How a Pakistani Lost 32 Kgs in 4 months despite a slipped disc

Farhan Ahmed Mirza believes Aerobics played a major part in his transformation.

Farhan Ahmed felt a lot of pain when he walked. During a visit to the doctor, he came to know that he would need surgery because of a slipped disc between his L4 and L5 vertebrae. Farhan was afraid to go under a knife until he came to know of another method to soothe his pain: lose weight.

Weight gain had always been a concern for Farhan. The five foot eleven inch Pakistani Expat in Dubai, said that he completely let go of his weight after marriage. He explained that after marriage life became easier for him as his wife used to bring him food on the bed along with other household work that previously, he used to do himself.

He tried to revive the ‘exercise and diet’ routine in his life but was never regular and things got worse for him during corona as the Dubai resident amassed 118 kg weight. Concerned about his health, Farhan became determined to lose weight….and this time it was different.

He started eating two meals daily with just grilled meat and salads. He completely gave up on sugar, carbs and fried treats that we Pakistanis love to have, especially in Ramadan. “No roti, no rice, nothing,” he says.

The thing that helped him get through such a rigorous diet plan was knowing that the alternate plan is painful. “You may be ok now, but after 30 your body [degenerates] and if you don’t take care of it, the health issues with come,” said Farhan.

The diet got him to shed around 6 kilos after which he went to the market and purchased a treadmill. He also spent time to educate himself on better health during lockdown but his back was still giving him trouble.

“First I got treadmill and started walking, then running. [Eventually] I could run 30 minutes continuously,” he says.

Next he got himself a bench and some dumbells. Farhan told Gulf News, how he exercises two hours a day which includes thirty minutes of cardio, thirty minutes of aerobics and forty five minutes of weight training. Out of these three, he identified aerobics as the most helpful.

It took Farhan two months to inculcate daily exercise in his routine while he also accommodated the pain and uneasiness. At the end of four months, Farhan’s weight count was 86 kilos!! Now he is on his way to build muscle mass and currently stands at 89 kilos.

Farhan believes that this routine has given him motivation in his other daily endeavours as there were so many things which he was lazy to do but now there is no such thing in his life. He feels better and has noticed a phenomenal rise in his efficiency and productivity.

And yes, the back pain is GONE!!