Hi, I’m Tharun, and this is my first post. Like millions of others who make new year resolutions, I too made one - to write at least one post every month. Given that most people who set new year resolutions fail them within the first two weeks, this might end up being my first and last post. But I thought I’d start by sharing something—a goal that I achieved last year—participating and winning Zerodha’s internal health challenge.
Like many others, I had the wrong idea about fitness. Playing sports and being able to fit into regular clothes made me believe I was fit and healthy. Then came the reality check - a Dexa scan at our office camp in October 2023 that completely shattered this belief. Turns out I weighed 78 kgs with a body fat percentage of 30.3%. The report was clear - I had excessive fat.
Luckily, Zerodha announced its internal health challenge just a few weeks later. The challenge was pretty straightforward - set a personal fitness goal, help someone else achieve their goals, and pick up a new skill along the way. My wife and I decided to take on this together. I set a target of 70 kgs, while she aimed to go from 62 kgs to 55 kgs. For the skill component, inspired by Nithin, I decided to pick up guitar.
We knew random workouts weren’t going to cut it, so we got serious and signed up with Fittr, where Pavan was assigned as our coach. Pavan became our mentor, checking in every week to track measurements, weight, and diet. He introduced us to the concept of calorie counting and helped us understand nutrition better - teaching us about protein intake and portion control and the importance of consistency over crash diets.
My wife is the real hero here. Every morning, rain or shine, she’d get us both to the gym. Pretty much carried both our motivations through the challenge. Also, seeing our leadership team consistently maintain their fitness levels through disciplined routines and mindful eating was a huge inspiration.
The amazing culture at Zerodha made sticking to our goals much easier. Not just me, but pretty much everyone on the office floor now attempts to make mindful choices about their health. Our conversations revolve around nutrition, protein intake, and workouts. When cravings hit, we reach for whole truth bars instead of junk food. Of course, birthdays are an exception ;)
Were there slip-ups? Absolutely. Parties happened, illnesses occurred, and sometimes the plan went off track. But luckily, we got back on track each time.
After a year of consistent effort, we saw decent results. I went from 78 kgs with 30% body fat to 68 kgs with 18-20% body fat, while my wife achieved her target of 55 kgs. We ended up being runners-up in the challenge.
On the guitar front, I went from not knowing how to hold a pick to now being able to play songs with cowboy chords and sing along. Here’s me attempting to strum and sing O Sanam.
Now with Zerodha starting another health challenge, my goals are slightly higher. I’m aiming to reach sub 14% body fat, complete the Devils Circuit (competitive) within 55 minutes, and advance my guitar journey by learning music theory, the CAGED system, and pentatonic scales.
I’m still far from where I want to be, but this challenge has given me more than just better health metrics - it’s hopefully helping me lay a strong foundation for the next few decades to come and largely make choices that are healthy for me.