"Fit dikhne se jyada important hai fit feel karna" - Deepankar Prasad.

I wanted to end my life. I was in a dark place. Break up, being overweight, shortness of breath, back pain.I wanted to get rid of my body. If it wasn't for my family, especially my sister, Deepika and my friends, I don't know if I'd be still alive.

The doctor informed me of Hypothyroidism. He said, "At this rate, you have a life expectancy of 18 years only". It was gut-wrenching. I was shocked! I was gaining weight at the rate of 2 Kg/month.

You can buy a new house, vehicles, cell phones but not another body. You have to listen to the needs and incorporate any kind of physical activity you can. It's #NotAboutAbs and never has been. It's about the psychological boost you get.

In a world where people are increasingly getting obsessed with likes, shares and tinder matches, there are some who have who have worked hard, experimented and found their purpose. They didn't find it by using apps/games like #AapPichleJanamMeiKyaThe, #AapIsDuniyaMeinQAayeinHain but by going out there, learning about what they really want to do and then following it by heart, soul, and mind. We are FB friends and yeah, I do press like on his pics but that's all. We are friends in the first place because we went to the same college. We had seen each other multiple times, but it was not until when I started noticing a change in his pics. A drastic change. A change which reminded me of Prakash Singh. But this was on another level. He weighed 118 Kgs (which he didn't know until the doctor told him) to currently 67 Kgs. He dropped whopping 51 kgs in 6 months. He is Deepankar Prasad.

Thank you for the introduction #MonkPandey and it feels great to be here. Thank you.

Can you tell us what lead to this transformation of yours? When did it start?

I was in MANIT, enrolled in MBA program 2017 batch. I used to play all games. I played Cricket, Badminton and Table Tennis. I have represented at the State level. The thing is, when you can play at this level and eat and have fun, it never really matters. You think yeah, #WeightKamHoJayega. Mai daily khelta toh hun hi, physical activity karta hun daily so patla ho jaunga. But eventually, it catches up to you. First, I noticed back pain. I thought it was fatigue. I'm playing too much. Then came shortness of breath. I couldn't even walk for 10 continuous minutes. I had to sit down and take a 2-minute break. The final blow was - me gaining 2 kgs every month. Honestly, I freaked out. Imagine all these things and that was it for me. I told myself I have to do something.

But you must have joined a gym before this, I mean generally, we all want to be our best versions. What was different this time? What lead you to not give up after 7-10 days, as it happens to even the best of us.

Exactly. It happened to me too. I joined and went for like 10 days and got tired and never went back. The truth is, I had a lack of motivation! When you start seeing the change in your body, you have your fuel. Our mind needs some tangible results and until then we get a feeling that this particular thing isn't working. Also, the final nail in the coffin was my breakup!
My 7 years of relationship had ended and with all the physical problems, I became so much lonely that I wanted to end my life. I was in a dark place. Break up, being overweight, shortness of breath, back pain. I wanted to get rid of my body. If it wasn't for my family, especially my sister, Deepika and my friends, I don't know if I'd be still alive. When you have that feeling - You will do anything to start new. You'll never give up.

So the weight gain was some kind of genetic problem or because you loved to eat and eventually it got out of control?

Yes, a mixture of both. I mean, I was 102 Kgs and so you need to feed your body. I am a food lover. But when things got out of hand..I mean like you don't gain 2 Kgs/ month that easily. Something was wrong and I had to visit a Doctor. The doctor informed me of Hypothyroidism. He said, "You have a life expectancy of 18 years only". I was shocked! Imagine someone telling you that..Time stops man. I felt it! It will give you a new perspective. Everything changes. Now I was fighting to live longer than next 18 years. I had to be my best version.

This was while you were pursuing MBA? How did you manage between college, sports, and gym?

Yes, it's a good question. The exact date was March 22, 2017, when I entered the gym again. I knew I couldn't quit and also college was important. I went in the morning for like 10 days. Fatigue jyada tha and I had to follow strict diet control. Juggling between college, sports and gym were becoming difficult. So I asked the owner if I could come at night. I had all the aggression of breakup and questions - why it happened, how it happened and so I'd take that out in the gym. I lost 2.5 kgs in the first week itself. 😁#JoHotaHaiAcheKeLiyeHotaHai!

You told us about your insecurities and suicidal thoughts. What exactly was the mindset or thought process like? How did you overcome this as everything looks normal but you never know what's going inside the brain..That continuous mental masturbation. How did you stop it?

It is something that we as a society don't talk about. It's the lowest period one can have. You only see your failures and everyone else's success. You question everything in a negative way. I am an introvert so it was more difficult for me. But everyone has their safety net/blanket. Mine was my sister Deepika Prasad. She was very friendly, frank and open to me. The family is very important. You have to let it out. You should talk to people. Luckily, I had my friends. First of all Neelesh Jaiswal. That man is on another level. I stayed with him in Pune from June 2017-July 2017. He cooked for me. He talked to me. So I can never forget and thank him enough. I also want to mention Anu Gupta, Anshul Gupta, Harshna Gupta, Sukrati Dubey and Ruchita Naglingam. Ruchita was in Australia and she used to call me every day and motivate me. She made sure I didn't give up. The thing is if you can't talk to your family, talk to your friends. Get out of your room, meet people and always have an optimistic attitude.

Millennials don't care about the process. You must have seen people just joining the gym and leaving it in next 15-20 days or using steroids to buff up.

I have seen some of those too. But that will not give you inner strength. Steroids suck man. They are very dangerous and the people sometimes don't know about the side effects and when they do, it is very late. It will make you look big but internally you'll be empty. Before joining and going on strict diet control I researched a lot. I joined Fb groups, read all the procedures in detail. I learned how the body works in a sense like exercising isn't enough. You need to have a proper diet, avoiding carbs, focusing more on Proteins..Difference between Whey Isolate and Concentrate..When to take them..How body building really works. If you want to lose weight, you should have all the information. Millennials should do their homework first. Most people just join the gym and don't focus on diet. Both are equally important.

How long after the gym you started seeing visible results?

With the proper gym and diet, I lost 2.5 Kgs in the first week. 10.5 Kgs in the first month and in 6 months I lost 51 Kgs. I now weigh 67 Kgs. These may look promising and exciting facts but they aren't easy to achieve. It requires discipline. I didn't eat rice and chapati for 6 months. I drank black coffee and green tea only. Giving up excessive sweets, soft drinks and all that. That lead to this. The transformation is clearly visible. Once you see yourself losing weight, you'll feel good about yourself. When you start lifting the weight which you couldn't..You'll be proud and motivated. The important thing is to compete with yourself. Beat yourself every single day. That's the road to success. I firmly believe in "Work until your idols become your rivals" in a positive way.

A lot of folks must have come to you asking questions like - How to get abs in 10 days or what protein you take or like can I lose 10 kgs in 1 month? How do you respond to them?

Absolutely and no disrespect to anybody but you cannot. There is no magic pill. It requires discipline. Abs are very easy to get. You just need to understand the science. You have to focus on the calorie deficit while losing body weight and fat. It's the extra unutilized sugar/glucose that gets stored as fat. When you lose this fat, you can get any cuts, abs, triceps..You name it. Anything is possible. Also, don't go to the gym with any expectations. Do not follow anyone blindly. Do your own SWOT analysis. What works for me doesn't mean it will work for you or vice versa. Focus on quality - be it reps, posture or supplements.

Yes, this was my next question. How do you choose your supplements? The market is flooded with products that claim they'll make you next Arnold Schwarzenegger! 😀

Haha
Yes, there are products with fake accreditation and bogus claims. I have tried supplements ranging from 2500 to 5200 so I have enough experience to tell anyone who is reading this. Always visit the website, buy from a medical store that provides you a bill so you can later scan the barcode and check the authenticity on the company website. I personally use Muscletech Nitro Tech 4 lbs that costs me Rs 5200 and when you use quality products, you get quality results. I repeat, don't fall for low price and masses. Read, research and then apply as per your needs.

You have a very sound knowledge as I've met people who have an amazing body and they just follow whatever is on the internet. So how many hours one has to spend in the gym? What is the gap and exercises one must follow?

Thank you. Yeah, people think you need to spend 2-3 hours or like you just have to do cycling and running but it's not. You need 90 quality minutes daily. Take advice from your trainer and they'll tell you that you need to have a gap of 24-48 hours between the exercises. Like I personally do Cardio daily for 12 min. It is a must as it makes your heart beat faster and that helps to burn the fat. Chest and Triceps Day 1, Shoulders and legs Day 2, Back and Triceps Day 3 and so on. You have to give your body enough rest for the tissues to be broken and their growth. 8 hours sleep is a must. 

Have you taken part in any bodybuilding competition or is that still on your bucket list?

I have not but yes I completed a marathon- 5 km. So it was very liberating from where I came. It felt so good..Like I was a millionaire. Also, I was in Central Mall and company called Shuffle Fitness had a competition about the maximum number of push-ups in 1 rep. I did 73 push-ups in one go. I won the competition. I got their Nutrition as a prize. These two have kept me going and yes I want to run more marathons, in fact, I want to win one now. I'll get them eventually.

Wow! Congratulations man! I am proud of you. 
Do you have any regrets?

Hell yeah! I just wish this could've happened way before. I wish, I discovered my real self right in college. Apart from this..No regrets.

Anything about the people who spend most of their time in front of the mirror in the gym and who constantly check their cell phones and keep changing songs? 😂

People like these are a motivation for me. These guys motivate me to perform more and give me the real reason why I shouldn't quit. Also, looking in the mirror is not a problem, when you see yourself growing, you feel good. But not for hours. Just 5-10 minutes to give you that required boost.

Any comments about the blog/suggestions?

Yes. I'd like to give you 12/10 😄
What you are doing is great. We can see people getting interviewed or read stories but when you see people like Neelesh, me and others..People you know in real life. People you see, transforming their lives then it gives you more confidence and motivation. In fact, you bringing out our struggles and success stories in such way that at least I never expected and so they are a must for everyone. Answering your questions is self-liberating in itself.

Remember "Fit dikhne se jyada important hai fit feel karna".
Thank you.