week:

I would go to gym every afternoon before lunch. I would begin the workout by jogging on the treadmill for about 25 minutes, covering about 3 kms. I followed this up with some abdominal exercises for 15-20 minutes and then some weight exercises. I'd finally end the hour-long session with some stretching exercises.

 Gradually, I increased jogging to around 40 minutes covering about 5-6 kms.

A fun way to lose weight is swimming. Though I didn't know how to swim when I began, I learned how within 10 days and started swimming regularly after that. I used to swim everyday for around 50 minutes.

The swim was followed by dinner at 8 pm and I was in bed by 11 pm.

By sticking to this routine, I managed to lose 14 kilos and now weigh 76 kilos. I feel great; being fit has given me a boost in confidence and is a source of great pride. I participated in the JP Morgan Marathon (5.6 km) on May 3 this year and completed it in 31 minutes 30 seconds, something I could never have dreamed of doing just a few months ago.

It just goes to show, where there is a will there is a way!

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Were you once overweight? How did you manage to drop the excess baggage? Email your contributions to howilostweight@rediffmail.com, along with your name, age, occupation, contact details, and photographs of yourself both before and after your weight loss. We'll publish the best entries right here on Get Ahead.