UAE: Resident goes from 114kg to 75kg as he takes up fitness to overcome grief

The bereavement process was brutal for Anand Sachdev who lost his father in January 2021. But while experiencing loss Anand turned to restraint to quell his grief.

Coping with his father’s deteriorating health while he was still alive and struggling at the hospital, Anand turned to his primary line of defence when dealing with stress -- giving up his sugar cravings, praying, that he would only touch sweets, after his father returned home.

Anand aka Andy says, “I always had a sweet tooth. I used to eat two scoops of ice cream daily. I was the golden customer of the Ice cream parlour beneath my house. On January 15, 2021 my father was admitted to the hospital as he had a minor heart attack. A few days later, I promised to myself that I would stop eating sweets altogether till dad doesn’t return home”, says the 47-year-old Indian expat, who once weighed 114kg.

While experts have repeatedly averred that exercise is by no means a panacea, but it can play a vital role in adapting to loss. “Unfortunately, dad passed away in the hospital, he never returned home. So, from January 30, 2021, till today, I haven’t touched any kind of sweets. I thought that my dad is more important to me than any kind of sweets and I’ve taken an oath and I am going to keep that resolution, come what may. Since then, I have completely given up on sweets. The only sugar that I get is from the fruits that I eat. For me, my dad is way more important than sweets. I have given it up for him. I feel even in his death, he did something good for me and went,” he adds.

Andy, who was a regular squash and badminton player and has even won many accolades, injured the meniscus in his right knee in 2016. At that time, he used to weigh 75kg.

Narrating the backstory and how things went downhill from there, he opines, “I had been the squash captain for the India Club team for a long time now. But after the injury, for a year I tried getting back to the game but couldn’t because of the pain. Then I let myself go completely. By 2017 from 75kg I went to 114kg. I just kept eating, didn’t bother about exercising. Then after an operation in 2018, I tried getting back to the game, but I had become very lethargic and still had the same weight.”

But after his father’s demise and his firm resolution Andy gradually started losing weight, only to be abreast with another misfortune. “In December 2021, I ruptured my Achilles tendon while playing badminton. Then I went into a cast for three months. Doctors told me that it’ll take six months to walk again and also asked me to forget about squash and badminton. I was on crutches now. But even in my ortho boot I decided to do 10,000 steps daily (while on crutches). I was on a very high fibre, high protein diet at that time. During this period, I lost a lot of weight. From 109kg I came down to 75kg again.”

Since then, he has only persevered to embrace and maintain a healthy lifestyle and says Dubai’s Fitness Challenge amps up these efforts that ultimately benefit the society and community members.

“I have taken up a new challenge… I am trying personal training now. I want to get fitter. My body fat currently is 18-19 per cent and I have decided to get down to 14-12 per cent. I have got two to three packs already and I am aiming for a six pack. It’s become a lifestyle. I can’t put anything in my mouth that I know will not benefit my body. My mind doesn’t allow it anymore.”

Talking about the imminent stress in people’s lives and how the 30X30 challenge inspires communities to seek healthy and active lifestyles, he says, “people have a lot of stress nowadays in their lives. So, people need an outlet (initiative) like this, to get rid of all that pressure. This challenge enables you to be calm and positively impacts your work and personal life. I think it’s a fantastic initiative,” says the expat who grew up in the UAE.

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