Suresh suffered from chronic cough, bronchitis, gout and severe migraines besides being overweight. Having tried to reduce weight a couple of times and unable to keep up, this time around drawing inspiration from friends and well-wishers, he embarked on his health journey with meticulous planning and succeeded. Read his inspiring journey here.

Suresh C Sharma

63 years

Sonipat, Haryana

History of health problems

Since 1994, I have been a chronic patient of high uric acid levels. I suffered from hellish, intolerable pain with inflammation mostly in my big toe, left or right, sometimes both. Yes, it was a case of gout. Whenever I suffered from the unannounced attack, I would resort to pain-killers and uric acid-lowering tablets. Since 2013 to be exact, this pain had started bothering me more frequently. The second ailment I suffered from had been bouts of coughing that would get more acute during winters. In 2016, I was diagnosed with acute bronchitis, which led to more allopathic medication.

The third problem that had been victimizing me since a long time were my migraine headaches. For the last one year, i.e. since 2018, their frequency had aggravated, from almost once a week to twice a week. Needless to say, the burning ball of this headache in my head, at times to the left and at times to the right, over my eyebrows and sometimes in the whole head, made me really miserable. I completely lost my joy of living.

My weight and test reports

As of 5th December 2018, my weight was 84 kgs for a height of 5 feet 10 inches, which indicated that I was overweight from BMI point of view. I got medical tests done in September 2018 and December 2018, which showed many parameters quite high, such as sugar, TGL, cholesterol, uric acid, fatty liver, etc.

My trysts with weight reduction

I had tried raw food in 2004 and had reduced my weight by 20 plus kgs, i.e. from 90 to 69. But again my old habits pulled me back, so I received no benefit after 6 months. I tried again in 2014 for a second time, I reduced a few kgs, unfortunately, could not sustain it.

A decision to get rid of dairy and sugar

After reading a lot about the harmful effects of dairy milk including cruel practices against cattle in the dairy industry, the drawbacks of white sugar (I must mention here that so far I’d been consuming milk at night regularly and taking a lot of white sugar (cheeni) in milky tea – average being 6 cups of sugary tea every day) and inspired by the success stories of some Facebook friends, I decided on 5th December 2018 to get rid of dairy milk and sugar. That was the beginning of my vegan journey.

My daily routine from 6th December 2018

It was my first day of this journey. Sharing some of my experiences for the benefit of interested people.

• I would get up at 5 a.m. after 7 hours of sleep after going to bed by 10 p.m.
• Warm water – I drink three glasses of warm water after getting up and run to the toilet seat.
• Walk: Usually, I took a one hour walk daily; at times brisk, sometimes normal for 45 minutes in the morning and evening. From 22nd January 2019 onwards, inspired by a post by my friend Smitha Hemadri on Mr Janardan, I started jogging every morning nonstop for one hour.
• Asanas: Light yogasanas for 30 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes of conscious breathing.
• Breakfast: I usually have my breakfast between 10 to 10:30 AM, comprising of seasonal fruits.
• After an hour, I consume dalia (porridge, shredded wheat and some millet species), sweet peas (matar) and green dhania.
• For lunch, I have a salad of Carrots, beet, radish, shalgum, tomato and other seasonal foods.
• Around 5 p.m., I eat apples, guavas, cheekus, oranges, bananas, melons and other seasonal fruits. Usually two fruits at one time or even one.
• Between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m., I have my dinner, which is comprised of 2 chapatis of mixed millets/grains flour with subji and salad.
• I also consume nuts like walnuts, almonds, raisins, figs – soaked overnight and eaten in the morning after jogging.
• I also make a hot drink made of one cup of hot herbal infusion (Kada) of tulsi, murraya, rosepetals, periwinkles flowers, red hibiscus flowers, ashwagandha leaf, ajvain patta, lemon grass, cinnamon, green cardamoms, fennel seeds, powdered black pepper, laung/cloves and gurh (sometimes all of them, sometimes a few) with lemon juice. Some of these are sourced from my garden.
• Whenever I can, I consume groundnuts too along with sweet potatoes. NO MILK, NO SUGAR, NO HONEY.

Benefits

• Headache: I had migraine attack till 11th December 2018, but afterwards headaches have reduced a great deal – not more than once a month; sometimes no headache for 2 to 3 months at a stretch.
• Gout attack: No gout attack from 5th December 2018. Despite my 45 minutes to one-hour jogging (occasionally up to 75 minutes), I feel energetic and want to run like kids.
• Cough: It still bothers me, but has noticeably become less frequent and much less severe. Pranayama has also become easier with deep inhaling and exhaling without any cough.
• Weight: Stabilized at 74 kgs, waistline reduced from 37 to 34 inches, shirt size shrunk from 42 inches to 40 inches.
• Moods: No irritation, no anger. I feel more focused, attentive, helpful, and accommodating in nature. I’ve become less judgmental, lofty, elated and a lot more positive. Happy developments are taking place in life.
• No acidity so far and no fever.

Conclusion

I am indebted and grateful to many online friends, some of whom are doctors, naturopaths, vegans, raw food vegetarians and spiritually enlightened souls for their guidance, help and motivation. I especially want to mention Smitha Hemadri who is always willing to help whenever I find any doubt creeping in my mind.

I continue on my health journey and hope to see more improvements in all areas of my life.

(About Suresh Sharma:I am a retired central government employee. Birdwatching has been my hobby since childhood. I've recently, along with two more authors, published a book titled: Birds of Haryana - A Field Guide. I am also the founder and admin of two Facebook groups - Birds of Haryana and Bhaarteey Pakshi.)