The Fear… The Fire… The Passion…

“It was 1 am. My heart was hammering in my chest. I could feel the sweat dribbling down my face. A sharp pain pierced through my chest.

Was it a heart attack? The panic wouldn’t let me think.  

I was doubtful if I would wake up in the morning.  

I did wake up.  

…and my life changed forever.” 

– my personal experience

One of the best things about my job as a software engineer is being able to travel all around the world.  

On June 25 back in 2012, when traveling didn’t feel like I was signing a death warrant, I landed in beautiful Cincinnati, Ohio. Although I had been there before, this time my 30 year old self felt complete – my wife and my baby were with me.  

A tall twin-tower downtown office, the Ohio river running across and the People’s Purple Bridge and homes with sprawling greenery – it was a pretty great for a guy to be.  

The country side apartment where I lived with beautifully designed  club-house was much of my dream home.  

My son turned 1 here. I made friends that I still cherish here. It was absolutely perfect – until this life changing incident.  

My wife and I were sound asleep on a weekday when I woke up with a strange pain in my hands and chest. Palpitations, panic, confusion – the whole hog. It got to a point where I thought that was the end for me. I was a smoker at the time – so the fear was pretty real.  

Anyone else would have probably gone and seen a doctor but I’ve never been fond of them. Something about the whole deal makes me nervous. I think it comes from a dentist I went to as a kid, who pulled out my tooth. I’d throw my pills away as a kid. 

One of my friends recommended digestive medicines, saying it was probably just an upset tummy. But I knew deep down that this was something more.  

I did what we all do without ever admitting it. I googled it. 

 Ask about coding or health, it will always come up with a pleasant answer. 

 I decided to quit smoking.  I threw my cigarettes and wrote a note on the last remaining Benson & Hedges Lights I had with me – “I am not a Smoker”. 

After 21 days of no smoking, I decided to quit drinking.  That’s what Google asked me to do.

After getting rid of my vices,  I decided to go jogging.  

My neighbor who was a gym coach advised me to follow HIIT training but my backache didn’t permit me. It also made jogging impossible.   

Walking was the way to go for me. 

I took this picture while walking on the mountains.  Whenever possible, I would take my son out with me on short walks within our apartment premises. 

I walked every day.  

I walked for hours. 

Rain, shine or snow.  Nothing could stop me.  

I was outside, determined to reduce my weight and improve my health.  I was a fitness freak.  

I clocked 1 million steps (10 Lakhs) on my pedometer.

After reading and researching, I switched to organic whole foods.  

It wasn’t that hard, actually.  I went from 90 kgs to 74 kgs in one year.  I went further down to 62kg after I got back home in Bangalore, India. 

My friends and families loved my transformation.  I became a Weight Loss Guru! I was a health advocate.  But there was still a problem. 

I had a shifting pains all over the left side of the body – back, eyes, fingers.  Some days, my ankle would hurt so much it was hard for me to walk. Other days, my neck would hurt.   

The worst pain was on my palm – the Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.  I couldn’t work because of it. 

After a few emotionally draining experiences, we decided to come home.  I hoped that this would help me and somehow reverse what was happening to me. 

It did help me.  

But it took me 2 years and lots of experimenting.  

My friends laughed at me.  I was called tee-totler. They’d say I was debugging myself (software engineer joke). “Stop now, or you will die.  I told him that, one day I will come back to you and tell my story.”  

And here I am.

How did I get rid of the pain?

Long story short, I found the diet that suits me. I will write my next article on this topic.

Thanks for reading my blog. Have a great day!

Bonne journée, à bientôt.

Special thanks to my friend Priyam Chhetri for editing this blog.